description
stringlengths 2.98k
3.35M
| abstract
stringlengths 94
10.6k
| cpc
int64 0
8
|
|---|---|---|
RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of and Paris Convention priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/703,588 filed on Jul. 29, 2005, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure relates generally to prosthetic devices and, more particularly, to prosthetic knees imparted with electronically improved motility and safety.
Attempts have been made to overcome the drawbacks associated with the function of prosthetic knees by incorporating actuators that are actively, or computer, controlled. Based on inputs from sensors, the computer controls the amount of resistance provided by the actuator in order to adapt to changes in terrain and gait speed and decide when the transition from stiff to loose, or vice versa, should occur, thereby increasing safety, improving gait symmetry, and increasing energy efficiency. Current prosthetic knees that incorporate computer controlled actuators are relatively complex and heavy, which both increases cost and is burdensome to the user. Among the attempts to address the instant problems are found the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,764,520 B2, 6,755,870 B1; 6,740,125 B2; 6,719,806 B1; 6,673,117 B1; 6,610,101 B2, 6,517,585 B1; 6,423,098 B1; 6,113,642; 5,888,212; 5,571,205; and 5,383,939, each of which differs from the instant teachings.
It should, therefore, be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a prosthetic knee that provides the gait speed adaptability and safety of a computer controlled knee but is relatively lightweight and simple in design. The present disclosure fulfills this need and others.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
A prosthetic knee provides a single axis of rotation and includes a hydraulic damping cylinder, a microprocessor, and sensors. Based on input from the sensors, the microprocessor selects a flow path within the hydraulic cylinder in order to provide the proper amount of knee resistance to bending for a given situation. The resistance of each flow path within the hydraulic cylinder is manually preset. Changes in gait speed are accommodated by employing a hydraulic damper with intelligently designed position sensitive damping. Moreover, the knee need not be un-weighted to transition from the stance phase to the swing phase of gait. As a result, the knee safely provides a natural, energy efficient gait over a range of terrains and gait speeds and is simpler, less costly, and lighter weight than the prior art.
Disclosed is a prosthetic knee system comprising, in combination, a frame, a computer, a rotor connected to the frame providing at least one axis of rotation about the prosthetic knee and using a hydraulic damping cylinder that compresses or extends to facilitate resistance to rotation, the hydraulic damping cylinder further comprising: a prosthetic knee flexion resistance path and a prosthetic knee extension resistance path; wherein at least one of the flexion resistance path and the extension resistance path further comprises a plurality of flow resistance paths; and wherein the computer determines the resistance of the flow resistance path.
Similarly disclosed is a prosthetic knee system, comprising, in combination a frame, a computer, a rotor connected to the frame providing at least one axis of rotation about the prosthetic knee and using a hydraulic damping cylinder to facilitate resistance to rotation, the hydraulic damping cylinder further comprising: a low force flexion resistance flow path; a high force flexion resistance flow path; and an extension resistance flow path, wherein the high force flexion resistance flow path is the knee's default and the computer determines when to use the low force flexion resistance flow path.
Still further disclosed is a improved prosthetic knee device comprising a computer and a plurality of parallel flow paths of varying flow resistance.
In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of mimicking a human gait with a computer and sensor disposed in a prosthetic knee is disclosed comprising, in combination, providing a prosthetic knee with variable damping, wherein the variable damping comprising at least: waiting for a maximum force to be registered in a heel sensor; waiting for a maximum force to be registered in a toe sensor; and initiating a second trigger.
Finally disclosed is a prosthetic knee comprising a frame and a rotor connected to the frame providing at least one axis of rotation about the prosthetic knee and using a hydraulic damping cylinder with position sensitive damping to facilitate resistance.
DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a graph of an exemplary walking gait cycle on level ground for an observed leg, in which knee position is provided along the y-axis and percentage of gait cycle is provided along the x-axis.
FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of a prosthetic knee in accordance with the disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the prosthetic knee of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the prosthetic knee of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 5 is a right-side elevational view of the prosthetic knee of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 6 is a back elevational view of the prosthetic knee of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic describing an exemplary operation of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A .
FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram describing an exemplary operation of the software to control the solenoid-actuated spool valve of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A .
FIG. 9A is a back elevational view of the hydraulic cylinder of the prosthetic knee of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A .
FIG. 10 is a close-up, back elevational view of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A , depicting the solenoid and high force compression, or stance flexion, resistance adjustor (needle valve).
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the spool valve and solenoid of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A .
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the high force compression, or stance flexion, resistance adjustor of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A .
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the latching mechanism of the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 9A .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Makers of prosthetic knees have long attempted to mimic a natural walking gait. For purpose of illustration, this may be understood to be a reference to an exemplary walking gait cycle (level ground) as is graphically presented in FIG. 1 . The chart depicts the knee position, along the y-axis, for an observed leg with respect to a percentage of gait cycle, along the x-axis. In the graph, the gait cycle initiates as the heel of the observed leg strikes the ground.
For each leg, a walking gait can be divided into two phases, a stance phase and a swing phase. The stance phase is defined as the period of time during which the foot of the observed leg is weighted. The swing phase is defined as the period of time when the foot of the observed leg is un-weighted. As a point of reference, the transition (T) from the stance phase to swing phase occurs at about 40 percent of the gait cycle.
The stance phase of a walking gait begins as the heel strikes the ground, indicated by point (I) on the graph. Upon heel strike, the knee flexes slightly to absorb some of the impact forces acting on the limb due to weight acceptance—referred to as “stance flexion” of the knee.
After the foot is flat on the ground, the shin begins to rotate forward about the ankle. As the shin rotates, the knee remains flexed in order to minimize the rise of the person's center of mass as it passes over the ankle joint center. As the shin continues to rotate forward and the center of mass progresses forward, the weight acting on the limb moves towards the toe of the foot. The force of the weight acting on the toe generates a torque about the knee joint that tends to straighten, or extend, the knee—referred to as “stance extension” of the knee. Stance extension continues until the transition point to the swing phase.
Soon after the knee is completely extended, the toe pushes off the ground, stance ends, and swing begins. As the toe pushes off the ground, the knee rapidly flexes to about 60 degrees—referred to as “swing flexion” of the knee. In order to keep the toe from stubbing on the ground, the knee will remain flexed as the leg rotates, or swings, forward about the hip joint. As the leg continues to swing forward the knee will extend until it is nearly straight—referred to as “swing extension” of the knee. Soon after the knee is fully extended, the heel of the foot will strike the ground again, and the gait cycle begins all over.
During the level-ground walking gait cycle described above, the knee, together with the muscles acting on it, functions primarily as an absorber of energy. In attempts of achieving a natural walking gait, it has been known to incorporate hydraulic dampers in prosthetic knees to control the motion of the knee joint during both the stance and swing phases of the gait cycle. In such prosthetic knees, during the stance phase, the hydraulic damper provides a relatively high amount of resistance to motion, or damping, making the knee joint comparatively stiff and able to support high forces. During the swing phase, the hydraulic damper provides a relatively low amount of resistance making the knee joint comparatively loose and able to swing freely. Thus, generally speaking, such prosthetic knees have both a stiff configuration and a loose configuration. To achieve a natural, energy efficient gait the hydraulic damper must provide the proper amount of resistance in each of these configurations, and the transition between these configurations must occur quickly and at the proper time in the gait cycle. In addition, to insure safety the transition should never occur when the user is not walking and the prosthetic limb is weighted.
In current prosthetic knees that use passive mechanical hydraulic dampers, the amount of resistance provided by the damper is controlled in both the stiff and the loose configurations by metering the flow of hydraulic fluid through valves that are manually set. The transition between the stiff and loose configurations is triggered by the occurrence of mechanical events (e.g., full extension of the hydraulic cylinder and reversal of hydraulic flow). There are two major drawbacks of knees designed this way: (1) the amount of resistance provided by the hydraulic damper is optimal for only a single gait speed and; (2) the mechanical events that trigger the transition from stiff to loose, or vice versa, can occur at the wrong time and thereby introduce a safety hazard.
The present disclosure presents a novel way to actively and dynamically control hydraulic dampers in prosthetic knees. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer selects various flow paths. The various flow paths provide varying degrees of resistance to a flow fluid. Controlling the flow path allows the computer to selectively dampen a hydraulic damping cylinder and consequently vary the resistance of the prosthetic knee depending on the phase of the gait cycle.
Referring now to an embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , there is shown prosthetic knee 10 having hydraulic damping cylinder 12 disposed in frame 14 . In the exemplary embodiment, hydraulic damping cylinder 12 may be any damping cylinder that would be well known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. As depicted in FIG. 11 , the hydraulic damping cylinder contains normally-closed, solenoid-actuated spool valve 52 . The state of spool valve 52 is controlled via a processing system having a digital processor, or computer (not shown), mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) 18 , which communicates with sensors disposed about the knee. Power is provided by battery pack 19 mounted on frame 14 or in another suitable location. As discussed below, using input from the sensors the processing system controls via spool valve 52 , the transition from when the knee joint is stiff to when it is loose ensuring safe operation of the knee.
Referring again to FIG. 2 , prosthetic knee 10 includes rotor 20 mounted to frame 14 , defining a knee joint center about which the knee bends. Rotor 20 is attached to a proximal end of frame 14 such that proximal mount 22 can be attached to rotor 20 . Proximal mount 22 is configured to mate with a limb socket (not shown) that is conformed to the user's remnant limb.
Hydraulic damping cylinder 12 is attached at its proximal end to rotor 20 and at its distal end to frame 14 , allowing hydraulic damping cylinder 12 to regulate knee movement. Thus, according to an embodiment of the instant teachings, when the knee angle is increasing, hydraulic damping cylinder 12 is being compressed, and when the knee angle is decreasing, hydraulic damping cylinder 12 is being extended.
Sensors located throughout frame 14 detect and convey data to the computer. Extension sensor 28 is spaced about the knee to sense the relative position of the knee joint. In the exemplary embodiment, extension sensor 28 is disposed about the proximal end of the knee and includes a magnetic reed switch attached to the PCB 18 and a magnet attached to rotor 20 in spaced relationship to the magnetic reed switch. When the knee is fully extended, i.e., knee angle of about zero degrees, the magnetic reed switch is disposed near the magnet. As the knee is bent, the reed switch and the magnet rotate away from each other. Input from the magnetic reed switch is provided to the computer system. As a result, the computer can determine when the knee is fully extended.
Likewise, front load sensor 30 and rear load sensor 32 , are disposed in a distal end of prosthetic knee 10 between frame 14 and distal mount 38 , to which attaches a lower leg prosthesis (not shown). These load sensors determine how much load is being applied and the distribution of the load on the foot throughout the gait cycle. For example, as the heel strikes the ground at the beginning of the gait cycle, rear load sensor 32 will detect a compressive load and front load sensor 30 will detect a tensile load. Then, as the weight shifts from heel to toe during the stance phase of the gait cycle, the load detected by rear load sensor 32 will become a tensile load while the load detected by front load sensor 30 will become a compressive load. As a result, the computer can determine when the transition from the stance phase to the swing phase of the gait cycle should occur and actuate spool valve 52 of the hydraulic damping cylinder 12 at the proper time, as described below.
FIG. 7 depicts a simplified schematic of the hydraulic circuit within hydraulic damping cylinder 12 . Hydraulic damping cylinder 12 includes piston 40 mounted for axial movement within main fluid chamber 42 and a fluid, which may be any hydraulic fluid, such as bicycle or motorcycle shock fluid, known to a person of ordinary skill of the art. Progressive-type hydraulic cylinders, including Mauch-type cylinders, may be used in which the cylinder damping changes as the angle of the knee joint changes. The choice of cylinder will be readily apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art depending on the desired characteristics of the hydraulic cylinder.
As the piston moves in the direction of compression, fluid flows through two paths. Some fluid flows out of main chamber 42 into fluid reservoir 54 through first needle valve 50 , which provides high force compression, or stance flexion, resistance (R HC ). The rest of the fluid flows across the piston through a pressure sensitive control valve 34 that provides the low force compression, or swing flexion, resistance R LC . In embodiment, pressure sensitive valve 34 is a progressive damping valve as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,190,126 and 6,978,872, both of which are incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein. Progressive damping allows prosthetic knee 10 to mimic a more natural swing during swing flexion.
In a normal human gait, swing flexion is arrested at approximately 60 degrees from a straight leg. During the initial swing flexion phase through about 30 degrees, the leg swings freely. However, from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees the brain decelerates the swing until it is arrested at about 60 degree. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is utilized a progressive damping system to mimic the natural effect in prosthetic knees. The progressive damping system comprises specialized pressure sensitive control valve 34 (R LC ) disclosed in the above referenced patents. Pressure sensitive control valve 34 allows mostly free swing between about 0 degrees and about 30 degrees and thereafter progressively dampens movement by increasing resistance until arrest of swing flexion at about 60 degrees.
Normally-closed, solenoid-actuated spool valve 52 is parallel to first needle valve 50 . Therefore, when spool valve 52 is opened, flow bypasses first needle valve 50 , essentially eliminating the high force compression resistance. As piston 40 moves in the direction of extension, fluid again flows through two paths. Some fluid flows from fluid reservoir 54 back into main fluid chamber 42 via check valve 51 with very little resistance. The rest of the fluid flows across piston 40 through second needle valve with shim stack 41 , which provides extension, or swing extension, resistance (R E ).
Both the high force compression resistance (R HC ) and the extension resistance (R E ) may be adjusted by the user by manually changing the position of first needle valve 50 and second needle valve with shim stack 41 , respectively. Gas chamber 56 is filled with a gas, typically air, and disposed adjacent to fluid reservoir 54 , separated by flexible bladder 58 . The low force compression resistance (R LC ) is regulated by the user by changing the pressure in the gas chamber, in embodiments. In other embodiments, an independent floating piston may replace gas chamber 56 and bladder 58 to accomplish the same purpose and would be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Spool valve 52 is actuated by solenoid 60 . When solenoid 60 is de-energized, return spring 66 holds spool valve 52 in a closed position. Energizing solenoid 60 causes the spool to move in the direction opposite to the force of return spring 66 , thereby opening spool valve 52 . When spool valve 52 achieves an open position, latching mechanism 62 , shown in FIG. 13 , prevents return spring 66 from closing spool valve 52 . In an embodiment, latching mechanism 62 includes cantilever beam 64 . However, other approaches may be used, as would be known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. When hydraulic flow reverses, latching mechanism 62 releases spool valve 52 and return spring 66 moves the spool to the closed position, thereby closing spool valve 52 .
Operation of hydraulic damping cylinder 12 during a normal walking gait cycle works in conjunction with the operation of the valves. As heel strike occurs, the ground reaction forces may tend to bend prosthetic knee 10 and compress hydraulic damping cylinder 12 . At this moment, solenoid 60 is de-energized thus spool valve 52 is closed and the fluid flows through both the first needle valve 50 and the low force resistance channel (R HC and R LC ). Therefore, hydraulic damping cylinder 12 provides a high amount of damping causing the knee joint to be relatively stiff and able to support the user's weight. As the user's weight begins to come off the foot at the end of the stance phase the computer energizes solenoid 60 to open spool valve 52 , which bypasses the high force resistance of first needle valve 50 . Once latching mechanism 62 engages and is holding spool valve 52 open, solenoid 60 is de-energized to conserve energy. According to embodiments, the transition between high resistance compression and low resistance compression occurs in 10 ms or less. With spool valve 52 open, the damping decreases allowing prosthetic knee 10 to bend rapidly during swing flexion. As the lower leg swings forward and swing extension begins, the direction of hydraulic flow within the cylinder is reversed, and latching mechanism 62 releases the spool. Return spring 66 then closes spool valve 52 , which causes hydraulic damping cylinder 12 to once again be able to provide a high amount of damping when the heel strikes the ground at the start of the next gait cycle.
With reference now to FIG. 8 , a computer system controls the damping of prosthetic knee 10 . According to an embodiment, the computer is an interrupt driven state machine that runs a control algorithm. The interrupt cycle time is 1 ms, or 1000 Hz. The computer allows only a single state change per cycle. Generally, the main function and output of the computer is to switch the knee between a stiff configuration and a freely swinging configuration, which is accomplished by the computer control of solenoid 60 . Sensors disposed in frame 14 of prosthetic knee 10 provide the computer with the input required to energize solenoid 60 at the proper time during the gait cycle.
According to an embodiment, extension sensor 28 is digital. Thus, at each interrupt, the computer reads the state of extension sensor 28 . Conversely, both front load sensor 30 and rear load sensor 32 are analog sensors. Consequently, the computer uses a two interrupt sequence to obtain a digital signal from the analog load sensors. At the first interrupt, an analog to digital conversion algorithm is initiated using data from each load sensor. At the second interrupt, the computer retrieves the digital data output from the analog to digital conversion algorithm. Once the computer has digital readings from the load sensors, the computer calculates a load calculation and difference of a moment calculation.
The load calculation tells the computer whether the foot, shin, and knee are loaded. In an embodiment, the load is calculated by adding the output of front load sensor 30 and rear load sensor 32 . The moment calculation takes the difference between front load sensor 30 and rear load sensor 32 . When the heel is predominantly weighted, the moment calculation is negative. However, when the toe is predominantly weighted, the moment calculation is positive. The computer uses the load calculation and the moment calculation to determine the amount of damping to apply to the knee. Specifically, the state machine uses data from the sensors in conjunction with a timer algorithm to advance through progressive phases of a control algorithm.
The control algorithm controls solenoid 60 , which actuates spool valve 52 . Each cycle begins just before heel strike at phase 1 of FIG. 8 and ends at phase 7 when the computer causes solenoid 60 to be energized. A short time before the heel of the foot strikes the ground, the knee becomes fully extended. Extension sensor 28 detects the straightened leg and communicates a signal to the computer. According to an embodiment, the sensor detects a straightened leg when the knee is within 5 degrees of full extension. Phase 1 is the default start state in the exemplary embodiment.
Once an extend signal is detected from extension sensor 28 , the algorithm advances to phase 2 . During phase 2 , the computer allows a set period of time to elapse. The period of time is customizable by individual users, although the default timing will be appropriate for most users. The processing system will not proceed to phase 3 until the set time period elapses, after which the algorithm will automatically advance to phase 3 .
Certain conditions, however, will cause phase 2 to either reset the period of time that must elapse before phase 3 or return the algorithm to phase 1 . According to embodiments, the algorithm will return to phase 1 or 2 if the load drops below a set minimum value or the extension sensor 28 is sensed in an open position. Whether the algorithm returns to phase 1 or phase 2 is inconsequential and is a matter of preference for the implementer of the algorithm because extension sensor 28 is closed, which will, upon returning to phase 1 , trigger the algorithm to automatically advance to phase 2 . Thus, the only difference between whether the algorithm returns to phase 1 or resets phase 2 is that returning the algorithm to phase 1 will cause a delay of one cycle, or 1 ms, before phase 1 advances to phase 2 .
During phase 3 the computer monitors the load reading from front load sensor 30 and rear load sensor 32 and waits for a “heel moment.” During phase 3 the algorithm waits until the load is predominantly on the heel. According to an embodiment, a “heel moment” occurs when the moment calculation is at a minimum. Once a “heel moment” event occurs, the algorithm then advances to phase 4 . If, during phase 3 , the load drops below a set minimum value or the extension sensor 28 is sensed in an open position, then the algorithm will return to either phase 1 or phase 2 , as previously described.
During phase 4 the load is in the process of transferring from the heel to the toe. The computer monitors the moment calculation. Once it exceeds a set value, for example ⅔ of the max moment calculation (i.e., a given load is shifted from heel to toe), the algorithm advances to phase 5 . The computer times phase 4 . If the moment calculation fails to exceed the set value before a set time elapses, then the algorithm returns to phase 3 . If, during phase 4 , the load drops below a set minimum value or the extension sensor 28 is sensed in an open position at the start of phase 4 , the algorithm returns to phase 1 or phase 2 , as previously described. In embodiments, the moment calculation value that must be exceeded to advance to phase 5 is adjustable on a per user basis.
If, during phase 4 , the extension sensor 28 opens before the value of the moment calculation exceeds the set value, then phase 4 proceeds with a modified set of values for the remainder of the cycle optimized for descending type movement, such as moving down inclined surfaces. According to embodiments, these values may be adjusted on a per user basis. By adjusting the values for descending type movement, the knee will be able to swing to prevent toe stubbing, improving safety. Generally, the value of the moment calculation that must be exceeded to proceed to phase 5 for descending type movement will be set lower than the normal, level ground value because the load will be more focused on the heel than the toe in these types of situations.
During phase 5 the algorithm waits until the moment calculation reaches a maximum. The algorithm then proceeds to phase 6 once it detects that the moment calculation drops below the measured maximum. Various criteria may be used, according to embodiments, to determine when to advance to phase 6 , for example, including when the moment calculation drops below a preset percentage of the maximum, when the moment calculation minus a preset value is lower than the maximum, or when the moment calculation is less than a preset trigger point. In the latter case, the algorithm may advance directly to phase 7 , in embodiments.
During phase 6 , the algorithm monitors the moment calculation. Once it drops below a preset trigger point, the algorithm advances to phase 7 and energizes solenoid 60 for swing flexion and extension. After triggering solenoid 60 , the algorithm advances to phase 1 and awaits the closing of extension sensor 28 , which starts the control cycle over. The preset trigger point is adjustable on a per user basis and may have variable values for normal movement and descending type movements.
According to embodiments, users may personalize the timing settings of the timed phases. Control of the computer settings may be accomplished by use of a Bluetooth signaling mechanism, for example. According to exemplary embodiments, the computer on the knee integrates a Bluetooth receiver that receives signals from a computer device containing a Bluetooth transceiver. Examples of suitable computer may be a home PC or a PDA. Software compiled specifically for the computer platform, for example a PDA, allows a user to monitor and adjust settings for the timings of the applicable phases. Setting data may be stored in flash memory or an equivalent electronic storage media within prosthetic knee 10 . Adjustment of the trigger points and other user configurable variables may be similarly accomplished.
The present disclosure has been described above in terms of presently preferred embodiments so that an understanding of the present disclosure can be conveyed. However, there are other embodiments not specifically described herein for which the present disclosure is applicable. Therefore, the present disclosure should not to be seen as limited to the forms shown, which is to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
|
A prosthetic knee provides a single axis of rotation and includes a hydraulic damping cylinder, a microprocessor, and sensors. Based on input from the sensors, the microprocessor selects a flow path within the hydraulic cylinder in order to provide the proper amount of knee resistance to bending for a given situation. The resistance of each flow path within the hydraulic cylinder is manually preset. Changes in gait speed are accommodated by employing a hydraulic damper with intelligently designed position sensitive damping. Moreover, the knee need not be un-weighted to transition from the stance phase to the swing phase of gait. As a result, the knee safely provides a natural, energy efficient gait over a range of terrains and gait speeds and is simpler, less costly, and lighter weight than the prior art.
| 0
|
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/349,743, filed Feb. 7, 2006 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,574,014), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/945,244, filed Aug. 31, 2001 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,021). The 09/945,244 application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/302,663 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,284), filed Apr. 30, 1999, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/125,349 filed Mar. 19, 1999.
The present invention is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/771,340, filed Jan. 26, 2001 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,487), and Ser. No. 09/503,881, filed Feb. 14, 2000 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,914).
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to steganography and, more particularly, to the detection of steganographic signals in media such as images, video and audio signals.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The technology for embedding digital watermarks in images is well known. Likewise, the technology for detecting and reading the data payload carried by digital watermarks is well known. Assignee's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/503,881, filed Feb. 14, 2000, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,862,260 and 6,122,403 illustrate examples of various watermarking techniques. Artisans in the field know even more. Commercial systems are available for performing such operations.
Many watermarking systems redundantly embed the same watermark data in multiple regions of an image. Often watermarking systems embed data in images in a perceptually adaptive manner. That is, the amount of watermark signal in each region of an image is adjusted in accordance with the characteristics of the image in the particular region. The watermark may even be absent in some regions of the image. The purpose of so adjusting the watermark signal is to insure that the watermark signal will not be visible to an ordinary viewer of the image. Since the strength of the watermark signal varies from region to region, the signal is more easily detected in some regions of an image than in other regions of the image.
Systems for detecting watermarks generally sequentially examine the various regions of an image, seeking to detect the watermark. Generally, the amount of computational resources available is limited and if a watermark is not detected in a region as a result of applying a certain amount of computational effort, the detection operation moves on to the next region of the image and the process is repeated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention enables detection of the presence of a watermark in an efficient manner. One embodiment involves a multi-step process. First, the image is examined to determine which regions of the image have characteristics such that there is a high probability that a watermark signal can be detected in that region of the image. Next the regions that have a high probability that a watermark can be detected (in contrast to all regions of the image) are examined to find watermark data. In order to determine the probability of finding watermark data in a particular region of an image, the amount of “variance” in the intensity of the pixels in the region is examined. For example a region that is entirely white or entirely black has zero variance. Such a region cannot carry watermark data; hence regions with zero or low variance can be eliminated from further processing. Furthermore, if high variance in a region is a result of the fact that the region has an abrupt border or edge between two highly contrasting regions, the high variance does not necessarily indicate a high probability that a watermark signal will be detected in the region. Therefore, after regions with high variance are located, these regions are next examined to look for regions with edges between areas of different luminance, which are spread over the entire region. The regions with the high variance and with edginess that is spread widely in the region are selected for further processing to detect watermark data. In another embodiment, however, regions with high variance are not always indicative of a high detection probability.
For those regions selected for further processing, the detection process can be enhanced by filtering the data prior to applying a watermark detection program so as to increase the signal to noise ratio of the watermark signal. First a high pass filter (e.g. a Laplacian operator) is applied to each region. This filtering operation in effect establishes a new intensity value for each pixel in the region. Next a nonlinear operator (e.g. a signum function) is applied to the output from the first filter operation. The resulting data in each region is then processed in a normal manner to detect watermark data.
In other embodiments, additional probability factors, or region selection criteria, are used to identify image regions having a high probability of containing watermark data therein.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an image with different regions.
FIG. 2 shows the FIG. 1 image divided into regions for processing.
FIG. 3 illustrates the pixels in different regions of an image.
FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram for one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram for additional steps that can be used.
FIG. 6 shows a system diagram for practicing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relative probability of a successful watermark detection for a given area having a particular variance.
FIG. 8 shows an edginess detection method in relation to an image portion.
FIGS. 9 a - 9 c show another edginess detection method in relation to an image portion.
FIGS. 10 a - 10 c show an image portion that is divided by regions for processing.
FIG. 11 shows city-block and diagonal distances between centers of detection blocks.
FIG. 12 shows a keep away zone near a border of an image.
FIG. 13 shows a neighborhood of detection blocks.
FIG. 14 illustrates a system diagram for practicing an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Digital watermarks are generally inserted into images in a redundant manner. That is, images are divided into regions and the same digital watermark data is inserted into each region of the image. The ability of a particular region of an image to effectively carry digital watermark data depends upon the characteristics of the image in the particular region. Different areas in an image may have more or less ability to carry watermark data. For example an area in an image that is entirely white or entirely black will not have the ability to carry watermark data without changing the appearance of the area. Modern watermarking programs use visually perceptual adaptive techniques when inserting watermark data into an image. The amount of watermark energy inserted into a region is adjusted depending on the characteristics of the region so as to avoid changing the visual appearance of the image. For example, no watermark energy would be applied to an area of an image that is entirely white or entirely black.
Watermark detection programs generally divide an image into regions and then sequentially try to read watermark data from each of the regions in the image. Generally several attempts are made to detect watermark data in each region of an image. This is a computationally costly endeavor.
The present invention shortens the processing time and reduces the computational power required to find a watermark in an image by first identifying those regions of the image that have a high probability that a watermark can be detected in the region. Then, regions with high probability rather than all regions are examined to locate watermark data.
It is noted that there are a number of different probability factors that can be considered in connection with watermark detection. For example, one can consider the probability that data found by a watermark detection program is in fact identical to the data that was inserted by the program that inserted the watermark. The probability discussed herein is different. The probability factors discussed herein relative to the present invention relates to the probability that a region of an image with certain characteristics can in fact be carrying watermark data.
FIG. 1 illustrates an image 2 , which has a number of different identified regions. Regions with various types of specific characteristics have been shown in order to illustrate the invention. Naturally in most images the regions would not be as pronounced as those shown in FIG. 1 and there would be a variety of types of regions over the entire image 2 . The present invention is applicable to any type of image. The special image shown in FIG. 1 is selected only as an example to illustrate the principles of the invention in an easily illustrated manner.
In the image 2 shown in FIG. 1 , region 10 is entirely white, region 11 is entirely black and in region 12 , the pixels of the image have a variety of luminance values. If a perceptually adaptive watermarking program were used to insert watermark data in an image such as image 2 , no watermark data would be inserted in regions 10 , 11 . Thus, a program, which tried to detect watermark data in regions 10 , and 11 , would spend time examining these regions, but it would find no watermark data.
FIG. 2 shows the image 2 divided into regions. These regions can also be referred to as detection blocks. In order to detect digital watermark data, a typical watermark detection program would process the regions of an image (such as those regions shown in FIG. 2 ) in some sequential order. Each region would be examined to determine if watermark data could be detected. Such examination requires a significant amount of time and/or computational resources. In some applications time and/or computational resources are limited.
The present invention provides a way to pre-process or filter an image to determine the regions that are most likely to contain watermark data. The initial processing of each region, that is, the initial filtering, is done very quickly and the regions, which have the most probability of yielding watermark data, are selected for further processing to actually detect the watermark data. That is, the time consuming watermark detection algorithms are only applied to the regions, which have a higher probability of providing watermark data. For images that are scanned at a relatively high resolution (e.g., 600 ppi) the present invention optionally can use only part of the image data in order to speedup processing. For example, high-resolution data can be down-sampled (e.g., either directly or after applying antialiasing filters) to a lower resolution for analysis.
FIG. 3 illustrates pixels in an image. It should be noted that for convenience of illustration, only a limited number of pixels are shown in FIG. 3 . The 4×4 blocks are shown for convenience of illustration. Of course the blocks can range in size from 4 to 500 pixels by 4 to 500 pixels, or more. Furthermore for convenience of illustration no attempt has been made to make the locations or size of the regions in FIG. 3 correspond to the regions in FIG. 1 . In typical applications images are scanned at resolutions higher than 75 pixels per inch (resolutions of 300, 600 and 1200 pixels per inch are common) and the regions examined by watermarking programs would generally cover many more pixels than the regions shown in FIG. 3 . However, the limited number of pixels shown in FIG. 3 is sufficient to explain the principles of the present invention.
In area A of FIG. 3 all of the pixels have a luminance value of zero. This area corresponds to an area such as area row c column 3 in FIG. 2 where the entire region is white. In area B all the pixels have a luminance value of 9. Area B corresponds to an area such as the area in row c column 7 in FIG. 2 where all of the pixels are black. In area C the luminance value per pixel varies between 0 and 9. Area C corresponds to an area such as the area in row g column 7 in FIG. 2 where the pixels have a range of luminance. Since the pixels in area A all have a luminance of 0, there is no possibility that this region contains watermark data. Likewise, since all the pixels in region B have a luminance value of 9, there is no possibility that region B contains watermark data. The pixels in region C have a variety of luminance values; hence, there is a possibility that this region does contain watermark data. The present invention is directed to detecting the area of an image where there is sufficient variance in the luminance of the pixels in the region that the region could contain watermark data. In one embodiment, an “edginess” factor (discussed below) can be used to select between regions that have the same or similar variance. In such a case, a region having a higher edginess factor is selected over a region with a lower edginess factor, when their variance is equal.
In one embodiment of the present invention the detection operation proceeds in accordance with the steps shown in FIG. 4 . First as indicated by block 21 the image being examined is scanned to detect the luminance of the pixels in the image. Next the pixels are broken into regions. For example each region can be square and have in the order of 10000 to 40000 pixels (that is, in the order of 100 to 200 pixels square). The exact number of pixels in each region depends on the characteristics of the particular detection program used. There is, however, a general advantage of using smaller regions (e.g., 8×8 through 64×64) to calculate variance. Namely, a smaller region is less likely to be affected by image rotation. There is a tradeoff for selecting a smaller region, however, since the variance estimate is less statistically reliable due to the smaller number of pixel samples. As indicated by block 22 , the variance in the luminance of the pixels in each block is calculated. The following formula is preferably used:
Variance=sum((intensity) 2 /(number of pixels))−(mean intensity) 2
If the variance is less than a specified threshold the region is eliminated from further consideration. The threshold value selected will depend upon the size of the regions into which the detection program divides the image and upon the characteristics of the watermark as measured over a representative set of images. However, for a typical image with a program that divides the image into regions, which are in the range of about 100,000 to 300,000 pixels, the value can be in a range of 100 to 500. Of course the pixel range can be smaller if a lower resolution (e.g., 100 dpi) image (or image area) is evaluated.
An optimal minimum variance threshold is found to vary with resolution. That is, the higher the resolution, the higher the minimum variance should be. This is particularly the case when high-resolution data is efficiently down-sampled, e.g., without using antialiasing filters. Table 1 shows a relationship between optimal minimum variance thresholds and resolution. Of course, these minimum values may vary depending on image characteristics, scanner error, precision vs. efficiency requirements, etc. For instance, these minimum values may decrease depending on the above considerations.
TABLE 1
Minimum variance at different resolutions for optimal results
Resolution (dpi)
75
100
150
300
600
Minimum variance
50
66
100
200
300
Variance of pixels in a region tends to increase with resolution. This is particularly true at higher resolutions where nearest neighbor down sampled data (which may be highly aliased) is used to calculate variance. Increasing the variance threshold with resolution prevents selection of blocks with spurious variance caused by borders, paper texture, noise etc.
Another variance determination method relies on a distribution formed by gathering a statistically significant amount of variance data across a broad range of images. Separate distributions d 1 and d 2 in FIG. 7 are computed for regions that have a high likelihood of successfully detecting a watermark and for regions that have a low likelihood of successfully detecting a watermark, respectively. A probability value associated with a variance for a detection block, e.g., a probability value indicating a likelihood of finding a watermark signal in a particular region having a given variance value, can then be determined for any given variance value. Thresholds can either be determined empirically, e.g., through Bayes' Rule or other hypothesis tests. This probability value is compared against a threshold or a set of thresholds to decide whether to keep the particular variance block. A look up table or software algorithm is preferably used to implement the distribution shown in FIG. 7 . Note that the distributions shown in FIG. 7 are for illustrative purposes only. Indeed, the actual distribution could be different, e.g., multi-modal, non-Gaussian or a mixture of Gaussians. Also, the principles discussed with respect to FIG. 7 can be extended to other metrics as well (e.g., variance and edges) to form multivariate distributions.
To create the distributions shown in FIG. 7 , where a probability of finding a watermark signal is graphed in relation to variance, a statistically significant number of variance values are determined from a respective number of sampled variance detection blocks. Each of the sampled variance detection blocks is read to determine whether it contains a watermark signal. This detection data is used to generate the probability distribution curves for given variances.
While there is a low probability that areas with a very low variation in luminance contain watermark data, there is also a low probability that certain areas, which have a very high variance in luminance, contain watermark data. For example, the area in row c column 6 contains the border between black area 11 and the remainder of the image. In areas such as the area at row c column 6 , the variance in luminance would be high due to the edge effect; however, the high variance in luminance in an area such as row c column 6 would not indicate a high probability of finding watermark data. In a region such as row c column 6 the “edginess spread” is low. If a region has a low “edginess spread”, the probability of finding watermark data is relatively low.
Thus, after the regions with high luminance variation values are found, those regions are tested to determine “edginess spread”. That is, to locate regions where the variance is concentrated along a division between regions each of which have a low variance. Regions where variance in luminance is concentrated along a division between regions, each of which has a low variance in luminance, are said to have a low edginess spread.
In one embodiment, edginess is found by filtering the data with an edge operator such as a Laplacian operator or filter, which examines the pixels surrounding each pixel to calculate a New Pixel Intensity value (designated NPI value) and edginess spread value (ES) according to the following equations:
NPI=Abs Value(4×Intensity−(sum of intensities of pixels above,below,right and left)), where “Abs Value” means “take Absolute value of”.
Calculate an NNPI value for each pixel as follows:
NNPI = 1 if NPI exceeds a T 1 ; and = 0 if NPI is less than or equal to T 1. ES= (Sum of NNPI for all pixels)/total number of pixels, where T 1 is a “threshold” with a value selected to be near the average value of NPI.
The above calculation gives a second value (ES or edginess spread) for each region. The luminance variance value and the edginess-spread value are then combined to give a “probability index” which indicates the probability of finding a watermark in a particular region. Alternatively, a difference operator (e.g., a Sobel operator, etc.) could be used to account for both variance and edginess.
In another embodiment, edginess is determined by evaluating some of a pixel's (or area's) neighbors in comparison to that pixel. For example, a difference in graylevels (or color data) between neighboring pixels is compared to determine an edge or edginess value. With reference to FIG. 8 , area x is compared to its horizontal (h) neighbor and vertical neighbor (v) to determine an edginess count. For a comparison with horizontal neighbor h, an edginess count is preferably incremented when:
x−h>T E , where T E is an edginess threshold, and x and h are a measure of their respective pixel (or area) graylevel.
Similarly, for a comparison with vertical neighbor v, the edginess count is incremented when:
x−v>T E , where v is also a measure of its respective pixel graylevel.
This process can be repeated for some or all of the areas within the edginess determination block 20 . When area x is positioned at a boundary (e.g., pixel a) of block 20 , the neighboring h pixel is preferably zero (0). Alternatively, a pixel value outside of block 20 that is located in the horizontal position h is used.
The total edginess count for block 20 can be compared against a predetermined number to determine whether to further use block 20 in the watermark detection process. Or the edginess count can be used to rank various edginess determination blocks. Of course this process can be modified without deviating from the scope of our invention. For example, instead of sampling a left horizontal neighbor, a right horizontal neighbor can be sampled. And instead of looking down to the vertical neighbor, a neighbor above can be sampled. In another case, a pixel x is compared to several horizontal neighbors and to several vertical neighbors, or even diagonal neighbors. Also, the illustrated edginess detection block 20 need not be limited to a 3×3 area as shown. Indeed, the block area can be increased (e.g., to an 8×8 through 64×64 area).
This process can be repeated for some or all blocks through out an image.
There are many factors to consider when determining an edginess threshold value. Since the edginess factor helps determine where the variance is coming from, a low edge count may indicate that the variance is confined to a small image region. In contrast, a large edge count may indicate that variance is distributed throughout an image region. A lenient threshold, e.g., 0-2 (or a difference of 0-2 graylevels between adjacent pixels to constitute an edge), will allow influence from random noise or from small image variations. A larger edginess threshold (e.g., 2-8) may include influence from a watermark signal. Increasing the edginess threshold may also reduce sensitivity to spurious edges caused by borders, paper texture, scanner backgrounds and noise. There is a tradeoff, however, since a larger threshold may miss a watermark signal embedded at a low strength. These same factors can be considered to determine an appropriate edginess count threshold.
In another embodiment, the edge threshold is resolution dependent, meaning the edge threshold changes are based on sample resolution. In still another embodiment, an edginess threshold is determined based on image characteristics. In this case, the edginess threshold adapts to the image (or scanner) characteristics. In yet another embodiment, the variance and/or edge threshold is adaptively determined by the size of the image or the available processing power/memory.
Another edginess method that is particularly useful to detect diagonal edges is now discussed. A horizontal map and a vertical map are determined based on pixel values in a edginess detection block. These maps are generated by determining those areas (or pixels) that have sufficient differences in graylevels when compared to neighboring pixels. The horizontal map is constructed using the horizontal techniques discussed above with respect to FIG. 8 . High graylevel difference areas are designated as 1 (see FIG. 9 a ). A vertical map is constructed using the same vertical techniques as discussed above with respect to FIG. 8 . High graylevel difference areas are designated as 1 (see FIG. 9 b ). The horizontal and vertical maps are then combined (e.g., with a Boolean “OR” operation or other combination technique) on a per pixel basis. The resulting map is used as the edge map ( FIG. 9 c ). The edginess count of the new map ( FIG. 9 c ) is counted to determine a total edginess count for the edginess detection area. The edginess counts obtained by this method are more robust with respect to distortions caused by operation such as image rotation.
The luminance variance value and the edginess-spread value can be combined in a number of ways to obtain a numeric probability index that a region can contain watermark data. For example the values can be combined as follows:
Probability index=((variance value)/100)+10(edginess value)
Table 2 is an example of a probability index, which results from a number of different values of luminance variation, and a number of values of edginess spread.
TABLE 2
Probability Index
Variance
Edginess
Probability
value
value
Index
300
7
10
500
2
7
700
9
16
In the above example, the region with the probability index of 16 would be examined first, followed by the region with an index of 10. Regions with an index value of less than 10 would only be examined if the other regions that are examined do not result in the detection of watermark data of sufficient reliability.
It is noted that the equation for combining the values of luminance variation and edginess to obtain the probability index for a region was determined empirically. The equation given above does not take into account the magnitude of the change in luminance across an edge. The following equation for calculating edginess spread takes into account the magnitude of the change in luminance across an edge.
ES =(Sum of NPI for all pixels that exceed T 1/total number of pixels).
By testing the success obtained with different groups of images of interest which have different characteristics one can determine which equation gives the best results for images with a particular set of characteristics.
In other embodiments, we do not combine the edginess and variance factors in the manner discussed above. Instead, detection blocks are selected if they meet both the threshold edginess and/or variance factors. Or variance and edginess may be used together or separately and/or in combination with the other probability factors discussed herein.
It is noted that U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/074,034 filed May 6, 1998 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,377) describes a technique for inserting watermarks into a lined image by varying the width of the lines to indicate watermark data. The present invention would still produce satisfactory results with watermarks of the type described in the above referenced application. The reason is that the line widths in a typical image, which uses the technique described in the above application, have a width significantly smaller than the size of a pixel in an image from a typical 300 or 600 DPI scanner. The edginess measurement detected by the present invention relates to edges between regions, each of which are wider than a single pixel.
The present invention can optionally utilize additional filtering to enhance the possibility of finding watermark data in the regions selected for further processing by the above-described technique. A flow diagram showing how the additional filtering is performed is shown in FIG. 5 . The additional steps shown in FIG. 5 facilitate the detection of watermark data in those regions selected for further processing by the steps shown in FIG. 4 .
In the process shown in FIG. 5 , regions that have a high probability of carrying watermark data are selected for further processing as described above. However with the steps shown in FIG. 5 , the regions selected for further processing are filtered prior to the detection step in order to enhance the detection process. The filtering enhances the probability that watermark data (if present) will be detected when a region is later processed in a normal or conventional manner to find a watermark. The filtering is done in two steps. First as indicated by block 52 , a high pass filter (e.g. a Laplacian operator) is applied to the data. Next as indicated by block 55 a non-linear operator (e.g. signum function) is applied to the filtered data. Finally the data is processed in a conventional manner to detect the watermark data.
The first step passes the data from a region through a filter with high pass or edge detection characteristics. For example a Laplacian (or Sobel or Roberts, etc) operator can be applied to each block that was selected for further processing. In the specific embodiment shown here, the high pass filter computes a new intensity value at each pixel in the block as follows:
Filtered intensity=(Old intensity)−(average intensity of the 8 neighbors of the pixel)
The second step applies a nonlinear operator (e.g., a signum operator etc) to the filtered output of the high pass or edge detection filter. The filtered intensity (FI) of each pixel calculated as given above is modified as follows:
New Intensity = a if ( FI > T 1 ) ; = b if ( T 2 <= FI <= T 1 ) ; and = c if ( FI < T 2 ) ,
where: a, b, and c are values, and T1 and T2 are thresholds selected to implement a specific nonlinear operator.
In the specific embodiment shown herein a signum function is used to calculate a new intensity for each pixel according to the following equation:
New
Intensity
=
1
if
(
Filtered
intensity
>
0
)
=
0
if
(
Filtered
intensity
=
0
)
=
-
1
if
(
Filtered
intensity
<
0
)
The high pass filter attenuates the low frequencies and amplifies the contribution from the higher frequencies in each block. The contribution to the low frequencies is mostly from the host image content. Higher frequencies from the watermark signal are amplified. The nonlinear operation in effect whitens the noise caused by the host image content in the frequency domain, increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the watermark signal.
It is noted as described above, a two-dimensional high pass filter is first applied to the data and then the non-linear operator is applied to the result. With many types of images better detection can be achieved by applying a one dimensional high pass filter in the horizontal direction, applying the non linear operator to that result, applying a one dimensional high pass filter in the vertical direction, applying the non linear operator to that result, and then summing the two partial results. With other types of images better results can be achieved by applying the one-dimensional high pass filters in various other directions.
Since some watermarking programs redundantly embed watermark data in multiple blocks in an image, in order to further enhance the ability to detect the watermark data from such programs the following technique can be used. Following the non-linear filtering operation, the power spectrum of several blocks can be added together. Due to the redundant embedding, the watermark frequencies repeat through several blocks, the power at those frequencies adds up if the power spectrum of several blocks is added together. The image frequencies from block to block are generally non-repetitive and hence they get averaged out when the power spectrum of several blocks are added together. The power spectrum that results from adding together the power spectrum from several blocks contains a higher signal-to-noise ratio watermark signal. The power spectrum can then be more easily correlated with the power spectrum of the watermark.
A system for practicing one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 . The system includes a conventional computer 60 with an associated display 61 , an associated document scanner 62 and an associated printer 63 . The computer 60 , display 61 , scanner 62 and printer 63 are conventional components of personal computer systems such as those marketed by vendors such Compact Computer Company, Dell Computer Company, Gateway Computer Corp. etc.
One embodiment of the present invention is practiced under control of programs A, B and C, which are stored in computer 60 . Program A is a conventional watermark detection program. Program A processes regions of an image to locate watermark data after program B selects the regions of the image which should be processed and program C filters the data from such regions.
Programs which process the pixels in an image to locate watermark data are included in such commercially available programs as the program entitled “Photoshop” which is marketed by Adobe Corporation or the program “Corell DRAW” which is marketed by Corel Corporation, or the program “Micrografx Picture Publisher” which is marketed by Micrografx Corporation. Such programs divide an image into regions and process each region in order to detect the presence of watermark data. With the present invention the same mechanism is used to process the data from each region of an image; however, all the regions of an image are not processed in order.
Program B selects regions of an image, which have a high probability of containing watermark data by first selecting regions that have a high variation in luminance, and a high amount of edginess spread as previously described. Program C filters the regions selected for further processing using the two steps process previously described.
In the embodiment of the invention described above, program 51 (shown in FIG. 5 ) which selects blocks for further processing merely indicates to the subsequent filtering program which blocks should be processed further. The block selection program could be used to acquire other information about the various blocks in the image. Such additional information could be passed to the filtering programs shown in block 53 and 55 and to the watermark detection program indicated by block 57 to quickly tune these programs to the characteristics of the image in particular regions.
The present invention includes a wide range of additional probability factors. A probability factor can be viewed as a selection criteria or rule that is used to identify those regions in an image which have a high likelihood of including a watermark signal. These image regions generally include image characteristics that are conducive to (or indicative of) hiding or carrying a watermark signal. Or these image regions may be located in a particular advantageous area, or may include significant signal strength. Probability factors are used to select a plurality of detection blocks, which are image regions identified as having a relatively high probability of including a watermark signal. Variance and edginess are just a few of our inventive probability factors. There are many more.
Consider an embodiment in which detection blocks (or areas) float, instead of being sequentially arranged as in FIG. 2 . Allowing detection blocks to float to various image regions and, optionally, to overlap with other detection blocks, allows for improved detection of off-centered watermarks. Moreover centering a detection block on an image region, which includes characteristics that may indicate a region of high detection probability, can help to reduce watermark signal estimation error—such as rotation and scale error—particularly if a captured region is approximately centered in a floating detection block. A floating detection block is illustrated with reference to an image (or image portion) 30 shown in FIGS. 10 a and 10 b . In FIG. 10 a image 30 is sequentially segmented into detection regions (e.g., a, b, c and d). For this example region 31 is assumed to include characteristics indicating a high probability of containing a watermark signal. Region 31 is off centered with respect to the sequential detection blocks a, b, c and d shown in FIG. 10 a . Accordingly, a watermark detector may not successfully detect the presence of a watermark signal. Detection chances are improved if a detection block 32 ( FIG. 10 b ) is allowed to float in order to enclose a larger portion of region 31 . Centering floating detection block 32 on region 31 allows for a higher probability of detection and lowers watermark signal rotation estimation error. Although FIG. 10 b encloses the entire region 31 , it may not always be possible to do so, depending on a floating detection block size.
FIG. 10 c shows a plurality of floating detection blocks, illustrated by dashed lines, which are arranged over an image or image portion 34 . Preferably, a floating detection block is positioned in a region that has high probability characteristics, e.g., such as having adequate variance and edginess or based on other probability factors discussed herein. A floating block can be centered on or otherwise positioned around such a high probability region. In one embodiment, a detection block covers a larger region of the image than does the respective blocks used to determine variance and edginess. A variance block size may also be larger than an edginess block size, or vice versa.
In order to increase the effectiveness of a plurality of floating detection blocks, additional probability factors can be used to arrange or position the blocks over an image. Since these probability factors often involve a compromise between processing efficiency and memory considerations, a fixed number of detection blocks can be selected in some embodiments. The fixed number of detection blocks can be divided into subsets. For example, a first subset of detections blocks can be processed according to probability factors that maximize the detection of a digital watermark synchronization or orientation signal. Or the first subset can be selected to identify the rotation and/or scale of a watermark signal. Or the first subset can be selected based solely on processing speed requirements. A second subset of detection blocks can be processed using different criteria, e.g., to maximize detection of a message payload or signal translation, or to balance memory constraints.
Several competing factors are preferably balanced to achieve an optimal number of members for each detection subset. First is a consideration that a watermark signal may be embedded in the image with a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A low SNR is sometimes used with digital watermarks to minimize visibility of an embedded watermark signal. Second is a consideration of detection time constraints that are often placed to establish a maximum time to determine whether an image includes a watermark signal. This constraint suggests that a fewer number of blocks should be examined. In contrast, there is often a need to accurately detect the watermark signal, which suggests that more blocks should be examined. If time and memory limitations were not a concern, this later approach would almost certainly be preferable. Yet a watermark system designer is faced with real world constraints. Accordingly, a watermark detection system preferably balances such considerations when determining an optimal number of detection blocks, and whether to allocate such detection blocks into a first and second subsets. For an 8½×11 inch, 100 dpi image that is segmented into 128×128 blocks, the number of detection blocks preferably falls within a range of 12-48 blocks. More preferably, the number of detection blocks falls within a range of 26-36 blocks. These blocks can be allocated into a first and second subset as mentioned above to balance various system requirements. Of course, these ranges many vary depending on block size, resolution, image size, and image characteristics.
In one embodiment, a first subset of detection blocks is used to determine whether a watermark signal is even embedded within the image, e.g., through the detection of a watermark component such as an orientation or synchronization signal. The presence of a watermark component announces the presence of a watermark within the image with a high certainty. If no watermark component signal is found during the examination of the first subset, the image is preferably deemed unmarked and is likely rejected. As a result it is important that the first subset of detection blocks collectively contain enough watermark signal to be able to detect a watermark component signal, if present. In many watermark designs, the coverage or placement of a watermark within an image is small. Visibility requirements may force the digital watermark to be embedded in regions with diverse characteristics. Accordingly, we have found that it is advantageous to increase the block coverage (e.g., decrease detection block overlap for floating blocks) for the first subset of blocks in order to increase the chance of locating a watermark component.
In particular, we established a proximity metric (one of our probability factors) to help ensure broad coverage for the first subset of detection blocks. A minimum “city-block” distance between centers of selected detection blocks is set, and is preferably in a range of 2-8 city-block centers. (The centers of detection blocks x and y, along with additional blocks, are represented by hexagon-shaped dots in FIG. 11 . The city block distance between blocks x and y is 4). Additional criteria can be set to further ensure broad detection block coverage in the first subset. For example, a minimum diagonal distance between block centers can be established. Preferably, the minimum diagonal distance is in a range of 2-6 blocks. (The diagonal distance between blocks x and z is 3 as shown in FIG. 11 ).
A second set of proximity metrics can be used to regulate overlap for the second subset of detection blocks. In some embodiments it is advantageous to increase block overlap in the second subset to help focus watermark detection efforts on high probability image areas. Accordingly, the city block distance and diagonal requirements can be decreased. For the second subset, the minimum city-block distance between centers of selected blocks is preferably in a range of 1-4 block centers, and the minimum diagonal distance is in a range of 1-3 block centers.
Of course, for both the first and second subsets, the city block distances and diagonal requirements can vary depending on resolution, image characteristics, scanner error and characteristics, performance vs. efficiency compromises, memory requirements, etc. Also, instead of being measured from the center of a block, such distances can be measured from an edge, corner, off-center location, etc.
In some embodiments, a detection block is segmented into subblocks, and the proximity metrics discussed above can be imposed on the segmented subblocks.
In one embodiment, detection blocks in the first subset are weighted according to their probability of including those characteristics likely to support (or hide) a watermark signal. Higher probability blocks are more heavily weighted. Blocks with a lower weighting are dropped (or conferred to secondarily) when determining the presence of a watermark signal. For example, consider a first subset that contains 10 detection blocks. Blocks 1 - 7 may collectively represent 90% of the weighting, leaving a collective 10% weight for blocks 8 - 10 . Blocks 1 - 7 are used as the primary detection blocks in the first subset, while blocks 8 - 10 are discarded or held in reserve. Blocks 1 - 7 are then analyzed to detect a watermark signal. This same type of weighting can be applied to the second subset for detection of a watermark signal. In one embodiment, the weighting is determined by estimating the signal-to-noise ratio in each block. This estimate is used to rank (or weight) the blocks.
Requiring a minimum variance separation between selected detection blocks can be used to improve detection block selection. This probability factor forces some or all of the selected detection blocks to differ in variance from other selected detection blocks. Requiring a minimum variance separation can be a significant factor since when a large number of selected blocks have the same or similar variance, it often indicates that the selected blocks are either from the image's background or are focused in small regions of the image. A minimum variance separation has the effect of spreading out the blocks—lessening the effect of background or small region influence. Of course, a threshold can be selected to maximize the effect of such a minimum separation requirement. And, as discussed above, the variance separation threshold may be selected to vary according to image characteristics or resolution—creating an adaptive threshold value.
Another probability factor establishes a “keep away” zone 36 near the borders of an image. (See FIG. 12 , in which the hashed area indicates the keep away zone 36 ). Detection blocks preferably are not selected if centered within this keep away zone 36 . The result is to slightly pull the block centers away from the scan borders. The motivation for this improvement is to reduce the sensitivity of edges caused by borders, scanner error, image misalignment and/or noise. Experimentally, we have found that a significant benefit is seldom received from blocks that are centered at an image border. Preferably, the keep away zone is in a range of 1-4 city block centers from the image border. Of course this distance can be expanded according to specific implementations and to image, scanner and/or border characteristics.
Yet another probability factor is our “good neighbor” rule, which is particularly beneficial for images at higher resolutions. The good neighbor rule ensures that neighboring regions also have good variance/edge characteristics so that detection block selection can be focused on regions that have a higher likelihood of containing a watermark signal. The good neighbor rule helps to prevent selection of isolated regions that have good variance/edge characteristics. The reasoning is that a watermark is not usually found in isolated regions. And even if a watermark is found, such an isolated region may not necessarily contribute towards successful watermark detection.
The good neighbor rule provides that detection blocks neighboring a selected detection block meet established minimum variance and/or edge count requirements. Consider FIG. 13 , which illustrates a detection block neighborhood including blocks 1 - 9 . If block 5 is preliminary selected as a detection block, then a threshold number of neighboring blocks (blocks 1 - 4 and 6 - 9 ) should meet the variance and/or edge count requirements. These threshold values can be determined based on precision vs. efficiency requirements of a detection application. Moreover, isolated regions can be better filtered out when the threshold value is increased (e.g., all or a majority of neighbors meet the thresholds). Preferably, between 4-8 neighbors must meet each of these edge and variance requirements before a central neighbor block is selected. Of course, this range can be varied according to precision required.
In some embodiments, an image is segmented into subblocks, which are smaller than the detection blocks. The good neighbor rule can be applied to these smaller blocks to help better filter out isolated regions of high variance and edginess.
Another probability factor helps to ensure that if a sufficient number of detection blocks have not been found, the variance thresholds (and optionally the proximity metrics discussed above) are reset to lower values and the search for acceptable blocks is repeated. Resetting the thresholds is particularly advantageous when an image is small (in which case, the city-block distance requirements discussed above may prevent further blocks from being selected) or when the image contrast has been reduced.
Still another probability factor relies on color saturation in a detection block. The color saturation level for a block is determined and then compared with a predetermined threshold level. If the saturation level is above the threshold, the block is selected or ranked. The higher the color saturation level, the higher ranking the block receives. In one embodiment, the saturation value is weighted (or combined) with other probability factors, e.g., edginess and variance. The collective metric is used to select a detection block.
With reference to FIG. 14 , a selection module 42 implementing some or all of the above described probability factors is described in relation to an embodiment of a watermarking detection system. An image 40 is presented for watermark detection. Image 40 is preferably color converted and down-sampled in module 41 . The color-converted image is then presented to selection module 42 . Selection module 42 selects a plurality of detection blocks, which have a relatively high probability of including a watermark signal embedded therein, according to some or all of the probability factors discussed herein. The selection module 42 generates a list of selected detection blocks 43 . The selected detection blocks 43 are processed, e.g., color converted, anti-aliased, and down-sampled, in processing module 44 . Detection module 45 searches a first subset of the selected (and processed) detection blocks for a watermark component (e.g., an orientation signal) and/or to determine rotation, scale, differential scale, and/or shear from a detected watermark component. These detection results can be passed to the translation module 46 . Translation and message detection are carried out in modules 46 and 47 , respectively, from a second subset (and optionally the first subset) of the selected (and processed) detection blocks, preferably only when detection module 45 detects a watermark component in the first subset. The first subset of blocks can be optionally passed to translation and message detection modules 46 and 47 .
CONCLUSION
The foregoing are just exemplary implementations of the present invention. It will be recognized that there are a great number of variations on these basic themes. The foregoing illustrates but a few applications of the detailed technology. There are many others.
It is noted that while the previously described embodiments discuss application of the present invention to images, the present invention is not so limited. Instead, the present invention can likewise be applied to other types of media such as video and audio.
While many probability factors have been disclosed above, it should be appreciated that not all of these factors need to be employed in a single embodiment. Instead, a selection process may only include one, several or all of the above noted factors.
It should be appreciated that the various image blocks shown in the drawings are for illustrative purposes only. The block and image sizes can be varied without deviating from the scope of the present invention.
As an alternative embodiment, all of the first and second detection block subsets mentioned use the same probability factors, rather than using different factors.
To provide a comprehensive disclosure without unduly lengthening this specification, the above-mentioned patents and patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference. The particular combinations of elements and features in the above-detailed embodiments are exemplary only; the interchanging and substitution of these teachings with other teachings in this application and the incorporated-by-reference patents/applications are expressly contemplated.
The above-described methods, systems and functionality can be facilitated with computer executable software stored on computer readable media, such as electronic memory circuits, RAM, ROM, magnetic media, optical media, memory sticks, hard disks, removable media, etc., etc. Such software may be stored and executed on a general-purpose computer, or on a server for distributed use. Data structures representing the various luminance values, variance metrics, edginess factors, probability factors or methods, image signals, watermark signals, etc., may also be stored on such computer readable media. Also, instead of software, a hardware implementation, or a software-hardware implementation can be used.
In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles and features discussed above can be applied, it should be apparent that the detailed embodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, we claim as our invention all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereof.
|
The present invention generally relates to processing audio, video and images. One claim recites a method including: obtaining media signal comprising a steganographic signal hidden therein; utilizing a programmed electronic processor, selecting portions of the media signal for steganographic signal detection, wherein the subset of the media signal is selected based on at least one or more predetermined probability factors, in which a probability factor comprises a selection criteria or rule to identify portions of the media signal which have a higher likelihood of including a steganographic signal relative to other portions of the media signal; and utilizing a programmed electronic processor, analyzing selected portions of the media signal to obtain the steganographic signal. Of course, other claims and combinations are provided as well.
| 7
|
BACKGROUND
1. Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates in general to a method of detecting subterranean bed boundaries using interferometric processing. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to interferometric processing of low frequency resistivity log data to locate a subterranean bed boundary during earth boring procedures.
2. Description of Prior Art
A resistivity measurement is one typical subterranean formation evaluation procedure where a log of the resistivity adjacent a wellbore is measured. Formation resistivity is a function of any fluids trapped within the subterranean formation. Thus resistivity is often measured to identify where water and/or hydrocarbon are present in the formation. Changes in resistivity in a subterranean formation can be abrupt and define a bed boundary. Resistivity can be measured with a wireline tool or a logging while drilling (LWD) tool. Measuring resistivity with a galvanic (DC) resistivity device typically involves forming an electrical potential in the formation and measuring a voltage between voltage measuring electrodes of the device. In an induction measurement device, magnetic flux/magnetic field is induced in the formation by the current in the transmitter; which induces a measured voltage in a receiver of the tool spaced axially from the transmitter. However, during LWD operations, there is a desire to “look ahead” so as to avoid drilling across bed boundaries or faults, as well as any subterranean geological hazard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Disclosed herein is an example of a method of interferometric processing for looking ahead of a tool to measure distance to a bed boundary, and resistivity of a formation beyond the bed boundary. In an example, a method of investigating a subterranean formation using interferometric processing includes providing a tool string in a borehole that intersects the subterranean formation, providing a first current at a first location in the tool string that has a frequency of up to about 50 kHz and that induces a magnetic field in the formation, and measuring a first voltage along a receiver antenna at a second location in the tool string that is induced by the magnetic field in the formation, measuring a second voltage along a receiver antenna that is induced by the magnetic field in the formation and that is at a third location in the tool string which is spaced a distance from the first location that exceeds a distance from the first location to an end of the tool string proximate a bottom of the borehole. The method further includes estimating voltages based on the measured first and second voltages and identifying a bed boundary that is spaced away from a bottom of the borehole where a difference in the estimated voltages exceeds a threshold value. The method can also estimate a distance to the bed boundary as well as the resistivity of the formation beyond the bed boundary. In an example, the first voltage is measured by a first receiver in the tool string and the second voltage is measured by a second receiver in the tool string. Alternatively, the first current has a frequency of up to about 20 kHz. The second and third locations can be equidistantly spaced and on opposite sides of the first location. In this example, the distance from the second and third locations from the first location ranges up to around 50 feet. The tool string can further include a drill bit for forming the wellbore. In this example, the method can also include steering the drill bit in the formation based on the step of identifying the bed boundary.
Also provided herein is a method of investigating a subterranean formation that involves providing a tool string in a borehole that intersects the subterranean formation, providing a current in the tool string at a first location in the tool string and that has a frequency of up to about 50 kHz and that induces a current in the formation, and estimating one of a complex voltage with amplitude (magnitude) and the phase induced by the current in the formation at upper and lower locations in the tool string disposed on opposing sides of the first location and that are spaced apart from the first location at substantially the same distance. The method further includes identifying a bed boundary that is spaced away from a bottom of the borehole based on one of a difference (or a ratio of the voltage amplitudes) between voltage amplitudes estimated at the upper and lower locations, and a difference between phases estimated at the upper and lower locations. The upper and lower locations can be axially spaced from the first location at distances substantially equal to one another. In one example, the borehole has a deviated section. A bit can optionally be provided on a bottom of the tool string for forming the borehole. This example of the method further includes steering the bit based on the step of identifying the bed boundary. In one embodiment, voltage is measured at the lower location with a lower receiver and measuring voltage at the upper location with an upper receiver, and wherein when voltages measured by the upper and lower voltages begin to differ, a lower end of the tool string is spaced away from the bed boundary.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Some of the features and benefits of the present invention having been stated, others will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side partial sectional view of an example embodiment of a logging while drilling (LWD) system on a drill string forming a borehole and in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a side partial sectional view of an example of the LWD system and drill string of FIG. 1 shown approaching a bed boundary in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2B is a side partial sectional view of an example of an embodiment of LWD system and drill string shown approaching a bed boundary in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are interferometric graphical examples of a voltage response measured in a borehole with the LWD system of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are interferometric graphical examples of a phase response measured in a borehole with the LWD system of FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are interferometric graphical examples of voltage responses measured using the LWD system of FIG. 2 , with different resistivity ratios across bed boundaries in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are interferometric graphical examples of voltage responses measured using the LWD system of FIG. 2 , with different resistivity ratios across bed boundaries in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 7-11 are interferometric graphical examples of voltage responses measured using the LWD system of FIG. 2 , with different resistivity ratios across bed boundaries in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 12 and 13 are nomograms that provide graphical examples of correlating voltage responses measured using different tool parameters and in accordance with the present invention.
While the invention will be described in connection with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
The method and system of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which embodiments are shown. The method and system of the present disclosure may be in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
It is to be further understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, exact materials, or embodiments shown and described, as modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art. In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed illustrative embodiments and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation.
Shown in a partial side sectional view in FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a tool string or drill string 10 shown forming a borehole 12 through a subterranean formation 14 . In the example, a drill bit 16 is provided on a lower end of the drill string 10 . An optional mud motor 18 is included in the drill string 10 and above the bit 16 . Further provided on the example of the drill string 10 of FIG. 1 are receivers 22 , 24 for receiving electromagnetic signals induced in the formation 14 . The receivers 22 , 24 are spaced axially apart on the drill string 10 and on opposite sides of a transmitter 26 . In an example, receiver 22 is spaced a distance X 1 upward from transmitter 26 and receiver 24 is spaced a distance X 2 downward from transmitter 26 . Examples exist were X 1 is substantially equal to X 2 . The transmitter 26 of FIG. 1 includes a coil or coils (not shown); that when an electrical current is provided that flows through the coil(s), a magnetic field is induced in the formation 14 . In the example of FIG. 1 , flux lines 28 are illustrated in the formation 14 that represent the magnetic field induced in the formation 14 by transmitter 26 .
The receivers 22 , 24 can sense the current in the formation 14 , e.g. the flux lines 28 . In an example, similar to the transmitter 26 , the receivers 22 , 24 include a coil or coils (not shown) in which a voltage is induced in response to the magnetic field in the formation 14 . Measuring the voltage induced along the coils of receivers 22 , 24 can yield information about the formation. An interferometric comparison, which can involve comparing measurements taken by receivers 22 , 24 , is one example of a processing technique for assessing the formation 14 . In an embodiment, an interferometric comparison includes obtaining a difference of measurements taken by receivers 22 , 24 , and in another embodiment can be a natural log of a quotient of measurements taken by receivers 22 , 24 . In an example when the receivers 22 , 24 are equidistant from the transmitter 26 , and the resistivity of the formation 14 intersected by the flux lines 28 is substantially homogeneous and distal from a bed boundary, an interferometric comparison will yield a value close or equal to zero.
Referring now to FIG. 2A , a lower end of the borehole 12 is shown proximate a bed boundary 30 in the formation 14 . As indicated above, the bed boundary 30 can be defined along changes in the physical characteristics of the formation 14 , such as a change in the amount or type of fluid content. Thus in the example of FIG. 2A , a layer 32 in the formation 14 on one side of the bed boundary 30 can have physical characteristics that are measurably different from a layer 34 of the formation 14 on an opposing side of the bed boundary 30 . As is known, the type and amount of fluid content in a formation can affect its resistivity. Further illustrated in FIG. 2A , is that the flux lines 28 emitted from the drill string 10 intersect with the bed boundary 30 , meaning some of the flux lines 28 intersect with the layers 32 , 34 on both sides of the bed boundary 30 . In this example, an inteferometric comparison of signals measured by the receivers 22 , 24 can yield a finite value. Moreover, the nature of the flux lines 28 generated in the formation 14 are such that the presence of the bed boundary 30 can be identified before the drill string 10 contacts the bed boundary 30 . Depending on the circumstances, the drilling operator can cease drilling upon identification of the bed boundary 30 . Optionally, the operator can steer the drill string 10 so the borehole 12 does not intersect the bed boundary 30 . It should be pointed out that the interferometric comparison discussed herein can be used in boreholes that are vertical, horizontal, or otherwise deviated. FIG. 2B an alternate embodiment of a downhole tool 20 A is shown having a pair of transmitters 36 , 38 and a single receiver 40 . In this example, transmitter 36 is disposed at a portion of the tool 20 A proximate the mud motor 18 or bit 16 , and transmitter 38 is on tool 20 A and distal from mud motor 18 and bit 16 . In an example, receiver 40 is on tool 20 A at or about a midpoint between transmitters 36 , 38 . In the example of FIG. 2B , transmitter 36 includes a coil or coils that when energized with a current flow induces a magnetic field in the formation 14 represented by flux lines 41 A. Similarly, a current flow through coil or coils in transmitter 38 induces a magnetic field in formation 14 represented by flux lines 41 B. Flux lines 41 A, 41 B in turn induces voltage in a coil or coils in receiver 40 that generates a measurable voltage along the coil(s). In an alternative, embodiments of the tool 20 of FIG. 2A exist having a single one of the receivers 22 , 24 . Optionally, embodiments exist of the tool 20 A of FIG. 2B having a single one of the transmitters 36 , 38 . In these optional embodiments, voltage measurements in the coil(s) of receivers 22 , 24 , 40 can be taken at first and second depths, and differences of the measured voltages can then be interferometrically processed to estimate distance from the tool 20 , 20 A to a bed boundary.
FIG. 3A graphically represents an example of an interferometric processing of voltages measured by an alternate embodiment of an imaging tool 20 A. In the example of FIG. 3A , a schematic example of alternate imaging tool 20 A is shown that includes transmitters 36 , 38 respectively on its lower and upper ends and receiver 40 between transmitters 36 , 38 . For the purposes of discussion herein, transmitter 36 can be referred to as a lower transmitter and transmitter 38 as an upper transmitter. In one example, the receiver 40 is disposed at substantially a midpoint between the transmitters 36 , 38 so that the tool 20 A is symmetrical. The abscissa of the graph of FIG. 3A represents distance in feet from receiver 40 to a bed boundary, and the ordinate represents a measured/induced voltage at the receiver 40 when the transmitters 36 , 38 are respectively fired. The negative values on the ordinate represent a distance above or before the bed boundary, whereas the positive values reflect a distance below or past the bed boundary. In an example, the bed boundary defines a change of resistivity in the formation from about 10 Ohm-m to about 1 Ohm-m. Curves 42 , 44 represent voltage responses respectively from the transmitters 36 , 38 .
FIG. 3B also has an abscissa representing distance in feet from the bed boundary, and an ordinate that represents a voltage response. A difference is that FIG. 3B illustrates a single curve 46 which represents the difference between curves 42 , 44 , and thus depicts a difference in the voltage responses of the transmitters 36 , 38 .
Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B , graphical representations of phase responses are provided for the transmitters 36 , 38 of the tool 20 A. Each of FIGS. 4A and 4B have an abscissa representing distance in feet from the bed boundary to receiver 40 , and an ordinate representing the phase of the induced signal at receiver 40 . FIG. 4A includes curves 48 , 50 that respectively represent phase responses from transmitters 36 , 38 . Similar to FIG. 3B , FIG. 4B provides a single curve 52 that illustrates differences in phase responses with respect to depth in the borehole in which the tool 20 A is disposed. Accordingly, as with the interferometric processing of recorded voltage response data depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B , interferometric processing of recorded phase response data can indicate the presence of a bed boundary in a formation and in the path of the oncoming drill string well before the drill string encounters the bed boundary. The forward looking information thus allows evasive or corrective action on the part of the drill string operator.
In the example of FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIGS. 4A and 4B , the distance between the transmitters 36 , 38 is at about 100 feet, thus putting the transmitters 36 , 38 at an offset from the receiver 40 at around 50 feet. Also, the frequency of the signal generated in the tool 20 A ranges up to and includes about 20 kHz. However, embodiments exist wherein the present method can be employed wherein the offset between the transmitters 36 , 38 and receiver 40 is at about 40 feet, or can be up to around 100 feet, or in excess of hundreds of feet. Note that in the example graphs, the delay in detected response of the transmitters 36 , 38 is substantially the same as the offset from the receiver 40 . Optional embodiments exist wherein the present method can be employed wherein the frequency of the signal generated in the tool 20 A ranges up to and includes about 50 kHz. From FIG. 3A the magnitude of curve 44 , which represents the voltage response of the lower transmitter 36 , begins to decrease starting at about 75 feet from the bed boundary. Thus the boundary may be detected when the lower transmitter 36 is about 25 feet in front of the bed boundary at the interface of adjacent formations having different values of resistivity. The voltage difference is discernible in FIG. 3B , where the bed boundary can be detected when the receiver 40 is 80 feet from the bed boundary, or when the lower transmitter 36 is about 30 feet from the bed boundary. Further evident in FIGS. 3A and 3B is how the detecting distance is significantly shorter by more than 10 feet in the conductive 1 Ohm-m layer in this example. Yet further illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 4B , is how a slope of the phase response of curve 52 is much steeper than the slope or curve of the voltage response of curve 46 .
FIGS. 5A and 5B are graphical examples of voltage responses at the transmitters 36 , 38 for multiple changes in formation resistivity along a boundary bed, where the abscissa for these graphs has units in feet and the ordinate has units in voltage. More specifically, curves 54 , 58 , and 62 represent a voltage response at the forward or lower transmitter 36 , and curves 56 , 60 , and 64 represent a voltage response at the rear or upper transmitter 38 . Curves 54 and 56 represent voltage responses recorded where a resistivity above the boundary layer is at about 10 Ohm-m and resistivity below the boundary layer is at about 2 Ohm-m. Curves 58 and 60 represent voltage responses recorded where a resistivity above the boundary layer is at about 10 Ohm-m and resistivity below the boundary layer is at about 1 Ohm-m. Curves 62 and 64 represent voltage responses recorded where a resistivity above the boundary layer is at about 10 Ohm-m and resistivity below the boundary layer is at about 0.5 Ohm-m. As with FIGS. 3A-4B above, the bed boundary is represented at a value of 0 on the abscissa. Further in the example of FIGS. 5A and 5B , the frequency of the signal generated in the tool 20 A is about 20 kHz.
FIGS. 6A and 6B include graphical examples of voltage responses that are similar to those represented in FIGS. 5A and 5B . One difference between the responses is that the formation resistivities in FIGS. 6A and 6B are different from those represented in FIGS. 5A and 5B . Specifically referring to FIG. 6A , curves 72 , 76 , and 80 represent a voltage response at the forward or lower transmitter 36 , and curves 74 , 78 , and 82 represent a voltage response at the rear or upper transmitter 38 . Curves 72 and 74 represent voltage responses recorded where a resistivity above the boundary layer is at about 20 Ohm-m and resistivity below the boundary layer is at about 1 Ohm-m. Curves 76 and 78 represent voltage responses recorded where a resistivity above the boundary layer is at about 10 Ohm-m and resistivity below the boundary layer is at about 1 Ohm-m. Curves 80 and 82 represent voltage responses recorded where a resistivity above the boundary layer is at about 5 Ohm-m and resistivity below the boundary layer is at about 1 Ohm-m. The examples of FIGS. 5A and 6A indicate that magnitudes of differences in voltage responses between the transmitters 36 , 38 increase with larger resistivity contrasts across the bed boundary. Moreover, as depicted in the example of FIG. 6A , the bed boundary can be detected at a greater distance when resistivity ratios are greater. Similar to the examples of FIGS. 5A and 5B , the frequency of the signal generated in the tool 20 A is about 20 kHz.
In FIGS. 7-10 , curves are provided graphically illustrate examples of differences in voltage responses (also referred to herein optionally as attenuation) between the lower transmitter 36 and upper transmitter 38 on the tool 20 A. Referring to FIG. 7 , curves 92 , 94 , 96 represent differences in voltage responses of the transmitters 36 , 38 where the resistivity ratios across the boundary layer are 10:0.5, 10:1, and 10:2 respectively. In FIG. 7 , the formation above the boundary bed is 10 Ohm-m. Curves 98 , 100 , 102 of FIG. 8 represent differences in voltage responses of the transmitters 36 , 38 where the resistivity ratios across the boundary layer are 20:1, 10:1, and 5:1 respectively. In FIG. 8 , the formation below the boundary bed is 1 Ohm-m. The frequency of the signal generated in the tool 20 A of FIGS. 7 and 8 is about 50 kHz and the distance between the receiver 40 and transmitters 36 , 38 is about 50 feet.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show differences in voltage response of transmitters 36 , 38 , where the frequency is at about 20 kHz and the offset between the receiver 40 and transmitters 36 , 38 is about 40 feet. Specifically with regard to FIG. 9 , curves 104 , 106 , 108 represent differences in voltage responses of the transmitters 36 , 38 where the resistivity ratios across the boundary layer are 10:0.5, 10:1, and 10:2 respectively. In FIG. 10 , curves 110 , 112 , 114 represent differences in voltage responses of the transmitters 36 , 38 where the resistivity ratios across the boundary layer are 20:1, 10:1, and 5:1 respectively.
FIGS. 12 and 13 include nomograms with curves generated from values of correlated measured voltage differences of some of the above described figures. More specifically, curve 122 of FIG. 12 represents corresponding voltages differences of curve 66 of FIG. 5B (on the abscissa) and curve 92 of FIG. 7 (on the ordinate), The corresponding abscissa and ordinate values for generating curve 122 are taken from the same depth. In an example, from FIG. 5B at about a distance of 20 feet above the bed boundary, curve 66 has a corresponding voltage of about 1.8E-9 volts; curve 92 of FIG. 7 has a corresponding voltage of about 3.2E-9 volts at distance of 20 feet above the bed boundary. As shown in FIG. 12 , curve 122 passes through point 1.8E-9, 3.2E-9. In similar fashion, curves 124 , 126 represent corresponding voltage values for respectively for curves 68 , 94 and curves 70 , 96 . Knowing the distances from the bed boundary that correspond to the voltage values of curves 122 , 124 , 126 , lines 128 , 130 , 132 , 134 can be generated on the nomogram, where in the example of FIG. 12 , lines 128 , 130 , 132 , 134 respectively represent corresponding voltage differences at 20, 30, 40, and 50 feet from the bed boundary. As noted above, voltage differences plotted in FIG. 5B , and on the abscissa of FIG. 12 , represent voltage values measured by a tool having an offset of 50 feet and generating signals of 20 kHz; voltage differences provided on the ordinate of FIG. 12 , represent voltage values measured by a tool having an offset of 50 feet and generating signals of 50 kHz. FIG. 13 , a nomogram like FIG. 12 , is a plot that combines the voltage differences of FIG. 5B and FIG. 9 . Curve 136 represents corresponding voltage values of curve 66 and curve 104 , curve 138 represents corresponding voltage values of curve 68 and 106 , and curve 140 represents corresponding voltage values of curve 70 and 108 , Lines 142 , 144 , 146 , 148 respectively represent corresponding voltage differences at 20, 30, 40, and 50 feet from the bed boundary. Voltage differences on the abscissa of FIG. 13 represent voltage values measured by a tool having an offset of 50 feet and generating signals of 20 kHz; voltage differences provided on the ordinate of FIG. 13 represent voltage values measured by a tool having an offset of 40 feet and generating signals of 20 kHz. Thus by changing a tool parameter, a nomogram can be generated and used to look past the boundary and estimate formation properties, such as resistivity, under or on an opposite side of the bed boundary. In an example, the nomograms of FIGS. 12 and 13 were generated from simultaneously solving equations having more than a single unknown.
The present invention described herein, therefore, is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as others inherent therein. While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been given for purposes of disclosure, numerous changes exist in the details of procedures for accomplishing the desired results. These and other similar modifications will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and are intended to be encompassed within the spirit of the present invention disclosed herein and the scope of the appended claims.
|
A method of identifying a bed boundary in a subterranean formation by processing data measured by an induction logging tool. An interferometric method compares recorded voltages and/or phases recorded at axially spaced apart receivers on the logging tool. A transmitter is on the logging tool and set between the receivers, where the receivers are equally spaced apart from the transmitter. The transmitter emits a signal having frequencies up to around 50 kHz.
| 4
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of plumbing and bathroom appliances and more particularly to a quick and inexpensive retrofit system for saving water by prevention of toilet bowl overfill.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Conventional flush toilets are typically supplied water through a line from a manually available shutoff valve, and into a valve apparatus inside the tank. Some valve mechanisms use a float mounted at the end of a lever arm while others use a vertically sliding float, while others use static water pressure to indicate when the flush tank or reservoir is full.
[0003] Within the tank an overflow tube is provided to enable small leaks of the internal valve, or small internal valve failures to enter the toilet tank overflow tube and pass to the toilet bowl. Since the toilet bowl flow operates by passing its volume over a static pressure head dam at the rear and or base of the toilet, additional flow into the overflow tube simply continues into the bowl and over the dam at the rear and base of the toilet.
[0004] The flow path from the bowl, through the dam and into the floor pipe fitting is relatively small compared to the volume of water in each flush. This rapid flow helps to sweep the bowl, but because the flow is restricted, a significant kinetic energy of flow takes the toilet bowl to a level lower than its level would be if it were determined by the height of the dammed up water within the toilet fixture. This kinetic energy drains the bowl level lower than it would have based upon the level of the overflow damn in the fitting, because the mass of flow and its kinetic energy continues to siphon water out of the bowl for a second or so at the end of the flush. This typically occurs along with the pull of air and the gargling sound heard when the upper part of the bowl is completely drained.
[0005] If the bowl was left at this level, the volume of water for the next flush would be partially spent in refilling the bowl and would have a lesser volume available to apply to the static head within the bowl to cause a complete flush in the next cycle. In essence, the next flush would be only half of a flush, and at low velocity. This results in the need for a further flush, assuming that the bowl is left in a filled state by the half flush.
[0006] To overcome the above problems, most toilet fill valves have provided for a first flow path of water into the toilet tank for refill and a second flow path through a small plastic tube mounted to direct flow into the toilet tank overflow pipe to provide a small stream of water to allow the toilet bowl to re-fill at the same time that the toilet tank refills. During refill, the bowl will have stabilized, and a stream of water into the overflow tube will bring the bowl fully up to a level of the internal dam or trap within the toilet bowl. This will insure that upon the next flush, that the complete volume of water in the toilet tank will be applied to developing a full static head to be applied to a fully rushing velocity flush so that the bowl will be swept clean. In other words, it prevents part of the toilet tank contents from being wasted in re-filling the bowl leaving a lesser amount of water available for developing a fully rushing velocity flush. If the system for providing additional water into the overflow tube provides too much water, the excess will escape over the dam or trap at the base of the appliance.
[0007] However, the use of a side stream of water from the refill valve is not exact. The side stream will have a low flow where the local water pressure is low and a high flow where the water pressure is high. Where the flow rate is too small, the complete valve assembly can be replaced in order to provide adequate functioning. With increasing community needs for water conservation there is a need to conserve water and for toilet appliance to provide only as much water as is needed for proper operation. The user needs to be at minimum able to forego excess water introduced into the bowl which will be wasted over the overflow dam.
[0008] One such solution proposed appears in U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,889 to Schuster, incorporated by reference herein. The Schuster reference suggests a more complex and more expensive specialized toilet valve which includes an adjustable pressure overflow tube line valve in the toilet tank valve body near the point where the overflow refill tube leaves the toilet tank valve. The overflow tube line valve is located within the toilet tank refill valve so that it can handle the pressure from reduction in the flow of the overflow tube line, which can range from full open to a zero flow rate. The solution, though expensive, enables users to set the flow rate for the amount of water to be introduced into the overflow tube. The user can reduce this refill flow by adjusting the valve.
[0009] This solution works well where users have the funds to invest in a new toilet tank fill valve, as well as the high labor rates associated with plumbing services. Further, some time is required for the installer to run the valve through several flushes to determine the optimum operating setting for the complex specialized device. Further, the replaced toilet tank refill valve will typically be disposed of despite the fact that it remains in operating condition. In particular, an institutional facility replacing its valves would generate a significant volume of used toilet tank refill valves having very little market value. The loss of value from a change out and in wasted valves would make the value of the water savings minuscule by comparison. The expensive solution of the Schuster reference may work well if employed as a replacement for a defective toilet tank but is prohibitively expensive and burdensome for any water saving retrofit plan.
[0010] What is needed, however, is a solution which is not expensive, not complex, and does not require replacement of the functioning toilet tank refill valve. The needed solution should give the user practical control ability over the amount of water entering the refill tube. Further, the solution should be installable in a minimum amount of time and by ordinary people. The installation should not, unlike a toilet tank valve replacement, subject the user's facility to flooding, water shutoff, leaks about the toilet tank fittings and the like. The needed solution should be achieved without tools.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A flow diverter accepts a stream of water from a conventional toilet valve and diverts a portion of the flow into the toilet tank, outside the overflow tube. In a first, more rudimentary embodiment of the invention, a flow diverter accepts flow from the toilet tank fill valve and includes a first exit opening for introducing a portion of the flow into the toilet tank overflow tube, and a second portion of the flow into the toilet tank. Providing two exit openings for to split the incoming stream into a first flow of about one third of the input and into a second exit opening to split the remainder of the incoming stream into a second flow of about two thirds of the incoming stream provides significant flow control for the user. In cases where a user's bowl overfills, the user can attach the flow diverter to the end of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube line and position it as needed. The user can (1) attach the diverter to the top rim of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube in a position to deliver one third of the flow into the tube and two thirds of the flow into the toilet tank, (2) attach the diverter to the top rim of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube in a position to deliver two thirds of the flow into the tube and one third of the flow into the toilet tank, (3) all of the flow into the tube or (4) all of the flow into the toilet tank.
[0012] Further numbers of diversion streams, and the ability to orient the flow diverter atop a toilet tank overflow tube will allow a user to more finely and exactly select and subdivide the streams which are to be directed into, or outside of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube. Where three diversion conduits are used, a user can specify a flow equal to zero, ⅕, ⅖, ⅗, ⅘, and 5/5 of the inlet flow. A metal clip can be molded with the flow diverter to provide more holding power than possible if the flow diverter is constructed with certain materials. The flow diverter is preferably inexpensively injection molded and can be made from a wide range of materials having many characteristics.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The invention, its configuration, construction, and operation will be best further described in the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a side view of a two stream flow diverter having a male input port and two exit conduits and a clip holding structure;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the flow diverter of FIG. 1 and illustrating one possible orientation for the internal conduit bores;
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a partial sectional view illustrating the environment in which the flow diverters of the present invention are utilized and illustrating attachment of the flow diverter attached to a near side of a toilet tank overflow tube;
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates an expanded view of a mounting of the flow diverters of the present invention are utilized and illustrating attachment of the flow diverter attached to a far side of a toilet tank overflow tube;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a top view of a flow diverter utilizing a side leg structure similar to the adjacent flow diverter structures, the location of three such adjacent structures facilitating the circularly selectable positioning of the flow diverter;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a side view of the flow diverter seen in FIG. 5 ;
[0020] FIG. 7 is an alternative arrangement seen as a third embodiment in which a pair of diversion conduits are separated by an accommodation space and in which end mounted clip structures are placed on either side of the pair of diversion conduits enable full user selectability of four flow conditions into a toilet tank overflow tube;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a fourth embodiment of a flow diverter having three diversion conduits in a line and in which end mounted clip structures are placed on either side of the pair of diversion conduits enable full user selectability of up to six flow conditions into a toilet tank overflow tube; and
[0022] FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a fifth embodiment of a flow diverter having an embedded metal clip between two flow conduits.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] The description and operation of the invention will be best initiated with reference to FIG. 1 which illustrates a side plan view of a flow diverter 21 . At the upper left side of the flow diverter 21 , an inlet fitting 23 has a length of about one half inch. The shape of the inlet fitting 23 is designed to provide good, progressive fit to an tubular member flexible conduit from a conventional toilet fill valve. Inlet fitting 23 has three cylindrical sections each separated from the other by two progressively larger abbreviated frusto conical structures.
[0024] From the left, a first cylindrical section 25 has an external diameter of, for example, 0.335 inches. Adjacent the first cylindrical section 25 , a first frusto conical shaped land 27 extends circumferentially outward. Adjacent the frusto conical shaped land 27 , a second cylindrical section 29 has an external diameter of 0.360 inches. Adjacent the second cylindrical section 29 , a second frusto conical shaped land 31 extends circumferentially outward. The second frusto conical shaped land 31 may be larger than the first frusto conical shaped land 27 . Adjacent the second frusto conical shaped land 31 is a third cylindrical section 33 which may also have an external diameter of 0.360 inches.
[0025] The inlet fitting 23 is designed to present an increasing slip fitting resistance pressure and increasing friction fit to a flexible hose attached. The body of the flow diverter 21 continues with a first flow section 37 which is linear with respect to the inlet fitting 23 . At the start of the first flow section 37 adjacent and slightly displaced away from the inlet fitting 23 is a first diversion conduit 41 . At the opposite end of the first flow section 37 , a second diversion conduit 43 is positioned. In between the first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 are one or more structures 45 which are clip structures. The clip structures shown in FIG. 1 are made generally of the same material as the flow diverter 21 and may be evenly space or non-evenly spaced. The clip structures and the first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 form a series of three accommodation spaces 47 , 49 , and 51 which may be of different widths and which can provide force and friction when engaged onto a toilet tank overflow tube. The rudimentary structure shown in FIG. 1 is built for an engagement on a toilet tank overflow tube such that one or the other of the first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 will be directed into the tube. The flow diverter 21 can be placed so that either the first diversion conduit 41 will be inside the tube and the second diversion conduit 43 will be outside of the tube, or that first diversion conduit 41 will be outside the tube while the second diversion conduit 43 will be inside of the tube. The other two conditions, that of 100% of the fill tube flow being directed inside of the tube and 0% of the fill tube flow being directed inside of the tube is not as facilitated with this design. If no flow diverter 21 is used, it may be assumed that other structure is present to either direct 100% flow into the fill tube or that the fill tube line may be left in an unobstructed way to flow into the toilet tank without interfering with the flush mechanism.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 2 , a side sectional view illustrates the internal flow space of the flow diverter 21 , as a slightly differing embodiment having first cylindrical section 25 displaced by movement of the first frusto conical shaped land 27 to the end, simply to show that a different arrangement can be made. An inlet conduit bore 57 has a first diameter to a point just beyond a t-conduit bore 59 within the first diversion conduit 41 . A second diameter is seen as conduit bore 61 which turns at a right angle to a conduit bore 63 associated with the second diversion conduit 43 .
[0027] The relative flow through the conduit bores 59 and 63 from fluid entering the inlet conduit bore, can be specified by the abruptness of angle, location, difference in internal bore size, and curvature and internal features of bores 57 , 59 , 61 , and 63 . Moreover, the size of all the bores 57 , 59 , 61 , and 63 should be so as to avoid creating any significant back pressure for any flow line into which inlet fitting 23 is attached. Further, it is noted that first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 are parallel to each other, but need not be. The parallel arrangement seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 have advantages in that if one of the, first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 placed outside the toilet tank overflow tube is directed downward, that the flow will contribute to sweeping the toilet tank clean. Conversely, where a significant flow rate of material exits the first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 , thrust will result in the opposite direction. This thrust may tend to dislodge the flow diverter 21 from its slip fit onto the toilet tank overflow tube via the three accommodation spaces 47 , 49 , and 51 .
[0028] The dimensions of the flow diverter 21 are approximate and a flow diverter 21 having a higher flow or a lower flow may encourage a differing dimension. As seen in FIG. 2 , the water available to enter bore 59 will do so based upon the cross sectional area of exit presented, the angle and sharpness as related to the path of flow of water entering the conduit 57 , and the kinetic energy of the remaining water stream as it flows past conduit 59 and onward into conduit 61 . The relative flow split is also dependent upon the much longer flow path of the combined path of conduits 61 and 63 and the elbow connection between these conduits.
[0029] One geometry which has been shown to be acceptable for a given average flow includes a flow diverter 21 having a conduit bore 57 diameter of about 0.25 inches and sharply connecting orthogonally to a conduit bore 59 also having an internal diameter of about 0.25 inches. The diameter of conduit bores 61 and 63 are about 0.225 inches. With these dimensions it has been shown that the volume of flow through the first diversion conduit 41 will constitute about one-third of the total input volume, while the volume of flow through the second diversion conduit 43 will constitute about two-thirds of the total input volume. It is understood that small changes to the internals, including the placement of the transition between bores 57 and 61 and other design changes can affect the relative flow rates. For the rudimentary case of one stream being split into two, the two-thirds/one-third ratio is believed to give the user the most ease and flexibility at making a relatively easy to observe and measure.
[0030] The outer diameter of the first cylindrical section 25 of the inlet fitting 23 is about 0.335 inches. While the largest dimension of the second frusto conical shaped land 31 is about 0.36 inches. This breadth of available fit should enable the flow diverter 21 inlet fitting to form a good tight fit on flexible tubing having an inner diameter of from about slightly smaller than 0.25 inches and up to and including tubing having an inner diameter of up to 0.36 inches. In the event of a mis-match, an adapter could be used. A smaller toilet tank overflow fill tube line 87 would be preferable as the dimensions of the flow diverter 21 , and particularly the diameter of the bores 57 , 59 , 61 , and 63 , should not cause a restriction which will be powerful enough to either cause the flow diverter 21 to become disconnected from the toilet tank overflow fill tube line 87 nor to create a thrust in the flow diverter 21 sufficient to cause it to become disconnected from the toilet tank overflow tube 89 . An oversized flow diverter 21 , with respect to the toilet tank overflow fill tube line 87 is generally encouraged.
[0031] In the view of FIG. 3 , the flow diverter 21 was attached to the toilet tank overflow fill tube line 87 such that second diversion conduit 43 was inside it and delivering two-thirds of the flow within, while first diversion conduit 41 was outside, delivering one-third of the flow outside. Referring to FIG. 4 , an alternative partial sectional view showing a different positioning shows the flow diverter 21 attached to the toilet tank overflow fill tube line 87 such that first diversion conduit 41 was inside it and delivering one-third of the flow within, while the second diversion conduit 43 was outside, delivering two-thirds of the flow outside of toilet tank overflow fill tube line 87 and into the toilet tank 71 in contribution to the toilet tank water level 79 .
[0032] Other configurations of a flow diverter 21 can give further flexibility of mounting. Referring to FIG. 5 , a flow diverter 101 has essentially the same flow arrangement as flow diverter 21 , but is formed with a side leg 103 which can form an engagement with the rim of an object placed between side leg 103 and the first and second diversion conduits 41 , between first diversion conduit 41 and the second diversion conduit 43 and the first diversion conduit 41 and side leg 103 . The side leg 103 is preferably solid and carries no flow. The side leg 103 is, like clip structures 45 , simply a holding structure to assist in attachment to toilet tank overflow tube 89 . In the embodiment of FIG. 6 , the first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 and side leg 103 may preferably be tapered or step tapered in order to form a better fit. In this configuration, all, none, one or two flow streams may be directed into the toilet tank overflow tube 89 .
[0033] Referring to FIG. 7 , a further embodiment is seen as a flow diverter 111 which, like the flow diverter 111 , has the ability to be mounted so that all, none, one or two flow streams may be directed into the toilet tank overflow tube 89 . Placement of the two clip structures 45 on the outside of the first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 , and providing three accommodation spaces 113 , 115 , and 117 , with space 113 between a clip structure 45 and first diversion conduit 41 , space 117 between a clip structure 45 and second diversion conduit 43 , and space 115 between first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 . This permits the flow diverter 113 to be placed on the near edge of a toilet tank overflow tube 89 so that the flow is all outside the tube, one stream inside, or two streams are inside the tube. Where the stream from first diversion conduit 41 is desired to flow into the toilet tank overflow tube 89 , the space 115 is simply fitted over the far wall of the toilet tank overflow tube 89 such that first diversion conduit 41 is oriented to send its flow into the toilet tank overflow tube 89 .
[0034] The orientation and flexibility of flow diverter 111 can be expanded to longer versions having, for example one more flow conduit, and the next integer number ratio of flow. Three conduits may ideally have flows of ¼, ¼, and ½ to enable selection of flow into the toilet tank overflow tube 89 of ¼, ½, ¾, and full flow. In the configuration of flow diverter 111 , an additional conduit and clip set are all that need to be added. This is seen in FIG. 8 where a flow diverter 121 has one additional diversion conduit and one additional accommodation space.
[0035] Flow diverter 121 second diversion conduit 43 is followed by an accommodation space 123 and then followed by a third diversion conduit 125 . The third diversion conduit is then followed by an accommodation space 127 . Any of the accommodation spaces 113 , 115 , 123 , or 127 can fit over the rim of a toilet tank overflow tube 89 . The selectability of three flow conduits can be demonstrated by example.
[0036] With regard to the flow diverter 121 , where first and second and third diversion conduits 41 , 43 , & 125 are employed, second and third diversion conduits 43 and 125 can each have a flow of ¼ of the total flow with first diversion conduit 41 having a flow of ½ of the total. As the flow diverter approaches the toilet tank overflow tube 89 , the accommodation clot 127 could be attached to the upper rim of tube 89 to cause all of the flow to go outside, into the toilet tank 71 . Moving the flow diverter 121 to attach at accommodation space 123 would cause ¼ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 with the remainder into the toilet tank 71 . Moving the flow diverter 121 to attach at accommodation space 115 would cause ½ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 with the remainder into the toilet tank 71 .
[0037] Moving the flow diverter 121 across the toilet tank overflow and to attach to the opposite side of the toilet tank overflow tube 89 at accommodation space 123 will cause ¾ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 (from first and second diversion conduits 41 and 43 , with the remainder of the flow via third diversion conduit 125 to flow into the toilet tank 71 . As can be seen from this case, the use of accommodation space 115 splits the flow, and for finer flow adjustability, the flow openings of the first and second and third diversion conduits 41 , 43 , & 125 should be selected for an uneven split.
[0038] By further example, if increments of ⅕ were selected, and with regard to the flow diverter 121 , where first and second and third diversion conduits 41 , 43 , & 125 are employed, second and third diversion conduits 43 and 125 can each have a flow of ⅕ of the total flow with first diversion conduit 41 having a flow of ⅗ of the total. As the flow diverter approaches the toilet tank overflow tube 89 , the accommodation clot 127 could be attached to the upper rim of tube 89 to cause all of the flow to go outside, into the toilet tank 71 . Moving the flow diverter 121 to attach at accommodation space 123 would cause ⅕ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 with the remainder into the toilet tank 71 . Moving the flow diverter 121 to attach at accommodation space 115 would cause ⅖ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 (from second and third diversion conduits 43 and 125 flowing at ⅕ each) with the remainder into the toilet tank 71 .
[0039] Moving the flow diverter 121 across the toilet tank overflow and to attach to the opposite side of the toilet tank overflow tube 89 at accommodation space 115 will cause ⅗ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 (from first diversion conduit 41 ) with the remainder of the flow via third and fourth diversion conduits 43 and 125 to flow into the toilet tank 71 .
[0040] Moving the flow diverter 121 across the toilet tank overflow and still at the opposite side of the toilet tank overflow tube 89 at accommodation space 123 will cause ⅘ of the flow to go inside the toilet tank overflow tube 89 (from first and second diversion conduits 41 & 43 ), with the remainder of the flow via third diversion conduit 125 to flow into the toilet tank 71 . Moving to the accommodation space 113 in a near orientation, or accommodation space 127 in a far orientation would cause all of the flow to enter the toilet tank overflow tube 89 . As can be seen, the use of three linear diversion conduits can produce 7 flows, namely zero, ⅕, ⅖, ⅗, ⅘, and 5/5 of flow to be selectability placed in either the toilet tank overflow tube 89 or the toilet tank 71 . Moreover, the use of a larger number of diversion conduits not only gives the user increased selectability in terms of flow, but also reduces any tendency of the flow diverter to produce thrust which might cause it to be dislodged from its position atop the toilet tank overflow tube 89 .
[0041] Referring to FIG. 9 , a Fifth embodiment is seen as a flow diverter 131 . Flow diverter 131 has a metal clip 133 which may be attached as the flow diverter 131 is injection molded. Clip 133 has a base 135 from which two metal members 137 extend. The metal members may be curved to facilitate mounting to the upper rim of toilet tank overflow tube 89 . Metal clip 133 may have one or more anchoring structures 139 to enable it to hold fast within the flow diverter 131 . The use of a flow diverter 131 with a metal clip 133 enables the use of a much larger and stronger holding device, regardless of the plastic or elastomer from which the flow diverter 21 , 101 , 111 , 121 , 131 is made. Further, none of the flow diverters 21 , 101 , 111 , 121 , 131 are shown to scale, and it is contemplated that a clip can have an expanded volume, length or other characteristic.
[0042] While the present invention has been described in terms of a flow diverter for a toilet tank overflow tube fill line, the principles contained therein are applicable to other types of selectable flow diversion systems.
[0043] Although the invention is derived with reference to particular illustrative embodiments, many changes and modifications of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, included within the patent warranted hereon are all such changes and modifications as may reasonably and properly be included within the scope of this contribution to the art and which may be reasonably envisioned.
|
A flow diverter accepts a stream of water from a conventional toilet valve and diverts a portion of the flow into the toilet tank, outside the overflow tube. In a first, more rudimentary embodiment of the invention, a flow diverter accepts flow from the toilet tank fill valve and includes a first exit opening for introducing a portion of the flow into the toilet tank overflow tube, and a second portion of the flow into the toilet tank. Providing two exit openings for to split the incoming stream into a first flow of about one third of the input and into a second exit opening to split the remainder of the incoming stream into a second flow of about two thirds of the incoming stream provides significant flow control for the user. In cases where a user's bowl overfills, the user can attach the flow diverter to the end of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube line and position it as needed. The user can (1) attach the diverter to the top rim of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube in a position to deliver one third of the flow into the tube and two thirds of the flow into the toilet tank, (2) attach the diverter to the top rim of the conventional toilet tank overflow tube in a position to deliver two thirds of the flow into the tube and one third of the flow into the toilet tank, (3) all of the flow into the tube or (4) all of the flow into the toilet tank.
| 4
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet material accumulating device and particularly to a sheet material accumulating device in which sheet materials which are likely to be damaged, are accumulated in such a manner that rubbing contact between sheets is substantially eliminated.
There has been proposed an apparatus by which a radiation image of the human body or the like is recorded onto a stumulable phosphor plate and the image information recorded thereon is read out by means of a laser scanner or the like and then a visible image is reproduced by exposing a recording medium, such as a photosensitive film or the like to a modulated light beam carrying the image information recorded the stumulable phosphor plate. In such a picture image forming apparatus, the stimulable phosphor plate for image storage is generally in sheet form. After these phosphor sheets have been exposed to radiation images, they are fed into a sheet supply section of a radiant image reading machine. This feeding operation may be accomplished manually or with the use of a transport system such as a conveyer. The phospor sheets are then automatically fed, one by one, into a reading section from the sheet supply section. In many cases, and particularly in the case of a medical care/diagnostic apparatus, the photographing of radiation images is performed aperiodically. Therefore, even in the case where a radiation lay image photgraphing device and a radiation picture image reading device are coupled to each other through a sheet transport system, it is preferable to arrange the entire device such that the photographing device and the image reading device are not directly coupled. Rather, it is preferable to store the phospor sheets at a sheet receiving position before they are transported to the image reading device. Generally, the stored phosphor sheets are transported in groups, from the sheet receiving position into a sheet transfer position. From there the phosphor sheets are fed, one by one, to the image reading section from the transfer position. If the sheet feed is performed in this manner, it is possible to cause the radiation image reading device to operate with its running cycle completely independent of the timing of the phosphor sheet feeding mechanism of the radiation image photographing device. Further, if such a sheet feed system as mentioned above is employed, even in the case where a fault occurs in the radiation image reading device or in the case where the radiation image photographing device temporarily feeds a number of phosphor sheets beyond the processing capacity of the radiation image reading device, it is not necessary to immediately stop the radiation image photographing device, for it is possible for the image photographing device to continue operating an additional period of time.
When sheet materials are accumulated at a sheet receiving position, thesheet receiving device has been conventionally operated to receive aperiodically fed sheet materials and accumulate them in such a manner that they are caused to successively stand along a slanted guide plate.
In the conventional accumulating device of this type, however, there is the problem that since newly fed sheet material is fed onto sheet materials which have previously been accumulated, that is, the already accumulated sheet materials serve as a guide plate for a newly fed sheet, the sheet materials may be damaged, especially if the sheet materials are likely to be damaged as are the above-mentioned phosphor sheets. This problem is more significant in the case where a sheet material is curled.
Further, when using the conventional sheet accumulating device, in the case where various sheet materials of different sizes are to be accumulated, there often occurs the problem that with sheet material which is shorter in its longitudinal direction, the sheet material may hit a sheet receiver with a shock larger than that produced by a longer sheet, with the result that it may be damaged or improperly stacked on the sheet receiver thereby causing an irregularly stacked accumulation of sheet materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has the purpose of overcoming the above-mentioned problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet material accumulating device in which the above-mentioned problems associated with conventional sheet material accumulating device are solved.
It is another object to provide a sheet material accumulating device in which mutual rubbing and the free fall of sheet material are substantially avoided so as to prevent damage to sheet materials.
A further object is to provide a sheet material accumulating device capable of accumulating different sized sheet materials into a predetermined position.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are attained by a sheet material accumulating device for accumulating sheet materials, which are fed at given intervals, in a manner so that the sheet materials are caused to stand one by one along a slanted guide plate, and characterized in that there is provided sheet material receiving means which is arranged such that the sheet material receiving means receives the fed sheet materials at the transporting speed of the sheet materials, transports the received sheet material along the guide plate into an accumulating position, and then comes back, while discharging the sheet materials, to a sheet material receiving position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the device of FIG. 1 taken along section line A--A;
FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the timing of the operations performed by the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 4(A) to (F) are diagrams illustrating particular operations of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIGS. 5(A)-5(F) are diagrams illustrating the details of one embodiment of a sheet accumulating section for the device of the invention and the positions of the sheet accumulating section at various stages of its operation; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a sheet position correction means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a main portion of a device for accumulating sheet materials (hereinafter simply referred to as "sheet"). In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1, 2 and 3 designate a sheet accumulating section, a sheet transporting unit, and a pair of feed rolls, respectively. The sheet accumulating section 1 is constituted by a L-shaped sheet receiver 11 for accumulating sheets 1A, 1B, . . . of various sizes in the slanted state, as shown in the drawing. The sheet transporting unit 2 is arranged to operate to receive a sheet fed through the feed roll pair 3 from a sheet feed section (not shown) and to then transport the received sheet to a position near the bottom of the sheet receiver 11 of the sheet accumulating section 1. To this end, the sheet transporting unit 2 is arranged so as to be capable of reciprocating along a guide rail (not shown) between a position 2' at which sheets are received and another position 2" at which the received sheets are transferred to the sheet receiver 11.
The arrangement of the sheet transporting unit 2 will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The unit 2 is fixed to a chain 43 positioned over a sprocket 41, which is rotationally driven by a motor M 1 (not shown) and a driven sprocket 42 so that the unit 2 is reciprocated along the above-mentioned guide rail in the direction of arrow A as the motor M 1 rotates forward and backward. Two pair of rolls 21A, 21B and 22A, 22B are provided in the sheet transporting unit 2. The roll pair 21 consisting of the rolls 21A and 22B are arranged to operate so as to guide a sheet fed through the above-mentioned feed roll pair 3 from the upper portion in the drawing to the roll pair 22 consisting of the rolls 22A and 22B. Each of the rolls 21A and 21B is rotably supported and the rolls 21A and 21B are separated relatively wider than the thickness of a sheet, while the roll pair 22 are arranged such that the roll 22B which is one of the rolls constituting the roll pair 22 is connected through a one-way rotating clutch 37A to a driven sprocket 37 which is engaged with a chain 36 wrapped about driven sprockets 34 and 35 and a sprocket 33 rotationally driven by a motor M 2 (not shown) for causing the above-mentioned feed roll pair 3 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. This state is shown in FIG. 2 (which is a cross-section taken across the line A--A in FIG. 1). Reference numerals 22C and 22D designate side plates of the sheet transporting unit 2. Thus, the above-mentioned roll pair 22 have two functions; one is to receive a sheet, at the feeding speed of the sheet fed by the feed roll pair 3 as the motor M 2 rotates, and the other is to transport the received sheet, when it has been released from the feed roll pair 3, so that the sheet is slidable in the direction opposite to the above-mentioned feed direction. The other roll 22A of the roll pair is urged by a spring against the roll 22B. The driven sprocket 34 functions to automatically adjust the tension of the chain 36 which changes as the sheet transporting unit 2 moves. The sheet transporting unit 2 comprises a guide plate 24, a sheet detector 23 composed of a light emitter and a light receiver, etc., in addition to the above-mentioned roll pairs 21 and 22. Reference numerals 44 and 45 designate upper and lower limit position detectors for detecting the fact that the sheet transporting unit 2 has reached the upper and lower limit positions, respectively, in the above-mentioned reciprocating operation of the unit 2.
The operation of the thus arranged device according to the present invention will now be described.
FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the operation of the device according to the present invention. FIGS. 4A-4F illustrate the device of the invention at various stages of operation. Assume that the feed roll pair 3 are being driven by the motor M 2 in response to a sheet approach signal or the like. As the feed roll pair 3 are being driven, the driven roll 22B connected to the feed roll pair 3 through the chain 36, the sprocket 37 and the one-way rotating clutch 37A is in a state where is is rotated in its feeding direction within the traveling speed of the chain 36.
If a sheet S is fed into the device according to the present invention from sheet supply section (not shwon), it is received by the feeding roll pair 3 and fed into the nip between the guide rolls 21A and 21B of the sheet transporting unit 2 (FIG. 4(A)). When the sheet S reaches the driven transporting roll pair 22 of the sheet transporting unit 2, the sheet S is fed by the feed roll pair 3 and the driven transporting roll pair 22 at a feed speed defined by the feed roll pair 3. This is because the rotating speed of the sprocket 37 is designed to be equal to or slightly higher than that of the feed roll pair 3 and the driven transporting pair 22 are arranged to be able to slip in the reverse direction (FIG. 4(B)).
When the sheet S is detected by the sheet detector 23, the motor M 1 starts to rotate (at the time ○1 in FIG. 3) to cause the sheet transporting unit 2 to move downward. Also during this portion of the operation, the sheet S is fed at the feed speed defined by the feed roll pair 3. That is, the traveling speed of the sheet transporting unit 2 is absorbed by the above-mentioned one-way rotating clutch 37A (FIG. 4(C)). When the back end of the sheet S has come out of the feed roll pair 3, the sheet S is further fed downward at a speed approximate to the difference between the speed of the sheet transporting unit 2 as it descends and the speed of the chain 36 (FIG. 4(D)).
When the sheet transporting unit 2 has reached its lower most position and this fact is detected by the above-mentioned detector 45, the motor M 1 is stopped (at the time ○2 is FIG. 3) so that the descent of the sheet transporting unit 2 is terminated and a timer (not shown) is started. When the timer has timed out, the motor M 1 is started to rotate (at the time ○3 in FIG. 3) in a direction reverse to the previous rotation so as to start the upward movement of the sheet transportiong unit 2 (FIGS. 4(E) and (F)). When the sheet transporting unit 2 is at a stand-still, the sheet S is fed down at a speed approximately equal to the speed of the chain 36, while when the sheet 2 moves upward, the sheet S is fed down at a speed approximately equal to the sum of the ascending speed of the sheet transporting unit 2 and the traveling speed of the chain 36.
In the above description, the transport speed of the sheet S has been explained such that it is approximately equal to the difference between the descending speed of the sheet transporting unit 2 and the traveling speed of the chain 36 in the stage shown in FIG. 4(D), while it is approximately equal to the sum of the ascending speed of the sheet transporting unit 2 and the traveling speed of the chain 36 in the stage shown in FIG. 4(F). It should be noted that the above-mentioned speed of the sheet S is that relative to the sheet transporting unit 2, while the sheet S is fed at a speed, relative to the sheet receiver 11, which is equal to the speed of the feed roll pair 3 or the speed of the chain 36 (actually, the speed of the driven roll pair 22 driven by the chain 36), there being no significant difference between these two speeds. After the sheet S is also fed to the bottom of the sheet receiver 11, the speed of the sheet S relative to the sheet receiver 11 becomes zero through slipping of the one-way rotating clutch 37A.
As described above, as the sheet transporting unit 2 moves up, the sheet S carried and transported downward by the sheet transporting unit 2 is released from the roll pair 22, in the manner that a small sized sheet is released faster than a large sized sheet. Thus it is possible to accumulate the sheets without free fall, even with respect to a small sized sheet, so that sheet damage can be prevented.
After the time at which a sheet S of the largest size to be handled is to be released, the sheet transporting unit 2 reaches its upper limit position, and upon the detection of the this fact by the above-mentioned detector 44, both the motors M 1 and M 2 are stopped (at the time ○4 in FIG. 3) so that the upward movement of the sheet transporting unit 2 is terminated as is the rotational drive for the feed roll pair 3 and the driven roll pair 22 of the sheet transporting unit 2. The rotational drive for the feed roll pair 3 and the driven roll pair 22 of the sheet transporting unit 2 are restarted in response to a next sheet approach signal or the like.
In the above-described embodiment, the rotation of the motor M 2 is stopped when the detector 44 detects the sheet transporting unit 2. It is possible to adjust the timing at which the forward end of a sheet S comes into contact with the sheet receiver 11 using the method described hereunder, where the timing at which the motor M 2 is to be stopped is set to be in advance of the timing at which the sheet transporting unit 2 begins to move upwardly. For example, in the case where the motor M 2 is caused to stop before the sheet transporting unit 2 begins to move upwardly, as the sheet transporting unit 2 ascends, the sprocket 37 engaged with the driven roll pair 22 rotates in the direction to feed the sheet S downwardly along the chain 36. It is to be understood that if the diameter of the driven roll 22B is larger than that of the pitch circle of the sprocket 37, the sheet S is fed downwardly in spite of the upward movement of the sheet transporting unit 2, while if the diameter of the driven roll 22B is smaller than that of the pitch circle of the sprocket 37, the sheet S is fed upwardly as the sheet transporting unit 2 moves up. Accordingly, by suitably selecting the diameters of the driven roll 22B and the pitch circle of the sprocket 37, it is possible to adjust the timing at which the forward end of a sheet S comes into contact with the receiver 11.
The embodiment described above, provides the advantages that sheet fed from a sheet feed section are received at the speed at which they are fed by the feed section and are accumulated on a sheet receiver without rubbing each other. In addition, even differently sized sheets can be reliably accumulated without free fall thereby reducing damage to the sheets.
Although the sheet receiver 11 is fixed in the above-described embodiment, it is possible, as the inventors of the present application have proposed in U.S. patent appln. Ser. No. 405,607, to divide the sheet receiver into a slanted plate and a support, so that the support is combined with a second slanted plate provided at a position separated from the first-mentioned slanted plate to thereby cause the accumulated sheets to move from a first accumulating section to a second accumulating section. Further, in this case, it is possible to place the second accumulating section at a position advantageous to the next step in which the sheets are taken out, as described hereunder.
FIG. 5(A) is a schematic diagram of a sheet accumulating drive having two accumulating sections as described above. In the drawing, a first accumulating section 51 is composed of a fixed slanted-plate 53, a sheet transfer auxiliary plate 54 provided pivotally about a pivot center O 1 , a support 55, and a sheet transfer auxiliary roll 56. A second accumulating section 52 is composed of an accumulation support 57 which is arranged to be reciprocated between a first position 57A in which the sheet S is received and a second position 57B opposed to a sheet take-out means for taking out the sheet S (only a suction which is a main part of the sheet taking-out means is shown in the drawing). As will be described hereunder in detail, the pivotal support 55, the sheet transfer auxiliary roll 56 and the accumulation support 57 of the second accumulating section are arranged in a digital manner, that is, in the shape of the teeth of a comb so that they can pass each other. When the teeth of the comb cross, a sheet may be transferred.
Referring to FIGS. 5(A)--(F), the operation of the device will now be described. When the sheets S accumulated on the accumulation support 57 of the second accumulating section 52 have been taken out, the accumulation support 57 is moved to the first position 57A at which the next sheets are to be received (FIGS. 5(A) and (B)).
After accumulation of a group of sheet S onto the first accumulating section 51, the above-mentioned support 55 and the sheet transfer auxiliary roll 56 begin to integrally rotate in the direction of the arrow and the sheets accumulated on the support 55 slide over the support 55 onto the accumulation support 57 of the second accumulating section which crosses now with the sheets S (FIG. 5(C)). During the further rotation of the above-mentioned support 55 and the sheet transfer auxiliary roll 56, the accumulation support 57 which has received the above-mentioned sheets S moves from the first position 57A to the second position 57B (FIGS. 5(D) and (E)).
Next the further rotated sheet transfer auxiliary roll 56 urges the sheets S on the accumulation support 57 against the same accumulation support 57, thereby completing the accumulation of the sheets S onto the accumulation support 57 (FIG. 5(F)). At this time, the above-mentioned sheet transfer auxiliary plate 54 also serves to urge the sheets S against the accumulation support 57. This operation of the sheet transfer auxiliary plate 54 is particularly effective in the case where the size of the sheet S is relatively large or in the case where the sheet S has a convex curl, shown in the drawing.
In the latter case, where the sheet has such a curl as mentioned above, the sheets may fall onto the second accumulating section 52, while the sheets are being accumulated onto the first accumulating section 51. It is therefore preferable to provide sheet pressing means adapted to come into/out-of a sheet pressing position, as shwon in FIG. 6, so as to correct the positioning of the accumulated sheets S. The sheet pressing means 61 and 62 as shown in FIG. 6 cause sheet pressing members 65 and 66 to operate so as not to interfere with the sheet accumulating operation of the sheet transporting unit 2, to thereby correct the position of the sheets S.
In the above-described sheet accumulating device having two accumulating sections, it is possible to remove sheets in order they have been received by transferring the sheets, which have been accumulated, to the second accumulating section, and by arranging the second accumulating section to be movable as described above. It is advantageous to ensure space for providing the above-mentioned sheet take-out means or space for removing the sheet take-out means from the device for maintenance or the like.
It should be understood that preferred embodiments have been described as illustrations of the invention. However, the prsent invention includes various modifications and equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. The invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the disclosed embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. For example, in the device as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to arrange the device such that the forward end of the sheet S is detected by a sheet detector provided on the sheet receiver 11 so that the traveling direction of the sheet transporting unit 2 is reversed in response to the detection by such a sheet detector.
As descrived above, according to the present invention, in a sheet accumulating device for accumulating sheets, which are fed at given intervals, in a manner so that the sheets are caused to stand one by one along a slanted guide plate, there is provided sheet receiving means which is arranged such that it receives sheets fed at the transporting speed of the sheets, transports the received sheets along the guide plate into an accumulating position, and then comes back while discharging the sheet to a sheet receiving position, so that the device is remarkably advantageous in that it is possible to sustantially avoid mutual rubbing among the sheets to thereby prevent the sheets from being damaged. The device also permits the various sheets different in size to be reliably accumulated at a predetermined position.
|
A sheet material accumulating device includes a sheet transporting section which is arranged to receiver sheets from a sheet feeding station at a feeding speed and to transport the received sheets to a slanted guide plate of an accumulating section, where the sheet transporting section releases the sheets to thereby accumulate the sheets on the guide plate. The transport speed and direction of the transporting section is controlled so that the sheet reaches the guide plate at a desired position and speed and is released from the transporting section by moving the sheet transporting section away from the guide plate, toward the sheet feeding station.
| 8
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201610817103.6, filed on Sep. 12, 2016, entitled “A kick Information Identification Apparatus and Method Assisted for Wellbore Pressure Control during Horizontal Drilling”, which is specifically and entirely incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the oil and gas well engineering field, in particular to a measuring unit, a kick information identification apparatus and method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recently, the reservoir characteristics and well structures in oil and gas well drilling become more and more complex, and oil and gas kick accidents happen frequently, resulting in increase of non-operation time and drilling cost in well drilling. After kick happens in a well, the formation fluids (oil, gas, and water) may invade into the wellbore, be mixed with the drilling fluid and migrate along the wellbore. If the kick fluid is a gas, subjecting to the influence on the environment change on pressure and temperature, it may have severe phase transition, rise and expansion in the migration process, bringing a serious challenge to wellbore pressure control. Therefore, it is very important to identify and diagnose kick information timely, to ensure safe and efficient well drilling.
The invasion of formation fluids may result in change of flow behaviors and physical parameters of the fluid in the wellbore. Based on that fact, existing kick detection techniques have been developed, and these kick detection techniques can be categorized into: diagnostic methods based on flow measurement, including drilling fluid pit increment method, outlet flow difference method, and downhole micro-flow measurement method, etc.; diagnostic method based on pressure and temperature measurement, including Annulus Pressure While Drilling (APWD), Logging While Drilling (LWD), and Rapid Annulus Temperature (RAT), etc.; diagnostic methods based on measurement of gas void fraction in fluid, including acoustic measurement method, resistivity measurement method, and natural gamma monitoring method (LWD), etc.
To avoid gas over-expansion and control the wellbore pressure timely, diagnostic methods based on downhole measurement techniques were the main development direction of kick detection in the early stage. However, the applicability and time efficiency of those methods are quite limited in the kick detection in horizontal wells. Firstly, since gas doesn't expand when it migrates in a horizontal section, the flow and pressure variations are not apparent, and it is difficult to measure directly to realize early identification. Secondly, since a risk of formation fluid invasion exists at all positions in a horizontal section, it is unable to judge the kick information above the bottom hole based on the measurement data obtained at the bottom hole. Finally, since the pressure variations are not apparent, it is difficult to judge the kick information, etc timely. However, the identification of kick fluid type, kick rate, and kick occurrence position has important meaning in understanding about the formation characteristics, judging the causes for kick, and conducting follow-up wellbore pressure control.
To overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, the present invention provides a measuring unit, a kick information identification apparatus and method, which are applicable to kick information identification in horizontal wells.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a measuring unit, a kick information identification apparatus, and a kick information identification method, which can be used to identify kick information in horizontal wells by utilizing a throttling device and pressure sensors and/or temperature sensors.
To attain the object described above, in an embodiment of the present invention, a measuring unit for kick information identification is provided, comprising: a throttling device, mounted on a drill stem; sensors, arranged at the two sides of the throttling device, and configured to sense the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of the throttling device; and a signal transmitter, configured to transmit the pressure and/or temperature values.
Optionally, the throttling device is a multi-stage throttling device.
Optionally, the signal transmitter is a wireless communication module; and the measuring unit further comprises a power supply unit configured to supply power to the measuring unit.
Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present invention, a kick information identification apparatus is provided, comprising: the measuring units described above; and a processor, configured to determine kick information according to the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of the throttling device, the kick information comprises one or more of the following items: kick moment, kick rate, kick occurrence position, and kick type.
Optionally, when the pressure drop across the throttling device at the current moment is greater than the pressure drop at the previous moment by a value greater than a preset pressure drop, the processor determines the current moment as the kick moment.
Optionally, the processor calculates the drilling fluid flow corresponding to the pressure drop across the throttling device, and takes the difference between the drilling fluid flow and the current drilling fluid injection displacement as the kick rate.
Optionally, the processor determines the kick occurrence position according to the following equation:
L 1 = Q 1 ( t 1 - t 0 ) A
where, L 1 represents the distance of the kick occurrence position from the measuring unit, Q 1 is the fluid flow rate through the throttling device corresponding to the pressure drop in the throttling device, t 0 is the kick moment, t 1 is the moment when the temperature sensor in the measuring unit detects that the temperature rising rate is greater than the preset temperature rising rate, and A is the sectional area of the annulus.
Optionally, the processor calculates a pressure-drop coefficient with the following equation, and determines the kick type according to the pressure-drop coefficient:
x = Δ p 2 - Δ p 0 Δ p 1 - Δ p 0
where, x is the pressure-drop coefficient; Δp 0 is the pressure drop in the throttling device before kick; Δp 1 is the pressure drop at the moment before the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device after kick, Δp 1 −Δp 0 is the increment of the corresponding pressure drop; Δp 2 is the pressure drop at the moment after the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device after kick, and Δp 2 −Δp 0 is the increment of the corresponding pressure drop.
Optionally, the processor determines the kick fluid to be a gas, if the temperature difference across the throttling device is a negative value.
Accordingly, in an embodiment of the present invention, a kick information identification method is provided, comprising: sensing the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of a throttling device on a drill stem; and determining kick information according to the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of the throttling device, wherein the kick information comprises one or more of the following items: kick moment, kick rate, kick occurrence position, and kick type.
The present invention employs a throttling device and measures the pressure drop and/or temperature difference across the throttling device, and can identify kick information successfully according to the pressure drop and/or temperature difference. Even in the case of horizontal wells where the flow and pressure variations are not apparent, the present invention can still attain a good kick information identification effect. In addition, besides monitoring kick, the throttling device can also be used to increase pressure loss by means of throttling and pressure drop by means of friction resistance to avoid vehement kick development, and can assist wellbore pressure control on the basis of the kick information.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be further detailed in the embodiments hereunder.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are provided here to facilitate further understanding on the present invention, and constitute a part of this document. They are used in conjunction with the following embodiments to explain the present invention, but shall not be comprehended as constituting any limitation to the present invention. Among the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the mounting positions of the measuring units for kick information identification according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the measuring unit for kick information identification according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are longitudinal and transverse axial sectional views of the throttling device in the measuring unit for kick information identification according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a multi-stage throttling device;
FIG. 5 is a schematic relation curve diagram between pressure drop across the throttling device before different types of kick fluids reach to and after the throttling device (i.e., pressure difference before and after throttling) and kick fluid volume fraction after kick happens; and
FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the kick information identification process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Description of the Symbols
1
First measuring unit
2
Second measuring unit
3
Drill bit
4
Drill stem
5
Oil-gas reservoir
6
Casing
7
Cement annulus
8
Lower ram-type
blowout preventer
9
Hydraulic throttle
10
Cutter ram-type
valve
blowout preventer
11
Upper ram-type
12
Annular blowout
blowout preventer
preventer
13
Throttling device
14, 17
Pressure sensor
15, 16
Temperature sensor
19
Power supply unit
20
Signal transmitter
21
Rock debris
flow-back hole
22
Wellbore wall
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Hereunder some embodiments of the present invention will be detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated that the embodiments described here are only provided to describe and explain the present invention, but shall not be deemed as constituting any limitation to the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the mounting positions of the measuring units for kick information identification according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , during horizontal well drilling operation, two measuring units are mounted on a drill stem 4 . The measuring unit 1 may be mounted at about 20 m behind a drill bit 3 on the drill stem 4 . Certainly, the number of measuring units mounted on the drill stem is not limited to 2 measuring units; a different number of measuring units is also permitted.
FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the measuring unit for kick information identification according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the measuring unit comprises: a throttling device 13 , mounted on the drill stem 4 ; sensors, arranged at the two sides of the throttling device 13 , and configured to sense the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of the throttling device ( FIG. 2 shows pressure sensors 14 and 17 and temperature sensors 15 and 16 mounted at the two sides of the throttling device respectively); and a signal transmitter, configured to transmit the pressure and/or temperature values, wherein, the signal transmitter may be a wireless communication module, in order to avoid wiring of signal wire on the drill stem 4 for transmitting the pressure and/or temperature values. In addition, the measuring unit may further comprises a power supply unit 18 configured to supply power to the electrical components in the measuring units and avoid wiring of a power cord on the drill stem 4 .
FIGS. 3A and 3B are longitudinal and transverse axial sectional views of the throttling device in the measuring unit for kick information identification according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the throttling device 13 is mounted on the drill stem 4 , and the throttling device 13 are foimed with three rock debris flow-back holes 21 in an annulus formed between the drill stem 4 and the wellbore wall 22 , to ensure normal flow-back of rock debris. In addition, through the radii of different protrusion parts of the throttling device 13 (e.g., radii r 1 -r 3 shown in FIG. 3B ), the throttling device 13 can change the area of passage in the annulus, so as to produce pressure drop by means of friction resistance and throttling. Preferably, the throttling device 13 comprises a plurality of throttling parts, and is a multi-stage throttling device, so as to produce enough pressure drop, as shown in FIG. 4 .
In the case of gas-liquid dual-phase flow, theoretically the pressure drop across the throttling device is equal to the sum of the pressure drop incurred by friction resistance and the pressure drop incurred by throttling:
Δ p=Δp f +Δp J (1)
where, the pressure drop incurred by friction resistance and the pressure drop incurred by throttling are:
Δ p f = ∫ 0 L f u m 2 2 d v m ⅆ x ( 2 ) Δ p J =M ( p 1 −p 2 ) (3)
u
m
2
2
-
u
m
1
2
2
=
nx
g
v
g
1
p
1
n
-
1
[
1
-
(
p
2
p
1
)
n
-
1
n
]
+
(
1
-
x
g
)
v
L
(
p
1
-
p
2
)
(
4
)
n = x g kC vg 1 + ( 1 - x g ) C L x g C vg 1 + ( 1 - x g ) C L , k = C pg 1 C vg 1 ( 5 )
where, L is the length of the multi-stage throttling device; d is the equivalent diameter of the annulus; f is a friction coefficient; M is the number of stages of the multi-stage throttling device; x g is the mass fraction of the gas phase; p is the pressure; v is the specific volume; C pg is specific heat capacity of the gas at a constant pressure; C vg is the specific heat capacity of the gas at a constant volume; u is the flow velocity. The suffix g represents gas phase, the suffix L represents liquid phase, the suffix m represents a mixture of kick fluid (oil, gas, water) and mud; the suffix 1 represents the position before throttling, and the suffix 2 represents the position after throttling, as shown in FIG. 3B .
In the initial stage of kick, before the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device, only the drilling fluid flow exits at the throttling device. The pressure drop across the throttling device is:
Δ p = ∑ i f Q 2 l i 2 v L d i A i 2 + M Q 2 2 v L ( 1 A 2 2 - 1 A 1 2 ) ( 6 ) A 1 =π( r 4 2 −r 1 2 ) (7)
A 2 =3 A cut +π( r 3 +r 4 ) x marg (8)
where, Q is the flow of the fluid flowing through the throttling device; A 1 is the cross-sectional area of the annulus before throttling; A 2 is the cross-sectional area of the annulus after throttling; A cut is the sectional area of the rock debris flow-back hole; x marg is the fitting margin between the throttling device and the wellbore wall, x marg =r 4 −r 3 ; l i is the length of the section i of the throttling device; r 1 -r 4 are the radii of the sections of the throttling device, as shown in FIG. 3B .
Particularly, for a 5-⅞-in wellbore, for example, the number of stages of the throttling device is 20, the length of the throttling device is 6.096 m, and the geometric parameters are as follows:
TABLE 1
Geometric Parameters of the Throttling Device
Radius
Value
Length
Value
r 1
30.8 mm
l
35
mm
r 2
55.6 mm
l 1
50.8
mm
r 3
69.6 mm
l 2
152.4
mm
r 4
74.6 mm
l 3
101.6
mm
Suppose the parameters of the drilling fluid and the kick fluid are those shown in Table 2, the calculated pressure drop across the multi-stage throttling device is shown in FIG. 5 .
TABLE 2
Calculated Simulation Parameters
Variable
Value
Variable
Value
Displacement of
15 L/s
Density of the
1200 kg/m 3
the drilling fluid
drilling fluid
Specific heat
1872
Density of the gas
117.86 kg/m 3
capacity of drilling
J/(kg • K)
fluid
Specific heat
3148
Specific heat
1950
capacity of the gas
J(kg • K)
capacity of the gas
J/(kg • K)
at a constant
at a constant
pressure
volume
Density of
1000 kg/m 3
Density of
800 kg/m 3
formation water
formation oil
Pressure at the
20 MPa
Temperature at the
80° C.
inlet
inlet
Type of the gas
CH 4
Friction coefficient
0.01
FIG. 5 is a schematic relation curve diagram between pressure drop across the throttling device before different types of kick fluids reach to and pass through the throttling device and kick fluid volume fraction after kick happens. The curve labeled as “pure mud stream” represents the variation of the pressure drop measured across the throttling device vs. the volume fraction of the fluid invading into the annulus before the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device, after kick happens; the curve labeled as “mud-formation water stream” represents the variation of the pressure drop measured across the throttling device vs. the volume fraction of the fluid invading into the annulus after the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device after kick happens, in the case that the kick fluid is a “formation water stream”; the curve labeled as “mud-oil stream” represents the variation of the pressure drop measured across the throttling device vs. the volume fraction of the fluid invading into the annulus after the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device after kick happens, in the case that the kick fluid is an “oil stream”; the curve labeled as “mud-gas stream” represents the variation of the pressure drop measured across the throttling device vs. the volume fraction of the fluid invading into the annulus after the kick fluid reaches to the throttling device after kick happens, in the case that the kick fluid is a “gas stream”.
It can be seen from FIG. 5 : as the volume fraction of the fluid invading into the annulus increases, the pressure drop measured across the throttling device increases remarkably. At the initial time, for the “pure mud stream” curve, under the condition of normal drilling fluid displacement, the measured pressure drop is 0.271 MPa; when the volume fraction of the kick fluid reaches 40% or a higher value, the pressure drop increases rapidly to 0.754 MPa. Thus, the occurrence of kick can be diagnosed and the kick rate can be determined quickly according to that characteristic.
In addition, it can be seen from FIG. 5 : the pressure drop across the multi-stage throttling device is very sensitive to the kick type. In the case that the volume fraction of the kick fluid reaches 40% as described above, the pressure drop is 0.704 MPa, 0.653 MPa, and 0.481 MPa respectively when three different types of kick fluids (“formation water stream”, “oil stream” and “gas stream”) flow through the throttling device respectively. Calculated with the following equation (9), the pressure-drop coefficients corresponding to oil, gas, and water invasion types are 89.65%, 79.09%, and 43.48% respectively. Thus, the kick rate and kick type can be identified.
x = Δ p 2 - Δ p 0 Δ p 1 - Δ p 0 ( 9 )
where, x is the pressure-drop coefficient; Δp 0 is the pressure drop before kick; Δp 1 is the pressure drop at the moment before the kick fluid reaches to the multi-stage throttling device after kick, Δp 1 −Δp 0 is the increment of the corresponding pressure drop; Δp 2 is the pressure drop at the moment after the kick fluid reaches to the multi-stage throttling device after kick, and Δp 2 −Δp 0 is the increment of the corresponding pressure drop.
The present invention further provides a kick information identification apparatus, comprising: one or more measuring units described above, configured to acquire pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of a throttling device and transmit the data via a signal transmitter; and a processor, arranged on the ground surface, for example, and configured to receive the pressure and/or temperature data at the two sides of the throttling device transmitted from the measuring units, and determine kick information according to the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of the throttling device on the basis of the characteristic described above, wherein, the kick information includes one or more of the following items: kick moment, kick rate, kick occurrence position, and kick type, and thereby provide a kick warning accordingly.
For a multi-stage throttling device, theoretically the pressure drop under the condition of single phase fluid flow can be calculated with the equation (6). In view that the theoretically calculated value may not be accurate enough, empirical coefficients are fitted according to the test data, and an empirical relation formula of pressure drop vs. displacement of liquid phase flow at each measuring unit is determined:
Δ p = a 1 Q a 2 v L + a 3 N Q 2 2 v L ( 1 A 2 2 - 1 A 1 2 ) ( 10 )
where, a 1 , a 2 , a 3 are empirical coefficients, which are mainly related to the parameters of the throttling device; Q is the fluid flow through the throttling device, m 3 /s; A 1 , A 2 are sectional areas of the annulus before and after throttling, m 3 .
Before kick information identification, the drilling fluid may be injected in different drilling fluid injection displacements, and the pressure drops Δp of the measuring unit under different drilling fluid injection displacements are recorded. The empirical coefficients in the equation (10) can be determined by putting the recorded different groups of displacement —pressure drop values into the equation (10), so that the empirical coefficients can be utilized subsequently to calculate the kick rate with the equation (10).
Hereunder the specific methods for determining the kick moment, kick rate, kick occurrence position, and kick type will be described.
1) Judging Kick Occurrence Moment
The propagation velocity of a pressure wave in mud is as high as about 1,500 m/s. Hence, the propagation time of the pressure wave may be neglected, and the initial kick time recorded by the pressure sensor may be supposed as the true initial kick time.
Thus, the pressure drop Δp 1 across the throttling device in the measuring unit can be recorded in real time. If the Δp 1 increases remarkably compared with its value at the previous moment (e.g., the difference between the pressure drop values at the two moments exceeds a preset pressure drop value), it can be judged preliminarily that kick has happened; in that case, the kick occurrence moment is recorded and denoted by t 0 .
2) Calculating Kick Rate
According to the pressure drop Δp 1 across the throttling device in the measuring unit, the equation (10) is utilized to calculate the corresponding fluid flow rate Q 1 through the throttling device, and the kick rate ΔQ 1 can be determined according to the fluid flow rate and the drilling fluid injection displacement.
Δ Q 1 =Q 1 −Q 0 , (11)
where, Q 0 is the drilling fluid injection displacement.
3) Judging Kick Occurrence Position
After kick happens, the hot formation fluid invades into the wellbore and cause fluid temperature rising in the wellbore. Suppose that the heat conduction velocity is neglected, usually the temperature propagation velocity is approximately equal to the migration velocity of the kick fluid.
Therefore, after the hot formation fluid migrates to the measuring unit, the temperature recorded by the temperature sensor will rise apparently (e.g., the temperature rising rate is higher than a preset temperature rising rate); in addition, if the kick fluid is a gas, the pressure difference between the two ends of the throttling device will decrease obviously. The moment t 1 when the temperature begins to rise and/or the pressure decreases obviously is recorded, and the kick may happen at the following position L 1 from the measuring unit:
L 1 = Q 1 ( t 1 - t 0 ) A ( 12 )
where, A is the sectional area of the annulus.
4) Judging Kick Type
When the formation fluid migrates to the measuring unit and flows through the multi-stage throttling device, if the formation fluid is oil or water, the difference between the pressure drop Δp 1 across the multi-stage throttling device at the current moment and that at the previous moment is not great (it can be seen from FIG. 5 : the pressure-drop coefficient is slightly greater than 75%); if the formation fluid is a gas, the pressure drop Δp 1 across the multi-stage throttling device at the current moment is obviously lower than that at the previous moment (it can be seen from FIG. 5 : the pressure-drop coefficient is slightly less than 50%). Therefore, besides monitoring kick, the designed multi-stage throttling device can also increase the pressure loss by means of throttling and pressure drop by means of friction resistance, and thereby avoid rapid kick growth.
The method described above judges the type of the kick fluid by comparing the pressure drop across the multi-stage throttling device before and after the kick fluid reaches to the multi-stage throttling device. Alternatively, the type of the kick fluid can be judged according to the temperature change between the temperature before and after throttling.
The temperature change between the temperature before and after throttling may be calculated with the following equation (12):
Δ T=μ J Δp (12)
where, μ J is the throttling coefficient. In the case that the throttled fluid is a gas, the throttling coefficient μ J is a positive value, since gas usually has high compressibility, and the temperature drop after throttling is obvious; in the case that the throttled fluid is a liquid, the throttling coefficient μ J is a negative value and close to 0, such that the temperature of the liquid after throttling basically has not change or slightly rise.
In summary, after the occurrence of kick is ascertained (i.e., the pressure drop across the throttling device increases remarkably), if the pressure drop and/or temperature difference across the throttling device in the measuring unit doesn't change greatly, it indicates that the kick fluid is oil or water; in contrast, if the temperature difference is negative and the pressure drop is obvious, it indicates that the kick fluid is a gas.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the kick infatuation identification process according to the embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a scenario that two measuring units are arranged on the drill stem as shown in FIG. 1 .
Firstly, the measurement data of the temperature sensors and pressure sensors at the two sides of the measuring units 1 and 2 is recorded. If it is found that the pressure drop across the throttling device in the measuring unit 1 or 2 increases remarkably at a moment t 0 , it indicates that kick has happened, and that moment t 0 can be determined as the kick occurrence moment. Then, the values of fluid flow rates Q 1 , Q 2 through the corresponding throttling devices are calculated according to the values of pressure drop ΔP 1 ,ΔP 2 across the throttling devices in the measuring units 1 and 2 , wherein, ΔP 1 corresponds to the pressure drop across the throttling device in the measuring unit 1 , ΔP 2 corresponds to the pressure drop across the throttling device in the measuring unit 2 , Q 1 corresponds to the fluid flow rate through the throttling device in the measuring unit 1 , and Q 2 corresponds to the fluid flow rate through the throttling device in the measuring unit 2 . Next, the fluid flow rate values Q 1 , Q 2 and the drilling fluid injection displacement Q 0 are compared.
If Q 1 =Q 0 and Q 2 >Q 0 , it indicates that the kick happens between the measuring unit 2 and the measuring unit 1 ; in that case, the moment t 2 when the temperature T 2 rises at the measuring unit 2 is detected, and the kick occurrence position is determined as the position Q 2 ×(t 2 −t 0 )/A below the measuring unit 2 through calculation. The term “below” mentioned here and in the following text refers to downstream in the drill stem extension direction.
If Q 1 >Q 0 , Q 2 >Q 0 and Q 1 =Q 2 , it indicates that the kick happens between the measuring unit 1 and the bore-hole bottom (i.e., at the position of the drill bit); in that case, the moment t 1 when the temperature T 1 rises at the measuring unit 1 is detected, and the kick occurrence position is determined as the position Q 1 ×(t 1 −t 0 )/A below the measuring unit 1 through calculation.
If Q 1 >Q 0 , Q 2 >Q 0 and Q 2 >Q 1 , it indicates that the kick happens between the measuring unit 2 and the measuring unit 1 and between the measuring unit 1 and the bore-hole bottom, and the kick occurrence positions may be at a single kick point between the measuring unit 2 and the measuring unit 1 and at a single kick point between the measuring unit 1 and the bore-hole bottom, or the kick may happen in a continuous kick region that covers a position between the measuring unit 2 and the measuring unit 1 and a position between the measuring unit 1 and the bore-hole bottom. In that case, the moment t 2 when the temperature T 2 rises at the measuring unit 2 can be detected, and the kick occurrence position can be determined as a position Q 2 ×(t 2 −t 0 )/A below the measuring unit 2 through calculation. In view that the case described above is complex, herein only the method for determining a kick occurrence position near the measuring unit 2 will be described.
Next, the type of the kick fluid can be judged according to whether the temperature difference ΔT 1 between the two sides of the throttling device in the measuring unit 1 or the temperature difference ΔT 2 between the two sides of the throttling device in the measuring unit 2 is smaller than 0 and whether ΔP 1 or ΔP 2 decreases remarkably. If the temperature difference ΔT 1 between the two sides of the throttling device in the measuring unit 1 or the temperature difference ΔT 2 between the two sides of the throttling device in the measuring unit 2 is smaller than 0 or ΔP 1 or ΔP 2 decreases remarkably, the kick fluid can be judged as a gas; otherwise the kick fluid can be judged as a liquid, such as oil or water.
After the kick information is obtained, well shutdown operation is conducted (specifically, the well shutdown operation includes: open the hydraulic throttle valve 9 ; then, close the annular blowout preventer 12 ; next, close the upper ram type blowout preventer 11 and lower ram type blowout preventer 8 , but don't close the cutter ram-type blowout preventer 10 ); next, well killing operation is conducted; particularly, by adjusting the well killing rate, the throttling device can assist wellbore pressure control.
While some preferred embodiments of the present invention are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the details in those embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make modifications and variations to the technical scheme of the present invention, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. However, all these modifications and variations shall be deemed as falling into the protected scope of the present invention.
In addition, it should be appreciated that the technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any appropriate manner, provided that there is no conflict among the technical features in the combination. To avoid unnecessary iteration, such possible combinations are not described here in the present invention.
Those skilled in the art can appreciate that all or a part of the steps constituting the method in the above-mentioned embodiment can be implemented by instructing relevant hardware with a program, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to instruct a single-chip microcomputer, a chipset, or a processor to execute all or a part of the steps of the methods in the embodiments of the present application. The storage medium comprises: U-disk, removable hard disk, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), diskette, or CD-ROM, or a similar medium that can store program codes.
Moreover, different embodiments of the present invention can be combined freely as required, as long as the combinations don't deviate from the ideal and spirit of the present invention. However, such combinations shall also be deemed as falling into the scope disclosed in the present invention.
|
The present invention provides a measuring unit, a kick information identification apparatus and method, and relates to the oil and gas well engineering field. The measuring unit comprises: a throttling device, mounted on a drill stem; sensors, arranged at the two sides of the throttling device, and configured to sense the pressure and/or temperature at the two sides of the throttling device; and a signal transmitter, configured to transmit the pressure and/or temperature values. The present invention employs a throttling device and measures the pressure drop and/or temperature difference across the throttling device, and can identify kick information successfully according to the pressure drop and/or temperature difference. Even in the case of horizontal wells where the flow and pressure variations are not apparent, the present invention can still attain a good kick information identification effect.
| 4
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a 371 National Stage Application of PCT/IB2013/001917, filed Sep. 4, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/696,956, filed on Sep. 5, 2012, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present technology relates generally to the manufacture of photovoltaic cells and devices. In particular, the present technology relates to single- and double-sided three-dimensional substrates for use in thin film photovoltaic devices.
BACKGROUND
The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art to the present invention.
Photovoltaic cells convert optical energy to electrical energy and thus can be used to convert solar energy into electrical power. Photovoltaic solar cells can be made very thin and modular. The individual electrical output from one photovoltaic cell may range from a few milliwatts to a few watts. Several photovoltaic cells may be connected electrically and packaged in arrays to produce a desired amount of electricity. Photovoltaic cells can be used in a wide range of applications such as providing power to satellites and other spacecraft, providing electricity to residential and commercial properties, charging automobile batteries, etc.
In a conventional thin film solar cell, an electrode layer, a photovoltaic layer and another electrode layer are sequentially stacked. When the light enters the thin film solar cell from outside, free electron-hole pairs are generated in the photovoltaic layer by the solar energy, and the internal electric field formed by the PN junction makes electrons and holes respectively move toward two layers, so as to generate a storage state of electricity. Meanwhile, if a load circuit or an electronic device is connected, the electricity can be provided to drive the circuit or device.
The average photoelectric conversion efficiency of the current thin film solar cell is about 6-10% mainly due to a low light utilization rate. The light path of the light passing through the photovoltaic layer is limited by the thickness of the photovoltaic layer, so that the light is not effectively absorbed. Consequently, while photovoltaic devices have the potential to reduce reliance upon fossil fuels, the widespread use of photovoltaic devices has been hindered by inefficiency concerns and concerns regarding the material costs required to produce such devices. Accordingly, improvements in efficiency and/or manufacturing costs could increase usage of photovoltaic devices.
SUMMARY
This disclosure provides photovoltaic cells and substrates with three dimensional optical architectures and methods of manufacturing the same. In particular, the disclosure relates to a continuously formed photovoltaic substrate, and to systems, devices, methods and uses for such a product, including the collection of solar energy.
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a photovoltaic cell or device comprising at least one light transmissive layer with a three dimensional surface pattern. In one embodiment, the device is a thin film photovoltaic device.
In one embodiment, the light transmissive layer comprises a front surface and a rear surface disposed opposite to the front surface, wherein the front surface has a three dimensional surface pattern and the rear surface is substantially flat. In another embodiment, the light transmissive layer comprises a front surface and a rear surface disposed opposite to the front surface, wherein the rear surface has a three dimensional surface pattern and the front surface is substantially flat. In another embodiment, the light transmissive layer comprises a front surface and a rear surface disposed opposite to the front surface, wherein both the front surface and the rear surface have a three dimensional surface pattern. The surface features can range in size from nanometer to micrometer to millimeters in length, height, width, and/or diameter.
In some embodiments, the photovoltaic cell or device further comprises (a) a first electrode layer positioned below the light transmissive layer, wherein the first electrode layer is transparent; (b) a photovoltaically-active layer positioned below the first transparent conductor; and (c) a second electrode layer positioned below the photovoltaically-active layer. In some embodiments, the second electrode layer is reflective.
In one embodiment, the first electrode layer comprises indium tin oxide (ITO), gallium indium tin oxide (GITO), zinc indium tin oxide (ZITO), and/or thin gold. In one embodiment, the photovoltaically-active layer comprises amorphous silicon, e.g., p-i-n-doped amorphous silicon. In one embodiment, the second electrode layer comprises gold, silver, aluminum, and/or copper. In another embodiment, the second electrode is a second transparent conducing electrode comprising, for example, ITO, GITO, ZITO, and/or thin gold. In one embodiment, the photovoltaically-active layer has a thickness of from 10 to 5000 nanometers. In one embodiment, the light transmissive layer comprises PMMA.
In a second aspect, the disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a photovoltaic cell or device comprising: (a) providing at least one light transmissive film with a three dimensional surface pattern, wherein the light transmissive film comprises a front surface and a rear surface disposed opposite to the front surface; (b) depositing a transparent conductive layer on the rear surface such that the deposited transparent conductive layer has a first surface that contacts the rear surface and a second surface disposed opposite to the first surface; (c) depositing a photovoltaically-active layer on the second surface such that the photovoltaic active layer is configured to receive electromagnetic radiation through the substrate layer and the first transparent conductive layer. In one embodiment, the transparent conductive layer is deposited on the rear surface by chemical vapor deposition. In one embodiment, a photovoltaically-active layer is also deposited on the front surface of the light transmissive film. In one embodiment, the photovoltaically-active layer is deposited on the second surface by chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, printing, or spraying.
In a third aspect, the disclosure provides a method for manufacturing a light transmissive film, the method comprising: (a) providing to at least one of the forming surfaces of a continuous forming machine a feed of material able to assume and retain a form after being molded between that first mentioned forming surface and a second forming surface; and (b) allowing that formation to take place as such surfaces are advanced in the same direction; wherein the output is of a form a three dimensional surface pattern adapted for assembly into a thin film photovoltaic cell. In other embodiments, the substrate with 3D surface features is manufactured by embossing, stamping, injection molding, or rolling. In one embodiment, the material is PMMA.
In a fourth aspect, the disclosure provides a method for converting electromagnetic energy into electrical energy comprising: (a) receiving electromagnetic radiation through a light transmissive substrate layer having 3D surface features; (b) transmitting the radiation into at least one photovoltaically-active layer through a transparent electrode beneath the light transmissive substrate layer; (c) generating excitons in the photovoltaically-active layer, and separating the excitons into electrons and holes; and (d) removing the electrons into an external circuit.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the following drawings and the detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of an illustrative photovoltaic device comprising a two-sided three-dimensional substrate layer according to one embodiment described herein.
FIG. 2A is a cross sectional view of an illustrative two-sided three-dimensional substrate layer according to one embodiment described herein. FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view of an illustrative two-sided three-dimensional substrate layer with a PV Cell having transparent electrodes on both sides according to one embodiment described herein.
FIG. 3 is a chart showing the optical transmission, reflection, and adsorption properties of illustrative embodiments of the materials described herein.
FIG. 4 is a chart illustrating the optical transmission, reflection, and adsorption properties of illustrative embodiments of the materials described herein.
FIG. 5 is a chart illustrating the angular dependence of illustrative embodiments of the materials described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It is to be appreciated that certain aspects, modes, embodiments, variations and features of the invention are described below in various levels of detail in order to provide a substantial understanding of the present technology.
The present technology is described herein using several definitions, as set forth throughout the specification. Unless otherwise stated, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural reference. For example, a reference to “a device” includes a plurality of devices.
As used herein the term “and/or” means “and” or “or”, or both.
As used herein “(s)” following a noun means the plural and/or singular forms of the noun.
Relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom”, “upper” or “top,” and “front” or “back” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower”, therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending of the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
The term “comprising” as used in this specification means “consisting at least in part of”. When interpreting statements in this specification which include that term, the features, prefaced by that term in each statement, all need to be present but other features can also be present. Related terms such as “comprise” and “comprised” are to be interpreted in the same manner.
Overview
Inefficiency concerns and production costs have prevented the widespread adoption of photovoltaic (PV) devices. The present disclosure describes photovoltaic devices that include one or more layers that comprise three-dimensional surface features through which incident light must pass before reaching a photovoltaically-active layer. These three-dimensional surface features scatter the light such that the path of the light through the photovoltaic device is increased. Increasing the light path through the photovoltaically-active layer can increase the photocurrent that flows through the photovoltaically-active layer and therefore increase the overall electrical power produced by the device. Thus, the efficiency of the photovoltaic devices (e.g., the amount of electrical power produced) can be increased and/or the thickness of the photovoltaically-active layer can be decreased resulting in lower material costs.
Reducing the thickness of the photovoltaically-active layer can also help to reduce the device degradation (e.g., Steabler-Wronski effect in amorphous-Si), thus increasing the stable performance lifetime of the photovoltaic device. Furthermore, the diffusive nature of the scattered incident light reduces the dependence of the photovoltaic device efficiency on the location of the sun. For example, when sun light is incident on the photovoltaic device at an oblique angle relative to the photovoltaic device, one or more three-dimensional surface features may act to reduce the amount of light that is reflected away from the device. Reducing the angular dependence of incident light can expand the installation flexibility of photovoltaic devices and increases the overall power output.
Various aspects of the technology will be described in detail below.
Three-Dimensional Light Transmissive Substrate Layers
In one aspect, the present technology provides a photovoltaic cell or device comprising at least one light transmissive layer with a three dimensional surface pattern. In some embodiments, the layer is patterned on one side only, with the other side being substantially flat. In other embodiments, the layer is patterned on both sides, where the pattern on each side may be the same or different. In some embodiments, the light transmissive layer substantially covers the entire photovoltaic cell or device. In other embodiments, the light transmissive layer covers less than the entire photovoltaic cell or device. For example, the light transmissive layer may form a grid pattern over the device. Materials suitable for use in the light transmissive layer include polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), perfluorocyclobutane (PFBC) containing polymers, such as perfluorocyclobutane poly(arylether)s, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), silicone, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). In some embodiments, a three dimensional substrate layer is incorporated in a thin film photovoltaic device.
The light transmissive layer typically comprises a front surface and a rear surface. Either the front surface, the rear surface, or both the front and rear surfaces may comprise a three-dimensional surface pattern. The three-dimensional surface pattern can have any desired shape and size. In some embodiments, the three dimensional surface pattern is an array of nano or microstructures which are shaped and oriented to produce a desired alignment. In some embodiments, each surface may have a variety of surface features. For example, a particular surface may have a mixture or combination of different size and shaped surface features. In some embodiments, the three-dimensional surface pattern is configured for optimal light capture from a variety of incident angles.
In one embodiment, the three dimensional surface features include an array of upstanding mounds. In other embodiments, the features may include square posts, rounded posts, cylinders, rods, pyramids, domes, walls, fibers, nipples, craters, wells, and other promontories which are shaped and/or orientated to permit light capture from many incident angles. In another embodiment, smaller three-dimensional structures are patterned on larger three dimensional structures on one or both sides of the light transmissive layer.
In an illustrative embodiment, the three dimensional surface features are mounds. The mounds can have any desired diameter and height. In some embodiments, the mounds are nano-, micro-, or millimeter-sized. In some embodiments, the mounds have a diameter at the base ranging from about 1 nm to about 2 mm, and a height ranging from about 1 nm to about 2 mm. In other embodiments, the mounds have a diameter at the base ranging from about 50 μm to about 1 mm and a height ranging from about 50 μm to about 1 mm. In some embodiments, the mounds have a diameter at the base at the ranging from about 20 μm to about 800 μm, and a height ranging from about 20 μm to about 800 μm. In a suitable embodiment, the mounds have a diameter at the base of about 100 μm and a height of about 100 μm. Each mound is suitably a discrete structure, but neighboring mounds could be connected together by material at their bases.
In another illustrative embodiment, the three dimensional surface features are posts. The posts may be square or rounded, and the tops of the posts can be rounded or flat. The posts may have substantially straight sides, either normal or tilted with respect to the major planes of the substrate, or the posts may have curved or irregular surface shape or configuration. For example, the cross section of the posts may be triangular, square, circular, elliptical or polygonal. In some embodiments, the posts have a length and/or width ranging from about 1 μm to about 2 mm, and a height ranging from about 1 μm to about 2 mm. Each post is suitably a discrete structure, but neighboring posts could be connected together by material at their bases.
Transparent Electrode Layer
The photovoltaic cell or device may include a first electrode layer positioned below the light transmissive layer, wherein the first electrode layer is transparent, i.e., capable of at least partially transmitting light. As used herein, the term “electrode” refers to a layer that provides a medium for delivering current to an external circuit or providing bias voltage to the photovoltaic cell or device. In some embodiments, the electrode provides an interface between the photovoltaically-active layers and a wire, lead, or other means for transporting the charge carriers to or from an external circuit. In some embodiments, the transparent electrode layer will have three dimensional surface features that correspond to or mirror the three dimensional surface features on the rear surface of the light transmissive layer described above.
In some embodiments, the transparent first electrode comprises a transparent conducting oxide, including but not limited to, indium tin oxide (ITO), gallium indium tin oxide (GITO), zinc indium tin oxide (ZITO), and/or gold. In some embodiments, the transparent first electrode comprises one or more conducting polymer materials, such as polyanaline (PANI), 3,4-polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT), graphene, carbon nanotubes, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transparent first electrode is doped with a dopant (e.g., sodium) to achieve lower resistivity. In some embodiments, the transparent first electrode layer may include a grid of a metal (e.g., copper, gold) to enhance the conductivity.
In some embodiments, the transparent first electrode has a thickness ranging from about 1 nm to about 10 μm. In other embodiments, the transparent first electrode has a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 800 nm. In some embodiments, the transparent first electrode has a thickness ranging from about 100 nm to about 900 nm.
Photovoltaically-Active Layer
The photovoltaic cell or device may include one or more photovoltaically-active layers positioned below the transparent first electrode. A photovoltaically-active layer of a photovoltaic device described herein can have a variety of thicknesses. In some embodiments, the thickness of the photovoltaically-active layer ranges from about 1 nm to about 10 μm.
In some embodiments, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprise an amorphous material. In some embodiments, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprises amorphous silicon (a-Si). The amorphous silicon of may be unpassivated or substantially unpassivated. In some embodiments, the amorphous silicon is passivated with hydrogen (a-Si:H) or a halogen.
In some embodiments, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprise a crystalline material or a polycrystalline material. In one embodiment, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprise an organic material. The organic material may include one or more of poly(3-hexylthiophene), poly(3-octylthiophene), fullerenes, carbon nanotubes or mixtures thereof.
In some embodiments, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprises a group IV semiconductor material, a group II/VI semiconductor material, a group III/V semiconductor material, or combinations or mixtures thereof. In some embodiments, a photovoltaically-active layer comprises a group IV, group II/VI, or group III/V binary, ternary or quaternary system. In some embodiments, a photovoltaically-active layer comprises a I/III/VI material, such as copper indium gallium selenide. In some embodiments, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprises polycrystalline silicon (Si). In one embodiment, the one or more photovoltaically-active layers comprise quantum dots.
In some embodiments, the photovoltaic cell or device comprises at least one photosensitive layer comprising an n-type region, an intrinsic region, and a p-type region. In some embodiments, an n-type region includes an n-doped semiconductor. In some embodiments, a p-type region includes a p-doped semiconductor. In some embodiments, an intrinsic region includes an undoped semiconductor. In some embodiments, the photovoltaic cells or devices comprise multi-junction constructions. In one embodiment, the photovoltaic device comprises a plurality of photovoltaically-active layers, each layer comprising an n-type region, an intrinsic region, and a p-type region. In another embodiment, the photovoltaic device comprises two photovoltaically-active layers, thereby providing a double junction device. In another embodiment, the photovoltaic device comprises three photovoltaically-active layers, thereby providing a triple junction device.
Second Electrode
The photovoltaic cell or device may include a second (or back) electrode layer positioned below the photovoltaically-active layer. In some embodiments, the second electrode is transparent. In other embodiments, the second electrode is not light transmissive. In some embodiments, the second electrode is reflective. In some embodiments, the second electrode comprises a metal. As used herein, the term “metal” refers to both elementally pure metal (e.g., gold) and also metal alloy (e.g., materials composed of two or more elementally pure metals). In some embodiments, the second electrode comprises one or more of gold, silver, aluminum, and copper. In some embodiments, the second electrode can have a thickness ranging from about 1 nm to about 10 μm. In other embodiments, the second electrode can have a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 1 μm. In some embodiments, the second electrode can have a thickness ranging from about 100 nm to about 900 nm. In some embodiments, the second electrode is reflective and capable of reflecting at least a portion of radiation not absorbed by the photosensitive layer back into the photosensitive layer for additional opportunities for absorption.
In some embodiments, the photovoltaic cell or device may further comprise an external metallic contact. In some embodiments, the external metallic contact surrounds the second electrode and is in electrical communication with the second electrode. The external metallic contact can be operable to extract current over at least a portion of the circumference and length of the photovoltaic device. The external metallic contact may include metals such as gold, silver, or copper.
Assembly of Devices
In some embodiments, a photovoltaic cell or device described herein comprises at least one light transmissive layer with a three dimensional surface pattern, a transparent first electrode layer positioned below the light transmissive layer; a photovoltaically-active layer positioned below the transparent first electrode; and a second electrode layer positioned below the photovoltaically-active layer and electrically connected to the photovoltaically-active layer. The device may further comprise a plastic substrate or backing and metal contacts for an electrical connection to a load or circuit.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross sectional view of a photovoltaic device 100 having a double-sided 3D substrate 101 structure according to one embodiment described herein (not shown to scale). The photovoltaic device 100 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a double-sided patterned transparent polymer substrate 101 . As discussed above, the transparent polymer substrate 101 may be, for example, PMMA.
The double-sided patterned transparent polymer substrate layer is positioned above a transparent first electrode 102 . The transparent first electrode 102 can comprise, for example, a light transmissive conducting oxide (TCO) such as indium tin oxide, gallium indium tin oxide, or zinc indium tin oxide.
The transparent first electrode 102 is positioned above a photovoltaically-active layer 103 , e.g., an a-Si single or double PIN junction structure. The photovoltaically-active layer 103 , in some embodiments, can be in direct electrical communication with the transparent first electrode 102 . In other embodiments, a charge transfer layer (not shown) may be disposed between the transparent first electrode 102 and the photovoltaically-active layer 103 to provide indirect electrical communication between the transparent first electrode 102 and the photovoltaically-active layer 103 .
The photovoltaically-active layer 103 is positioned above a second (back) electrode 104 . The photovoltaically-active layer 103 can be in direct electrical communication with the back electrode 104 . In other embodiments, a charge transfer layer (not shown) may be disposed between the photovoltaically-active layer 103 and the back electrode 104 to provide indirect electrical communication between the photovoltaically-active layer 103 and the back electrode 104 . In some embodiments, the back electrode 104 comprises a metal, such as aluminum, gold, silver, nickel, or copper.
FIG. 2A illustrates a cross sectional view of an alternate double-sided 3D substrate structure according to one embodiment described herein. In this embodiment, the three dimensional surface features include an array of upstanding mounds. FIG. 2B illustrates a cross sectional view of an alternate double-sided 3D substrate structure showing a PV cell having transparent electrodes on both sides.
Methods of Manufacturing
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides methods for manufacturing the light transmissive 3D substrate as described in herein. In one embodiment, the substrate with 3D surface features is manufactured in long strips by a continuous process which incorporates a continuous forming step, or “CFT Process” (see PCT/NZ2006/000300, published as WO2007/058548, and PCT/NZ2009/000214, published as WO2010/041962), and therefore can be made in varying lengths as required. Production is such that a single molded substrate, suitable for an entire roll of thin film photovoltaic cells, can be manufactured. In some embodiments, the substrate is about 1-20 meters in length, about 3-10 meters in length, or about 4-8 meters in length, or 2-4 meters in length, but the manufacturing process allows custom lengths to be accommodated. In other embodiments, the substrate with 3D surface features is manufactured by embossing, stamping, injection molding, or rolling.
In another aspect, the present disclosure provides methods for manufacturing a photovoltaic cell or device as described herein. For example, once a light transmissive substrate with 3D surface features has been produced, additional layers of a thin film photovoltaic device can be added. In one embodiment, disposing a transparent first electrode on a light transmissive substrate comprises sputtering or dip coating a transmissive conductive oxide onto a surface of the substrate. In some embodiments, disposing a photovoltaically-active layer in electrical communication with the first electrode comprises depositing the active layer using one or more standard fabrication methods, including one or more of solution-based methods, vapor deposition methods, and epitaxy methods. In some embodiments, the chosen fabrication method is based on the type of photovoltaically-active layer deposited.
In some embodiments, an a-Si layer can be deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD), sputtering or photo-CVD. In some embodiments, disposing a second electrode in electrical communication with the photovoltaically-active layer may include depositing the second electrode on the active layer through vapor phase deposition, spin coating, or dip coating.
Methods of Use
In one aspect, the disclosure provides methods of converting electromagnetic energy into electrical energy. In some embodiments, a method of converting electromagnetic energy into electrical energy comprises receiving electromagnetic radiation through a light transmissive substrate layer having 3D surface features, transmitting the radiation into at least one photovoltaically-active layer through a transparent electrode beneath the light transmissive substrate layer having 3D surface features, generating excitons in the photovoltaically-active layer, and separating the excitons into electrons and holes. In some embodiments, the light transmissive substrate layer having 3D surface features comprises any material described herein. In some embodiments, the photovoltaically-active layer comprises any material described herein. In some embodiments, the transparent electrode comprises any transparent electrode described herein. In some embodiments, the method further comprises removing the electrons into an external circuit.
EXAMPLES
The present compositions and methods, thus generally described, will be understood more readily by reference to the following examples, which are provided by way of illustration and are not intended to be limiting.
Example 1—Light Transmission/Reflection Test for Single Sided 3D Substrates
A light transmission/reflection/absorption was performed on six samples: Flat PMMA, PMMA with 100 μm surface features (PMMA-100), PMMA with 3 μm surface features (PMMA-3), an ETFE sheet and glass. A stainless steel tube with the same size of the sample and an optical powermeter sensor was used to avoid any possible light loss due to the light dispersion. The sample and the light source (LED) were aligned at the same line (angle).
The total power of the light was obtained by testing air only. The power is 146 (transmission)+5.45 (reflection)=151.95 μW. This power was stabilized by setting the current in the LED to be 70 mA which locks the light intensity. For the glass sample, out of 151.95 μW light power, 149.04 μW was transmitted and reflected. Only 2.91 μW power was absorbed. The absorbed light power is then converted to heat or redirected and emitted to other directions or both.
The results for the samples are shown in FIG. 3 . For PMMA-100, the power loss in the front was 86.38% and the power loss from the back was 82.79%. Consequently, 86.38% of the light was absorbed (not transmitted nor reflected) in the front while 82.79% of the light was absorbed in the back. The absorbed light is partly transformed to heat or redirected to other directions. However, 71.14% more light was absorbed in the front compared to flat PMMA, while 67.55% more of the light was absorbed in the back compared to flat PMMA. This amount of excess light is trapped inside of the PMMA-100 sample. Without wishing to be limited by theory, it is believed that the trapping mechanism of the PMMA-100 is the result of light bouncing forward and back at the interfaces of structured PMMA/air, which is in part due to the increased angle of incidence provided by the three-dimensional patterning.
Furthermore, the light trapping is different between the front and the back of the PMMA-100. The transmission is almost the same for the front and back; however, more light was reflected from the back than from the front. However, compared to flat PMMA, less light is reflected when the structured surface is facing the light yet more light is reflected when the back (flat) of the sample is facing the light. This indicates that the structured side is an anti-reflection surface. These studies of the PMMA-100 material can be summarized as follows:
(1) PMMA-100 is a good light absorber/trapper. More light is trapped inside of the sample compared to other samples. This implies that more light can be used (e.g., to convert to other forms of energy);
(2) The structured side of PMMA when facing the light is a good anti-reflective surface;
(3) When the flat side of PMMA is facing the light, more reflection will happen because of the larger surface area interface; and
(4) The geometry of the features on the surface PMMA-100 increases the amount of light captured from all incident angles.
For the PMMA-3, the transmission, reflection and absorption are similar to the case of PMMA-100. However, the absorption is less than the PMMA-100. This is because of the larger transmission for PMMA-3 compared to PMMA-100. The reason for this could be that the feature size of the PMMA-3 is much smaller than the PMMA-100, which results in the weaker light trapping ability.
Example 2—Light Transmission/Reflection Test for Double-Sided 3D Substrates
A light transmission/reflection/absorption was performed on eight samples: Flat PMMA, PMMA with 100 μm surface features on one side (PMMA-100), and six samples (1-6) which are patterned with 100 μm surface features on both sides. Samples 1 to 4 are transparent, and differ in the alignment of the surface features across the two sides. Sample 5 and Sample 6 are identical to Sample 1 and 2, respectively, except one side was painted black so that no light could pass through.
All of the samples were normalized against the air. A stainless steel tube with the same size of the sample and an optical powermeter sensor was used to avoid any possible light loss due to the light dispersion. The sample and the light source (LED) were aligned at the same line (angle).
The results are shown in FIG. 4 . The double-sided 3D samples absorbed the light greatly, especially the ones with one side painted. These results indicate that a significant amount of light has been kept inside the sample. The results also show that double sided 3D substrates absorb more light than single sided substrates.
Example 3—Angular Dependence Testing
An angular dependence test was performed on six samples: Flat PMMA, PMMA with 100 μm surface features (PMMA-100), PMMA with 3 μm surface features (PMMA-3), and glass. This test examined the transmission of light when the samples were subjected to the incident light at different angles.
The data is shown in FIG. 5 . Samples with three-dimensional surface features trap and transmit more light than the flat sample when the incident angle is small. The PMMA-100 sample performed the best.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds compositions or biological systems, which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.
In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, particularly in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 particles refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 particles. Similarly, a group having 1-5 particles refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 particles, and so forth.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entireties and for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
|
This disclosure provides photovoltaic cells and substrates with three dimensional optical architectures and methods of manufacturing the same. In particular, the disclosure relates to a continuously formed photovoltaic substrate, and to systems, devices, methods and uses for such a product, including the collection of solar energy.
| 7
|
PRIOR RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Ser. No. 505,690, filed Sept. 13, 1974 now abandoned claiming priority based on my prior British Pat. applications No. 43704/73 filed 18 Sept. 1973 and No. 6002/74 filed 9 Feb. 1974.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for detecting defective knitting needles in a circular knitting machine in which each hooked needle in a revolving circular array is reciprocated in succession during knitting, so that the hooked end is moved a distance into an outstanding or upstanding position relative to the other hooked ends and then returned to substantially the same plane in which the other hooked ends are disposed when not being reciprocated.
Some defects such as a very slightly bent needle do not cause difficulties during knitting, but other defects such as the snapping off of a needle hook or the jamming of a needle latch in its hook-closing position are unacceptable since they cause the production of malformed fabric with a ladder fault knitting therein.
According to one aspect of the invention a method of detecting a defective knitting needle in a circular knitting machine comprises directing a beam of light across the path of travel of the knitting needles onto photoelectric means such that a hook at one end of an intact or proper needle, whose latch is open, enters the beam to cast a shadow on the photoelectric means not latter in time than any other part of the needle entering the beam casts its shadow on said photoelectric means, and detecting from an output of the photoelectric means when the shadow cast by the said end occurs later in time than that of said other part or parts to indicate a defect.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a circular knitting machine comprising a circular array of knitting needles rotatable in a circular path, a first photoelectric means disposed at a higher vertical position than a second photoelectric means, a light source arranged to direct a beam of light onto said photoelectric means, an arc of said circular path passing between the light source and the photoelectric means such that when the needles are rotated along the needle path, each passes in succession through the beam and casts a shadow of the end of the needle having the hook onto the first photoelectric means and also casts a shadow of the thinner part of the shank of the needle or a jammed closed needle latch onto the second photoelectric means. The beam is directed so that when a proper needle with an intact hook and open latch enters the beam, the shadow of the hook is cast on the first photoelectric means before the shadow of any other part of the needle is cast on the second photoelectric means. However, if the hook is broken off a shadow of the shank is cast onto the second photoelectric means before any shadow of the needle is cast onto the first photoelectric means, of if the latch is jammed closed a shadow of the latch is cast onto the second photoelectric means before any shadow of the needle is cast onto the first photoelectric means. The photoelectric means is connected to control means wherein first and second electric signals are provided corresponding to shadows cast onto the first and second photoelectric means respectively when the machine is in use, and the control means is arranged to initiate stopping of the machine and/or operation of warning means, whenever a signal from the second photoelectric means for a given needle appears or occurs before the signal from the first photoelectric means for shadows cast by that same needle.
It has been found that the method of detecting defective knitting needles according to the first aspect of the invention or the use of apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention to detect defective knitting needles may fail to detect a faulty needle in certain unusual cases where a needle is snapped off so low down its shank that the photoelectric means may not have a shadow of this badly broken needle cast thereon. This is because the stump of the shank is too low and does not interrupt the light beam, and therefore no signal is issued to indicate this defect condition.
To remedy this there is provided according to a third aspect of the invention a method of detecting a defective knitting needle in a circular knitting machine comprising directing onto photoelectric means a beam of light which is interrupted by knitting needles travelling in a circular path and successively entering the beam, the photoelectric means comprising first photoelectric means disposed above second photoelectric means, and third photoelectric means offset in a horizontal direction from the first and second photoelectric means, arranging the first photoelectric means for the shadow of an intact hooked end of a first needle to be cast thereon before a shadow of the shank or a closed latch portion of the first needle is cast on the second photoelectric means, but also arraying the first and second photoelectric means for the shadow of the first needle, should it have a broken hook or a latch jammed in the closed or substantially closed position, to be first cast on the second photoelectric means, and arranging the third photoelectric means for a shadow of a second knitting needle to be cast thereon after the hooked end of the first needle has cast a shadow on the first photoelectric means. Variations in electrical outputs from the first, second and third photoelectric means due to needle shadows cast thereon are detected, said outputs are fed to control means responsive in the absence of an electrical cancel signal to the variation in output from the second and third photoelectric means to cause halting of the knitting machine and/or operation of alarm means, and the operation of the control means to prevent halting of the machine and/or operation of the alarm means is inhibited by feeding to the control means the cancel signal generated upon the appearance of the variation in output from the first photoelectric means. The cancel signal is of a predetermined duration of sufficient length for the output variation from the second and third photoelectric means to appear and disappear within the duration of the cancel signal.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a knitting machine according to the second aspect comprising third photoelectric means offset along the needle paths from the first and second photoelectric means and arranged for the light source to illuminate the third photoelectric means such that after a first needle having an intact hook and open latch has cast a shadow onto the first and second photoelectric means a second needle passing through the beam casts a shadow onto the third photoelectric means, the third photoelectric means being connected to the control means wherein a third signal is provided corresponding to the shadow cast onto the third photoelectric means. The arrangement is such that the first signal has a duration which is longer than the time between the appearance of the second signal and the disappearance of the third signal, but if no first signal is produced because a needle is broken too low down to interrupt the beam and the next needle then interrupts the beam to cast a shadow on the third photoelectric means the corresponding third signal appears and in the absence of the first signal the control means initiates stopping of the machine and/or operation of warning means.
Each aspect of the invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary and diagrammatic view of a circular knitting machine formed according to either the second or fourth aspects of the invention for carrying out the method according to the first or third aspects.
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic perspective view on an enlarged scale of a knitting needle and a lamp and photoelectric devices in the machine of FIG. 1 constructed in accordance with the second aspect of the invention for carrying out the first aspect.
FIG. 3 is a side elevation to enlarged scale, of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the arrangement in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a view from above, partly in cross section, of the arrangement in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the knitting needle in FIG. 3 which has its hook broken off.
FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the knitting needle in FIG. 3, with its latch jammed in the closed position.
FIG. 8 is the silhouette of the needle in FIG. 3, with its hook intact and latch open when viewed from the lamp in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 along the path of the light shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 is the silhouette of the broken needle in FIG. 6 when it is in the same position as the needle in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.
FIG. 10 is the silhouette of the needle with the jammed latch in FIG. 7, when in the same position as the needle in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a front view of light sensitive surfaces or windows the the photoelectric devices of FIG. 4 with other components absent and illustrate the shape of the shadow of the needle having the silhouette in FIG. 8, which is cast on an imaginary vertical plane in which the light sensitive surfaces are located, and also illustrate the progress of the shadow across the plane as the needle moves through the beam of light directed from the lamp onto the photoelectric devices in the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 an 5.
FIGS. 13 and 14 are similar to FIGS. 11 and 12 but illustrate the shape and progress of the shadow of a broken needle having the silhouette shown in FIG. 9.
FIGS. 15 and 16 are similar to FIGS. 11 and 12 but illustrate the shape and progress of a needle with a jammed latch having the silhouette shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic representation of an electronic control circuit used in the machine formed according to the second aspect of the invention, and for carrying out the method according to the first aspect.
FIG. 18 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the machine in FIG. 1 formed according to the fourth aspect of the invention and for carrying out the method according to the third aspect.
FIG. 19 is a diagrammatic representation of an electronic control circuit used on the machine formed according to the fourth aspect of the invention and for carrying out the method according to the third aspect.
FIG. 20 shows diagrammatic representations of electrical signals produced with respect to time in different parts of the control circuit in FIG. 17 when a needle with broken hook is detected.
FIG. 21 shows diagrammatic representations of electrical signals produced with respect to time in different parts of the control circuit in FIG. 17 when a needle with a jammed latch is detected.
FIG. 22 shows diagrammatic representations of electrical signals produced with respect to time in different parts of the control circuit in FIG. 19, when the needle is broken off low down the shank.
FIG. 23 is a schematic circuit diagram of an example of electronic circuitry which may be used for the amplifier, pulse shaper and gate circuits of the control means in the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, a circular knitting machine of known construction has a plurality of upright knitting needles N disposed in a circular array and driven around a circular path indicated by arrow A. During this rotation or circular movement, the needles are moved by cams in known fashion to carry out normal known knitting action utilizing textile yarn (not shown) in the course of which each needle is vertically reciprocated in succession into an outstanding or raised position such as indicated by needle N1, by interaction of butts (not shown) of the needles with cams (not shown) on the knitting machine. At its upper end, each needle has a hook 2 facing radially outwardly of the circle or circular path. With particular reference to FIG. 3, the hook portion is joined to a neck 4 forming part of a needle shank 6 provided with cheeks 8 in which is pivotably mounted at 10 a latch 12 which can be pivoted from a hook closing position into the depending attitude in FIG. 3 to fully open the hook.
A housing 14 is mounted on the knitting machine by means (not shown) above the needles. A limb or depending housing leg 16 located inside the circle of needles depends from the housing. Photoelectric devices 18 and 20, for example photovoltaic elements are mounted on the limb or leg 16. Exposure windows or light sensitive surfaces of the photoelectric devices can be located in a common plane which may be vertical, and they face outwardly of the circle of needles. These light sensitive surfaces or exposure windows can be substantially flush with a surface of the limb or leg 16. As shown in FIG. 2 for example the light sensitive surface or exposure window of the device 18 is located at a higher vertical level than that of the device 20. An electric lamp 22 located outside the circle of needles is mounted on a bridging member extending over the needles and mounted or connected to the housing 14.
As can be seen with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the lamp 22 is offset from the photoelectric devices 18 and 20 in an opposite direction to the direction in which a needle is moving along the circular needle path when the latter passes the lamp and photoelectric devices.
The lamp 22 emits a continuous beam of light 26 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5, onto the photoelectric devices to wholly illuminate the latter when no obstruction is interposed between the lamp and the photoelectric devices. This beam can be relatively narrow. The height of the lamp and photoelectric devices is such that as the needles are rotated, or moved along the curved needle path, each in success passes through the beam and casts a shadow on the photoelectric devices. From FIG. 5 it will be understood the direction B of the light directed onto the photoelectric devices has a component of direction which is in the same direction as that of a tangent T to the circular path A, along which tangent the needle is moving at the place where the beam intersects the circular path.
When a moving needle following the circular path A is located between the limb 16 and the lamp 22 and is viewed along the general direction of arrow B by an observer at the lamps, such an observer would see a partial front view and a partial side view of the needle. To such an observer, a needle with its hook intact and its latch fully open would have a silhouette as shown in FIG. 8 in which 2' is the silhouette of the hook, 8' the silhouette of the shank cheeks and 12' the silhouette of the latch. If the hook of the needle were broken off as shown in FIG. 6 the observed silhouette of the broken needle would be as shown in FIG. 9, and if the latch 12 were jammed closed as shown in FIG. 7, or nearly so, the silhouette would be as shown in FIG. 10. Therefore, when a needle with its hook intact and its latch open, enters the beam 26, the shadow cast on the photoelectric devices is comparable with the shape of the silhouette in FIG. 8. Because the needle is moving in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 5), the hook of the needle enters the light beam first, followed by other parts of the needle. The photoelectric device 18 is arranged for the shadow of the hook 2 and neck 4 of the needle to be cast thereon, while the lower photoelectric device 20 is arranged for shadow of the upper part of the shank cheek 8 to be cast thereon. Thus it will be seen from FIG. 11 that as the needle moves across the beam of light, a shadow 2" of the hook 2 moving in the direction A precedes a shadow 8" of the cheeks 8 and is cast on the upper photoelectric device 18 before the shadow of any other part of te needle is cast on the lower photoelectric device 20. FIG. 12 shows that as the needle continues to move in direction A, the shadow cast by the needle moves across both photoelectric devices 18 and 20. Ultimately the shadow moves off both photoelectric devices which then receive full illumination until the next needle enters the beam.
The shadow cast by a needle with a broken hook is of a shape comparable with that of the silhouette in FIG. 9. In this case as shown in FIG. 13, the shadow 8" of the cheeks precedes a shadow 4" of the broken neck. Consequently the shadow 8" is cast on the photoelectric device 20 before any shadow is cast on the photoelectric device 18. Continued movement of the needle causes the shadow to be cast on both photoelectric devices as shown in FIG. 14.
The shadow cast by a needle whose latch is jammed closed is of a shape comparable with that of the silhouette in FIG. 10. Because of this, as shown in FIG. 15, a shadow 12" of the latch 12 precedes the shadow 2" of the hook and is cast on the photoelectric device 20 before the shadow 2" of the hook is cast on the photoelectric device 18. Continued movement of shadow causes it to be cast on both photoelectric devices 18 and 20 as shown in FIG. 16.
Referring to FIG. 17, the photoelectric devices 18 and 20 are connected to electrical conducting paths 28 and 30 comprising cable 32 in FIG. 1. These paths lead to a control circuit 34 connected to a relay 36 which in FIG. 1 is shown connected to a knitting machine stop motion 38 and/or an alarm device 40 to give visual and/or audible warning of detection of a faulty knitting needle. The control circuit comprises amplifiers 42 and 44 wave shapers 46 and 48 and a gate device 50. The gate device is open unless closed by a signal on input line 52 (which can be conveniently called a cancel signal). If the gate should receive a signal on the input line 54 (which can be conveniently referred to as a stop signal) when no cancel signal is present on input 52, to gate device 50, the gate device provides an output pulse to actuate the relay 36. The control circuit is arranged so that when an intact needle with an open latch passes through the light beam, the cancel signal on line 52 holds the gate device 50 closed for the duration of the stop signal and no output pulse is provided by the gate device. But when a defective needle passes through the beam, the stop signal on input 54 appears first at the open gate device 50 which then provides the output pulse to actuate the relay.
Referring to FIG. 20, the electrical signal output from photoelectric device 18 is shown at FIG. 20(i), this signal when amplified by amplifier 42 (FIG. 17) is shown at FIG. 20(ii), and the corresponding square wave output from wave shaper 46 (FIG. 17) is shown at FIG. 20(iii). FIG.20(iv) shows the output signal from photoelectric device 20, FIG. 20(v) shows the signal when amplified by amplifier 44 (FIG. 17), and the corresponding square wave from the wave shaper 48 (FIG. 17) is shown at FIG. 20(vi). An output pulse provided by the gate device 50 is shown at FIG. 20(vii). These signals are represented with respect to a common time axis t.
When each of a number of successive needles with an intact hook and an open latch enters the light beam and casts its shadow on the photoelectric devices 18 and 20 the variator in electrical signal outputs therefrom are represented by waves 54 and 56 in FIGS. 20(i) and 20(iv). These waves or pulses 54, 56 may conveniently be called shadow signals. Because the hook casts its shadow on the photoelectric device 18 before the shadow of any other part of the needle is cast on the photoelectric device 20, the shadow signal or pulse 54 starts to appear at a time t1 before the corresponding shadow signal 56 which appears at time t2. These shadow signals are amplified by two respective amplifiers 42 and 44 whose outputs give amplified shadow signal 58 and 60 shown in FIGS. 20(ii) and 20(v). The wave shapers 46 and 48 (FIG. 17) convert the amplified shadow signals into respective square waves 62 and 64 shown in FIGS. 20(iii) and (vi). The square waves 62 of predetermined duration are the cancel signals and the square waves 64 of shorter predetermined duration are stop signals. The arrangement of the apparatus is such that because the shadow signal 54 starts to appear before the corresponding shadow signal 56, the leading edge of cancel signal 62 corresponds to the shadow signals 54 and appears at a time t3 (for example) in advance of the appearance at a time t4 of the leading edge of the stop signal 64. The cancel signal 62 derived from the output of device 18 is fed to the gate device 50 on line 52 and is holding the latter closed when the stop signal 64 arrives at the gate. The apparatus is also arranged to ensure that the cancel signal 62 terminates at a time t6 after the termination of the stop signal 64 at a time t5. Therefore the gate device 50 is held closed for the duration of the stop signal 64, and provides no output pulse. Consequently relay 36 is not actuated and the knitting machine continues to run normally since the stop motion has not been operated.
When a needle with a broken hook moves into the beam, the shadow cast on the photoelectric devices 18 and 20 is as described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 with the shadow of the shank cheeks 8" being cast on the photoelectric device 20 before any shadow is cast on the device 18. The output from the device 20 is represented by the shadow signal 56' (FIG. 20(iv)) which is the same as any other shadow signal 56. However the output from the device 18 is represented by the shadow signal 54' (FIG. 20(i)) which is of reduced amplitude compared with the other shadow signals 54. The shadow signal 56' starts to appear at a time t7 in advance of the time t9 at which the shadow signal 54' appears. The leading edge of square wave stop signal 64' (FIG. 20(vi)) produced by shaper 48, and corresponding to shadow signal 56', appears at time t8 in advance of tiem t10 at which the leading edge of square wave cancel signal 64' corresponding to shadow signal 54' appears. Therefore the stop signal 64' is fed to gate device 50 before the cancel signal 62' and the gate device provides an output pulse 66 which actuates the relay 36 to operate the stop motion 38 and the alarm means 40 (FIG. 1) whereby the machine is stopped and warning of the defective needle given. The gate device closes upon receiving the cancel signal 64' but the machine stops under the effect of the stop motion to enable the defective needle to be replaced.
In FIG. 21, like references refer to like signals and times described with reference to FIG. 20.
When a needle with a closed latch enters the light beam as described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the shadow 12" of the latch is cast on the photoelectric device 20 before any shadow on the photoelectric device 18. Therefore shadow signal 56" starts to appear at time t11 in advance of shadow signal 54" which starts to appear at time t13. The leading edge of stop signal 64", corresponding to shadow signal 56", starts to appear at time t12 in advance of time t14 at which the leading edge of cancel signal 62", corresponding to shadow signal 54", appears. The gate device receives the stop signal 64" first and provides an output pulse 66". Therefore the stop motion and alarm means actuate.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that when a needle with an intact hook and satisfactorily opened latch passes through the light beam, the cancel signal must occur before the stop signal and have a sufficiently long duration to terminate after the stop signal. There are various ways of ensuring this. For example, the wave shapers 46 and 48 may incorporate Zenner diode devices arranged so that the Zenner diode device associated with wave shaper 46 goes into conduction at an input shadow signal value thereto lower than that at which the Zenner diode device in wave shaper 48 goes into condution, and the wave shaper 46 cuts off its output signal when the input shadow signal falls to a lower value than the value of the input shadow signal at which wave shaper 48 cuts its output signal off. In addition, or as an alternative, amplifier 42 may have a higher gain than amplifier 44 so that the input to wave shaper 46 is always stronger than the input to wave shaper 48 at anytime when a non-defective needle is passing through the beam, to ensure the cancel signal occurs before the stop signal.
The position of the lamp 22 and housing limb 16 are adjustable relative to one another to facilitate the setting up of the apparatus. Furthermore, the housing limb may be tilted, in a vertical plane, in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 11, about a horizontal axis to ensure the shadow 2" of the hook is cast on the photoelectric device 18 even sooner, relative to the casting of the shadow 8" of the shank on the photoelectric device 20 than with the step-up shown in FIG. 11. A similar effect could be achieved by offsetting the position of the photoelectric device 18 in FIG. 11 to the left in the figure relative to photoelectric device 20, or offsetting the latter to the right relatively to the device 18. This ensures an earlier response to a diffective needle then with the set-up in FIGS. 13 to 16. The device 20 could be offset to the left in these figures relative to the device 18, or the limb could be pivoted in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 13 to produce the offsetting to the left of the device 20.
Should a needle be broken so low down that the shank stump does not pass through the light beam, the detector apparatus described above will not give a response. To avoid this difficulty the apparatus may be modified as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, in which like references refer to like parts in FIGS. 1 to 17. In FIG. 18, the housing limb 16 is provided with a further photoelectric device 20a at the same vertical height as the device 20 but offset horizontally from the devices 18 and 20 in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the needles by a distance substantially equal to one-half of the distance or spacing between two adjacent needles along the needle path. Although the photoelectric device 20a has been described as a further device, it may preferably be another light sensitive area or exposure window of the device 20 but separated from the previously described light sensitive area or window of the device 20 by an opaque mask 70. The arrangement is such that the beam of light from lamp 22 is directed onto all the photoelectric devices. After a needle N2 passing through the beam has cast its shadow on the devices 18 and 20 and has moved sufficiently for its shadow to be cast no longer on these devices, the next needle N3 to enter the beam, first casts a shadow on the device 20a and then moves to cast its shadow on the devices 18 and 20 and so on for successive needles. The devices 20 and 20a are both connected to like conducting path 30 to like control 34.
Referring to FIG. 22, the shadow signal output from the photoelectric device 18 is shown at FIG. 22(i), this signal when amplified by amplifier 42 is shown at FIG. 22(ii), and the corresponding square wave output from wave shaper 46 is shown at FIG. 20(iii). The shadow signal output from the photoelectric device 20 is shown at FIG. 20(iv), the shadow signal output from the photoelectric device 20a is shown at FIG. 20(v), the combination of these two shadow signals which is fed to amplifier 44 is shown at FIG. 22(vi), the amplified output from amplifier 44 is shown at FIG. 22(vii), and the corresponding square wave output from the wave shaper 48 is shown at FIG. 22(viii). An output pulse provided by the gate device is shown at FIG. 22(ix). These signals are represented with respect to the common time axis t.
When an intact first needle with its latch open passes through the beam, and after casting its shadow on the device 20a, the hook of the needle first casts a shadow on the upper photoelectric device 18 so that a shadow signal 54 (FIG. 22(i)) starts to appear before the corresponding shadow signal 56 (FIG. 22(iv)) from the lower photoelectric device 20. Shadow signal 54 is amplified, as shown at 58 (FIG. 22(ii)), by the amplifier 42. After the shadow signal 56 has appeared and disappeared, the next or second needle which is not broken (or not broken so low down its shank that it misses the beam) enters the beam and casts a shadow on the device 20a which produces the shadow signal 72 (FIG. 22(v)). Shadow signals 56 and 72 are added together as shown in FIG. 20(vi). These combined shadow signals are amplified as shown at 56a and 72a by the amplifier 44. The square wave stop signals from wave shaper 48 corresponding to shadow signals 56a and 72a are shown at 56b and 72b. From wave shaper 46, a square wave cancel signal output of predetermined duration, corresponding to shadow signal 54 is shown at 74 in FIG. 22(iii). Because shadow signal 54 appeared before shadow signal 56, thhe leading edge of cancel signal 74 appeared at time t15 in advance of the leading edge of stop signal 56b which appears at time t16. As the speed of rotation of the needles is known it is comparatively easy by employing a capacitance-resistor technique in wave shaper 46 to extend the duration of the cancel signal 74 so that it disappears at time t18 a short period after the time t17 at which stop signal 72b disappears. Consequently gate device 50 is held closed by the cancel signals on line 52 while the cancel signals 56b and 72b appear and disappear on line 54. Therefore the stop motion is not actuated. This second needle then moves sufficiently for its hook to cast a shadow on the device 18 and thereafter its shank casts a shadow on the device 20 producing shadow signals identical with previous shadow signals 54 and 56 but identified at 154 and 156 respectively in FIGS. 22(i) and 22(iv), so that a cancel signal 174 is initiated similar to cancel signal 74. If the next or third needle is so badly broken that it misses the beam a shadow signal 172 is not produced, but the gate 50 remains closed by virtue of the cancel signal 174 which appears before the stop signal 156b and terminates thereafter. Therefore the stop motion is not actuated. Now the broken third needle moves to a position where, if it were whole and operating perfectly, it would have cast a shadow on the devices 18 and 20 to produce shadow signals 254 and 256 which are missing. Since no shadow is cast by this badly broken needle onto the photoelectric device 18, no cancel signal 274 is generated by wave shaper 46 so that the gate device 50 remains open. Now when the succeeding or fourth needle enters the beam, it casts a shadow on photoelectric device 20a which produces shadow signal 272 (FIG. 22(v)). In response wave shaper 48 produces the stop signal 272b at time t19. This stop signal is supplied to the open gate device 50 which produces an output pulse 66'" to actuate the relay 36 thereby initiating operation of the stop motion.
In other respects the apparatus operates in the same manner as that described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17 inasmuch as when only the hook of a needle is snapped off or the needle latch is jammed closed, the shadow of such a needle is cast on the device 20 first before a shadow is cast on the device 18 and thus the stop signal appears before the cancel signal to initiate halting of the machine.
If the needles are very fine and mounted very close together the photoelectric device 20a may be spaced from the devices 18 and 20 by a distance substantially equal to three, five or any other odd whole number of times half the distance between adjacent needles. This is to prevent a needle casting its shadow simultaneously on the photoelectric devices 20 and 20a.
|
A method and apparatus for detecting defective knitting needles in a circular knitting machine wherein the knitting needles are advanced along a circular path between a light source and upper and lower vertically spaced photoelectric detector devices. The direction of the light beams from the source to the two photoelectric devices is inclined at an angle to the tangent of the circular path at the beam intercept with the circular path, such that the advancing needles pass successively through the beams and a shadow of the hook end of each needle is cast on the upper photoelectric device before any shadow of any other part of the needle is cast on the lower photoelectric device, when a nondefective intact needle enters the beams. Needles with broken off hooks or closed needle latches cause a shadow to be cast on the lower photoelectric device before any shadow reaches the upper photoelectric device to activate an alarm and/or stop the knitting machine. A third photoelectric device may be positioned to receive a shadow of a different needle from the one being inspected by the upper and lower photoelectric devices to detect needles broken off too low to cast a shadow on the lower photoelectric device.
| 3
|
The present invention relates generally to acoustic transducer assemblies, and particularly to low cost depth sounder and underwater imaging systems for applications such as locating fish and underwater reefs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Depth sounders are used by watercraft to echo-locate underwater terrain and to locate and identify fish. They do this by sending out a burst of acoustic energy from a transducer, and then subsequently use the same transducer to receive the returned echoes, and amplify and display the echoes on a CRT or LCD display. Conventional depth sounders, as implemented in small and medium sized boats, send out the energy collimated in a single beam, and by repeatedly pinging the transducer, use the motion of the boat to "paint" a two dimensional image of the area over which the boat has passed. More elaborate systems, that move the transducer beam either mechanically or electronically, are too large and too expensive for the small boat owner.
However, it is desired by the small to medium sized boat owner to have a depth sounder that can paint an image of the region under a boat, without using boat motion to provide one axis, and do this in real time or near real time. This could be done with a phased array, which electrically deflects the beam, if the size and cost were within practical limits for the small boat owner.
A phased array is an array of transducers, usually arranged in a linear row, the individual transducers being individually excited with a sinusoidal voltage that has an appropriate delay and/or phase shift to produce a beam of energy in a pre-determined angle or direction. For a linear array, the possible angles of beam deflection are limited to the plane formed by a line through the array elements and a line normal to the transmitting surfaces of the array. See FIG. 1. Techniques of this type date back many years using both acoustic and electromagnetic energy. An early patent using only delay line techniques for submarine echo-location is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,037,185 by G. H. DeWitz. Later patents using delay lines combined with frequency conversion and summation, describe a means of phase control for dynamic focusing, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,140,022 and 4,699,009 by S. Maslak. The principle technique described in these later patents is the use of a combination of delay lines and mixer phasing to control the deflection angle and focal point of the beam.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FOCUSED IMAGING SYSTEMS AND PRESENT INVENTION
Focusing, however, is only effective in the near field of a lens. The distance to the near field/far field transition is defined as: ##EQU1## where r nf is the radius to the near field, D is the length or diameter of the lens or aperture, and λ O is the wavelength of the center frequency of the propagating wave in the medium. For most situations in depth sounders, the center frequency is near 200 KHz (λ O =0.300 inches in water), and the aperture is one to two inches across. Substituting these values into Equation (1), one can determine that the near field is well within one foot of the transducer. Depth sounding and ranging is done from depths of 5 feet to 1000 feet, and therefore focusing is not effective at these depths since it is in the far field. What is important to depth sounders is beam steering or beam angle control, to direct the beam in a pre-determined direction, focused in effect at infinity.
In addition to not having the requirement of focusing, conventional depth sounders have another simplification over medical and submarine applications. This simplification is that the pulse lengths used are frequently very long, i.e., contain many cycles of the center frequency. Another way to state this is that the systems are narrow-band. A narrow-band phased array system can be steered with simple carrier phase control, and delay lines are not required. In a wide-band system, delay lines are used to coarsely align the pulse envelopes, and carrier phasing is then used to align the sinusoids within the pulse envelopes. A narrow-band system has such long pulse envelopes, compared to the center frequency of the excitation, that pulse envelope alignment is not necessary. The result is that a beam can be steered in a depth sounder, to an acceptable approximation, by merely phase shifting the transmitted signal (forming the transmitted beam), and phase shifting and combining the returned received signals. Although electronic phase shifters can be used, the received signals can most easily be phase shifted by the use of mixers, combined with a filter to select the upper or lower sideband. Mixers (or heterodyning) techniques preserve the phase of the input signal, and directly add to its phase the phase of the local oscillator signal, as described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,022.
In summary, depth sounders used for bottom mapping or fish location differ from prior art in two major simplifications: (1) focusing is not required because all imaging occurs in the far field, and (2) delay lines are not required, since the beam can be steered entirely with phase shifting due to the narrow band nature of the signals used.
CABLE SIZE CONSIDERATIONS
Most recreational boats have depth sounders that are installed by the owner. The owner is reluctant to make large holes in the boat for the passage of large cables to the transducer assembly, which is necessarily mounted below the water line. The cable then runs from the transducer up to the display unit which is mounted in view of the boat operator. A phased array might require 8-16 elements to be effective, in which case at least 8 or as many as 16 cable pairs are required from the transducer assembly to the display unit. It is also very important to the operation of the phased array system, for these individual cables to have a high degree of isolation between them, or beam steering quality is severely reduced due to cross-talk effects. For this reason, and for the reduction of noise and interference from the engine and other sources, the cables must be individually shielded or coaxial. These individual shielded cables are therefore larger than single wires, and make the resulting cable from the transducer assembly bulky and expensive. Therefore there is a need for a transducer assembly that reduces the size and number of wires in the cable, as well as the cable cost. In addition, if the transmitting and receiving electronics could be located adjacent to the transducer, the transmitter power losses in the cabling due to its length, and the tendency for the receiver to pick-up noise from the engine and nearby radio transmitters would be eliminated. The more elements the array contains, the more compelling the need for a reduction in the cabling requirements. This could be quite useful for recreational boats, but would also be very useful for commercial craft that have arrays with 100 or more elements.
Two dimensional arrays, which are much more complex but can deflect the beam to any angle in the hemisphere of the transmitted signal, would also benefit greatly from an integrated transducer assembly, due to the substantial number of transducer elements required.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a low cost phased array depth sounder suitable for use in small boats. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cabling and control system for a transducer assembly that uses as few cables as possible and that minimizes the number of shielded cables used, thereby minimizing the size of the hole in a boat's hull that is required for installation of the phased array depth sounder.
The present invention integrates the beam steering electronics into the transducer assembly in an economical and space efficient manner. By doing so, the bulk and expense of the multiplicity of shielded or coaxial signal cables from each transducer element to the display unit are eliminated, and in their place a single combined analog signal is supplied to the display unit, making the system practical for small water craft. Additional wires in the cable are needed for digital control to set the beam angle, and power for the electronics in the transducer assembly, but these wires can be fine gauge and need not be shielded.
In the beam control electronics in the transducer assembly, advantage is taken of simplifications that are possible in depth sounders over prior art implementations, with the use of mixers for phase shifters, and the elimination of delay lines and focusing electronics. A simple serial digital interface, in the preferred embodiment, allows the phase control information to be clocked to the assembly to set up the array for a given beam angle. In situations where it is desired to integrate the phase control data into the transducer assembly, a second form of the invention is shown which allows the display unit to send a simple angle command, over a serial interface, to the transducer assembly. In this latter form, the transmit and receive phasing information is stored in a ROM that is appropriately pre-programmed.
This invention groups the electronics to be located in the transducer assembly in such a manner as to anticipate placing the circuitry on one or more linear and digital integrated circuits. In this way, the electronics that is located in the transducer assembly is minimized in size, which is a major consideration. A large and bulky transducer assembly would impede the motion of the boat and be unsatisfactory.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Additional objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 schematically depicts electronic beam deflection using a phased array of transducers.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a phase array depth sounder system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the receiver circuit in the system of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 depicts the cable wires between the transducer assembly and the controller in the system of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a first preferred embodiment of the phase generator circuitry in the system of FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a second preferred embodiment of the phase generator circuitry in the system of FIG. 2.
FIG. 7 is a timing diagram of the clock and data line signals used in the preferred embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 2, a phased array depth sounder 100, consists of a transducer assembly 102 connected by cable 104 to a controller and display unit 106. The controller/display unit 106 includes a programmed microcontroller (CPU) 107, display 108, and an interface 109 to the cable 104. The transducer assembly 102 is mounted and packaged in a water tight housing 103 so that it can be operated under water. The assembly 102 contains M transducer elements 110, where M may be any integer number from perhaps eight to well over one hundred. The transducer elements 110 are pulsed by a plurality of excitation voltages from high voltage drivers 112. The excitation voltages are typically digital waveforms (a square wave of 50% duty cycle), having a center frequency nominally identical to the center frequency of the transducer 110. Typical center frequencies range from 50 KHz to 450 KHz, with 200 KHz a more common value.
The excitation voltages have a finite time duration, and differ from each other in the precise phase of the square wave. The phase of each square wave is chosen to produce a beam of acoustic energy from the transducer array 102 that has maximum amplitude in a predetermined direction or angle. The phases are generated by phase generators 120 that are controlled by a data bus from the controller 106. The process of creating an image on the display unit 108 consists of applying the excitation voltage to the transducers 110 for a finite time period, usually several milliseconds, then sampling the output of the receiver 130 to detect any returning echoes. The distance of objects is proportional to the time delay associated with the returning echoes, and thus images are positioned on the display unit 108 accordingly.
The receiver 130 contains the proper electronics to phase shift and sum the returning echoes to produce a maximum output at the same predetermined beam angle to which the transmitter was set. A detailed block diagram of the receiver 130 is shown in FIG. 3.
As further illustrated in FIG. 4, the interconnecting cable 104 to the controller 106 contains wires for the combined received signal (one shielded wire), gain control (one unshielded wire), and a serial data interface (three wires: one data signal, one clock signal, and a transmit GATE signal) to control the phases of the mixers and transmitters, and to gate the transmit signal. Power to the transducer assembly 102 is also required and provided by two wires (+VCC and GND) in cable 104. Prior to any transmission and reception process, a data signal is clocked over cable 104 to phase generators 120. This process sets up the local oscillator phases applied to the plurality of mixers contained in receiver 130, and excitation voltages that are applied to the plurality of high voltage drivers 112.
As shown, the cable 104 uses only one shielded wire and a total of just seven wires altogether. This is to be contrasted with the prior art approach, requiring eight shielded wires for an array of eight transducers. For an array with, say, a hundred transducers (e.g., a ten by ten array for three dimensional imaging), the number of wires in cable 104 would not change, while the brute force approach would require a hundred shielded cables. Thus, the present invention provides a cabling and control system that uses as few cables as possible and minimizes the number of shielded cables used. This minimizes the size of the hole in a boat's hull that is required for installation of the phased array depth sounder 100.
A detailed view of two approaches to producing the phase generator signals is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The preferred method is that of FIG. 5.
RECEIVER
A detailed block diagram of the receiver is show in FIG. 3. The receiver contains a plurality of isolation circuits 140 and mixer (or heterodyning) devices 142. There are M channels of heterodyning and isolation circuits corresponding to M transducer elements 110. The isolation circuits 140 protect the other circuitry from the high voltage drivers 112, but allow the low level signals detected by the transducers 110 when functioning as receivers to pass through. Each mixer device 142 mixes (or heterodynes) the received signal with a local oscillator signal identified here as LO#1-LO#M. These local oscillator signals are generated with appropriate phases from the phase generator circuitry 120 of FIG. 5. By mixing with appropriately chosen local oscillator phases, each received signal is phased shifted by an appropriate amount so that all of the signals received from the M transducer elements 110 are phase coherent when originating from a given angular direction. After mixing, all M channels are summed together using summer 144 and bandpass filtered by filter 150. Bandpass filter 150 selects either the upper or lower sideband, depending on the system design. Typically, in a fish finder, a 200 KHz transducer signal is used, a 650 KHz local oscillator, and a commonly available 450 KHz bandpass filter to select the lower sideband. After amplification by amplifier 152, the analog output signal is transmitted via cable line 154 (on cable 104) to the controller 106.
The mixer 142 can also function as a gain control circuit, by the application of a variable analog signal GAIN CONTROL IN from cable 104. The GAIN CONTROL IN signal varies the gain of the mixer, and in doing so allows the system gain a vary, under control of the operator viewing the display unit 106. In application, most of the circuitry of FIG. 3 can be integrated on a single analog integrated circuit fo a compact and low cost implementation.
PHASE GENERATORS
The phase generators 120 for generating the transmit signals XM#1-XM#M and local oscillator signals LO#1-LO#M are shown in FIG. 5. The local oscillator signals are selected from a plurality of clock signals F1-f1 to F1-fN produced by multi-phase clock generator 160. Since it would be impractical to precisely produce all local oscillator phases required for all steering angles needed by the array, the phase is quantized. Experiments, simulations, and data reported by U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,022 indicate that eight phases (45 degree quantization, maximum+/-22.5 degree error) are usually adequate, and rarely are more than sixteen phases are ever needed. Phase quantization to an even power of two is not necessary, but may be convenient for digital circuitry. Therefore for the N phase clock generator 160, N is usually a number between eight and sixteen.
The N signals from multi-phase clock 160 are supplied to a plurality of multiplexers 162-1 to 162-M, each of which selects one of the clock phases based on a plurality of Q-bit signals from shift register 164. The number of bits Q is determined by N, the number of clock phases, so that Q= log 2 (N) , where · is the ceiling function, which selects the smallest integer greater than the real number argument. Shift register 164 is loaded prior to the activation of the GATE signal by the controller 106. Shift register 164 is loaded with a bit pattern that sets each multiplexer 162, to select the correct clock phase from clock generator 160 to steer the received beam at a predetermined angle from the normal. The transmitter phases are set up in a similar manner with multi-phase clock generator 170, multiplexers 172 and shift register 174 as shown in FIG. 5, to steer the transmitted beam to the identical steering angle as the receivers.
The transmitter multiplexers 172 are enabled only when the GATE signal is activated. In this way, by pylsing the GATE signal, the transducer assembly 102 produces directed a directed beam of acoustic energy for a short period of time (e.g. between 0.2 and 2 millseconds), followed by a period of time in which the beam is turned off and receiver 130 listens for echoes of the transmitted signal. This is sometimes called a pulse-echo mode of operation.
The SCLOCK and SDATA signal waveforms, for the instance where Q=3, are shown in FIG. 7. On each the rising edge of the SCLOCK signal, the shift register 164 samples the SDATA line and places either a logical one or a logical zero into the shift register, depending on the state of SDATA for each clock signal. A total of 2·M·Q bits are clocked into the two shift registers 164 and 174, to hold the phase settings for the transmitters and receiver mixers.
The only difference between the transmitter multi-phase clock generator 170, and the receiver multi-phase clock generator 160 is the frequency. The transmitter multi-phase clock generator 170 is at frequency F2, the center frequency of the transducer. The receiver multi-phase clock generator 160 is at frequency F1, which is chosen to shift the transducer frequency to a convenient intermediate frequency for filtering and further amplification. For a typical fish finder application, F1=650 KHz, and F2=200 KHz. The phase shift of the received signals is preserved through the heterodyning process, and by adjusting the relative phase of the local oscillator signals LO#1-LO#M, the received signals can be phased aligned for a given beam angle.
The clock phase, for both transmit and receive, can be calculated from FIG. 1 as follows. The sonic waves arrive from a distant object, in the far field, as essentially parallel rays. The time delay, referenced to one end of the array, to each transducer element 110, can be calculated using Equation (2):
d.sub.i =·D·sin(θ)/V.sub.a (2)
where d i is the time delay, with respect to one end, to the i th element, D is the inter-element spacing, θ is the beam steering angle, and V a is the acoustic velocity. The phase delay φ i at the center frequency of the acoustic signal in degrees, at the i th element, it then: ##EQU2## Normally, φ i is computed modulo 360, and quantized to 45 degrees, as described previously. The clock phase at each multiplexer 162 is selected by the data loaded in the shift register 164 according to Equation (3), for a given steering angle θ. It is important no to confuse steering angle θ with oscillator phase φ. The relationship between the two is determined solely by Equation (3).
In general, a set of 2·M oscillator phase φ i are required to steer the array of transducers 110 to a single beam angle θ, and the total length of the two shift registers 164 and 174 is 2·M·Q bits. However, the M oscillator phases φ i for transmit and receive are identical at a given beam angle θ when the array is receiving and transmitting at the precisely indentical beam angle, and so the two shift registers 164, 174 in FIG. 5 could be combined into one shift register, and only M·Q bits required. In this event, the multiplexer 162-1 for LO#1 and the multiplexer 172-1 for XM#1 would have the same Q-bit contol signal as inputs, LO#2 and XM#2 would have identical Q-bit inputs, etc. However, it is possible to improve sidelobe performance by slight mis-alignment of transmit and receive beams, and so for this reason, a completely general shift register arrangement is shown with separate transmit and receive phase control.
In a preferred embodiment, the controller 106 is programmed to automatically send a sequence of controll signals to generate a sequence of directed beams of acoustic energy which sweep across a range of angles. The controller 106 automatically collects the resulting output signals from the receiver 130 and generates therefrom a corresponding image on the display unit 108.
PHASE GENERATORS AND ROM MEMORY IN THE TRANSDUCER ASSEMBLY
It is also possible to store all of the phase information in the transducer assembly 102, rather than clocking it from the controller unit 106 to the assembly over cable 104. This alternate technique is shown in FIG. 6. A ROM (read only memory) 180 holds the phase information, and is addressed by shift register 182. Shift register 182 receives the steering angle in binary form, from controller 106. However, only a few bits are required to set the assembly 102 to a given beam steering angle, since the steering angle is normally quantized to the nearest degree. For example, to command beam angles of -100 to +100 degrees, an eight bit word is required to be sent to shift register 182.
The outputs of ROM 180 are 2·M groups of Q bits each to drive the multiplexers 162, 172 as described previously. The only advantage of the method of FIG. 6 is the reduced data communication time, and the simpler interface requirements, since only a simple angle number need be clocked to the transducer assembly 102. The controller 106, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, therefore need not store a large data table, since this data is stored in ROM 180 in the transducer assembly 102.
ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS
While the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For instance, the present invention is clearly applicable to transducer assemblies having a two dimensional array of transducers (e.g., and eight by eight or ten by ten array), suitable for three dimensional imaging of the environment below a boat. The number of electrical lines in the cable between the controller and transducer assembly remains unchanged, regardless of the number of transducers used. Thus the advantages of the present invention are even more dramatic when used with a two dimensional array of transducers.
Those skilled in the art will realize that there are other methods of storing the data in the transducer assembly 102 for beam angle control, using microprocessor look-up techniques, and a multiport digital interface, for example. Other bus interface techniques, such as a parallel bus, may also be used for the data interface to the controller and display unit 106, that are still in keeping with the spirit of this invention, the principle concept of which is to integrate the beam control electronics into the transducer housing to reduce the cabling and noise pick-up problems associated with larg phased arrays. Another alternative is to eliminate the SCLOCK signal, and use on RS-232 like interface that requires no separate clock. Similarly, there may be other ways of producing staggered or delayed clock signals to drive the transducers and receiver circuit than the multiphase clock and multiplexer circuits of the preferred embodiment. The experienced reader may see other alternatives that are still within the scope of this inventions and are merely improvements easily implemented by those skilled in the art.
|
A phased array acoustic transducer apparatus has a controller and an array of ultrasonic transducers mounted in a water tight housing. Also included in the water tight housing are a transmitter circuit which sends phased excitation signals to the array of ultrasonic transducers so as to generate a directed beam of acoustic energy. A receiver circuit, located in the water tight housing, processes and combines signals received by the array of ultrasonic transducers to generate an output signal. The controller sends both power and control signals via a cable to the transmitter and receiver circuits. The cable uses a simple serial data line and a clock signal line to transmit beam angle control signals, thereby minimizing the size of the cable. The controller sends transmitter gating signals over a gate signal line on the cable to enable and disable operation of the transmitter circuit, such as is required for a pulse-echo mode of operation. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes a display unit coupled to the controller. The controller automatically sends a sequence of control signals that cause the transmitter circuit, in conjunction with the array of ultrasonic transducers, to generate a sequence of directed beams of acoustic energy. The controller automatically collects the resulting output signals from the receiver circuit and generates therefrom a corresponding image on the display unit.
| 7
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention belongs to technical fields of photoelectronic display and lighting, and relates to a fluorescent material, more particularly, to a full-color light-emitting material capable of emitting red-blue-green (R-G-B) full-color light directly and preparation method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the development of semiconductor lighting technology (LED), such revolutionary new light source has come into our daily life gradually. When the third generation semiconductor material gallium nitride is used as the semiconductor lighting source, its power consumption is only one-tenth of that of a common incandescent lamp under the same brightness; its lifetime can reach more than 1 million hours as well. As a new-type lighting technology, LED can be applied into varieties of fields such as indication, display, decoration, backlight and general lighting due to its numerous advantages including energy conservation, green environmental protection and flexible application etc., which is to bring about a revolution in the lighting field. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an efficient fluorescent material, which is capable of converting the blue-purple light emitted by light-emitting components including LED into the visible light, thus achieving white-light and multi-color light-emitting devices.
In the prior art, a main approach for achieving the white light emission of LED is through the cooperation of a blue-light LED chip and a rare earth garnet yellow fluorescent powder (such as YAG:Ce 3+ or TAG:Ce 3+ ) which is excited by cerium. However, the white light spectrum implemented by such method is short of green and red element, thus leading to two obvious disadvantages namely low color rendering property and high color temperature. In order to solve the disadvantages mentioned above, on one hand, green fluorescent powder or red fluorescent powder is doped into the yellow fluorescent powder excited by blue-light LED chip. On the other hand, an ultraviolent LED chip is used for exciting the red-green-blue tribasic fluorescent powder to enhance the color rendering property and regulate the color temperature. Although the above-mentioned two approaches can solve the problems of color rendering property and color temperature of light source relatively well, it still is required to encapsulate the LED chip after mixing various fluorescent powders with resin. During this process, the problem lies in that different kinds of fluorescent powders may not be mixed uniformly, which causing the non-uniform color of produced white light and influencing its practicability seriously.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is to provide a full-color light-emitting material which is able to emit a red-green-blue (R-G-B) full-color light directly without the need of doping any other substances, has good luminescent property and adapts for being excited by light-emitting components in ultraviolent zone (240˜410 nm), aiming at the drawbacks that green fluorescent powder or red fluorescent powder should be added in the approach for achieving the white light emission of LED of prior art through the cooperation of a blue-light LED chip and a rare earth garnet yellow fluorescent powder which is excited by cerium, causing the non-uniform color of produced white light and influencing its practicability seriously when various fluorescent powders are not mixed uniformly.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a preparation method for full-color light-emitting material which has simple process and stable product quality.
According to an aspect, a full-color light-emitting material is provided, which is a compound of following general formula (Y 1-x-y-z A x B y C z ) 2 GeO 5 , wherein x is 0<x≦0.05, y is 0<y≦0.15, z is 0<z≦0.15 and x:y:z=1:1˜10:1˜10; A is one selected from a group of Tm and Ce, B is one selected from a group of Tb, Ho, Er and Dy, and C is one selected from a group of Eu, Pr and Sm.
Ranges of x, y and z are preferably 0<x≦0.03, 0<y≦0.10 and 0<z≦0.10, respectively.
The ratio of x:y:z is preferably 1:1˜6:1˜6.
According to an aspect, a preparation method for full-color light-emitting material is provided, which comprising taking an oxide, carbonate, oxalate, acetate, nitrate or halide of Y and Ge together with an oxide, carbonate, oxalate, acetate, nitrate or halide of A, B and C as raw materials, grinding the raw materials uniformly, sintering the raw materials at 1300˜1500° C. for 6˜24 h, cooling down the raw materials to room temperature and then obtaining the full-color light-emitting material; wherein A is one selected from a group of Tm and Ce, B is one selected from a group of Tb, Ho, Er and Dy, and C is one selected from a group of Eu, Pr and Sm.
In the preparation method for full-color light-emitting material, the method preferably comprises grinding the raw materials uniformly in a mortar, sintering the raw materials at 1350˜1450° C. for 8˜15 h, cooling down the raw materials to room temperature and then obtaining the full-color light-emitting material.
In the preparation method for full-color light-emitting material, the method comprises weighting the raw materials in a stoichiometric ratio of each element in a chemical formula (Y 1-x-y-z A x B y C z ) 2 GeO 5 , that is, weighing the raw materials in accordance with a molar ratio of each element in the chemical formula; wherein ranges of x, y and z are respectively 0<x≦0.05, 0<y≦0.15 and 0<z≦0.15, and ratio of x:y:z is 1:1˜10:1˜10.
In the preparation method for full-color light-emitting material, the range of x, y and z is preferably 0<x≦0.03, 0<y≦0.10 and 0<z≦0.10, respectively.
In the preparation method for full-color light-emitting material, the ratio of x:y:z is preferably 1:1˜6:1˜6.
In the raw material, Purity of the oxide, carbonate, oxalate, acetate, nitrate or halide is no less than analytic purity.
The light-emitting material prepared in the present invention uses germanate doped with rare earth. Accordingly, the light-emitting material is capable of emitting a full-color light when excited in the ultraviolet zone (240˜410 nm) and has good luminescent property due to the addition of rare earth. Besides, an ideal white lighting can be achieved by adapting the ratio of the doping rare earth in the germanate.
The preparation method for full-color light-emitting material of the present invention has simple process, stable product stability, strong practicability and wide range of application.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments in the following. In the Figures:
FIG. 1 is the emission spectrum of the full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.97 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.01 Eu 0.01 ) 2 GeO 5 prepared in the example 1;
FIG. 2 is the emission spectrum of the full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.02 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 prepared in the example 9;
FIG. 3 is the emission spectrum of the full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.915 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.04 Eu 0.035 ) 2 GeO 5 prepared in the example 11;
wherein the excitation wavelength of the emission spectrum is 360 nm.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The full-color light-emitting material of the present invention is the compound of following general formula: (Y 1-x-y-z A x B y C z ) 2 GeO 5 , wherein the ranges of x, y and z are respectively 0<x≦0.05, 0<y≦0.15 and 0<z≦0.15, and the ratio of x:y:z is 1:1˜10:1˜10. Among them, A is one selected from the group of Tm and Ce, B is one selected from the group of Tb, Ho, Er and Dy, and C is one selected from the group of Eu, Pr and Sm. The ranges of x, y and z are preferably 0<x≦0.03, 0<y≦0.10 and 0<z≦0.10, respectively. The ratio of x:y:z is preferably 1:1˜6:1˜6.
A preparation method for full-color light-emitting material is provided, which comprises taking the oxide, carbonate, oxalate, acetate, nitrate or halide of Y and Ge together with the oxide, carbonate, oxalate, acetate, nitrate or halide of A, B and C as the raw materials, grinding the raw materials uniformly, sintering the raw materials at 1300˜1500° C. for 6˜24 h, cooling down the raw materials to room temperature and then obtaining the full-color light-emitting material; wherein A is one selected from the group of Tm and Ce, B is one selected from the group of Tb, Ho, Er and Dy, and C is one selected from the group of Eu, Pr and Sm.
In the preparation method for full-color light-emitting material, the method preferably comprises grinding the raw material uniformly in a mortar, sintering the uniform raw materials at 1350˜1450° C. for 8˜15 h, cooling down the raw materials to room temperature and then obtaining the full-color light-emitting material.
In the preparation method for full-color light-emitting material, the method comprises weighting the raw materials in the stoichiometric ratio of each element in the chemical formula (Y 1-x-y-z A x B y C z ) 2 GeO 5 , that is, weighing the raw material in accordance with the molar ratio of each element in the formula; wherein the ranges of x, y and z are respectively 0<x≦0.05, 0<y≦0.15 and 0<z≦0.15, and the ratio of x:y:z is 1:1˜10:1˜10. Preferably, the ranges of x, y and z are respectively 0<x≦0.03, 0<y≦0.10 and 0<z≦0.10, and the ratio of x:y:z is 1:1˜6:1˜6.
In the raw material, the purity of the oxide, carbonate, oxalate, acetate, nitrate or halide is preferably no less than analytic purity.
The present invention will be further explained in detail according to some examples in the following.
Example 1
(Y 0.97 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.01 Eu 0.01 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.97 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.005 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.01 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. Then the obtained powder is transferred to a corundum crucible and then placed in a high temperature box-type furnace, in which the powder is sintered at 1350° C. for 15 h. Subsequently, the yielded product is cooled down to room temperature and further grinded in a mortar. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.97 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.01 Eu 0.01 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained. As shown in FIG. 1 , it is the emission spectrum of the full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.97 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.01 Eu 0.01 ) 2 GeO 5 prepared in the example. As shown in the FIG. 1 , when excited at 360 nm, the full-color light-emitting material prepared in the example emits a blue light at 455, 460 and 487 nm, a yellow-green light at 544, 548, 580 and 587 nm, as well as an orange red light at 594, 611, 618 and 622 nm, thus realizing the full-color composite luminescence. The preparation method above has simple steps and stable product quality.
Example 2
(Y 0.97 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.01 Eu 0.01 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 1.94 mmol Y(NO 3 ) 3 , 0.02 mmol Tm(NO 3 ) 3 , 0.02 mmol Tb(NO 3 ) 3 , 0.02 mmol Eu(NO 3 ) 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. Then the obtained powder is transferred to a corundum crucible and placed in a high temperature box-type furnace, in which the powder is sintered at 1300° C. for 24 h. Subsequently, the yielded product is cooled down to room temperature and further grinded in a mortar. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.97 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.01 Eu 0.01 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 3
(Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Dy 0.02 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.945 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.02 mmol Dy 2 O 3 , 0.025 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. Then the e obtained powder is transferred to a corundum crucible and placed in a high temperature box-type furnace, in which the powder is sintered at 1450° C. for 8 h. Subsequently, the yielded product is cooled down to room temperature and further grinded in a mortar. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Dy 0.02 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 4
(Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Ho 0.015 Eu 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.945 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.015 mmol Ho 2 O 3 , 0.03 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. Then the obtained powder is transferred to a corundum crucible and placed in a high temperature box-type furnace, in which the powder is sintered at 1500° C.; for 6 h. Subsequently, the yielded product is cooled down to room temperature and further grinded in a mortar. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Ho 0.015 Eu 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 5
(Y 0.94 Tm 0.01 Er 0.025 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.94 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.025 mmol Er 2 O 3 , 0.025 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. Then the obtained powder is transferred to a corundum crucible and placed in a high temperature box-type furnace, in which the powder is sintered at 1400° C. for 11 h. Subsequently, the yielded product is cooled down to room temperature and further grinded in a mortar. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.94 Tm 0.01 Er 0.025 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 6
(Y 0.95 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.02 Sm 0.02 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.95 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.02 mmol Sm 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.95 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.02 Sm 0.02 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 7
(Y 0.915 Tm 0.015 Tb 0.04 Pr 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.915 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.015 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.02 mmol Th 4 O 7 , 0.01 mmol Pr 6 O 11 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.915 Tm 0.015 Tb 0.04 Pr 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 8
(Y 0.93 Ce 0.01 Tb 0.03 Eu 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.93 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.02 mmol CeO 2 , 0.015 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.03 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.93 Ce 0.01 Tb 0.03 Eu 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 9
(Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.02 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.945 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.025 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.02 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained. As shown in FIG. 2 , it is the emission spectrum of the full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.945 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.02 Eu 0.025 ) 2 GeO 5 prepared in the example. As shown in FIG. 2 , when excited at 360 nm, the full-color light-emitting material prepared in the example emits a blue light at 455, 460 and 487 nm, a yellow-green light at 544, 548, 580 and 587 nm, as well as an orange red light at 594, 611, 618 and 622 nm. The color coordinate of the combined light in the example is (03364, 0.3282), which is close to that of an ideal white light, i.e. (0.33, 0.33). Thus, a white light emission is achieved.
Example 10
(Y 0.92 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.04 Eu 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.92 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.02 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.03 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.92 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.04 Eu 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 11
(Y 0.915 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.04 Eu 0.035 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.915 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.02 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.035 mmol Eu 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.915 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.04 Eu 0.35 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained. As shown in FIG. 3 , it is the emission spectrum of the full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.915 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.04 Eu 0.35 ) 2 GeO 5 prepared in the example 11. As shown in FIG. 3 when excited at 360 nm, the full-color light-emitting material prepared in the example emits a blue light at 455, 460 and 487 nm, a yellow-green light at 544, 548, 580 and 587 nm, as well as an orange red light at 594, 611, 618 and 622 nm. The color coordinate of the combined light in the example is (0.3387, 0.3355), which is close to that of an ideal white light, i.e. (0.33, 0.33). Thus, a full-color composite luminescence is achieved.
Example 12
(Y 0.88 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.05 Eu 0.06 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.88 mmol Y 2 O 3 , 0.01 mmol Tm 2 O 3 , 0.025 mmol Tb 4 O 7 , 0.06 mmol Et 2 O 3 and 1 mmol GeO 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.88 Tm 0.01 Tb 0.06 Eu 0.06 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 13
(Y 0.79 Ce 0.01 Tb 0.1 Eu 0.1 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 1.58 mmol Y(CH 3 COO) 3 , 0.02 mmol Ce(CH 3 COO) 3 , 0.2 mmol Tb(CH 3 COO) 3 , 0.2 mmol Eu(CH 3 COO) 3 and 1 mmol Ge(NO 3 ) 4 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.79 Ce 0.01 Tb 0.1 Eu 0.1 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 14
(Y 0.815 Tm 0.015 Er 0.02 Pr 0.15 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.815 mmol Y 2 (CO 3 ) 3 , 0.015 mmol Tm 2 (CO 3 ) 3 , 0.02 mmol Er 2 (CO 3 ) 3 , 0.3 mmol Pr(CH 3 COO) 3 and 1 mmol Ge(C 2 O 4 ) 2 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.815 Tm 0.015 Er 0.02 Pr 0.15 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 15
(Y 0.82 Tm 0.05 Ho 0.01 Eu 0.12 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 0.82 mmol Y 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 3 , 0.05 mmol Tm 2 (CO 3 ) 3 , 0.01 mmol Ho 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 3 , 0.24 mmol Eu(CH 3 COO) 3 and 1 mmol Ge(CH 3 COO) 4 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.82 Tm 0.05 Ho 0.01 Eu 0.12 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
Example 16
(Y 0.805 Tm 0.015 Dy 0.15 Sm 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 Prepared by High Temperature Solid-State Method
At room temperature, 1.61 mmol YCl 3 , 0.03 mmol TmCl 3 , 0.3 mmol DyCl 3 , 0.06 mmol Sm(CH 3 COO) 3 and 1 mmol GeCl 4 are placed in an agate mortar and grinded to be uniform. The remaining steps are the same as those in example 1. Then a full-color light-emitting material (Y 0.805 Tm 0.015 Dy 0.15 Sm 0.03 ) 2 GeO 5 is obtained.
|
A full-color light-emitting material and preparation method thereof are provided. A light-emitting material is following general formula compound (Y 1-x-y-z A x B y C z ) 2 GeO 5 , wherein 0<x≦0.05, 0<y≦0.15, 0<z≦0.15, x:y:z=1:1˜10:1˜10, A is one of Tm and Ce, B is one of Tb, Ho, Er and Dy, C is one of Eu, Pr and Sm. Preparation method is: grinding the raw material uniformly, then sintering the material at 1300˜1500 ° C. for 6˜24 h, cooling down the material to room temperature then getting the product. A full-color light-emitting material which can emit red-green-blue full-color light directly and be adapted for light-emitting device excited in ultraviolet zone without other doped material is provided. And a preparation method having simple process, stable product quality for full-color light-emitting materials is provided.
| 2
|
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This Application claims priority from German Patent Application DE 10 2012 110 830.7 filed on Nov. 12, 2012, which is incorporated in its entirety by this reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and a device for extracting aromatic substances from solid aroma bearers in a brew liquid, in particular for extracting aromatic substances from solid hops products like for example hops pellets made from ground and pressed hops in beer or intermediary beer products during beer production.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When brewing beverages, in particular when brewing beer, a differentiation is made between the fermentation process and the storage process. After fermentation, the yeast added in the fermentation process has no more activity left and the brewed liquid is substantially separated from the yeast. During the subsequent storage of the cooled down brew liquid, undesirable aromas are reduced and further clearing of the brewing liquid is performed, for example of the so-called young beer. In this phase, additional aromatic substances can be added to the brew liquid since no aromatic substances are bonded by the yeast anymore. When brewing beer, pressed hops pellets are typically introduced into a storage tank for the brew liquid, wherein the hops aromas are transported from the solid matrix of the hops pellets through diffusion and a negative concentration gradient into the brew liquid, thus into the young beer. This extraction of aromatic substances is also designated as dry hopping. This method, however, has disadvantages since resins exiting from the hops pellets quickly form deposit in the storage tank so that materials transition is degraded.
Another method to introduce aroma into the beer is suspending sacks or baskets that are filled with hops pellets in the storage tank. This method, however, becomes more and more inefficient with increasing tank size since on the one hand side, the ratio of surface to volume degrades during scale up and, on the other hand side, the path for the diffusion of the aromatic substances out of the solid matrix becomes longer and longer. Thus, this method is unsuitable for industrial applications.
It has therefore already been proposed to dissolve hops pellets in a separate container through which the brew liquid is pumped from the tank into a cycle and to transport the aromatic substances from the hops pellets into the beer. EP 2 500 408 A1 describes an arrangement and a method for introducing hops into a tank, wherein the hops is supplied from a hops storage container into a mixer which includes an inlet and an outlet for beer stored in a tank. The beer from the tank is pumped through the mixer and the supplied hops is mechanically milled in the mixer by a mixing tool. Mechanically milling the pellets provides excellent substance transmission of the hops aromas into the beer, the fine milled solids of the hops matrix, however, can only be precipitated with great difficulty in the subsequent filtration step due to the small particle sizes. This applies to sedimentation or filtration.
Other devices and methods are known in which the hops pellets are stored in a container and the container is then flowed through by the brew liquid. Thus, however, it cannot be excluded that swollen hops fragments clog the outlet or also that large hops fragments are carried out which then quickly sediment in the storage tank and lead to the low quality substance transfer as recited supra.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus it is the object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for extracting aromatic substances from solid plant based aroma bearers which facilitates a substance transfer of the aromatic substances from the solid plant based aroma bearers into the brew liquid without additional mechanically driven devices so that reliable operations are provided.
The object is achieved through a method for extracting aromatic substances from solid plant based aroma bearers in a brew liquid, in particular beer, comprising the steps: receiving a supply of aroma bearers in a process container, and flowing the process container through with a brew liquid, wherein the brew liquid flows through the process container with the supply of aroma bearers in at least one turbulent vortex flow.
In this method according to the invention for extracting aromatic substances from solid plant based aroma bearers, a supply of the aroma bearers is included in a process container and is flushed through by a brew liquid, wherein the brew liquid including the supply of aroma bearers flows through the process container in at least one turbulent vortex flow.
This turbulent vortex flow provides that, on the one hand side, an intense mixing of the aroma bearers is provided with the brew liquid which leads to a very effective extraction of the aroma substances from the aroma bearers and, on the other hand side, prevents a plug formation of the aroma bearers in particular when the aroma bearers have swelled up. In a particularly advantageous manner, the method is usable when the solid plant aroma bearers are formed by pressed pellets, for example by hops pellets, which are induced to swell by the brewing liquid. In this swelling phase of the pellets, the turbulent vortex flow prevents agglomeration and thus plug formation so that the pellets are effectively dissolved by the brewing liquid.
The brewing liquid advantageously flows through the process container with the supply of the aroma bearers in two opposite flow directions. This counter flow principle provides improved mixing of the aroma bearers with the brew liquid, in particular when the aroma bearers float up in the initial stage of the process when the brew liquid is introduced into the supply of aroma bearers and the liquid level rises.
Thus, it is particularly advantageous when the vortex directions of the opposite brew liquid flows are also oriented against one another. This introduction of the brew liquid into the supply of aroma bearers have the effect that one brew liquid flow is oriented clockwise and the other is oriented counter clockwise so that the two counter rotating and axially opposed brew liquid flows screw into one another thus providing an optimum mixing of the brew liquid with the aroma bearers.
The device based object of the invention is also implemented through a device with the features of patent claim 4 .
This device for extracting aromatic substances from solid plant based aroma bearers in a brew liquid includes a process container which includes a tubular receiving cavity for the aroma bearers which is provided with a closeable fill in opening.
The process container includes at least one inlet and at least one outlet for the brew liquid, wherein a sieve device is provided between the receiving cavity and the outlet. The at least one inlet for the brew liquid leads into the receiving cavity in a tangential direction or with a tangential directional component. This tangential arrangement of the inlet for the brew liquid has the effect that the brew liquid is imparted a spin when introduced into the process container and in particular into the receiving cavity for the aroma bearers which becomes a vortex flow together with the axial flow forming in the process container. As stated supra, this vortex flow provides a particularly effective mixing of the solid plant aroma bearers with the brew liquid.
Preferably, the at least one inlet enters the tubular receiving cavity at an angle relative to its longitudinal axis. This inclination of the inlet at an angle to the longitudinal axis has the effect that the brew liquid flow forming in the process container and in particular in the receiving cavity is provided with an axial component in addition to the rotation component caused by the tangential inlet which further improves mixing.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment, a first inlet in the lower portion of the receiving cavity leads into the receiving cavity essentially in tangential direction and a second inlet leads into the upper portion of the receiving cavity essentially in tangential direction. This way, the brew liquid is introduced into the receiving cavity at two axially offset locations. This facilitates that, especially when flooding the receiving cavity with brew liquid, a formation of a plug from aroma bearers that float up with the rising liquid level is effectively prevented.
Thus, it is particularly advantageous when the first lower inlet leads into the receiving cavity at a slant angle from below and when the second upper inlet leads into the receiving cavity at a slant angle from above. Thus, the two introduced brew liquid flows are imparted with an opposite axial component so that a mixing of the aroma bearers that float up with a rising liquid level is also provided in axial direction in a particularly advantageous manner.
An advantageous improvement of the device according to the invention is that the first lower inlet and the second upper inlet lead into the receiving cavity on opposite sides with respect to a center plane including a longitudinal axis of the tubular receiving cavity so that the brew liquid flowing in through the first lower inlet and the brew liquid flowing in through the second upper inlet flow into the receiving cavity in opposite rotation directions. This arrangement of the two inlets provides the formation of two brew liquid flows in the receiving cavity that twist into one another.
An advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterized in that the sieve device is formed by a tubular inner element with a sieve jacket wherein the receiving cavity for the aroma bearers is formed in the interior of the tubular inner element and wherein the outlet is in liquid connection with a space enveloping the sieve jacket. The brew liquid flow from the receiving cavity to the outlet is thus performed radially from the inside out through the sieve jacket which provides a large sieve surface and which reduces the risk of clogging the openings of the sieve jacket with particles of aroma bearers. This embodiment is particularly useful for very small arrangements in order to prevent a bridge formation of the pouring material, but also for very large arrangements to counter act the effect where a ratio of volume to surface is reduced during scale up since the volume increases with the third power but the surface only increases with the second power.
In an alternative solution in which the sieve device is also formed by a tubular inner element with a sieve jacket, the receiving cavity for the aroma a bearers is formed by a space enveloping the inner element and the outlet is in fluid connection with the inner cavity of the inner element. In this variant, the brew liquid flows from the receiving cavity for the aroma bearers towards the outlet in radial direction from an outside in. Thus, the risk that the openings of the sieve jacket clog with particles of the aroma bearers is already reduced because the particles of the aroma bearers are forced radially outward, thus away from the sieve jacket through the rotation flow forming in the receiving cavity and the centrifugal effect associated therewith.
It is also advantageous when the sieve jacket of the sieve device is configured so that only very small well extractable solid particles can pass.
With respect to easy cleaning, it is advantageous when the sieve jacket is configured as a spiral welded slot sieve.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is subsequently described in more detail with reference to the drawing figure, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a process arrangement with a device according to the invention for extracting aromatic substances form solid plant based aroma bearers or performing the method according to the invention in an embodiment of a beer production arrangement in a brewery;
FIG. 2 illustrates the embodiment of a process container according to the invention of a device for extracting aromatic substances from solid plant based aroma bearers illustrated in FIG. 1 in detail;
FIG. 2 a illustrates a variant of the process container of FIG. 2 with an inclined upper inlet;
FIG. 2 b illustrates a variant of the process container of FIG. 2 with an inclined lower inlet.
FIG. 3 illustrates a horizontal sectional view of the process container of FIG. 2 along the line III-III, and
FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a process container of the device according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a process arrangement for performing the method according to the invention. A process container 1 is connected with a storage tank 4 through an upper inlet conduit 2 and a lower inlet conduit 3 in which storage tank a supply of a brew liquid 5 is stored. An outlet conduit 6 connects a lower end of the process container 1 with the storage tank 4 . The process container 1 includes a lower inlet 11 with a lower inlet opening 110 and an upper inlet 12 with an upper inlet opening 120 and an outlet 14 with an outlet opening 140 . The inlet openings 110 , 120 are provided in a housing jacket 10 of the cylindrical process container 1 and the outlet opening 140 is arranged in a base wall 102 of the process container 1 .
Additionally, an inert gas storage 7 is provided which is connected with an inert gas conduit 70 with the lower inlet conduit 3 of the process container 1 . Shortly in front of the connection of the inert gas conduit 70 with the lower inlet conduit 3 , a cutoff valve 72 is provided in the inert gas conduit 70 , wherein the inert gas conduit 70 is blockable through the cutoff valve and the inert gas flow is regulatable.
Upstream and downstream of the outlet of the inert gas conduit 70 into the lower inlet conduit 3 , a first lower inlet valve 30 and a second lower inlet valve 32 are provided in the inlet conduit 3 . The first lower inlet valve 30 is arranged in the inlet conduit 3 between the outlet of the inert gas conduit 70 into the inlet conduit 3 and the lower inlet opening 110 of the process container 1 . The second lower inlet valve 32 is provided between the inlet of the inert gas conduit 70 into the lower inlet conduit 3 and a branch off point 20 in which a common inlet conduit 8 originating from a lower outlet 40 of the storage container 4 branches into the lower inlet conduit 3 and the upper inlet conduit 2 . An outlet conduit 34 originates from the branch off point 20 , wherein the outlet conduit is blockable through a valve 36 and used for emptying the process container 1 through the lower inlet conduit 3 .
The upper inlet conduit 2 is connected through an upper inlet valve 22 that is configured as a cutoff and/or regulation valve with the upper inlet opening 120 of the process container 1 and thus forms the upper inlet 12 of the process container 1 . Also, the upper inlet conduit 2 is provided with an outlet valve 24 through which the upper inlet conduit 2 can be bled from air and emptied.
The common inlet conduit 8 originating from the storage container 4 is connected to the lower outlet 40 of the storage container 4 through a cutoff an7or control valve. Furthermore, a pump 82 is provided in the common inlet conduit 8 wherein the pump 82 can be used to introduce brew liquid 5 from the storage container 4 through the common inlet conduit 8 , the lower inlet conduit 3 and the upper inlet conduit 2 into the process container 1 .
The outlet conduit 6 is connected through a cutoff valve 60 with an outlet opening 140 of the process container 1 . A sieve device 13 is provided in the interior of the process container 1 , wherein the sieve device includes an inner outlet tube 130 including a sieve jacket 132 and is connected with the outlet opening 140 . The outlet conduit 6 runs back to the storage tank 4 where it is connected through a cutoff valve 62 which connects the outlet conduit 6 with an existing riser tube 42 in the storage tank 4 so that the brew liquid returned through the outlet conduit 6 is conducted upward in the storage tank 4 , thus away from the lower outlet 40 of the storage tank 4 . A riser tube 6 of this type is typically provided in a storage tank 4 that is used as a fermentation tank of a brewing arrangement and forms an upper outlet 43 therein with its open upper end. This upper outlet 4 is used in the device according to the invention as an inlet for the brew liquid returned from the process container 1 into the storage tank 4 . This return of the brew liquid through the upper outlet 43 of the storage tank 4 causes an efficient mixing of the brew liquid 5 stored in the storage tank 4 and prevents that the brew liquid returned from the process container 1 is returned directly through the lower outlet 40 of the storage tank 4 back into the process container 1 . Adding inert gas into the conduit 6 through a path that is not illustrated helps to further improve the distribution of the hops suspension in the storage tank 4 . This is advantageous in particular for large and tall storage tanks.
The process container 1 , whose configuration is described infra is provided with a pivotable lid 16 at its top side, wherein the pivotable lid closes an upper fill in opening 15 tightly. Solid plant based aroma bearers 9 , for example hops pellets or hops umbels, can be filled through this fill in opening 15 into an annular receiving cavity 18 that is formed in the interior of the process container 1 and that envelops the outlet tube 130 .
FIG. 2 illustrates the process container 1 of the device according to the invention in a partially cut lateral view.
The process container 1 is provided with a cylindrical outside wall 100 which radially defines the annular tube shaped receiving cavity 18 in outward direction. In radial inward direction, the annular receiving cavity 18 is defined by the sieve jacket 132 of the centrally arranged inner outlet tube 130 . The inner outlet tube 130 and the cylindrical outer wall 100 of the process container 1 are therefore arranged coaxial to one another and to the longitudinal axis z of the process container 1 . The process container 1 is defined by a base wall 102 at its axial lower, end which base wall includes the central outlet opening 140 . At the upper end, the process container 1 is provided with the upper fill in opening 15 which is closeable gas and liquid tight through the pivotable cover 16 .
The upper inlet 12 includes an upper inlet tube 122 connected with the upper inlet valve 22 , wherein the upper inlet tube 122 is connected with an edge of the upper inlet opening 120 . The upper inlet tube 122 extends in a plane which is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Z and leads tangentially or approximately tangentially into the receiving cavity 18 formed in the process container 1 . The liquid introduced through the upper inlet 12 into the receiving cavity 18 of the process container 1 thus flows counter clockwise into the receiving cavity 18 in the illustration of FIG. 3 .
The lower inlet 11 includes a lower inlet valve 112 which extends from the first lower inlet valve 30 to the process container 1 and is connected therein with the edge of the lower inlet opening 110 . Also the lower inlet tube 112 extends in a plane which extends orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Z and the lower inlet tube 112 also leads in a tangential direction into the receiving cavity 18 of the process container 1 as illustrated in FIG. 3 . However, the inlet opening of the lower inlet 11 is on an opposite side of the center plane E including the longitudinal axis Z of the process container 1 and of the tubular receiving cavity 18 with respect to the inlet opening of the upper inlet 12 . This arrangement of the lower inlet 11 has the effect that liquid introduced through the lower inlet into the process container 1 , and thus into the receiving cavity 18 , flows clockwise according to the illustration of FIG. 3 .
The outlet 14 of the process container 1 is provided with an outer outlet tube 142 which is connected with an edge of the outlet opening 140 and which extends from there to the outlet valve 60 . The outer outlet tube 142 extends coaxially to the axis Z and extends the lower outlet tube 130 in downward direction.
FIGS. 2 a and FIG. 2 b illustrate a variant of the process container illustrated in FIG. 2 . The lower inlet tube 112 ′ leads in this embodiment inclined at an angle α 1 to a plane E 1 oriented orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Z at a slant angle from below into the receiving cavity 18 and thus into the process container 1 ( FIG. 2 b ). The upper inlet tube 122 ′ leads inclined at an angle α 2 to a plane E 2 oriented orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Z at a slant angle from above into the receiving cavity 18 and thus into the process container 1 ( FIG. 2 a ). The inclination angles α 1 and α 2 are advantageously in a range of 15° to 30°.
Also in this variant of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b , the upper inlet tube 122 ′ and the lower inlet tube 112 ′ lead into the process container 1 in a tangential direction or with a tangential directional component analogous to the illustration in FIG. 3 .
A modified embodiment of the process container illustrated in FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 4 . The process container 201 illustrated therein is configured in an inverse manner relative to the embodiment of FIG. 2 , this means that the process container 201 includes a centrally arranged receiving cavity 218 for the solid plant based aroma bearers, wherein the receiving cavity 218 is formed by a receiving tube 230 which is defined at its outer circumference by a sieve jacket 232 and which receiving tube 230 is arranged in an interior of the process container 201 defined in radial direction by a cylindrical housing jacket 202 and the receiving tube 230 is arranged coaxial to the housing jacket and to the longitudinal axis Z′.
The inner receiving tube 230 forming a sieve device 220 is thus enveloped by an annular cavity 219 which leads to a lower collection funnel 217 which forms the base of the process container 201 and which includes an outlet opening 240 at its lower tapered end, wherein the outlet opening forms the outlet 204 of the process container 201 together with the outer outlet tube 242 .
The upper face wall of the process container 201 is provided with a center fill in opening 225 whose edge is connected with the sieve jacket 232 and which is closeable gas and liquid tight through a cover 226 and thus forms an access to the central receiving cavity 218 for the plant based aroma bearers.
The upper inlet 212 and also the lower inlet 210 are provided with an upper inlet tube 213 or a lower inlet tube 215 as illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 2 , wherein both inlet tubes lead into the receiving cavity 218 of the process container 201 . Thus, the upper inlet tube 213 penetrates the cylindrical outer jacket 202 of the process container 201 and is connected with the edge of an upper inlet opening 214 in the sieve jacket 232 of the receiving tube 230 . In analogy thereto, the lower inlet tube 215 of the lower inlet 210 also penetrates the outer jacket 202 of the process container 201 and is connected with the edge of a lower inlet opening 216 in the sieve jacket 232 of the receiving tube 230 .
Also in the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 , the inlet tubes 213 and 215 lead into the receiving cavity 218 on different sides of the center plane E in a tangential manner or almost tangential thereto analogous to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 , so that, also in this variant, two counter rotating flows are formed in the receiving cavity 218 .
Furthermore, an embodiment analogous to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b can also be provided for the variant illustrated in FIG. 4 , this means that also the inlet tubes 213 or 215 can be inclined in a way as illustrated and described in conjunction with the embodiments in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b.
Though cylindrical cross sections for the process container 1 and the inner outlet tube 130 or the inner receiving tube 230 have been described for the recited embodiments, the invention is not limited to circular cross sections. By the same token, these cross sections can also be elliptical or also polygonal.
The function of the device according to the invention and of the method according to the invention is subsequently described in more detail with reference to FIG. 1 .
Before the brewing liquid is introduced into the process container 1 , inert gas is introduced from the inert gas container 7 through the inert gas conduit 70 and the lower inlet conduit 3 into the process container 1 . This inert gas thus displaces the air from the process container 1 which flows out through the upper inlet conduit 2 and the open drain valve 24 arranged thereon. This way, the process container 1 and also the lower inlet conduit 3 and the upper inlet conduit 2 are flushed with inert gas, for example with carbon dioxide, until air including oxygen has been purged from the system. This purging of the oxygen content from the conduit system is essential since the brewing liquid is otherwise impaired by reacting with oxygen for example when producing beer.
When the air including oxygen has been purged from the system, the process container 1 is fed through the lower inlet conduit 3 and the open valves 30 , 32 and the common inlet conduit 8 with the brew liquid 5 pumped out of the storage tank 4 , wherein the cutoff valve 60 of the drain conduit 6 is closed. For this filling process, the outlet valve 24 in the upper inlet conduit is open so that gas can escape from the system.
When the process container 1 has been filled with the brewing liquid 5 , the drain valve 4 in the upper inlet conduit 2 and also the upper inlet valve 22 in the upper inlet conduit 2 are closed and the cutoff valve 60 is opened. The brewing liquid flowing in through the tangential lower inlet 11 under the pressure build up by the pump 82 is forced to rotate in the interior of the process container 1 and thus forms a vortex flow which mixes the brew liquid 5 A received in the receiving cavity 18 of the process container with the aroma bearers 9 initially floating on the level of the brew liquid 5 A.
The aroma bearers 9 are solids which are forced into motion and kept in motion by the rotating flow so that the aroma bearers accumulate at the outer wall of the receiving cavity 18 , so that the sieve openings in the central inner outlet tube 130 of the process container 1 are not closed and blocked by the solid materials, so that an unrestricted outflow of the brew liquid through the inner outlet tube 130 and the outer outlet tube 142 into the outlet conduit 6 is provided.
Under a high load of the process container 1 with plant based aroma bearers 9 , the upper inlet valve 22 in the upper inlet conduit 2 is opened additionally and the brew liquid supplied from the storage tank 4 is introduced in addition to the described lower introduction also through the upper inlet 12 into the process container 1 . This generates a second brew liquid flow oriented from the top down in the process container 1 that is opposite to the first brew liquid flow oriented from the bottom up, wherein the second brew liquid flow has a spin that is contrary to the spin of the first brew liquid flow due to the described configuration of the upper inlet. The two brew liquid flows screw into one another and thus swirl the plant based aroma bearers, thus the solid particles, particularly intensely in the brew liquid supply 5 A in the receiving cavity 18 , so that a formation of a floating cover with plant based aroma bearers 9 , which occurs when slowly filling the process container and which is described in an exemplary manner in FIG. 1 , is prevented during operations. These counter flowing brew liquid flows that screw into one another in opposing directions generate a highly turbulent flow zone in their impact area which provides particularly good mixing of the solids provided as the plant based aroma bearers 9 with the brew liquid supply 5 A and in which dissolving the solids in the brew liquid 5 A is facilitated an accelerated.
The sieve jacket 132 , 232 of the sieve device 13 , 220 is configured so that only very small easily extractable solid particles can pass. The sieve shape of the sieve jacket 132 , 232 is not limited to a hole sieve. The sieve jacket 132 , 232 can also have any suitable configuration of a sieve in particular the sieve jacket 132 , 232 can also be configured as a spiral welded slot sieve. This embodiment is advantageously cleanable in a simple manner.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments recited supra which are only used for a general explanation of the core idea of the invention. Within the scope of the invention, the device according the invention can also be provided in other embodiments than described. Thus, the device can in particular have features combined from individual features of the respective claims.
Reference numerals in the claims, the description and the drawings are only used for better understanding of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention.
REFERENCE NUMERALS AND DESIGNATIONS
1 Process container
2 Upper inlet conduit
3 Lower inlet conduit
4 Storage tank
5 , 5 A Brew liquid
6 Outlet conduit
7 Inert gas storage
8 Common inlet conduit
9 Aroma bearer
10 Housing jacket
11 Lower inlet
12 Upper inlet
13 Sieve device
14 Outlet
15 Fill in opening
16 Lid
18 Receiving cavity
20 Branch off point
22 Upper inlet valve
24 Outlet valve
30 First lower inlet valve
32 Second lower inlet valve
34 Outlet conduit
36 Valve
40 Lower outlet of the storage tank
42 Riser tube
43 Upper outlet of the storage tank
60 Cutoff valve on outlet of the process container
62 Cutoff valve on riser tube of the storage container
70 Inert gas conduit
72 Inert gas valve
80 Cutoff valve on lower outlet of the storage tank
82 Pump
102 Base wall
112 , 112 ′ Lower inlet tube
122 , 122 ′ Upper inlet tube
130 Inner outlet tube
132 Sieve jacket
140 Outlet opening
142 Outer outlet tube
201 Process container
202 Housing jacket
203 Upper face wall of the process container
204 Outlet
210 Lower inlet
212 Upper inlet
213 Upper inlet tube
214 Upper inlet opening
215 Lower inlet tubes
216 Lower inlet opening
217 Collection funnel
218 Receiving cavity
219 Annular cavity
220 Sieve device
225 Fill in opening
226 Lid
230 Receiving tube
232 Sieve jacket
240 Outlet opening
242 Outer outlet tube
Z, Z′ Longitudinal axis
E Center plane
E 1 , E 2 Horizontal planes
α 1 , α 2 Inclination Angles
|
A method for extracting aromatic substances from solid plant based aroma bearers in a brew liquid, in particular in beer, having the steps: receiving a supply of aroma bearers in a process container, and flowing the process container through with a brew liquid, wherein the brew liquid flows through the process container with the supply of aroma bearers in at least one turbulent vortex flow.
| 1
|
FIELD
[0001] This disclosure pertains to methods, systems, and apparatus for automatically performing image capture in a mobile electronic device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Today's mobile electronic devices often include hardware and associated software that allow the device to capture and store images. For instance, mobile phones that include image capture functionality are commonly referred to as camera phones and allow a user to easily and quickly capture snapshots or live video. Because camera phones are hand-held, however, motion of the user's arm or hand transfers directly to the camera, and inevitably, image quality is degraded. In addition to hand jitter, image capture in camera phones is typically activated through a touchscreen button, which creates additional camera motion. Moreover, differences in the design and construction of camera components that are used with mobile electronic devices make them more susceptible to user-induced motion than conventional, stand-alone, cameras. For instance, the camera components used in a mobile electronic device are typically designed for compactness, convenience, and price, resulting in components that are not capable of operating with the quality and precision of their counterparts in stand-alone cameras.
SUMMARY
[0003] Techniques and tools for capturing still or video images using a camera in a mobile electronic device are described herein. One of the exemplary techniques disclosed herein comprises sensing camera motion and automatically triggering image capture when the camera is stationary. Use of this approach avoids taking a picture while the camera is in motion, thus reducing image blur. Use of this exemplary method also reduces or eliminates the need for subsequent image alteration or motion compensation. In particular embodiments, images are captured in-between motions by leveraging high-resolution sensors and computational assets available to the mobile device that accurately assess when to trigger the shutter. Images can then be saved in memory within the device. In certain embodiments of the disclosed automatic image capture techniques, a set of trigger criteria and threshold values for image acceptance are pre-selected (e.g., by a user). The disclosed techniques can be implemented in a wide variety of systems and apparatus. For example, one exemplary system comprises a mobile device comprising a camera, a device motion detector, and a processor (e.g., an image signal processor (ISP)) programmed to receive data from the motion detector and to trigger image capture.
[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a system diagram depicting an exemplary mobile device, including a variety of optional hardware and software components.
[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates a generalized example of a mobile device, including a touchscreen display, a camera, proximity sensors, and buttons.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating basic components of a camera typically provided within mobile devices such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a generalized example of the appearance of the device display while an image capture application is running on the mobile device.
[0009] FIG. 5 illustrates a generalized example of a mobile device while presenting image-capture settings and options to be specified by a user.
[0010] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary software architecture for a mobile device that features automatic image capture.
[0011] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a first exemplary embodiment of an automatic image capture method.
[0012] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a second exemplary embodiment of an automatic image capture method.
[0013] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an image processing pipeline that is used with embodiments of the disclosed automatic image capture methods.
[0014] FIG. 10 illustrates a generalized example of a suitable computing environment in which described embodiments, techniques, and technologies can be implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] This disclosure is set forth in the context of representative embodiments that are not intended to be limiting in any way.
[0016] As used in this application and in the claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Additionally, the term “includes” means “comprises.” Further, the term “coupled” encompasses mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, as well as other practical ways of coupling or linking items together, and does not exclude the presence of intermediate elements between the coupled items. Additionally, the term “and/or” means any one item or combination of items in the phrase.
[0017] The described methods, systems, and apparatus described herein should not be construed as limiting in any way. Instead, this disclosure is directed toward all novel and non-obvious features and aspects of the various disclosed embodiments, alone and in various combinations and sub-combinations with one another. The disclosed methods, systems, and apparatus are not limited to any specific aspect or feature or combinations thereof, nor do the disclosed methods, systems, and apparatus require that any one or more specific advantages be present or problems be solved.
[0018] Although the operations of some of the disclosed methods are described in a particular, sequential order for convenient presentation, it should be understood that this manner of description encompasses rearrangement, unless a particular ordering is required by specific language set forth below. For example, operations described sequentially may in some cases be rearranged, omitted, or performed concurrently. Moreover, for the sake of simplicity, the attached figures may not show the various ways in which the disclosed methods, systems, and apparatus can be used in conjunction with other methods, systems, and apparatus. Additionally, the description sometimes uses terms like “produce,” “generate,” “select,” “capture,” and “provide” to describe the disclosed methods. These terms are high-level abstractions of the actual operations that are performed. The actual operations that correspond to these terms may vary depending on the particular implementation and are readily discernible by one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0019] Any of the disclosed methods can be implemented using computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media (e.g., non-transitory computer-readable media, such as one or more volatile memory components (such as DRAM or SRAM), or nonvolatile memory components (such as hard drives)) and executed on a computer (e.g., any commercially available computer, including smart phones or other mobile devices that include computing hardware). Any of the computer-executable instructions for implementing the disclosed techniques as well as any data created and used during implementation of the disclosed embodiments can be stored on one or more computer-readable media (e.g., non-transitory computer-readable media). The computer-executable instructions can be part of, for example, a dedicated software application or a software application that is accessed or downloaded via a web browser or other software application (such as a remote computing application).
[0020] For clarity, only certain selected aspects of the software-based implementations are described. Other details that are well known in the art are omitted. For example, it should be understood that the disclosed technology is not limited to any specific computer language or program. For instance, the disclosed technology can be implemented by software written in C++, Java, Perl, JavaScript, HTML5, or any other suitable programming language. Likewise, the disclosed technology is not limited to any particular computer or type of hardware. Certain details of suitable computers and hardware are well known and need not be set forth in detail in this disclosure.
[0021] Furthermore, any of the software-based embodiments (comprising, for example, computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform any of the disclosed methods) can be uploaded, downloaded, or remotely accessed through a suitable communication means. Such suitable communication means include, for example, the Internet, the World Wide Web, an intranet, software applications, cable (including fiber optic cable), magnetic communications, electromagnetic communications (including RF, microwave, and infrared communications), electronic communications, or other such communication means.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a system diagram depicting an exemplary mobile device 100 including a variety of optional hardware and software components, shown generally at 102 . Any component 102 in the mobile device can communicate with any other component, although not all connections are shown, for ease of illustration. The mobile device 100 can be any of a variety of computing devices (e.g., cell phone, smartphone, tablet computer, netbook, handheld computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or other such device) and can allow wireless two-way communications with one or more mobile communications networks 104 , such as a cellular or satellite network.
[0023] The illustrated mobile device 100 can include one or more controllers or processors 110 (e.g., a signal processor, microprocessor, ASIC, or other control and processing logic circuitry) for performing such tasks as signal coding, data processing, input/output processing, power control, and/or other functions. In some embodiments, the mobile device 100 includes a general processor and an image signal processor (ISP). The ISP can be coupled to the camera 136 and can include circuit components for performing operations specifically designed for image processing and/or rendering. An operating system 112 can control the allocation and usage of the components 102 , including power states, and provide support for one or more application programs 114 . The application programs can include common mobile computing applications (e.g., email applications, calendars, contact managers, web browsers, messaging applications), an automatic image capture application according to the disclosed technology, or any other computing application.
[0024] The illustrated mobile device 100 includes memory 120 . Memory 120 can include non-removable memory 122 and/or removable memory 124 . The non-removable memory 122 can include RAM, ROM, flash memory, a hard disk, or other well-known memory storage technologies. The removable memory 124 can include flash memory, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, or other well-known memory storage technologies, such as “smart cards.” The memory 120 can be used for storing data and/or code for running the operating system 112 and the application programs 114 . Example data can include web pages, text, images, sound files, video data, or other data sets to be sent to and/or received from one or more network servers or other devices via one or more wired or wireless networks.
[0025] The mobile device 100 can support one or more input devices 130 , such as a touchscreen 132 , microphone 134 , camera 136 , physical keyboard 138 , trackball 140 , and/or proximity sensor 142 , and one or more output devices 150 , such as a speaker 152 and one or more displays 154 . Other possible output devices (not shown) can include piezoelectric or haptic output devices. Some devices can serve more than one input/output function. For example, touchscreen 132 and display 154 can be combined into a single input/output device.
[0026] A wireless modem 160 can be coupled to an antenna (not shown) and can support two-way communications between the processor 110 and external devices, as is well understood in the art. The modem 160 is shown generically and can include a cellular modem for communicating with the mobile communication network 104 and/or other radio-based modems (e.g., Bluetooth 164 or Wi-Fi 162 ). The wireless modem 160 is typically configured for communication with one or more cellular networks, such as a GSM network for data and voice communications within a single cellular network, between cellular networks, or between the mobile device and a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
[0027] The mobile device can further include at least one input/output port 180 , a power supply 182 , a satellite navigation system receiver 184 , such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, one or more accelerometers 186 , one or more gyroscopes 187 , and/or a physical connector 190 , which can be a USB port, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) port, and/or RS-232 port. The accelerometer(s) 186 and/or the gyroscope(s) 187 can be implemented as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which can be coupled to or embedded in an integrated circuit chip. The illustrated components 102 are not required or all-inclusive, as any components can be deleted and/or other components can be added.
[0028] FIG. 2 depicts the front and back of an example mobile device 200 . In particular, the left side of FIG. 2 depicts a front view 210 of the example mobile device 200 , while the right side of FIG. 2 depicts a rear view 250 of the mobile device. As shown, the mobile device 200 includes several hardware buttons, including a home button 220 , a power button 222 , and a camera shutter (image-capture) button 224 . Also depicted is a touchscreen display 230 , which is shown displaying a touchscreen camera shutter button 234 . In certain implementations, the touchscreen camera shutter button 234 replaces and is used instead of the camera shutter button 234 . In other embodiments, the touchscreen camera shutter button 234 supplements the camera shutter button 234 as an alternative shutter button or is absent entirely.
[0029] Also shown in FIG. 2 is a frontward-facing lens 262 . The lens 262 is positioned on the front face of the mobile device 200 and can therefore be used to capture an image of the user. In certain embodiments, an image capturing application being executed on the mobile device 200 allows a user to select whether the frontward-facing lens 262 is activated, a rearward-facing lens (such as lens 260 ), or both.
[0030] The mobile device 200 includes a microphone 240 and speaker 242 , along with two proximity sensors 246 and 248 , situated below the surface of the mobile device. In some examples, the proximity sensors 246 and 248 emit an infrared beam and receive a reflected infrared beam, which is reflected off the surface of a nearby object that has been illuminated by the emitted infrared beam. An intensity measurement, or other measured property for the received beam, can be used to determine whether an object is in proximity with the mobile device 200 .
[0031] The camera shutter button 224 of the mobile device 200 is a dedicated dual-action camera shutter button, with the ability to detect “half-press” and “full-press” as distinct, separate actions. As is readily understood to those of skill in the art, a half-press refers to the partial actuation of a button or other control, while a full-press refers to a further actuation of the button or control past a determined limit. In some examples, the dual-action camera shutter button 224 is associated with the following attributes. When a half-press is detected, input data is received with the mobile device that is associated with auto-focus functionality. When a full-press is detected, input data is received that is associated with camera invocation and image capture.
[0032] While the camera shutter button 224 is shown located on a front surface 205 of the mobile device 200 , in other examples, a camera shutter button can be positioned at alternate locations. For example, the camera shutter button 224 can be located at location 225 (on a side surface 206 ) or location 226 (on a rear surface 207 ), respectively, of the mobile device.
[0033] Turning to the rear view 250 shown on the right in FIG. 2 , the example mobile device 200 includes the camera lens 260 and an electronic flash 265 . In some examples, there is no flash present in the mobile device 200 . The individual components (e.g., the hardware buttons 220 , 222 , and 224 , microphone 240 , speaker 242 , touchscreen display 230 , camera lens 260 and flash 265 ) can be coupled to a mobile device chassis (not shown), which is connected to internal components of the mobile device 200 , for example: one or more processors, a piezoelectric actuator, a power supply, and a modem.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 2 , there are several considerations that can be made in the placement of components on the mobile device 200 , such as the home button 220 , power button 222 , camera shutter button 224 , the camera lens 260 , electronic flash 265 , proximity sensors 246 and 248 , and the photodiode 280 . For example, it is desirable that the placement of the camera shutter button 224 enables or even encourages a user to naturally position the mobile device 200 in a landscape position when capturing images. It is also desirable that the camera shutter button 224 be positioned such that operation of the button is facilitated using an index finger or thumb. For example, the camera shutter button 224 as shown can be easily accessed with a user's right thumb while capturing an image with the mobile device 200 in a landscape position. In other examples, the camera shutter button 224 can be moved to other suitable positions, for example, locations 225 or 226 . It is also desirable that the camera shutter button 224 and/or power button 222 be positioned to avoid accidental actuation, in order to mitigate the chance that an image capture application will be launched inadvertently.
[0035] FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing components of an exemplary digital electronic camera 300 configured for use in a camera phone or other similar mobile electronic device. The exemplary digital electronic camera comprises lens 302 (which can correspond to the rearward-facing lens 260 or the frontward-facing lens 262 shown in FIG. 2 ), an image sensor array 305 , and an electronic shutter 310 , which can be controlled by a signal 315 generated by a processor (e.g., an image signal processor (ISP)). The lens 302 directs light reflected from a subject onto the image sensor array 305 . Image sensors comprising array 305 can be charge-coupled devices (CCDs), complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices, or other similar light-sensitive electronic components. Instead of using a mechanical shutter to block light from reaching the light sensor, the electronic shutter 310 controls the amount of time that the image sensor array 300 collects light.
[0036] Use of the electronic shutter 305 is one aspect in which a digital electronic camera in a mobile device typically differs from a conventional, stand-alone, digital camera. Electronic shutters tend to have a long “shutter-lag time” between when the user activates image capture and when the image is actually captured. Like a slow shutter speed, a long lag time can cause reduced image quality due to blur from vibration of the camera during image capture. Another difference between a digital electronic camera in a mobile device and stand-alone digital cameras is that the lens aperture is typically smaller in a camera used with a mobile device. As a result, less light enters the lens, necessitating the use of a slower shutter speed to compensate for the small aperture size.
[0037] In the case of a conventional, SLR (single lens reflex) or point-and-shoot digital camera, a tripod can be used in low light conditions to stabilize the camera body and prevent vibrations from degrading the sharpness of the image. However, use of a tripod requires preparation, which is inconvenient, and therefore tripods are generally not a feasible solution for camera phone photography. Consequently, camera phones are typically not equipped with a tripod screw, or other mounting hardware, thus precluding attachment of a tripod or other stabilizing structure to overcome image quality disadvantages inherent in the construction of cameras that are integrated with mobile devices.
[0038] FIG. 4 depicts a front view 410 of an example mobile device 400 displaying an image-capture application on a touchscreen display 405 . The mobile device 400 is shown after capturing an image using the camera 300 shown in FIG. 3 . As shown, the display 405 of the mobile device 400 includes controls 430 , 432 , 433 , 434 , 436 , and 438 , which can be used to control a subset of the image-capture functionality. These controls include a still image capture mode button 430 (highlighted to indicate that still capture is the currently selected capture mode), a video capture mode control 432 , an automatic image capture mode button 433 , zoom-in and zoom-out controls 434 and 436 , and an options control 438 . The automatic image capture mode button 433 can be implemented as a toggle switch to enter and exit the auto-capture mode so that once the auto-capture mode is on, pressing the mode button 433 constitutes an override of the auto-capture function. Auto-capture mode can be deactivated through other mechanisms as well, such as activation of the camera shutter button 442 . Automatic image capture mode can be used in either still image capture mode or video capture mode.
[0039] The mobile device 400 also includes several hardware buttons, including a camera “shutter button” 442 located on a side surface of the mobile device, as well as a search button 444 , a home button 446 , and a back button 448 , which are located on a front surface of the mobile device. These hardware buttons 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 can be used for invoking and/or executing various operations using the mobile device 400 . The camera shutter button 442 can be used for invoking and/or executing an image capture application, as well as controlling functions within the image capture application, such as autofocusing and/or operating a camera shutter.
[0040] Controls for additional functions available in certain modes include email image button 470 , save image button 472 , upload image button 474 , and delete image button 476 . The mobile device is shown displaying an example “camera roll” application, which allows a user to see previously-captured images (e.g., image 482 ) by sliding a finger 490 in the direction shown by the arrow 492 , which moves images 415 and 482 in the direction of finger motion across the display 405 . Although the controls are shown as being displayed on a touchscreen, some or all of the controls can be implemented using hardware buttons.
[0041] FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a front view 510 of a mobile device 500 displaying an auto-capture mode settings screen 540 . In general, the auto-capture mode settings screen 540 can be used to adjust and set the various parameters and criteria used by the mobile device when it is operating in auto-capture mode. For example, the auto-capture mode settings screen 540 lists one or more criteria that are used to determine when an image is to be captured and stored while the mobile device is operating in the auto-capture mode. A variety of criteria can be used, an example subset of which are shown in FIG. 5 . The criteria can include one or more of an auto-focus value, a white balance value, an exposure value, a device stability value, a sharpness value, a gain value, a de-noising value, a contrast value, a flash value, or other such image quality and processing parameters. The auto-capture mode settings screen 540 can be accessed as part of the general settings for the mobile device, displayed when the auto-mode is first activated, or displayed after a screen appears when the auto-mode is activated asking the user whether the settings are to be changed. The auto-capture mode settings screen 540 includes one or more graphical user interface slider inputs that allow a user to set threshold values for the various criteria and parameters. In certain embodiments, when the threshold values are met for a current image sensed by the image sensor and without further input from the user, the image is captured and stored. Although slider inputs are shown, any other suitable user interface input mechanism can be used (e.g., virtual knobs, pull-down menus, user-input windows, or any other user input control).
[0042] In the illustrated embodiment, the auto-capture mode settings screen 540 comprises a slider 541 for adjusting an auto-focus value, a slider 542 for adjusting the white balance value for the camera, and a slider 543 for adjusting an exposure value. In the example shown, sliders 541 , 542 , 543 , are shown as being generalized settings that are either “off” or between “low,” and “high”. In other embodiments, the sliders 541 , 542 , 543 , can show the actual values set by each slider.
[0043] The auto-capture mode settings screen 540 also comprises a slider 544 for adjusting a device stability value (also referred to as a “blur check value”). The device stability value can be computed using data received from one or more accelerometers and/or one or more gyroscopes associated with the mobile device (e.g., accelerometer(s) 186 and/or gyroscope(s) 187 ). For instance, the mobile device can be considered stationary if the changes (or differences) in one or more measurements (e.g., angular displacement measurements) sensed by the accelerometer, the gyroscope, or both the accelerometer and the gyroscope are within a certain threshold value for a specified period of time. The magnitude of this threshold value (which can be conceptually viewed as corresponding to the sensitivity for determining whether the device is stationary) can be used as the device stability value or it can be a factor in the device stability value. In other embodiments, the threshold value is set to a specific value, but the period of time in which the changes in measurements sensed by the accelerometer and/or gyroscope must satisfy the threshold value is variable. In such embodiments, the variable period of time is used as the device stability value or as a factor in the device stability value. In still other embodiments, both the threshold value and the time period are adjusted with changes to the device stability value. Other techniques for determining device stability and for adjusting the sensitivity of such a determination can also be used with embodiments of the disclosed technology. In the example shown, slider 544 is shown as being adjustable between “low” (indicating lower sensitivity, and thus allowing more movement to be tolerated while determining whether the device is stationary) and “high” (indicating higher sensitivity, and thus allowing for less movement to be tolerated while determining whether the device is stationary). In other embodiments, the slider 544 can show the actual values set by the slider.
[0044] The auto-capture mode settings screen 540 also comprises a slider 545 for adjusting the number of photos taken while the device is in auto-capture mode. For instance, when the mobile device is operating in auto-capture mode, the device can automatically capture images continuously until the auto-capture mode is deactivated or can capture a predetermined number of images. The slider 545 allows a user to select the number of photos or to set the device so that it captures images continuously. As shown, the current value of the slider is also displayed to the user. The auto-capture mode settings screen 540 further comprises a slider 546 for setting the length of a pause between auto-capture mode activation and image capture and storing. For example, when the mobile device is first set into auto-capture mode, image capturing and storage may be momentarily suspended so that the user can orient the camera into the direction of the intended subject. The slider 546 allows a user to deactivate the pause or to select a desired length of the pause (e.g., from 1 to 30 seconds). The auto-capture mode settings screen 540 further comprises a pull-down menu 547 for selecting a subject recognition criterion. For example, the auto-capture mode can operate in conjunction with facial recognition or object recognition software such that images are captured and stored only when the image is of a particular type or category of subject. For instance, an implementation of a Viola-Jones object detection technique can be used to detect when the image being sensed by the image sensor includes a face or other object for which the detector is trained. The pull-down menu 547 allows a user to deactivate object recognition as a criteria (e.g., by a selecting “none” as an option) or to select from among one or more possible objects (e.g., a face, multiple faces, and the like).
[0045] The values represented by the sliders 541 , 542 , 543 , 544 , 545 , 546 and the pull-down menu 547 can be adjusted using input data received from the touchscreen display 505 . In other examples, input data is received from hardware buttons or other input data sources can be used. The example criteria and parameters shown in FIG. 5 should not be construed as limiting, as fewer criteria can be used or additional criteria added. In general, any combination or sub-combination of image capture criteria can be used as thresholds for triggering automatic image capture and can be adjustable through an auto-capture mode settings screen (such as the auto-capture mode settings screen 540 ). Further, once the desired image capture criteria are set, the user can exit the auto-capture mode settings screen 540 by pressing an exit button (e.g., exit button 548 ).
[0046] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary software architecture 600 for an image capture application 610 that is configured to automatically capture images, without further user interaction, when the mobile device is stationary and when a set of user criteria are satisfied. A computing device (e.g., a smart phone or other mobile computing device) can execute software organized according to the architecture 600 to interface with motion-sensing hardware, interpret sensed motions, enter an automatic image capture mode, and time image capture so as to avoid image artifacts that can otherwise result from motion of the mobile device. The architecture 600 comprises a device operating system (OS) 650 , and an exemplary image capture application 610 that is programmed to receive input from one or more device motion sensors (e.g., one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, and/or one or more other motion-sensing devices).
[0047] In FIG. 6 , the image capture application 610 includes components such as an image signal processor component 612 , an auto-capture settings store 614 , an image data store 618 , and a camera mode and auto-capture settings selector component 620 . In the illustrated embodiment, the image signal processor component 612 implements an image processing pipeline 616 that is used with the automatic image capture application 610 to capture images when one or more criteria are satisfied, and thereby transform image data into an image format (e.g., JPEG, TIFF, or a similar format) for retention in the image data store 618 and/or for rendering to the display. The image signal processor component 612 and the image processing pipeline 616 can comprise software that is executed by a general processor in a mobile device, by a specialized processor adapted for image processing (e.g., an ISP), or by a combination of both. In certain embodiments, the camera mode and auto-capture settings and criteria selector component 620 comprises software that allows a user to select the auto-capture mode and to adjust the one or more criteria that are used to determine when an image is to be automatically captured. For example, the camera mode and auto-capture settings and criteria selector component 620 can implement the auto-capture mode settings screen 540 illustrated in FIG. 5 . In the illustrated embodiments, the auto-capture settings store 614 is used to store the auto-capture mode settings and criteria set using the screen 540 .
[0048] An exemplary image processing pipeline that can be implemented by the image signal processor component 612 is illustrated in FIG. 9 . In particular, the example image processing pipeline 900 shown in FIG. 9 receives raw image data from the image sensor via an interface 902 (e.g., an interface implemented by the OS 650 ), performs image processing, and composes a final color image (e.g., by applying color correction and colorimetric adjustments). In the illustrated embodiment, prior to capturing an image, raw image data is processed, for example, by one or more of a de-noising component 904 , a gain control component 906 , a pixel correction filter 908 , and a de-mosaicing and white balancing component 910 . The de-noising component filters out noise from the raw image data. A noise value can be measured in decibels (dB) and can be represented by a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. The gain control component 906 controls light intensity by modulating the electrical response of the image sensors. The pixel correction filter 908 can be used to correct for bad pixels in the image sensor and can use a low-pass filter for smoothing one or more portions of the image. The de-mosaicing component 910 processes the individual color channel signals that are output from the image sensor to create a full color image. More specifically, because the individual color channel signals are typically undersampled, de-mosaicing interpolates between them to reconstruct pixel colors based on neighboring pixel information. For example, a color filter array (such as Bayer filter) can be used to selectively filter, and thereby correct, the color for each pixel. Automatic white balancing (AWB) can also be performed. White balancing is typically performed after de-mosaicing. White balancing adjusts the color intensity of the individual color channels to compensate for the effect of the illuminant of the image. The resulting white balanced image will show colors more closely to their true hues.
[0049] In the illustrated embodiment, after de-mosaicing, data describing the image (sometimes referred to as “image metadata”) can be assembled into a set of image statistics (or other image data 930 ). The image statistics can include, for example, a noise value (e.g., a signal-to-noise ratio in dB), a gain value, an exposure value, a focus value (e.g., a value based on relative contrast measurements between neighboring pixel intensity values, a value indicating the difference between light intensity patterns detected in a phase detection autofocus system, or another value indicating the level, or percentage, of focus in an image), a sharpness value (e.g., based on a combination of the focus value and other image values), and/or a flash value (e.g., a value indicating the percentage the flash is charged or another flash-readiness or flash-related value). The image statistics can be used to optimize camera settings 922 - 928 . In the illustrated example, the camera settings include a gain setting 922 , an exposure setting 924 , a focus setting 926 , and a flash control setting 928 . The gain setting sets the electrical response of the image sensors for optimal intensity. The exposure setting 924 dictates how long the image sensor is set to actively detect light, or the amount of light that enters the lens according to the size or effective size of the lens aperture. The focus setting 926 can adjust the actual focal length of the digital optical system (by changing the physical distance between the lens and the image sensors), or it can adjust the image sensors electronically to change the effective focal length of the lens. The flash control setting 928 adjusts the duration and/or the intensity of light provided by the flash light source, which can depend on the duration of time that the flash unit charges in-between shots. Based on observations of the image statistics, a camera control component 920 can make suitable adjustments in these values.
[0050] In certain embodiments of the automatic image capture technique, image criteria can be set independently for each of the image statistics, (e.g., focus, exposure, gain, etc.), or a composite “sharpness” criterion can be set that takes into account the effect of multiple camera settings. Sharpness can be quantified, for example, as an evaluation of at least the degree of focus in an image (e.g., by performing a calculation based on relative contrast measurements between neighboring pixel intensity values in the image).
[0051] In certain embodiments, image statistics 930 are continuously generated for each new set of image data received by the image sensor (e.g., wherein each new set of image data is collected according to the current gain and exposure settings), and the camera settings 922 - 928 are continuously adjusted. In particular implementations, these sets of image data are not yet considered captured because they are not subject to certain post-demosaicing processes that can be computationally intensive and need not be performed unless the image is intended to be converted into a final image and stored. In some embodiments, one or more image criteria are set for auto-image capture. The image criteria can correspond to data available at various points along the image processing pipeline. In particular implementations, if any of the criteria are not met, then the image data is not further processed or stored, and the image is not considered to be “captured”. When the image criteria (e.g., set by the user) are satisfied, however, image capture proceeds (e.g., by performing post-demosaicing processes, such as scaling, YUV processing, post-processing, and/or storage).
[0052] In the illustrated embodiments, processing components downstream of the de-mosaicing component 910 include a scaling component 912 , a YUV processing component 914 , and a picture post-processing component 916 . In general, the scaling component 912 adjusts the image size for display or for a suitable image format. The YUV processing component converts the image (e.g., an RGB image) into an image comprising luminance (Y) and chrominance (U and V) components (where the UV color space encodes a color image using a bandwidth allocation scheme that takes into account the frequency dependence of human color perception). The picture post-processing component 916 performs further processing on an image that makes the image more suitable for display and/or storage. The post-processing can include, for example, red-eye removal, color enhancement, image stabilization, and/or blur reduction. Post-processing can also include object or facial recognition.
[0053] Using embodiments of the disclosed auto-capture application, processing along the image processing pipeline 900 can be discontinued at various points along the pipeline if the image does not satisfy certain criteria (e.g., user-established criteria). In certain embodiments, if any of the selected criteria are not satisfied, then the image data is discarded and the image is not used as one of the automatically captured images. In particular implementations, the auto-capture application can include a timer such that after a certain time elapses, image capture occurs regardless of whether the criteria are met so as not to omit image capture entirely. Further, in certain embodiments, the image is considered to be “captured” if processing of the image proceeds through to the later, post-demosaicing stages, of the image processing pipeline 900 (e.g., to the scaling component 912 , YUV processing component 914 , or picture processing component 916 ).
[0054] Criteria for triggering image capture can include, for example, a percentage or value of one or more of a noise value or an S/N ratio measured by the de-noising component 904 , a gain value 922 , an exposure value 924 , one or more measurements detected by the de-mosaicing component 910 , a focus value 926 (e.g., a value indicative of the precision or quality of the auto-focus, such as a value based on relative contrast measurements between neighboring pixel intensity values, a value indicating the difference between light intensity patterns detected in a phase detection autofocus system, or another value indicating the level (or percentage) of focus in an image), or a flash control value 928 (e.g., a value indicative of a flash-readiness level). In certain embodiments, if the one or more image quality criteria are satisfied, and if the mobile device is stable, then the image is captured and stored. In particular implementations, the final picture also includes the original raw image data (e.g., in the .RAW format), allowing a user to perform alternative processing or adjustment of the image.
[0055] Returning to FIG. 6 , the device OS 650 is configured to manage user input functions, output functions, storage access functions, network communication functions, and other functions for the device. The device OS 650 provides access to such functions to the automatic image capture application 610 . For example, in FIG. 6 , the device OS 650 includes components for final image rendering (e.g., rendering visual output to a memory and/or a display), components for image or video recognition (e.g., components that interface with the image sensor hardware and prepare the received signals for use by the automatic image capture application), and components for motion recognition (e.g., components that interface with the accelerometer(s) and/or gyroscope(s) and prepare the received signals for use by the automatic image capture application). Final image rendering is typically done after picture processing is complete. Thus, final image rendering can be accomplished either by the OS 650 or as the last stage in the image processing pipeline 616 .
[0056] As illustrated, a user can generate user input to the automatic image capture application 610 via a screen-based user interface (UI). The user actions detected by the UI can be in the form of finger motions, tactile input (such as touchscreen input), button presses or key presses, or audio (voice) input. The device OS 650 includes functionality for recognizing motions such as finger taps, finger swipes, and the like, for tactile input to a touchscreen, recognizing commands from voice input, button input or key press input, and creating messages that can be used by the automatic image capture application 610 or other software. UI event messages can indicate panning, flicking, dragging, tapping, or other finger motions on a touchscreen of the device, keystroke input, or another UI event (e.g., from voice input, directional buttons, trackball input, or the like).
[0057] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 700 for performing automatic image capture. The exemplary method can be performed by a general processor performing an image processing procedure and/or a specialized processor (e.g., an image signal processor). The exemplary method 700 uses a series of trigger criteria to determine when an image is to be captured and stored. In the illustrated example, the trigger criteria include a focus condition and a motion condition to be met prior to executing an image capture event and an image storage event.
[0058] At 702 , a determination is made as to whether the current image is in focus. For example, a measurement indicative of how focused the image produced by the image sensor is can be compared to a focus condition or threshold focus value (e.g., a value based on relative contrast measurements between neighboring pixel intensity values, a value indicating the difference between light intensity patterns detected in a phase detection autofocus system, or another value indicating the level (or percentage) of focus in an image). If the current image does not satisfy the focus condition, then the exemplary method waits until the focus condition is satisfied. Whether or not the camera satisfies the focus condition can be determined by comparing successive image frames to discern if the focus of the subject in the viewfinder is changing or not.
[0059] In particular embodiments, additional criteria are used. For example, one or more additional user-specified criteria can be set. For example, the criteria can include a subject recognition criterion, such as whether the subject is a human face. Image recognition software can be invoked to determine whether the subject recognition criterion is satisfied. The additional criteria can include any of the other criteria described herein, such as a focus value, a white balance value, an exposure value, a gain value, a noise value, a contrast value, a sharpness value, flash value, and/or other such image quality or processing parameter.
[0060] At 704 , a determination is made as to whether the camera is moving. The determination at 704 can be based at least in part on data received from the device motion sensors (e.g., data from one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, and/or one or more other motion-sensing devices). Further, the data can be processed to determine a device stability value that is compared to a stored value (e.g., a user-selected device stability value) as explained above with respect to FIG. 5 .
[0061] When data from the device motion sensors indicates that the device is stationary, image capture at 706 is triggered. For example, further image processing can be performed in the image processing pipeline, resulting in a final image. In particular implementations, one or more post-demosaicing processes (such as scaling, YUV conversion, post-processing, or other processing steps used to finalize an image for viewing and storage) are performed. At 708 , the final image is stored. When data from the device motion sensors indicates that the device is not stationary, however, then the current image is discarded (e.g., the method does not perform further processing or storage of the image) and the method returns to 702 .
[0062] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another exemplary method 800 for performing automatic image capture. According to the method 800 , image capture is performed when an image satisfies one or more image capture criteria.
[0063] At 804 , one or more threshold values for triggering the automatic capture of images are recorded. For example, the one or more threshold values can be recorded after being input by a user using a suitable graphic user interface. In particular embodiments, for example, the one or more threshold values are set using a suitable auto-capture mode settings screen (e.g., such as auto-capture mode settings screen 540 ). The one or more threshold values can be, for example, a focus value, a white balance value, an exposure value, a device stability value, a gain value, a noise value, a contrast value, a sharpness value, a flash value, or other such image quality or processing parameters. In a particular embodiment, a subject recognition criterion is also input by the user. For example, the criterion can include that the image be of a human face (or of another recognizable subject).
[0064] At 806 , a determination is made as to whether the mobile device is set into an auto-capture mode. The auto-capture mode can be set, for example, by a user selecting the auto-capture mode using a mode button (e.g., such as mode button 433 shown in FIG. 4 ).
[0065] At 808 , a determination is made as to whether the image satisfies the one or more image trigger conditions (or criteria). As noted, the image trigger conditions can include one or more of a focus value, a white balance value, an exposure value, a device stability value, a value, a gain value, a noise value, a contrast value, a sharpness value, a flash value, or other such image capture and processing parameters. For example, if the focus value is used as a trigger criterion, a determination is made as to whether a current image is in focus. For example, a measurement indicative of how focused the image produced by the image sensor is can be compared to a focus condition or threshold focus value. If the current image does not satisfy the focus condition, then the exemplary method discards the current image (e.g., the method does not perform further processing or storage of the image), evaluates the next image in the image processing pipeline, and waits until the focus condition is satisfied. Further, when a subject recognition condition is set, the subject recognition condition is also tested at 808 . For instance, if one of the conditions selected by the user is that the image be of a human face, then a facial recognition process can be performed to determine if the current image includes a face. If the current image does not satisfy the additional conditions, then the exemplary method discards the current image (e.g., the method does not perform further processing or storage of the image). Similarly, if one of the conditions is a device stability threshold, then a determination is made as to whether the camera is moving at 808 . The device stability determination can be based at least in part on data received from the device motion sensors (e.g., data from one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, and/or one or more other motion-sensing devices). Further, the data can be processed to determine a device stability value that is compared to a stored value (e.g., a user-selected value) as explained above with respect to FIG. 5 . If the current image satisfies the one or more image capture criteria, then the method continues at 810 .
[0066] At 810 , image capture is triggered. For example, further image processing can be performed in the image processing pipeline, resulting in a final image. In particular implementations, one or more post-demosaicing processes (such as scaling, YUV conversion, post-processing, or other processing steps used to finalize an image for viewing and storage) are performed. At 816 , the final image is stored.
[0067] The particular order of operations illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 should not be construed as limiting as they can be performed in various other orders. For example, the determination of camera movement can be performed earlier than illustrated or at least partially simultaneously with any of the other operations. The evaluation of any of the other image quality criteria can similarly be performed in different orders or at least simultaneously with one another.
[0068] Although the technology has been described with reference to a mobile device, such as a smart phone, the technology can be implemented in diverse computing environments. For example, the disclosed technology may be implemented with other digital camera devices or computer system configurations, including handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The disclosed technology may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules or instructions may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
[0069] FIG. 10 illustrates a generalized example of a suitable computing environment 1000 in which embodiments of the disclosed technology can be implemented. With reference to FIG. 10 , the computing environment 1000 includes at least one central processing unit 1010 and memory 1020 . In FIG. 10 , this most basic configuration 1030 is included within a dashed line. The central processing unit 1010 executes computer-executable instructions and may be a real or a virtual processor. In a multi-processing system, multiple processing units execute computer-executable instructions to increase processing power and as such, multiple processors can be running simultaneously. The memory 1020 may be volatile memory (e.g., registers, cache, RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.), or some combination of the two. The memory 1020 stores software 1080 that can, for example, implement the technologies described herein. A computing environment may have additional features. For example, the computing environment 1000 includes storage 1040 , one or more input devices 1050 , one or more output devices 1060 , one or more communication connections 1070 , and one or more touchscreens 1090 . An interconnection mechanism (not shown) such as a bus, a controller, or a network, interconnects the components of the computing environment 1000 . Typically, operating system software (not shown) provides an operating environment for other software executing in the computing environment 1000 , and coordinates activities of the components of the computing environment 1000 .
[0070] The storage 1040 may be removable or non-removable, and includes magnetic disks, magnetic tapes or cassettes, CD-ROMs, CD-RWs, DVDs, or any other non-transitory storage medium which can be used to store information and that can be accessed within the computing environment 1000 . The storage 1040 stores instructions for the software 1080 , which can implement technologies described herein.
[0071] The input device(s) 1050 may be a touch input device, such as a touchscreen, keyboard, keypad, mouse, pen, or trackball, a voice input device, a scanning device, proximity sensor, image-capture device, or another device, that provides input to the computing environment 1000 . For audio, the input device(s) 1050 may be a sound card or similar device that accepts audio input in analog or digital form. The output device(s) 1060 may be a display, touchscreen, printer, speaker, CD-writer, or another device that provides output from the computing environment 1000 . The touchscreen 1090 can act as an input device (e.g., by receiving touchscreen input) and as an output device (e.g., by displaying an image capture application and authentication interfaces).
[0072] The communication connection(s) 1070 enable communication over a communication medium (e.g., a connecting network) to another computing entity. The communication medium conveys information such as computer-executable instructions, compressed graphics information, or other data in a modulated data signal.
[0073] Computer-readable media are any available media that can be accessed within a computing environment 1000 . By way of example, and not limitation, with the computing environment 1000 , computer-readable media include memory 1020 and/or storage 1040 . As should be readily understood, the term computer-readable storage media includes non-transitory storage media for data storage such as memory 1020 and storage 1040 , and not transmission media such as modulated data signals.
[0074] Having described and illustrated the principles of the disclosed technology in the detailed description and accompanying drawings, it will be recognized that the various embodiments can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. For example, any technologies described herein for capturing still photos can also be adapted for capturing video. Elements of embodiments shown in software may be implemented in hardware and vice versa.
[0075] In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the disclosed technology and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosed technology. Rather, the scope of the disclosed technology is defined by the following claims and their equivalents. I therefore claim all that comes within the scope and spirit of these claims and their equivalents.
|
Disclosed herein are exemplary embodiments for automatically capturing images in a mobile electronic device. One embodiment comprises sensing device motion and automatically triggering image capture when the device is stationary. Use of this approach reduces image blur and avoids the need for subsequent image alteration or compensation for camera motion. Images can simply be captured in-between motions by leveraging high-resolution sensors and computational assets available to the mobile device to accurately assess when to trigger the shutter. Images can then be saved in a memory within the device. Enhancements to the disclosed method of automatic image capture include pre-selecting a set of threshold values for image acceptance.
| 7
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved cell package which can be welded to hermetically seal the cell package after the cell stack and electrolyte have been placed in the package and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Background
A important consideration in the manufacturing of electrochemical batteries is the manner in which the electrolyte is introduced into the cell stack. As discussed in a related patent application, one current technique includes the steps of pouring the electrolyte into the cell stack during the manufacturing of the cell stack in a machine, placing the electrolyte impregnated cell stack into the cell package, evacuating the cell package and heat sealing the package.
This technique has shortcomings. One potential concern is the loss of electrolyte during the step of pouring the electrolyte into the cell stack and the subsequent step of evacuating the package. The electrolyte is a relatively expensive component of the electrochemical cell. Thus, the loss of electrolyte increases the overall cost of manufacturing the cell.
A second potential concern is that the electrolyte that is suctioned from the cell stack during the evacuating step contaminates the inside of the package. Such contamination of the package may make it difficult to securely seal the package. As such, subsequent leakage of the electrolyte from the sealed package may result. A further concern is that the pouring step must be performed in a glove box environment (i.e., dry and inert atmosphere). Since this step is an intermediate step in the manufacturing of the cell stack, the machine which manufactures the cell stack must consequently have a glove box environment, thus driving up the cost of the machine. In addition, when the electrolyte is poured into the cell stack, the electrolyte contaminates the machine.
The current cell package is formed of a laminate of a polyester outer layer, an aluminum barrier layer and a polyethylene or polypropylene inner layer. The polyester layer provides strength, the aluminum layer prevents water from penetrating the cell package and the inner layer allows for the heat sealing of the cell package. Specifically, generally, the cell package includes two parts that are bonded together around their periphery by heat sealing the inner layers to each other. The problem with this laminate is that once contaminated with electrolyte, the inner layers may not form a secure heat seal. This makes degassing and resealing of the cell package a problem. Finally, when a polymer is used as an inner layer, the electrolyte may still be able to permeate through the polymer itself This is especially true if the battery is exposed to elevated temperatures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing an electrochemical cell which overcomes the above problems. In particular, an object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a cell where the electrolyte is introduced into the cell stack with minimal or no loss of electrolyte. Another object of the invention is to provide a method in which the electrolyte filling step is performed after the cell stack is manufactured so that the cell stack manufacturing machine does not have to maintain a glove box environment and contamination of the machine is eliminated. Another object of the invention is to provide a packaging, which minimizes the possibility of electrolyte permeation through the seals.
These and other objects are achieved by a method of fabricating an electrochemical cell, comprising the steps of forming an electrode cell stack and a metallic cell package having a base portion and a lid portion which are welded to each other to define an enclosure, the cell package including a first section for receiving the cell stack and a second section having an inlet port which communicates with the first section; placing the cell stack into the enclosure in the first section; sealing the lid portion to the base portion around a periphery of the cell package to form a peripheral seam; applying a vacuum to the enclosure through the inlet port in the cell package; introducing an electrolyte into the enclosure via the inlet port; and welding the lid portion to the base portion to form a first weld seam located between the first and second sections to seal off the first section from the second section. The first weld seam extends from the peripheral seam on a first side of the cell package to the peripheral seam a second side of the cell package.
The method further includes the steps of partially charging the cell stack resulting in generation of gases inside the enclosure; puncturing the cell package to form an evacuation port located in a third section of the cell; applying a vacuum to the evacuation port of the cell stack to withdraw the gases; and sealing the lid portion to the base portion across a second weld seam located between the first section and the third section. According to one preferred aspect of the invention the second weld seam extends from the first side to a third side opposite the first side. After the second weld seam has been formed, the excess portions of the cell package, corresponding to the second and third sections, are removed from the first section which holds the cell stack.
The electrochemical cell according to a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises: a casing; and an electrode cell stack contained within the casing along with an electrolyte. The casing includes a base and a lid that are made of a metallic material such that they can be welded to each other along a seam weld to form an enclosure for receiving the cell stack. This is different from conventional cell packages where the parts are heat sealed to each other. The metallic material of the casing is, for example, aluminum, copper, nickel or stainless steel. The weld seam extends around a periphery of the cell package.
The cell stack includes first and second tabs of opposite polarity. The electrochemical cell further comprises a pass-through terminal secured to the casing and electrically connected to the second tab while the first tab is electrically connected to the casing. According to one aspect of the invention, the pass-through terminal comprises an eyelet having a first through-hole, an insulator located in the first through-hole of the eyelet and having a second through-hole; and a terminal post located in the second through-hole of the insulator so as to be insulated from the eyelet, wherein the eyelet is welded to the metallic material of the casing and the terminal post is electrically connected to the second tab of the cell stack. If the casing is made of copper, the eyelet is nickel plated iron, the insulator is glass and the terminal post is molybdenum. Also, the terminal post and the second tab have a positive polarity and the first terminal and the copper casing have a negative polarity.
On the other hand, when the casing is made of aluminum, the eyelet is aluminum, the insulator is ceramic and the terminal post is copper. In this case the terminal post and the second tab have a negative polarity and the first terminal and the aluminum casing have a positive polarity.
According to another aspect of the invention, when the casing is aluminum, the pass-through terminal comprises a copper rivet, at least one insulator circumscribing the rivet so as to insulate the rivet from the casing, and a nickel washer disposed on an outside of the casing and contacting the rivet with the insulator insulating the washer from the casing. In this case, the rivet and the second tab have a negative polarity and the first terminal and the aluminum casing have a positive polarity.
With the above electrochemical cell and related fabrication technique there is little or no electrolyte loss. In particular, since the electrolyte is injected into the electrode cell stack after the package has been sealed, substantially all of the electrolyte is suctioned into the electrode cell stack without any of the electrolyte escaping from the package. In addition, contamination of the cell manufacturing machine with electrolyte is minimized. Accordingly, all of the concerns discussed above with respect to the current technique are overcome.
Further, since the casing is made of a metallic material such as copper or aluminum, the package can be sealed by welding, instead of by heating. It has been, discovered that electrolyte contamination does not interfere with a welded seal. The welding process can be, but is not limited to, ultrasonic welding.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following specification when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the cell package with the cell stack located therein;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2 — 2 of FIG. 1 showing the cell package;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the pass-through terminal of the present invention for interconnecting one of the tabs of the cell stack to an external equipment, according to one aspect of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the pass-through terminal of the present invention for interconnecting one of the tabs of the cell stack to an external equipment, according to another aspect of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the cell package after the electrolyte has been introduced into the cell package;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6 — 6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cell package after the degassing step;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8 — 8 of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the cell package after the removal of the excess material of the cell package; and
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10 — 10 of FIG. 9 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the electrochemical cell 8 includes a cell package 10 having the shape of an envelope which is formed of a metallic sheet or sheets 12 so as to define an opening 14 therein for receiving a cell stack 16 . The package is preferably formed of two metallic sheets 12 that are welded along the edge to form weld seam 18 . The welding process can be, but is not limited to, ultrasonic welding.
One of the two sheets is a base 19 that has a cell stack cup 20 in which the cell stack 16 is placed. The other sheet is a lid 21 . Alternatively, the package 10 can be formed from a single metallic sheet that is folded in half leaving only three edges to be welded. According to the preferred embodiment, the metal sheet is made from aluminum or copper, although the invention is not to be limited to these materials. For example, other suitable materials include stainless steel and nickel.
As is conventional, the cell stack 16 includes a first tab 22 (of a first polarity) and a second tab 24 (of a second polarity). Since the cell package 10 is made of a metallic material which is conductive, according to the invention, the first tab 22 of the cell stack 16 is electrically connected directly to the cell package at weld 23 . On the other hand, the second tab 24 is connected to a pass-through terminal assembly 26 (shown schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2) which is provided in one of the sheets of the cell package to allow external connection to the second tab 24 of the cell stack. As discussed below, the polarity of the first and second tabs is dependent on the material of the cell package.
Referring to FIG. 1, the cell package also includes an electrolyte introducing portion 28 and degassing portion 30 which communicate with the inside of the package. Each of these portions includes a washer 29 which is welded to the inside surface of the cell package material, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 8. As discussed in greater detail below, the electrolyte introducing portion 28 has an electrolyte port 31 therein. The port 31 can be formed before or after the cell package is formed. On the other hand, as discussed below, the degassing portion 30 is punctured after the cell stack formation process to form degassing port 33 therein. The electrolyte port 31 is used to introduce the electrolyte into the cell package 10 to activate the cell stack 16 and the degassing port 33 is used to degas the cell package 10 after formation. The material of the washer 29 must be compatible with that of the cell package. If the cell package 10 is made of copper, it is preferable that the washer 29 be nickel plated iron; if the cell package 10 is made of aluminum, it is preferable that the washer be aluminum.
The following is a description of the design of the pass through terminal assembly 26 . There are two alternative designs respectively illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. With reference to FIG. 3, according to a first of these designs, the pass-through terminal assembly 26 includes an eyelet 32 , an insulator 34 and a terminal post 36 . The eyelet 32 and insulator 34 are tubular members. The insulator 34 is located inside the eyelet 32 and the terminal post 36 is located inside the insulator 34 . The cell package 10 has a hole 38 therein through which the terminal post 36 protrudes. The eyelet 32 is located on the inside of the cell package 10 with the back surface 40 of the eyelet welded to the inside surface 42 of the cell package. A plastic washer 44 is adhered to the outside surface 46 of the cell package.
Referring also to FIG. 1, the second tab 24 is electrically connected to the terminal post 36 of the terminal assembly 26 via a lead 48 which is welded at one end to the second tab 24 and at the other end to the terminal post 36 . Thus, with this arrangement, the second tab 24 is electrically connected to the terminal post 36 , which protrudes to the exterior of the cell package 10 , while being insulated from the metallic cell package by the insulator 34 . Hence, when connecting the cell to the external equipment, one terminal (not shown) of the equipment is simply placed in contact with the metallic cell package 10 to which the first tab 22 of the cell stack is connected, and the other terminal (not shown) of the external equipment is electrically connected to the terminal post 36 , to which the second tab 24 of the cell stack is electrically connected via lead 48 .
The lead 48 and the accessible parts of the stack 16 , with the opposite polarity of the metallic packaging 10 , should be insulated using internal insulators 80 and 81 , as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
As noted above, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cell package can be made of either aluminum or copper. While nickel is also an option, it is relatively expensive and, hence, not preferred. When the cell package is made of copper, the first tab 22 of the cell stack 16 has a negative polarity and the second tab 24 of the cell stack 16 has a positive polarity. Therefore, in this case the cell package 10 , to which the first tab 22 is directly connected, has a negative polarity and the terminal post 36 of the terminal assembly 26 has a positive polarity. Also, it has been discovered that for best results, for a cell package made of a copper material, the eyelet 32 should be made of nickel plated iron, the insulator 34 should be made of a glass (e.g., Sandia TR 23™) and the terminal post should be made of molybdenum.
On the other hand, when the cell package 10 is made of aluminum, the first tab 22 of the cell stack 16 has a positive polarity and the second tab 24 of the cell stack 16 has a negative polarity. Therefore, in this case the cell package 10 , to which the first tab 22 is directly connected, has a positive polarity and the terminal post 36 of the terminal assembly 26 has a negative polarity. It is preferable that the eyelet 32 be made of aluminum, the insulator 34 be made of a ceramic (e.g., Al 2 O 3 ) and the terminal post be made of copper.
An alternative design of the pass-through terminal assembly 26 is illustrated in FIG. 4 . This design is preferred when using a cell package made of aluminum. According to this embodiment, the terminal assembly 26 includes a rivet 50 , an internal washer 52 , insulators 54 and an external washer 56 . According to a preferred embodiment, the rivet 50 is made of copper, the internal washer 52 is made of aluminum, the insulators 54 are made of polyethermide (e.g., Ultem™ made by General Electric) and the external washer 56 is made of nickel.
As shown in FIG. 4, the rivet 50 extends through the holes provided in the cell package 10 , the insulators 54 , and the internal and external washers 52 and 56 so that it protrudes from the cell package. With the head 58 of the rivet located on the inside of the cell package 10 , the opposite end 59 of the rivet 50 is flared outwardly until it contacts the nickel washer 56 . The insulators 54 prevent the rivet 50 and the external nickel washer 56 from contacting the aluminum cell package 10 to prevent shorting of the cell stack 16 . The outside face 60 of the internal washer 52 is welded to the inside surface 42 of the aluminum cell package such that the terminal assembly 26 is securely retained to the cell package. The purpose of the external nickel washer 56 is to make electrical contact with the negative terminal of the external equipment. As with the embodiment of FIG. 2, the second tab 24 of the cell stack 16 is electrically connected to the rivet via the lead 48 . Since the cell package in this embodiment is aluminum, the polarity of the second tab 44 is negative so that the polarity of the rivet 50 is likewise negative. Naturally, the lead 40 must be insulated to some degree so that it will not contact the cell package which has the opposite polarity.
A description of the method of activating the cell stack will now be provided with reference to the figures. As noted above, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the cell stack 16 located inside the cup 20 of the cell package 10 . After the cell stack has been placed in the cup 20 , the lid 21 is welded to the base 19 around the periphery of the cell package 10 as indicated by the weld seam 18 . After the cell package has been welded, a vacuum is applied to the electrolyte port 31 after which electrolyte is introduced through the electrolyte port into the cell package 10 . After the filling of the electrolyte, the cell package is welded along weld seam 62 , as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The electrochemical cell is then partially charged (i.e., formation) generating gases inside the cell package 10 . As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, after formation, the degassing portion 30 is then punctured to form the degassing port 33 in the cell packaging material and a vacuum is then applied to withdraw the formation gases from the inside of the cell package 10 . The cell package is then welded along weld seam 64 shown in FIG. 7 . Referring also to FIGS. 9 and 10, the excess material 66 of the cell package is then trimmed leaving only the lower portion 68 where the cell stack 16 is located resulting in the electrochemical cell 8 .
Having described the invention with particular reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains after understanding the invention, that various modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
|
An electrochemical cell having a cell package made of a metallic material to allow the cell package to be sealed by welding, even when contaminated. The electrochemical cell further includes an electrode cell stack and a metallic cell package having a base portion and a lid portion which are welded to each other (peripheral seam) to define an enclosure. The cell package includes a first section for receiving the cell stack and a second section having an inlet port and a degassing port which communicate with the first section. The lid portion is welded to the base portion to form a weld seam located between the first and second sections to seal off the first section from the second section. The weld seam extends from the peripheral seam on a first side of the cell package to the peripheral seam on a second side of the cell package.
| 8
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of and a device for connecting ends of respective filamentary fasteners which are used for various purposes such as attaching labels or price tags to goods under sales, binding or connecting a plurality of goods to one another and so forth.
The filamentary fasteners in reference generally have an integral construction including a filament which is provided at its one end with a socket portion and at its other end with a pin portion adapted to be received in the socket portion, so that they are self-lockable.
With this fastener, a price tag or the like can be attached to goods by a single action, so that the attaching work is very much facilitated as compared with the conventional method relying upon a thread.
The attaching of a price tag or the like with the fastener, however, still requires a manual work for inserting the pin portion into the socket portion to complete a loop form of the fastener. Although this manual work is simple as compared with the work for attaching the tag by means of a thread, troubles such as fatigue or hurt at finger tips still remain unsolved. Namely, with the conventional method and device, fatigue of fingers is inevitable due to the manual work for pinching and connecting the ends of the fastener, resulting in a lowered efficiency of the work. In the worst case, the tips of fingers get hurt.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to enable the user to efficiently connect the fastener without causing substantial fatigue of the fingers and any hurt of the tips of fingers.
To this end, according to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of connecting ends of a fastener of the type having a filament portion of a predetermined length, a tubular socket portion connected to one end of the filament portion and a pin portion connected to the other end of the filament portion, the method comprising making a first fixing portion clamp the socket portion of the fastener, making a second fixing portion clamp the pin portion of the fastener, and bringing the second fixing portion close to the first fixing portion thereby to insert the pin portion into the socket portion.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for connecting ends of a fastener comprising a main body, a first arm provided on the front end of the main body, a second arm rockably secured to the first arm, a lever rotatably supported by the main body, a rotation transmission means for transmitting the rotation of the main body to a pulley, a flexible member wound up by this pulley and adapted to be moved alternately into a first guide groove in the first arm and a second guide groove in the second arm, a clamper provided on the end of the flexible member, and a slider operatively connected to the lever and adapted to move the second arm close to the first arm.
According to the invention, the user is not required to pinch the fastener ends by fingers nor to manually insert the pin portion into the socket portion of the fastener, so that fasteners can be fastened efficiently without causing any fatigue or hurt of the fingers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a fastener;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a fastener;
FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a fastener connecting device in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 4 is a partly-sectioned front elevational view of a half part of the fastener connecting device of the invention;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an essential part of the fastener connecting device of the invention;
FIG. 6 a sectional view taken along the line VI--VI of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII--VII of 3;
FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the fastener connecting device of the invention;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a first fixing portion;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a second fixing portion;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another example of the fixing portion;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a flexible member;
FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIII--XIII of FIG. 5; and
FIGS. 14 to 21 are illustrations of operation of the connecting device.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, a fastener L to which the invention pertains has an integral body made of a plastic and, as will be best seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, consisting of a filament portion F which is provided at its one end with a socket portion H and at its other end with a pin portion I.
The pin portion I is composed of a head 101 having two first stoppers 102, a second stopper 103 provided behind the head 101, and a holder 104 provided behind the second stopper.
On the other hand, the socket H is composed of a sleeve 105, a partition wall 106 provided in the sleeve 105, and a hole 107 provided in the partition wall 106. The hole 107 is so sized as to permit the head 101 of the pin portion I but not to allow the second stopper 103 to pass therethrough.
As shown in FIG. 3, the fastener connecting device 50 of the invention has a generally pistol-like form as shown in FIG. 3, having a first arm 2 projected forwardly from the main body 1 and a second arm 3 bent in a form like the letter L. The second arm 3 is adapted to swing around an axis 25 by the operation of a lever 5 provided on the main body 1. A second spring 26 disposed between the second arm 3 and the main body 1 serves to urge the ends of the second arm 3 and the first arm 2 away from each other.
As will be seen from FIG. 4, the lever 5 is supported by the main body 1 through the shaft 6, and is biased clockwisely by a first spring 8 which acts between an extension 7 of the lever 5 and grippoer 4 of the main body 1.
The extension 7 of the lever 5 has a pin 9 which meshes with the elongated hole 12 of the internally-toothed gear 11. The internally-toothed gear 11 has a sector-like form with its arcuate portion toothed internally. The internally-toothed gear 11 has a shaft 14 coaxial therewith and is rotatably carried by the main body 1 through this shaft 14.
In addition, a pulley 16 is rotatably secured to the main body 1 by means of a shaft 35. The pulley 16 is provided on one side thereof with a pinion 19 which meshes with the internal teeth 13 of the internally-toothed gear.
The internally-toothed gear 11 is adapted to make about 90° rotation by a gripping or releasing of the lever 5. The rotation of the internally-toothed gear 11 causes a rotation of the pinion 19 meshing with the gear 11, i.e. a rotation of the pulley 16. The gear ratio, i.e. the ratio of number of teeth between the internally-toothed gear 11 and the pinion 19 is so selected that the 90° rotation of the internally-toothed gear 11 causes two rotations of the pinion 19, i.e. the pulley 16. The internally-toothed gear 11 and the pinion 19 in combination constitute a rotation transmission means 40 for rotating the pulley 16.
As shown in FIG. 6, the first arm 2 is provided therein with a first guide groove 31 for passing a clamper 20, and first supporting grooves 31a formed on both sides of the first guide groove 31. The first supporting grooves 31a are adapted to support both sides of a web-like flexible member 18 and to guide the same to the end of the first arm 2.
The first arm 2 also has a first crevice 31b formed in the inner surface thereof adjacent the second arm 3 and communicating with the first guide groove 31. When the filamentary fastener L is curved in a loop form, the filament portion F of the fastener passes through this crevice 31b. The crevice 31b is broadened at the end of the first arm 2 so that the socket portion H of the fastener L may be taken out therethrough.
The end of the first guide groove 31 has a first fixing portion 31c for gripping the socket portion H of the fastener L as shown in FIG. 9. The first fixing portion can have any desired construction provided that it permits the insertion of the socket from the lateral side by means of a later-mentioned clamper and the downward or lateral withdrawal of the socket portion H of the fastener L after the connection of the ends of the fastener L.
On the other hand, the second arm 3 has a second guide groove 32 having a section similar to that of the first guide groove 31. The second arm 3 is provided with second supporting grooves 32a at both sides of the second guide groove 32 for sliding both ends of a web-like flexible member 16, and also with a second crevice 32b through which the filament portion F is withdrawn towards the first arm 2.
As shown in FIG. 8, the second supporting groove 32a is extended from the end of the second arm 3 to a portion of the latter near the feed port 34 for the fastener L. The second supporting groove 32a merges in the first supporting groove 31a at a position near the feed port 34 and is connected to a recess 39 for receiving a pulley 16.
The second guide groove 32 merges in the first guide groove 31 at a position near the feed port 34. The terminal ends 31d and 32d are positioned ahead of the pulley 16 as shown in FIG. 5.
A branching point 33 is located at the position where the first guide groove 31 and the second guide groove 32 merge in each other.
As shown in FIG. 5, a retainer 41 for temporarily supporting the filament portion F of the fastener is disposed in the vicinity of the branching point 33. As will be seen from FIG. 13, the retaining member 41 is composed of a pin 42, third spring 43 and a cap 44. The spring 43 serves to project the end of the pin 42 to a portion where the first crevice 31b and the second crevice 32b merge in each other.
On the other hand, the end of the second arm 3 has a second fixing portion 32c for gripping the pin portion I of the fastener L. This second fixing portion 32c has, as shown in FIG. 10, a pair of L-shaped clampers 45 arranged to open and close relative to each other, and a pair of protecting plates 46 fixed to the upper surfaces of the clampers 45. A hole 47 for receiving the pin portion I is formed in the juncture between the protecting plates 46.
FIG. 11 shows another example of the second fixing portion 32c. This second fixing portion 32c has a split-type clamper 55 having a bottom-equipped cylindrical form and protecting plates 56 fixed to the upper side of the clamper 55. A hole 47 for receiving the pin portion I of the fastener L is formed in the juncture between the protecting plates 56.
Briefly, the second fixing portion 32c is constructed to clamp the pin portion I of the fastener by its resiliency. The pin portion I is inserted from the side adjacent to the second guide groove 32. The clamping is released as the filament portion F extracted through the second crevice 32b is pulled.
As will be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, the flexible member 18 is wound round the periphery of the pulley 16. One end of the flexible member 18 constitutes a connecting portion 21 which is supported by a pin 17 on the projection 16a of the pulley 16.
As will be seen from FIG. 12, the front end of the flexible member 18 constitutes a clamper 20 which is provided at its end with a groove-shaped gripping portion 20a and in the upper surface thereof with a groove 20b for receiving the filament portion F.
As will be seen from FIG. 5, the pulley 16 is mounted on the main body 1 such that the projection 16a is directed forwardly of the main body 1. The flexible member 18 has such a length as to reach the first and second fixing portions 31c and 32c when the pulley 16 makes one rotation. The circumferential length of the pulley 16 is substantially equal to the length of the flexible member 18.
If the flexible member 18 is extremely short, the clamper 20 on the end of the flexible member does not reach the first fixing portion 31c nor the second fixing portion 32c. It will be understood also that, if the circumferential length of the pulley 16 is smaller than the flexible member 18, it is not possible to turn the end of the flexible member 18 by unwinding the latter by one rotation of the pulley.
The flexible member 18 is a stiff film such as a web-like polyester film, adapted to be wound on or unwound from the periphery of the pulley 16 as the latter rotates.
It is essential that the flexible member 18 has a function to deliver the socket portion H and the pin portion I of the fastener to the first fixing portion 31c and the second fixing portion 32c, respectively. To this end, films made of synthetic resins such as polyester, nylon and polycarbonate, are preferred although a thin metal plate can be used as the material of the flexible member 18.
As shown in FIG. 4, the main body 1 is provided therein with a groove portion 27 in which slidably disposed is a slider 28. The slider 28 is movable forwardly as it is pushed forwardly as it is pressed at a pressing portion 29 so that it presses at its end the operating surface 30 of the second arm 3 thereby to bring the end of the second arm 3 closer to the end of the first arm 2.
As shown in FIG. 8, a sector-shaped first passage 37 is provided in the rear surface of the slider 28. A second passage 38 is provided on the operating surface 30 so as to correspond to the first passage 37.
The center of the first passage is constituted by the retaining member 41. The feed port 34 communicating with the first passage is on the extension of the first guide groove 31 so that the pin portion I of the fastener can get into the first passage 37 easily.
The fastener connecting device of the present invention operates in a manner explained hereinunder.
(1) Preparatory Operation
FIG. 14 shows the state in which the lever 5 is gripped to the maximum degree. As the gripper 4 and lever 5 are gripped to the maximum, the lever 5 rotates as indicated by an arrow A so that the extension 7 of the same rotates as indicated by an arrow B. In response to this rotation, the internally-toothed gear 11 is rotated counter-clockwise as shown by an arrow C. At the same time, the pinion 19 meshing with the internally-toothed gear 11 rotates in the direction of an arrow D, thereby to wind the flexible member 18 counter-clockwise up around the pulley 16.
The pulley 16 rotates twice as the lever 5 is gripped as explained above. The flexible member 18 wound round the pulley 16 as shown in FIG. 4 and the clamper 20 fixed to the end of the flexible member 18 is paid-off into the second guide groove 32 while being guided by the second supporting grooves 32a formed at both sides of the second guide groove 32, and then the whole length of the gripper 20 is wound up around the pulley 16.
FIG. 4 shows the device in the state in which the lever 5 is not gripped, while FIG. 14 shows the same in the state in which the lever 5 has been gripped to the maximum degree. In the state shown in FIG. 4, the flexible member 18 is wound counter-clockwise on the periphery of the pulley 16, while the clamper 20 is directed towards the second arm 3. In the state shown in FIG. 14, however, the flexible member 18 is wound clockwisely around the pulley 16, so that the clamper 20 is to be recieved by the first guide groove 31 in the first arm 2.
(2) Initial Loading of Cord
The device is thus rady for loading a fastener L. Then, the socket portion H of the fastener L is inserted into the feed port 34 provided in the vicinity of the branching point 33.
In the state shown in FIG. 14, since the pressing portion 29 of the lever 5 presses the rear end of the slider 28, the slider 28 moves in the direction of an arrow Q to make contact with the operating surface 30 on the lower side of the second arm 3 so that the second arm 3 is pressed and roated as indicated by an arrow E.
Therefore, if the device 50 is loaded with the fastener L, the pin portion I of the fastener L is received by the socket protion H as the first and second arms 2 and 3 get closer to each other.
FIG. 15 shows the state in which the lever 5 is on the midway of its returning stroke indicated by an arrow G. As the extension 7 of the lever 5 rotates in the direction of arrow J, the pulley 16 rotates clockwise as indicated by an arrow K, so that the flexible member 18 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 14 into the first guide groove 31.
Since the flexible member 18 is guided by the first supporting grooves 31a formed at both sides of the first guide groove 31, the clamper 20 is fed into the first guide groove 31.
As a result, the clamper 20 presses the socket portion H of the fastener into the first fixing portion 31c on the end of the first arm 2.
FIG. 16 shows the device in the state in which the clamper 20 grips the socket portion of the fastener and guides the same through the first guide groove 31.
Then, as lever 5 is released as indicated by an arrow to project from the grip 4 as shown in FIG. 17, the clamper 20 is retracted to the terminal end 32d of the second guide groove and is directed to the second guide groove 32 adjacent to the second arm 3. In this state, the flexible member 18 is wound counter-clockwise on the periphery of the pulley 16.
In the state shown in FIG. 17, a substantial portion of the fastener L is received by the first guide groove 31 and only the pin portion I is positioned at the feed port 34.
As will be understood from this Figure, the clamper 20 is positioned behind the pin portion I of the fastener, so that the filament portion F is forced out by the next pressing operation of the flexible member 18.
(3) Penetrating Operation
As shown in FIG. 18, as the lever 5 is gripped again as indicated by arrow A, the pulley 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow D so that the flexible member 18 is moved in the direction of the arrow P along the second guide groove 32. Since the clamper 20 holds the filament portion F and pushes the same in the direction of the arrow P, the filament portion F of the fastener is temporarily stored by the pin 42 of the retaining member 41 and bent in a form like the letter U. Then, as the state of the device is changed from that shown in FIG. 17 to that shown in FIG. 18, the clamper 20 catches the pin portion I of the fastener and guides the same to the end of the second arm 3.
Then, as the clamper 20 approaches the end of the second arm 3, the tensile force produced by the clamper 20 comes to exceed the supporting force produced by the retaining member 41 so that the filament portion F of the fastener comes off the pin 42 of the retaining member 41 and is withdrawn through the first and second crevices 31b and 32b.
Subsequently, as the clamper 20 reaches the end of the second arm 3, the pin portion I of the fastener is clamped by the second fixing portion 32c.
In the state shown in FIG. 18, the pressing member 29 provided on the upper surface of the lever 5 has made an approach to the rear end of the slider 28. In this state, however, the pressing member 29 has not driven the slider 28, so that the end of the second arm 3 has not started rising yet.
FIG. 20 shows the state immediately after the binding or fastening of the fastener. In response to a further rotation of the lever 5 in the direction of the arrow A, the pressing portion 29 on the upper part of the lever 5 presses the slider 28 in the direction of the arrow Q. Consequently, the operation surface 30 is pressed by the end of the slider 28 to raise the second arm 3 in the direction of the arrow E, and the pin portion I clamped by the second fixing portion 32c on the end of the second arm 3 is received by the hole 107 in the socket portion H of the fastener L clamped by the first fixing portion 31c of the first arm 2, so that the ends of the fastener L are connected to each other to complete a loop of the fastener L.
By making the pin portion I penetrate a tag or label Z and the goods Y as illustrated, the tag or label Z is attached to the goods Y by inserting the pin portion I into the socket portion H of the fastener.
In the state in which the lever 5 is deeply pressed into the grip 4 as shown in FIG. 20, the internally-toothed gear 11 and the pulley 16 rotate counter-clockwise as indicated by arrows C and D thereby to wind up the flexible member 18 clockwisely on the surface of the pulley 16. Consequently, the clamper has been returned to the position retracted from the socket portion H of a fastener L which is to be fed next. In this state, the clamper 20 is ready to be inserted into the first guide groove 31 of the first arm 2.
(4) Taking Out of Fastner
After the completion of the fastener L in the state shown in FIG. 20, as the lever 5 is released as shown in FIG. 21, the lever 5 is rotated in the direction of the arrow G so that the internally-toothed gear 11 rotates clockwise as shown by the arrow J. As a result, the pulley 16 integral with the pinion 19 meshing with this internally-toothed gear 11 is rotated clockwisely to extend the flexible member 18 from the position shown in FIG. 20 into the first guide groove 31 in the first arm 2, thereby to fit the socket portion H of the fastener to the first fixing portion 31 of the first arm 2. Then, the flexible member 18 is wound again counter-clockwise on the peripheral surface of the pulley 16 as shown in FIG. 21 so that the clamper 20 on the end of the flexible member 18 is positioned behind the fastener L, so as to be ready for insertion into the second guide groove 32 of the second arm 3.
As the lever 5 is projected out of the grip 4 as stated above, the pressing portion 29 provided on the upper portion of the lever 5 is retracted so that the slider 28 is freed from the pressing portion 29 and moved rearwardly together with the second arm 3 by the resiliency of the second spring 26 on the second arm 3.
As the ends of the fastener L are connected together to complete a loop, the first guide groove 31 is loaded with a next fastener L and the clamper 20 is stationed at the side rear of the pin portion I to prepare for the connecting operation.
|
Disclosed is a method of connecting ends of a fastener of the type having a filament portion of a predetermined length, a tubular socket portion connected to one end of the filament portion and a pin portion connected to the other end of the filament portion, as well as a device suitable for carrying out this method. The device comprises a main body, a first arm provided on the front end of the main body, a second arm adapted to be moved towards and away from the first arm, a lever rotatably supported by the main body, a pulley operatively connected to the lever, a flexible member wound up by this pulley and adapted to be moved alternatingly into a first guide groove in the first arm and a second guide groove in the second arm, and a clamper provided on the end of the flexible member. The pin portion of the fastener is inserted into the socket portion thereof to connect the two ends of the fastener to each other by the relative movement of the first and second arms towards and away from each other.
| 8
|
BACKGROUND
[0001] At present, the manufacture of certain elastomeric and polymer latex articles (such as surgical or examination gloves used in hospitals and other medical facilities, work gloves, prophylactics, catheters, balloons, etc.) typically involves two major processes, namely the on-line glove dipping or forming platform process (also known as the primary manufacturing process) and off-line processing (also known as the secondary manufacturing process).
[0002] In the dipping or forming platform process, for example, surgical gloves may be formed by one of two methods. One such method is a batch dip process, in which one or more molds (also referred to as formers) are dipped into one or more tanks containing liquid molding material (such as natural latex or synthetic polymers such as polyisoprene, nitrile rubber, vinyl, polyvinylchloride, polychloroprene, or polyurethane) or various other chemicals (such as coagulant). The second method is a continuous dip method, which is the most common, economical, and efficient method for high-volume glove manufacturing.
[0003] In a typical continuous dip process, such as that used in the manufacture of surgical gloves, a continuous loop conveyor chain carries the glove molds through the necessary cleaning, dipping, curing, and stripping processes. After a formed glove is stripped from a mold, the conveyor chain carries the mold back to the beginning of the cleaning process to begin a new cycle. Thus, the molds are utilized in a continuous cyclic manner. To increase efficiency, the conveyor chain moves continuously and at a constant speed throughout the continuous dipping process. Specialized equipment is required to conduct the various processes on the gloves as they are constantly traveling through the manufacturing facility. The initial stage of the dipping platform process typically includes the cleaning of the molds, as a clean mold surface is important for forming a quality glove. These clean molds are then carried by the conveyor chain through the coagulant dip process. As the molds continue to traverse laterally along with the conveyor chain, the molds are lowered into, and subsequently raised out of, a coagulant solution contained in an elongated dip tank. After the coagulant dip, the conveyor chain carries the coagulant-coated molds through a second tank containing the liquid molding material, such as latex. The coagulant coatings typically include salts that neutralize the surfactants in the liquid molding material emulsions, and which locally destabilize the liquid molding material, thus causing it to gel (or coalesce) and adhere as a film on the surface of the mold. The molds may be dipped in liquid molding material one or more times to achieve the desired glove thickness. The glove may then be dipped into a leaching tank containing circulating hot water to remove the water-soluble components, such as salts used in the coagulant solution or certain proteins present in the natural latex.
[0004] After the glove is formed, it undergoes a drying process in a drying oven to dry the thin gel layer prior to a high-temperature curing process to set and vulcanize the thin gelatinized film onto the mold surface. One or more additional layers, coatings or treatments may be formed or applied to the external surface of the formed glove, either before, after, or between drying and curing. For example, the external layer of the thin film, which typically becomes the user side (also known as the interior or donning side), may be coated with a donning composition or otherwise treated to make donning of the glove easier.
[0005] Typically, the final stage of the continuous dipping platform process is the stripping (i.e., removal) of the glove from its mold prior to the mold looping back to the mold cleaning process. Conventionally, the glove removal process is performed by a human operator manually stripping the gloves (with or without the aid of machines) or, in certain cases, using an automated stripping machine to strip the gloves from the molds. This process can result in significant waste if the gloves are not stripped properly. Molded gloves tend to adhere to the surface of the mold, such that the gloves must be gently peeled off of the mold. If they are pulled from the mold too quickly, with too much force, or if they are gripped such that too much stress is concentrated at the gripped points, the gloves can be punctured, torn, or otherwise compromised. Typically, because the cuff edge of the glove is peeled from the mold first, and because the palm and finger areas of the glove adhere to the mold until they are peeled off, the glove becomes inverted or reversed as it is stripped from the mold such that the external surface of the glove after forming (i.e., the donning side) becomes the internal surface after stripping. However, as described below, the donning side typically requires off-line surface treatment alter stripping, so the stripped gloves must be reversed or inverted after stripping to revert the donning side to the exterior surface. Manual and automated inverting processes typically employ suction or bursts of air to assist with fully inverting the glove.
[0006] Upon the completion of the on-line dipping process in the dipping platform, the thin film surgical gloves are typically still not finished products. After stripping from the molds, the gloves may undergo several steps of an off-line glove surface treatment process. For example, the gloves may be subjected to an off-line chlorination process, which may involve chlorination, lubrication, and tumble drying prior to inverting the glove such that the donning side becomes the interior surface before the gloves are packaged. These off-line processes often require several pieces of equipment (namely, chemical treatment equipment such as a chlorinator, etc.), an extractor, a tumbling machine, a dryer machine, and/or miscellaneous supporting equipment. Additionally, the off-line equipment is configured to process the gloves in batches, which requires that the formed gloves coming off of the dipping process line be temporarily stored in a queue, which consumes time and physical storage space, to wait for the batch processing equipment to become available. processes are substantial manual operation may also be necessary to operate these pieces of equipment, load and unload the gloves, transfer the gloves and complete these off-line processes prior to packaging the surgical gloves as finished products.
SUMMARY
[0007] Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward systems, devices, and methods for stripping a formed thin film elastomeric article from a mold, inverting the article, transferring the article to a mandrel, and securing the inverted article to the mandrel for further on-line processing, thus integrating the dip forming process and the existing off-line surface treatment process into a single, continuous on-line manufacturing process (i.e., on-line dip forming, primary surface treatment, inverting, and secondary surface treatment process). This integration will greatly reduce the dependency on human operators to perform the above-noted tasks, reduce the process cycle time, eliminate the dependency of the off-line equipment/process, lead to space reduction and eliminate miscellaneous equipment handling and maintenance tasks. In certain aspects, the systems, devices, and methods of the present disclosure are suitable for manufacturing elastomeric gloves, such as latex or synthetic polymer medical exam gloves and surgical gloves. It will be appreciated that adaptation of the systems, devices, and methods to provide similar advantages in the manufacture of various other thin film elastomeric articles, such as prophylactics, catheters, balloons, work gloves etc., is well within the capabilities of ordinarily skilled artisans.
[0008] In certain aspects, the system can include a stripping apparatus for removing formed gloves from the molds or formers on which they are formed. The stripping apparatus can include a cuff rolling device for rolling the cuff of the glove down (i.e., distally away from the mold base and toward the finger and palm areas of the glove) to expose a portion of the cuff-forming surface of the mold. The stripping apparatus can include a gripping device having one or more gripping members configured to engage the exposed portion of the cuff-forming surface of the mold. The stripping apparatus can include a roll-back device for unrolling the previously rolled portion of the glove cuff proximally toward the mold base and away from the glove finger and palm areas. The roll-back device can be configured to unroll the rolled cuff over and onto a portion of the gripping members such that the gripping members are interposed between the mold surface and at least a portion of the unrolled glove cuff. The stripping apparatus can include a lifting device for lifting the gripping members away from the surface of the mold, thereby separating a portion of the glove cuff area from the mold surface. The stripping apparatus can include an actuation device for moving the gripping members distally away from the mold base to pull or peel the glove away from the mold surface. The actuation device may move the gripping members to a position distal of the finger area to fully remove the glove from the mold, and thereby at least partially invert the glove.
[0009] In certain aspects, the system can include a glove donning device configured to receive the glove after it has been stripped from the mold. The system may be configured to move the gripping members of the stripping apparatus over or around a mandrel of the glove donning device to position the glove about one or more holding members of the mandrel, which holding members are configured to expand or separate to engage the interior surface of the inverted glove (i.e., the surface of the glove that was formed adjacent to the mold surface) to securely hold the glove on the mandrel of the glove donning device. The gripping members can be configured to release the gripped portion of the glove when the glove is positioned about the glove donning device. The glove donning device can be coupled to a continuous looped conveyor chain to carry the glove donning device (and the glove disposed thereon) through one or more on-line secondary processes. Accordingly, the system can strip the formed glove from the mold, invert the glove, and position and hold (i.e., mount) the glove on the glove donning device for subsequent on-line processing.
[0010] In certain aspects, the system is configured to move continuously and synchronize with the existing continuous dipping line speed to continuously strip, invert, and mount gloves formed by the dip forming process onto glove donning devices for subsequent on-line processing. In certain aspects, the gripping members are coupled to mechanical arms that are guided through translation, expansion, and contraction by one or more cam follower bearings. In certain aspects the glove donning device is expanded and contracted (i.e., opened and closed) by mechanical arms controlled by a cam follower bearing guided by a cam track to move the mechanical arms toward and away from each other.
[0011] Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward a method of manufacturing elastomeric articles using the systems and devices of the present disclosure. In certain aspects, the method can include forming an elastomeric glove on the surface of a glove mold, stripping the formed glove from the surface of the mold, inverting the glove, mounting the glove on a glove donning device, and subjecting the glove to one or more secondary processes while the glove is mounted on the glove donning device.
[0012] In certain aspects, the method can include rolling down a portion of the cuff of a glove formed on a mold, positioning a gripping member on the exposed portion of the cuff-forming surface of the mold, and unrolling the rolled portion of the glove cuff onto the gripping member such that the gripping member is interposed between the mold surface and at least a portion of the unrolled glove cuff. The method can include lifting the gripping member away from the mold surface to separate a portion of the glove cuff from the mold surface, and moving the gripping member distally away from the mold base and beyond the finger area of the glove, thereby peeling the glove away from the mold surface and at least partially inverting the formed glove.
[0013] In certain aspects, the method can include positioning the inverted glove about mandrel of the glove donning device one or more glove holding members of a glove donning device such that the surface of the glove that was formed adjacent to the mold surface becomes the exterior surface of the glove when it is positioned about the glove donning device. The method can include expanding the mandrel to engage the interior surface of the glove, thereby holding the glove securely on the glove donning device. The method can include releasing the gripped portion of the glove when the glove is positioned about the glove donning device such that the glove is fully mounted on the glove donning device. The method can include subjecting the glove to one or more secondary processes while the glove is mounted on the glove donning device.
[0014] Any feature, structure, or step disclosed herein can be replaced with or combined with any other feature, structure, or step disclosed herein, or omitted. Further, for purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and features of the systems, devices, and methods have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily any or all such advantages are achieved in accordance with any particular embodiments disclosed herein. No individual aspects of this disclosure are essential or indispensable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0015] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described by way of following drawings pointing out various details of the systems, devices and methods of the present disclosure. The main features and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood with the following descriptions, claims, and drawings, where:
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a front partial cross-sectional view of elastomeric glove molds and mold holding fixtures coupled to a conveyor chain in a continuous dip forming process loop.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the continuous dip forming process loop of FIG. 1 .
[0018] FIGS. 3A-3I illustrate various stages of the transfer process according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the transfer system according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates a front partial cross-sectional view of the transfer system of FIG. 4 .
[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates a front view of a glove stripping device according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of the glove stripping device of FIG. 6 .
[0023] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate front and side views, respectively, of a glove stripping device according to certain other aspects of the present disclosure.
[0024] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate top and side views, respectively, of the transfer system along the transfer path according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0025] FIGS. 11A-11D illustrate a glove donning device in expanded and retracted states according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIGS. 12-15 illustrate various glove donning devices according to certain other aspects of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details.
[0028] Various aspects of the systems and devices disclosed herein may be illustrated by describing components that are connected, coupled, attached, bonded and/or joined together. As used herein, the terms “connected”, “coupled”, “attached”, “bonded” and/or “joined” are used interchangeably to indicate either a direct connection between two components or, where appropriate, an indirect connection to one another through intervening or intermediate components. Additionally, unless otherwise specified, these terms are used interchangeably to indicate a connection in which one or more degrees of freedom are not rigidly constrained between two components (e.g., a pivoting connection, a translating connection, a pivoting and translating connection, an elastic connection, a flexible connection, etc.), or a rigid or substantially rigid connection in which all degrees of freedom are constrained or substantially constrained between the two components.
[0029] Relative terms such as “lower” or “bottom”, “upper” or “top”, and “vertical” or “horizontal” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element illustrated in the drawings. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the systems and devices in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. By way of example, if aspects of a glove stripping, reversing, donning, and holding system as shown in the drawings are turned over, elements described as being on the “bottom” side of the other element would then be oriented on the “top” side of the other elements as shown in the relevant drawing. The term “bottom” can therefore encompass both an orientation of “bottom” and “top” depending on the particular orientation of the drawing.
[0030] Reference will now be made to figures wherein like structures are provided with like reference designations. It should be understood that the figures are diagrammatic and schematic representations of exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods of the present disclosure, and are neither limiting nor necessarily drawn to scale.
[0031] One exemplary embodiment of the glove stripping, reversing and wearing system of the present disclosure is implemented in conjunction with a continuous dip forming platform that includes a looped conveyor chain 11 , as illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 . The conveyor chain 11 is supported by roller bearings that run along a channeled bearing surface 14 . One or more drive units, such as an electric motor and appropriate gearing, are coupled to one or more chain sprockets to drive the conveyor chain 11 through the continuous dipping process loop. Opposing pairs of mounting shafts 15 are coupled to the conveyor chain 11 at regular intervals and extend horizontally outwardly from the conveyor chain. A mold holding fixture 18 is coupled to the distal end of each shaft 15 . Each mold holding fixture 18 includes a rotatable mold mount 19 for holding the molds 20 such that each mold may be selectively rotated about its longitudinal axis. As shown in FIG. 1 , each mounting shaft 15 includes a pivot 16 so that the molds may be oriented horizontally or vertically (i.e., hung down from the mounting shaft), as desired, for example, to facilitate dipping. The mold mount 19 includes one or more bearing surfaces 17 a , 17 b (which may be rolling, sliding, etc.) and/or rotational guide surfaces, such as a “D” shaped collar (not shown), for guiding and maneuvering the mold 20 through the various processes along the dip forming line.
[0032] The conveyor chain 11 typically carries the molds 20 at a constant linear speed throughout the various stages of the dipping process. However, the preferred linear speed may be varied, for example, to adjust dipping or cure times, or otherwise process the gloves differently to accommodate various types of gloves, different forming materials, or varying thicknesses, or to achieve certain physical characteristics, etc. Suitable conveyor chain speeds typically may range from about 40 linear feet per minute to about 60 linear feet per minute.
[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 3A , a thin film elastomeric glove 30 includes a cuff area 32 , a wrist area 34 , a thumb area 35 , a palm area 36 , and a finger area 38 . Prior to the beginning of the glove stripping, reversing, and wearing process (which is also referred to as the transfer process) described in detail below, the glove 30 has been formed on the surface 22 of the mold 20 (which is also referred to as a former) by a suitable forming process, such as a continuous dipping line process, and the glove rests on the mold surface 22 . The glove 30 may also have been subjected to one or more post-forming processes along the continuous dipping line. It should be understood that any process may be used to coat or treat the external layer of the thin film to form the donning layer, such as dipping, spraying, immersion, vapor deposition, printing, or any other suitable technique. Alternatively, the donning layer can be formed off-line by similar techniques apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0034] The following description is intended to provide an overview of the transfer process, however, one exemplary embodiment of the transfer process will be described with greater detail in conjunction with the below description of the exemplary embodiments of the systems and devices provided to accomplish the transfer process. Referring to FIGS. 3-4 , the transfer process generally involves gripping the cuff portion of the glove and pulling or peeling the glove away from the mold surface by pulling the cuff portion toward, and then distally of, the finger area. Adhesion of the glove to the mold surface causes the glove to invert (i.e., turn inside-out) as the glove is peeled from the mold. The gripped cuff area is pulled over a cantilevered end of a donning device mandrel positioned distally of the mold such that the inverted glove surrounds a portion of the mandrel (i.e., the donning device mandrel “wears” the glove). When the glove has been fully released from the mold surface and is positioned about the mandrel, the device expands or separates to engage the interior surface of the inverted glove and securely hold the glove in place on the donning device mandrel. The gripped cuff area is then forced away from the grippers by an external force (such as a burst of air or jet of water) or otherwise released from the grippers so that the inverted glove is fully held or worn on the donning device mandrel. The donning device is coupled to a second conveyor chain that carries the glove through secondary processes as it is securely held on the donning device.
[0035] FIG. 143 illustrate exemplary embodiments of the various devices that may be implemented to accomplish the transfer process described above. These devices include a cuff roll-down device 40 as illustrated in FIG. 4 , a gripping, lifting, and pulling apparatus (i.e., a glove stripping device 40 ), as illustrated in FIGS. 6-7 , and a glove receiving and holding device (i.e., a glove donning device 100 ), as illustrated in FIG. 11 .
[0036] To initiate the transfer process, the cuff edge 31 , which is typically beaded, is rolled down toward the wrist area 34 by a cuff roll down device 40 , such as the one illustrated in FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, the cuff roll-down device 40 includes a cylindrical brush 42 coupled to a rotary shaft 43 , which is supported at opposite ends by rotary bearings 44 a , 44 b . A drive shaft 46 of an electric motor 47 is coupled to the rotary shaft 43 by a drive belt 49 to rotate the brush 42 . The motor 47 drives the cylindrical brush 42 to rotate about an axis parallel to the direction of travel of the conveyor chain 11 . As each mold 30 traverses down the length of the brush 42 , it is rotated about its longitudinal axis such that each portion of the glove cuff edge 31 engages with the brush bristles 41 , which cause the cuff edge 42 to roll down toward the wrist area 34 of the glove 30 . As the cuff area 32 is rolled down, a portion 37 of the cuff area of the mold surface 22 is exposed. Although a cylindrical brush is illustrated in this embodiment, it will be appreciated by ordinarily skilled artisans that the cuff area 32 may be rolled, folded, lifted, or otherwise forced away from the mold surface by any suitable mechanism, such as by forced air or water, or by a solid or foam surface roller. In certain embodiments, separate cuff rolling devices may be configured to roll the cuff down while the cuff rolling devices move along a separate continuous loop (in a similar manner as described below with respect to the glove stripping devices), to synchronize with the motion of the glove molds as the device rolls down the cuff edge.
[0037] After the cuff edge 31 is rolled down, the mold 20 and glove 30 enter a transfer path 14 of the transfer system 10 , as shown in FIG. 4 . As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the transfer system 10 includes a plurality of glove stripping devices 50 each of which is slidably coupled to a pair of linear guide rails 52 that are connected at opposite ends to a pair of transfer system conveyor chains 51 a , 51 b . Additionally, an actuation device 140 is coupled to each pair of linear guide rails 52 and serves to compress the glove donning device mandrel arms 72 , 73 prior to receiving the inverted glove 30 . The transfer system conveyor chains 51 a , 51 b are synchronized with gears and/or sprockets 55 and chains 56 to move the glove stripping devices 50 along the transfer path 14 in synchronization with the molds 20 travelling along a portion of the main dipping line path 64 . After the glove stripping devices 50 have passed through the transfer path 14 , the transfer system conveyor chains 51 a , 51 b carry them along a return path 62 and back to the beginning of the transfer path 14 .
[0038] Upon entering the transfer path 14 , the glove mold 20 is lowered between a pair of opposing mechanical arms 57 , 58 of the glove stripping device 50 , as illustrated in FIG. 4 . The glove stripping device 50 includes a carriage body 80 to which the lower ends of the mechanical arms 57 , 58 are pivotably coupled. Links 82 , 83 are pivotably coupled to central portions of the arms 57 , 58 , and to an upper end of a push rod 84 . The push rod 84 is slidably coupled to the carriage body 80 such that the push rod 84 may translate vertically up and down. As the push rod is raised from a lower to an upper position, the links 82 , 83 pivot and push the mechanical arms away from each other to an open state as shown in FIG. 6 . Tension springs 85 are coupled to the push rod 84 and the carriage body 80 so as to bias the push rod 84 downward. An additional tension spring 87 is coupled to central portions of the mechanical arms 57 , 58 so as to bias the arms toward each other (i.e., toward a closed position) to form a better grip with the bare mold and to accommodate different sizes of molds (such as different molds that are used to used to form different sized gloves).
[0039] The carriage body 80 of the glove stripping device 50 is slidably mounted to a pair of the linear guide rails 52 via linear guide rail bearings 53 . A horizontal cam follower bearing 92 is coupled to a rod 81 extending below the carriage body 80 The horizontal cam follower bearing 92 is configured to roll along a horizontal cam track 93 extending along the transfer path 14 . The horizontal cam track 93 is profiled, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , to cause the glove stripping device 50 to translate along the linear guide rails 52 from a position proximal to the glove mold base 21 to a position distal of the glove mold finger area 38 during the transfer process. The glove stripping device 50 also includes a vertical cam follower bearing 94 coupled to a lower end of the push rod 84 . During the transfer process, the vertical cam follower bearing 94 rolls along a vertical cam track 95 extending along the transfer path 14 . As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the cam track 95 is profiled to raise and lower the cam follower bearing 94 and the push rod 84 thus opening and closing the mechanical arms 57 , 58 as the glove stripping device 50 travels along the transfer path 14 .
[0040] Before the glove mold 20 is lowered between the mechanical arms 57 , 58 , the vertical cam track profile causes the push rod 84 to rise upward, which increases tension in the springs 85 , 87 , and causes the mechanical arms 57 , 58 to move to an open position as shown in FIG. 10 . After the glove mold is positioned between the mechanical arms 57 , 58 at the beginning of the transfer path 14 , the vertical cam track profile is lowered, thus allowing the springs 85 , 87 to pull the mechanical arms 57 , 58 together until the gripping members 86 , 88 rest on the portion of the mold surface that was exposed when the cuff edge 31 was rolled down (i.e., the surface of the mold where the rolled cuff portion of the glove originally rested). Although FIGS. 6-7 illustrate one gripping member coupled to each of the mechanical arms ordinarily skilled artisans will appreciate that any number of gripping members may be used in any suitable configuration to facilitate gripping, lifting, and removal of the glove from the mold surface. For example, FIGS. 8A-B . illustrate an embodiment that includes two gripping members coupled to each arm 57 , 58 . Similarly, although the glove stripping device 50 of the present embodiment is illustrated with two mechanical arms, it will be appreciated that any number of arms may be used in any suitable configuration. The gripping members may be formed of any suitable material known in the art. In an exemplary embodiment, the grippers may be formed of a rubber or plastic material to conform to the surface of the mold and to more easily grip the material of the glove. Ridges or other suitable contours may be formed on the glove engaging surface of the gripping members to assist in preventing the glove from slipping off of the gripping members.
[0041] When the gripping members 86 , 88 are positioned against the mold 20 , as shown in FIG. 3C , the rolled portion 32 of the thin film glove is unrolled, pushed or otherwise urged back proximally toward the mold base 21 by a force (for example, by means of one or more pressurized air nozzles 96 or water jets). The force used to unroll the rolled cuff portion 32 causes the cuff 32 to lay over the gripping members 86 , 88 such that at least a portion of the gripping members 86 , 88 is interposed between the unrolled cuff portion 32 and the mold surface 22 , as illustrated in FIG. 3D .
[0042] The air nozzles 96 or water jets may be mounted on stationary equipment above and/or below the transfer path 14 in suitable proximity and orientation to direct a burst of air or jet of water toward the rolled cuff edge 31 as it passes by. The air nozzles or water jets may be connected by tubing or hoses to a source, for example an air compressor and reservoir tank positioned near the transfer system or a central pressurized air supply line system. Air or water may be continuously dispensed, or more preferably is controlled by mechanical or solenoid valves or other suitable fluid control devices to deliver intermittent bursts sufficient to roll back the cuffs. The timing of the bursts may be synchronized or controlled by various known devices and methods. For example, timing may be controlled with the aid of electronic sensors (such as optical, magnetic, or sonic sensors), or by a mechanical switch that is triggered by mechanical contact with a portion of each passing mold (or other moving equipment associated with each glove). In certain embodiments, a brush or solid surface cylindrical roller may also be used in lieu of, or in addition to, an air nozzle, water jet, etc.
[0043] After the cuff 32 has been rolled back and is laying over the gripping members 86 , 88 , the gripping members are moved to an open position (by raising the push rod 84 via the vertical cam track profile 95 ) to expand (i.e., separate) the gripping members 86 , 88 and thereby lift the glove cuff area 32 away from the mold surface 22 . After the gripping members 86 , 88 are lifted from the mold surface 22 , the horizontal cam track 93 causes the glove stripping device 50 (and thus the gripping members 86 , 88 ) to translate distally toward the finger area 38 of the glove 30 , thereby pulling or peeling the glove off of, and away from, the mold surface 22 as illustrated in FIG. 3E .
[0044] One or more bursts of air or water jets may be directed at the glove to help urge the glove film away from the mold surface. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3F , a burst of air is directed into a pocket 97 formed generally between the portion 99 of the glove that has been peeled off of the mold 20 and the portion of the glove that remains on the mold surface 22 . The temporarily increased air pressure inside the pocket 97 causes the peeled off portion 99 to balloon radially outward from the mold surface 22 , thus momentarily increasing the radially outward component of tensile force acting at the peel seam 9 to help release the thumb area 35 and palm area 36 from the mold surface 22 .
[0045] As the gripping members 86 , 88 move distally beyond the finger area 38 of the mold 20 (as illustrated in FIG. 3F ), the distal portions of the glove 30 initially remain adhered to the mold surface 22 , thus causing the glove to become inverted as the cuff edge 31 is pulled distally of the finger area 38 . The gripping members 86 , 88 pull the glove 30 onto a mandrel 110 of the glove donning device 100 , as shown in FIG. 3G . When the gripping members 86 , 88 reach a predetermined position, the glove donning device 100 expands or separates portions of the mandrel 110 to tension to the glove to hold it firmly on the mandrel 110 . The glove cuff 32 is then released from the gripping members 86 , 88 , for example, by a burst of air directed into the pocket 109 generally formed between the gripped portion 39 of the glove cuff 32 and the exterior surface of the portion of the glove held by the mandrel 110 , such that the inverted glove 30 is fully mounted on the glove donning device 100 . Optionally, another burst of air may be directed into the interior of the inverted glove (e.g., through the cuff opening 27 between the mandrel arms 57 , 58 , or through a channel routed through the interior of the mandrel arms to an exit port positioned at a distal portion of the mandrel arms) to temporarily inflate the inverted glove to ensure that it is fully inverted when mounted on the glove donning device.
[0046] The glove donning device 100 of this exemplary embodiment includes a base 120 having a mounting portion 122 at a proximal end, and a mandrel portion 110 comprising two mandrel arms 112 , 114 extending distally from the base 120 along a longitudinal axis of the glove donning device 100 , as illustrated in FIGS. 11A-D . The mandrel arms 112 , 114 are slidably coupled to the base 120 such that the arms can move toward and away from each other in a horizontal plane. In other words, the mandrel portion 110 can expand and retract in a horizontal direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel 100 by sliding the mandrel arms 112 , 114 away from each other and toward each other, respectively. The mandrel arms 112 , 114 are retained in the base by retention pins 116 , 118 inserted into bores 117 , 119 in the proximal surfaces 121 , 123 of the arms 112 , 114 . The retention pin heads 116 , 118 are slidably disposed in pin slots 124 , 125 provided at the proximal end of the base 120 . Springs 126 , 127 are disposed between opposing interior-facing surfaces 128 , 129 of the mandrel arms 112 , 114 and opposite sides of an interior central wall 115 of the base 120 . The springs 126 , 127 are normally compressed to bias the mandrel arms 112 , 114 toward a fully expanded state, as shown in FIGS. 11C-D . The glove donning device 100 is coupled via a holding device 113 (e.g., a device similar to the mold holders) to a secondary conveyor chain, which carries it (and other glove donning devices 100 ) and the inverted glove 30 received thereon through one or more on-line secondary processes.
[0047] Near the beginning of the transfer path, the glove donning device 100 (in the expanded state) is lowered between a pair of mechanical actuation arms 142 , 144 of an actuation device 140 . The actuation arms 142 , 144 are pulled toward each other to push or compress the mandrel arms 112 , 114 toward each other to a retracted state. When the actuation arms 142 , 144 are separated, the springs 126 , 127 of the glove donning device 100 force the mandrel arms 112 , 114 away from each other, thus returning the mandrel arms to the expanded state. Similar to the glove stripping device 50 , the actuation device 140 includes a carriage body 180 to which the lower ends of the actuation arms 142 , 144 are pivotably coupled. Links 182 , 183 are pivotally coupled to central portions of the arms 142 , 144 and to an upper end of a push rod 184 . The push rod 184 is slidably coupled to the carriage body 180 such that the push rod 184 may translate vertically up and down. As the push rod 184 is lowered from a raised or closed state, the links 182 , 183 pivot and pull the mechanical arms toward each other to a closed position as shown in FIG. 10 . The actuation device 140 also includes a vertical cam follower bearing 194 coupled to a lower end of the push rod 184 . During the transfer process, the vertical cam follower bearing 194 rolls along a cam track 195 extending along the transfer path 14 . As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the cam track 195 is profiled so as to raise and lower the cam follower bearing 194 and the push rod 184 , and therefore open and close the actuation arms 142 , 144 , as the actuation device travels along the transfer path 14 .
[0048] It will be appreciated that the principles and concepts of the present disclosure that are embodied in the foregoing examples may also be implemented in various structural and functional equivalent embodiments, some examples of which are described as follows. An alternative embodiment of the glove donning device is illustrated in FIG. 12 . In this embodiment, the glove donning device 200 includes a mandrel shaft 210 extending from the holding device 213 to a distal end 219 , a shaft collar 235 is rigidly coupled to a middle portion of the mandrel shaft. Mechanical arms 212 , 214 are pivotably coupled at one end to the shaft collar 235 and at another end to arcuate cowl segments 236 , 237 . Links 282 , 284 are pivotably coupled to middle portions of the arms 212 , 214 and to a carriage 280 slidably coupled to the shaft 210 proximally of the shaft collar 235 . As the carriage 280 is translated along the shaft 210 toward the shaft collar 235 , the links 282 , 284 pivot and push the mechanical arms 212 , 214 , 216 radially outward from the shaft to an expanded position wherein the cowl segments 236 , 237 may engage the interior surface of an inverted glove. Conversely, as the carriage 280 is moved proximally, the mechanical arms retract radially inward toward the shaft 210 to a retracted position. A coil spring 285 , retained about the shaft 210 between the carriage 280 and the holding device 213 , is normally compressed so as to urge the carriage 280 distally to the expanded position. A cam follower bearing 294 and cam surface (not shown) serve to control movement of the carriage and thus the mechanical arms between expanded and retracted positions.
[0049] In certain embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 13 , the glove donning device 300 includes mechanical plates 312 , 314 rather than mandrel arms. The mechanical plates 312 , 314 are generally oriented along horizontal planes, and are controlled by a cam follower bearing 394 and cam surface profile (not shown) to expand away from each other in a vertical direction to engage the palm 336 and back of hand 337 portions of the inverted glove 330 . In certain other embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 14 , the glove donning device 400 includes a mandrel member 410 about which the glove 430 is positioned, and includes a scissor-type arrangement of pincher arms 412 , 414 that may be controlled to engage opposing portions of the exterior surface 422 of the cuff area 432 of the inverted glove 430 to firmly hold the glove between the pincher arms 412 , 414 and the mandrel 410 .
[0050] In certain other embodiments, As shown in FIG. 15 , the glove donning device 500 includes an inflatable bladder 520 coupled to a mandrel shaft 510 . Air, water, or other suitable fluid may be supplied to the interior of the bladder through a lumen in the mandrel shaft 510 to inflate and expand the bladder to engage the interior surface of an inverted glove 530 positioned about the bladder 520 . The bladder 520 may be constructed of any suitable material that is flexible, durable, and gas or fluid impervious, such as a flexible polymer, vulcanized rubber, etc.
[0051] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various example implementations described herein. Various modifications to these variations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various illustrious examples described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
|
Described are systems, devices, and methods for stripping a formed thin film elastomeric article such as a latex or synthetic polymer medical or surgical glove from a mold, inverting the article, and transferring and securing the inverted article to a mandrel for further on-line processing, integrating dip forming and off-line surface treatment processes into a single, continuous on-line process. The system can include a stripping apparatus including an actuation device for peeling the article from the mold and inverting the article, and a donning device to receive the inverted article. The system may position the article about a mandrel of the donning device. The mandrel may expand or separate to engage the interior of the inverted article to securely hold the article on the mandrel. The donning device may be coupled to a continuous loop conveyor chain to carry the donning device and the mounted article through on-line secondary processing.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The recent awareness that our energy sources may no longer be viewed as limitless has been brought home to most Americans by dramatic increases in home energy costs. Aside from the more obvious cost of heating one's home, the largest home energy cost for most Americans is the cost of heating hot water for personal use and for laundry purposes.
The greatest amount of hot water used in the average home is that used for showering. The average shower uses about 10 gallons of hot water per minute. Since the cost of operating a hot water heater is directly proportional to the amount of hot water used, and even relatively short showers can use great quantities of hot water, the cost of showering daily has become quite expensive. This is particularly true in metropolitan areas of our country, where the energy costs are the highest.
An additional cost involved in showering is the cost in terms of our water resources, a cost which is felt more intensely in the arid Southwest. While the average adult drinks less than a gallon of water a day, the same average adult will use many gallons of water daily in showering. In fact, during periods of drought, governmental authorities frequently request people to shower every other day, rather than daily.
Both increased energy utilization efficiency and improved water conservation may be obtained by the simple step of reducing the amount of hot water used in showering. While the obvious solution is to minimize the amount of time spent in the shower, a more desirable solution is to reduce the amount of water flowing through the shower head.
It is recognized by the shower head industry that people prefer to have an intense spray generated from the shower head; this has led to the successful marketing of a number of shower heads producing a variety of intense sprays, many of these heads which are in 1982 priced in the $25-$35 price range. Recently, several manufacturers have introduced specialized shower heads which are designed to use less water than the older type of shower heads. The problem with these new, lower-volume shower heads is that they will operate properly only when full pressure is supplied to the shower head. If the pressure is lowered, the flow of water from the shower head is no longer as intense, resulting in reduced enjoyment by the person showering.
Since these shower heads will not work satisfactorily with lower pressure, the user may not turn down the pressure to the shower head in order to save water without sacrificing the stimulating spray of the shower head. Most users will choose personal satisfaction over energy conservation, and will operate their showers at full pressure.
A number of manufacturers market valves for use with shower heads to control the flow of water to the shower head without adjusting the main valves of the shower and varying the temperature of the water supplied to the shower head. Some of these valves are even built into shower heads. These valves are mostly of two types--the pushbutton type, where the user pushes a cylindrical button on one side of the valve to stop the flow of water, and on the other side of the valve to resume the full flow of water; and the rotating type valve, where the user turns a handle on the side of the valve fixture to control the flow of water. These valves have a number of significant disadvantages.
The first disadvantage of these valves is that they are extremely hard to use when the shower user is shampooing and is unable to open his eyes because of a full head of lather. He must then grope for the small handle of the valve in order to turn the water off or on.
A second disadvantage of valves for showerheads is that many of them do not provide a continuously variable control over the amount of water used. In other words, the user must decide between a full flow of water, and an extremely diminished flow of water which is not sufficient to provide a brisk spray from the shower head. With this type of valve, the user will generally keep the valve in its wide-open position, thus using an inordinately large amount of hot water.
Finally, since most of these valves are able to completely stop the flow of water to the shower head, there is a possibility that the user may leave the shower with the water turned on at the main valves, and turned off only at the secondary valve located near the shower head. This results in the pipe between the main valves and the shower head being left in a pressurized condition for a long period of time. Since this pipe was not intended to be left in such a pressurized condition for any period of time, there is a strong possibility that leaks in the pipe may develop. Such leaks, since they are within the wall of the house or apartment, may result in substantial damage to the structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a shower flow controller which mounts between the supply pipe coming from the wall of the shower and the shower head. The flow controller features standardized thread, so it will fit on virtually any shower supply pipe, and may be utilized with virtually any shower head, including the specialized shower heads mentioned above. The flow controller may be installed by the user, since it requires only a single wrench and no mechanical ability to install.
The flow controller utilizes a cylindrical controlling shaft within a controlling body, the flow of water being controlled by the angular position of the controlling shaft. The controlling shaft is unique in that it uses a Y-principle, that is, one inlet hole used to supply water to two outlet holes. The two outlet holes are angled and sized so that water will be directed under pressure to the walls of the flow controller, thus causing the water to be atomized into a fine spray, and to be supplied to the shower head in this state. Thus, even with a small flow of water, a fine spray of water will be supplied from the flow controller to the shower head, a result which is of great importance to the shower users.
Because the flow controller is capable of atomizing water even when only small quantities are being allowed through the flow controller, the shower may be operated with significantly less water, thus resulting in a saving of energy required to heat the water, as well as conservation of the water itself.
Another feature of the flow controller is that it has a large horseshoe-shaped handle, which may be operated with ease even when the shower user has a full head of lather and is unable to see the flow controller. The shape of the handle also makes it very easy to continuously vary the flow of water from the maximum amount down to the minimum amount.
Finally, the flow controller is designed so that even when the handle is in the extreme minimum flow position, a small amount of water will still be supplied from the shower head. This feature prevents the user from leaving the shower with the main valves turned on, and thus guards against wall damage caused by leakage of the supply pipe within the wall.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other advantages of the present invention are best understood with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of the flow controller showing the way in which it is installed to the supply pipe and the shower head;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the flow controller of FIG. 1, showing its general configuration;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the flow controller;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the flow controller body and the cylindrical controlling shaft of FIG. 1, with the shaft in the fully open position;
FIG. 4A is an end view of the outlet holes of the flow controller body of FIG. 4;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of the cylindrical controlling shaft shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6A is a bottom view of the controlling shaft shown in FIG. 5, showing the Y-outlet holes and the outlet wedge crease;
FIG. 6B is a top view of the controlling shaft shown in FIG. 5, and shows the Y-inlet hole and the inlet wedge crease;
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the collar assembly connecting the horseshoe-shaped handle to the controlling shaft;
FIG. 8A is a sectional view of the flow controller body and the controlling shaft in the closed position;
FIG. 8B is a sectional view of the flow controller body and the controlling shaft in the partially-open position wherein water flows through the wedge creases shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B;
FIG. 8C is a sectional view of the flow controller body and the controlling shaft in the fully open position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The shower flow controller of the present invention is shown fully assembled in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows the flow controller 10 as it is installed in a conventional shower. A shower pipe 120 which extends from the shower wall 110 has a threaded outlet 122. Normally, a shower head 130 with a threaded inlet area 132 would be installed on the shower pipe 120; the shower head 130 is removed from the shower pipe 120 in order to install the flow controller 10. The flow controller 10 has a threaded inlet 20 (shown in FIG. 4) which is screwed onto the threaded outlet 122 of the shower pipe 120. The body 12 of the flow controller 10 has a hexagonal portion 14, which may be gripped by a wrench (not shown) to assist in the installation of the flow controller 10. The shower head 130 is then screwed on to the threaded outlet 22 of the flow controller 10 to complete the installation.
A horseshoe-shaped handle 60 is used to control the amount of water passed by the flow controller 10 by varying the position of a cylindrical controlling shaft 40. When the handle 60 is in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, the flow controller 10 is in its fully open position; when the handle 60 is in the position indicated with phantom lines in FIG. 1, the flow controller 10 is in its fully closed position, allowing only a trickle of water to reach the shower head 130.
The flow controller 10 is shown in an exploded perspective view in FIG. 3. The cylindrical controlling shaft 40 is inserted into the cylindrical bore 24 of the flow controller body 12 so that an equal portion of the controlling shaft 40 extends from each of the threaded bore ends 16, 18. O-rings 70, 72 are installed onto the ends of the controlling shaft 40, followed by washers 74, 76. Gland nuts 78, 80 are then installed over the ends of the controlling shaft 40, and screwed onto the threaded bore ends 16, 18, respectively. This portion of the flow controller assembly operates to control the flow of water by varying the position of the controlling shaft 40, and also functions to seal the body 12 of the flow controller 10.
The horseshoe-shaped handle 60 must now be mounted onto the controlling shaft 40 in a secure manner; the assembly of one end of the handle 60 to the shaft 40 is shown in the exploded view of FIG. 7. An Allen screw 100 is screwed into a threaded hole 52 in the controlling shaft 40. The end of the controlling shaft 40 is then inserted into the collar bore 92 of collar 88. One end of the horseshoe-shaped handle 60 is then inserted into the cylindrical receiving portion formed by the collar hole 94 of the collar 88 and the curved recess portion 56 of the controlling shaft 40. The end of the horseshoe-shaped handle 60 is inserted with the dimple 62 facing toward the Allen screw 100. An Allen wrench (not shown) is inserted through the Allen wrench hole 96, and the Allen screw 100 is tightened into the dimple 62, thus retaining the horseshoe-shaped handle 60 in place.
It should be noted that the Allen wrench hole 96 is sized so that an Allen wrench may easily fit through the hole, but the Allen screw 100 may not fall through the hole 96. This is to prevent the Allen screw 100 from falling onto the floor of the shower and possibly causing injury to the foot of the shower user if the Allen screw 100 is stepped on.
The other collar 90 is installed on the other end of the controlling shaft 40 and receives the other end of the horseshoe-shaped handle 60 in the same manner. It has been found desirable to install anti-friction alignment washers 82, 84 between the gland nuts 78, 80 and the collars 88, 90, respectively. The anti-friction alignment washers serve both to prevent friction between the collars 88, 90 and the gland nuts 78, 80, respectively, when the collars 88, 90 move with the handle 60 and the controlling shaft 40 to adjust the flow of water through the flow controller 10, and also to maintain alignment of the controlling shaft with the body 12 of the flow controller 10.
The key to the flow controller of the present invention being able to function with reduced volumes of water is the Y-shaped structure of the controlling shaft 40 and the flow controller body 12, best shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4. Water will enter the flow controller through the shower pipe 120 to an inlet hole 30, will flow into the Y-shaped passage of the controlling shaft 40 through the Y-inlet hole 42, and will exit through the two outlet holes 32, 33. The Y-shaped passage in the controlling shaft 40 is shown in detail in FIG. 5, where the Y-inlet hole 42 is the leg of the Y-shaped passage, and the Y-outlet holes 44, 45 are the arms of the Y-shaped passage. The area of the Y-inlet hole 42 is larger than the combined areas of the two Y-outlet holes 44, 45. Thus, water entering the Y-inlet hole 46 will exit the Y-outlet holes 44, 45 under pressure at a high flow velocity, and in streams which are directed outwardly.
Returning now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that these outwardly directed streams from the Y-outlet holes 44, 45 are directed through the two outlet holes 32, 33, respectively, against the outlet wall 26. The outlet holes 32, 33 are oval-shaped rather than round, as shown in FIG. 4A, to allow the streams of water exiting the Y-outlet holes 44, 45 of the controlling shaft 40 to reach the outlet walls 26 without being impeded. When the fast-moving pressurized streams of water hit the outlet wall 26, the water is atomized to a high pressure, finely misted spray. A high pressure spray obtained in this manner is the key to the ability of the flow controller of this invention to utilize a lower volume of water.
The maximum volume of water that will flow through the flow controller 10 in a given period of time is controlled by the size of the holes in the controlling shaft (FIG. 5). If the holes are made smaller, of course, the flow rate will be lowered proportionally. The important relationship which must be maintained is that the area of the Y-inlet hole 42 must be larger than the combined areas of the two Y-outlet holes 44, 45, so that a pressurized high flow velocity stream will leave the Y-outlet holes 44, 45. It has been determined that the maximum flow rate produced by the valve should be around six gallons per minute. This will produce a shower stream through any shower head which is sufficiently intense to please even those requiring the most invigorating and forceful of showers, while still requiring less hot water than a typical shower head.
As discussed earlier, it is also desirable to have a continuously variable control on the flow rate. This is obtained by using wedge grooves or creases on the controlling shaft. These creases are shown in FIGS. 5, 6A, and 6B. An inlet wedge crease 46 is shown radiating from the Y-inlet hole 42, and an outlet wedge crease 48 is shown radiating from the Y-outlet hole 44. Each of the wedge creases 46, 48 is of greatest depth immediately adjacent the Y-inlet hole 42, or the Y-outlet hole 44, respectively, and the depth of the creases 46, 48 decreases to zero as shown in the Figures. The inlet wedge crease 46 is larger than the outlet wedge crease 48 for the same reason the area of the Y-inlet hole 42 is larger than the combined areas of thw two Y-outlet holes 44, 45--to ensure that the stream of water leaving the controlling shaft 40 is at a pressurized high flow velocity.
The operation of the controlling shaft 40 with the wedge creases 46, 48 is shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C. In FIG. 8C, the flow controller 10 is shown in the fully open position, and the maximum amount of water flow is obtained through the Y-inlet hole 42 and the Y-outlet holes 44, 45. In FIG. 8B, the controlling shaft 40 has been turned so that the holes 42, 44, 45 in the controlling shaft 40 are no longer aligned with the holes 30, 32, 33 in the flow controller body 12. Nevertheless, a lesser amount of water is allowed to flow through the flow controller 10, by flowing through the inlet wedge crease 46, the Y-shaped passage in the flow controller 40, and out through the outlet wedge crease 48. It is important to note again that the area of the inlet wedge crease 46 is so configured as to be slightly larger than the outlet wedge crease 48, thus causing water exiting through the outlet wedge crease 48 to be pressurized and at a highly forceful flow velocity, causing it to impact against the outlet walls 26 and become vaporized, even though the overall rate of water flow through the controller 10 is considerably reduced.
In FIG. 8A, the controlling shaft 40 is shown so that neither the holes 42, 44, 45 nor the wedge creases 46, 48 of the controlling shaft 40 are aligned with the holes 30, 32, 33 in the flow controller body 12. However, the tolerances of the controlling shaft 40 and the flow controller body 12 are maintained so that when the controlling shaft 40 is in the position shown in FIG. 8A, the minimal flow position, a small amount of water will be able to leak through the areas between the controlling shaft 40 and the flow controller body 12. This small amount of water, generally amounting to about 10-12 ounces per minute, is maintained to ensure that the user turns off the main valve before leaving the shower area. This safety feature prevents the user leaving the shower area with the pressure maintained in the shower pipe, and the possibility of leaks within the wall from the shower pipe causing structural damage.
Thus, it can be seen that through the use of the wedge creases 46, 48, by rotating the controlling shaft 40, the user can control the flow of water in a continuously variable manner to a substantially greater extent than is possible in the use of prior art field mechanisms. In a flow controller 10 which is sized to provide a six gallon per minute maximum flow, it has been determined that the flow can be lowered to as low as one gallon per minute while still maintaining the atomization and intensity of spray which most shower users prefer, and providing a more than sufficient amount of water with which to lather and rinse. In order to obtain the same spray intensity that a standard shower head without the flow controller produces by using 8-10 gallons per minute, the flow controller of the present invention, when used with the same shower head, requires only 21/2-3 gallons per minute to produce a shower of the same intensity. Thus, it can be seen that by using the flow controller of the present invention, a substantial savings in the amount of water used in a shower is obtained. Since less water is used, less water must be heated, and consequently a large saving in energy required to heat the water is also obtained.
The flow controller will fit on any standard shower fixture, and may be installed easily and quickly. The flow may be controlled over a wide range, to produce anything from a stinging spray to a trickle. The safety trickle feature prevents possible wall damage caused by leaving the main shower valve on. Finally, because of the horseshoe-shaped handle, the flow controller may be easily adjusted even when the user is unable to see because of having lather in his face.
|
A flow controller for connection between a shower supply pipe and a shower head is disclosed which provides an intense, highly atomized spray to the shower head while reducing the amount of water used, as well as the amount of energy necessary to heat the water. The flow controller contains a controlling shaft which directs two high velocity streams of water against a wall in the flow controller to atomize the water. The controlling shaft, which is movable to provide a continuously variable control over the amount of water flowing through the flow controller, is rotated by a convenient horseshoe-shaped handle to allow the user to easily change the amount of water supplied to the shower head.
| 8
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method for constructing an LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, an integral LED bulb and a lamp, which involve the field of LED lighting technology.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As a new generation of lighting technology, LED semiconductor lighting has five energy-saving advantages incomparable by the existing other lighting technologies, such as high photoelectric conversion efficiency, easy control of light source direction, easy control of lighting time and manner, high light source color rendering property, and a high power factor under reasonable design, thus being warmly welcomed by worldwide investors and vigorously supported by the governments of all countries. The luminous efficiency of most current LED lamps may exceed 70 LM/W, thus having better energy saving advantages than the traditional energy saving lamps. The luminous efficiency of green LEDs may be up to 683 LM/W theoretically; the theoretical efficiency of white LED is also up to 182.45 LM/W, so the improvement space of LED lighting efficiency is huge.
[0003] In the current design of high power LED lighting products, especially high power LED lamps, due to heat dissipation, when a high power LED lamp is assembled, an LED light module, a driving power supply and a lamp are integrally designed, namely such components as the LED light module, the driving power supply and the lamp must be produced collectively, thus forming a situation of “LED having lamp while lacking bulb”. This brings a series of fatal problems to the LED lighting products, such as high manufacturing cost, inconvenience for use, maintenance difficulty, and the like. First of all, national and even global uniform standardized production could not be achieved on manufacture, leading to numerous product specifications, few batches and high prices; second, the products of producers are varied, not universal, let alone interchangeable; third, the LED light module, the driving power supply, the lamp and the like need to be integrally detached for maintenance in the case of product failure, thus the maintenance is very inconvenient, and such defects as expanded failure, delayed maintenance and high maintenance cost and the like are very liable to form. These defects greatly restrict the popularization and use of LED lighting and are inherent problems in the popularization of the LED lighting products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for constructing a LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, an integral LED bulb and a lamp. The bulb constructed by the method in the present invention may operate independently, and the LED bulb, the lamp and a lighting control product are independently produced and used, thereby greatly reducing manufacturing links of LED lighting products, improving mass production and facilitating the industrialization of LED energy-saving lighting products.
[0005] The technical solutions of the present invention are as follows: a method for constructing a universal LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, including: embedding a silver paste printed circuit on a heat conductive bracket sintered by a nonmetal heat conductive material (alumina, aluminum nitride, boron nitride or the like may be adopted) and provided with a cooling fin, and then welding an LED chip, or further welding a drive chip on the silver paste printed circuit to form the LED bulb.
[0006] In the above-mentioned method for constructing the LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, fluorescent powder is spray coated on the LED chip, and transparent silica gel is covered thereon, namely, the traditional package manner, with no bulb inner cover being adopted; or the number of the LED chips is configured according to the proportion of blue and red lights necessary for plants, and only the transparent silica gel is covered on the welded LED chip for package, and the LED bulb may be applied to agricultural production lighting.
[0007] In the above-mentioned method for constructing the LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, a bulb inner cover is fixed to the heat conductive bracket by providing a slot, and the LED chip and the drive chip are wrapped in the bulb inner cover.
[0008] In the foregoing method for constructing the universal LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, a bulb outer cover or a lens snap ring and a lens are further fixed to the heat conductive bracket by providing the slot, and a flange structure for installation is further sintered on the heat conductive bracket; or the heat conductive bracket is fixed in the bulb outer cover provided with an installation flange; or the heat conductive bracket is fixed in a lens bracket provided with a hang lug, and the lens is provided at the lower end of the lens bracket.
[0009] In the foregoing method for constructing the LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, the bulb outer diameter D (i.e., the diameter of the flange of the heat conductive bracket) of the LED bulb and power W of the constructed LED bulb satisfy a relationship W=1.1812e 0.0361D , discrete numerical values are selected for D on the relationship curve W=1.1812e 0.0361D to construct a plurality of LED bulbs with fixed bulb outer diameters D, in order to improve the interchangeability and universality of the LED bulbs. The discrete numerical values on the curve are selected for decreasing the number of the selected sizes while achieving high interchangeability and universality.
[0010] In the foregoing method for constructing the universal LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, on the relationship curve W=1.1812e 0.0361D , 20 mm used as the lower limit of the bulb outer diameter D and 130 mm used as the upper limit, the relationship curve is divided into 12 segments each of which is set to 10 mm to form limited bulb outer diameter specifications, and the interchangeability and universality of the LED bulbs are further improved by the small amount of bulb outer diameter specifications; 6 flange fixing holes on the heat conductive bracket with the flange are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the bulb outer diameter D; the diameter D 2 of an installation interface opening of the LED bulb on a lamp is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the bulb outer diameter D. The installation interface of the LED bulb includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the lamp.
[0011] In the foregoing method for constructing the LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, fluorescent powder is coated on an inner side of the bulb inner cover, and the LED chip is only packaged by the transparent silica gel, this structure ensures the fluorescent powder has better uniformity compared with that being directly sprayed on the chip, the fluorescent powder is away from the LED heating chip, the LED chip may operate at a relatively higher temperature, thereby perfecting the LED operation condition, effectively reducing the luminous decay of the LED bulb and ensuring a better LED light emission effect, and the dosage of the fluorescent powder is not increased to a larger extent; or the bulb inner cover is a concave inner cover made of an elastic material, the concave inner cover is of a concave structure in which transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is filled, a fluorescent material is provided in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, and the LED chip is packaged with no silica gel. In this structure, when the LED is electrified to generate heat, the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is heated to flow to take away the heat of the LED chip, in order to exchange the heat with the radiator on a larger area, thus avoiding local high heat of the LED chip and the surrounding fluorescent powder in the traditional solution and effectively reducing the generation of LED luminous decay, when the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is heated to expand, the concave inner cover protrudes outwards to increase the volume for receiving the expanded liquid, in order to avoid expanding of the liquid to result in ineffective seal of the inner cover.
[0012] In the foregoing method for constructing the LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, the slot is provided to the heat conductive bracket, the bulb outer cover is directly embedded in the slot by adhesion, or the lens snap ring clamps the lens and the lens snap ring is embedded in the slot by adhesion.
[0013] An integral LED bulb achieving the foregoing method, including a heat conductive bracket provided with a cooling fin, wherein a silver paste printed circuit is embedded on the heat conductive bracket, and an LED chip is welded on the silver paste printed circuit, or a drive chip is further welded thereon.
[0014] In the foregoing integral LED bulb, fluorescent powder is spray-coated on the LED chip, and transparent silica gel is covered outside the fluorescent powder; or only transparent silica gel is covered on the LED chip.
[0015] In the foregoing integral LED bulb, a slot is provided to the heat conductive bracket, a bulb inner cover is embedded and fixed in the slot, and the bulb inner cover covers the LED chip and the drive chip.
[0016] In the foregoing integral LED bulb, the edge of the heat conductive bracket is of an installation flange structure, a slot is further provided outside the bulb inner cover, a bulb outer cover or a lens snap ring and a lens are further embedded in the slot; or the heat conductive bracket is fixed in the bulb outer cover provided with an installation flange; or the heat conductive bracket is fixed in a lens bracket provided with a hang lug, and the lens is provided at the lower end of the lens bracket.
[0017] In the foregoing integral LED bulb, only transparent silica gel for package is provided outside the LED chip, the bulb inner cover is provided outside the LED chip with the transparent silica gel and the drive chip, and fluorescent powder coating is provided to the inner layer of the bulb inner cover; or, the LED chip is packaged with no silica gel, a concave inner cover filled with transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is provided outside the LED chip, the LED chip is soaked in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, the fluorescent material is provided in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, and the concave inner cover is an elastic inner cover of a thin concave structure.
[0018] In the foregoing integral LED bulb, the slot is provided to the heat conductive bracket, the bulb outer cover is directly embedded in the slot by adhesion, or the lens snap ring clamps the lens and the lens snap ring is embedded in the slot by adhesion.
[0019] On another aspect, the present invention further provides a variety of lamps using the foregoing LED bulb. The lamp provided by the present invention is simple in structure, low in manufacturing cost, quick, cheap and convenient to install, use and maintain and is unlikely to expand failure, achieves independent production and use of the bulb, lamp and the lighting control product of the LED bulb, greatly reduces manufacturing links, achieves mass production and facilitates the application and the industrial scale of the LED energy-saving lighting products.
[0020] An oval LED street lamp using an installation interface bracket structure, including an installation interface plate fixing bracket, wherein an installation interface plate is provided at the lower part of the installation interface plate fixing bracket, an installation interface is provided to the installation interface plate, and an LED bulb is provided to the installation interface; the installation interface plate fixing bracket is connected to a lamp post; a lamp housing is provided at the upper part of the installation interface plate fixing bracket, a lampshade is provided outside the installation interface plate, and the lamp housing matches with the lampshade to form an oval shape.
[0021] In the foregoing oval LED street lamp using the installation interface bracket structure, a wire harness connector is provided to the installation interface plate fixing bracket, and the wire harness connector is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs to a power supply and a control circuit.
[0022] In the foregoing oval LED street lamp using the installation interface bracket structure, the installation interface plate fixing bracket includes a sleeve, wherein the sleeve is used for installing the lamp post, wire harness connector brackets are provided at both sides of the sleeve, and the wire harness connector brackets are used for installing the wire harness connector; a ring plate is provided outside the sleeve and the wire harness connector brackets, and the ring plate is used for fixedly connecting the installation interface plate to the installation interface plate fixing bracket.
[0023] In the foregoing oval LED street lamp using the installation interface bracket structure, a light penetration hole and a water drainage hole are provided on the lamp cover; the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the installation interface plate.
[0024] In the foregoing oval LED street lamp using the installation interface bracket structure, a radiator interface opening and 6 flange fixing holes are provided to the installation interface of the installation interface plate, the flange fixing holes are used for fixing an LED bulb, and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb to penetrate through the installation interface; the flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb 102 ; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening on the installation interface is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb.
[0025] An LED street lamp using a lamp housing as an installation interface bracket structure includes the lamp housing punch formed by sheet metal via a stamping process, an installation interface is provided to the lamp housing, an LED bulb is provided to the installation interface, the lamp housing is fixed to a lamp post by a lamp post fixing element, and a decorative cover is provided to the lamp housing.
[0026] The foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure further includes a wire harness connector, wherein the wire harness connector is provided to the decorative cover, and the wire harness connector is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs to a power supply and a control circuit.
[0027] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure, the lamp housing is elliptic, edgefolds for reinforcing the structural strength are provided at the inner and outer edges of the lamp housing, and the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the lamp housing.
[0028] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure, the lamp post fixing element includes a lamp post fixing bracket, a lamp post fixing bracket bolt and a reinforcing plate, wherein the lamp post fixing bracket and the reinforcing plate are provided at the upper and lower sides of the lamp housing, and the lamp housing is fixed to the lamp post through the lamp post fixing bracket and the reinforcing plate.
[0029] In the foregoing oval street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure, a radiator interface opening and 6 flange fixing holes are provided to the installation interface of the lamp housing, the flange fixing holes are used for fixing the LED bulb, and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb to penetrate through the installation interface; the flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening on the installation interface is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb.
[0030] An LED street lamp using a lamp housing as an installation interface bracket structure includes a lamp housing punch-formed by sheet metal; the lamp housing includes a bracket panel folded to multiple pieces, an installation interface is provided to the bracket panel, and an LED bulb is provided to the installation interface; the lamp housing is fixed to a lamp post through a lamp post fixing element.
[0031] The foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure further includes a wire harness connector, wherein the wire harness connector is provided to the lamp housing, and the wire harness connector is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs to a power supply and a control circuit.
[0032] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure, an edgefold for reinforcing the structural strength is provided at the edge of the lamp housing, and the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the lamp housing; a lamp post fixing hole used for connecting the lamp post is formed in the upper part of the lamp post fixing bracket.
[0033] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure, the lamp post fixing element includes a lamp post fixing bracket, a lamp post fixing bracket bolt and a reinforcing plate, wherein the lamp post fixing bracket and the reinforcing plate are provided at the upper and lower sides of the lamp housing, and the lamp housing is fixed to the lamp post through the lamp post fixing bracket and the reinforcing plate; the lamp housing includes three bracket panels which are folded to form an angle, a planar bracket is provided at the lower part of the lamp post fixing bracket, and the lamp post fixing bracket is fixed to the bracket panel at the center of the lamp housing from the upper side or the lower side of the lamp housing; or, the lamp housing includes two bracket panels which are folded to form an angle, the lamp post fixing bracket is fixed to the bracket panels provided to form the angle from the upper side or the lower side of the lamp housing, and a triangular bracket is provided at the lower part of the lamp post fixing bracket and is inverted V-shaped or V-shaped.
[0034] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure, 6 flange fixing holes and a radiator interface opening are provided to the installation interface, the flange fixing holes are used for fixing the LED bulb, and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb to penetrate through the installation interface; the 6 flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb.
[0035] An LED street lamp using an extrusion type installation interface bracket structure, including a metal extrusion type installation interface bracket, wherein the extrusion type installation interface bracket is fixed to a lamp post; the extrusion type installation interface bracket includes a lamp post fixing sleeve, bracket panels are provided on both sides of the lamp post fixing sleeve, and an installation interface used for installing an LED bulb is provided to each bracket panel; the LED bulb is installed on the installation interface.
[0036] The foregoing LED street lamp using the extrusion type installation interface bracket structure further includes a wire harness connector, wherein the wire harness connector is provided to the lamp post fixing sleeve, and the wire harness connector is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs to a power supply and a control circuit.
[0037] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the extrusion type installation interface bracket structure, in the extrusion type installation interface bracket, the bracket panels on both sides are provided to form an angle; a lamp post seal head is provided at one end of the lamp post fixing sleeve, and the other end of the lamp post fixing sleeve is fixed to the lamp post through a lamp post fixing screw; the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the bracket panels.
[0038] In the foregoing LED street lamp using the extrusion type installation interface bracket structure, a radiator interface opening and 6 flange fixing holes are provided to the installation interface, the flange fixing holes are used for fixing the LED bulb, and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb to penetrate through the installation interface; the 6 flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb.
[0039] Compared with the prior art, in the present invention, the heat conductive bracket with the cooling fin is directly sintered by the nonmetal heat conductive material, and the LED silver paste printed circuit is directly embedded in the heat conductive bracket, such that the structure of the constructed LED bulb is simpler and more compact, and the heat dissipation of the LED is faster. Due to the arrangement of the slot on the heat conductive bracket, the lampshade is convenient to install and the water resistance is good. Moreover, the installation structure of the bulb may be directly sintered on the heat conductive bracket, or the heat conductive bracket is installed in a lampshade assembly with an installation structure. The integral LED bulb in the present invention is used for establishing the lamp in a simple, easy, flexible and variable manner, in this way, the bulb, the lamp and the lighting control product of the LED bulb are independently produced and used, thereby greatly reducing manufacturing links of LED lighting products, improving mass production and facilitating the industrialization of LED energy-saving lighting products.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0040] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an outline of a lens solution of a first LED bulb in the present invention;
[0041] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an outline of a bulb outer cover solution of the first LED bulb in the present invention;
[0042] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of the lens solution of the first LED bulb in the present invention;
[0043] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a structure of the bulb outer cover solution of the first LED bulb in the present invention;
[0044] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an embedding circuit of a heat conductive bracket in the present invention;
[0045] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a heat conductive bracket with a bulb inner cover in the present invention;
[0046] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a heat conductive bracket with a concave inner cover in the present invention;
[0047] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a concave inner cover in the present invention;
[0048] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a second LED bulb in the present invention;
[0049] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a third LED bulb in the present invention;
[0050] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an outline of the second LED bulb in the present invention;
[0051] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an outline of the third LED bulb in the present invention;
[0052] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a size of a bulb in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0053] FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a structure of embodiment 1 in the present invention;
[0054] FIG. 17 is an external view of embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0055] FIG. 18 is a structure diagram of an installation interface plate fixing bracket in embodiment 1 of the present invention;
[0056] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a structure of embodiment 2 in the present invention;
[0057] FIG. 20 is a vertical external view of embodiment 2 in the present invention;
[0058] FIG. 21 is an overlooking external view of embodiment 2 in the present invention;
[0059] FIG. 22 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket in embodiment 2 of the present invention;
[0060] FIG. 23 is a vertical external view of embodiment 2 in the present invention;
[0061] FIG. 24 is an overlooking external view of embodiment 2 in the present invention;
[0062] FIG. 26 is a vertical external view of embodiment 3 in the present invention;
[0063] FIG. 27 is an overlooking external view of embodiment 3 in the present invention;
[0064] FIG. 28 is an overlooking external view when bracket panels on both sides are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0065] FIG. 29 is an overlooking external view when two bracket panels are adopted in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0066] FIG. 30 is an overlooking external view when two bracket panels are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0067] FIG. 31 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0068] FIG. 32 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket when bracket panels on both sides are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0069] FIG. 33 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket when two bracket panels are adopted in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0070] FIG. 34 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket when two bracket panels are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 3 of the present invention;
[0071] FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram of a structure of embodiment 4 in the present invention;
[0072] FIG. 36 is a vertical external view of embodiment 4 in the present invention;
[0073] FIG. 37 is a vertical external view when bracket panels are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0074] FIG. 38 is a vertical external view when bracket panels are connected and are provided upwards to form an angle in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0075] FIG. 39 is a vertical external view when bracket panels are connected and are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0076] FIG. 40 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0077] FIG. 41 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket when bracket panels are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0078] FIG. 42 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket when bracket panels are connected and are provided upwards to form an angle in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0079] FIG. 43 is a projection drawing of a lamp post fixing bracket when bracket panels are connected and are provided downwards to form an angle in embodiment 4 of the present invention;
[0080] FIG. 44 is a schematic diagram of an installation interface on the lamp in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0081] Reference numerals: 3 —heat conductive bracket, 4 —silver paste printed circuit, 6 —bulb inner cover, 61 —concave inner cover, 7 —lens, 8 —lens snap ring, 71 —lens bracket, 9 —bulb outer cover, 91 —bulb outer cover with installation flange, 10 A—waterproof joint with cable, 11 A—cable fixing head, 18 —slot, 22 —connector fixing hole, 101 —lamp housing, 102 —LED bulb in the present invention, 103 —ceiling lamp head plate, and 105 —bulb fixing screw.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0082] The present invention will be further illustrated below in conjunction with accompanying drawings and embodiments, which are not used as a basis of limiting the present invention.
EMBODIMENTS
[0083] A method for constructing an LED bulb with high interchangeability and universality, including: embedding a silver paste printed circuit on a heat conductive bracket sintered by a nonmetal heat conductive material (alumina, aluminum nitride, boron nitride or the like may be adopted) and provided with a cooling fin, and then welding an LED chip (including other related drive chip elements) on the silver paste printed circuit to form the LED bulb. A bulb inner cover is fixed to the heat conductive bracket by providing a slot, and the LED chip and the drive chip are wrapped in the bulb inner cover. A bulb outer cover or a lens is further fixed to the heat conductive bracket by providing the slot, and a flange structure for installation is further sintered on the heat conductive bracket; or the heat conductive bracket is fixed in the bulb outer cover provided with an installation flange; or the heat conductive bracket is fixed in a lens bracket provided with a hang lug, and the lens is provided at the lower end of the lens bracket. Fluorescent powder is coated on the inner side of the bulb inner cover, and the LED chip is only packaged with the transparent silica gel; or the bulb inner cover is a concave inner cover made of an elastic material, the concave inner cover is of a concave structure in which transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is filled, a fluorescent material is provided in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, and the LED chip is packaged with no silica gel. The LED chip may also be packaged by adopting a traditional package solution, namely, fluorescent powder is spray coated on the LED chip and transparent silica gel is covered thereon, and no bulb inner cover is used. When the present invention is applied to agricultural production lighting, the number of the LED chips is configured according to the proportion of blue and red lights necessary for plants, and only the transparent silica gel is covered on the welded LED chip for package. The slot is provided to the heat conductive bracket, the bulb outer cover is directly embedded in the slot by adhesion, or the lens snap ring clamps the lens and the lens snap ring is embedded in the slot by adhesion.
[0084] A first LED bulb:
[0085] an integral LED bulb for implementing the foregoing method, including a heat conductive bracket 3 provided with a cooling fin, wherein a silver paste printed circuit 4 is embedded on the heat conductive bracket 3 , and an LED chip and a related drive chip are welded on the silver paste printed circuit 4 , and a waterproof joint 10 A with a cable is fixed to the heat conductive bracket 31 through a cable fixing head 11 A, as shown in FIG. 5 . A slot 18 is provided to the heat conductive bracket 3 , a bulb inner cover 6 is embedded and fixed in the slot 18 , and the bulb inner cover 6 covers the LED chip and the drive chip, as shown in FIG. 6 . The edge of the heat conductive bracket 3 is of an installation flange structure and is fixed by a bulb fixing screw 105 , the slot 18 is further provided outside the bulb inner cover 6 , and a bulb outer cover 9 or a lens snap ring 8 and a lens 7 are further embedded in the slot 18 . The slot 18 is provided to the heat conductive bracket 3 , the bulb outer cover 9 is directly embedded in the slot by adhesion, as shown in FIG. 4 , or the lens snap ring 8 clamps the lens 7 and the lens snap ring 8 is embedded in the slot by adhesion, as shown in FIG. 3 . Transparent silica gel for package is provided outside the LED chip, the bulb inner cover 6 is provided only outside the LED chip with the transparent silica gel, and fluorescent powder coating is provided to the inner layer of the bulb inner cover 6 ; or, the LED chip is packaged with no silica gel, a concave inner cover 61 filled with transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is provided outside the LED chip, as shown in FIG. 7 , the LED chip is soaked in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, the fluorescent material is provided in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, and the concave inner cover 61 is an elastic inner cover of a thin concave structure, as shown in FIG. 8 . The LED chip may also be packaged by adopting a traditional package solution, namely, fluorescent powder is spray coated on the LED chip and transparent silica gel is covered thereon, and no bulb inner cover is used. When the present invention is applied to agricultural production lighting, the number of the LED chips is configured according to the proportion of blue and red lights necessary for plants, and only the transparent silica gel is covered on the welded LED chip for package.
[0086] A second LED bulb:
[0087] an integral LED bulb for implementing the foregoing method, including a heat conductive bracket 3 provided with a cooling fin, wherein a silver paste printed circuit 4 is embedded on the heat conductive bracket 3 , and an LED chip is welded on the silver paste printed circuit 4 , or a drive chip is further welded thereon, and a waterproof joint 10 A with a cable is fixed to a connector fixing hole 22 of the heat conductive bracket 3 through a cable fixing head 11 A, as shown in FIG. 5 . A slot 18 is provided to the heat conductive bracket 3 , a bulb inner cover 6 is fixed to the slot in an embedding manner, and the bulb inner cover 6 covers the LED chip and the drive chip, as shown in FIG. 6 . The heat conductive bracket 3 is fixed in the bulb outer cover 91 with an installation flange, as shown in FIG. 9 . Only transparent silica gel for package is provided outside the LED chip, the bulb inner cover 6 is provided outside the LED chip with the transparent silica gel, and fluorescent powder coating is provided to the inner layer of the bulb inner cover 6 ; or, the LED chip is packaged with no silica gel, and a concave inner cover 61 filled with transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is provided outside the LED chip, as shown in FIG. 7 . The LED chip is soaked in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, a fluorescent material is provided in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, and the concave inner cover 61 is an elastic inner cover of a thin concave structure, as shown in FIG. 8 . The LED chip may also be packaged by adopting a traditional package solution, namely, fluorescent powder is spray coated on the LED chip and transparent silica gel is covered thereon, and no bulb inner cover is used. When the present invention is applied to agricultural production lighting, the number of the LED chips is configured according to the proportion of blue and red lights necessary for plants, and only the transparent silica gel is covered on the welded LED chip for package.
[0088] A third LED bulb: an integral LED bulb for implementing the foregoing method, including a heat conductive bracket 3 provided with a cooling fin, wherein a silver paste printed circuit 4 is embedded on the heat conductive bracket 3 , and an LED chip is welded on the silver paste printed circuit 4 , or a drive chip is further welded thereon, and a waterproof joint 10 A with a cable is fixed to a connector fixing hole of the heat conductive bracket 3 through a cable fixing head 11 A, as shown in FIG. 5 . A slot 18 is provided to the heat conductive bracket 3 , a bulb inner cover 6 is fixed to the slot in an embedding manner, and the bulb inner cover 6 covers the LED chip and the drive chip, as shown in FIG. 6 . The heat conductive bracket 3 is fixed in a lens bracket 71 with a hang lug, and a lens 7 is provided at the lower end of the lens bracket 71 , as shown in FIG. 10 . Transparent silica gel for package is provided outside the LED chip, the bulb inner cover 6 is provided outside the LED chip with the transparent silica gel, and fluorescent powder coating is provided to the inner layer of the bulb inner cover 6 ; or, no silica gel is packaged on the LED chip, and a concave inner cover 61 filled with transparent insulating heat conductive liquid is provided outside the LED chip, as shown in FIG. 7 . The LED chip is soaked in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, a fluorescent material is provided in the transparent insulating heat conductive liquid, and the concave inner cover 61 is an elastic inner cover of a thin concave structure, as shown in FIG. 8 . The LED chip may also be packaged by adopting a traditional package solution, namely, fluorescent powder is spray coated on the LED chip and transparent silica gel is covered thereon, and no bulb inner cover is used. When the present invention is applied to agricultural production lighting, the number of the LED chips is configured according to the proportion of blue and red lights necessary for plants, and only the transparent silica gel is covered on the welded LED chip for package.
[0089] A lamp may be constructed just by fixing the integral LED bulb in the present invention on the lamp used as an installation interface. As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 , a down lamp may be constructed by installing the integral LED bulb on a down lamp housing 101 with the installation interface; a ceiling lamp may be constructed by installing the integral LED bulb in a ceiling lamp head plate 103 with the installation interface and covering with a ceiling lamp housing 101 .
[0090] The bulb outer diameter D and an upper limit of power W of the constructed LED bulb satisfy a relationship W=1.1812e 0.0361D , discrete numerical values are selected for D on the relationship curve W=1.1812e 0.0361D to construct a plurality of LED bulbs with fixed bulb outer diameters D, in order to improve the interchangeability and universality of the LED bulbs. On the relationship curve W=1.1812e 0.0361D , with 20 mm used as the lower limit of D and 130 mm used as the upper limit, the relationship curve is divided into 12 segments each of which is set to 10 mm to form limited bulb outer diameter specifications, and the interchangeability and universality of the LED bulbs are further improved by the small amount of bulb outer diameter specifications. A screw hole distribution circle (or the outer diameter of the hang lug) D 1 for fixing the bulb and the diameter D 2 of an installation interface opening of the lamp are influenced by the size of the used screw, and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb; the diameter D 2 of the installation interface opening is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb; the value of the wire outlet hole distance L of the bulb is set according to the following table. In FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 , the outer diameter D of the size of the bulb, the diameter D 1 of the flange screw hole (or the outer diameter of the hang lug) distribution circle and the outer diameter D 3 of the cooling fin are manufactured according to specified sizes, and the related sizes are set forth in FIG. 15 and the following table:
[0000]
outer
Diameter D1
Diameter D2
Wire
Fixing
diameter
(mm) of
(mm) of
outlet
screw
D (mm)
screw hole
instalation
hole
specification
Suitable
of
distribution
interface
distance L
¢
power
bulb
circle
opening
(mm)
(mm)
(W)
20
16
12
2
M1.6
<2.5
30
25
20
2
M1.6
<3.5
40
35
30
2
M1.6
<5
50
42
34
2
M2.5
<7
60
52
44
2
M2.5
<10
70
62
54
2
M2.5
<14.5
80
70
60
18
M3.5
<21
90
80
70
18
M3.5
<30
100
90
80
27
M3.5
<44
110
100
90
27
M3.5
<64
120
110
100
33
M3.5
<90
130
120
110
33
M3.5
<130
Note 1:
the outer diameter D3 of the bulb radiator or the outer cover is not larger than D2-1;
note 2:
the diameter Φ of the bulb wire outlet hole is determined according to the size of the bulb connector (interface) plug.
Embodiment 1
[0091] An oval LED street lamp using an installation interface bracket structure, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 14 , including an installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 , wherein an installation interface plate 103 is provided at the lower part of the installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 , an installation interface is provided to the installation interface plate 103 , and an LED bulb 102 is provided to the installation interface; the installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 is connected to a lamp post 108 ; a lamp housing 101 is provided at the upper part of the installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 , a lampshade 113 is provided outside the installation interface plate 103 , and the lamp housing 101 matches with the lampshade 113 to form an oval shape. A wire harness connector 106 is provided to the installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 , and the wire harness connector 106 is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs 102 to a power supply and a control circuit. The installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 includes a sleeve 116 , the sleeve 116 is used for installing the lamp post 108 , wire harness connector brackets 107 are provided on both sides of the sleeve 116 , and the wire harness connector brackets 107 are used for installing the wire harness connector 106 ; a ring plate 114 is provided outside the sleeve 116 and the wire harness connector brackets 107 , and the ring plate 114 is used for fixedly connecting the installation interface plate 103 to the installation interface plate fixing bracket 112 , as shown in FIG. 15 . A light penetration hole is provided to the lampshade 113 ; the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb 102 and a hole connected to the LED bulb on the installation interface plate 103 . A radiator interface opening and 6 flange fixing holes are provided to the installation interface of the installation interface plate 103 , the flange fixing holes are used for fixing the LED bulb 102 , and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb 102 to penetrate through the installation interface; the flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb 102 ; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening on the installation interface is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb. The LED bulb 102 is installed on the bulb installation interface through a bulb fixing screw 105 , and the lamp post 108 is installed in the sleeve through a lamp post fixing screw 109 .
[0092] The lamp in the embodiment uses the installation interface plate fixing bracket as the core, the installation interface plate fixing bracket provides an installation interface for the lamp post while providing a supporting interface for the installation interface plate, and the installation interface plate provides an installation interface for the LED bulb. In the present invention, the LED bulb and all of other auxiliary components are collectively installed and fixed to the installation interface plate fixing bracket, thus the LED street lamp is simple, practical and beautiful.
[0093] The meanings of the reference numerals in the embodiment are as follows: 101 —lamp housing, 102 —LED bulb, 103 —installation interface plate, 105 —bulb fixing screw, 106 —wire harness connector, 107 —wire harness connector bracket, 108 —lamp post, 109 —lamp post fixing screw, 112 —installation interface plate fixing bracket, 113 —lampshade, 114 —ring plate, and 116 —sleeve.
Embodiment 2
[0094] An LED street lamp using a lamp housing as an installation interface bracket structure, as shown in FIG. 19 , FIG. 20 , FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 , includes the lamp housing 101 punch formed by sheet metal via a stamping process, wherein an installation interface is provided to the lamp housing 101 , an LED bulb 102 is provided to the installation interface, the lamp housing 101 is fixed to a lamp post 108 by a lamp post fixing element, and a decorative cover 103 is provided to the lamp housing 101 . The LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure further includes a wire harness connector 106 , wherein the wire harness connector 106 is provided to the decorative cover 103 , and the wire harness connector 106 is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs 102 to a power supply and a control circuit. The lamp housing 101 is elliptic, edgefolds for reinforcing the structural strength are provided at the inner and outer edges of the lamp housing 101 , and the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb 102 and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the lamp housing 101 . The lamp post fixing element includes a lamp post fixing bracket 112 , a lamp post fixing bracket bolt 111 and a reinforcing plate 110 , wherein the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and the reinforcing plate 110 are provided at the upper and lower sides of the lamp housing 101 , and the lamp housing 101 is fixed to the lamp post 108 through the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and the reinforcing plate 110 . A radiator interface opening and 6 flange fixing holes are provided to the installation interface of the lamp housing 101 , the flange fixing holes are used for fixing the LED bulb 102 , and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulbs 102 to penetrate through the installation interface; the flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb 102 ; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening on the installation interface is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the outer diameter D of the bulb. The wire harness connector 106 is fixed to the decorative cover 103 through a wire harness connector bracket and screw 107 . The lamp post fixing bracket 112 is fixed to the lamp housing 101 through the reinforcing plate 110 and the lamp post fixing bracket bolt 111 , and the lamp post 108 is connected to the lamp post fixing bracket 112 through a lamp post fixing screw 109 . Each LED bulb 102 is installed on the lamp housing 101 through bulb fixing screws 105 , and the LED bulb 102 penetrates through an installation interface hole. The LED bulb 102 is installed on the installation interface from the lower side.
[0095] In the embodiment, a heat conductive pad 2 is provided between a flange or an installation flange and the installation interface.
[0096] In the embodiment, the heat conductive bracket 3 may also be fixed in a bulb outer cover 91 provided with the installation flange.
[0097] In the embodiment, the LED bulb 102 may also be installed on the lamp housing from the upper side, as shown in FIG. 23 and FIG. 24 .
[0098] The meanings of the reference numerals in the embodiment are as follows: 101 -lamp housing, 102 -LED bulb, 103 -decorative cover, 105 -bulb fixing screw, 106 -wire harness connector, 107 -wire harness connector bracket and screw, 108 -lamp post, 109 -lamp post fixing screw, 110 -reinforcing plate, 111 -lamp post fixing bracket bolt, and 112 -lamp post fixing bracket.
Embodiment 3
[0099] An LED street lamp using a lamp housing as an installation interface bracket structure, as shown in FIG. 25 , FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 , includes a lamp housing 101 punch formed by sheet metal; the lamp housing 101 includes a bracket panel folded to multiple pieces, an installation interface is provided to the bracket panel, and an LED bulb 102 is provided to the installation interface; the lamp housing 101 is fixed to a lamp post 108 through a lamp post fixing element. The LED street lamp using the lamp housing as the installation interface bracket structure further includes a wire harness connector 106 , wherein the wire harness connector 106 is provided to the lamp housing 101 , and the wire harness connector is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs 102 to a power supply and a control circuit. An edgefold for reinforcing the structural strength is provided at the edge of the lamp housing 101 , and the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb 102 and a hole connected to the LED, bulb on the lamp housing 101 ; a lamp post fixing hole used for connecting the lamp post 108 is formed in the upper part of the lamp post fixing bracket 112 . The lamp post fixing element includes a lamp post fixing bracket 112 , a lamp post fixing bracket bolt 111 and a reinforcing plate 110 , wherein the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and the reinforcing plate 110 are provided at the upper and lower sides of the lamp housing 101 , and the lamp housing 101 is fixed to the lamp post 108 through the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and the reinforcing plate 110 ; the lamp housing 101 includes three bracket panels which are folded to form an angle, a planar bracket is provided at the lower part of the lamp post fixing bracket 112 , and the lamp post fixing bracket 112 is fixed to the bracket panel at the center of the lamp housing 101 from the upper side or the lower side of the lamp housing 101 . 6 flange fixing holes and a radiator interface opening are provided to the installation interface, the flange fixing holes are used for fixing each LED bulb 102 , and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb 102 to penetrate through the installation interface; the 6 flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb 102 ; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the bulb outer diameter D. The LED bulb 102 is installed on the installation interface through a bulb fixing screw 105 , the wire harness connector 106 is installed on the lamp housing 101 through a wire harness connector bracket and screw 107 , the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and the reinforcing plate 110 are fixed to the lamp housing 101 through the lamp post fixing bracket bolt 111 , and the lamp post 108 is connected to the lamp post fixing bracket 112 through a lamp post fixing screw 109 .
[0100] In the embodiment, the bracket panels on both sides may also be provided downwards to form an angle, as shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 32 .
[0101] In the embodiment, or the lamp housing 101 includes two bracket panels which are folded upwards to form an angle, at this time, a triangular bracket is provided at the lower part of the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and is V-shaped, as shown in FIG. 29 and FIG. 33 .
[0102] In the embodiment, or the lamp housing 101 includes two bracket panels which are folded downwards to form an angle, at this time, a triangular bracket is provided at the lower part of the lamp post fixing bracket 112 and is inverted V-shaped, as shown in FIG. 30 and FIG. 34 .
[0103] In the present invention, in the case of an accident, the bulb may be conveniently maintained and changed just by directly detaching the bulb 102 from the lamp housing 101 , as shown in FIG. 25 .
[0104] The meanings of reference numerals in the embodiment are as follows: 101 —lamp housing, 102 —LED bulb, 105 —bulb fixing screw, 106 —wire harness connector, 107 —wire harness connector bracket and screw, 108 -lamp post, 109 —lamp post fixing screw, 110 —reinforcing plate, 111 —lamp post fixing bracket bolt, and 112 —lamp post fixing bracket.
Embodiment 4
[0105] An LED street lamp using an extrusion type installation interface bracket structure, as shown in FIG. 35 and FIG. 36 , including an extrusion type installation interface bracket 103 , wherein the extrusion type installation interface bracket 103 is fixed to a lamp post 108 ; the extrusion type installation interface bracket 103 includes a lamp post fixing sleeve, bracket panels are provided on both sides of the lamp post fixing sleeve, and an installation interface used for installing an LED bulb 102 is provided to each bracket panel; the LED bulb 102 with waterproof and dustproof functions and provided with a radiator is installed on the installation interface. The LED street lamp using the extrusion type installation interface bracket structure further includes a wire harness connector 106 , wherein the wire harness connector 106 is provided to the lamp post fixing sleeve, and the wire harness connector 106 is used for connecting a plurality of LED bulbs 102 to a power supply and a control circuit. In the extrusion type installation interface bracket 103 , the bracket panels on both sides are provided upwards to form an angle, as shown in FIG. 40 ; a lamp post seal head 101 is provided at one end of the lamp post fixing sleeve, and the other end of the lamp post fixing sleeve is fixed to the lamp post 108 through a lamp post fixing screw 109 ; the installation interface includes a surface in contact with the LED bulb 102 and a hole connected to the LED bulb, on the bracket panels. A radiator interface opening and 6 flange fixing holes are provided to the installation interface, the flange fixing holes are used for fixing the LED bulb 102 , and the radiator interface opening is used for enabling the LED bulb 102 to penetrate through the installation interface; the 6 flange fixing holes are uniformly distributed at a diameter D 1 , and the diameter D 1 is a value obtained by subtracting a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting a margin of 0.8-4 mm from the outer diameter D of the LED bulb 102 ; the diameter D 2 of the radiator interface opening is a value obtained by subtracting two times of a diameter of a fixing screw cap and then subtracting two times of the margin corresponding to the diameter D 1 from the bulb outer diameter D. The LED bulb 102 is installed on the installation interface through a bulb fixing screw 105 . The wire harness connector 106 is installed on the lamp post fixing sleeve through a wire harness connector bracket and fixing screw 107 .
[0106] In the embodiment, the bracket panels may also be provided downwards to form an angle, as shown in FIG. 37 and FIG. 41 .
[0107] In the embodiment, the bracket panels may also be connected and provided upwards to form an angle, as shown in FIG. 38 and FIG. 42 .
[0108] In the embodiment, the bracket panels may also be connected and provided downwards to form an angle, as shown in FIG. 39 and FIG. 43 .
[0109] In the present invention, in the case of an accident, the bulb may be conveniently maintained and changed just by directly detaching the bulb 102 from the extrusion type installation interface bracket 103 , as shown in FIG. 35 .
[0110] The lamp in the embodiment adopts the extrusion type installation interface bracket as the main component, the bracket panels of the extrusion type installation interface bracket provide installation supporting interfaces for the LED bulb, the LED bulb and other auxiliary components are overall collectively installed on the extrusion type installation interface bracket, thereby being simple in structure, low in manufacturing cost and convenient to install, use and maintain. The extrusion type installation interface bracket performs such functions of the lamp housing as preventing water and preventing dust and the like at the same time.
[0111] The meanings of the reference numerals in the embodiment are as follows: 101 —lamp post seal head, 102 —LED bulb, 103 —extrusion type installation interface bracket, 105 —bulb fixing screw, 106 —wire harness connector, 107 —wire harness connector bracket and fixing screw, 108 —lamp post, and 109 —lamp post fixing screw.
|
The present invention provides a method for constructing an LED bulb ( 102 ) with high interchangeability and universality, an integral LED bulb ( 102 ) and a lamp. A silver paste printed circuit ( 4 ) is embedded on a heat conductive bracket ( 3 ) sintered by a nonmetal heat conductive material and provided with a cooling fin, and then an LED chip is welded on the silver paste printed circuit ( 4 ) or a drive chip is further welded thereon to form the LED bulb ( 102 ). The bulb may operate independently, so that the LED bulb ( 102 ), the lamp and a lighting control product are independently produced and used, which greatly reduces manufacturing links of LED lighting products, improves mass production and facilitates the industrialization of LED energy-saving lighting products.
| 5
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heat resistant aluminum alloys excellent in tensile strength, ductility and fatigue strength, especially notch fatigue strength which alloys are especially suited to use in structural members of internal combustion engines, such as connecting rods and movable valve members (e.g. valve lifter, valve spring retainer, rocker arm, etc.).
2. Description of the Prior Art
As energy-saving measures in automobiles, motor cycles etc., it is strongly requested to lighten the weight of them. Particularly, if structural members of the internal combustion engines, particularly connecting rods become light, significantly improved high-performance engines will be expected. Under such circumstances, it is highly desired to prepare the connecting rods and other parts using aluminum materials.
The connecting rods are ordinarily employed in the temperature range of from room temperature to 150° C., and particularly, in internal combustion engines under a high load, they are employed at nearly 200° C. Therefore, it is required that the connecting rod materials have sufficient tensile strength, ductility and fatigue strength for use in the temperature range of from room temperature to 200° C. Besides such properties, it is also significant that the modulus of elasticity is high and the coefficient of thermal expansion is low. Among such requirements, ductility and notch fatigue srength are especially important.
Even the alloys designated AA 2218 and AA 2618, which are considered to be superior in high temperature strength, are still insufficient in tensile strength and fatigue strength, especially notch fatigue strength (fatigue strength in notched materials) at elevated temperatures of 150 ° C. or higher. For this, aluminum alloys have been scarcely used in the connecting rods, etc., and only steel materials have been employed.
However, as described above, since the internal combustion engines are considerably improved in the efficiency by lightening the weight of the structural members, mainly connecting rods, it is still strongly desired to produce the connecting rods or other members from aluminum alloy.
In response to such demands, Applicant's Assignee has previously proposed Al-Fe-V-Mo-Zr alloy materials containing dispersoids whose size is controlled, the alloys being superior in tensile strength and fatigue strength at elevated temperatures (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-238 346).
The above-mentioned materials have been prepared by powder metallurgy techniques. The materials are usually used in the as-forged state or after cutting off flash formed at mating faces of a metal mold by a chipping process. However, in such a surface state, the surface roughness and microcracks constitute notches, and thereby may cause a reduction in fatigue strength. Further, if the connecting rods are subjected to an unusual load, ruptures or breakages will rapidly occur due to lack of ductility. Therefore, the reliability of the parts becomes low.
The aluminum alloy material previously proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-238 346 has a high tensile strength but has a low fatigue strength.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to improve the alloys as mentioned above and provide aluminum alloys which are superior in tensile strength at elevated temperatures, at least up to 200° C., ductility and fatigue strength, especially notch fatigue strength.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat resistant alloy which is superior in tensile strength, ductility and fatigue strength, the alloy having a composition consisting essentially of, in weight percentages:
Fe: from 4 to 12%,
Si: from 1 to less than 4.0%,
Cu: from 1 to 6%,
Mg: from 0.3 to 3%, and
the balance aluminum and incidental impurities.
In accordance to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat resistant aluminum alloy excellent in tensile strength, ductility and fatigue strength which contains, in addition to the alloying components as specified in the first aspect, one or more elements selected from 0.5 to 5 wt. % of V, 0.5 to 5 wt. % of Mo and 0.4 to 4 wt. % of Zr, the total content of these components not exceeding 8 wt. %.
Since the heat-resistant aluminum alloys of the present invention have high tensile strength, good ductility and high fatigue strength at elevated temperatures as well as moderate temperatures, they can be applied to structural memberers of internal combustion engines, such as connecting rods, rocker arms, valve lifters, valve spring retainers, etc. Such applicaition will considerably reduce the weight of the structural members, mainly the connecting rods, and provide increased output power and high efficiency in the internal combustion engines.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The reason why the heat resistant aluminum alloy is limited to the composition as specified above is described below. All percentages (%) given in the specification refer to percentages by weight (wt. %) unless otherwise indicated.
Fe: Fe is dispersed as Al 3 Fe, Al 6 Fe, Al-Fe system metastable phase or Al-Si-Fe system compounds and offers improved tensile strength and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength. Further, Fe is effective for achieving a high modulus of elasticity and a reduced coefficient of thermal expansion. If the Fe content is less than 4%, the strength and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength of resulting alloys are insufficient. On the other hand, amounts of Fe exceeding 12% will result in an inadequate ductility, thereby presenting difficulties in hot forging.
Si: Si is dispersed as Al-Si-Fe system compounds which are formed in coexistence with Fe and enhances, ductility and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength. Further, the modulus of elasticity is increased and the coefficient of thermal expansion is decreased. When the Si content is less than 1%, the Al-Si-Fe system compounds can not be obtained in sufficient amounts and ductility, and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength are low. Further, the coefficient of thermal expansion will become unfavorably increased. Amounts of Si of 4.0% or more result in formation of excessive amounts of the Al-Si-Fe system compounds and Si may be also existent as Si particles. Due to this, not only the tensile-strength increasing effect is saturated, but also ductility and notch fatigue strength will be decreased.
Cu: Cu offers an age-hardening effect in combination with Mg. The age-hardening effect results in improved tensile strength and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength. Amounts of Cu of less than 1%, are insufficiently effective, while amounts exceeding 6% produce deterious effects in hot-workability during extrusion, forging, etc., and deteriorate the corrosion resistance.
Mg: Mg offers age-hardening effect in combination with Cu. The age-hardening effect will improve the tensile strength, ductility and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength. Amounts of Mg of less than 0.3% are insufficiently effective, while, in amounts exceeding 3%, the improving effect is saturated.
V and Mo: These elements are dispersed as Al-Fe-V, Al-Fe-Mo or Al-Fe-V-Mo system compounds in combination with Fe, thereby improving the tensile strength and fatigue strength, particularly at elevated temperatures. Amounts of these elements of less than the specified lower limits are insufficiently effective, while, in amounts above the upper limit, the effect is saturated and the material cost is increased.
Zr: Zr combines with Al to form Al-Zr system compounds and improves the tensile strength and fatigue strength, especially at high temperatures. Further, Zr prevents coarsening of Al-Fe, Al-Fe-V, Al-Fe-Mo and Al-Fe-V-Mo system compounds. Amounts of Zr of less than the specified lower limit are insufficiently effective, while, in amounts above the upper limit, the effect is saturated and the material cost is increased.
V+Mo+Zr: When the total amount of V, Mo and Zr exceeds 8%, the effects is saturated and hot-workability during forging, etc., is detrimentally effected.
Other elements: Although Mn, Ni, Zn, Cr, Ti, Co, Y, Ce, Nb, etc., may be added, excessive addition of these elements adversely affect the ductility and hot-workability.
The alloy of the present invention can be produced by a variety of processes, and generally they are produced preferably in the manner described below.
An aluminum alloy having the alloy composition as specified above is melted and the resultant molten alloy is rapidly solidified. The greater the cooling rate of the solidification, the finer the compound particles will be. As a result, the fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength will be improved. Usually, the alloys are rapidly solidified at a cooling rate of at least 100 ° C./sec. As a practical method for such rapid solidification, there may be used, for example, gas atomizing, single-roll quenching, twin-roll quenching, spray roll quenching, etc.
The rapidly solidified product in the form of powder, flake or ribbon thus obtained is cold-compressed into a green compact and, then, consolidated, for example, by steps of degassing and hot extruding; steps of degassing, hot-pressing and hot extruding; or steps of degassing and hot pressing. Thereafter, the consolidated alloy is shaped into the desired forms, such as connecting rod and rocker arm, by hot-forging. Finally, the shaped article is heat-treated. In such a manner, there can be obtained aluminum alloy materials having dispersoids whose size is not exceeding 10 μm.
The degassing step is carried out at temperatures of 300° to 520 ° C. When the degassing temperature is less than 300 ° C., moisture removal is insufficient. This results in reduction in strength, particularly fatigue strength, and causes blistering and formation of pores. The degassing temperature exceeding 520° C. will permit dispersoids to coarse, thereby leading to an unfavorable reduction in the fatigue strength, especially notch fatigue strength. Further, although the degassing step is most preferably carried out in a vacuum, N 2 gas, Ar gas or air may be also employed as an atmosphere for this step.
The hot pressing and hot extruding steps are performed while heating the billets at 300° to 500° C. At tempertures below 300° C., the billets can not be successfully processed due to high deformation resistance. On the other hand, at temperatures exceeding 500° C., extrusions are cracked.
In the alloy composition of the present invention, Al-Si-Fe system compounds do not coarse during the consolidation processing and dispersoid size can be controlled to 10 μm or less.
The hot forging step is conducted at temperatures of 400° to 500° C. When this step is carried out at temperatures of lower than 400° C. or of higher than 500° C., forgings are cracked.
The heat-treatment step is required to enhance the tensile strength and fatigue strength, particularly notch fatigue strength. The heat-treatment may be performed by various conditions (T4, T6 and T7). These heat treatments are conducted according to the similar condition of ordinary aluminum alloys. However, hardening by hot water or overaging by tempering at relatively high temperatures may be also practiced in order to reduce quenching strain and residual stress.
Now, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following Example.
EXAMPLE
Aluminum alloys having the compositions shown in Table 1 were melted and atomized by air to provide rapidly solidified powder. The cooling rate of the rapid solidifiction was in the range of from 10 2 to 10 4 °C./sec. The obtained powder was classified so as to obtain a powder size of 149 um or less and cold pressed into green compacts of 65 to 73% of theoretical density, which having a diameter of 63 mm and a length of 150 mm. The green compacts were put into aluminum capsules and then degassed at 450° C. in a pressure of 10 -1 to 10 -2 Torr. Then the aluminum capsules were sealed and the green compacts were hot pressed in a metal mold. There were obtained billets having a density of 100% of the theoretical density. After cooling, the aluminum capsules were scalped. Thereafter, the billets were heated to 430° C. and there were obtained extruded rods, 18 mm in diameter, by indirect extrusion (extrusion ratio: 15). Subsequently, the extruded rods were subjected to solution heat treatment for one hour at 480° C., water-quenching and aging treatment for five hours at 175° C. (T6 treatment).
Tensile strength test were performed on the alloy materials at room temperature and 200° C (holding time for the tensile strength test at 200° C.: 100 hours). Further, notch rotating bending fatigure test was performed at room temperature (stress concentration factor Kτ=3.1, stress amplitude σ=11 kgf/mm 2 ).
The results are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Mechanical Property at room at 200° C. FatigueAlloy Composition (parts by weight) temperature for 100 hrs. LifeNo. Al Fe Si Cu Mg V Mo Zr σ.sub.0.2 σ.sub.B δ σ.sub.0.2 σ.sub.B δ *1__________________________________________________________________________ 1 bal. 7.7 2.2 4.3 0.3 -- -- -- 47.2 51.8 8.0 22.0 28.5 17.6 4.7 × 10.sup.6 2 bal. 9.0 2.8 1.9 1.0 -- -- -- 35.7 50.9 9.0 21.7 24.6 22.9 5.7 × 10.sup.6 3 bal. 8.3 1.5 2.1 1.1 -- -- -- 33.0 45.0 7.4 20.1 23.8 19.6 1.8 × 10.sup.6 4 bal. 8.1 3.5 2.0 1.0 -- -- -- 35.2 53.9 7.5 20.1 22.5 21.9 2.3 × 10.sup.6 5 bal. 11.8 1.5 2.0 0.3 3.0 -- -- 50.8 56.6 3.7 29.2 33.2 12.3 6.3 × 10.sup.6 6 bal. 10.9 3.2 2.1 1.1 0.8 -- -- 52.1 59.3 2.2 30.0 37.2 12.1 *2 7 bal. 8.1 3.5 2.5 1.4 4.2 -- -- 53.3 61.2 2.6 30.9 35.3 11.7 1.0 × 10.sup.7 8 bal. 8.4 1.6 2.5 0.9 -- 1.3 -- 46.0 52.6 6.4 25.1 29.4 15.3 1.4 × 10.sup.6 9 bal. 7.8 2.1 2.8 2.5 -- 4.5 -- 50.6 60.1 2.0 29.2 33.1 13.5 6.1 × 10.sup.610 bal. 9.5 2.3 2.9 2.9 -- -- 3.4 48.5 61.4 2.1 29.8 34.6 12.0 5.3 × 10.sup.611 bal. 8.1 2.0 1.8 1.1 2.2 -- 0.7 52.8 64.3 2.0 27.5 33.4 23.0 7.5 × 10.sup.612 bal. 7.8 3.6 2.0 0.8 2.0 -- 0.9 53.3 62.1 2.2 27.0 33.1 23.4 8.0 × 10.sup.613 bal. 5.4 1.4 1.6 0.8 0.8 -- 2.0 44.9 49.2 10.3 21.5 27.0 12.8 3.3 × 10.sup.614 bal. 8.0 3.7 2.1 0.9 1.6 2.2 0.9 51.0 59.7 2.5 27.8 34.4 16.9 4.4 × 10.sup.615 bal. 6.2 3.6 3.7 1.3 2.1 0.9 1.1 49.1 55.8 3.2 26.5 33.0 14.1 8.9 × 10.sup.616 bal. 14.5 1.5 2.7 1.0 -- -- -- 50.6 55.8 0.9 36.2 39.9 1.3 8.9 × 10.sup.617 bal. 8.0 6.0 2.0 1.1 2.1 -- 1.0 55.7 64.4 0.9 26.7 32.8 14.1 8.5 × 10.sup.618 bal. 6.5 2.2 8.1 1.5 -- -- -- 45.3 52.3 1.4 20.4 27.2 4.8 4.2 × 10.sup.619 bal. 8.5 0.3 2.2 0.9 -- -- -- 25.4 39.7 5.2 18.1 23.5 29.5 8.4 × 10.sup.520 bal. 8.3 6.0 1.9 1.2 -- -- -- 35.3 50.3 1.2 19.1 23.3 17.5 5.5 × 10.sup.621 bal. 7.5 2.7 3.3 4.2 -- -- -- 38.4 42.5 2.5 19.7 23.0 21.7 6.6 × 10.sup.622 bal. 3.3 3.5 2.8 1.2 -- 1.9 -- 44.1 48.1 10.1 17.5 19.1 20.7 4.2 × 10.sup.523 bal. 9.2 0.2 2.4 0.9 2.3 -- 1.1 46.3 52.4 0.6 22.6 28.9 22.5 2.4 × 10.sup.624 bal. 7.2 6.7 4.5 0.6 -- -- 1.7 52.7 57.0 0.3 23.0 25.3 8.5 6.1 × 10.sup.625 bal. 8.9 2.8 0.2 0.1 2.1 -- -- 42.9 51.7 7.3 22.5 31.0 7.4 1.3 × 10.sup.426 bal. 8.0 0.3 0.3 0.2 1.8 2.1 0.8 44.7 49.5 1.2 31.5 36.8 4.9 4.7 × 10.sup.427 bal. 5.8 2.4 1.9 1.2 3.4 3.3 1.8 -- 58.0 0 34.9 40.6 0.9 7.8 × 10.sup.4__________________________________________________________________________ Remark: *1: Number of cycles until rupture (σ =11 kgf/mm.sup.2, K.sub.τ = 3.1) *2: no fracture occurred until 1.0 × 10.sup.7 cycles Alloy Nos. 1 to 15: Alloys of the present invention Alloy Nos. 16 to 27: Comparative alloys σ.sub.0.2 : Proof Strength (kgf/mm.sup.2) σ.sub.B : Tensile Strength (kgf/mm.sup.2) δ: Elongation (%)
As can be seen from Table 1, Alloy Nos. 1 to 15 according to the present invention showed high tensile strength levels, namely, at least 45 kgf/mm 2 at room temperature and at least 22.5 kgf/mm 2 at 200° C. Further, these alloys showed high degrees of elongation, i.e., at least 2% at room temperature and at least 12% at 200° C. The alloys of the present invention showed a long fatigue life (number of cycles until ruptures occurred) exceeding 1×10 6 in the notch fatigue test.
In contrast to the test results of the invention aluminum alloys, Alloy No. 16 showed a poor elongation (ductility), i.e., 0.9% at room temperature and 1.3% at 200° C., because of an excessive Fe content of 14.5%.
Since Alloy No. 22 containing 1.9% of Mo as an optional component has an insufficient Fe content of 3.3%, the alloy showed a low tensile strength of 19.1 kgf/mm 2 at 200° C. and a low fatigue strength of 4.2×10 5 .
Since Alloy No. 17 which contains 2.1% of V and 1.0% of Zr as optional componets has an excessive amount of Si of 6.0%, it showed an inadequate elongation (ductility) of 0.9% at room temperature.
Alloy No. 20 had a low elongation of 1.2% at room temperature, due to an excessive amount of Si of 6.0%.
Alloy No. 24 containing Zr as an optional element in amount of 1.7% contains an excessive amount of Si of 6.7% and, thus, the degrees of elongation were insufficient, i.e., 0.3% at room temperature and 8.5% at 200° C., although the tensile strength and fatigue strength reached satisfactory levels.
Alloy No. 19 had a low tensile strength of 39.7 kgf/mm 2 at room temperature and a low fatigue strength of 2.4×10 5 because of the insufficient Si content level of 0.3%.
Alloy No. 23 contains optional elements of V in an amount of 2.3% and Zr in an amount of 1.1% and the Si content is reduced to 0.2%. Such an insuffcient Si content resulted in a low elongation of 0.6% at room temperature, although the tensile strength and fatigue strength were at satisfactory levels.
Alloy No. 18 showed low levels of elongation, 1.4% at room temperature and 4.8% at 200 ° C., due to the high Cu content of 8.1%.
Alloy No. 21 contains a large amount of Mg of 4.2% but such a high Mg content is excluded from the range of the invention alloy composition, because, in spite of the increased Mg content, any further improvement with respect to tensile strength, elongation (ductility) and fatigue strength can not be expected.
In Alloy No. 25 containing 2.1% of V as an optional component, the Cu content and Mg content are lower than the ranges specified by the present invention. The comparative aluminum alloy showed an inadequate elongation of 7.4% at 200 ° C. and low fatigue strength level of 1.3×10 4 .
Alloy No. 26 contains as optional components 1.8% of V, 2.1% of Mo and 0.8% of Zr. The contents of Si, Cu and Mg are all below the range of the present invention and the alloy showed a insufficient elongation, i.e., 1.2% at room temperature and 4.9% at 200° C. The fatigue strength is at a low level of 4.7×10 4 .
Alloy No. 27 contains optional components V, Mo and Zr in an excessive amount of 8.5% in their total and the elongation values of 0% at room temperature and 0.9% at 200 ° C. were both low.
The above Example is described with respect to T6 treatment but almost the same results can be obtained by T4 treatment (480° C.×1 hr. water hardening), underaging treatment (480° C.×1 hr→water hardening→155° C.×2 hrs.), or overaging treatment (480° C.×1 hr.→water hardening→185×15hrs.).
|
The present invention provides a heat resistant alloy having a composition consisting essentially of, in weight percentages, 4 to 12% of Fe, 1 to less than 4.0% of Si, 1 to 6% of Cu, 0.3 to 3% of Mg, and the balance aluminum and incidental impurities. The aluminum alloy may further contain one or more elements selected from 0.5 to 5 wt. % of V, 0.5 to 5 wt. % of Mo and 0.4 to 4 wt. % of Zr, the total content of these components not exceeding 8 wt. %. Since the heat-resistant aluminum alloys have a superior combination of properties of high tensile strength, good ductility and high fatigue strength at elevated temperatures up to 200° C. as well as moderate temperatures, they can be applied to structural members, such as connecting rods, of internal combustion engines, thereby considerably reducing the weight of such structural components. The use of the alloys results in an increased output power and high efficiency in the internal combustion engines.
| 2
|
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This application is an expansion of Disclosure Document No. 099,762, filed Apr. 8, 1981.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for suspending plants in sunlet areas, and more specifically to frames adapted to be attached to the inside of window frames for suspending potted houseplants adjacent to the glass pane.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of plant holders are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 172,011 discloses a horizontal rail permanently secured to each side of the window frame and having sliding pot supports disposed thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 328,926 discloses a set of rings for supporting frusto-conical pots in a cantilevered position in front of the window sill. U.S. Pat. No. 342,476 discloses a vertical pole supported by horizontal rods attached to brackets on the window frame and in turn supporting radial clusters of pot-supporting disks. U.S. Pat. No. 2,051,241 discloses a shelf suspended by hooks from the top rail of the lower window sash. U.S. Pat. No. 3,007,582 discloses screw-extensible vertical poles, with extending pegs, for car windows. U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,612 discloses a bracket affixed to the top rail of the lower window sash and pivotally supporting rod members terminating in hooks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,761 discloses a vertical spring-loaded pole which stands on the window sill and provides projecting pegs for supporting plants. However, most conventional plant holders suffer from the defect that they interfere with the opening and closing of the window or with the placement of curtains and draperies. Many of them also do not adapt to different sizes of windows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is a framework for supporting plants which does not interfere with normal operation of the window and placement of curtains. Another object of the invention is to make a plant holder which adjusts to fit windows of different sizes. A further object of the invention is to provide a plant holder which collapses into a small space for storage or transport. Yet another object of the invention is to provide plant holders which can be connected together in series to accomodate double or triple windows.
To accomplish these and other objects, the present invention has among its many features a trapezoidal array of telescoping diagonal members pivotally connected together. The top corner of the trapezoid is suspended by a chain from an L-shaped bracket attached to the vertical face of the top of the window frame. The left and right corners of the trapezoid are secured to brackets screwed into the outside vertical face of the window frame which is perpendicular to the plane of the wall surrounding the window. The top and bottom corners of the trapezoid are each provided with a depending hook for supporting a flowerpot on straps or wires.
Each diagonal member comprises a central section and two end sections. Each central section is provided with a depending hook or ring for supporting another flowerpot. Thus, the framework is capable of supporting at least six different plants in a stepped configuration, or more, depending upon the number of hooks placed in each diagonal member.
The end sections of the diagonal members are adapted to telescope with the middle sections, so that the trapezoid will fit wider or narrower windows. In addition, since the diagonal members are pivotally interconnected, the height/width proportions of the trapezoid can be varied for proper fit. The vertical placement of the trapezoid in relation to the window frame can be varied by choosing a longer or shorter chain between the top mounting bracket and the top corner of the trapezoid.
BRIEF FIGURE DESCRIPTION
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment, as shown in the attached drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of the framework and brackets of the present invention, mounted on a window frame;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross section taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a tapered window frame and side mounting brackets attached thereto; and
FIG. 5 is an end view of a side mounting bracket, taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 illustrates a plant hanger framework 10 mounted on a conventional rectangular window frame 12, which may surround either a fixed pane of glass or movable upper and lower sashes (not shown). The framework 10 is preferably trapezoidal or diamond-shaped and is suspended by a chain 14 from a top mounting bracket 16. In its preferred form the framework is square.
As shown in FIG. 2, bracket 16 comprises two L-shaped angle members 17, 19 with screws 18 extending through their short legs for securing them to top plank 20 of window frame 12. As detailed in FIG. 5, there is a longitudinal slot 22 along the length of horizontal long leg 21 of member 17. A hook 24, having threads along its straight portion, is held vertically in slot 22 by a pair of nuts 26, 27 having diameters greater than the width of slot 22, which are tightened adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of bracket 16 on the threads of the hook 24 until they fasten the hook immovably in the bracket 16. By temporarily loosening either or both nuts 26, 27, the hook 24 can be moved toward or away from window frame 12 to place the framework 10 in the desired position.
As shown generally in FIG. 1, the trapezoidal framework 10 comprises four diagonal members 28, pivotally interconnected by ear brackets 30. As shown in FIG. 4, topmost ear bracket 32 includes a horizontal planar surface 34 pierced by a hook 36 projecting vertically upward and a hook 38 projecting vertically downward. Upward hook 36 fits through and is preferably crimped around the bottom-most link of chain 14 to support the framework 10 on the top mounting bracket 16. Downward hook 38 is adapted to receive straps or wires from a hanging flowerpot 40 or the like. The hooks 36 and 38 may be secured to the ear bracket 32 by a pair 42 of nuts and lock washers.
Ear bracket 32, in addition to the planar section 34, further comprises depending left and right ears 44. These ears are preferably integrally formed with planar section 34 and project to the left and right of downward hook 38, either with their axes perpendicular to section 34 and parallel to hook 38, or at an angle to hook 38 of between 90° and 150°. These ears 44 are preferably of lesser thickness front to back than planar section 34 and are provided with holes front to back at their lower extremities.
Each diagonal member 28 is forked at each end, with the tines 46 of the forked end adapted to be pivotally secured to one of the ears 44 by a rivet 48 passing through both tines 46 and the ear disposed between the tines. The combined thickness of the ear 44 and the tines 46 approximates the thickness of planar section 34.
Each of the other ear brackets 30, at the left, right and bottom corners of the framework 10, has a configuration similar to that of topmost bracket 32, except that the left and right brackets have no attached hooks, while the bottom bracket has only a downwardly projecting hook.
Each diagonal member 28 includes two end sections 50 and a central section 52, so that adjustment of the length of the member 28 is possible by telescoping the sections together. Although the question of which section or sections should be hollow is a matter of choice, in the preferred embodiment central section 52 is hollow so that end sections 50 can be telescoped into it as far as desired. A set screw or knob 54 with a knurled edge radially penetrates each end of central section 52 and bears against the end section 50 inside to secure it in place.
Each central section 52 is also provided with at least one depending hook 56, preferably attached near the middle of the section's length, for receiving straps or wires from a hanging plant. If the diagonal members 28 are mounted at right angles to each other, the depending hooks 56 to be vertical should be disposed at a 45° angle to the diagonal member 28. Of course, for mounting on elongated rectangular window frames, it may be desirable to mount the framework 10 so that the upper diagonal members are at an acute angle with respect to each other and at an obtuse angle with respect to the lower members.
For installation on a single window, each left and right ear bracket 30 is bolted to a set of side mounting brackets 58. To allow for the different widths of the boards on each side of a window frame, each set 58 comprises a pair of angle members 60, 62 similar to top mounting bracket 16. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a portion 69 of member 60 parallel to window frame 12 is provided with a longitudinal slot 64, so that members 60 and 62 can telescope together to allow for differences in window frame width. The short leg of each angle member 60, 62 is screwed to the side of the window frame, with the axes of the screws parallel to the window pane. The legs 64, 66 of the angle members 60, 62 are fastened together by a fastener 68 which screws through portion 69 into slot 64 and bears against leg 66 of angle member 62. This procedure guarantees that the long legs of the angle members will remain parallel to the window pane and the wall, even if the window frame is tapered thinner as it approaches the window pane, as shown by dashed lines 70 and 72 in FIGS. 2 and 3. For installation on double or triple windows, the brackets 30 of adjoining frameworks 10 can be fastened together for stability, forming a decorative lattice.
It will be appreciated that the depending hook on each of the top and bottom ear brackets and a single hook 56 on each of four diagonal members will allow the hanging of six plants on a single framework, which can be installed or removed with only a few screws. Since the diagonal members 28 telescope, the framework 10 will fit a number of different sizes of windows and can be moved by its owner from one dwelling to another. The pivotal interconnection of the diagonal members means that the framework will collapse into a single linear unit for transport or storage.
From the foregoing description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous variations may be made of this invention without departing from its spirit. Therefore, I do not intend to limit the scope of this invention to the single embodiment shown and described. Rather, it is my intention that the scope of this invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
|
A trapezoidal framework for suspending houseplants in front of a window pane. The framework attaches to a window frame and has diagonal members equipped with hooks for supporting pots on straps or wires. The diagonal members are pivotally interconnected and telescopically adjustable, so that the framework can be made to fit a variety of window sizes. Brackets securing the framework to the window frame will accommodate window frames of either rectangular or rounded-off cross-sections. The framework will not interfere with opening and closing of the window or with placement of curtains and draperies.
| 4
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority of Australian Provisional Application Serial No. PR 8473 filed Oct. 26, 2001.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to prostheses and in particular to prostheses suitable for curved lumens of the body.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In general the invention will be discussed in relation to the placement of prostheses in the aorta in the region known as the thoracic arch where the aorta leaves the heart and curves over in approximately a semi-circle to the descending aorta and then into the abdominal aorta and then into the lower limbs via the iliac arteries. The invention is, however, not so restricted and can relate to placement of prostheses within or in place of lumens in any portion of a human or animal body.
Aortic aneurysms can occur high up in the thoracic aorta and in this region the aorta is curved and placement of a substantially cylindrical prosthesis in such a curved region can cause problems. The upper end of the prosthesis may not attain close apposition to the vessel wall. This can result in the lumen of the prosthesis being closed off or reduced in lumen diameter. Kinks can also occur along the length of the prosthesis and these can cause problems with restriction of flow in the lumen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of this invention therefore to provide an endoluminal prosthesis suitable for placement in curved lumens such as the thoracic arch by making it more conforming.
Throughout this specification with respect to discussion of the thoracic arch of a patient the term distal with respect to a prosthesis is the end of the prosthesis furthest away in the direction of blood flow from the heart and the term proximal means the end of the prosthesis nearest to the heart.
In one form the invention may be said to reside in a flexible tubular prosthetic device for the carriage of fluids therethrough within a human or animal body and for placement in or replacement of a curved lumen, the prosthetic device having diametrically opposed first and second sides and a control arrangement to control the length of the first longitudinal side with respect to the second longitudinal side, whereby the device can be curved insitu to fit the curved lumen.
In one form the control arrangement to control the length of the first longitudinal side may be an expansion restriction arrangement to restrict expansion of at least part of the first side. Alternatively, the control arrangement may be an arrangement to reduce at least part of the length of the first side.
The prosthetic device may be a stented prosthesis or an unstented prosthesis.
The expansion restriction arrangement can be stitching or stapling on the first side so that the amount of expansion which can occur on the first side is restricted.
The prosthetic device can have transverse corrugations defining alternate ridges and valleys along at least part of the length of the prosthetic device and thereby providing a device which is longitudinally extendable and the expansion restriction arrangement may prevent expansion of at least some of the corrugations on the first side.
In one form there can be stitching or stapling of some of the corrugations.
Each corrugation in a portion of the device, alternate corrugations or in one in three corrugations can be stitched or stapled for instance.
In a preferred embodiment the expansion restriction arrangement comprises stitching or stapling together of adjacent corrugations of some of the corrugations on the first longitudinal side, whereby upon stretching of the flexible tubular prosthetic device, the second longitudinal side can extend more than the first longitudinal side thereby forming a curve in the flexible tubular prosthetic device.
In an alternative form, the invention is said to reside in an endoluminal prosthesis for placement in a curved lumen, the prosthesis having a biocompatible graft material tube and having a length reduction arrangement on one longitudinal side of the tube, whereby upon deployment within the lumen, the length of the one longitudinal side of the prosthesis can be reduced with respect to an opposite longitudinal side of the prosthesis to cause the prosthesis to curve to better fit the walls of the curved lumen.
Generally, it can be seen that the prosthesis is substantially cylindrical or potentially cylindrical when it is installed or deployed but during the deployment process the graft is deliberately curved with respect to a longitudinal axis of the prosthesis to enable to better fit the lumen.
By potentially cylindrical is meant that the prosthesis when it is at the stage of deployment, it can be radially compressed so that it can be carried in the deployment device to the deployment site but would be cylindrical if allowed to open not under the influence of the length reduction or length restriction arrangement.
In one form, the graft material tube can have a plurality of stents mounted along the length of the graft tube.
In one form of the invention, the stents can be balloon expanded mesh metal stents.
In an alternative form of the invention, the stents can be self expanding stents such as zig zag stents or z stents.
In a preferred form of the invention, the stents can be spaced apart along the length of the graft material tube and during the activation of the length reduction arrangement, the stents on one side of the graft move closer together while they stay substantially the same distance apart on the other side of the prosthesis.
The stents can overlap to provide the length reduction on one side of the prosthesis.
In one form of the invention, the length reduction arrangement comprises a length of elastic material positioned longitudinally along part or all of the length of the graft material tube. When the prosthesis is installed in a deployment device and transported in the deployment device, the elastic material is stretched, but upon release from the deployment device the elastic material contracts in length to reduce the length of one side of the prosthesis with respect to the other side and hence causes the graft to curve. The elastic material can be a silicone rubber or similar material. Alternatively, the elastic material can be a shape memory metal which when released from the deployment device tends to reduce in length. This may for instance be a longitudinally extending zig zag or z stent which has been stretched to be substantially straight for deployment but resumes its zig zag nature and hence reduces in length during release from deployment.
In another form, the length reduction arrangement can be a stainless steel spring extending down at least one part of the side of the prosthesis and in a similar manner to the embodiment discussed immediately above would be stretched for transport in the deployment device and reduces in length when released from the deployment device.
In a further alternative form, the length reduction arrangement comprises a series of sutures or alternative forms of cords or strings fitted to the prosthesis tube at one or more places along the length of the tube which reduces the length of the graft as the diameter increases upon expansion after release. This can be provided by having the suture or string being fixed to two positions on the surface of the graft material with part of its length extending circumferentially on the surface of the graft and part longitudinally. Hence during the expansion of the prosthesis upon deployment as the circumference of the prosthesis increases, the length of the longitudinal portion of the suture must reduce, which draws that part of the prosthesis closer to the part of the graft where the circumferential portion of the suture is situated. Generally therefore, as the diameter of the graft increases upon expansion, the longitudinal length on one side decreases.
In an alternative arrangement of the length reduction arrangement, there can be an anchor wire fitted into the length of the graft material tube on one side with the anchor wire joined to the proximal end of the prosthesis with a slip knot adapted to release the anchor wire when desired. To cause the prosthesis to curve after deployment the anchor wire can be pulled to reduce the length of one side of the graft. When the correct amount of curve has been achieved, which can be observed by angiography or other techniques, the anchor wire can be released by releasing the slip knot with a trigger wire or other release technique. The anchor wire can have a small bulb at its end of a type referred to as an olive to provide an engagement abutment for the slip knot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
This then generally described the invention but to assist with understanding reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show preferred embodiments of the invention.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention incorporating an elastic material to provide a reduction in the length of one part of the prosthesis with respect to another;
FIG. 2 shows the graft shown in FIG. 1 after deployment and release of the prosthesis so that it may take up a curve;
FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the prosthesis of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 after expansion;
FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 in the expanded condition;
FIG. 7 shows an alternative form of the prosthesis according to the present invention using a self-expanding stent system and an anchor wire curving system;
FIG. 8 shows the prosthesis of FIG. 7 in the deployed and curved position;
FIG. 9 shows an alternative form of the prosthesis according to the present invention using a balloon expanded stent system and an anchor wire curving system;
FIG. 10 shows the prosthesis of FIG. 9 in the deployed and curved position;
FIG. 11 shows another alternate embodiment of the prostheses of the present invention;
FIG. 12 shows a detail of the embodiment of FIG. 11 ;
FIG. 13 shows further detail of the embodiment of FIG. 11 ; and
FIG. 14 shows the embodiment of FIG. 11 after curving.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In all of the drawings to assist with clarity of depiction of the invention the curved lumen such as a thoracic aorta is not shown.
Now looking more closely at the drawings and in particular the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the prosthesis comprises a graft material tube 1 which is substantially cylindrical. The graft material tube has a proximal end 2 and a distal end 3 . The graft has a number of self expanding zig zag or well-known Gianturco z stents 4 positioned at intervals along the length of the tube and providing the force necessary to open the graft out to the walls of the aorta when deployed. In this embodiment the stents 5 and 6 at the distal and proximal ends respectively are inside the graft and the other intermediate stents are on the outside of the graft.
In this embodiment the length reduction arrangement is an elastic material 8 such as a silicone rubber or similar material which is fastened at 9 at the proximal end 2 of the prosthesis and joined at 10 near the distal end 3 of the prosthesis. The length reduction arrangement can also comprise a shape memory metal such as Nitinol, a nickel titanium alloy, which is heat set in a curved configuration.
Upon deployment as shown in FIG. 2 , the ends of the graft are released from a deployment device (not shown) and the elastic material 8 takes up its shortened rest position so that the points 9 and 10 move closer together which causes the graft to form a curved shape.
It may be noted that the elastic material may not extend the entire length of the prosthesis but may be used on only part of the length of the prosthesis so that the prosthesis when placed may have a curved portion and a straight portion.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 , the graft material tube 20 again has a number of zig zag or z stents 21 , 22 and 23 spaced at intervals along its length.
In this embodiment, FIGS. 3 and 5 show the graft in a compressed state as it would be during deployment and FIGS. 4 and 6 show the graft after deployment when the self expanding stents 21 , 22 and 23 have expanded so that the graft engages the wall of the aorta into which it is deployed.
To cause the curving as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 , a length of suture material 25 is fastened at 27 to the graft material or one of the stents and is then passed circumferentially around the prosthesis to a point 29 where it is inserted through the graft material and then extends longitudinally along the prosthesis to a point 30 where it is passed through a curve of one of the apices of the zig zag portions of the stent 21 . The suture material then passes down to point 32 substantially adjacent to the point 29 and then passes around the circumference of the stent to a point 34 substantially in line with the point 27 .
The distance between the points 27 and 34 is shown by the arrow 36 and the distance between the points 29 and 30 is shown by the arrow 38 .
As the graft expands as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 when the graft is deployed and released from the deployment device, the circumference of the prosthesis increases by expansion of the z stents and hence the distance 36 as shown in FIG. 4 increases and the distance 38 therefore decreases which pulls the point 30 down towards the points 29 and 32 . This can cause the proximal end of the stent 21 to overlap the distal end of the stent 22 on the side where the length is being reduced.
It will be noted that on the opposite side of the prosthesis as particularly can be seen in FIG. 6 ,the spacing of the stents 21 , 22 and 23 remain substantially the same.
It will be seen that by this arrangement the distance between one or more stents on one side of the prosthesis can be reduced thereby inducing a curve in the prosthesis or part of the length of the prosthesis.
In an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , a prosthesis 60 has a graft material tube 61 and a number of self expanding stents 62 . A deployment device comprises a catheter 64 with at the proximal end of the catheter 64 a nose cone 66 . The distal end of the prosthesis is joined to the deployment device at 67 by a releasable attachment arrangement. An anchor wire 70 exits the catheter 64 and passes up inside the prosthesis and is joined at the proximal end of the graft by a slip knot 68 which engages against an olive 69 on the end of the anchor wire 70 which can be released by trigger wire 71 .
When the graft is deployed and the self expanding stents are allowed to expand by removal of a sheath (not shown) and a release mechanism (not shown) the anchor wire 70 can be pulled to reduce the length of that side of the prosthesis with respect to the other to place the prosthesis into a curved configuration as shown in FIG. 8 . Expansion of the stents 62 may be done sequentially by only partial removal of the sheath to below the position of each stent with a part of the curving process by the use of tension on the anchor wire 70 after each expansion. After deployment and curving the anchor wire 70 can be released by pulling on the trigger wire 71 , which releases the slip knot 68 so that the anchor wire can be withdrawn as far as the deployment catheter 64 . The attachment arrangement 67 can then be released by withdrawal of a further trigger wire 73 so that the deployment device can be withdrawn from the patient leaving the prosthesis in the curved shape as shown in FIG. 8 .
In an alternative arrangement the trigger wires 71 and 73 can be the same wire which is partially withdrawn to release the slip knot 68 and subsequently fully withdrawn to release the proximal attachment arrangement 67 .
In an alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , a prosthesis has a graft material tube 40 and three balloon expandable mesh stents 41 , 42 and 43 . A deployment device comprises a catheter 45 with at the proximal end of the catheter 45 a nose cone 46 . The distal end of the prosthesis is joined to the deployment device at 47 by a releasable attachment arrangement. An anchor wire 50 exits the catheter 45 and passes up the prosthesis and is joined at the proximal end of the graft by a slip knot 48 , which can be released by trigger wire 49 .
When the graft is deployed and the expanding stents expanded by balloon means (not shown), the anchor wire 50 can be pulled to reduce the length of that side of the prosthesis with respect to the other as shown in FIG. 10 . Expansion of the stents 41 , 42 and 43 may be done sequentially by inflation of a balloon (not shown) in the position of each stent with a part of the curving process by the use of tension on the anchor wire 50 after each expansion. After deployment and curving, the anchor wire 50 can be released by pulling on the trigger wire 49 , which releases the slip knot 48 so that the anchor wire can be withdrawn. The attachment arrangement 47 can then be released by withdrawal of a further trigger wire 52 so that the deployment device can be withdrawn from the patient leaving the prosthesis in the curved shape as shown in FIG. 10 .
In an alternative arrangement, the trigger wires 49 and 52 can be the same wire which is partially withdrawn to release the slip knot 48 and subsequently fully withdrawn to release the proximal attachment arrangement 47 .
Now looking at the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 to 14 , there is shown an alternative embodiment of the prosthetic device. This device is a transversely corrugated tube of biocompatible material. It can be used to entirely replace a portion of vasculature, for instance, or is deployed endoluminally to reinforce a portion of vasculature.
The corrugated prosthetic device is usually used without stents and hence when it is used for a curved portion of a lumen it can tend to kink with attendant dangers of a vessel closing. The present invention proposes an arrangement by which the danger of closing is reduced.
In the drawings, prosthesis 60 is formed from a biocompatible material and has transverse corrugations defined by troughs 62 and ridges 64 . This provides a prosthesis which is extensible, but when curved can buckle or kink. Hence, according to this invention, some of the ridges along a longitudinal side 65 are stitched up to form stitches 66 which in turn form the expansion restriction arrangement to limit the amount of extension possible for these ridges on that side. When the prosthesis is curved as shown in FIG. 14 , the stitching 66 is used on the inner portion of the curve. The outer portion of the curve 68 can expand as there is no expansion restriction means.
By this arrangement when the prosthesis is inflated, under blood pressure for instance, the prosthesis takes up a curved configuration with less chance of buckling or kinking and closing off.
It will be realized that although the various embodiments have been shown with particular forms of prostheses the various embodiments of the invention can be used with any of the forms of prostheses. Other forms of prostheses and graft material and stented and unstented material can also be used.
Throughout this specification various indications have been given as to the scope of the invention but the invention is not limited in any one of these but may reside in two or more of these combined together. The examples are given for illustration only and not for limitation.
Throughout this specification unless the context requires otherwise, the words ‘comprise’ and ‘include’ and variations such as ‘comprising’ and ‘including’ will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.
|
A prosthetic device ( 1 ) adapted for the carriage of fluids therethrough within a human or animal body and to be placed in or replace a curved lumen. The prosthetic device has a control arrangement to control the length of one side with respect to the other side so that the device can be curved insitu to fit the curved lumen. The control arrangement can be an expansion restriction arrangement or a length reduction arrangement. The prosthesis can be stented or unstented and be formed from a tubular or corrugated material.
| 0
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to machines for stripping materials, such as adhesive bonded floor coverings from floor surfaces, and more particularly to an improved machine of this type incorporating a novel electric motor drive system for moving the machine's cutting head in an orbital pattern and for driving its wheels and thereby allowing heavier loading of the machine's cutting head on the floor surface which improves the stripping action while reducing the work effort of the operator.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
Back in 1979, my father was awarded U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,809 on a motorized carpet and tile stripping machine that comprised a box-like housing mounted on a pair of wheels disposed near the rear of the housing and a cutting blade projecting outwardly from the front of the housing and adapted to engage the ground beneath a floor covering that had been adhesively bonded to the floor. Supported on an upper deck of the housing was an electric motor whose output shaft was coupled to the machine's cutting head by means of an eccentric drive shaft such that the cutting head was made to move in an orbital or elliptical pattern. An elongated handle was also affixed to the upper deck of the housing and sloped rearward and upward terminating in handle grips.
When this machine was used to strip a floor covering, such as adhesively bonded carpeting from a concrete floor, the operator would first use a knife to cut the carpeting into strips. Next, the stripping machine would be placed at one end of the cut strip with its cutting head disposed in the interface between the carpeting and floor. The operator would then activate the motor to cause the cutting blade to orbitally rotate while he manually urged the machine forward by pushing against the handle.
While the machine made in accordance with the '809 patent was somewhat effective in its operation, it required a high degree of manual effort and also vibrated excessively making it somewhat difficult to control.
In my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,033, there is described an improvement I made to my father's design to make the machine easier for an operator to control. Specifically, I added a motion retainer bar assembly between the machine's frame and the cutting head's drive bar to modify the degree of eccentricity between the drive bar and the shaft of the electric drive motor. While this improvement did make the machine somewhat easier to control, vibration remains somewhat excessive and the cutting blade actuation, while separating the carpeting from the floor, left considerable adhesive residue on the floor.
In my later U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,224, I described yet another improvement that I made to the floor stripping machine to reduce vibration. I designed in a pair of OILITE® sleeve bearings and affixed a pair of guide rods to the cutting head and which fit into the sleeve bearings to thereby constrain motion of the cutting head to reciprocatory, back-and-forth movement parallel to the path of travel of the machine. While this improvement did, in fact, reduce machine vibration and prolong its useful life, minimizing its mean time to repair, no improvement was seen in the ability of the machine to remove adhesive residue from the floor following the stripping of the carpet therefrom.
The present invention comprises a still further improvement in floor stripping machines of the type described. I have found that by significantly increasing the downward force of the machine's cutting blade against the floor by drastically increasing the overall weight of the machine, the scraping action of the cutting blade when being pressed down on the floor by the weight of the machine markedly improved its ability to remove adhesive residues. Increasing the weight of the machine, however, would make it that much more difficult for an operator to push. Accordingly, I have developed a drive system for the machine in which the same motor used to drive the cutting blade also drives the machine's wheels, making it self-propelled and reducing the work effort required by the human operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a self-propelled machine for stripping adhesive-backed floor coverings from floor surfaces. It comprises a generally flat main body plate with an AC motor affixed to the upper surface thereof and the motor's shaft extending through an aperture in the plate and journaled for rotation therein. Also affixed to the main body plate below a lower surface thereof is an axle having a pair of ground-engaging wheels affixed to it where the wheels are disposed along opposed side edges of the body plate. Also affixed to the upper surface of the main body plate is an electromagnetic clutch having an input shaft that extends vertically to the main body plate. A first sprocket wheel is keyed to the aforementioned axle, a second sprocket is keyed to the motor shaft beneath the lower surface of the main body plate and a third sprocket is keyed to the input shaft of the electromagnetic clutch. A first endless belt operatively couples the second sprocket to the third sprocket for driving the input shaft of the clutch.
The drive train further includes a gear reduction box affixed to the main body plate. The gear reduction box has an input shaft and an output shaft. A fourth sprocket is secured to the input shaft of the gear reduction box and a fifth sprocket to the output shaft thereof. A second endless belt operatively couples the output sheave of the clutch to the fourth sprocket and an endless chain couples the fifth sprocket to the first sprocket.
The machine's cutting head is resiliently affixed to the undersurface of the main body plate by shock-mounting members. An eccentric shaft is journaled for rotation in the cutting head member and that eccentric shaft is also connected to the motor shaft, such that energization of the AC motor imparts an orbital movement to the cutting head and energization of the electromagnetic clutch imparts rotation to the machine's ground-engaging wheels.
A housing, including upper and lower cover members join to oppose side edges of the main body plate effectively cover all of the moving parts of the machine except the wheels and the cutting head. The lower cover member also has an eccentric support bearing mounted therein. Heavy steel side weights are affixed to the opposed sides of the upper cover member and a front weight is affixed to the front edge of the main body plate.
An elongated handle has one end pivotally coupled to an upper surface of the upper cover member and the other end of the handle includes hand grips incorporating a pair of electrical control switches for selectively controlling energization of the AC motor and the electromagnetic clutch.
To reduce vibration while still allowing orbital movement of the cutting head, the shock mounting members comprise first and second blocks of rectangular cross-section formed from an elastomeric material of a predetermined durometer. Formed longitudinally through the blocks are cylindrical bores containing sleeve bearings for receiving parallel spaced-apart shafts affixed to the cutting head member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, especially when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals in the several views refer to corresponding parts.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the floor covering stripping machine comprising a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the machine of FIG. 1 showing the construction thereof; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the drive train incorporated in the preferred embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. The words "upwardly", "downwardly", "rightwardly" and "leftwardly" will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words "inwardly" and "outwardly" will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the device and associated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is indicated generally by numeral 10 a stripping machine for removing adhesively bonded floor coverings from concrete and wood floors and roofing materials from flat building roofs and the like. It may also be used for scraping other debris stuck to flat surfaces. The machine comprises a main body plate 12 supported proximate the rear end thereof by a set of wheels 14 and proximate the front end thereof by a downwardly depending, floor-engaging blade 16. Affixed to the base plate 12 is an AC, capacitive-start motor, 18 whose output shaft extends through bearings mounted in the main body plate 12 so as to extend below the lower surface thereof. Without limitation, the motor 18 may be rated at about 1.5 HP and a speed of about 3400 rpm. As will be further explained, the motor's output shaft is used to drive the cutting blade 16 in a somewhat orbital path and with a majority of its power delivered to the wheels 14 for propelling the stripper along the floor.
To increase the weight of the machine and, therefore, the pressure between the cutting blade 16 and a floor surface, heavy steel side plates 20 and 22 bolt to a housing (not shown in FIG. 1). Similarly, a front weight member 24 bolts to the main body plate 12 proximate a front edge thereof. A front cover plate 26 also bolts to a front edge of the main body plate 12 and extending downwardly from the front cover plate 26 so as to cooperate with the cutting head member 28 is a bearing plate that is not visible in FIG. 1 but is identified by numeral 30 in the exploded view of FIG. 2. The bearing plate 30 is preferably an oilite bearing that remains self-lubricating.
As will be further explained hereinbelow, an upper cover member of the machine housing includes a relatively thick, heavy, steel cover plate 32 having first and second sets of handle brackets 34 and 36 welded to its top surface. The individual brackets in the sets are placed in parallel, spaced-apart relationship such that the bifurcated ends of the machine's handle 38 fit therebetween. The bracket members each have a series of aligned holes formed therethrough, as do the bifurcated ends 40 and 42 of the handle. As such, a pin can be inserted through the aligned holes in each set of brackets to establish the angle at which the handle 38 extends upwardly and rearwardly from the machine to accommodate the stature of a particular operator.
The opposite end of the handle 38 includes laterally extending hand grip members 44-46, each with a built-in electrical switch 48,50 for controlling the operation of the machine 10. A lengthy power cord 52 enters the hand grip 46 and connects through the switches 48 and 50 to a further cord 54 which mates in a plug connector 56 to electrical wires leading to the motor 18 and to an electromagnetic clutch. The clutch is identified in the exploded view of FIG. 2 by numeral 58.
As will be explained hereinbelow, actuation of a first switch 48 will turn on the motor 18 to drive the cutting head member 28 and actuation of the switch 50 will energize the electromagnetic clutch 58 to operatively couple the ground-engaging wheels 14 to the motor's output shaft. Thus, forward motion of the machine 10 has finger-tip control and the operator need only guide the path of travel of the machine and need not provide the force necessary to advance the machine along the floor as the cutting blade 16 separates the floor covering from the floor.
Having described, generally, the constructional features of the stripping machine, more detailed information will be presented using the exploded view of FIG. 2.
The main body plate 12 may be a 1/2 in. steel plate approximately 10 in. wide at its front edge 60 and about 7 in. wide along its rear edge 62. The length dimension of the plate may be about 15.5 in. It is to be understood that these dimensions are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limitive.
Bolted to the undersurface of the main body plate 12, proximate the rear edge 16 thereof, are first and second axle mounting blocks 64 and 66. Fitted into a cylindrical bore 68 formed through the thickness dimension of the axle mounting block 64 is a bearing 70. Likewise, a bore 72 is formed through the thickness dimension of the axle mounting block 66 for receiving a bearing 74. An axle 76 is journaled in the bearings 70 and 74 and the wheels 14L and 14R are keyed to the axle 76 by key members 78 and 80. A first chain sprocket wheel 82 is also mounted on the axle 76 and held fixed thereto by the key member 80.
As earlier mentioned, the motor 18 is bolted to the main body plate 12 above the upper surface thereof. Formed through the thickness dimension of the body plate is a bore 84 that is sized to receive a bearing 86 therein. The bearing 86 journals the motor's output shaft 88 for rotation. Keyed to the motor's output shaft beneath the main body plate 12 is a second toothed pulley or sprocket 90.
A further bore or aperture 92 is formed through the thickness dimension of the main body plate 62 and fitted therein is a clutch bearing 94 and a spacer 96. Fitted through the spacer 96 and bearing 94 is a clutch input shaft 98. Keyed to that shaft is a third pulley or sprocket 100, which surrounds a sheave 102 that is held in place by a lower clutch bearing support member 104. The clutch is preferably the type manufactured and sold by Warner Electric Co. of South Beloit, Ill. The input shaft 98 drives a first clutch plate continuously and when energized, the disk 106 is brought into frictional engagement with that clutch plate, causing the disk 106 to rotate with it. Affixed to the disk 106 is a stepped pulley or sheave 108 and an endless V-belt 110 is deployed about the second and third sprockets, permitting the motor to drive the input shaft 98 of the clutch 58.
Affixed to and projecting upwardly from the upper surface of the main body plate 12 is a gear box mounting block 112 to which a gear reduction box 114 is bolted. The gear reduction box 114 is commercially available from Boston Gear Co. of Quincy, Massachusetts. It includes an input shaft 116 and an output shaft 118. A fourth sprocket or pulley 120 is keyed to the input shaft 116 and an endless belt 122 is deployed about the clutch sheave 108 and the pulley 120. A belt tensioning idler 123 is journaled for rotation on a stub shaft 124 threaded into an idler support 126 to thereby press against the side of the endless belt 122 to thereby inhibit slippage. A fifth sprocket wheel 128 is keyed to the output shaft 118 of the gear reduction box 114. An endless chain 130 is deployed about the first sprocket 82 and the fifth sprocket 128 such that the axle 76 and the wheels 14L and 14R are driven through the gear reduction box 114.
Referring momentarily to FIG. 3, the various sprockets may be sized such that with the motor 18 driving the sprocket 90 at 3400 rpm, the sprocket 100 will rotate at about 1200 rpm, as does the clutch output pulley 108. The pulley ratio between clutch sheave 108 and pulley 120 is such that the pulley 120 may rotate at about 600 rpm and with a 60:1 step down provided by the gear reduction box 114, its output sprocket 128 will rotate at about 10 rpm. The diameter of the wheels 14 are such that with the axle 76 rotating at 10 rpm, the machine will traverse the floor at about 30 feet-per-minute. It is possible to modify the speed by shifting the belt 122 on the stepped pulley 108.
Returning again to the exploded view of FIG. 2, affixed to the lower end of the motor's output shaft 88 is an eccentric shaft 132 having offset cylindrical lobes. The bottommost lobe is journaled in a bearing 134 contained within a bearing support plate 136 that is bolted to the undersurface of cutting head member 28.
The cutting head member 28 is supported from the undersurface of the main body plate 12 by means of resilient elastomeric shock-mount members, only one of which is shown and identified by reference numeral 138. The elastomeric members are injection molded onto steel mounting plates 140 having drilled and tapped holes formed therein. Screws, as at 142, pass through drilled holes in the main body plate 12 and into the tapped holes in the mounting plate 140. The shock mounts are located proximate the opposed side edges of the main body plate 12 near its forward edge 60, and each includes a longitudinally extending bore 144 containing a self-lubricating sleeve bearing. Fitted into two sleeve bearings of the two shock mounts are L-shaped slide rods 146 and 148 that are affixed to the cutting head member 28. As the motor 18 drives the eccentric shaft 132, the guide rods 146 and 148 will reciprocate within the bearings of the elastomeric shock mounts and limited side travel is permitted because of the resilient nature of the elastomeric material of the shock mounts that allows them to deflect. Thus, a replaceable floor engaging cutting blade, which is adapted to be clamped between the cutting head member 28 and cutting head cover plate 16 can move in an oval orbit where the major axis of the oval is aligned with the guide shafts 146 and 148.
To shield the working parts of the stripping machine 10, there is provided a housing comprising an upper cover member 150, a lower cover member 152 and a rear cover member 154. The upper cover member is bolted to the upper surface of the main body plate while the lower cover member 152 attaches to the opposed side edges of the main body plate 12. An eccentric support bearing 153 is bolted to the inside surface of the lower cover member in alignment with the eccentric shaft when the lower cover member is bolted in place on the main body plate. The rear cover member 154 attaches to the lower cover member 152 so that in combination, these cover members totally enclosed the moving parts of the machine, save for the cutting head member which projects out through a slotted opening at the front end of the lower cover member 152, as is illustrated in the perspective view of FIG. 1. Side weights 20 and 22 bolt to the side surfaces of the upper cover member 150 and the heavy top plate 32 bolts in covering relation to the otherwise open top of the upper cover member 150 by means of bolts 151.
Slidingly adjustable wheel scrapers 155 attach to an undersurface of the side weights 20 and 22 by means of screws 156 that extend through an elongated slot 158 formed in the scrappers. The leading edge of the scrappers can be brought into close, but non-binding, contact with the wheels 14L and 14R and as the machine is being driven, the scraper plates function to prevent the buildup of carpet/tile, adhesive and other debris on the wheels.
Affixed to the base of the rear cover member 154 are parallel, spaced-apart, downwardly angled legs, only one of which is visible in FIG. 2. It is identified by numeral 160.
The downwardly depending legs 160 support an axle 162 therein and rotatably mounted on the axle 162 are idler wheels 164 and 166 that are held in spaced-apart relation by a tubular spacer 168 and washers 170 and 172.
OPERATION
In use, the operator may wheel the machine 10 to a work site by pulling down on the handgrips 44 and 46 to tilt the machine back onto the idler wheels 64 and 66 as a fulcrum, thereby lifting the ground-engaging wheels 14 and the cutting blade off the floor. The machine can now be pushed to the area where the carpet is to be removed.
The operator will then plug the elongated extension cord 52 into an AC outlet and will slash through the carpet using a walking knife blade to cut the carpeting into strips up to 16 in. wide. Alternatively, the machine may be equipped with a self-scoring blade of the type described in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,657, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Once the carpeting has been slashed in the manner indicated, the machine 10 will be positioned at one end of the area where the carpeting is to be removed, with the cutting edge of the blade clamped to the cutting head member 28 abutting the floor beneath a first carpet strip. The cutting blade used with machine 10 may have a width dimension in a range of from 1 in. to 12 in. Now, by energizing the switch 48 or 50 controlling the motor 18, the motor will be driven to rotate the eccentric 132 and drive the cutting head in an orbital path. This movement tends to cause the blade to shear the bond between the carpeting and the floor. Next, by depressing the other switch that controls the electromagnetic clutch 58, the wheels 14L and 14R will be driven, via the drive train illustrated schematically in FIG. 3, to advance the machine along the strip of carpeting, removing it from the floor. The downward weight provided by the side weights 20 and 22, the cover plate 32, the front weight 24 and the remaining weight of the machine parts (approximately 350 pounds) force the cutting blade against the floor with considerable pressure such that the adhesive layer is also scraped from the floor.
After making a first pass and removing a strip of carpeting of a predetermined width determined by the selected blade size from the floor, the machine will be moved into position to make another pass and remove another pre-cut or score-as-you-go carpet strip.
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.
|
A self-propelled carpet/tile stripping tool of the walk-behind type includes a drive train including an electric motor coupled through an electromagnetic clutch and a gear reduction box to ground-engaging wheels for advancing the machine in a forward direction when the clutch is energized. The same motor driving the wheels also is coupled to a cutting head member by means of an eccentric drive where the cutting head member is suspended in elastomeric shock mounts to reduce vibration while yet permitting orbital movement of a floor-engaging cutting blade. Finger-tip controls allows selective operation of the drive motor and electromagnetic clutch. The machine is further weighted to increase the frictional engagement between the floor scraper blade and the floor surface and because of the self-propelled aspect, operator fatigue is minimized.
| 4
|
This is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 09/690,247 filed Oct. 17, 2000 now abandonded.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Crosslinking systems for effecting cure of emulsion polymers are used to provide nonwoven articles, particularly cellulosic webs such as paper towels, with some desired property such as water or solvent resistance. Most crosslinking systems for emulsion polymers which are employed today require temperatures in excess of 100° C. to ensure the development of a decently cured system. While high temperature cures may be acceptable for many applications, such temperatures may be unacceptable in other applications because of an unsuitability of certain types of substrates, operational difficulties, and lastly, they may represent economic hardship due to the high cost of energy.
Many ambient crosslinking technologies for nonwoven articles have been investigated and are employed within some application niches. However, none are widely used today perhaps due to cost, inefficient cures or some chemical incompatibilities. These systems include the crosslinking of an acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate (AAEM) containing polymer with a multi-primary amine functional moiety. This combination has a very short pot-life making it unsuitable for a one-part system without the addition of some blocking agent. Typically the use of blocking agents requires either temperature to activate the reactants or a pH change thereby reducing their applicability for many applications.
Epoxy functional co-monomers such as glycidyl methacrylate and allyl glycidyl ether have been evaluated, however the epoxy group is readily subject to hydrolysis in water to be of practical use in emulsion polymerizations.
The following patents are representative of crosslink chemistries for the crosslinking of polymeric emulsions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,310 discloses a method for improving adhesive durable coatings on weathered substrates. The durable coatings are based upon latex binders formed by the polymerization of acrylic and methacrylic esters, such as methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, etc., along with vinyl monomers and the like. Durability is enhanced by incorporating acetoacetate functionality into the polymer, typically by polymerization of monomers such as acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate, acetoacetoxyethyl acrylate (AAEA), allyl acetoacetate, and vinyl acetoacetate. Enamine functionality is incorporated into the polymer for improving adhesion by reaction of the latex containing the acetoacetate functionality with ammonia or an amine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,789 discloses the use of highly crosslinked polyelectrolytes for use in diapers and dressings which are based upon acrylic acid-acrylate copolymers, acrylic acid-acrylamide copolymers, acrylic acid and vinyl acetate copolymers, and so forth. Preferred aziridines include the triaziridines based upon trimethylolpropane tripropionates, tris(1-aziridinyl)phosphine oxide, and tris(1-aziridinyl)-phosphine sulfide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,698 discloses the use of polyfunctional aziridines in crosslinking applications. One type of polyaziridine is based upon the reaction of ethylene imine with acrylates of an alkoxylated trimethylolpropane or other polyol. Vinyl acetate/carboxylated urethanes and styrene/acrylics are shown as being crosslinked with polyfunctional aziridines to produce coatings having a low temperature crosslinking functionality.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,578 discloses coating compositions for plastic substrates based upon carboxy functional acrylic copolymers, which are crosslinked with from about 0.2 to 3% of a polyfunctional aziridine. Examples include N-aminoethyl-N-aziridylethylamine with a most preferred aziridine being a trifunctional aziridine having equivalent weight of 156 atomic mass units
U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,498 discloses the use of (1-aziridinyl)alkyl curing agents for acid-terminated polymers. A wide variety of polymers having terminal-free acid groups are described as being crosslinkable through the use of the (1-aziridinyl)alkyl curing agents, and these include those formed by the reaction of esters of carboxylic saturated and unsaturated acids with aziridinyl alcohols.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,492 discloses emulsion polymers utilizing a dual crosslinking package which contains a moiety with an active methylene group. This group is reactable with dialdehydes, while the other functionality is a carboxylic acid, which is reactable with the tri-aziridine. The active methylene group was derived form acetoacetate.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to improved crosslinking system comprised of crosslinkable polymer and multiple crosslinking agents which are capable of reaching full cure under ambient conditions. More particularly the invention relates to an improved process for forming a nonwoven web bonded with a dual crosslinkable polymeric emulsion wherein a polymeric emulsion is applied to the nonwoven web, the water removed, and the crosslinkable polymer subsequently crosslinked. The improvement comprises:
utilizing a polymeric emulsion wherein the crosslinkable polymer has pendent carboxylic acid functionality and is formed in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) stabilizing functionality;
crosslinking the hydroxyl functionality in the crosslinkable polymer by reaction with an effective amount of a polyaldehyde; and,
crosslinking the carboxylic acid functionality by reaction with an effective amount of a polyaziridine compound.
There are numerous advantages of the dual crosslinker system described herein; these advantages include:
an ability to from a polymer that can achieve >90% of total cure in the test conditions, typically either 150° F. for two minutes or 200° F. for 90 seconds;
an ability to achieve a degree of cure sufficient to approach the target performance requirements as currently achieved by a thermally activated system based on aminoplast technology; and,
an ability to provide for a formulation which is eminently workable at the site of use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In practicing the invention for producing nonwoven webs incorporating crosslinkable polymeric systems capable of reaching full cure under ambient conditions, ethylenically unsaturated monomers wherein at least one has pendent carboxyl groups are polymerized in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol) protective colloid. Thus, the resultant polymers provide for at least two mechanisms for crosslinking. Crosslinking of the hydroxyl functionality sites is effected by reaction with a polyfunctional hydroxyl reactive compound, i.e., a polyfunctional aldehyde and crosslinking of the acid sites is effected by reaction with a polyfunctional aziridine.
The nonwoven web can be a cellulosic web, such as pulp, or a synthetic fiber based web, such as a polyester (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate), a polyolefin (e.g., polypropylene), a polyamide (e.g., nylon), and fiberglass. The nonwoven substrate can also be a blend of synthetic fibers, or a blend of synthetic fibers with non-synthetic fibers, such as cellulosic fibers.
The poly(vinyl alcohols) suited for forming dual crosslinkable emulsion polymers is related to the type of monomers being polymerized. Polymer systems employing vinyl acetate may use poly(vinyl alcohols) having a molar hydrolysis values of about 85% and above. Fully hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohols) may be used but may affect viscosity and stability.
The production of all acrylic emulsions presents a different problem. One of the keys to producing a high solids, e.g., greater than 45% by weight all acrylic emulsion without the use of surfactants, solubilizers, and microfluidization techniques resides in the use of a poly(vinyl alcohol) selected from the group consisting of substantially fully hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol) and a partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol), >86%, as the stabilizing agent where the number average molecular weight ranges from about 5,000 to 13,000. A preferred type is one having a molar hydrolysis value of at least 96.5%, i.e., 96.5% of the acetate groups in poly(vinyl acetate) are converted to hydroxyl groups. When less than 96.5% of the acetate groups are converted to hydroxyl groups, i.e., the polyvinyl acetate is less than fully hydrolyzed, and the molecular weight is above about 13,000, there is a tendency for a high solids acrylic emulsion formulation to become gritty. As the degree of hydrolysis is reduced substantially below 96.5%, the latex may become unstable. The second type of poly(vinyl alcohol), as stated, is a poly(vinyl alcohol) having a hydrolysis value of at least 86% to fully hydrolyzed and a number average molecular weight within a range of from 5,000 to 13,000.
Blends of fully hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohols) may be used with favorable results. One type of blend comprises from 20 to 80%, preferably 50 to 75%, of a low molecular weight (5,000 to 13,000) poly(vinyl alcohol), including 86 to 90% hydrolyzed, and 20 to 80%, preferably 50 to 75%, of a higher molecular weight, e.g., 25,000 to 45,000 molecular weight poly(vinyl alcohol). Another blend may comprise a fully hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol) and a partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol) which by itself would have been unacceptable for stabilizing the emulsion. In other words, not all of the stabilizing poly(vinyl alcohol) need be fully hydrolyzed but may contain some lower hydrolyzed material, e.g., a hydrolysis value of from 85 to 90% at a molecular weight greater than 15,000. If some lower hydrolysis material is employed, the level should be monitored closely as the all acrylic emulsion will become less stable. One may use from about 0 to 25% of such lower hydrolysis poly(vinyl alcohol) but the remainder of the poly(vinyl alcohol) should have a hydrolysis value of at least 98% as the other component of the stabilizer. The ratio of partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol to fully hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol) does not impact stability but does not impact viscosity and water resistance of the finished web.
The level of poly(vinyl alcohol) utilized as a stabilizer is from about 2 to 12%, preferably from about 3 to about 8% based on the weight of the total monomers to be polymerized.
In forming emulsion polymers having dual crosslink functionality, the operative level for the carboxylic acid functionality in the polymer typically is from 1-10 weight percent carboxyl functionality based upon the total weight of the polymer.(for monomers other than acrylic acid carboxylic acid functionality is measured relative to the molecular weight of acrylic acid.) Preferably, the carboxylic acid containing comonomer is incorporated into the polymer in a preferred percentage range from 3-6% by weight.
The ethylenically unsaturated monomers which can be polymerized to form dual crosslinkable polymeric emulsions include C 1-13 alkyl esters of acrylic and methacrylic acid, preferably C 1-8 alkyl esters of (meth)acrylic acid, which include methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, isooctyl acrylate, isodecyl acrylate and the like; vinyl esters such as vinyl acetate and vinyl propionate; vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile; hydrocarbons such as ethylene, butadiene, styrene, etc.; mono and diesters of maleic acid or fumaric acid, the mono and diesters being formed by the reaction of maleic acid or fumaric acid with a C 1-13 alkanol, preferably a C 8-13 alkanol such as, n-octyl alcohol, i-octyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, amyl alcohol (dibutyl maleate is preferred); C 1-8 alkyl vinyl ethers such as methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, isopropyl vinyl ether, n-propyl vinyl ether, tert-butyl vinyl ether and n- and isobutyl vinyl ether and vinyl esters can also be employed. Also, vinyl esters of C 8-13 neo-acids which are comprised of a single vinyl ester or mixture of tri- and tetramers which have been converted to the corresponding single or mixture of C 8-13 neo-acids may be polymerized. Preferred polymer systems for nonwoven web applications are vinyl acetate/ethylene based although all acrylic systems may be used.
Hydroxyl functionality may be incorporated into the polymer through the use of hydroxy functional acrylates. Typically only a portion, e.g., less than 10% by weight based upon total monomer employed in producing the polymerized product is provided by this mechanism. The use of poly(vinyl alcohol) is preferred as discussed earlier. Hydroxy functional monomers include hydroxy propyl acrylate, and so forth.
Carboxy functional monomers employed in the polymerization to provide pendent carboxyl groups are alpha, beta-ethylenically unsaturated C 3-10 , preferably C 3-6 , carboxylic acids. Specific examples include (meth)acrylic acid, maleic acid, crotonic, itaconic acid, carboxyethyl acrylate and so forth. Alternatively, monomers capable of conversion to carboxy functionality may be used. Maleic anhydride is an example of a monomer convertible to one having carboxyl groups. However, a preferred acid is acrylic acid.
In producing the relatively ambient temperature dual crosslinkable polymer, the polymer should incorporate from about 2 to 12% preferably 3 to 8% by weight of the hydroxyl functionality relative to the molecular weight of polyvinyl alcohol (at least 87% hydrolyzed.
Representative vinyl acetate based and acrylic based compositions are set forth in the following table. Preferred emulsion polymers are vinyl acetate based.
Monomer
Broad wt %
Preferred wt %
Vinyl Acetate
0-90
35-85
(Meth)Acrylic Acid
1-10
3-6
Poly(vinyl alcohol)
2-12
3-8
C 1-8 alkyl (Meth)Acrylic Ester
0-90
0
Ethylene*
0-50
15-30
*Ethylene is often used in place of acrylic esters. The sum of the monomer percent must equal 100%.
The polymers should have a Tg of from about −5 to +10° C. and, typically, an Mn of from 7,500 to 20,000.
Polymerization can be initiated by thermal initiators or by a redox system. A thermal initiator is preferred at temperatures at or above about 70° C. and redox systems are preferred when the polymerization temperature is below about 70° C. is used. The viscoelastic properties are influenced by small changes in temperature and by initiator composition and concentration. The amount of thermal initiator used in the process is 0.1 to 3 wt %, preferably from 0.5 to 1.5 wt %, based on total monomers. Thermal initiators are well known in the emulsion polymer art and include, for example, ammonium persulfate, sodium persulfate, and the like. The amount of oxidizing and reducing agent in the redox system is about 0.1 to 3 wt %. Any suitable redox system known in the art can be used; for example, the reducing agent can be a bisulfite, a sulfoxylate, ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, and the like. The oxidizing agent can include, persulfates, azo compounds, and the like.
The reaction time will also vary depending upon other variables such as the temperature, the catalyst, and the desired extent of the polymerization. It is generally desirable to continue the reaction until less than 0.5% of the vinyl ester remains unreacted. Under these circumstances, a reaction time of about 6 hours has been found to be generally sufficient for complete polymerization, but reaction times ranging from 2 to 10 hours have been used, and other reaction times can be employed, if desired.
Crosslinking of the polymer having hydroxyl functionality and carboxyl functionality is achieved by reaction with at least two multifunctional reactants one capable of reacting with the hydroxyl functionality and the other with the carboxyl functionality. One of the multifunctional components is a polyaldehyde, and preferably a dialdehyde; the other multifunctional component is a polyaziridine. The operative level of each is controlled such that generally at least an effective amount or a stoichiometric amount is added to react with the hydroxyl and carboxyl functionality of the polymer and effect dual crosslinking. To drive the reaction to completion in a short time as required on the production line, an excess of one of the reactants is employed. In crosslinking, one end of the dialdehyde can react with the hydroxy functionality on the substrate, e.g. a diol group of cellulose and the other with the hydroxyl group of the poly(vinyl alcohol) which has been incorporated in the polymer. Examples of aldehydes suited for crosslinking include glutaraldehyde and glyoxal. If glyoxal is used, it typically is added at a level of from about 25 to 125, preferably from 50 to 100 mole percent, of the hydroxyl functionality.
With regard to the polyaldehyde, one example is a dialdehyde such as glyoxal or glutaraldehyde. One of the aldehyde functionalities of this chemical will react with the adjacent hydroxy groups of a polyhydroxy moiety to form two new covalent bonds. The other aldehyde group can react with two adjacent hydroxy groups of another poly(vinyl) alcohol containing chain or it could react with some functionality on the substrate, such as the diol group of cellulose resulting in a similar cyclic acetal linkage. Either way the polymer will be crosslinked to provide the finished material with water resistance or another desired application property.
There are numerous polyfunctional aziridinyl compositions that can be used for effecting crosslinking of the polymers containing pendent carboxyl functionality. Representative of polyfunctional aziridines are noted in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,278,578 and 4,605,698 and are incorporated by reference. Typically these polyfunctional aziridine crosslinking agents are aziridine compounds having from 3 to 5 nitrogen atoms per molecule and N-(aminoalkyl)aziridines such as N-aminoethyl-N-aziridilethylamine, N,N-bis-2-aminopropyl-N-aziridilethylamine, N-3,6,9-triazanonylaziridine and the trifunctional aziridine crosslinker sold under the trademark Neocryl CX100. Other examples include bis and tris aziridines of di and tri acrylates of alkoxylated polyols, such as the trisaziridine of the triacrylate of the adduct of glycerine and 3.8 moles of propylene oxide; the tris aziridine of the triacrylate of the adduct of trimethylolpropone and 3 moles ethylene oxide and the tris aziridine of the triacrylate of the adduct of pentaerythritol and 4.7 moles of propylene oxide.
The dual crosslink feature of the polymer is important to achieve significant cure within an appropriate ambient cure temperature range from 20 to 40° C. In effecting cure, the conditions are controlled to flash the water from the emulsion and then effect cure. Water may be flashed at a temperature from 60 to 80° C. under ambient and reduced pressure and the product removed from the heat source and cure being affected without further addition of heat. The polymer typically cures within seconds.
Although not intending to be bound by theory, a combination of more than one cure chemistry allows the preparation of a system which gives a stable formulation for pot life and which meets the target performance requirements. Many other techniques used in the background art are difficult to translate to water-borne systems, the levels of expensive crosslinker are difficult to incorporate in an effective method and the formulations have limited pot life. The combination of these two methods of crosslinking a polymer allows less of each type of crosslinker to be employed. The methods do not interfere with each other and the level of neither exceeds that which contributes to instability. While the level of each crosslinker it self is insufficient to reach the target performance levels, in combination targets are achieved.
The following examples are provided to illustrate preferred examples of the invention and are not intended to restrict the scope thereof. For ease of calculation, it is assumed that the monomer reactants are present in the polymer in the same weight
EXAMPLE 1
Preparation of Vinyl Acetate/Ethylene/Acrylic Acid
Polymer in the Presence of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)
To a one gallon pressure reactor is charged 600 g of deionized water, 450.9 g of a 10% aqueous solution of Airvol 523 poly(vinyl alcohol), 37.5 g of an 80% aqueous solution of a secondary alcohol ethoxylate, 1.5 g of a 150% aqueous solution of phosphoric acid, 4.8 g of a 1% aqueous solution of ferric ammonium sulfate and 1500 g of vinyl acetate. The reactor is purged with nitrogen, agitated to 900 rpm and 500 g of ethylene is charged into the reactor. The temperature is adjusted to 30° C.
A delay of a solution of 1% aqueous t-bhp is started at 0.4 ml/min and a delay of a 10% aqueous solution of sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate is started at 0.5 ml/min. Five minutes after the initiation of the reaction, 375 g of a delay of acrylic acid in vinyl acetate (118.5 g of acrylic acid in 319.0 g of vinyl acetate) is begun at 1.5 ml/min. The temperature is ramped up to 55° C. over an hour. An additional 50.0 g of ethylene is added over the course of the monomer delay, which takes a total of four hours to complete.
The residual vinyl acetate is converted using a 7% aqueous solution of t-bhp. The reaction is allowed to cool. The solids are 57.6% with a viscosity of 790 cps at 60 rpm with a number 3 LV spindle. The T g of the polymer is −7.6° C.
EXAMPLE 2
Dual Crosslinking of Vinyl Acetate/Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Polymer
To 100 g of this emulsion 45.1 g of deionized water is added. Then 7.5 g of glyoxal (a 40% aqueous solution) followed by addition of 1.5 g of CX-100 (100% active). This formulation is then ready to be printed onto a nonwoven basestock. Upon printing, the nonwoven web is placed into an oven at 150° F. for two minutes to remove all the water. This formulation provides tensile performance to the nonwoven basestock similar to that achieved by standard heat activated systems based upon N-methylol acrylamide for example which do not provide any tensile performance under similar drying conditions.
EXAMPLE 3
Preparation of Acrylic Ester/Acrylic Acid
Polymer in the Presence of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)
Another example of an emulsion system to that of Example 1 is one where the polymer backbone is acrylic. A 2L reactor is charged with 346.0 g of deionized water, 265.8 g of a 10% aqueous solution of Airvol 205 poly(vinyl alcohol), 88.0 g of a 10% aqueous solution of Airvol 502 poly(vinyl alcohol), 1.6 g of acetic acid, 1.1 of 70% t-bhp, 2.5 g of a 1% aqueous solution of ferric ammonium sulfate, and 217.0 g of a monomer pre-mix (743.1 g of ethyl acrylate, 254.7 g of methyl methacrylate, 50.0 g of methacrylic acid and 6.6 g of N-dodecyl mercaptan). The reactor is heated to 53° C. and the reaction initiated using a reducing delay of 5% sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate at 0.35 ml/min and an oxidizing delay of 5% t-bhp at 0.3 ml/min. The temperature is ramped up to 80° C. over an hour, while the remaining monomer delay is added at 4.0 ml/min. The reaction is continued for one hour after all the monomers have been added and then allowed to cool. The T g of this polymer is 8.2° C., with solids of 49.1% and a viscosity of 394 cps.
EXAMPLE 4
Dual Crosslinking of Acrylic Ester/Acrylic Acid Polymer
The latex of Example 3 was diluted in similar manner to the emulsion polymer of Example 1 in Example 2. More specifically the emulsion was diluted to 20.0% solids and treated with 7.5 g of a 40% aqueous solution of glyoxal and 1.5 g of CX-100. Crosslinking was effected under Example 2 conditions.
Comparative Example 4
Single Crosslinkable Emulsion Polymer
The Example 1 polymers loaded with carboxylic acid functionality did not demonstrate any low temperature cure when treated with varying quantities of zirconium ammonium carbonate or the zinc equivalent. It did provide decent cures when heated. However, even when the acid functionality was repositioned away from the polymer backbone by using carboxyethyl acrylate as the source of the carboxylic acid group, that system still did not generate any appreciable level of low temperature cure with the heavy metal salts.
Summary
Vinyl acetate based and all acrylic emulsions can be provided with room temperature cure properties via the dual crosslinkability function described. A single crosslinkable functionality whether it is based upon aziridinyl groups reacted with carboxyl or aldehyde groups reacted with hydroxyl is significantly less efficient.
|
This invention relates to a dual crosslinkable polymer/crosslinking system particularly suited for use in preparing high quality nonwoven products. The polymeric binders incorporate at least two different but reactive functionalities, i.e., hydroxy and carboxyl, and which are capable of reacting with two other multifunctional reactants, i.e., polyaldehydes and aziridines, each of which reacts with at least one of the functionalities present in the polymer. This selection of reactive functionality coupled with the selection of crosslinking agents permits ambient temperature cure.
| 3
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention generally concerns the field of fly fishing. It refers to the manufacturing of artificial flies or bait, in particular, the part forming the body thereof.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] An artificial fly is an imitation of a fly or any other prey of river fish in particular, moving over the surface, between two levels of water or at the bottom of the river like nymphs (larvae). Fishing is carried out in different ways depending on the type of fish the fisherman is attempting to catch. There is dry fly fishing, nymph fishing, wet fly fishing and, finally, streamers. All of these artificial flies consist of different components including the body, assembled directly on the fish hook.
[0005] More often than not, the body of the fly is manufactured separately using material referred to as dubbing. Generally, the material consists of fiber, hair or hair or yarn of synthetic or natural material. This material is not applied directly to the hook. It is first mounted through a double twist of yarn. Fishing enthusiasts can obtain preformed dubbing from a supplier and use the prepared material to construct the body of the bait by winding it around the hook.
[0006] The twisted dubbing can also be twisted around itself. However, this operation requires some skill and equipment has been designed to allow the operation to be carried out under good conditions and obtain a satisfactory result.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,797 describes a dubbing winder consisting of a crank handle with a hook on its shaft, mounted in parallel to a flat base. The length of yarn, bent in two, is attached to one end of the base forming an extension of the hook. The loop it forms at the other end is held under slight tension by the hook. The dubbing is arranged cross-wise between the two lengths of the hook. By turning the handle, the hook is made to rotate about its axis causing the two lengths of yarn to twist. The dubbing fibers are then gripped between the lengths of yarn. When the twist is complete, it is detached from the base and wound around the hook to form the body of the fly.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,870 describes a dubbing twister device having a tread twisting means removably attached thereto. After a dubbed thread is formed, the tread twisting means is removed from the base and used as a tool for wrapping the dubbed thread on the body of the fly being tied.
[0009] In practice, these devices require the use of metal wire to prevent the twist from coming undone as it is removed from the device and wound on the shank of the hook. Manipulations between the device and the hook are impractical, especially for smaller sizes of flies. Sometimes, a tacky material is required when the dubbing is light, for instance, in the case of ducktail feather fibers or rabbit ear hairs. Clearly, there is a continuing need in the art for a better device in manufacturing artificial flies or bait, especially the part forming the body thereof. The present invention addresses this need.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention concerns a device that enables easy control of the operation of twisting the dubbing between two lengths of yarn. It includes a trough, a trough support, and a means of attaching the trough support to a fixed point, allowing the trough support to be moved with respect to this fixed point. In some embodiments, the trough has a telescopic section allowing a twist to be made to a desired length.
[0011] With this device, it is easy to move the trough immediately next to the vise in which the hook is mounted to form the twist while maintaining direct contact with it. This avoids the need to handle it and advantageously eliminates the risk of the twist coming undone. This way, instead of a metal wire that is relatively more rigid, any yarn, preferably textile, can be used, for example, an assembly silk yarn. This device has the desirable advantage of multiplying the possibilities of producing artificial flies. For instance, with the inventive device, it would be possible to manufacture finer flies that are lighter and float more easily on the water or between two levels of water. It would also make the construction of small size flies easier.
[0012] In an embodiment, one end of the trough is open and, according to a particular method of realization, includes a guide for the yarn opposite said open end.
[0013] In another embodiment, the trough support has a means of adjusting the position of the trough with respect to the means of attachment, by horizontal, vertical or rotational translation movement.
[0014] In one particular embodiment, the means of attachment is arranged to be placed on a flat support. In another embodiment, the means of attachment is arranged for mounting on a cylindrical support, in particular, with the means of attachment arranged for mounting on the support of a hook vise.
[0015] Another aspect of the invention concerns the twisted dubbing manufacturing process, between two lengths of yarn. This process includes the following: the assembly of a hook in a vise, the attachment of one end of the yarn to the hook, the installation of a trough in a horizontal plane the axis of which is directed towards the hook, the installation of the wire in the hook along its shaft, the deposition of dubbing on the yarn, crosswise in the desired quantity, looping the attaching yarn on the second end of the hook, twisting the yarn by the free end of the loop, and winding the twist formed in this way on the hook to form the bait. The existing means may advantageously consist of a hook.
[0016] Other characteristics and advantages will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the preferred embodiments described below with reference to the following drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the device, ready for the making up of a twist.
[0018] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of two troughs that can be adapted to the support.
[0019] FIG. 3 shows a hook.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] FIG. 1 depicts a vise 1 in the jaws 3 of which a hook 4 is secured firmly. The vise is mounted on a vertical stem 6 itself made integral with a bench or table by virtue of a clamp or another device not shown.
[0021] Device 10 of the invention includes a trough 12 mounted horizontally on a support 14 - 16 - 18 , in this case forming a bracket. The support vertical section includes two stems sliding 14 in the other 16 . A knob 161 with a screw provides the means of tightening the stem 14 and immobilizing it at the desired height with respect to the stem 16 . The lower part of the stem 16 has a sleeve 162 able to slide on a horizontal beam 18 having a square section. A knob with a screw 163 passing through the sleeve makes it possible to lock it onto the beam 18 . The latter has a sleeve 182 mounted to slide on the stem 6 supporting the vise 1 . A knob 183 with a screw is used for immobilizing the beam 18 in rotation and in vertical movement. A stopping sleeve 19 , adjustable for height, is used as a downward stop for sleeve 182 .
[0022] Trough 12 is mounted at the end of stem 14 which is in two parts 141 and 142 . The upper part 142 can swivel about a horizontal axis formed by the knob 143 which is tightened to retain the two elements 141 and 142 together. In this way, it is possible to immobilize the trough in any position around the axis 143 .
[0023] The trough is open at the forward end 121 , i.e., near hook 4 . It will be seen that this end is pointed. The other end has a guide 122 designed to accommodate yarn F. This yarn is attached at one end to hook 4 and is wound into coil B at the other. The wound coil is placed in a known type of coil-holder. FIG. 3 shows a hook 30 with which the loop formed by the yarn can be grasped.
[0024] The manufacturing of the twist section includes the following steps:
[0025] A hook is placed in vise 1 and device 10 is arranged as shown in FIG. 1 , by adjusting the various adjustable elements/resources 19 , 182 , 162 , 161 , 141 . The trough is more or less at the same level as hook 4 , against the shank. Length F is attached at one end to the shank of the hook then placed inside the trough, along its axis, and slid into guide 122 . The coil is allowed to hang with the coil-holder the weight of which tensions the yarn along the trough. The dubbing is placed on the yarn, across the trough, to the desired thickness and distribution.
[0026] The yarn is grasped using hook 30 between the trough and the coil. The hook is left in readiness and the coil is brought towards the hook while placing the wire of the dubbing in the trough. The yarn is attached to the shank of the hook, by turning it around two or three times.
[0027] Slight tension is placed on the double yarn between the branches on which the dubbing is held. The hook is then turned about itself in order to twist the double yarn. When it is estimated that the number of revolutions is sufficient and the dubbing is pressed sufficiently against the yarn, the hook is released from the trough, towards the left, by acting on the mobile parts of the support so that the twisted yarn can be wound around the shank of the hook until the desired fly body is obtained. Then the construction of the fly continues.
[0028] FIG. 2 represents a trough 12 ′ of another shape, ready to be put in place as a replacement for trough 12 . This trough has a deeper hollow and is used for short dubbing. A wide trough 12 is useful for long dubbing. Trough 12 ′ is in two parts 12 ′ a and 12 ′ b mounted in a telescopic manner so that the length of the yarn to be twisted can be adjusted. Appropriate attaching facilities are provided to facilitate the change of troughs. The trough 12 ′ shown is in a short position for the manufacturing of a short twisted length and in an elongated position for a long twisted length.
[0029] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of hook 30 which includes a stem, in particular smooth and cylindrical, forming a loop in a given plane and turning through more than 360°. Successively, a straight section 31 near the handle, followed by a semicircular section 32 then by a straight section 33 can be seen. The latter section returns towards the handle. The last section 34 changes direction again and runs parallel to semicircular section 32 . The yarn is attached by sliding it between the two parallel parts 32 and 34 . This tensions the yarn sufficiently. The hook can be manipulated without any risk of losing the yarn.
[0030] Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to or defined by what is shown or described herein. As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made or otherwise implemented without departing from the principles of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
|
The invention concerns a device designed to form a twisted length of yarn incorporating dubbing that can be mounted directly on the shank of the hook. The manipulations are simpler. In particular, the risk of the twist coming undone after forming is avoided.
| 3
|
This invention relates to a process and apparatus for separating solids or solids-forming contaminants from a liquid to be upgraded. More particularly, it relates to such a process and apparatus for the upgrading of heavy, liquid hydrocarbon charge-stocks, such as petroleum or fractions thereof, and tar sand bitumens by reducing the content of coke precursors, metal compounds, inorganic solids, and the like to facilitate further processing of such charge-stocks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that many petroleum crudes, and heavy fractions thereof such as atmospheric or vacuum resids (the residue remaining after fractional distillation of crude oil to remove lighter components) contain coke precursors and metal compounds in amounts which adversely affect further down-stream processing and also, affect the quality of heavy fuels produced therefrom. Similarly, it is known that bitumens obtained from tar sands and heavy oil deposits are difficult and expensive to process because of their high content of asphaltenes and difficult to remove fine particles of inorganic solids.
The above-mentioned coke precursors include polycyclic hydrocarbons, asphaltenes and the like which tend to break down at elevated temperatures to form carbonaceous materials, often referred to as "coke." In subsequent processing coke may form on the interior walls of refining equipment or be deposited on catalyst to reduce its activity level. Hence, a feed-stock with a high coke forming tendency is undesirable. The coke forming tendency of an oil is generally evaluated by the Conradson Carbon method or the Ramsbottom Carbon method. A higher number from such an evaluation indicates a greater tendency for coke deposition on, for example, catalyst when the oil is processed by the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process wherein gas oils are cracked to produce gasoline and other lighter products. In the FCC process, coke is burned from the catalyst in a regenerator to restore catalyst activity and the regenerated catalyst is then recycled for the cracking of additional feed-stock.
The above-mentioned heavy oil charge-stocks often contain compounds of undesirable metals, including nickel and vanadium, which when deposited on FCC catalyst may adversely affect the physical properties of the catalyst and also promote the undesirable production of coke, hydrogren and other light hydrocarbon gases in the operation of the FCC process.
Similarly, the bitumen from tar sands contains minute, sometimes colloidal, particles of sand which, because of the difficulty of removal, cause processing problems in down-stream processing. Also heavy oil deposits often contain fine particles of solids, such as diatomite, which cause similar problems. Although there are vast deposits of such hydrocarbons, their development has been retarded because of the high cost of obtaining and processing synthetic crudes (syncrudes) from such deposits and problems caused by the high content of solids and asphaltenes.
The oil refining industry has long been plagued with the problem of maximizing high value transportation fuels (e.g., gasoline, jet, and diesel fuels) while minimizing the lower value fuel oil, especially residual oil, which is usually high in sulfur and metals. These heavy fuel oils, which are the heavy end of the crude oil, often require further upgrading to decrease the sulfur and metal contents.
The original oil refinery was a very simple batch distillation device in which crude oil was heated to separate the lighter more valuable products of naphtha and kerosene. It was discovered that further heating of the oil that was left after distillation of the lighter products of naphtha and kerosene from the crude oil would result in increased yield of lighter products. However, these additional products did not have the same characteristics as the naturally occuring (virgin) material in the crude oil and were considered "wild" and "unstable" and therefore undesirable. This discovery was what is now referred to as thermal cracking which was used for years as a method of decreasing the bottom of the barrel. As time progressed, the thermal cracking technology was relegated to the upgrading of the absolute bottom of the barrel or "vacuum bottoms." The virgin material in the crude which was heavier than kerosene or diesel but lighter than vacuum bottoms is now predominately upgraded by the fluid catalytic cracking process (FCC).
In order to produce the feed-stocks for the units in the refinery the simple batch distillation system was replaced with continuous distillation which consisted of a crude unit followed by a vacuum unit. Thus, this resulted in two distillation systems, both containing almost the same equipment of a charge heater, exchangers, and a distillation column. Both systems were required because the heavy atmospheric tower bottoms would thermally crack if a vacuum was not applied to the system to permit the separation to take place at a lower temperature. The refining industry is still trying to reduce the vacuum bottoms yield, but is limited by the equipment employed. This limit is imposed by the time-temperature relationship of the feed heaters. Normally one is limited to about 750 degrees F. on the outlet of the heater. Above this temperature thermal cracking will take place in the heater coils because of high temperatures and time. This thermal cracking results in coking of the heater tubes, overloading of the vacuum ejectors, and "unstable" products.
These processing limitations plus the decreasing availability of lighter crudes, are putting pressure on the industry to find acceptable methods to upgrade the vacuum bottoms. There are many technically feasible processes, but the economics are far from optimum. The hydrogen addition processes require high pressures and large volumes of catalyst, which result in high capital investments, high operating costs, and catalyst disposal problems. The carbon rejection processes are basically less capital intensive, but result in degraded products which need to be further treated, and therefore, increase the capital investment. These carbon rejection processes also produce undesirable byproducts such as high sulfur and high metals coke or, if they use a circulating solid, present a large catalyst disposal problem.
Many techniques are known for upgrading such hydrocarbon charge stocks contaminated with the above-described solids and solid-forming contaminants. For example, delayed and fluid coking processes are used. The coking process uses thermal conversion to produce coke and coker gasoline, coker gas oil, etc. The solid coke is usually high in ash and sulfur, and the distillate often must be further treated before it can be used for charging to catalytic cracking or blending. Solvent extraction and deasphalting processes also are used for preparing FCC charge-stocks from resids.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,128, I have disclosed a process for upgrading whole crude and bottoms fractions from distillation of petroleum by high temperature, short time contact with a fluidizable solid of essentially catalytically inert character to deposit high boiling components of the charge stocks on the circulating solid, whereby Conradsen Carbon values, salt content and metal content are reduced. Therein, an inert solid, such as particles of kaolin clay, is supplied to a rising column of the charge in a contactor to vaporize most of the charge. Carbonaceous and metallic deposits formed on the particles of circulating solid are burned, after which the solid particles are recycled to the contactor.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,272, I have disclosed a process for upgrading such charge-stocks by dispersing the charge introduced into a contactor into a descending curtain of heated particles of an added inert contact material. The charge is vaporized and carbonaceous materials, salt and metals are deposited on the circulating contact material. Deposits on the contact material are then burned off, the heat of combustion is absorbed by the contact material and the heated contact material is recycled to the contactor for vaporizing the charge.
It is also known to spray FCC feed into a riser reactor of a catalytic cracking unit to improve contact between the feed and catalyst.
Such known processes permit increased utilization of the crude (or syncrude) to produce transportation fuels, but they have high capital and operating costs and may create environmental concerns.
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to reduce the capital and operating costs of the typical refinery. It is a further object to minimize the environmental concerns while allowing the typical refiner to increase transportation fuels yield on crude and to eliminate or reduce the heavy fuel oil yield. These objects may be accomplished by using the process and apparatus of the present invention in place of the crude and vacuum units.
The present invention permits minimizing the degree of thermal cracking so that the products can be treated in existing downstream equipment. Further, the present invention makes it possible to eliminate the vacuum bottoms processing problems by removing over 95% of the metals and over 95% of the asphaltenes, and reducing the sulfur and nitrogen in the feedstock by 30 to 80% while at the same time removing any solids in the feedstock. This latter point is especially important in the upgrading of tar sands bitumens. Transportation fuel yields of 90% or more may be achieved, while the yield of heavy fuel oil may be reduced to 4% or less by use of the present invention. The virtual elimination of the catalyst poisons of metals and asphaltenes allows for the upgrading of the heavy oil product from this process in conventional downstream equipment such as fluid catalytic cracking, or gas oil hydrotreaters or hydrocrackers.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, there is provided a novel continuous fluidized process for upgrading a heavy liquid hydrocarbon charge-stock or feed containing solid or solid-forming contaminants, which process comprises atomizing the feed to provide a stream of liquid particles (including the contaminants), the liquid particles being of a pre-selected size. The atomized feed is introduced substantially horizontally into a contacting zone and a stream of hot fluidized vaporizing media containing heated solid particles solely derived from the contaminants in the feed is introduced substantially vertically into the contacting zone to intimately contact the atomized feed therein. The temperature of the fluidized vaporizing media and the contact time with the atomized feed therein are sufficient to vaporize hydrocarbons in the feed. No substantial cracking occurs in the contacting zone. Carbonaceous material and other solids are deposited on the heated solid particles or form new solid particles. A substantial portion of the hydrocarbons are vaporized and a mixture is formed of the solid particles entrained in the resulting vaporized hydrocarbons. The mixture is rapidly passed into a separation zone and solid particles separated from the vaporized hydrocarbons therein. Separated solid particles are heated to raise the temperature of the solid particles to a temperature higher than the temperature at which the vaporization occurs. The heated solid particles are recycled to the contacting zone to transfer heat to the atomized feed, and the separated hydrocarbon vapors are condensed and a hydrocarbon product having a substantially reduced content of contaminants is recovered.
Typically, the hydrocarbon feed contains asphaltenes that form carbonaceous materials which under the conditions in the contacting zone either are deposited on solid particles or form solid particles, or both, in the contacting zone. The carbonaceous materials associated with the separated solid particles are burned in a combustor, and the resulting heat of combustion heats the solid particles recycled to the contacting zone to provide heat for the hydrocarbon vaporization. Further, the separated solid particles can be heated with hot solid particles from the combustor, and volatile hydrocarbons stripped therefrom prior to burning the carbonaceous materials.
Advantageously, all of the carbonaceous material formed in the contacting zone is burned in the combustor, and further, the total heat required to vaporize the hydrocarbons in the contacting zone is supplied by the recycled hot solid particles.
It is preferred that the temperature in the contacting zone and the contact time of the hot solid particles and the vaporized feed are controlled to maintain the conversion of 900° F. minus material in the charge-stock at not greater than 10%.
It is further preferred that such contact time is not greater than 5 seconds, the temperature in the contacting step is greater than the mean average boiling point of the liquid feed and less than 1100° F. and the pressure in the contacting step is between about 10 and 50 psia.
In the practice of the preferred process, atomized charge-stock is introduced into the contacting zone through at least one charge or feed injector to provide a generally flat, horizontal pattern of atomized feed therein and the fluidized vaporizing media is introduced downwardly into the contacting zone in a falling curtain, or generally flat vertical pattern, to traverse said feed pattern at an angle of approximately 90°. The mixture of solid particles entrained in vaporized hydrocarbons is then passed substantially horizontally to the inlet of a separation zone which is positioned substantially opposite the point of introduction of the atomized feed.
The present invention also provides novel apparatus for the treatment of a hydrocarbon liquid feed containing solids or solids-forming contaminants comprising a contactor vessel having at least one liquid charge or feed inlet, at least one vaporizing media inlet and at least one vapor-solids outlet, wherein atomizing means are positioned in the charge inlet for forming small particles of the liquid feed having a preselected size and directing the particles of liquid in a substantially horizontal flat pattern into the contactor. Vaporizing media introduction means are positioned in the vaporizing media inlet for introducing a fluidized mixture of a gas dispersion media and hot circulating solid particles into the contactor in a substantially vertical flat pattern so as to traverse the path of said liquid particles and intimately contact the liquid particles. Separator means are connected to the vapor-solids outlet for separating solid particles entrained in vapors formed in the contactor, and the vapor-solids outlet is positioned in the contactor substantially opposite the liquid feed inlet to receive the vapors and entrained solid particles and pass the same into the separator means, so that there is a very short contact time between the vapors and solid particles.
The separating means typically includes one or more primary cyclones and, preferably, one or more secondary cyclones for separating vapors and entrained particles, as is well known in the art.
The apparatus further includes a stripper vessel in flow communication with the contactor vessel for receiving solid particles from the contactor and stripping hydrocarbons from the solid particles therefrom.
Further, there is included a combustor vessel in flow communication with the stripper vessel for receiving stripped solid particles therefrom and burning carbonaceous material from the stripped solid particles, together with particle recycle means for recycling heated solid particles from the combustor to the contactor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred system for the practice of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of the system of FIG. 1 showing in greater detail the operation of the horizontal contactor used in the practice of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A system for practicing the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The two major vessels are a combustor 4 and a stripper-heater 6. A hot vaporizing media, which is described below, flows down a vertical standpipe 8 through a slide valve 10 into a pre-mix downcomer 18. Slide valve 10 controls the flow rate of vaporizing media to maintain the desired temperature on a temperature controller 12 positioned in the outlet of a high efficiency cyclone 14. Downstream of slide valve 10, the hot vaporizing media is mixed with a dispersion media, such as steam or recycle gas, from conduit 16 connected to a product distillation and recovery section (not shown) and together with the dispersion media enters the premix downcomer 18 on flow control. When the temperature in the outlet of cyclone 14 varies from a set temperature, temperature controller 12 causes a signal to be sent to an operator on valve 10 which adjusts the opening therein to increase or decrease the flow rate of the vaporizing media, as required. The dispersion media from conduit 16 serves two purposes in that it distributes and propels the vaporizing media downward and acts to reduce the hydrocarbon partial pressure of the system.
The vaporizing media is comprised of hot particles of finely divided solids which are formed from the solid and solid-forming contaminants, such as asphaltenes, sand and the like in the charge-stock. Such particles are formed when the hydrocarbons in the charge stock are vaporized, leaving agglomerated particles of carbonaceous material (or coke), metals or sand, or a combination thereof, either as newly-formed particles or deposited on similar existing particles circulated in the system. The size of such particles will, typically, be in the range of 1 to 120 microns such that they can be fluidized in the system.
Temperature override 20 is a unique feature of the control system. This comprises a temperature sensing element and a flow measurement device positioned in the premix downcomer 18 and connected to a computer 21 (FIG. 2) which is also connected to an operator on feed valve 24. The flow rate of the charge stock in conduit 22 is determined by use of a flow measurement device 25. The computer will compute, from the flow rate and temperature of the vaporizing media and the flow rate of charge-stock in conduit 22, whether there is enough heat available to vaporize the feed. If there is not, the computer 21 will reset the flow rate of charge-stock to the system to a lower rate. Upon loss of the vaporizing media, the computer will shut off the feed valve 24. This is one of the features of this process system which will eliminate the possibility of coking of the system, which would result in a shutdown. Downstream of temperature override 20, the charge-stock is atomized and injected horizontally into a contactor 26 in intimate contact with the dispersion media and vaporizing media.
It is important that the charge-stock be atomized into the contactor 26 to insure intimate contact of the charge and fluidized particles so that the majority of the particles, along with the dispersion media and the vaporized charge, are entrained through the horizontal contactor 26 into the separator means which includes first and second stage cyclones 28 and 14. This can be accomplished many ways, but will be described by reference to a preferred design of a horizontal contactor 26 and an atomizing means 32.
The horizontal contactor 26 comprises a substantially horizontal conduit connecting a "top-hat" portion 33 (i.e., the upper portion of stripper-heater 6 having a lesser diameter) of stripper-heater 6 to the inlet of first-stage cyclone 28, which is positioned opposite an atomizing means 32. The top hat 33 and horizontal contactor 26 provide a contacting zone 27 wherein the atomized charge is in intimate contact with the heated vaporizing media. It is necessary that the atomized charge be introduced essentially horizontally into the top hat so as to pass through a falling curtain of solid particles into contactor 26. This allows for design of the system with multiple contactors 26 and even multiple charge injectors spaced around the particle inlet 30 into the contactor 26. The charge injection point is essentially at or slightly higher than the center of the horizontal contactor 26 particle inlet 30 into the top hat portion 33 of stripper-heater 6. The top hat 33 is employed in this design to decrease the time in this section and will result in a downward velocity of greater than 10 fps, and more preferably, greater than 20 fps. The vaporized charge plus the dispersion media and majority of the solid vaporizing media will immediately exit contactor particle inlet 30 of the stripper-heater vessel 6 through horizontal contactor 26. Horizontal contactor 26 will accelerate the velocity of the solids and vapors up to 50 to 100 fps, depending on the cyclones employed. The time in this contactor will typically be less than 0.1 second as the length of this contactor only has to be sufficient to mechanically install cyclone 28. The heavier solid vaporizing media and the unvaporized charge material will essentially be propelled into the top of stripper-heater 6 and heavier solid vaporizing media will settle by gravity as fluidizable particles. These new particles will mix with the other particles entering the stripper-heater 6.
As stated previously, the proper design of the charge atomization means to form fluidizable particles and the design of the feed-hot circulating solids contacting is critical. A larger view of this system is shown in FIG. 2. For purposes of description, the charge stock will be a tar sands bitumen with 10 weight percent solids. To simplify the description, only one feed injector and one horizontal contactor will be described, but this should be in no way limiting, as those skilled in the art will know how to add more contactors 26 and charge injectors 32 for increased charging rates.
The type of charge atomizer 32 will depend to a great extent on the solids content of the charge-stock. However, the intent is to atomize the charge into droplets of particle size in the range of 1 to 100 microns, or heavier if so desired from a fluidiziation point of view, to yield a circulating inventory of 40 to 90 micron average particle size. Droplets in the 1 to 10 micron average particle size range are preferred. As stated previously, the charge stock can be atomized with water, steam, or gas. The preferred atomizing media is gas 34 and preferably the same gas as used as the dispersion media 16. The pressure drop across the charge stock atomizer 32 will vary from 0.5 to 30 psi depending on the solids content of the feed and the desired droplet size and atomizing media. The higher the solids content the lower the pressure drop to reduce erosion.
The preferred atomizing means includes an injector having a nozzle for producing a flat horizontal pattern, a conduit for connection to a source of gaseous atomizing media supplied under pressure to the injector and a conduit for supplying charge stock to the injector.
With the above in mind, the description of using a tar sands bitumen feed 24 with 10 weight percent solids will continue. There is no limit, except economical, on the concentration of solids in the charge that the process can handle. All that is necessary is to design the system so as to recover and remove the solids, e.g., sand and metals, for disposal. As shown in FIG. 2, the charge is combined with gaseous atomizing media from conduit 34, which is connected to dispersion media conduit 16, in feed injector 32, which is a removable/adjustable burner assembly similar to the one typically used for injecting torch oil into a FCC regenerator. The tip of the nozzle on feed injector 32 is a horizontal slot, which will give a horizontal flat fan-shaped pattern covering an angle approximately equal to the width of the below-described falling curtain of hot fluidizing solid minus about 10 to 20 degrees, so as to be certain to only contact hot fluidizing media.
The hot fluidized vaporizing media is a combination of the preferred gas dispersion media and hot circulating solid particles 36 from control valve 10. Downstream of the mixing point of these two materials in a premix downcomer 18, dispersion grid 38 in the vaporizing media inlet at the top of the "top hat" portion 33 of stripper-heater 6 channels the total vaporizing media into a flat vertical pattern 39, which will traverse the flat horizontal pattern 41 of the atomized charge at approximately 90 degrees. Thus, there is provided a means for introducing the hot vaporizing media into the contacting zone which includes the premix downcomer 18 and dispersion grid 38. The dispersion media will actually act to propel the hot fluidizing solid 36 through dispersion grid 38 with a resultant velocity of less than 40 fps in top hat 33, as discussed previously. The result of mixing these streams in the contacting zone 27 will be like an explosion as the feed increases in volume because of vaporization and cracking reaction. This explosion will result in an acceleration of solid particles mainly through particle inlet 30 into the horizontal contactor 26, as this is the only way for the vapors to escape. However, some of the non-vaporized charge, which will mainly be asphaltene molecules under going cracking, will form new particles, deposit on the hot circulating fluidizible solid, or deposit on the solids in the feed. The heavier particles that are not entrained into the horizontal contactor 26 will settle out onto the top of the particulate bed 43 in stripper-heater 6. FIG. 2 depicts by dotted lines the assumed path of the feed and vaporizing media through the contactor into the inlet to the separator means. If there is more than one feed point and/or more than one contactor, the dispersion grid 38 can be designed to distribute the vaporizing media in another pattern to insure intimate contact of feed and vaporizing media.
It is important to note that if the molar rate of dispersion media is the same as the molar rate of the charge vapors after vaporization and reaction, then the resultant velocity of the two in top hat 33 will be twice the velocity of only the dispersion media. In this case, it would be less than 80 fps or the same as the inlet velocity of cyclone 28. Therefore, one can obtain lower contactor times in this type of apparatus compared to those systems known in the art and using similar equipment. In a 50,000 bpd system, the top hat 33 and horizontal contactor 26 would be about 45 inches in diameter. The stripper-heater 6 diameter would be about 8 feet. If it is assumed that the cyclone 28 inlet can be placed right outside the stripper heater 6 vessel wall, then the total length of the contactor 26 from the center of top hat 33 is the radius of stripper-heater 6, or 4 feet. At 80 fps the contactor time would be 0.05 seconds. This is ultra-short compared to what is known in the art. Times this short are impossible in the verticle, folded, or downflow riser contactors/reactors previously discussed in the art.
The contact time can be increased significantly by increasing the dispersion media flow (top hat velocity increase) and injecting the feed downwardly into the stripper-heater 6 with the vaporizing media surrounding the feed injector. Of course, the length of horizontal contactor 26 can be increased to increase the contact time.
Compared to either an upflow or downflow vertical riser, the present system has the distinct advantage of a feed injection system that eliminates the possibility of coking problems in the system. A confined riser is plagued with coking problems because of poor feed and vaporizing media distribution, which results from erratic media circulation, insufficient media circulation to vaporize the feed, rapid feed rate changes, or plugged feed injectors, which results in liquid feed contacting the confining walls of the riser or feed injector sides and forming coke. Once the coke forms it continues to grow until the refiner is forced to shutdown the unit. The horizontal contactor is employed in the present invention not only to minimize the contact time relative to that in a vertical riser, but also to eliminate the coking problems. If override control 20 does not function, the system will continue to operate, since the feed injected into the top hat 33 of stripper-heater 6 will flow downwardly countercurrent to the vapors from the bed, which will vaporize the lighter material in the feed. The remaining unvaporized hydrocarbon, which will be the majority of the heavy carbonaceous material in the feed, will be dispersed on top of the particulate level (bed) 43 in stripper-heater 6, which will be hot enough to vaporize the feed, since slide valve 40 will open to control the level in dipleg surge pot 78, and add the same amount of vaporizing media to the bed level in stripper-heater 6 as was added to the upper section before losing the vaporizing media flow. In effect, the operation in this mode will result in a operation approaching a fluid coking process with the products being highly degraded.
The temperature of the charge-stock in conduit 22 is typically above 400° F., and more preferably above 500° F., the charge-stock can be dispersed/atomized with steam, gas, water or by viscosity/differential pressure control across the feed injector 32. The vaporizing media along with the dispersion media contacts the feed and vaporizes the 1000° F. minus and thermally stable molecules boiling above 1000° F. in the hydrocarbon feed with little or no conversion in the ultra-short contact time contactor 26. The heavy, thermally unstable molecules boiling above 1000° F. convert to lighter hydrocarbons, and the high molecular weight/high boiling asphaltene molecules form carbonaceous particles or deposits on the particles of vaporizing media and decompose into a low hydrogen solid carbonaceous material and a lighter hydrocarbon product. The hydrocarbon vapors, along with the entrained solid particles, exit horizontal contactor 26 and enter primary contactor cyclones 28 where 90%+ of the entrained solids are separated from the vapors. The hydrocarbon vapors exit cyclone 28 and are reheated at least 5° F. by the addition of hot combustor product through slide valve 42 in dip leg 82 connected to secondary cyclone 80. This addition, or reheating, of the vapors eliminates coking in the high efficiency secondary contactor cyclones 14, where the remaining solids of greater than 10 microns are separated from the vapors.
The vapors exit secondary cyclone 14 through vapor recovery line 44 and are immediately quenched by introducing a suitable quenching media through line 23 before product separation in distillation equipment (not shown), as is well known in the art. The solids separated in contactor cyclones 28 and 14 enter stripper-heater 6 below the normal particulate level 43 in order to seal the diplegs 46 and 48. These particles along with the ones which separate from the dispersion media and charge in the stripper-heater top hat 33 are mixed with hot material from the combustor 4 which enters near the top of the normal particulate level 43 of stripper-heater 6 through slide valve 40 in line 45 connected to dipleg surge pot 78. The purpose of this hot material is two-fold. One is to aid the gas or steam stripping media which enters the bottom of stripper-heater 6 through line 50 and distributor 51 in the stripping and vaporizing of any hydrocarbon liquid that remains on the cold particles from the contactor. The other is to raise the temperature of the particles to aid in burning of the carbonaceous material in the combustor 4. Since the combustor 4 is a completely fluidized system, one must be concerned with the time-temperature relationship, or the kinetics of burning. Therefore, this hot material is added to the stripper-heater 6 at a rate to control the carbon burning rate in the combustor. This recycle rate can be as high as three times the vaporizing media rate.
It is realized that in the feed atomization-vaporizing media contacting section 27 of this process that some particles larger than those desired will form from agglomeration of the solids in the feed with asphaltene molecules, by agglomeration with colloidal material in the feed, and larger than desired carbonaceous/metals products. These particles will not enter the horizontal contactor 26 with the vaporized feed and the majority of the particles, but will be propelled downwardly onto level 43 by the vertical force created by the dispersion gas intersecting the atomized feed at less than 40 fps and their own mass. These particles will flow downwardly through stripper-heater 6 and mix with the hot material, the particles separated from the product vapors, and the stripping media. The heated particles exit the stripper-heater 6 on level control through slide valve 52 in line 53 connecting the stripper-heater 6 and the combustor and enter the combustor bottom 3, which is shown as having a larger diameter than the upper portion of combustor 4. This combustor bottom 3 serves two purposes. One is to separate higher density and larger particles by velocity differences (elutriation). These heavier particles and larger particles will settle or stay in the bottom portion 3 wherein the velocity is lower. They will remain here until they form smaller particles by burning off the carbonaceous material or by attrition. In essence, this design sizes the particles for proper fluidization. The smaller particles escape the system through the cyclones while the larger particles formed in the contactor flow by gravity into the combustor bottom 3, where they remain until they are the proper size and density for fluidization out of the combustor bottom into the upper portion of combustor 4. The combustor bottom 3 is instrumentated to indicate the density of the particles at intervals across its height. As the larger, higher density particles increase in the lower combustor bottom 3, they are removed through line 54 into elutriator-burner 56 before being withdrawn through line 58.
The elutriator-burner 56 includes a conduit wherein the particles are mixed with a source of oxygen, such as air, and is designed to take the heavier particles from the lower combustor 3 to further oxidation or treating as required. As shown, the present system can be fluidized with air from blower 60 through flow control valve 62. In this way all the carbon is burned from the particles so that the remaining material which would normally be the metals in the feed, plus any heavy feed particles, can be removed through line 58 to disposal or metals recovery. The size of elutiator-burner 56 will depend on the amount of total ash in the feed. The outlet of elutriator-burner 56 can go to any convenient location in upper combustor 4 and the elutriator-burner system 56 can be operated as a batch system if desired.
The second purpose of the increased diameter lower combustor 3 is to trade time for length of the combustor. The typical design conditions for the combustor would be less than 20 seconds gas time with a preferred time of 10 seconds at temperatures greater than 1400° F. The higher the temperature, the less the time required, so the increased time in the lower combustor may at times be unnecessary. In this case, the upper portion of combustor 4 and lower combustor portion 3 would be the same diameter and the elutriation would take place in another vessel.
Because this embodiment of the present invention employs a completely fluidized combustor, it is critical to maintain the velocity in the combustor within certain ranges. If the velocity is too low the particles will not be fluidized and the system will stop circulating. If the velocity is too high there will not be enough time to burn the carbonaceous material formed in the contactor. Therefore, this system is distinctive in that it recycles flue gas, after cooling, through line 64 and startup air from blower 60 through heater 66 into the bottom 3 of the combustor through the distributor 68 to fluidize the particulates entering through slide valve 52 from the stripper-heater 6. The flue gas can be replaced or is normally supplemented with air from air blower 60 to obtain the necessary oxygen for combustion. The air blower 60 flow rate is controlled by the inventory in the combustor and the total air plus flue gas flow rate is controlled by flow controller 72. The air could be replaced with oxygen if there is an air plant available. The total gas rate to the combustor 4 is controlled to give a velocity of less than 30 fps and normally about 10 fps, but always above the transport velocity of the carbonaceous particles of the desired size. The fluidized particles, along with the combustion products, continue up the upper portion of combustor 4 and pass thru line 73 to primary combustor cyclone 74 where 90% + of the particles are separated from the combustor gases. The separated particles exit cyclone 74 through dipleg 76 to the lower portion of dipleg surge hopper 78, which is used to strip with steam as much of the flue gas as possible from the hot particulates to minimize the flue gas carried over to the horizontal contactor section. The extremely low pore volume of the carbonaceous particles is also very helpful in reducing the amount of entrained gases or vapors circulated between vessels. Both primary cyclone 74 and secondary cyclone 80 diplegs 76 and 82, respectively, discharge below the particulate level in surge hopper 78.
The products of combustion, plus some solids, exit primary cyclone 74 through line 75 and pass through flue gas cooler 84 before entering high efficiency cyclone 80 where all particles greater than 10 microns are removed so that the system gases can go to a power recovery system (not shown) without further separation. Also, if the exit gases (flue gas) in flue gas line 86 are to be treated downstream for SO x or NO x control, the amount of particles carried over will be minimal.
The flue gas cooler 84 is another unique feature of this process system. In the preferred arrangement, cyclone 80 is not a conventional cold wall cyclone with minimum metal internals exposed to the high temperatures as is primary cyclone 74, but it is a high efficiency cyclone system made up of multiclones, as in the Euripos third stage cyclone described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,215, which may have a temperature limit of less than 1600° F. This in many cases is less than the operating temperature contemplated for the present process. Therefore, cooling of this stream is provided to protect the multiclones. The preferred method of cooling is a heat exchanger, usually used to produce steam to lower the flue gas temperature to the 1400° F.-1600° F. range. This exchanger could be replaced with a liquid or steam quench, but this would normally cause problems because of dew point in downstream equipment.
The pressure on the combustor system is controlled by differential pressure controller 88, connected to flue gas line 86 and to line 44 which passes the contactor vapors to vapor recovery and product separation. Pressure controller 88 regulates the rate of flue gases exiting the system through line 86 by adjusting valve 87. Controller 88 regulates the pressure differential between the combustor and the contactor in order to stabilize the particulate circulation.
The control system of this process is unique in that all the carbonaceous material formed in the contactor must be burned so that there is no excess for withdrawal and one does not run out of inventory. It is a balance of inventory and oxygen demand. Therefore, all the particulate levels in the combustor 4, including lower combustor portion 3, the stripper-heater 6, and the dipleg surge pot 78 are monitored continually. The particulate level/inventory in the combustor 3/4 is the only system not on control and therefore is really the only variable on inventory. As a minimum, the oxygen rate is reset by the change in inventory in the combustor. That is, if the combustor inventory increases, the air flow rate to the combustor is increased to burn more of the carbonaceous particles and decrease the inventory. If the inventory decreases, the opposite happens and the air flow rate through air blower 60, or the oxygen rate, is decreased and the burning decreased. Of course, the exact opposite happens to the recycled flue gas since the total gas rate to the combustor is controlled by flow controller 72. If one needs to minimize the amount of CO in the flue gas line 86, the combustor flue gas temperature should be a minimum of 1400° F.
Depending upon the contaminants in the charge-stock, it may be advantageous to initially add finely divided particles of charcoal, clay or the like to the charge fed to the above-described system to initiate the formation of circulating particles, but such additions are stopped once adequate particles are formed. If clay, or another such non combustible solid is used, it is withdrawn from the system through line 58 as described above.
Principal differences between the system of the present invention and fluid coking or the selective vaporization processes are:
The system of the present invention employs a downward vaporizing-dispersion media flow followed by an essentially horizontal feed injection and horizontal contactor. This eliminates coking in the equipment and results in much shorter contact times between the vaporized charge and the hot solid particles than can be accomplished in known systems. Not counting contact time in the cyclone section, which can be as high as 0.5 seconds, this system can provide contact times of from about 0.1 to about 0.2 seconds.
The present system employs a stripper-heater for minimizing hydrocarbon product entrainment into the combustor, and also for increasing the contactor particle temperature to decrease the time necessary for combustion.
The air rate to the combustor is controlled on inventory.
The combustor is a completely fluidized system with flue gas recycle to maintain the desired velocity in the combustor.
The use of a flue gas cooler between the primary and secondary cyclones on the combustor.
The use of a dipleg surge pot as a stripper to reduce gas carryover to the horizontal contactor.
Injecting the hot combustor particles into the stripper-heater at the top of the particulate level therein to increase the temperature of the vapors leaving the particulate bed in the stripper-heater to eliminate coking which might result from contacting cooler stripping vapors with heavy hydrocarbon vapors.
Using the bottom combustor as a lower velocity elutriator.
The process self-generates the particulates from the feedstock but only generates enough for heat balance. Therefore, there it is not necessary to withdraw any coke material from the system.
Having described the principles and a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should be recognized that modifications and variations thereof falling within the scope of the appended claims will become apparent to one skilled in the art.
|
A continuous fluidized process for upgrading a heavy liquid hydrocarbon charge-stock containing solid or solid-forming contaminants, e.g., inorganic solids, metals and asphaltenes. The charge is atomized to provide a stream of liquid particles introduced horizontally into a horizontal contacting zone to contact a vertical curtain of fluidized hot solid particles so as to vaporize hydrocarbons in the charge without substantial cracking, the solid particles being solely derived from the contaminants in the charge. The mixture of hydrocarbon vapors and solid particles are rapidly separated, carbon is burned from the separated particles, and the resulting hot solid particles are recycled to the contacting zone. The hydrocarbon vapors are condensed and there is recovered a liquid product having a substantially reduced content of contaminants.
| 1
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a board-shaped heat dissipating device, and more particularly to a board-shaped heat dissipating device that occupies reduced space, provides upgraded heat dissipation efficiency, and avoids the problem of thermal resistance. The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the above-described board-shaped heat dissipating device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The heat produced by electronic elements in various electronic devices increases with the increasing computing speed and data processing capability of the electronic devices. The heat produced by the electronic elements during the operation thereof must be timely removed, lest the heat should adversely affect the operation efficiency of the electronic devices to even cause burnout of the electronic elements thereof. According to a conventional way of removing such heat, a cooling unit is provided on a top of an electronic element. The conventional cooling unit usually includes a heat sink or a plurality of radiating fins and a cooling fan, which work cooperatively to remove the produced heat. In some cases, heat pipes are further provided to cooperate with the cooling unit, so that heat source is guided by the heat pipes to distal ends of the heat pipes and be dissipated into ambient environment. However, since an electronic device usually has only very limited internal space while the number of heat-producing electronic elements in the electronic device is large, the cooling units being correspondingly provided on the electronic elements will become very close to one another in the limited internal space of the electronic device and fail to extend their cooling ability. There is also another conventional heat dissipating way in which heat pipes are embedded in one face of a heat dissipating board to thereby form a heat dissipating element capable of overcoming the drawbacks in the conventional cooling unit and heat pipes. The conventional heat dissipating board includes at least one groove formed on one face of the board for each receiving a heat pipe therein. The heat pipe transfers the heat source to a relatively cold location on the heat dissipating board, so that the heat is dissipated into ambient air from the heat dissipating board. To facilitate easy positioning of the heat pipe in the groove, the groove is usually formed with a somewhat large allowance. Therefore, there would be a clearance left between the groove and the heat pipe positioned therein. Such clearance tends to cause thermal resistance to adversely affect the heat dissipation efficiency of the conventional heat dissipating board. Further, when the heat pipe is associated with the groove through welding, the heated surface of the heat pipe will expand to adversely affect the accuracy in assembling the heat pipe to the groove. In brief, the conventional heat dissipating board has the following disadvantages: (1) poor heat dissipation efficiency; and (2) poor assembling accuracy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a board-shaped heat dissipating device that provides high heat dissipation efficiency.
[0004] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a board-shaped heat dissipating device that avoids the problem of thermal resistance.
[0005] A further object of the present invention is to provide a board-shaped heat dissipating device that occupies reduced space.
[0006] To achieve the above and other objects, the board-shaped heat dissipating device according to the present invention includes a board body, at least one heat conducting element, at least one groove, and at least one heat pipe. The board body has at least one plane face with at least one recess formed thereon. The heat conducting element has a first side correspondingly associated with the recess and an opposite second side flushing with the plane face of the board body. The at least one groove can be formed on any one of the board body and the heat conducting element, and has a closed side and an open side. The at least one heat pipe is embedded in the at least one groove and has an embedded face correspondingly associated with the closed side of the groove and a contact face flushing with the open side of the groove.
[0007] And, the method of manufacturing the board-shaped heat dissipating device of the present invention includes the following steps: forming at least one recess on a plane face of a board body; selectively forming at least one groove on a bottom face of the recess or a first side of a heat conducting element; applying a heat-conducting bonding medium in the formed groove; correspondingly placing at least one heat pipe in the at least one groove, pressing the at least one heat pipe against the board body or the heat conducting element and welding the at least one heat pipe to the at least one groove; fitting the first side of the heat conducting element in the recess and welding the heat conducting element to the board body; and conducting a cut operation to remove portions on a second side of the heat conducting element that are higher than the plane face of the board body, so that the second side of the heat conducting element is flush with the plane face of the board body to reduce the space occupied by the heat dissipating device. With the above arrangements, the problem of thermal resistance can be avoided and upgraded overall heat dissipation efficiency can be achieved.
[0008] In brief, the board-shaped heat dissipating device of the present invention provides at least the following advantages: (1) occupying only reduced space; (2) having excellent heat dissipation efficiency; and (3) avoiding the problem of thermal resistance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a board-shaped heat dissipating device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 1 ;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary and enlarged sectional view of the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 1 ;
[0013] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a board-shaped heat dissipating device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 5 is an assembled perspective view of the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 4 ;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a fragmentary and enlarged sectional view of the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 5 ;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the steps included in a first method for manufacturing the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 1 ;
[0017] FIGS. 8 to 13 are sectional views illustrating the manufacture of the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 1 according to the first method of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps included in a second method for manufacturing the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 4 ; and
[0019] FIGS. 15 to 19 are sectional views illustrating the manufacture of the board-shaped heat dissipating device of FIG. 4 according to the second method of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 that are exploded and assembled perspective views, respectively, of a board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and to FIG. 3 that is a fragmentary and enlarged sectional view of FIG. 2 . As shown, the board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 in the first embodiment includes a board body 11 , at least one heat conducting element 12 , at least one groove 111 , and at least one heat pipe 13 . In the illustrated first embodiment, there are provided one heat conducting element 12 , two grooves 111 and two heat pipes 13 . The board body 11 has at least one plane face 112 , on which at least one recess 113 is formed. The heat conducting element 12 has a first side 121 being correspondingly associated with the recess 113 , and a second side 122 opposite to the first side 121 and flushing with the plane face 112 of the board body 11 . The grooves 111 are formed on the board body 11 , and each of the grooves 111 has a closed side 1111 and an open side 1112 . The heat pipes 13 are received in the grooves 111 in one-to-one correspondence, and each of the heat pipes 13 includes an embedded face 131 correspondingly associated with the closed side 1111 of the groove 111 and a contact face 132 corresponding to and flushing with the open side 1112 of the groove 111 . A heat-conducting bonding medium 15 , which can be any one of solder paste and solder stick, is applied on the closed side 1111 of each of the grooves 111 . The contact face 132 of each of the heat pipes 13 is located opposite to the embedded face 131 , and has two lateral edges joining two lateral edges of the embedded face 131 . The contact face 132 is a flat face, and the embedded face 131 has a cross sectional shape the same as that of the closed side 1111 of the groove 111 . Further, the heat conducting element 12 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of copper and aluminum.
[0021] FIGS. 4 and 5 are exploded and assembled perspective views, respectively, of a board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a fragmentary and enlarged sectional view of FIG. 5 . As shown, the board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 in the second embodiment includes a board body 11 , at least on heat conducting element 12 , at least one groove 111 , and at least one heat pipe 13 . In the illustrated second embodiment, there are provided one heat conducting element 12 , two grooves 111 and two heat pipes 13 . The board body 11 has at least one plane face 112 , on which at least one recess 113 is formed. The heat conducting element 12 has a first side 121 correspondingly associated with the recess 113 , and a second side 122 opposite to the first side 121 and flushing with the plane face 112 of the board body 11 . The grooves 111 are formed on the first side 121 of the heat conducting element 12 , and each of the grooves 111 has a closed side 1111 and an open side 1112 . The heat pipes 13 are received in the grooves 111 in one-to-one correspondence, and each of the heat pipes 13 includes an embedded face 131 correspondingly associated with the closed side 1111 of the groove 111 and a contact face 132 corresponding to and flushing with the open side 1112 of the groove 111 . A heat-conducting bonding medium 15 , which can be any one of solder paste and solder stick, is applied on the closed side 1111 of each of the grooves 111 . The contact face 132 of each of the heat pipes 13 is located opposite to the embedded face 131 , and has two lateral edges joining two lateral edges of the embedded face 131 . The contact face 132 is a flat face, and the embedded face 131 has a cross sectional shape the same as that of the closed side 1111 of the groove 111 . Further, the heat conducting element 12 is made of a material selected from the group consisting of copper and aluminum.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps included a first method for manufacturing the board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS. 8 to 13 are sectional views illustrating the manufacture of the board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 using the first method of FIG. 4 . The first method includes the following steps:
[0023] Step 21 : Forming at least one recess on a plane face of a board body. In the step 21 , as shown in FIG. 8 , the board body 11 has a plane face 112 , on which at least one recess 113 is formed through milling or other cut operations. In the illustrated first manufacturing method, the recess 113 is formed by milling. However, it is understood the recess 113 can be formed in other manners without being limited to milling. Further, the recess 113 can have a square, a round, or any other geometrical shape. In the illustrated first manufacturing method, the recess 113 is square in shape. However, it is understood the recess 113 is not limited to the square shape. Basically, the recess 113 has a shape corresponding to that of a heat conducting element 12 to be received therein.
[0024] Step 22 : Forming at least one groove on a bottom face of the recess, and applying a heat-conducting bonding medium in the formed groove. In the step 22 , at least one groove 111 is formed on a bottom face of the recess 113 through milling or other machining manners, and a heat-conducting bonding medium 15 is applied in the groove 111 , as shown in FIG. 9 . The heat-conducting bonding medium 15 can be any one of solder paste and solder stick.
[0025] Step 23 : Correspondingly placing at least one heat pipe in the at least one groove, forcing the at least one heat pipe against the board body, and welding the at least one heat pipe to the at least one groove. In the step 23 , as shown in FIG. 10 , at least one heat pipe 13 is correspondingly placed in the at least one groove 111 , and the heat pipe 13 in the groove 111 is properly adjusted in position in order to closely attach to the groove 111 . Then, the board body 11 with the at least one heat pipe 13 is positioned between an upper mold 51 and a lower mold 52 of a press machine 5 , as shown in FIG. 11 . When the upper mold 51 is pressed against the board body 11 and the at least one heat pipe 13 placed in the groove 111 , the heat pipe 13 is firmly forced into the groove 111 , such that a bottom side of the heat pipe 13 is tightly attached to and associated with the groove 111 , and a top side of the heat pipe 13 is flattened to provide a contact face.
[0026] Step 24 : Fitting a first side of a heat conducting element in the recess to bear on the contact face of the at least one heat pipe, and welding the heat conducting element to the heat pipe and the board body. In the step 24 , as shown in FIG. 12 , a heat conducting element 12 is fitted in the recess 113 with a first side 121 of the heat conducting element 12 correspondingly contacting with the bottom face of the recess 113 and tightly bearing against the contact face of the at least one heat pipe 13 . And then, the board body 11 , the heat pipe 13 and the heat conducting element 12 are welded to one another to remove any clearance among them.
[0027] Step 25 : Conducting a cut operation to remove portions on a second side of the heat conducting element that are higher than the plane face of the board body, so that the second side of the heat conducting element is flush with the plane face of the board body. In the step 25 , as shown in FIG. 13 , portions on a second side 122 of the heat conducting element 12 that are higher than the plane face 112 of the board body 11 are removed through a cut operation, so that the second side 122 of the heat conducting element 12 is flush with the plane face 112 to reduce the space being occupied by the heat dissipating device 1 and avoid the problem of thermal resistance. The cut operation can be any one of milling, grinding, and planning. In the illustrated first method, a sand wheel 4 is used to grind off the portions on the second side 122 of the heat conducting element 12 that are higher than the plane face 112 of the board body 11 .
[0028] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps included a second method for manufacturing the board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and FIGS. 15 to 19 are sectional views illustrating the manufacture of the board-shaped heat dissipating device 1 using the second method of FIG. 14 . The second method includes the following steps:
[0029] Step 31 : Forming at least one recess on a plane face of a board body. In the step 31 , as shown in FIG. 15 , the board body 11 has a plane face 112 , on which at least one recess 113 is formed through milling or other cut operations. In the illustrated second manufacturing method, the recess 113 is formed by milling. However, it is understood the recess 113 can be formed in other manners without being limited to milling. Further, the recess 113 can have a square, a round, or any other geometrical shape. In the illustrated first manufacturing method, the recess 113 is square in shape. However, it is understood the recess 113 is not limited to the square shape. Basically, the recess 113 has a shape corresponding to that of a heat conducting element 12 to be received therein.
[0030] Step 32 : Forming at least one groove on a first side of a heat conducting element, and applying a heat-conducting bonding medium in the formed groove. In the step 32 , at least one groove 111 is formed on a first side 121 of a heat conducting element 12 through milling or other cutting manners, and a heat-conducting bonding medium 15 is applied in the groove 111 , as shown in FIG. 16 . The heat-conducting bonding medium 15 can be any one of solder paste and other heat-conducting media that have good heat conducting performance and bonding ability.
[0031] Step 33 : Correspondingly placing at least one heat pipe in the at least one groove, forcing the at least one heat pipe against the heat conducting element, and welding the at least one heat pipe to the at least one groove. In the step 33 , as shown in FIG. 17 , at least one heat pipe 13 is correspondingly placed in the at least one groove 111 , and the heat pipe 13 in the groove 111 is properly adjusted in position in order to closely attach to the face of a closed side 1111 of the groove 111 . Then, the heat conducting element 12 with the at least one heat pipe 13 is positioned between an upper mold 51 and a lower mold 52 of a press machine 5 , as shown in FIG. 17 . When the upper mold 51 is pressed against the heat conducting element 12 and the at least one heat pipe 13 placed in the groove 111 , the heat pipe 13 is firmly forced into the groove 111 to associate with the groove 111 , and a bottom side of the heat pipe 13 is flattened to provide a contact face 132 . Meanwhile, the heat pipe 13 is welded to the groove 111 to ensure firm and stable association of the two with each other, and to remove any clearance between the heat pipe 13 and the groove 111 to avoid thermal resistance.
[0032] Step 34 : Fitting the first side of the heat conducting element in the recess formed on the plane face of the board body to bear the contact face of the at least one heat pipe on a bottom face of the recess, and welding the heat conducting element to the heat pipe and the board body. In the step 34 , as shown in FIG. 18 , the heat conducting element 12 is fitted in the recess 113 with the contact face 132 of the heat pipe 13 firmly bearing on a bottom face of the recess 113 . And then, the at least one groove 111 , the at least one heat pipe 13 and the heat conducting element 12 are welded to one another to ensure firm and tight connection of them to one another and to remove any clearance among them to avoid thermal resistance.
[0033] Step 35 : Conducting a cut operation to remove portions on a second side of the heat conducting element that are higher than the plane face of the board body, so that the second side of the heat conducting element is flush with the plane face of the board body. In the step 35 , as shown in FIG. 19 , portions on a second side 122 of the heat conducting element 12 that are higher than the plane face 112 of the board body 11 are removed through a cut operation, so that the second side 122 of the heat conducting element 12 is flush with the plane face 112 to reduce the space being occupied by the heat dissipating device 1 and avoid the problem of thermal resistance. The cut operation can be any one of milling, grinding, and planning. In the illustrated first method, a sand wheel 4 is used to grind off the portions on the second side 122 of the heat conducting element 12 that are higher than the plane face 112 of the board body 11 .
[0034] The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
|
A board-shaped heat dissipating device includes a board body having a plane face with a recess formed thereon, a heat conducting element fitted in the recess, at least one groove formed on any one of the board body and the heat conducting element, and at least one heat pipe pressed into the groove to flush with an open side of the groove. After the heat pipe is pressed into the groove and the heat conducting element is firmly fitted in the recess, portions of the heat conducting element that are higher than the plane face are removed through a cut operation, so that the heat conducting element is flush with the plane face of the board body to reduce the space occupied by the heat dissipating device. With the above arrangements, the problem of thermal resistance can be avoided and upgraded overall heat dissipation efficiency can be achieved.
| 8
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/756,202 filed Jan. 5, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to micromachining devices and processes for their fabrication. More particularly, this invention relates to a microfluidic device having a compact micromachined freestanding member configured to sense one or more properties of a fluid flowing through an internal passage within the freestanding member.
[0003] FIGS. 1 and 2 represent a Coriolis-based fluid sensing device 10 of a type disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,901 to Tadigadapa et al., whose contents relating to the fabrication and operation of a Coriolis-based sensor are incorporated herein by reference. The fluid sensing device 10 is represented as including a substrate 12 that may be formed of silicon or another semiconductor material, quartz, glass, ceramic, metal, a polymeric material, a composite material, etc. A tube 14 is supported by the substrate 12 so as to have a base 28 attached to a surface 18 of the substrate 12 and a freestanding portion 16 suspended above the substrate 12 . As evident from FIG. 1 , the freestanding portion 16 has a generally U or D-shaped configuration. Electrodes 22 and 24 are located on the substrate 12 beneath the freestanding portion 16 of the tube 14 , and bond pads 32 (only one of which is shown) are provided for transmitting input and output signals to and from the device 10 . The electrode 22 can be, for example, capacitively coupled to the tube 14 for capacitively (electrostatically) driving the freestanding portion 16 at or near resonance, while the remaining electrodes 24 sense (e.g., capacitively) the deflection of the tube 14 relative to the substrate 12 and provide feedback to enable the vibration frequency induced by the drive electrode 22 to be controlled with appropriate circuitry. With a fluid entering the device 10 through an inlet port 26 and flowing through an internal passage 20 within the tube 14 , the freestanding portion 16 can be vibrated at or near resonance to ascertain certain properties of the fluid, such as flow rate and density, using Coriolis force principles. Notable advantages of the device 10 include the extremely miniaturized scale to which it can be fabricated and its ability to precisely analyze very small quantities of fluids. In FIG. 2 , the device 10 is schematically shown as enclosed by a cap 30 to allow for vacuum packaging that further improves the performance of the device 10 by reducing air damping effects.
[0004] Tadigadapa et al., commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,778 to Sparks, and commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0175303 to Sparks et al. disclose processes for fabricating flow sensing devices of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 using micromachining techniques. As used herein, micromachining is a technique for forming very small elements by bulk etching a substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer), and/or by surface thin-film etching, the latter of which generally involves depositing a thin film (e.g., polysilicon or metal) on a sacrificial layer (e.g., oxide layer) on a substrate surface and then selectively removing portions of the sacrificial layer to free the deposited thin film. As disclosed by Tadigadapa et al., Sparks, and Sparks et al., wafer bonding and silicon etching techniques can be used to produce microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) comprising one or more flow sensing devices. Sensors of the type taught by Tadigadapa et al. have found use in a variety of applications, as evident from Sparks, Sparks et al., commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,932,114, 6,942,169, and 7,059,176, and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004/0171983, 2005/0126304, 2005/0235759, 2005/0284815, 2006/0010964, and 2006/0213552. As examples, the teachings of Tadigadapa et al. have been applied to mass flow sensors, density sensors, fuel cell concentration meters, chemical concentration sensors, specific gravity sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, drug infusion devices, and other devices that can employ resonating and stationary microtubes. Nonetheless, further improvements would be desirable for use in the design and fabrication of devices such as Tadigadapa et al. that employ extremely miniaturized fluid channels, including the capability of further reducing the size of such devices.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention provides microfluidic devices, and particularly a microfluidic device with a micromachined freestanding member adapted to sense one or more properties of a fluid flowing through the freestanding member. The microfluidic device preferably operates in a manner similar to the microfluidic devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,477,901 and 6,647,778, which sense the mass flow and/or density of a fluid flowing through a resonating tube, though other uses and operating techniques are also within the scope of this invention, including microfluidic devices that employ resonating and/or stationary microtubes for other purposes.
[0006] According to a first aspect of the invention, the microfluidic device microfluidic device includes a micromachined freestanding member that is supported by a substrate and is spaced apart and separated from the substrate. As such, the freestanding member is able to move relative to the substrate under the influence of a vibration-inducing element associated with the freestanding member. Movement of the freestanding member relative to the substrate is then sensed by a sensing element also associated with the freestanding member. The freestanding member has an inlet, an outlet, an internal passage that fluidically couples the inlet and outlet, and a wall that defines and separates first and second passage portions of the internal passage arranged in fluidic series so that a fluid flowing through the internal passage flows through the first and second passage portions in opposite directions.
[0007] With the above construction, the freestanding member can be fabricated, for example, with the wafer bonding and silicon etching techniques of Tadigadapa et al., Sparks, and Sparks et al., and operated as, for example, a resonating fluid passage capable of using Coriolis force principles to detect various properties of a fluid, including but not limited to mass flow and density. Because the wall of the freestanding member is shared by multiple portions of the internal passage, the freestanding member is more compact that previous tube configurations, such as the U-shaped resonating tubes of Tadigadapa et al., as well as omega and D-shaped resonating tubes proposed in the past.
[0008] Other objects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of a microfluidic device of the prior art.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a microfluidic device in accordance with a first embodiment of this invention.
[0011] FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views showing in greater detail a freestanding member of the microfluidic device of FIG. 3 .
[0012] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view analogous to FIG. 5 , but showing a freestanding member configured in accordance with a second embodiment of this invention.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a plan view of the freestanding member of FIG. 6 .
[0014] FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional and plan views, respectively, of an interface between a base member from which the freestanding member of FIG. 3 is cantilevered and an inlet port within the substrate to which the base member is bonded.
[0015] FIGS. 10 and 11 are alternative cross-sectional and plan views, respectively, of the interface between the base member and the inlet port of FIGS. 8 and 9 .
[0016] FIGS. 12 and 13 depict two packaging options for the microfluidic device of FIG. 3 .
[0017] FIG. 14 depicts an alternative configuration for the microfluidic device of FIG. 3 .
[0018] FIG. 15 depicts an alternative configurations for the freestanding member of FIGS. 3 and 14 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] FIG. 3 represents a microfluidic device 40 whose fabrication, construction, and operating principles can be similar to microfluidic devices disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,901 to Tadigadapa et al., whose contents relating to micromachining techniques and microfluidic device operation are incorporated herein by reference. As such, the device 40 can be fabricated using wafer bonding and silicon etching techniques to produce a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) comprising a suspended micromachined freestanding structure 44 through which fluid flows. However, in contrast to the tube of Tadigadapa et al., the freestanding structure 44 of the device 40 of this invention has an internal passage 48 made up of multiple channels 50 and 52 through which a fluid under evaluation flows. In preferred embodiments, the freestanding structure 44 has an entirely closed configuration such that openings and voids are not present in its exterior, in contrast to the devices taught by Tadigadapa et al. whose U or D-shaped tubes define a large central opening. An advantage of the closed configuration of the freestanding structure 44 of this invention is the improved miniaturization to which it can be fabricated while maintaining the ability to precisely analyze very small quantities of fluids. The compact configuration of the freestanding structure 44 also reduces the amount of structural material required in its construction, thereby increasing the density sensitivity of the device 40 .
[0020] In FIG. 3 , the microfluidic device 40 is represented as including a substrate 42 that may be formed of silicon or another semiconductor material, quartz, glass, ceramic, metal, a polymeric material, a composite material, etc. The freestanding structure 44 extends from a base 46 bonded to the substrate 42 so that the structure 44 is suspended above a surface 78 of the substrate 42 , defining a gap between the structure 44 and substrate 42 that permits the structure 44 to deflect in a plane normal to the surface of the substrate 42 , as evident from FIGS. 4 and 5 . The surface 78 can be the result of etching an opening in the base 46 to expose the substrate 42 beneath, or can be further defined by a recess etched into the surface of the substrate 42 . Electrodes 64 and 66 are shown as being located on the surface 78 of the substrate 42 directly beneath the freestanding structure 44 , and electrically interconnected with bond pads 68 for transmitting input and output signals to and from the device 40 . In FIG. 1 , the electrode 64 is a drive electrode for inducing vibration in the freestanding structure 44 , and the electrode 66 is a sensing electrode for sensing the position (deflection) of the freestanding structure 44 relative to the substrate 12 , as discussed in more detail below. Bond pads 70 are also provided for ground contacts 72 connected to the base 46 .
[0021] According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the freestanding structure 44 and base 46 are micromachined from silicon, doped silicon or another semiconductor material, though other materials can be used including but not limited to sapphire, quartz, or another glass material, ceramic materials, plastic, metallic materials, and composite materials. The freestanding structure 44 and base 46 can be micromachined together or individually and then bonded (for example, by fusion, direct, anodic, solder, eutectic, or adhesive bonding) as a unitary structure to the substrate 42 . FIG. 3 shows the top of the freestanding structure 44 removed to expose its interior construction, which includes the continuous internal passage 48 defined by two straight and parallel channels 50 and 52 interconnected with a curved channel 51 , such that the channels 50 , 51 , and 52 are in fluidic series. Though not required, the smooth and rounded shape of the curved channel 51 is preferred to reduce the trapping and nucleation of bubbles within the fluid present in the freestanding structure 44 , the presence of which would degrade the performance of the device 40 . The channels 50 and 52 are separated within the freestanding structure 44 by a single wall 54 , whose opposite surfaces contact the fluid within the channels 50 and 52 . As represented in FIGS. 3 and 5 , the wall 54 is the only structure that separates the channels 50 and 52 within the freestanding structure 44 , including the inlet and outlet of the freestanding member 44 coupled to inlet and outlet passages 56 and 58 micromachined in the base 46 .
[0022] From FIGS. 3 through 5 , it can be seen that fluid enters and leaves the freestanding structure 44 through the fluid inlet and outlet passages 56 and 58 within the base 46 , and exit the device 40 through inlet and outlet ports 60 and 62 located in the substrate 42 , for example, at the bottom surface of the substrate 42 . As a result of this configuration, fluid enters the device 40 through the inlet port 60 , flows through the inlet passage 56 to the freestanding structure 44 , where the fluid enters the channel 50 and flows in a first direction toward the curved channel 51 . The curved channel 51 reverses the flow direction of the fluid, such that fluid flow through the second channel 52 is opposite that of the first channel 50 . From the channel 52 , the fluid exits the freestanding structure 44 and enters the outlet passage 58 within the base 46 , and exits the device 40 through the outlet port 62 .
[0023] From the above, it should be understood that the internal passage 48 of the freestanding structure 44 can serve as a conduit through which a fluid flows while the cantilevered freestanding structure 44 is vibrated for the purpose of ascertaining certain properties of the fluid using Coriolis force principles, as explained in Tadigadapa et al. As indicated in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the freestanding structure 44 is vibrated in a direction perpendicular to the surface 78 of the substrate 42 , preferably at or near its resonant frequency. During half of the vibration cycle in which the freestanding structure 44 moves upward, the freestanding structure 44 has upward momentum as the fluid travels around the tube bends, and the fluid flowing out of the freestanding structure 44 resists having its vertical motion decreased by pushing up on that part of the freestanding structure 44 nearest the outlet passage 58 . The resulting force causes the freestanding structure 44 to twist. As the freestanding structure 44 moves downward during the second half of its vibration cycle, the freestanding structure 44 twists in the opposite direction. This twisting characteristic is referred to as the Coriolis effect, and the degree to which the freestanding structure 44 deflects during a vibration cycle as a result of the Coriolis effect can be correlated to the mass flow rate of the fluid flowing through the freestanding structure 44 , while the density of the fluid is proportional to the frequency of vibration and the damping and amplitude of the peak is proportional to the viscosity of the fluid.
[0024] The resonant frequency of the freestanding structure 44 is controlled by its mechanical design (shape, size, construction and materials). Typical resonant frequencies for the micromachined freestanding structure 44 represented in FIG. 3 will generally be in the range of about 1 kHz to about 100 kHz. The amplitude of vibration is adjusted through the drive electrode 64 . In a preferred embodiment, the freestanding structure 44 is formed of doped silicon and can therefore serve as an electrode that can be capacitively coupled to the drive electrode 64 , enabling the electrode 64 to capacitively (electrostatically) drive the freestanding structure 44 . However, it is foreseeable that the freestanding structure 44 could be formed of a nonconductive material, and a separate electrode formed on the freestanding structure 44 opposite the drive electrode 64 for vibrating the freestanding structure 44 electrostatically. An alternative driving technique is to provide a piezoelectric element on an upper surface of the freestanding structure 44 to generate alternating forces in the plane of the freestanding structure 44 that flex the structure 44 in directions normal to the plane of the structure 44 . Other alternatives are to drive the freestanding structure 44 magnetically, thermally, or by another actuation technique. In addition to sensing the deflection of the freestanding structure 44 relative to the substrate 42 , the sensing electrode 66 provides feedback to the drive electrode 64 to enable the vibration frequency to be controlled with appropriate circuitry (e.g., 100 in FIGS. 12 and 13 ). The sensing electrodes 66 can sense the freestanding structure 44 capacitively or in any other suitable manner capable of sensing the proximity or motion of the structure 44 .
[0025] A sealing ring 88 is represented in FIG. 3 as surrounding the freestanding structure 44 and base 46 to permit bonding of a capping wafer (not shown) to the substrate 42 to protect the freestanding structure 44 . In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the bond between the cap and the substrate 42 is hermetic, and the enclosure formed by the cap is evacuated to enable the freestanding structure 44 to be driven efficiently at high quality (Q) values without damping. In such an embodiment, a getter material (not shown) is preferably placed in the enclosure to assist in reducing and maintaining a low cavity pressure.
[0026] The device 40 is also shown in FIG. 3 as including bond pads 74 to a temperature sensing element 76 for measuring the temperature of the fluid flowing through the freestanding structure 44 . Properties such as densities of materials change with temperature, as do the Young's and shear moduli of materials. Placement of the temperature sensing element 76 on the substrate 42 enables the temperature of the freestanding structure 44 and its fluid contents to be monitored with suitable accuracy under many operating conditions. A suitable construction for the sensing element 76 can make use of one or more metal layers of the type employed to form the electrodes 68 , 70 , and 74 , and their associated conductive runners. For example, a resistive-based temperature sensing element 86 can be formed by a thin-film metal layer of platinum, palladium or nickel, in accordance with known practices. With the temperature sensing element 76 , changes in mechanical properties of the freestanding structure 44 and properties of the fluid therein attributable to temperature changes can be compensated for with appropriate circuitry (e.g., the circuitry 100 in FIGS. 12 and 13 ). Alternatively or in addition, an electrical potential could be applied to pass a current through the freestanding structure 44 to raise and maintain the temperature of the freestanding structure 44 and the fluid flowing therethrough by Joule heating, with the sensing element 76 used as feedback for appropriate control circuitry (not shown).
[0027] While the freestanding structure 44 is represented in FIGS. 3 through 5 as containing a single pair of straight and parallel channels 50 and 52 , the structure 44 can be fabricated to contain any number channels. As an example, FIGS. 6 and 7 show the freestanding structure 44 modified to contain two additional straight channels 80 and 82 fluidically coupled to the channels 50 and 52 via a curved channel 81 , and separated from the channels 50 and 52 by a wall 84 . The channels 80 and 82 are fluidically coupled to each other via a curved channel 83 , and separated from each other by an additional wall 86 .
[0028] FIGS. 8 through 11 represent additional techniques for reducing the likelihood of bubbles being trapped, nucleated, or injected into the internal passage 48 of the freestanding structure 44 . In FIGS. 8 and 9 , the connection between the inlet passage 56 (within the base 46 ) and inlet port 60 (within the substrate 42 ) is shown. The inlet passage 56 is configured to be narrower in width than the inlet port 60 , and to have a tubular extension 90 that projects transversely into the inlet port 60 . As a result, bubbles entrained in the fluid entering the device 40 through the inlet port 60 tend to be trapped within the inlet port 60 and thereby prevented from entering the freestanding structure 44 . Flow turbulence within the inlet port 60 tends to break up bubbles into finer ones that would have a much reduced negative effect on the performance of the freestanding structure 44 . The embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 achieves a similar effect with the inlet passage 56 having roughly the same width as the inlet port 60 by forming slots 92 in the extension 90 , effectively creating a sieve that can filter bubbles, trapping them in the inlet port 60 and/or breaking up larger bubbles.
[0029] FIGS. 12 and 13 represent packaging techniques that capitalize on the miniaturization achieved with the freestanding structure 44 . In FIGS. 12 and 13 , the device 40 is shown mounted to a package header 94 and the freestanding structure 44 enclosed by a capping wafer 96 to form a MEMS package. In FIG. 12 , a chip 98 carrying an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 100 for the device 40 is bonded to the top of the capping wafer 96 , with wire bonds connecting the ASIC 100 to the bond pads 68 , 70 , and 74 on the device 40 . In FIG. 13 , a separate ASIC chip is omitted, and the ASIC 100 is formed directly in the surface of the capping wafer 96 .
[0030] While the compact configurations shown in FIGS. 3 through 7 are preferred for the freestanding portion 44 , other compact configurations are possible. As examples, FIG. 14 shows a microfluidic device 102 essentially similar to that of FIG. 3 , but modified to have a freestanding structure 104 that is not cantilevered, and instead configured as an S-shaped tube. Drive electrodes 110 are placed under curved segments 106 of the freestanding structure 104 , and a sensing electrode 112 is located beneath the generally straight intermediate segment 108 between the curved segments 106 . The drive electrodes 110 are operated to cause the freestanding structure 104 to twist, causing the intermediate segment 108 to periodically deflect toward and away from the substrate surface 114 beneath the freestanding structure 104 . FIG. 15 depicts another non-cantilevered freestanding structure 116 in the form of a straight tube with drive electrodes 118 beneath the ends of the tube and a sensing electrode 120 beneath the tube between the drive electrodes 118 . Though achieving the smallest size for a freestanding structure, a straight tube is stiffer than the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 through 14 and therefore requires more amplification of the signal from the sensing electrode 120 . Because higher sensitivity to twisting is key for Coriolis mass flow sensors, the higher sensitivity capabilities of the embodiments in FIGS. 3-14 are preferred.
[0031] The small chip size and low cost capability of the devices of this invention are extremely valuable for consumer and high-volume applications. For example, the devices represented in FIGS. 3 through 15 can be used in a wide variety of applications, including chemical concentration meters, drug concentration and type identification, sensing air bubble in drug delivery equipment, and other applications. Consistent with the teachings of commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0175303, the devices of this invention can be used in fuel cell systems to sense the concentration of fuels in a fuel cell solution, such as a mixture of water and methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), formic acid, sulfuric acid, gasoline, or other organic liquid, and in combustion fuel systems to sense the concentrations in the fuel mixture, such as a mixture of gasoline and an alternative fuel such as ethanol (e.g., E85) or methanol (e.g., M85).
[0032] The devices can be modified in accordance with commonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0169038 and 2006/0213552 to be capable of operating in a bypass mode for use in relatively large flow rate systems, such as to monitor the concentration of chemicals in a small sample of a fluid. In this manner, the devices can be used to evaluate a variety of fluids used in vehicle fluid systems, such as fuels, intake air, lubricating oils, transmission, hydraulic and brake fluids, coolants, exhaust gases, window washing fluids, etc., for land-based, aquatic-based, and aerospace vehicles. Furthermore, a variety of fluid properties can be measured with the devices, including but not limited to flow rate (including mass and volumetric flow rates), density and properties that can be correlated to density, such as specific gravity, relative chemical concentrations of intended fluid constituents, and the presence of undesirable contaminants such as liquids (e.g., fuel or water in engine oil), gas or air bubbles (e.g., in a fuel or brake fluid), solid particles (e.g., in engine oil), etc.
[0033] While the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
|
A microfluidic device a micromachined freestanding member adapted to sense one or more properties of a fluid flowing through the freestanding member. The freestanding member is supported by a substrate and spaced apart and separated from the substrate to enable the freestanding member to move relative to the substrate under the influence of a vibration-inducing element. Movement of the freestanding member relative to the substrate is then sensed by a sensing element. The freestanding member has an inlet, an outlet, an internal passage that fluidically couples the inlet and outlet, and a wall that defines and separates first and second passage portions of the internal passage that are arranged in fluidic series so that a fluid flowing through the internal passage flows through the first and second passage portions in opposite directions.
| 6
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 10/543,187, filed Jan. 9, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No 7,331,848 and the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for gas stunning of poultry.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over time, many different methods have been proposed for gas stunning of poultry arriving at the poultry slaughterhouse in transport crates, with no remarkable success. In practice however, several parameters must be considered in order to be able to optimize a method for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter.
To optimize the method, the following parameters must be considered:
Conveying speed (capacity of the system). Size and number of birds in the transport crates. The physical condition of the poultry flock which is determined by continuously observing variations in stress condition or resistance of the poultry which are significant for determining the time necessary for stunning the poultry which further may vary because of conditions in broiler houses, temperatures, transport time, and waiting time in the slaughterhouse.
To optimize the gas stunning it is furthermore necessary to be able to continuously consider all these parameters prior to and during gas stunning of the poultry supplies delivered to the slaughterhouse, and continuously apply the most advantageous parameters to achieve optimum gas stunning of the actual chicken flock at any time to be stunned and slaughtered, respectively.
To optimize these parameters, different periods of stunning time can be applied, but variations in the gas concentration, and variations of gas concentration in the different sections of the conveying route must also be considered, dependent on the conveying route length and conveying route location in the stunning chamber.
The gas concentration may be monitored and controlled by means of sensors having different locations, and a PLC control system. Adjustment of the stunning time and simultaneous variation of the gas concentration require a change in the previously used methods by which a given slaughtering capacity of number of birds per minute required a fixed conveying time through stunning chamber. A given rate of slaughtering (slaughtering capacity) will always be determined by other subsequent parameters that cannot be changed right away why they are maintained. Consequently it may furthermore be necessary to be able to change the degree of stunning, depending on the condition of the poultry upon arrival at the slaughterhouse and unloading for slaughter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
On this background it is the purpose of the invention to provide an improved method for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter, which method by means of simple provisions and means makes it possible to optimize the stunning by being able to allow for all the parameters mentioned above.
The method according to the invention adjusts the influence of the gas for stunning of the animals by reducing or prolonging the conveying time and/or the active conveying route length of the animals on said conveyors through the stunning chamber. It has surprisingly appeared that by means of such simple provisions it is possible to optimize the stunning, while at the same time allowing for all the parameters mentioned. As an especially important thing it should be mentioned that at the same time it is possible to consider the welfare of the animals by observing the stunning condition of the animals before they reach the actual slaughter. If the stunning condition of the animals is not optimum, it will be easy to prolong or reduce the conveying time and/or the conveying route through the stunning chamber.
An optimum condition of stunning will be that the animals are so well stunned that with certainty they do not awaken before they reach slaughtering. On the other hand it is also important that the animals do not die in stunning because it is important that the pumping function of the heart is maintained in order to contribute to the pumping out of blood when the necks of the animals are cut in the actual slaughter.
Appropriately, by the invention a method is used by which the adjustment of the conveying time through the stunning chamber is effected by increasing or reducing the speed of the said conveyors.
By the method according to the invention it may furthermore be advantageous that the adjustment of the conveying route through the stunning chamber is effected by reducing or prolonging the active conveyor runs of the respective conveyors.
Furthermore, the method according to the invention may be modified such that the influence of the gas for stunning of the animals moreover is adjusted by varying the gas concentration at varying heights in the stunning chamber in that increasing gas concentration is applied in a direction downwards in the stunning chamber
The invention furthermore relates to a system for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter comprising a substantially horizontal conveyor arranged for receiving and introducing poultry for slaughter to a gas-filled stunning chamber in which a downwards running conveyor is arranged, which conveyor is arranged for successively conveying the poultry downwards in the stunning chamber, and an upwards running conveyor arranged for successively conveying the poultry upwards and out of the stunning chamber, wherein the downwards running conveyor either has a conveyor having a downwards running course and a horizontal course, the downwards running conveyor, comprising mutually interacting telescopic members for adjustment of the active conveying route length, or are constituted by a helical conveyor interacting with a horizontal, telescopic conveyor.
Preferably, the system according to the invention is provided such that the upwards running conveyor is constituted by conveyors having mutually interacting telescopic members, namely, a horizontal conveyor and an upwards running conveyor having a slanting course.
Appropriately, the system according to the invention is provided such that the stunning chamber is divided into a number of horizontal zones, for example, a lower zone having a gas concentration (C0 2 ) of approximately 45-51%, an intermediate zone having a gas concentration (C0 2 ) of 25% to approximately 32%-46%, and an upper zone having a gas concentration (C0 2 ) of 5% to approximately 8%-10%. Sensors are provided with the upper zone limits for monitoring and control respectively of the gas concentration in the zones. The actual gas concentration percentage varies a great deal in connection with shift between stopping and operation, and upon a changed rate of motion of the. This variation in gas concentration has relatively small influence on the stunning result, whereas the time of presence, especially in the first zone, and the total time of presence in the stunning chamber have great influence.
The system according to the invention is preferably provided such that it comprises a PLC control system for controlling a number of mutually dependent mechanical parameters, for example speed of conveyors, setting (17.6 meters/minute), number of birds (chickens) on conveyors, speed of slaughtering line, setting (148 birds/minute).
If one setting is changed, the other settings are changed correspondingly, for example if the birds are larger, it means that there are fewer animals on the conveyors, but the speed of the slaughtering line continues to be the same. Consequently it becomes necessary to convey more animals per minute through the stunning chamber, that is, increased conveying speed. At the same time each individual bird is larger which is why it is stunned for a longer time, is longer conveying time and conveying route length respectively are required. through the stunning chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing in which
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view, partially in section, through an embodiment of a system for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter according to the invention; and
FIG. 2 shows a top view of another embodiment of a system for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The system 2 shown in FIG. 1 for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter comprises a supply conveyor (not shown) for supply of poultry, which for example arrives at the slaughterhouse by truck, and which have been taken out of any transport crates before they arc transferred to the stunning system 2 . The poultry 4 is transferred successively to a stunning conveyor 6 which actually is a system of endless conveyors having a number of sections running downwards into a stunning chamber 8 , the major part of which is a concrete pit 10 lowered in relation to the floor level, which chamber is filled with stunning gas, for example CO2 with varying gas concentrations, namely, an upper or first zone 12 having a gas concentration of approximately 5% to approximately 8%-10%, an intermediate or second zone 14 having a gas concentration of approximately 25% to approximately 32%-46%, and a lower and third zone 16 having a gas concentration of approximately 45-51%.
The gas concentration in the zones 12 , 14 , 16 can be further varied according to requirements, for example in relation to bird size or type. The gas concentration in the respective zones is controlled by suitable gas sensors and an actually known gas filling/control system with filling valves.
From the stunning conveyor 6 , the poultry 4 is successively conveyed into a downwards running conveyor section 18 , which continues into a horizontal conveyor section 20 , whose active length can be varied by means of a telescopic system 22 . From the conveyor section 20 the poultry 4 is transferred to a downwards running conveyor section 24 whose active length can be varied by means of a telescopic system 26 which interacts with the telescopic system 22 for the conveyor section 20 . From the conveyor section 24 the poultry 4 , which by now is stunned, is conveyed onto a horizontally running conveyor 28 whose active conveying route length also can be varied by means of a telescopic system 30 . The stunned poultry 4 is then conveyed upwards and out from the stunning chamber 8 by an upwards running conveyor 32 , which, and for being able to interact with the conveyor 26 , also comprises a telescopic system 34 for variation of the active conveying route length of the conveyor 28 .
From the conveyor 32 the stunned poultry are transferred to an external conveyor for being shackled on a slaughtering line. Shortly after the stunned chickens have been shackled by their legs in slaughter shackles, the chickens pass a slaughter location where their necks are cut so that the chickens bleed out as a result of the pumping function of their hearts still being intact if the gas stunning is optimum.
If it is determined that the gas stunning either is too great, that is the chickens are already dead, the stunning must be adjusted by shortening the conveying route and/or the conveying time through the stunning chamber so that the stunning becomes less. If the chickens on the contrary show signs of too little stunning, the stunning must likewise be adjusted so that the conveying route and/or the conveying time through the stunning chamber is increased.
In both situations, adjustment can be effected by reducing or prolonging the conveying time and/or by changing the active conveying route lengths of the conveyors 20 , 24 , 28 , 32 by means of the telescopic systems 22 , 26 , 30 , 34 .
Sensors in given locations ensure that the respective conveyors are in correct positions, for example for small, medium-sized, or large chickens. An important thing which also influences the stunning result is that the poultry 4 is stepped downwards, starting in a low gas concentration of Approximately 5%-10%. The step by step downwards conveying ensures that the chickens upon starting and stopping lift their heads whereby they can freely breathe in the relatively low gas concentration. This prevents the poultry from becoming stressed, and injuries are avoided.
To reduce or prolong the conveying time through the stunning chamber 8 , it is of course also possible to adjust the speed of the respective conveyors.
After the first part of the downwards movement, the poultry has “fallen asleep” and this continues further down where the gas concentration is max. 50% at the bottom of the chamber. Hereby it is ensured that the chickens will not wake up before their necks have been cut and they have bled out. Furthermore, regarding safety, it is an advantage to lower the stunning chamber below the floor level so that gas leakage above height of the head an operator is avoided.
The system 36 outlined in FIG. 2 comprises a stunning chamber 38 which like the system 2 (FIG. I) described above comprises a concrete pit 40 lowered in relation to floor level. After unloading, poultry is transferred to the stunning chamber 38 via a horizontal supply conveyor 42 delivering the birds to a downwards running helical conveyor 44 which at the bottom of the stunning chamber 38 again delivers the now stunned birds to a horizontal, telescopic conveyor 46 from which the stunned birds are transferred to an upwards running conveyor 48 which conveys the stunned birds upwards and out of the stunning chamber 38 for further conveyance to shackling on a slaughtering line, etc.
The conveyors 42 , 44 , 46 have relatively large widths of for example Approximately 800 mm each, that is at a given speed, the capacity of these conveyors is large. In a simple manner the width of the conveyors 42 , 44 , 46 and thus their capacity can be reduced by means of laterally displaceable walls 43 , 45 , 47 . By this lateral displacement of the walls 43 , 45 , 47 the conveying route length is moreover varied in that the length of the helical conveyor is prolonged by forcing the poultry outwards in the curve and oppositely, by forcing the poultry inwards in the curve.
Alternatively, the capacity of the cooperating conveyors 42 , 44 , 46 can be varied by varying the conveying speed or the conveying route length in that the number of “twists” of the helical conveyor 44 can be adjusted to the actual conveying need, just as the active length of the telescopic conveyor 46 can be varied. In this connection, it should be mentioned that the slanting position of the upwards running conveyor also can be adjusted. The upwards running conveyor is provided with transversely positioned carriers 50 which, if the conveyor 48 has a very steep course, can be replaced by cups so that the stunned birds will surely be conveyed upwards and out of the stunning chamber 38 .
|
A method for gas stunning of poultry for slaughter is in which the poultry arrives at the poultry slaughterhouse, for example, in transport crates, where the poultry is subjected to gas after the poultry have been taken out of the transport crates, and where the poultry are conveyed by conveyors ( 18, 20, 24, 32 ) successively through a stunning chamber ( 8 ). The influence of the stunning gas for stunning of the poultry is adjusted in the stunning chamber by reducing or increasing by adjusting an effective length of at least one conveyor in the stunning chamber ( 8 ).
| 0
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a divisional of Ser. No. 12/607,486, filed Oct. 28, 2009, and entitled “Acoustic Acceleration of Fluid Mixing in Porous Materials” which is a divisional application of Ser. No. 11/507,691, filed Aug. 22, 2006, and entitled “Acoustic Acceleration of Fluid Mixing in Porous Materials” (abandoned), the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as if set forth at length.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates generally to the field of combining fluids. More specifically, the invention relates to apparatus and methods for uniformly mixing fluid phases entrained in a porous medium.
[0003] The mixing of fluids is frequently needed to perform chemical reactions. Most chemical reactions require a controlled and homogeneous mixing of reagents.
[0004] A conventional means of mixing two or more miscible liquids is mechanical manipulation to stir and exploit fluidic forces to produce localized regions corresponding to relatively high fluid flow rates. The flow rates operate to produce localized turbulent forces within the fluid field. The turbulence provides a contact surface between the liquids such that diffusion of the fluid components into each other produces a homogeneous mixture.
[0005] Mixing also includes homogeneous compositions of immiscible fluids such as oil and air, typically used in oil jet pumps for gear lubrication. Oil and air are not miscible in a chemical sense, but may be combined in a mechanical sense. The term frequently used for mixing immiscible substances is homogenization.
[0006] Ultrasonic mixers use piezoelectric transducers to generate vibrations. High power output may be required to maintain the desired amplitude and intensity under conditions of increased load such as high viscosity or immiscibility.
[0007] When a porous medium, such as a polymer membrane, is used to contain reagents, equilibrium diffusion is problematic. While ultrasonic mixers have been employed to provide bulk mixing of liquid and gas, they have not been successfully employed for porous materials. Typically, the only known approach for mixing intensification inside porous bodies has been mechanical manipulation which might not be feasible or desirable in every case.
[0008] What is desired is a controlled acceleration of mixing in porous media. This would result in smaller physical component packaging for synthesizing units housing porous media such as those used for chemical reactors, fuel cells, and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Although there are various types of mechanical manipulation mixing apparatus, such mixers are not completely satisfactory for porous media. The inventor has discovered that it would be desirable to have apparatus and methods for uniformly mixing fluid phases entrained in porous media.
[0010] One aspect of the invention provides a porous material mixer. Mixers according to this aspect of the invention comprise a vessel. At least one porous medium/material is held by the vessel. At least one actuator is acoustically coupled with at least one wall of the vessel for generating a wave. There is at least one inlet in the vessel for admitting at least two fluids for combining, wherein the wave effects mixing of the at least two fluids in the at least one porous material.
[0011] Another aspect of the invention is a method for mixing at least two fluids in a porous material. Methods according to this aspect begin with introducing the fluids into porous material held by a mixing vessel, the mixing vessel comprising at least one inlet, at least one linear motor coupled to at least one actuator wherein the actuator is acoustically coupled to a wall of the vessel, exciting the at least one linear motor with a control signal of predetermined frequency, and forming a compression/expansion wave determined by the actuator acoustic coupling and the predetermined frequency wherein fluid motion in the porous material within the vessel is effected.
[0012] The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary ultrasonic porous media mixer with a top cover removed.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the ultrasonic mixer of FIG. 1 in a first position.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ultrasonic mixer of FIG. 1 in a second position.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a plot showing an initial distribution of two immiscible fluids in the porous media.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a plot showing the direction of liquid A inside the porous media without any acoustic wave applied.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a plot showing the concentration of FIG. 5 and direction of liquid A using the mixer according to the invention.
[0019] FIG. 7 is an exemplary alternative embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing figures wherein like numbers represent like elements throughout. Further, 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. The terms “mounted,” “connected,” and “coupled” are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mounting, connecting, and coupling. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
[0021] The invention is an apparatus and method for uniformly mixing together at least two fluids, or reagents, in viscous or gaseous phases, either miscible or immiscible, in a porous medium. The invention may be used for any application that requires uniformly mixing fluids.
[0022] Shown in FIG. 1 is a mixer 101 for combining reagents introduced into a porous media 103 . The mixer 101 comprises at least one porous medium 103 , such as a porous ceramic used for oxidizing toxic waste, a fluidized bed with catalyst or palladium-coated metal membranes for generating hydrogen, a silica-alumina membrane for dehydrating isopropyl alcohol or synthesizing dimethyl carbonate from carbon dioxide and methanol, a symmetrical hydrophobic nylon 66 membrane for adsorbing enzymes, and other media, contained in a rigid vessel 105 . The vessel may be made from materials that transmit acoustic waves and are compatible with the fluids to be mixed, such as but not limited to stainless steel, ceramics, plastics and others. The exemplary embodiment is shown as a cubic volume, however, other vessel shapes and configurations may be used according to the mixer application and teachings of the invention.
[0023] The preferred embodiment has two inlets 107 , 109 for admitting reagents A and B to mix together as they interact with the porous media 103 . Two outlets 108 , 110 are provided and may be positioned perpendicular to the inlets 107 , 109 . In the exemplary embodiment, the inlets 107 , 109 and outlets 108 , 110 are located on opposing sides of the vessel 105 . However, the inlets 107 , 109 and outlets 108 , 110 may be located on adjacent sides, or on the same side of the vessel 105 , or in any other suitable arrangement.
[0024] Located on opposite sides of the vessel are actuators 111 , 113 that translate a linear motion from at least one linear motor, such as a piezoelectric transducer 115 , 117 into a controlled compression/expansion wave to effect mixing in the porous media 103 . The piezoelectric transducer(s) 115 , 117 may be, for example, interdigitated electroded actuators, oriented multilayer-multifilament stacked piezoelectric composites, piezoelectric wafer actuators, or others. In embodiments, the transducers 115 , 117 produce a deformation, or linear excursion in a range of from about 1 to 20% of the porous layer width, which may be in a range from about 0.1 microns to 1.0 cm dependent on the technological task when excited by a variable magnitude control signal. The vessel internal volume may contain one mono-layer, a sandwich of more than one type of porous media, or may be completely filled with more than one type of porous media. When a control signal of fixed or variable frequency is impressed, the transducer may vibrate from audible to ultrasonic frequencies. The frequency range may be in a range of from about 10 kHz to 100 MHz. The piezoelectric transducers 115 , 117 may be electrically coupled to a variable frequency oscillator for excitation (not shown).
[0025] Deformation of a piezoelectric transducer plate generally corresponds to a motion along the axis normal to the plate. For interdigitated electroded actuators, which are typically rectangular, the excursion is in the longitudinal direction. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 uses interdigitated electroded actuators.
[0026] Since the porous medium 103 is flexible in three dimensions, at least two sidewalls 119 , 121 of the vessel 105 exhibit an acoustical impedance that allow for a controlled waveform to be impressed into the porous medium 103 . In the preferred embodiment, the transducers 115 , 117 are coupled to a stationary support and to the actuators 111 , 113 . A transducer 115 , 117 excursion is transferred to a respective actuator 111 , 113 which may be hinged in/by/at a hinge 118 , 120 allowing for reciprocal movement about a hinge axis 122 , 124 .
[0027] Shown in FIG. 2 is a view of the mixer 101 with two transducers 115 , 117 where a compression wave 203 is applied to one half of the porous media and a reciprocal expansion wave 201 to the other half of the porous media. FIG. 3 shows the alternating nature of the applied force when the transducers 115 , 117 are at a positive excursion. Each actuator 111 , 113 alternately imparts a compression 203 /expansion 201 wave. Each transducer 115 , 117 excitation is in unison with each other.
[0028] The actuators 111 , 113 transfer the linear excursion from the transducers 115 , 117 into a compression 203 /expansion 201 wave indirectly to the porous media 103 via the sidewalls 119 , 121 . Each actuator employs at least two acoustic coupling points 205 , 207 , 209 , 211 separated by a predefined distance corresponding to the actuator 111 , 113 . The points 205 , 207 , 209 , 211 provide and act as the point source of acoustical energy from the transducers 115 , 117 to the porous media 103 .
[0029] Shown in FIG. 4 is a plot of initial reactant location within the mixer 101 . The initial concentrations of reactants A and B are located at their respective inlet 107 , 109 sides of the mixer. The plot shows gradual diffusion at the vessel 105 midpoint with no vibration. They slowly diffuse inwards toward the middle of the porous media. The reactant A slowly diffuses into the volume occupied by the reactant B and vise versa such that the concentrations of A and B reach equilibrium values about ½ way uniformly across the vessel. The dimensions of the mixer are as required to achieve the desired productivity.
[0030] The plot of FIG. 5 shows gradual diffusion at the vessel 105 midpoint with no vibration. The fluids slowly diffuse inwards toward the middle of the porous media. The reactant A slowly diffuses into the volume occupied by the reactant B and vise versa such that the concentrations of A and B reach equilibrium values about ½ way uniformly across the vessel 105 . The dimensions of the mixer are as required to achieve the desired productivity.
[0031] Shown in FIG. 6 is a plot showing the same reactant concentrations as in FIG. 5 , with the compression/expansion wave applied by the invention 101 frozen in time. The transducers 115 , 117 are excited using a frequency of 10 MHz. The plot shows enhanced mixing of the reactants when the compression/expansion wave is applied, with no additional mechanical manipulation.
[0032] The parameters of the porous medium 103 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are those of Torrey paper. Torrey paper is a porous material used in fuel cell applications. Porosity is a non-dimensional quantity being the ratio of free space to the total volume of the material. The concentration change toward equilibration in the porous media 103 is calculated as 1.8*10 −7 per one period of vibration. The value indicates that during the time equal to one vibration period, the concentration in non-dimensional units (the ratio of the volume occupied by A or B to the total volume) has changed by 1.8*10 −7 . The value 0.00000018 is small, however, the period,
[0000] V= 1 /t, (1)
[0033] where V is the frequency and t is the period, of a 10 MHz vibration is very short and substantial changes in concentration may be reached in the short time for frequencies of 10 MHz and higher.
[0034] FIG. 6 shows the concentration change toward equilibrium in the porous media 103 when using the mixer 101 as 0.4*10 −5 per one period of vibration. With this invention, mixing acceleration is approximately 22 times greater for a chosen porous media using a 10 MHz excitation having an amplitude equal to 0.1 of the sample width. In other words, by applying a 10 MHz vibration with an amplitude equal to 1/10 of the vessel thickness, the concentration change towards equilibrium is approximately 22 times faster than without the vibration (ratio of 0.4*10 −5 to 1.8*10 −7 ).
[0035] The acoustic perturbation of the porous material 103 using the compression/expansion wave of the invention accelerates the mixing of the reactants to more than 20 times that of natural diffusion. Multiphase flow in the porous medium 103 when subjected to the compression/expansion wave show dramatic enhancement of mixing compared to natural diffusion of the two reacting fluids inside the porous sample.
[0036] The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is one instance of the general approach to accelerating and controlling the mixing of at least two reactants inside at least one porous medium. Shown in FIG. 7 is an alternate embodiment of the invention 701 . The alternative embodiment employs 4 pairs of transducer/actuators 705 , 707 , 709 , 711 , 713 , 715 , 717 , 719 .
[0037] The wave imparted by the transducer/actuators 705 , 707 , 709 , 711 , 713 , 715 , 717 , 719 exert force on two opposing surfaces of at least one porous medium 721 containing, at an initial stage, separate liquids A through I introduced through a micro-channel plenum (not shown). The motion of the invention is synchronized such that each transducer excursion is in unison. Transducer/actuators 705 , 709 , 713 , 717 and 707 , 711 , 715 , 719 may be a lower and an upper part of the same transducer assembly, respectively. This means that the transducers that exert force synchronously may be designed as one entity, as N/2, rather than requiring N separate transducers (one transducer for each actuator), such that one source of ultrasonic energy is divided and channeled to the required point sources of application by which synchronization is achieved.
[0038] Modifications to the acoustic perturbation wave shape applied to the porous medium and to the frequency may be used to optimize the rate of mixing in any porous medium structure geometry. Moreover, hybridization of the transducer syncing may further optimize mixing efficiency, where each pair of transducer/actuators 705 / 707 , 709 / 711 , 713 / 715 , 717 / 719 may not be in complete synchronicity, or phase, with other pairs, but with each operating at a predetermined phase shift from other pairs.
[0039] In other representative and exemplary applications, various embodiments of the invention may be employed, for example, to mix methanol and water in a reformed hydrogen fuel cell and/or a direct methanol fuel cell. Additionally, various embodiments of the invention have demonstrated the capability to mix a variety of fluids including, for example, gases, liquids, gas-liquid mixtures, etc. Other representative applications may include the mixing of fuels supplying a micro-reactor and/or micro-combustion chamber.
[0040] One or more embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
|
Apparatus and methods are disclosed for uniformly mixing fluid phases entrained in a porous material. A mixer may have a vessel and at least one porous material held by the vessel. At least one actuator may be acoustically coupled with at least one wall of the vessel for generating a wave. The wave effects mixing of at least two fluids in the porous material. The actuator may be a linear motor actuated with a control signal of predetermined frequency. The actuator may have a number of actuator pairs each including respective first and second actuators at respective first and second sides of the vessel. The actuators may be hinged for reciprocal movement. The actuators may be actuated to form a compression expansion wave to effect fluid motion in the porous material.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to engine monitoring devices, and more particularly to adaptable engine monitoring devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Engine monitoring is used throughout many industries to determine performance of an engine as well as to determine when servicing of an engine is needed. For example, the automotive industry examines such engine characteristics as the revolutions per minute of an engine over a period of time in order to assess the engine's performance and to determine when the engine might need servicing.
Industries use many different engine configurations that can range from one to eight cylinders and from two to four strokes. However, present engine monitoring devices are not adaptable for accurately monitoring these different configurations since they are specifically designed to monitor only one or two engine configurations.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to provide an engine tachometer device that is adaptable to all configurations of engines. It is another feature of the present invention to provide a device in a self-contained case that can accurately monitor all configurations of engines. It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide engine servicing indications based upon the monitored engine.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an engine tachometer device is provided for determining the revolutions per minute of an engine which generates sparks and has a predetermined configuration. A computer memory is utilized for storing engine configuration data. The engine configuration data associates engine configurations with predetermined equations. An engine configuration selector selects from the computer memory one of the engine configurations which is indicative of the configuration of the engine. An engine characteristic calculator which is connected to the engine and to the engine configuration selector and to the computer memory determines the revolutions per minute of the engine based upon the generated sparks and upon the equation associated with the selected engine configuration.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, the appended claims in the accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the present invention and together, with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, the same reference numeral indicates the same parts.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the data flow among the components of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the interconnections among the components of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view depicting an embodiment of the display and button configuration for the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view depicting the preferred embodiment of the display and button configuration for the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting the operational steps to calculate the revolutions per minute (rpm) according to the techniques of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting the steps to operate the present invention in a run mode.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting the steps to operate the present invention in a total mode.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting the steps to operate the present invention in a service timer 1 mode to reset St1 back to preset.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting the steps to operate the present invention in a service timer 2 mode.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting the steps to operate the present invention in order to perform a clear function.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting the steps to operate the present invention in a run mode to accumulate engine actual run time.
FIG. 12 is a functional flow diagram depicting the button activation sequences related to the tachometer mode.
FIG. 13 is a functional flow diagram depicting the button activation sequences related to the runtime mode and total time mode.
FIG. 14 is a functional flow diagram depicting the button activation sequences related to the service time 1 mode.
FIG. 15 is a functional flow diagram depicting the button activation sequences related to the service time 2 mode.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Turning to the Figures, particularly FIG. 1, an adaptable engine tachometer device is illustrated and generally designated with the reference numeral 30 . The adaptable engine tachometer device 30 determines the revolutions per minute (rpm 32 ) for many different configurations of engines. Various engine configurations include, but are not limited to, engine cylinder configurations ranging from single cylinder engines (e.g., lawn mowers, chain saws, etc.) to eight cylinder engines (e.g., an eight cylinder automobile engine), as well as engines that are two or four stroke engines.
Within the present invention, sensor 36 senses sparks emitted by running engine 34 . Based upon the sensed sparks, sensor 36 provides spark signals 40 to rpm calculator 42 . RPM calculator 42 determines the rpm 32 of running engine 34 based upon spark signals 40 and a selected equation.
A user of the present invention operates an engine configuration selector 44 in order to indicate to the rpm calculator 42 the configuration of engine 34 . In this manner, the present invention takes into account the engine configuration when it calculates the RPM based upon the input signal from engine 34 . For example, for a three cylinder engine the present invention takes into account that the input signal is from a three cylinder engine.
RPM calculator 42 selects an equation from engine configuration data 46 that matches the configuration of engine 34 . Engine configuration data 46 associates a particular engine configuration with a particular equation as shown by reference numeral 48 . In the preferred embodiment, the present invention utilizes the number of cylinders and the number of strokes to express the configuration of engine 34 .
However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to utilizing the number of cylinders and the number of strokes for the engine configuration data 46 , but also includes utilizing only the number of cylinders as the engine configuration information in engine configuration data 46 . Moreover, in another embodiment of the present invention, only the number of strokes is used as the engine configuration information in engine configuration data 46 .
FIG. 2 depicts the components of the present invention and their interconnections. Wires 70 , preferably eighteen gauge, connect spark plugs 72 of an engine to sensor 36 . Sensor 36 contains a sensitivity filter 74 in order to have the capability of adjusting the sensitivity of sensor 36 to detect the firings of spark plugs 72 . In the preferred embodiment, sensitivity filter 74 has a high sensitivity setting and a low sensitivity setting as depicted by reference numeral 76 . A high sensitivity setting enables the present invention to detect all firings of spark plugs 72 . A low sensitivity setting enables the present invention to look for one spark and ignore all other sparks.
Microprocessor 78 sets sensitivity filter 74 at one of these settings by adjusting the gain of sensitivity filter 74 . A low gain setting picks up the strongest sparks. A high gain setting picks up as many sparks as possible. In this manner, the present invention is able to pick up a spark signal from a combination of spark leads. For example, on an eight cylinder engine, the present invention picks up a signal from just one spark lead or it could pick up a combined signal from all eight spark leads together based upon the sensitivity setting.
Microprocessor 78 is instructed by a user of the present invention to use a particular sensitivity value by buttons 80 . Buttons 80 preferably includes three buttons (B 1 , B 2 , B 3 ) which indicate to microprocessor 78 such items of information as the sensitivity setting, the configuration of the engine, and other items that are discussed more fully below.
Microprocessor 78 utilizes memory 82 to store the equations associated with a particular engine configuration in order to determine the rpm of an engine. Memory 82 also stores the intermediate calculations of microprocessor 78 that are generated during determination of the rpm of the engine. In the preferred embodiment, memory 82 is a complementary metallic-oxide semiconductor chip as may be obtained from Arizona Microchip and has 128 bytes of RAM. Moreover, microprocessor 78 is preferably a PIC16C923 and is available from Arizona Microchip.
The results of the calculations by the microprocessor 78 are made visible to the user via a display 84 . Display 84 also provides to the user the current set values and configuration data of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment display 84 is a liquid crystal display (LCD).
Power source 86 supplies electrical power to the various components of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, a lithium three volt CR2032 battery is used. Also, clock 87 is provided to provide timing information to microprocessor 78 . The preferred embodiment uses the clock already contained within the PIC16C923.
Additionally, the present invention includes monitoring other aspects of a vehicle through connection to fuel sensor 91 , speed sensor 93 , and battery sensor 95 . The monitored aspects of the vehicle are provided as readouts on the same device of the present invention as that which provides monitoring and readout of an engine's RPM.
In the preferred embodiment, fuel sensor 91 includes a flotation device in a vehicle's fuel tank to monitor the amount of fuel remaining in the tank. Speed sensor 93 includes monitoring the rotation of a vehicle's tire and calculating the speed of the vehicle based upon the number of rotations per unit time and upon the geometry of the vehicle's tire. Battery sensor 95 includes monitoring the voltage of the vehicle's battery.
It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to monitoring only these aspects of a vehicle, but includes monitoring such other aspects of a vehicle as monitoring and providing readouts to a user of such other aspects as the oil pressure of a vehicle through oil sensor 97 .
FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of the adaptable engine tachometer device 30 . The adaptable engine tachometer device 30 is a self-contained device with the following length/width/depth dimensions: 60×80×15 millimeters. Three buttons 80 (B 1 , B 2 , B 3 ) are provided below the display 84 in order to switch device 30 between its various functions and modes.
Within display 84 is contained a visual indication region 100 for the current setting of the engine configuration. Moreover, visual indication region 102 indicates the particular mode which device 30 is in. Visual indication region 104 provides the calculated RPM of the engine as well as other engine-related information (e.g., maximum RPM and engine service-related information).
FIG. 4 shows the preferred embodiment of device 30 which provides additional functionality and information to the user (versus the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 ). For example, either the rpm or miles per hour (mph) information can be displayed as shown at reference numeral 110 . At reference numeral 111 , the following information is displayed: RPM, MPH, St1, St2. At reference numeral 112 , a fuel bar is displayed in order to show fuel level.
Moreover, the mode (which device 30 is in) is displayed at reference numeral 114 .
Engine service-related information is displayed at reference numeral 116 in order to inform the user that the engine is possibly in need of some type of service. For example, device 30 is capable of determining how long an engine has been running and informing the user that a specified amount of time has elapsed and that the engine might require servicing.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the steps to determine the RPM of a running engine. Start indication block 150 indicates that process block 154 is to be executed. At process block 154 , Ariel lead wires are wrapped around a spark plug lead several times across the proper number of spark leads for the engine configuration setting. At process block 158 , the sensor turns on the adaptable engine tachometer device automatically when a spark signal is sensed from the running engine.
The particular engine configuration of the running engine is inputted into the device at process block 162 . At process block 166 , the microprocessor displays “high” or “low” values below the displayed engine configuration setting on the device so that the user can select the particular sensor sensitivity value. Process block 168 sets the sensitivity filter to the sensitivity value that was established in process block 166 .
At decision block 170 , if the user has selected a “high” sensitivity value, then process block 174 is performed wherein the microprocessor looks for all spark signals from the sensor. However, if the sensitivity value is set to “low”, then process block 178 is performed wherein the sensitivity pickup of the sensor is such that the sensor looks only for one particular spark signal and ignores all other sparks in the low input (n.b.: the term “low input” refers to “ghost sparks” which have a lower voltage than the one particular spark; i.e., the closest spark which the pickup lead is wrapped around).
At process block 182 , the microprocessor uses the RPM calculation equation based upon the engine configuration that was selected at process block 162 : RPM = ( T1 Spark Count * Constant ) ( T0 Period Count )
T0 is set as period timer at preferably 61 microsecond resolution and starts with the synchronization spark and ends with the last spark detected. T1 is set as a sparks counter. The following table depicts the constants used to calculate the RPM:
Engine Configuration
Cylinder
Stroke
Constant
1
2
983040
1
4
1966080
2
2
491520
2
4
983040
3
2
327680
3
4
655360
4
2
245760
4
4
491520
5
2
196608
5
4
393216
6
2
163840
6
4
327680
7
2
140434
7
4
280686
8
2
122880
8
4
245760
Based upon the selected equation and sensed spark signals, process block 186 calculates the RPM of the running engine before terminating at end block 190 .
An example of the calculations performed by process block 186 is the following. If a single cylinder/two stroke engine is operating at 3000 RPM, the present invention performs the following calculations:
Mode=1:2 (Constant=983040)
This engine produces 1 revolution per spark
3000 RPM=50 sparks per Second (1 rev per spark)
T0 Timebase=61 uS per count
Sample time=1 Second
T0 Period Count={fraction (1/61)} uS=16384 (over a 1 second sample period)
T1 Spark Count=50 Sparks (over a 1 second sample period)
Therefore, RPM=(50 * 983040)/16384=3000
If a single cylinder/four stroke engine is operating at 3000 RPM, the present invention performs the following calculations:
Mode=1:4 (Constant=1966080)
This engine will give 2 revolutions per spark
3000 RPM=25 sparks per Second (2 rev per spark)
T0 Timebase=61 uS per count
Sample time=1 Second
T0 Period Count={fraction (1/61)} uS=16384 (over a 1 second sample period)
T1 Spark Count=25 Sparks (over a 1 second sample period)
Therefore, RPM=(25 * 1966080)/16384=3000
Similar calculations are performed for engines that have more cylinders than one.
FIGS. 6-11 are flow charts for operating the adaptable engine tachometer device in various modes. FIG. 6 depicts the operational steps related to the “run mode” of the device. The steps of FIG. 6 clear the accumulative engine run time from memory. Process block 234 is the first step for accomplishing this task wherein buttons one and two (B 1 and B 2 ) are depressed simultaneously which causes the microprocessor to flash the run time in the lower left corner of the display. At process block 238 , buttons one and two are simultaneously depressed which instructs the microprocessor to clear the memory and to reset the run time back to zero for the next counting up of the run time. Processing terminates at end block 242 .
FIG. 7 depicts the operational steps related to the “total mode” wherein the total hours are accumulated while the engine is actually running. At process block 250 , button one is depressed in order to display the term “T/Time” in the upper right corner and the hours in the large center and the minutes in the upper left corner. The microprocessor retrieves from memory the current accumulated total hours and then displays that value.
Process block 254 indicates how to reset the total time that had been stored in the memory chip. First, button one is depressed in order to display “T/Time”. The maximum button is depressed and held for five seconds in order to flash “T/Time.” Within a span of five seconds, the following buttons are depressed in the preferred embodiment in order to perform this particular function: B 3 , B 1 , B 2 and then B 3 . The microprocessor receives input to the memory chip and the memory acknowledges the input code and clears total time back to zero hours and zero minutes. The total time is cleared from the stored memory and resumed back to a “T/Time” value of zero hours and zero minutes. Processing for this particular operation terminates at end block 258 .
FIG. 8 depicts the operational steps related to the service timer one mode. In this mode, the device counts down from a set number of hours while the engine is running and gives a service signal (“SSSS”) to the user when this time has elapsed. The first step is shown at process block 270 wherein the microprocessor counts down depressing the run time. The input is set by the user depressing buttons B 2 and B 3 in order to store the total hour setting in the memory chip.
Process block 274 shows how to more particularly set the time. To set the time, B 2 and B 3 are depressed together which causes the microprocessor to flash “St 1” in the lower left-hand corner of the display. While flashing “St 1”, B 2 is depressed which instructs the microprocessor that the time should be increased while B 3 indicates that the hours should be decreased. After the desired setting has been achieved, B 2 and B 3 are depressed together in order to save the setting in the memory chip. After the time setting is accomplished, the microprocessor displays from the memory chip the current total hours (T/time) that is stored in the memory chip. At process block 278 , when the time reaches zero, the microprocessor flashes “ST 1” in the large hours region located in the center of the display as well as a small steady “st 1” in the lower left corner.
The user can execute block 282 or block 283 at this point. Process block 282 indicates the step involved in clearing the “st 1” alarm. At process block 282 , the B 1 and B 2 buttons are depressed which starts to flash the “st 1” in the lower left-hand corner of the display. Buttons B 1 and B 2 are depressed again to clear the “st 1” alarm. Once the alarm has been cleared, the microprocessor retrieves from memory the current “st 1” time so that the microprocessor can begin the countdown again. Processing terminates at end block 286 .
Process block 283 indicates the step involved to reset St1 back to the preset setting without waiting for the St1 alarm to appear. At process block 283 , the B 1 and B 2 buttons are depressed together, which will flash the St1 in the lower left-hand corner. Within 5 seconds the user depresses the B 1 and B 2 buttons together to clear the current run time. Thereupon, the meter resets back to the preloaded set run time to count down again. Processing terminates at end block 286 .
FIG. 9 depicts the operational steps related to the service timer two mode (“st2”). In this mode the devices counts down from a set number of hours regardless of whether the engine is running and provides a service signal (“SSSS”) to the user when this time has elapsed. The first step in using this particular mode is process block 300 . At process block 300 , the microprocessor counts down using the clock time. This is where an input time has been set by the user by depressing buttons B 2 and B 3 to store the total hour setting in the memory chip.
At process block 304 , buttons B 2 and B 3 are depressed together in order to set the timer. The processor flashes “st 2” in the lower left corner. While the “st 2” is flashing, the B 2 button is depressed to indicate to the processor to increase the time while B 3 is used to decrease the hours.
After the desired setting has been achieved, buttons B 2 and B 3 are depressed together in order to save the setting in the memory chip. After the setting has been saved, the microprocessor displays the current elapsed total hours and minutes (T/Time). At process block 308 , when the time reaches “0”, the microprocessor flashes “ST 2” in the large hours region located in the center of the display as well as displays “ST 2” in the lower left corner and displays “call dealer” in the lower right corner. Processing for this particular mode terminates at end block 312 .
FIG. 10 depicts the operational steps to clear the last highest tachometer reading from memory. The first step to accomplish this is process block 320 wherein buttons B 1 and B 3 are depressed simultaneously while in the “tacho” mode. The depressing of these buttons causes the RPM and RPM/Max to flash in the upper right-hand corner of the display. At process block 324 , buttons B 1 and B 3 are depressed simultaneously again for the microprocessor to clear the last stored reading from the memory chip and to set up for the next spark reading signal input. Processing terminates at end block 328 .
FIG. 11 depicts the operational steps related to the “run” mode. In this mode, the unit accumulates the time the engine has been running. The first step is process block 340 wherein button B 1 is depressed in order to display the word “R/time” in the upper right corner. At process block 348 , the microprocessor retrieves from memory the run time and displays the hours in the large center display and the minutes in the upper left display. Processing terminates at end block 352 .
FIGS. 12-15 depict the button activation sequences to enable the adaptable engine tachometer device to transition between functions and between modes. FIG. 12 depicts the button activation sequences related to the tachometer mode (S01) 380 . In the preferred embodiment, tachometer mode 380 is transitioned from the service time two mode as indicated by continuation block A 384 . While the adaptable engine tachometer device is in the tachometer mode 380 , the display maximum RPM function 388 can be performed by depressing the maximum (B 3 ) button. After a five second time out, the display maximum RPM function 388 is terminated.
The mode button (B 1 ) and Max button (B 3 ) are utilized in order to perform the flash maximum RPM function 392 . Upon the user depressing other keys or after a five second time out, function 392 terminates. However, if function 392 is still active and the user depresses buttons B 1 and B 3 , then the clear maximum RPM function 396 is performed. After function 396 has cleared the maximum RPM, the device returns to the tachometer mode 380 .
The toggle input gain function 400 is activated by the user depressing the B 2 and B 3 buttons. After the toggle input gain function 400 has terminated, then the device returns it to the tachometer mode 380 . The increment engine configuration function 404 is activated by the user depressing buttons B 1 and B 2 and then the device is returned to the tachometer mode 380 upon its termination.
While the device is in the tachometer mode 380 , the device can transition into the run time mode as indicated by continuation block B 410 by depressing the B 1 button.
FIG. 13 depicts the button activation sequences related to the run time mode 414 and the total time mode 418 . While the device is in the run time mode 414 , the flash run time function 424 is performed if the user depresses buttons B 1 and B 2 . Upon other keys being encountered or after a five second time out, the flash run time function 424 terminates. However, if the flash run time function 424 is still operating and the user depresses B 1 and B 2 , then the clear run time function 428 is activated.
The device transitions from the run time mode 414 to the total time mode 418 when the user depresses button B 1 . The total time mode 418 transitions to service time one mode as indicated by continuation block C 432 when the user depresses the B 1 button.
FIG. 14 depicts the button activation sequences related to the service time one mode 436 . While the device is in the service time one mode 436 and the user depresses the B 1 and B 2 buttons, the flash “st 1” alarm function 440 is performed. If other keys are encountered or after a five second time out, the flash “st 1” alarm function 440 terminates. However, if the user depresses the B 1 and B 2 buttons again while the flash “st 1” alarm function 440 is operating, then the clear “st 1” alarm function 444 is performed before returning the device back to the service time one mode 436 .
If the user depresses the B 2 and B 3 buttons while the device is in the service time one mode 436 , then the flash “st 1” set point function 450 is performed. If other keys are encountered or after a five second time out, the flash “st 1” set point function 450 returns the device back to the service time one mode 436 . However, if the flash “st 1” set point function 450 is running while the user depresses the B 2 button, then the increment “st 1” set point function 456 is performed. If the B 3 button is depressed while the flash “st 1” set point 450 is running, then the decrement “st 1” set point function 460 is performed. Lastly, if the B 2 and B 3 buttons are depressed while the flash “st 1” set point function 450 is running, then the store “st 1” set point function 464 is performed.
The device transitions to the service time two mode 480 from the service time one mode 436 when the user depresses the B 1 button.
FIG. 15 depicts the button activation sequences related to the service two mode 480 . If the user depresses buttons B 1 and B 3 while the device is in the service time two mode 480 , then the flash “st 2” alarm function 490 is performed. If other keys are encountered or a five second time out occurs, then the device returns to the service two mode 480 . However, if the user depresses the B 1 and B 3 buttons while the flash “st 2” alarm function 490 is operating, then the clear “st 2” alarm function 494 is performed.
The flash “st 2” set point function 498 is performed when the user depresses the B 2 and B 3 buttons while the device is in the service two mode 480 . If other keys or a ten second time out is encountered, then the device transitions back to the service time two mode 480 . However, if the user depresses the B 2 button while the flash “st 2” set point function 498 is operating, then the increment “st 2” set point function 502 is performed. However, if the B 3 button is depressed while the flash “st 2” set point function 498 is operating, then the decrement “st 2” set point function 506 is performed. However, if the B 3 button is depressed while the flash “st 2” set point function 498 is operating, then the decrement “st 2” set point function 506 is performed. Lastly, if the user depresses the B 2 and B 3 buttons while the flash “st 2” set point function 498 is operating, then the store “st 2” set point function 510 is performed.
The device transitions from the service two mode 480 back to the tachometer mode 380 when the user depresses the B 1 button as indicated by continuation block A 384 .
While the above-detailed description describes the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and alteration without deviating from the scope and fair meaning of the subjoined claims. For example, while the mode transitions have been described herein by certain button activations, the mode transitions can be affected by other mode transition means, such as by including additional buttons to alleviate the user from having to depress two buttons simultaneously.
|
An engine tachometer device for determining the revolutions per minute of an engine which generates sparks and has a predetermined configuration. A computer memory is utilized for storing engine configuration data. The engine configuration data associates engine configurations with predetermined equations. An engine configuration selector selects from the computer memory one of the engine configurations which is indicative of the configuration of the engine. An engine characteristic calculator which is connected to the engine and to the engine configuration selector and to the computer memory determines the revolutions per minute of the engine based upon the generated sparks and upon the equation associated with the selected engine configuration. Accordingly, the device accurately monitors the RPM of all configurations of engines.
| 5
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to floor care appliances having a driven agitator powered by a self and idler pulley arrangement and, more specifically, to a pulley and belt arrangement where a stalled agitator causes belt slippage at an idler pulley thereby protecting the rotor of the driving motor.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
It is known to utilize an idler pulley structure for driving of an igitator so that two belts are utilized, one extending from the idler pulley to the driving motor shaft and the other from the idler pulley to the agitator. However, heretofore it is not taught to utilize a conventional "V" belt and a flat elastomeric belt with different stretch characteristics and coefficients of friction to encourage slippage at a desired point upon agitator stall. It is also not taught to mount the idler pulley with a resiliently mounted motor to aid in alignment of the belt with the motor shaft and idler pulley.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an idler pulley-belt configuration which encourages belt slippage at the idler pulley to prevent motor rotor stall.
It is an additional object of the invention to mount the idler pulley with the motor to aid in belt alignment.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved belt-idler pulley arrangement for driving an agitator for a cleaner.
It is even a further object of the invention to prevent rotor stall in an agitator driving arrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention the suction cleaner motor includes a drive shaft which is connected to a pair of belts through an idler pulley so as to initiate actuation of the agitator for the suction cleaner. The idler pulley system is pivoted so as to permit the two belts to properly track during normal operation of the cleaner. The idler pulley, moreover, is pivotally attached to the motor itself thus keeping its pivot center and the motor shaft axis at a constant center to center distance. This enhances alignment and tracking of the belt extending therebetween, this belt in the present configuration being flat and therefore more critical in its alignment during driving of the idler pulley.
Extending forwardly from the idler pulley is a second belt of V configuration which is atached to the agitator. The first and second belts, respectively, are generally selected so that the first flat belt is of an elastomeric material while the second V-belt is a relatively inextensible composition. Preferably, with this selection of belts upon agitator stall, slippage occurs between the V-belt and its idler pulley to prevent the initiation of a stalled rotor condition at the motor shaft. This system also substantially eliminates broken or burned through belts.
It is felt that this occurs because the elastomeric stretchable flat belt has a non-linear deflection curve so that as the load on it increases the increment of stretch increases at a greater rate than linearly. At the same time the relatively unstretchable V-belt has a linear deflection characteristic. Then, upon loading of the V-belt by agitator stall, the flat belt tends to stretch a greater amount than the increment of stretch in the V-belt. This moves the idler pulley arrangement towards the agitator decreasing the center to center distance for the V-belt and loosening it so that it may slip on its particular idler pulley. Since slip occurs at this point, no stall occurs at the motor shaft so that the motor, itself, is protected.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Reference may now be had to the accompanying drawings for a better understanding of the invention, both as to its organization and function, with the illustration being only exemplary, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main body with the hood broken away to show many of the operating components for the cleaner;
FIG. 2 is an elevational side view of the pulley drive system and the respective vibration isolators;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the motor, idler pulley system, and associated parts;
FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the main body and showing the motor mounting lugs; and
FIG. 5 is a general schematic of the pulley belt system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The cleaner can generally consist of a cleaner main body or bottom 10 covered by a hood 12 (shown fragmentarily), height adjustment means 14, a handle release 16 and a switch pedal 18 provided for on and off operation of the cleaner. All of these elements may be substantially conventional so no further description of them is offered.
The motor-fan system 20 includes bellows like isolation means 22 and 24 which communicate, respectively, with a duct 26 which may extend forwardly to the agitator aperture (not shown) in the cleaner main body 10 and to a bag flange 28. Thus, the motor-fan system 20 is resiliently mounted relative to the air delivery and vacuum system on the cleaner.
Motor-fan system 20 is also isolated vibrationally from the cleaner main body 10 on its center of gravity by a pair of resilient mounts 30 and 32 which are centered deflected relative to the center of gravity of the motor-fan system 20. These mounts are received in a pair of bosses 34 and 36 fixed to the motor-fan system 20 and upwardly extending tabs 38 and 40 having a bore and an open slot 42 therethrough, respectively, which receive one of the threaded stud ends of each of the suppressors with the suppressors attached thereto by nuts 44, 44. The ends of the mount adjacent bosses 34 and 36 thread into these bosses. The vibration isolation mounts 30 and 32 can be seen in FIG. 3 to comprise central enlarged cylindrical isometric portions 31, 33 into whose ends have been moldably mounted threaded stud means so as to provide for the easy mounting of these vibration isolation mounts for isolation purposes. The mounts are substantially conventional and widely obtainable from a variety of commercial sources.
At the motor end of the motor-fan system 20 is a motor shaft 46 extending sidewardly towards the edge of the cleaner main body 10. An elastomeric belt 48 of flat, generally stretchable nature is mounted on this shaft and extends forwardly to be entrained at its other end around a pulley 50, this belt tensions the system. The pulley 50 is enlarged relative to the diameter of the shaft 46 so the speed reduction occurs between the shaft 46 and a hub 51 which integrally mounts the pulley 50. Integral with the pulley 50 is a smaller pulley 52 that trains a fiber reinforced V-belt 54 of relatively unstretchable nature of high load bearing characteristics that, in turn, extends forwardly so as to train around an agitator 56 having a larger diameter to drive it at a much reduced speed than the rotational velocity experienced by the motor shaft 46. This reduced speed of rotation of the agitator 56 provides a cleaner having a lower noise output based on the reduced noise generated by the slowed agitator and its beater bars and/or brushes.
Integral pulleys 50, 52 are journalled on an axle 60 to serve as a bearing means for rotation of the integral pulleys 50 and 52. This axle may be slightly pivoted towards the motor shaft 46 to provide an automatic take up when the belt is loaded. At its one end, the axle 60 has a washer 58 and an E-ring 64 mounted thereover, with the E-ring 64 mounted in a peripheral groove 65 in axle 60 to prevent movement of the integral pulleys 50, 52 off the end of the axle 60. The axle 60 is anchored at its other end by means of a bore 66 in a support bracket 68 of general L-shaped configuration with a tang 69 on the end of the horizontally extending leg of the L. The bore 66 is disposed in an upper leg 71 of the L with the shaft 60 placed therethrough and a threaded end 70 engaged by a threaded bore 72 to maintain the axle 60 in position for rotatably journaling the pulleys 50 and 52.
The bracket 68 is pivotally mounted relative to the motor-fan system 20 so as to permit alignment of the belts 48 and 54 over their respective pulleys so that the same may generally equalize their tensions, train properly and provide a rotational driving force to the agitator 56. This pivoting is occasioned by a shaft 74 which extends through a bore 78 in the generally L-shaped member 68. Support bracket 68 is prevented from sliding off the end of shaft 74 by means of an E-ring 80 which nests in a peripheral groove 82 adjacent the end of the shaft 74. Thus, the support bracket 68 is pivotable for the smooth running of the belts 48 and 54.
In order to maintain a constant axis of rotation of the shaft 74 relative to the axis of rotation of motor shaft 46 of motor-fan system 20, the shaft 74 is mounted therewith so that movement of the motor-fan system 20 on its resilient mounts 30 and 32 will not tend to misalign the axis of motor shaft 46 and the axis of the pulley 50. Thus, the flat elastomeric belt tends to track properly, completely independent of the movement of the motor-fan system 20 relative to the cleaner main body 10. This relative positioning is fairly critical since the use of a flat belt requires a more positive tracking arrangement than the use of the V-belt such as that that extends forwardly to the agitator 56.
The means for mounting the shaft 74 relatively fixed (centers) with the motor-fan unit 20 comprises an integral lug 84 extending radially outwardly from the housing of the motor-fan unit 20 and having a through bore 85 therein to receive a portion of the shaft 74 in a nested relationship. The shaft 74 extends outwardly and sidewardly from this retention means to extend through a bracket 86 fixed with the motor-fan system 20 and then through the bore 78 in the bracket 68. An E-ring 88 contacts the shaft 74 in a groove (not shown) on the inward side of the bracket 86 so that it and the E-ring 80 maintains the shaft 74 in its desired position with the bottom portion of leg 71 abutting the inside of the bracket 68 adjacent the bore 78. At the same time, the bracket 86, through a pair of bolts 90 and 92 which attach threadingly to a pair of lugs 94 and 96 fast with the motor housing, insure that the shaft 74 moves as the motor-fan unit 20 moves on its resilient mount. Then, the pulley 50 tracks properly with elastomeric flat belt 48 relative to the motor shaft 46 due to the pivotal motion of the support bracket 68 on a fixed center relative to the motor shaft 46.
The vibration isolation at the motor shaft end of motor-fan system 20 will now be detailed. The bracket 86 mounts one end of a pair of resilient mounts 98, 100 which are smaller sized than the resilient mounts 30 and 32 but have a similar construction. This is accomplished by a pair of integral sidewardly and outwardly extending lugs 102 and 104 disposed at the upper and lower reaches of the bracket 86 having, respectively, bores 106 and 108, for reception of one end of each of the resilient mounts 98 and 100. A pair of nuts 110 and 109 are screwingly threaded on the threaded studs of the resilient mounts 98 and 100 to pull the same against the inside surfaces of the tabs 102 and 104. The bracket 86, then, and the attached resilient mounts 98 and 100 form the isolation barrier between the attached motor-fan unit 20 and the cleaner main body 10 (by the utilization of a second bracket 111).
Bracket 111 includes a pair of sidewardly and inwardly extending tabs 112 and 114 with a corresponding pair of bores 116 and 118 through which the other threaded sides of the resilient mounts 100 and 98 extend. Nuts 120 and 122 thread on the threaded studs extending from the resilient mounts 100 and 98 to pull these mounts against the facing sides of the inwardly extending tabs 112, 114. The bracket 111 is secured to the main body 10 by the means of a pair of self tapping screws 124, 124 that extend through bores 128, 128 in sidewardly extending tabs 126 and 130 integral with the bracket 111 into posts 127 and 132, upwardly extending from the major portion of the main body 10. This arrangement secures a portion of bracket 111 relative to the main body 10. A second bore 128 extends through an inwardly horizontally extending tab 130, integral with the bracket 111, so as to be engaged in an upwardly extending post 132, integral, but upwardly disposed relative to the base portion of the main body 10.
The flat elastomeric belt utilized was composed of an ethylene propolene diene monomer and had a width of 0.375 inch (assembled), a thickness of 0.085 inch (assembled) and a length of 10.259 inches measured on the inside (assembled). The V-belt utilized was a fiber belt reinforced with polyester filaments. It had a width of 0.250 inch, a thickness of 0.156 inch and an outside length of 16.000 inches. It is available commercially in the U.S. as a Light-Duty Standard V-belt, 2L-160.
The motor shaft diameter was 0.315 inch. The idler pulley diameters were 2.080 inch and 1.200 inch and the agitator pulley diameter was 1.655 inches. The belts were statically loaded to 300-350 oz. initially. Center to center distance from the motor shaft to the idler pulley assembled was 3.123 inches. Center to center distance from the idler pulley to the agitator pulley assembled was 5.777 inches.
The operation of the idler pulleys 50, 52 and belt system 48, 54 for the motor-fan unit 20 can now be easily ascertained. Since shaft 74 is mounted with the motor-fan unit 20 and the bracket 68 which mounts the pulley 50, 52 is also mounted with the motor-fan unit 20, movement of the motor-fan unit 20 on its resilient vibration isolation arrangement is fully accomodated by the system, the center to center distance between the shaft 74 and the motor shaft 46 remaining constant. This tends to insure that the flat belt 48 remains aligned and properly tracking, the alignment of such a flat belt being much more critical than that of the alignment of a V-belt like belt 54.
As was mentioned earlier, the deflection characteristics of the elastomeric belt 48 and the relatively inextensible V-belt 54 are different in that the deflection characteristics of the elastomeric belt 48 can be non-linear, that is as the load on this belt increases the deflection increases increasingly for each unit of additional load. Because of this, an unbalanced force F imposed on the system by a stalled agitator 56 loads the relatively inextensible V-belt 54 so that a proportionate increment of extension occurs. At the same time, however, as this load F is transferred to the flat elastomeric belt 48, the belt 48 can be said to stretch "more" thus reducing the center to center distance between the idler pulley arrangement 50, 52 and the agitator 56 loosening the V-belt 54 on its pulley 52 obviously reducing the tensioning of the belt against the pulley 52 and permitting the V-belt 54 to slip. Since the elastomeric flat belt 48 is thereby permitted to continue to move, no burn out of it occurs and no stall condition occurs at the motor shaft 46 so that the motor of the motor-fan unit 20 is protected from a burn out condition.
The operation is shown schematically in FIG. 5 wherein the arrow A and headed line B indicated the movement or non-movement of the belt 54. At the same time, the pulley 52 can be seen by the arrow C to be constantly rotating as driven by the belt 48 (arrow D), rotation being imparted to the system by the shaft 46, shown in movement by the arrow F.
It will be appreciated that the arrangement described provides such trackingin alignment of a flat belt arrangement and also prevents stall conditions at the motor or flat belt and destruction of either of them. It will also be appreciated that the invention can take many forms and that the embodiment illustrated and described is exemplary only.
|
A driven agitator is powered by a pulley-belt arrangement including an idler pulley. Upon agitator stall condition slippage occurs at the idler pulley, preventing rotor stall of the driving motor.
| 5
|
This application is a continuation of PCT/CA00/00696, filed Jun. 12, 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for separating gas fractions from a gas mixture having multiple gas fractions. In particular, the present invention relates to a multistage gas separation system having uniform gas flow between each stage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and vacuum pressure swing adsorption (vacuum-PSA) separate gas fractions from a gas mixture by coordinating pressure cycling and flow reversals over an adsorbent bed which preferentially adsorbs a more readily adsorbed component relative to a less readily adsorbed component of the mixture. The total pressure of the gas mixture in the adsorbent bed is elevated while the gas mixture is flowing through the adsorbent bed from a first end to a second end thereof, and is reduced while the gas mixture is flowing through the adsorbent from the second end back to the first end. As the PSA cycle is repeated, the less readily adsorbed component is concentrated adjacent the second end of the adsorbent bed, while the more readily adsorbed component is concentrated adjacent the first end of the adsorbent bed. As a result, a “light” product (a gas fraction depleted in the more readily adsorbed component and enriched in the less readily adsorbed component) is delivered from the second end of the bed, and a “heavy” product (a gas fraction enriched in the more strongly adsorbed component) is exhausted from the first end of the bed.
The conventional system for implementing pressure swing adsorption uses two or more stationary adsorbent beds in parallel, with directional valving at each end of each adsorbent bed to connect the beds in alternating sequence to pressure sources and sinks. However, this system is often difficult and expensive to implement due to the complexity of the valving required. Further, it is difficult to obtain a process result (e.g. yield, purity) which is not compromised by the limitations imposed by presently-available adsorbent materials. Furthermore, the conventional PSA system makes inefficient use of applied energy, because feed gas pressurization is provided by a compressor whose delivery pressure is the highest pressure of the cycle. Consequently, energy expended in compressing the feed gas used for pressurization is then dissipated in throttling over valves over the instantaneous pressure difference between the adsorber and the high pressure supply.
Numerous attempts have been made at overcoming the deficiencies associated with the conventional PSA system. For example, Siggelin (U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,446), Mattia (U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,612), Davidson and Lywood (U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,253), Boudet et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,784) and Petit et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,559) disclose PSA devices using rotary distributor valves whose rotors are fitted with multiple angularly separated adsorbent beds. Ports communicating with the rotor-mounted adsorbent beds sweep past fixed ports for feed admission, product delivery and pressure equalization. However, these prior art rotary devices are impracticable for large PSA units, owing to the weight of the rotating assembly. Furthermore, since the valve faces are remote from the ends of the adsorbent beds, these rotary distributor valves have poor flow distribution, particularly at high cycle frequencies. Also, the gas separation yields and purities are limited by the constraints of the adsorbent material used.
Hay (U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,676) and Engler (U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,326) provide examples of vacuum pressure swing adsorption systems which reduce throttling losses in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the gas separation process system. The systems taught by Hay and Engler use a plurality of vacuum pumps to pump down the pressure of each adsorbent bed sequentially in turn, with the pumps operating at successively lower pressures, so that each vacuum pump reduces the pressure in each bed a predetermined amount. However, with these systems, the vacuum pumps are subjected to large pressure variations, thereby reducing the efficiency of the gas separation process.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a PSA system which is suitable for high volume and high frequency production, which reduces the energy losses associated with the prior art devices, and can be more readily configured to obtain the desired process results.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided a gas separation system and method which addresses deficiencies of the prior art.
The gas separation system, according to the present invention, includes a first adsorbent module, and a second adsorbent module coupled to the first adsorbent module. The first adsorbent module includes a first gas inlet for receiving a gas mixture, at least one bed of first adsorbent material in communication with the first gas inlet for adsorbing a gas mixture component from the gas mixture, and a first gas outlet in communication with the first adsorbent beds for receiving a first product gas therefrom. The second adsorbent module includes a second gas inlet coupled to the first gas outlet for receiving the first product gas, at least one second bed of adsorbent material in communication with the second gas inlet for adsorbing a first product gas component from the first product gas, and a second gas outlet in communication with the second adsorbent beds for receiving a second product gas therefrom. The first product gas substantially excludes the adsorbed gas mixture component, and the second product gas substantially excludes the adsorbed first product gas component. Also, the adsorbent modules are configured for transferring the first product gas between the adsorbent modules over a plurality of discrete pressure levels to maintain substantial uniformity of gas flow therebetween.
The gas separation method, according to the present invention, includes the steps of (1) providing a first adsorbent module including at least one bed of a first adsorbent material; (2) providing a second adsorbent module in communication with the first adsorbent module, the second adsorbent module including at least one bed of a second adsorbent material; (3) adsorbing a gas mixture component from the gas mixture with the first adsorbent material; (4) transferring a first product gas from between the first adsorbent module and the second adsorbent module with substantially uniform gas flow, the first product gas substantially excluding the adsorbed gas mixture component; (5) adsorbing a first product gas component from the first product gas with the second adsorbent material, and (6) extracting a second product gas from the second adsorbent module, the second product gas substantially excluding the adsorbed first product gas component.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each adsorbent module comprises a rotary pressure swing adsorbent module. Each rotary pressure swing adsorbent module includes a stator and a rotor. The stator includes a first stator valve surface, a second stator valve surface, a plurality of first function compartments opening into the first stator valve surface, and a plurality of second function compartments opening into the second stator valve surface. The rotor is rotatably coupled to the stator and includes a first rotor valve surface in communication with the first stator valve surface, a second rotor valve surface in communication with the second stator valve surface.
A plurality of flow paths having adsorbent material therein are disposed in the rotors. Each of the flow paths includes a pair of opposite flow path ends. A plurality of apertures are provided in the rotor valve surfaces in communication with the flow path ends and the function compartments for cyclically exposing the flow paths to a plurality of discrete pressure levels to maintain uniformity of gas flow through the function compartments. In this manner, product gas is transferred between the adsorbent modules at the plurality of discrete pressure levels with substantially uniform gas flow, thereby reducing energy losses. Further, the first rotor can be operated at a different speed than the second rotor, and the first and second adsorbent material can be selected independently of each other so as to obtain the desired process results more readily.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rotary PSA module according to the present invention, showing the stator, the rotor and the adsorber situated in the rotor;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the module of FIG. 1, with the stator deleted for clarity;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the stator shown in FIG. 1, with the adsorbers deleted for clarity;
FIG. 4 is an axial section of the module of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 shows a typical PSA cycle attainable with the present invention;
FIG. 6 shows one variation of the PSA cycle with heavy reflux, attainable with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a schematic of a vacuum pressure swing adsorption module according to the present invention with a multistage or split stream centrifugal compressor or split stream exhaust
FIG. 8 is a schematic of an axial flow rotary PSA module according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 shows the first valve face of the axial flow module of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 shows the second valve face of the axial flow module of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 shows an adsorber wheel configuration based on laminated adsorbent sheet adsorbers for the module of FIG. 8;
FIG. 12 shows a two stage rotary PSA module according to the present invention having two adsorber wheels in series;
FIG. 13 shows a two stage rotary PSA module according to the present invention, showing its adsorber rotors unrolled in a 360° section about its rotary axis, for separating multicomponent mixtures;
FIG. 14 shows an alternative two stage rotary PSA module according to the present invention, depicting its adsorber rotor unrolled in a 360° section about its rotary axis, with combined pressure swing and thermal regeneration of the first stage; and
FIG. 15 shows a two stage rotary PSA module according to the present invention, showing its adsorber rotor unrolled in a 360° section about its rotary axis, capable of substantially complete separation of a two component mixture.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 1, 2 , 3 and 4
A rotary adsorbent module 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 . The module includes a rotor 11 revolving about axis 12 in the direction shown by arrow 13 within stator 14 . In general, the apparatus of the invention may be configured for flow through the adsorber elements in the radial, axial or oblique conical directions relative to the rotor axis. However, for operation at high cycle frequency, radial flow has the advantage that the centripetal acceleration will lie parallel to the flow path for most favorable stabilization of buoyancy-driven free convection, as well as centrifugal clamping of granular adsorbent with uniform flow distribution.
As shown in FIG. 2, for an example of radial flow, the rotor 11 is of annular section, having concentrically to axis 12 an outer cylindrical wall 20 whose external surface is first valve surface 21 , and an inner cylindrical wall 22 whose internal surface is second valve surface 23 . The rotor has (in the plane of the section defined by arrows 15 and 16 in FIG. 4) a total of “N” radial flow adsorber elements 24 . An adjacent pair of adsorber elements 25 and 26 are separated by partition 27 which is structurally and sealingly joined to outer wall 20 and inner wall 22 . Adjacent adsorber elements 25 and 26 are angularly spaced relative to axis 12 by an angle of [360°/N].
Adsorber element 24 has a first end 30 defined by support screen 31 and a second end 32 defined by support screen 33 . The adsorber may be provided as granular adsorbent, whose packing voidage defines a flow path contacting the adsorbent between the first and second ends of the adsorber.
First aperture or orifice 34 provides flow communication from first valve surface 21 through wall 20 to the first end 30 of adsorber 24 . Second aperture or orifice 35 provides flow communication from second valve surface 23 through wall 22 to the second end 31 of adsorber 24 . Support screens 31 and 33 respectively provide flow distribution 32 between first aperture 34 and first end 30 , and between second aperture 35 and second end 32 , of adsorber element 24 .
Support screen 31 also supports the centrifugal force loading of the adsorbent.
As shown in FIG. 3, stator 14 is a pressure housing including an outer cylindrical shell or first valve stator 40 outside the annular rotor 11 , and an inner cylindrical shell or second valve stator 41 inside the annular rotor 11 . Outer shell 40 carries axially extending strip seals (e.g. 42 and 43 ) sealingly engaged with first valve surface 21 , while inner shell 41 carries axially extending strip seals (e.g. 44 and 45 ) sealingly engaged with second valve surface 23 . The azimuthal sealing width of the strip seals is greater than the diameters or azimuthal widths of the first and second apertures 34 and 35 opening through the first and second valve surfaces.
A set of first function compartments in the outer shell each open in an angular sector to the first valve surface 21 , and each provide fluid communication between its angular sector of the first valve surface 21 and a manifold external to the module. The first function compartments include first feed pressurization compartment 46 , second feed pressurization compartment 50 , first feed compartment 52 , second feed compartment 54 , first countercurrent blowdown compartment 56 , second countercurrent blowdown compartment 58 , and a heavy product compartment 60 . The angular sectors of the compartments are much wider than the angular separation of the adsorber elements. The first function compartments are separated on the first sealing surface by the strip seals (eg. 42 ).
Proceeding clockwise in FIG. 3, in the direction of rotor rotation, a first feed pressurization compartment 46 communicates by conduit 47 to first feed pressurization manifold 48 , which is maintained at a first intermediate feed pressure. Similarly, a second feed pressurization compartment 50 communicates to second feed pressurization manifold 51 , which is maintained at a second intermediate feed pressure higher than the first intermediate feed pressure.
For greater generality, module 10 is shown with provision for sequential admission of two feed mixtures, the first feed gas having a lower concentration of the more readily adsorbed component relative to the second feed gas. First feed compartment 52 communicates to first feed manifold 53 , which is maintained at a first feed pressure higher working pressure than that of the second intermediate feed pressure. Likewise, second feed compartment 54 communicates to second feed manifold 55 , which is maintained at a second feed pressure higher than that of the first feed pressure.
A first countercurrent blowdown compartment 56 communicates to first countercurrent blowdown manifold 57 , which is maintained at a first countercurrent blowdown intermediate pressure. A second countercurrent blowdown compartment 58 communicates to second countercurrent blowdown manifold 59 , which is maintained at a second countercurrent blowdown intermediate pressure above the lower working pressure. A heavy product compartment 60 communicates to heavy product exhaust manifold 61 which is maintained at substantially the lower working pressure. It will be noted that compartment 58 is bounded by strip seals 42 and 43 , and similarly all the compartments are bounded and mutually isolated by strip seals.
A set of second function compartments in the inner shell each open in an angular sector to the second valve surface 23 , and each provide fluid communication between its angular sector of the second valve surface 23 and a manifold external to the module. The second function compartments are separated on the second sealing surface by the strip seals (e.g. 44 ). The second function compartments include light product compartment 70 , first light reflux exit compartment 72 , first cocurrent blowdown compartment (or third light reflux exit compartment) 76 , third cocurrent blowdown compartment (or fourth light reflux exit compartment) 78 , purge compartment 80 , first light reflux pressurization compartment 82 , second light reflux pressurization compartment 84 , and a third light reflux pressurization compartment 86 .
Proceeding clockwise in FIG. 3, again in the direction of rotor rotation, light product compartment 70 communicates to light product manifold 71 , and receives light product gas at substantially the higher working pressure, less frictional pressure drops through the adsorbers and the first and second orifices. According to the angular extension of compartment 70 relative to compartments 52 and 54 , the light product may be obtained only from adsorbers simultaneously receiving the first feed gas from compartment 52 , or from adsorbers receiving both the first and second feed gases.
A first light reflux exit compartment 72 communicates to first light reflux exit manifold 73 , which is maintained at a first light reflux exit pressure, here substantially the higher working pressure less frictional pressure drops. A first cocurrent blowdown compartment 74 (which is actually the second light reflux exit compartment), communicates to second light reflux exit manifold 75 , which is maintained at a first cocurrent blowdown pressure less than the higher working pressure. A second cocurrent blowdown compartment or third light reflux exit compartment 76 communicates to third light reflux exit manifold 77 , which is maintained at a second cocurrent blowdown pressure less than the first cocurrent blowdown pressure. A third cocurrent blowdown compartment or fourth light reflux exit compartment 78 communicates to fourth light reflux exit manifold 79 , which is maintained at a third cocurrent blowdown pressure less than the second cocurrent blowdown pressure.
A purge compartment 80 communicates to a fourth light reflux return manifold 81 , which supplies the fourth light reflux gas which has been expanded from the third cocurrent blowdown pressure to substantially the lower working pressure with an allowance for frictional pressure drops.
The ordering of light reflux pressurization steps is inverted from the ordering or light reflux exit or cocurrent blowdown steps, so as to maintain a desirable “last out-first in” stratification of light reflux gas packets. Hence a first light reflux pressurization compartment 82 communicates to a third light reflux return manifold 83 , which supplies the third light reflux gas which has been expanded from the second cocurrent blowdown pressure to a first light reflux pressurization pressure greater than the lower working pressure. A second light reflux pressurization compartment 84 communicates to a second light reflux return manifold 85 , which supplies the second light reflux gas which has been expanded from the first cocurrent blowdown pressure to a second light reflux pressurization pressure greater than the first light reflux pressurization pressure. Finally, a third light reflux pressurization compartment 86 communicates to a first light reflux return manifold 87 , which supplies the first light reflux gas which has been expanded from approximately the higher pressure to a third light reflux pressurization pressure greater than the second light reflux pressurization pressure, and in this example less than the first feed pressurization pressure.
Each of the first and second function compartments are sequentially exposed to each of the “N” adsorbers 24 as rotor 11 revolves about axis 12 . As a result, substantially uniform gas flow is realized within the first and second function compartments, thereby facilitating use of rotary module 10 in a steady state environment.
Additional structural details concerning rotary module 10 are shown in FIG. 4 . Conduits 88 connect first compartment 60 to manifold 61 , with multiple conduits providing for good axial flow distribution in compartment 60 . Similarly, conduits 89 connect second compartment 80 to manifold 81 . Stator 14 has base 90 with bearings 91 and 92 . The annular rotor 11 is supported on end disc 93 , whose shaft 94 is supported by bearings 91 and 92 . Motor 95 is coupled to shaft 94 to drive rotor 11 . The rotor could alternatively rotate as an annular drum, supported by rollers at several angular positions about its rim and also driven at its rim so that no shaft would be required. A rim drive could be provided by a ring gear attached to the rotor, or by a linear electromagnetic motor whose stator would engage an arc of the rim. Outer circumferential seals 96 seal the ends of outer strip seals 42 and the edges of first valve surface 21 , while inner circumferential seals 97 seal the ends of inner strip seals 44 and the edges of second valve surface 23 . Rotor 11 has access plug 98 between outer wall 20 and inner wall 22 , which provides access for installation and removal of the adsorbent in adsorbers 24 .
It is also possible within the invention to have an integral multiple of “M” groups of “N” adsorbers 24 in a single rotor 11 , so that the angular extent for edge 11 a to edge 11 b is 360°. This has the disadvantage of greater complexity of fluid connections to the first and second valve means, but the advantages of slower rotational speed (by a factor of “M” for the same PSA cycle frequency) and a symmetric pressure and stress distribution. With “M”=2, FIG. 5 represents each 360° side of rotor 11 .
FIGS. 5 and 6
FIG. 5 shows a typical PSA cycle which would be obtained using the gas separation system according to the invention. In particular, it shows a PSA cycle undergone sequentially by each of “N” adsorbers 24 over a cycle period “T”. The cycle in consecutive adsorbers is displaced in phase by a time interval of T/N.
In FIGS. 5 and 6, the vertical axis 150 indicates the working pressure in any one of the adsorbers 24 (and the pressure in the first and second function compartments with which the one adsorber 24 is communicating with) at any particular time over the cycle period “T”. Pressure drops due to flow within the adsorber elements are neglected. The higher and lower working pressures are respectively indicated by dotted lines 151 and 152 .
The horizontal axis 155 of FIGS. 5 and 6 indicates time, with the PSA cycle period defined by the time interval between points 156 and 157 . At times 156 and 157 , the working pressure in a particular adsorber is pressure 158 . Starting from time 156 , the cycle for a particular adsorber 24 begins as the first aperture 34 of that adsorber is opened to the first feed pressurization compartment 46 , which is fed by first feed supply means 160 at the first intermediate feed pressure 161 . The pressure in that adsorber rises from pressure 158 at time 157 to the first intermediate feed pressure 161 . Proceeding ahead, first aperture passes over a seal strip, first closing adsorber 24 to compartment 46 and then opening it to second feed pressurization compartment 50 which is fed by second feed supply means 162 at the second intermediate feed pressure 163 . The adsorber pressure rises to the second intermediate feed pressure.
First aperture 34 of adsorber 24 is opened next to first feed compartment 52 , which is maintained at substantially the higher pressure 151 by a third feed supply means 165 . Once the adsorber pressure has risen to substantially the higher working pressure 151 , its second aperture 35 (which has been closed to all second compartments since time 156 ) opens to light product compartment 70 and delivers light product 166 which is typically richer in the less readily adsorbed component than that provided by the supply means 160 , 162 , 165 .
In the cycle of FIG. 6, first aperture 34 of adsorber 24 is opened next to second feed compartment 54 , also maintained at substantially the higher pressure 151 by a fourth feed supply means 167 . In general, the fourth feed supply means supplies a second feed gas, relatively richer in the more readily adsorbed component than the first feed gas provided by the first, second and third feed supply means. In the specific cycle illustrated in FIG. 6, the fourth feed supply means 167 is a “heavy reflux” compressor, recompressing a portion of the heavy product back into the apparatus. In the cycle illustrated in FIG. 5, there is no fourth feed supply means, and compartment 54 could be eliminated or consolidated with compartment 52 extended over a wider angular arc of the stator.
While feed gas is still being supplied to the first end of adsorber 24 from either compartment 52 or 54 , the second end of adsorber 24 is closed to light product compartment 70 and opens to first light reflux exit compartment 72 while delivering “light reflux” gas (enriched in the less readily adsorbed component, similar to second product gas) to first light reflux pressure let-down means (or expander) 170 . The first aperture 34 of adsorber 24 is then closed to all first function compartments, while the second aperture 35 is opened successively to (a) second light reflux exit compartment 74 , dropping the adsorber pressure to the first cocurrent blowdown pressure 171 while delivering light reflux gas to second light reflux pressure letdown means 172 , (b) third light reflux exit compartment 76 , dropping the adsorber pressure to the second cocurrent blowdown pressure 173 while delivering light reflux gas to third light reflux pressure letdown means 174 , and (c) fourth light reflux exit compartment 78 , dropping the adsorber pressure to the third cocurrent blowdown pressure 175 while delivering light reflux gas to fourth light reflux pressure letdown means 176 . Second aperture 35 is then closed for an interval, until the light reflux return steps following the countercurrent blowdown steps.
The light reflux pressure let-down means may be mechanical expanders or expansion stages for expansion energy recovery, or may be restrictor orifices or throttle valves for irreversible, pressure let-down.
Either when the second aperture is closed after the final light reflux exit step (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 ), or earlier while light reflux exit steps are still underway, first aperture 34 is opened to first countercurrent blowdown compartment 56 , dropping the adsorber pressure to the first countercurrent blowdown intermediate pressure 180 while releasing “heavy” gas (enriched in the more strongly adsorbed component) to first exhaust means 181 . Then, first aperture 34 is opened to second countercurrent blowdown compartment 58 , dropping the adsorber pressure to the first countercurrent blowdown intermediate pressure 182 while releasing heavy gas to second exhaust means 183 . Finally reaching the lower working pressure, first aperture 34 is opened to heavy product compartment 60 , dropping the adsorber pressure to the lower pressure 152 while releasing heavy gas to third exhaust means 184 . Once the adsorber pressure has substantially reached the lower pressure while first aperture 34 is open to compartment 60 , the second aperture 35 opens to purge compartment 80 , which receives fourth light reflux gas from fourth light reflux pressure let-down means 176 in order to displace more heavy gas into first product compartment 60 .
In FIG. 5, the heavy gas from the first, second and third exhaust means is delivered as the heavy product 185 . In FIG. 6, this gas is partly released as the heavy product 185 , while the balance is redirected as “heavy reflux” 187 to the heavy reflux compressor as fourth feed supply means 167 . Just as light reflux enables an approach to high purity of the less readily adsorbed (“light”) component in the light product, heavy reflux enables an approach to high purity of the more readily adsorbed (“heavy”) component in the heavy product.
The adsorber is then repressurized by light reflux gas after the -first and second apertures close to compartments 60 and 80 . In succession, while the first aperture 34 remains closed at least initially, (a) the second aperture 35 is opened to first light reflux pressurization compartment 82 to raise the adsorber pressure to the first light reflux pressurization pressure 190 while receiving third light reflux gas from the third light reflux pressure letdown means 174 , (b) the second aperture 35 is opened to second light reflux pressurization compartment 84 to raise the adsorber pressure to the second light reflux pressurization pressure 191 while receiving second light reflux gas from the second light reflux pressure letdown means 172 , and (c) the second aperture 35 is opened to third light reflux pressurization compartment 86 to raise the adsorber pressure to the third light reflux pressurization pressure 192 while receiving first light reflux gas from the first light reflux pressure letdown means 170 . Unless feed pressurization has already been started while light reflux return for light reflux pressurization is still underway, the process (as based on FIGS. 5 and 6) begins feed pressurization for the next cycle after time 157 as soon as the third light reflux pressurization step has been concluded.
The pressure variation waveform in each adsorber would be a rectangular staircase if there were no throttling in the first and second valves. In order to provide balanced performance of the adsorbers, preferably all of the apertures are closely identical to each other.
The rate of pressure change in each pressurization or blowdown step will be restricted by throttling in ports (or in clearance of labyrinth sealing gaps) of the first and second valve means, or by throttling in the apertures at first and second ends of the adsorbers, resulting in the typical pressure waveform depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6. Alternatively, the apertures may be opened slowly by the seal strips, to provide flow restriction throttling between the apertures and the seal strips, which may have a serrated edge (e.g. with notches or tapered slits in the edge of the seal strip) so that the apertures are only opened to full flow gradually. Excessively rapid rates of pressure change would subject the adsorber to mechanical stress, while also causing flow transients which would tend to increase axial dispersion of the concentration wavefront in the adsorber. Pulsations of flow and pressure are minimized by having a plurality of adsorbers simultaneously transiting each step of the cycle, and by providing enough volume in the function compartments and associated manifolds so that they act effectively as surge absorbers between the compression machinery and the first and second valve means.
It will be evident that the cycle could be generalized by having more or fewer intermediate stages in each major step of feed pressurization, countercurrent blowdown exhaust, or light reflux. Furthermore, in air separation or air purification applications, a stage of feed pressurization (typically the first stage) could be performed by equalization with atmosphere as an intermediate pressure of the cycle. Similarly, a stage of countercurrent blowdown could be performed by equalization with atmosphere as an intermediate pressure of the cycle.
FIG. 7
FIG. 7 shows a vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) air separation system 200 , with a multistage or split stream centrifugal compressor 201 and a multistage or split stream exhaust pump 202 . The rotary adsorber module 203 includes rotor 11 and a stator assembly comprising a first valve stator 40 and a second valve stator 41 . Rotor 11 may be configured for radial flow as suggested in FIG. 7, or for axial flow.
Rotor 11 contains “N” adsorbers 24 with the flow path oriented radially between first end 30 and second end 31 of the adsorbers 24 . The adsorber first ends 30 open by apertures 34 to a sealing face 207 with the first valve stator 40 . Sealing face 207 has ports 209 to define the first valve means 21 . First valve stator 40 has a plurality of functional compartments in fluid communication to sealing face 207 by ports 209 , including a first feed pressurization supply compartment 46 , a second feed pressurization supply compartment 50 , a first countercurrent blowdown exhaust compartment 56 , a second countercurrent blowdown exhaust compartment 58 , and a purge exhaust compartment 60 at substantially the lower pressure.
The adsorber second ends 31 open by apertures 35 to a sealing face 210 with the second valve stator 41 . Sealing race 210 has ports 212 to define the second valve means 23 . Second valve stator 41 includes, with each compartment in fluid communication to sealing face 210 by ports 212 , a light product delivery compartment 70 at substantially the higher pressure, a first light reflux exit compartment 72 which is, in the embodiment shown, the downstream end of compartment 70 , a second light reflux exit compartment 74 , a third light reflux exit compartment 76 , a fourth light reflux exit compartment 78 , a fourth light reflux return compartment 80 for purge at substantially the lower pressure, a third light reflux return compartment or first light reflux pressurization compartment 86 , a second light reflux return compartment or second light reflux pressurization compartment 84 , and a first light reflux return compartment or third light reflux pressurization compartment 82 . The angular spacing of ports communicating to the compartments in the first and second valve stators 40 and 41 defines the timing of the PSA cycle steps similar to the cycles in FIGS. 5 and 6.
In this example, sealing faces 207 and 210 are respectively-defined by the outer and inner radii of the annular rotor 11 . Fluid sealing between the functional compartments and corresponding sealing faces is achieved by clearance seals. The clearance seals are provided by slippers 220 attached to the first and second valve stators by partitions 27 . Partitions 27 provide static sealing between adjacent compartments. Slippers 220 engage the sealing faces with narrow fluid sealing clearances, which also provide throttling of gas flows between the adsorbers and functional compartments in each pressure-changing step, so that each adsorber may smoothly equalize in pressure to the pressure of the next functional compartment about to be opened to that adsorber. In addition to the functional compartments, static pressure balancing compartments (e.g. 214 and 216 ) are provided behind some clearance seal slippers. The static pressure balancing compartments are disposed in angular sectors of the first and second valve stators not used as functional compartments, in order to establish a controlled pressure distribution behind the clearance slippers so as to maintain their positive sealing engagements without excessive contact pressure and consequent friction.
Apparatus 200 has a feed air inlet filter 222 , from which feed air is conveyed through optional dehumidifier 224 and conduit 226 to feed compressor inlet 228 . In this example, the first intermediate feed pressurization pressure is selected to be substantially atmospheric pressure, so conduit 226 also communicates to first feed pressurization compartment 46 . The feed compressor 201 has a first discharge port 230 at the second intermediate feed pressurization pressure communicating by conduit 232 and optional dehumidifier 234 to compartment 50 and a second discharge port 236 at substantially the higher pressure of the cycle pressure communicating by conduit 238 and optional dehumidifier 240 to compartment 52 .
Exhaust vacuum pump 202 has a first inlet port 242 at substantially the lower pressure of the cycle in fluid communication with the exhaust compartment 60 , a second inlet port 244 at the second countercurrent blowdown pressure in fluid communication with compartment 56 , and a third inlet port 248 at the first countercurrent blowdown pressure in fluid communication with compartment 56 . Vacuum pump 202 compresses the combined exhaust and countercurrent blowdown gas to form a second product gas enriched in the more readily adsorbed component to substantially atmospheric pressure, and discharges the second product gas from discharge port 248 .
In the option of light reflux pressure let-down without energy recovery, throttle valves 247 provide pressure let-down for each of four light reflux stages, respectively between light reflux exit and return compartments 72 and 82 , 74 and 84 , 76 and 86 , and 78 and 80 . Actuator means 249 is provided to adjust the orifices of the throttle valves.
FIGS. 8, 9 , 10 and 11
Referring to FIG. 8, an axial flow rotary PSA module 250 is shown, particularly suitable for smaller scale oxygen generation. The flow path in adsorbers 24 is parallel to axis 251 . The steps of the process and functional compartments are still in the same angular relationship regardless of a radial or axial flow direction in the adsorbers. FIGS. 9, 10 , and 11 depict cross sections of module 250 in the planes respectively defined by arrows 252 - 253 , 254 255 , and 256 - 257 in FIG. 8 . FIG. 8 is an axial section of module 250 through compartments 52 and 70 at the higher pressure, and compartments 80 and 117 at the lower pressure. The adsorber rotor 11 contains “N” adsorbers 24 in adsorber wheel 258 , and revolves between the first valve stator 40 and the second valve stator 41 . Compressed feed air is supplied to compartment 52 as indicated by arrow 259 , while nitrogen enriched exhaust gas is exhausted from purge exhaust compartment 60 as indicated by arrow 260 .
At the ends of rotor 11 , circumferential seals 262 and 264 bound sealing face 207 , and circumferential seals 266 and 268 bound second sealing face 210 . The sealing faces are flat discs. The circumferential seals also define the ends of clearance slippers 220 in the sealing faces between the functional compartments. Rotor 11 is supported by bearing 270 in housing 272 , which is integrally assembled with the first and second valve stators. Rotor 11 is driven by rim motor 274 , which may have a friction, geared or belt engagement with the outer rim of rotor 11 . By installing rim motor 274 within housing 272 , the module is totally enclosed so as to preclude leakage, either of hazardous process fluids (in this example, enriched oxygen) to the external environment, or of atmospheric contaminants (e.g. humidity which could deactivate the adsorbent) into the apparatus.
Illustrating the option of light reflux pressure letdown with energy recovery, a split stream light reflux expander 276 is provided to provide pressure let-down of four light reflux stages with energy recovery. The light reflux expander provides pressure let-down for each of four light reflux stages, respectively between light reflux exit and return compartments 72 and 82 , 74 and 84 , 76 and 86 , and 78 and 80 .
Light reflux expander 276 is coupled to a light product pressure booster compressor 278 by drive shaft 280 . Compressor 278 receives the light product from conduit 25 , and delivers light product (compressed to a delivery pressure above the higher pressure of the PSA cycle) to delivery conduit 280 . Since the light reflux and light product are both enriched oxygen streams of approximately the same purity, expander 276 and light product compressor 278 may be hermetically enclosed in a single housing. This configuration of “turbocompressor” oxygen booster without a separate drive motor is advantageous, as a useful pressure boost of the product oxygen can be achieved without an external motor and corresponding shaft seals, and can also be very compact when designed to operate at very high shaft speeds.
FIG. 9 shows the first valve face of module 250 of FIG. 8, at section 252 - 253 , with fluid connections to a multistage or split stream feed compressor 201 and to a multistage or split stream countercurrent blowdown expander 280 as in FIG. 8 .
Arrow 281 indicates the direction of rotation by adsorber rotor 11 . The open area of valve face 207 ported to the feed and exhaust compartments is indicated by clear angular segments 46 - 116 corresponding to those functional compartments, between circumferential seals 262 and 264 . The substantially closed area of valve face 207 between functional compartments is indicated by cross-hatched sectors 282 and 283 which are clearance slippers 220 . Typical closed sector 282 provides a transition for an adsorber, between being open to compartment 56 and open to compartment 58 . Gradual opening is provided by a tapering clearance channel between the slipper and the sealing face, so as to achieve gentle pressure equalization of an adsorber being opened to a new compartment. Much wider closed sectors, such as sector 283 , are provided to substantially close flow to or from one end of the adsorbers when pressurization or blowdown is being performed from the other end.
FIG. 10 shows the second valve face of module 200 of FIG. 8, at section 254 - 255 , with fluid connections to a split stream light reflux expander 276 and light product booster compressor 278 as in FIG. 5 . Fluid sealing principles and alternatives are similar to those of FIG. 9 . Similar principles and alternatives apply to radial flow and axial flow geometries, respectively sealing on cylindrical or disc faces.
FIG. 11 shows an adsorber wheel configuration for the embodiment of FIG. 8, at section 256 - 257 . The adsorber configuration of FIG. 11 is similar to a radial flow geometry shown in FIGS. 1-4, and is characterized by seventy-two adsorbers 24 (i.e. N=72). The adsorbers 24 are mounted between outer wall 284 and inner wall 286 of adsorber wheel 258 . Each adsorber comprises a rectangular flat pack of adsorbent sheets 288 , with spacers 290 between the sheets to define flow channels here in the axial direction. Separators 292 are provided between the adsorbers to fill void space and prevent leakage between the adsorbers.
The adsorbent sheets comprise a reinforcement material, in preferred embodiments glass fibre, metal foil or wire mesh, to which the adsorbent material is attached with a suitable binder. For air separation to produce enriched oxygen, typical adsorbents are X, A or chabazite type zeolites, typically exchanged with lithium, calcium strontium and/or other cations, and with optimized silicon/aluminum ratios as well known in the art. The zeolite crystals are bound with silica, clay and other binders, or self-bound, within the adsorbent sheet matrix.
Satisfactory adsorbent sheets have been made by coating a slurry of zeolite crystals with binder constituents onto the reinforcement material, with successful examples including nonwoven fiber glass scrims, woven metal fabrics, and expanded aluminum foils. Spacers are provided by printing or embossing the adsorbent sheet with a raised pattern, or by placing a fabricated spacer between adjacent pairs of adsorbent sheets. Alternative satisfactory spacers have been provided as woven metal screens, non-woven fiber glass scrims, and metal foils with etched flow channels in a photolithographic pattern.
Typical experimental sheet thicknesses have been 150 microns, with spacer heights in the range of 100 to 150 microns, and adsorber flow channel length approximately 20 cm. Using X type zeolites, excellent performance has been achieved in oxygen separation from air at PSA cycle frequencies in the range of 30 to 150 cycles per minute.
FIG. 12
Referring to FIG. 12, a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a two-stage gas separation module 300 is shown having a first stage module 301 , and a second stage module 302 both configured for axial gas flow, with the first module having a first adsorber wheel and the second module having a second adsorber wheel, and the two modules being integrated with both wheels in a single housing 272 . However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to axial flow configurations. Accordingly, in one variation (not shown), the modules 301 , 302 are configured for radial flow with one of the modules 301 , 302 being disposed within the inner radius of the other of the modules 301 , 302 .
The first stage 301 is a chemical desiccant dryer having alumina gel as an adsorbent material, and includes a plurality of first feed gas function compartments corresponding to pressurization compartments 46 , 50 , 52 of the rotary module 10 , a plurality of first product function compartments corresponding to light reflux exit compartments 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , a plurality of second feed gas function compartments corresponding to light reflux return compartments 80 , 82 , 84 , 86 , and a plurality of second product function compartments, which correspond respectively to blowdown compartments 56 , 58 , 60 .
The second stage 302 is an axial flow oxygen-PSA concentrator, similar to the axial flow rotary PSA module 250 shown in FIG. 8, including lithium and/or calcium exchanged low silica faujasite adsorbents. As in FIG. 8, the oxygen-PSA concentrator includes a plurality of first feed gas function compartments, a plurality of light reflux exit function compartments, a light product compartment 70 , a plurality of light reflux return function compartments (such as light reflux return compartment 80 ), and a plurality of countercurrent blowdown compartments. The first product function compartments of the first stage 301 communicate with the first feed gas function compartments of the second stage 302 through respective connecting compartments, such as compartment 304 . Similarly, the countercurrent blowdown function compartments of the second stage 302 communicate with the second feed gas function compartments of the first stage 301 through respective connecting compartments, such as compartment 305 . In addition, a split stream light reflux expander 276 is provided to provide pressure let-down for the light reflux stages of the second stage module 302 with energy recovery.
In operation, compressed humid air is introduced into the first module 301 in the sector open to compartment 52 . A product gas comprising dehydrated compressed air exits module 301 and flows through connecting compartment 304 into the second module 302 . Gas entering the second module 302 is further purified to produce a relatively pure oxygen stream flowing out of module 302 and into compartment 70 . Simultaneously, the exhaust step at the lower pressure is conducted with purge oxygen entering the second adsorber wheel of module 302 in the sector open to compartment 80 , via the light reflux expander 276 . Enriched nitrogen is exhausted from the second adsorber wheel to the first adsorber wheel through connecting compartment 305 , and humid nitrogen enriched air is exhausted from the first adsorber wheel to compartment 60 .
Preferably, the rotational frequencies, angular interval for each step, and other characteristics of each module 301 , 302 are tailored to suit the contemplated gaseous separation. Accordingly, for effective removal of water from the feed air received by the first module 301 , and for effective separation of oxygen gas from the dry air received by the second module 301 from the first module 301 , preferably the rotor in the first module 301 is rotated at a speed of approximately 10 to 20 RPM, and the rotor in the second module 302 is rotated at a speed of approximately 50 to 100 RPM.
It will be appreciated that by operating the first module 301 and the second module 302 with different rotational frequency and angular intervals, both of the modules 301 , 302 will be exposed to pressure variations which can stress the associated compression machinery and reduce the overall efficiency of the chemical separation occurring in each module 301 , 302 . Accordingly, preferably the first module 301 and the second module 302 each comprises a rotary module 10 so that the first product function compartments and the second feed gas function compartments are maintained at substantially constant pressure levels and, therefore, the rate of gas flow between the first stage module 301 and the second stage module 302 is substantially constant. However, other gas separation modules, besides the rotary module 10 , may be used for maintaining constant pressure levels across the connecting compartments 304 , 305 .
It will also be appreciated that by employing different adsorbers in the first and second module 301 , 302 , the apparatus 300 can be configured to obtain results previously not possible with only a single adsorbent. For instance, nitrogen selective lithium zeolites are a preferred adsorbent for separating oxygen gas from air. However, it is known that such adsorbent material are prone to deactivation when exposed to humid air. Accordingly, by employing a chemical desiccant dryer as the first stage 301 , the apparatus 300 is able to achieve favorable separation without deactivation of the expensive lithium zeolites.
However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to a first stage comprising a desiccant dryer. Rather, other adsorbent materials maybe used in the first stage 301 without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the first stage 301 , and the second stage 302 may employ similar adsorbent materials for improved concentration of product gases. In addition, the invention may employ more than two stages, with each stage delivering a different product gas or with each stage delivering the same product gas but with different levels of purity. Alternately, any of the stages may deliver a product gas to another stage for further processing.
FIG. a 13
FIG. 13 shows a two stage apparatus 300 ′ according to the invention, comprising two 30 rotary PSA modules 301 ′ and 302 ′, for separating multicomponent mixtures. In the embodiment shown, each of the rotary PSA modules 301 ′ and 302 ′ comprise the radial flow rotary PSA module illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 and having its rotor unrolled in a 360° section about its rotary axis. Alternatively, modules 301 ′ and 302 ′ can each be an axial flow rotary PSA module illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11. The modules 301 ′ and 302 ′ are connected via connecting compartments 304 ′ and 305 ′ such that compartment 304 ′ feeds product gas from modules 301 ′ and 302 ′ and compartment 305 ′ feeds product gas from module 302 ′ to 301 ′.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 13 illustrates that the cycles for the first and second stages 301 ′ and 302 ′ need not be identical as to basic flow pattern. In this embodiment, the first stage 301 ′ achieves initial pressurization by a feed pressurization step via throttle orifice 350 ′ and compartment 351 ′, whereas the second stage 302 ′ achieves initial pressurization by light reflux from expander 276 . As a further example of how flow patterns can be tailored for each module, the first stage 301 ′ of this embodiment achieves initial blowdown via throttle orifice 360 ′ and compartment 361 ′, whereas the second stage 302 ′ achieves initial blowdown cocurrently by light reflux into expander 276 .
FIG. 14
FIG. 14 shows a two stage rotary PSA apparatus 400 with combined pressure swings and thermal regeneration of the first stage 401 . In the embodiment shown, modules 401 and 402 each comprise the radial flow rotary PSA module illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 and having its rotor unrolled in a 360° section about its rotary axis. Alternatively, modules 401 and 402 can each be an axial flow rotary PSA module illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11. First stage 401 achieves initial pressurization by a feed pressurization step via throttle orifice 350 and compartment 351 , and achieves initial blowdown via throttle orifice 360 and compartment 361 .
Vacuum pump 202 is provided to pull a vacuum for desorbing adsorbent 24 in module 402 , thereby effecting vacuum regeneration. The exhaust of the vacuum pump 202 , already heated by compression, is further heated in heat exchanger 410 , and then used to purge the first module 301 at substantially atmospheric pressure. While vacuum regeneration is operative with respect to the second module 402 , the first module 401 of this embodiment does not operate under vacuum and hence operates with a lower overall upper to lower pressure ratio.
Regeneration in the first module 401 is achieved in part by heating gas used to purge first module 401 with heat exchanger 410 . Since the thermal swing operation requires heat exchange with the adsorbent in module 401 , the rotor in module 401 operates at a lower rotational speed, of about 0.5 to 3 RPM, relative to the rotor of module 402 .
FIG. 15
FIG. 15 shows a two stage apparatus 500 , comprising two rotary PSA modules 501 and 502 , capable of substantially complete separation of a two component mixture. In the embodiment shown, end of modules 501 and 502 comprise the rotary PSA module illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 and having its rotor unrolled in a 360 section about its rotary axis. Alternatively, modules 501 and 502 can each be an axial flow rotary PSA module illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11.
Light reflux is used in the second stage module 502 to provide a high purity light product. A heavy reflux compressor 511 is used in the first stage module 501 to provide a high purity heavy product, or equivalently to achieve very high recovery of the light product. The heavy product is delivered from conduit 510 , which may be connected to the inlet or any delivery port of the heavy reflux compressor 511 according to the desired delivery pressure of the heavy product.
The feed is introduced to connecting manifolds 521 , 522 and 523 communicating between compartments of the first and second stage modules 501 and 502 . A purge is also released from conduit 550 communicating to a connecting compartment between the first and second stages modules 501 and 502 . This purge allows higher parities to be achieved when it is desired to purify both light and heavy products simultaneously.
It will be appreciated that any of the two-stage systems illustrated in FIGS. 12, 13 , or 14 can be used as air separators to produce oxygen from humid or contaminated air. In such cases, the adsorbent 24 of the first stage rotor is a desiccant for removing water, carbon dioxide, and any vapor contaminants from the feed air. The second stage rotor removes nitrogen for air separation. The first stage preferably operates at a lower frequency, particularly if thermal swing regeneration is used as in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 . During shut-down, isolation valves in each of the conduits interconnecting the first and second stage rotors can be closed, in order to prevent diffusive migration of water vapor out of the desiccant and into the air separation zeolite adsorbent which could thereby be deactivated.
However, as discussed above, the invention has applications not limited to oxygen separation. For instance, in one variation, the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is applied to hydrogen separation from syngas, syngas being those gaseous products produced from natural gas by steam methane reforming. The first stage rotor removes water and carbon dioxide. The second stage rotor removes carbon monoxide, methane and nitrogen impurities from the hydrogen.
In another variation, the apparatus of FIG. 13 is used to separate hydrogen from refinery offgases, such as hydrotreater purge gas or catcracker gas. The first stage rotor removes heavier hydrocarbon vapors and hydrogen sulfide. The second stage rotor removes light hydrocarbon impurities from the hydrogen. In either of these embodiments, the adsorbent used in the rotor for each stage is different.
In another variation, the apparatus shown in FIG. 14 is used for the enrichment of methane from landfill gas, with the first stage removing water vapor and contaminant vapors, and the second stage removing carbon dioxide.
In yet another variation, the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 15 is used as an air separator to produce nitrogen, or to produce oxygen and nitrogen simultaneously. The air feed is introduced to the first end of the second stage rotor, which has light reflux to produce purified oxygen. The first stage rotor has heavy reflux to produce purified nitrogen at its first end.
In still another variation, the apparatus depicted in FIG. 15 is used to separate hydrogen from steam reformate syngas, to produce purified hydrogen and carbon dioxide simultaneously. The syngas feed is introduced to the first end of the second stage rotor, which has light reflux to produce purified hydrogen. The first stage rotor has heavy reflux to produce purified carbon dioxide at its first end.
The present invention is defined by the claims appended hereto, with the foregoing description being illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill may envisage certain additions, deletions or modifications to the described embodiments which, although not explicitly disclosed herein, do not depart from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
|
A pressure swing adsorption system for separating components of a gas mixture includes a first adsorbent module, and a second a adsorbent module coupled to the a first adsorbent module. The first adsorbent module includes a first gas inlet for receiving the gas mixture, at least one bed of first adsorbent material in communication with the first gas inlet for adsorbing a gas mixture component from the gas mixture, and a first gas outlet in communication with the first adsorbent beds for receiving a first product gas therefrom. The second adsorbent module includes a second gas inlet coupled to the first gas outlet for receiving the first product gas, at least one second bed of adsorbent material in communication with the second gas inlet for adsorbing a first product gas component from the first product gas, and a second gas outlet in communication with the second adsorbent beds for receiving a second product gas therefrom. The first product gas substantially excludes the adsorbed gas mixture component, and the second product gas substantially excludes the adsorbed first product gas component. Also, the adsorbent modules are configured for transferring the first product gas between the adsorbent modules over a plurality of discrete pressure levels to maintain substantial uniformity of gas flow therebetween.
| 1
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a Divisional application of Ser. No. 10/336,477, filed Jan. 3, 2003.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multiple output magnetic sensor that can be used to sense multiple positions of an object. Such a sensor can be used, for example, to indicate the half-latch and full-latch positions of an automobile door.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is desirable and sometimes necessary to sense the positions of various devices that can assume multiple positions one such device is the door of an automobile. The latches of such doors typically have half-latch and full-latch positions. When the door is in the full-latch position, the latch is fully engaged and the door in its fully closed position. When the door is in the half-latch position, the door in not in its fully closed position but the latch is sufficiently engaged to prevent the door from opening without further intervention by an operator. When the door is in neither the full-latch position nor the half-latch position, the door is open.
There are several reasons to sense these door latch positions. For example, the driver of an automobile can be notified when a door is in the full-latch position, or is in the half-latch position, or is open. Alternatively, power assist doors are being contemplated in which a motor or actuator is used to pull the door tightly closed to, for example, better shut out exterior noise. In this case, it is desirable to sense the half-latch position of the door in order to energize the motor so that it pulls the door to the full-latch position, and to then sense the full-latch position in order to prevent further pulling by the motor.
Hall sensors have been used to sense the position of objects by detecting the presence or absence of a magnetic field. Thus, a small magnet may be attached to an object whose position is be sensed, and the magnetic field of the magnet is detected by the Hall sensor in order to determine the position of the object. If the circuit that processes the signal from the Hall sensor is configured for uni-polar operation and has a digital output, the sensor will turn on when the magnetic field from the magnet exceeds a pre-defined threshold and will be off the rest of the time (ignoring the effects of hysteresis). Therefore, the circuit will only be able to detect when the object is in a certain discrete position.
In applications requiring the detection of multiple positions, such as the automobile door application discussed above, an encoded signal is frequently utilized. However, if only one Hall sensor is to be used to detect multiple positions, a complex time based extrapolation algorithm is required to determine the multiple positions.
To avoid the use of such an algorithm, a separate discrete Hall sensor can be used to detect each of the various positions of the object. However, the use of multiple Hall sensors increases the cost of the position detection system. In high volume industries such as the automobile industry, the cost can become significant.
The present invention relates to a multiple position sensor that overcomes one or more of these or other problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, a door position sensing system comprises a door claw, a receiver, and a processor. The door claw has first and second transmitters mounted thereon. The receiver is mounted so as to receive signals transmitted by the first and second transmitters. The processor is responsive to the receiver to provide outputs indicating first and second positions of a door corresponding to the first and second transmitters.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a system comprises a mounting structure having a periphery, a first magnet, a second magnet, and a magnetic field sensor. The first magnet has a first North pole and a first South pole, and the first magnet is mounted on the mounting structure at the periphery such that the first North pole faces the periphery and the first South pole faces away from the periphery. The second magnet has a second North pole and a second South pole, and the second magnet is mounted on the mounting structure at the periphery such that the second South pole faces the periphery and the second North pole faces away from the periphery. The magnetic field sensor senses the first and second magnets upon relative movement between the magnetic sensor and the mounting structure.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a door latch claw comprises a door claw plate having a periphery, a first transmitter mounted on the door claw plate at the periphery to transmit a signal indicative of a half-latch position of the door claw plate, and a second transmitter mounted on the door claw plate at the periphery to transmit a signal indicative of a full-latch position of the door claw plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features and advantages will become more apparent from a detailed consideration of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates an automobile providing an exemplary application for the present invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a partial door assembly for the automobile of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 illustrates the position of a door claw that is part of a door latch for the door of FIG. 2 and that is shown in a door open position;
FIG. 4 illustrates the position of the door claw of FIG. 3 when the door claw is in a door half-latch position;
FIG. 5 illustrates the position of the door claw of FIG. 3 when the door claw is in a door full-latch position;
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary processing circuit that processes signals emitted by transmitters mounted on the door claw of FIG. 3 ; and,
FIG. 7 shows a relative arrangement of transmitters and signals produced by the door claw and processing circuit shown in FIGS. 3–6 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As illustrated in FIG. 1 , an automobile 10 has a door 12 which can be latched in half-latch and full-latch positions by a door latch 14 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the door latch 14 includes a door claw 16 mounted to the door 12 and a striker 18 mounted to a post 20 of the frame of the automobile 10 .
The door claw 16 is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 , 4 , and 5 . The door claw 16 comprises a door claw plate 22 that is supported by the door 12 of the automobile 10 and in turn supports first and second magnets 24 and 26 . The door claw plate 22 has a periphery 28 , and the door claw plate 22 supports the first and second magnets 24 and 26 at the periphery 28 . The door claw plate 22 also has a recess 40 that engages the striker 18 mounted on the post 20 of the frame of the automobile 10 . Thus, as the door 12 is closed, the striker 18 enters the recess 40 , engages the door claw plate 22 , and rotates the door claw plate 22 about an axis of rotation 42 .
Also mounted on the frame of the automobile 10 is a printed circuit board 44 supporting a Hall sensor 46 and a processing circuit 48 comprising one or more electronic and/or electrical components. The printed circuit board 44 electrically couples the Hall sensor 46 to the processing circuit 48 . The printed circuit board 44 is mounted on the automobile frame so that the Hall sensor 46 senses the magnetic fields of the first and second magnets 24 and 26 as the first and second magnets 24 and 26 move past the Hall sensor 46 during rotation of the door claw plate 22 .
FIG. 3 shows the position of the door claw 16 when the door 12 is fully open, i.e., not in either the half-latch position or the full-latch position. As the door 12 of the automobile 10 closes, the striker 18 mounted to the post 20 of the frame of the automobile 10 enters the recess 40 and begins rotating the door claw 16 about the axis of rotation 42 . When the door claw 16 rotates to its half-latch position, the door claw 16 is in the position shown in FIG. 4 where the first magnet 24 is in close proximity to the Hall sensor 46 . As the door 12 of the automobile 10 continues to close, the striker 18 mounted to the post 20 of the frame of the automobile 10 continues to rotate the door claw 16 about the axis of rotation 42 . When the door claw 16 rotates to its full-latch position such that the door 12 of the automobile 10 is fully closed, the door claw 16 is in the position shown in FIG. 5 where the second magnet 26 is in close proximity to the Hall sensor 46 .
The Hall sensor 46 senses the presence of the first and second magnets 24 and 26 and provides corresponding output signals to the processing circuit 48 . Based on these outputs signals from the Hall sensor 46 , the processing circuit 48 provides half-latch and full-latch outputs to indicate the half-latch and full-latch positions of the door claw 16 .
FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary arrangement for the processing circuit 48 , and FIG. 7 illustrates the relative orientation and position of the first and second magnets 24 and 26 to produce half-latch and full-latch outputs from the processing circuit 48 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the first magnet 24 may be mounted on the door claw 16 with the North pole of the first magnet 24 at the periphery 28 . On the other hand, the second magnet 26 may be mounted on the door claw 16 with the South pole of the second magnet 26 at the periphery 28 .
With this orientation of the first and second magnets 24 and 26 , the Hall sensor 46 provides a positive going signal in response to the first magnet 24 and a negative going signal in response to the second magnet 26 . As shown in FIG. 6 , the processing circuit 48 includes a non-inverting first operational amplifier 50 having its positive input coupled to the output of the Hall sensor 46 , and an inverting second operational amplifier 52 having its negative input coupled to the output of the Hall sensor 46 .
Accordingly, as the door claw 16 rotates from its door open position shown in FIG. 3 to its half-latch position shown in FIG. 4 , the first operational amplifier 50 produces an output pulse 54 indicating that the door 12 has moved into the half-latch position. Then, as the door claw 16 rotates from its half-latch position shown in FIG. 4 to its full-latch position shown in FIG. 5 , the second operational amplifier 52 subsequently produces an output pulse 56 indicating that the door 12 has moved into the full-latch position.
As can be seen, both of the output pulses 54 and 56 are shown with a positive polarity. However, both of the output pulses 54 and 56 may have the same negative polarity, or one of the output pulses 54 and 56 may have a positive polarity and the other of the output pulses 54 and 56 may have a negative polarity.
Moreover, the output pulses may be either voltage pulses or current pulses. Furthermore, instead of providing output pulses on separate pins (the outputs of the first and second operational amplifiers 50 and 52 ), pulses may be provided on a single pin, in which case, the pulses may be distinguished by different voltage or current levels. Accordingly, the outputs can be two voltage outputs with either different or same polarities, two current outputs with either different or same polarities, one voltage output with several voltage levels, and/or one current output with several current levels. Additionally, an interface can be provided where the information is transmitted serially (for example, using pulse width modulated signals associated with particular sensed conditions).
Certain modifications of the present invention have been discussed above. Other modifications of the present invention will occur to those practicing in the art of the present invention. For example, as described above, the first and second magnets 24 and 26 mounted on the door claw 16 have corresponding magnetic fields, and the Hall sensor 46 is mounted so as to sense the magnetic fields of the first and second magnets 24 and 26 . The first and second magnets 24 and 26 may be viewed as magnetic field transmitters, and the Hall sensor 46 may be viewed as a magnetic field receiver. Other types of transmitters may be mounted on the door claw 16 to transmit signals indicating the position of the door claw 16 . For example, the transmitters mounted on the door claw 16 may be electromagnetic transmitters, optical transmitters, sonic-transmitters, RF transmitters, etc. The sensor such as the Hall sensor 46 must be suitably chosen to complement the particular transmitter.
Also, as described above, the Hall sensor 46 is stationary with respect to the first and second magnets 24 and 26 . However, in some applications, the first and second magnets 24 and 26 may be stationary with respect to the Hall sensor 46 .
Accordingly, the description of the present invention is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of all modifications which are within the scope of the appended claims is reserved.
|
A door position sensing system includes a door claw having first and second magnets mounted thereon, and a Hall sensor mounted so as to sense the magnetic fields of the first and second magnets. The first magnet is mounted in a door half-latch position, and the second magnet is mounted in a door full-latch position. A processor is responsive to the Hall sensor to provide outputs indicating the half-latch and full-latch positions of a door. The processor may also be arranged to indicate a door open position when neither magnet is near the sensor.
| 4
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an engineering work station to be used for computer aided design (CAD), computer aided engineering (CAE), etc. and in particular, to a multiwindow control method and an apparatus using the same for a workstation having a multiwindow function to effect a simultaneous processing of a plurality of processes.
The conventional multiwindow control method, as described in the JP-A-60-205492 and JP-A-57-125989, provides a scheme to discriminate visible windows. For example, according to the JP-A-60-205492, a window to which data can be inputted is called a current window and a window to which data cannot be inputted is called a noncurrent window, wherein the window ready for operation is notified to the operator by use of different brightness or luminance between the current windows and the noncurrent window. In the method of the JP-A-57-125989, when multiwindows are overlapped at least partially overlapped, a portion of the window into which data will be inputted is distinguished from the other portions in such a manner that data will be hilighted with white.
However, a case where a window is completely covered by other windows and becomes (to be) invisible to the operator has not been considered at all.
Namely, according to the prior art technology above, it has not been considered how to process such a window concealed by other windows when a plurality of windows are generated. As a consequence, when a plurality of windows are generated and a window to be processed by the operator is completely concealed by other windows, a window delete or a window a push (a function to set the specified window to the last position among the windows) operation must be effected many times to attain the desired window, which leads to a problem that the operability is greatly deteriorated.
Moreover, when a job program associated with the invisible window thus concealed is executed to run, a load is imposed on the CPU of the system, which results in a problem that the performance of the system such as the operability is lowered due to a cause which cannot be recognized by the operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multiwindow control method and an apparatus using the same for a work station having a multiwindow function in which the number of windows generated by the apparatus on which the operator is conducting an operation and the number of programs in the run state are notified to the operator, thereby enabling an arbitrary window (or an arbitrary job program) to be set as an operation objective through a single operation.
The gist of the present invention resides in there being provided a window display area taking precedence over all other display areas so that during operations of generating a new window, altering the window size of a beforehand generated window, or moving a concealed window as an icon which an operator can recognize or identify as the concealed window by relocating or rearranging the window. The Icon is displayed in the window display area.
According to the present invention, the windows generated on the screen are entirely controlled for the display by the CPU, and hence if they are not deleted by the operator, the windows are kept displayed in some kind of format on the screen. This enables the operator to visually recognize all windows thus generated and the states thereof (whether the job program associated with the window is being executed or not) and to set an arbitrary window on the screen to be an operation objective through a single operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display image according to the multiwindow control method of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus executing the multiwindow control method according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram useful for explaining a window control table in a private memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4a is an explanatory diagram for explaining a display priority control table in the private memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4b is an explanatory diagram for explaining an Icon window table in the private memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4c is a schematic diagram illustrating a current cursor coordinate buffer in the private memory of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4d is a schematic diagram showing a specified coordinate value store buffer in the private memory of FIG. 2;
FIGS. 5a-5c are schematic diagrams illustrating concrete examples of window control according to the present embodiment and the prior art technology;
FIGS. 6-8 are flowcharts useful for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an appearance of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 showing the system configuration diagram of an embodiment of a work station to which the present invention is applied. In this configuration, a keyboard 11, a tablet 12, and a mouse 13 disposed as input devices are connected to a system bus 14 via an input controller 10 of a work station 15. A central processing unit (to be referred to as a CPU herebelow) 5 is connected to the system bus 14. A moreover, in a private memory 8 connected to the CPU, there are stored a window control table 81 for controlling windows to be set from the input devices (11, 12, 13), a display priority control table 82, an Icon window control table 83, a current cursor coordinate value buffer 84 for indicating an indication point from the input devices, and a specified coordinate value store buffer 85 for temporarily storing coordinate values specified from the input devices shown in FIGS. 3 and 4a-d. In order to increase the execution speed of a sequence of display operations, the private memory 8 is also connected to a display memory 7. Furthermore, the CPU 5 is connected to a program memory 9 for storing programs to execute a sequence or processing.
Moreover, the system bus 14 is connected to a display controller 6, which controls the display memory 7 to change the display content on a display 1.
FIG. 9 shows an appearance of the apparatus viewed from the user side in which the keyboard 11 and the mouse 13 are used as the input devices.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the window control table 81 stored in the private memory 8. As shown in this diagram, the window control table 81 comprises window information items W 1 -W n (corresponding to n windows). Each of the window information items W 1 -W n is configured with window rectangle information items 81a, 81b, and 81c as specifically shown for the window information W 2 . Namely, the window rectangle information 81a includes a rectangle information indicating the position of the window on the display screen, namely, an x coordinate of the lower-left point, a y coordinate of the lower-left point, an x coordinate of the upper-right point, and a y coordinate of the upper-right point, a status information indicating whether the rectangle information is associated with an Icon window or an ordinary window, an address pointer indicating the rectangle information 81b, and other information. The window rectangle information 81b indicated by the address pointer includes an address pointer indicating the window rectangle information 81c and a display rectangle information. Moreover, the window rectangle information 81c is also of the same configuration.
That is, the window control table 81 is constituted from n window information items each comprising the window rectangle information items 81a, 81b, and 81c. Each of the window rectangle information items 81a, 81b, and 81c includes a rectangle information related to an ordinary window or a rectangle information associated with an Icon window disposed according to the present invention. For example, the window rectangle information 81a contains a rectangle information concerning an ordinary window, where as the window information items of the window rectangle information items 81b and 81c respectively relate to a first Icon window and a second Icon window disposed according to the present invention.
Here, the Icon windows are, as shown in FIG. 1, windows 2-1, 2-2, etc. each having the display priority which cannot be concealed by ordinary windows 4-1, 4-2, etc. in a display screen 100 of the display. For example, when a window 4-3 is additionally displayed in the display screen 100, the existing windows 4-1 and 4-2 are concealed, but the contents of these windows 4-1 and 4-2 are displayed in the Icon windows 2-1 and 2-2.
FIG. 4a shows the contents of the display priority control table 82 in the private memory 8, whereas FIG. 4b indicates the Icon window table 83 in the private memory 8. Moreover, FIG. 4c shows the contents of the current cursor coordinate value buffer 84 in the private memory 8, whereas FIG. 4d indicates the specified coordinate value store buffer 85 in the private memory 8.
The display priority control table 82 is used to indicate the priority in a case where ordinary windows are displayed in the screen 100, whereas the Icon window table 83 is prepared to store the window numbers corresponding to the window information Wi (i =1 to n) to be displayed in the m Icon windows disposed according to the present invention. For example, the window information Wi having the number stored in an area assigned with the display priority 1 in the display priority control table 82 takes the highest priority for the display in the screen. In addition, the window information Wi having the window number stored in the area of the Icon 1 window in the Icon window table 83 is displayed in the Icon 1 window. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, although two Icon windows are provided, the number of Icon windows can be arbitrarily selected Moreover, the Icon window has a display priority not to be concealed by ordinary windows.
The current cursor coordinate value buffer 84 stores the coordinate values currently indicated by one of the input devices such as a mouse and the coordinate values are indicated by a cursor 16 on the display equipment for the user (FIG. 9). In addition, the specified coordinate value store buffer 85 temporarily stores the coordinate values specified by means of an input device such as a mouse.
Next, a description will be given of an embodiment of FIG. 2.
Assume here a sequence of window generate programs stored in the program memory 9 are being executed by use of the private memory 8 under control of the CPU 5. When the mouse 13 or the tablet 12 is operated, a coordinate value signal representing coordinate values is delivered via the input controller 10 and the system bus 14 to the CPU 5. On receiving the coordinate value signal, the CPU 5 updates the corresponding content of the current cursor coordinate value buffer 84 with the coordinate values thus received and then writes the coordinate values for the cursor in the display memory 7. The cursor thus written in the display memory 7 is displayed on the display 1 to indicate the current cursor indication point to the user. When the user specifies a desired point, the coordinate values associated with the cursor are stored in the specified coordinate value store buffer 85 in the private memory 8.
Let us consider a case to generate a new window as shown in FIG. 5a. In the display screen 100 of the display 1, there have already been the windows 4-1 and 4-2 beforehand generated. A new window 4-3 is to be additionally generated on the display screen 100. As shown in FIG. 5a, the new window 4-3 to be generated completely conceals the existing window 4-1 and partially overlaps with the existing window 4-2. A sequence of window control procedures for generating the new window 4-3 will be described by use of FIGS. 5a-5c, the flowcharts of FIGS. 6-8, and the table configuration diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 4a-4d.
First, according to the window generate procedure of FIG. 6, processing 91 is executed to obtain the rectangle information of the new window 4-3 to be generated i.e. the coordinate values (X max , Y max ) (X min , Y min ) on the display screen 100 and the window number 4-3. In general, these information items are generally set by the user by means of an input device such as a mouse 13 through an interactive operation.
That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the user specifies the diagonal points of an objective window from the mouse 13 disposed as an input device. The coordinate values of these diagonal points specified are stored in the specified coordinate value store buffer 85. Based on the stored coordinate values, the CPU 5 calculates and reads the rectangle coordinate values (x and y coordinate values of the lower-left and upper-right points) of the window 4-3 to be additionally generated (processing 91).
Next, processing 92 is executed to check for an overlap with the existing windows 4-1 and 4-2. If no overlap takes place with respect thereto, a window drawing operation is achieved in the display 1 depending on the obtained rectangular information, namely, the rectangular information and the display rectangle information in the window information having the pertinent number in the window control table 81 of FIG. 3 are set to the (X max , Y max ) and (X min , Y min ), respectively. Moreover, the window number is stored in the area having the display priority 1 in the display priority control table 82 of FIG. 4a and then processing 94 is executed to decrease the display priority of the other windows by one, thereby completing the sequence of processing.
In the processing 92, if the overlap with other window 4-1 or 4-2 is found as a result of the judgement, control is passed to a window overlap control routine of FIG. 7 in the processing 93. In the window overlap control routine of FIG. 7, it is checked in processing 95 whether or not the pertinent window is completely concealed in the screen. In a case where the window 4-1 is completely concealed, control is transferred to an Icon window generate routine of FIG. 8 in processing 97. In the Icon window generate routine of FIG. 8, processing 98 is first executed to replace the rectangular information of the window 4-1 with the rectangular information of an Icon window area (the rectangular information of the Icon window 4-1' of FIG. 5b). The processing 98 is effected, for example, by substituting the display rectangular information of the window rectangle information 81b for that of the window rectangular information 81a.
Next, in processing 99, the status information of the window rectangular information 81a is set to the Icon value, and then in processing 100, the address pointer of the window rectangular information 81a is cleared to θ (nulls). Moreover, in the processing 100, the window number 4-1 is deleted from the display priority control table 82, and the window number 4-1 is added to the Icon window table 83. As a result, the window 4-1 which is completely concealed as shown in FIG. 5c is displayed in the form of the Icon window 4-1' as shown in FIG. 5b.
When a partial overlap takes place in the case of the window 4-2 of FIG. 5a, processing 96 of FIG. 7 is executed to alter the display rectangular information is described above and to thereby alter the window size of a beforehand generated window reduce the priority by one, and then control returns to the processing 94.
Furthermore, if the process of the window for which the Icon processing has been effected is in operation, the CPU 5 may execute the highlighting processing to change the display color of the Icon window by means of the display controller 6.
In the embodiment above, although the description has been given in a case where the pertinent window becomes invisible as a result of the generation of the new window, the present invention is not restricted by the embodiment but it is also applicable to a case where the window is concealed as a result of an alteration of the window size or a change of the window position.
As described above, according to the present invention, the operator can set an arbitrary window to be an operation objective window through a single operation and the state of the apparatus can be visually recognized, which leads to an effect that the man-machine interface is greatly improved.
While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular embodiments, it cannot be restricted by those embodiments but by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
|
An Icon window display area taking precedence over all other display areas is disposed in the display screen. A window which becomes invisible at generation of a new window, a window size change of an existing window, or a position change of an existing window represented as an Icon which the operator can recognize or identify is the invisible window displayed in a new Icon window display area.
| 6
|
This application is a Division of now abandoned application Ser. No 07/883,119, filed on May 4, 1992.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a silicon carbide hetero-junction bi-polar transistor having an improved resistance to heat.
Generally, a hetero-Junction bi-polar transistor (hereinafter referred to as HBT) can increase the amplification factor and operation speed of a transistor, because the prohibition band width of an emitter area is made larger than the prohibition band width of a base area so as to prevent a carrier from being injected to the emitter from the base, and simultaneously, the doping concentration of the base can be made higher to reduce the base resistance. Studies of HBTs the GaAs - GaA1As system were effected. In recent years, studies of HBTs of the Si system have actively been effected.
But the conventional HBT is inferior in resistance to heat since GaAs or, Si were used in the basic plate, with a defect in that the locations for the use thereof were restricted to 300° C. or lower.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been developed with a view to substantially eliminating the above discussed drawbacks inherent in the prior art, and has for its essential object to provide an improved HBT.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved HBT which has superior heat resistance.
In accomplishing these an other objects, according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a HBT is newly created, which is provided with a base area composed of a β - SiC layer and an emitter area composed of an α - SiC layer.
The HBT of the present invention composed of the above described construction uses a β - SiC with a 2.2 eV band gap, and uses an α - SiC with a 2.86 through 3.30 eV band gap which is larger than that of Si or GaAs. Since the α - SiC and the β - SiC are chemically stable materials, the HBT made with the combination of the β - SiC and the α - SiC is capable of operations at high temperatures (approximately 600° C. or more) and have superior heat resistance. Since the SiC has a large resistance to puncture by an electric field, a transistor made with SiC can operate at a high power. Further, there is an advantage in that a larger current amplification factor and higher speed operation can be realized using of the hetero-junction characteristics.
Therefore, the HBT of the present invention is superior and can be used as a transistor for control use of power engine portions, atomic furnaces, artificial satellites or high-frequency power transistors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the construction in accordance with one embodiment of a hetero-sealing bi-polar transistor of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted that like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings.
Generally, SiC includes an α - SiC having a six sided crystal arrangement or the like and a β - SiC of cubic crystal arrangement of its atoms. One type of 3C -SiC only exists as a cubic crystal, and crystal polymorphs such as 6H - SiC, 4H - SiC, 15R - SiC or the like exist in the six sided crystal arrangement or the like. FIG. 1 shows an HBT composed of a β - SiC and the α - SiC (6H) fabricated by the following four steps.
1) B + is injected by ion inplantation onto the top face (1, 0, 0) of a N type β - SiC basic plate 1 so as to form a P type β - SiC layer 2. The P type β - SiC layer 2 forms a base area.
2) Then, a phosphorus doped α - SiC (6H) layer 3 is grown to approximately 0.2 μm on the above described P type β - SiC layer 2 by an RF - CVD method. The conditions of the RF - CVD method are 1200° C. in basic plate temperature, SiH 4 (0.15 sccm)+C 3 H 8 (0.2 sccm) in reaction gas composition. The α - SiC (6H) layer 3 forms an emitter area.
3) Further, the α - SiC layer 3 is selectively etched by a plasma etching operation so as to externally expose a partial portion surface of the p type β - SiC layer 2. The plasma etching conditions are 200 W in RFPower, 0.005 Torr in pressure, O 2 (50%)+CF 4 (50%) in reaction gas composition.
4) Finally, after the evaporating operation of the Mo electrode on the reverse face and the surface of the basic plate, an partial etching operation is effected so as to form an ohmic electrode. Therefore, the ohmic electrode 4 is formed (4 1 , 4 2 ) on the base area 2 and the emitter area 3, and also, is formed on the under face of the N type β - SiC basic plate 1 so as to form a (4 3 ) collector electrode.
Through such steps as described hereinabove, a HBT having a base area composed of the β - SiC layer and an emitter area composed of the α - SiC layer can be obtained.
As is clear from the foregoing description, according to the arrangement of the present invention, the HBT obtained as described hereinabove is made with the β - SiC and the α - SiC being combined. The HBT composed of the above described construction uses a β - SiC having a 2.2 eV band gap, and uses an α - SiC having a 2.86 through 3.30 eV band gap, which is larger than that of Si or GaAs. Since the α - SiC and the β - SiC are chemically stable materials, the HBT is capable of operations at high temperatures and are superior. Since the SiC has a large resistance to puncture by an electric field, a transistor made with Sic can operate at a high power. Further, there is an advantage in that a larger current amplification factor and a higher speed operation can be realized using the hetero-sealing characteristics.
Although the present invention has been fully described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted here that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.
|
A hetero-junction bi-polar transistor provided with a collector composed of a β - SiC substrate and a base area composed of a β - SiC layer and an emitter area composed of an α - SiC layer, thereby forming a hetero-junction bi-polar transistor having superior heat resistance.
| 8
|
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 856,504 filed Dec. 1, 1977, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
Flush type rotationally driven latches are used extensively on aircraft; however, as the driving means remains in a flush condition whether or not the latch is in its locked or released position, observation of the exposed portions thereof gives no indication as to whether the latch is in its open or closed position.
The present invention is directed to a flush type rotary driven latch which overcomes this problem and is summarized in the following objects:
First, to provide a flush type latch utilizing a novelly arranged rotary drive means, wherein as the drive means turns to release the latch, the drive means moves from an initially flush position to a protruding, readily visible position.
Second, to provide a rotary drive means as indicated in the preceding object which may be adapted to various types of latches, such as reciprocable latches or rotatable latches.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view indicating a portion of the surface of a removable or hinged panel and an adjacent portion of the structure in which the panel is mounted showing the flush type rotary drive for latches including both the latch and the keeper, concealed portions being indicated by broken lines.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the latch and drive mechanism taken through 2--2 of FIG. 1 with the panel omitted.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the latch and drive taken through 3--3 of FIG. 2 showing the drive in its retracted position.
FIG. 4 is a similar sectional view showing the drive in its extended position.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken through 5--5 of FIG. 2 showing the latch by solid lines in its extended position and by dotted lines in its retracted position.
FIG. 6 is another sectional view taken through 6--6 of FIG. 2 showing the latch exposed and in its extended position by solid lines and in its retracted position by dotted lines.
FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the keeper indicated by broken lines and also indicating by broken lines the relative position of the latch when in its locked condition.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are sectional views taken through 8--8 and 9--9 respectively of FIG. 7.
FIGS. 10 through 13 illustrate another embodiment of the flush type rotary drive for latches in which FIG. 10 is an elevational view indicated by dotted and broken lines of a movable panel and the unlatched and latched positions of a hook type latch.
FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken through 11--11 of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken through 12--12 of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view in the same plane as FIG. 11 showing the latch in its unlatched condition.
FIG. 14 is a developed view of the cam sleeve.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 6, the flush type rotary drive for latches herein illustrated includes a body 1 which may be in the form of a rectangular block provided at one side with a central outwardly extending boss 2. The body is mounted on an aircraft panel 3 which may be a hinged door or may be removable. The body 1 is attached to the panel by screws 4.
Centered in the boss 2 is a multiple pitch screwthreaded bore 5. Inwardly therefrom there is provided a first enlarged bore 6 and a further enlarged bore 7 coaxial with the screwthreaded bore 5. Below the enlarged bore 7 is a cross slot 8 which receives a cover plate 9.
The body 1 receives a drive member 10 having a multiple pitch screw portion 11 provided with a small flanged end 12. Below the screw portion, the drive member forms a drive shaft 13 of polygonal, preferably square, cross-section. Internally, the upper portion of the drive member is provided with a bore 14 of polygonal cross-section, preferably square. Below the bore 14 there is provided a circular counter bore 15.
The polygonal bore 14 receives a correspondingly shaped slidable plug 16 flanged at its lower end. A spring 17 in the counter bore 15 bears between the flanged end of the plug 16 and a plate 18 at the lower end of the counter bore to maintain the exposed end of the plug 16 flush with the outer surface of the flanged end 12 of the drive member 10. A turning tool 19 is provided having a polygonal shape corresponding to the bore 14, as indicated in FIG. 4.
The counter bores 6 and 7 receive a drive disk 20, a cross bore of polygonal cross-section into which extends the drive shaft 13, the drive disk having a depending drive pin 21 provided with a roller 22 which projects into the cross slot 8. Slidably mounted in the cross slot 8 is a latch plate 23 having a transverse drive slot 24 which receives the pin 21 and roller 22 so that upon rotation of the drive member 10 and drive disk 20, the latch plate 23 may be reciprocated. Extending from the latch plate 23 is a latch member 25 movable between an extended and a retracted position.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, there is illustrated a keeper 26 carried by the wall surrounding the aircraft panel 3, such wall being indicated fragmentarily and indicated by 27. The keeper includes a mounting plate 28 secured to a supporting member 29 forming a part of the aircraft. Mounted on the supporting member 29 is an adjustment strip 30. The mounting plate 28 and the adjustment strip 30 are provided with mating serrations 31 so that the position of the mounting plate with respect to the support member may be adjusted. Screws 32 extend through the supporting member 29 into a plate 33 so that the mounting plate 28 may be secured in a predetermined position. The mounting plate 28 extends toward the body 1 into proximity therewith. At this end, the mounting plate supports a spaced guide bar 34 joined thereto by a connecting web 35 and a connecting roller 36 defining an opening for receiving the latch member 25.
Operation of the rotary drive and latch shown in FIGS. 1 through 9 is as follows:
The body 1 is so mounted in the aircraft panel 3 that the boss 2, the flanged end 12 of the drive member 10 and the outer end of the plug 16 are all flush with the outer surface of the panel, when the latch member 25 is received in the keeper 27. The latch member 25 is retracted upon insertion of a tool 19 in the drive bore 14 and the drive member 10 is rotated. Rotation of the drive member 10 causes the drive member to protrude as indicated in FIG. 4. As a half turn is adequate for retracting the latch member, the screw portion 11 is multiple pitched by a factor of 8 or 10. In its protruding condition, the drive member is readily visible so that the condition of the latch is readily ascertained.
Referring to FIGS. 10 through 14, this embodiment of the flush type rotary drive for latches includes a body 41 having a cylindrical recess 42 at its underside intersected by a radial keeper slot 43. Centered with respect to the cylindrical recess 42 and extending upwardly from the body 41 is an integral sleeve 44. The extended end of the sleeve is reduced in external diameter as indicated by 45 which is received in an opening provided in a panel 46 or other mounting member so that the outer extremity of the sleeve 44 is flush therewith. The body 41 is provided with a counterbore 47 coaxial with the sleeve 44. The underside of the body 41 is provided with a bottom cover plate 48 having a radial channel 49.
Received in the recess 42 is a hook type latch 50 having a part circle journal hub 51 having a upper portion extending into the counterbore 47. As shown best in FIG. 10, the latch 50 includes a radial portion 52 joined to a hook latch 53 occupying approximately a half cicle and tapering from the radial portion 52 towards its extremity.
Received in the sleeve 44 is an inner sleeve 54, as shown best in FIG. 14, having a triangular slot 55 in its side wall oocupying approximately 180°, that is, the arcuate extent of the cam slot is substantially the same as the arcuate extent of the hook latch 53. The upper margin of the cam slot 55 is helical as indicated by 56 tapering upwardly from one extremity of the cam slot. At its upper extremity, it merges to a hook slot 57. A cam pin 58 extends radially through a wall of the outer sleeve 44 immediately above the body 41 and engages the cam slot 55, as indicated by FIGS. 11 and 13.
The upper portion of the inner or cam sleeve 54 is provided with a square bore 59 which receives a square closure pin 60. The inner end of the bore 59 terminates in a shoulder 61 and the inner end of the pin 60 is provided with a head 62 which bears against the shoulder 61. The closure pin is provided with a socket accessible through the head 62 and receives a spring 63. The spring 63 receives a guide pin 64 having a head 65 which engages a cross bar 66. The ends of the cross bar 66 extend through the walls of the sleeve 54 and are received in vertical slots 67 disposed 180° apart and extend upwardly through the upper end of the hook latch hub 51, thereby forming a drive connection between the inner sleeve 54 and the hook latch 50 as indicated in FIG. 12. Interposed between the cross bar 66 and the radially inner end of the channel 49 is a spring 68.
The radial slot 43 and hook latch 53 are dimensioned to receive a loop type keeper 69 which in itself may be considered as conventional.
Operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 through 14 is as follows:
When the keeper 69 is secured in position by the hook latch 53, the various parts are in the positions shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Both the inner or cam sleeve 54 and closure pin 60 are flush with the upper end of the outer sleeve 44, and thus flush with the outer surface of the panel 46. To operate the latch, a polygonal tool 19 such as used in the first embodiment is forced into the bore 59 and turned either to withdraw the hook latch 53 from the position shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 or to move the hook latch in the opposite direction if the hook latch and keeper are disengaged. When the latch is in its secured position shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cam pin 58 is in the hook slot 57 held therein by the force of the spring 63. In order to remove the cam pin from the hook latch 57, slight downward movement of the inner or cam sleeve 54 is needed, which is accomplished by the downward force of the tool 19. Once disengaged from the hook slot, the cam pin rides the upper margin 56 of the inner sleever 54; the inner sleeve moves upwardly from its flush position and rises above the outer sleeve 44 until the keeper 69 is completely disengaged as indicated in FIG. 13.
It will thus be observed that operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 through 14 is in many respects similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 through 9. In fact, the multiple screw drive provided in FIGS. 1 through 9 may be substituted for the cam drive shown in FIGS. 10 through 14 or the cam drive may be substituted for the screw drive in FIGS. 1 through 9.
Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I am not to be limited to the details herein set forth, but that my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.
|
A flush type rotary drive means which is caused to move between a position flush with a surrounding surface and a protruding position as the latch is moved between its locked position and its unlatched position, the drive means, by reason of its protruding position, being readily visible to indicate the partially or completely unlocked condition of the latch; one embodiment being arranged to move a reciprocable latch; another embodiment being arranged to turn a rotary latch.
| 8
|
[0001] This nonprovisional application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/DE2008/000663, which was filed on Apr. 15, 2008, and which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2007 024 350.4, which was filed in Germany on May 24, 2007, and which are both herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a method and a device for operating a drawing line or drawing unit.
[0004] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0005] DE 21 48 619 illustrates a device for drawing of tows having high polymer synthetic filaments in drawing units with intake units and drawing units where the tow mass is divided into several individual tows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for driving a drawing unit in line.
[0007] In an embodiment, each drawing roller can be driven by a separate drive unit that can be controlled by an actuator to operate at a specified speed or with the torque required for driving the relevant drawing roller. Different speeds (rotational speeds) of two drawing units allow the tows or filaments passing round the drawing rollers to be drawn by a certain amount. The accumulated speed ratio from the first intake drawing roller to the last discharge drawing roller can range, for example, from 1:3 to 1:4. Since the individual drawing rollers or godets are not driven centrally by one drive unit, but each godet instead is driven individually, the drawing unit can be operated more precisely. It is also an advantage that the drives within one drawing unit are nearly identical and that the load can be distributed evenly. Slip can be considerably reduced by the individual drives.
[0008] In an embodiment, the required torque of the drive unit can be set or the drives of the individual godets can be operated through a control unit.
[0009] In another embodiment, the motors can be designed as asynchronous drives and the control unit can contain a frequency converter including a tacho-generator connectable to the motor. The frequency converter can be used to set the required rotational speed and thus also the torque of one godet each. The frequency converter allows the required optimum speed to be adjusted for each individual motor. For more complex control requirements, field-oriented converters can be used. These can include a speed controller based on a secondary current controller. The motor characteristics are saved or possibly even automatically determined and adapted in an electronic motor model stored in the converter. This offers the advantage that there has to be no separate speed measurement and feedback for controlling speed and torque. The only feedback used for control is the instantaneous current. Based on current level and phase relation to voltage, all required motor conditions (speed, slip, torque and even heat loss) can be established.
[0010] If a disturbance occurs, such as tow rupture during drawing, this disturbance is also registered by a speed sensor and/or by means of the frequency converter, a fault signal is generated and the line can immediately be switched off automatically. For this purpose, the speed and/or the torque of each motor is registered and compared to a given value which can exclusively occur in the event of fault (sudden speed increase). These values are established and saved. By specific adjustment of speeds the respective motors can be designed in an optimum manner, the motor rating can be fully used and costs can consequently be reduced. Moreover, the range of applications of such a line will expand and frequent malfunctions will be avoided.
[0011] It is also an advantage that the frequency converter assigned to a motor compares the actual torque with the setpoint torque and then adapts the drive speed of the appertaining motor.
[0012] It is beneficial that the surfaces of the godets are chromium-plated or provided with ceramic coating in order to generate higher adhesion.
[0013] In an embodiment, the first godet can be driven at a fixed speed which is not changed by the open-loop or closed-loop control system; the speed of the last godet is also fixed, thus determining the drawing ratio. The line is started according to the dotted line ( FIG. 7 ) with a freely selectable starting draw ratio, while the speed increase is distributed among the individual godets either in a linear or freely selectable manner. The tow can be placed on the godets and speed optimization is started. The drives of the individual godets are constantly monitored by means of frequency converters and the actual torque is compared with the calculated average setpoint torque, the speed is thus controlled accordingly while the line is accelerated to maximum speed. Also, the speeds can be saved in a setpoint curve and can be used during the next starting procedure to quicken the starting cycle.
[0014] It is also an advantage that optimum drive adjustment of all motors or setting of the desired driving torque for each motor is done automatically through gradual approximation or iteration toward a setpoint torque curve or setpoint torque characteristic.
[0015] 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
[0016] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a drawing line with two drawing units;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a top view of the drawing line with two drawing units and one joint drive each;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation as a top view of an individual motor arrangement for individually and separately driving the godets of a drawing unit;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a process speed diagram of the godets in a drawing line with two drawing units according to FIG. 2 ;
[0021] FIG. 5 is a torque diagram of the individual godets of the drawing line according to FIG. 2 ;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a torque diagram of the individual godets in a drawing line with two drawing units according to FIG. 2 with a second speed or drawing profile;
[0023] FIG. 7 is a diagram with rising speed curve for adapted torques of a godet arrangement in line with FIG. 3 ; and
[0024] FIG. 8 is a torque diagram for the individual godets of an adjusted machine in line with FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a layout of a drawing line 1 known as such with drawing rollers or godets 2 which are arranged in two drawing units 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 . The two drawing units 1 . 1 and 1 . 2 contain arrangements of seven godets 2 each. In a drawing line 1 to the state of the art, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the godets 2 of drawing units 1 . 1 and 1 . 2 are driven by a central driving unit or through one assigned motor 3 . 1 , 3 . 2 each and a gearbox symbolized in the respective frame 4 . 1 , 4 . 2 .
[0026] FIG. 3 shows the drawing line 1 according to the invention with a total of fourteen godets 2 . The drawing line 1 according to this embodiment includes a first drawing unit 1 . 1 and a second drawing unit 1 . 2 .
[0027] According to FIG. 3 , individual motors 31 . 1 , 31 . 2 , . . . 32 . 14 are mounted in the drawing units 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 in one support 5 . 1 , 5 . 2 each, which also contain the bearings for rotation of the godets 2 . The supports 5 . 1 , 5 . 2 are shown only schematically. The sheet with FIG. 3 and the sheet with FIG. 2 both show the overall layout of drawing line 1 as FIG. 1 so that the assignment of drives 31 . 1 , 31 . 2 , . . . 32 . 14 to the fourteen godets in all of the two drawing units 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 becomes clear.
[0028] Each motor 31 . 1 , 31 . 2 , . . . 32 . 14 , which can be designed as a water-cooled motor, is used for direct drive of an individual godet 2 . Inserted between the drive shaft of the motor 3 and the drive shaft of the godet 2 is a joint, a joint shaft or a self-aligning bearing so that lateral offset or effects caused by bending moments can be compensated.
[0029] FIG. 4 shows a speed diagram with two different speeds V of a first and second drawing unit 1 . 1 and 1 . 2 driven by one motor 3 . 1 and 3 . 2 each, where V 1 is the speed (circumferential speed=rotational speed of godet times radius of godet surface; the circumferential speed corresponds to the speed of the tow 6 ; this description always talks of speed while the value of rotational godet speed results from the above relationship) of the godets 2 of the first drawing unit 1 . 1 and V 2 is the speed of the godets 2 of the second drawing unit 1 . 2 (see also FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 ). The continuous line shows a higher drawing ratio, the dashed line a lower one. The course of the torques M exerted on the godets 2 by the tow 6 (starting from an average torque) is illustrated in the diagrams of FIGS. 5 and 6 . The bars shown in continuous outlines in FIG. 5 correspond to a higher drawing ratio and the bars shown in dashed outlines in FIG. 6 to a lower one—see also the speeds represented as continuous and dashed lines in FIG. 4 .
[0030] FIG. 4 makes it clear that the first drawing unit 1 . 1 is driven more slowly than the second drawing unit 1 . 2 so that the tows 6 schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 are drawn. As a result, the total torque taken up by the second drawing unit 1 . 2 is higher than the torque taken up by the first drawing unit 1 . 1 . The difference in torques between the first and second drawing units 1 . 1 and 1 . 2 represents the frictional heat or drawing force, respectively, which is required for drawing the tow or filaments 6 . Drawing the molecules of a filament requires a certain drawing force. By drawing the molecule of a filament a certain friction is generated between the individual molecules so that the filaments or the tow can heat up to about 100° C.
[0031] FIG. 5 shows the distribution of torques M among the altogether fourteen godets 2 in the two drawing units 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 (see FIG. 4 —continuous line). FIG. 6 shows the distribution of torques for a smaller drawing ratio (FIG. 4 —dashed line). The maximum and minimum torques are identified by M 1mx , M 2max , M 2min etc.
[0032] As suggested in FIG. 1 , the last drive roller of the last godet 2 in the first drawing unit 1 . 1 and the first drive roller of the first godet 2 in the second drawing unit 1 . 2 are wrapped by the tow 6 only by 90° so that at these points not the full torque is transferred. As a result a higher slip occurs at these points. Since the tow 6 can slide over the surface of the godet 2 at these points, the godet is more strongly worn at and does not transfer the full torque either. The drawing forces on the last godet 2 of the first drawing unit 1 . 1 and on the first godet 2 of the second drawing unit 1 . 2 mostly are therefore somewhat lower than those on the neighboring godets 2 . It is an advantage here that the surfaces of these godets are chromium-plated or have a ceramic coating in order to produce better adhesion.
[0033] When calculating the driving force based on the example of FIGS. 1 and 2 (state of the art), the selection of a drive motor is determined by the maximum torque M 2max ( FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 ), i.e. the driving unit is oversized. Consequently, larger gears are required so that modifications of customary lines according to FIG. 1 are costly and time-consuming.
[0034] With a driving unit according to FIG. 3 , the energy consumption can be reduced. Here the drives are laid out individually for the maximum demand of the respective godets 2 by grading the specific drive speeds and thus make available for each individual godet 2 a specific ideal driving torque. A total torque M d =M/N must be made available for this purpose, M d being the average torque, M the motor torque and N the number of drive for driving a single godet 2 .
[0035] The individual motors 31 . 1 .- 32 . 14 are designed for the specific maximum torque of a godet 2 . With the use of a frequency converter, the required speeds V 1 and V 2 can be monitored and adjusted in such a way that the desired drawing effect is achieved for the tow 6 . For this purpose, a torque control system is used for driving all motors 31 . 1 - 32 . 14 . The previously established M d is the setpoint torque for driving all motors. See also FIGS. 7 and 8 .
[0036] V 1 is the initial speed which is gradually increased according to the desired drawing effect on the tow 6 to the subsequent values according to FIG. 7 so that the desired drawing effect is achieved. If the actual torque differs from the setpoint torque, the current speed is adapted to the setpoint speed by iteration using the control system.
[0037] As shown by FIG. 7 , the tow 6 can be easily drawn at the beginning as it still can be strongly elongated. The more the tow 6 has been elongated, the higher the required torque for driving the respective motor 3 , as the drawing forces increase with increasing elongation. The speed increments for godets one to seven are much higher than the speed increments of the subsequent godets.
[0038] The torques of the godets 2 are sampled several times per time unit so that the drive speed of the individual godets 2 can be adapted. The signal sampled by the control system represents the controlled variable used to determine the required drive speed and thus to determine the required torque of the godets 2 .
[0039] By continually monitoring the torque and adjusting the required torque, the drive system after a short run-in time is continuously optimized for the required conditions. As a consequence, only the amount of drive energy required for driving each individual motor 3 is made available. Oversizing of the drive unit can be avoided by the control system in line with the invention using the control curve according to FIG. 7 .
[0040] The drive of a drawing line during the optimization stage is effected by the following process steps:
[0041] a) The first godet 2 (FIGS. 7 -N=1) is driven at a pre-determined speed V 1 (which is not changed by the control system, thus remains constant and is selected to match the speed, for example, at which the tow 6 arriving from the spinning plant is supplied). Another given speed is the operating speed V 2 of the last godet (according to FIG. 3 —driven by motor 32 . 14 ). This determines the drawing ratio. This ratio also depends on how the drawn tow 6 shall be further processed.
[0042] b) The line is started according to the dashed line ( FIG. 7 ) with a freely selectable starting draw ratio with the speed increase being distributed either in a linear manner (or freely selectable) among the individual godets. This means that the godets (FIGS. 7 —N=2, 3, 4 . . . ) following the first godet (FIG. 7 —left end, N=1) are driven at a speed increased in a linear manner (or by a freely selectable function). This means that the initial speed distribution is determined, which is identified by K A in FIG. 7 . The speed of the last godet (FIGS. 7 —N=14) is preferably smaller than the intended final speed V 2 . In FIG. 7 , V A is the speed of the initial drawing stage, so that in this case V A <V E .
[0043] c) The tow 6 is placed on the godets and the torque optimization process is started.
[0044] d) The drives 31 . 1 , 31 . 2 . . . 32 . 14 of the individual godets 2 are continually monitored by means of the control system and the actual torques compared to the specified setpoint torques. The speeds of the individual godets are controlled accordingly. Based on an initial speed distribution (FIG. 7 —curve K A ), the drives 31 . 2 . . . 32 . 14 of the godets are accelerated—resulting during the individual iterations in the speed distributions suggested by the dashed lines above the starting curve K A in FIG. 7 . This optimization process continues until the torques of the individual drives 31 . 1 , 31 . 2 . . . 32 . 14 meet the specified setpoints and the torque of the last godet (FIG. 7 —N=14) reaches the specified final speed V 2 which defines the draw ratio. The torques of the individual drives 31 . 1 , 31 . 2 . . . 32 . 14 are preferably controlled until the situation represented in FIG. 8 is given, namely that the same torque is given throughout.
[0045] e) The speeds of the godets of the final curve K E thus obtained are saved and can be used as setpoint values during the next starting procedure to accelerate the start-up process.
[0046] As mentioned above, it is possible to drive the last godet (N=14) right from the beginning at the speed V 2 (required speed) defining the draw ratio (V A =V E ). Preferably, however, the starting torque is selected according to the formula V A <V E so that unfavorable situations during the optimization stage can absolutely be avoided.
[0047] Speed changes (V 1 and/or V 2 ) during operation of the drawing line in conformity with the invention are carried out analogously. Here also the speeds of the individual godets are optimized in such a way that the specified setpoint torques are reached.
[0048] 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 to be included within the scope of the following claims.
|
A method and device for operating a drawing line or drawing unit for drawing cables from polymer threads using a plurality of driven drawing rollers. According to the invention, each drawing roller is controlled to a prescribed motion value. To this end, each drawing roller is associated with a separately controllable drive device.
| 3
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a support system for a wind turbine component with a rigid structure such as a wind turbine nacelle or a section of a wind turbine tower. The invention also relates to a vehicle transport system for a wind turbine component with a rigid structure. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of operating a support system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Today, the magnitude of wind turbine components is very large. Therefore special equipment may be needed when transporting the wind turbine component between different locations such as between the site of manufacture and to a site for shipping or from a site for shipping to a site of installation of the wind turbine.
[0003] Wind turbine components such as nacelles or tower sections are transported to the mounting site and between loading and unloading sites by means of large trucks capable of carrying the relevant load on standard trailers, or more preferred, on specialized trailers. Before the truck transportation to e.g. the mounting site, the components may be transported from the central wind turbine production plant by vessels other than trucks such as by ship or by train or even in very special circumstance by aeroplane.
[0004] As the wind turbine components often are, or at least may be, quite large and heavy as well as quite irregular in shape, the transportation usually requires a lot of transportation space, e.g. on a trailer of a truck. Furthermore, the components often require special handling and handling equipment due to the heavy load and/or the irregular shape.
[0005] US2004/091346 discloses a device for gripping a unit load during handling of same. A vertically disposed base frame has two vertical stays and horizontal traverses. On either side of the lower horizontal traverse, extension arms with hydraulic cylinders can be telescopically withdrawn and extended in the direction of the traverse (horizontally and laterally thereto). In the vertical stays there are stay extensions that can similarly be withdrawn and extended with the aid of hydraulic cylinders in the longitudinal direction of the vertical stays (vertically upwards). A crossbeam may also enable telescopic adjustment such that, in addition to hydraulic (or pneumatic) adjustment of the height, the horizontal lateral position of upper container brackets can also be adapted to the transportation load. Thus, the container brackets may be displaced within the vertical plane of the vertically disposed base frame, horizontally or vertically to be adapted to the transportation load.
[0006] WO2004/101313 discloses a transporting system for a wind turbine component by means of a truck. Standardization means having end walls define a four-sided space capable of enclosing the wind turbine component. Upper and lower beams of the standardization means are standard beams of a shipping container including the openings for the above mentioned lashing equipment. First and second frame standardization means are connected to a first and second connection vehicle for a wind turbine component. The connections are established at lower ends with hinged connections, and at upper ends with lift actuators allowing the wind turbine component to be lifted from the ground. Thus, the lift actuators are only established for ensuring the possibility of lifting the wind turbine component form the ground. The positions of the connections are standardized.
[0007] WO 2004/041589 discloses a method for supporting on an undercarriage an end of a self-supporting load, in particular a tower section. The end of the load is engaged directly by one lower and one upper support, which supports are connected to the undercarriage and enclose and angle in a vertical plane. The angle between the supports can herein be adapted to the dimensions of the end of the load. The device is provided with a lower and an upper support which enclose an angle with each other in a vertical plane. The supports are each connected with one end to the undercarriage, and the other end of the supports is adapted to engage on the end of the load. The three or four outer ends of the supports constitute a plane surface, either a triangular or a rectangular plane surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It may be an object of the present invention to provide a support system and a vehicle transport system, which are much more adaptable to the different components of a wind turbine such as a nacelle or a tower section, but which are also much more adaptable to the different constructional constraints of each of the components of a wind turbine.
[0009] The object may be obtained by a support system where an individualized support is arranged for being directly or indirectly connected to the rigid structure of said wind turbine component, where a plurality of engagement mechanisms of the at least one individualized support defines at least four corners of a surface, where at least a number of the engagement mechanisms are displaceable in relation to a reference support of said at least one individualized support system, where said surface is tiltable in relation to the reference support, where the support system comprises at least four engagement mechanisms, and where the surface is capable of forming a curved surface by displacement of at least one engagement mechanism.
[0010] The surface, either plane or curved, being tiltable increases the possibilities of the engagement mechanisms being capable of engaging with the rigid structure of the wind turbine component. Thus, the rigid structure may possibly be constructed without any constructional restraints on the need for suspending and transporting the component.
[0011] The object may also be obtained by a support system where an individualized support is arranged for being directly or indirectly connected to the rigid structure of said wind turbine component, where a plurality of engagement mechanisms of said at least one individualized support defines at least three corners of a surface, where at least a number of said engagement mechanisms are displaceable in relation to a reference support of said at least one individualized support, and where said surface is tiltable in relation to the reference support, and where the support system comprises only three engagement mechanisms, and where the surface is a plane surface, where two of the three engagement mechanisms are mutually connected via at least one displacement mechanism extending from one of the two engagement mechanisms to the other of the two engagement mechanisms, and where at least one of the plurality of engagement mechanisms furthermore is connected to the reference support via at least one further telescopic actuator.
[0012] The plane surface being tiltable and at least two engagement mechanisms being displaceable by means at least one displacement mechanism extending from one of the two engagement mechanisms to the other of the two engagement mechanisms also increases the possibilities of the engagement mechanisms being capable of engaging with the rigid structure of the wind turbine component. Thus, also in an embodiment with only three engagement mechanisms, the rigid structure may possibly be constructed without any constructional restraints on the need for suspending and transporting the component.
[0013] The object is also obtained by a vehicle transport system with an individualized support intended for being directly or indirectly connected to the rigid structure of said wind turbine component, said at least one individualized support further being connected to said at least one trailer in one or more movable connections of a reference support, where engagement mechanisms of said at least one individualized support define at least three, preferably at least four corners of a surface, where at least a number of said engagement mechanisms are displaceable in relation to a reference support placed on the at least one trailer of the vehicle transport system, and where said surface is tiltable around an axis in relation to the reference support and thus also being tiltable around an axis in relation to the at least one trailer
[0014] According to one aspect of the vehicle transport system according to the invention, each of the individualized supports comprises at least four engagement mechanisms, and the surface is capable of forming a curved surface by displacement of at least one engagement mechanism.
[0015] According to another aspect of the vehicle transport system, each of the individualized supports comprises only three engagement mechanisms, and the surface being defined by the at least three engagement mechanisms is a plane surface, where two of the three engagement mechanisms are mutually connected via a displacement mechanism extending from one of the two engagement mechanisms to the other of the two engagement mechanisms, and where at least one of the three engagement mechanisms furthermore is connected to the reference support via at least one further telescopic support actuator.
[0016] The surface, either plane or curved, being tiltable increases the possibilities of the wind turbine component being suspended and transported based on individualized needs, so that the engagement mechanisms are capable of engaging with the rigid structure of the wind turbine component, and thus the vehicle transport system may be operated more freely in relation to the type of vehicle, the size of the vehicle and the route followed by the vehicle.
[0017] Different surfaces are obtainable by the present invention. The mutual freedom of movability of the engagement mechanisms engaging the rigid structure of the wind turbine component depends on the number of engagement mechanisms and on the degree of movability possessed by each of the engagement mechanisms in relation to the other engagement mechanisms and in relation to the reference support.
[0018] Thus, the support system may comprise only three engagement mechanisms, the surface defined by the at least three engagement mechanisms being a plane surface. Alternatively, the support system may comprise at least four engagement mechanisms, and the surface being defined by the at least four engagement mechanisms may be provided as a curved surface. By displacing at least one of the engagement mechanisms the surface can be provided as a curved surface, but need not be provided as a curved surface. The extension of the surface, i.e. plane or curved, depends on the position of corresponding engagement mechanisms of the load to be supported.
[0019] Possibly, at least two of the engagement mechanisms are mutually connected via a displacement mechanism such as at least one telescopic actuator, and at least one of the plurality of engagement mechanisms is furthermore intended for being connected to a reference support via said at least one telescopic actuator.
[0020] Alternatively, all of the engagement mechanisms are mutually connected via a displacement mechanism extending from one of the two engagement mechanisms to another of the two engagement mechanisms, and at least one of the plurality of engagement mechanisms is furthermore intended for being connected to a reference support via said at least one telescopic support actuator.
[0021] Even more alternatively, at least two of the engagement mechanisms are mutually connected via a displacement mechanism such as at least one telescopic actuator, and all of the plurality of engagement mechanisms is furthermore intended for being connected to a reference support via said at least one telescopic support actuator.
[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the support system according to the invention, said at least one telescopic support actuator comprises at least one lower telescopic support actuator and at least one upper telescopic support actuator. By providing an upper and also a lower telescopic support actuator, the possibility increases of mutually displacing all, or perhaps just one, of the at least three engagement mechanisms in relation to the reference support. Also, lift and subsequent suspension of the wind turbine component is eased with reference to the method according to the invention of operating the support system.
[0023] According to an aspect of a mechanism for mutual displacement of two or more of the engagement mechanisms, at least two of the engagement mechanisms, preferably two lower engagement mechanisms, are mutually connected via a knee-joint, and at least one first telescopic actuator is arranged for operating said knee-joint for thereby displacing the at least two engagement mechanisms in relation to each other. A knee-joint is a robust and mechanically stable connection mechanism. Also, the force needed for displacing the at least two engagement mechanisms may be reduced when displacing the at least two engagement mechanisms along a knee-joint.
[0024] According to an additional or an alternative aspect of mutual displacement of two or more of the engagement mechanisms, at least two of the engagement mechanisms, preferably two upper or two lower engagement mechanisms, are mutually and directly connected via at least one second telescopic actuator extending from one of the at least two engagement mechanisms to another of the at least two engagement mechanisms, said at least one second telescopic actuator being intended for displacing the at least two engagement mechanisms in relation to each other. A telescopic actuator is a reliable and easily operated mechanism for displacing the at least two engagement mechanisms. Furthermore, mutual displacement may take place fast and along a distance only being limited by the maximum stroke of the telescopic actuator.
[0025] According to a preferred aspect of the vehicle transport system according to the invention, said one or more movable connections of the reference support comprises hinged connections between the individualized support and the at least one trailer. Hinging the reference support to the trailer ensures that the reference support may pivot in relation to the trailer. The movability of the reference support, and consequently of the wind turbine component in relation to the trailer is thereby ensured when the wind turbine component is suspended and transported.
[0026] The one or more movable connections between the reference support and the at least one engagement mechanism further comprise at least one support actuator for actuating a displacement of one or more of the engagement mechanisms in relation to the reference support. A support actuator is an actuator extending between the reference support and one or more of the engagement mechanisms. Thus, the support actuator is primarily intended for and is capable of displacing the one or more engagement mechanisms in relation to the reference support, and is not primarily, although possibly capable of, intended for displacing two or more engagement mechanisms in relation to each other.
[0027] According to an aspect of the invention, said at least one telescopic support actuator between the reference support of the trailer and the engagement mechanisms includes at least one, preferably at least two, telescopic support actuators being movably connected to the at least one trailer with lower engagement mechanisms of said at least one individualized support. Such telescopic support actuators will extend from the reference support to a limited number of the engagement mechanisms, namely a number of lower engagement mechanisms.
[0028] According to another or an additional aspect of the invention, said at least one telescopic support actuator between the reference support of the trailer and the engagement mechanism includes at least one, preferably at least two, telescopic support actuators being movably connected to the at least one trailer with upper engagement mechanisms of said at least one individualized support. Such telescopic support actuators will extend from the reference support to a limited number of the engagement mechanisms, preferably to a number of upper engagement mechanisms.
[0029] When having telescopic support actuators extending between the reference support and lower engagement mechanisms and between the reference support and the upper engagement mechanisms, respectively, the invention leads to a new method of operating a support system, said method also constituting an aspect of the invention.
[0030] The method according to the invention involves the following steps:
providing at least one support system at a vehicle at one end of the wind turbine component and providing at least another support system at a vehicle at another end of the wind turbine component, said vehicle being intended for transporting the wind turbine component, providing at least three engagement mechanisms of each support system, said at least three engagement mechanisms being directly or indirectly connected to the rigid structure of said wind turbine component, providing at least one lower telescopic support actuator and at least one upper telescopic support actuator at each of the support systems, between the at least three engagement mechanisms, respectively, and the reference support of the vehicle, simultaneously operating said at least one lower telescopic support actuator and said at least one upper telescopic support actuator of both the one and the other support system, thereby lifting the wind turbine component from a lower level to a higher level, alternatively lowering the wind turbine component from a higher level to a lower level.
[0035] Thus is obtained an easy and safe method of lifting the wind turbine component from the ground or from any other basis, on which the wind turbine component is resting, said method leading directly to a subsequent suspension of the wind turbine component by the support system according to the invention, and said suspension leading directly to a subsequent transportation by the vehicle transport system according to the invention.
[0036] Depending on the geometrical and constructional design of the support system, the method for lifting or lowering takes place by either one of the following aspects of the method:
[0037] Either, the step of simultaneously operating the telescopic support actuators is performed by extending the at least one lower telescopic support actuator and retracting the at least one upper telescopic support actuator of both the one and the other support system.
[0038] Alternatively the step of simultaneously operating the telescopic actuators is performed by retracting said at least one lower telescopic support actuator and extending said at least one upper telescopic support actuator of both the one and the other support system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0039] FIG. 1-3 schematically show a load being suspended on a vehicle according to the invention, between individualized supports according to the invention and placed on trailers of the vehicle,
[0040] FIG. 4 shows in perspective an embodiment of an individualized support according to the invention, in a fully expanded state in relation to suspending a load in four engagement mechanisms of the support,
[0041] FIG. 5 shows in perspective an embodiment of an individualized support according to the invention, in a fully collapsed state in relation to suspending a load in four engagement mechanisms of the support, and
[0042] FIG. 6-37 show different individual more or less expanded or collapsed states of the support system according to the invention in relation to suspending a load in four engagement mechanisms of the support.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0043] FIG. 1-3 shows a vehicle consisting of a front trailer 1 intended for being connected to a hauling truck (not shown), possibly trough a connection such as a king-pin, and a rear trailer 2 , also being intended for being hauled by the truck via the front trailer 1 and via a wind turbine component 3 being suspended between the front trailer 1 and the rear trailer 2 . In an alternative configuration, the front trailer 1 does not constitute a trailer as such, but constitutes part of the hauling truck. Thus, in such a situation, the only actual trailer is the rear trailer 2 .
[0044] The wind turbine component 3 being suspended between the front trailer and the rear trailer may be a nacelle, a segment of a wind turbine tower, a wind turbine blade or one or more other components for a wind turbine. In the figure, a box-like shape is used for illustrative purposes as the wind turbine component 3 . The box-like shape may be any different component of a wind turbine, but the box-like shape may also be a container for transporting components of a wind turbine. In the remainder of the description, the wind turbine component or container to be supported and to be transported will generally be denoted a ‘load’ to be supported and transported.
[0045] The load 3 is suspended in individualized supports 4 , 5 of the front trailer 1 and of the rear trailer 2 . The individualized supports 4 , 5 are provided with engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 for engagement with corresponding dedicated engagement mechanisms (not shown) of the load 3 . The dedicated engagement mechanisms primarily serve the purpose of engaging with the engagement mechanisms of the individualized supports 4 , 5 , or with constructional parts of the load 3 . The constructional parts primarily serve a purpose other than engaging with the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 of the individualized supports 4 , 5 .
[0046] The engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 of the individualized supports 4 , 5 may be adjusted sideways and upwards/downwards in the plane of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 . This is illustrated in FIG. 6-37 . Either a relatively small-sized load 3 A, as shown by full lines, is suspended between the individualized supports, or a relatively large-sized load 3 B, as shown by dotted lines, is suspended between the individualized supports 4 , 5 . When the relatively small-sized load 3 A is supported, the individualized supports 4 , 5 are more or less collapsed, and the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 constitute a small rectangle. When the relatively large-sized load 3 is supported, the individualized supports 4 , 5 are more or less expanded, and the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 constitute a large rectangle.
[0047] In the figures, both the front individualized support 4 and the rear individualized support 5 are shown either being in a more or less collapsed state, when the small-sized load 3 A is suspended, or being in a more or less expanded state. In other possible situations, the front individualized support 4 may be more or less collapsed, while at the same time the rear individualized support 5 is more or less expanded, and vice versa. The degree of collapse or expansion of the front individualized support 4 , while at the same time the rear individualized support 5 is being more or less collapsed or expanded, depends on the geometry and the size of the front and the rear of the load to be suspended and transported.
[0048] FIG. 4-5 show a possible and preferred embodiment of an individualized support 4 , 5 . FIG. 4 shows the individualized support in a fully expanded state, corresponding to carrying a large-sized load 3 B (see FIG. 1-3 ). FIG. 5 shows the individualized support in a fully collapsed state, corresponding to suspending a small-sized load 3 A (see FIG. 1-3 ).
[0049] The support 4 , 5 is provided with four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 in outer corners of the substantially rectangular plane surface defined by the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 . The engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 may also be provided within the support so that more or less of the outer periphery of the support is not provided with engagement mechanisms, but may be adapted for other purposes. The other purposes may be protective encasing purposes of perhaps a wind turbine blade constituting the load, the engagement mechanisms being provided within the boundaries of such possible encasement.
[0050] In an alternative embodiment, the support 4 , 5 is provided with only three engagement mechanisms in outer corners so that a triangular plane surface is defined by the engagement mechanisms. This may very well be the case where a wind turbine tower section constitutes the load, and where the engagement mechanisms engage with a flange, or engage with an inner surface or an outer surface of the wind turbine tower section.
[0051] In another alternative embodiment, the support 4 , 5 is provided with more than four engagement mechanisms in outer corners so that a polygonal surface with more than four corners is defined by the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 . The embodiments of surfaces having four or more corners may be plane or may be curved. If possibly one or more of the engagement mechanisms is displaced out of the plane, the surface thus defined by the engagement mechanisms will not be plane, but the surface defined will be curved.
[0052] In the remainder of the description, a support having four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and provided in corners of the support 4 , 5 , will be used as an example of the above-mentioned possible embodiments. Furthermore, as an example, the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 will be described as defining a surface being plane and being delimited by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 . However, as will be apparent by the description of the possible embodiments, all the embodiments allow the surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 to be non-plane, i.e. to be curved.
[0053] As will appear from FIG. 6-37 , the plane surface may have shapes other than substantially rectangular, i.e. the shapes may also be upwards or downward tapering trapezoidal shapes. As mentioned above, apart from being non-rectangular, the surface may also be curved and may be sloping forwards or 25 rearward along part of the surface or along the entire surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ,
[0054] Mutual displacement between the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 of the support is provided by first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 , by second telescopic actuators 12 and by third telescopic actuators 13 , 14 . The telescopic actuators 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 have different characteristics depending on the mutual relationship between the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 that the specific telescopic actuator 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 is intended for actuating.
[0055] First telescopic actuators 10 , 11 are provided for mutually displacing the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 . The two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 are provided at a lowermost location of lower individual support racks 15 , 16 . The lower support racks 15 , 16 are provided with a plurality of holes 17 , 18 intended for displacing the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 to higher locations along the lower support racks 15 , 16 . Thereby, non-dependent on any mutual incremental displacement of the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 by means any of the telescopic actuators 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 may be displaced stepwise along the lower support racks 15 , 16 and fixed to a hole 17 , 18 of the support racks 15 , 16 at a higher location than shown.
[0056] Furthermore, one of the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , i.e. either the right or the left one, may be fixed to a hole 17 , 18 of the one support rack 15 , 16 , this hole being different from a hole 18 , 17 of the other support rack 16 , 15 to which the other lower engagement mechanisms 7 , 6 are fixed.
[0057] A knee-joint 19 is provided between the two support racks 15 , 16 , and the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 are cooperating with the knee-joint 19 for mutually displacing the knee-joint 19 downwards or upwards, and thus mutually displacing the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 .
[0058] When either one or both of the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 are extended, the knee-joint 19 will be displaced downwards, and the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 will be displaced away from each other. Depending on whether only one of the first telescopic actuators, 10 or 11 , or both of the first telescopic actuators, 10 and 11 , are extended, only one of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 or 7 , or both of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 and 7 , respectively, will be displaced sideway in a direction away from the other lower engagement mechanism.
[0059] When either one, of or both, of the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 are retracted, the knee-joint 19 will be displaced upwards, and the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 will be displaced towards each other. Depending on whether only one of the first telescopic actuators, 10 or 11 , or both of the first telescopic actuators, 10 and 11 , are retracted, only one of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 or 7 , or both of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 and 7 , respectively, will be displaced sideway in an a direction towards the other lower engagement mechanism.
[0060] A second telescopic actuator 12 is provided for mutually displacing the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 . The two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are provided at the uppermost location of the individualized support 4 , 5 . When the second telescopic actuator 12 is extended, the upper engagement mechanisms 8 and 9 will be displaced away from each other, and when the second telescopic actuator 12 is retracted, the upper engagement mechanisms 8 and 9 will be displaced towards each other.
[0061] In a possible alternative embodiment (not shown), the two upper engagement mechanisms are provided at the uppermost location of second individual support racks (not shown) similar to the support racks 15 , 16 shown with reference to the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 .
[0062] The possible second support racks (not shown) for the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 may also be provided with a plurality of holes intended for displacing the upper engagement mechanisms to lower locations along the possible second support racks.
[0063] Thereby, non-dependent on any mutual infinite displacement of the two upper engagement mechanisms by means of any of the telescopic actuators, the two upper engagement mechanisms may be displaced along the possible upper support racks and fixed to a hole of the support rack at a lower location. Thus, the one upper engagement mechanism may be fixed to a hole of the one possible upper support rack, the hole being different from a hole of the other possible support rack to which hole the other upper engagement mechanism is fixed.
[0064] A knee-joint (not shown) may then also be provided between the two possible upper support racks. If a knee-joint is also provided between the two possible upper support racks, the second telescopic actuator 12 will be replaced by at least two second telescopic actuators corresponding to the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 . The possible two telescopic second actuators will be cooperating with the possible knee-joint for mutually displacing the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 .
[0065] As an alternative to only the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 being connected to each other through a knee-joint 19 , and alternatively to both the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 being connected, and also the upper engagement mechanisms being connected, through a lower knee-joint and a possible upper knee-joint, only the upper engagement mechanisms may be connected to each other through a possible upper knee-joint.
[0066] Third telescopic actuators 13 , 14 are provided for mutually displacing the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 in relation to the two lower engagement mechanisms, 6 , 7 , and vice versa. When both of the third telescopic actuators 13 , 14 are extended, both of the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 will be displaced away from the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , and vice versa. When both of the third telescopic actuators 13 , 14 are retracted, both of the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 will be displaced towards the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , and vice versa.
[0067] In the embodiment shown, the second telescopic actuator 12 is movably mounted to the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 via hinges allowing the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 to pivot, however only very limited, around horizontal axes extending transversely in relation to the second telescopic actuator 12 . Accordingly, one of the upper engagement mechanisms, 8 or 9 , must, along most of any displacement by the third telescopic actuators, be displaced in parallel with and in dependence of any displacement of the other upper engagement mechanism, 9 or 8 , and vice versa, when being displaced by the third telescopic actuators 13 , 14 in relation to the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 .
[0068] In an alternative embodiment, the second telescopic actuator 12 is more movably mounted to both the one upper engagement mechanism 8 and the other upper engagement mechanism 9 , possibly by means of ball-joint, or by means of a hinged connection with less limited pivotal movement. If that is the case, the one upper engagement mechanism 8 may be displaced individually and independently of the other upper engagement mechanism 9 , and vice versa, when being displaced by the third telescopic actuators 13 , 14 in relation to the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 .
[0069] Depending on whether only one of third telescopic actuators, 13 or 14 , or both of the third telescopic actuators, 13 and 14 , are extended, only one of the upper engagement mechanisms, 8 or 9 , or both of the upper engagement mechanisms, 8 and 9 , respectively, will be displaced away from the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 .
[0070] Depending on whether only one of the third telescopic actuators, 13 or 14 , or both of the third telescopic actuators, 13 and 14 , are retracted, only one of the upper engagement mechanisms, 8 or 9 , or both of the upper engagement mechanisms, 8 and 9 , respectively, will be displaced in a direction towards the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 .
[0071] Each of the support racks 15 , 16 of the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 is movably connected to a reference support 20 via fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 . The reference support 20 is the support provided at the front trailer 1 and/or the rear trailer 2 . Thus, the reference support 20 may e.g. be a king-pin to be mounted to the trailer. The fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 are intended for displacing the support racks 15 , 16 , and thus the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , in relation to the reference support 20 .
[0072] As mentioned earlier, in the embodiment shown, the second telescopic actuator 12 is movably mounted to the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 around a hinged connection having a limited pivotal movement. Accordingly, one of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 or 7 , must preferably, or necessarily, be displaced in parallel with and in dependence of any displacement of the other lower engagement mechanism, 7 or 6 , and vice versa, when being displaced by the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 in relation to the reference support 20 .
[0073] In an alternative embodiment, the second telescopic actuator 12 may be more movably mounted to both the one upper engagement mechanism 8 and to the other upper engagement mechanism 9 , possibly by means of ball-joint, or by means of a hinged connection with less limited pivotal movement. If that is the case, the support racks 15 , 16 and thus the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 may be displaced individually and independently of each other, and vice versa, when being displaced by the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 in relation to the reference support 20 .
[0074] In the alternative embodiment, depending on whether only one of the fourth telescopic actuators, 21 or 22 , or both of the fourth telescopic actuators, 21 and 22 , are extended, only one of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 or 7 , respectively, or both of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 and 7 , respectively, will be displaced in a direction away from the reference support 20 .
[0075] In the alternative embodiment, depending on whether only one of the fourth telescopic actuators, 21 or 22 , or both of the fourth telescopic actuators, 21 and 22 , are retracted, only one of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 or 7 , respectively or both of the lower engagement mechanisms, 6 and 7 , respectively, will be displaced in a direction towards the reference support 20 .
[0076] Based on a fixed mutual relationship between the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , i.e. no actuation of the first actuators 10 , 11 , the second actuator 12 and the third actuators 13 , 14 , and based on no actuation of fifth actuators 25 , 26 (see below), when both of the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 are retracted, the plane defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 will tilt around an axis A extending through joints 27 , 28 where the fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 are joined to the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 .
[0077] In alternative embodiment, at least one, preferably both, of the fifth actuators 25 , 26 are replaced by one or more beams having a fixed length, i.e. one or more beams not capable of being retracted or extended. The fourth actuators 21 , 22 are still provided so that a displacement of either the one fourth actuator 21 or the other fourth actuator 22 , or a differentiated displacement of each of the fourth actuators 21 , 22 results in the surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 being curved.
[0078] If the trailer 1 , 2 being connected to the reference support 20 is placed on a horizontal ground, the axis A will extend in a horizontal level. However, if the trailer is placed on a non-horizontal ground with the trailer tilting sideways, the axis A will be oblique in relation to a horizontal level. In any of the two situations, i.e. the axis A extending horizontally or obliquely, the axis A will extend perpendicular to a pre-dominant transportation direction T 1 of the front trailer 1 or a pre-dominant transportation direction T 2 of the rear trailer 2 , i.e. a direction in the plane of the paper when viewing the plane view of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 .
[0079] Each of the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are movably connected to the reference support 20 via fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 . The fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 are intended for displacing the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 in relation to the reference support 20 . As mentioned with reference to the above, the reference support 20 is the support provided at the front trailer 1 or the rear trailer 2 . Thus, the reference support may e.g. be a king-pin to be mounted to the trailer, or the reference support may be swivelling rim connected to the reference support and the trailer, or the reference support may be a part of a fifth wheel connection between the support system and the trailer, or the reference support may even be part of a spherical element being supported on the trailer or being supported on a loading area of the rear of a hauling truck. Preferably, at least on the rear trailer the reference support is a swivelling rim.
[0080] As mentioned earlier, in the embodiment shown, the second telescopic actuator 12 is not movably mounted to the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 . Accordingly, one of the upper engagement mechanisms, 8 or 9 , must be displaced in parallel with and in dependence of any displacement of the other engagement mechanism, 9 or 8 , and vice versa, when being displaced by the fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 in relation to the reference support 20 .
[0081] In an alternative embodiment, the second telescopic actuator 12 may be movably mounted to both the one upper engagement mechanism 8 and the other upper engagement mechanism 9 . If that is the case, the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 may be displaced individually and independently of the each other, and vice versa, when being displaced by the fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 in relation to the reference support 20 .
[0082] Based on a fixed mutual relationship between the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , i.e. no actuation of the first actuators 10 , 11 , the second actuator 12 and the third actuators 13 , 14 , and based on no actuation of fourth actuators 21 , 22 (see below), when both of the fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 are retracted, the plane defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 will tilt around an axis B extending through joints 23 , 24 where the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 are joined to the support racks 15 , 16 .
[0083] In alternative embodiment, at least one, preferably both, of the fourth actuators 21 , 22 are replaced by one or more beams having a fixed length, i.e. one or more beams not capable of being retracted or extended. The fifth actuators 25 , 26 are still provided so that a displacement of either the one fifth actuator 25 or the other fifth actuator 26 , or a differentiated displacement of each of the fifth actuators 25 , 26 results in the surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 being curved.
[0084] FIG. 6-37 show different individual positions which the embodiment of the individualized support 4 , 5 according to the invention may take. It is shown in FIG. 6-37 that the individualized support 4 , 5 according to the invention may be tilted along an axis extending transversely to the plane defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 .
[0085] As shown in FIG. 6-9 , the first actuators 10 , 11 , the second actuator 12 and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully extended, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a large substantially rectangular, plane surface.
[0086] As shown in FIG. 10-13 , the first actuators 10 , 11 , the second actuator 12 and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully retracted, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a small substantially rectangular, plane surface.
[0087] As shown in FIG. 14-17 , the first actuators 10 , 11 are fully extended, while the second actuator 12 and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully retracted, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a small trapezoidal plane surface having the base line extending downwards.
[0088] As shown in FIG. 18-21 , the first actuators 10 , 11 are fully retracted, while the second actuator 12 is fully extended, and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully retracted, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a small trapezoidal plane surface having the base line facing upwards.
[0089] As shown in FIG. 22-25 , the first actuators 10 , 11 are fully extended and the second actuator 12 is fully extended and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully retracted, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a substantially rectangular plane surface having the lower and upper side being substantially larger than the left side and the right side of the substantially rectangular plane surface.
[0090] As shown in FIG. 26-29 , the first actuators 10 , 11 are fully retracted and the second actuator 12 is fully retracted, while the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully extended, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a substantially rectangular plane surface having the left side and the right side being substantially larger than the lower side and the upper side of the substantially rectangular plane surface.
[0091] As shown in FIG. 30-33 , the first actuators 10 , 11 are fully extended, while the second actuator 12 is fully retracted and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully extended, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a large trapezoidal plane surface having the base line facing downwards.
[0092] As shown in FIG. 34-37 , the first actuators 10 , 11 are fully retracted, while the second actuator 12 is fully retracted and the third actuators 13 , 14 are all fully extended, thereby having the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 define a large trapezoidal plane surface having the base line facing upwards.
[0093] In FIG. 6 , FIG. 10 , FIG. 14 , FIG. 18 , FIG. 22 , FIG. 26 , FIG. 30 and FIG. 34 , the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 and the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are lying in a vertical plane being extended from the reference support 20 by the both the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 and fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 being fully extended.
[0094] In FIG. 7 , FIG. 11 , FIG. 15 , FIG. 19 , FIG. 23 , FIG. 27 , FIG. 31 and FIG. 35 the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 and the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are lying in a rearwards slanted plane by the fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 being partly retracted and the fourth actuators 21 , 22 being fully extended, thereby tilting the upper part of the plane rearwards around an axis extending through the joints 23 , 24 between the support racks 15 , 16 of the lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 and the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 .
[0095] In FIG. 8 , FIG. 12 , FIG. 16 , FIG. 20 , FIG. 24 , FIG. 28 , FIG. 32 and FIG. 36 , the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 and the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are lying in a vertical plane being retracted towards the reference support by the both the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 and fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 being partly retracted.
[0096] In FIG. 9 , FIG. 13 , FIG. 17 , FIG. 21 , FIG. 25 , FIG. 29 , FIG. 33 and FIG. 37 , the two lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 and the two upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are lying in a forwards slanted plane by the fifth telescopic actuators 25 , 26 being partly extended and the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 being fully retracted, thereby tilting the upper part of the plane forwards around an axis extending through the joints 23 , 24 between the support racks 15 , 16 of lower engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 and the fourth telescopic actuators 21 , 22 .
[0097] All of the above different displacements of two or all of the four engagement mechanisms may be combined in any manner, which is also evident from FIG. 6-37 . Thus, the movability of the individualized supports 4 , 5 according to the invention is optimal in the case, as shown in FIG. 6-37 , even where the second telescopic actuator 12 and the knee-joint 19 together with the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 are rigidly attached to the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 .
[0098] Accordingly, an increased movability is obtained for engagement between the four engagement mechanisms and a rigid structure of a wind turbine component to be suspended and transported.
[0099] In all of the embodiments shown, the surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms is a plane surface. The second telescopic actuator 12 and the knee-joint 19 together with the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 are however possibly movably attached to the engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , thereby allowing an individual displacement of only a single lower engagement mechanism, 6 or 7 , or only one engagement mechanism, 8 or 9 . Thereby, by displacing at least one of the engagement mechanisms 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 in relation to the other, i.e. by displacement of one of the engagement mechanisms out of the plane surface, a curved, non plane surface is formed.
[0100] Therefore, the surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms may be a plane surface or a curved, non-plane surface. Curved means non-plane surface, i.e. a continuously or a discontinuously curved surface. Discontinuously curved surface means a surface having a discontinuity such as a curved surface being constructed by two or more planes, where at least two planes are non-parallel.
[0101] Because of the joints of the knee-joint 19 with the support racks 15 , 16 being movable, i.e. being a ball-joint or similar joint which is movable in more than one plane, and if furthermore at least one of the joints of the first telescopic actuators 10 , 11 with the support racks 15 , 16 and with the knee-joint 19 are movable, i.e. is a ball-joint or similar joint being movable in more than one plane, and if even further at least one of the joints of the second actuator 12 with the upper engagement mechanisms 8 , 9 are movable, i.e. is a ball-joint or similar joint being movable in more than one plane, the surface defined by the four engagement mechanisms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 may be any desirable plane or curved surface.
[0102] Accordingly, in such an embodiment, a further increased movability is obtained for engagement between the four engagement mechanisms and a rigid structure of a wind turbine component to be suspended and transported.
|
The invention relates to a support system for a wind turbine component with a rigid structure such as a wind turbine nacelle or a section of a wind turbine tower. The support system comprises a plurality of engagement mechanisms ( 6, 7, 8, 9 ) defining at least three corners, possibly at least four corners, of a surface. The surface, in case of the support system comprising at least four engagement mechanisms, is capable of forming a curved surface, and the surface, in case of the support system comprising at least three engagement mechanisms, is at least capable of being tilted in relation to e.g. a vertical orientation. Further, the invention includes a method for operating the support system by simultaneously operating the lower and upper telescopic actuator on each of the support systems, so that the wind turbine component can be lifted or lowered.
| 5
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/616,234 filed Feb. 6, 2015, which is a continuation in part which claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 14/180,049 filed Feb. 13, 2014, itself a non-provisional application which claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 61/764,259 filed Feb. 13, 2013.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to drilling rigs, and specifically to slingshot rig structures for land drilling in the petroleum exploration and production industry.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] Land-based drilling rigs may be configured to be traveled from location to location to drill multiple wells within the same area known as a wellsite. In certain situations, it is necessary to travel across an already drilled well for which there is a well-head in place. Further, mast placement on land-drilling rigs may have an effect on drilling activity. For example, depending on mast placement on the drilling rig, an existing well-head may interfere with the location of land-situated equipment such as, for instance, existing wellheads, and may also interfere with raising and lowering of equipment needed for operations.
SUMMARY
[0004] The present disclosure provides for a land based drill rig. The land based drill rig may include a first and a second lower box, the lower boxes positioned generally parallel and spaced apart from each other. The land based drill rig may further include a drill floor. The drill floor may be coupled to the first lower box by a first strut, the first lower box and first strut defining a first substructure. The drill floor may also be coupled to the second lower box by a second strut, the second lower box and second strut defining a second substructure. The struts may be hingedly coupled to the drill floor and hingedly coupled to the corresponding lower box such that the drill floor may pivot between an upright and a lowered position. The drill floor may include a V-door oriented to generally face one of the substructures.
[0005] The present disclosure also provides for a land based drilling rig. The land based drilling rig may include a first and a second lower box, the lower boxes positioned generally parallel and spaced apart from each other. The land based drill rig may further include a drill floor. The drill floor may be coupled to the first lower box by a first strut, the first lower box and first strut defining a first substructure. The drill floor may also be coupled to the second lower box by a second strut, the second lower box and second strut defining a second substructure. The struts may be hingedly coupled to the drill floor and hingedly coupled to the corresponding lower box such that the drill floor may pivot between an upright and a lowered position. The drill floor may include a V-door oriented to generally face one of the substructures. The land based drilling rig may further include a mast coupled to the drill floor. The land based drilling rig may further include a tank support structure affixed to the first or second substructure. The tank support structure may include a tank and mud process equipment. The land based drilling rig may further include a grasshopper positioned to carry cabling and lines to the drilling rig. The grasshopper may be positioned to couple to the drill floor generally at a side of the drill floor, and the side of the drill floor to which the grasshopper couples may face towards the first or second substructure
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The summary and the detailed description are further understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present disclosure, there are shown in the drawings exemplary embodiments of said disclosure; however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods, compositions, and devices disclosed. In addition, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a side elevation from the driller's side of a drilling rig consistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an overhead view of a drilling rig consistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a drilling rig consistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific devices, methods, applications, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. Also, as used in the specification, including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “plurality,” as used herein, means more than one.
[0011] FIG. 1 depicts a side elevation of drilling rig 10 from the “driller's side” consistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Drilling rig 10 may include drill rig floor 20 , right substructure 30 , and left substructure 40 . Right and left substructures 30 , 40 may support drill rig floor 20 . Mast 50 may be coupled to drill rig floor 20 . As would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure, the terms “right” and “left” as used herein are used only to refer to each separate substructure to simplify discussion, and are not intended to limit this disclosure in any way. V-door side 22 of drilling rig 10 may be located over right substructure 30 . The V-door side 52 of mast 50 may correspondingly face right substructure 30 . Pipe handler 24 may be positioned to carry piping through a V-door as understood in the art positioned on V-door side 22 of drilling rig 10 . In some embodiments, grasshopper 26 may be positioned to carry cabling and lines to drilling rig 10 . In other embodiments (not shown), V-door side 22 and mast V-door side may face left substructure 40 . In some embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 1 , blow out preventer 90 may be located between left substructure 40 and right substructure 30 , i.e. drilling rig 10 may be centered over a wellbore.
[0012] In some embodiments, tank support structure 80 and tanks 70 may be included in drilling rig 10 . Tank support structure 80 may be affixed to right substructure 30 or left substructure 40 by means known to those of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure, including, but not limited to, welding and bolting. As shown in FIG. 1 , tank support structure 80 may be affixed to left substructure 40 . Tank support structure 80 may be located on the opposite substructure from V-door side 22 of drilling rig 10 . Tanks 70 may, for example, be mud tanks, auxiliary mud tanks, or other tanks useful in drilling operations and may be located within tank support structure 80 . In some embodiments, mud process equipment 100 may also be mounted within tank support structure 80 . Mud process equipment may include, for example, shakers, filters, and other equipment associated with the use of drilling mud.
[0013] FIG. 2 depicts an overhead view of drilling rig 10 consistent with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure in which V-door side 22 of drilling rig 10 , drilling rig floor 20 , and tank support structure 80 are shown. In some embodiments, choke manifold 102 may likewise be located on the rig floor. In some embodiments, accumulator 104 may likewise be located on the rig floor. In some embodiments, accumulator 104 may be a Koomey Unit as understood in the art.
[0014] In some embodiments, substructures 30 , 40 may be fixed as depicted in FIGS. 1, 2 . In some embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 3 , substructures 30 ′, 40 ′, may pivotably support drill rig floor 20 . Drill rig floor 20 may be pivotably coupled to one or more lower boxes 130 by a plurality of struts 140 together forming substructures 30 ′, 40 ′. Lower boxes 130 may support drill rig floor 20 . Lower boxes 130 may be generally parallel to each other and spaced apart. Struts 140 may be hingedly coupled to drill rig floor 20 and to lower boxes 130 . In some embodiments, struts 140 may be coupled to lower boxes 130 and drill rig floor 20 such that they form a bar linkage therebetween, allowing relative motion of drill rig floor 20 relative to lower boxes 130 while maintaining drill rig floor 20 parallel to lower boxes 130 . Thus, drill rig floor 20 may be moved from an upper position as shown in FIG. 3 to a lower position while remaining generally horizontal.
[0015] In some embodiments, the movement of drill rig floor 20 may be driven by one or more hydraulic cylinders 150 . In some embodiments, when in the upright position, one or more diagonals 160 may be coupled between drill rig floor 20 and lower boxes 130 to, for example and without limitation, maintain drill rig floor 20 in the upright position.
[0016] In some embodiments, with reference to FIGS. 1-3 , as they are mounted directly to a substructure ( 30 or 40 ) of drilling rig 10 , one or more pieces of equipment may travel with drilling rig 10 during a skidding operation. For example and without limitation, equipment may include tanks 70 , mud process equipment 100 , choke manifold 102 , accumulator 104 , mud gas separators, process tanks, trip tanks, drill line spoolers, HPU's, VFD, or driller's cabin 106 . As such any pipe or tubing connections between or taken from tanks 70 , mud process equipment 100 , choke manifold 102 , and/or accumulator 104 may remain connected during the skidding operations. This arrangement may allow, for example, more rapid rig disassembly (“rigging-down”) and assembly (or “rigging-up”) of drilling rig 10 before and after a skidding operation.
[0017] Additionally, by facing V-door side 22 of drilling rig 10 toward one of the substructures 30 , 40 , equipment and structures that pass through the V-door 23 or to drilling floor 20 from V-door side 22 of drilling rig 10 may, for example, be less likely to interfere with additional wells in the well field.
[0018] One having ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure will understand that the specific configuration depicted in FIGS. 1-3 may be varied without deviating from the scope of this disclosure.
[0019] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and that such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of said disclosure. It is, therefore, intended that the appended claims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of said disclosure.
|
The drilling rig includes a first substructure and a second substructure. The second substructure is positioned generally parallel to and spaced apart from the first substructure and generally the same height as the first substructure. The drilling rig further includes a drill floor coupled to the first and second substructures, where the drill floor positioned substantially at the top of the first and second substructures.
| 4
|
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a protective pad securing device worn by sports participants for securing protective pads in the proper position during play.
BACKGROUND
Protective pads, such as arm and elbow pads, are used widely to protect a sportsman's arm and elbow during contact or highly physical sports. Players engaged in a wide variety of sports use elbow pads of one design or another in field games such as football, hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, and rugby as well as individual or team sports such as the luge, toboggan, skiing and rock climbing.
The most common elbow pads are stand alone pads. A stand alone pad utilizes one or more elastic bands incorporated into the pad design that encase the arm and hold the pad in place through friction. Other types of stand alone pads use hook and loop straps attached to each side of the pad which are used to cinch the pad against the arm. Other types of stand alone pads use an inner layer of neoprene rubber to create a tackier surface to prevent slippage. These devices are lightweight, relatively inexpensive and easily adjusted by the wearer. Over time the pad tends to adapt itself to the wearer or the wearer becomes accustomed to that particular set of pads.
However, each type of these elbow pads present problems. While all of the types of stand alone pads work well prior to competition, all of them will inevitably slide down the player's arm due to perspiration, stretching of the fastening mechanism, physical inertia and player contact. This slippage is a distraction from the game requiring the wearer to constantly adjust the pad during play.
SUMMARY
Embodiments address issues such as these and others by providing a system of straps and attachment mechanisms that include various features conducive to securing protective pads in the proper position. For example, features of some embodiments provide for a set of straps to be worn across the shoulders and back. Particular embodiments allow for existing protective pads to be used. The straps of the apparatus provide a platform from which to suspend any stand alone protective pads allowing the wearer to utilize their current equipment.
A sports apparatus is described that includes a system of straps. A first strap has a first connection point and a second connection point. Adjacent to the first strap is a second strap having a first connection point and a second connection point. A first connection point of a third strap is connected to the first connection point of the first strap and the first connection point of the second strap. A first connection point of a fourth strap is connected to the second connection point of the first strap and the second connection point of the second strap. A first attachment means for connecting to a protective pad is included and is connected to a second connection point of the third strap. A second attachment means for connecting to a protective pad is included and is connected to a second connection point of the second strap.
A sports apparatus is described that includes a system of straps where at least one strap is adjustable. A first strap has a first connection point and a second connection point. Adjacent to the first strap is a second strap having a first connection point and a second connection point. At least the distance between the first connection point and the second connection point of the second strap is adjustable. A first connection point of a third strap is connected to the first connection point of the first strap and the first connection point of the second strap. A first connection point of a fourth strap is connected to the second connection point of the first strap and the second connection point of the second strap. A first attachment means for connecting to a protective pad is included and is connected to a second connection point of the third strap. A second attachment means for connecting to a protective pad is included and is connected to a second connection point of the fourth strap.
A sports apparatus is described that includes a system of straps where at least two of the straps are adjustable. A first strap has a first connection point and a second connection point. The distance between the first connection point and the second connection point of the first strap is adjustable. Adjacent to the first strap is a second strap having a first connection point and a second connection point. The distance between the first connection point and the second connection point of the second strap is adjustable. A first connection point of a third strap is connected to the first connection point of the first strap and the first connection point of the second strap. A first connection point of a fourth strap is connected to the second connection point of the first strap and the second connection point of the second strap. A first attachment means for connecting to a protective pad is included and is connected to a second connection point of the third strap. A second attachment means for connecting to a protective pad is included and is connected to a second connection point of the second strap.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present pad securing device.
FIG. 2 is a frontal view of an embodiment of the present pad securing device.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the first connection point of the first strap, a connecting means, and the first connection point of the third strap.
FIG. 4 is a close-up plan view of the second connection point of the first strap, the second connection point of the second strap, a connection means, and the first connection point of the fourth strap.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the third strap connecting to the first attachment means for connecting to a protective pad with a means for detachably connecting the attachment means to the third strap.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments include protective pad securing devices and associated methods for wearing and attaching securing devices to a variety of protective pads. Certain embodiments of securing devices include various features such as the construction of the straps, means to allow for adjusting the length of the straps, the means used to connect the straps, and means to attach the embodiments to protective pads. Certain embodiments of securing devices connect the first and second straps directly to the third and fourth straps while others connect the first and second straps to the third and fourth straps with the use of connectors. Certain embodiments connect the attachment means directly to the third and fourth straps while others secure the attachment means by the use of additional attachment devices. Certain embodiments allow for the distance between the first connection point and the second connection point of a strap to be adjusted.
FIGS. 1-5 show various views of illustrative embodiments of a securing device. The securing device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a first strap 101 , a second strap 102 , a third strap 105 and a fourth strap 106 . The width and length of the straps 101 , 102 , 105 and 106 can be of any width and length to provide for effectively securing pads about the wearer's arms. Particular dimensions of the wearer's body, such as the width of the wearer's shoulders, the diameter of the wearer's neck, the location of the pads about the wearer's arms, and the girth of the wearer's chest will influence the required length for each one of the straps.
One manner of fitting the securing device to the wearer's body can be to construct the straps with excessive length and to provide means to adjust the distance between the connections of the straps that can provide for an effective apparatus. Once the apparatus has been placed on the wearer's body the distance between the connections of the straps can be adjusted to provide for proper functioning of the mechanism. Another manner of fitting the securing device to the wearer's body can be to measure the necessary dimensions of the user's body, the location of the pads to be secured, and then adjust the locations of connections of the straps to provide for proper function of the mechanism. Once the proper adjustments have been made the securing device can be placed on the wearer's body. A further manner of fitting the securing device to the wearer can be to measure the necessary dimensions of the user's body, the location of the pads to be secured, and then to construct the dimensions of the apparatus according to the measurements of the wearer's body. Once the securing device has been constructed with the proper dimensions the securing device can be placed on the wearer's body.
The first strap 101 and the second strap 102 as shown in FIG. 1 are located adjacent to each other. Both the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 feature a first connection point 118 and 122 and a second connection point 120 and 124 . The first connection point 118 and 122 of the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 are substantially opposite from the second connection point 120 and 124 of the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 . The third strap 105 connects to the first connection point 118 of the first strap 101 and the first connection point 122 of the second strap 102 at a first connection point 126 of the third strap 105 . The fourth strap 106 connects to the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 at a first connection point 128 of the fourth strap 106 . The third strap 105 and fourth strap 106 both feature a second connection point 130 and 132 . The second connection point 130 and 132 of each strap 105 and 106 is substantially opposite of the first connection point 126 and 128 of each strap 105 and 106 .
The pad securing device as shown in FIG. 2 includes at least two attachment means to secure protective pads placed about a wearer's arms. A first attachment means 107 for allowing manual attachment and detachment of the third strap 105 to a protective pad 114 connects to the second connection point 130 of the third strap 105 . A second attachment means 108 for allowing manual attachment and detachment of the fourth strap 106 to a protective pad 115 connects to the second connection point 132 of the fourth strap 106 .
One example of an attachment means would be a suspender clip, well known in the art to hold up trousers. Alternative attachment means can also be used such as but not limited to a clasp, clamp, hook, clip, or hook and loop straps (e.g. Velcro® straps) that facilitate the proper function of the apparatus. Using such attachment means allows the wearer to attach his own set of protective pads to the third and fourth straps 105 and 106 .
The location of the connection points for each strap is a function of distance where the location of each connection point for a particular strap should be located according to the particular dimensions of the wearer's body and where the location of connection points allows for proper functioning of the apparatus.
In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , the first strap 101 can be worn around the wearer's chest while the second strap 102 can be worn laying below the back of the wearer's neck and across the wearer's shoulders. In the alternative, the second strap 102 can be worn around the wearer's chest and the first strap 101 can be worn across the wearer's shoulders. The first connection point 126 of the third strap 105 can be located near a first shoulder joint of the wearer's and the first connection point 128 of the fourth strap 106 can be located near a second shoulder joint of the wearer's . The third strap 105 , as shown in FIG. 2 , can extend in a substantially parallel direction to a first arm of the wearer and down to engage the first protective pad 114 placed about a first elbow of the wearer. The fourth strap 106 can extend in a substantially parallel direction to a second arm of the wearer and down to engage the second protective pad 115 placed about a second elbow of the wearer. The protective pads can be placed about other locations of the wearer's arms other than the elbows.
The manner in which the straps are connected at each connection point can vary. In one embodiment, the connections between the straps can be accomplished by the straps attaching directly to each other. The connection between the straps can be accomplished by various means such as stitching, rivets, adhesive, snaps, staples, buttons or any other equivalent means. The individual straps can also be connected to each other at the connection points with a first connector 103 and a second connector 104 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . An embodiment of the second connector 104 is shown in detail in FIG. 4 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the second connector 104 can connect to the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 , the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 , and the first connection point 128 of the fourth strap 106 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the first connector 103 can connect to the first connection point 118 of the first strap 101 , the first connection point 122 of the second strap 102 , and the first connection point 126 of the third strap 105 .
The first connector 103 and the second connector 104 , in an embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 , can each be in the form of bar slide connectors. The connectors 103 and 104 can each also include a first aperture and a second aperture where the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 pass through the first aperture of each connector, the third strap 105 passes through the second aperture of the first connector 103 , and the fourth strap 106 passes through the second aperture of the second connector 104 . Additional embodiments of the connectors 103 and 104 can be used. Other embodiments of the connectors 103 and 104 can be in the form of simple structures such as each connector comprising a ring. An embodiment of the connectors can also take more complex forms, such as each connector including more than two apertures, such as where there is an aperture dedicated to each strap on each connector.
In an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the distance between the first connection point of a strap and the second connection point of a strap can be adjusted. The distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 can be adjusted. Similarly, the distance between the first connection point 122 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 can be adjusted. The distance between the first connection point 126 and the second connection point 130 of the third strap 105 can be adjusted. Furthermore, the distance between the first connection point 128 and the second connection point 132 of the fourth strap 106 can be adjusted.
In an embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a wafer, such as 109 , or 111 , can be provided to allow for the location of a connection point, such as 118 , 120 , 122 or 124 , to be adjusted. Each wafer can be attached and detached from points along the strap that the wafer is used upon. Each wafer can have a first side and a second side. Each side of the wafer can be constructed of a material that allows the wafer to attach to a strap by pressing with adequate force against the strap and to be detached from the strap by adequate force pulling the wafer away from the strap. This capability of detaching and reattaching allows for the points that a wafer attaches to a strap to be moved back and forth along the strap. The detach and reattach capability can be accomplished by each side of the wafer being constructed of a fastener, such as a hook type fastener. The surface of each one of the straps can provide for the looped surface for the hooked wafer to detach from a strap and then again attach to the strap (e.g. Velcro® fasteners). This detaching and reattaching of the wafers to the straps can be described as detachably attaching. Alternative means, that may or may not include wafers, can be used to allow for adjusting the locations of the connection points and to provide for the capability of detachably attaching. These alternative means can include but are not limited to clasps, clamps, hooks, clips, buttons, or snaps that are placed about the straps 101 , 102 or on one or both sides of the wafers 109 , 111 that allow the connection points to vary.
In an embodiment, shown in detail in FIG. 3 , a first wafer 109 can be used to connect the first strap 101 to the first connector 103 at the first connection point 118 of the first strap 101 . The first strap 101 can include a first end section and a mid-section. The first end section can be separated from the mid-section by the first strap 101 passing through the first connector 103 and the first end section extending from the first connector 103 such that the first end section attaches to the first side of the first wafer 109 and the second side of the first wafer 109 attaches to the mid-section of the first strap 101 . The point at where the first strap 101 passes through the first connector 103 is the first connection point 118 of the first strap 101 .
The first wafer 109 can also be used to connect the second strap 102 to the first connector 103 at the first connection point 122 of the second strap 102 , as shown in FIG. 1 . The second strap 102 can include a first end section and a mid-section. The first end section can be separated from the mid-section by the second strap 102 passing through the first connector 103 and the first end section extending from the first connector 103 such that the first end section attaches to the first side of the first wafer 109 and the second side of the first wafer 109 attaches to the mid-section of the second strap 102 . The point at where the second strap 102 passes through the first connector 103 is the first connection point 122 of the second strap 102 . It can be appreciated that a separate wafer can be used to connect the second strap 102 to the first connector 103 at the first connection point 122 of the second strap 102 , rather than the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 sharing the first wafer 109 at their first connection point 118 and 122 . The first wafer 109 can abut against the first connector 103 such that the first connection point 118 of the first strap 101 and the first connection point 122 of the second strap 102 are locked in place about the first connector 103 .
A second wafer 111 can be used to connect the first strap 101 to the second connector 104 at the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The first strap 101 can include a second end section. The second end section can be separated from the mid-section by the first strap 101 passing through the second connector 104 and the second end section extending from the second connector 104 such that the second end section attaches to the first side of the second wafer 111 and the second side of the second wafer 111 attaches to the mid-section of the first strap 101 . The point at where the first strap 101 passes through the second connector 104 is the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 .
The second wafer 111 can also be used to connect the second strap 101 to the second connector 104 at the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 , as shown as FIG. 2 . The second strap 102 can include a second end section. The second end section can be separated from the mid-section by the second strap 102 passing through the second connector 104 and the second end section extending from the second connector 104 such that the second end section attaches to the first side of the second wafer 111 and the second side of the second wafer 111 attaches to the mid-section of the second strap 102 . The point at where the second strap 102 passes through the second connector 104 is the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 . The second wafer 111 can abut against the second connector 104 such that the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 are locked in place against the second connector 104 . It can be appreciated that a separate wafer can be used to connect the second strap 102 to the second connector 104 at the second connection point 122 of the second strap 102 , rather than the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 sharing the second wafer 111 at their second connection point 120 and 124 .
As shown in FIG. 2 , the distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 can be adjusted by altering where the second wafer 111 attaches to the second end section of the first strap 101 . To decrease the distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 , the point of attachment of the second wafer 111 to the second end section of the first strap 101 can be moved further away from the end of the first strap 101 . To increase the distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 , the point of attachment of the second wafer 111 to the second end section of the first strap 101 can be moved closer to the end of the first strap 101 . In a similar fashion, the distance between the first connection point 122 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 can be adjusted by altering where the second wafer 111 attaches to the second end section of the second strap 102 as shown in FIG. 2 . It can be appreciated that the distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 can also be adjusted by altering where the first wafer 109 attaches to the first end section of the first strap 101 . Similarly, the distance between the first connection point 122 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 can be adjusted by altering where the first wafer 109 attaches to the end section of the second strap 102 .
The distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 can also be adjusted by altering where the second wafer 111 is attached to the mid-section of the first strap 101 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 can be increased by moving the point of attachment of the second wafer 111 to the mid-section of the first strap 101 closer to the second connector 104 . The distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 can be decreased by moving the point of attachment of the second wafer 111 to the mid-section of the first strap 101 further away from the second connector 104 . Likewise, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the distance between the first connection point 122 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 can be adjusted by altering where the second wafer 111 is attached to the mid-section of the second strap 102 . It can be appreciated that the distance between the first connection point 118 and the second connection point 120 of the first strap 101 can also be adjusted by altering where the first wafer 109 is attached to the mid-section of the first strap 101 . Similarly, the distance between the first connection point 122 and the second connection point 124 of the second strap 102 can be adjusted by altering where the first wafer 109 is attached to the mid-section of the second strap 102 .
As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a third wafer 110 can be used to attach the loose end of the second end section of the first strap 101 to the mid-section of the first strap 101 . A fourth wafer 116 can be used to attach the loose end of the second end section of the second strap 102 to the mid-section of the second strap 102 . It can be appreciated that additional wafers can be used to connect the loose end of the first end section of the first strap 101 to the mid-section of the first strap 101 and to attach the loose end of the first end section of the second strap 102 to the mid-section of the second strap 102 .
The distance between the two connection points 118 and 120 of the first strap 101 can be adjusted independently of the distance between the two connection points 122 and 124 of the second strap 102 . Furthermore, the distance between the first connection point of a strap can be adjusted independently of the second connection point of a strap. As stated above, other attachment devices such as but not limited to detachable buckles, clips, clamps, snaps, buttons and hooks can be used in place of the wafers 109 and 111 to connect the first strap 101 and the second strap 102 to the first connector 103 and the second connector 104 and still provide adjustability for each connection point and to provide for detachably attaching the straps.
Additional mechanisms can be used to connect the third strap 105 and the fourth strap 106 to the attachment means 107 and 108 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the use of hook and loop fasteners can be used to allow for the distance between the first connection point 126 and the second connection point 130 of the third strap 105 to be adjusted. In a similar fashion, as shown by FIG. 2 , the use of hook and loop fasteners can be used to allow for the distance between the first connection point 128 and the second connection point 132 of the fourth strap 106 to be adjusted. Other means can be used to allow the distance between the first connections points 126 and 128 to be varied from the second connection points 130 and 132 . Examples of these means include but are not limited to straps configured with buttons, snaps, hooks, buckles, clips or clamps.
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment that allows for the distance between the first connection point 126 and the second connection point 130 of the third strap 105 to be adjusted. The third strap 105 can further include a first end section and a second end section. The first end section of the third strap 105 can be separated from the second end section by the first end section passing through the first connector 103 and extending from the first connector 103 such that the first end section is adjacent to the second end section. Where the third strap passes through the first connector 103 is the location of the first connection point of the third strap 126 . A fifth strap 112 can include a first end section and a second end section. The first end section can be separated from the second end section by the first end section passing through the first attachment means 107 and extending from the first attachment means 107 such that the first end section is adjacent to the second end section. The first end section of the fifth strap 112 can attach to the first end section of the third strap 105 and the second end section of the fifth strap 112 can attach to the second end section of the third strap 105 . The point of attachment between the third strap 105 and the fifth strap 112 forms the second connection 130 of the third strap 105 .
The distance between the first connection point 126 and the second connection point 130 of the third strap 105 can be adjusted by varying where the fifth strap 112 and the third strap 105 attach to each other. If the end sections of the fifth strap 112 are attached to the end sections of the third strap 105 such that there is an increased amount of overlap between the end sections of the two straps then the distance between the two connection points 126 and 130 is shortened. Likewise, if the straps 105 and 112 are attached to each other with a lessened amount of overlap then the distance between the connection points 126 and 130 is increased.
An embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , also allows for the distance between the first connection point 128 and the second connection point 132 of the fourth strap 106 to be adjusted. The fourth strap 106 can include a first end section and a second end section. The first end section can be separated from the second end section by the first end section passing through the second connector 104 and extending from the second connector 104 such that the first end section is adjacent to the second end section. Where the fourth strap 106 passes through the second connector 104 is the location of the first connection point 128 of the fourth strap 106 . A sixth strap 113 can include a first end section and a second end section. The first end section can be separated from the second end section by the first end section passing through the second attachment means 108 and extending from the second attachment means 108 such that the first end section is adjacent to the second end section. The first end section of the sixth strap 113 can attach to the first end section of the fourth strap 106 and the second end section of the sixth strap 113 can attach to a second end section of the fourth strap 106 . The point of attachment between the fourth strap 106 and the sixth strap 113 forms the second connection point 132 of the fourth strap 106 .
The distance between the first connection point 128 and the second connection point 132 of the fourth strap 106 can be adjusted by varying where the sixth strap 113 and the fourth strap 106 attach to each other. If the end sections of the sixth strap 113 are attached to the end sections of the fourth strap 106 such that there is an increased amount of overlap between the end sections of the two straps then the distance between the two connection points 128 and 132 is shortened. Likewise, if the straps 106 and 113 are attached to each other with a lessened amount of overlap then the distance between the connection points 128 and 132 is increased.
In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 2 , the fifth strap 112 and sixth strap 113 can be constructed of a hooked fastener material while the third strap 105 and fourth strap 107 can be constructed of a looped fastener material such that at each point where the fifth strap 112 attaches to the third strap 107 and the sixth 113 strap attaches to the fourth strap 108 a hook and loop fastening is formed (e.g. Velcro® straps). The use of the hook and loop fastening allows the straps to be attached, detached, and attached again repeatedly. This detaching and reattaching of the straps to each other can be described as detachably attaching. It can be appreciated that one example of a hook and loop fastening the fifth strap 112 and the sixth strap 113 can be constructed of a looped fastener, and the third strap 105 and the fourth strap 107 constructed of a hooked fastener. Other means of detaching and reattaching of the straps may be used, such as but not limited to clasps, clamps, hooks, clips, buttons, or snaps.
It will be appreciated that each one of the straps of FIGS. 1 and 2 can be composed of any desired material that facilitates the proper functioning of the apparatus. In an embodiment, the straps 101 , 102 , 105 and 106 can be composed of an elastic material. Certain materials such as lycra, neoprene, and spandex can be employed in the construction of the straps. In an embodiment, the straps 101 , 102 , 105 and 106 can be composed of a non-elastic material such as nylon or polypropylene. In another embodiment, in place of flat straps, for one or more of the straps 101 , 102 , 105 and 106 , straps of varying cross sections, such as straps with a circular or an elliptical cross section can be used. Certain examples of straps not having a flat cross section can include cord, rope or custom formed webbing. The straps 101 , 102 , 105 and 106 can also be composed of a perforated material or material including slots or other types of venting to allow better airflow through the apparatus. Furthermore, the width of the straps 101 , 102 , 105 and 106 relatively to each other can vary. The first strap 101 can be of a greater or lesser width than the second strap 102 . The third strap 105 and fourth strap 106 can be of a greater or lesser width than either the first strap 101 or second strap 102 depending upon a particular application. Additionally, the third strap 105 can be of a greater or lesser width than that of the fourth strap 106 .
While various embodiments of a sports apparatus have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention embodiments.
|
Securing devices secure the position of protective pads on the arms of a user of the protective pads. A first strap and a second strap are placed over the head with the head of the user passing in between the first and second strap. The first and second straps connect to a third strap at a first connection point. At a second connection point opposite from the first connection point a fourth strap connects to the first and second straps. The third and fourth straps each connect to an attachment device. The attachment devices connect to the protective pads of the wearer. Each one of the straps can each be adjustable to accommodate wearers of varying dimensions. The attachment devices can be detachable from the protective pads so that the wearer can utilize the securing device in conjunction with protective pads that the wearer already has.
| 0
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 260,675, filed May 5, 1981, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is with respect to a flexible armored synthetic resin hose, more specifically for showers, with an extruded inner hose part of thermoplastic or elastomeric material, an extruded outer hose part of thermoplastic or elastomeric material, which is at least partly supported so as to be spaced from the inner hose part, and a reinforcement helix for armoring the hose, said helix being placed between said inner and said outer hose parts.
2. Prior Art
In an earlier design of flexible synthetic resin hose (see German Pat. No. 2,261,126) a wire helix of round cross-section and made of metal or a hard synthetic resin is placed round an inner hose part of plasticised polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") without however being joined with the inner hose part. Between the coils of the wire helix a thin hard PVC band is coiled which is markedly broader than the thickness of the wire of the wire helix. This coiled hard PVC band is joined not only with the inner hose part but furthermore with the outer hose part along its full length, it having the purpose of making certain that the inner hose part is not inwardly buckled on bending the hose sharply and for this reason decresing the flow cross-section within the hose. Such a hose is however somewhat stiff because the hard PVC band, which together with the inner hose part and the outer hose part takes the form of a generally thick compound body, may not be readily bent. For this reason, on bending that part, of the outer hose part placed on the wire helix is forced together to a high degree and outwardly buckled on the side of the hose with the smaller radius so that the material is acted upon by high forces.
In a further earlier design of flexible synthetic resin hose (see German Offenlegungsschrift specification No. 2,722,928), a flexible reinforcement band of relatively hard synthetic resin is coiled about the inner hose part and strongly joined with it and with the outer hose part, that is to say with the outer part, by reinforcement lips running outward therefrom in a radial direction and running round the structure, such lips at the same time fixing the spacing between the outer and inner hose parts. In the case of this flexible hose part the space between the coils of the reinforcement helix is free so that the hose has good bending properties. However it has now turned out that the flexibility of the hose might be made even better for general use. Furthermore there have been shortcomings in connection with adhesively joining the hard synthetic resin with the plastizised synthetic resin of the hose parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of this, one purpose of the present invention is that of designing a pressure hose, more specially for showers, which with respect to flexiblity is better than earlier synthetic resin hose designs and is furthermore free of signs of wear even after long times of use.
The present invention is characterized in that the reinforcement helix is covered by a helix-like hose round it, said helix-like hose being joined not only with the inner hose part but furthermore with the outer hose part. The covering is best made of a generally soft plastic or elastomeric material and is more specially transparent. For producing the connection, the covering is best welded and/or adhesively joined to the inner and outer hose parts.
The covering of the generally hard reinforcement helix is responsible for useful effects on producing the hose and furthermore the use thereof. On the helix it is for example possible, before it is covered, to put a metallized foil or metal foil so that the hose, when designed for showers and having a metal casing may be given the desired look. By covering the structure with soft synthetic resin such a metal coating is safeguarded against damaging effects. The key-function of the covering of the reinforcement helix is to be seen in that, because of covering, a strong adhesive bond between the outer and inner hose parts is produced, such a bond being very much better than on making any attempt at directly bonding or joining the reinforcement helix, which may for example be made of polyamide, polyester, polyurethane and more specially hard PVC or polypropylene, with the outer and inner hose parts. Furthermore the covering, which more specially is designed so that there is no sticking to the reinforcement helix, may be elastically changed in form on stretching of the outer and/or inner hose parts without such stretching being stopped by the hard reinforcement helix. Because of this, the flexibility of the hose is very much increased and at the same time in the case of the hose of the present invention it is possible to make certain, because the covered reinforcement helix takes the form as well of the connection element between the inner and outer hose parts, that the spaces between the coils of the reinforcement helix are kept free so that, when the hose is bent, the coils of the reinforcement helix may be pushed together at the inner side of the bend of the hose. On the other hand this inbetween space of the present hose may furthermore be made smaller than the breadth of the reinforcement helix and more specially so as to be equal to about 1/3 to 2/3 of the breadth of the helix so that the metallization of the helix will be more clearly seen because of the smaller helix lead, the hose then, to the eye, having quite the same look as a metal hose.
The reinforcement helix is best made in the form of a flat strip with a generally rectangular to oval cross-section, the flat sides being turned inwards and outwards towards the inner hose and outer hose parts. If there is not adhesive bond between the reinforcement helix and its covering, there will be a chance of the covering moving slippingly along the helix so that any stresses, produced on twisting the hose, may be taken up and it will not be possible for the connection between the covering and the inner and outer hose parts to be broken.
The flexibility of the hose of the present invention may be increased in the case of one working example if the radial spacing or distance between the inner and outer hose parts between the coils of the reinforcement helix is made smaller by decreasing the diameter of the outer hose part and/or increasing the diameter of the inner hose part, such motion of the inner and outer hose parts so as to be nearer together being able to be produced in a number of different ways, for example by the use of a pressure on molding the material of the outer hose part onto the reinforced inner hose part, the degree to which they are moved together being controlled by the pressure level. The distance between the inner and outer hose parts may even be decreased to such a degree that the two hose parts are in contact between the coils of the reinforcement helix and may even be joined together permanently at these positions.
In the case of a preferred working example of the invention the inner hose part is made of rubber, such rubber being more specially resistant to hot water so that one may be certain of troublefree use of the hose, while on the other hand, because the inner hose part of rubber is very elastic, the hose will be able to be stretched and there will be elastic recovery, that is to say when not acted upon by the stretching force, the hose will go back to the length it had in the first place. Furthermore the flexibility of the hose will be increased while at the same time when it is sharply bent there will be less stressing of the material, because such bending is made more readily possible by the stretch property of the rubber at the outside of the bend. If the inner hose part is made of rubber, then because of its higher flexibility the covering of the reinforcement helix may furthermore be made to be generally flexible or so as to be adhesively fixed to the reinforcement helix.
Because rubber is less well able to be joined to a soft thermoplastic synthetic resin (as for example plasticized PVC) than synthetic resins are able to be joined together, the outer face of the rubber is best conditioned with an adhesion adjuvant for producing a strong bond with the covering of the reinforcement helix. The adhesion adjuvant may be put on in strips or in a helix in line with the general form of the reinforcement helix touching the inner hose part, but however as a general rule, the full face of material will be conditioned with adjuvant. Such an adhesion adjuvant may well be an elastomeric adhesive compound, as for example one based on polyurethane, although it is furthermore possible for the full rubber inner hose part to be coated with a thin layer of soft synthetic resin in addition to, or in place of, an adhesive compound, such a soft synthetic resin best being the same sort of synthetic resin as is used for making the covering of the reinforcement helix and in this way a very strong bond may be produced between the covering of the reinforcement helix and the inner hose part.
The hose of the present invention may furthermore usefully be reinforced in the axial direction by threads generally running in the axial direction and positioned between the inner hose part and the reinforcement helix, such threads being more specially flexible multifilament threads which however may not be stretched and which are placed flatly against the inner hose part. They may furthermore be within synthetic resin bands or ribbons, for example made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), for example by being worked into them or by being coated with them. If the inner hose part is made of rubber, the axial reinforcement threads are then best made longer than the inner hose part in the stress-free condition, so that it is possible for the hose to be made elastic in the length direction while having a reinforcement in the same direction, stretch in the length direction being clearly limited by the length of the threads. For making certain of stretch properties, the reinforcement threads are not placed completely straight on the inner hose part but in such a manner that they may still be "stretched", that is to say pulled out straight. To this end the threads may be placed in zig-zag form and/or with outwardly running folds on the inner hose part. The lengthways elasticity of the hose, which may be in a range between 5% and 100%, is for this reason best limited to about 10 to 20%, this being great enough for most cases. Because of the lengthways elasticity of the hose, it is possible for the spacing between the coils of the helix furthermore to be kept less than one half or one third of the breadth of the reinforcement band, this nevertheless making certain of good flexibility. It is even possible for the separate coils of the helix to be placed right against each other. As a rule 6 to 24, or more specially, 8 to 20 reinforcement threads will be present.
The present invention is furthermore with respect to a process for making the pressure hose in the case of which the inner hose part has coiled round it a monofilament reinforcement band (which may be metallized if desired) in the form of a helix and after this an outer hose part is extruded over the reinforcement helix so formed. The process is characterized in that a flexible reinforcement band of hard synthetic resin is covered with a soft synthetic resin, which is molded onto it, the so-covered reinforcement band is coiled onto the inner hose part and the covering of the reinforcement band is joined with the inner and outer hose parts. The best material for covering the reinforcement band is a material which, using adhesion adjuvants if desired, may be strongly joined to the inner and outer hose parts so that the reinforcement band is fixedly positioned in the hose and a strong bond is produced between the inner and outer hose parts. The inner hose part is best coated, before it has the covered reinforcement band coiled onto it, with an adhesive, more specially an elastic one. This will more specially be the case when the inner hose part, as part of a preferred working example of the invention, is an elastomeric hose, more specially a rubber hose. The inner hose part may have the reinforcement band coiled on it while the hose part is in a stretched condition, the degree of stretch being best about 5 to 20%, so that such coiling-on may take place with a generally large lead or pitch, the lead then being decreased again on the hose's springing back on elastic recovery. In this way it becomes possible for the separate coils of the helix to be placed very near each other or it will even be possible for them to be pulled up against each other by a spring force.
If for axial reinforcement threads are used joined to the inner hose part, such threads will best be put in place when the inner hose part is stretched by 5 to 100% and more specially 10 to 20%. The axial reinforcement threads may be adhesively joined, at least at separate points, in the case of one working example of the invention.
More specially in those cases in which the inner hose part is a hose of elastomeric material it may be useful for the inner hose part to have extruded or molded round it a casing of thermoplastic material for radially stabilizing the structure and for producing a better bond with the reinforcement helix and, if desired, the outer hose part, such a casing being made of thermoplastic material and best having elastic properties so that it may be moved with the rest of the rubber hose. Before extruding the inner hose part it may be coated with adhesion adjuvant as for example an adhesive. The extruding of plasticized thermoplastic synthetic resin round the inner hose part is best undertaken in the unstretched condition of the inner hose part. On extruding the material of the outer hose part round the inner hose part, having the reinforcement helix thereon, the outer hose part may be stretched to a greater or lesser degree so that the properties of the hose may be changed as desired. Furthermore it is possible for the form of the spaces between the separate coils of the reinforcement helix to be changed by producing different pressure conditions at the extruding head when the material of the outer hose part is being extruded, it being possible, by using a gauge pressure produced from the outside, to make certain that still-soft synthetic resin material is formed inbetween the coils of the helix, at least in part, radially inwards.
In the case of a preferred working example of the invention the face, turned towards the outer hose part, of the covering has a special outline in cross-section, that is to say is not simply round and smooth, such an outline having for example lips running along edges, so that the joining face between the outer hose part and the covering is limited to the outer side or top side of the outline of the covering, this stepping up the flexibility of the hose part, because the outer hose part is then still able to be bent and elastically changed in form even at the position in which it is joined with the covering.
More specially in the case of a hose for showers the ends thereof may well be capped by end sleeves or end fittings. Such end sleeves may be specially strongly fixed in position if the lead or pitch of the reinforcement helix is made smaller at the hose ends, and is more specially decreased to zero, that is to say so that the separate coils of the helix will be touching each other.
The inner hose part may, if desired, have a thin coating of soft synthetic resin extruded or molded onto it, possible after conditioning with an adhesive, and before having the reinforcement band coiled onto it, such soft synthetic resin best having elastic properties. In this way it is simpler for the reinforcement helix to be fixed on the inner hose part. Such extruding of the synthetic resin is best undertaken when the inner hose part is generally not in a stretched condition.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Further details and useful effects of the invention will be seen from the account now to be given of preferred working examples to be seen in the figures and in the claims.
FIG. 1 is a lengthways section through a first working example of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-section through the working example of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-section through the covered reinforcement helix of FIG. 1 on a larger scale.
FIG. 4 is a cross-section through a further working example of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-section through yet another working example.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The working example of the invention to be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3 takes the form of a two-walled shower hose 1, whose inner hose part 2 is made of neoprene which has an inner diameter of about 8 mm and a wall thickness of about 1 mm. The inner hose part 2 has on its outer face a coating 3 of an elastomeric adhesive on which multifilament reinforcement threads 4 are placed flatly so as to running in a generally axial direction.
The reinforcement helix 5 is coiled on to the inner hose part armored with the reinforcement threads, the helix 5 stabilizing the inner hose part 2 radially as desired. The reinforcement helix 5 is made of hard PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and has a rectangular or oval cross-section, a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 mm and a breadth of about 3 to 4 mm. The reinforcement helix 5 has, on its outer face, a thin metal foil or a metallized synthetic resin foil 6 made for example of polyester for giving the hose the desired metal look. The reinforcement helix 5, together with the metallized foil, has a coating of soft PVC extruded or molded round it for producing a hose structure with a thickness of 0.1 to 0.4 mm, such outer structure being tightly fixed on and round the reinforcement helix but however not sticking thereto. This covering 7 on the helix 5 may be slipped along the helix to some degree, when acted upon by forces, more specially when the covering is stretched in the cross-wise direction on bending hose 1.
The covered reinforcement helix 5 is used as a connection element for producing a connection between the inner hose part 2 and an extruded outer hose part 8 of soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or soft vinyl, the flat connection being produced between the covering 7 and the inner hose part 2 by way of adhesive coating 3, while on the other hand the covering 7 is welded to the outer hose part 8. The lead (or pitch) of the reinforcement helix 5 is about 11/2 to 13/4 times the breadth of the reinforcement helix 5 so that the space 9 between any two coils of the reinforcement helix is smaller than the breadth of the reinforcement helix 5. In this space between the coils the outer hose part 8 is pulled in somewhat so as to become smaller in diameter. In other respects the inbetween space, but for radially outwardly running folds 10 of the axial reinforcement threads 4, is hollow and free of any other filling or reinforcement parts.
The axial reinforcement threads 4 are about 10% longer than the rubber hose part 2 in the stress-free condition, such threads running on hose part 2 in a somewhat wavy or zig-zag line and/or forming folds 10 running out into hollow space 9 so as to make possible a desired, limited stretching of hose 1 because they are able to be pulled out straight but, once pulled out straight, they have the effect of stopping any further stretching of the hose. Because of this design the overall shower hose has a high degree of flexibilityl, which is increased by the bellow-like folds of decreased diameter in the outer hose part, such folds running into the spaces 9 between the coils of reinforcement helix 5. Even with the small ratio between the lead to the breadth of the reinforcement helix 5, that is to say even with the narrow spaces between the coils of the helix, truly round bending in the form of a circle of hose 1 with a radius of 30 mm and even less is possible.
In the working example of the invention of FIG. 4 parts which are the same as parts in FIGS. 1 to 3 are marked with the same part numbers. In this further working example the rubber inner hose part, made of neoprene as well, has a further covering on its outer face, such covering being made up of an adhesive coating 11 all over the hose part, of elastomeric adhesive, and a thin coating 12, extruded onto the rubber hose, of soft PVC, for which the adhesive 11 is used as an adhesion adjuvant, it having a wall thickness of about 0.1 to 0.5 mm. Because this soft inbetween coating 12 placed all over the rubber hose part, the adhesive coating 11 is responsible for a strong bond and will not be pulled off even after the hose has been bent and stretched a large number of times in use. On the outside of the soft PVC inbetween layer there is again, as in the first working example, an adhesive coating 3 for producing a strong and complete bond between the covering 7 of reinforcement helix 5 and the soft PVC inbetween coating 12. Due not only to the covering 7, but the inbetween layer 12 as well being made of soft PVC, there is no need, in this case, for the adhesive coating 3, the bond and connection between the covering 4 and the PVC inbetween layer 12 then being able to be produced by welding or by using a solvent for the synthetic resins.
The working example of FIG. 4 is different however with respect to a further detail than working example of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the parts of the rubber hose inner part 2 with the soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride) coating thereon, briding over the spaces 9 between the coils of reinforcement helix 5, are radially curved outwards. On the other side the outer hose part 8 is so forced into the spaces 9 between the coils of the reinforcement helix with the forming of parts of smaller diameter or folds, that the outer hose part 8 is in contact with the inner hose part 2 and the soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride) coating 12 thereon so as to make a permanent bond therewith. For this reason the inner and outer hose parts take the form of oppositely running waved structures responsible for a very high level of flexibility of the hose, which may readily be bent. If desired, axially running reinforcement threads may be used in this working example of the invention as well.
FIG. 5 illustrates a re-enforcement helix 5 having a special outer face having lips 14 running outwardly therefrom in a radial direction around the structure.
The invention is however not limited to the working examples noted and a number of different changes may be made without giving up the general framework of the invention; for example the spacing between one coil and the next one of the reinforcement helix may be made so large that there is a large-area connection between the outer hose part with the smooth inner hose part, this structure having an outer hose part which is meandering when seen in lengthways section. This is possible if on extruding the material of the outer hose part round the inner hose part with the reinforcement helix enough pressure is used for forcing the outer hose part tightly against the helix and the inner hose part.
On the other hand a high level of elasticity in the lengthways direction may be produced by coiling the covered reinforcement helix 5 onto the inner hose part 2 with a small lead, that is to say the distance between the separate turns or coils of the helix, so that, in the stress-free condition of the rubber hose, such spaces are only about one half or even less of the the breadth of the reinforcement helix in size. The outer hose part may then be produced and extruded under a moderate pressure with the inner hose part stretched so that, when the structure is freed of stress, the outer hose part is then folded like a bellows and with V-like cross-section of the folds in an inward direction. If the hose is now stretched, the outer hose part will be pulled out and freed of the bellows-like folds so that it becomes smooth and free of folds without any high degree of stretch of the outer hose part being necessary. The same thing takes place on bending the hose at the outer side of a bend. It is furthermore possible for the outer hose part to be produced from a thermoplastic synthetic resin in place of rubber, a special adhesive coating on the outer side of the inner hose part then being unnecessary, if the inner hose part is as well made of soft synthetic resin as for example plasticized PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and in this case, for example, it will be enough for the covered reinforcement helix and the inner hose part to be joined together by wetting then with a solvent so that their contacting faces are somewhat dissolved and joined with each other. However a shower hose with an inner hose part of soft PVC is less resistant to hot water than such a hose with an inner hose part of rubber.
|
A flexible armored synthetic resin hose for showers, with an extruded inner hose part of thermoplastic or elastomeric material, an extruded outer hose part of thermoplastic or elastomeric material, which is at least partly supported so as to be spaced from the inner hose part, and a reinforcement helix for armoring the hose, said helix being placed between said inner and an outer hose parts.
| 4
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sealing apparatus for a submersible electric motor, and particularly a motor employed to drive a pump in a subterranean well.
2. History of the Prior Art
Electric motors have long been utilized to pump well fluids from subterranean wells. Normally, the motor and pump are located at substantial distances below the surface and are surrounded by well fluids. Since the well fluids to be pumped must penetrate the housing of the pump, it is unavoidable that the well fluids will come into contact with the shaft connecting the electric motor and the driven pump. Shaft seals in a large variety of configurations have been employed to prevent the leakage of well fluids downwardly along the shaft and into the motor housing, thus destroying the electrical insulation necessarily provided for the motor windings. Additionally, it is common practice to fill the interior of the motor housing with a high dielectric protective oil and this same oil has been provided in surrounding relationship to the shaft seals and bearings to absorb heat that is necessarily developed in the normal operation of the motor. When such protective fluid is employed, care must be taken to equalize the pressure of the confined protective fluid with that of the well fluids surrounding the motor for the reason that the existence of a substantial pressure differential in either direction will greatly contribute to leakage of the protective fluid of the motor enclosure, or worse, leakage of the well fluids into the motor housing.
To provide such pressure equalization, the prior art has resorted to the use of diaphragms which are disposed intermediate the motor protective fluid and the well fluid to achieve constant equalization of pressures therebetween through the expansion or contraction of the flexible diaphragm. Even this precaution does not preclude eventual leakage of well fluids into the interior of the motor housing resulting in a substantial reduction in the useful life of the downhole electric motor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a sealing apparatus for a downhole electric motor of the type employed for driving pumps in a subterranean well. Such sealing apparatus comprises a tubular housing assembly sealably attachable to the downhole motor housing and extending upwardly in concentric relationship to an extension shaft connected to the driving shaft of the motor and utilized to drive a pump. At the upper end of the tubular housing assembly, a seal mounting chamber is defined and within such chamber a double acting shaft seal is disposed to minimize leakage of well fluids downwardly along the shaft surface. The seal mounting chamber is connected by downwardly extending passages to the lower portions of an annular diaphragm chamber which is defined between a tube surrounding the motor extension shaft in radially spaced relationship and the inside surface of the outer tubular wall of the tubular housing assembly. Within this diaphragm chamber, a flexible annular rubber diaphragm is centrally and sealably mounted. Radial ports are provided at the upper end of the diaphragm chamber in the inner tube, thus providing fluid communication between the inner diaphragm chamber and an annular axial passage extending downwardly and communicating with the interior of the motor housing.
The seal mounting chamber and the inner diaphragm chamber are filled with motor protective fluid concurrently with the filling of the motor housing with such fluid. The external surface of the flexible diaphragm is exposed to well fluids. Thus, any pressure differentials existing between the motor protective fluid and the well fluids are absorbed by contraction or expansion of the flexible diaphragm.
In the event of leakage of the well fluid past the first of the double shaft seals, such well fluids, being heavier than the motor protective fluid, will flow by gravity to the bottom of the inner diaphragm chamber. They will be trapped in such chamber until the level of leakage well fluids reaches the ports disposed at the top of the diaphragm chamber, hence cannot flow downwardly into the motor housing until such level is reached.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the downwardly extending, annular passage around the extension shaft communicates with a labyrinth chamber which is defined between a second tube, which surrounds the shaft extension in radially spaced concentric relationship, and the inner surface of an outer tubular element of the housing assemblage. A downwardly extending fluid passage communicates from the first mentioned downwardly extending annular passage around the shaft to the bottom portion of the labyrinth chamber. Fluid can exit from the labyrinth chamber only through radial port means provided at the top of such passage which communicate with the top of the second axially extending passage which communicate through a tube to the bottom of a second labyrinth chamber. Fluid can exit from the second labyrinth chamber only through radial port means provided at the top of such chamber which communicate with the top of another downwardly extending annular passage surrounding the extension shaft. From there, fluid communication is provided through the bearings for the shaft extension and thence downwardly into the interior of the motor housing. Thus, a substantial amount of well fluids must leak past the first of the double shaft seals so as to fill both the diaphragm chamber and the labyrinth chamber before gaining access to the downwardly extending axial passage leading to the interior of the motor housing. The time required for this significantly large quantity of well fluid leakage to make its way past the first of the double shaft seals and the two labyrinth passages respectively defined in the diaphragm chamber and the labyrinth chamber, is substantially increased, thereby increasing the useful life of the motor by protecting the windings thereof from contact with well fluids.
Further advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the annexed sheets of drawings, on which is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A an 1B collectively represent a schematic vertical sectional view of a sealing apparatus embodying this invention, FIG. 1B being a vertical continuation of FIG. 1A.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A sealing apparatus for a submersible motor embodying this invention comprises a tubular housing assembly 10 which is sealably attached to the top end of the housing 1 of any conventional submersible electric motor, the details of which are not shown. An end flange 1a on such motor housing mates with a flange 10a provided on the bottom of the tubular housing assemblage 10, and bolts 1c clamp such flanges together. An O-ring 1b effects a seal of the connection. The motor shaft 1d is provided with splines 1e which engage corresponding splines provided in the lower end of a coupling 2. The upper end of coupling 2 has an internally splined sleeve 2a press fitted therein which receives the splined bottom end 5a of a motor shaft extension 5 which projects upwardly in concentric relationship to the tubular housing assembly 10 and terminates in a splined end 5b which is connectable by conventional apparatus to a subterranean well pump (not shown).
The tubular housing assemblage 10 comprises a plurality of outer thin-walled tubular elements 11a, 11b, and 11c which are respectively internally threaded at both ends and threadably engagable with a bottom connecting housing 20, a lower guide housing 25, an upper guide housing 30 and a shaft seal housing 40. The shaft seal housing 40 defines a bore 40a surrounding the upper portions of the motor extension shaft 5. A sleeve bearing 42 is snugly mounted in the bore 40a and the upper end of sleeve bearing 42 projects above the bottom of a counter bore 40b to cooperate with the internal bore 50a of a slinger element 50 which is sealably mounted on the motor extension shaft 5 by an O-ring 50b. Radial ports 41 are provided between the counter bore 40b and the exterior of the tubular housing assembly 10, thus permitting well fluids to surround the slinger 50 and the upper end of the sleeve bearing 42. Slinger 50 prevents particulates from settling in the bearing clearance between shaft extension 5 and sleeve bearing 42.
Upper seal housing 40 further defines a series of downwardly opening, successively larger counter bores 40c, 40d, 40e and 40f. The counter bore 40c slidably mounts a seal backup ring 43 which has an O-ring 43a engaging the counter bore 40c.
The counter bore 40d defines a larger diameter annular chamber within which is mounted a conventional double shaft seal unit 44. Shaft seal unit 44 incorporates an upper elastomeric seal ring 44a which is compressed into sealing engagement with the surface of extension shaft 5 and the adjacent surface of the backup ring 43 by a seal compression unit including a compression ring 44b, a spring guide 44c and a compression spring 44d. Identical elements are provided at the lower end of the double shaft seal unit 44 and effect the compression of a second elastomeric seal ring 44a by spring 44d against a seal support ring 46 which is sealably supported in an adaptor housing 45 by an O-ring 46a. Adaptor housing 45 is press fitted to the top of an upper guide tube 47, the lower end of which is press fitted in a counter bore 30b provided in the bore 30a of the upper guide housing 30. A second sleeve bearing 48 surrounds shaft 5 between lower seal support ring 43 and the top end of upper guide tube 47.
It should be recognized that any type of shaft seal may be mounted in the counter bore 40d and that the specific double seal unit 44 shown in the drawings represents only one of a large number of conventional structures that can be utilized at this point to effectively reduce leakage of well fluids downwardly along the exterior of the extension shaft 5.
The exterior of the upper guide tube 47 cooperates with the internal bore surface of the uppermost outer tubular housing section 11c to define an annular chamber 60. The central portions of chamber 60 are employed as an expansion chamber by clamping the end portions of a flexible annular diaphragm 61 to the lower portion 45a of the adaptor housing 45 and an upwardly projecting cylindrical portion 30d of the upper guide housing 30. Conventional hose clamps 62 may be employed for this purpose. The flexible diaphragm 61 is formed from rubber or any other suitable elastomeric material that is not affected by well fluids.
An axially extending passage 44g is provided in the seal mounting housing 40 connecting the upper counter bore 40b and hence the well fluids to the outer portions of the expansion chamber 60. Additionally, an axial passage 45c is provided in the adaptor housing 45 which extends from the lower end of the counter bore 40d in which the shaft seal unit 44 is mounted, to the inner expansion chamber 63 enclosed by the flexible diaphragm 61. Additionally, an extension tube 45k is mounted in the lower end of the passage 45c so that fluid coming through such passage is discharged adjacent the lower end of the inner expansion chamber 63.
A third axial passage 45d is provided in the guide adaptor 45 connecting the top of the inner expansion chamber 63 with an axially extending passage 44h which leads upwardly to a venting port 44k which is normally closed by a threaded plug 44m. As will be later described, the internal chamber 63 defined by the flexible diaphragm 61, as well as the seal mounting chamber defined by counter bore 40d is filled with a high dielectic strength oil which is of substantially lighter density than well fluids. Accordingly, any well fluids leaking through the shaft seal unit 44 will be deposited by passage 45c and extension tube 62 adjacent to the lower portions of the chamber defined by the flexible diaphragm 61. It follows that such well fluids cannot flow out of the chamber until sufficient fluids have collected to reach the elevation of the radial outlet ports 47a provided in upper guide tube 47 adjacent the upper end of the expansion chamber defined by the diaphragm 61. Moreover, any differences in pressure between the well fluids and the motor protective fluid will be equalized by contraction or expansion of the diaphragm 61, as the case may be.
The upper guide tube 47 defines a downwardly extending annular passageway 65 which could, if desired, lead directly into the interior of the motor housing. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, the downwardly extending axial passage 65 is instead sealed off within the upper guide housing 30. A sleeve bearing 31 and a shaft seal unit 32 are mounted in a counter bore 30b provided in the bottom end of the upper guide housing 30. The shaft seal unit 32 may constitute any conventional shaft seal unit and here is shown as comprising a backup ring 32a, an elastomeric sealing element 32b, a seal compressing ring 32c, a spring guide 32d, a spring 32e and a spring backup ring 32f. A C-ring 32g secures the backup ring 32f to the shaft extension 5.
In the lower portion of the counter bore 30b of the upper guide housing 30, a mounting ring 35 and a lower guide tube 37 are mounted by a press fit. Guide tube 37 cooperates with the inner wall of the outer housing element 11b to define a labyrinth chamber 66. An axially extending bypass passage 30h is provided in the upper guide housing 30 which communicates between the lower end of the downwardly extending annular passage 65 and the labyrinth chamber 66. An extension tube 67 is mounted in the lower end of the bypass passage 30h so as to deposit any fluid flowing through such passage in the lower portions of the labyrinth chamber 66. Fluid can only exit from labyrinth chamber 66 through a plurality of radial ports 37a provided in the upper end of the lower guide tube 37. It necessarily follows that leakage well fluids must fill substantially the entire labyrinth chamber 66 before they would rise to a level permitting them to flow downwardly through the annular passage 68 defined between the inner wall of the lower guide tube 37 and the outer surface of the shaft extension 5. A vent passage 30k extends upwardly from chamber 66 to a radial port 30m which is normally closed by a plug 30n.
The lower guide tube 37 is supported by being press fitted into a counter bore 25b provided in the central bore 25a of the lower guide housing 25. A downwardly opening counter bore 25c provides a mounting for still another sleeve bearing 26.
The lower guide housing 25 is provided with an axially extending bypass passage 25d communicating with the annular passage 68 at its upper end and at its lower end with a thrust bearing chamber 69 defined by the internal surface of the lower tubular element 11a of the tubular housing assembly 10. Additionally, a venting or filling passage 25e is provided in the housing 25 communicating with a radial port 25f which is closed by a threaded plug 25g.
A conventional thrust bearing unit 70 is mounted in the thrust bearing chamber 69. Since such thrust bearing forms no part of the present invention, it is shown only schematically. Suffice it to say that the thrust bearings are provided with fluid passages permitting the motor protective fluid to completely surround the thrust bearings to provide not only lubrication but also absorption of any heat resulting from the operation of the bearings.
The lower portion of the thrust bearing chamber 69 is in direct communication with a large upwardly opening counter bore 20c provided in the bore 20a of the connection housing 20. The counter bore 20c has a fluid guide block 21 press fitted therein and such guide block provides axially extending fluid passages 21a communicating between the counter bore 20c and the annular space defined between bore 20a and the exterior of the connecting sleeve 2. An annular porous metal filter 22 is mounted in overlying relatinship to the upper end of the passages 21a. Filter 22 is secured in position by a snap ring 23 which is secured to the upper end of the guide block 21. Thus, any particulates contained in fluid moving downwardly toward the motor housing 1 are removed from the downwardly moving stream by the porous metal filter 22.
The operation of the aforedescribed sealing apparatus should be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. The motor housing 1 and the interconnected chambers 20c, 69, 66, 63 and 40d of the tubular housing assembly are filled with the motor protective fluid, generally by forcing such fluid into the motor housing 1 and causing it to rise upwardly, with the vent plugs 44m, 33g, 25g and 30n removed to permit the venting of any trapped air. Obviously, as the level of such fluid rises to the level of the vent plugs, the vent plugs are reinserted.
To facilitate the release of pressure produced by the heating of the motor protective fluid after the initial fillup, an axial passage 30p is provided in upper guide housing 30 having its upper end communicating with the internal diaphragm chmaber 63. A downwardly inclined passage 30q connects the lower end of axial passage 30p to that portion of chamber 60 exposed to well fluids. A check valve 32 is mounted in the top portions of axial passage 30p to permit only outward flow of the motor protective fluid to discharge the expansion of such fluid produced during initial heat up or by any other pressure build up of the motor protective fluid which cannot be equalized with well fluid pressure by the diaphragm 61.
Well fluids are in contact with the extension shaft 5 only at the upper end thereof and can only flow downwardly along such shaft by leakage through the sleeve bearing 42 and the double seal 44. Any such fluid leakage moves by gravity through the downwardly extending passage 45c and extension tube 45k into the bottom portions of the inner expansion chamber 63. The well fluids cannot move out of the expansion chamber 63 until such chamber is substantially full of well fluids, following which the leakage well fluids can flow down the annular downwardly extending passage 65 into the axially extending passage 30h and through the tube 67 into the bottom of the labyrinth chamber 66. Again, leakage well fluids can only escape from labyrinth chamber 66 by filling such chamber to the level of the radial ports 37a from which they can flow downwardly to the motor housing 1 through the annular passage 68, chamber 69 and passages 21a, but may pass through the porous metal filter 22 before they reach the interior of the motor housing.
It is therefore apparent that a substantial amount of time would be required for the very significant amount of leakage fluid to be collected in the sealing apparatus so as to permit it to gain access to the interior of the motor housing.
At the same time, pressure differentials between the motor protective fluids and the well fluids are completely neutralized by the action of the flexible diaphragm 61. All heat generated by the operation of the various seals and bearings is absorbed by the motor protective fluid and, as mentioned, any pressure increase due to such temperature rise is readily absorbed by the flexible diaphragm 61.
It follows that the useful life of a downhole subterranean well motor employing a sealing apparatus embodying this invention is significantly increased due to the substantial isolation of the motor windings from well fluids over a long period of time, even though some leakage through the seals of the apparatus may occur.
Although the invention has been described in terms of specified embodiments which are set forth in detail, it should be understood that this is by illustration only and that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, since alternative embodiments and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the disclosure. Accordingly, modifications are contemplated which can be made without departing from the spirit of the described invention.
|
A sealing apparatus having particular utility in a submersible electric motor utilized in subterranean wells comprises a tubular housing assembly securable in upwardly projecting, sealed relationship to the motor housing. An extension of the motor shaft projects upwardly through the tubular housing to drive a pump or other subterranean well tool. The upper end of the extension shaft is exposed to well fluids and a first shaft seal is mounted in a seal mounting chamber defined in the upper end of the tubular housing assemblage. Below the seal mounting chamber, the tubular housing assemblage defines a diaphragm chamber. A conduit is provided between the lower portions of the seal mounting chamber and the lower portions of the diaphragm chamber. A flexible, annular diaphragm divides the diaphragm chamber and is exposed on its exterior to well fluids, and on its interior to a light density motor protective fluid, thus equalizing any pressure differential between the motor protective fluid and the external well fluids. The diaphragm chamber is connected at its upper end to a downwardly extending axial passage surrounding the motor shaft and communicating with the interior of the motor housing.
| 4
|
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present invention was first described in and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/866,673, filed Aug. 16, 2013, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adjustable frame and bracket device that secures to a door and assists a user with folding articles of fabric, such as garments, linen, blankets, and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One (1) common task that many of us face on laundry day is the folding of bed sheets, blankets, comforters, and other similar linens. Should two (2) people be available, the folding process proceeds very quickly resulting in folded linens that are neat, orderly, and occupy a minimum amount of space. However, in most cases, the person doing laundry is on their own. As such, these linen products end up with a haphazard appearance that not only is unpleasing to look at, but occupy a large amount of wasted space in closets or drawers. Others may resort to laying large items on floors to help fold them, but such action results in dust, dirt, pet hair, and other contaminants getting on the items. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which large linen items such as sheets, blankets, comforters, and the like, can be easily and neatly folded by only one (1) person in order to address the problems as described above. The use of the device allows for the folding of large linen articles in a manner which is quick, easy, and effective.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inventor has seen a need for such as device to assist in the folding of large articles of fabric, like blankets, comforters, and the like. As such, the inventor has provided for an adjustable hanger able to be suspended from a door or similar support structure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such an adjustable hanger having a cross bar having a pair of “L”-shaped tubular members removably attached to distal ends thereof. The tubular members are each independently adjustably attached to an extender tube. The extender tubes are each attached to a “U”-shaped bracket that is supported on the support structure as mentioned above.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide at least one (1) clamping device located on the cross bar that is capable of retaining a portion of the article to be folded. In at least one (1) embodiment, the clamping device is magnetic.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means to enable the clamping device to be slidably adjustable along a length of the cross bar. In at least one (1) embodiment, such a means is accomplished with a spring tension clamp.
It is an object of the present invention to provide either a cotter pin, a hairpin, a split pin, a positive lock pin, or a similar fastening means for fastening the cross bar to each tubular member. A similar fastening means is used to fasten each extender tube to a bracket.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a spring-loaded pin assembly located on each extender tube capable of being aligned with and securely retained in an individual one (1) of a plurality of apertures located on each tubular member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
FIG. 1 is an environmental view of an assistant device for folding articles of fabric 10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a close-up perspective view of the assistant device 10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a frame 20 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a front view of an “L”-shaped pole 60 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a front view of an extender pole 110 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a bracket portion 30 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 a is a perspective view of a magnetic clamp assembly 100 in an opened position, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and,
FIG. 7 b is another perspective view of the magnetic clamp assembly 100 in a closed position, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTIVE KEY
10 assistant device for folding articles of fabric
11 door
12 fabric article
20 frame
30 bracket
40 support bar
50 shank
60 “L”-shaped pole
70 first aperture
80 second aperture
90 fastening mechanism
100 magnetic clamp assembly
110 extender pole
120 third aperture
130 vertical extension
140 spring-pin
142 button
150 fourth aperture
160 fifth aperture
170 case hinge
175 jaw assembly
180 a stationary jaw
180 b pivoting jaw
182 actuator lever
184 jaw hinge
190 first end
200 second end
210 a front magnet
210 b rear magnet
220 a front case
220 b rear case
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within FIGS. 1 through 7 b . However, the invention is not limited to the described embodiment and a person skilled in the art will appreciate that many other embodiments of the invention are possible without deviating from the basic concept of the invention, and that any such work around will also fall under scope of this invention. It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope.
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.
The present invention describes an assistant device for folding articles of fabric (herein described as the “device”) 10 that secures to a door 11 via brackets 30 , and provides a means to clamp folding fabric articles 12 of fabric to assist in folding. It is assumed that non-fabric articles can be similarly supported.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 , environmental views of the device 10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, are disclosed. The device 10 comprises an adjustable frame 20 that secures to a top portion of a door 11 via two (2) brackets 30 extending from the frame 20 . The device 10 is further provided with pinch-style magnetic clamp assemblies 100 to assist in suspending a fabric article 12 from the frame 20 , allowing the device 10 to assist a user with folding the fabric article 12 . Positioning of the frame 20 in a vertical direction is enabled by variable connection of an “L”-shaped pole portion 60 and an extender pole portion 110 which insert into each other in a telescoping manner and are secured by insertion of a spring-pin portion 140 into one (1) of a plurality of third apertures 120 (see FIGS. 3,4 and 5 ).
To use the device 10 , a user places and secures two (2) adjacent corner portions of the fabric article 12 , such as a large blanket, within each magnetic clamp assembly 100 . The user then grabs the other two (2) corners, and proceeds to fold the fabric article 12 in a conventional manner. When folded, the user brings the outer two (2) corners up to the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 , and replaces the held fabric with the two (2) new corners. Next, the remaining fabric article 12 is folded again. As the folded fabric article 12 becomes physically smaller, the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 are adjusted inward on the frame 20 such that the material remains taut. This process is repeated as necessary until the desired size of the folded linen is obtained.
Referring now to FIG. 3 , a front perspective view of a frame 20 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed. The frame 20 is fabricated from a light-weight, rigid tubular material, preferably comprising a plastic, aluminum, or steel alloy. The frame 20 includes a support bar 40 comprising an elongated cylindrical tubular member. Extending perpendicularly from the support bar 40 , proximate to distal end portions thereof, are cylindrical shank portions 50 . Each shank 50 slidably inserts into an “L”-shaped pole 60 (see FIGS. 2 and 4 ). Each “L”-shaped pole 60 has a hollow construction and an inner diameter slightly larger than that of the outer diameter of each shank 50 so as to enable each shank 50 to slidably insert into each “L”-shaped pole 60 . Each “L”-shaped pole 60 is provided with a first aperture 70 , which is configured to align with a second aperture 80 of each shank 50 when each “L”-shaped pole 60 is slid over each shank 50 . The apertures 70 , 80 are used to enable securement of each “L”-shaped pole 60 with each shank 50 via a fastening mechanism 90 such as a quick-disconnect device such as a detent pin, a hair pin, a cotter pin, a split pin, a positive lock pin, or similar fastening device; however, other fastening mechanisms 90 and fastening methods may be utilized without deviating from the teachings of the device 10 , and as such should not be interpreted as a limiting factor of the device 10 .
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 , a front view of an “L”-shaped pole 60 and a front view of an extender pole 110 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, are disclosed. Each “L”-shaped pole 60 extends from each shank 50 approximately three inches (3 in.) before making a ninety-degree (90°) upward turn to form a vertical extension 130 being approximately twelve inches (12 in.) in length. Disposed along a side of each vertical extension 130 are a plurality of equidistant third apertures 120 which provide selective attachment to a fourth aperture portion 150 of an extender pole 110 . The extender pole 110 is slidably inserted over each vertical extension portion 130 of each “L”-shaped pole 60 . Each extender pole 110 has an outer diameter slightly smaller than an inner diameter of each “L”-shaped pole 60 so as to enable each “L”-shaped pole 60 to slidably receive each extender pole 110 and allow each extender pole 110 to traverse the length of each twelve-inch extension 130 . Each extender pole 110 includes an internal spring-pin 140 having a button portion 142 biased outwardly so as to be inserted into an aligned third aperture portion 120 of the “L”-shaped pole 60 . As each extender pole 110 is slid into each “L”-shaped pole 60 , and the button portion 142 of the spring-pin 140 makes contact with an edge of the “L”-shaped pole 60 , causing the button 142 to be retracted from its forward bias position. As the extender pole 110 is further slid into the “L”-shaped pole 60 to traverse the vertical extension 130 , the button 142 makes contact with one (1) of the third apertures 120 , allowing the button 142 to extend to its forward bias position within the third aperture 120 , thereby locking the “L”-shaped pole 60 to the extender pole 110 at a desired position. If a user desire to extend the length of the frame 20 further, the spring-pin 140 is depressed to disengage the button 142 pin from the third aperture 120 . The extender pole 110 is then slid until the button 142 comes into contact with an adjacent third aperture 120 , where it is locked into place again. This spring-pin 140 and third aperture 120 configuration enables vertical adjustment of the distance of the “L”-shaped pole 60 from the support bar 40 (see FIG. 2 ) while the device 10 is secured to a door 11 (see FIG. 1 ).
Referring now to FIG. 6 , a front perspective view of a bracket portion 30 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed. The device 10 is provided with two (2) brackets 30 . Each bracket 30 is fabricated from a light weight rigid material, preferably comprising a plastic, aluminum, or steel alloy. Each bracket 30 is configured to have a channel-shaped construction at a first end 190 , where the bracket 30 forms a general “U”-shape. A second end 200 of each bracket is configured to be a hollow tubular member having an inner diameter slightly larger than that of an outer diameter of each extender pole 110 so that each second end 200 slidably receives each extender pole 110 . Distal ends of each extender pole 110 are provided with a fourth aperture 150 (see FIG. 5 ), and a side surface of each second end 200 of each bracket 30 is further provided with a fifth aperture 160 . The apertures 150 , 160 are used to enable securement of each bracket 30 with each extender pole 110 via another fastening mechanism 90 similar to that used to secure each “L”-shaped pole 60 to each shank 50 . The U-shaped configuration of the bracket 30 enables a user to hang the device 10 over a top portion of a door 11 or similar object (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).
Referring now to FIGS. 7 a and 7 b , front perspective views of the magnetic clamp assembly 100 in opened and closed positions, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, are disclosed. The device 10 is further provided with at least two (2) magnetic clamp assemblies 100 . Each magnetic clamp assembly 100 includes a front magnet 210 a and a rear magnet 210 b , each encased within respective front case 220 a and rear case 220 b portions. The cases 220 a , 220 b are connected to each other with a case hinge 170 along a top joining edge portion. Each case hinge 170 includes an integral spring-loaded jaw assembly 175 including a stationary jaw 180 a and a pivoting jaw 180 b having an integral actuator lever 182 , joined by a jaw hinge 184 . The spring-loaded jaw hinge 184 acts to bias the pivoting jaw 180 b against the stationary jaw 180 a . The jaws 180 a , 180 b provide mirror-image semi-circular forms having diameters allowing the jaw assembly 175 to fit snuggly around the support bar 40 when closed. Each of the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 may be easily removed from the frame 20 by pressing upon the actuator lever 182 to open the jaws 180 a , 180 b . The magnets 210 a , 210 b of each magnetic clamp assembly 100 are positioned to have a magnetic orientation opposite that of the complementing magnet 210 a , 210 b so that when each magnet 210 a , 210 b is brought within proximity to each other, the magnetic fields interact to attract the magnets 210 a , 210 b towards each other.
Each magnetic clamp assembly 100 is removably positioned on the support bar 40 (see FIG. 2 ), and the configuration of the jaw assemblies 175 enables the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 to slide to various positions along the support bar 40 (see FIG. 2 ). This ability to slide each magnetic clamp assembly 100 enables various sized fabric articles 12 to be supported thereon (see FIG. 1 ), and also to be repositioned as each fabric article 12 is folded into a smaller configuration. Once in a desired position about the support bar 40 , the front case 220 a and rear case 220 b are pivoted open to receive a corner of the fabric article 12 (see FIG. 1 ) about to be folded. Once the fabric article 12 (see FIG. 1 ) is in place, the magnets 210 a , 210 b of the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 are allowed to attract and retain the fabric article 12 in place while a user manipulates the fabric article 12 to fold it.
It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the enabled user in a simple and straightforward manner with little or no training. The device 10 would be configured as indicated in FIG. 1 upon the initial purchase or acquisition.
The method of assembling and installing the device 10 may be achieved by performing the following steps: acquiring the device 10 ; assembling the portions of the device 10 together, if not previously assembled by inserting the shank portions of the frame 20 into respective “L”-shaped poles 60 ; securing the shanks 50 to the “L”-shaped poles 60 by inserting respective fastening mechanisms 90 through respective first aperture 70 and second aperture 80 portions; inserting a lower end portion of each extender pole 110 into a top opening portion of each “L”-shaped pole 60 ; locking the extender poles 110 at a desired inserted length via engagement of respective spring-pin portions 140 into a desired aligned third aperture 120 portion of the “L”-shaped pole 60 ; inserting an upper end portion of each extender pole 110 into respective second end portions 200 of the brackets 30 ; securing the extender poles 110 to the brackets 30 using fastening mechanisms 90 ; hanging the device 10 upon a door 11 by hooking the first end portions 190 of the brackets 30 over the door 11 ; attaching the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 to the support bar portion 40 of the frame 20 by opening the jaw assemblies 175 by pressing upon the actuator levers 182 ; inserting the jaws 180 a , 180 b over the support bar 40 ; releasing the actuator levers 182 ; and, extending or retracting each extender pole 110 to position the frame 20 and magnetic clamp assemblies 100 at a desired height by depressing the button portions 142 of the extender poles 110 for insertion into a desired third aperture 120 as previously described. The device 10 is now ready for use.
The method of utilizing the device 10 to fold a fabric article 12 may be achieved by performing the following steps: sliding each magnetic clamp assembly 100 laterally along the support bar 40 to obtain a desired gap therebetween; separating the front case 220 a and rear case 220 b portions of the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 , and integral magnet portions 210 a , 210 b , outwardly; positioning corners of a fabric article 12 to be folded between the magnet portions 210 a , 210 b of respective magnetic clamp assemblies 100 ; pressing the cases 220 a , 220 b together to clamp and suspend the fabric article 12 in place; and, allowing the device 10 to support the fabric article 12 while manipulating the fabric article 12 and the magnetic clamp assemblies 100 to assist in folding the fabric article 12 .
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention and method of use to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions or substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but is intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present invention.
|
An assistance device for folding an article comprises an angled structure having magnetic retention clamps that hangs upon a top door edge and holds the article while a user folds the article. An upper portion of the structure is provided with at least two (2) brackets that slidably receive an upper edge of a door and support the device. Extending from each bracket is a telescoping extender bar which provides height adjustability. At a distal end of each extender bar is a cross bar connecting the extender bars together. An article is secured to retainer clamps on the cross bar, thereby allowing the device to support the article to assist a user while attempting to fold it.
| 3
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to regenerated cellulose and more specifically to processes for preparing solutions of cellulose in a tertiary amine oxide and for producing shaped articles such as fibers and films.
The use of organic N-oxides such as tertiary amine oxides for dissolving cellulose was first reported by Graenacher and Sallman in U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,181. Subsequently, the specific use of N-Methyl Morpholine-N-Oxide (NMMO) to dissolve cellulose was disclosed by D. L. Johnson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,939 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,941. These patents disclose the use of NMMO to dissolve cellulose and the production of films and fibers by the precipitation of the dissolved cellulose.
The use of NMMO as a solvent for cellulose and the production of cellulosic fibers and films was also disclosed in McCorsley et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,913 which disclose a process wherein cellulose is mixed with a tertiary amine oxide such as NMMO and a liquid non-solvent containing controlled amounts of water which assists in intimately associating the tertiary amine oxide with the fibers of the cellulose to facilitate absorption of the tertiary amine oxide. The resulting mixture is maintained at a temperature at which the non-solvent and excess water are removed so that the cellulose dissolves in the tertiary amine oxide until a solution is obtained which is suitable for shaping into a cellulosic article such as by spinning or extrusion. The non-solvent can be water or it can be a mixture of water and organic non-solvent with a boiling point below 130° C. including alcohols such as n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, butanol or an aprotic liquid such as toluene, morpholine, methyl ethyl ketone or tetrahydrofuran.
McCorsley et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,080 disclose a process wherein a comminuted solid precursor of a solution of cellulose in amine oxide such as NMMO is charged to an extrusion apparatus, is heated to a temperature where the amine oxide dissolves the cellulose to form an extrudable solution of cellulose and the resulting solution is extruded through a die to form an extrudate of uniform composition. Franks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,532 disclose methods of dissolving cellulose in solutions containing water and NMMO. Turbak et al., Chemtech, p. 51-57, January, 1980 provide a review of developments in cellulose solvent systems including amine oxides. Turbak subsequently reported cellulose solutions with lithium chloride and dimethylacetamide. These references further describe the potential use of such solutions in the production of new fiber and film products.
Of specific interest to the present application is the disclosure of Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,941 which describes the addition of various water soluble and other polymers including polymeric esters such as poly(vinyl acetate), polysaccharides such as gum arabic, and proteins such as gelatin with cellulose and uses dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as an organic co-solvent for the two polymers in the presence of N-methyl-morpholine-N-oxide and other cyclic N-oxides. Nevertheless, U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,941 teaches in its examples use of at least equal amounts of the added polymer to the amount of cellulose and does not disclose use of water as a cosolvent with lowering the water concentration to a point necessary to achieve solubility of the cellulose.
The NMMO process for producing cellulosic fibers and films has become particularly attractive in recent years because of safety and environmental concerns regarding the viscose process traditionally used for production of cellulosic films and fibers. In particular, the use of carbon disulfide in the viscose system has led to a desire for a simple, more ecologically friendly closed loop totally recoverable cellulose solvent system. Use of processes for spinning cellulose from NMMO solutions continues with the manufacture of over 120 million lbs/year of cellulose fibers via the NMMO process in about 1996.
While the NMMO system for production of cellulosic films and fibers provides various benefits over use of the viscose system it is also subject to certain limitations. This is particularly the case with respect to the ability to control the precipitation of the cellulose. In the viscose system, the cellulose is first made into a xanthate derivative by the use of caustic soda and carbon disulfide. This derivative is then spun into a coagulation/regeneration bath containing high salt and low to medium acid so that the cellulose can first be congealed into a gelatinous mass and densified by the salt in a controlled manner. This allows the xanthate solubilizing groups on the cellulose molecules sufficient opportunity to permit alignment and packing of the cellulose into the proper positions to make a good quality product. The longer the regeneration is retarded, the higher is the resulting product quality since more effective stretching and alignment can be obtained in the densifying coagulated system.
In contrast to methods of using the viscose system, the cellulose molecules in tertiary amine oxide processes are not derivatized but are directly dissolved by the action of the tertiary amine oxide. This dissolving takes place over very narrow limits of water content. As may be seen from the graphs published by Franks et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,532 and also by Chanzy et al. "Swelling and Dissolution of Cellulose in Amine Oxide/Water Systems," Ninth Cellulose Conference, State University of New York, Syracuse, N.Y., May 24-27, 1982) there are relatively narrow concentration ranges for dissolving and maintaining cellulose in solution. Beyond these ranges, for example, further addition of water causes very rapid and drastic precipitation of the cellulose out of solution. See also, Turbak, TAPPI Journal, Vol. 67., No. 1 pp. 94-96 (1984). Thus, as compared to the viscose process, the ability to control the coagulation and precipitation of cellulose in a tertiary amine oxide process is substantially diminished thus hindering the ability to provide for orderly spinning of a fiber or extrusion of a film. While such rapid and dramatic precipitation is advantageous from the view of getting high spinning speeds, it is disadvantageous with respect to being able to control and improve the nature of the product properties. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for methods to retard and control the rapid precipitation of the cellulose from NMMO and other tertiary amine oxide solutions in order that better control of molecular structure can be obtained during the coagulation and precipitation of the cellulose molecules.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides improved methods for slowing and controlling the rapid precipitation of cellulose from tertiary amine oxide solutions. Specifically, it has been found that selected water soluble polymers added to the NMMO cellulose solutions can act as buffers to dramatically diminish the "activity" of the water and slow the precipitation process.
Specifically, the invention provides the use of water soluble polymers as additives to cellulose/tertiary amine oxide solutions to retard the rapid precipitation of said cellulose/tertiary amine oxide solutions on spinning or extrusion into water. The invention thus provides improvements in a process for precipitating cellulose from a solution thereof which comprises dissolving cellulose in a solvent for the cellulose containing a tertiary amine oxide and thereafter shaping the solution and separating the cellulose from the tertiary amine oxide, the improvement wherein the solution comprises a water soluble polymer in an amount sufficient to retard precipitation of the cellulose during separation of the cellulose from the tertiary amine oxide. According to preferred embodiments of the invention the solution comprises from 8% to 28% water and the water soluble polymers are present in the solution in amounts between 2% and 40% by weight based on the cellulose. The precipitation preferably takes place in an aqueous system precipitation bath which can be cold or hot water or even steam. According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the solution is substantially free of an organic cosolvent for the water soluble polymer (such as DMSO). The process may be used to provide fibers, films and other materials including sausage casings because of the improved processability of the precipitating cellulose provided by the methods of the invention.
While the tertiary amine oxide can be any of a variety known to the art including N-methylpiperidine-N-oxide; N-methylhomopiperidine oxide; N-dimethylcyclohexylamine oxide; N,N-dimethybenzylamine oxide; N-methylpyrrolidone-oxide the preferred tertiary amine oxide according to the invention is N-methyl morpholine N-oxide (NMMO).
Water soluble polymers useful according to the methods of the invention include those selected from the group consisting of polysaccharides, modified cellulose, derivatized cellulose, proteins and synthetic water soluble polymers such as polyethers, polyvinyl alcohols and polyacrylates. As used herein "water soluble polymer" includes water soluble and water swellable polymers. More specifically, polymers will be considered "water soluble" if when added to distilled water at a 1% by weight concentration they raise the Brookfield viscosity of the water to 50 centipoise or greater at 25° C. at 30 rpm. Suitable polysaccharides include natural sugar polymers and modified sugar polymers and derivatized sugar polymers including sulfated sugar polymers and also include gums such as carrageenan, alginic acid, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, guar gum, agar, acacia gum and the like. Suitable water soluble proteins include gelatin. Modified and/or derivatized cellulose polymers include carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose and the like.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, polyethers may be employed as the water soluble polymer. Polyethers particularly preferred for use according to the invention include those having a molecular weight greater than or equal to 50,000. Particularly preferred polyethers including poly(ethylene oxide) polymers having molecular weights of 100,000 (POLYOX WRSN-10, Union Carbide), of 900,000 (Polyox WSR-1105, Union Carbide), of 4,000,000 (POLYOX WSR-1105, Union Carbide) and a methyl capped polypropylene oxide polymer having a molecular weight of 50,000. According to a particularly preferred aspect of the invention the solution comprises from about 5% to about 35% cellulose; and from about 0.1 to about 14% of a polyether having a molecular weight of greater than or equal to 50,000 dissolved in a solvent containing from about 72% to 92% NMMO and 8% to 28% water.
Those of skill in the art upon considering the disclosure herein would be able to determine the concentration of water soluble polymer required to be incorporated into the cellulose/tertiary amine oxide solutions in order to prolong and better control the precipitation of cellulose. Nevertheless, it is generally preferred that the water soluble polymer be present in amounts above 2% by weight based on the cellulose. It is further preferred that the water soluble polymer be present in a concentration of less than 50% by weight and more preferably less than 25% by weight based on the cellulose. In the case of polyethers it is generally preferred that the polyether be present in amounts above 0.5% by weight based on the final solution.
The solutions used according to the invention may also comprise other ingredients known to be useful in tertiary amine oxide/cellulose solutions. Nevertheless, additives having free hydroxyl groups are generally detrimental to achieving cellulose solution in the NMMO, all such additives may require additional NMMO for their separate dissolution prior to being admixed with the cellulose NMMO solution.
The solutions may optionally incorporate di- tri and multiple esters as described in co-owned and copending U.S. Ser. No. 08/899,425 filed simultaneously herewith, wherein the disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. Preferred esters include glycerol diesters, and glycerol triesters including glycerol trioleate, glycerol monooleate diacetate, glycerol triacetate, as well as ethylene and propylene glycol fatty acid esters, lecithin, and citric acid esters. Also incorporated by reference herein is the disclosure of co-owned and copending U.S. Ser. No. 08/899,538 filed simultaneously herewith which describes improved methods for retarding and controlling the rapid precipitation of cellulose from tertiary amine oxide solutions in aqueous hardening baths by reducing the concentration of water therein and preferably increasing the concentration of tertiary amine oxides in the stead of the water therein.
The methods of the invention provide the opportunity to more effectively control the precipitation of cellulose from systems using solutions of cellulose and tertiary amine oxides. The greater control in precipitation afforded by practice of the methods of the invention provides improvements in methods for precipitation of cellulose to form fibers as well as to form films.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention provides improved methods for slowing and controlling the rapid precipitation of cellulose from solutions of tertiary amine oxides generally and NMMO solutions in particular. Specifically, it has been found that selected water soluble polymers added to the NMMO cellulose solutions can act as buffers to dramatically slow down the precipitation process. While the exact mechanism by which these compounds act in a beneficial manner is not known, it is believed that these materials might intercept the incoming water molecules and tie them up for a short period so that they cannot rapidly upset the critical balance of NMMO/water/cellulose ratio needed to keep the cellulose molecules in solution.
The methods of the invention thus provide an important improvement in processing of tertiary amine oxide/cellulose solutions and their conversion into fibers, films, sausage casings and other formed goods. By using this technology, not only can the present products be improved, but new product properties can be provided due to the inclusion of these described additives in the resulting products.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be understood upon consideration of the following illustrative and comparative examples.
EXAMPLE 1
According to this example, an approximately 10% solution of cellulose is prepared in N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) according to the general methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,447,939; 4,145,532; 4,426,288; 4,142,913; 4,144,080 and 4,145,532. The cellulose is first premixed with the desired additive before the addition of the NMMO and the subsequent removal of excess water to form the cellulose solution. In a typical run, 10 parts of cellulose is added to 80 parts of water containing 2 parts of dissolved sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), a water soluble polymer of 50,000 molecular weight. Since the coagulating water must be concentrated and recycled to save the NMMO, one of the reasons for using water soluble polymers having a molecular weight of more than 10,000 is to be sure that none of the relatively water soluble polymer will dissolve out of the film and contaminate the coagulating water. The system is mixed thoroughly to allow good intermixing of cellulose and CMC. To this mixture is then added 76 parts of NMMO and the mixture is placed in a sigma blade high torque mixer under vacuum. The mixing system is heated up to no more than 120° C. while vacuum is continued and excess water is removed. (Safety note: 120° C. is chosen since NMMO is known to explode violently at or above 140° C.). When the active water level in the mixture reaches less than about 27% of the weight of the NMMO, preferably from 8%-15% the weight of the NMMO, both the cellulose and CMC are in solution. At the 15% weight of NMMO water level, this gives a solution containing essentially 10% by weight of cellulose, 2% by weight of CMC dissolved in 76.4% of NMMO containing 11.5% of water. This solution containing about 20% by weight of CMC based on the cellulose is then pumped to a screw feeder extruder, deaerated and extruded into the desired shape into an aqueous system precipitation bath. The precipitation bath can be cold or warm water or even steam. Regardless of the nature of the precipitation aqueous system, the rate of precipitation of the cellulose is significantly retarded and the extrudate can be subjected to more stretch and congealing than is possible if the additive is absent.
If the above bath is spun into fibers, the fibers having the added time for stretching are at least 15% stronger than controls run without the additive. If the above NMMO solution is spun into a film, the film, if properly stretched, is at least 15% more strength in both the machine and transverse direction. The improvement in properties is found in fibers, films and sausage casings.
EXAMPLE 2
According to this example, the method of Example 1 is repeated except that 1 part of carrageenan (a sulfated sugar water soluble polymer obtained from seaweeds) having a molecular weight of 600,000 is used in place of the 2 parts of the CMC to give a final solution having only about 1% of carrageenan. This solution also exhibits retarded precipitation when spun into water and the product has superior strength and elongation properties as compared to a control with no additive. Sausage casings from this run exhibit superior burst and strength properties. Fiber from this run exhibit improved elongation, strength and toughness.
EXAMPLE 3
According to this example, the method of Example 2 is repeated but 3.0 parts of polyvinyl alcohol having over 80% available (OH) groups and having a molecular weight of 30,000 is added in place of the 1 part of carrageenan to give a final solution having 3% polyvinyl alcohol based on the cellulose. Similar results are obtained wherein the cellulose NMMO solution having the added polyvinyl alcohol gives superior products as compared to the control. Sausage casings and fibers so made exhibit results similar to those of Example 2.
EXAMPLE 4
According to this example, the method of Example 1 is repeated except that 0.2 parts of sodium polyacrylate having a molecular weight of 190,000 is used in place of the 2 parts of CMC giving a solution having about 2% of the acrylate polymer based on cellulose. Similar improvements in retarding precipitation and in improved process and product properties are noted.
EXAMPLE 5
According to this example, the method of Example 1 is repeated except that 1 part of pectic acid having a molecular weight of 170,000 is added to the N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide in place of the 2 parts of CMC, giving a solution having 10% pectic acid based on the cellulose. A significant retardation of precipitation is observed and significant improvements in product strength, elongation, toughness and burst are noted.
EXAMPLE 6
According to this example, the method of Example 1 is repeated but 2 parts of alginic acid is added in place of the 2 parts of CMC. A significant retardation of precipitation is observed and the products exhibit improved toughness and burst properties as compared to control without any additives.
EXAMPLE 7
According to this example, the method of Example 1 is repeated except that 3 parts of gelatin having a molecular weight of about 50,000 is added to the N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide in place of the 2 parts of CMC, giving a solution having 30% gelatin based on the cellulose. A significant retardation of precipitation and significant improvements in product strength, elongation, toughness and burst are noted.
EXAMPLE 8
According to this example, a 10% solution of cellulose is prepared in N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide NMMO! according to the general method of example 1. Specifically, 10 parts of cellulose is added to 150 parts of water containing 2 parts of dissolved POLYOX WRSN-10 (a water soluble polyether of 100,000 molecular weight available from Union Carbide Co.). Since the coagulating water must be concentrated and recycled to save the NMMO, one of the reasons for using polyox compounds having a molecular weight of more than 70,000 is to ensure that none of the relatively water soluble polyether will dissolve out of the firm and contaminate the coagulating water. The system is mixed thoroughly to allow good intermixing of cellulose and polyox. To this mixture is then added 76 parts of NMMO and the mixture is placed in a sigma blade high torque mixer under vacuum. The mixing system is heated up to no more than 120° C. while vacuum is continued and excess water is removed. (Safety note: 120° C. is chosen since NMMO is known to explode violently at, or above, 140° C.) When the water level in the mixture reaches 15% of the weight of the NMMO, the cellulose is in solution as also is the POLYOX WRSN-10. This then gives the solution containing essentially 10% by weight of cellulose, 2% by weight of polyox dissolved in 76% of NMMO containing 12% of water.
The cellulose solution is then pumped to a screw feeder extruder, deareated and extruded into the desired shape into an aqueous system precipitation bath which can be cold or warm water or even steam. Regardless of the nature of the precipitation aqueous system, incorporation of the polyether component into the solution decreases the rate of precipitation of the cellulose. In this manner the extrudate can be subjected to more stretch and congealing than is possible if the additive is absent.
If the above bath is spun into fibers, the fibers having the added time for stretching are at least 15% stronger than controls run without the additive. If the above NMMO solution is spun into a film, the film, if properly stretched, has at least 15% more strength in both the machine and transverse direction. The improvement in properties is found in fibers, films and sausage casings.
EXAMPLE 9
According to this example, the method of example 8 is repeated except that 1 part of POLYOX WSR-1105 (a 900,000 molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide, Union Carbide) is used in place of the 2 parts of the POLYOX WRSN-10 to give a final solution having only 1% by weight of the polyox. This solution also exhibits retarded precipitation when spun into water and the products have superior strength and elongation properties as compared to control with no additive. Sausage casings from this run have superior burst and strength properties. Fiber from this run have improved elongation, strength and toughness.
EXAMPLE 10
According to this example, the method of example 9 is repeated but 0.5 parts of POLYOX WSR-301 (Union Carbide) having a molecular weight of 4,000,000 is added in place of the 1 part of POLYOX WSR-1105. Similar results are obtained wherein the cellulose NMMO solution having the added polyox gives superior products as compared to control. Sausage casings and fibers so made have results similar to those for Example 2.
EXAMPLE 11
According to this example, the method of example 8 is repeated except that 2 parts of methyl capped polypropylene oxide polymer having molecular weight of 50,000 is in place of the WRSN-10 and the capped polypropylene oxide is added directly to the NMMO rather than to the water. Improvements in retarding precipitation and in improved process and product properties similar to those of example 1 are obtained.
EXAMPLE 12
According to this example, the method of example 8 is repeated except that 1 part of hydroxypropyl cellulose ether is added directly to the N-methyl morpholine-N-oxide in place of the polyox being added to the water. A significant retardation of precipitation is observed and significant improvements in product strength, elongation, toughness and burst are obtained.
EXAMPLE 13
According to this example, the method of example 12 is repeated except that 4 parts of methylcellulose ether of M.W. 90,000 is substituted for the hydroxypropyl cellulose. A significant decrease in precipitation is noted.
Numerous modifications and variations in the practice of the invention are expected to occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the foregoing description on the presently preferred embodiments thereof. Consequently the only limitations which should be placed upon the scope of the present invention are those that appear in the appended claims.
|
The invention provides improvements in processes for film and fiber production involving precipitating cellulose from tertiary amine oxide solutions wherein a water soluble polymer is incorporated into the solution in an amount sufficient to slow precipitation of the cellulose during separation of the cellulose from the tertiary amine oxide.
| 3
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to the field of data protection, and in particular to protecting data from illicit copying from a remote location.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] The protection of data is becoming an increasingly important area of security. In many situations, the authority to copy or otherwise process information is correlated to the physical proximity of the information to the device that is effecting the copying or other processing. For example, audio and video performances are recorded on CDs, DVDs, and the like. If a person purchases a CD or DVD, the person traditionally has a right to copy or otherwise process the material, for backup purposes, to facilitate use, and so on. When the person who purchased the material desires to use the material, it is not unreasonable to assume that the person will have the CD or DVD within physical proximity of the device that will use the material. If, on the other hand, the person does not have proper ownership of the material, it is likely that the person will not have physical possession of the material, and hence, the material will be physically remote from the device that is intended to use the material. For example, the illicit copying or rendering of material from an Internet site or other remote location corresponds to material being physically remote from the device that is used to copy the material.
[0005] In like manner, security systems are often configured to verify information associated with a user, such as verifying biometric parameters, such as fingerprints, pupil scans, and the like. In a simpler example, security systems are often configured to process information provided by a user, such as information contained on an identification tag, smartcard, etc. Generally, the information or parameters can be provided easily by an authorized user, because the authorized user is in possession of the media that contains the information. An unauthorized user, on the other hand will often not have the original media that contains the verification information, but may have a system that can generate/regenerate the security information or parameters from a remote location. Similarly, some systems, such as an office LAN, or computers in a laboratory, are configured to be secured by controlling physical access to terminals that are used to access the system. If the user has access to the system, the assumption is that the user is authorized to access the system. Some security measures, such as identification verification, are sometimes employed, but typically not as extensively as the security measures for systems that lack physical isolation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of this invention to provide a system or method of preventing the use of material in the absence of evidence that the material is in the physical possession of the user. It is a further object of this invention to prevent the use of material in the presence of evidence that the material is remote from the device that is intended to use the material. It is a further object of this invention to prevent access to systems in the presence of evidence that the user is remote from the system.
[0007] These objects and others are achieved by providing a security system that assesses the response time to requests for information. Generally, physical proximity corresponds to temporal proximity. If the response time indicates a substantial or abnormal lag between request and response, the system assumes that the lag is caused by the request and response having to travel a substantial or abnormal physical distance, or caused by the request being processed to generate a response, rather than being answered by an existing response in the physical possession of a user. If a substantial or abnormal lag is detected, the system is configured to limit subsequent access to protected material by the current user, and/or to notify security personnel of the abnormal response lag.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The invention is explained in further detail, and by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an example control access system in accordance with this invention.
[0010] Throughout the drawing, the same reference numerals indicate similar or corresponding features or functions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] For ease of reference and understanding, the invention is presented herein in the context of a copy-protection scheme, wherein the processing of copy-protected material is controlled via a verification that the user of the material is in physical possession of the copy-protected material.
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an example control access system 100 in accordance with this invention. The control access system 100 includes a processor 120 that is configured to process material from a physical media, such as a CD 130 , via an access device, such as a reader 132 . The processor 120 may be a recording device that records one or more songs from the CD 130 onto a memory stick, onto a compilation CD, and so on. The processor 120 may also be a playback device that is configured to provide an output suitable for human perception, such as images on a screen, sounds from a speaker, and so on. The term “rendering” is used herein to include a processing, transformation, storage, and so on, of material received by the processor 120 . Using this context and terminology, the example processor 120 includes a renderer 122 that provides the interface with the access device 132 , and a verifier 126 that is configured to verify the presence of authorized material 130 .
[0013] When a user commences the rendering of material from the media 130 , the processor 120 is configured to verify the presence of the media 130 . One method of effecting this verification is to request the access device 132 to provide evidence that the media 130 is available to provide material or information that differs from the material that the user is attempting to render. For example, if the user commences the rendering of a song, the verifier 126 may direct the renderer 122 to request a portion of a different song from the access device 132 . If the access device is unable to provide the requested portion of a different song, the verifier 126 can conclude that the media 130 is not actually present for rendering, and will terminate subsequent rendering of the material that the user intended to render, via the gate 124 . For example, a user may illicitly download a selection of different copy-protected songs from a remote site 140 on the Internet 144 , and then attempt to create a compilation CD containing these user-selected songs. Typically, the size of an entire album of material discourages the downloading of each album that contains the user-selected songs. When the verifier 126 requests a portion of a different song from the album corresponding to an actual CD 130 , the user who downloaded only the user-selected song from the album will be prevented from further rendering of the downloaded material.
[0014] A variety of techniques may be employed to assure that the material provided in response to the request corresponds to the material that is contained on the actual CD 130 . For example, copending U.S. patent application “Protecting Content from Illicit Reproduction by Proof of Existence of a Complete Data Set via Self-Referencing Sections”, U.S. Ser. No. 09/536,944, filed 28 Mar. 2000 for Antonius A. M. Staring, Michael A. Epstein, and Martin Rosner, Attorney Docket US000040, and incorporated by reference herein, teaches a self-referential data set wherein each section of a data set, such as a copy-protected album, is uniquely identified by a section identifier that is securely associated with each section. To assure that a collection of sections are all from the same data set, an identifier of the data set is also securely encoded with each section. Using exhaustive or random sampling, the presence of the entirety of the data set is determined, either absolutely or with statistical certainty, by checking the section and data-set identifiers of selected sections.
[0015] The verification provided by the verifier 126 as described above can be defeated, however, by responding to the requests from the renderer 122 from the remote site 140 that contains the entirety of the album. That is, rather than downloading the entire album from the remote site 140 , the illicit user need only download the desired song, and imitate the presence of the actual CD 130 by providing a CD imitator 142 that provides access to requested material or portions of material via the Internet 144 . When the verifier 126 requests a portion of a song, or section of a data set, the CD imitator 142 transforms the request into a download request from the remote site 140 , and the requested section is provided to the renderer 122 , as if it was provided from the CD 130 . Assuming that, for practical purposes, the verifier 126 will be configured to only check for a few sections in an album, the use of the CD imitator 142 will result in a substantially reduced amount of data transfer, compared to the downloading of the entire album, and thus preferable for the illicit download of select songs.
[0016] In accordance with this invention, the processor 120 includes a timer 128 that is configured to measure the time between a request from the verifier 126 and a response from an external source, either the actual CD 130 , or the remote source 140 , to facilitate an assessment by the verifier 126 of the physical proximity of the source of the response. In a preferred embodiment, the verifier 126 is configured to filter or average the response times, so as to allow for minor perturbations in the response time from an authorized source 130 , while still being able to distinguish a response from a physically remote source 140 . For example, using conventional statistical techniques, the verifier 126 may continue to request sections from the unknown source until a statistically significant difference from the expected response time of a local source 130 is detected. In a simpler embodiment, if the response time is below a delay threshold N out of M times, the verifier 126 is configured to conclude that the source must be local. These and other techniques for assessing physical proximity based on temporal proximity will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of this disclosure.
[0017] The principles of this invention are applicable to other applications as well. In an analogous application, for example, the renderer 122 and access device 132 may be challenge-response devices that are configured to exchange security keys, using for example, a smart card as the media 130 . If an unauthorized user attempts to exchange keys by processing the challenge-responses via access to a system that is potentially able to overcome the security of the exchange, the timer 128 will be able to detect the abnormal lag between the challenge and response, and terminate the key-exchange. In like manner, if a system expects all accesses to be from terminals that are in a common physically secured area, the timer 128 will be able to detect abnormal lags if the system becomes a target of a remote access ‘hacker’ or other attempted accesses from outside the physically secured area.
[0018] Preferably, the verifier 126 is configured to request random source information. In the example of a CD media 130 , the verifier 126 is configured to request access to randomly selected sections on the media 130 until sufficient confidence is gained whether the source is local or remote. In other applications, the verifier 126 is configured to merely monitor, and time, transactions that routinely occur between a requesting device 122 and an access device 132 , to detect abnormally long response times. In other applications, the verifier 126 may merely control the order of occurrence of routine data access requests. For example, when reading information from an user's identification device, the verifier 126 may be configured to sometimes ask for the user's name first, identification number next, fingerprint next, and so on; at a next session, the verifier 126 may ask for the identification number first, a voiceprint next, and so on, thereby preventing a pre-recorded sequence of responses. Similarly, in an application intended to prevent the downloading of data from a remote site, the verifier 126 in the example of FIG. 1 may merely request portions of the requested data in a different order sequence, to determine whether the requested data is local or remote. In like manner, to prevent the unauthorized download of information from a network, the verifier and time may be placed at the remote site, and configured to measure the transport time of the data. For example, in a conventional network having error-detection capabilities, the verifier may be configured to purposely transmit erroneous data, or an erroneous sequence of data, and measure the time duration until a request-for-retransmission occurs. If the receiving site is local, the request-for-retransmission should occur substantially quicker than if the receiving site is remote. In this example, the erroneous transmission constitutes a “requests” for a “response” from the receiving system. These and other timing schemes will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0019] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spirit and scope. For example, although the invention is presented in the context of detecting responses that are abnormally slow, the principles of the invention can also be applied for detecting responses that are abnormally fast. For example, if a system is configured to read information from a magnetic strip on a card, there is an expected lag associated with the swiping of the card. If the information is provided without this lag, for example, from a computer that is configured to bypass the magnetic strip reader, a security alert may be warranted. These and other system configuration and optimization features will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of this disclosure, and are included within the scope of the following claims.
|
A security system assesses the response time to requests for information to determine whether the responding system is in physical proximity to the requesting system. Generally, physical proximity corresponds to temporal proximity. If the response time indicates a substantial or abnormal lag between request and response, the system assumes that the lag is caused by the request and response having to travel a substantial or abnormal physical distance, or caused by the request being processed to generate a response, rather than being answered by an existing response in the physical possession of a user. If a substantial or abnormal lag is detected, the system is configured to limit subsequent access to protected material by the current user, and/or to notify security personnel of the abnormal response lag.
| 6
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a metal anchor joint for anchoring casing in a well and to tee process of making and using it. More particularly the anchor joint is a thick-walled steel tubular, such as a length of well casing, having outwardly protruding rings affixed thereto.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Well structures installed in the earth to exploit geothermal or petroleum energy resources are typically lines with tubular steel casings, which in turn, are cemented in place within the well bore. Under certain conditions, such as significant temperature changes, the casing tends to displace axially relative to the adjacent earth material. The present invention provides a means to restrain such relative displacement.
[0003] Within the context of petroleum drilling and completion systems, the vast majority of casing systems need only accommodate the loads arising from installation prior to cementing, and non-thermal production methods after cementing. For these conventional production methods, casing designs typically only consider pressure containment, collapse resistance and hydraulic isolation requirements, and not axial load changes after cementing.
[0004] However, in thermal applications, or where ground movements induced by processes such as reservoir compaction may occur, it is often desirable to provide highly efficient axial load transfer over relatively short interval lengths to prevent casing movement and consequent damaging effects on adjoining or attached components of the completion system.
[0005] The present invention was conceived specifically as a means to restrain the axial movement of casing strings in well bores which will be used for production of heavy oil by means of the process of steam stimulation When casing is heated, axial displacement resulting from thermal expansion tends to occur and be concentrated at locations coincident with changes in the axial strength of the tubular.
[0006] These axial displacements are most obvious at ground surface, where the casing ends. Movement at this location typically cases the well head to rise and fall relative to ground surface, correlative with increases and decreases in temperature, respectively. Surface piping connected to the well head must therefore include provisions to accommodate this movement or risk failure. Such provisions and risk increase cost; therefore a cost effective and reliable means to reduce surface well head displacement by restraining or anchoring the casing is advantageous.
[0007] Less obviously, changes in axial strength may occur down hole at locations where there is a transition in size, grade or configuration of components in the casing string. For example, such changes occur at liner junctions, or where axially compliant devices such as corrugated tubulars are employed. At these locations, axial movement of the casing occurs relative to the adjacent formation; this tends to concentrate strain in the weakest member of the string, potentially causing it to fail with consequent loss of either structural or pressure integrity.
[0008] Because of the generally long string lengths employed to case wells, the magnitude of axial load transferred between the casing and surrounding earth materials through the cement sheath is usually very low, and for typical non-thermal applications, is largely static. Therefore, there has apparently been little interest in developing methods to improve the efficiency of axial load transfer between the casing and cement sheath, beyond what occurs ‘naturally’ by friction and interlocking at the upset surfaces at connection points.
[0009] Even where axial load transfer is considered, the conventional understanding of interaction between the pipe and cement as described by D. K. Smith in “Cementing,” SPE Monograph Vol. 4, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc. January, 1990, anticipates that a cement bond exists, capable of transmitting shear between the casing and cement and hence transferring axial load. This reference reports measured ‘bond’ strengths ranging from 20 to over 200 psi. These values were derived from cemented tube-in-tube tests where the annular space between two lengths of pipe was cemented. Axial compressive load was then applied to one tube and reacted by the other. For these tests, the effective (radial) stress present across the cement to steel tubular interface is not reported or considered, and the total reported average ‘bond’ strength is considered adhesive. Hence, designs that do consider axial load transfer typically rely on the presence of this apparent bond mechanism that, if present, would provide substantial load transfer over a relatively short axial length. For example, given a bond strength of 100 psi (which is about mid range of the values reported) a 7 inch diameter pipe could develop a calculated axial load resistance of 500,000 lb over just 18.95 feet. However, as described by Schwall, G. H., Slack, M. W. and Kaiser, T. M. V. in “Reservoir Compaction Well Design for the Ekofisk Field”. SPE Paper 36821, 1996 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Oct. 6-9, 1998, the concept of significant adhesive cement bond was alleged to be erroneous. The interaction behavior between the cement and steel was explained as a frictional mechanism.
[0010] While significant frictional forces may be developed along the casing length at depth, this may not always be relied upon, particularly at shallow depths.
[0011] With this background in mind, it is the objective of the present invention to provide anchoring means, for incorporation in a casing string, which is intended to function to reduce relative movement between the string and the adjacent earth material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In accordance with the invention, an anchor joint for incorporation in a casing string is provided. The anchor joint comprises a thick-walled metal tubular having means (e.g. threads) at its ends for connection with the casing string. The tubular has a plurality of outwardly projecting, abrupt diameter changes spaced along its length.
[0013] As stated, the tubular is “thick-walled”. In a general sense, this word is intended to convey that the anchor joint tubular wall is sufficiently strong and thick so as to maintain the structural integrity of the casing string. Otherwise stated, it is compatible with a casing string. More specifically, it means that the tubular has a diameter to thickness ratio (“D/t”) less than 100, preferably less than 50. Most preferably the tubular is a joint of the casing used in the casing string.
[0014] By “abrupt” is meant that the diameter changes create shoulders that preferably are substantially perpendicular to the axis of the tubular or alternatively may be sloped with an angle of at least 20″, more preferably at least 45°, relative to the axis of the tubular.
[0015] Preferably the joint will have a length in the order of 40 feet, so that it conforms with the average length of casing joints.
[0016] It will be apparent that the ability to efficiently transfer axial load between the anchor joint and the wellbore wall through the confining material such as cement typically placed in the annulus between the anchor joint and wellbore wall will depend on the tendency of the multiple abrupt diameter changes to displace the confining material as axial movement is attempted. To provide a significant improvement in the anchoring function of a threaded and coupled anchor joint, the total volume swept by the multiple abrupt diameter changes preferably should be of the same order as that already swept by the face of the joint coupling or collar for a given amount of axial movement. This collar face area is typically approximately equal to the joint body cross-sectional so that the swept volume is this area times the axial displacement. Therefore it is preferred that the relevant upper or lower shoulder areas of the diameter changes of the anchor joint snouts in total create an area equal to the cross-sectional area of the anchor joint body Otherwise state the total axial area presented by the diameter change or shoulder to the confining material in the direction of movement should preferably be at least equal to the cross-sectional area of the anchor joint tubular body.
[0017] In addition, the diameter changes preferably should be of sufficient magnitude to result in significant inter-penetration with the confining material. There may be gaps between the confining material and the anchor joint tubular outer surface, such as the micro-annulus reported to occur between cement and a tubular. In addition, the radial stiffness of the confining material may allow it to deflect away from surfaces where the diameter change tends to cause loading during axial displacement of the casing string. For these reasons, it is preferred that the diameter changes be greater than 0.5% of the tubular diameter, more preferably greater than 1% of the diameter.
[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the anchor joint comprises a joint of steel well casing having external steel rings affixed, as by crimping, in locking engagement with the tubular wall.
[0019] Preferably the rings are cylindrical, have a thickness abut equal to the tube wall thickness and are spaced apart at least 10 ring thicknesses.
[0020] The number of rings and the length of the anchor joint should be selected with a view to providing adequate shoulder contact with the cement or other confining material to react the axial load tending to cause movement of the casing. Selecting the number of rings, the length of anchor joint and the frequency of anchor joints will in part be determined by field experience.
[0021] In another preferred embodiment, the invention is concerned with a method for anchoring a casing string in a wellbore comprising: inserting a plurality of anchor joints at spaced intervals into a casing string as the string is being run into the wellbore; each anchor joint comprising a joint of casing having a plurality of external steel rings affixed in locking engagement with the joint at spaced positions along the joint; and cementing the anchor joints in the wellbore.
[0022] Each crimp ring is preferably secured to the tubular by a hydroforming process comprising:
[0023] (a) providing a thick-walled metal tubular compatible with a casing string;
[0024] (b) positioning a crimp ring around the tubular, the ring being formed from a ductile material, such as steel, having a yield strength less than the tubular, the ring having an internal diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of the tubular and an external profile comprising end sections and a middle section of reduced outside diameter relative to the end sections;
[0025] (c) providing a pressure forming vessel around the ring, the vessel having an internal bore slightly larger than the outside diameter of the ring;
[0026] (d) the forming vessel having internal grooves, carrying seals, spaced to straddle the reduced diameter ring middle section and to seal against the end sections to define a pressure chamber between the seals;
[0027] (e) providing a stop tube having a length at least equal to that of the ring, within the tubular in opposed relation to the ring, the stop tube preferably having an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of the tubular by an amount at least equal to twice the elastic limit displacement of the tubular;
[0028] (f) the vessel having a passage extending through its wall to communicate with the pressure chamber;
[0029] (g) introducing pressurized liquid into the pressure chamber through the passage and causing the ring and tubular side wall to deform inwardly until the side wall contacts the stop tube and the ring is affixed to the tubular; and
[0030] (h) repeating the foregoing steps to affix a plurality of rings to the tubular to produce an anchor joint.
[0031] As a further step, the anchor joint so produced is connected into a casing string and introduced into a wellbore.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] [0032]FIG. 1 is a side view of a using anchor joint comprising a tubular having a plurality of crimped rings affixed thereto;
[0033] [0033]FIG. 2 is a partial cut-away side view of a crimp ring positioned inside the forming vessel and placed on the tubular prior to crimping;
[0034] [0034]FIG. 3 is a partial cut-away side view of a crimped ring positioned inside the forming vessel under application of the forming pressure;
[0035] [0035]FIG. 4 is a cross-section through the wall of the assembly of FIGS. 2 and 3, showing the configuration of an elastomer metal back up ring for containing the seals; and
[0036] [0036]FIG. 5 is a side view showing a plurality of anchor joints incorporated into a casing string
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0037] In accordance with one embodiment of the invention a 40 foot joint 1 of steel well casing was provided as the tubular to form the anchor joint 2 . The casing joint 1 met the following specification:
[0038] grade of steel—API L80
[0039] nominal inside diameter—6,366 inch
[0040] nominal outside diameter—7 inch
[0041] wall thickness—0.317
[0042] steel yield—80,000 psi
[0043] The casing joint 1 was threaded at each end to provide means for use in connecting it into a casing string 3 . A coupling 22 was secured to one end of the joint 1 .
[0044] A crimp ring 4 was positioned coaxially around the casing joint 1 . The ring 4 met the following specification:
[0045] grade of steel—API K55
[0046] nominal inside diameter—7 inch
[0047] length—4 inches
[0048] steel yield—55,000 psi
[0049] The ring 4 had an indented outer surface 15 or profile, creating ring end sections 5 , 6 and reduced diameter middle section 7 . The wall thickness of each end section 5 , 6 was 0.350 inches. The wall thickness of the middle section 7 was 0.245 inches.
[0050] A hydroforming assembly 8 was provided to simultaneously yield both the middle section 7 of the ring 4 and the casing joint side wall 9 , to leave the ring locked or swaged in a detent 10 formed in the side wall.
[0051] More particularly, the assembly 8 comprised a pressure forming vessel 11 having an internal bore 12 extending therethrough, for receiving the casing joint 1 and ring 4 . The diameter of the bore 12 was 0.010 inches larger than the outside diameter of the ring 4 . The interior surface 13 of the vessel 11 formed seal grooves 14 for receiving elastomeric cup seals 15 , 16 which were positioned to seal against the end sections 5 , 6 , respectively. Suitable seals 15 , 16 are available from Parker Seal Group within their POLYPAK® product category. To mitigate the tendency of even these high strength elastomeric seals to extrude, it was found the elastomer could be reinforced with a thin metal ring element 35 placed over the seal corner tending to be extruded where the thin metal ring element 25 has overlapping ends and an L-shaped cross-section. The bottom surface 13 of the vessel 11 combined with the top surface 18 of the ring middle section 7 to form a pressure chamber 19 sealed by the seals 15 , 16 . A port 20 extended through the body of the vessel 11 to communicate with the pressure chamber 19 . Liquid under pressure could be introduced into the pressure chamber 19 through port 20 to deform the ring 4 and casing joint side wall 9 .
[0052] A stop tube 21 , having an outside diameter of 0.060 inches less than the inside diameter of the casing joint and a length approximately 1.5 times that of the ring 4 , was inserted into the core 17 of the casing joint 1 . The stop tube 21 was positioned opposite the ring 4 . The function of the stop tube 12 was to limit the extent of deformation of the ring 4 and casing joint side wall 9 to about 2.5 to 3.5 times the elastic limit of the casing joint steel under external pressure loading.
[0053] Water under pressure was introduced into the pressure chamber 19 . As the pressure was increased, the ring middle section 7 was initially forced into contact with the casing side wall 9 . As the pressure was increased to about 15,000 psi, both the ring and casing side wall were forced into contact with the stop tube 21 . At this point, the pressure was released. Both the ring 4 and side wall 9 resounded As the yield strength of the ring 4 was less than that of the side wall 9 , the ring rebounded less, thereby leaving some residual contact stress between the casing side wall 9 and ring 4 . The ring 4 was left plastically formed into the slight detent 10 in the side wall 9 , and was thus plastically interlocked into the casing wall, as shown in FIG. 3.
[0054] This process was repeated to affix 10 rings 4 onto the 40 foot casing joint 1 at a spacing of approximately 3 feet, thereby completing production of the anchor joint 2 shown in FIG. 1.
[0055] Two such anchor joints 2 were then inserted in a casing string 3 , as shown in FIG. 5, together with corrugated compression joints 23 (available from SynTec Inc. of Edmonton Alberta, Canada, under the trade mark DuraWAV). The assembly 24 was then run into a well and cemented in place.
[0056] When an anchor joint thus formed is cemented into a well, the cement cast around the rings provides a compressive reaction point at each ring face, effectively ‘locking’ them into the cement. If the casing is subsequently subjected to sufficient axial load to cause it to displace relative to the rings and cement, such movement requires the rings to move out of the detent. But this creates additional interference with associated increase in contact stress and frictional resistance tending to arrest the movement and providing the desired anchor function. The limited amount of slip thus allowed by the crimped rings, provides a ‘safer’ anchor then rigidly attached rings, delivering more uniform distribution of load transfer between multiple rings with less tendency to sequentially fail the cement. Crimped rings are thus the preferred method of providing a multiplicity of diameter changes on a tubular article functioning as a casing anchor joint. The preferred embodiment of using a hydraulic swaging process to install the crimp rings also avoids potential embrittlement or corrosion attack that may otherwise arise if the rings were welded onto the casing.
[0057] Sample Application
[0058] Removal of fluids and solids from hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs such as unconsolidated channel sands on primary production, can lead to either global or local compression of the reservoir In either case, compression tends to be greatest near the producing well bore allowing “roof caving” and “floor bulging” to reduce the original thickness Near vertical production casings traversing such a reservoir interval will thus tend to be shortened or compressed. Reservoir vertical compressive strains range from fractions to tens of a percent. Given the limited elastic range of casing steel, typically 0.25%, straight casing is usually loaded near or beyond its elastic limit [yield capacity].
[0059] This in itself leads to potentially damaging compressive loads at connections or perforations, but when combined with reduced lateral support, causes the casing to buckle. Lateral support in such unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs is lost through production of solids The curvature and magnitude of the resultant buckled shape allowed by the available annular space increases stress, reduces collapse capacity, impairs access and may damage production equipment, such as pumps, located inside the casing in the buckled interval.
[0060] If short sections or pups of compliant casing, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/132,632, are placed in the casing string above and below the compressing reservoir interval, axial load is reduced, and consequently the buckling amplitude and curvature can be reduced or eliminated, where the interval thickness does not exceed a few tens of meters. However, if these wells are subsequently thermally stimulated by steaming, the heated casing outside this interval will tend to expand and potentially displace into the compliant casing pups known by the trade name DuraWAV. Furthermore, most thermal stimulation processes impose some temperature cycles, even if not intentionally, further tending to over strain the DuraWAV tools.
[0061] These deleterious consequences can be overcome if casing anchor joints are employed, particularly above the upper DuraWAV tool as shown in FIG. 5. This figure schematically shows a well design using 7 inch (178 mm) casing joined with industry standard buttress threaded couplings (BT&C) or 8-round short thread couplings (ST&C). Reservoir thicknesses range from less than 10 meters up to about 30 meters thickness. Two anchor joints are employed above the upper DuraWAV tool to ensure heated casing is prevented from displacing downward and compromising the ability of the DuraWAV tool to absorb reservoir compressive strain or maintain pressure integrity.
[0062] Alternate Embodiments
[0063] In another aspect of the preferred embodiment, we believe the rings could be crimped on the casing to form an anchor joint by application of radial force provided by mechanical rather than hydrostatic means. Such mechanical means include split dies forced together by a press or collet jaws forced together by an axially loaded cone.
[0064] In another aspect of the preferred embodiment, we believe the rings providing a multiplicity of diameter changes could be fastened to the casing by welding.
[0065] In another aspect of the preferred embodiment we believe shrink-fitting rings onto the casing could be employed as a means to provide a multiplicity of diameter changes.
[0066] As an alternative embodiment, we believe machining grooves in a sufficiently heavy wall tubular may provide the multiplicity of diameter changes. Such grooves may be used alone or fitted with split rings retained in the grooves with fasteners or welding on the split planes.
[0067] In another aspect of the present invention the function of the anchor joint may be provided by joining a series of short threaded and coupled pups. Similarly external upset integral joint pups may also be employed to provide a multiplicity of diameter changes over an axial length relatively short in comparison to a full length of casing.
|
A plurality of steel rings are affixed, as by crimping using hydroforming means, to the outside of a joint of steel well casing. The rings are distributed in spaced relation along the joint. The resulting anchor joint is run into a well as part of the casing string and cemented in place.
| 4
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This patent application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/463,844 filed on Feb. 23, 2011 and entitled “PROCESS OF MAKING THE INTERNAL ASPECTS OF A RACKET HANDLE ACCESSIBLE TO RECEIVE AND PLAYTEST VARIOUS WEIGHTS,” the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to sport racket handles and rackets such as tennis rackets, squash rackets, badminton rackets and racquetball rackets, methods of making racket handles and rackets, and methods of using racket handles in rackets such as in a tennis racket.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rackets are described in terms of various specifications. Some specifications cannot be altered and are characteristic properties of the manufactured racket. These include, for example, frame stiffness and string bed density.
Frame stiffness is a measure of the resistance of the frame to bending upon impact. Stiffness is measured by a device that clamps the racket at the throat area, and physically bends the tip of the racket a standard deviation downward. See, for example, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,444). A higher measured value indicates greater frame stiffness.
String bed density is a function of the number of holes that enable strings to be placed through the side profile of the hitting area, and how close the string holes are placed together. The greater the number of holes and the closer the string holes are together, the greater the string bed density.
Other specifications that can be modified post racket production are overall weight, distribution of weight, balance point, and swing weight. The majority of rackets today are comprised of carbon fiber. Rackets found in stores and sold today are constructed to be superlight, and are made for the average tennis player. Rackets used by top competitive players are made heavier by the addition of lead tape at specific areas of the racket. The areas where additional weights are usually placed are on the string bed hoop (i.e., the oval shape) and inside the handle. Typically, additional weights are placed at locations along the hoop at the 12 o'clock position inside section of frame string bed area, the 3 o'clock position, and the 9 o'clock position. (See, for example, exemplary racket 100 shown in FIG. 1 ). The hoop areas of the frame are easily accessible and simple to modify by the addition of lead tape.
The addition of weight inside the handle of a racket is a difficult area to reach. Most weight added in this region is done by the manufacturer during construction of the frame. Even a small addition of weight, such as one gram, results in significant performance differences of the racket. These performance differences are so significant that top level professionals often spend up to two hundred U.S. dollars per frame to have their rackets and their custom measurements made exactly the same. This is necessary because there are always differences that exist from one machined racket to the next.
Furthermore, every racket has a balance point. There is one point on a frame that the racket will balance horizontally, or level like on a see-saw. Other than this finite point, the addition of weight to a racket will change the balance point. The addition of weight in the handle moves the balance point closer to the handle. The addition of weight on the head of the racket moves the balance point closer to the tip of the frame.
The swing weight of a racket is the sum of each atom's mass times the distance squared to the pivot point at 4.0 inches on the handle. The standard units of swing weight are kilograms times meters squared. Swing weight is measured by a machine that clamps the racket at 4.0 inches and circumferentially swings the racket on one level plane. (See again, for example, the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,444). The higher the swing weight value, the more weight the human hand perceives and the heavier the racket feels. The addition of weight at greater than 4.0 inches from the handle end of the racket increases swing weight. By definition, the addition of weight in the lower 4.0 inches of the racket handle has no effect on swing weight. The addition of weight in the handle, especially the terminal four inches, although inaccessible in current rackets, is of paramount importance in the playing characteristics of the racket.
What is needed in the art is a simple method of altering the weight of a racket along the entire length of the racket handle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a racket and a process to make the entire length of a racket handle accessible to receive cartridges or carriers of various weights. The disclosed method allows a player to play test variations of handle weights using one racket, rather than having the manufacturer make multiple rackets.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is directed to a racket comprising a racket handle having a first grip butt end, a second handle connecting end opposite the first grip butt end, and one or more side surfaces extending between and connecting the first grip butt and second handle connecting ends; and one or more accessible slots extending from the first grip butt end into the racket handle toward the second handle connecting end, each accessible slot (i) being sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights, and (ii) having a slot length of up to a full length of the racket handle.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the disclosed racket comprises a racket handle having a first grip butt end, a second handle connecting end opposite the first grip butt end, and one or more side surfaces extending between and connecting the first grip butt and second handle connecting ends; one or more accessible slots extending from the first grip butt end into the racket handle toward the second handle connecting end, each accessible slot (i) being sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights, and (ii) having a slot length that extends at least 50% of a total distance between the first grip butt end and the second handle connecting end; a head; and a throat connecting (i) the second handle connecting end of the racket handle and (ii) the head.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the disclosed racket comprises a racket handle having a first grip butt end, a second handle connecting end opposite the first grip butt end, and one or more side surfaces extending between and connecting the first grip butt and second handle connecting ends; one or more accessible slots extending from the first grip butt end into the racket handle toward the second handle connecting end, each accessible slot (i) being sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights, and (ii) having a slot length that extends at least 50% of a total distance between the first grip butt end and the second handle connecting end; a single first end cover member sized to prevent one or more removable weights, when present within the one or more accessible slots, from exiting the one or more accessible slots; a handle pallet positioned over and attached to at least a portion of the one or more side surfaces, the handle pallet comprising a single tubular piece or two or more tubular pieces that extend(s) around an outer perimeter of said racket handle; a leather or synthetic grip material positioned over at least a portion of an outer surface of the handle pallet; a head; and a throat connecting (i) the second handle connecting end of the racket handle and (ii) the head.
The present invention is further directed to (1) racket handles and/or rackets in combination with (2) one or more removable weights. In one exemplary embodiment, the combination of (1) racket handles and/or rackets and (2) one or more removable weights comprises (a) a racket handle having a first grip butt end, a second handle connecting end opposite the first grip butt end, and one or more side surfaces extending between and connecting the first grip butt and second handle connecting ends; and one or more accessible slots extending from the first grip butt end into the racket handle toward the second handle connecting end, each accessible slot (i) being sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights, and (ii) having a slot length of up to a full length of the racket handle; and (b) one or more removable weights, wherein each of the one or more removable weights (i) comprises a carrier and one or more individual weights positioned along the carrier, (ii) is sized and dimensioned so as to securely fit within and extend along a given accessible slot, and (iii) has a removable weight length less than, substantially equal to, or slightly greater than the slot length.
The present invention is even further directed to methods of making racket handles and rackets. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of making a racket comprises forming a racket handle having (i) a first grip butt end, (ii) a second handle connecting end opposite the first grip butt end, (iii) one or more side surfaces extending between and connecting the first grip butt and second handle connecting ends, and (iv) one or more accessible slots extending from the first grip butt end into the racket handle toward the second handle connecting end, each accessible slot being sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights, and having a slot length of up to a full length of the racket handle.
The method of making a racket may further comprise one or more additional steps including, but not limited to, forming a frame comprising the racket handle, a head and a throat connecting the racket handle and head; forming a foam pallet (e.g., a two piece polyurethane foam pallet); attaching a foam pallet (e.g., a two piece polyurethane foam pallet) over at least a portion of the racket handle; attaching a butt end cap with access window to a first grip butt end of the racket handle; forming a first end cover member; attaching the first end cover member to the butt end cap so as to fit within the access window; forming a leather or synthetic grip over the foam pallet; forming one or more removable weights; forming one or more removable weights, wherein each of the one or more removable weights comprises a carrier having one or more weights positioned thereon; removing the first end cover member from the butt end cap so as to access the access window; and inserting one or more removable weights within the one or more accessible slots of the racket handle.
The present invention is even further directed to methods of using the disclosed racket handles and rackets. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of using a racket comprises a method of changing (i) a weight, (ii) a weight distribution, or (iii) both (i) and (ii) of the racket, wherein the method comprises removing one or more first removable weights, if present, from one or more accessible slots of a racket handle; and inserting one or more second removable weights into the one or more accessible slots of the racket handle, wherein the one or more second removable weights differ from the one or more first removable weights in at least one of (i) total weight, and (ii) weight distribution along the racket handle.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The present invention is further described with reference to the appended figures, wherein:
FIG. 1 displays an exemplary racket of the present invention;
FIG. 2 displays an exemplary first grip butt end of the exemplary racket shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 displays another exemplary handle with exemplary slots positioned therein;
FIG. 4 displays an exemplary two piece foam handle section (also referred to herein as a “handle pallet”) suitable for use with the exemplary handles shown in FIGS. 1-3 ;
FIG. 5 displays the exemplary foam handle halves of FIG. 4 attached to the exemplary handle shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 6 displays an exemplary carrier and exemplary weight suitable for use with the exemplary handles shown in FIGS. 1-5 ;
FIG. 7 displays three exemplary carriers of similar length where an exemplary weight is affixed at different location along the carrier;
FIG. 8 displays an exemplary butt cap having an open window and a window cap that can snap on the exemplary butt cap to close the open window, which provides access to one or more accessible slots extending along a length of a given handle;
FIG. 9 displays the exemplary butt cap of FIG. 8 affixed to the exemplary handle of FIG. 5 ;
FIG. 10 displays the exemplary handle of FIG. 9 with exemplary weight carriers inserted into exemplary accessible slots of the handle and a leather or synthetic grip attached to the exemplary handle pallets thereof;
FIG. 11 displays the exemplary handle of FIG. 10 with a window cap attached to the butt cap to maintain a closed compartment; and
FIGS. 12 a - 12 d display various steps for changing an exemplary removable weight cartridge within the exemplary handle of FIG. 11 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to rackets and racket handles that enable a user to adjust (i) an overall weight, (ii) a weight distribution, or (iii) both (i) and (ii) of a racket or racket handle via one or more accessible slots that extend up to a full length of the racket handle. As discussed below, typically, the one or more accessible slots that extend at least 50% (or at least 60%, or at least 70%, or at least 80%, or at least 90%, or 100%) of a full length of the racket handle. The present invention is further directed to (1) racket handles and/or rackets in combination with (2) one or more removable weights, wherein the one or more removable weights are sized and dimensioned to fit within the one or more accessible slots of the racket handle. The present invention is even further directed to methods of making and using the disclosed racket handles, rackets and one or more removable weights (also referred to herein as “one or more removable cartridges”).
FIG. 1 displays an exemplary racket of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , exemplary racket 100 comprises exemplary handle 10 , exemplary head 30 and exemplary throat 20 connecting exemplary handle 10 to exemplary head 30 . Exemplary handle 10 has a first grip butt end 2 , a second handle connecting end 11 opposite exemplary first grip butt end 2 , and one or more side surfaces 14 extending between and connecting first grip butt end 2 and second handle connecting end 11 . Second handle connecting end 11 connects to throat 20 , which connects to head 30 . It should be understood that, in some embodiments of the present invention, second handle connecting end 11 of handle 10 may connect directly to head 30 or second handle connecting end 11 of handle 10 may connect to head 30 via a throat 20 , wherein throat 20 essentially represents a connector between second handle connecting end 11 of handle 10 and head 30 (i.e., throat 20 represents a relatively minor portion of an overall length of racket 100 ).
FIG. 2 displays an exemplary first grip butt end 2 of exemplary racket 100 shown in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 2 , exemplary handle 10 comprises first grip butt end 2 having exemplary accessible slots 3 extending from first grip butt end 2 into racket handle 10 toward second handle connecting end 11 (see also, FIGS. 1 and 3 ). As discussed further below, each accessible slot 3 (i) is sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights (shown in FIGS. 6-7 and 10 ), and (ii) has a slot length of up to a full length of racket handle 10 .
As shown in FIG. 2 , exemplary handle 10 may comprise a handle structure 13 that provides one or more accessible slots 3 formed therein. In this exemplary embodiment, exemplary handle structure 13 provides two accessible slots 3 positioned opposite one another along first end surface 16 of first grip butt end 2 . Each accessible slot 3 comprises slot side surfaces 15 , which extend a full length of each accessible slot 3 . Exemplary handle structure 13 further comprises hollow sections 12 extending up to a full length of racket handle 10 . Hollow sections 12 found throughout the tubular carbon fiber racket may be left hollow or sometimes may be filled with a polymeric foam material such as polyurethane foam, or other media such as silicon during the manufacturing process.
FIG. 3 displays another exemplary handle with exemplary slots positioned therein. As shown in FIG. 3 , exemplary handle 50 comprises first grip butt end 2 having exemplary accessible slots 3 extending from first grip butt end 2 into racket handle 50 toward second handle connecting end 11 . Exemplary handle 50 further comprises one or more side surfaces 14 extending between and connecting first grip butt end 2 and second handle connecting end 11 ; slot side surfaces 15 extending a full length of each accessible slot 3 ; and first end surface 16 of first grip butt end 2 .
FIG. 4 displays exemplary two piece foam handle section or exemplary handle pallet 4 suitable for use with either of exemplary handles 10 and 50 shown in FIGS. 1-3 . As shown in FIG. 4 , exemplary handle pallet 4 comprises pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b , each of which has a first pallet butt end 42 , a second pallet throat end 411 , one or more outer side surfaces 141 extending between and connecting first pallet butt end 42 and second pallet throat end 411 ; and one or more inner side surfaces 151 extending between and connecting first pallet butt end 42 and second pallet throat end 411 . Exemplary handle pallet 4 further comprises a tapered end section 421 at second pallet throat end 411 so as to provide a smooth transition from one or more outer side surfaces 141 of pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b to an outer surface of a throat portion (e.g., throat 20 shown in FIG. 1 ) of a given racket.
As shown in FIG. 4 , each of exemplary pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b independently comprises connecting edges 18 a and 18 b respectively, which desirably abut one another when positioned over an exemplary handle such as either of exemplary handles 10 and 50 . Such an assembled configuration is shown in FIG. 5 .
FIG. 5 displays exemplary pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b of FIG. 4 positioned over and attached to exemplary handle 50 shown in FIG. 3 so as to form an exemplary handle 50 /pallet 4 combination referred to below as exemplary handle/pallet combination 70 . As shown in FIG. 5 , with exemplary pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b of FIG. 4 positioned over and attached to exemplary handle 50 , one or more accessible slots 3 are accessible from first end surface 16 positioned along first grip butt end 2 of exemplary handle 50 .
It should be noted that exemplary pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b may be attached to a racket handle, such as exemplary handle 50 , via any known attachment device. Suitable attachment devices include, but are not limited to, adhesive, double-sided tape, mechanical fasteners (e.g., staples, etc.), etc. Once attached, exemplary pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b provide an outermost surface formed by outer side surfaces 141 of both exemplary pallet half portions 4 a and 4 b as shown in FIG. 5 . Moreover, once attached, each of one or more accessible slots 3 are bound by (i) slot side surfaces 15 and (ii) at least one inner side surface 151 of either pallet half portion 4 a or 4 b as shown in FIG. 5 .
It should be further noted that in other embodiments of the present invention (not shown), one or more accessible slots 3 may be bound solely by slot side surfaces 15 such as when the one or more accessible slots 3 are drilled into an inner portion of a given exemplary handle (i.e., the one or more accessible slots 3 do not form any portion of an outer surface of the handle).
As shown in FIGS. 4-5 , handle pallet 4 may comprise two or more tubular pieces (e.g., pallet portions 4 a and 4 b ) that extend around an outer perimeter of a given racket handle (e.g., racket handle 50 ). In other embodiments (not shown), handle pallet 4 may comprise a single tubular piece that extends around an outer perimeter of a given racket handle (e.g., racket handle 50 ). Regardless of the configuration, handle pallet 4 may be formed from a variety of materials. Suitable materials for forming handle pallet 4 include, but are not limited to, a polymeric foam, a composite material (e.g., fiber reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset material), carbon fiber, etc. In one desired embodiment, handle pallet 4 is formed from a polyurethane foam.
In addition, it should be understood that in other embodiments of the present invention (not shown), the handle (e.g., handle 10 or 50 ) may be configured such that pallet 4 is unnecessary, and the handle itself forms an outer surface encompassing one or more accessible slots 3 . In other words, the handle can be constructed from one or more of the above-mentioned materials (e.g., carbon fiber or composite material) so as to have a construction similar to exemplary handle/pallet combination 70 shown in FIG. 5 .
FIG. 6 displays an exemplary carrier and exemplary weight suitable for use with exemplary handles 10 and 50 shown in FIGS. 1-5 . As shown in FIG. 6 , exemplary carrier 5 is configured to have a carrier length C L , a carrier width C w , and a carrier height C h so as to desirably enable a secure fit within a given accessible slot 3 . Exemplary carrier 5 and exemplary weight 6 act collectively as an insertable and removable cartridge 56 for a given accessible slot 3 . A “secure” fit is used to describe a position of a given carrier 5 within a given accessible slot 3 so that carrier 5 (i) contacts one or more (desirably two or more) of slot side surfaces 15 and/or inner side surface 151 of either pallet half portion 4 a or 4 b , and (ii) remains substantially stationary within the given accessible slot 3 when a first end cover member is in place. Carrier 5 has one or more weights such as exemplary weight 6 positioned along carrier length C L .
FIG. 7 displays three exemplary carriers 5 a , 5 b and 5 c having similar carrier length C L , carrier width C w , and carrier height C h with exemplary weight 6 is affixed at different locations along exemplary carriers 5 a , 5 b and 5 c . As shown in FIG. 7 , each of exemplary carriers 5 a , 5 b and 5 c has a cut-out section 55 a , 55 b and 55 c sized to receive exemplary weight 6 .
It should be understood that each of exemplary weights 6 shown in FIGS. 6-7 may be permanently or temporarily attached to a given carrier 5 via any attachment device including, but not limited to, cement, adhesive tape, or double sided tape. Further, although not shown in FIGS. 6-7 , each individual carrier (e.g., exemplary carrier 5 a ) and/or each individual weight (e.g., exemplary weight 6 ) may be configured so as to provide a gripping end portion operatively adapted to be gripped by, for example, needle nose pliers, so as to remove a given removable weight (e.g., insertable and removable cartridge 56 comprising carrier 5 and weight 6 ) from a given accessible slot 3 (see, discussion below with regard to FIGS. 12 a - 12 d ).
Although each of exemplary carriers 5 a , 5 b and 5 c are shown in combination with exemplary weight 6 , it should be understood that (1) a given carrier 5 may be configured to accept one or more various weights within one or more cut-out sections (i.e., such as exemplary cut-out section 55 a ) along carrier length C L , and (2) a set of two of more carriers 5 (i.e., such as set of exemplary carriers 5 a , 5 b and 5 c shown in FIG. 7 ) may be configured to accept a single weight within a cut-out section (i.e., such as exemplary cut-out section 55 a ) along carrier length C L , wherein (i) the weight, (ii) the location of the weight, or (iii) both (i) and (ii) differs from one carrier 5 (i.e., such as exemplary carriers 5 a ) to another carrier 5 (i.e., such as exemplary carriers 5 b ) within the set.
Exemplary carrier 5 and exemplary weight 6 may be formed from any material, but typically, exemplary carrier 5 comprises a carrier material having a carrier basis weight, and each of the one or more individual weights (e.g., exemplary weight 6 ) comprises a weight material having a higher basis weight than the carrier basis weight. Suitable carrier materials include, but are not limited to, wood, such as balsa wood, basswood, a polymeric material, a foam material, a metal material, such as aluminum, steel, or a combination of materials in a single layer or in bilayers or trilayers of similar or different materials, etc. Suitable weight materials include, but are not limited to, lead shapes, lead tape, encapsulated lead powder, etc. In one desired embodiment, the carrier material (e.g., exemplary carrier 5 ) comprises basswood, and each of the one or more individual weights (e.g., exemplary weight 6 ) comprises lead or lead tape.
In some embodiments, an absorptive intermediary material (not shown) may be used to circumscribe the carrier weight system prior to inserting a given removable weight (e.g., insertable and removable cartridge 56 ) within a given accessible slot 3 . Suitable absorptive intermediary materials include, but are not limited to, fabric, felt, cotton, or shrink wrap. In other embodiments, the intermediary material may be directly attached to the carbon fiber, polyurethane foam, or both of handle structure 13 by adhesive means (i.e., the intermediary material may line one or more side surfaces of a given accessible slot 3 of handle structure 13 ).
Although each of exemplary carriers 5 a , 5 b and 5 c (and each of accessible slot 3 ) are shown as having a rectangular cross-sectional area configuration, a given in combination with exemplary weight 6 , it should be understood that (1) a given carrier 5 (and a given accessible slot 3 ) may have any desired cross-sectional area configuration. Suitable cross-sectional area configurations include, but are not limited to, a square cross-sectional area configuration, an oval cross-sectional area configuration, a star-shaped cross-sectional area configuration, a triangular cross-sectional area configuration, a circular cross-sectional area configuration, a hexagonal cross-sectional area configuration, or any other cross-sectional area configuration.
As shown in FIG. 8 , handles and rackets of the present invention may further comprise at least one first end cover member sized to prevent one or more removable weights 56 (e.g., a carrier/weight combination such as removable weights 56 a , 56 b and 56 c (e.g., insertable and removable cartridges 56 a , 56 b and 56 c ) shown in FIG. 7 ), when present within one or more accessible slots 3 , from exiting one or more accessible slots 3 . Typically, the at least one first end cover member comprises a single first end cover member sized to prevent one or more removable weights 56 , when present within one or more accessible slots 3 , from exiting one or more accessible slots 3 . An exemplary first end cover member is shown in FIG. 8 .
FIG. 8 displays an exemplary butt cap 7 having an open window 71 and a window cap 8 that can snap on exemplary butt cap 7 along butt cap surface 72 to close open window 71 . Open window 71 is sized and dimensioned to provide access to one or more accessible slots 3 extending along a length of a given handle (e.g., handle 50 shown in FIG. 3 ) when positioned on a given handle (e.g., handle 50 shown in FIG. 3 ).
FIG. 9 displays exemplary butt cap 7 of FIG. 8 affixed to exemplary handle/pallet combination 70 of FIG. 5 . As shown in FIG. 9 , exemplary butt cap 7 desirably fits over a portion of first pallet butt end 42 of exemplary handle/pallet combination 70 so that open window 71 of exemplary butt cap 7 can provide access to accessible slots 3 of exemplary handle 50 within exemplary handle/pallet combination 70 . The resulting exemplary handle is referred to herein as exemplary handle 80 .
FIG. 10 displays exemplary handle 80 of FIG. 9 with exemplary weight carriers 5 inserted into exemplary accessible slots 3 of exemplary handle 50 and a leather or synthetic grip 9 attached to and surrounding at least a portion of outer surfaces 141 of exemplary handle pallet 4 . The design of exemplary butt cap 7 , butt cap window 71 , and butt cap cover 8 allow space for the exemplary weight carriers (e.g., one or more of removable weights 56 a , 56 b and 56 c ) to extend approximately ⅛ of an inch beyond the terminus of the carbon fiber frame (i.e., beyond first grip butt end 2 ). To dislodge the weight carrier 5 , needle nose pliers may be used to grab carrier 5 , and remove a given cartridge system 56 (see, for example, FIGS. 12 a - 12 d below). Typically, leather or synthetic grip 9 attaches to and surrounds a majority (or, in some embodiments, all) of outer surfaces 141 of exemplary handle pallet 4 extending from exemplary butt cap 7 to at least a beginning of tapered end section 421 of exemplary handle pallet 4 .
FIG. 11 displays exemplary handle of FIG. 10 with window cap 8 attached to butt cap 7 to maintain a closed compartment (i.e., to secure one or more removable weights 56 within one or more accessible slots 3 of handle 50 ). It should be understood that window cap 8 may be attached to butt cap 7 via any desirable method. For example, window cap 8 may temporarily snap onto butt cap 7 or be permanently attached to butt cap 7 via, for example, a hinge element. In addition, an absorptive intermediary material, such as one of those discussed above, may be attached to an inner surface 89 of window cap 8 (see, for example, absorptive intermediary material 90 in FIG. 8 ) so as to provide an absorptive cushion between a given removable weight 56 and window cap 8 .
As discussed above, the present invention is also directed to (1) any of the above-described racket handles (e.g., exemplary handles 10 or 50 shown in FIGS. 1-3 ) and/or rackets (e.g., exemplary racket 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) in combination with (2) one or more removable weights (e.g., exemplary removable weight 56 shown in FIG. 7 ). The combination of (1) racket handles and/or rackets (e.g., exemplary handles 10 or 50 shown in FIGS. 1-3 and exemplary racket 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) and (2) one or more removable weights (e.g., exemplary removable weight 56 shown in FIG. 7 ) may comprise (a) any of the herein-described racket handles and/or rackets; and (b) any of the herein-described removable weights. Desirably, each of the one or more removable weights (e.g., exemplary removable weight 56 shown in FIG. 7 ) (i) comprises a carrier (e.g., carrier 5 ) and one or more individual weights (e.g., exemplary weight 6 ) positioned along the carrier, (ii) is sized and dimensioned so as to securely fit within and extend along a given accessible slot 3 , and (iii) has a removable weight length less than, substantially equal to, or slightly greater than the slot length (e.g., in some cases, about ⅛ inch greater than the slot length). The one or more removable weights may be separate from the racket handle and/or racket, or may be positioned within the racket handle and/or racket. Further, the one or more removable weights may form a set or kit comprising two or more removable weights, wherein each removable weight has (i) a different weight, (ii) a different weight distribution along a carrier of the removable weight, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).
The present invention is even further directed to methods of making racket handles, rackets, and removable weights suitable for use with the handles and rackets. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of making a racket comprises forming a racket handle having (i) a first grip butt end, (ii) a second handle connecting end opposite the first grip butt end, (iii) one or more side surfaces extending between and connecting the first grip butt and second handle connecting ends, and (iv) one or more accessible slots extending from the first grip butt end into the racket handle toward the second handle connecting end, each accessible slot being sized and dimensioned so as to receive one or more removable weights, and having a slot length of up to a full length of the racket handle.
The method of making a racket may further comprise one or more additional steps including, but not limited to, forming a frame comprising the racket handle, a head and a throat connecting the racket handle and head; forming a racket handle having one or more accessible slots extending up to a full length of the racket handle, wherein an outer surface of the racket handle surrounds each of the one or more accessible slots (e.g., a pallet is not necessary); forming a foam pallet (e.g., a two piece polyurethane foam pallet); attaching a foam pallet (e.g., a two piece polyurethane foam pallet) over at least a portion of the racket handle; attaching a butt end cap with access window to a first grip butt end of the racket handle; forming a foam pallet (e.g., a two piece polyurethane foam pallet) having integrally connected thereto a butt end cap with access window (i.e., the pallet and butt end cap are integrally attached to one another); forming a first end cover member; attaching the first end cover member to the butt end cap so as to fit within the access window; forming a leather or synthetic grip over the foam pallet; forming one or more removable weights; forming one or more removable weights, wherein each of the one or more removable weights comprises a carrier having one or more weights positioned thereon; removing the first end cover member from the butt end cap so as to access the access window; and inserting one or more removable weights within the one or more accessible slots of the racket handle.
In one exemplary embodiment, the method of making a racket comprises one or more of the following steps: forming a graphite handle (e.g., exemplary handle 10 or 50 ) manufactured with one or more accessible slots 3 that allow space for one or more weighted carriers to slide therein; forming a two piece polyurethane foam pallet that attaches to the graphite handle so that the foam pallet does not infringe on the space created by the handle slots; attaching the foam pallet to the graphite handle by double sided adhesive tape; forming a butt cap with access window and cementing the butt cap to the foam pallet/handle, the access window being used to allow a player to insert and exit different weight carriers; forming a leather or synthetic grip atop the foam pallet/handle; forming one or more rectangular, U-shaped or I shaped carriers that carry additional weight (usually lead) to the slotted space in the handle; forming multiple carriers having different weights and/or weight distributions so that different weights/weight distributions can be tested by a player during one hitting session; attaching one or more pallets directly to the racket handle by affixing double sided tape to the racket handle without adding tape to the slotted spaces; attaching an end cap to the pallet with cement while maintaining the slotted spaces; attaching a grip with double sided tape to the pallet; reducing the carrier (e.g., basswood) at one or more specific locations of the carrier to accept one or more weights (e.g., lead tape); sliding the weight carriers through the open end cap into the slotted handle spaces by utilizing a secure fit; and attaching the end cap cover to the end cap by utilizing a snap fit.
The present invention is even further directed to methods of using the disclosed racket handles and rackets. In one exemplary embodiment, the method of using a racket comprises a method of changing (i) a weight, (ii) a weight distribution, or (iii) both (i) and (ii) of the racket, wherein the method comprises removing one or more first removable weights, if present, from one or more accessible slots of a racket handle; and inserting one or more second removable weights into the one or more accessible slots of the racket handle, wherein the one or more second removable weights differ from the one or more first removable weights in at least one of (i) total weight, and (ii) weight distribution along the racket handle.
A method of removing weight from a handle of a racket may comprise: removing the end cap cover by inserting a micro flat head screwdriver into an open rectangular space of the end cap cover, and pushing the end cap cover in a direction away from the racket for cap release; exiting the weight carrier from the slotted handle; inserting a lighter carrier into the slotted handle; and attaching the end cap cover to the end cap by utilizing a snap fit.
FIGS. 12 a - 12 d display various steps for changing an exemplary removable weight cartridge within exemplary handle 80 of FIG. 11 . As shown in FIG. 12 a , the tip 320 of a screwdriver 300 may be inserted into opening 211 extending along an outer region of butt cap cover 8 , and moved away from exemplary handle 80 so as to dislodge butt cap cover 8 from exemplary butt cap 7 , and provide access to butt cap window 71 . As shown in FIG. 12 b , with butt cap cover 8 removed, butt cap window 71 provides access to exemplary removable weight cartridge 56 f positioned within accessible slot 3 of exemplary handle 80 .
As noted above and as shown in FIG. 12 b , the design of exemplary butt cap 7 , butt cap window 71 , and butt cap cover 8 allow space for a given exemplary weight carrier (e.g., removable weight 56 f ) to extend beyond the terminus of the carbon fiber frame (i.e., beyond first grip butt end 2 ), for example, approximately ⅛ of an inch beyond first grip butt end 2 . To dislodge removable weight 56 f , needle nose pliers 301 may be used to grab protruding end 561 of removable weight 56 f , and remove removable weight 56 f.
FIG. 12 c provides a view of removable weight 56 f (i.e., carrier 5 with individual weight 6 thereon) being removed from accessible slot 3 of exemplary handle 80 using needle nose pliers 301 . Once removable weight 56 f is removed, another removable weight 56 g may be inserted into accessible slot 3 of exemplary handle 80 as shown in FIG. 12 d . Once removable weight 56 g is in place within accessible slot 3 of exemplary handle 80 , butt cap cover 8 can be put into place as shown in FIG. 11 .
The present invention enables specifications of a racket to be changed, such as the weight, the balance point, and the swing weight. Weight added to a racket can lead to increased inertia in a racket ball collision. Not only is the amount of weight added important, but how that weight is distributed is essential. The present invention makes accessible the normally inaccessible area of a given racket, namely, the racket handle, so that the weight and/or weight distribution along a complete length of the handle of the racket can be modified as desired. Once a player finds a desired weight and weight distribution along a length of a given racket handle, the player can permanently fix the selected handle weight with cement if so desired. Furthermore, once a player knows their ideal weight, balance, and swing weight, additional rackets can be matched or made identical to their standards utilizing the disclosed cartridge carrier system.
While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be assessed as that of the appended claims and any equivalents thereto.
|
Rackets and a process that allows up to the entire length of a racket handle to receive various weight carriers enabling for selective control of overall weight, distribution of weight, balance point, swing weight, racket customization, and equalization between rackets are disclosed.
| 0
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a mechanism for generating a data operand pair from sequentially input data by matching data identifier fields and, more particularly, to a firing processing unit in a data driven processor.
A conventional von Neuman data processing system, uses a control driven sequential processing method in which operands for a specific instruction are specified within the control word for that instruction. Consequently, the upper bound of processing speed in such a system is limited by the data transmission speed between central processing unit and memory unit and further it is difficult to achieve parallel processing. In order to overcome these difficulties, non-von Neuman data processing systems have been proposed. These non-von Neuman systems include data processing systems which use data driven type data processing methods. Some data driven type data processing systems using such methods have been implemented. For example, FIG. 17 shows a schematic diagram of such a data driven type data processing system. In this system, a data process such as an operation which combines two operands is achieved by first locating and pairing the two operands and then activating a data processing unit to complete the operation after the data has been paired. Referring to FIG. 17, the principle is applied, for example, to a dyadic operation for data 30 having an identifier field 29a and a value A and data 31 having an identifier field 29b and a value B. The operation is initiated by comparing the identifier fields 29a and 29b with the identifier field comparator unit 32 and generating a data pair 34 with the data pair generator unit 33 when the identifier fields indicate that the data pair are operands for the operation (this pairing process is hereinafter referred to as "firing"). Data processing unit 35 then performs the operation on the paired data. It is also possible that more than two data words must be associated in order to perform a particular operation. In this latter case the association of data words preparatory to performing an operation is still referred to as "firing".
Prior Art 1
An example of a data driven type data processing system is described in Oki Electric Researches and Development Report pp. 19-26, published in June 1984.
FIG. 18(A) shows a schematic diagram of the data association unit or firing processing unit of said example. In this example, a waiting or template matching memory for data to be associated (firing operation) is used to hold a set of data words, each of which constitutes one operand for an operation. Each data word provided to the system contains an identifier field at least part of which is used as an address to access the template matching memory. If the memory location indicated by the address information is empty, the input data word is stored at that location. Subsequently, another input data word which constitutes another operand for an operation and which has an identifier field that specifies the same memory location will access that location so that a data word pair can be generated.
In order to reduce the size of the template matching memory, the data words are stored in the holding memory by using a hashing operation on the input data word identifier field to generate the memory addresses. In accordance with conventional hashing algorithms, the input addresses are reduced into a smaller subset of addresses. However, when this is done, there exists the possibility that different input addresses will be hashed into the same memory address resulting in a hash "collision". Hash collisions are detected by comparing a special part of the stored data word with the same part of the input word. In the memory, address chain fields are appended to each data word as shown in FIG. 18(A) to deal with hash collisions. In the case of a hash collision, the stored data is searched sequentially by referring to the addresses indicated by said chain fields.
Prior Art 2
An example of another implementation of a firing processing unit has been filed by the same assignee as the subject invention (reference is directed to Japanese Patent Application No. 119166/85). A schematic diagram of this latter example hereinafter referred to as a "counter directional date loop firing unit" is shown in FIG. 19. Data packets to be processed, including data words and associated identifier fields, are transferred from the main data transmission line to a loop data transmission line 38 via junction unit 36 or the loop data transmission line 39 via junction unit 37. Junction units 36 and 37 operate in such a manner that one operand for an operation is transferred to loop transmission line 38 and another operand is transferred to loop transmission ling 39, Both loop data transmission lines 38 and 39 are comprised with free running shift registers and are arranged so that data within loop 38 circulates in the opposite direction from data in loop 39. As the data words in one loop circulate past the data words in the other loop, the identifier fields of the data words in one loop are compared by a firing direction unit provided in predetermined stages cf the shift registers to the identifier fields of data words in the other loop and when a match is detected, paired data are generated and transferred to the main data transmission line via branch unit 40 for the next operation. Until the pairing operation is completed, the data stay on the data transmission lines 38 or 39.
In the example of prior art 1, stored data to be paired must be searched by tracing the address indicated by the chain field when a hash collision occurs and there is a problem that the processing time required to generate one data pair becomes very long when the frequency of occurrence of hash collisions increases. Consequently, when a small memory with hashed addresses is used, the total processing efficiency of the data processing system is severely decreased. On the other hand, if a memory of larger capacity is used in order to reduce the probability of hash collisions then the use of a hashing method to reduce memory size is meaningless.
In the example of prior art 2, as the number of data words to be paired increases, the loop data transmission lines must be extended because more data words must circulate on each loop before matches are detected. Such a situation increases the period of time that the data remain on the data transmission lines, the turn around time becomes longer and the response to input from outside of the processor is slower.
Therefore, the object of this invention is to provide a data processing system which can solve the above problems and generate a data air by searching through the data to be paired with higher speed using less hardware.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a firing processing unit having reduced hardware requirements and high speed by using combination of a hashed template matching memory and a counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism.
The identifier field of a data word being input to the data processing system of subject invention is compressed in its bit width (by means of a hash operation with a predetermined rule) in order to generate a hashed template matching memory read out address. The template matching memory which holds data words constituting operands is accessed by using said hashed memory read out address. If the identifier field of the read out data matches the identifier field of the input data, a new data pair is generated from said two data words and is output.
On the other hand, if the identifier fields of the input word and the read out data word are mismatched with each other, the input data is transferred to a counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism as it is. In the counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism, the identifier fields accompanying the data transferred in opposite direction in the transmission lines are compared with each other by the identifier field comparator means provided at predetermined shift register stages and when the result of comparison is a match, a new data pair is generated from the two data words present in the corresponding shift register stages.
In this invention, since a hash memory is used as a data waiting memory (template matching memory) for firing operations, a memory having small capacity can be used.
Further, even when a hash collision occurs, since the data is immediately transmitted to the counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism, the next input data word can be received immediately. Therefore, even if a hash collision occurs, no sequential search operation using chain fields is necessary, and the overall reduction of processor efficiency is small.
In the counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism, since comparisons of the identifier fields are executed at the shift register transmit speed, the processing rate is sufficient to accommodate data resulting from hash collisions. Further, the capacity of the counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism (the number of stages of the shift register) may be small since only the data resulting from a hash collision concurrently need be processed by the counter directional data loops.
As described above, by combining a template matching memory and counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism, a firing processing unit having high processing efficiency and small hardware requirements can be provided. As a result, a data processing system having higher speed and decreased hardware requirements can be manufactured
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the example of a data processing system to which subject invention can be applied;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a template matching memory;
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of input data format;
FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining the EXP unit in the template matching memory;
FIG. 4B is a timing diagram of the EXP unit;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of format of the memory unit in the template matching memory;
FIG. 6(A) is a logic diagram of the packet erase circuit in the template matching memory;
FIG. 6(B) is a timing diagram of the packet erase circuit in the template matching memory;
FIG. 7(A) is a logic diagram of the BND unit in the template matching memory;
FIG. 7(B) is a timing diagram of the BND unit in the template matching memory;
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle of the counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism;
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the C element;
FIG. 10 is a timing diagram for explaining the circuit of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining generation of one data pair from the data to be paired in the counter directional comparison type data pair generating mechanism;
FIG. 12(A) is a diagram showing an example of the data format;
FIG. 12(B) is a diagram showing another example of the data format;
FIGS. 13 and 14 are schematic diagrams showing the formats of data and data pairs when one data pair is generated from the data to be paired, respectively;
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the counter directional data loop data pair generating mechanism of this invention;
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the other embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the data driven type data processing system;
FIG, 18(A) is a diagram of a template matching or data waiting memory which uses hashed addresses;
FIG. 18(B) is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hashing method for use with the inventive system; and
FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram for explaining the prior art 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data processing system according to the subject invention. Data entered from an external unit reaches a program memory via junction unit 1 in which an operation code or generation number and a destination node number that are read out from the memory are appended to the data. The data is then provided to a template matching memory via branch unit 2 and junction unit 3 and is processed by a hashing operation. Now the hashing operation will be described with reference to FIG. 18(B). Assume that the bit specification as shown in the drawing is assigned to the input data as an identifier field. Considering this identifier field as an input address to the template matching memory, a memory with a 2 16 address space is required for this case. Accordingly, in order to reduce the size of the memory required, a hashed memory input address is formed by combining the low order 5 bits of the destination node number and the low order 5 bits of the generation number. After this operation, the required address space becomes 2 10 , that is, it is reduced to 2 10 /2 16 namely 1/64 th of the unhashed memory size.
Referring again to FIG. 1, the template matching memory is accessed in accordance with the hashed memory read out address formed by degenerating the bit width of the input address.
In the location of the template matching memory designated by the hashed address, there are data information fields. These include a flag designating whether or not valid data is stored in the location (occupation flag), the high address bits of the input address omitted during the hashing operation (when valid data is present), and the actual data (value of the data field). If the result of a read to the location in the template matching memory indicates that the occupation flag is off, then the first data word to be paired has not yet arrived. In this case the value of high order address field bits and the value of data field of the input data are written into this address and at the same time the occupation flat is set to "on".
On the other hand, if the occupation flag is already on, the high order address field of the input data word is compared to the high order address field stored at the accessed memory location. If the values of high order address fields match, a data pair is formed by appending the read out data field to the input data field and the combined data fields are output and at the same time the occupation flag is reset to "off".
In case where the values of high order address fields are mismatched (namely a hash address collision occurs , the input data is output as it is and the memory location is not updated.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the construction of the template matching memory. As shown in the drawing, the template matching memory is constructed of a data branch unit 10, an input unit 11, an output latch unit 12, a data pair generator control unit 13, a high order address field comparator unit 14, a write control signal generator unit 15, a data junction unit 16 and a memory unit 17. Reference characters C 01 to C 05 designate coincidence or C elements which control the flow of information between the various units and will be described hereinafter. The input data are formated in the packet form shown in FIG. 3. The tag portion is composed of a control field and an identifier field. The control field is composed with an operand position designator portion (R/L) for indicating whether the operand is a left operand or a right operand, a designation code portion for indicating whether a data pair is generated or not and an operation code portion for indicating the kind of operation. The identifier field is composed of an 8 bit destination node number and an 8 bit generation number.
The input data packet consisting of the low order address portion A0, the high order address portion B0 and data portion D0 is latched into an input holding latch L1 under control of a latch signal generated by coincidence element C 01 .
The hashed memory read out address, hereinafter referred to as A0, is composed by concatenating for example the low order 5 bits of the 8 bit destination node number and the low order 5 bits of the 8 bit generation number. This is equivalent to applying the following hash function h to each of the destination node number and generation number of the input data in order to obtain a hash number which is the residue of 32(2 5 ).
h(n)=mod(n 32):
where n is the address of input data
The value of high order address field stored in the template matching memory is composed from the high order bit information of th address of the input data which was omitted during the generation process of the hashed memory read out address Generally the original address of the input data is obtained from the hashed information and a hash reverse function.
In this embodiment, the value of high order address field is comprised of the high order 3 bits (b 5 b 4 b 3 ) of the destination node number and the high order 3 bits (b 2 b 1 b 0 ) of the generation number. Hereinafter this value is referred to as B0 (b 5 b 4 b 3 b 2 b 1 b 0 ). The original address of the input data is obtained by the computation A0+B0×32. Accordingly, in this embodiment, for matching the address of input data with the address of the read out data (A0+B1×32), it is sufficient that only B0 and B1 are compared. However, in this embodiment, since the operation for applying the above hash function is achieved only by selecting the high order 3 bits and the low order 5 bits of the destination node number and the generation number, respectively, the hash operation can be achieved by selectively connecting some of the data lines from the latch L2 to latches L4 and L5 in the FIG. 2. Further for simplifying the explanation, there is no indication relating to the destination code portion and the operation code portion of the tag portion in FIG. 2.
The input data is separated into a first word including the identifier address field and a second word including the data portion within the data branch unit 10 in FIG. 2. The data is latched into branch unit 10 under control of a data latch signal generated by the EXP unit for such a branch operation. The EXP unit is comprised of a conventional D-type flip flop as shown in FIG. 4A. To the terminal CIN, an output signal from the previous C element, namely C 01 , is input. Since the Q output is fed back to the D input, a reverse of the previous output signal is output to the Q and Q outputs on every rising edge of the signal input to the terminal T of the D-type flip-flop as shown in FIG. 4B. The flip-flop D-FF can also be reset by applying a low reset signal to the S input.
The input data packet consists of two words (FIGS. 3A and 3B) and always arrives in the order of the first word and the second word. An explanation of the operation of the branch unit 10 will start from the time when the first word reaches the latch L2 of FIG. 2. The Q output of the D-type flip-flop of the EXP unit is 1 for an initial state. Therefore, a latch control pulse for the first word is generated and applied to L2 via AND gate 410 having CIN signal as its other input. Since the CIN signal is inverted by inverter 420, the Q output of the D-type flip flop is reversed at the fall time of the latch control pulse of the first word. Therefore, the Q output is high when the second word arrives and the latch control signal of the second word is generated and applied to L3 via AND gate 430. Thus the first word (comprising the low order address portion A0, the high order address portion B0 and the operand position R/L) is latched in L2 and the second word (comprising the data portion D0) is latched in L3. Since the latch control signal of second word is sent to C 02 , data in latches L2 and L3 is also latched in L4, L5, L5A and L6 of input latch unit 11 synchronized with the output of C 02 . The EXP unit repeats this operation for every ordered arrival of an input data packet.
Referring again to FIG. 2, a read signal at the output of C 02 is applied to the read input r of memory 17 and a hashed memory read out address A0 latched in latch L4 of the input latch unit 11 is input to the address input Adr of memory 17 (via driver 20) and the memory is read out.
The arrangement of data stored in memory 17 is shown in FIG. 5. Each word (of words 0 through N) in the memory is comprised of an occupation flag E designating whether there is valid data stored in the location or not, a field B1 (high order address field) of the input address masked at the hash operation and a data portion D1.
The data including high order address field B1, occupation flag E and data D1, read out from memory 17 from the Data input/output port through buffer 21 are latched in latches L8, L10 and L11 of FIG. 2, respectively, under control of a latch signal generated by coincidence element C 03 . Also under control of the latch signal generated by coincidence element C 03 , the low order address portion of the input data packet stored in latch L4 is transferred to latch L7, the high order address portion stored in latch L5 is transferred to latch L9, the operand position information stored in latch L5A is transferred to latch L11A and the data portion stored in latch L6 is transferred to latch L12 for further processing. After this, the operation of the system proceeds with reference to the value of the occupation flag E latched in the occupation flag latch L10. The value of the occupation flag in latch L10 is applied to write control generator unit 15, packet erase circuit 19 and, via inverter 25 and buffer 22, to the Data port of memory 17.
If the occupation flag E is off (0), denoting that there is no stored data for pairing with the input data, a write signal is generated by the write control signal generator unit 15. This write signal is applied to AND Gate 26 along with the latch signal generated by coincidence element C 03 . The resulting write control signal generated at the output of gate 26 is applied to the write input w of memory 17. In response, the high order address and the data portion (B0, D0) of the input data are written into the memory as they are from the outputs of latches L9 and L12, via buffer 22, using the hashed address A0 latched in latch L7 and applied to the address input Adr of memory 17 via buffer 24. At the same time, for switching the occupation flag on, the write operation is executed with the occupation flag field set to a high level by inverter 25 at the output of L10. Further, at that time, the input data is substantially erased by applying a low level from latch L10 to the packet erase circuit 19 as a control signal. As will be hereinafter described, in response to this low signal, packet erase circuit 19 interrupts the transfer of information from unit 13 to unit 16, thereby causing the information to be erased during the next cycle. FIGS. 6A and 6B show the circuit arrangment and the logical and timing diagram of the packet erase circuit 19.
More particularly, referring to FIG. 6A, to the terminal 601, the content of the occupation flag latch L10 is applied. Similarly, to the terminal 602, a latch signal from the previous stage C element C 04 is applied and to the terminal 603, a signal corresponding to the latch empty signal from the latter stage C element is applied.
As shown in FIG. 6B, when the occupation flag is on, the terminal 601 is high. At that time, to the terminal 604, a signal applied to the terminal 602 is output as it is and to the terminal 605, a signal applied to the terminal 603 is output as it is. These signals cause the coincidence element C 04 to "handshake" with the next coincidence element and transfer data along to the next data processing unit.
Next when the occupation flag is off, the terminal 601 is low. At that time, a low signal is output to the terminal 604 and to the terminal 605, an inverted signal of the signal applied to the terminal 602 is output. Therefore, when the terminal 601 is low, the C element C 04 does not handshake with next stage C element for transferring data from data pair generator control unit 13 to data junction unit 16. Instead, the transfer is completed by a pseudo-response signal generated at output 605 of the erase circuit.
Referring again to FIG. 2, when the occupation flag is on (1), since data for pairing may have been read out, the high order address field B1 of the read out data stored in latch L8 and the high order address field B0 of the tag portion of the input data stored in latch L9 are compared with each other by comparison unit 14 to detect whether the read out data is to be paired with the input data.
If the result of such a comparison is a match and a data pair is to be generated, the low order address portion in latch L7 is transferred to latch L13 in the data pair generation unit 13 and the high order address portion stored in either latches L8 or L9 (the high order adress portions are equal) is transferred via comparison unit 14 to latch L14. In addition, the input data D0 in latch L12 and read out data D1 in latch L11 are transmitted to the operand R/L decision unit 18. This unit arranges the relative position of the two data words in accordance with the operand location information latched in the R/L operand position latch L11A and generates a concatenated data word. If the input data word (D0) is the "left" operand and the read out data word (D1) is the "right" operand, then the concatenated data word D01 is transferred to latch L16. On the other hand if the input data word is the "right" operand and the read out data word is the "left" operand, then the concatenated data word D10 is transferred to latch L15.
The appropriate concatenated data word (either D01 or D10) is transmitted to the data junction unit 16 along with the low order address field A0 (from latch L13 and the high order address field B0 (in latch L14) and the output data packet consisting of low order address bits A out , high order address bits B out and data portion D out is generated in accordance with a control signal produced by the BND unit.
Now, the operation of the BND unit is described by referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B. As indicated in FIG. 7A, to the upper input of the exclusive OR gate 702, the input signal delayed by a predetermined number of inverter stages is applied. Similarly, to the lower input of gate 702 the input signal applied to the terminal 701 is applied and, in response, gate 702 outputs a high level output pulse signal in accordance with the changing of the input signal. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, a signal having a doubled frequency of the input signal is output to the terminal 703. The data latch signals generated by coincidence element C 04 and applied to the data pair generation control unit 13 are also applied as an input signal to the BND unit.
The doubled frequency output of the BND unit causes the first word data stored in latches L13 and L14 and the second word data stored in either of latches L15 or L16 to be output as a first and second word of a two-word data packet during a single cycle by causing coincidence element C 05 to generate two data latch signals during a single cycle. Under control of the latch control signal generated by coincidence element C 05 , the output data pair packet (consisting of address fields A out , B out and data field D out ) is latched into output latch L17.
Referring now back to FIG. 2, if the result of the comparison of the high order address fields by comparator 14 is that the high order address fields do not match, then comparator 14 controls write control unit 15 so that no memory write and erase is executed. In addition, comparator 14 controls the operand R/L decision unit 18 so that the input data word D0 stored in latch L12 is passed directly through to latch L16 and from there to output latch L17. Consequently, the input data is output as it is.
Referring again to the FIG. 1, as described above, if a hash address collision occurred as indicated by the output of comparator 14, the input data packet along with the R/L operand order information is sent to the counter directional data loop pair generating mechanism comprising data loops 5 and 6 and firing detection unit 7. More particularly, the input data word is transmitted to the first data transmission line 5 or second data transmission line 6 via branch units 4a and 4b in accordance with the R/L operand order (the order indicating if it is the first or second operand of a two operand command).
Now, the detail of the transmission line is explained by referring to FIG. 8. The first data transmission line 5 and the second data transmission line 6 which transfer the data in opposite directions through firing detection unit 7 are each constructed as a free running shift register. The free running shift register can push in and pop out independently the data at the same time. It shifts the pushed data toward the exit direction automatically when the next register stage is empty.
The free running shift register comprising the first data transmission line 5 has C elements (Coincident Element) C1 to C3 corresponding to the parallel data buffers B1 to B3 connected sequentially.
Now, the C elements controlling the asychronous free running shift register are described by referring to FIGS. 9 and 10. Each C element (C) has six terminals T1 to T6. To the terminal T1, a signal TR1 (Transfer In) is applied from the preceding C element and from the terminal T2, a signal AKO (Acknowledge Out) is output to the preceding C element. From the terminal T3, a TRO signal (Transfer Out) is output to a subsequent C element and to the terminal T4, and AKI (Acknowledge In) is applied from the subsequent C element. The signal TRO is further applied to a corresponding parallel data buffer as a transfer command signal. The signal AKI is applied as a buffer empty signal from one stage to its preceding stage.
Further, to the terminal T5, a reset signal is applied and to the terminal T6, a stop signal STOP is applied. In the circuit shown in FIG. 9, when a reset signal RESET is applied from the terminal T5, it is inverted by the inverter and the outputs from the four NAND gates G1, G4, G11 and G14 to which the inverted signal is applied are changed to a high level. When the outputs from the NAND gates G1, G4, G11 and G14 are at a high level, the output from both of the NAND gates G3 and G13 to which the output signal is applied are changed to a low level. The high level output signal from the NAND gates G4 becomes the signal AK0 and is applied to the preceding C element from the terminal T2 as the signal AK1. This latter signal indicates the empty condition of the corresponding parallel data buffer. At this time, if no data has reached the preceding parallel data buffer stage, the signal TR1 to the terminal T1 is at a low level When the reset signal RESET to the terminal T5 is released (becomes low), the output from the inverter changes to a high level and the signal AK2 from the NAND gate G14 is also at a high level. This condition is the initial state.
In the initial state, therefore, the two inputs of the NAND gates G1 and G11 are at a high level, respectively, and the one input of the OR gates G2 and G12 are also at a high level, respectively. Accordingly, the two inputs of both of the NAND gates G3 and G13 are at a high level, respectively, and therefore, the outputs from both of the NAND gates G3 and G13 are at a low level, respectively. That is, the signal TR2 and the signal TR0 from the terminal T3 are at a low level. The inputs of the NAND gates G4 and G14 are at a low level, high level and high level, respectively, and the outputs of the NAND gates G4 and G14 are changed to high levels, respectively.
When data is transmitted and the signal TR1 applied from a preceding C element to the terminal T1 is changed to a high level as shown in FIG. 10, all of the three inputs of the NAND gate G1 are changed to a high level and its output is changed to a low level. Then the output of the NAND gate G3 (that is the signal TR2 changes to a high level as shown in FIG. 10 and the output of the NAND gate G4 changes to a low level. When the signal TR2 changes to a high level, the output of the NAND gate G11 changes to a low level and the output TR0 of the NAND gate G13 changes to a high level and the output AK2 of the NAND gate G14 changes to a low level. The outputs of the NAND gates G4 and G14 are fed back to the inputs of the NAND gates G3 and G13, respectively, and the outputs of the NAND gates G3 and G13 are locked to a high level state. Thus the signal AKO from the terminal T2 changes to low as shown in FIG. 10. so that even if data is transmitted to the parallel buffer corresponding to the C element (C), the buffer will not receive further data transmission in such a state. The preceding stage of C element is informed of this fact by the AKO signal which is transmitted back to it. Further the output of the NAND gate G13 is at a high level and from the terminal T3 a high level signal TRO is applied to the next stage of C element. The high level signal TRO is applied to the corresponding parallel data buffer as a transfer command and the data in the parallel data buffer is transmitted to the next stage.
When the signal AKO changes to a low level, the signal TR1 also changes to a low level as shown in FIG. 10 and accordingly the output of the NAND gate G1 is changes back to a high level. Further as denoted above, the output AKO of the NAND gate G4 changes back to a high level and the output TR2 of the NAND gate G3 changes back to a low level by changing the output AK2 of the NAND gate G14 to a low level.
When the signal AKO from a subsequent C element, namely, the signal AK1, applied from the terminal T4 changes from a high level to a low level as shown in FIG. 10, that is when the empty state of the next stage of the parallel data buffer is detected, the input of the OR gate G12 changes to a low level and since the signal TR2 is also at a low level, the output of the OR gate G12 also changes to a low level. At that time, since the output of the NAND gate G13 is at a high level, the output of the NAND gate G14 changes to a high level. Accordingly, the input of the NAND gate G13 changes to a high level and the output of the NAND gate G13 changes to a low level. Thus the state of the circuit goes back to the same condition as the initial state.
When the signal AKO from a subsequent C element, namely, the signal AK1 appearing at terminal T4, is held at a low level, that is, if the parallel data buffer corresponding to the subsequent C element is not still empty one of the inputs of the NAND gate G11 is held to a low level. Thus, even if the signal TR2 changes to a high level by applying the signal TR1 from the terminal T1 as a high level, the NAND gate G11 does not operate and the signal TRO will not change to a high level. Therefore, data from the preceding stage is rejected and no data can be transferred to the parallel data buffer corresponding to that C element in such condition.
Further if a high level stop signal STOP is applied to this C element (C) from the terminal T6, the high level signal is applied to the NAND gate G13 via the OR gate G5. Accordingly, the output of the NAND gate G13 changes to a low level and, in this state, the signal TRO from the terminal T3 changes to a low level and is transferred to the next stage of C element and the data transfer is stopped.
In this manner, as shown in FIG. 8, the free running shift registers of the data transmission lines 5 and 6 are constructed from the parallel data buffers B1 to B3, the C elements C1 to C3, the parallel data buffers B4 to B6 and the C elements C3 to C6, respectively.
Further, in FIG. 8, identifier lines are extended from the data transmission lines connecting the parallel data buffer B1 to buffer B2 constituting the first transmission line 5 and from the data transmission lines connecting the parallel data buffer B5 to buffer B6 constituting the second transmission line. These identifier lines apply the value of the identifier field (high order address bits) accompanying the data to the firing detection unit. In the firing detection unit, the identifier fields are compared and, if necessary, data to be paired is retrieved from the data lines and a data pair is generated.
Next, the detail of the firing detection unit is explained by referring to FIG. 11. The data detection circuit 20 is comprised of identifier detection circuits 21a and a comparison circuit 21b. The identifier detection circuits 21a extract the identifier fields from the data transmitted in the first and second data transmission lines 5 and 6. The comparison circuit 21b compares the values of extracted identifier fields and a data pair generator circuit 22 receives a control signal from the comparison circuit and, in response to the signal, latches data words having the detected identifier fields. Then a data pair is generated by using the two latched data words and is output.
More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, let us assume that input data packets DP1 and DP2 having their format as shown in FIG. 12(A) are transmitted in the first and second data transmission lines 5 and 6, respectively. Each data packet consists of a header portion HD and a plurality of data words DW 1 --DW n . The header portion, in turn consists of a control field PC and an identifier field CC. Each data word consists of n object data units 1-n. As shown in FIG. 13, From the transmission lines 5 and 6, the data having the identifier fields ID1 and ID2 are applied to the firing detection unit in which the two identifier fields ID1 and ID2 are extracted and compared with each other. If there is some predetermined relationship between the two identifier fields ID1 and ID2, for example, if the node information in the program structures are matched, this relationship is detected by the comparison circuit 21b. In response, the data pair detection circuit 20 specifies that the data DP1 and DP2 are to be paired with each other. The data pair generator circuit 22 reads the data packets DP1 and DP2 specified as above from the first and second data transmission lines 5 and 6, respectively, and generates a new data pair DP. This new data pair also has a data format as shown in FIG. 12(A).
Further, as shown in FIG. 14, let us assume that input data packets DP1 and DP2 each having their format as shown in FIG. 12(B) are transmittted to the first and second data transmission lines 5 and 6, respectively. In a manner similar to the case illustrated in FIG. 13, the identifier fields ID1 and ID2 included in the data packets DP1 and DP2 are compared with each other and, if a predetermined relationship is detected, the data pair generator circuit 22 generates a new data pair DP as shown in FIG. 14. In this example shown in FIG. 14, the new data pair DP has a format as shown in FIG. 12(B).
Referring again to FIG. 1, the data pair generated by the data pair generator circuit leaves the firing detection unit 7 and is applied to the main data transmission line for subsequent operation via data transmission lines 5 or 6, the junction unit 8, the branch unit 9a and the junction unit 9b.
However, if no paired data is detected in the firing detection unit, the input data is re input to the template matching memory again via junction unit 8, branch unit 9a and junction unit 3.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing another embodiment according to subject invention. In FIG. 15, another implementation of the data detection circuit in FIG. 11 is indicated. In this embodiment, data pair detection sections 1a and 2a having a predetermined length are established in the data transmission lines 23 and 24, an arrangement which facilitates the comparison in the comparison unit by extracting identifier fields simultaneously from multiple data packets. Thus, the identifier field from a particular data packet is available for a relatively long time period as it passes through several shift register stages. The data detection unit 28 in FIG. 15 comprises identifier detection circuits 25 and 25a, comparator circuit 26 and data pair generator circuit 27. The data packets in the register stages in section 1a are applied to an identifier detection circuit 25. Similarly, the data packets in the shift register stages in section 2a are applied to a second identifier circuit 25a. Identifier detection circuits 25 and 25a extract the appropriate identifier fields from the data packets and apply to identifier fields to comparator circuit 26. If the aforementioned predetermined relationship is detected in the extracted identifier fields, comparator 26 generates a control signal at the appropriate time which control signal, in turn, causes data pair generator circuit to generate a data pair from data words retrieved from the transmission lines 23 and 24.
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment according to subject invention. Though in the embodiment as explained above, the data is branched to one of the first or the second transmission lines in accordance with the R/L order of operand, the arrangement shown in FIG. 16 can transmit the data to the first transmission line regardless of the order of operand as shown in FIG. 16 because the first data transmission line 5 and the second data transmission line 6 are connected in series. Thus, any data packets loaded into transmission line 5 will also travel through transmission line 6.
An embodiment of this invention has been described as a data driven type data processing system. However, the subject invention can generally be applied to an associative memory which reads out data from a memory by means of an identifier field (key word) in the input data and by matching the key word in the input data with a corresponding field in the data stored in the memory.
|
A data driven processing system includes a mechanism for generating a data pair from a sequential input data stream by matching identifier fields. The pairing mechanism comprises a hash memory in which input data words to be paired are stored by using hashed addresses. If a hash collision occurs, the data word which caused the hash collision is transmitted to a counter-directional data loop which is used to generate a data pair. If an input data word is not paired after one pass through the data loop it is returned to the hash memory for another pairing operation. Use of both the hash memory and the counter-directional data loop reduces the required hash memory size and increases processing efficiency.
| 6
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
U.S. Patent Applications Ser. No. 851,700 for "IMPROVED PROCESS FOR REMOVING HEAVY METAL IONS FROM AQUEOUS FLUIDS" by James M. Popplewell, filed Nov. 15, 1977, and Ser. No. 851,112 for "METHOD OF MANUFACTURING GETTERS" by James M. Popplewell, filed Nov. 14, 1977, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved getter panel for use in a heat exchange system utilizing aqueous fluids.
Aluminum and its alloys have been used extensively for the construction of solar absorber panels, heat exchangers and the like due to its strength, light weight and ease of fabrication. One known method for producing tube in sheet absorber panels etc., is the ROLL-BOND® method, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,002. ROLL-BOND® is a registered Trademark of Olin Corporation. Two aluminum sheets are welded together by hot rolling with a pattern of stop weld material disposed between the sheets. High pressure fluid is then introduced between the portions of the sheets which have not been bonded together due to the presence of the stop weld material so as to distend the non-bonded portions into a tubular form.
Panels made in the aforesaid manner are used extensively as heat exchangers in heat exchange systems. However, in heat exchange systems using aqueous heat transfer fluids, corrosion is often a problem. This is particularly true in multi-metal systems containing heavy metals such as copper and iron which are often used in systems to make pipes, storage tanks, auxiliary heat exchangers and the like. Heavy metal ions will be present in the aqueous heat exchange fluid due to the normal corrosion of the aforesaid elements in the heat exchange system. Since the electrode potential of aluminum is lower than that of the heavy metal, plating out of the heavy metals on cathodic areas of the aluminum panels results in the formation of local galvanic cells. Such cells promote rapid "pitting" or "pinholing" of the aluminum panels with the end result being leakage.
In order to prevent corrosion of the aluminum heat exchangers used in the heat exchange system, it has been known to provide the inner surface of the passageways with an oxide coating. However, this method has not been found satisfactory in completely precluding pitting corrosion. Another method used to produce aluminum panels was to clad an aluminum-zinc alloy sheet to a core sheet of an aluminum alloy and then join two such prepared sheets together. In such a system, the core sheet of aluminum is protected by sacrifice of the aluminum-zinc alloy cladding. Such a method has been found to be complex and costly due to the fact the two sheets must be bonded together before roll bonding. More importantly, since it was necessary for the sacrificial aluminum-zinc alloy to be on the inner surfaces, corrosion occurred at the bonded portions thereby resulting in penetration down the bonded interface and leakage of the heat transfer fluid. Protective claddings also only provide limited protection since they are consumed by corrosion leaving an unprotected core surface.
Another known method of producing tube in sheet panels is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,005. In this case, two aluminum sheets are welded together by hot rolling with a pattern of zinc or zinc alloy mixed with a solvent and a known stop weld material containing graphite disposed between the sheets. The sheets are then annealed and the zinc or zinc alloy is diffused into the interior of the aluminum to form an aluminum-zinc alloy layer. This method has been found to be ineffective since graphite, which is a strong cathodic depolarizer, causes electro-chemical corrosion in contact with aluminum in the presence of water.
While some non-corrosive stop weld materials have been produced which are free of graphite, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,753, it is clear that it would be of considerable advantage and highly desirable to remove the heavy metal ions from the heat exchange fluid as aforesaid before they come into contact with the aluminum solar panels or the like.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method for remove corrosive elements particularly heavy metal ions from a heat exchange system.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a "getter" in a heat exchange system.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide improvements as aforesaid which are inexpensive to utilize.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that the foregoing objects and advantages may be readily obtained.
The present invention provides a highly efficient method and apparatus for removing corrosive heavy metal ions thereby increasing the effective life of the aluminum components of the heat exchange system.
In accordance with the method of the present invention, a heat exchange system is provided with a getter component located upstream of the aluminum heat exchanger to thereby remove corrosive heavy metal ions from the heat exchange fluid prior to contact with the aluminum component. The getter component of the present invention is readily inserted into and removed from the heat exhcange system thereby allowing easy replacement of the getter component on a periodic basis. The replacement of the getter component is necessary due to corrosion thereof by the heavy metal ions extracted from the heat exchange fluid.
The improved heat exchange system of the present invention employs a getter component wherein the internal surfaces of the getter contains a layer of material which is a highly effective getter for heavy metal ions. The present invention provides for getters which are designed to provide a high degree of turbulence in the heat exchange fluid flow thereby achieving maximum getter efficiency. The getter components are easily manufactured and readily replaceable in the heat exchange system.
The present invention provides considerable advantages over known heat exchange systems. For example, the use of a getter in the system substantially reduces the corrosion of the aluminum heat exchangers used in the system. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention when a getter whose internal surfaces are plated with a layer of material which is a highly effective heavy metal ion getter, extremely high getter efficiencies are obtained and these efficiencies are obtained utilizing a disposable, easily manufactured getter component which can be easily and conveniently inserted and removed from the heat exchange system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a typical tube in sheet solar absorber panel used in a heat exchange system utilizing the getter component of the present invention.
FIG. 2 represents one embodiment of getter components of the present invention.
FIG. 3 represents a second embodiment of getter designs of the present invention.
FIG. 4 represents a third embodiment of getter designs of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a graph comparing the effective gettering ability of various metals for heavy metal ions.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects and advantages can be readily obtained.
The invention is broadly applicable to the preparation of getters for use in heat exchange systems but is particularly applicable for the formation of getters in accordance with the ROLL-BOND® process of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,002, incorporated herein by reference and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention.
As is evident from the foregoing discussion of the corrosion of aluminum absorber panels in heat exchange systems, aluminum is a fairly effective getter metal for heavy metal ions. However, in light of the present invention, it is desirable to make the getters for use in heat exchange systems out of materials which evidence gettering ability superior to that of the aluminum solar panels used in said systems. As a result, samples of zinc, magnesium, 1100 aluminum and alclad 3003 were exposed to an aqueous solution of CuSO 4 containing 250 ppm copper to determine their effective getter ability. The solution volume to metal surface area ratio was maintained at 10.4 mls. solution/in. 2 of metal. The copper concentration in the solution was monitored as a function of time at 25° C. up to one hour. The results of these tests are shown in FIG. 5. Clearly, as can be seen from FIG. 5, zinc has the best getter ability followed by magnesium with alclad 3003 and 1100 aluminum showing far inferior results. The same experiment was repeated at a temperature of 99° C. to simulate high temperature usage which would occur in heat exchange systems. Again, excellent gettering ability was noted for zinc followed by magnesium with both alclad 3003 and 1100 aluminum far behind. These results clearly show that zinc and magnesium are far more efficient in extracting copper ions from an aqueous solution than aluminum.
While the present invention contemplates the employment of getters manufactured by the ROLL-BOND® process, it should be appreciated that other getter designs may be employed such as simple tubing, etc. FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a typical getter panel manufactured by the ROLL-BOND® process employed in a heat exchange system in accordance with the present invention. Since zinc, as pointed out above, is far superior as a getter metal in extracting copper ions from an aqueous solution than aluminum, it would be highly desirous to be able to manufacture getter panels by the ROLL-BOND® process which has a surface layer of zinc to act as a getter.
The present invention will be more readily understood from a consideration of the following illustrative examples.
EXAMPLE I
A non-corrosive stop weld composition composed of 20.65% TiO 2 , 9.18% boron nitride, 7.87% glycerine, 1.84% bentonite, 1.57% NH 3 , 0.79% santacell, 0.39% benegel and the balance water was made up. An addition of 25% by weight zinc powder was added to the above non-corrosive stop weld. The viscosity of the stop weld was adjusted by adding an additional 500 grams H 2 O and 100 grams glycerine. The stop weld material was printed in the desired serpentine design illustrated in FIG. 2 on an 1100 aluminum alloy sheet. Another 1100 aluminum alloy sheet was placed over the printed surface. A serpentine panel was then fabricated in accordance with the ROLL-BOND® process as set forth in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,002. The panel was then sectioned for analysis. It was found that a surface layer containing 19% zinc was present and well adhered to the aluminum. In addition, it was observed that diffusion had occurred into the aluminum metal thereby producing a zinc enriched layer about 10 Angstroms deep with the zinc level decreasing from the surface inwards. The presence of zinc on the aluminum surface would provide good gettering capabilities while providing a galvanically active layer which would protect the aluminum from pitting thereby extending the useful life of the getter.
EXAMPLE II
Samples were made in the same manner as in Example I except that prior to inflation diffusion anneals were performed at 800° F. for times of 1/2, 1 and 2 hours. The samples were then sectioned for analysis. The sample which was subjected to a 1/2 hour anneal showed a surface layer containing 5.1% zinc, with the zinc level decreasing to 0 at a depth of 25 Angstroms. The sample which was annealed for 1 hour had a surface layer of 3.8% zinc with a depth similar to that of the sample which was annealed for 1/2 hour. After a 2 hour diffusion anneal, the surface layer of zinc was 3.6% while the depth of zinc diffusion was increased to 40 Angstroms. The effect of the diffusion anneal as shown in the above examples is to produce a layer of essentially aluminum-zinc alloy on the surface of the panel. While the gettering ability of the aluminum-zinc alloy surface would be slightly less efficient than those panels in which no diffusion anneal is performed, they will be proveded with better galvanic protection of the aluminum subsurface due to the greater depth of penetration obtained as a result of the diffusion anneal.
It should be noted that the above example are only illustrative of the present invention and that this invention contemplates non-corrosive stop weld compositions containing from about 10-80% TiO 2 , 8-75% boron nitride, 2-20% glycerine, 1-5% bentonite, 0-5% NH 3 , 0.5-5% santacell, 0.1-3% benegel, 5-50% zinc powder and balance H 2 O. Furthermore, cadmium dust and 10-90% Al-Zn alloy dust may be substituted for the Zn dust in the above noted stop weld compositions. In addition, it should be noted that a graphite or molybdenum disulfide stop weld may be substituted for the non-corrosive stop weld in the above examples since corrosion resistance is not absolutely mandatory for a disposable getter. Furthermore, Mg or Al-Mg containing stop weld materials may be substituted for the above-noted zinc stop weld materials. However, it should be noted that a magnesium addition will require heating in a reducing atmosphere and therefore is not compatible with the ROLL-BOND® process. As noted above, this invention is not limited to ROLL-BOND® panels, but can apply to any known method of manufacturing tubes, etc., for use as a getter. It should also be appreciated that a zinc or magnesium surface may be applied to the aluminum surface by brushing, painting, plating, spraying or the like. However, in such cases a diffusion anneal will be mandatory since the layer of zinc or magnesium will not be well adhered to the aluminum.
FIGS. 2-4 represent panel designs to be used as getters in accordance with the present invention. It is important that the designs of the panels provide a high degree of turbulence and non-uniform flow conditions so as to achieve maximum contact of the aqueous solution with the surface area of the panels. Such designs will achieve superior gettering efficiencies than would otherwise be experienced.
FIG. 2 represents one embodiment of a getter design manufactured by the ROLL-BOND® process in which the passageway 1 is of serpentine design.
FIG. 3 is representative of a second design embodiment in which the passageway 2 is of a zigzag configuration which would provide a high degree of turbulent flow thereby increasing the getter efficiency of the panel.
FIG. 4 represents a third design embodiment of a getter panel manufactured by the ROLL-BOND® process. Referring to FIG. 4 the getter panel 3 comprises a unitary expanse of unbonded area 4 which is broken up by a symmetrical pattern of bonded portions 5. The bonded portions 5 effectively break up fluid flow thereby permitting efficient fluid contact with the getter surface. It should be noted that the bonded portions 5 may take any shape which would inherently increase turbulent flow of the fluid through the panel, such as cloverleaf, square, etc.
As noted above, the particular getter panel design may be achieved when manufacturing the panels by the ROLL-BOND® process.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a getter panel employed in heat exchange systems in accordance with the present invention. The getter component is located in the heat exchange system upstream of the aluminum solar panel so as to effectively remove the heavy ions from the aqueous solution before the solution is introduced into the aluminum panel. The getter component is designed in such a manner to be easily removed and subsequently replaced in the heat exchange system. By providing a getter component in the manner described in the present invention, the aluminum solar panel is readily protected from the corrosive heavy metal ions which are present in the heat exchange system at the sacrifice of the getter component.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrations described and shown herein, which are deemed to be merely illustrative of the best modes of carrying out the invention, and which are susceptible of modification of form, size, arrangement of parts and details of operation. The invention rather is intended to encompass all such modifications which are within its spirit and scope as defined by the claims.
|
The invention relates to an improved aqueous solar energy collector system which includes a heat exchange panel wherein a getter having a surface layer in contact with the aqueous fluid which is characterized by a high affinity for corrosive metal ions in the aqueous fluid is provided upstream of the heat exchangers to thereby remove said corrosive ions from the aqueous fluid before it is introduced into the heat exchanger.
| 5
|
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This invention is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 416,188 filed Sept. 9, 1982, now abandoned, which is a division of application Ser. No. 304,439 filed Sept. 21, 1981, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of sealing fine cracks and cavities in a pipeline for distributing gas, water or the like and at the same time internally coating the pipeline, and in particular to a method of internally coating or sealing such a pipeline for fuel gases by using a foamed sealant.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The method of sealing fine cracks and cavities in a pipeline and at the same time internally coating the pipeline with a foamed sealant is already known and is used when leakage has occurred or is likely to occur in pipelines, particularly those for distributing gas such as fuel gas. The known method comprises the steps of supplying and filling a pipeline with a foamed sealant of the aqueous emulsion type whereby the sealant penetrates the leaking point, passing air through the pipeline to discharge an excess amount of the sealant, the rest of the sealant remaining in tubular form extending axially of the pipeline and adhering to the interior wall thereof, and finally allowing the residual, tubular sealant to cure.
This method is far more efficient than the old method of replacing a leaking pipeline portion or filling the pipeling with a sealant in liquid state. However, it is required today to shorten the time for repair work.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention intends to meet the above-mentioned requirement.
Therefore, the primary object of the invention is to provide a method of internally coating a pipeline for gases which method achieves a drastic shortening of the time necessary for a sealant to cure on the interior wall of the pipeline.
Another object of the invention is to accelerate the curing of the residual sealant by using a liquid sealant of the aqueous emulsion type curable at high rate.
Still another object of the invention is to further accelerate the curing of the residual sealant by, in addition to the use of the speed curable agent, introducing hot air into the pipeline after an excess amount of the sealant has been drained.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method of coating a pipeline which method utilizes a sealant having for the principal ingredient a polymer, preferably an acrylic polymer, which is emulsified and suspended, and for the auxiliary ingredient fine particles of inorganic oxide weakly adhering to one another into aggregations. These aggregated fine particles will, by nature, readily break up under shear and easily enter the fine cracks and cavities in the interior wall of the pipeline. Therefore, the sealant according to this invention is capable of plugging the fine cracks and cavities more completely and quickly than a sealant containing no such fine particles of inorganic oxide.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of internally coating the inner surface of a pipeline for gases such as fuel gas, town gas and natural gas and filling leaking cracks from inside of the pipeline comprising the steps of:
disconnecting the pipeline at two different locations,
closing both ends of the pipeline,
discharging any gases remaining in the pipeline,
filling said closed end pipeline with a soluble emulsion type sealant in a foam state by use of inert gas or air,
applying a predetermined pressure to the foam-filled pipeline for a predetermined period of time thereby forcing some of said sealant foam into leaking cracks,
directing an inert gas or air flow into said foam-filled pipe to drain any excess amount of said sealant from said pipeline thereby forming a tubular form of said sealant adhering to said pipe along its inner wall surface and extending along its length, and
allowing said tubular form adhering to the inner surface of said pipeline to cure
wherein the sealant contains fine particles of inorganic oxide weakly adhering to one another into aggregations.
The liquid sealant used in the method according to this invention is the aqueous emulsion type having a solids content of about 50-60 percent by weight. Such a sealant is curable at a rate about twice the curing rate of a sealant readily available on the market which has a solids content of about 40 percent, and almost equal to the curing rate of a solution type sealant. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the relationship between the sealant film thickness T (micron) and the curing time S (second), in which a denotes the emulsion type sealant having a solids content of 60 percent which is used in this invention, and b denotes the emulsion type liquid sealant having a solids content of 40 percent which is available on the market.
It is theoretically possible to increase the solids content above 65 percent, but then it will increase the viscosity to excess to render the sealant unfit for practical use. It can therefore be said that the optimal solids content is in the order of 50-65 percent. Howver, this invention is of course not limited to the above range, and the solids content should be adjusted to suit temperature, humidity and other condition.
The principal ingredient may be selected from polymers of ethylene, styrene-butadiene, acrylonitrile-butadiene, methyl methacrylate-butadiene, vinyl-pyridiene, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, vinylidene chloride, etc., or cis 1, 4-polyisoprene, polyurethane, polybutene, and polyacrylate.
Apart from increasing the solids content, part of the water in which the solids are emulsified and suspended may be replaced by a volatile solvent such as methanol in order to increase the curing rate of the emulsion type liquid sealant.
In order to accelerate the sealant into the cracks in the pipeline, it is desirable to discharge any gases remaining in the pipeline prior to the filling of said pipeline with sealant. This step of gas discharging will not only assure the safety during the lining operation but also eliminate an undesirable bad interaction between the sealant and the gases which would otherwise remain within the pipeline. A vacuum pump may be employed for discharging the remaining gas.
According to the invention, the curing of the sealant adhering in tubular form to the interior wall of the pipeline may be more accelerated by introducing hot air into the pipeline in addition to rendering the liquid sealant per se curable at high rate. The hot air heats not only the inner surface of the residual sealant but also its body and outer surface by virtue of heat conduction to positively cause the solvent to evaporate. It is possible in practising the invention to make efficient use of the heat and at the same time avoid sliding or splashing of the residual sealant by passing the hot air at a relatively slow flow rate.
For the purpose of further accelerating the curing process of the sealant, it is useful to decrease the vapor pressure of sealant by evacuating the interior of pipeline after any excess of the sealant has been drained from said pipeline. The vacuum pump described above may be utilized also for this evacuation step. Thus, the invention has shortened the curing time to a satisfactory degree while providing a coating of uniform thickness to enable a reliable repair or prevention of leakage.
It is desirable that the hot air is passed through the pipeline at a temperature of 60-80° C. A temperature above this range may create cracks in the residual sealant, and a temperature therebelow may not warrant the desired shortening of time. However, the invention is not limited to the above temperature range, and hot air in the range of 30-100° C. is effective to the purpose.
The sealant best suited to the method of this invention has for the principal ingredient a polymer, particularly an acrylic polymer, as descrobed, and for the auxiliary ingredient fine particles of inorganic oxide weakly adhering to one another into aggregations. The inorganic oxide may preferably be selected from a group consisting of silica, alumina, silica-alumina, zeolite, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, and magnesium oxide. The polymer content may be at 40 percent by weight or more to achieve the desired object and will produce a still better result at 50-65 percent by weight, as described.
The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings showing preferred embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the sealant film thickness and the curing time,
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a piping system according to one embodiment of the invention,
FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are sectional diagrams schematically showing an interior coating treatment according to the invention,
FIG. 4 is a schematic front elevation of a device for foaming up a sealant and feeding it to a pipe interior,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 is a schematic elevation of a recovery vessel for collecting discharged sealant,
FIG. 7 is a section taken on line VII--VII of FIG. 6,
FIG. 8 is a schematic view of one type of air heating unit according to a modified embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of another type of air heating unit, and
FIG. 10 is a section taken on line X--X of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the coating treatment is carried out as described below using the described emulsion type liquid sealant curable at high rate. FIG. 2 shows how devices are connected, in which a foaming device 3 is connected to one end of a pipeline 1 through a connecting tube or pipe 2 and a blower 4 is connected to the foaming device 3. A hose 6 connected to a cock 5 at the other end of the pipeline 1 extends to a recovery vessel 7.
The liquid sealant S stored in the foaming device 3 comprises an emulsion of an acrylic polymer dispersed in water with a solids content of about 60 percent.
Before supplying a sealant to the pipeline 1, this pipeline is at first disconnected from pipe portions (not shown) adjacent thereto at two different locations L 1 and L 2 . Both ends of the pipeline 1 are then closed for discharging any gases such as fuel gas remaining in the pipeline. For this purpose, a vacuum pump 70 is connected to the pipeline for instance at the location L 2 and operated for a certain period of time, as shown by a dot-and-dash line in FIG. 2. After the step of gas discharging has finished, the vacuum pump 70 is stopped and disconnected from the pipeline.
Subsequently, the blower 4 is operated with valve 8 closed and a valve 9 open, to foam up the liquid sealant S in the foaming device 3 and feed the foamed sealant into the pipeline 1 by way of the connecting tube 2. The blower 4 is stopped upon arrival of the sealant at the recovery vessel 7, and the pipeline 1 is now filled with the foamed sealant. After a time the blower 4 is operated with the valve 8 open and the valve 9 closed, in order to cause inert gas or air to flow through the pipeline, thus discharging an excess amount of the sealant from the pipeline 1 to be collected at the vessel 7. The sealant remaining in the pipeline 1 assumes a tubular form as at S' extending axially of the pipeline 1 and adhering to the interior wall thereof as shown in FIG. 3C.
The blower is kept running for a predetermined period of time with the pipeline end closed at the location L 2 so as to apply a predetermined pressure to the foam-filled pipeline 1 thereby forcing some of said sealant foam into leaking cracks.
Next, the blower 4 is stopped to allow the residual sealant S' to cure spontaneously.
Alternately, the blower 4 may be kept running with said end L 2 opened again to accelerate the curing by blowing hot dry air at 30-100° C. into the pipeline. Conversely, the pipeline may be closed and then evacuated by the vacuum pump 70 or other means to decrease the vapor pressure thereby accelerating the curing.
Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C illustrating the progress of the above treatment, when the foamed sealant F fills the pipeline (FIG. 3A), it also penetrates the interstice between thread joints W. The sealant remains in the thread joints W and on the interior wall of the pipeline as an excess sealant is removed by air delivered into the pipeline (FIG. 3B). Thus, fine cracks and cavities in both a straight portion (FIG. 3C) and the joint portion are plugged after the sealant cures.
The sealant containing inorganic oxide as described has proved effective to plug the fine cracks and cavities with greater assurance.
The specific constructions and functions of the devices used for carrying out the foregoing treatment are now described with reference to FIGS. 4-7.
FIG. 4 shows the foaming device 3, the blower 4 and piping A1 and A2 all housed in a boxlike casing C as a unit. The foaming device 3 and the blower 4 may be arranged side by side instead of the illustrated vertical arrangement. The piping A1 includes a valve 10, a constant flow regulator 11 and a bubbling tube 3a in addition to the described valves 8 and 9. The piping A2 includes a valve 12, three-way valves 15, a reducing valve 16 for measuring flow resistance, a reducing valve 17 for testing air-tightness, and a leak tester 18. The reducing valves 15, 16 and the leak tester 18 are dispensable. A feed pipe 19b extending from the blower 4 is connected to a feed pipe 19a for delivering the foamed sealant, and may also branch off outside the casing C.
To facilitate the opration a graphic panel 20 may be attached to an outside face of the casing C, and a lever 21 may be provided to project from the panel 20 and between a FIG. 23 showing the foaming device and a FIG. 24 showing the blower as shown in FIG. 5, the lever 21 being shiftable between a position to feed the foamed sealant into the pipeline and a position to drain the excess sealant therefrom. FIG. 5 also shows an example of connecting the piping 19a and 19b in which a flowmeter G (dot-and-dash line) has been removed from a household service pipe 1' and the piping 19a and 19b are connected to the opening end of the downstream pipe portion.
The recovery vessel 7 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 comprises a receptacle 31, hose coupling pipes 33 attached to the receptacle 31 and having check valves 34 respectively, and a gas-liquid seperator 32 upstanding on the receptacle 31 and inside a covering case 42. The foamed sealant is delivered to the receptacle 31 from the hoses 6 connected respectively to the downstream ends of pipelines 1 under treatment (FIG. 2), and passes through a deodorant packed in the separator 32 where the foams are broken and the resulting air is deodorised and discharges through outlet pores defined in the covering case 42. The liquid resulting from the broken foams drips to the receptacle 31. The recovered liquid sealant can be used repeatedly so long as it retains required properties. Accordingly there is no likelihood at all of environmental pollution caused by the excess sealant drained from the pipeline 1.
Another embodiment of the invention is hereinafter described which uses the devices shown in FIGS. 8-10. The high rate curable sealant is first foamed up in the unit shown in FIG. 4 and is fed into the pipeline 1, an excess amount of the sealant being discharged into the recovery vessel of FIG. 6 as in the preceding embodiment. Thereafter hot air is introduced to the pipe interior by action of the blower 4 at a temperature of 60-80° C. The supply of hot air may be continued until the sealant adhering in tubular form to the interior wall of the pipeline cures almost completely or may be discontinued when the sealant is half cured.
FIG. 8 shows one type of air heating means which comprises an electric heater 59 of nichrome wire or the like mounted in the connecting tube 2 between the foamed sealant feed means and the pipeline 1 (FIG. 2), the heater 59 extending between two end joints 58. The heater 59 is connected to a power supply box 60 containing a current regulator. The joint 58 at the downstream end of the heater has a thermostat 61 connected to the power supply box 60.
Instead of the electric type, the air heating means may be the heat medium circulation type, for example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This heating means comprises a plurality of parallel tubes 64 and collecting and distributing headers 65 coupled to the connecting tube 2. The plurality of tubes 64 through which the sealant and air flow are surrounded by an outer tube 66 through which a heat medium such as hot water or hot air is circulated by a circulation pump 67.
The heating means may be other types than those described above and may be disposed at a position other than the connecting tube 2.
Thus the air advancing from the blower 4 towards the pipeline 1 is heated to a suitable temperature to cause the sealant adhering in tubular form to the interior wall of the pipeline to cure quickly, whereby the total treatment time is drastically shortened.
|
A pipeline needing leakage repair and/or prevention is filled with a liquid sealant in foamed state of the aqueous emulsion type. Then an excess amount of the sealant in the center of the pipeline is drained from the pipeline, and the sealant remaining on the interior wall of the pipeline is allowed to cure wherein the sealant contains fine particles of inorganic oxide weakly adhering to one another into aggregations, said aggregations easily breaking into such fine particles that they can enter and plug fine cavities of the interior of said pipeline.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates generally to displaying products on a shelf. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to storing and/or displaying products to provide for the space-efficient presentation of groups of products within a given or fixed display area, and/or allowing for convenient and orderly presentation, dispensing, stocking, and storage of products.
Various types of product merchandisers are commonly used in retail environments to display different types of products. As opposed to simply positioning products on shelves, product displays are commonly used to position products on a shelf in manner which automatically advances (e.g., via gravity or a pusher) a trailing or distal product (i.e., a product that is behind a lead or proximal-most product) closer to a user once the lead product has been removed from the shelf. As can be appreciated, such product displays facilitate the arrangement and upkeep of products, as the trailing products don't have to be manually moved towards the front of the shelf, for instance.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure relates to a merchandising system for a displaying a plurality of products. The system comprises a base and a pusher member. The base includes a product-supporting surface and a track disposed beneath the product-supporting surface. Thee base defines a longitudinal axis. The pusher member is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the base and is configured to slide longitudinally with respect to the base. The pusher member includes a base-contacting surface and a plurality of legs downwardly depending from the base-contacting surface. Each of the plurality of legs is configured to mechanically engage the track.
The track includes a discontinuity to enable the legs of the pusher member to selectively mechanically engage the track.
In disclosed embodiments, the discontinuity in the track is between a proximal-most end of the track and a distal-most end of the track. Here, it is disclosed that the track extends proximally of the discontinuity and the track extends distally of the discontinuity.
In disclosed embodiments, the track includes a plurality of spaced-apart tabs.
In disclosed embodiments, the plurality of legs includes a first leg disposed on a first lateral side of the pusher member and a second leg disposed on a second lateral side of the pusher member. Here, it is disclosed that each of the first leg and the second leg includes a vertical portion disposed in contact with the base-contacting surface of the pusher member and a horizontal portion that extends from the vertical portion toward the second leg. The horizontal portion of the second leg extends from the vertical portion toward the first leg. Here, it is disclosed that each of the first leg and the second leg includes a substantially L-shaped cross-section
In disclosed embodiments, at least one of the plurality of legs includes a substantially L-shaped cross-section.
In disclosed embodiments, the base includes a lower surface and a gap. The gap is defined between the lower surface and the product-supporting surface. Here, it is disclosed that the track is disposed at least partially within the gap. It is further disclosed that the track is entirely disposed within the gap. Here, it is disclosed that the track includes a plurality of spaced-apart tabs. It is further disclosed that a plurality of the spaced-apart tabs define a first distance between adjacent tabs, the discontinuity includes a space between adjacent tabs defining a second distance, and the second distance is greater than the first distance.
In disclosed embodiments, a distal section of the base is configured to be removed to effectively shorten the length of the merchandising system. Here, it is disclosed that the system further comprises a distal portion disposed distally of the distal section of the base. The distal portion is selectively removable from the distal section of the base, and the distal portion is re-installable with another section of the base after the distal section of the base has been removed. It is further disclosed that the distal portion includes a portion of the track. Here, it is disclosed that the pusher member is configured to slide along the entirety of the track both before the distal portion has been removed, and following removal of the distal section of the base and the re-installation of the distal portion. It is further disclosed that the distal portion includes a proximally-extending finger configured to mechanically engage a cut-out of the base.
In disclosed embodiments, a plurality of distal sections of the base are configured to be individually removed to effectively shorten the length of the merchandising system. Here, the merchandising system further comprises a distal portion disposed distally of the distal section of the base. The distal portion is selectively removable from a distal-most section of the base, and the distal portion is re-installable with another section of the base after any number of the plurality of distal sections of the base have been removed.
In disclosed embodiments, the system further comprises a proximal member disposed adjacent a proximal end of the base, and a biasing member mechanically coupled to both the pusher member and the proximal member. The biasing member is configured to proximally bias the pusher member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a merchandising system including one guide assembly for displaying items on a shelf according to embodiments of the present disclosure, and illustrated including one bottle thereon;
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the merchandising system of FIG. 1 including five guide assemblies with a plurality of bottles thereon;
FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the merchandising system of FIGS. 1 and 2 including two guide assemblies with no bottles thereon;
FIG. 3 is a perspective, assembly view of one guide assembly of the merchandising system;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view, viewed from the rear, of one guide assembly of the merchandising system;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one guide assembly of the merchandising system showing a pusher assembly separated from the remainder of the guide assembly;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of one guide assembly illustrating the pusher assembly in an intermediate position;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view, viewed from the rear, of the portion of the guide assembly of FIG. 6 showing a biasing member separated from the remainder of the guide assembly;
FIG. 8A is a perspective view, viewed from the bottom, of a portion of the guide assembly showing the biasing member separated from a proximal member;
FIG. 8B is a perspective view, viewed from the bottom, of the portion of the guide assembly of FIG. 8A showing the biasing member engaged with the proximal member;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the pusher assembly engaged with a base of the guide assembly;
FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views of the pusher assembly of the present disclosure;
FIG. 12 is a front view of the pusher assembly of FIGS. 10 and 11 ;
FIG. 13 is a side view of the pusher assembly of FIGS. 10-12 ;
FIG. 14A is a perspective view of a portion of the guide assembly illustrating a distal portion separated from the remainder of the guide assembly; and
FIG. 14B is a perspective view of the portion of the guide assembly shown in FIG. 14A illustrating the distal portion engaged with the remainder of the guide assembly.
DESCRIPTION
Embodiments of the presently disclosed merchandising system are described in detail with reference to the drawings wherein like numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. As is common in the art, the term “proximal” refers to that part or component closer to the user, e.g., customer, while the term “distal” refers to that part or component farther away from the user.
Generally, with particular reference to FIGS. 1-3 , a merchandising system 10 is disclosed that includes a plurality of guide assemblies 100 . Each guide assembly 100 includes a base 200 , a pusher assembly 300 , a pair of lateral guides 400 , a distal section 450 , and a proximal member 500 . The base 200 , which is designed to be placed on a horizontal or included store shelf, is configured to support a plurality of products “P” thereon. The pusher assembly 300 is configured to urge product(s) “P” on the base 200 toward the proximal member 500 . The lateral guides 400 are disposed in mechanical cooperation with base 200 (e.g., are integrally formed therewith, connectable thereto, etc.) and help maintain the products “P” on the base 200 . A distal rail 452 of the distal section 450 and the proximal member 500 are also configured to help maintain the products “P” on the base 200 .
One merchandising system 10 includes a plurality guide assemblies 100 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A , merchandising system 10 includes five guide assemblies 100 , which, as shown, includes six lateral guides 400 . In disclosed embodiments, merchandising system 10 includes more or fewer than five guide assemblies 100 and that the number of lateral guides 400 equals one more than the number of guide assemblies 100 . As can be appreciated, several merchandising systems 10 are able to be positioned adjacent one another on a shelf.
With reference to FIGS. 4-9 , the base 200 includes a product-supporting surface 210 , a lower surface 220 , a gap 230 , a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 240 , and a track 250 . The product-supporting surface 210 is the portion of the base on which products “P” are positioned. The lower surface 220 is the underside of the base 200 . The gap 230 is the space between the product-supporting surface 210 and the lower surface 220 . The ribs 240 extend along at least a portion of the base 200 between a proximal end 202 of the base 200 and a distal end 204 of the base 200 (see FIG. 3 ), and are configured to provide stability to base 200 and to reduce friction when a product “P” slides along the product-supporting surface 210 , for example. The track 250 includes a plurality of spaced-apart tabs 252 that are positioned within the gap 230 . The track 250 is configured to guide legs 340 of the pusher assembly 300 (as discussed in further detail below).
Referring now to FIGS. 3-13 , the pusher assembly 300 includes a pusher member 310 and a biasing member 360 (e.g., a coiled spring). Pusher member 310 includes a horizontal member 320 and a substantially vertical member 321 . In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical member 321 has an arcuate shape, which is configured to correspond to the contour of the product “P” (e.g., bottle) supported thereagainst. The horizontal member 320 includes an upper surface 322 (e.g., for supporting a product “P”), and a lower surface (or base-contacting surface) 324 that is configured to longitudinally slide along the product-supporting surface 210 of the base 200 . The horizontal member 320 also includes a proximal portion 326 , and a distal portion 328 . The proximal portion 326 is configured to support a distal-most product “P” thereon, and the distal portion 328 supports at least a portion of the biasing member 360 thereon ( FIG. 4 ). The horizontal member 320 also includes a track 330 ( FIGS. 5 and 11 ) within its lower surface 324 , and an opening 332 ( FIGS. 5 , 7 and 11 ) extending between the upper surface 322 and the lower surface 324 . A portion of the biasing member 360 extends through the opening 332 and along the track 330 .
The pusher member 310 also includes a plurality of legs 340 ( FIGS. 5 , 8 A, 8 B, 9 and 11 - 13 ) that extend below the lower surface 324 of the horizontal member 320 . With particular reference to FIG. 11 , the pusher assembly 300 includes a first leg 340 a , a second leg 340 b , a third leg 340 c and a fourth leg 340 d . In the illustrated embodiments, each leg 340 includes a vertical portion 342 , and a horizontal portion 344 ( FIG. 12 ) extending inwardly from the vertical portion 342 , such that each leg 340 includes a substantially L-shaped cross-section. When the pusher assembly 300 is engaged with the base 200 , the legs 340 of the pusher assembly 300 extend below the product-supporting surface 210 of the base 200 and mechanically engage the tabs 252 of the track 250 , and are longitudinally slidable along the track 250 . More particularly, and with particular reference to FIG. 9 , when the pusher assembly 300 and the base 200 are mechanically engaged, the vertical portion 342 of each leg 340 abuts or is adjacent a lateral wall 254 of the tab 252 , and the horizontal portion 344 of each leg 340 abuts or is adjacent a lower wall 256 of the tab 252 .
This engagement between the legs 340 of the pusher member 310 and the track 250 of the base 200 helps ensure the pusher member 310 remains on the base 200 during use of the merchandising system 10 . More particularly, when torque is applied to the merchandising system (e.g., during loading of the merchandising system 10 with products “P,” when a consumer's shopping cart bumps into the merchandising system 10 or the shelf that the merchandising system 10 is positioned on, etc.) the engagement between the pusher member 310 (e.g., the legs 340 ) and the base 200 (e.g., the track 250 ) helps prevent the pusher member 310 from toppling over. For instance, when a downward force is applied to right side of the pusher member 310 (e.g., during torquing of the merchandising system 10 ), the legs 340 a and 340 b on the left side of the pusher member 310 are forced upward. There engagement between the horizontal portions 344 of these legs 340 a and 340 b and the lower wall 256 ( FIG. 9 ) of a tab 252 of the track 250 helps prevent the pusher member 310 from becoming separated from the base 200 at that location. Additionally, the engagement between the legs 340 and the track 250 helps prevent the pusher member 310 from intentionally being separated from the base 200 (e.g., by vandals).
With particular reference to FIG. 4 , to install the pusher member 310 onto the base 200 , a user positions each leg 340 adjacent a shortened tab 253 (i.e., a discontinuity in the track 250 ), and moves the pusher member 310 proximally or distally such that the horizontal portion 344 of each leg is under a tab 252 or a shortened tab 253 of the track 250 . It is envisioned that in lieu of, or in addition to shortened tabs 253 , track 250 includes a space between adjacent tabs 252 that is large enough to accommodate the legs 340 of the pusher member 310 . It is further envisioned that shortened tabs 253 (and/or the large space) are located at one or a plurality of locations between the proximal end 202 and the distal end 204 of the base 200 (e.g., not the proximal-most portion of the base 200 and not the distal-most portion of the base 200 ).
With reference to FIG. 3 , the proximal member 500 of the merchandising system 10 is configured to attach to a proximal end of the base 200 via a snap-fit connection, for example. It is envisioned that at least a portion of the proximal member 500 is transparent or translucent to allow a consumer to view a portion of the proximal-most product “P1” on the merchandising system 10 therethrough. Additionally, in the illustrated embodiment, the proximal member 500 has an arcuate shape, which is configured to correspond to the contour of the product “P” (e.g., bottle) supported thereagainst. It is also envisioned that the proximal member 500 includes a scooped portion 510 . The scooped portion 510 allows the proximal-most product “P 1 ” to be better viewed by a consumer, allows the proximal-most product “P 1 ” to be tipped down by a consumer to facilitate shopping of the products “P,” and/or facilitates the loading of the products “P” onto the merchandising system 10 , e.g., by a store employee.
With particular reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B , a lower surface 522 of a base 520 of the proximal member 500 includes a pin 530 extending downwardly therefrom. The pin 530 is configured to mechanically engage a hole 362 disposed on a proximal portion 364 of the biasing member 360 (see also FIG. 3 ). Therefore, when the hole 362 is engaged with the pin 530 ( FIG. 7B ), the biasing member 360 , and thus the pusher assembly 300 , is mechanically coupled to the proximal member 500 .
Additionally, the merchandising system 10 is configured to be used on shelves of various depths (i.e., the distance the shelf extends from the wall/support). Specifically, portions of the guide assemblies 100 are able to be broken-off or otherwise removed to effectively shorten the length of the guide assemblies 100 . More particularly, and with reference to FIGS. 3 , 4 , 14 A and 14 B, the base 200 includes breakaway features 260 , and the lateral guides 400 include breakaway features 410 , that each allow for selective removal of portions of the base 200 and the lateral guides 400 to shorten the length of the guide assemblies 100 .
Referring now to FIGS. 14A and 14B , the distal section 450 includes the distal rail 452 , a distal base 460 , and distal lateral walls 470 . The distal base 460 includes a proximally-extending finger 462 that is configured to engage and interlock with a corresponding cut-out 262 disposed at a distal end of the base 200 . Accordingly, the distal section 450 is able to be removed ( FIG. 14A ), and re-installed ( FIG. 14B ) after one or more portions of the base 200 and lateral guides 400 have been removed.
Further, the pusher assembly 300 of the merchandising system 10 is still able to properly function across the breakaway features 260 and 410 , the proximally-extending finger 462 and the cut-out 262 , after some or all of the portions of the base 200 and the lateral guides 400 have been removed, and after the distal section 450 has been removed and re-installed.
The present disclosure also includes a method of displaying items using the merchandising system 10 described above, and a method of engaging the pusher assembly 300 with the base 200 , as discussed above.
While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the figures, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.
|
A merchandising system for a displaying a plurality of products is disclosed. The system comprises a base and a pusher member. The base includes a product-supporting surface and a track disposed beneath the product-supporting surface. Thee base defines a longitudinal axis. The pusher member is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the base and is configured to slide longitudinally with respect to the base. The pusher member includes a base-contacting surface and a plurality of legs downwardly depending from the base-contacting surface. Each of the plurality of legs is configured to mechanically engage the track. The track includes a discontinuity to enable the legs of the pusher member to selectively mechanically engage the track.
| 0
|
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to wireless communications and, in particular, to a system and method for authenticating a wireless computing device.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] In a conventional communications network, access to the network is often restricted to authorized users. A user inputs a username and/or a password into a computing device which is coupled to an authentication server via an authenticator (e.g., an access point/port, (“AP”)). The authentication server executes an authentication procedure using the username and/or the password and determines whether to grant access to the network. The authentication procedure includes authentication schemes such as IEEE 802.1x. In order for the authentication server to authenticate the user, communication between the authenticator and the authentication server must be maintained. However, this is not always possible because, for example, communication between the authenticator and the authentication server is occasionally interrupted.
[0003] When communication between the authenticator and the authentication server is interrupted or the computing device roams to another AP, the authentication procedure is executed again to confirm the identity of the user. Also, when the user engages in a data transaction which requires user credentials (e.g., the username/password), or simply wishes to maintain a connection to the communications network, the authentication procedure may be performed again. The communication interruption requires the user's computing device to re-authenticate continually. Therefore, there is a need for a system and a method which allow re-authentication to occur despite communication interruptions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention relates to a system and method for authenticating a wireless device. The method comprises receiving an authentication request by a server from a first wireless device, the authentication request including request data corresponding to a second wireless device. The second wireless device is authenticated by the server as a function of the request data. The server generates authentication data as a function of the request data. The server transmits the authentication data to the first wireless device so that the first wireless device authenticates the second wireless device using the authentication data upon receipt of a further authentication request from the second wireless device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system according to the present invention;
[0006] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the present invention; and
[0007] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of another method according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] The present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals. The present invention describes a system and a method for authenticating a wireless computing device (e.g., a mobile unit, (“MU”)) in a wireless network. Although the present invention will be described with respect to the wireless network, those of skill in the art will understand that the present invention may be implemented in any wired or wireless network and/or subnetwork in which computing devices are authenticated prior to receiving access to the network.
[0009] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system 1 according to the present invention. The system 1 may be implemented as a distributed system with, for example, a central location 100 (e.g., a main office, a retail headquarters, etc.) and one or more branch locations 110 and 120 (e.g., a branch office, a retail store, etc.). The central location 100 may include networking devices such as a server 40 , which may be coupled to a network management arrangement (e.g., switch 30 ). Each of the branch locations 110 , 120 may include one or more access points/ports (“APs”), which provide access to a communications network 50 (e.g., the Internet) and the server 40 via a wide-area network (“WAN”) link 80 to the switch 30 . For example, the branch location 110 may include an AP 20 in communication with an MU 10 . As understood by those of skill in the art, the WAN link 80 may be required for communication between the MU 10 and/or the AP 20 and the server 40 . Although FIG. 1 shows the switch 30 as located in the central location 100 , those of skill in the art will understand that the switch 30 may be located at each of the branch locations 110 , 120 and provide access to the WAN link 80 .
[0010] The APs 20 , 22 provide wireless connections for the MU 10 to the communications network 50 and to the server 40 . Each AP 20 , 22 includes a radio-frequency (“RF”) arrangement such as a transceiver allowing the AP 20 , 22 to communicate wireless signals with the MU 10 according to a wireless communications protocol (e.g., an IEEE 802.1x protocol). The APs 20 , 22 may include additional hardware and/or software (e.g., a processor and a memory arrangement) for use in communications and authentication, which will be described below.
[0011] The MU 10 may be any mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, a cell phone, a laser-/image-based scanner, an RFID reader/tag, a network interface card, a PDA, a handheld computer, etc.) which includes an RF communications arrangement (e.g. a transceiver) allowing for communication of wireless signals in accordance with the wireless communications protocol.
[0012] The communications network 50 may be a wired and/or a wireless network which includes one or more network computing devices such as servers, routers, switches, etc. The communications network 50 may be connected to other communications networks, such as the Internet, a local-area network (“LAN), etc.
[0013] The server 40 may be an authentication server (e.g., a remote authentication dial-in user service, (“RADIUS”) server) which authenticates remote devices and upon authentication, fulfills data requests from those devices. For example, the server 40 may receive an authentication request from the MU 10 in accordance with an extensible authentication protocol (“EAP”) method. The EAP method may utilize a transport layer security (“TLS”) protocol to establish a secure communication channel between the MU 10 and the server 40 . The server 40 may include hardware and/or software components for servicing the authentication request, such as a processor for executing instructions, a memory for storing instructions and/or data, and a networking arrangement (e.g., a network interface card, a modem, etc.) for communicating with the APs 20 , 22 via the WAN link 80 .
[0014] The WAN link 80 may be a direct cable connection (e.g., an Ethernet cable) between the server 40 and the switch 30 or an indirect connection which includes one or more computing devices (e.g., a server, a router, a switch, etc.) or networks (e.g., the Internet).
[0015] The switch 30 may be a wireless switch which includes hardware and/or software to facilitate communication between devices connected thereto. The switch 30 may allow the MU 10 to access the communications network 50 and/or the server 40 .
[0016] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a method 200 according to the present invention. In step 210 , the MU 10 transmits an authentication request to the server 40 . The authentication request may be transmitted when the MU 10 establishes an initial communication session with the server 40 . This may occur when the MU 10 is powered on, when a user of the MU 10 desires access to resources on the communications network 50 or the server 40 , etc. The authentication request is initially received by and transmitted to the server 40 from the AP 20 . The AP 20 prevents the MU 10 from accessing the communications network 50 until the authentication succeeds.
[0017] In step 220 , the MU 10 receives a session ID from the server 40 . The session ID may be a random or pseudo-random number generated by the server 40 when the authentication request is received. The session ID serves as a unique identifier for the initial communication session, between the server 40 and the MU 10 .
[0018] In step 230 , the MU 10 exchanges security certificates with the server 40 and a master security key is generated using encryption keys included in the security certificates. For example, a pre-master security key may have been randomly generated by the MU 10 and encrypted using a public encryption key corresponding thereto. The pre-master security key may then have been decrypted by the server 40 using the public encryption key. Both the MU 10 and the server 40 may then generate the master security key by applying a common algorithm upon the pre-master security key.
[0019] In step 240 , a communication channel is established between the MU 10 and the server 40 . This may occur as a result of the MU 10 transmitting an acknowledgment to the server 40 , indicating a desire to engage in secure communications.
[0020] In step 250 , the MU 10 transmits user identification data (e.g,. the username and/or the password) to the server 40 via the communication channel. The user identification data may be encrypted prior to transmission. The MU 10 then receives an authorization acknowledgment from the server 40 . For example, if the user identification data is authenticated by the server 40 , the username and/or the password may be compared against a user database accessible by the server 40 .
[0021] In step 260 , after the MU 10 has been authenticated, the APs 20 , 22 request the authentication data from the server 40 . The APs 20 , 22 may each transmit an authentication data request after transmitting the authorization acknowledgment to the MU 10 , which was received in step 250 .
[0022] In step 270 , the server 40 transmits the authentication data to the APs 20 , 22 . The authentication data may include information associated with the initial communication session, such as the master security key, the session ID, and a hash of the user identification data. As will later be discussed, this information may be utilized to re-authenticate the user without having to repeat the method 200 . The authentication data may be stored at the APs 20 , 22 until a removal condition occurs. The removal condition may be when the AP reaches a predetermined storage capacity. For example, each AP 20 , 22 may only have enough capacity to store the authentication data for a certain number of MUs. When the storage capacity is reached, the AP 20 , 22 may delete older authentication data, allowing new authentication data to be stored (e.g., FIFO). The removal condition may also be time-based. For example, the authentication data may be automatically removed after a predefined time period based on, for example, a time elapsed since a last re-authentication, a total number of re-authentications, etc.
[0023] In other embodiments, the server 40 may only transmit the authentication data to the AP 20 , or the authentication data may first be transmitted to the AP 20 , then transmitted to the AP 22 at a later time. In yet further embodiments, the APs 20 , 22 may save the authentication data as it is being transmitted to/from the MU 10 . For example, in anticipation of a successful authentication, the AP 20 may save the session ID during step 220 , the master security key during step 230 , and the username/password during step 250 .
[0024] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of a method 300 according to the present invention. The method 300 may be performed subsequent to successful authentication of the MU 10 by the server 40 , and may be initiated when the MU 10 transmits a re-authentication request to the server 40 . As would be known to those skilled in the art, re-authentication may be required for various reasons when the MU 10 is in use. For example, the MU 10 may initiate communication with a different AP when roaming. Another reason for re-authenticating may be a discontinuation of the initial communication session. For example, the WAN link 80 may be terminated, causing the MU 10 to lose its connection to the network 50 . Accordingly, in step 310 the MU 10 transmits the re-authentication request to the server 40 in a manner similar to that of step 210 in the method 200 .
[0025] In step 320 , an AP receiving the re-authentication request determines if the authentication data is available. If the MU 10 is performing the roaming operation, the AP may be the AP 22 . Alternatively, if the MU 10 is attempting to reestablish the initial communication session, the authenticating AP may be the AP 20 .
[0026] In step 330 , the authentication data is not available, and the MU 10 must re-authenticate with the server 40 in a manner similar to that used to establish the initial communication session. Thus, the method 200 may be repeated in its entirety. Alternatively, the method 200 may be repeated without executing steps 260 and 270 .
[0027] In step 340 , the authentication data is available, and the MU 10 is re-authenticated. As known to those skilled in the art, the TLS protocol supports session resumption. Therefore, the AP 20 may utilize the authentication data to resume the initial communication session without requiring a full handshake sequence (e.g., exchange of certificates, generation of security keys, etc.) with the server 40 . This may be accomplished by, for example, performing a test to determine the validity of the authentication data. Thus, the MU 10 may then re-authenticate directly with the AP 20 through a method such as password authentication protocol (“PAP”). The MU 10 supplies the username and/or the password, and is immediately authenticated because the AP 20 has the hash of the user identification data. The AP 20 then provides the MU 10 with access to the communications network 50 . Additionally, the authenticating AP may terminate the communication channel.
[0028] The present invention provides several advantages over the conventional authentication method. By removing dependence on the WAN link 80 , the AP 20 may authenticate the MU 10 . Thus, if communication between the MU 10 and the server 40 is interrupted (e.g., the server 40 is taken off-line, the WAN link 80 is terminated, etc.), the MU 10 can re-authenticate, maintaining access to the communications network 50 . In addition, re-authentication is made faster because data is no longer passed between the MU 10 and the server 40 during the re-authentication. This may be particularly advantageous if the MU 10 is performing the roaming operation, since re-authentication delay could be perceived as an interruption in service.
[0029] It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
|
Described is a method, comprising receiving an authentication request by a server from a first wireless device, the authentication request including request data corresponding to a second wireless device. The second wireless device is authenticated by the server as a function of the request data. The server generates authentication data as a function of the request data. The server transmits the authentication data to the first wireless device so that the first wireless device authenticates the second wireless device using the authentication data upon receipt of a further authentication request from the second wireless device.
| 7
|
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] This disclosure is related to exhaust gas recirculation circuits in internal combustion engine applications.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is used in internal combustion engine control. EGR circuits remove a portion of exhaust gas flow from the exhaust system for ingestion as part of the cylinder charge. EGR circuits are known for use in many different engine types and configurations, for instance in both diesel and gasoline engines.
[0003] Combustion is highly dependent upon the conditions existing within the combustion chamber. Variations in properties such as temperature within the combustion chamber can cause adverse effects upon the resulting combustion. The temperature of the EGR flow channeled into the combustion chamber has effects upon the overall temperature within the combustion chamber. As a result of the need to control these temperatures, methods are known to modulate the temperature of EGR flow within the EGR circuit through the use of an EGR cooler including a heat exchange device.
[0004] Heat exchange devices can take many forms. One known heat exchange device is a gas to liquid type heat exchanger. Another known heat exchange device is a gas to gas type heat exchanger. Efficient heat transfer generally requires large surface areas through large cross sectional flow paths. Flow velocity generally decreases as cross sectional flow path increase.
[0005] EGR flows contain by-products of combustion. Particulate matter (PM) and other combustion by-products travel through the exhaust system with the exhaust gas flow. The EGR circuit, by tapping into the exhaust system, is exposed to these by-products. Heat exchangers can include narrow and subdivided passages in order to maximize heat transfer from the hot gas to the cooling liquid. However, narrow passages with large surface areas can act as filters to the combustion by-products, collecting particulate deposits on the surfaces within the passages. Additionally, testing has shown that lower exhaust gas velocities, such as tend to exist within a heat exchanger, increasing the rate at which particulate deposits are left on the surfaces. Such deposits within the heat exchanger can have a number of adverse effects upon the heat exchanger, including but not limited to corrosion, increased flow resistance, flow blockage, reduction of heat transfer capacity, and noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).
SUMMARY
[0006] A vehicular heat exchanger processes a exhaust gas recirculation flow. A method to manage combustion by-product contaminant deposits within the heat exchanger includes repeatedly cycling a flow control device controlling the exhaust gas recirculation flow through the heat exchanger from an original position to an intermediate position and back to the original position. The original position is determined based upon a required exhaust gas recirculation flow into an intake manifold.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] One or more embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic of an internal combustion engine and control system, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic of an engine utilizing an EGR circuit including an EGR cooler, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a known EGR cooler, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger utilized in a EGR cooler, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0012] FIGS. 5-9 depict exemplary flow patterns that can be utilized by methods described herein, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0013] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger utilizing flow control doors, in accordance with the present disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 11 depicts and exemplary flow pattern, in accordance with the present disclosure; and
[0015] FIG. 12 depicts exemplary testing results, in accordance with the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating certain exemplary embodiments only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, FIG. 1 shows a schematic of an internal combustion engine 10 and control system 25 which has been constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment as shown is applied as part of an overall control scheme to operate an exemplary multi-cylinder, spark ignition, direct-injection, gasoline, four-stroke internal combustion engine. However, as will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, the methods described herein can be utilized on many and various engine configurations, and the exemplary engine design depicted in FIG. 1 is meant for purposes of illustration only.
[0017] The exemplary engine 10 includes a cast-metal engine block with a plurality of cylinders formed therein, one of which is shown, and an engine head 27 . Each cylinder includes a closed-end cylinder having a moveable, reciprocating piston 11 inserted therein. A variable volume combustion chamber 20 is formed in each cylinder, and is defined by walls of the cylinder, the moveable piston 11 , and the head 27 . The engine block preferably includes coolant passages 29 through which engine coolant fluid passes. A coolant temperature sensor 37 , operable to monitor temperature of the coolant fluid, is located at an appropriate location, and provides a signal input to the control system 25 useable to control the engine. The engine preferably includes known systems including an external exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve and an intake air throttle valve.
[0018] Each moveable piston 11 includes a device designed in accordance with known piston forming methods, and includes a top and a body which conforms substantially to the cylinder in which it operates. The piston has top or crown area that is exposed in the combustion chamber. Each piston is connected via a pin 34 and connecting rod 33 to a crankshaft 35 . The crankshaft 35 is rotatably attached to the engine block at a main bearing area near a bottom portion of the engine block, such that the crankshaft is able to rotate around an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis defined by each cylinder. A crank sensor 31 is placed in an appropriate location, operable to generate a signal that is useable by the controller 25 to measure crank angle, and which is translatable to provide measures of crankshaft rotation, speed, and acceleration that are useable in various control schemes. During operation of the engine, each piston 11 moves up and down in the cylinder in a reciprocating fashion due to connection to and rotation of the crankshaft 35 , and the combustion process. The rotation action of the crankshaft effects translation of linear force exerted on each piston during combustion to an angular torque output from the crankshaft, which can be transmitted to another device, e.g. a vehicle driveline.
[0019] The engine head 27 includes a cast-metal device having one or more intake ports 17 and one or more exhaust ports 19 which flow to the combustion chamber 20 . The intake port 17 supplies air to the combustion chamber 20 . Combusted (burned) gases flow from the combustion chamber 20 via exhaust port 19 . Flow of air through each intake port is controlled by actuation of one or more intake valves 21 . Flow of combusted gases through each exhaust port is controlled by actuation of one or more exhaust valves 23 .
[0020] The intake and exhaust valves 21 , 23 each have a head portion that includes a top portion that is exposed to the combustion chamber. Each of the valves 21 , 23 has a stem that is connected to a valve actuation device. A valve actuation device 60 is operative to control opening and closing of each of the intake valves 21 , and a second valve actuation device 70 operative to control opening and closing of each of the exhaust valves 23 . Each of the valve actuation devices 60 , 70 are signally connected to the control system 25 and operative to control timing, duration, and magnitude of opening and closing of each valve, either in concert or individually. The first embodiment of the exemplary engine includes a dual overhead cam system which has variable lift control (VLC) device and variable cam phasing (VCP) device. The VCP device is operative to control timing of opening or closing of each intake valve and each exhaust valve relative to rotational position of the crankshaft and opens each valve for a fixed crank angle duration. Exemplary VCP devices include known cam phasers. The exemplary VLC device is operative to control magnitude of valve lift to one of two positions: one position to 3-5 mm lift for an open duration of 120-150 crank angle degrees, and another position to 9-12 mm lift for an open duration of 220-260 crank angle degrees. Exemplary VLC devices include known two-step lift cams. Individual valve actuation devices can serve the same function to the same effect. The valve actuation devices are preferably controlled by the control system 25 according to predetermined control schemes. Alternative variable valve actuation devices including, for example, fully flexible electrical or electro-hydraulic devices may also be used and have the further benefit of independent opening and closing phase control as well as substantially infinite valve lift variability within the limits of the system. A specific aspect of a control scheme to control opening and closing of the valves is described herein. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that engine valves and valve activation systems may take many forms, and the exemplary engine configuration depicted is for purposes of illustration only. Methods described herein are not intended to be limited to the particular exemplary configuration described herein.
[0021] Air is inlet to the intake port 17 through an intake manifold runner 50 , which receives filtered air passing through a known air metering device and a throttle device. Exhaust gas passes from the exhaust port 19 to an exhaust manifold 42 , which includes exhaust gas sensors 40 operative to monitor constituents of the exhaust gas feedstream, and determine parameters associated therewith. The exhaust gas sensors 40 can include any of several known sensing devices operative to provide parametric values for the exhaust gas feedstream, including air/fuel ratio, or measurement of exhaust gas constituents, e.g. NOx, CO, HC, and others. The system may include an in-cylinder sensor for monitoring combustion pressures, non-intrusive pressure sensors, or inferentially determined pressure determination (e.g. through crankshaft accelerations). The aforementioned sensors and metering devices each provide a signal as a parametric input to the control system 25 . These parametric inputs can be used by the control system to determine combustion performance measurements.
[0022] The control system 25 preferably includes a subset of an overall control architecture operable to provide coordinated system control of the engine 10 and other systems. In overall operation, the control system 25 is operable to synthesize operator inputs, ambient conditions, engine operating parameters, and combustion performance measurements, and execute algorithms to control various actuators to achieve targets for control parameters, including such parameters as fuel economy, emissions, performance, and driveability. The control system 25 is operably connected to a plurality of devices through which an operator typically controls or directs operation of the engine. Exemplary operator inputs include an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, transmission gear selector, and vehicle speed cruise control when the engine is employed in a vehicle. The control system may communicate with other controllers, sensors, and actuators via a local area network (LAN) bus which preferably allows for structured communication of control parameters and commands between various controllers.
[0023] The control system 25 is operably connected to the engine 10 , and functions to acquire parametric data from sensors, and control a variety of actuators of the engine 10 over appropriate interfaces 45 . The control system 25 receives an engine torque command, and generates a desired torque output, based upon the operator inputs. Exemplary engine operating parameters that are sensed by control system 25 using the aforementioned sensors include engine coolant temperature, crankshaft rotational speed (RPM) and position, manifold absolute pressure, ambient air flow and temperature, and, ambient air pressure. Combustion performance measurements typically include measured and inferred combustion parameters, including air/fuel ratio, location of peak combustion pressure, among others.
[0024] Actuators controlled by the control system 25 include: fuel injectors 12 ; the VCP/VLC valve actuation devices 60 , 70 ; spark plug 14 operably connected to ignition modules for controlling spark dwell and timing; exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve, and electronic throttle control module, and water injector 16 . Fuel injector 12 is preferably operable to inject fuel directly into each combustion chamber 20 . Specific details of exemplary direct injection fuel injectors are known and not detailed herein. Spark plug 14 is employed by the control system 25 to enhance ignition timing control of the exemplary engine across portions of the engine speed and load operating range. When the exemplary engine is operated in an auto-ignition mode, the engine does not utilize an energized spark plug. It has proven desirable to employ spark ignition to complement auto-ignition modes under certain conditions, including, e.g. during cold start, at low load operating conditions near a low-load limit, and to prevent fouling. Also, it has proven preferable to employ spark ignition at a high load operation limit in auto-ignition modes, and at high speed/load operating conditions under throttled or un-throttled spark-ignition operation.
[0025] Control system, control module, module, controller, control unit, processor and similar terms mean any suitable one or various combinations of one or more of Application Specific Integrated Circuit(s) (ASIC), electronic circuit(s), central processing unit(s) (preferably microprocessor(s)) and associated memory and storage (read only, programmable read only, random access, hard drive, etc.) executing one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuit(s), input/output circuit(s) and devices, appropriate signal conditioning and buffer circuitry, and other suitable components to provide the described functionality. The control system 25 has a set of control algorithms, including resident software program instructions and calibrations stored in memory and executed to provide the desired functions. The algorithms are preferably executed during preset loop cycles. Algorithms are executed, such as by a central processing unit, and are operable to monitor inputs from sensing devices and other networked control modules, and execute control and diagnostic routines to control operation of actuators. Loop cycles may be executed at regular intervals, for example each 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25 and 100 milliseconds during ongoing engine and vehicle operation. Alternatively, algorithms may be executed in response to occurrence of an event.
[0026] EGR circuits are used in a wide variety of engine types and engine designs. FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary engine capable of utilizing an EGR circuit. The fuel air mixture utilized to power engine 10 may include gasoline or gasoline blends, but the mixture may also include other flexible fuel types, such as ethanol or ethanol blends such as the fuel commonly known as E85. Different engine configurations are known to utilize other fuels such as diesel fuel or diesel blends and utilize EGR circuits. The methods described do not depend upon the particular variety of fuel used and are not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed herein.
[0027] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an exemplary engine configuration utilizing an EGR circuit in accordance with the present disclosure. Engine 10 is depicted including an output shaft 75 , an exhaust system 80 , an intake manifold 85 , and an EGR circuit 90 . Engine 10 receives at least the air portion of the fuel air mixture necessary for combustion through the intake manifold 85 , performs the combustion process within combustion chambers within engine 10 , supplies a torque to output shaft 75 , and emits an exhaust gas flow which exits engine 10 through exhaust system 80 . EGR circuit 90 is communicably attached to exhaust system 80 and is depicted including an EGR valve 94 and an EGR cooler 97 . EGR valve 94 is actuated by control system 25 . Exemplary EGR valve 94 is a flow control device capable of blocking or enabling flow through the EGR circuit. However, flow control devices for an EGR circuit can include a number of different embodiments, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the exemplary EGR valve. Various control methodologies for activating the EGR valve under particular operating conditions are known in the art and will not be described in detail herein. EGR valve 94 , when controlled to an off position, blocks any exhaust gas flow from exhaust system 80 , the flow under a pressure gradient from the combustion process, from entering EGR circuit 90 . EGR valve 94 , when controlled to an on or open position, opens, and EGR circuit 90 can then utilize pressure and velocity of the exhaust gas flow to channel a portion of the exhaust gas flow into EGR circuit 90 as an EGR flow. EGR valve 94 , in some embodiments, is capable of opening partially, thereby modulating the amount of exhaust gas diverted into an EGR flow. The EGR flow travels through EGR circuit 90 to intake manifold 85 , where it is combined with at least the air portion of the fuel air mixture in order to derive the combustion control properties enabled by the use of an EGR as described above. As described above, the combustion process within engine 10 is sensitive to conditions such as the temperature within the combustion chamber during combustion. EGR flow taken from a high temperature exhaust gas flow can increase the temperature within the combustion chamber to undesirable levels. Therefore, it is known to utilize EGR cooler 97 to remove heat from the EGR flow, thereby controlling the resulting temperature of the EGR flow eventually entering the combustion chamber.
[0028] Various methods are known to reduce the temperature of a gas flow within a heat exchanger. Gas to gas heat exchangers are utilized to transfer heat from one gas flow to another. Gas to liquid heat exchangers are utilized to transfer heat from a gas to a liquid. Different gas or liquid mediums can be used to transfer heat to or from the gas flow. In any heat exchanger processing a gas flow, the gas flow enters the heat exchanger through gas flow passages, undergoes heat transfer with another medium, and exits the heat exchanger with a temperature change resulting from the heat transfer. Engines are known to utilize engine coolant liquid to cool various parts of the engine. An exemplary configuration of EGR cooler 97 is depicted in FIG. 2 as a gas to liquid heat exchanger, wherein a high temperature EGR flow passes through EGR cooler 97 , transfers heat to a liquid medium in the form of an engine coolant liquid flow, the EGR flow thereafter exiting EGR cooler 97 as a reduced temperature EGR flow. Some known exemplary embodiments of EGR cooler 97 include an engine coolant control device in communication with control system 25 capable of controlling flow and amount of engine coolant liquid entering EGR cooler 97 , thereby controlling the amount of heat transferred from the EGR flow and controlling the reduction in temperature of the EGR flow. Under some operating conditions and configurations, the engine coolant liquid flow can be turned off or the heat exchanger can be by-passed such that EGR flow is delivered to the combustion chamber at a maximum temperature.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary gas to liquid heat exchanger in accordance with the present disclosure. Heat exchangers and components thereof can be made of many materials. High temperatures exhibited within the exhaust gas flow influence the choice of materials used within heat exchangers coming into contact with the high temperature gases. In addition, corrosive combustion by-products present in the exhaust gases also influence the choice of materials used. Stainless steel is one known material used in exhaust components for its resistance to both high temperatures and corrosion. Certain other designs, wherein temperatures reaching the heat exchanger are somewhat lower and corrosive forces are mitigated, can utilize other materials such as aluminum. Other exemplary designs of heat exchangers utilize plastic or other synthetic materials, for example, to construct portions of headers or connective orifices wherein direct exposure to a higher temperature flow is not permitted. Heat exchangers are known to include various coatings to protect the structure of the heat exchanger or to impart other beneficial properties. The materials described above are given for example only. Choice of materials and coatings in particular heat exchangers are known in the art, and the materials and constructions of heat exchangers within this disclosure are not intended to be limited to the specific exemplary embodiments described herein.
[0030] Returning to FIG. 3 , an exemplary gas to liquid heat exchanger 100 is depicted including a gas inlet section 110 , a gas outlet section 120 , coolant orifices 125 , a bundle of gas flow tubes 130 , end plates 145 , and heat exchanger shell 140 . As mentioned above, any heat exchanger processing a gas flow includes gas flow passages. In this embodiment, the gas flow passages take the form of tubes 130 . Heat exchanger shell 140 surrounds the bundle of tubes 130 and seals with the end plate 145 to form a liquid flow container 150 . End plates 145 include openings designed to accept, fix, and seal to each of the tubes 130 . Tubes 130 are arranged such that gaps 160 separate tubes from each other and from the heat exchanger shell 140 . Coolant enters the liquid flow container 150 through a first coolant orifice 125 and flows around and through gaps 160 and exits the liquid flow container through a second coolant orifice 125 . Likewise, a gas flow enters heat exchanger 100 through gas inlet section 110 , flows through gas flow tubes 130 , and exits the heat exchanger through gas outlet section 120 . Because gas flow tubes 130 are in direct contact with the cooler liquid coolant flow on the outside and the hotter gas flow on the inside, heat can be transferred through the walls of tube 130 , cooling the gas flow and warming the liquid flow. In this way, heat exchanger 100 enables the cooling of a hot gas flow.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a gas to liquid heat exchanger including an exemplary configuration of tubes in accordance with the disclosure. Heat exchanger 100 includes heat exchanger shell 140 and end plates 145 affixed to either end. Tubes 130 are held in place by the two end plates 145 and run parallel to the larger cylinder created by the heat exchanger shell 140 . Tubes as depicted are round in cross-section. However, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that tubes can be used in a wide variety of cross sectional shapes. Additionally, tubes may be hollow, with a cavity running longitudinally through the tube in the same shape as the outside of the tube, or tubes can utilize more complex shapes increasing the surface area that the gas flowing through the tube comes into contact with. Many tube designs are contemplated, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Liquid coolant flow enters a first orifice 125 , flows through the heat exchanger around the tubes 130 , and exits the heat exchanger through a second orifice 125 . Gas flow enters the heat exchanger through tubes 130 , passes through the tubes, and exits the heat exchanger. Heat exchanger 100 is depicted as a cylinder shape, however it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that heat exchanger 100 can be utilized in a number of shapes, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. It will also be appreciated that heat exchangers can alternatively be arranged such that the cooling medium can be made to flow through tubes, and the gas flow being cooled can be channeled through gas flow passages around the tubes containing the cooling medium. Various heat exchanger designs are contemplated, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.
[0032] Exemplary embodiments of an EGR cooler utilize heat exchangers to cool an EGR flow in preparation for the EGR flow being fed into a combustion chamber. As previously mentioned, EGR flow, being a diverted portion of the exhaust gas flow, contains PM and other contaminant by-products of the combustion process. Such by-products decrease the effectiveness of the EGR cooler and decrease the effective life of the EGR cooler. PM deposits left on the surfaces of the heat exchanger exposed to the gas flow act as an insulating blanket, decreasing the amount of heat that passes through the surfaces for a given temperature difference between the flow mediums. Deposits built up upon the walls of gas flow passages also decrease the effective cross sections of the gas flow passages, decreasing the flow of gas that flows through the gas flow passages for a given pressure difference across the heat exchanger. PM and other contaminants contain unburned hydrocarbons, other caustic substances, and water. Especially in the presence of elevated temperatures present in the engine compartment and the EGR flow, the deposits within the gas flow passages promote corrosion and other degradation of the EGR cooler.
[0033] EGR cooler fouling may become evident after sustained periods of operation, wherein an EGR flow at steady state creates deposits within the EGR cooler. Testing has shown that rapidly opening or closing an EGR valve creates a sharp change in exhaust gas velocity and can effectively dislodge deposited PM contaminants from walls of the EGR cooler. A method is disclosed to remove PM deposits in an EGR cooler by periodically rapidly cycling an EGR valve in a contaminant purging event in order to create a rapid pulse of changing shear forces with the EGR cooler to dislodge the PM deposits.
[0034] A purging event can take many forms. FIGS. 5-9 graphically depict an exemplary velocity profiles possible within an EGR cooler consistent with purging PM contaminants from the cooler, in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary periodic opening and closing of a closed EGR valve. High pressure exhaust gas in the exhaust system passed through the opened EGR valve. Flow through the EGR valve is substantially proportional to the opening of EGR valve, subject to relationships known in the art. In a system with an EGR flow depicted in FIG. 5 , the change in sheer forces upon the walls of the EGR cooler can be described by the change in velocity of flow depicted. Total resulting EGR flow through the EGR circuit over a time period with the flow depicted in FIG. 5 would be relatively low, depending upon the frequency and duration of the EGR valve openings.
[0035] FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary periodic closing and reopening of an open EGR valve. The EGR flow is depicted to include a steady state EGR flow value with periodic interruptions of the EGR flow created by the periodic closing of the EGR valve. As in the condition depicted in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 describes high pressure exhaust gas flowing through the opened EGR valve. Again, the change in sheer forces upon the can be described by the change in velocity of flow depicted. The total resulting EGR flow through the EGR circuit over a time period with the flow depicted in FIG. 6 would be relatively high, depending upon the steady state EGR flow and the frequency and duration of the EGR valve closings.
[0036] FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary periodic opening and closing of a closed EGR valve. A circuit containing a fluid or a gas can be selected or tuned such that a pressure wave running through the circuit and reflecting back through the circuit can have a desired effect. In this case, the EGR circuit and the opening and closing of the EGR valve is selected such that the pressure wave through the EGR circuit created by the opening of the EGR valve and the high pressure exhaust gas entering the EGR circuit create a substantially symmetric forward and backward flow through the EGR cooler of nearly or substantially equal magnitudes. It will be appreciated, based upon the increased change in velocity of the EGR flow, that an increased change in sheer forces is created upon the walls of the EGR cooler as compared to the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 5 . As a result, under otherwise similar conditions, the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 7 can be more effective in cleaning deposits from the walls of the EGR cleaner than the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 5 .
[0037] FIG. 8 depicts an EGR flow similar to the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 7 , except that the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 8 is not substantially symmetric. Rather the flow in the forward direction through the EGR circuit is larger than the backward flow. As a result, the change in sheer forces upon the walls of the EGR cooler are greater in FIG. 8 than in FIG. 5 and less in FIG. 8 than in FIG. 7 .
[0038] FIG. 9 depicts an EGR flow similar to the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 6 , except that the EGR circuit is tuned such that, upon the EGR valve reopening, the EGR flow exceeds the steady state flow rate and then settles to the steady state value. As described in relation to FIGS. 7 and 8 , the increased change in EGR flow depicted in FIG. 9 increases the change in sheer forces upon the walls of the EGR cooler as compared to the EGR flow depicted in FIG. 6 . It will be appreciated that the embodiments described in FIGS. 5 , 7 , and 8 depict flow patterns most useful when no EGR flow is required, and the embodiments in FIGS. 6 and 9 depict flow patterns most useful when an EGR flow is required.
[0039] The embodiments described in FIGS. 5 , 7 and 8 operate when the required flow through the EGR circuit or through the EGR cooler is zero. A method to operate one of these embodiments can include monitoring a required flow, determining the required flow to be zero, and commanding cycles of the EGR valve based upon the determining the required flow to equal zero.
[0040] The exemplary flow embodiment of FIG. 11 is one embodiment of control parameters that can be utilized to create the desired flow pattern, in accordance with the present disclosure. A pattern including a 10 second period is depicted, with flow events for each period lasting a total of 0.5 seconds, with 0.25 seconds of positive flow and 0.25 seconds of negative flow. It will be appreciated that such a flow pattern including positive and negative flow can include parameters based upon the tuning of the EGR circuit. The parameters described in FIG. 11 are exemplary and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular parameters described.
[0041] Testing confirms that operation of purging events, including pulsing surges of flow through an EGR cooler, clears and maintains the EGR cooler by purging the pathways within the cooler of PM contaminants FIG. 12 graphically illustrates exemplary test results including fouling resistance values through a test period for various EGR flow velocities and for operation including purging events, in accordance with the present disclosure. The three EGR flow velocities listed, 0.5 m/s, 0.75 m/s, and 1.0 m/s, illustrate EGR operation wherein the EGR is operated at a fixed value. The test data describes an inverse relationship between flow velocity and fouling or formation of PM contaminants within the EGR cooler. A fourth data set describes operation wherein purging events are periodically operated in accordance with the exemplary methods described herein. This fourth data set includes a 0.25 m/s steady state pattern, overlaid with periodic changes consistent with the pattern of FIG. 11 (+/−0.25 m/s, 10 second period). Under normal circumstances, a slow velocity flow such as 0.25 m/s would exhibit increased fouling of the heat exchanger. Instead, the data shows that the purging event operate to prevent or clear any fouling buildup through the depicted test period. As is evident from the test data and the depicted results of FIG. 12 , the EGR circuit shows no increased fouling resistance as a result of the operation including the purging events.
[0042] An EGR circuit can be equipped with a single flow control valve or EGR valve as depicted in FIG. 2 . Rapid pulses in EGR flow through cycling of the EGR valve can be utilized to dislodge PM contaminants deposited within the EGR cooler as described above. A velocity profile within the EGR cooler as described in FIG. 11 can be achieved by selectively opening and closing the EGR valve in coordination with the desired velocity profile. As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, higher relative pressure within the exhaust path as compared to the lower relative pressure within the intake manifold, or the pressure difference across the EGR circuit, will create a flow through the EGR circuit whenever the valve is open. The velocity of the gas in the EGR circuit can generally be described by the following equations:
[0000] FLOW VELOCITY=FLOW RATE/CROSS SECTION AREA (1)
[0000] wherein
[0000] FLOW RATE=PRESSURE DIFFERENCE/FLOW RESISTANCE (2)
[0000] The pressure difference across the EGR circuit is a function of, among other factors, the operation of the engine. For a given period of engine operation and with other factors being held constant, the pressure difference can be taken as fixed value. Cross sectional area within the heat exchanger can be taken as a fixed value as the design value of the heat exchanger minus the constricting effect of any PM contaminants within the heat exchanger. Flow resistance for the EGR circuit, through an EGR valve cycle, is a function of the EGR valve position. When the EGR valve is closed, the flow resistance for the EGR circuit is infinite, with a corresponding flow rate of zero. When the EGR valve is open, the flow resistance of the EGR circuit becomes a value determined by the geometry within the EGR circuit. When the EGR valve is partially open, the flow resistance is some value between infinity and the value of the circuit with the open valve. Flow velocity through the EGR circuit can, therefore, be controlled through modulating flow resistance in the circuit, such as by modulating constriction of flow through the EGR valve. Opening and closing the EGR valve will produce a substantially equivalent rise and fall in flow velocity through the EGR circuit.
[0043] EGR circuits are known to include more than one flow control valve. FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary EGR cooler in accordance with the present disclosure. EGR cooler 200 is depicted including a plurality of flow control doors 210 and control module 220 . Flow control doors 210 are operative to individually open and close on command by control system 25 through control module 220 . Flow control doors 210 are an example of a type of flow control device, such as the exemplary EGR valve, described above. Depending upon the particular design of the heat exchanger employed within the device, flow control doors 210 can be directly attached to corresponding gas flow passages of the heat exchanger, blocking or allowing EGR flow through the individual gas flow passages. Alternatively, flow control doors 210 can correspond directly to a group of gas flow passages; for instance, an individual door can cover a group of six tubes, incrementally opening or closing the tubes as a group. Alternatively, flow control doors 210 can be part of a separate housing or EGR cooler face cover, with each door opening covering a portion of the face of the heat exchanger. Such a configuration must still open and close gas passages in a step or binary manner, so as to avoid partially opened gas passages with lower EGR flow velocities. In the case of a separate housing or EGR cooler face cover holding flow control doors 210 , especially if the doors are separated from the gas flow passage or tube openings, a gasketing device can be used to prevent EGR flow from spreading out at lower velocity to sections of the heat exchanger not directly corresponding to the door opening. Many embodiments of control doors 210 utilized in conjunction with the EGR cooler or multiple flow control valves accomplishing similar parallel path control of the EGR flow are envisioned, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Control doors 210 employ sealing methods known in the art to prevent EGR flow from traveling past closed doors or passing from intended gas flow passages to unintended gas flow passages. Additionally, doors, gasketing devices, and any other components exposed to the gas flow must be constructed of materials capable of withstanding the temperatures and corrosive forces within the gas flow, as described above in relation to heat exchangers. Control module 220 is depicted as a single unit with control means directed to each individual flow control door 210 . Control module 220 and the particular method that the module employs to control the various flow control doors can take many forms. For example, control module 220 can utilize a single electronic motor with an output shaft attached to a gear set or a cam device. Such gear sets and cam devices are known in the art and can translate a single rotational input into incremental door movements. Alternatively, door control module 220 can include a control module attached to individual electrical actuators attached to each door, the control module sending controlling electric signals to each actuator to effect open and close commands. Alternatively, door control module 220 can include individual electrical actuators attached to each door receiving commands directly from control system 25 . Many embodiments of control methods to actuate flow control doors 210 are envisioned, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. By closing a portion of the flow control doors 210 , EGR flow can be restricted to a portion of the gas flow passages within the EGR cooler, thereby reducing the cross section through which the EGR flow passes within the heat exchanger and increasing resulting the EGR flow velocities within the EGR cooler.
[0044] Applied to the methods described herein, changing EGR flow velocities to reduce or clear PM contaminants deposited within an EGR cooler, an EGR cooler with multiple doors covering or blocking flow to various sections of the EGR cooler can be utilized to provide changing flow velocities to the EGR cooler. For example, in an embodiment wherein no flow is required through the EGR circuit, the various doors can be cycled, for example, one door at a time for 50 cycles or 50 cycles of each door being sequentially cycled. Similarly, when a required flow is commanded through the EGR circuit, doors can take turns cycling closed. Additionally, it will be appreciated that under some conditions, only a portion of a full flow through the EGR circuit is required. Under such conditions, an EGR cooler with four doors controlling flow through the EGR cooler might be able to provide the required EGR flow with two of the four doors open. In such a circumstance, the controller for the doors can select a portion of the doors to remain open and another portion of the doors to periodically cycle to clear PM contaminants, and then the controller can switch the functions of the various doors after a time period. A number of similar methods, sequences, or control strategies to control an EGR circuit with multiple doors or valves controlling flow through an EGR cooler are envisioned, and the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular exemplary embodiments described herein.
[0045] Methods to measure or estimate an EGR flow through an EGR circuit are known in the art and can be utilized to control a required flow through the plurality of doors or control valves, as described above. A required flow through the EGR is a control signal based upon engine operation and frequently originates in the engine control module and is determined by methods known in the art.
[0046] Methods described above, utilizing opening of individual doors, valves, or opening individual paths can be operated to purge the entire EGR cooler with each purging event. In the alternative, if certain pathways through the EGR cooler are known to accumulate PM contaminants more quickly, for example, in operation wherein some flow control doors are kept open more frequently than other doors, purging events can be operated to purge PM contaminants from the pathways with more contaminants more frequently. For example, pathways utilized in operation of the EGR can be purged in every purging event, and pathways utilized only in some operation of the EGR can be purged in every other or every third purging event. An exemplary control method could accumulate time samples for the various paths in operation in order to track likely need to purge the various paths. In this way, purging events can be limited in scope and duration based upon predicted contamination of the EGR cooler.
[0047] Purging events can be operated periodically, at regular intervals throughout use of the engine. In the alternative, use of the EGR circuit, as monitored, estimated by engine operation, or predicted based upon any method sufficient to estimate accumulated flow through the EGR circuit, can be used to selectively schedule or initiate purging events. Purging events can be scheduled individually, including a single opening and closing cycle. In the alternative, purging events can be collectively scheduled to include a plurality or recurring pattern of opening and closing cycles. For example, in FIG. 11 , an exemplary grouping of opening and closing cycles is described, operated at 10 second intervals, each lasting 0.5 seconds. In the alternative, multiple opening and closing cycles can be operated in sequence with periods of sustained closure between the groups of sequential cycles. Operation of periodic opening and closing events can be selectively operated and disabled, based upon usage of the EGR circuit. The operation and timing of such a grouping can be modified based upon effect of the EGR flow upon engine operation and estimated PM contamination in the EGR cooler.
[0048] The above methods tune an EGR circuit such that cycling an EGR valve results in a predictable pressure wave oscillating through the EGR circuit. It will be appreciated that such a tuning can be an active selection of the length of the EGR circuit resulting in a desired period for the pressure wave oscillation, for example, to match a desired period of the cycling of the EGR valve. In addition or in the alternative, an existing or desired EGR circuit can be analyzed for a period for a pressure wave oscillation, and a period for the cycling of the EGR valve can be selected based upon the analysis. In addition or in the alternative, placement of the EGR valve within the EGR circuit can affect the period of a resulting pressure wave oscillation within the EGR circuit. Factors affecting a period of a pressure wave oscillation within an EGR circuit and factors in controlling an EGR valve to match a pressure wave oscillation are known in the art and will not be described in detail herein.
[0049] The above methods describe periodically cycling the EGR valve or control doors to purge and maintain the EGR cooler. It will be appreciated that the cycling of the EGR valve needs to be repeated as a single opening and closing of the EGR valve is unlikely to purge the contaminants from the EGR cooler. However, the cycling need not be regular or periodic. Repeated cycling with changing or irregular intervals between the cycles is equivalent to periodic cycles.
[0050] The methods described herein are employed by generating commands in a control module to the flow control device or devices. The control module can be an independent device or group of devices, or the control module can be part of an engine control module. Such a control module is a electronic device monitoring inputs and generating signal outputs based upon the methods described herein.
[0051] The disclosure has described certain preferred embodiments and modifications thereto. Further modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the specification. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
|
A vehicular heat exchanger processes a exhaust gas recirculation flow. A method to manage combustion by-product contaminant deposits within the heat exchanger includes repeatedly cycling a flow control device controlling the exhaust gas recirculation flow through the heat exchanger from an original position to an intermediate position and back to the original position. The original position is determined based upon a required exhaust gas recirculation flow into an intake manifold.
| 5
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electric arc furnaces and, more particularly, to an improved process to monitor and/or control electric arc furnaces.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For many years, electric arc furnaces have been operated by manually controlled relay panels. As a result of competitive pressures and a desire to improve the control of arc furnaces, programmable logic controllers (PLC's) have slowly been replacing the relay panel controllers. A PLC enables continuous on-line monitoring of various furnace conditions and also serves as an input processor for higher level main frame computers which perform the heavy-duty data processing for on-line control. PLC's are generally configured to withstand the rigors of the furnace area environment, but are limited in their data processing and memory capabilities. To date, the PLC and the higher level main frame computers have performed discrete hierarchial tasks. The data processing main frame computer capabilities and the front end data collection capabilities of the PLC are integrated in a system adapted to be located on the factory level in the industrial environment of a steel mill for operation in accordance with the present invention to monitor and/or control the operation of the furnace.
The present invention employs an arc furnace monitoring system including one or more conventional PLC's and one or more conventional data processing microcomputers. The PLC's function is to perform high speed data collection of electrical, mechanical, and physical parameters of the furnace, such as, but not limited to, pulse rates from watt/var, current and potential transducers, transformer tap positions, arc length settings, hydraulic variables, positions of mechanical furnace components, and scrap charge weights and present the collected data to the data processing microcomputer in a usable format.
The present invention utilizes conventional microcomputers to receive through a high speed interface the data transmitted by the PLC in a cost effective manner and provide the operator with control information corresponding to the above identified variables by way of reports, displays and/or commands. The key to this invention consists of the integration of the PLC(s) and microcomputer(s) and the method of information handling to provide on-line data collection and data communication between the programmable logic controller and the data processing microcomputer in a stand alone unit for control of the furnace.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved process to monitor and control an electric arc furnace in the manufacture of steel. It is another object of this invention to provide a stand alone on-line arc furnace monitor and control system which employs commercially available PCL's and microcomputers and eliminates the need for higher level computers.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide the operator of the furnace with process and control information and/or process commands to enable him to control the chemistry and slag characteristics of the furnace operation and more accurately predict when to charge additional scrap steel into the furnace. This, in turn, results in a more efficient utilization of the electric arc furnace.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The method of the present invention for monitoring and controlling an arc furnace employs a system which includes one or more small PLC's and one or more small data processing microcomputers. The microcomputers include all operator interfaces.
The processing system monitors the operating conditions of an electric arc furnace in an effort to increase the efficiency of producing steel by; providing better control of the electrical energy required, providing better control of the consumable materials (i.e. electrodes, oxygen, etc.), providing better control of good steel making practices in operating the furnace (i.e. deep foamy slag, minimum furnace to caster delays, etc.), and providing quality control records of the entire process and the process parameters.
The processing system employs a method of data transfer which enables it to perform on-line monitoring of the arc furnace using a programmable logic controller and a microprocessor as a stand alone unit. The method comprises:
(a) monitoring data pulses from the arc furnace representative of the electrical energy consumption of the furnace over a fixed time cycle;
(b) converting said pulses into a data value representing the rate of power transmission during such time cycle;
(c) monitoring all analog data signals other than electrical pulses such as hydraulic flow rates and all digital signals corresponding to furnace status and/or conditions and assigning a data value for each such signal during such time cycle;
(d) dividing said fixed time cycle into a multiple of N time subintervals;
(e) arranging said data values into data subsets;
(f) assigning designated data subsets to each of said subintervals;
(g) transmitting data to said microprocessor in each time subinterval in accordance with a predetermined sequence for executing program code corresponding to the subset of variable data in such time subinterval; and
(h) calculating control factors from the transmitted data for providing control information to optimize the furnace operation.
A method is also provided for on-line control of an electric arc furnace in the manufacture of steel using a data processing system for providing control information to control the electric arc furnace comprising the steps of:
(a) monitoring electrical data from the arc furnace representative of the electrical conditions and electrical power delivered to the furnace;
(b) calculating a Stability Factor (SF) from said electrical data in accordance with the following algorithm: ##EQU1## Short Circuit Reactance=Constant which is derived by submerging the electrodes into the liquid steel bath and making the following calculation: ##EQU2## Where: Megavars=measured primary reactive power;
Current=measured average primary current
N=transformer voltage ratio
(c) comparing said calculated Stability Factor with a preestablished Stability Factor for said furnace operation corresponding to a given period of furnace operation; and
(d) introducing raw material into the furnace when the calculated Stability Factor is below the preestablished level for said period of furnace operation to raise the Stability Factor to said preestablished level.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an arc furnace monitor and control system in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is a chart which indicates various arc furnace parameters which are monitored and transmitted to the control processor.
FIG. 3 is a high level block diagram showing the interconnection between a microcomputer and a display.
FIGS. 4a-4g illustrate a high level flow diagram for the system of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1, Arc Furnace System 10 is of the conventional three electrode type and is provided with the standard complement of controls, sensors and indicators (not shown). The major categories of sensed phenomena are shown as inputs to I/O Interface 12. Those inputs include, but are not limited to, electrode regulator pressures and flows, various scale weights, furnace conditions and furnace electrical information. A plurality of outputs are provided for various furnace control functions.
I/O Interface 12 conditions and provides all of those signals for storage into PLC 14, on a continuing basis. PLC 14 contains a Data File 16 which has an allocated storage area for each indication received from I/O Interface 12. The operation of Data File 16 is controlled by Ladder Logic 18.
The operation of PLC 14 is essentially that of a sophisticated input/output buffer; receiving all indications from I/O Interface 12 on a continuing basis; sampling and storing each; and periodically and selectively transferring information to Microcomputer 22. Microcomputer 24 receives melt temperatures and chemistry inputs and provides calculating capability to derive control signals which are correspondingly put to data file 16 for the arc furnace. Microcomputer 22 also calculates performance factors from accumulated data and provides control signals through PLC 14 to associated furnace controls. Microcomputer 22 further integrates Display 26, Keyboard 27 and Printer 28. Display 26 provides the heat supervisor with both a continuing indication of critical measured values monitored during the heat and is accompanied by a Keyboard 27 which provides the supervisor with an input capability to the system. Printer 28 provides various heat, shift and daily summary reports. Microcomputer 22 may also be connected to a local area network so that its accumulated data can be fed to a higher level computer for data base updating and further report generation. The microcomputers 22 and 24 are conventional microcomputers.
The Ladder Logic 18 operates to continuously sample the various inputs from I/O Interface 12 and to update the values stored in the corresponding memory areas of Data File 16. In other words, each allocated memory position in Data File 16 is periodically overwritten with new data, so that there is always an indication of the most recent measurement in each memory position.
The primary function of PLC 14 is to process all data received through the I/O Interface 12 during a time cycle. The data received and processed by PLC 14 includes, but is not limited to, pulse strings representing the furnace's electrical energy consumption, analog and digital signals representing furnace status and/or condition, and timing values representing the duration or absence of an event or delay. The processing of all received data is accomplished by monitoring the incoming data over a fixed time cycle and converting the data into data sets or values representing e.g. appropriate engineering units. An example of such data processing would be the metering of incoming electrical pulses and conversion of such rate into kilowatt hours, analog signals into data values corresponding to hydraulic flow rates and pressures, and digital signals into data values representing discrete furnace conditions, (i.e. roof open), or scale readings. In addition to data collection and processing, the PLC 14 must further transmit the processed data to Microprocessor 22.
To limit the number of data words transferred from PLC 14 to Microcomputer 22, and thus reduce the total transmission time, a multiplexing algorithm is utilized. The algorithm, which is evoked by PLC 14, provides the functions of dividing a fixed time cycle into subintervals of time and allocating transfer locations in the data file 16 for the data values to be transferred during the subintervals of time within the time cycle. The algorithm further arranges the data values into data subsets, preferably of about the same size, corresponding to a given number of time subintervals within the time cycle. Datum from each subset is then selectively assigned to a transfer location during an appropriate time subinterval. A portion of the processed data is continuously assigned to selective transfer locations and transferred throughout the entire time cycle. This is to say certain transfer locations always contain the same data variable, however the data content of these locations may change in each time subinterval. Other processed data is intermittently assigned and transferred so that transfer locations change data variable as well as content during each time subinterval. No data is transferred until the entire subset has been assigned a location for transfer. The subsets of data, the time subinterval in which they are transferred, and a partial list of the data each contains is shown in FIG. 2.
Upon receipt of valid data, the Microcomputer 22 executes program code which performs data accumulation as well as calculation. The accumulations represent a current history of furnace conditions and may be further utilized to calculate certain furnace control factors. Two such furnace control factors, Minutes to Back Charge and Stability Factor are detailed on pages 14 and 15 respectively. Both of these factors provide the operator with timely information which may require operator action or furnace adjustment to control the operation of the furnace and/or to optimize furnace operation.
To expedite the execution of the program code in the Microcomputer 22, the software selectively executes only the portion of program code which pertains to the subset of variable data transferred during the present time subinterval. Each execution of the subintervals program code contains a portion of common code which is therefore executed once during every time subinterval. The execution of each subinterval's program code, as well as the common code, is completed before the expiration of the present time subinterval in which it is executing.
The described data transfer protocol is controlled by software in PLC 14. PLC 14 provides instructions to Microcomputer 22 which enable the microcomputer 22 to receive and process the various categories of data indicated in FIG. 2. Multiplex control 20 controls the output data to Microcomputer 22.
Referring now to FIG. 3, a high level block diagram is shown of Microcomputer 22 and its interconnection with Display 26. Microcomputer 22, in its commercially available configuration, has a serial RS232 data port 30 for communicating with refresh Buffer 31 in Display 26. The data transfer capabilities of Microcomputer 22 do not enable, within a single refresh cycle, the transfer of sufficient data to refresh Buffer 31 to enable complete update of a screen viewed on CRT 32. To overcome this problem, the screen data update from Microcomputer 22 is segmented, in much the same way, as the input data to Microcomputer 22 from PLC 14. In specific, Microcomputer 22 only transmits during one subinterval a portion of the refresh data for Display 26. It then subsequently transmits the remaining update data during a subsequent subinterval so that over two subintervals the entire screen is updated, reference FIG. 2. All data required for screen refresh is calculated during the last time subinterval of the previous time cycle.
Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4G, a high level flow diagram illustrates the operation of software within Microcomputer 22 and its control of PLC 14, Display 26 and Microcomputer 22. As indicated in FIG. 4A, Microcomputer 22 obtains data from PLC 14, for instance, during the second time subinterval. It then stores the received data into allocated areas within its memory (Box 4). The program then determines whether the third subinterval has commenced (decision Box 5). Assuming that it has not, the program continues to determine whether an end of heat has occurred or an end of shift. If the answer is yes in either case, reports are generated for the aforestated period of operation. If not, the program (decision Box 16) FIG. 4B determines whether a screen change has been requested by the user on Display 26. In other words, in lieu of viewing a screen indicative of furnace status, the user may request a furnace "setup" status screen or a heat comparison screen etc. In such case, a new screen is generated and displayed (Box 17).
If no new screen has been requested, the program determines whether the first subinterval has commenced (decision Box 19). In such case, monitored data is accumulated (Box 18), and data is transferred to Display 26 to update a first portion of the screen then being displayed (Boxes 22, 24, 26, 27). In addition, the screen is updated to indicate any user entered keyboard data (Box 83). It will be hereinafter noted that Display 26 is updated during every subinterval to indicate keyboard entered data. This enables the user to rapidly see on the screen the results of keyboard entries without having to wait for a plurality of subintervals for keyboard updates.
Returning to decision Box 19, if it is determined that the program is in the second subinterval, the procedure is essentially the same as for the other branch of the program; the data transferred during the second subinterval is accumulated; a portion of Display 26 is updated; and keyboard entered data is indicated on the screen of display (Boxes 44-51, 83).
Returning to decision Box 5, if it is determined that the third subinterval has commenced, monitored data is accumulated (Boxes 28-65) and all system control calculations are preformed (Box 82). The program then determines whether an "event" has occurred. An event is a major action within arc furnace system 10, e.g. the addition of scrap steel to the furnace; the commencement of a melt cycle; an addition to one of the electrodes; a change of furnace state (from melt to refine), etc. Delays, such as, power demand, maintenance and production problems are also considered events and are handled in the same manner. If an event has occurred, a line is added to the Heat report indicating that fact. If no event has occurred, the Report is merely updated, as is Display 26 to indicate keyboard entries.
The following Tables 5-9 represent exemplary reports generated by microcomputer 22:
TABLE 5__________________________________________________________________________** HEAT LOG ** Date BOH: 08/24 Time: BOH: 08:38Heat No.: 90001 Melter: 256 First Helper: 112Clock Time - minutes TU Avg. Tap/ Accum. Charge EVENT/ Min. toTime Total on off % MW Arc MWHR Weight DELAY Charge__________________________________________________________________________08:402.9 0.0 2.9 0 0.00 0.00 42.1 Fettle .sub.-- 0.008:468.6 5.7 0.0 66 20.83 5 L 1.98 0.0 Bore-in .sub.-- 7.808:479.2 0.0 0.6 61 0.00 1.98 0.0 Tap Change .sub.-- 7.808:54 16.8 7.6 0.0 79 20.83 1 L 4.62 0.0 Header .sub.-- 0.208:56 18.1 0.0 1.3 73 0.00 4.62 48.5 Recharge 1 .sub.-- 0.209:01 23.0 4.9 0.0 79 20.83 3 L 6.32 0.0 Bore-in .sub.-- 20.909:01 23.6 0.0 0.6 77 0.00 6.32 0.0 Tap Change .sub.-- 20.909:22 44.2 20.6 0.0 87 20.83 1 L 13.47 0.0 Melt .sub.-- 0.309:24 45.9 0.0 1.7 84 0.00 13.47 19.6 Recharge 2 .sub.-- 0.309:27 48.4 2.5 0.0 85 20.83 3 L 14.34 0.0 Bore-in .sub.-- 14.209:27 49.1 0.0 0.7 84 0.00 14.34 0.0 Tap Change .sub.-- 14.209:33 54.6 5.5 0.0 85 20.83 1 L 16.22 0.0 Melt .sub.-- 8.809:36 57.9 3.3 0.0 86 20.83 1 S 17.40 0.0 Melt .sub.-- 5.409:37 58.6 0.0 0.7 85 0.00 17.40 0.0 Tap Change .sub.-- 5.409:38 59.8 1.2 0.0 85 20.83 3 L 17.78 0.0 1st T 2200 F 4.309:41 62.3 2.5 0.0 86 20.83 3 L 18.68 0.0 Refine .sub.-- 1.709:41 63.0 0.0 0.7 85 0.00 18.68 0.0 .sub.-- 1.709:43 64.7 1.7 0.0 85 20.83 3 S 19.27 0.0 Refine .sub.-- 0.009:44 66.1 0.0 1.4 83 0.00 19.27 0.0 Tap T 2460 F 0.0__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 6__________________________________________________________________________** HEAT ELECTRICAL SUMMARY **Heat No.: 90001 Time: 09:44:57Tap/ Power On Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Arc Time Min. Secondary KA XOP S.F.Arc Min. Pct. KV MW MVAR MVA P.F. Floor Ctr. Pit Floor Ctr. Pit Avg. mOhm Pct.__________________________________________________________________________1 L 33.7 60.7 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 33.7 33.7 33.7 39.3 39.3 39.3 39.3 4.49 11.61 S 3.3 5.9 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 3.7 3.3 3.3 39.3 39.3 39.3 39.3 4.49 11.63 L 11.1 20.0 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 11.1 11.1 11.1 53.7 53.7 53.7 53.7 2.41 99.13 S 1.7 3.1 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 1.7 1.7 1.7 53.7 53.7 53.7 53.7 2.41 99.15 L 5.7 10.3 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 5.7 5.7 5.7 72.7 72.7 72.7 72.7 1.31 99.9 55.5 100.0 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 55.5 55.5 55.5 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 3.10 40.9__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 7__________________________________________________________________________** DAILY PRODUCTION SUMMARY **Date: 24-AUG-89 Time: 09:45:52Heat Tap Time - Minutes Tap to T.U. Ch'ge Tons/ Accum. KWHR/ Total Avg. Avg. Avg.No. Time Total on off Pw. on % Tons Hr. MWHR ChTon oxy. MW P.F. KA__________________________________________________________________________90000 08:38 68.7 56.8 11.9 3.8 82.7 55.0 48.0 19.72 358.6 9310 20.83 0.707 46.890001 09:45 66.1 55.5 10.6 2.9 84.0 55.1 50.0 19.27 349.7 4750 20.83 0.707 47.3N = 2 67.4 56.2 11.3 3.4 83.3 55.1 49.0 38.99 354.2 14060 20.83 0.707 47.0__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 8__________________________________________________________________________** DAILY ELECTRICAL SUMMARY **Date: 24-AUG-89 Time: 09:45:52Heat Power On Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Arc Time Min. Secondary KA XOPNo. Min. Pct. KV MW MVAR MVA P.F. Floor Ctr. Pit Floor Ctr. Pit Avg. mOhm__________________________________________________________________________90000 56.8 50.6 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 56.8 56.8 56.8 46.8 46.8 46.8 46.8 3.1790001 55.5 49.4 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 55.5 55.5 55.5 47.3 47.3 47.3 47.3 3.10N = 2 56.2 100.0 23.24 20.83 20.83 29.46 0.707 112.3 112.3 112.3 47.0 47.0 47.0 47.0 3.14__________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________** DAILY EVENT SUMMARY **Date: 24-AUG-89 Time: 09:45:52Heat: 90000 90001 Avg.______________________________________UNCLASSIFIED 0.6 0.7 0.7Fettle .sub.-- 0.0 2.9 1.5Header .sub.-- 7.3 7.6 7.5Bore-in .sub.-- 0.0 13.1 6.6Recharge 1 .sub.-- 1.9 1.3 1.6Recharge 2 .sub.-- 1.8 1.7 1.8Melt .sub.-- 31.6 29.4 30.5Refine .sub.-- 5.4 4.2 4.81st Temp. .sub.-- 1.0 1.2 1.1Tapping .sub.-- 1.1 1.4 1.3Tap Change .sub.-- 0.0 2.6 1.3Total: 50.7 66.1______________________________________
Referring now to the Tables 5-9, which are example reports generated by Microcomputer 22 to enable monitor and control of Arc Furnace System 10. In Table 5, a heat log is indicated. The system inserts a line into the log each time an "event" or "delay" occurs. An event may, as aforestated, be a change of state of the furnace, a delay created by a furnace problem, etc. As shown by the report of Table 5, at clock time 7:36 the first charge is added to the furnace. The charge which occurred 1.7 minutes into the heat had a weight of 100,000 pounds. The minutes to the next charge are calculated as 58.1 minutes.
The equation used to calculate the prediction of minutes to next charge is shown below: ##EQU3##
The furnace's total charge weight is multiplied by the number of kilowatt hours required per charge-ton. A further multiplier is the number of total megawatt hours expended so far during the run and the final multiplier is a scaling factor. The product of the numerator is then divided by the average megawatts, thus giving the predicted number of minutes to the next charge.
Returning to Table 5, it can be seen that at clock time 16:02 the melt cycle begins while at time 16:04 a new electrode is added. The process continues until the cycle is completed and the steel is removed from the furnace, at which point, a heat report and electrical summary report are generated showing all of the events during the heat, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Production, Electrical and Delay summary reports are then produced at the end of each shift, as outlined in Tables 7-9, which enable a supervisor to assess the efficiency of operation of the system. The screens and reports are designed to provide furnace operators with concise, non-technical, productivity information and electrical data, while documenting critical steel furnace operational information.
Another factor which has been developed in accordance with the present invention for controlling an arc furnace's operation is termed the Stability factor. That factor is calculated from the following expression: ##EQU4## wherein: ##EQU5##
The short circuit reactance in the Stability Factor equation is a constant quantity based on the design factors for each furnace and is derived by submerging the electrodes in the liquid steel and then recording the various electrical parameters used in the following equation: ##EQU6## Where: Megavars=measure primary reactive power;
Current=measured average
primary current
N=transformer voltage ratio
During the operation of an arc furnace, after an initial charge of scrap steel, erratic arcing occurs between the graphite electrodes and the steel. As the scrap steel liquifies, the arcs become more continuous and a slag layer forms on top of the liquid steel. The slag layer prevents energy from being radiated to the sidewalls of the furnace and confines the arc ionization in tunnels in the slag layer. The reactive component (MVAR) of the electrical current tends to vary erratically during the initial period, and the stabilizes as teh arc's becomes steadier and the slag depth increases.
The direct measurement of electrode current in electric arc furnaces has been found to be somewhat inaccurate and misleading due to generated electrical noise, harmonic distortion of the signals and magnetic field effects. Therefore, accurate results of Operating Reactance and Stability Factor computations cannot be derived from the measured electrode current throughout the cycle.
However, it has been discovered that by calculating the current from the following measured quantities on the utility side of the furnace transformer; Megavars, Megawatts, and voltages, results in accurate numbers which agree with theoretical computations under sinusoidial or non-distorted electrical signal conditions. This is due to the effect that the furnace transformer acts as a filter of electrical and magnetic noise. Therefore, the measured electrical signals on the primary or utility side of the furnace transformer have less distortion and represent sinusoidial conditions more accurately. Also, the metering on the primary side of the furnace transformer has a much higher accuracy class than the secondary or electrode side of the furnace.
The following equation is used in calculating electrode current: ##EQU7## where: MVA=(Megawatts 2 +Megavars 2 1/2)
Vprimary=Average measured primary phase-to phase voltage
N=Furnace Transformer Voltage Ratio
The Stability Factor may be used to control the furnace for both optimization of the electrical energy usage and maximizing the life of the furnace components. It is an indication of arc steadiness which is directly effected by the depth of the slag on the liquid steel. The steadier the arc, the higher the average power level and the greater the electrical efficiency. This is due to the arcs being submerged in the slag and the energy being directed into the steel bath rather than being radiated to the furnace walls. This also results in extending the life of the furnace components; such as refractory materials and furnace wall panels.
The optimum slag depth can be controlled by monitoring the Stability Factor. There is a balance point where by increasing the depth of the slag improves the furnace operating efficiency until a plateau is reached. At this point the Stability Factor (S.F.) percentage reaches a peak value. This value is a function of the furnace design, type of steel, and type of slag produced and changes for each point of the operating cycle. During the melting period, the S.F. is at a relatively low percentage, below 50% for example. During the refining period after the steel scrap has melted and is liquid, the S.F. increases to approximately 75%. A foamy slag period follows as the slag depth is increased, by the addition of oxygen and coal, the S.F. reaches an optimum point. The S.F. may peak at 85%, for example. At this time, the oxygen and coal injection systems are shut off to conserve on raw materials and stabilize the slag. If by change the electrodes are submerged into the liquid steel, which short circuits the arcs, the S.F would indicate 100%. The submersion of the electrodes is not a recommended nor desirable practice since it will alter the steel chemistry and should rarely occur. Therefore, the stability factor is an excellent control parameter for maintaining maximum furnace performance while lowering operating costs. The optimum level for the Stability Factor can be preestablished by earlier melts to provide an historical basis for controlling the operation at a given optimum level.
It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.
|
A method for on-line monitoring and/or control of an electric arc furnace utilizing a method of data transfer between a programmable logic controller and a microprocessor comprising monitoring data from the furnace over a fixed time cycle, assigning data values to the monitored data during such time cycle, dividing the fixed time cycle into a multiple of N time subintervals, dividing the data values into data subsets, assigning designated time subintervals to each of the data subsets, transmitting data to the microprocessor in each time subinterval to execute program code corresponding to the data subset in such time subinterval and calculating control factors from the transmitted data for providing control information.
| 8
|
RELATED PATENT DOCUMENT
A related document is another, coowned U.S. utility-patent document hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into this document. It is in the names of Joan Manel Garcia-Reyero et al., first filed as application Ser. No. 09/516,007, later converted to provisional 60/219,315, and then made to form a basis of a nonprovisional application Ser. No. 09/632,197, “IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATED AND SEMIAUTOMATED PRINTMASK GENERATION FOR INCREMENTAL PRINTING”, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,556—and several earlier documents cited therein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to novel machines, operating procedures, and combinations of business procedures therewith, for incremental printing of text or graphics on printing media such as paper, transparency stock, or other glossy media, and myriad specialized surfaces ranging from virtually unabsorbent of ink to extremely absorbent; and more particularly to distributive industrial arrangements for implementing an especially versatile mechanism that accommodates the absorbencies and other idiosyncratic properties of those specialized surfaces.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Modern improvements in management of patterning and grain—The Garcia invention mentioned above, together with previous related work, has brought to inkjet printing a remarkable, unprecedented degree of systematization and orderliness in the control of printmasking for suppression and balance of both patterning and random granularity. Those developments have created an opportunity for ready expansion of inkjet printing into many new applications that entail printing on a great variety of special-purpose printing media.
(b) The challenge of specialized print media—Such special purposes and their associated printing media may range from metal-foil-like materials, through bulk-matte synthetic papers, to extraordinarily porous fabrics or membranes. They are in fact so great in number that it is impractical for major manufacturers of inkjet printers—particularly large, printer/plotter-scale units suited for industrial use—to give adequate attention to the unique inking requirements of such diverse industrial materials.
Unfortunately for the resolution of this problem, conventional printing systems have factory-established fixed relationships between the data manipulations necessary to image rendition and the calorimetric tone hierarchies produced by actual ink on actual printing media. Such fixed relationships are essentially taken for granted in the industry.
Rendition calculations—particularly but not exclusively dither masking for commercial graphics, and error diffusion for photo-like and other continuous-tone images —are very well known in this field and extensively disclosed and discussed in dozens if not hundreds of patents on this subject. The later processing stage of printmasking is also very well elaborated in the patent and other literature, perhaps culminating in the Garcia innovations.
(c) Early partial responses to the challenge, and their limitations—Inkjet printers exhibit various approaches to accommodating diverse inking requirements. Common to substantially all these, however, is internal control, by the printer manufacturing company, over the above-mentioned relationships between rendition processing (and printmasking) and the tone hierarchies in the low-level output printing stage.
On one hand such control is extremely beneficial, because these relationships—while in most cases deceptively appearing simple and straightforward—are often inordinately demanding of attention from ink chemists, color scientists, and advanced programmers. The printer manufacturer's personnel may be best equipped to deal on a large scale with such problems.
On the other hand, many special printing materials are employed in relatively very specialized industries that cannot support more than a few large-format printers. Such industries may be popularly described as “niche” operations in that they cater to manufacturing or other industrial activities which are important in their own environments but virtually fit into mere small recesses in the overall industrial woodwork.
In such circumstances it becomes uneconomic for key personnel of an extremely large manufacturer to attend to such special needs on an individual basis. This problem is exacerbated by the relative ungainliness and large overhead associated with activities of a printer manufacturing firm.
(d) Advent of the nimble RIP—In recent years, the special needs and challenges of some of these niche applications have been undertaken, and very advantageously so, by companies that do not manufacture printers, or computers either—but rather manufacture a new kind of device known as a raster image processor. Such a special-purpose processor has most commonly taken the form of a physically separate, and separately manufactured and marketed, electronics module that takes on image-manipulating chores previously performed in the computer or printer, or both.
In many cases the processor justifies its existence simply by relieving the general-purpose computer of time-consuming massive computations, freeing that more versatile computer for a variety of other tasks more demanding of its general abilities. In other applications, however, the processor serves a higher purpose:
A relatively smaller company that manufactures raster image processors, by virtue of the greater economic and operational agility that goes with lesser size, is much better suited to address the science and engineering requirements of printing in a niche industry. Thus the processor company can be nimble enough to serve a need and make an attractive profit from operations that would be impractical for a printer company.
(e) Remaining limitations—Yet a partial obstacle to this solution remains. Conventionally, as mentioned above, the printer company—and the printer itself—provide to the outside world only a fixed relationship between rendition math and output tonal hierarchies.
This means that a processor company, having once determined that a special relationship is needed, must still beseech the printer company for installation of a custom ROM, or PROM, or in some cases an even more thoroughly buried functionality, that defines the rendition/output mapping. The last-mentioned situation may be typified by a need to circumvent a fixed operation built into an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) that is a sort of hypothalamus in the printer.
Although in most situations an identifiable module containing the necessary mapping function is actually present in the printer, yet the problem remains because that module is relatively inaccessible to the processor company. Furthermore its syntax may be incompletely plain to even skilled programming personnel of the processor company.
(f) Known distributive tonal-hierarchy schemes—Nevertheless the raster image processor (“RIP”) has earned a rightly established place in the inkjet printer industry, so much so that a current generation of some printer products includes a RIP that is essentially built in. This type of arrangement represents one new kind of partnering among business entities: in this case, for purposes of this document, the RIP manufacturer in practical effect (though not in legal effect) becomes a part of the printer company.
Here the RIP is very loosely an “internal RIP”. The two companies are termed “affiliated”.
Where a processor is instead sold separately, for purposes of this document the processor is called either simply a “processor” or an “external RIP”—and in practical effect the processor manufacturer does not become part of the printer company, and the two are termed “unaffiliated”. The processor may most typically be installed by the end-user, or alternatively by a representative of the processor company; merely for purposes of this document, such an arrangement is not termed “partnering”.
Both these kinds of distributive arrangements for managing tonal hierarchy have been classically known, at least in diverse industries, as “OEM” or “original-equipment manufacturer” situations. In some industries, only one or the other would be regarded as truly OEM.
(g) Conclusion—This discussion has focused upon limitations in the ability of both a printer company and a processor company—either one acting alone—to fully deal with needs of specialized printing applications. These limitations continue to impede achievement of uniformly excellent inkjet printing in greatly diverse industries. Thus important aspects of the technology used in the field of the invention are amenable to useful and important refinement.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention introduces such refinement. In part it does so by introducing new kinds of partnering among unaffiliated business entities; and in part it does so through a new kind of printer interface that accepts an externally defined drop table for converting plural-bit data from the end of a data pipeline to a specific number of dots per pixel.
In preferred embodiments of its first major independent facet or aspect, the invention is a printing system for printing an image based upon input image data. (The image data is not itself an element of the invention, but is rather a part of the environment or context of the invention.)
The system includes a printer manufactured by a printer company. Throughout this document the phrase “printer company” represents a complex of concepts including a company which manufactures printers; or one or more companies which affiliate or contract together to do so—in such a fashion that the finished printer can be sold as a unit by one or more of the companies.
The printer may (it does not necessarily) include a raster image processor (“RIP”), which if present may for example be (but is not necessarily) within the printer. For purposes of general verbal shorthand, such a RIP will be called very loosely an “internal RIP”. As will be seen, it might equally well or better be called a “printer-company-&-affiliates RIP”.
Thus for example the phrase “printer company” encompasses a business collaboration or consortium that includes a company which programs and/or makes a RIP for sale with the printer, together as a unit. Again, such an “internal RIP”—if present at all—may be but is not necessarily within the printer.
The printer has a native resolution. The system also includes a raster image processor that is manufactured and programmed by one or more processor companies, different from the printer company.
Also throughout this document this phrase “processor companies, different from the printer company” means companies that do not collaborate as described above to furnish a RIP which is sold as a unit with the printer. As a verbal shorthand, this processor will be called simply “the processor”. Unlike the internal RIP described above, the processor is a necessary part of this first aspect of the invention.
Usually, but not necessarily, the processor under discussion here—in contrast to the RIP introduced earlier—is external to the printer. The processor therefore may also be called very loosely an “external RIP”.
Thus the system may include an “internal RIP” provided by the printer company with affiliates; and does include “the processor”, which is an “external RIP” provided by a third party—i.e. not the printer company/affiliates and not the end-purchaser/user, but a third party or plural such parties. This unit thus might equally well or better be called a “third-party RIP”.
Central to the present invention is the idea that the processor companies are third-party vendors, not affiliates of the printer company but rather independent entities selling their RIP products directly to end-users or directly to retail outlets—separately from, but for use with, the printer. This characteristic considered alone is neither novel nor unique, but is so when considered together in conjunction with other elements of the combination described here. In addition to being novel and unique, this characteristic within the present combination is an extremely powerful and useful feature as will shortly be seen.
The processor processes such image data and transmits processed image data to the printer. The word “such” is used here in place of “the” or “said” to flag the image data, again, as not an element of the invention but rather something most typically provided by the end-user.
Also included in the system is a two-bit data pipeline carrying such in-process data through at least part of the processor. The concept of a data pipeline is well known to people who have ordinary skill in this field; and the phrase “two-bit” indicates literally that the data pipeline carries two individual binary bits of independent digital data for each picture-element (pixel) position in the corresponding image.
As is well known, two data bits may assume any of these four conditions:
first second bit bit 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1.
Considered together, each of these bit pairs of course forms a two-bit binary number whose values can be written, in binary, as “00”, “01”, “10” and “11”. It is equally well known that these four binary values correspond to decimal “0”, “1”, “2” and “3” resectively.
The system also includes a drop table for converting such data from the pipeline to the native resolution of the printer. The phrase “drop table” refers to drops—or resulting individual dots—of colorant, such as ink, respectively projected toward or formed on a printing medium, to construct the image.
The table is established by the previously mentioned “one or more processor companies different from the printer company”. The table has an output dot-per-pixel structure that differs from the data structure within the pipeline.
The foregoing may represent a description or definition of the first aspect or facet of the invention in its broadest or most general form. Even as couched in these broad terms, however, it can be seen that this facet of the invention importantly advances the art.
In particular, although the processor or “external RIP” is designed, manufactured, programmed and sold separately from the printer—and although the printer is not specifically manufactured to print using any arbitrary output dot-per-pixel structure that may be favored by the designers, manufacturers and/or programmers of the processor or “external RIP”—nevertheless the printer drop table can in fact be used to cause the printer to print using any such arbitrarily favored output dot-per-pixel structure.
What this means is that the two-bit pipeline and drop table, in combination with the independent business arrangements described above, provide a remarkably potent tool for benefitting consumers while encouraging competitive, creative and constructive behavior on the part of processor companies. This benefit derives from enablement, by the data-structure conversion in the drop table, of an enormously broad range of data-interpretive capabilities.
In particular this beneficial arm's-length relationship facilitates and encourages a healthy and beneficial competition between the processor companies and the printer company. As noted above, the printer company may provide its own—or an affiliate's own—RIP which may even be internal to the printer, and this “internal RIP” may perform functions closely analogous to those of the processor companies.
As a practical matter the printer company may also supply the necessary syntax, parametric information etc. in an instruction manual to essentially any qualified processor company that wishes to have them. Thus the invention provides in effect a collegial challenge to the processor companies. It opens the door, in an ingenious fashion, to external control of the detailed printing modes of the printer—and thereby to original thinking about ways to control the printer.
Although the first major aspect of the invention thus significantly advances the art, nevertheless to optimize enjoyment of its benefits preferably the invention is practiced in conjunction with certain additional features or characteristics. In particular, preferably the table is configured by instructions held or generated in the raster image processor; in this case, a subpreference is that the table reside within the printer.
Another main preference is that the system further include, in the processor, precooked printmask information and procedures; and in the printer, popup printmask information and procedures for refining precooked mask information from the processor. In this case a subpreference is that the precooked and popup printmask information and procedures include nozzle-out error hiding; and also have a format that expressly defines which pass prints each pixel (as distinguished from provision of a discrete binary mask for each pass).
Another main preference, actually a set of alternative preferences, is that the table output dot-per-pixel structure is mapped to the data structure within the pipeline substantially as shown in any of the alternative “dots/pixel out” columns:
within dots/pixel out pipeline option 1 option 2 option 3 option 4 option 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 2 3 5 1 1 1 2 4 8 12
Although the system may as readily be configured to produce the binary-value identity relationship tabulated earlier, it will be understood that such a structure confers little benefit that cannot be achieved without the drop table, and is accordingly relatively trivial here.
Yet another main preference is that the system further include a computer for receiving or generating such image data, and transmitting such data to the processor. In this case, some subsidiary preferences are that:
the computer also be for preprocessing such received or generated image data, preparatory to transmitting to the processor; in event the image is a color image, the system also include a monitor, associated with the computer, for viewing the image; and either the processor or the computer include at least part of a stage (i.e. a processing stage) for reconciling colors viewed at the monitor with colors to be printed at the printer.
In preferred embodiments of its second major independent facet or aspect, the invention is a method of providing a system for printing an image based on data. The printing is performed using a printer that is manufactured by a printer company, and has a native resolution.
As to this second aspect of the invention, and particularly for purposes of the appended claims, provision of the printer is not a step of the inventive method as most broadly conceived. Rather, the printer is assumed to exist, and its provision is a step that is an element of the context or environment of the invention.
(Thus the printer provision, in this method aspect of the invention, is somewhat analogous to the image data in the system aspect described earlier. The data and printer and the printer company—not being steps at all—are, for purposes of this method aspect, deemed elements of neither the invention nor its environment.)
The inventive method does include the step of manufacture and of programming—by one or more companies different from the printer company—of a raster image processor. The processor is for processing such data and transmitting the processed data to the printer.
Another step of the method is provision, by those “one or more companies”, of a portion of a two-bit data pipeline carrying the in-process data through at least a part of the processor. Yet another step is establishment, by the one or more companies, of a drop table for converting the data from the pipeline to the native resolution. The table has an output dot-per-pixel structure that differs from data structure within the pipeline.
The foregoing may represent a description or definition of the second aspect or facet of the invention in its broadest or most general form. Even as couched in these broad terms, however, it can be seen that this facet of the invention importantly advances the art.
In particular, this method represents a portion of the effort involved in fabricating the system described above as the first aspect of the invention. Hence the benefits of that system are attributable as well to the present method invention.
All the steps of this method, as most broadly conceived, are performed by the processor companies. Their performance of these particular steps thus is the method covered by the corresponding ones of the appended claims; however, of course a processor company that performs these steps with respect to a printer owned by the owner of the present document is deemed to have an implied license hereunder.
Although the second major aspect of the invention thus significantly advances the art, nevertheless to optimize enjoyment of its benefits preferably the invention is practiced in conjunction with certain additional features or characteristics. In particular, preferably the method further includes manufacture, by the printer company, of the printer.
That is to say, whereas the method as most broadly conceived excludes fabrication of the printer, the method as here preferred includes that step. By definition, however, this preferred method can be performed only by two different business entities that are in substance mutually unaffiliated (as described earlier in discussion of the first aspect of the invention).
The definition of this preference is stated here to clarify conditions involved in enforcement of the corresponding appended claims. In other words, this patent document is potentially enforceable against a pair of mutually unaffiliated business entities that respectively perform the two complementary parts of the method.
Another basic preference is that the method also include interconnection of the processor and printer by an end-user independent of said companies. Thus again this method can be performed only by a processor company and such an unaffiliated end-user, if they respectively perform the complementary parts of this compound method.
In this case, a subpreference is that the method also include provision of a computer for preprocessing the data and furnishing the preprocessed data to the processor; and interconnection of the computer and processor. The latter step too is performed by the independent end-user.
In preferred embodiments of its third major independent facet or aspect, the invention is a method of providing a system for printing an image based on data. The system uses a raster image processor manufactured and programmed by one or more processor companies.
The processor has a portion of a two-bit data pipeline carrying the data through at least part of the processor. The processor also generates or holding instructions for configuring a printer drop table.
The preceding two introductory paragraphs establish the context for the method of the third aspect of the invention. This method as most broadly conceived thus excludes the portion of overall system fabrication and programming that is performed by the processor company or companies. The method itself is introduced below.
The method includes the step of manufacture and programming, by a printer company—different from the processor company or companies—of a printer for receiving the image data from the processor. The printer has a native resolution.
The method also includes the step of establishment, by the printer company, of a drop table within the printer. The table is for converting the data from the pipeline into the native resolution of the printer.
The table has an output dot-per-pixel structure that differs from data structure within the pipeline. The table is configured by the instructions.
The foregoing may represent a description or definition of the third aspect or facet of the invention in its broadest or most general form. Even as couched in these broad terms, however, it can be seen that this facet of the invention importantly advances the art.
In particular, this third aspect of the invention is complementary to the second aspect described earlier. That is, whereas the second aspect of the invention represents the portions of an overall printer-plus-processor system fabrication that are performed by the processor company or companies, this third aspect represents the portions performed by the printer company and affiliates. Hence this third aspect too advances the same benefits described earlier for the first, system aspect of the invention.
Although the third major aspect of the invention thus significantly advances the art, nevertheless to optimize enjoyment of its benefits preferably the invention is practiced in conjunction with certain additional features or characteristics. In particular, preferably the method also includes the step of manufacture and programming, by the one or more processor companies, of the processor.
Again, as a mirror image of the first preference described above for the second aspect of the invention, this present preference represents the combination of all system fabrication steps performed by both parties or groups of parties. (In fact it is thus substantially identical in scope to that first preference of the second aspect).
In this case a subpreference is that the method also include interconnection of the processor and printer by an end-user independent of the companies. To the overall fabrication, this step thus adds assembly.
Another basic preference is that the method also include the steps of providing a computer for preprocessing the data and furnishing the preprocessed data to the processor; and interconnecting the computer and processor. Both these steps are performed by the independent end-user.
In preferred embodiments of its fourth major independent facet or aspect, the invention is a printer for printing an image, based on input image data. The printer includes a plural-bit data pipeline capable of processing such data at more than one bit per pixel.
The printer also includes an interface for accepting an externally defined drop table. The table converts plural-bit data from the end of the pipeline to a specific number of dots per pixel, preparatory to printing. The number of dots per pixel defined by the table may be substantially any integral value (i.e. a number that is an integer).
The foregoing may represent a description or definition of the fourth aspect or facet of the invention in its broadest or most general form. Even as couched in these broad terms, however, it can be seen that this facet of the invention importantly advances the art.
In particular, the drop table enables externally controlled configuration of a customized, specialized relationship between the standardized data structure within the pipeline and an essentially arbitrary hierarchy of printable tonal-value states. Such versatility in the hierarchy of tone states is extremely valuable in accommodating unusual requirements of special-purpose print media.
Because the drop table is externally defined, this customized relationship can be imposed upon printer operations—and can be changed at will—at any time even long after the printer itself is made. Therefore the printer system is enabled to serve needs of special print media that do not yet exist when the printer is designed and manufactured, as well as many niche media products that are known when the printer is made—but may not be sufficiently widespread in use to justify specific tonal-hierarchy design by the printer company.
Although the fourth major aspect of the invention thus significantly advances the art, nevertheless to optimize enjoyment of its benefits preferably the invention is practiced in conjunction with certain additional features or characteristics. In particular, preferably the interface also accepts, in addition to the table:
plural-bit image data from the end of the pipeline, and a specification of a printmode defining how such data should be printed.
In this case the number of dots per pixel defined by the table may be substantially any integral value less than or equal to a number of passes defined by the printmode.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of a system according to the invention, also effectively illustrating the interwoven business arrangements of the invention—and particularly including not only the processor (or “external RIP”) that is integral to the invention but also another, optional “internal RIP”;
FIG. 2 is an analogous diagram but at a somewhat higher conceptual level and representing in a different perspective some of the functions of the assembled system;
FIG. 3 is a drop table illustrating a conventional, common binary relationship or mapping between a two-bit data structure and a two-pixel (actually two-subpixel) dot allocation or tonal hierarchy;
FIG. 4 is a like drop table comparing:
the FIG. 2 relationship—again, common binary, at resolution of 50×25 dots/mm (1200×600 dpi)—tabulated in units of dots or drops per unit cell at 25×25 dots/mm (600×600 dpi), with a much more highly generalized or abstract data-to-dot mapping (in this document familiarly called “true two-bit” and implemented at 25×25 dots/mm) that is a feature of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram, with coordinated tabulation, illustrating the stages of a data-pipeline portion of the FIG. 1 system;
FIG. 6 is a table illustrating several specific data/dot mappings within the generalized FIG. 3 mapping;
FIG. 7 is a drop table illustrating superpixel definition for last-stage expression of a four-bit error-diffusion system;
FIG. 8 is a like table but showing superpixel definition in so-called “superpixel families”, for four different permutations (identified as “0” through “3”) of a four-bit system;
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating use of a so-called “expansion matrix” for conversion from error-diffusion state to superpixel assignment (in an example converting from 12 dots/mm and three bits, to 25 dots/mm and two bits);
FIG. 10 is a table illustrating a four-permutation superpixel definition (at 25×25 dots/mm);
FIG. 11 is a group of four coordinated graphs, of which the first (upper) pair of graphs relates halftone value to “contone” (continuous tone) color tonal level, for a single-bit binary system and a two-bit system — and so illustrate a conceptual extrapolation of error diffussion from binary to multibit; and of which the second (lower) pair of graphs represents the contone functions themselves — i. e., illustrates application of linearization curves and thresholds to multilevel error diffusion;
FIG. 12 is a like set of graphs augmented by two additional, coordinated ones representing the contone functions themselves—they illustrate application of linearization curves and thresholds to multilevel error diffusion;
FIG. 13 is a diagram like FIG. 4 but for the FIG. 1 ink-limiting and plane-split stages (particularly representing acquisition of the “factor” described in the associated text); and
FIG. 14 is a highly schematic diagram showing cyan (C) and magenta (M) separation in the FIG. 13 limiting and split stages.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
1. Apparatus-module and Business-entity Interrelations
Preferred apparatus embodiments of the invention involve three major modules 113 , 121 E, 141 (FIG. 1 ), one of which can include an optional internal module 121 N. Of these four units, two are parts of the environment of the invention, not elements of the invention itself as most broadly regarded: a computer 113 and an internal RIP 121 N.
The remaining two units are elements of at least some of the previously introduced major apparatus aspects of the invention, again as most broadly conceived. These are the printer 141 (excluding its internal RIP 121 N) and the processor or external RIP 121 E. In addition, provision of one or the other of these two units 141 , 121 E is an element of at least one of the major method aspects of the invention.
Essential to the objectives of any such system or method is existence of an image 111 , which may be derived from a separate source and then pass through an entry mechanism 112 into the computer 113 (as suggested in FIG. 1 ). There an image is most typically subject to modification in a general-purpose microprocessor 114 , 119 E that supports manually controlled image manipulations, using e. g. a mouse or keyboard (or both) 116 —and guided by observation of the emerging image on a monitor 115 that is part of the computer.
Alternatively the image may be developed as original art within the computer 113 , using the manual input device or devices 116 . In either event the operator may perform any of a great variety of operations on the image.
Such operations usually range from near-mechanical processes such as cropping the image and scaling the resolution, through classical optical adjustments of brightness and contrast, to color transformations such as rotating the hue (in a polar-coordinate color space) and many other sophisticated effects. In addition the computer may be directed to perform certain automatic or semiautomatic operations such as correction 119 E of output signals to reconcile—to the extent possible—known gamut divergences between the computer 113 and printer 141 .
This latter color-correction module when within the computer 113 is typically intended to feed certain color paths that may lack their own such capability. This is true, for instance, of a route commercially known (for certain HP products) as a “Sleek” path 123 to the external processor 121 E.
Such a lack, however, is not a necessary feature to use of the color-correction block in the computer. Thus the hybrid “Turbo” path 151 feeds into the optional internal RIP 121 N even though the latter does have its own color-reconciliation block 119 N—since this block in the internal RIP may lack sophistication needed for certain image or media characteristics.
The Turbo route 151 has been here denominated a hybrid, only because it follows neither the purely external-RIP (“processor”) strategy nor the purely internal-RIP strategy. The Sleek path 123 , by comparison, is dedicated exclusively to the processor (external RIP) 121 E.
The Sleek path 123 is so named because (as will be seen) what enters the printer box 141 along that path—at its downstream end—as the diagram demonstrates is more nearly ready to print, requiring little processing by comparison. What enters the printer 141 via the Turbo path 151 and other paths 117 , 118 instead remains to be processed extensively, although the Turbo route 151 requires much less processing within the printer 141 than information in the other paths 117 , 118 .
One reason for the difference in amount of processing required is that, in Hewlett Packard's implementations of such systems to-date, both the Sleek and Turbo routes 123 , 151 are devoted to bitmap (or so-called “raster”) operation. This characteristic is to be distinguished from the two language-based routes 117 , 118 based respectively on Hewlett Packard Graphics Language 2® (“HPGL2”®) and on the Adobe PostScript® language—which are instead dedicated to vector-graphics processing.
As is well known in this field, extensive very elaborate interpretation is required to print from image data supplied in the usually more-compact vector form. In fact such data must be expressed in bitmap form.
If the data are in bitmap form initially, naturally they are much more nearly ready to instruct the printer final-output stage on a pixel-by-pixel basis as required.
As will be seen shortly, however, certain processing that is key to the present invention does remain downstream in all of these processing routes.
The processor 121 E and the internal RIP 121 N each do typically have their own ink-limiting and plane-split modules 126 E, 127 E—and 126 N, 127 N—respectively. In these blocks ink depletion is calculated to avoid excess ink deposition, and the cyan and magenta color planes are each split into two (light and dark, for each) in preparation for plane-by-plane rendition 128 E, 128 N.
This rendition may be conventionally performed for continuous-tone photo-like images by error diffusion as shown, or for commercial graphics and the like by dithering. Some other systems instead perform rendition in three-color space.
Three-color rendition may be accomplished, merely by way of example, either by dithering on a color vector as described in a coowned patent of Alexander Perumal and Paul Dillinger, or on a device-state basis through pre-calculated error-diffusion lookup tables as in another co-owned patent of Francis Bockman and Guo Li—or in other ways. The present invention is by no means limited to any particular rendition methodology. In the case of three-color rendition, the plane-split module 127 E or 127 N and the rendition block 128 E or 128 N are reversed in sequence.
At their downstream ends, all four data paths 117 , 118 , 151 , 123 converge via an interface block 136 that simply provides major alternative data buses 134 N, 134 E leading to a common bus 134 . This common bus passes the rendered data to a printmasking stage 144 , which preferably but not necessarily adheres to the “reheated mask” paradigm introduced in the previously mentioned document of Garcia.
When the Garcia principles are observed, the mask is most typically initiated as a “precook masking” kernel 131 N, 131 E in the respective RIP. The kernel is passed at 133 N or 133 E respectively and then a common path 133 to the mask-reheating stage 143 —which is custom-configured by nozzle-health data 142 .
The latter information is derived automatically, based upon actual test-pattern measurement feedback 147 from the printer output stage 146 . The nozzle data 142 are made to modify the mask kernel pseudorandomly.
More specifically, this is done in such a way as to approximately minimize adverse banding effects due to imperfect nozzle performance—but subject to balance against adverse granularity effects that can arise in highly randomized masking. All this is set forth at length in the Garcia document.
Now stepping back from the operational blocks it can be seen in the overview that the input image 111 ordinarily has an inherent or native resolution—as indicated along the bottom edge of the drawing. This resolution may be subject to cautious definition in the case of vector data, but nevertheless at least conceptually does exist.
In general, a different processing resolution prevails in the computer 113 , and in those of the processor 121 E or internal-RIP 121 N stages which precede the ink-limiting stage 126 N or 126 E. In the drawing this fact is suggested by markings along top and bottom edges, referring to host processing resolution in the internal and external paths respectively.
A third processing “resolution”—actually a resolution analog but not truly a resolution, rather only an abstract so-called “bit depth”—is used in the portions of the system that begin with the ink-limiting 126 N, 126 E and end just within the reheated-mask stage 144 . The bit depth is simply the number of bits per pixel.
This resolution analog, again in general (though not necessarily), is different from the resolution in the previous two stages. Specifically, the bit depth in these portions of the data transmission system or pipeline typically receives eight bits into the plane-split block 127 N, 127 E. The halftoning block 128 N, 128 E reduces that from eight to usually and preferably two—but in some cases four.
Superpixeling carries the output to most preferably two data bits. A greater number of bits is possible, within the scope of certain of the appended claims. The highest and best use of the principles of the invention, however, is believed to be realized when the number of bits is two.
Thus, even though a more-accurately broader perception of the invention calls for speaking of “plural” data bits, in this document the data transmission system from either ink-limiting block 126 N, 126 E into reheated-mask block 144 is familiarly called the “two-bit pipeline”.
Finally the operating resolution is yet again in general (and most usually, though not necessarily) different in the final downstream operations. These begin just inside the reheated-mask module 144 and continue through the printer output stage 146 and onto the output hardcopy.
Myriad details of the printer output stage 146 and its transfer of image content onto a printing medium are shown and discussed in the Garcia document and its cited precursors, all wholly incorporated into the present document. It would be cumulative to repeat such a mass of description here.
The resolution in the printer output stage 146 —and in portions of the reheated-mask stage 144 that follow a certain transition point—is marked at bottom of the diagram as the “native printer resolution”. The transition point itself is in essence the drop-table conversion module 145 —a memory location, within the printer, that accepts data constituting a drop table.
That module 145 thereby, as mentioned earlier, performs a translation or mapping of data states within the two-bit pipeline 126 - 135 into a hierarchy of tonal states (or, equivalently, drop-placement patterns) in the output stage 146 . It thus maps the two-bit (or other plural) data of the pipeline into the native printer resolution.
In order for the drop-table conversion 145 to function, a conversion rule must in fact be explicitly specified. In other words, some desired mapping must reside in the drop table block 145 explicitly.
In most or all earlier systems this mapping has been in effect taken for granted, by virtue of being embedded (usually deeply) in fundamental, low-level system design. In the present invention, however, instead the mapping is expressly reserved for control either by engineering change or by aftermarket enterprise—as seen respectively in the “printmode definition” modules 132 N, 132 E of the internal RIP 121 N and processor 121 E.
Thus these definition blocks 132 N, 132 E supply information by converging data paths 135 N, 135 E and then a common path 135 for storage within the drop table. In this way, configuring of the drop table 145 —very close to the intrinsic core of the printer data-structure configuration—as well as mask reheating 143 is directly controlled by engineering redirection or aftermarket creativity manifested in the kernel and definitional blocks 131 N, 132 N and 131 E, 132 E respectively.
These functions are shown with a somewhat different, functional emphasis in FIG. 2 , which is believed to be self explanatory. The net effect is an invitation to processor vendors:
provide a 25 dot/mm, 2 bit/pixel, six-color plot file, define a printmode including a precooked mask and drop table, and the printer will print your plot— in such a way that each of the four states represented by the two bits per pixel and color may correspond to any combination of drops that you like, up to (at least) the number of passes that you define in the printmode.
The vendor has full control of the number of drops assigned to each state within the pipeline—although as a practical matter the first state, zero, is very preferably translated as zero, i.e. maintained without modification.
All of this redounds positively to the benefit of the end-user, who has a wide range of RIPs available for the printer. In particular the internal one has some clear advantages (ease of use, self-contained, well-tuned) and the external one having others (flexibility, job management, control over color profiles).
Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to three features that have now been described with reference to FIG. 1 . One of these features is the provision of a masking kernel 131 N, 131 E, fed to the mask-reheat function 143 in the printer 141 proper (i.e. not in the internal RIP 121 N).
A second of these features is configuring of the data-structure conversion by the definitional data 132 N, 132 E, analogously fed to the drop table 145 also in the printer proper.
In particular when the kernel or definitional data, or preferably both, reside in the processor 121 E—the external RIP—at least one very deeply intrinsic performance parameter is, abruptly, controlled directly by manufacturing or programming personnel who are entirely outside the printer design and manufacturing functions.
Thus it is necessary to call special attention to the third and perhaps most subtle of the three features, since it may otherwise pass unrecognized even though in a sense it may be the most extraordinary and striking. The very conversion of data at a fundamental structural level, from processing data to printer data, is controlled distributively as between two business entities that are by definition unaffiliated:
the printer company, which is responsible for everything in block 141 except the contents of the drop table 145 and the starting point for operation of the masking function 143 , 144 ; and the processor company, responsible for the processor 121 E and thereby the contents of the drop table and the kernel for reheating.
Thus the invention permits the processor company to reach directly into the heart of the printer operation and control its pulse there.
2. Mode of Control; the “True 2-Bit Pipeline”
This invention represents upgrades and refinements to a multilevel pipeline originally developed in the Hewlett Packard organization for a 50×25 dots/mm (1200×600 dpi), binary swath format—to 25×25 dots/mm (600×600 dpi), 2 bit/pixel swath format. This means that the system can address a plural number of drops onto a single cell, and that it is possible to choose among four different number of drops to print on each cell.
Although the same functionality can be achieved through other means in other HP products, a great advantage of the described method is that it can be fully configurable from external files—which can be created by HP engineers, third-party media vendors or even external software RIP vendors—thus allowing different numbers of drops per pixel, depending on the ink and media types to be used.
Other printers usually provide dedicated code depending on the total number of drops to printed at each pixel. Halftoning and printmask generation processes must generally be tuned for each special circumstance.
The present invention, familiarly called the “True 2-Bit Pipeline”, has as its main objective extraction of the greatest possible benefit from the two bits that are assigned to a 25×25 /mm cell at the printing stage. This is accomplished in part by reserving until the far end of the pipeline the functional decision of how many bits to print on each pixel.
Further, the decision itself is configurable through the printmode definition—but more remarkably through a programming language called “Var-Ware Plus”, which HP provides in a fully documented package for use by RIP vendors. The printer thereby implements a function that uniquely, on a one-to-one basis, relates the already-halftoned value for each pixel to the number of drops that are going to be fired. This function as discussed earlier is manifested in the drop table.
An advantage of the True 2-Bit pipeline is that it allows optimizing the pipeline for maximum image quality, and maximum robustness to banding—and in the future other optimizations. These benefits can be permitted only by a multilevel, plural-bit pipeline, and two bits appear to represent a best-tradeoff compromise for flexibility, robustness and image quality.
One bit per pixel does not provide room for robustness: while it does uniquely aim for maximum image quality, it is very susceptible to banding. On the other hand, printing more than two bits per pixel (or allowing more than four different drop counts per pixel) may be a form of overkill that nevertheless provides no improvement in granularity.
As an example, printing at 50×25 dot/mm, two bits, can provide very similar color depth and less granularity than 25×25, four bits—while still handling the same amount of data. On the other hand, printing at 50×50, one bit, will yield best possible granularity, but will be much more susceptible to banding, and will show more variability from plot to plot.
Finally, the True 2-Bit pipeline is consistently linked to printmask generation techniques (particularly the Shakes regimen of Garcia), which automatically adapt to the drop table that has been defined for that particular plot. Actually, the same precooked mask can be used, regardless of the maximum number of drops that we define for a printmode.
It is in the “cooking” (or “reheating”) stage that the drop-table information is taken into account. The word “true” is used to symbolize the generality of the system—i.e., that the system can implement any desired structure of four different drop counts—although it is very highly preferable that the first one always be zero.
Examples include [0, 1, 1, 2], [0, 1, 2, 4], [0, 1, 3, 8], etc., and for backward compatibility even [0, 1, 1, 1]. In contrast, without the drop table the four states transmitted from the dithering (and superpixeling) stage would uniquely mean [0, 1, 2, 3] drops.
The True 2-Bit Pipeline can be conceptualized as part of a parallel process. On one side, the image to be printed is processed, and on the other the printmasks are prepared for that specific point in time, taking printhead nozzle health into account as described earlier. The present document relates to the former aspect, while the latter is disclosed in the earlier Garcia document and other sources which it cites.
3. Development History
This pipeline is one of HP's first to provide plural-bit error diffusion and multilevel printing.
A preliminary basic product definition specified 50×25 dots/mm. This specification made two bits available for each cell considered at the coarser resolution of 25×25 dots/mm—i.e. one bit for each of two drops that would be printed at 50×25—and these two bits allowed encoding of the information in the table of FIG. 3 .
Rendering at 50×25 dots/mm, however, is very seldom done. For best use of existing refined subsystems, it was desirable to render at 25×25, two bits per pixel, and then for printing reorganize the data into 50×25. It was decided to enable both 50×25 and 25×25, at two bits.
For halftoning, a particular goal is to deliver printing data at 25×25 dots/mm and two bits per pixel. Another objective is an ability to print continuously—which can be accomplished by rendering one plot at the same throughput with which it is later printed, so that the printer can print one job and render another one in parallel.
To do so in productivity and economy modes, it is necessary to halftone at a lower resolution. That is, if the system rendered to 12×12 dots/mm and halftoned at that resolution, throughput would be accelerated by a factor of four—but with a resulting problem, namely the evident loss in resolution.
For an imaging product as distinguished from a vector-drawing product, resolution usually or almost always is less important than maintaining color depth. That is, the system must be able to distinguish among a sufficient number of tonal levels within each cell—and, if this constraint is observed, then a halftoned image at 12×12 dots/mm and three bits per pixel may not show a significant degradation in image quality as compared with 25×25, two bits.
The situation was different for earlier one-bit (pure binary) printers, in which 12×12 dots/mm was significantly worse than 25×25. In order to adapt the 12×12 three-bit format into the 25×25 two-bit that the printing pipeline expects, the superpixel concept was introduced.
Superpixeling expands the resolution of the printed image, from whatever has been delivered by the halftoning algorithms to the 25×25 and two bits required by the printing pipeline. At the same time, the bit depth is decreased.
An additional consideration is the desirability of upgrading a system from four to six printheads. Such enhancement requires the capability to split the cyan (C) and magenta (M) planes into a total of four: dark and light cyan (C and c), and dark and light magenta (M and m) —and at the same time ink limiting must be considered. In preferred embodiments, this process has been implemented upstream from the halftoning stage.
4. The Abstraction of the “True” 2-Bit Pipe
In addition to all the above-introduced considerations, a further advantage of the two bits per pixel can also be taken if they are not associated with any particular way of printing. This abstract concept is represented in the table of FIG. 4 .
As there shown, the four different two-bit combinations can be used to configure four different states, when the number of drops per 25×25 dot/mm cell is considered. Advantageously and very preferably, although in purest principle not necessarily, the only restrictions at this abstract level are that (1) the first level actually translate into zero, and (2) the number of drops at the four levels in sequence form a monotonic pattern:
0≦A≦B≦C.
This “true 2-bit pipeline” concept represents a very useful and surprisingly powerful abstraction. In this system all the data are processed in abstract terms—purely bits and states. Only at the very end of the process does the system then impose the correspondence between states and number of drops (FIG. 5 ).
The remainder of this discussion explores the illustrated system. It has been found that greater clarity dictates arranging the explanation in reverse order of the sequence of modules—i.e. from back to front. As will be seen, each downstream block naturally demands a certain input format, and these demands in turn provide a natural explanation for the structure of the previous block.
5. The Drop Table
At this near-final stage, the image is almost ready to print. The printing mechanism output stage is in essence like various other printer heads on a scanning carriage: in a plural-pass printmode, it passes a certain number of times over every row of pixels.
If the system is using a printmode having a number N of passes, then it has N chances to print a drop on each pixel. Unlike other HP inkjet printers, however, this system can take advantage of these N chances repeatedly—and thereby can print more than one drop per pixel.
The masking pipeline disclosed in earlier Garcia documents, along with the true 2-bit pipeline introduced here, provides a solution for printing any number of drops per pixel. In preferred embodiments, now at this more practical level, an additional restriction is desirable—namely, that the maximum number of drops, C, be equal or smaller than the number of passes, N.
With this in mind, one very important decision is how many drops of each primary color to use. Because the system is a “true 2-bit pipeline”, the drop table can be designed like any of examples in the table of FIG. 6 .
The table gives meaning to the superpixel definition that will be chosen.
6. Superpixeling
Next proceeding upstream or “backward” from the drop table, in FIG. 5 : superpixeling is the last stage of the halftoning pipeline. The superpixels are basically intended to interface from any resolution that comes from the error-diffusion process, into the 25×25 dots/mm, 2 bits/pixel, that will feed into the final output-stage print engine.
Superpixels are defined for resolution values of 6, 12 and 25 dots/mm (150, 300 and 600 dpi). The 25 to 25 dot/mm conversion is essentially an identity, while discussion of the 6 to 25 dot/mm conversion begins to be confusing.
Therefore this discussion will first examine the 12 to 25 dot/mm case, as the best example to use. The 25 to 25 dot/mm case will also be presented later.
A first consideration is what drop table is in use. If it is [0 1 1 2], which is a preferred default table in a present product, then in this case, we have four possible inputs—in other words, independent-variable values —to the table (0, 1, 2 and 3) but “1” and “2” both translate into the same output: they both correspond to 1 drop.
Therefore, input state “2” will be unused in the superpixel definitions. The superpixels from 12 to 25 dots/mm represent that, for any given code that applies to a 12×12 dot/mm cell, codes to the corresponding four 25×25 dot/mm cells must be assigned.
Because it has been decided to print a maximum of two drops per 25×25 dot/mm cell, we can only find a maximum of eight drops per 12×12 dot/mm cell. Error diffusion delivers 12×12 dots/mm, four bits (therefore, sixteen states), but only eight different states will be defined.
The eight states will correspond to [0 1 2 3 4 5 6 8] drops. (At least in principle a greater number of states can be defined, though some of these may correspond to a fractional number of drops. A coowned patent in the name of Ronald A. Askeland deals with implementation of fractional drops.)
As a start, one may adopt the assignment between error-diffusion (“ED”) states and superpixels appearing in FIG. 7 . Here the ED states “1XXX” are equivalent to state 0111, and are not used in this particular implementation —because it has been decided to use only eight states. They could be used, at the designer's choice, by following the same principles here explained.
As illustrated, a different entry to the drop table is defined for every 25×25 dot/mm cell: the 2×2 space inside the 12×12 dot/mm cell that was rendered is defined at a 25×25 dot/mm resolution. We see that 0, 1 or 3 is used in every 25×25 cell, which will correspond to 0, 1 and 2 drops respectively. As a result, the two-by-two array of 25×25 cells totals the number of drops depicted in the bottom row.
Because only color depth is under consideration, the definition of each individual drop inside the 12×12 cell is completely arbitrary. Whatever solution is chosen, there is a risk of creating patterning in event the same superpixel is tiled all over an area.
To minimize the chances for patterning, two new concepts are used: the superpixel family and the superpixel expansion matrix. Instead of defining a single superpixel with a given number of drops, four will be defined.
The four superpixels that contain the same number of drops and that, therefore, have equivalent color depth, will be referred to as a superpixel family. A coowned patent in the name of Ronald A. Askeland introduces the like concept of calorimetrically equivalent superpixels. Every member in the family will be referred to as a permutation. The superpixel families are organized as shown in the table of FIG. 8 .
Now the objective has become to choose one superpixel permutation per 12×12 dot/mm cell. The error-diffusion state only points to the proper superpixel family, since any member of the family has the same color depth, and is therefore a valid implementation for that given ED state.
In order to actually choose the permutation for a given 12×12 dot/mm cell, a procedure familiarly called “lottery matrix” will be used. This is the more formally denominated Superpixel Expansion Matrix.
The matrix is defined as a function of the pixel location. The design criterion is that, if ED delivers the same state in a wide area, then the system will always have to select a superpixel from the same family.
Permutations will then be selected, with a noise characteristic that is pleasant to the eye—specifically, that minimizes granularity. Different algorithms can be used for expansion-matrix design:
It is possible to begin from a blue-noise matrix, or generate a fuzzy mask with the Shakes procedures, or just make the matrix manually. It is also possible to choose equally among all the permutations—that is, to use each permutation one-quarter of the time—or to use them in different proportions.
Finally, it is possible to choose a small matrix or a large one. A larger matrix will show less patterning, but require more system memory. FIG. 9 provides an example of how it all works together, when the above superpixel definition is applied.
As noted earlier, it remains to document the 25 dot/mm to 25 dot/mm superpixel family (FIG. 10 ). It can be considered an identity, and is uninteresting.
This time the application goes from a 25×25 dot/mm cell to a 25×25 dot/mm cell. The present inventors advise against use of superpixel families that average a nonintegral number of drops, as increased granularity results.
7. Halftoning
The stage that feeds superpixeling is the halftoning algorithm. A preferred algorithm for use with the present invention is error diffusion.
Error diffusion is very well known in this field. It was originally conceived as a way to transform data from multibit to binary (that is, single-bit). As an example consider an area fill, defined at 25 dots/mm, 8 bits per pixel. The whole area has the same value: tonal level 130 (in a conventional scale from zero through 255).
The only available choice is between firing a drop on a given pixel location or not firing it. If the input value is 0, then the system refrains from firing (0). If instead the input value is 255, then the system fires (1).
If the input value is somewhere in between, then the system goes to the closest point, but it has committed an error; therefore it must try to commit the error in the inverse sense when moving to the neighboring pixels.
In the example, tonal value for the first pixel is 130. This is closer to 255 than to 0, so the system decides to fire (1). It has committed an error of +125, that it must then distribute among the neighbor pixels.
Assume that the next pixel receives a fourth part of the error of the previous pixel (that is, −31 counts). Then, the system must calculate that the second pixel has a value of 130−31=99. This total input value of 99 is closer to 0, so the system decides not to fire (0)—but thereby it commits an error of −99, that in turn it must propagate to the surrounding pixels (some of which will also receive error from the first pixel). This process proceeds through hundreds of thousands, or millions, of iterations to complete an image.
To fit this algorithm into the present invention, a few modifications are required. These are explored in the two subsections below.
(a) Multilevel error diffusion: thresholds—A first step is to conceive of a way to implement the binary outcome of classical error diffusion into a multievent (i.e. multibit) outcome. That is, it is no longer a binary decision between firing or not firing a drop, but rather which superpixel family to choose.
If the system is halftoning at 25 dots/mm, two bits, we'll have four superpixel families to choose among. The concept must be scalable to 12 dots/mm at four bits (sixteen superpixel families)—and even further, to six dots/mm, four bits.
FIG. 11 shows (in the tow upper graphs) how the error diffusion algorithm can be expanded from binary to multi- bit. At the same time, the output value has been decoupled from the actual number of drops being fired.
The graphs show how the contone input can be divided into a number of regions equal to 2n−1, corresponding to n bits per pixel at the output. Besides the two natural thresholds, which are 0 and 255, new thresholds appear: A and B.
Using this strategy, input values that are closer to A generate an output to superpixel (“SPX”) family 01; those closer to B will be assigned to SPX 10, and so on. Errors propagate in the classical way described above.
This explanation is the real picture for a 2 bit/pixel output, easily expanded to 4 bit/pixel or whatever is required. Although FIG. 2 shows the ED thresholds A and B equally spaced from 0 and 255, because of linearization considerations this relationship is not maintained.
(b) Linearization—The classical ED algorithm was originally conceived for monitor screens. On a monitor screen each pixel is clearly bounded, and never overlaps with the surrounding pixels. These constraints facilitate good linear response of the algorithm.
In inkjet printing, however, the printed drops do overlap. The macroscopic result is, that error diffusion is no longer linear.
It is accordingly widely known in this field that a linearization file should be created. The linearization file is applied to the continuous-tone information in advance of ED processing ( FIG. 11 , lower graphs).
The composite of the two functions linearization and error diffusion is supposed to be the identity—so that a linear contone gradient still comes out linear, once halftoned. In addition, because the linearization curve may assign a single image tone to different consecutive inputs and thereby create contouring, the linearization function also transforms the data from eight bits to nine. This transformation minimizes the contouring effect.
The graphs also show how the intermediate thresholds A, B are not evenly spaced relative to 0, 255: their spacing too contributes to the linearization process. Also evident is that the linearization curve is the main contributor in lower-tone regions (0 to A), whereas it is practically a straight line as the different thresholds approach more closely (A to B, B to 255). Therefore when the system halftones at 25 dots/mm at four bits, most of the linearization work can be done through the threshold definition.
(c) Linearization and threshold examples—Finally, the result for a real case in a preferred embodiment (with drop table of [0 1 1 2] at 25 dots/mm, two bits) will be helpful for clearer understanding (FIG. 12 ). This represents a current Hewlett Packard product.
8. Ink Limiting and Plane Split
(a) Overview—Based on the foregoing understandings of how ED works, the next step upstream in FIG. 5 is to consider feeding of data into the ED. This system is using plane-independent error diffusion—meaning that no consideration is made, when deciding about one color, of decisions already made for other colors.
In the product which is a preferred embodiment, error-diffusion processing proceeds alternatively left to right and then right to left along consecutive rows. The printheads are six in number—KCMYcm—while the input files are always KCMY (once they have gone through the color pipeline, which may transform them from RGB to KCMY).
In design of this system there were several choices concerning the ideal point at which to split the cyan and magenta planes between dark and light inks. It was decided to split before halftoning, and thus to pass six independent planes of data into the error diffusion stage.
The split between dark and light inks is not trivial, in particular because there are different combinations of dark and light ink delivering the same color, but not the same total amount of ink. In other words, the plane-split process must be ink-dependent.
Therefore, it is a good point at which to perform ink limiting. The main disadvantage of this process is that it operates at pixel level, not object level.
In other words, if there is a large solid area of the same color, the system must still repeat the same operation for each pixel, even though it must always yield the same result. This feature compels design of an algorithm that gives a good tradeoff between image quality and throughput.
(b) Depletion algorithm—We may distinguish three stages in the ILPS (ink-limiting and plane-split) process (FIGS. 13 and 14 ). First, it is necessary to determine how much ink is to be fired onto the particular pixel being processed.
Because of all the configurable parameters throughout the halftoning pipeline (linearization, thresholds, superpixel families, and drop table), it would be impossible to predict the ink usage based on only the values of the input image. Therefore for each channel a lookup table (LUT) must be built to associate the channel value to the ink usage.
For a given pixel, the process starts by retrieving the total amount of ink for that pixel (four LUT accesses and an addition). Then, if the total amount of ink is larger than a predetermined maximum permissible ink value, the system must force the inking to that maximum value.
This supposes a reduction in the total amount of ink, which must be redistributed to each individual channel. In simplest principle, each channel should receive one quarter of the permissible maximum.
In reality, however, the black channel is the least affected by ink limiting, and the remaining ink must be distributed among CMY. The number that tells what ink reduction applies to each channel is called the “factor”.
This factor will directly multiply the channel value for black and yellow, and will point to a specific combination of light/dark cyan or magenta. In other words, while the black and yellow channels don't undergo much further processing (their values are multiplied by factor K and factor Y respectively, and actually factor K =1), the cyan and magenta still have another step to go.
That step relates to so-called separation curves. These exist in pairs: one for dark and another for light color (for either C or M). Also there is one pair per factor (that is, 256 pairs of M, and 256 pairs of C separation curves).
Thus it is necessary to pick the channel value for C or M, plus its respective factor. This will point to two values, one for the light ink and the other for the dark.
9. Additional Functionality
The ink-limiting and plane-split algorithm is the first one in the halftoning pipeline. This block is accessible from different paths: HPGL2, PostScript and Turbo.
The Turbo path is a continuous-tone format satisfying two different HPGL2 specifications: “CRD-7” for raster data with a customized number of pixels; and “RTL” for raster data at one bit per pixel and color plane. Both are used by a system known as “OM” or “PipeOM”—which is a pipeline for open media, and also is the one that the software RIPs are supposed to use.
The printer receives this file format through the Var-ware print manager. This manager performs pixel replication if the input file is smaller than the output.
The above disclosure is intended as merely exemplary, and not to limit the scope of the invention—which is to be determined by reference to the appended claims.
|
A printer is made by one firm; a RIP made/programmed by a separate RIP firm processes and sends to the printer image data; a two-bit data pipeline passes data through the RIP; a drop table converts data in the pipe to printer resolution. RIP firms set up the table with output dot-per-pixel structure different from the pipe. Ideally the table is in the printer but formed by the RIP; the RIP has precooked printmask instructions, and the printer, popup instructions to refine mask instructions; the instructions hide nozzle-out error and fix which pass prints each pixel; a computer, monitor etc. receive/create data and pass them to the RIP. Another aspect: a printer has a plural-bit data pipe, and interface to accept an external table to convert data from the pipe to numbers of dots per pixel. The interface best accepts a printmode recipe too.
| 6
|
This application claims the benefit of International Application No. PCT/US03/16441, International Filing Date 23 May 2003 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/382,907, filed May 23, 2002.
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to particulate collection devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for collecting sand, sludge and sediment from a waterway.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is often desirable to remove sediment and other particulate matter from a waterway such as a stream, river, channel bed, tidal pool, or estuary pool. Sediments are often soils eroded from farmland, forests, and runoff from city streets, carried by surface water, and accumulated in channel bottoms. The sediments are typically sand and silts that have been carried by the waterway or along a lake shoreline by littoral currents and deposited in the deepened channel. A dredged material may be a clean soil or may have contaminants that came from a number of possible sources including urban runoff, sewer overflows, mining, etc.
Whatever the source, sediment removal from a channel bed is often done for a variety of reasons, including removing sediments to improve a spawning area, improving navigation by removing sand bars, removing contaminated sediment from industrial runoff in streams, and removing sediment from aqueduct and generating station intakes.
A common way to remove sediment from streams is by dredging. In conventional mechanical dredging techniques, a crane with a bucket scoops sediment from a bottom surface of the waterway and deposits the sediment in a barge or vehicle for transport to a remote location. While effective, such dredging techniques require expensive equipment and are costly to operate. In addition, conventional “grab type” dredging techniques such as “clamshell bucket” or “drag line bucket” are designed to operate without concern for excess sediment spilling out of the buckets during operation, i.e., sediment is stirred up in the waterway and fouls downstream locations. These dredging techniques commonly produce a flume of waterborne sediments that are widely dispersed by the prevailing currents. Thus, the conventional grab type dredges are not well suited for the retrieval of contaminated marine sediments. On the other hand, hydraulic dredging produce a large volume of associated water, which is usually directed to a settling pond and returned to the waterway after the sediment has settled. When the soil contains contaminated sediments, the associated water must be treated using a remediation process before it is returned to the waterway. This requirement increases the degree of difficulty and cost of a project.
Another alternative to dredging is to use the applicant's collector assembly as shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,042,733 and 6,346,199. One or more collectors are mounted in the waterway and sediment that collects in the assembly is periodically pumped on shore. This collector assembly has proven to be especially effective at removing sediment from waterways. Typically, a pump is disposed outside of the waterway and, oftentimes, associated with an ejector to provide suction to a sediment removal passage. The sediment is separated from the water by passing through a filter and clean, filtered water returned to the waterway.
These systems do not adequately address the need for a mobile or portable sediment removal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for collecting sediment from a waterway, the apparatus comprising a water pressure line, a suction line, a valve assembly mounted on the pressure line, and a nose on an end of the suction line.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for removing sediment from a waterway, the method including the steps of dispensing high pressure fluid from a pressure line mounted in a hand-held housing for providing a high pressure against a sediment containing surface in the waterway to stir up sediment, applying a reduced pressure to a suction line mounted in the housing to vacuum water and sediment stirred up by the high pressure fluid, separating the water from the sediment, and returning the separated water to the waterway.
One advantage of the invention resides in the mobility provided in removing sediment from a waterway.
Another advantage is found in the ability to easily and effectively change the balance of the assembly.
Yet another advantage relates to the durable nature of the assembly that may be selectively varied in operation to accommodate different conditions.
Still other features and benefits of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be described in detail with several preferred embodiments and illustrated, merely by way of example and not with intent to limit the scope thereof, in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side view of a sand wand assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view of the valve assembly of the sand wand in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a head-on view of the nose of the sand wand in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the sediment removal process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the sediment removal process in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the sediment removal process in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
With reference to FIG. 1 , a handheld sand wand 12 for removing sediment and other material from a waterway is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As used herein, the term “sediment” is not meant to be limiting and is intended to encompass any material that is desired to be removed from a waterway including, but not limited to, silt, sand, sewage, soil, organic and inorganic waste, runoff, etc. Similarly, a “waterway” is not intended to be limiting in any way and is meant to encompass any flowing or standing waterway such as streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, canals, estuary and tidal pools, and channels, both natural and man-made.
The sand wand 12 comprises an elongated, hollow housing 14 through which water and sediment pass. More particularly, and as additionally shown in FIG. 2 , the housing 14 contains a connector 16 that connects with water pressure line 20 and a suction line 22 that communicates with the source of vacuum via connector 24 . In a first embodiment, the pressure line 20 and the suction line 22 are positioned in a coaxial arrangement, with the pressure line 20 preferably nested inside the suction line 22 . In this arrangement, an outer surface 26 of the suction line forms the housing, with the pressure line 20 positioned inside the suction line 22 . Of course, other arrangements are contemplated by the invention, such as the pressure line 20 and the suction line 22 positioned in side-by-side relation or disposed inside a separate housing (not shown). Alternatively, the coaxial relationship could be reversed. Both the suction line 22 and the pressure line 20 can be of varying sizes. Although not meant to be limiting, the suction line has an inside diameter of from about one inch to about four inches, the pressure line in turn, has an interior diameter of from about one-eighth inch to about one-half inch. As will be appreciated, the dimensions may vary to meet the particular needs for the sand wand assembly. For instance, the pressure line provides for pressurized fluid (water) to pass through the sand wand assembly and exit at one thereof while the pressurized water is directed to stir up sediment in the waterway. The suction line, on the other hand, is exposed to a vacuum force or suctions and removes the water with stirred up sediment from the waterway where it is treated as will be described in greater detail below.
A valve assembly 30 , such as a ball valve, is provided in the assembly to control the flow of water through the pressure line 20 . Preferably, the position of the valve may be varied, thereby allowing a user to make selective incremental adjustments in the amount of water flowing through the pressure line 20 . Seals in the valve are preferably made from a non-corroding, chemical, oxidative and weather resistant material such as Viton, a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company. Of course, alternative seal materials may be used without departing from the scope and intent of the present invention.
The pressure line 20 , valve assembly 30 , and suction line 22 are preferably made from a rigid, non-corroding material that is resistant to bending and fracturing and the abrasive effects of the pressurized water and water/sediment mix. For example, a preferred arrangement of the pressure line 20 and suction line 22 uses stainless steel and/or aluminum, although other materials such as rigid thermoplastic, or other non-corroding metals may be used.
As more particularly shown in FIG. 2 , the valve assembly 30 is disposed in the pressure line 20 downstream of a convention connector or fitting that sealing connects to a high pressure source. The pressure line 20 is preferably centrally positioned in suction line 22 , which also includes a conventional connector (e.g., threads, quick connect, etc.) for receiving water and sediment from line 22 and conveying it to a vacuum source such as an ejector.
With reference to FIG. 3 , an end or nose 40 is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. An end of the pressure line 20 preferably protrudes through a center of the nose 40 . Disposed on the nose and generally surrounding the pressure line 20 is a plurality of suction orifices 42 through which sediment is removed from the waterway. Although shown as being circular in FIG. 3 , the orifices 42 may adopt a wide number of shapes. The orifices 42 are preferably sized such that they will only admit sediment having a particle size that will easily pass through the suction line 22 . That is, the orifices 42 are preferably sized such that they will prevent sediment having a particulate size that is so large that the sediment is likely to become lodged in the suction line 22 from entering the tube. Thus, although not intended to be limiting, a 2-inch diameter suction line 22 would typically have a nose with an orifice diameter size of from about 0.2 to about 0.6 inches.
In operation, the sand wand is preferably held by an individual operator. An optional handle 50 assists the operator in holding/controlling the sand wand and a shoulder strap (not shown) is preferably attached to the apparatus at an eyelet 52 on the valve assembly. A counterweight 54 is provided on the housing to effectively balance the nose of the sand wand in the hands of the operator. Alternatively, the counterweight is defined by a number of weights that are received in the housing at an end opposite from the nose. The individual weights can be removed or added to the sand wand assembly to provide desired counterbalancing by simply removing an end cap on the housing and adding or subtracting a selected number of weights from the sand wand. Thus, the extended portion of the sand wand housing beyond the external connections is primarily for counterbalancing and ease of manipulation by the operator. Since the sand wand 12 is manually operated, it finds particular usefulness in the remediation of shallow streams and rivers, for example, in which the operator stands in the waterway and the nose of the suction line is usually located under the water. In addition, by being manually manipulated, the sand wand allows unprecedented control over which specific locations within a waterway are to be treated.
With reference to FIG. 4 , a single speed or variable speed pump 60 pumps water through a first supply hose or tube 62 to the inlet valve stem on the valve assembly and through a second supply hose or tube 64 to an ejector 66 . The water is typically drawn from a remote or distant area of the waterway. The water is preferably drawn from a clean region of the waterway, i.e., a region without a large sediment content. This will ensure that the pump 60 operates smoothly and that the pump life is not unduly shortened due to large amounts of sediment contaminating the interior components of the pump. Any pressure-generating pump with sufficient gallon per minute (gpm) flow can be used. Thus, the pump can be gasoline, diesel, solar or electric powered.
The water supplied to the inlet valve stem is sent through the pressure line and is ejected as a high-pressure jet of water at the nose. This high-pressure jet of water is directed at the bottom or other surface of the waterway that contains sediment, effectively stirring up sediment and suspending it temporarily in the waterway. The sediment and water suspension is then collected through the orifices and into the suction line 22 . The suctioning force is provided by the ejector 66 which is capable of generating a reduced pressure in the suction line, thus allowing water and sediment to be vacuumed through the suction line and directed for treatment or disposal. In one embodiment illustrated in the accompanying FIGURES the ejector 66 is a housed venturi jet with pressurized water supplied by the pump through the second supply hose 64 .
In this embodiment, passing of this pressurized water through the venturi creates a vacuum, which generates a suction force on an input nozzle 68 of the ejector. This input nozzle 68 is connected to the outlet connector and thus the valve of the sand wand assembly by a connection hose 70 . This creates a suctioning force that draws sediment from the waterway, through the nose into the suction line, from the suction line through the connection hose 70 , and into the ejector 66 . In the ejector, the sediment is mixed with the high pressure water from the second supply hose and the resulting effluent is carried to a pile or hopper 72 to be disposed of or separated. Alternately, as shown in FIG. 5 , the effluent may be directed to a filter 74 , which separates the water from the sediment and returns clean water to the waterway.
All components of the above-described system are sized to provide optimum results. Pump 60 and ejector 66 size are important considerations. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, a typical pump will preferably produce at least one hundred psi water pressure at the ejector to generate sufficient vacuum or suction force for the sand wand. Therefore, a pump that produces at least this pressure, taking into consideration all factors such as ejector size, suction line diameter, and elevation to which the water is to be pumped, is provided. For example, in a typical installation with the ejector sitting approximately ten feet above the waterway and pumping the effluent fifty feet, a two-inch ejector generates a suction of about thirty to about forty gpm through the suction line with a pump supplying water to the ejector at approximately one hundred psi.
The pressure and flow of the water exiting the pressure line is regulated using the valve. Thus, the water pressure directed through the sand wand is manually controlled in response to the desires/commands of an operator and the conditions of the waterway. For example, in especially turbid water, the use of a water jet may be minimally required to suspend sediment and the valve can be turned toward a closed position. Likewise, suction is selectively controlled, preferably by regulating the pump speed in a variable speed pump in response to the demands/desires of the operator or varying water conditions.
In another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG. 6 , the pressure line is eliminated from the sand wand assembly. In this embodiment, the sand wand merely acts as a suctioning device, without the use of a high-pressure water jet to stir up sediment in the waterway. In this embodiment, the inlet valve, pressure line, and first supply hose described in the previous embodiments are not present or used. Other aspects of the process remain substantially the same, however, with the ejector 66 creating a vacuum, which suctions sediment from the water, passes it through the suction line, connector hose, and ejector, and deposits it in a hopper or filter for collection or treatment.
The invention has been described with reference to illustrated embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such alterations and modifications insofar as they come within the scope of the above description.
|
An apparatus and method for removing sediment from a waterway using a high pressure water spray and a suction line ( 22 ) is disclosed. The high pressure water is directed through a pressure line ( 20 ) that may be mounted inside the suction line ( 22 ). The high pressure water helps to suspend sediment that has settled in the waterway. Water and suspended sediment is then vacuumed up by the suction line ( 22 ) and deposited outside the water for further treatment or disposal. The apparatus ( 12 ) is designed to be hand-held by an individual situated in the waterway, such that great control over which specific locations within the waterway are being treated.
| 4
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0037321 filed on Mar. 18, 2015 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The following description relates to a power amplifier (PA). The following description also relates to a method of controlling an output of a power amplifier.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] A power amplifier may amplify a low RF signal having a preset frequency, such as a center frequency, f0, to output a high RF signal. In general, when the power amplifier outputs a RF signal having a maximum level, efficiency of the power amplifier is significantly increased, and as power of an output RF signal is decreased, the efficiency of the power amplifier may be reduced.
[0006] As a way to increase the efficiency of a power amplifier at low power output and medium power output levels, a means of independently designing a power amplifier having high efficiency at low power output and medium power output levels and a power amplifier also having high efficiency at a high power output level, respectively, may be used.
[0007] However, since such an approach additionally requires a switch, a low power amplifier, and other appropriate components, there are potential problems in that a circuit and a corresponding structure may be relatively complex and accordingly a size of such an integrated circuit may be increased.
SUMMARY
[0008] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0009] Examples provide a power amplifier and a method of controlling an output of such a power amplifier.
[0010] In one general aspect, a power amplifier includes a first amplifying circuit configured to amplify an input RF signal and to transfer an amplified RF signal to an antenna, a second amplifying circuit connected to the first amplifying circuit in parallel, configured to amplify the input RF signal during transferring the amplified RF signal to the antenna, and a controller connected to at least one of the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit and configured to output a control signal to control an on-off state of at least one of the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit.
[0011] The first amplifying circuit may include a first transistor circuit having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors, the second amplifying circuit may include a second transistor circuit having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors, the preset W/L of the first transistor circuit may be different from the preset W/L of the second transistor circuit, and the preset number of transistors of the first transistor circuit may be different from the preset number of the second transistor circuit.
[0012] The preset W/L of the first transistor circuit may be three times the preset W/L of the second transistor circuit, and the preset number of transistors of the first transistor circuit may be three times the preset number of transistors of the second transistor circuit.
[0013] The controller may performs controlling such that the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a first mode, may perform controlling such that the first amplifying circuit is in the on state and the second amplifying circuit is in the off state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a second mode, and may perform controlling such that the first amplifying circuit is in the off state and the second amplifying circuit is in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a third mode.
[0014] The power amplifier may further include a third amplifying circuit connected to input terminals of the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit and configured to amplify the input RF signal before the input RF signal is amplified by the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit, configured to output the amplified input RF signal into the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit, and a fourth amplifying circuit connected to the third amplifying circuit in parallel and configured to amplify the input RF signal before the input RF is amplified by the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit, configured to output the amplified input RF signal into the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit, wherein the controller is connected to at least one of the third amplifying circuit and the fourth amplifying circuit and outputs the control signal to control an on-off state of at least one of the third amplifying circuit and the fourth amplifying circuit.
[0015] The third amplifying circuit may include a third transistor circuit having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors, the fourth amplifying circuit may include a fourth transistor circuit having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors, the preset W/L of the third transistor circuit may be different from the preset W/L of the fourth transistor circuit, and the preset number of transistors of the third transistor circuit is different from the preset number of the fourth transistor circuit.
[0016] The preset W/L of the third transistor circuit may be two times the preset W/L of the fourth transistor circuit, and the preset number of transistors of the third transistor circuit may be two times the preset number of transistors of the fourth transistor circuit.
[0017] The controller may perform controlling such that the third amplifying circuit and the fourth amplifying circuit are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a first mode, may perform controlling such that the third amplifying circuit is in the on state and the fourth amplifying circuit is in the off state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a second mode or a third mode, and may perform controlling such that the third amplifying circuit is in the off state and the fourth amplifying circuit is in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a fourth mode.
[0018] In another general aspect, a power amplifier includes driving amplifiers connected to each other in parallel, configured to amplify an input RF signal, power amplifying circuits connected to each other in parallel, configured to amplify the signal amplified by the driving amplifiers, and a biasing circuit connected to the driving amplifiers and the power amplifying circuits, configured to bias the driving amplifiers and the power amplifying circuits, wherein the biasing circuit changes a bias of one of the driving amplifiers or one of the power amplifiers to control an on-off state of one of the driving amplifiers or one of the power amplifiers.
[0019] The biasing circuit may perform biasing such that the driving amplifiers and the power amplifying circuits are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a first mode, and may perform biasing such that one of the driving amplifiers and one of the power amplifying circuits are in the off state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a second mode.
[0020] A total W/L or a total number of the power amplifying circuits may be sixteen-thirds times a total W/L or a total number of the driving amplifiers, and the biasing circuit may perform biasing such that the driving amplifiers and the power amplifying circuits are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a first mode, may perform biasing such that the driving amplifiers corresponding to two-thirds of the total W/L of the driving amplifiers or two-thirds of the total number of the driving amplifiers are in the on state and the power amplifying circuits corresponding to three-fourths of the total W/L of the power amplifying circuits or three-fourths of the total number of the power amplifying circuits are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a second mode, may perform biasing such that the driving amplifiers corresponding to two-thirds of the total W/L of the driving amplifiers or two-thirds of the total number of the driving amplifiers are in the on state and the power amplifying circuits corresponding to one-fourth of the total W/L of the power amplifying circuits or one-fourth of the total number of the power amplifying circuits are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a third mode, and may perform biasing such that the driving amplifiers corresponding to one-third of the total W/L of the driving amplifiers or one-third of the total number of the driving amplifiers are in the on state and the power amplifying circuits corresponding to one-fourth of the total W/L of the plurality of power amplifying circuits or one-fourth of the total number of the plurality of power amplifying circuits are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a fourth mode.
[0021] In another general aspect, a method of controlling an output of a power amplifier includes changing an operation of an on-off state of a driving amplifier of driving amplifiers connected to each other in parallel, configured to amplify an input RF signal, and changing an operation of an on-off state of a power amplifying circuit of power amplifying units connected to each other in parallel, configured to amplify the signal amplified by the driving amplifiers.
[0022] The changing of the operation of the driving circuit may be performed by using a biasing circuit to change a bias of the driving circuit, and the changing of the operation of the power amplifying circuit may be performed by using the biasing circuit to change a bias of the power amplifying circuit.
[0023] The biasing circuit may perform biasing such that the driving amplifiers and the power amplifying circuits are in the on state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a first mode, and may perform biasing such that one of the driving amplifiers and one of the power amplifying circuits are in the off state in response to the power amplifier being operated in a second mode.
[0024] Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a power amplifier according to an example.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 1 .
[0027] FIG. 3 is an enlarged circuit diagram of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 1 .
[0028] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a power amplifier according to an example.
[0029] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a first mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0030] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a second mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0031] FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a third mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0032] FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a fourth mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0033] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling an output of a power amplifier according to an example.
[0034] Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements. The drawings may not be to scale, and the relative size, proportions, and depiction of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. However, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. The sequences of operations described herein are merely examples, and are not limited to those set forth herein, but may be changed as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, with the exception of operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also, descriptions of functions and constructions that are well known to one of ordinary skill in the art may be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.
[0036] The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, and are not to be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the full scope of the disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0037] Subsequently, examples are described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0038] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a power amplifier according to an example.
[0039] Referring to the example of FIG. 1 , the power amplifier 100 includes a first amplifying unit 110 , a second amplifying unit 120 , and a control unit 150 .
[0040] For example, the first amplifying unit 110 amplifies an input RF signal. Here, the input RF signal is input through an input port RFin. The signal amplified by the first amplifying unit 110 is output through an output port RFout. In an example, the output port RFout is connected to an antenna, not illustrated.
[0041] In this example, the second amplifying unit 120 is connected to the first amplifying unit 110 in parallel in order to amplify the input RF signal. Thus, an input terminal of the second amplifying unit 120 and an input terminal of the first amplifying unit 110 respectively amplify the input RF signal input through the input port RFin. Furthermore, an output terminal of the second amplifying unit 120 and an output terminal of the first amplifying unit 110 are connected to each other to commonly output the amplified signal to the output port RFout.
[0042] Each of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 potentially have limited performance in terms of a maximum gain, a breakdown voltage, linearity, and other similar characteristics. Therefore, in such an example, the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 are connected to each other in parallel, thereby efficiently amplifying the input RF signal.
[0043] For example, the control unit 150 is connected to at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 and outputs a control signal to control an on-off state of at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 . Here, the on state denotes that an amount of voltage source, bias voltage, bias current, or a similar input provided to the amplifying unit is within a preset range. Here, the off state denotes that the amount of voltage source, bias voltage, bias current, or a similar input provided to the amplifying unit is outside of the preset range.
[0044] For example, the control unit 150 outputs the control signal by performing controlling such that the amount of voltage source, bias voltage, or bias current provided to at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 is close to 0 and also performs controlling such that at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 is maintained to be in the off state.
[0045] For example, the control signal is also input into a circuit biasing the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 . A description of such input of the control section is provided in further detail below with reference to FIG. 4 .
[0046] Thus, the control unit 150 controls the on-off state of at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 . As a result, the control unit 150 efficiently outputs signals having various power levels.
[0047] In addition, the control unit 150 controls the on-off state of at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 while not requiring a switch, an additional amplifying terminal, an additional impedance matching means, and other similar additional components, generally required to output the signals having various power levels.
[0048] FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 1 .
[0049] Referring to the example of FIG. 2 , the first amplifying unit 110 includes a first transistor unit 111 having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors. In such an example, W/L refers to a ratio between the channel width and channel length of the transistor unit. In addition, the second amplifying unit 121 includes a second transistor unit 121 having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors.
[0050] In such an example, the preset W/L of the first transistor unit 111 is different from the preset W/L of the second transistor unit 121 , and the preset number of transistors of the first transistor unit 111 is different from the preset number of transistors of the second transistor unit 121 . In addition, the preset number of transistors means the number of transistors connected to each other in parallel. For example, a relationship between the channel width of the transistor and amplification characteristics is similar to a relationship between the number of transistors and the amplification characteristics.
[0051] Specifically, in an example, the preset W/L of the first transistor unit 111 is three times the preset W/L of the second transistor unit 121 , and the preset number of transistors of the first transistor unit 111 is three times the preset number of transistors of the second transistor unit 121 .
[0052] Hence, in an example in which the first transistor unit 111 and the second transistor unit 121 are bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), a collector terminal and an emitter terminal of the first transistor unit 111 are respectively connected to a collector terminal and an emitter terminal of the second transistor unit 121 , and a base terminal of the first transistor unit 111 and a base terminal of the second transistor unit 121 are separated from each other at a specific ratio.
[0053] Here, the control unit 150 performs controlling so that the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 are in the on state when the power amplifier is operated in a first mode, performs controlling so that the first amplifying unit 110 is in the on state and the second amplifying unit 120 is in the off state when the power amplifier is operated in a second mode, and performs controlling so that the first amplifying unit 110 is in the off state and the second amplifying unit 120 is in the on state when the power amplifier is operated in a third mode. Thus, in such an example, in the first mode, the input RF signal is amplified by four transistors connected to each other in parallel, in the second mode, the input RF signal is amplified by three transistors connected to each other in parallel, and in the third mode, the input RF signal is amplified by one transistor.
[0054] FIG. 3 is an enlarged circuit diagram of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 1 .
[0055] Referring to the example of FIG. 3 , the power amplifier 100 further includes a third amplifying unit 130 and a fourth amplifying unit 140 .
[0056] The third amplifying unit 130 is connected to the input terminals of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 and amplifies the input RF signal before being amplified by the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 to output the amplified input RF signal to the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 . For instance, the third amplifying unit 130 amplifies the input RF signal, which is a low signal, to assume a magnitude within an amplification range of the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 .
[0057] For example, the third amplifying unit 130 includes a third transistor unit 131 having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors.
[0058] In this example, the fourth amplifying unit 140 is connected to the third amplifying unit 130 in parallel and amplifies the input RF signal before being amplified by the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 , so as to output the amplified input RF signal to the first amplifying unit 110 and the second amplifying unit 120 .
[0059] For example, the fourth amplifying unit 140 includes a fourth transistor unit 141 having a preset W/L or a preset number of transistors. In such an example, the preset W/L of the third transistor unit 131 is different from the preset W/L of the fourth transistor unit 141 , and the preset number of transistors of the third transistor unit 131 is different from the preset number of transistors of the fourth transistor unit 141 .
[0060] Specifically, in such an example, the preset W/L of the third transistor unit 131 is twice that of the fourth transistor unit 141 , and the preset number of transistors of the third transistor unit 131 is two times the preset number of transistors of the fourth transistor unit 141 .
[0061] Meanwhile, in this example, the control unit 150 is connected to at least one of the third amplifying unit 130 and the fourth amplifying unit 140 and outputs a control signal to control an on-off state of at least one of the third amplifying unit 130 and the fourth amplifying unit 140 .
[0062] For example, the control unit 150 performs controlling so that the third amplifying unit 130 and the fourth amplifying unit 140 are in the on state when the power amplifier is operated in the first mode, performs controlling so that the third amplifying unit 130 is in the on state and the fourth amplifying unit 140 is in the off state when the power amplifier is operated in the second mode or the third mode, and performs controlling so that the third amplifying unit 130 is in the off state and the fourth amplifying unit 140 is in the on state when the power amplifier is operated in a fourth mode.
[0063] Thus, for example, in the first mode, the input RF signal is amplified by three transistors connected to each other in parallel, in the second mode or the third mode, the input RF signal is amplified by two transistors connected to each other in parallel, and in the fourth mode, the input RF signal is amplified by a single transistor.
[0064] Also, in an example, the control unit 150 controls the on-off state of at least one of the first amplifying unit 110 , the second amplifying unit 120 , the third amplifying unit 130 , and the fourth amplifying unit 140 , such that operation ratios of a plurality of amplifying units do not significantly depart from a preset ratio. As a result, the control unit 150 efficiently outputs signals having various power levels.
[0065] Hereinafter, a power amplifier 200 according to an example is described further. Descriptions that are the same as or correspond to the description of the power amplifier 100 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3 are omitted for brevity.
[0066] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a power amplifier according to an example.
[0067] Referring to the example of FIG. 4 , the power amplifier 200 includes a plurality of driving amplifiers 210 , a plurality of power amplifying units 220 , a biasing unit 230 , a first matching network 240 , and a second matching network 250 .
[0068] In the example of FIG. 4 , the amplifiers of the plurality of driving amplifiers (DA) 210 are connected to each other in parallel so as to amplify an input RF signal. For example, the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 amplify the input RF signal, a low signal, to a magnitude that is within an amplification range of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 .
[0069] In this example, the plurality of power amplifying units 220 are connected to each other in parallel so as to amplify the signal amplified by the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 .
[0070] The biasing unit 230 is connected to the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and the plurality of power amplifying units 220 , so as to bias the plurality of driving amplifiers and the plurality of power amplifying units. Here, the biasing means that a current or voltage having a specific value is provided so that a bias current flows into a specific block or an element or a bias voltage is applied to the specific block or the element.
[0071] In addition, in such an example, the biasing unit 230 changes a bias of at least one of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 or at least one of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 in order to control an on-off state of at least one of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 or at least one of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 .
[0072] For example, the biasing unit 230 decreases the bias current provided to at least one of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 in order to change at least one of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 to the off state. More specifically, in an example in which the plurality of power amplifying units 220 include 16 power amplifying units 220 , the biasing unit 230 changes the bias current so that a current provided to four of the power amplifying units is close to 0 mA.
[0073] For example, the biasing unit 230 biases the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and the plurality of power amplifying units 220 so that the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and the plurality of power amplifying units 220 are in the on state when the power amplifier is operated in a first mode, and biases the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and the plurality of power amplifying units 220 so that at least one of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and at least one of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 are in the off state when the power amplifier is operated in a second mode.
[0074] Thus, the biasing unit 230 controls the on-off state of at least one of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and the plurality of power amplifying unit 220 , such that the power amplifier 200 efficiently amplifies the signal while not requiring a switch, an additional amplifying terminal, an additional impedance matching means, and other related similar components, required in other approaches in order to output signals having various power levels.
[0075] In this example, the first matching network 240 is connected between the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 and the plurality of power amplifying units 220 so as to have a preset impedance.
[0076] The second matching network 250 is connected between the plurality of power amplifying units 220 and an output port RF_OUT so as to have preset impedance. For example, each of the first matching network 240 and the second matching network 250 includes an inductor and a capacitor.
[0077] FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a first mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0078] Referring to the example of FIG. 5 , when the power amplifier 200 is operated in the first mode it outputs a high power signal that is a signal having a larger power than a preset power.
[0079] In this example, three driving amplifiers of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 amplify the signal, and sixteen power amplifying units of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 amplify the signal. For instance, the number of driving amplifiers and the number of power amplifying units is provided at a specific ratio. Thus, the power amplifier 200 efficiently amplifies the input RF signal so as to output the high power signal.
[0080] FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a second mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0081] Referring to the example of FIG. 6 , when the power amplifier 200 is operated in the second mode it outputs a middle power signal having a preset power.
[0082] In this example, two driving amplifiers of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 amplify the signal, and twelve power amplifying units of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 amplify the signal. In such an example, a ratio of the number of operating driving amplifiers and the number of operating power amplifying units does not significantly depart from the ratio of the number of driving amplifiers and the number of power amplifying units. Thus, the power amplifier 200 efficiently amplifies the input RF signal to output the middle power signal.
[0083] FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a third mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0084] Referring to FIG. 7 , when the power amplifier 200 is operated in the third mode it outputs a low power signal, denoting a signal that has smaller amount of power than a preset amount of power.
[0085] In this example, two driving amplifiers of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 amplify the signal, and four power amplifying units of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 amplify the signal. Similarly to the operation of the second mode, the ratio of the number of operating driving amplifiers and the number of operating power amplifying units does not significantly depart from the ratio of the number of driving amplifiers and the number of power amplifying units. Thus, the power amplifier 200 efficiently amplifies the input RF signal to output the low power signal.
[0086] Meanwhile, on the basis of using a log scale, a power differential between the high power signal and the middle power signal is potentially similar to a power differential between the middle power signal and the low power signal. For example, the power amplifier according to the example in the present disclosure gradually changes a power of an output signal while not significantly departing from the ratio of the number of operating driving amplifiers and the number of operating power amplifying units, during a process in which the operation of the power amplifier is changed from the first mode to the third mode. Thus, the power amplifier efficiently outputs the signal while precisely controlling a power of the output signal.
[0087] FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a fourth mode of operation of the power amplifier of the example of FIG. 4 .
[0088] Referring to the example of FIG. 8 , when the power amplifier 200 is operated in the fourth mode it is quiescent, without inputting the input RF signal.
[0089] In such an example, one driving amplifier of the plurality of driving amplifiers 210 is operated, and four power amplifying units of the plurality of power amplifying units 220 are operated. Similarly to the second mode, the ratio of the number of operating driving amplifiers and the number of operating power amplifying units does not significantly depart from the ratio of the number of driving amplifiers and the number of power amplifying units. Thus, in such a mode, the power amplifier 200 is stably quiescent.
[0090] Subsequently, a method of controlling an output of a power amplifier according to an example is described. Since the method of controlling the output of the power amplifier is performed by the power amplifier 100 described above with reference to FIG. 1 or the power amplifier 200 described above with reference to FIG. 4 , descriptions that are the same as or correspond to the description provided above are omitted for brevity.
[0091] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling an output of a power amplifier according to an example.
[0092] Referring to the example of FIG. 9 , the method of controlling an output includes a driving amplifier changing operation S 10 and a power amplifying unit changing operation S 20 .
[0093] In an example, the method of controlling an output is performed autonomously by an internal control circuit of the power amplifier. In another example, the method of controlling an output is performed by an external control circuit.
[0094] In the driving amplifier changing operation S 10 , the power amplifier changes an on-off state of at least one of a plurality of driving amplifiers connected to each other in parallel to amplify an input RF signal.
[0095] In the power amplifying unit changing operation S 20 , the power amplifier changes an on-off state of at least one of a plurality of power amplifying units connected to each other in parallel to amplify the signal amplified by the plurality of driving amplifiers.
[0096] For example, the power amplifier changes a bias of at least one of the plurality of driving amplifiers or at least one of the plurality of power amplifying units to change the on-off state thereof.
[0097] For example, when a total W/L or a total number of the plurality of power amplifying units is sixteen-thirds times a total W/L or a total number of the plurality of driving amplifiers, the power amplifier in the driving amplifier changing operation S 10 changes the driving amplifiers so that when an operation mode of the power amplifier is changed, the driving amplifiers corresponding to one-third of the total W/L of the plurality of driving amplifiers or one-third of the total number of the plurality of driving amplifiers are in the on state or the off state. The power amplifier also changes the rest of the driving amplifiers corresponding to two-thirds of the total W/L of the plurality of driving amplifiers or two-thirds of the total number of the plurality of driving amplifiers are in the off state or the on state, accordingly. Also, the power amplifier in the power amplifying unit changing operation S 20 changes the power amplifying units so that when the operation mode of the power amplifier is changed, the power amplifying units corresponding to one-fourth of the total W/L of the plurality of power amplifying units or one-fourth of the total number of the plurality of power amplifying units are in the on state or the off state. The power amplifier also changes the rest of the power amplifying units corresponding to three-fourth of the total W/L of the plurality of power amplifying units or three-fourth of the total number of the plurality of power amplifying units are in the off state or the on state, accordingly.
[0098] As set forth above, according to the examples, the power amplifier efficiently outputs the signals having various power levels.
[0099] In addition, since the power amplifier according to the examples does not require a switch, an additional amplifying terminal, an additional impedance matching means, and other similar components, used in other approaches to output the signals having various power levels, a unit cost and a size of the power amplifier is reduced, and a degree of freedom of a design and utilization are increased.
[0100] The apparatuses, units, modules, devices, and other components illustrated in FIGS. 1-9 that perform the operations described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-9 are implemented by hardware components. Examples of hardware components include controllers, sensors, generators, drivers, memories, comparators, arithmetic logic units, adders, subtractors, multipliers, dividers, integrators, and any other electronic components known to one of ordinary skill in the art. In one example, the hardware components are implemented by computing hardware, for example, by one or more processors or computers. A processor or computer is implemented by one or more processing elements, such as an array of logic gates, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, a field-programmable gate array, a programmable logic array, a microprocessor, or any other device or combination of devices known to one of ordinary skill in the art that is capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner to achieve a desired result. In one example, a processor or computer includes, or is connected to, one or more memories storing instructions or software that are executed by the processor or computer. Hardware components implemented by a processor or computer execute instructions or software, such as an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run on the OS, to perform the operations described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-9 . The hardware components also access, manipulate, process, create, and store data in response to execution of the instructions or software. For simplicity, the singular term “processor” or “computer” may be used in the description of the examples described herein, but in other examples multiple processors or computers are used, or a processor or computer includes multiple processing elements, or multiple types of processing elements, or both. In one example, a hardware component includes multiple processors, and in another example, a hardware component includes a processor and a controller. A hardware component has any one or more of different processing configurations, examples of which include a single processor, independent processors, parallel processors, single-instruction single-data (SISD) multiprocessing, single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing, multiple-instruction single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, and multiple-instruction multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing.
[0101] The methods illustrated in FIGS. 1-9 that perform the operations described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-9 are performed by a processor or a computer as described above executing instructions or software to perform the operations described herein.
[0102] Instructions or software to control a processor or computer to implement the hardware components and perform the methods as described above are written as computer programs, code segments, instructions or any combination thereof, for individually or collectively instructing or configuring the processor or computer to operate as a machine or special-purpose computer to perform the operations performed by the hardware components and the methods as described above. In one example, the instructions or software include machine code that is directly executed by the processor or computer, such as machine code produced by a compiler. In another example, the instructions or software include higher-level code that is executed by the processor or computer using an interpreter. Programmers of ordinary skill in the art can readily write the instructions or software based on the block diagrams and the flow charts illustrated in the drawings and the corresponding descriptions in the specification, which disclose algorithms for performing the operations performed by the hardware components and the methods as described above.
[0103] The instructions or software to control a processor or computer to implement the hardware components and perform the methods as described above, and any associated data, data files, and data structures, are recorded, stored, or fixed in or on one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Examples of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), flash memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD+Rs, CD-RWs, CD+RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, DVD+Rs, DVD-RWs, DVD+RWs, DVD-RAMs, BD-ROMs, BD-Rs, BD-R LTHs, BD-REs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-optical data storage devices, optical data storage devices, hard disks, solid-state disks, and any device known to one of ordinary skill in the art that is capable of storing the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures in a non-transitory manner and providing the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures to a processor or computer so that the processor or computer can execute the instructions. In one example, the instructions or software and any associated data, data files, and data structures are distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the instructions and software and any associated data, data files, and data structures are stored, accessed, and executed in a distributed fashion by the processor or computer.
[0104] While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made in these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in each example are to be considered as being applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner, and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.
|
A power amplifier may include a first amplifying circuit configured to amplify an input RF signal; a second amplifying circuit connected to the first amplifying circuit in parallel configured to amplify the input RF signal; and a controller connected to at least one of the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit and configured to output a control signal in order to control an on-off state of at least one of the first amplifying circuit and the second amplifying circuit. Such an approach provides high efficiency without adding significant complexity to the power amplifier.
| 7
|
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device to heat and humidify gas, especially respiratory gas. The device comprises a fluid reservoir, a humidification chamber with gas inlet and outlet, and a device to move the fluid through the gas. Furthermore, the invention relates to such a process.
Such a device and process should be used especially for the artificial ventilation of a patient. With respect to the here presented invention, “ventilation” comprises each type of respiratory therapy, and “patient” comprises as well human as well as animal patients.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditionally such a type of patient ventilation is performed using a device with a respiratory tubing, a device to generate the gas flow directed to the patient (“gas flow generator”), and a respiratory gas humidifier. Traditionally the respiratory gas is taken from a reservoir and directed to the gas flow generator, and the gas flow generator is equipped with a gas outlet connecting to the respiratory tubing.
The main feature of such a gas flow generator is that it is capable to control pressure and/or volume and/or flow of the respiratory gas directed to the patient for instance by means of valves or a bellow. The gas flow generator may be a separate device, or it may be integrated into another device.
Usually, the respiratory gas is a mixture of air and oxygen, but other special gas mixtures may be used as well.
Usually, the fluid within the fluid reservoir which is used to humidify the respiratory gas (air; mixture of air and oxygen; else) is water. Within the scope of the here presented invention one could imagine to use water as well as other fluids, or a mixture of different fluids, with or without added drugs.
Most artificially ventilated patients are ventilated via an endotracheal tube. This tube connects to the distal end of a respiratory tubing leading the respiratory gas from the respiratory gas flow generator to the patient. The tube may well simultaneously connect to several other respiratory tubings.
Usually, the respiratory gas delivered by the respiratory gas flow generator is controlled by several parameters in order to adapt the respiratory gas flow to the patient's individual needs. The set parameters are automatically controlled by the respiratory gas flow generator or may be adjusted according to requirements. Depending on the model of respiratory gas flow generator used and its control settings the instantaneous respiratory gas flow may vary widely during a single respiratory cycle which when using so far known ventilators may lead to serious problems.
The endotracheal tube bypasses nose, pharynx and larynx thus eliminating their normal function of heating and humidification of the respiratory gas. While using a face mask for the application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), nose and pharynx/larynx are functionally maintained. During respiratory therapy, however, the significantly higher and often continuous gas flow with reference to normal breathing—especially when using cold and dry respiratory gas—often leads to adverse effects, i.e. irritation, inflammation, dryness and incrustation of the upper airways.
In order to overcome those problems, during respiratory therapy the respiratory gas taken from a reservoir (i.e. pressurized gas from a bottle or wall outlet), or from the environment via fan or bellow etc., which usually is quite dry is artificially humidified and heated.
The aim is to emulate the natural conditions, that is to heat the respiratory gas to body temperature and to humidify it to nearly full saturation. The aim is to reach a saturation of 95 to 100% relative humidity.
That task is quite difficult to perform especially under circumstances as described above where the instantaneous respiratory gas flow is widely varying as during spontaneous breathing or artificial ventilation.
Similar difficulties exist in other medical areas than respiratory therapy, i.e. laparoscopy, and there devices similar to the here presented invention may be used. During laparoscopy, for purposes of expansion a gas (frequently used gas: carbon dioxide) is insufflated into a body cavity (e.g. abdomen). In that application and similar ones heating and humidification of the gas to nearly saturation is capable to prevent the quite frequent adverse effects of mucosal irritation and drying and cooling.
It is important to note that also in laparoscopy the gas flow shows remarkably high variations in time, since the insertion of instruments into or their removal from body openings requires a fast gas flow control in order to maintain a constant pressure within the body cavity.
Principally there are several techniques and processes known to heat and humidify gas to preset values in the applications mentioned above. The following describes some of those processes and the corresponding devices.
Pass-Over Humidifier (e.g. DE 38 30 314)
This known device uses a reservoir filled with heated water. The respiratory gas is conducted along the water's surface thus heating and at the same time humidifying the gas. The water at the surface will cool down due to evaporation and is rather slowly replaced by warmer water mounting from beneath.
The area of the water/gas interface is limited due to the limited space available in the practical respiratory setting. In conjunction with the cooling of the surface water and its but slow replacement with warmer water (see above) resulting in a slow energy transfer to the water surface such a humidifier will deliver gas with a temperature highly dependent on gas flow, i.e. a varying gas-fluid temperature difference. This is why with that humidifier design the water's temperature is set according to the temporal average gas flow. In conventional devices this temperature is between about 40 and 80° C. Hence the instantaneous temperature and humidity of a heavily varying gas flow which is commonly seen in respiratory therapy (see above) is either too high or too low. A theoretical but technically impractical solution would be a very fast water temperature control.
Membrane-Type Humidifier (e.g. DE 43 03 645)
With such a device gas is directed over the surface of a structured body protruding from the heated fluid. The structured body is sucking from the reservoir the amount of fluid needed, e.g. by capillary forces. Only the amount of fluid just evaporated is replaced by fresh heated fluid. The most significant disadvantage of that design is that there arise similar problems as with the pass-over humidifier, since there is generated evaporation coldness which is not compensated for as fast as needed due to the rather slow energy transfer by the heated water rather slowly replacing the evaporated water, resulting in the inability to humidify or heat a highly variable gas flow impossible to constant values. The life-time of most of the structured bodies on the market is limited, and most of them are not fully autoclavable which is disadvantageous with respect to medical applications.
Fibre-Type Humidifier (e.g. DE 197 27 884)
Partially permeable hollow fibers (e.g. from PTFE) are bundled, and the gas to be heated and humidified is directed through their luminae. The outer surface of the fibers is in contact with the fluid needed for humidification. The disadvantage of that design is the fibers' limited life-time and mechanical as well as thermal durability. Moreover, the fibers' unsuitably high thermal resistance unduly restricts the heat transfer needed to compensate for evaporation coldness. Thus especially with high gas flow the heating of the gas is insufficient, which in turn leads to insufficient gas humidification. From theory increasing the water's temperature might compensate for those limitations. In case of a heavily varying gas flow, however, even forced heating of the fibers will not lead to constant humidification due to technical limitations of controlling the instantaneous fibre temperature as fast as required.
High-Temperature Humidifier (e.g. DE 43 12 793)
With such devices small quantities of fluid are evaporated at temperatures of about 80° C. to 130° C. and mixed with the gas flow, thus providing both the energy to heat the gas and the humidity as required. Main disadvantage of those devices is the high technical complexity needed which is paralleled by an increased technical risk especially with respect to high pressure and heat. Another disadvantage is that for technical reasons the control of the evaporation lags behind the demands. With heavily varying gas flow this will result in inconstant heating and humidification.
Bubble Through Humidifier (e.g. DE 37 30 551)
With those devices gas is bubbling through a heated fluid, resulting in heating and humidifying of the gas. The main disadvantage of that design is its high gas flow resistance which numerically is at least the pressure difference resulting from the fluid surface to the level where the gas is entering the fluid. Especially in spontaneously breathing patients a high gas flow resistance is disadvantageous.
Ultrasound-Type Nebulizer (e.g. DE 197 26 110)
Those devices use ultrasound to induce fluid vibrations resulting in the generation of tiny droplets which enter the gas flow. Main disadvantage of that design is that the “humidification” doesn't result in molecular fluid within the gas but in substantially larger fluid particles (generation of an aerosol). In contrast to molecular fluid, those larger particles have the potential to transport pathogens to the patient. There is also the risk that—especially with intermittent or varying gas flow—the amount of humidity is too high or too low.
Pressure-Type Nebulizer (e.g. DE 28 34 622)
Those devices nebulize a fluid resulting in the formation of tiny droplets, not molecular fluid. Thus those devices inherit the same disadvantages as ultrasound-type nebulizers (see above).
Heat and Moisture Exchanger (“HME” e.g. DE 94 17 169), Filter Pads, Etc.
With heat and moisture exchangers (“artificial noses”) the gas is directed over a very large wet surface which results in saturation of the gas with humidity. The “artificial nose” extracts the heat and humidity needed from the patient's expiratory gas. Filter pads e.g. from air conditioning technique get the heat and humidity needed from a water bath or similar device. While heating and humidifying the gas filter pads filtrate it from particles.
In all those devices it is of disadvantage that the evaporation coldness results in a gas flow dependent decrease in gas temperature. Thus with varying gas flow it is impossible to provide constant gas temperature and humidity. The amount of particles adhering to the filter will increase with time resulting in an increase in gas flow resistance which is highly undesirable in the medical setting. Since by design HME have to be placed in the patient's inspiratory as well as expiratory gas stream they increase the dead space with the result that the patient will inspire more or less his expiratory gas.
Booster Systems (e.g. DE 44 32 907)
With those systems it is tried to compensate for the insufficient efficiency of an “artificial nose” (HME) by means of adding both fluid and heat which requires a technically demanding control circuitry. By design, a heavily varying gas flow will result in inconstant gas temperature and humidity, since even the best control circuit is incapable to compensate for the evaporation coldness without significant time lag. Of disadvantage are also the system's increased dead space (see above), its large dimension and weight, and other features not discussed here.
A Combination of the Above Mentioned Systems (e.g. DE 296 12 115)
With this combined design first the gas is overheated and humidified. Then in a following second step the gas is cooled down to target temperature by means of metal lamellas or equivalent. During that step any humidity above saturation will form condensate dripping from the metal lamellas. The condensate is recirculated to the humidifier. With this process it is of disadvantage that at first more energy in form of humidity and temperature is added to the gas than needed for ventilation.
This is not only unfavorable from an energetic point of view but there is also the risk that any malfunction of the cooling system will result in a substantial damage to the patient.
Ambient Air Humidifier with a Stack of Rotating Plates (e.g. DE 37 35 219)
Those systems inherit a stack of rotating plates which during a part of each rotation dip into water thus becoming wet. A fan drives the gas along those stacks. The idea is that so the gas will be both cleared from any particles, and humidified. Those systems need a non-volatile additive in the fluid to reduce the fluid's surface tension thus allowing for a sufficient wetting of the stack of plates. Such, or similar, devices are intended for use on climatization of living spaces. They lack any possibility to heat the gas to a preset value. The practically limited mechanical dimension of those systems as well as their rotation frequency render them unsuitable for constant humidification of a varying gas flow, or to saturate it with humidity.
Thus to summarize, the state-of-the-art gas heating and humidifying systems are unsuitable for a satisfying controlled heating and humidification of a heavily varying or intermittent gas flow. Under those conditions, the so far known systems produce a gas with heavily varying temperature and humidity.
Another disadvantage of the known systems is that they impair—some of them to a very high degree—the precision of measurements and regulatory control loops highly desirable in respiratory therapy, or they hinder them totally. For instance, in ventilatory support applications some methods and sensors require the direct coupling of the respiratory gas flow generator or a sensor to the patient in order to deliver the respiratory gas in a preset and constant quality and quantity, for instance a precise volume flow.
Disadvantages of the already known humidifier devices placed between the respiratory gas flow generator and the patient are that they add an extra compressible volume—sometimes of extraordinary magnitude—to the respiratory circuit.
Another disadvantage of some of the already known humidifier devices is the positive pressure gradient between gas inlet and outlet. Since the pressure of the respiratory gas given to the patient (level of respiration gas) is only marginally higher than the pressure of the ambient air (pressure difference usually max. 0.1 bar) the pressure within the gas flow generator is not the same as that directly at the patient. In consequence there is the risk of malfunction and imprecise pressure control.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus the object of the present invention is an improved system for gas heating and humidification in such a way that the named disadvantages of the already known systems are eliminated. A special object of the invented system is that it is capable to heat the gas independent from any gas flow variations to a preset temperature, and to humidify it at this temperature with a fluid to nearly saturation (i.e. relative humidity of about 95 to 100%).
In the invention of a device for the heating and humidification of a gas, this task is performed by means of a temperature-controlled fluid heater as integral part of the system which in addition comprises a fluid reservoir, a humidification chamber, a gas inlet, a gas outlet, and a drive device used to force the fluid through the gas.
In many respects the invention is advantageous over already known systems which represent the state-of-the-art.
Firstly, it provides two elements (namely the drive device and the temperature-controlled heater) which may be used to control for temperature and humidification.
Secondly, those two elements which may be controlled independently allow for a quite intense heating and humidification, which in turn makes it possible to reduce the physical dimension of the device to a handy one.
In addition, a device according to the invention may be constructed to withstand heavy duty, and to be dependable even with continuous use.
There is no aerosol formation. Instead the gas is saturated with molecular fluid. It is of special significance that both temperature and humidity are easily controlled by means of the drive device and the temperature-controlled heating circuitry.
An effective design is to use a sprinkling type humidification chamber. In such a chamber the fluid is moved through the gas. The temperature of the gas flow will easily approximate the fluid's temperature. At the same time the gas flow will be saturated with evaporated fluid. The gas at the gas outlet of the chamber will be saturated (relative humidity between about 95 to 100%) with a temperature close to the fluid's temperature.
It will be advantageous if the sprinkling type humidification chamber is filled with a filing material providing a huge fluid/gas interface. During operation, the temperature of this filling material will become the same as that of the fluid due to its intimate contact to the fluid and the steady fluid turn-over. Physically spoken, this filling material is a temperature and energy buffer which immediately will provide some extra energy for evaporation if needed in case the gas flow is heavily varying.
Hence especially suited for this purpose are fillings of either knitted aluminum, stainless steel wool, or metal (especially stainless steel) pearls. Those materials inherit a large energy storage capacity combined with the feature to release energy quickly.
However, for the filling material one could also use other materials with open pored structure.
It is of importance to choose the filling material such that in fluidic aspects it will not significantly impair the gas flow thus preventing any significant pressure gradient between gas inlet and outlet even with maximal gas flow.
Preferably such a filling material should be easy to remove from the sprinkling type chamber for the purposes of change or sterilization.
In addition it is important that the drive device (preferably a pump) which moves the fluid through the gas has the capacity to circulate an amount of warmed fluid through the sprinkling type chamber (which may be filled with filling material) sufficient to provide the energy required to increase the gas temperature, and for fluid evaporation. Even with maximal gas flow those means will guarantee that the flowing gas' temperature will approximate that of the fluid, and that the gas at the outlet will be nearly saturated with humidity.
In practice for certain applications it was advantageous to increase the working pressure of the humidification chamber.
Doing so allows to feed the gas flow generator being situated downstream of the humidification chamber with already humidified gas thus avoiding the need to place the humidifier between the gas flow generator and the patient. Hence there is neither a compressible volume nor a pressure gradient added between gas flow generator and patient which is highly desirable.
Moreover, pressurized humidification will humidify and store a substantially larger amount of gas than a low-pressure humidification placed in the low-pressure area between gas flow generator and patient. In consequence, pressurized humidification is an effective buffer of heated and humidified gas which is of special importance when working with a fast fluctuating gas flow.
There is no need for a sophisticated control circuitry. This substantially simplifies the system, reflected in reduced costs.
In order to exactly set the temperature of the gas flowing out of the gas flow generator to the patient it is proposed to supply the respiratory tubing with an active heater which may be placed in the lumen of the respiratory tubing. Alternatively, the heater element may be integral part of the respiratory tubing's wall. Integrating the heater element into the respiratory tubing has the advantages that the heater element is in direct contact with the respiratory gas, and that it can be exactly heated to the target temperature thus making it easier to maintain a constant gas temperature at the patient site even with heavily varying gas flow.
One should also mention that while using a pressurized humidifier, the fluid, and in consequence the humidification process, is set to such a temperature that after depressurization of the humidified and heated gas to respiratory or environmental pressure/conditions, and at the selected target ventilatory temperature the gas humidity exactly meats the requirements. Preferably, in ventilatory applications the target gas humidity is near saturation.
Principally the temperature of the pressurized humidification chamber is dependent both on the pressure within the humidifier, and on the target temperature and relative humidity of the respiratory gas at the patient site. Depending on the type of application it might well be that the relative gas target humidity at the patient site is less than 100%.
The invention covers also the possibility to vary the pressure within the humidifier according to the variations of the respiratory gas flow in order to deliver after depressurization at the patient site a gas of constant temperature and humidity.
That part of the fluid which doesn't directly contribute to gas humidification but to gas heating will decrease its temperature at the sprinkling element. In the preferred embodiment, after reheating by the temperature-controlled heater, it will be recirculated to the fluid reservoir from which it may be recirculated to the sprinkling element.
In such a circulating system it is preferable to integrate a filter in order to guarantee for almost sterility of both the circulating fluid and the respiratory gas.
In another preferred embodiment the fluid reservoir where the temperature-controlled heater is placed is unpressurized and coupled via a pump (working as drive device for the fluid) to the sprinkling element. By controlling this pump it is possible to adapt the amount of circulated fluid per time unit to the actual needs. Switching a pressure regulator into the fluid circulation allows for uninterrupted operation of the heating and humidification device even when there is need to refill fluid into the fluid reservoir.
Of course the sprinkling type humidifier is suitable for low-pressure humidification, too, maintaining its advantages as mentioned above. Its integration into a ventilator circuit, however, might result in undesired additional compressible volume.
An alternative embodiment doesn't use a pump but a rotating body partially submerged into the fluid within the fluid reservoir to keep the fluid moving. Preferably this body consists of a stack of multiple plates set at distance to each other which while rotating around a horizontal axis delivering fluid from the fluid reservoir into the gas stream. There the fluid evaporates and humidifies the gas. Such a device may be constructed in a very compact design, and if electrically driven the rotation of the stack is very easy to control thus enabling the system to react quickly to varying fluid needs for humidification arising from a varying gas flow.
Another significant feature of the invention is that the control of the target parameters may be ensured by control of the fluid level within the fluid reservoir, and of both temperature and pressure within the humidification chamber in combination with the measurement of temperature and relative humidity of the respiratory gas at the patient site. Those tasks are technically easy to perform.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
Further advantages and features of the invention are given by the following descriptions of the exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a device to heat and humidify gas for humidification of pressurized gas for application with a ventilator.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of another embodiment of a device for heating and humidification of gas lacking a pressurized circuit area.
FIG. 3 shows still another schematic view of an alternative embodiment comprising a drive device using a stack of plates.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 gives the exemplary design of a humidifier according to the here presented invention. In this design the gas first enters the humidifier, then the respiratory gas flow generator.
The embodiment shows how the respiratory gas is taken from a reservoir 1 (i.e. pressurized gas, or wall outlet). While passing the humidifier 2 the usually very dry pressurized gas is conducted to a respiratory gas flow generator 3 . Within the respiratory gas flow generator 3 the gas is depressurized to the respiratory pressure level needed for ventilation or respiratory therapy which might be slightly above ambient air pressure. Then the respiratory gas is conducted to the patient 5 , using active temperature controlled respiratory tubing 4 connected to the respiratory gas generator.
In this embodiment the compressible volume of the breathing system leading from the respiratory gas flow generator 3 to patient 5 is very low.
It is important that the respiratory gas conducted to the patient is of both constant and preset humidity and temperature. The preset humidity at 37° C. typically is near saturation (i.e. 100%). It is also important that the patient can be ventilated without interruption.
This is ensured by conducting heated fluid (in the given exemplary design water of 72° C.) via line 6 to the humidifier 2 and from there into the annulus 7 . Here water means any fluid which might be chosen by a man skilled in the art according to requirements. In this embodiment there might be added drugs or other substances to the fluid without special notice in the following paragraphs.
The heated fluid leaves the annulus 7 via a sieve bottom 8 into a sprinkling type chamber 9 filled with filling material 10 . In this exemplary design, the filing is made of solid structured elements inheriting a huge suitable and a large cut-outs.
While water is trickling from the annulus 7 via the huge surface downwards into the bottom chamber 11 of the humidifier 2 it heats and wets the filling material 10 . At the same time respiratory gas from reservoir 1 is flowing in the opposite direction through the filling 10 . By doing so the respiratory gas is heated and humidified. In the end the nearly saturated gas is conducted via the collecting chamber 12 to the respiratory gas flow generator 3 .
Here it should be pointed out that the flow of heated water is substantially higher than the water flow needed to humidify the respiratory gas to saturation. This is to guarantee that there is no significant cooling of the fluid in the contact area of gas and fluid, and that the gas flow is heated as required.
With the here illustrated design the above mentioned process is working under pressure. Water and respiratory gas are pressurized to 4.5 bar. The temperature is about 72° C.
Depressurization of the respiratory gas from 4.5 bar/72° C. to nearly environmental pressure/37° C. ensures that the depressurized respiratory gas has a relative humidity of nearly 100%.
The humidifier will also work with other temperature/pressure combinations as long as it is guaranteed that even after depressurization to the respiratory pressure level at the target temperature the respiratory gas will be humidified according to the target humidity.
As explained above humidifier 2 collects the fluid which has trickled through the filling material in the bottom chamber 11 . Controlled by valve 13 it is conducted via a backflow line 14 into a reservoir 15 , passing a depressurizer 16 . Thus the reservoir 15 is depressurized. The here discussed design inherits a choke-like depressurizer.
In the embodiment the water temperature inside the reservoir 15 is heated by a controlled heater to 72° C. which is technically quite easy to construct. The heated water is forced by a pump via an optional filter 18 through line 6 back to the annulus 7 of the humidifier 2 .
The optional filter 18 guarantees that the recirculated water, and in consequence the respiratory gas flowing into the respiratory gas flow generator 3 is nearly free of particles or microorganisms.
Since there are present pump 19 , valve 13 and/or depressurizer 16 , the reservoir 15 can be of the low-pressure type and may be refilled at any time.
FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment where the humidifier 2 is placed between the respiratory gas flow generator 3 and the patient 5 as it is in conventional state-of-the-art designs (see above).
In order to keep small both the compressible volume and physical dimensions of the device, the device is designed to handle the range of gas flows used in respiratory therapy (0 to 180 l/min), and its humidification power is complying with the respective standards.
Warmed fluid (in this example heated to about 37° C.) is conducted via line 6 to the humidifier 2 where it enters the distribution chamber 7 .
From the distribution chamber 7 the heated water circulates through the sieve bottom 8 into a sprinkling type chamber 9 filled with filling material. In this example the filling is made from solid structured elements with a huge surface and large cut-outs.
In order to simplify the design one could do without the filling 10 and make the fluid coming from the sieve bottom 8 simply drop through the sprinkling type chamber 9 . Under certain conditions this might be regarded advantageous for purposes of cleansing and reprocessing of the humidification chamber. It might well be, however, that in order to get the same performance with respect to humidification both the volume of the sprinkling type chamber and the circulated fluid volume flow have to be substantially increased.
The water coming from the distribution chamber 7 trickling along the huge surface downwards into the bottom chamber 11 of the humidifier 2 is heating and wetting the filling 10 . Simultaneously by streaming counterwise through the filling 10 the respiratory gas coming from the respiratory gas flow generator 3 is heated and humidified. Nearly saturated (relative humidity 95 to 100%) it streams via the collecting chamber to the patient 5 .
In order to avoid condensate formation preferably a temperature-controlled actively heated respiratory tubing 4 of known conventional technology is used. For the same reason it is of importance that the temperature of any part of the tubing's wall in contact with the gas is equal or above the gas saturation temperature. Usually the gas in the respiratory tubing 4 is heated to a temperature slightly higher, i.e. 40° C., in order to prevent condensate formation even at the last few centimeters of the patient sided respiratory tubing and especially the unheated endotracheal tube.
One should also mention that dependent on the working principle of the particular respiratory gas flow generator 3 model used only a single, or multiple respiratory tubings 4 , may be used. The patient's expiratory gas might even be recirculated to the respiratory gas flow generator. Under those circumstances the discussion above with respect to necessity and possibilities of heated respiratory tubing references also to all other types of respiratory tubing and parts thereof where there is the risk of condensate formation.
As already discussed, humidifier 2 collects the fluid trickling through filling 10 into its bottom chamber 11 which functionally is a fluid reservoir.
Here by means of the temperature-controlled heater 17 the fluid is heated to a constant temperature of in the embodiment 37° C. The design of such a temperature-controlled heater is technically simple. The heated water is forced by pump 19 through the optional filter 18 and line 6 back to the distribution chamber 7 of the heater 2 .
The optional filter 18 guarantees that both the circulated water, and in consequence the respiratory gas conducted to the patient 5 , are nearly free of particles or microorganisms. Alternatively or as a supplement the device may inherit an antibacterial inner surface.
The fluid level in the bottom chamber 11 may be regulated to a constant level by means of valve 21 controlling the fluid flow from a fluid reservoir 20 (i.e. a bottle as commonly used for iv infusion). Valve 21 may well be constructed as flotation type valve. In this case it is important that the hydrostatic pressure difference between fluid reservoir 20 and bottom chamber 11 is always higher than the highest possible peak respiratory gas pressure. In practice the fluid reservoir 20 should be positioned at least 1 m above the bottom chamber 11 .
For reasons of patient safety another valve 22 controls a bypass between the humidifier's 2 gas inlet and gas outlet in order to ensure that with a high difference pressure (i.e. provoked by a humidifier failure) respiration is left unimpaired.
Surplus water and water trapped by the air is separated in the water trap 23 integrated into the collection area 12 . This water is recirculated into the bottom chamber 11 .
For purposes of control of the humidification process and monitoring of the device's proper function the control-and-monitoring device 29 is connected to the humidifier 2 and the patient 5 by means of several sensors and control lines. The temperature sensor 24 which may be of one of those sensor types commercially easily available is sensing the patient's temperature which may be fed into the humidification process as target temperature. Alternatively the target temperature may be dictated by another device, i.e. a patient monitoring device, communicating with the control-and-monitoring device 29 . The fluid temperature is measured by another temperature sensor 26 and controlled with heater 17 .
The third temperature sensor 25 is sensing the gas temperature at the gas inlet. In case of a too high fluid level in the bottom chamber 11 due to a failure of valve 21 or pump 19 the control-and-monitoring device 29 is able to detect an unduly high fluid level by means of detecting the increase in temperature at the site of temperature sensor 25 . In such a case the bypass valve 22 will open. In consequence the temperature sensor 27 sensing the gas temperature at the gas outlet will detect a markable decrease in temperature. This security mechanism may be checked by voluntarily switching off the pump 19 ; in consequence the fluid level should increase if the mechanism is working properly.
The humidifier 2 is connected with the control-and-monitoring device 29 via the transponder 28 firmly connected to the humidifier 2 , in order to identify the humidifier and to monitor with regard to its lifetime.
The control-and-monitoring device 29 is also able to monitor the power consumption of pump 19 . Since the pump's power consumption is a function of the fluid level in the bottom chamber 11 , the control-and-monitoring device 29 is also able to detect a too low fluid level (i.e. due to an empty fluid reservoir 20 , failure of valve 12 , or failure of the fluid circulation due to an obstructed sieve bottom 8 ).
An alternative design might be as shown in FIG. 3 .
The humidifier 2 according to FIG. 2 is placed in this embodiment between the respiratory gas flow generator 3 and patient 5 . The fluid is in a bottom chamber 11 , and its temperature is controlled to a preset value by means of the heater 17 .
The fluid in the bottom chamber 11 is held at a constant level by means of the fluid reservoir 20 and valve 21 as within FIG. 2 .
Solid structured elements of the exchanger device 30 are periodically (preferably by means of rotation) partially submerged into the fluid in order to achieve a sufficient frequent exchange of the water within the contact area. During this procedure the geometrical design or the structured elements (i.e. radial ribs, or similar) has a significant impact on the amount of fluid taken along during the phase of submerging. A high rotation frequency may further increase the energy transport.
If designed according to FIGS. 1 to 3 and correctly dimensioned a heavily varying or intermittently interrupted gas flow can be conditioned to nearly constant temperature and humidity. There is no risk of overheated gas after sudden gas flow interruption and there is no risk of a too low humidity if the gas flow suddenly becomes very high.
In order to perform the object of the here presented invention the fluid/gas interface has to be dimensioned and equipped with such a geometric structure that even in case of the maximally allowed peak gas flow the energy and mass transfer can take place completely. The proper dimensioning may be checked by conducting the maximum allowed peak gas flow through the device according to the present invention. If dimensioned correctly the gas temperature after having passed the humidification chamber is nearly identical to that of the fluid before it enters the humidification chamber.
Suitable measures (i.e. increasing the effective flow cross-sectional area) will prevent the dragging of water droplets along by the gas.
The use of heated respiratory tubing for the further transport of the gas will effectively prevent condensate formation within the tubing.
In case there is the need to humidify the gas to less than saturation this may be realized by switching a suitable heater element into the stream of the already humidified gas. The humidifier according to the here presented invention conditions the gas to a temperature and humidity where the absolute humidity is according to requirements. The additional gas heater at the gas outlet, and/or the addition of dry gas, will adjust both the temperature and relative humidity of the gas to the target values. Thus it is possible to generate gas of various combinations of temperature and humidity.
The device according to the here presented invention is suitable not only for purposes of respiratory therapy but for all applications where a variable gas flow has to be cleansed of particles and/or conditioned to a preset/constant temperature or humidity. Application examples are the insufflation of gases into body cavities (i.e. carbon dioxide: laparoscopy), the provision of respiratory gas in breathing protection applications (i.e. painting), all types of inhalation, and air conditioning (i.e. of houses, vehicles, airplanes) alone or in combination with other air-conditioning devices.
|
The device and a process for the heating and humidification of gas, especially respiratory gas. Fluid from a fluid reservoir is supplied to a sprinkling type chamber where, for the purpose of humidification, it is moved through the gas. The point is that the fluid is heated by a temperature controlled heater to a preset temperature. In addition to the description of the device, a description of the process underlying the operation of the device is described.
| 0
|
TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates in general to computer systems and more particularly to a computer system including a chassis, or central processing unit (CPU) that is mounted to a wall by a bracket.
BACKGROUND
A desktop computer system consists of a monitor, a keyboard, and a computer chassis, or CPU. Typically, the computer chassis resides on the desktop either in a horizonal orientation underneath the monitor, or in a vertical orientation to the side of the monitor. However, in environments where user space is limited, such as relatively small cubicles, and the like, the computer chassis takes up a significant amount of space.
In order to reduce the amount of desktop space required by the footprint of the computer chassis, the chassis has been mounted in an upright position on the floor adjacent the desk. However, in this position, the chassis is susceptible to picking up unwanted dirt and debris. Also, the chassis is often bumped or jarred by being accidentally kicked or hit by cleaning equipment and the like.
Computer stands have been developed for supporting a computer chassis and/or monitor on the desktop and for supporting the computer chassis on the floor. These stands, however, do not solve the desktop space problem and do not eliminate the problems associated with floor mounted chassis.
Therefore, what is needed is a bracket that mounts a computer chassis to a wall and thus eliminates the problems associated with supporting the chassis on the desktop or the floor.
SUMMARY
To this end a computer system is provided according to which a bracket supports a computer chassis on a structure having an accessible upper edge. The bracket is formed by a plurality of support members for receiving the chassis and for engaging the chassis in a manner to prevent movement of the chassis relative to the bracket. At least one hook is connected to the support member for extending over the edge to support the support member, and therefore the chassis, relative to the structure.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that the computer chassis is removed from the desktop and floor environments but is supported at the work station near the monitor and keyboard. Also, the dimensions of the bracket can be selected so that it chassis fits in it in a relatively tight fit to prevent the chassis from rocking back and forth in any direction. Moreover, the bracket can be quickly removed and installed in a different location by one person. Further, the hook will fit over any conventional modular wall having an exposed upper edge portion, even those with varying thicknesses, since the top of the wall will naturally find the balanced center within the hook and properly seat the bracket.
Also, even though the chassis is well supported, a relatively large portion of the outer surface of the chassis is directly exposed to air so that its thermal integrity will not be affected. Further, the bracket does not restrict the access to any plugs, cables, switches, buttons, indicators, ports, drive openings, etc. on the front and the rear of the chassis. Moreover, the bracket is very versatile in the sense that it can be installed on either side of a cubicle wall and computer orientation with the bracket becomes intuitively obvious to the installer/user. Still further, the hook will not permanently deform or mark the cubicle wall surfaces.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view illustrating an embodiment of a computer system located in a cubicle and including a bracket supporting a computer chassis.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of the bracket of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the components of the computer, or CPU, that are incorporated in the chassis of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral 10 refers, in general, to a cubicle that is located in an office, or the like, and includes an upright wall 12 that is connected at one end to an end of another unright wall 14 which extends at a right angle to the wall 12. A horizontally extending support member, or desktop, 16 is mounted to the walls in any known manner.
A conventional computer system is provided in the cubical 10 and includes a monitor 20 and a keyboard 22 supported on the desktop 16, as well as a CPU, or computer chassis, 24 that is supported in an elevated position relative to the desktop by a bracket 30. The chassis has a front face, or wall 24a, a rear wall (not shown), a bottom wall 24b, an upper wall (not shown), and two side wall 24c, one of which is shown in the drawing. The chassis 24 contains several components of a computer, as will be described.
A bracket 30 hangs from the upper edge portion of the wall 12 and will be described in detail. The chassis 24 is placed in the bracket 30 so that one of the side walls 24c of the chassis rests on the bottom of the bracket 30 and so that its front wall 24a extends vertically and generally faces the monitor. An on-off switch, a light, and one or more drive bays are provided on the front wall 24a in a conventional manner. Although not shown in the drawings, it is understood that the above-mentioned rear wall of the chassis 24 is provided with terminals, connectors ports, and the like, to permit the computer components contained in the chassis 24 to be connected to ancillary equipment including the monitor 20 and the keyboard 22, also in a conventional manner.
The bracket 30 is shown in detail in FIG. 2 and includes a framework of rods, preferably, powder-coated steel rods, that are bent and welded in a manner to form two elongated, vertically extending members 32 and 34 extending in a spaced parallel relationship. The upper ends of the members 32 and 34, are bent back and down as viewed in FIG. 2, to form two hooks 36 and 38, respectively, which are connected by a horizonal member 40. Two horizonal members 42 and 44 extend from the lower ends of the members 32 and 34, respectively and are preferably formed by bending the latter members outwardly.
The members 42 and 44 are bent upwardly to form two vertically-extending members 46 and 48, respectively. The members 46 and 48 are bent in several respects to form two arms 50 and 52 which extend out and then back. Also, the upper end portions 46a and 48a of the members 46 and 48, respectively, are bent out, and then back and in so that they can be connected, at their respective ends, to the members 32 and 34 respectively. These upper end portions 46a and 48a thus form an enlarged opening for reasons to be described. A U-shaped member 54 is connected at its respective end portions to the horizontal members 42 and 44.
With the exception of the above-described connections of the end portions 46a and 48a to the members 32 and 34, respectively, and the connections of ends of the member 54 to the members 42 and 44, respectively, the remaining members described above are preferably formed integrally and bent into the configurations as described above.
As shown in FIG. 1, the bracket is positioned relative to the wall 12 so that the hooks 36 and 38 extend over the top edge of the wall to support the bracket on the wall. The computer chassis 24 is then oriented so that its front face 24a extends vertically and is positioned above the enlarged upper opening defined by the bent upper end portions 46a and 48a of the members 46 and 48, respectively. The chassis 24 is then lowered into the bracket 30 until the lower side wall 24c of the chassis rests on the horizontal member 54. In the latter position, the arm 50 curls around a corresponding portion of the bottom wall 24b of the chassis 24 and around a corresponding portion of the front wall 24a of the chassis. Similarly, the arm 52 also curls around a corresponding portion of the bottom wall 24b of the chassis 24 and around a corresponding portion of the rear wall of the chassis. The arms 50 and 52 thus prevent any side-to-side movement of the chassis 24.
FIG. 3 depicts the basic computer components that are disposed in the chassis 24 which include a motherboard 60 mounted to the interior of the chassis in any know manner. A processor 62, a plurality of memory devices or modules 64, and two input/output (I/O) devices 66 are mounted on the motherboard 60. Two buses 68a and 68b are also provided on the motherboard 60 that connect the processor 62 to the memory modules 64 and to the input/output devices 66, respectively. A power supply 70 is connected to the motherboard 60 and a pair of cable assemblies 72a and 72b connect the motherboard to a hard drive unit 74 and a disk drive unit 76, respectively. It is understood that a video controller is included for connection to the monitor 20 and other components, electrical traces, electrical circuits and related devices are also provided in the chassis 24. Since these are all conventional, they are not shown and will not be described in any further detail.
Several advantages are gained by the embodiment described above For example, the dimensions of the bracket 30 can be selected so that the chassis 24 fits in it in a relatively tight fit to prevent it from rocking back and forth in any direction. Also, the bracket 30 can be quickly removed and installed in a different location by one person. Further, the curved hooks 36 and 38 will fit over any conventional modular wall having an exposed upper edge portion, even those with varying thicknesses, since the top of the wall will naturally find the balanced center within the hooks and properly seat the bracket 30.
Also, even though the chassis 30 is well supported in the above manner, a relatively large portion of the outer surface of the chassis is directly exposed to air so that its thermal integrity will not be affected. Further, the bracket 30 does not restrict the access to any plugs, cables, switches, buttons, indicators, ports, drive openings, etc. on the front and the rear of the chassis 24. Moreover, the bracket 30 is very versatile in the sense that it can be installed on either side of a cubicle wall, and computer orientation with the bracket becomes intuitively obvious to the installer/user. Still further, the hooks 36 and 38 will not permanently deform or mark the cubicle wall surfaces.
It is understood that several variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the various members forming the bracket 30 can be formed of heavy wire, or the like, rather than rods. Also, these members can be bent instead of connected and/or can be formed into individual members and connected, rather then being bent. Further, the hooks 36 and 38 can support the bracket 30 over any structure, other than a wall, having an accessible upper edge. Also, the specific number of rod members, hooks, and arms froming the bracket 30 be varied.
It is understood that other modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.
|
A computer system according to which a bracket supports a computer chassis on a structure having an accessible upper edge. The bracket is formed by a plurality of support members for receiving the chassis and for engaging the chassis in a manner to prevent movement of the chassis relative to the bracket. At least one hook is connected to the support member for extending over the edge to support the support member, and therefore the chassis, relative to the structure.
| 0
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disk recording-reproducing device for recording information magnetically on a recording surface of a flexible disk encased in a jacket and reproducing the same and, more particularly, to an eject mechanism for effecting insertion and ejection of the disk.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional disk recording-reproducing devices, two types of ejection mechanisms are known in connection with the function of taking out a disk loaded in a drive position: one using independent mechanisms for effecting release action of a clamp mechanism for holding the disk and ejection of the disk and the other performing synchronously the release action and eject action of the clamped disk.
In the foregoing conventional systems, however, the first type of mechanism for effecting independently the release action and eject action against the clamped disk needs a complicated process of control because two steps are involved to eject the disk. The other type of effecting synchronously the release action and eject action against the clamped disk needs a complicated mechanism. Further, in order to ensure a proper timing relation between the lock and lock-release action of an eject mechanism and the action of a clamp mechanism it is required, because of the presence of accumulated variations of dimensional tolerance of respective parts, to adjust the eject mechanism actual insert, after assembly of a recording-reproducing device body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a disk recording-reproducing device which performs concurrently the release action and eject action by the use of a simple mechanism and whose eject action is not influenced by the variation of tolerance of respective parts, thereby eliminating troublesome adjustment of an eject mechanism after assembly of the device body.
To achieve the foregoing object the present invention provides a disk recording-reproducing device including a clamp mechanism and eject mechanism for a disk (3) encased in a jacket, characterized by an eject board (15) abutable on an insertion front end of the jacket of disk (3) and urged toward an insertion opening for the disk (3), a lock mechanism (13b,20) for locking the eject board (15) when the disk (3) is inserted up to a drive position, a lock-release member (19) for releasing the locked state of the eject board, and a cam member (16) rotatable as it is rubbed by the lock-release member (19) at the time of insertion of the disk (3), wherein one of the cam member (16) and lock-release member (19) is movable in cooperation with the eject board (15) to shift in the direction of insertion and ejection of the disk (3), and the other is movable in cooperation with the clamp mechanism to shift substantially perpendicularly to the revolution phase of the cam member (16).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the first embodiment of a disk recording-reproducing device according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of an eject mechanism according to the present invention;
FIGS. 3(A) through 3(D) are side views for explanation of the eject action of the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the eject mechanism according to the present invention; and
FIGS. 5(A) through 5(C) are side views for explanation of the eject action of the second embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to its embodiments shown in the drawings, in which FIG. 1 is the exploded perspective view showing the first embodiment of a disk recording-reproducing device according to the present invention and FIG. 2 is the perspective view of the important portion of an eject mechanism of the first embodiment.
In these drawings, reference numeral 1 indicates a housing formed by aluminum-die casting, for example, and 2 indicates a front panel made of synthetic resin, secured in front of the housing 1, and formed with a narrow disk insertion opening 2a through which a disk 3 is loaded inside the device. 4 is a stepping motor mounted on the rear-end right-hand side of the housing 1, 5 is a guide shaft secured to the housing 1, and 6 is a carriage mounting thereon a magnetic head (not shown) which performs read/write of information with respect to the disk 3. The carriage 6 is positioned in a center portion on the rear side of the housing 1 and shifted reciprocatingly in the radial direction of the disk 3 along the guide shaft 5. On an upper portion of the carriage 6 one end of an arm 7 is supported swingably which is urged toward the carriage 6 by a spring. 8 is a spindle for receiving the disk 3 which is mounted rotatably on the housing 1 by means of a bearing 9. 10 is a drive motor for turning the disk 3 at a high speed, whose turning force is transmitted via a drive belt 11 and pulley 12 to the spindle 8. 13 is a lever frame provided with a clamp mechanism (not shown) including a hub engagable with the spindle 8 to pinch the disk 3, to which a door 14 and eject board 15 for effecting clamp action are attached.
As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2, the rearend center portion of the eject board 15 extends downward and the point of this extended center portion stretches laterally thereby forming an engage portion 15a. This engage portion 15a is caught in a narrow groove 13a formed in the lever frame 13 so that the eject board 15 can shift horizontally smoothly along the groove 13a. A portion on one side of the front end of the eject board 15 projects upward steppedly thereby forming a shelf portion 15b on which a cam 16 is supported rotatably about a shaft 17. A working portion 16a at the end of the cam 16 is made thicker than the other portion, and a spring hang portion 16b projecting downward of the cam holds a spring 18 for control of rotation of the cam 16, this spring 18 also functioning so as to urge the eject board 15 toward the disk insertion opening 2a. 19 is a clamp arm (lock-release member) linked to the clamp mechanism which when the disk 3 is inserted abuts on the side face of the working portion 16a of the cam 16 so that the cam 16 turns in the clockwise direction. In this connection, a lock pin 20 is secured on the under side of a front end portion of the eject board 15. Thus, as this lock pin 20 fits in a lock hole 13b formed in the lever frame 13, the eject board 15 is locked and can not move back toward the disk insertion opening 2a.
The operation of the thus configured eject mechanism will now be described. FIG. 3 is the side view for explanation of the insert/eject action of the present invention. As the disk 3 is inserted inside the recording-reproducing device, the front end of the jacket of disk 3 abuts on the engage portion 15a of the eject board 15 and the eject board 15 is pushed rearward in opposition to the strength of the spring 18 (see FIG. 3(A)). As the disk 3 is pushed further thereby to shift the eject board 15, the side face of the working portion 16a of the cam 16 supported on the shelf portion 15b of the eject board 15 abuts on the clamp arm 19 linked to the clamp mechanism and the cam 16 is turned in the clockwise direction when viewed from above. In this operation, because the thickness H of the working portion 16a is designed sufficiently large, some positional errors in the vertical direction of the cam 16 and clamp arm 19 do not influence the abutment between the cam 16 and the clamp arm 19. Then, as the eject board 15 comes up to the drive position of the disk 3, the lock pin 20 secured on the under face of the eject board 15 fits in the lock hole 13b formed in the lever frame 13, whereby the eject board 15 is locked (see FIG. 3(B)). Then, as the clamp manipulation for the disk 3 is commenced, the clamp arm 19 linked to the clamp mechanism moves down, and the cam 16 disengages from the clamp arm 19 and returns to the state prior to engagement with the clamp arm 19 due to the elastic strength of the spring 18. As a result, the working portion 16a of cam 16 and the clamp arm 19 lie partially one upon another vertically, but are spaced mutually a little (see FIG. 3(C)). At the time of the eject manipulation, as the clamp-release manipulation is commenced for the disk 3, the clamp arm 19 moves up, a portion on the upper face of the clamp arm 19 abuts on a portion on the lower face of the cam 16, and the cam 16 and the eject board 15 supporting the former are lifted. As a result, the lock pin 20 disengages from the lock hole 13b to release the locked state, the eject board 15 is pulled by means of the elastic strength of the spring 18, and the disk 3 is pushed by the engage portion 15a of the eject board 15, whereby the disk 3 is ejected outside the device (see FIG. 3(D)).
Summarizing the operation of the first embodiment, by insertion of the disk 3 the eject board 15 is pushed in opposition to the strength of the spring 18. As the disk 3 is pushed further, the cam 16 mounted on the eject board 15 abuts on the lock-release member (clamp arm) 19 and turns in the clockwise direction when viewed from above. Then, the lock pin 20 provided on the eject board 15 fits in the lock hole 13b, so that the eject board 15 is locked. Then, as clamping of the disk 3 is commenced, the lock-release member 19 linked to the clamp mechanism moves down and disengages from the cam 16, the cam 16 returns to the state prior to engagement with the lock-release member 19 due to the strength of the spring 18, and a portion of the cam 16 positions above the lock-release member 19. In the eject operation, as clamping of the disk 3 is released, the lock-release member 19 linked to the clamp mechanism moves up and the upper face of the lock-release member 19 abuts on the lower face of the cam 16; thus, the cam 16 is lifted. Then, because the lock pin 20 disengages from the lock hole 13b, the eject board 15 is pulled by the spring 18 and the disk 3 abutting on the eject board 15 is ejected outward.
The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. The configuration of the recording-reproducing device of the second embodiment is identical to that of the first embodiment, except for the eject mechanism; thus no further detailed description is given therefor.
FIG. 4 is the perspective view of the important portion of the eject mechanism of the second embodiment. 21 indicates an eject board, and 21a indicates an engage portion of a flat and substantially L-shaped form which extends downward from the rear end of the eject board 21. The engage portion 21a is caught in the narrow groove 13a formed in the lever frame 13 so that the eject board 21 can shift horizontally smoothly along the groove 13a. 21b is a lock-release board of a substantially laid U-shaped form in side view, which is formed by cutting and bending a portion of a front end portion of the eject board 21 upward and has a horizontally-extending notch 22 in its center portion. A front end portion of the lock-release board 21b is coupled to a spring 23 so that the eject board 21 is urged toward the disk insertion opening. 21c is a lock hole bored in the eject board 21 which, when a lock pin 24 secured on the upper face of the lever frame 13 fits therein, locks the eject board 21 and prevents the same from returning toward the disk insertion opening. 25 is a clamp plate linked to the clamp mechanism, and 26 is a cam supported rotatably by the clamp plate 25 via a shaft 27, so that as the jacket of inserted disk 3 abuts on the lock-release plate 21b the cam 25 turns in the clockwise direction. 28 is a spring for urging the cam 26 so as to return the cam 26 having been turned by the lock-release plate 21b to the position shown in FIG. 4.
The operation of the thus configured eject mechanism will now be described. FIG. 5 is the side view for explanation of the insert/eject action of the second embodiment. As the disk 3 is inserted inside the recording-reproducing device, the front end of the jacket of disk 3 abuts on the engage portion 21a of the eject board 21 and the eject board 21 is pushed in opposition to the strength of the spring 23 (see FIG. 5(A) ). As the disk 3 is pushed further to shift the eject board 21, the lock-release plate 21b provided on the front upper face of the eject board 21 abuts on the side face of the cam 26 linked to the clamp mechanism, and the cam 26 turns in the clockwise direction when viewed from above. In this connection, because the contactable width h of the lock-release plate 21b with the cam 26 is designed sufficiently large, some positional errors in the vertical direction of the lock-release plate 21b and cam 26 do not influence the abutment between the lock-release plate 21b and the cam 26. Then, as the eject board 21 comes up to the drive position of the disk 3, the lock pin 24 secured on the upper face of the lever frame 13 fits in the lock hole 21c formed in the eject board 21, whereby the eject board 21 is locked (see FIG. 5(B)). Then, as the clamp manipulation is commenced against the disk 3, the cam 26 linked to the clamp mechanism moves down and, as the cam 26 comes up to the notch 22, it disengages from the lock-release plate 21b and returns to the state prior to engagement with the lock-release plate 21b due to the elastic strength of the spring 28. As a result, the cam 26 is positioned inside the notch 22 without contact with the lock-release plate 21b (see FIG. 5(C)). In the eject manipulation, although not shown, as the clamp-release manipulation is commenced against the disk 3, the cam 26 moves up, and the upper face of the cam 26 abuts on the lock-release plate 21b in the inside of the notch 22, whereby the eject board 21 formed integrally with the lock-release plate 21b is lifted. In response to the above, the lock pin 24 disengages from the lock hole 21c to release the locked state, and the eject board 21 is pulled by means of the elastic strength of the spring 23, whereby the disk 3 is pushed by the engage portion 21a of the eject board 21 and ejected outside the device.
As is apparent from the foregoing configuration, the present invention produces the effects that the eject mechanism synchronized with the clamp manipulation can be realized in a simplified configuration by the use of a reduced number of parts, and no fine adjustment of ejection is required after assembly of the device body because dimensional clearance is provided taking into account the realative movements for the mutually contactable cam member and lock-release member.
|
A disk recording-reproducing device including a clamp mechanism and eject mechanism for a disk, which is characterized by an eject board abutable on an insertion front end of the disk and urged toward an insertion opening for the disk, a lock mechanism for locking the eject board when the disk is inserted up to a drive position, a lock-release member for releasing the locked state of the eject board, and a cam member rotatable as it is rubbed by the lock-release member at the time of insertion of the disk. Either the cam member or the lock-release member is movable in cooperation with the eject board to shift in the direction of insertion and ejection of the disk, and the other is movable in cooperation with the clamp mechanism to shift substantially perpendicularly to the revolution plane of the cam member, whereby a comparatively large dimensional clearance is allowed for the cam member and lock-release member.
| 6
|
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/148,004 filed on Nov. 5, 1993, abandoned, which is a CIP of Ser. No. 07/876,564 filed Apr. 30, 1992, abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Art
The present invention relates to novel α-galactosylceramides having effective antitumor activity and immuno-stimulating activity, to a process for producing these α-galactosylceramides and to the use thereof.
2. Related Art
In respect to α-galactosylceramide, a study on a mass analysis has been reported in Analytical Chemistry, 59, 1652 (1987), in which the structure of α-galactosylceramide is described. The compound corresponding to the α-galactosylceramide has been isolated from a cestode by B. N. Singh and reported in Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 26, 99 (1987). However, the stereo chemical configuration of the sugar is not described in the study, and thus the α-galactosyl structure is not confirmed. In other reports, only two α-galactosylceramides has been extracted and isolated from the marine sponge Agelas mauritianus by the present inventors (Japanese Patent Application Nos. 303314/1990 and 244385/1991).
On the other hand, it is only those described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 93562/1989 other than the invention according to the present inventors as far as we know that antitumor activity is found for galactosylceramides. Moreover, all of the galactosylceramides in which antitumor activity is shown in Examples of the above cited specification are β-galactosylceramides, and the dosages are as high as 0.5-2 mg per mouse. Furthermore, there is no example in which a galactosylceramide has been used in practice as an antitumor agent or an immunostimulator.
The galactosylceramides derived from marine sponges are described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 57594/1986 and Pure & Applied Chemistry, 58(3), 387-394 (1980). All of these galactosylceramides are, however, β-galactosylceramides, the antitumor activity of which have not been reported.
In general, the physiological activities of chemical substances depend largely on their chemical structures, and it is always desired to obtain novel compounds having antitumor activity and immuno-stimulating activity.
OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have extracted specific α-galactosylceramides from a marine sponge Agelas mauritianus and found that the compounds exhibit antitumor activity and immuno-stimulating activity. The present inventors have further created the method for synthesizing the related compounds and found that these related compounds also have the similar activities. The present invention have been achieved on the basis of these informations.
That is, the novel α-galactosylceramides according to the present invention are represented by the following formula (A): ##STR3## wherein R represents ##STR4## where R 2 represents H or OH and X denotes an integer of 0-26, or R represents --(CH 2 ) 7 CH═CH(CH 2 ) 7 CH 3 and
R 1 represents any one of the substituents defined by the following (a)-(e):
(a) --CH 2 (CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
(b) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
(c) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 ) 2 ,
(d) --CH═CH(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 , and
(e) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 )CH 2 CH 3 ,
where Y denotes an integer of 5-17.
In the aforementioned formula (A),
(1) the compound in which R represents ##STR5## is represented by the formula (I): ##STR6## and (2) the compound in which R represents --(CH 2 ) 7 CH═CH(CH 2 ) 7 CH 3 is represented by the formula (XXI): ##STR7##
The present invention also relates to a process for preparing the compounds represented by the formula (I) and specified below. That is, the process for preparing the α-galactosylceramide represented by the formula (I) according to the present invention comprises collecting the marine sponge Agelas mauritianus, subjecting it to an extraction operation with an organic solvent and isolating from the extract the α-galactosylceramides represented by the formula (I) and specified below:
(1) (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-heptadecanediol,
(2) (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-hexadecanediol,
(3) (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytricosanoylamino!-16-methyl-3,4-heptadecanediol, and
(4) (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxypentacosanoylamino!-16-methyl-3,4-octadecanediol.
The compound of the present invention represented by the formula (A) (i.e. formulae (I) and (XXI)) can be also synthesized chemically according to the process schemes or reaction route schemes described below.
The present invention further relates to the use of the compounds represented by the formula (A) (formulae (I) and (XXI)). That is, the antitumor agent and the immunostimulator according to the present invention each contains one or more α-galactosylceramides represented by the formula (A) (formulae (I) and (XXI)) as effective ingredients or contain the effective amount thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to the therapeutic method comprising administering the effective amounts of one or more of the aforementioned compounds to patients who need inhibiting the proliferation of tumor or activating immunity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 (a and b) shows the scheme (synthetic route A) for synthesizing the compounds represented by the formula (A) from an aldehyde compound as a starting material;
FIG. 2 also shows the scheme (synthetic route B) which is a route for synthesizing the compounds represented by the formula (A) from an aldehyde compound as a starting material as well as FIG. 1 and has less steps than the reaction route A;
FIG. 3 shows the scheme (synthetic route C) for deriving the compounds represented by the formula (A) by applying a variety of chemical modifications to the sphingosine;
FIG. 4(a-c) shows the scheme (synthetic route D) for synthesizing a derivative of the compound represented by the formula (A) from an aldehyde compound as a starting material, which has a hydroxyl group at the C-4 of the long chain base;
FIG. 5(aand b) shows the scheme which illustrates a preferred method for synthesizing the compound 9 ((2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3-tetradecanol);
FIG. 6 shows the scheme which illustrates a preferred method for synthesizing the compound 7 ((2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-octanoylamino-3-octadecanol);
FIG. 7 shows the scheme which illustrates a preferred method for synthesizing the compound 5 ((2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-3-octadecanol);
FIG. 8 shows the scheme which illustrates a preferred method for synthesizing the compound 1 ((2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3-octadecanol);
FIG. 9 shows the scheme which illustrates another preferred method for synthesizing the compound 5;
FIG. 10(a-c) shows the scheme which illustrates a preferred method for synthesizing the compound 22 ((2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxyltetracosanoylamino!-3,4-heptadecanediol).
FIG. 11(a-c) shows another scheme (synthetic route E) for synthesizing the compounds which can be obtained by synthetic route D and has stereostructure represented by the formula ##STR8## in the long chain base portion as shown, for example, in the last formula in FIG. 11c; and
FIG. 12(a-c) shows the scheme for synthesizing Compound 36, (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-hexacosanoylamino-3,4-octadecanediol.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
α-Galactosylceramides
The α-galactosylceramides according to the present invention, as described above, are represented by the formula (A) (i.e. formulae (I) and (XXI)), and R 1 in the formula (I) is preferably represented by the following (a)-(e):
(a) --CH 2 (CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
wherein, when R 2 represents H, it is preferable that X denote an integer of 0-24 and Y denote an integer of 7-15; when R 2 represents OH, it is preferable that X denote an integer of 20-24 and Y denote an integer of 11-15; when R 2 represents H, it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 8-22 and Y denote an integer of 9-13; and when R 2 represents OH, it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 21-23 and Y denote an integer of 12-14;
(b) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
wherein, when R 2 represents H, it is preferable that X denote an integer of 18-26 and Y denote an integer of 5-15; when R 2 represents OH, it is preferable that X denote an integer of 18-26 and Y denote an integer of 5-17; further when R 2 represents H, it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 21-25 and Y denote an integer of 6-14; and when R 2 represents OH, it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 21-25 and Y denote an integer of 6-16;
(c) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 ) 2 ,
wherein when R 2 represents H, it is preferable that X denote an integer of 20-24 and Y denote an integer of 9-13; when R 2 represents OH, it is preferable that X denote an integer of 18-24 and Y denote an integer of 9-13; further when R 2 represents H, it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 21-23 and Y denote an integer of 10-12; and when R 2 represents OH, it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 20-23 and Y denote an integer of 10-12;
(d) --CH═CH(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
wherein R 2 represents H and it is preferable that X denote an integer of 10-18 and Y denote an integer of 10-14; and it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 11-17 and Y denote an integer of 11-13; and
(e) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 )CH 2 CH 3 ,
wherein R 2 represents OH and it is preferable that X denote an integer of 21-25 and Y denote an integer of 9-13; and it is particularly preferable that X denote an integer of 22-24 and Y denote an integer of 10-12.
On the other hand, R 1 in the formula (XXI) preferably represents --CH 2 (CH 2 ) Y CH 3 , wherein Y denote preferably an integer of 11-15, particularly 12-14.
A compound of the present invention which has the configurations at 2- and 3-positions as shown in the following formula (II) is particularly preferred.
Furthermore, when the synthetic route described below is used, the α-galactosylceramide represented by the formula (IV) hereinafter wherein X denote an integer of 8-22 and Y denote an integer of 9-13 is the most preferred from the standpoint of easy availability of the raw material.
The more concrete form and the preferred form of the compound of the present invention represented by the formula (A) (formulae (I) and (XXI)) can be defined by the following definitions (1)-(4):
(1) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (II): ##STR9## wherein R 1 represents any one of the substituents defined by the following (a)-(e), R 2 represents H or OH and X is defined in the following (a)-(e);
(a) --CH 2 (CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
wherein, when R 2 represents H, X denotes an integer of 0-24 and Y denotes an integer of 7-15; and when R 2 represents OH, X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 11-15;
(b) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
wherein when R 2 represents H, X denotes an integer of 18-26 and Y denotes an integer of 5-15; and when R 2 represents OH, X denotes an integer of 18-26 and Y denotes an integer of 5-17;
(c) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 ) 2 ,
wherein when R 2 represents H, X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13; and when R 2 represents OH, X denotes an integer of 18-24 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(d) --CH═CH(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
wherein R 2 represents H, X denotes an integer of 10-18 and Y denotes an integer of 10-14; and
(e) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 )CH 2 CH 3 ,
wherein R 2 represents OH, X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(2) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (III): ##STR10## wherein X denotes an integer of 0-24 and Y denotes an integer of 7-15;
(3) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (2), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 8-22 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(4) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (2) which is more preferably represented by the formula (IV): ##STR11## wherein X denotes an integer of 0-24 and Y denotes an integer of 7-15;
(5) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (4), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 8-22 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(6) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (V): ##STR12## wherein X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 11-15;
(7) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (6), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 21-23 and Y denotes an integer of 12-14;
(8) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (6), represented more preferably by the formula (VI): ##STR13## wherein X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 11-15;
(9) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (8), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 21-23 and Y denotes an integer of 12-14;
(10) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (VII): ##STR14## wherein X denotes an integer of 18-26 and Y denotes an integer of 5-15;
(11) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (10), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 6-14;
(12) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (10) which is represented more preferably by the formula (VIII): ##STR15## wherein X denotes an integer of 18-26 and Y denotes an integer of 5-15;
(13) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (12), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 6-14;
(14) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (IX): ##STR16## wherein X denotes an integer of 18-26 and Y denotes an integer of 5-17;
(15) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (14), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 6-16;
(16) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (14) represented more preferably by the formula (X): ##STR17## wherein X denotes an integer of 18-26 and Y denotes an integer of 5-17;
(17) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (14) represented more preferably by the formula (X'): ##STR18## wherein X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 10-14;
(18) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (16), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 6-16;
(19) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (17), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 21-23 and Y denotes an integer of 11-13;
(20) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (XI): ##STR19## wherein X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(21) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (20), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 21-23 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(22) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (20) more preferably represented by the formula (XII): ##STR20## wherein X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(23) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (22), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 21-23 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(24) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (XIII): ##STR21## wherein X denotes an integer of 18-24 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(25) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (24), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 20-23 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(26) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (24), more preferably represented by the formula (XIV): ##STR22## wherein X denotes an integer of 19-23 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(27) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (24), more preferably represented by the formula (XIV'): ##STR23## wherein X denotes an integer of 20-24 and Y denotes an integer of 9-14;
(28) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (26), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 20-22 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(29) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (27), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 21-23 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(30) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (XV): ##STR24## wherein X denotes an integer of 10-18 and Y denotes an integer of 10-14;
(31) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (30), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 11-17 and Y denotes an integer of 11-13;
(32) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (30) more preferably represented by the formula (XVI): ##STR25## wherein X denotes an integer of 10-18 and Y denotes an integer of 10-14;
(33) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (32), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 11-17 and Y denotes an integer of 11-13;
(34) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (I) represented by the formula (XVII): ##STR26## wherein X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(34) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (34), wherein more preferably X denotes an integer of 22-24 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(36) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (34) more preferably represented by the formula (XVIII): ##STR27## wherein X denotes an integer of 21-25 and Y denotes an integer of 9-13;
(37) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (36), wherein most preferably X denotes an integer of 22-24 and Y denotes an integer of 10-12;
(38) the α-galactosylceramides of the formula (XXI) represented by the formula (XIX): ##STR28## wherein Y denotes an integer of 11-15;
(39) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (38), wherein more preferably Y denotes an integer of 12-14;
(40) the α-galactosylceramide described in the above (38) more preferably represented by the formula (XX): ##STR29## wherein Y denotes an integer of 11-15; and
(41) the α-galactosylceramides described in the above (40), wherein most preferably Y denotes an integer of 12-14.
Concrete preferred examples of compounds included in the present invention represented by the formula (A) (formula (I) and (XXI)) are shown below. In respective formulae, X and Y are defined as above.
(1) The compounds represented by the following formulae (III) and (VI) ##STR30## Compound 1:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3-octadecanol,
Compound 2:
(2S,3R)-2-docosanoylamino-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-3-octadecanol,
Compound 3:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-eicosanoylamino(icosanoylamino)-3-octadecanol,
Compound 4:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-octadecanoylamino-3-octadecanol
Compound 5:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-3-octadecanol,
Compound 6:
(2S,3R)-2-decanoylamino-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-3-octadecanol,
Compound 7:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-octanoylamino-3-octadecanol,
Compound 8:
(2S,3R)-2-acetamino-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-3-octadecanol,
Compound 9:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3-tetradecanol,
Compound 10:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-3-hexadecanol,
Compound 11:
(2R,3S)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-3-hexadecanol,
Compound 12:
(2S,3S)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-3-hexadecanol,
Compound 13:
(2R,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-3-hexadecanol,
Compound 14:
(2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3-octadecanol.
Among these compounds, the compounds 1-10 and 14 are preferred in consideration of the configuration at 2- and 3-positions.
(2) The compounds represented by the following formula (XVI) ##STR31## Compound 15: (2S,3R,4E)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-octadecanoylamino-4-octadecen-3-ol,
Compound 35:
(2S,3R,4E)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetradecanoylamino-4-octadecen-3-ol.
(3) The compounds represented by the following formula (VIII) ##STR32## Compound 16: (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3,4-octadecanediol,
Compound 17:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3,4-heptadecanediol,
Compound 18:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3,4-pentadecanediol,
Compound 19:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-tetracosanoylamino-3,4-undecanediol,
Compound 20:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-hexacosanoylamino-3,4-heptadecanediol,
Compound 36:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-hexacosanoylamino-3,4-octadecanediol, and
Compound 37:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-octacosanoylamino-3,4-heptadecanediol.
(4) The compounds represented by the following formulae (X) and (X') ##STR33## Compound 21: (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-octadecanediol,
Compound 22:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-heptadecanediol,
Compound 23:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-pentadecanediol,
Compound 24:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-undecanediol,
Compound 25:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxyhexacosanoylamino!-3,4-octadecanediol,
Compound 26:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxyhexacosanoylamino!-3,4-nonadecanediol,
Compound 27:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxyhexacosanoylamino!-3,4-eicosanediol(icosanediol),
Compound 28:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (S)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-heptadecanediol,
Compound 32:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-3,4-hexadecanediol.
(5) The compounds represented by the following formulae (XII), (XIV) and (XIV') ##STR34## Compound 30: (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (S)-2-hydroxytetracosanoylamino!-16-methyl-3,4-heptadecanediol,
Compound 31:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-16-methyl-2-tetracosanoylamino-3,4-heptadecanediol,
Compound 33:
(2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxytricosanoylamino!-16-methyl-3,4-heptadecanediol.
(6) The compound represented by the following formula (XVIII) ##STR35## Compound 34: (2S,3S,4R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2- (R)-2-hydroxypentacosanoylamino!-16-methyl-3,4-octadecanediol.
(7) The compound represented by the following formula (XIX) ##STR36## Compound 29: (2S,3R)-1-(α-D-galactopyranosyloxy)-2-oleoylamino-3-octadecanol.
Process for preparing the compounds of the present invention
(i) Process for obtaining the compounds from a marine sponge
Among the compounds represented by the formula (I), the α-galactosylceramides such as the compounds 22, 32, 33 and 34 can be obtained by extraction from some sponges with an organic solvent.
Fundamentally the process for obtaining the compounds from marine sponges comprises A: a step for collecting the sponges, B: an extraction step for contacting the sponges with at least one appropriate organic solvent in order to obtain a crude extract containing the compound of the present invention, and C: a step for isolating the compound of the present invention from the crude extract obtained in the step B.
(Step A)
This step is one for collecting marine sponges.
A preferred example of a species of marine sponges is Agelas mauritianus, which can be collected from the sea of Kumeshima in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan.
(Step B)
This step is one for extracting the compound of the present invention as a crude extract from the sponge with at least one appropriate organic solvent or water.
An organic solvent is preferable as the extracting solvent. It is sufficient that an appropriate organic solvent for extraction is a solvent which can extract the compound of the present invention from the sponge. Preferred examples of the solvent are esters such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate and so on; alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and isopropyl alcohol and so on; aliphatic hydrocarbons such as heptane, hexane and isooctane and so on; ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone and so on; aromatic compounds such as benzene and toluene and so on; ethers such as diethyl ether and t-butyl methyl ether and so on; and substituted lower aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds such as methylene chloride, chloroform and 1,2-dichloroethane and so on. In the present invention, these solvents can be used respectively alone or in combination of the two or more thereof.
Among the organic solvents mentioned above, more preferable examples are ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate and the like, and the preferred examples of combination of a plurality of the solvents are methanol and chloroform, methanol and methylene chloride, acetone and toluene and the like.
As the method for extraction, well-known methods in relation to the extraction of physiologically active substances, particularly a glycosphingolipid, from a living material such as an animal or a plant or a microorganism, for example, the methods described in Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, 51, (1990); Tetrahedron, 45 (12), 3897, (1989); or Zeitschrift fuer Naturforschung Teil B, 42 (11), 1476 (1987) can be applied. These extraction methods can be used respectively alone or in combination of the two or more thereof.
Specifically, for example, a marine sponge is applied as it is or after the preliminary treatments such as homogenization and lyophilization, and the extraction operation is carried out preferably with stirring at a temperature of 0°-80° C., preferably around room temperature for an extraction period of 1-72 hours, preferably 12-36 hours. If necessary, the aforementioned extraction operation can be repeated at desired times.
(Step C)
This step is one for isolating the compound of the present invention from the crude extract which is obtained in the step B and contains the compound of the present invention.
As the isolating method, well-known methods in relation to the fractionation and isolation of a physiologically active substances, particularly a glycosphingolipids, from a variety of living materials as described above can be used. The general descriptions concerning such a method are given for example in Liebigs Annalen der Chemie 51, (1990).
More specifically, as the fractionation method, the examples include fractionating method with use of the difference of solubilities (for example, by the combination of water and methanol), distributing method (involving the countercurrent distribution method; for example, by the combination of ethylacetate and water) with use of the difference of distribution rates, and the like. The aforementioned crude extract can be treated by these fractionation methods to recover the objective fraction, and thus the aforementioned four compounds of the present invention can be obtained as the crude products.
In order to further purify the resulting crude products of the compounds of the present invention, the combination of the aforementioned fractionation methods with the isolating methods as described below may be carried out at desired times. If necessary, the purified product of the compound of the present invention can also be obtained by subjecting the crude extract obtained in the step B to an appropriate operation of an isolating method at necessary times.
The examples of such isolating methods are the methods for eluting the objective product by chromatography such as adsorption chromatography, distribution chromatography, thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography or gel filtration and the like. A concrete example of chromatography is the column chromatography in which a stationary phase such as silica gel, ODS, TOYOPEARL HW-40 (TOSO, Japan) or Sephadex LH-20 (Pharmacia, Fine Chemicals) is employed, and as a mobile phase an organic solvent as described above in the paragraph of the step B or water is used alone or in combination of the two or more thereof. As the preferable concrete examples of the eluent, mentioned are methanol, chloroform and the like as the single eluent, and methanol and chloroform, methanol and water and the like as the mixture.
(ii) Process by chemical synthesis
While the compounds according to the present invention, that is, the α-galactosylceramides represented by the formula (A) (formulae (I) and (XXI)) can be derived from a variety of the chemical modifications of sphingosine, they can be also prepared by the overall synthesis with the chemical synthetic means which is a combination of a variety of general chemical reactions required for the synthesis of the glycosphingolipids. The route of the overall synthesis is not the only one, and the α-galactosylceramide can be prepared via an alternative route from a different starting material. It can be also synthesized, for example, by applying the method described in Agricultural and Biological Chemistry, 54 (3), 663, 1900 which is an example of the chemical synthetic means. It can be also synthesized, for example, for applying the method described in Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, 663, 1988 which is an example of using a variety of sugars as the starting materials. Although a protective group is removed after a sugar is bonded to a ceramide in these synthetic methods, it is also possible to use the method for synthesizing a cerebroside in which a sugar is first bonded to a long chain base and an amino group is then introduced to form an amide, as described in Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, 663, 1988.
(Synthetic route A)
As an example of the synthesis as described above, the compounds represented by the formulae (III), (V) and (XIX) can be synthesized also via the following steps (cf. FIGS. 1a and 1b).
In FIG. 1, the following abbreviations are used:
Bn: benzyl,
R 4 : a hydroxyl group or a formyloxy group,
Ms: methanesulfonyl,
R 5 : a hydrogen atom or an acyloxy group,
Tr: triphenylmethyl, and
Bz: benzoyl.
An aldehyde as a raw material has one or two asymmetric centers. An amino acid or a sugar can also be employed as the asymmetric sources. While a benzyl group is employed as the protective group of a hydroxyl group in this example, any appropriate groups such as an isopropylidene group may be also employed.
In this route scheme, particularly many reaction methods are known for the amidation. An acid chloride or an acid anhydride can also be employed in place of a carboxylic acid.
The reaction with a carboxylic acid is a condensation reaction in the presence of an appropriate condensation agent. Suitable condensation agent used herein are dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), 2-ethoxy-1-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ), 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (WSC), chlorocarbonates, onium salts and the like. In order to progress the reaction rapidly, an organic base such as triethylamine, pyridine, N-methylmorpholine, dimethylaniline, 4-dimethylaminopyridine, N-methylpiperidine or N-methylpyrrolidine is added. Any inert solvents which do not participate in the reaction may be used as the solvent.
The reaction with an acid chloride satisfactorily proceeds generally in the presence of a solvent. Although the reaction is generally conducted with use of an appropriate solvent, the reaction which proceeds slowly can be progressed rapidly in the absence of the solvent. Any inert solvents which do not participate in the reaction may be used as the solvent. If the reaction proceeds slowly, it may be progressed rapidly by the addition of an organic solvent such as triethylamine, pyridine, N-methylmorpholine, dimethylaniline or 4-dimethylaminopyridine.
The reaction with an acid anhydride is preferably conducted in the presence of an appropriate base. As the base herein used, triethylamine, pyridine or the like is usually used as the solvent concurrently.
Many methods of reaction for glycosylation are also known as described in the following references: (1) YUKI GOSEI KAGAKU, 38 (5), 473, 1980; (2) YUKI GOSEI KAGAKU, 41 (8), 701, 1983; (3) Pure and Applied Chemistry, 61 (7), 1257, 1989; (4) Pharmacia, 27 (1), 50, 1991.
Any of the reactions described above may be used, but a method for obtaining preferentially an α-galactoside such as the one described in Chemistry Letters, 431-432, 1981 is preferred. If the α-isomer is not obtained alone, its separation from the β-isomer is carried out. When such a separation is difficult, the α-isomer and the β-isomer can be separated by introducing the hydroxyl group into an acyl derivative (e.g. an acetyl derivative).
(Synthetic route B)
It is also possible to show the following scheme as a shorter process starting from the same raw material as in the synthetic route A. The compounds represented by the formulae (III), (V) and (XIX) can be synthesized also by this method (see FIG. 2). In FIG. 2, the same abbreviations as described above are used. This route is characterized in that the steps are successfully reduced by performing simultaneously the reduction of the azide group, the removal of the benzyl group and the reduction of the double bond. The four isomers of the 2-amino-1,3-alkanediol which are intermediates obtained by the reduction can be obtained alone, respectively, by selecting the asymmetric sources of the aldehyde as the starting material depending on the purposes. The isomers are individually subjected to the subsequent amidation. A variety of the methods as described in the route A can be employed in this step. Subsequently, glycosylation and deprotection can be conducted in the similar way to the route A to obtain the objective product.
(Synthetic route C)
As an example of the synthesis introduced by a variety of chemical modifications of sphingosine, the compounds represented by the formulae (IV), (VI), (XVI) and (XX) in which the long chain base portion has 18 carbon atoms can be also synthesized via the following process (see FIG. 3). In FIG. 3, the same abbreviations as described above are used. While sphingosine can be obtained by the extraction from natural materials, it is commercially available from Sigma Chemical Company or Funakoshi Corporation, Japan. It can be also synthesized by a variety of synthetic methods as described in Pharmacia, 27, 1164, 1991 or Journal of the Chemical Society Perkin Transaction 1, 2279, 1991. The isomers having steric configurations different from those of the natural materials can be also synthesized by applying the method described in Helvetica Chimica Acta, 40, 1145, 1957 or Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications, 820, 1991. In the latter reference, many examples of the synthesis are reported. In this route, the double bond can be left also after the glycosylation. That is, if catalytic reduction is employed, a compound having no double bond is obtained, and if metallic sodium is reacted in liquid ammonia, a compound retaining a double bond is produced. Thus, it is possible to prepare the products suitable for the purpose.
(Synthetic route D)
Furthermore, the compounds represented by the formulae (VII), (IX), (XI), (XIII) and (XVII) among the compounds represented by the formula (A) in which the long chain base has a hydroxyl group at C-4 can also be synthesized via the following process (see FIGS. 4a-4c). In FIG. 4, the same abbreviations as described above are used.
The starting aldehyde can be obtained alone as any isomers by selecting appropriately the asymmetric source of a raw material. The isomers are separately subjected to the subsequent Wittig reaction. The terminal of the Wittig's salts can be easily formed into the iso type, the anteiso type or the straight chain type. Generally, the Wittig reaction with such unstable ylid give a compound having a cis-double bond as main product, which is however contaminated by the trans-isomer. The double bonds in the mixture are however reduced to a single bond during the step of the catalytic reduction, and thus the mixture will cause no problem as it is. By subsequent mesylation and azide inversion, the product is reduced to an amino derivative, which is amidated in the subsequent step to give a ceramide. The intermediate ceramide having protective groups is also obtained by protecting a commercially available Cerebrine E (Alfred Bader Chemicals or K&K Laboratories Inc.) as the raw material with any appropriate protective group. Furthermore, in order to discriminate the hydroxyl group to which the sugar is bonded, protection and selective deprotection followed by glycosylation and deprotection can be conducted to obtain the objective product (see FIGS. 4a-4c).
(Synthetic Route E)
The compounds which are long-chain bases having a hydroxyl group at the 4-position thereof and are represented by the formulae (VIII), (X), (X'), (XII), (XIV), (XIV') or (XVIII) can also be synthesized via the following stages. (See FIGS. 11a to 11c). The abbreviations used in the figures have the same meanings as in the above-described route. This route is characterized in that commercially available D-lyxose is used as a starting compound.
Lyxose in which the 2- and 3-positions are protected by acetonide and the 5-position by a trityl group is subjected to the Wittig reaction as in the route D, and mesylation, deprotection, catalytic reduction and azide inversion are conducted. After protecting groups are introduced, they are reduced to amino groups, and azidation is conducted to obtain a ceramide. A desired compound can be obtained by subjecting the ceramide to selective deprotection, followed by glycosylation and deprotection.
The use of the compounds of the present invention
The compounds of the present invention represented by the formula (A) (formula (I) and (XXI)) have the following physiological activities, that is, an antitumor activity and an immuno-stimulating activity and can be used as an antitumor agent and an immunostimulator.
(1) Antitumor activity
The compounds of the present invention exhibited antitumor activities against the B16 mouse melanoma cells inoculated s.c. in mouse as shown in Experimental Example 2 below.
(2) Immuno-stimulating activity
The compounds of the present invention exhibited the stimulating effect on mixed lymphocyte culture reaction (MLR) in the test of mouse MLR as described in Experimental Example 3 below.
(3) Antitumor agent and immuno-stimulatory agent
As described above, the compound of the present invention has the antitumor activity and the immuno-stimulating activity and can be employed as an antitumor agent and an immunostimulator.
While the compounds of the present invention may be employed alone, these compounds may be used also in combination with the chemotherapy or the radiotherapy. Their uses have been reviewed in Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Pharmacia Review, No. 23, Chemistry for Controlling Cancer, Second Series, 105-113, 1097; Medicalview Co., Ltd., Illustrative Clinic, "Cancer" series No. 19, GAN TO MENEKI, 159-169, 1987; IGAKU NO AYUMI, 150 (14), 1018-1021, 1989.
Since the compounds of the present invention exhibit such an immuno-stimulating activity as described above, they are also employed as an immunostimulator against disorders other than cancer such as various infectious diseases, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or the like. These uses have been described as the general in Medicalview Co., Ltd., Illustrative Clinic, "Cancer" series No. 19, GAN TO MENEKI, 45-50, 1987 and RINSHO KAGAKU, 23 (10), 1299-1305, 1987.
The compounds of the present invention as an antitumor agent and the immunostimulator can be administered via any appropriate dosage route in drug form determined by the dosage route adopted. As the drug, it takes generally a form which is diluted and molded with a pharmaceutically acceptable additive (carrier or diluent). When the compounds of the present invention are used as antitumor agent or immunostimulator, they can be administered orally or parenterally to human or mammal. For example, the compound of the present invention can be administered by dissolving, suspending or emulsifying it in an appropriate solvent for injection (e.g. distilled water for injection) and injecting it intravenously, intramuscularly or subcutaneously. If necessary, polysorbates or polyethylene glycols can be added as solubilizing agents. The compound of the present invention can be administered orally by adding an appropriate additive (e.g. any compounds which are usually used for this purpose such as starch, lactose, crystalline cellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), calcium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-Ca), magnesium stearate and the like) and forming the mixture into powder, tablet, granule, capsule, troche, dry syrup or the like.
The dose of the compound of the present invention is determined to ensure that the dose administered continuously or intermittently will not exceed a certain amount in consideration of the results in test animals and the individual conditions of a patient. A specific dose naturally varies depending on the dosage procedure, the conditions of a patient or a subject animal such as age, body weight, sex, sensitivity, feed, dosage period, drugs used in combination, seriousness of the patient or the disease, and the appropriate dose and dosage times under the certain conditions must be determined by the test for determining the appropriate dose by a medical specialist based on the above-described indices. In this connection, the minimal dose required for developing the activity of the compound of the present invention is generally in the range of ca. 0.0001 mg-100 mg per 1 kg of the body weight of a host.
EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLES
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Experimental Examples, but it should not be construed that the invention be limited to these Experimental Examples.
Experimental Example 1-A
Preparation from a natural material
Preparation of the compounds 22, 32, 33 and 34:
The sponge Agelas mauritianus collected from the sea of Kumeshima in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan was subjected to homogenization and lyophilization to give a product (1,077.6 g). It was extracted with methanol-chloroform (1:1) as the first solvent to give an extract, which was then concentrated under reduced pressure to give a residue (178.53 g). The residue was distributed between ethyl acetate as the first distribution solvent and water. The upper ethyl acetate layer was dried over sodium sulfate anhydrous, and the lower aqueous layer was extracted with 1-butanol. The ethyl acetate soluble fractions and the 1-butanol soluble fractions containing the compounds 32, 33, 22 and 34 were combined together and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a residue (125.22 g), which was washed with 30% aqueous methanol and extracted with methanol. The extract was concentrated under reduced pressure to give a brown solid product in the yield of 37.50 g. The solid product was applied to silica gel column chromatography (Wako Gel C-200), and separated by eluting with chloroform initially and then with chloroform-methanol with gradually increasing the ratio of methanol. Eluent with chloroform containing 5%-8% methanol afforded an active fraction (20.05 g), which was further extracted with methanol and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a brown solid product. The solid product was applied to a ODS column (YMC-ODS-A) and washed with 30% aqueous methanol and then eluted with methanol to give an active fraction (1.2127 g), which was applied to reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (Rp-HPLC) on a YMC-D-ODS-5 (manufactured from K.K. YMC) detected with an RI detector, eluting with 100% methanol at 11 ml/min flow rate to afford the compounds of the present invention 32 (24.0 mg), 33 (29.5 mg), 22 (20.9 mg) and 34 (9.8 mg) at the retention times of 39, 41, 46 and 74 minutes, respectively.
The compounds 32, 33, 22 and 34 have the following spectral data:
Compound 32
α! 28 D =+61.6° (1-PrOH, c=1.0)
MS: negative FABMS 816.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr) 3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 193.5°-195.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.49 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.53 (1H, bs), 7.04 (1H, bs), 6.71 (1H, d, J=6.7 Hz), 6.68 (1H, bs), 6.52 (1H, bs), 6.32 (1H, bs), 6.09 (1H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 5.58 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 4.62 (2H, m), 4.57 (1H, m), 4.52 (1H, bs), 4.48 (2H, m) 4.37 (1H, m), 4.34 (2H, m), 4.32 (1H, m), 4.26 (1H, m), 2.28 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.98 (1H, m), 1.87 (2H, m), 1.73 (1H, m), 1.66 (2H, m), 1.10-1.46 (56H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.1 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.4 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 33
α! 28 D =+65.4° (1-PrOH, c=1.0)
MS: negative FABMS 830.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr) 3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 203.0°-205.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.49 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.53 (1H, bs), 7.04 (1H, bs), 6.71 (1H, d, J=6.7 Hz), 6.68 (1H, bs), 6.52 (1H, bs), 6.32 (1H, bs), 6.09 (1H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 5.58 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 4.62 (2H, m), 4.57 (1H, m), 4.51 (1H, bs), 4.48 (2H, m), 4.36 (1H, m), 4.33 (3H, m), 4.25 (1H, m), 2.29 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.99 (1H, m), 1.88 (2H, m), 1.73 (1H, m), 1.66 (2H, m), 1.46 (2H, m), 1.10-1.42 (53H, m), 0.84 (9H, m).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N: 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.1 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.4 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.2 (d), 68.2 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.6 (d), 39.2 (t), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.5 (t), 28.2 (d), 27.8 (t), 27.4 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 23.0 (t), 22.8 (q), 14.2 (q).
Compound 22
α! 28 D =+69.2° (1-PrOH, c=1.0)
MS: negative FABMS 830.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr) 3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 201.0°-203.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.48 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.53 (1H, bs), 7.03 (1H, bs), 6.71 (1H, d, J=6.7 Hz), 6.67 (1H, bs), 6.53 (1H, bs), 6.32 (1H, bs), 6.09 (1H, bs), 5.59 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.27 (1H, m), 4.63 (2H, m), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.52 (1H, bs), 4.47 (2H, m), 4.38 (1H, m), 4.32 (3H, m), 4.26 (1H, m), 2.27 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.98 (1H, m), 1.88 (2H, m), 1.73 (1H, m), 1.65 (2H, m), 1.10-1.46 (58H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.2 (d), 68.3 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.4 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.6 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.9 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 34
α! 28 D =+59.4° (1-PrOH, c=1.0)
MS: negative FABMS 872.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr) 3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 215.5°-218.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.50 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.53 (1H, bs), 7.02 (1H, bs), 6.71 (1H, d, J=6.7 Hz), 6.66 (1H, bs), 6.52 (1H, bs), 6.31 (1H, bs), 6.09 (1H, d, J=3.9 Hz), 5.59 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.27 (1H, m), 4.62 (2H, m), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.52 (1H, bs), 4.47 (2H, m), 4.38 (1H, m), 4.33 (3H, m), 4.26 (1H, m), 2.28 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.99 (1H, m), 1.87 (2H, m), 1.73 (1H, m), 1.66 (2H, m), 1.10-1.42 (61H, m), 0.85 (9H, m).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.2 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.5 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.5 (t), 34.5 (d), 34.4 (t), 32.0 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.5 (t), 27.3 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 19.3 (q), 14.2 (q), 11.5 (q).
Experimental Example 1-B
Preparation by the synthetic methods
The methods for synthesizing the compounds of the present invention and the physico-chemical properties thereof are shown below (see reaction route schemes 1-10).
(1) Synthetic route A
While this reaction route scheme is shown specifically with reference to the aforementioned compound 9, the compounds 1-8 and 10-14 according to the present invention can also e synthesized by applying this method (see FIGS. 5a and 5b).
In the above scheme, the following abbreviations are used.
DMAP: 4-dimethylaminopyridine,
TsOH: p-toluenesulfonic acid,
MS-4A: Molecular Sieves-4A (dehydrating agent).
The other abbreviations have the same meanings as in the previous route schemes.
Furthermore, the compound 29 leaving a double bond unreacted therein can be synthesized by condensation with a fatty acid having a double bond and by the deprotection at the final step with liquid ammonia and metallic sodium.
Synthesis of the compound 9 (FIGS. 5a and 5b)!
The compound A1 can be synthesized in accordance with the method described in Synthesis, 961-963, 1984.
(i) Synthesis of the compound A2
To a solution of the compound A1 (2.89 g) in 2-methyl-2-propanol (25 ml) was added a 5% aqueous sulfuric acid solution (25 ml), and the mixture was stirred at 45° C. for 15 hours. After being neutralized with powdery sodium hydrogen carbonate under ice-cooling, the reaction mixture was concentrated. The residue, to which water (30 ml) was added, was extracted with ethyl acetate (three times), and the organic layer was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 100 g) using hexane-acetone (2:1) as an eluent afforded a diol in an amount of 2.28 g (yield: 88.5%).
MS: FDMS 330.
The mixture of the diol (2.25 g) with ethanol (50 ml), water (12 ml) and sodium metaperiodate (2.33 g) was stirred at room temperature for 10 hours. Precipitates were removed by filtration, and the filtrate was concentrated. The residue was diluted with chloroform and washed with brine. The organic layer was concentrated to give an aldehyde (compound A2) in an amount of 1.31 g. The aldehyde was directly used for the next reaction without purification.
(ii) Synthesis of the compound A3
To decanetriphenylphosphonium bromide (8.0 g) was added tetrahydrofuran (20 ml) under an argon atmosphere. After adding a 2.8N solution of n-butyllithium in hexane (6.2 ml) to the mixture at -10° C., stirring was continued for 30 minutes. After the addition of the aldehyde (compound A2, 1.31 g) dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (5 ml), the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 15 hours and concentrated. The reaction mixture was diluted with brine, and extracted twice with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with brine and concentrated. Purification of the residue on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 100 g) by eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (5:1) gave the alcohol (compound A3) in an amount of 1.47 g (yield, 51.0%).
Data of the compound A3
MS: FDMS 426.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.25-7.35 (10H, m), 5.69-5.79 1H, (5.75, dt, J=7.3, 11.0 Hz), (5.72, dt, J=6.7, 15.2 Hz)!, 5.31-5.38 1H, 5.36, bt, J=8.5 Hz), (5.33, bt, J=9.8 Hz)!, 4.34-4.62 2H, (4.61 & 4.35, ABq, J=11.6 Hz), (4.56 & 4.50, ABq, J=12.2 Hz), (4.55 & 4.52, ABq, J=11.6 Hz)!, 4.28 (0.7H, dd, J=6.7, 9.7 Hz), 3.85 (0.3H, bt, J=7.9 Hz), 3.74-3.78 (1H, m), 3.56-3.60 1H (3.59, dd, J=3.1, 9.8 Hz), (3.58, overlapped)!, 3.47 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 9.8 Hz), 1.96-2.11 (1H, m), 1.25-1.57 (14H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(iii) Synthesis of the compound A4
The alcohol (compound A3, 0.83 g) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (10 ml). 10% Palladium on charcoal (1.0 g) was added, and the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen. After the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 12 hours, it was filtered through celite and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 30 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (5:1) afforded a reduction product (compound A4) in an amount of 0.81 g (yield, 97.1%).
Data of the compound A4
MS: FDMS 428.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.25-7.46 (10H, m), 4.50 & 4.62 (2H, ABq, J=11.0 Hz), 4.54 (2H, s), 3.79-3.83 (1H, m), 3.48-3.56 (3H, m), 2.42 (1H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 1.26-2.04 (20H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(iv) Synthesis of the compound A5
After adding methanesulfonyl chloride (0.29 ml) to the reduction product (compound A4, 0.80 g) in pyridine (15 ml), the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated and distilled azeotropically with toluene. The residue dissolved in diethyl ether was washed with brine and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 30 g) eluting with hexane-acetone (6:1) afforded a mesylated product (compound A5) in an amount of 0.87 g (yield, 91.9%).
Data of the compound A5
MS: FDMS 504.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.27-7.38 (10H, m), 4.81-4.84 (1H, m), 4.59 (2H, s), 4.55 & 4.50 (2H, ABq, J=11.6 Hz), 3.75 (1H, dd, J=3.1, 11.0 Hz), 3.71 (1H, dd, J=6.7, 11.0 Hz), 3.67 (1H, dt, J=4.3, 8.5 Hz), 2.99 (3H, s), 1.24-1.64 (20H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(v) Synthesis of the compound A6
To the mesylated product (compound A5, 0.86 g) were added dimethylformamide (10 ml) and sodium azide (885 mg), and the mixture was stirred at 120° C. for 15 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with brine, extracted with ethyl acetate (three times), and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 30 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (40:1) afforded an azide (compound A6) in an amount of 0.73 g (yield, 94.3%).
Data of the compound A6
MS: FDMS 453.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.27-7.44 (10H, m), 4.54 & 4.58 (2H, ABq, J=12.2 Hz), 4.52 & 4.57 (2H, ABq, J=11.0 Hz), 3.68-3.70 (2H, m), 3.63 (1H, dd, J=8.5, 11.0 Hz), 3.53 (1H, dt, J=4.3, 8.6 Hz), 1.25-1.64 (20H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(vi) Synthesis of the compound A7
To the azide (compound A6, 0.72 g) were added tetrahydrofuran (7 ml) and 10% palladium on charcoal (70 mg), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature after the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen. The reaction mixture was filtered through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 15 g) eluting with hexane-acetone (6:1) afforded an amine (compound A7) in an amount of 0.62 g (yield, 91.5%).
Data of the compound A7
MS: FDMS 427.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.27-7.36 (10H, m), 4.51 & 4.54 (2H, ABq, J=11.6 Hz), 4.52 (2H, s), 3.58 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.2 Hz), 3.41-3.45 (2H, m), 3.20 (1H, dt, J=4.3, 7.3 Hz), 1.26-1.63 (20H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(vii) Synthesis of the compound A8
To the amine (compound A7, 0.61 g) were added methylene chloride (20 ml), 2-chloro-1-methylpyridinium iodide (483 mg) and n-tributylamine (0.45 ml). Tetracosanic acid (597 mg) was further added, and the mixture was heated under reflux for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, washed sequentially with 5% aqueous sodium thiosulfate solution, 5% aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution and brine, and then concentrated. Purification on silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 20 g) eluting with hexane-acetone (20:1) afforded an amide (compound A8) in an amount of 0.56 g (yield, 51.2%).
Data of the compound A8
MS: FDMS 777.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.28-7.35 (10H, m), 5.66 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 4.45 & 4.58 (2H, ABq, J=11.6 Hz), 4.48 (2H, s), 4.25-4.30 (1H, m), 3.73 (1H, dd, J=4.9, 9.8 Hz), 3.57 (1H, dt, J=5.5, 6.7 Hz), 3.52 (1H, dd, J=4.3, 9.8 Hz), 2.08 (2H, dt, J=3.1, 10.4 Hz), 1.26-1.58 (64H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(viii) Synthesis of the compound A9
To the amide (compound A8, 0.55 g) were added tetrahydrofuran (15 ml) and palladium black (55 mg). The reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. The reaction mixture was filtered through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 20 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (20:1) afforded a diol (compound A9) in an amount of 302 mg (yield, 71.6%).
Data of the compound A9
MS: FDMS 597.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.34 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 4.62-4.67 (1H, m), 4.46 (1H, dd, J=4.9, 11.0 Hz), 4.30 (1H, dd, J=5.8, 11.6 Hz), 4.25-4.32 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, dt, J=2.4, 7.3 Hz), 1.23-1.97 (62H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(ix) Synthesis of the compound A10
To the diol (compound A9, 70 mg) were added pyridine (5 ml), triphenylmethyl chloride (261 mg) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (5 mg), and the mixture was stirred at 60° C. for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with chloroform, washed with brine and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g) eluting with chloroform-acetone (100:1) afforded a tritylated derivative (compound A10) in an amount of 90.2 mg (yield, 91.6%).
Data of the compound A10
MS: FDMS 837.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.25-7.47 (15H, m), 6.28 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 3.93-3.96 (1H, m), 3.58-3.61 (1H, m), 3.52 (1H, dd, J=3.1, 9.8 Hz), 3.26 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 2.95 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 2.24 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.25-1.70 (62H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(x) Synthesis of the compound A11
To the trityl derivative (compound A10, 87 mg) in pyridine (3.0 ml) were added benzoyl chloride (24 μl) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (3 mg), and the mixture was stirred for 4 hours. After the mixture to which ice-water had been added was stirred for 30 minutes, it was diluted with chloroform, washed with water and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (10:1) afforded a benzoyl derivative (compound A11) in an amount of 83.4 mg (yield, 85.3%).
Data of the compound A11
MS: FDMS 941.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.16-7.93 (20H, m), 5.74 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.34-5.37 (1H, m), 4.39-4.48 (1H, m), 3.40 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 3.19 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 2.09 (2H, dt, J=2.5, 9.8 Hz), 1.25-1.74 (64H, m), 0.88 & 0.87 (each 3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(xi) Synthesis of the compound A12
To the benzoyl derivative (compound A11, 80 mg) were added methylene chloride (1.0 ml) and methanol (0.5 ml). p-Toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (20 mg) was added, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate, washed with a 5% aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate and brine, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 5 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (2:1) afforded an alcohol (compound A12) in an amount of 58 mg (yield, 93.6%).
Data of the compound A12
MS: FDMS 701.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.46-8.06 (5H, m), 6.25 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 5.06-5.09 (1H, m), 4.15-4.19 (1H, m), 3.58-3.68 (2H, m), 2.23 (2H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 1.22-1.77 (62H, m), 0.88 & 0.87 (each 3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(xii) Synthesis of the compound A14
A solution of the alcohol (compound A12, 58 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (3.0 ml) was stirred with stannous chloride (37 mg), silver perchlorate (41 mg) and Molecular Sieves 4A powder (300 mg). After stirring for 30 minutes, the mixture was cooled to -10° C., and a solution of benzyl galactosyl fluoride (compound A13, 68 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1.5 ml) was added. The mixture was allowed to warm gradually to room temperature, stirred for 2 hours and filtered through celite. The filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 5 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (5:1) afforded an α-galactoside (compound A14) in an amount of 62.6 mg (yield, 61.8%).
Data of the compound A14
MS: FDMS 1224.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.02 (2H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 7.56 (1H, t, J=7.9 Hz), 7.43 (2H, t, J=7.9 Hz), 7.23-7.39 (20H, m), 6.58 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.30 (1H, dt, J=3.7, 7.9 Hz), 4.90 & 4.55 (2H, ABq, J=11.6 Hz), 4.77 & 4.69 (2H, ABq, J=11.6 Hz), 4.75 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.73 & 4.65 (2H, ABq, J=12.2 Hz), 4.47 & 4.38 (2H, ABq, J=12.2 Hz), 430-4.34 (1H, m), 4.10-4.12 (1H, m), 4.01 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 3.97 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 12.2 Hz), 3.84-3.93 (2H, m), 3.57 (1H, dd, J=3.1, 12.2 Hz), 3.52 (1H, dd, J=7.3, 9.2 Hz), 3.29 (1H, dd, J=4.3, 9.8 Hz), 1.98-2.09 (2H, m), 1.18-1.68 (62H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 0.86 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(xiii) Synthesis of the compound A15
To the α-galactoside (compound A14, 56 mg) were added tetrahydrofuran (4.0 ml) and palladium black (15 mg), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours after the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen. The reaction mixture was filtered through celite, concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 2 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (20:1) to give a tetraol (compound A15) in an amount of 37.4 mg (yield, 94.7%).
Data of the compound A15
MS: FDMS 863.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.04 (2H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.62 (1H, t, J=7.9 Hz), 7.48 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 6.16 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.21-5.24 (1H, m), 4.81 (1H, d, J=2.4 Hz), 4.45-4.46 (1H, m), 4.08 (1H, bs), 3.91-3.94 (1H, m), 3.87 (1H, dd, J=2.4, 10.4 Hz), 3.75-3.85 (4H, m), 3.57 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 11.6 Hz), 2.22 (2H, dt, J=1.8, 7.3 Hz), 1.22-1.79 (62H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 0.87 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(xiv) Synthesis of the compound 9
To the tetraol (compound A15, 36.0 mg) were added methanol (3 ml) and a 1N methanolic sodium methoxide solution (0.3 ml), and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours. The mixture was neutralized with resins (Dowex 50W, X8; manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company), and then filtered. The solids removed was washed sufficiently with chloroform-methanol (1:1), and the extract was combined with the filtrate, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 2 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (10:1) afforded the compound 9 in an amount of 29.7 mg (yield, 94.0%).
Data of the compound 9
α! 23 D =+49.0° (pyridine, c=1.31)
MS: FDMS 759.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr) 3200, 2870, 2800, 1630, 1530, 1450, 1080.
mp: 151°-155° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 8.49 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.11-6.52 (5H, m), 5.45 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.73 (1H, m), 4.65 (1H, dd, J=3.8, 10.4 Hz), 4.53-4.57 (2H, m), 4.43-4.49 (4H, m), 4.36 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 4.27 (1H, m), 2.47 (2H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 1.83-1.91 (4H, m), 1.23-1.56 (58H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 173.4 (s), 102.1 (d), 73.1 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
(2) Synthetic route B
While this scheme specifically illustrates the synthetic routes of the aforementioned compounds 7 and 5, the compounds according to the present invention (1-4, 6, 8-14) can also be synthesized by applying this method.
Synthesis of the compound 7 (FIG. 6)!
Abbreviatios in the aforementioned scheme are the same as those in the previously described scheme.
(i) Synthesis of the compound B1
To tetradecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide (213.7 g) was added tetrahydrofuran (630 ml), and the reaction vessel was purged with argon. A 2.3N solution of n-butyl lithium in hexane (173 ml) was added at -30° C., and the mixture was stirred for 3.5 hours. A (2R,3R)-aldehyde (compound A2, 31.73 g) dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (630 ml) was added dropwise, and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours, and then concentrated. The residue was diluted with ethyl acetate, washed with water and brine, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 850 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (9:1) afforded an alcohol (compound B1) in an amount of 36.31 g (yield, 79.0%).
Data of the compound B1
MS: FDMS 481.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm) 7.26-7.46 (10H, m), 5.69-5.78 (1H, m), 5.31-5.38 (1H, m), 4.34-4.63 (5H, m), 4.28 (0.7H, dd, J=6.7, 9.2 Hz), 3.85 (0.3H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 3.75-3.78 (1H, m), 3.56-3.60 (1H, m), 3.47 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 1.98-2.11 (2H, m), 1.26-1.34 (22H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(ii) Synthesis of the compound B2
To a solution of the alcohol (compound B1, 5.03 g) in pyridine (50 ml) was added methanesulfonyl chloride (1.62 ml), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. The mixture was concentrated and a residual acid chloride was distilled azeotropically together with toluene. The residue was diluted with diethyl ether, washed with brine, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 200 g) eluting with hexane-acetone (10:1) afforded a mesyl derivative (compound B2) in an amount of 5.20 g (yield, 88.9%).
Data of the compound B2
MS: FDMS 558.
NMR:
1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.23-7.35 (10H, m), 5.77-5.83 (1H, m), 5.26-5.35 (1H, m), 4.71-4.77 (1H, m), 4.33-4.62 (5H, m), 4.06 (0.3H, t, J=8.1 Hz), 3.74 (0.7H, dd, J=3.1, 11.0 Hz), 3.65-3.70 (1H, m), 2.964 (0.9H, s), 2.956 (2.1H, s), 1.99-2.17 (2H, m), 1.26-1.37 (22H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.8 Hz).
(iii) Synthesis of the compound B3
To the mesyl derivative (compound B2, 1.52 g) were added dimethylformamide (20 ml) and sodium azide (1.42 g). After stirring at 120° C. for 12 hours, the mixture was diluted with brine, extracted with ethyl acetate (three times), and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 50 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (40:1) afforded an azide derivative (compound B3) in an amount of 1.07 g (yield, 77.7%).
Data of the Compound B3
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
2870, 2810, 2050, 1490, 1440.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.25-7.35 (10H, m), 5.69-5.82 (1H, m), 5.35-5.43 (1H, m), 4.30-4.74 (4H, m), 3.89 (0.3H, dd, J=5.5, 8.5 Hz), 3.55-3.70 (3.7H, m), 1.97-2.10 (2H, m), 1.25-1.36 (22H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.8 Hz).
(iv) Synthesis of the compound B5
To a solution of the azide (compound B3, 0.45 g) in tetrahydrofuran (10 ml) were added a 10% methanolic hydrochloric acid solution (2 ml) and palladium black (0.25 g). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 12 hours, and then filtered through celite. The filtrate was concentrated to give a white powdery amine (the hydrochloric salt of compound B4, 301 mg). Tetrahydrofuran (10 ml), p-nitrophenyl octanoate (260 mg) and triethylamine (0.15 ml) were added to the amine, the mixture was stirred at 60° C. for 12 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated to give a syrup. Purification of the syrup on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 50 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (20:1) afforded an amide derivative (compound B5) in an amount of 166 mg (yield based on the compound B3, 43.6%.
Data of the compound B5
MS: FDMS 429.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.37 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 4.63-4.69 (1H, m), 4.44-4.49 (1H, m), 4.25-4.35 (2H, m), 2.46 (2H, dt, J=3.1, 7.9 Hz), 1.78-1.95 (4H, m), 1.16-1.59 (34H, m), 0.87 & 0.82 (each 3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(v) Synthesis of the compound B6
To a solution of the amide (compound B5, 48 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1.0 ml) were added stannous chloride (75 mg), silver perchlorate (82 mg) and powdery Molecular Sieves 4A (200 mg), and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes. The mixture was cooled to -10° C., and a solution of benzylgalactosyl fluoride (compound A13, 67 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (2.0 ml) was added thereto. The mixture was allowed to warm gradually to room temperature, stirred for 2 hours, and then filtered through celite. The solids removed were washed with a small amount of acetone and combined with the filtrate, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 5 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (3:1) afforded a crude α-galactoside (compound B6), which was subjected to the subsequent reaction.
(vi) Synthesis of the compound 7
To a solution of the α-galactoside (compound B6, 47 mg) in ethyl acetate (1.5 ml) was added palladium black (15 mg). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. The reaction vessel was filtered through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 2 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (10:1) afforded the compound 7 in an amount of 25.1 mg (yield based on the compound B5, 37.9%).
Data of the compound 7
α! 23 D =+58.2° (pyridine, c=0.56)
MS: FDMS 591.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3300, 2870, 1640, 1535, 1460, 1060.
mp: 155-157° C.
NMR:
1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.49 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.52 (2H, m), 6.42 (1H, m), 6.33 (1H, bs), 6.12 (1H, bd, J=6.7 Hz), 5.46 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.73 (1H, m), 4.65 (1H, m), 4.53-4.57 (2H, m), 4.40-4.49 (5H, m), 4.36 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 4.27 (1H, m), 2.45 (2H, dt, J=5.5, 7.9 Hz), 1.80-1.92 (4H, m), 1.18-1.58 (34H, m), 0.87 & 0.81 (each 3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.2 (d), 73.1 (d), 72.0 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.8 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 31.9 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.64 (t), 29.61 (t), 29.4 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.93 (t), 22.86 (t), 14.3 (q), 14.2 (q).
Synthesis of the compound 5 (FIG. 7)!
Abbreviations in the aforementioned scheme are the same as those in the previously described scheme.
(i) Synthesis of the compound B7
To a solution of the azide (compound B3, 3.9 g) in ethyl acetate (50 ml) was added 10% palladium on charcoal (1.2 g). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. The catalyst was filtered off, and the filtrate was concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 300 g, hexane-acetone (6:1)) to give an amine (compound B7) in an amount of 3.22 g (yield, 86.7%).
MS: FDMS 480.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.24-7.35 (10H, m), 5.70 (0.7H, dt, J=7.3, 11.6 Hz), 5.71 (0.3H, dt, J=6.7, 15.3 Hz), 5.34-5.41 (1H, m), 4.30-4.58 (4H, m), 4.17 (0.7H, dd, J=6.7, 9.8 Hz), 3.72 (0.3H, dd, J=6.7, 8.5 Hz), 3.42-3.66 (2H, m), 3.06-3.10 (1H, m), 2.01-2.14 (2H, m), 1.26-1.50 (22H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(ii) Synthesis of the compound B8
To a solution of the amine (compound B7, 2.22 g) in methylene chloride (50 ml), 2-chloro-1-methylpyridinium iodide (1.88 g) were added n-tributylamine (1.75 ml) and myristic acid 1.47 g), and the mixture was heated under reflux and stirred for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was washed sequentially with a 5% aqueous sodium thiosulfate solution and brine, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 100 g) eluting with chloroform-acetone (200:1) afforded an amide (compound B8) in an amount of 2.41 g (yield, 75.6%).
MS: FDMS 691.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.26-7.32 (10H, m), 5.64-5.73 (2H, m), 5.33-5.41 (1H, m), 4.19-4.59 (6H, m), 3.79-3.89 (1H, m), 3.51-3.58 (1H, m), 1.98-2.13 (2H, m), 1.26-1.58 (46H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(iii) Synthesis of the compound B9
To the amide (compound B8, 3.50 g) were added 1-propanol (15 ml), tetrahydrofuran (15 ml), 10% palladium on charcoal (1.2 g) and formic acid (3.0 ml). The mixture was stirred at 45° C. for 16 hours under the nitrogen atmosphere. The catalyst was removed by filtration, and the filtrate was concentrated. Crystallization of the residue from chloroform-acetone afforded a ceramide (compound B9) in an amount of 2.08 g (yield, 80.4%).
α! 24 D =+3.5° (pyridine, c=1.87)
MS: FDMS 513.
mp: 104-105° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.35 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 6.36 (1H, t, J=4.9 Hz), 6.24 (1H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 4.62-4.67 (1H, m), 4.46 (1H, dt, J=4.9, 11.0 Hz), 4.25-4.33 (2H, m), 2.47 (2H, dt, J=1.8, 7.3 Hz), 1.25-1.95 (50H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(iv) Synthesis of the compound B10
To a solution of the ceramide (compound B9, 1.0 g) in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml) were added stannous chloride (129 g), silver perchlorate (1.41 g) and powdery Molecular Sieves 4A (1.5 g), and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes. The mixture was cooled to -10° C., and a solution of benzylgalactosyl fluoride (compound A13, 1.11 g) in tetrahydrofuran (10 ml) was added. The resulting mixture was allowed to warm gradually to room temperature, stirred for 2 hours, and then filtered through celite. The solids removed were washed with a small amount of acetone, and the extract was combined with the filtrate, and then concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 150 g, hexane-ethyl acetate (3:1)) to give an α-galactoside (compound B10) in an amount of 646 mg (yield, 32.0%).
MS: FDMS 1035.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.23-7.37 (20H, m), 6.49 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 4.92 (1H, d, J=11.3 Hz), 4.84 (1H, d, J=12.2 Hz), 4.73-4.78 (3H, m), 4.67 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.46 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.37 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.03 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 3.96 (1H, bs), 3.83-3.92 (4H, m), 3.70 (1H, dd, J=3.1, 10.4 Hz), 3.47-3.58 (3H, m), 3.40 (1H, d, J=9.8 Hz), 2.12 (2H, dt, J=1.8, 7.9 Hz), 1.25-1.61 (51H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(v) Synthesis of the compound 5
To a solution of the galactoside (compound B10, 1.59 g) in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml) was added palladium black (290 mg). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. The catalyst was removed by filtration, and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 100 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (5:1) afforded the compound 5 in an amount of 984 mg (yield, 95.0%).
Data of the compound 5
α! 24 D =+57.8° (pyridine, c=1.69)
MS: FDMS 674.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 3270, 2920, 2850, 1640, 1550, 1465, 1135, 1075, 1045.
mp: 159.0-161.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.51 (1H, m), 6.44 (1H, m), 6.33 (1H, m), 6.15 (1H, m), 5.45 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.73 (1H, m), 4.65 (1H, m), 4.40-4.58 (6H, m), 4.36 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.0 Hz), 4.28 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, t, J=7.0 Hz), 1.80-1.95 (4H, m), 1.57 (1H, m), 1.18-1.43 (49H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 2720 C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.2 (d), 73.1 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.02 (t), 29.97 (t), 29.91 (t), 29.87 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
(3) Synthetic route C
A specific synthetic route with use of a sphingosine can be illustrated by the following scheme. While the scheme is illustrated specifically with reference to the aforementioned compounds 1 and 5, the compounds (2-4, 6-8, 14) according to the present invention can also be synthesized by applying this method. Furthermore, the compounds 15 and 35 having a double bond can be synthesized by conducting the deprotection with use of liquid ammonia and metallic sodium.
Synthesis of the compound 1 (FIG. 8)!
Abbreviations in the aforementioned scheme are the same as those in the previously described schemes.
(i) Synthesis of the compound C2
To a solution of sphingosine (25 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1ml) were added p-nitrophenyl tetracosanate (81.8 mg) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (2.5 mg), and the mixture was stirred at 40° C. for 12 hours. The mixture was evaporated under reduced pressure. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (4:1) afforded an amide (compound C2) in an amount of 23.2 mg (yield, 42.7%).
Data of the compound C2
α! 23 D =-11.3° (pyridine, c=1.03)
MS: FDMS 651.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3280, 2910, 2840, 1635, 1540, 1465.
mp: 87.5-89.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 +CD 3 +OD (1 drop); 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
5.76 (1H, dt, J=6.7, 15.3 Hz), 5.49 (1H, dd, J=6.7, 15.3 Hz), 4.24 (1H, bs), 3.82-3.91 (2H, m), 3.67 (1H, m), 2.21 (2H, t, J=7.6 Hz), 1.9-2.1 (2H, m), 1.62 (2H, m), 1.2-1.4 (62H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(ii) Synthesis of the compound C3
To a solution of the amide (compound C-b 2, 33.8 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1.5 ml) were added stannous chloride (33 mg), silver perchlorate (36 mg) and powdered Molecular Sieves 4A (140 mg), and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes. The mixture was next cooled to -10° C., a solution of benzylgalactosyl fluoride (compound A13, 28 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (0.5 ml) was added to it. The resulting mixture was allowed to gradually warm to room temperature. After being stirred for 3 hours, the mixture was diluted with acetone, filtered through celite, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (3:1) afforded an α-galactoside (compound C3) in an amount of 19.7 mg (yield, 32.4%).
Data of the compound C3
α! 23 D =+25.1° (CHCl 3 , c=0.47)
MS: FDMS 1173.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3210, 2920, 2850, 1640, 1590, 1545, 1495, 1465, 1450, 1335, 1290, 1110.
mp: 63.0-64.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.23-7.37 (20H, m), 6.40 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 5.65 (1H, m), 5.42 (1H, dd, J=6.1, 15.3 Hz), 4.91, 4.85, 4.70, 4.55, 4.47 & 4.38 (each 1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.75 (2H, s), 4.12 (1H, m), 3.95-4.06 (3H, m), 3.79-3.92 (3H, m), 3.4-3.71 (3H, m), 2.12 (2H, dt, J=3.4, 7.6 Hz), 1.90-2.01 (3H, m), 1.1-1.6 (63H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(iii) Synthesis of the compound 1
To a solution of the α-galactoside (compound C3, 9.7 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1.0 ml) was added a 5% palladium on barium sulfate (5 mg). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours, and then filtered through celite. The filtrate was concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g, chloroform-methanol (10:1)) to give the compound 1 in an amount of 3.0 mg (yield, 44.5 mg).
Data of the compound 1
α! 23 D =+50.0° (pyridine, c=0.26)
MS: FDMS 814.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3260, 2910, 2850, 1645, 1545, 1470, 1350, 1125, 1065.
mp: 184.5-186.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.46 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.74 (1H, m), 4.66 (1H, dd, J=3.6, 9.8 Hz), 4.54-4.60 (2H, m), 4.40-4.52 (4H, m), 4.37 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 4.29 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.8-2.0 (4H, m), 1.58 (1H, m), 1.20-1.45 (65H, m), 0.881 & 0.877 (each 3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.2 (d), 73.1 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.83 (t), 29.76 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Synthesis of the compound 5 (FIG. 9)!
Abbreviations in the aforementioned scheme are the same as those in the previously described schemes.
(i) Synthesis of the compound C4
To a solution of sphingosine (75 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1.5 ml) were added p-nitrophenyl myristate (175 mg) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (7.6 mg), and the mixture was stirred at 46° C. for 12 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated directly and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g, hexane-acetone (3:1)) to give an amide (compound C4) in an amount of 112.6 mg (yield, 88.3%).
Data of the compound C4
α! 23 D =-11.4° (pyridine, c=0.58)
MS: FDMS 510.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3300, 2910, 2850, 1640, 1620, 1550, 1470, 1380, 1265, 1240, 1040.
mp: 96.5-98.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.33 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 6.7 (1H, m), 6.05 (1H, dd, J=6.4, 15.9 Hz), 5.96 (1H, dt, J=6.4, 15.9 Hz), 4.85 (1H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 4.75 (1H, m), 4.47 (1H, dd, J=4.9, 11.0 Hz), 4.30 (1H, dd, J=4.0, 10.7 Hz), 2.47 (2H, t, J=7.6 Hz), 2.10 (2H, m), 1.85 (2H, m), 1.39 (4H, m), 1.20-1.33 (38H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.5 (s), 132.4 (d), 132.3 (d), 73.3 (d), 62.2 (t), 56.9 (d), 36.9 (t), 32.7 (t), 32.1 (t), 29.99 (t), 29.96 (t), 29.93 (t), 29.87 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 26.61 (t), 29.55 (d), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
(ii) Synthesis of the compound C5
To a solution of the amide (compound C4, 106.8 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (4.5 ml) was added a powdered Molecular Sieves 4A (400 mg), and the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes. Stannous chloride (133 mg) and silver perchlorate (146 mg) were added, and the mixture was further stirred for 30 minutes. The reaction mixture was cooled to -10° C., and a solution of benzylgalactosyl fluoride (compound A13, 113 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (1.5 ml) was added thereto. After 30 minutes, it was allowed to warm to room temperature, stirred for 30 minutes, and then diluted with chloroform-methanol (1:1), filtered through celite, and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure. Purification of the residue on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 15 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (5:2) afforded an α-galactoside (compound C5) in an amount of 76.0 mg (yield, 35.2%).
Data of the compound C5
α! 24 D =+32.7° (CHCl 3 , c=2.26)
MS: FDMS 1033.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3320, 2920, 2850, 1640, 1615, 1545, 1465, 1450, 1350, 1105, 1045.
mp: 66.0-68.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.25-7.37 (20H, m), 6.40 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 5.66 (1H, dt, J=7.9, 15.3 Hz), 5.42 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 15.3 Hz), 4.91, 4.85, 4.70, 4.55, 4.47 & 4.38 (each 1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.752 (2H, s), 4.747 (1H, d, J=4.9 Hz), 4.13 (1H, m), 4.03 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 10.4 Hz), 3.95-4.01 (2H, m), 3.79-3.89 (4H, m), 3.69 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 10.3 Hz), 3.45-3.55 (2H, m), 2.12 (2H, dt, J=3.7, 7.9 Hz), 1.99 (2H, m), 1.58 (2H, m), 1.2-1.4 (42H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.0 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.3 (s), 138.5 (s), 138.4 (s), 138.0 (s), 137.6 (s), 133.0 (d), 129.2 (d), 128.44 (d), 128.41 (d), 128.3 (d), 128.13 (d), 128.10 (d), 127.90 (d), 127.86 (d), 127.6 (d), 127.4 (d), 126.1 (d), 99.1 (d), 79.2 (d), 75.9 (d), 74.8 (t), 74.4 (d), 74.2 (t), 74.0 (d), 73.6 (t), 72.2 (t), 69.8 (d), 69.0 (t), 68.7 (t), 52.8 (d), 36.7 (t), 32.3 (t), 31.9 (t), 29.68 (t), 29.65 (t), 29.5 (t), 29.41 (t), 29.36 (t), 29.32 (t), 29.26 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.7 (t), 14.1 (q).
(iii) Synthesis of the compound 5
To a solution of the galactoside (compound 5, 7.3 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (2.0 ml) was added palladium black (1.5 mg). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours, and then filtered through celite. The filtrate was concentrated to give a crude product. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 2 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (8:1) afforded the compound 5 in an amount of 4.4 mg (yield, 90.0%).
Data of the compound 5 was the same as those described above.
The compounds other than those described above (1-14) were synthesized by using appropriate carboxylic acids or combining Wittig's salts having alkyl groups of a variety of lengths in accordance with the synthetic methods of the compounds (9, 7, 5, 1) (synthetic routes A-C). The compounds 15, 35 and 29 had double bonds unreduced by conducting the reduction at the final stage with liquid ammonia and metallic sodium. Examples of the synthesis of these compounds are illustrated below.
Compound 2
The compound 2 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl docosanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and conducting synthesis by applying the route C.
As an alternative method, the compound 2 was obtained by reacting the amine B4 with p-nitrophenyl docosanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate in the synthesis of the compound 7 and conducting synthesis by applying the route B.
Data!
α! 25 D =+50.7° (CHCl 3 , c=0.82)
MS: FDMS 787.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3390, 3220, 2870, 2810, 1635, 1535, 1455, 1080, 1055.
mp: 147.0-149.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.53 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.46 (1H, d, J=3.1 Hz), 4.74 (1H, m), 4.66 (1H, m), 4.4-4.6 (6H, m), 4.37 (1H, dd, J=5.8, 10.1 Hz), 4.29 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.80-1.97 (4H, m), 1.58 (1H, m), 1.20-1.45 (61H, m), 0.880 & 0.876 (each 3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.2 (d), 73.1 (d), 72.0 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.6 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.95 (t), 29.92 (t), 29.83 (t), 29.76 (t), 29.62 (t), 29.61 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 3
The compound 3 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl icosanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and conducting synthesis by applying the route C.
As an alternative method, the compound 3 was obtained by reacting the amine b4 with p-nitrophenyl icosanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate in the synthesis of the compound 7 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route B.
Data!
α! 25 D =+47.3° (pyridine, c=1.76)
MS: FDMS 759.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3390, 3220, 2870, 2880, 2810, 1635, 1530, 1455, 1080, 1055.
mp: 151.5-153.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.46 (1H, d, J=4.3 Hz), 4.73 (1H, m), 4.66 (1H, dd, J=4.5, 10.1 Hz), 4.4-4.6 (6H, m), 4.37 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 4.29 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.80-1.97 (4H, m), 1.58 (1H, m), 1.20-1.42 (57H, m), 0.879 & 0.876 (each 3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.1 (d), 73.1 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 4
The compound 4 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl stearate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route C.
As an alternative method, the compound 4 was obtained by reacting the amine B4 with p-nitrophenyl stearate in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate in the synthesis of the compound 7 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route B.
Data!
α! 25 D =+55.5° (pyridine, c=0.84)
MS: FDMS 731.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3230, 2940, 2830, 1640, 1540, 1465, 1345, 1120, 1090, 1060.
mp: 157.5-159.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.46 (1H, d, J=3,7 Hz), 4.73 (1H, m), 4.66 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.57 (1H, d, J=2.5 Hz), 4.55 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.40-4.51 (4H, m), 4.37 (1H, dd, J=5.8, 10.7 Hz), 4.29 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.80-1.96 (4H, m), 1.59 (1H, m), 1.2-1.44 (53H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.1 (d), 73.1 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 22.8 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 6
The compound 6 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl decanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route C.
As an alternative method, the compound 6 was obtained by reacting the amine B4 with p-nitrophenyl decanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate in the synthesis of the compound 7 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route B.
Data!
α! 25 D =+54.8° (pyridine, c=0.93)
MS: FDMS 619.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3245, 2900, 2840, 1635, 1540, 1460, 1345, 1120, 1090, 1060.
mp: 151.0-154.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 6.14 (1H, m), 5.45 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.74 (1H, m), 4.65 (1H, dd, J=4.0, 10.1 Hz), 4.57 (1H, d, J=3.4 Hz), 4.54 (1H, t, J=5.8 Hz), 4.40-4.50 (4H, m), 4.36 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 11.0 Hz), 4.28 (1H, m), 2.47 (2H, dt, J=1.5, 7.6 Hz), 1.80-1.95 (4H, m), 1.57 (1H, m), 1.15-1.40 (37H, m), 0.87 & 0.85 (each 3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.4 (s), 102.1 (d), 73.1 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.12 (t), 30.05 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.61 (t), 29.55 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.93 (t), 22.90 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 8
The compound 8 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with acetic anhydride in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route C.
As an alternative method, the compound 8 was obtained by reacting the amine B4 with acetic anhydride in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate in the synthesis of the compound 7 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route B.
Data!
α! 25 D =+74.3° (pyridine, c=1.36)
MS: FDMS 507.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3230, 2890, 2830, 1630, 1540, 1465, 1370, 1140.
mp: 171.0-172.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.63 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.1 (2H, m), 5.43 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.70 (1H, m), 4.64 (1H, dd, J=4.0, 10.1 Hz), 4.55 (1H, d, J=2.4 Hz), 4.52 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.46 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 10.4 Hz), 4.38-4.44 (3H, m), 4.31 (1H, dd, J=6.1, 10.4 Hz), 4.26 (1H, m), 2.13 (3H, s), 1.77-1.90 (3H, m), 1.55 (1H, m), 1.20-1.40 (24H, m), 0.87 (3H, t, J=7.0 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
170.3 (s), 102.0 (d), 73.0 (d), 71.9 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.4 (t), 62.6 (t), 55.0 (d), 35.0 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.04 (t), 29.97 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 23.3 (q), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 10
In the synthesis of the compound 7, the aldehyde A2 was reacted with dodecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of tetradecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide. Next, the amine obtained in the reduction was reacted with p-nitrophenyl myristate in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate, and synthesis was further conducted by applying the route B to give the compound 10.
Data!
α! 24 D =+74.3° (pyridine, c=0.35)
MS: FDMS 646.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3250, 2900, 2830, 1640, 1540, 1460, 1120, 1085, 1060.
mp: 153.5-156.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.1 (1H, m), 5.47 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.75 (1H, m), 4.67 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.34-4.60 (7H, m), 4.29 (1H, m), 2.48 (2H, dt, J=1.2, 7.3 Hz), 1.80-1.95 (4H, m), 1.58 (1H, m), 1.20-1.42 (41H, m), 0.87 (6H, t, J=6.8 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173,4 (s), 102.1 (d), 73.1 (d), 72.0 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.6 (d), 69.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.1 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.00 (t), 29.97 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 11
In the synthesis of the compound 10, the (2S,3S)-aldehyde was used in place of the aldehyde A2, and the synthesis was conducted by applying the route B to give the compound 11.
Data!
α! 24 D =+62.0° (pyridine, c=0.50)
MS: FDMS 646.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3290, 2910, 2840, 1640, 1615, 1540, 1456, 1140, 1050.
mp: 145.0-147.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.40 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 6.28 (1H, m), 5.47 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.66-4.76 (3H, m), 4.10-4.62 (7H, m), 2.48 (2H, dt, J=1.8, 7.3 Hz), 1.80-2.00 (3H, m), 1.70 (1H, m), 1.57 (1H, m), 1.20-1.42 (41H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
Compound 12
In the synthesis of the compound 10, the (2S, 3R)-aldehyde was used in place of the aldehyde A2, and the synthesis was conducted by applying the route B to give the compound 12.
Data!
α! 23 D =+52.5° (pyridine, c=0.75)
MS: FDMS 646.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3480, 3240, 2910, 2840, 1630, 1560, 1460, 1070, 1005.
mp: 148.5-152.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.10 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.46 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.79 (1H, m), 4.66 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.34-4.56 (7H, m), 4.12 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.07 (1H, dd, J=6.1, 9.8 Hz), 2.49 (2H, t, J=6.5 Hz), 1.75-1.92 (3H, m), 1.69 (1H, m), 1.55 (1H, m), 1.20-1.42 (41H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.6 (s), 101.4 (d), 73.0 (d), 71.8 (d), 71.1 (d), 70.6 (d), 70.4 (d), 69.8 (t), 62.8 (t), 53.1 (d), 36.8 (t), 35.3 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.93 (t), 29.89 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.5 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 13
In the synthesis of the compound 10, the (2R, 3S)-aldehyde was used in place of the aldehyde A2, and the synthesis was conducted by applying the route B to give the compound 13.
Data!
α! 24 D =+80.7° (pyridine, c=0.27)
MS: FDMS 646.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3300, 2900, 2820, 1635, 1520, 1460, 1065, 1005.
mp: 149.0-150.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.04 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.4 (1H, m), 5.49 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.80 (1H, m), 4.68 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.65 (1H, bd, J=2.4 Hz), 4.36-4.58 (6H, m), 4.16 (1H, dd, J=6.7, 10.4 Hz), 2.50 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.75-1.92 (3H, m), 1.69 (1H, m), 1.53 (1H, m), 1.20-1.42 (41H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.0 Hz).
Compound 14
The compound 14 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and further conducting the synthesis by applying the route C.
As an alternative method, the compound 14 was obtained by reacting the amine B4 with p-nitrophenyl (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoate in place of p-nitrophenyl octanoate in the synthesis of the compound 7 and conducting further synthesis by applying the route B.
Data!
MS: FDMS 831.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.45 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.44 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.71 (1H, m), 4.64 (2H, m), 4.53 (3H, m), 4.40 (3H, m), 4.25 (1H, m), 2.22 (1H, m), 2.09 (1H, m), 1.70-1.95 (4H, m), 1.54 (1H, m), 1.2-1.45 (63H, m), 0.884 & 0.876 (each 3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.1 (s), 101.9 (d), 73.2 (d), 72.4 (d), 71.7 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.5 (d), 69.4 (t), 62.7 (t), 54.1 (d), 35.6 (t), 35.2 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.04 (t), 29.97 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.64 (t), 29.61 (t), 26.5 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 15
The compound 15 was obtained by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl stearate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and further conducting the synthesis by applying the route C. The compound 15 as the deprotected derivative was obtained by conducting the deprotection in the final step by wetting the raw material with a small amount of tetrahydrofuran and adding thereto liquid ammonia and next metallic sodium.
Data!
α! 25 D =+41.4° (pyridine, c=0.14)
MS: FDMS 729.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3230, 2880, 2810, 1630, 1535, 1460, 1375, 1065, 1040.
mp: 169.0-172.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.50 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.01 (2H, bs), 5.47 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.86 (2H, m), 4.67 (1H, dd, J=4.0, 10.1 (Hz), 4.59 (1H, d, J=2.4 Hz), 4.54 (1H, t, J=5.8 Hz), 4.40-4.50 (5H, m), 4.37 (1H, m), 2.46 (2H, dt, J=3.1, 7.6 Hz), 2.09 (2H, bs), 1.84 (2H, m), 1.15-1.45 (50H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.4 Hz).
Compound 29
The synthesis was conducted by reacting the amine A7 with oleic acid in place of tetracosanoic acid in the synthesis of the compound 9 and further continuing the synthesis by applying the route C. The compound 29 as the deprotected derivative was obtained by conducting the deprotection in the final step by wetting the raw material with a small amount of tetrahydrofuran and then adding thereto liquid ammonia and metallic sodium.
Data!
α! 24 D =+46.4° (pyridine, c=0.17)
MS: FDMS 728.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2900, 2820, 1640, 1540, 1460, 1060.
mp: 134-136° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.52 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.54 (1H, bs), 6.45 (1H, bs), 6.35 (1H, bs), 6.15 (1H, bs), 5.44 (3H, m), 4.73 (1H, m), 4.66 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.33-4.58 (7H, m), 4.27 (1H, m), 2.45 (2H, m), 2.06 (3H, m), 1.75-1.92 (2H, m), 1.55 (1H, m), 1.14-1.42 (48H, m), 0.84 (6H, m).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.3 (s), 130.1 (d), 130.1 (d), 102.0 (d), 73.0 (d), 71.8 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.4 (d), 69.6 (t), 62.6 (t), 54.9 (d), 36.7 (t), 35.0 (t), 32.0 (t), 32.0 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.5 (t), 29.6 (t), 29.5 (t), 29.5 (t), 29.4 (t), 27.4 (t), 26.5 (t), 26.3 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 35
The synthesis was conducted by reacting the sphingosine C1 with p-nitrophenyl myristate in place of p-nitrophenyl tetracosanoate in the synthesis of the compound 1 and further by applying the route C. The compound 29 as the deprotected derivative was obtained by conducting the deprotection in the final step by wetting the raw material with a small amount of tetrahydrofuran and then adding thereto liquid ammonia and metallic sodium.
Data!
α! 24 D =+48.9° (pyridine, c=0.45)
MS: FDMS 673.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3320, 2920, 2855, 1640, 1545, 1470, 1345, 1150.
mp: 158.0-160.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.46 (1H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 6.59 (1H, m), 6.41 (1H, m), 6.33 (1H, m), 6.00 (2H, bs), 5.46 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.85 (2H, m), 4.65 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.53 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.40-4.50 (4H, m), 4.35 (1H, dd, J=5.2, 10.1 Hz), 2.45 (2H, dt, J=3.1, 7.3 Hz), 2.08 (2H, m), 1.84 (2H, m), 1.37 (4H, m), 1.20-1.32 (38H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.5 (s), 132.4 (d), 132.0 (d), 102.1 (d), 73.0 (d), 71.7 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.6 (d), 69.4 (t), 62.7 (t), 55.1 (d), 36.8 (t), 32.7 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.01 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.96 (t), 29.63 (t), 29.87 (t), 29.83 (t), 29.76 (t), 29.73 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
(4) Synthetic route D
The specific method for synthesizing a compound having a hydroxyl group at C-4 of the long chain base in formula (A) can be illustrated by the following reaction route scheme. Although the reaction route scheme specifically illustrates the method with reference to the compound 22, the compounds according to the present invention including 16-34 and 36-37 except for 22 and 29 can also be synthesized by applying the method (synthesis of the compound 22 (FIGS. 10a-10c)).
In the aforementioned scheme, the following abbreviations are used:
EEDQ: 2-ethoxy-1-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline.
The other abbreviations are the same as those in the previous reaction schemes.
(i) Synthesis of the compound D1
The compound D1 can be synthesized by applying the method described in Agricultural and Biological Chemistry, 54 (3), 663-667, 1990.
(ii) synthesis of the compound D3
To the Wittig's salt (compound D2, 32.07 g) was added tetrahydrofuran (40 ml), and the reaction vessel was purged with argon. A 2 N solution of n-butyl lithium in hexane (30 ml) was added, and the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes. A solution of the aldehyde (compound D1, 13.18 g) in tetrahydrofuran (20 ml) was dropwise added to the mixture, which was then allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 15 hours. To the reaction mixture were added methanol (3 ml) followed by 20% aqueous methanol (300 ml), and the mixture was extracted thrice with n-hexane. The extracts were washed with brine and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 400 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (9:1) afforded an alcohol (compound D3) in an amount of 9.31 g (yield, 51.9%).
Data of the compound D3
α! 24 D =-38.2° (CHCl 3 , c=1.0)
MS: FDMS 573, 301.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.20-7.35 (15H, m), 5.72 (1H, m), 5.46 (1H, bt, J=9.2 Hz), 4.68 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.60 (1H, d, J=11.7 Hz), 4.47-4.52 (3H, m), 4.44 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 9.8 Hz), 4.33 (1H, d, J=11.7 Hz), 4.08 (1H, m), 3.56 (1H, dd, J=2.4, 5.5 Hz), 3.51 (2H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 3.01 (1H, d, J=5.5 Hz), 1.85-2.01 (2H, m), 1.17-1.36 (18H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(iii) Synthesis of the compound D4
To a solution of the alcohol (compound D3, 931 g) in tetrahydrofuran (30 ml) was added 10% palladium on charcoal (0.53 g). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 15 hours, and then filtered through celite. The filtrate was concentrated to give a reduced product (compound D4) in an amount of 9.34 g (yield, quantitatively).
Data of the compound D4
α! 24 D =-35.1° (CHCl 3 , c=0.5)
MS: FDMS 575.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.22-7.34 (15H, m), 4.69 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.65 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.55 (1H, d, J=11.0 Hz), 4.52 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.50 (1H, d, J=11.0 Hz), 4.48 (1H, d, J=12.2 Hz), 4.04 (1H, m), 3.68 (1H, m), 3.61 (1H, m), 3.54 (2H, m), 3.17 (1H, d, J=4.9 Hz), 1.85 (3H, m), 1.65 (2H, m), 1.56 (1H, m), 1.41 (1H, m), 1.16-1.35 (17H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(iv) synthesis of the compound D5
To a solution of the reduced product (compound D4, 9.34 g) in pyridine (70 ml) was added methanesulfonyl chloride (2.5 ml), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours, and then concentrated. After the residual acid chloride was distilled azeotropically with toluene, the residue was taken into diethyl ether and washed with brine. The organic layer was concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 500 g, hexane-ethyl acetate (9:1)) to give a mesyl derivative (compound D5) in an amount of 9.74 g (yield, 91.8%).
Data of the compound D5
α! 24 D =+6.5° (CHCl 3 , c=1.0)
MS: FDMS 653.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.25-7.38 (15H, m), 4.91 (1H, dt, J=3.9, 5.6 Hz), 4.76 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.62 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.58 (1H, d, J=11.5 Hz), 4.55 (1H, d, J=11.7 Hz), 4.48 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.48 (1H, d, J=11.7 Hz), 3.89 (1H, t, J=4.9 Hz), 3.67-3.76 (2H, m), 3.61 (1H, m), 2.91 (3H, s), 1.72 (1H, m), 1.54 (1H, m), 1.41 (1H, m), 1.16-1.35 (21H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(v) Synthesis of the compound D6
To the solution of the mesyl derivative (compound D5, 9.74 g) in dimethylformamide (100 ml) was added sodium azide (9.70 g), and the mixture was stirred at 120° C. for 16 hours, then concentrated, taken into ethyl acetate and washed with water and brine. The organic layer was concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 200 g, hexane-ethyl acetate (98:2)) to give an azide derivative (compound D6) in an amount of 6.75 g (yield, 75.4%).
Data of the compound D6
α! 24 D =+8.2° (CHCl 3 , c=1.0)
MS: FDMS 600, 573, 450.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.25-7.40 (15H, m), 4.69 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.60 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.55 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.48-4.53 (3H, m), 3.75-3.81 (2H, m), 3.54-3.72 (2H, m), 3.60 (1H, dt, J=3.7, 7.3 Hz), 1.66 (1H, m), 1.56 (1H, m), 1.41 (1H, m), 1.19-1.36 (21H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(vi) Synthesis of the compound D7
To the solution of the azide derivative (compound D6, 605.5 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (6 ml) was added 10% palladium on charcoal (60 mg). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 15 hours, filtered through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wake Gel C-200, 30 g, hexane-ethyl acetate (7:3)) to give an amine (compound D7) in an amount of 459.9 mg (yield, 79.4%).
Data of the compound D7
α! 24 D =-7.0° (CHCl 3 , c=0.5)
MS: FDMS 574.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.23-7.36 (15H, m), 4.74 (1H, d, J=11.2 Hz), 4.63 (1H, d, J=11.5 Hz), 4.53 (1H, d, J=11.5 Hz), 4.52 (1H, d, J=11.5 Hz), 4.49 (2H, d, J=1.8 Hz), 3.71 (2H, m), 3.57 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 6.7 Hz), 3.49 (1H, m), 3.16 (1H, m), 1.82 (1H, m), 1.69 (1H, m), 1.58 (1H, m), 1.49 (1H, m), 1.20-1.35 (20H, bs), 0.88 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(vii) Synthesis of the compound D8
(R)-2-Acetoxytetracosanoic acid (compound D8) is obtained, for example, by reacting (R)-2-α-hydroxytetracosanoic acid which is synthesized by applying the method described in Agricultural and Biological Chemistry, 54 (12), 3337-3338, 1990 with acetic anhydride in pyridine.
Data of the compound D8
α! 20 D =+8.5° (CHCl 3 , c=1.0)
(viii) Synthesis of the compound D9
The amine (compound D7, 153.3 mg) and (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid (compound D8, 113.8 mg) were dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (4 ml), and 2-ethoxy-1-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ, 99.0 mg) was added to the solution. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 60 hours, and then concentrated and purified on a silica gel column (Wake Gel C-200, 10 g, hexane-ethyl acetate (9:1)) to give a benzylceramide (compound D9) in an amount of 205.6 mg (yield, 78.3%).
Data of the compound D9 α! 23 D =+2.1° (CHCl 3 , c=0.6)
MS: FDMS 983.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.22-7.36 (15H, m), 6.50 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.05 (1H, dd, J=4.9, 7.3 Hz), 4.82 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.62 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.55 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.52 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.42 (2H, s), 4.23 (1H, m), 3.84 (2H, m), 3.51 (1H, m), 3.48 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 1.98 (3H, s), 1.60-1.82 (2H, m), 1.50 (1H, m), 1.20-1.35 (63H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(ix) Synthesis of the compound D10
To the solution of the benzylceramide (compound D9, 317.7 mg) in tetrahydrofuran-n-propanol (1:1) (6 ml) were added 10% palladium on charcoal (167.4 mg) and formic acid (0.6 ml). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at 40° C. for 5 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with chloroform (10 ml), filtered through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 15 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol (98.2) afforded a ceramide (compound D10) in an amount of 191.6 mg (yield, 83.2%).
Data of the compound D10
α! 23 D =+6.0° (CHCl 3 , c=0.1)
MS: FDMS 713.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.63 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 6.56 (2H, m), 6.13 (1H, bd, J=5.7 Hz), 5.54 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 7.3 Hz), 5.07 (1H, m), 4.47 (1H, m), 4.43 (1H, m), 4.38 (1H, m), 4.28 (1H, m), 2.20 (1H, m), 2.07 (2H, m), 2.04 (3H, s), 1.90 (2H, m), 1.68 (1H, m), 1.15-1.60 (60H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(x) Synthesis of the compound D11
To the solution of the ceramide (compound D10, 99.7 mg) in pyridine (3 ml) were added triphenylmethyl chloride (390.3 mg) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (5.0 mg), and the mixture was stirred at 60° C. for 3 hours. After dilution with chloroform (30 ml), the mixture was washed with brine and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 5 g) eluting with chloroform afforded a trityl derivative (compound D11) in an amount of 111.7 mg (yield, 83.6%).
Data of the compound D11
α! 23 D 32 -13.3° (CHCl 3 , c=0.1)
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.21-7.40 (15H, m), 6.89 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.21 (1H, dd, J=5.1, 6.6 Hz), 4.27 (1H, m), 3.60 (1H, m), 3.43 (1H, dd, J=3.2, 7.1 Hz), 3.36 (1H, dd, J=4.2, 7.1 Hz), 3.34 (1H, m), 3.01 (1H, m), 2.08 (1H, m), 2.05 (3H, s), 1.85 (1H, m), 1.75 (1H, m), 1.68 (1H, m), 1.10-1.50 (62H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
(xi) Synthesis of the compound D12
To the solution of the trityl derivative (compound D11, 166.5 mg) in pyridine (3 ml) were added benzoyl chloride (0.18 ml) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (5.0 mg). After stirring at room temperature for 36 hours, the mixture was diluted with brine, extracted with chloroform and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wake Gel C-200, 15 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (95.5) afforded a benzoyl derivative (compound D12) in an amount of 193.9 mg (yield, 95.6%).
Data of the compound D12
α! 23 D 32 +7.3° (CHCl 3 , c=0.5)
MS: FDMS 1162, 920.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.04-8.16 (25H, m), 5.91 (1H, dd, J=2.4, 9.0 Hz), 5.54 (1H, dt, J=2.9, 9.8 Hz), 5.37 (1H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 4.68 (1H, m), 3.34 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 3.26 (1H, dd, J=2.9, 9.8 Hz), 2.02 (3H, s), 1.12-2.02 (66H, m), 0.87 (6H, m).
(xii) Synthesis of the compound D13
To the solution of benzoyl derivative (compound D12, 193.9 mg) in a solution of methylene chloride-methanol (2:1) (3 ml) was added p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate (63.4 mg). After being stirred at room temperature for 1.5 hours, the mixture was concentrated. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate and washed with aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate and brine, and then concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 15 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (8:2) afforded an alcohol (compound D13) in an amount of 113.1 mg (yield, 73.3%).
Data of the compound D13
α! 23 D =+27.2° (CHCl 3 , c=0.1)
MS: FDMS 921.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.06 (2H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 7.96 (2H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 7.64 (1H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 7.54 (1H, t, J=7.6 Hz), 7.50 (2H, t, J=7.9 Hz), 7.39 (2H, t, J=7.9 Hz), 7.06 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.48 (1H, dd, J=2.4, 9.1 Hz), 5.38 (1H, dt, J=3.1, 9.8 Hz), 5.19 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.37 (1H, m), 3.57-3.68 (2H, m), 2.20 (3H, s), 2.02 (2H, m), 1.92 (2H, m), 1.16-1.50 (62H, m), 0.88 (6H, m).
(xiii) Synthesis of the compound D14
To the solution of the alcohol (compound D13, 113.1 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (2 ml) were added stannous chloride (54.8 mg), silver perchlorate (59.9 mg) and powdered Molecular Sieves 4A (500 mg), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes. After the mixture was cooled to =10° C., a solution of benzylgalactosyl fluoride (compound A13, 313.4 mg) in tetrahydrofuran (2 ml) was added. The resulting mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature, stirred for 2 hours, and then diluted with acetone, filtered through celite. The filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure, and the residue was suspended in ethyl acetate, washed with brine and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 10 g) eluting with hexane-ethyl acetate (19:1) afforded an α-galactoside (compound D14) in an amount of 148.0 mg (yield, 83.5%).
Data of the compound D14
α! 23 D =+21.0° (CHCl 3 , c=0.1)
MS: FDMS 1443.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.03 (2H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.90 (2H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.73 (1H, d, J=8.3 Hz), 7.59 (1H, t, J=6.4 Hz), 7.50 (1H, t, J=6.4 Hz), 7.45 (2H, t, J=7.6 Hz), 7.15-7.40 (22H, m), 5.78 (1H, dd, J=2.6, 9.8 Hz), 5.40 (1H, m), 5.10 (1H, dd, J=5.2, 7.6 Hz), 4.88 (1H, d, J=11.3 Hz), 4.53-4.76 (7H, m), 4.48 (1H, d, J=11.8 Hz), 4.40 (1H, d, J=11.8 Hz), 4.09 (1H, t, J=7.2 Hz), 3.99 (1H, dd, J=3.3, 10.4 Hz), 3.93 (1H, m), 3.90 (1H, m), 3.82 (1H, dd, J=2.4, 9.8 Hz), 3.59 (1H, dd, J=2.3, 12.1 Hz), 3.53 (1H, dd, J=6.4, 8.9 Hz), 3.54 (1H, dd, J=6.7, 9.2 Hz), 2.44 (1H, bs), 2.02 (3H, s), 1.89 (3H, m), 1.40 (2H, m), 1.10-1.35 (61H, m), 0.88 (6H, m).
(xiv) Synthesis of the compound D15
To the solution of the α-galactoside (compound D14, 147.1 mg) in ethyl acetate (3 ml) was added palladium black (15 mg). After the reaction vessel was purged with hydrogen, the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 hours, filtered through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated to give a tetraol (compound D15) in an amount of 106.6 mg (yield, 96.6%).
Data of the Compound D15
α! 23 D =+26.0° (CHCl 3 , c=0.1)
MS: FDMS 1083, 921.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
7.99 (2H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.90 (2H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.75 (1H, d, J=8.3 Hz), 7.60 (1H, t, J=6.4 Hz), 7.53 (1H, t, J=6.4 Hz), 7.48 (2H, t, J=7/6 Hz), 7.38 (2H, t, J=7.6 Hz), 5.78 (1H, dd, J=2.4, 9.8 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 5.07 (1H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 4.70 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.57 (1H, m), 3.98 (1H, bs), 3.90 (1H, m), 3.80-3.90 (3H, m), 3.787 (1H, m), 3.70 (1H, m), 3.65 (1H, bd, J=10.4 Hz), 3.46 (2H, m), 3.13 (1H, bs), 2.78 (1H, m), 2.18 (3H, s), 1.81-1.95 (4H, m), 1.41 (2H, m), 1.16-1.35 (60H, m), 0.88 (6H, m).
(xv) Synthesis of the compound 22
To the solution of the tetraol (compound D15, 105.5 mg) in methanol (5 ml) was added slowly a 1 N methanolic sodium methoxide solution (2 ml), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes. A cation exchange resin (Dowex 50W, X8, manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company) was added to neutralize the mixture, and the resulting mixture was filtered. The solids removed were washed sufficiently with a chloroform-methanol (1:1) solution. The extract was combined with the filtrate, and concentrated. Purification on a silica gel column (Wako Gel C-200, 5 g) eluting with chloroform-methanol-water (90:10:1) afforded a cerebroside (compound 22) in an amount of 66.7 mg (yield, 82.2%).
Data of the compound 22
The various data of the compound 22 accorded with those of the product obtained from the natural material (Example 1-A).
The compounds (16-21, 23-28, 30-33) were synthesized by using various caboxylic acids or combining a variety of Wittig's salts by applying the method for synthesizing the compound 22 (reaction route D). Synthetic examples of these compounds are herein illustrated.
Compound 16
The aldehyde D1 was reacted with tridecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt in the synthesis of the compound 22. Synthesis was further conducted by applying the route D. The amine obtained by reducing an azide group was reacted with tetracosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8, and the synthetic process was followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 16.
Data!
α! 24 D =+28.2° (pyridine, c=0.27)
MS: FDMS 831.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3350, 2920, 2850, 1640, 1540, 1465.
mp: 146-147° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C)
δ (ppm)
8.45 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 5.55 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.24 (1H, m), 4.64 (2H, m), 4.52 (1H, m), 4.48 (1H, m), 4.38 (4H, m), 4.28 (2H, bs), 2.41 (2H, t, J=6.3 Hz), 2.24 (1H, m), 1.88 (2H, m), 1.78 (2H, m), 1.64 (1H, m), 1.10-1.45 (62H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.2 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.3 (d), 68.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 51.5 (d), 36.8 (t), 34.3 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.4 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 17
The amine obtained by reducing an azide group by applying the route D in the synthesis of the compound 22 was reacted with tetracosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8, and the synthetic process was followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 17.
Data!
α! 23 D =+42.4° (pyridine, c=0.8)
MS: FDMS 817.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 166-168° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.43 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.55 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.23 (1H, m), 4.64 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 4.62 (1H, dd, J=4.3, 10.4 Hz), 4.52 (1H, m), 4.49 (1H, bt, J=6.1 Hz), 4.33-4.42 (4H, m), 4.30 (2H, m), 2.42 (2H, dd, J=6.7, 7.3 Hz), 2.26 (1H, m), 1.86 (2H, m), 1.78 (2H, m), 1.65 (1H, m), 1.16-1.46 (60H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.2 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 71.5 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.2 (d), 68.6 (t), 62.6 (t), 51.4 (d), 36.7 (t), 34.3 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 26.3 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 18
The aldehyde D1 was reacted with decanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D. The amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with tetracosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8, and the subsequent steps were followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 18.
Data!
α! 24 D =+30.0° (pyridine, c=0.2)
MS: FDMS 789.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3350, 2920, 2840, 1640, 1540, 1465.
mp: 154-155° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.45 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 5.55 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.24 (1H, m), 4.64 (2H, m), 4.53 (1H, m), 4.49 (1H, m), 4.39 (4H, m), 4.30 (2H, bs), 2.42 (2H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 2.25 (1H, m), 1.88 (2H, m), 1.78 (2H, m), 1.64 (1H, m), 1.15-1.45 (56H, m) 0.85 & 0.84 (each 3H, t, J=7.3 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.3 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.3 (d), 68.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 51.5 (d), 36.8 (t), 34.3 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 29.6-30.1, 26.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 19
The aldehyde D1 was reacted with hexanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D. The amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with tetracosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8, and the subsequent steps were followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 19.
Data!
MS: FDMS 732.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.45 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.97 (1H, bs), 6.62 (1H, bs), 6.52 (1H, m), 6.43 (1H, bs), 6.29 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 6.06 (1H, bs), 5.58 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 4.66-4.68 (2H, m), 4.55 (1H, bs), 4.51 (1H, m), 4.38-4.42 (4H, m), 4.30 (1H, bs), 2.44 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.80-1.88 (4H, m), 1.19-1.59 (50H, m), 0.88 & 0.81 (each 3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
Compound 20
Synthesis was conducted by applying the route D in the synthesis of the compound 22. The amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with hexacosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8, and the subsequent steps were followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 20.
Data!
α! 25 D =+37.3° (pyridine, c=0.97)
MS: FDMS 845.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3380, 2920, 2840, 1635, 1545, 1465, 1065.
mp: 156-158° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.46 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 6.42 (1H, m), 6.09 (1H, m), 5.57 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 4.66 (2H, m), 4.55 (1H, m), 4.51 (1H, t, J=5.8 Hz), 4.41 (4H, m), 4.32 (2H, m), 2.44 (2H, t, J=7.0 Hz), 2.28 (1H, m), 1.90 (2H, m), 1.81 (2H, m), 1.68 (1H, m), 1.15-1.45 (64H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.2 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.3 (d), 68.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 51.5 (d), 36.8 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.4 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.03 (t), 29.99 (t), 29.93 (t), 29.87 (t), 29.81 (t), 29.76 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 21
The aldehyde D1 was reacted with decanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D1 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 21.
Data!
MS: FDMS 847.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.50 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.59 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.27 (1H, m), 4.64 (2H, m), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.53 (1H, m), 4.48 (2H, m), 4.30-4.42 (4H, m), 4.27 (1H, m), 2.29 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.98 (1H, m), 1.87 (2H, m), 1.74 (1H, m), 1.67 (2H, m), 1.15-1.46 (60H, m), 0.84 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
174.9 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.1 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.4 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 23
The aldehyde D1 was reacted with decanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 23.
Data!
α! 24 D =+59.2° (pyridine, c=0.1)
MS: FDMS 805.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 193-194° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.50 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 5.59 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.28 (1H, m), 4.64 (2H, m), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.53 (1H, m), 4.48 (2H, m), 4.30 -4.42 (4H, m), 4.27 (1H, m), 2.29 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.98 (1H, m), 1.87 (2H, m), 1.74 (1H, m), 1.66 (2H, m), 1.15-1.46 (54H, m), 0.84 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
174.9 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.1 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.4 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 24
The aldehyde D1was reacted with hexanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D to obtain the compound 24.
Data!
α! 23 D =+67.1° (pyridine, c=1.32)
MS: FDMS 749.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3300, 2870, 2800, 1630, 1605, 1515, 1455, 1060.
mp: 145-147° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.50 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 6.70 (2H, bd, J=6.1 Hz), 6.53 (1H, bs), 6.31 (1H, bs), 6.08 (1H, bs), 5.61 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.29 (1H, m), 4.64-4.67 (2H, m), 4.59 (1H, m), 4.54 (1H, m), 4.47-4.51 (2H, m), 4.32-4.43 (4H, m), 4.26 (1H, m), 1.64-2.27 (4H, m), 1.20-1.40 (50H, m), 0.87 & 0.82 (each 3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.1 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.4 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.0 (t), 30.2 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.3 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 22.8 (t), 14.21 (q). 14.18 (q).
Compound 25
The aldehyde D1was reacted with tridecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D, and the amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with (R)-2-acetoxyhexacosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8 with the subsequent synthetic process by applying the route D to give the compound 25.
Data!
α! 23 D =+45.2° (pyridine, c=1.0)
MS: FDMS 875.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 198-199° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.49 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.53 (1H, bs), 7.02 (1H, bs), 6.70 (1H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 6.65 (1H, bs), 6.53 (1H, bs), 6.30 (1H, bs), 6.08 (1H, d, J=5.5 Hz), 5.57 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 4.62 (2H, dd, J=4.9, 10.4 Hz), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.51 (1H, bs), 4.46 (2H, m), 4.28-4.41 (4H, m), 4.26 (1H, m), 2.27 (1H, m), 2.17 (1H, m), 1.98 (1H, m), 1.87 (2H, m), 1.74 (1H, m), 1.66 (2H, m), 1.16-1.46 (64H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=6.1 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.2 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.5 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 26
The aldehyde D1was reacted with tetradecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D, and the amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with (R)-2-acetoxyhexacosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8 with the subsequent synthetic process by applying the route D to give the compound 26.
Data!
α! 23 D =+46.5° (pyridine, c=0.7)
MS: FDMS 889.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 205-206° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.50 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.56 (1H, bs), 7.04 (1H, bs), 6.71 (1H, d, J=6.7 Hz), 6.66 (1H, bs), 6.54 (1H, bs), 6.32 (1H, bs), 6.10 (1H, d, J=5.5 Hz), 5.58 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.27 (1H, m), 4.63 (2H, m), 4.58 (1H, m), 4.52 (1H, bs), 4.47 (2H, m), 4.28-4.41 (4H, m), 4.27 (1H, m), 2.27 (1H, m), 2.18 (1H, m), 1.99 (1H, m), 1.88 (2H, m), 1.74 (1H, m), 1.66 (2H, m), 1.16-1.46 (66H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, c 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.5 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.1 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.4 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 27
The aldehyde D1 was reacted with heptadecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. the subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D, and the amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with (R)-2-acetoxyhexacosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8 with the subsequent synthetic process by applying the route D to give the compound 27.
Data!
α! 23 D =+46.0° (pyridine, c=0.8)
MS: FDMS 903.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 200-201° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.49 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 7.54 (1H, bs), 7.02 (1H, bs), 6.69 (1H, d, J=6.7 Hz), 6.66 (1H, bs), 6.53 (1H, bs), 6.30 (1H, bs), 6.08 (1H, d, J=4.9 Hz), 5.57 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.25 (1H, m), 4.62 (2H, dd, J=4.9, 10.4 Hz), 4.57 (1H, m), 4.51 (1H, bs), 4.46 (2H, m), 4.28-4.40 (4H, m), 4.26 (1H, m), 2.26 (1H, m), 2.17 (1H, m), 1.98 (1H, m), 1.87 (2H, m), 1.73 (1H, m), 1.65 (2H, m), 1.16-1.46 (68H, m), 0.86 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.4 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.5 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.1 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.5 (d), 35.5 (t), 34.3 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.4 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
As the alternative methods for synthesizing the compounds 25, 26 and 27, Cerebrin E was employed. Cerebrin E which is a tetraol and commercially available from Alfred Baker Chemicals or K&K Laboratories, Inc. was used in place of the triol D10 in the synthesis of the compound 22. Synthesis was further conducted by applying the route D to obtain the compounds 25, 26 and 27. These compounds were separated by high performance liquid chromatography (D-ODS-5, manufactured by K. K. YMC, eluent: 100% methanol, 45° C.).
Compound 28
In the synthesis of the compound 22, the route D was followed. The amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with (S)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8 with the subsequent synthetic process by applying the route D to give the compound 28.
Data!
α! 23 D =+36.8° (pyridine, c=2.0)
MS: FDMS 833.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 2950, 2870, 1645, 1535, 1475, 1080.
mp: 174-176° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.55 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 5.61 (1H, d, J=4.3 Hz), 5.26 (1H, m), 4.68 (1H, dd, J=5.5, 10.4 Hz), 4.63 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.56 (2H, bs), 4.49 (1H, t, J=5.5 Hz), 4.46 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 9.8 Hz), 4.38 (2H, m), 4.34 (1H, dd, J=4.3, 11.0 Hz), 4.31 (1H, bd, J=8.6 Hz), 4.20 (1H, dd, J=3.7, 7.9 Hz), 2.26 (1H, m), 2.19 (1H, m), 1.99 (1H, m), 1.84 (2H, m), 1.74 (1H, m), 1.58-1.70 (1H, m), 1.16-1.46 (58H, m), 0.85 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.0 (s), 101.2 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 72.4 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.0 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.5 (d), 35.6 (t), 34.6 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.3 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.2 (q).
Compound 30
The aldehyde D1was reacted with 11-methyl-9-dodecenetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D, and the amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with (S)-2-acetoxyhexacosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8 with the subsequent synthetic process by applying the route D to give the compound 30.
Data!
α! 25 D =+46.2° (pyridine, c=1.0)
MS: FDMS 847.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3400, 3250, 2870, 2810, 1640, 1525, 1455, 1355, 1320, 1275, 1145, 1060.
mp: 169.0-171.0° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.57 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz), 6.64 (2H, m), 6.45 (1H, m), 6.30 (1H, m), 6.11 (2H, m), 5.65 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.29 (2H, m), 4.65-4.75 (2H, m), 4.59 (2H, m), 4.51 (2H, m), 4.30-4.45 (4H, m), 4.22 (1H, m), 2.30 (1H, m), 2.21 (1H, m), 2.02 (1H, m), 1.6-2.0 (5H, m), 1.49 (1H, m) 1.15-1.35 (56H, m), 0.89 (3H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 0.87 (6H, d, J=6.1 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
175.0 (s), 101.3 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.4 (d), 72.3 (d), 71.6 (d), 70.9 (d), 70.1 (d), 68.0 (t), 62.6 (t), 50.6 (d), 39.2 (t), 35.6 (t), 34.6 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.6 (t), 28.1 (d), 27.7 (t), 26.3 (t), 25.8 (t), 22.9 (t), 22.7 (q), 14.2 (q).
Compound 31
The aldehyde D1was reacted with 11-methyl-9-dodecenetriphenylphosphonium bromide in place of the Wittig's salt D2 in the synthesis of the compound 22. The subsequent synthetic process was followed by applying the route D, and the amine obtained by reducing the azide group was reacted with tetracosanoic acid in place of (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanoic acid D8 with the subsequent synthetic process by applying the route D to give the compound 31.
Data!
α! 25 D =+43.6° (pyridine, c=0.44)
MS: FDMS 831.
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3300, 2880, 2810, 1630, 1535, 1455, 1055.
mp: 197.0-198.5° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.44 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz), 5.57 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.25 (1H, m), 4.63-4.70 (2H, m), 4.54 (1H, d, J=3.1 Hz), 4.50 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.35-4.45 (4H, m), 4.31 (2H, m), 2.44 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 2.28 (1H, m), 1.90 (2H, m), 1.81 (2H, m), 1.68 (1H, m), 1.49 (1H, m), 1.2-1.45 (56H, m), 1.15 (2H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 0.87 (6H, d, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.2 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.3 (d), 68.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 51.4 (d), 39.3 (t), 36.8 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.4 (t), 30.23 (t), 30.15 (t), 30.03 (t), 30.00 (t), 29.91 (t), 29.87 (t), 29.81 (t), 29.75 (t), 29.6 (d), 28.2 (d), 27.7 (t), 26.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 22.8 (q), 14.3 (q).
Compound 36
In the synthesis of Compound 22, the aldehyde D1 was treated with, instead of the Wittig salt D2, tridecanetriphenylphosphonium bromide, and the amine synthesized in accordance with the route D, with an azide group reduced was treated with, instead of the (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanic acid D8, hexacosanic acid. After this, the synthesis was continued in accordance with the route D to give Compound 36.
Data!
α! 23 D =+43.9° (pyridine, c=0.81)
MS: negative FAB-MS 857 (M-H) - !
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3300, 2930, 2850, 1640, 1540, 1470, 1070.
mp: 130-135° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.47 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 6.97 (1H, d, J=1.8 Hz), 6.63 (1H, bs), 6.54 (1H, m), 6.44 (1H, d, J=5.5 Hz), 6.32 (1H, bs), 6.09 (1H, d, J=5.0 Hz), 5.58 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.27 (1H, m), 4.65-4.70 (2H, m), 4.56 (1H, bs), 4.52 (1H, t, J=5.5 Hz), 4.37-4.47 (4H, m), 4.31-4.35 (2H, m), 2.45 (2H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 1.78-1.97 (4H, m), 1.26-1.69 (68H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.2 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.3 (d), 68.7 (t), 62.7 (t), 51.4 (d), 36.8 (t), 34.4 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.4 (t), 30.2 (t), 30.0 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.6 (t), 26.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
Compound 37
In the synthesis of Compound 22, the amine synthesized in accordance with the route D, with an azide group remained was treated with, instead of the (R)-2-acetoxytetracosanic acid D8, octacosanic acid. After this, the synthesis was continued in accordance with the route D to give Compound 37.
Data!
α! 24 D =+46.8° (pyridine, c=0.47)
MS: negative FAB-MS 871 (M-H) - !
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3350, 2930, 2850, 1640, 1540, 1470, 1080.
mp: 142-145° C.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
8.46 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 6.92-6.98 (1H, m), 6.59-6.63 (1H, m), 6.53 (1H, bs), 6.44 (1H, d, J=5.5 Hz), 6.33 (1H, bs), 6.07 (1H, d, J=5.5 Hz), 5.58 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 5.25-5.30 (1H, m), 4.62-4.70 (2H, m), 4.56 (1H, bs), 4.52 (1H, t, J=6.1 Hz), 4.36-4.47 (3H, m), 4.29-4.35 (2H, m), 2.44 (2H, t, J=6.7 Hz), 1.78-1.97 (4H, m), 1.25-1.72 (70H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
13 C (125 MHz, C 5 D 5 N; 27° C.)
δ (ppm)
173.2 (s), 101.5 (d), 76.7 (d), 73.0 (d), 72.5 (d), 71.6 (d), 71.0 (d), 70.3 (d), 68.6 (t), 62.6 (t), 51.4 (d), 36.8 (t), 34.3 (t), 32.1 (t), 30.3 (t), 30.1 (t), 30.0 (t), 30.0 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.9 (t), 29.8 (t), 29.7 (t), 26.6 (t), 26.5 (t), 26.4 (t), 22.9 (t), 14.3 (q).
(5) Synthetic Route E
Those compounds which are represented by the formulae (VIII), (X), (X'), (XII), (XIV), (XIV') or (XVIII) can also be synthesized in accordance with the following reaction route. Although this reaction route is specifically described in reference to Compound 36, the compounds according to the present invention (Compound 16 or 37 except Compound 29 and 36) can also be synthesized in accordance with this route.
(Synthesis of Compound 36 (FIGS. 11-a to 11-c))
(i) Synthesis of the Compound E2
300 ml of acetone dehydrated by calcium chloride was added to 20 g (0.133 mol) of D-lyxose (Compound E1) to obtain a suspension, and 0.05 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid was added to the suspension. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours, and neutralized by the addition of 10.0 g of molecular sieves 4A. The resulting mixture was filtered, and the residue was thoroughly washed with acetone. The was liquids were combined, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The compound thus obtained was used in the subsequent reaction without subjecting it to purification.
(ii) Synthesis of the Compound E3
The whole quantity of Compound E2 obtained by the above reaction was dissolved in 168 ml of methylene chloride. To this solution were added 10.0 ml of pyridine and 39.0 of trityl chloride, and the mixture was stirred at 32° C. for 4 hours. 7.8 ml of ethanol was then added to the mixture. The resulting mixture was stirred, washed with, in the order named, a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium chloride, a saturated aqueous solution of sodium hydrogencarbonate and a saturated saline solution, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. 20 ml of ethyl acetate was added to the syrup thus obtained to obtain a solution to which was slowly added 40 ml of hexane. When the mixture became slightly cloudy, crystal nuclei were added, and the mixture was allowed to stand at 0° C. The crystals obtained were collected by filtration, and washed with an 8:1 mixture of hexane and ethyl acetate, thereby obtaining 44.4 g of primary crystals, and, from the mother liquor, 5.6 g of seconcary crystals. The yield was 86.8%.
Data!
mp: 174-176° C.
FD-MS: 432 (C 27 H 28 O 5 : Mw=432.19)
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3530, 3400, 3050, 2950, 2880, 1600, 1490, 1450, 1375, 1215, 1070.
NMR: 1 (500 MHz, CDCl 3 )
δ (ppm)
7.48 (6H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 7.29 (6H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 7.22 (3H, t, J=7.3 Hz), 5.38 (1H, d, J=2.4 Hz), 4.75 (1H, dd, J=5.5 Hz, 3.7 Hz), 4.59 (1H, d, J=6.1 Hz), 4.32-4.34 (1H, m), 3.43 (1H, dd, J=4.9 Hz, 9.8 Hz), 3.39 (1H, dd, 6.7 Hz, 9.8 Hz), 2.33 (1H, d, J=2.4 Hz), 1.29 (3H, s), 1.28 (3H, s).
(III) Synthesis of the Compound E4
96.0 g of triphenylphosphine was added to 96.4 g of 1-bromotridecane. The mixture was stirred at 140° C. for 4.5 hours, and then allowed to slowly dissipate heat. 500 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added to this mixture to obtain a solution which was then cooled to 0° C. 146.4 ml of a 2.5 N solution of n-butyllithium was added dropwise to the solution, and the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes. To this mixture was added 79 g/150 ml of a tetrahydrofuran solution of Compound E3, and the resulting mixture was stirred for 18 hours while it was gradually cooled to room temperature. After the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure, 1000 ml of a 10/7/3 mixture of hexane/methanol/water was added to it, and 40 ml of a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium chloride was then added to the mixture. The resulting mixture was separated into layers, and the methanol/water layer was subjected to re-extraction with 500 ml of hexane. All of the hexane layers obtained were dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, concentrated under reduced pressure, and then thoroughly dried under reduced pressure by using a vacuum pump to give a crude syrup of Compound E4. This compound was used in the subsequent reaction without subjecting it to purification any more.
(iv) Synthesis of the Compound E5
To the whole quantity of Compound E4 obtained by the above reaction were added 600 ml of methylene chloride and 200 ml of pyridine. To this mixture was then added 16.95 ml of methanesulfonyl chloride, and the mixture was stirred at 31° C. for 24 hours. 13 ml of ethanol was added to the mixture. The resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for one hour, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. To this was added 1000 ml of a 10/7/3 mixture of hexane/methanol/water, and this mixture was separated into layers. The methanol/water layer was subjected to re-extraction three times with 200 ml of hexane. All of the hexane layers obtained were dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, concentrated under reduced pressure, and then thoroughly dried under reduced pressure by using a vacuum pump to give a crude syrup of Compound E5. This compound was used in the subsequent reaction without subjecting it to purification any more.
(v) Synthesis of the Compound E6
To the whole quantity of Compound E5 obtained by the above process were added 900 ml of methylene chloride and 600 ml of methanol to obtain a solution. 124 ml of concentrated hydrochloric acid was then added to the solution. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 5 hours, neutralized by the addition of sodium hydrogencarbonate, and then filtered. The residue was washed with ethyl acetate. The wash liquid and the filtrate were combined, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Ethyl acetate was added to the residue, and the resulting mixture was washed with a saturated saline solution. The aqueous layer was subjected to re-extraction three times with ethyl acetate. All of the ethyl acetate layers obtained were dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. Crystallization was conducted from hexane, thereby obtaining 41.0 g of primary crystals and 9.40 g of secondary crystals. The total yield in the three stages was 70.0%.
Data!
mp: 66-67° C.
FD-MS: 377 (M-H 2 O) + , (C 19 H 38 O 6 S; Mw=394.57)
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3500, 3350, 2920, 2850, 1465, 1440, 1355, 1330, 1160, 1030, 930.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 +D 2 O-1 drop); E/Z mixture (3:7)
δ (ppm)
5.86 (0.3H, dt, J=7.3 Hz, 14.7 Hz), 5.77 (0.7H, dt, J=7.3 Hz, 10.4 Hz), 5.55 (0.3H, br. dd, J=7.3 Hz, 14.7 Hz), 5.49 (0.7H, br. t, J=9.8 Hz), 4.91-4.97 (1H, m), 4.51 (0.7H, br. t, J=9.8 Hz), 4.11 (0.3H, br. t, J=7.3 Hz), 3.94-4.03 (2H, m), 3.67-3.73 1H(3.70 , dd, J=3.1 Hz, 6.7 Hz), (3.69, dd, J=3.1 Hz, 7.3 Hz)!, 3.20 (2.1H, s), 3.19 (0.9H, s), 2.05-2.22 (2H, m), 1.22-1.43 (20H, m), 0.88 (3H, t. J=6.7 Hz).
(vi) Synthesis of the Compound E7
24.4 g of Compound E6 was dissolved in 244 ml of tetrahydrofuran. To this solution was added 2.44 g of 5% palladium-barium sulfate. The inside of a reactor was replaced by hydrogen gas, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 20 hours under hydrogen atmosphere. The mixture was diluted with 200 ml of a 1:1 mixture of chloroform and methanol which was kept at 60° C., and the diluted solution was filtered through Celite. The residue was washed with a 1:1 mixture of chloroform and methanol. The filtrate and the wash liquid were combined, and concentrated under reduced pressure. Crystallization was then conducted from ethyl acetate, and the crystals obtained were thoroughly washed with hexane. Thus, 21.5 g of primary crystals, and 0.64 g of secondary crystals were obtained. The yield was 91.3%.
Data!
mp: 124-126° C.
FD-MS: 397 (C 19 H 40 O 6 S; Mw=396.59)
α! 23 D =+7.52° (c=1.50, C 5 H 5 N)
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3500, 3380, 3220, 2920, 2850, 1470, 1430, 1360, 1330, 1165, 1095, 930.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 -CD 3 OD=1:1)
δ (ppm)
4.93-4.96 (1H, m), 3.91 (1H, dd, J=6.7 Hz, 12.2 Hz), 3.85 (1H, dd, J=4.9 Hz, 12.2 Hz), 3.54-3.60 (1H, m), 3.50 (1H, dd, J=1.8 Hz, 8.5 Hz), 3.19 (3H, s), 1.75-1.83 (1H, m) 1.53-1.62 (1H, m), 1.21-1.45 (24H, m), 0.89 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(vii) Synthesis of the Compound E8
8.94 g (22.5 mmol) of Compound E7 was dissolved in 72 ml of dried DMF, and 2.93 g of NaN 3 was added to this solution. The mixture was heated to 95° C. in an oil bath, and stirred for 4 hours while heating. After the consumption of the starting compound was confirmed by TLC (hexane:acetone=3:2), the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. Ethyl acetate was added to the residue, and the resulting mixture was washed with water. The aqueous phase was subjected to re-extraction with an equal amount of ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layers were combined, washed with a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, concentrated under reduced pressure, and then thoroughly dried by using a vacuum pump. The compound thus obtained was used in the subsequent reaction without subjecting it to purification.
(viii) Synthesis of the Compound E9
45 ml of dichloromethane was added to the whole quantity of the powder obtained by the above reaction, and 7.53 g of TrCl was further added to this mixture. Subsequently, 14 ml of pyridine was added, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. After the consumption of the starting compound was confirmed by TLC (hexane:ethyl acetate=2:1), 1.8 ml of ethanol was added to the mixture to terminate the reaction, and the resulting mixture was stirred for 30 minutes as it was. The reaction mixture was washed with, in the order named, a saturated aqueous solution of sodium hydrogencarbonate, a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium chloride and a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The syrup thus obtained was purified by using a silica gel column (hexane:ethyl acetate=10:1). The amount of Compound E9 obtained was 6.93 g (yield 52%).
Data!
FD-MS: 585 (C 37 H 51 N 3 O 3 ; Mw=585.82)
α! 23 D =+11.86° (c=0.86, CHCl 3 )
IR: (cm -1 , film)
3425, 2924, 2854, 2098, 1491, 1466, 1448, 1267, 1223, 1074, 1034.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 +D 2 O-1 drop)
δ (ppm)
7.24-7.61 (15H, m), 3.62-3.66 (2H, m), 3.51-3.57 (2H, m), 3.42 (1H, dd, J=6.0 Hz, 10.4 Hz), 1.23-1.56 (26H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(ix) Synthesis of the Compound E10
21.73 g of syrup Compound E9 was dissolved in 200 ml of dimethylformamide, and 3.57 g of 60% sodium hydride was added to this solution little by little. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 40 minutes, and then cooled with ice. 9.71 ml (1.05 equivalent) of benzyl bromide was added dropwise, and the mixture was stirred for 2.5 hours while it was gradually warmed to room temperature. After the consumption of the starting compound was confirmed by TLC (hexane:ethyl acetate=10:1), the reaction was terminated by adding chunks of ice to the reaction mixture. 50 ml of water was added to the reaction mixture, and the resulting mixture was subjected to extraction three times with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layers were washed three times with a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. The syrup thus obtained was purified by a silica gel column (hexane:ethyl acetate=100:1). The amount of Compound E10 obtained was 23.97 g (yield 84.4%).
Data!
FD-MS: 738 (M-N 2 ) 30 , (C 51 H 63 N 3 O 3 ; Mw=766.07)
α! 23 D =+9.75° (c=0.97 CHCl 3 )
IR: (cm 31 1, film)
3062, 3031, 2925, 2854, 2096, 1492, 1465, 1450.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 )
δ (ppm)
7.07-7.48 (25H, m), 4.57 (1H, d, J=11.0 Hz), 4.44 (1H, d, J=11.0 Hz), 4.41 (2H, s), 3.37-3.79 (1H, m), 3.46-3.56 (2H, m), 3.37 (1H, dd, J=8.6 Hz, 10.4 Hz), 1.20-1.64 (26H, m), 0.88 (3H, t, J=6.7 Hz).
(x) Synthesis of the Compound E11
200 ml of 1-propanol and 25 ml of methanol were added to 25.35 g (33.14 mmol) of Compound E10, a starting compound, to obtain a solution, and 16.72 g of ammonium formate and 1.0 g of 10% palladium-carbon were added to this solution. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. After the consumption of the starting compound and the formation of the desired compound were confirmed by TLC (hexane:acetone=3:1), 50 ml of ethyl acetate was added to the reaction mixture, and the resulting mixture was filtered through Celite. The residue was washed with ethyl acetate with the wash liquid dropped in the filtrate. The wash liquid and the filtrate were concentrated under reduced pressure. Ethyl acetate was added to the residue, and the resulting mixture was washed twice with a saturated aqueous solution of NaHCO 3 . The aqueous layer was subjected to re-extraction with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layers were combined, washed with a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, concentrated under reduced pressure, subjected to azeotropic distillation with toluene, and then thoroughly dried by using a vacuum pump. The compound thus obtained was used in the subsequent reaction without subjecting it to purification.
(xi) Synthesis of the Compound E12
To the whole quantity of syrup Compound E11 obtained by the above reaction was added 250 ml of methylene chloride to obtain a solution, and 12.49 g of cerotic acid and 7.13 g of WSC hydrochloride were added to this solution. The mixture was warmed in an oil bath, and refluxed at approximately 50° C. for 2 hours. Since the presence of the starting compound was confirmed by TLC (hexane:acetone=3:1), 620 mg of cerotic acid and 360 mg of WSC hydrochloride were further added, and the mixture was refluxed by heating for a further one hour. The reaction mixture was then cooled to room temperature, washed with, in the order named, a 0.5 N aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid, a saturated saline solution, a saturated aqueous solution of sodium hydrogencarbonate and a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, concentrated under the reduced pressure, and then thoroughly dried by using a vacuum pump. The compound thus obtained was used in the subsequent reaction without subjecting it to purification.
(xii) Synthesis of the Compound E13
To the whole quantity of syrup Compound E12 obtained by the above reaction were added 120 ml of methylene chloride and 30 ml of methanol to obtain a solution, and 3.0 ml of a 10% hydrochloric acid-methanol solution was then added dropwise to this solution. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for approximately 2 hours. After the completion of the reaction was confirmed by TLC (hexane:acetone=3:1), the reaction mixture was neutralized by the addition of sodium hydrogencarbonate, filtered through Celite, washed twice with a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. The resultant was subjected to azeotropic distillation with toluene. Acetone was added to this, and the mixture was heated to obtain a solution. The solution was preserved at 0° C. to give white precipitates. The amount of the precipitates was 22.2 g. The total yield in the three stages was 76.6%.
Data!
mp: 75-76.5° C.
FD-MS: 876 (C 58 H 101 NO 4 ; Mw=876.43)
α! 23 D =-29.7° (c=0.675, CHCl 3 )
IR: (cm -1 , KBr)
3334, 2918, 2850, 1637, 1618, 1548, 1469, 1103, 1052.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 )
δ (ppm)
7.30-7.47 (10H, m, Ph), 6.07 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 4.72 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.66 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.61 (2H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.24-4.32 (1H, m), 4.45 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.00 (1H, dt, J t =7.3 Hz, J d =4.3 Hz), 3.67-3.72 (2H, m), 3.61 (1H, ddd, J=4.3 Hz, 11.6 Hz, 8.6 Hz), 3.05 (1H, dd, J=4.3 Hz, 8.5 Hz), 1.94-2.05 (2H, m), 1.15-1.69 (72H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=6.1 Hz).
(xiii) Synthesis of the Compound E14
1) 1.33 g of a galactose derivative (F1) was dissolved in 5.0 ml of methylene chloride. 1.6 ml of bromotrimethylsilane was added to this solution, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated as it was under reduced pressure, and then thoroughly dried in vacuum. The compound thus obtained was used in the following reaction.
2) 1.0 g of Compound E13 was dissolved in a mixture of 5.0 ml of methylene chloride and 5 ml of dimethylformamide. 1.5 g of activated molecular sieves 4A was added to the solution, and 480 mg of tetraethylammonium bromide was then added to the mixture. The resulting mixture was stirred. To this was added a methylene chloride solution (5.0 ml) of the galactose derivative (F2) prepared in the above process (1), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. 10 ml of methylene chloride was added to the reaction mixture, and the resulting mixture was filtered through Celite. The residue was thoroughly washed with methylene chloride. The filtrate and the wash liquid were combined, washed with a saturated aqueous solution of sodium hydrogencarbonate and then with a saturated saline solution, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, concentrated under reduced pressure, and purified by using a silica gel column (hexane:ethyl acetate=10:1 to 8:1). The amount of the compound obtained was 1.15 g, and the yield was 72.1%.
Data!
FD-MS: 1399 (C 92 H 135 NO 9 ; Mw=1399.07)
α! 23 D =+18.8° (c=0.865, CHCl 3 )
IR (cm -1 , KBr)
3320, 2919, 2850, 1647, 1533, 1470, 1454, 1348, 1144, 1028.
NMR: 1 H (500 MHz, CDCl 3 )
δ (ppm)
7.21-7.37 (30H, m), 6.12 (1H, d, J=9.0 Hz), 4.91 (1H, d, J=11.6 Hz), 4.84 (1H, d, J=3.7 Hz), 4.72-4.80 (4H, m), 4.34-4.65 (7H, m), 4.12-4.18 (1H, m), 3.99-4.05 (2H, m), 4.12-4.18 (1H, m), 3.99-4.05 (2H, m), 3.84-3.93 (4H, m), 3.73 (1H, dd, J=3.7 Hz, 11.0 Hz), 3.47-3.51 (2H, m), 3.42 (1H, dd, J=6.1 Hz, 9.1 Hz), 1.87-1.99 (2H, m), 1.18-1.70 (72H, m), 0.88 (6H, t, J=7.4 Hz).
(xiv) Synthesis of the Compound 36
2.64 g of Compound E14 was dissolved in 30 ml of tetrahydrofuran, and 5% palladium-barium sulfate was added to this solution. The inside of a reactor was replaced by hydrogen gas. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours under hydrogen atmosphere, and then filtered through Celite. The residue was washed with a 2:1 mixture of chloroform and methanol. The filtrate and the was liquid were combined, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The white powder thus obtained was dissolved in ethanol containing 8% of water while heating, and the solution was allowed to stand for cooling to precipitate Compound 36. The amount of the compound obtained was 1.48 g, and the yield was 91.4%. The data with respect to Compound 36 are the same as the above.
EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE 2
Anti-tumor activity of the compounds of the present invention
Anti-tumor activity against B16 mouse melanoma inoculated subcutaneously.
Experiment was carried out with the groups of 6 female BDF 1 mice (6 weeks old) purchased from Japan SLC Inc., B16 mouse melanoma cells (1×10 6 cells/mouse) were inoculated subcutaneously in the rear region of mice, and the sample was administered intravenously at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg after 1, 5 and 9 days from inoculation (the day of inoculation being set as 0 day). The volume of the tumor at the hypodermis of the rear region longer diameter×shorter diameter×height)/2! was measured on 8, 12, 16 and 20 days after inoculation, and the tumor growth inhibition rate (TGIR) of each sample was determined. TGIR was calculated from the following equation:
TGIR (%)=(1-T/C)×100
wherein C represents a tumor volume of the control group and T represents a tumor volume of the group to which the sample was administered.
Table 1 shows the maximum values of TGIR during the test period of 20 days. In this connection, respective test runs were divided by broken lines.
TABLE 1______________________________________Tumor growth inhibiting effects against B16 mousemelanoma cellsCompound No. TGIR (%)______________________________________31 83.414 84.023 94.124 52.530 57.721 57.917 58.022 82.428 76.216 65.019 80.21 91.49 71.54 78.16 73.715 61.920 73.72 53.13 56.97 18.58 22.118 66.335 63.029 79.725 92.826 72.327 92.85 92.112 41.813 28.210 76.511 55.932 73.233 76.534 88.936 69.837 65.0______________________________________
As shown in Table 1, all of the compounds inhibited the growth of tumor.
EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE 3
Immuno-stimulating activity of the compounds of the present invention
Lymphocyte mixed culture reaction
Experiment was carried out with the spleen cells of C57BL/6 mouse which had been treated with mitomycin C(50 μg/ml, 30 min) as the stimulator and with the pancreatic cells of BALB/c mouse as the responder. These pancreatic cells were suspended to a concentration of 2×10 6 cells/ml with a culture medium of 10% FCS RPMI 1640, respectively. These cells (50 μl/well) and a sample (10 μl/well) were plated in a 96 well round-bottomed plate and cultured for 42 hours* under the condition of 37° C. and 5% CO 2 . 3 H-thymidine ( 3 H-TdR) was added in a dose of 0.5 μCi/well. After 8 hours, the cells were harvested and subjected to the measurement of the uptake of 3 H-TdR by a liquid scintillation counter.
TABLE 2______________________________________Uptake rate of .sup.3 H-TdR in respective sampleconcentrations Uptake of .sup.3 H-TdRSample/Concentration (μg/ml) (% of control)(Compound) 10.sup.0 10.sup.-1 10.sup.-2______________________________________ 1 359 151 136 2 329 115 103 3 254 117 110 4 269 158 134 5 473 170 153 6 498 190 187 7 853 576 207 8 297 189 96 9 460 193 17610 610 381 15711 128 105 9512 123 99 10413 139 106 10714 289 197 13915 360 165 14416 321 176 16017 410 190 14318 482 176 13819 345 188 14420 443 188 19221 304 149 14222 414 166 14923 423 167 14324 416 167 14425 230 179 16126 253 199 19327 257 181 16228 357 172 14129 319 382 21530 385 156 13431 398 235 163 32* -- 406 426 33* -- 365 422 34* -- 360 40635 562 261 24736 562 283 25137 495 261 267______________________________________
As shown in Table 2, all of these samples exhibited lymphocyte mixed culture reaction stimulating activities.
EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE 4
Cytotoxicity
B16 melanoma cells which had been prepared in a concentration of 1×10 5 cells/ml and the compounds 1-37 which had been prepared in various concentrations were added to a 96 well flat-bottomed microplate in an amount of 100 μl/well and 10 μl/well, respectively. After culturing under the condition of 37° C. and 5% CO 2 for 42 hours, 3 H-TdR was added in a dose of 0.5 μCi/well. After further 8 hours, the cells were harvested, and the uptake of 3 H-TdR was measured by a liquid scintillation counter. None of the compounds even in the final concentration of 10 μg/ml influenced the proliferation of the cells.
EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE 5
Acute toxicity
The compounds 5 and 36 were once administered intravenously in doses of 0.1, 1.0 and 10 mg/kg to the groups of 6 male Crj:CD rats (5 weeks old), and the toxicity tests on compounds 5 and 36 were conducted for 7 days after the administration of these compounds.
As a result, even the dose of 10 mg/kg was not lethal to the animals, and no abnormality was observed at the autopsy, so that the LD 50 value of the compound is believed to be at least 10 mg/kg.
|
The present invention relates to the novel α-galactosylceramide represented by the formula (A): ##STR1## wherein R represents ##STR2## where R 2 represents H or OH and X denotes an integer of 0-26, or R represents --(CH 2 ) 7 CH═CH(CH 2 ) 7 CH 3 and R 1 represents any one of the substituents defined by the following (a)-(e):
(a) --CH 2 (CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
(b) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 ,
(c) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 ) 2 ,
(d) --CH═CH(CH 2 ) Y CH 3 , and
(e) --CH(OH)(CH 2 ) Y CH(CH 3 )CH 2 CH 3 ,
wherein Y denotes an integer of 5-17.
The present invention also relates to an anti-tumor agent and an immunostimulator comprising one or more of the aforementioned compounds as effective ingredients.
| 2
|
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a concealed guide rail assembly, in particular for drawers, comprising on each side of the drawer a pull-out rail to be attached to the drawer and a supporting rail to be attached to the furniture body, the load of the drawer being transmitted by cylindrical runner rollers which are mounted in a runner carriage in adjacent arrangement and which are arranged at least substantially in one horizontal plane, the runner carriages being provided with locking latches or the like which secure the carriages in one of the rail pairs when the supporting and pull-out rails are separated from each other.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Guide assemblies are frequently used in modern furniture production, in particular in the production of kitchen and office furniture.
Guide assemblies of this kind facilitate extraction and insertion of a drawer or shelf, they provide smooth running of the drawer or shelf and secure them from tilting when being partly extracted from the furniture body.
Further to this function, such guide assemblies should fulfill the following requirements. They should not, or only to a very limited extent, reduce the loading capacity of the drawer, i.e. as little space as possible should be lost in the direction of the width of the drawer.
Moreover, it has proved advantageous that the runner carriage is covered by the drawer, thus protecting the runner carriage from dust. This not only involves aesthetic advantages but also guarantees functioning of the guide assembly over long periods of use.
It is known to make the side walls of the drawer of plastics material, for example by extrusion. It is further known to arrange the pull-out rails of the guide assembly and the runner carriages in the side wall of the drawer, and it is also known to cover the pull-out rails and the runner carriages towards the outer side by means of downwardly extending covers.
An example of a concealed guide rail assembly, i.e. a guide assembly in which the rails are mounted beneath the bottom of the drawer, is described in AT-PS 362 899. A guide rail assembly of this kind has the advantage that it can be integrated in the piece of furniture without requiring much space and also does not impair the width of the drawer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to improve a guide rail assembly of the afore-mentioned kind in such a way that also, in the case of heavy drawers, smooth running and stable lateral guiding are obtained.
Stable lateral guiding of this kind has up to the present been obtained by so-called ball bearing pull-out guides wherein ball bearing cages are arranged between the rails and hold steel balls which run on groove-like guide paths of the rails. This kind of guide rail assembly provides good guiding of the drawer but has a number of disadvantages. The pressure between the steel balls and the rails is so great that coated rails cannot be used. Furthermore, these guide rail assemblies have no self-positioning effect because of their complicated profiles, so that a drawer which has not been fully pushed in remains open.
By means of the guide rail assembly according to the invention, the smooth running of a ball bearing guide is combined with the simple construction of a runner carriage guide with cylindrical runner rollers. It should in particular be possible to provide a self-positioning effect, in case the drawer has not been fully pushed in.
According to the invention, this is achieved in that a running flange of the supporting rail has a U-shaped profile with horizontal marginal flanges projecting on both sides, that runner rollers of the runner carriage move in the U-shaped channel and also on the other side of the marginal flanges, and that the pull-out rails embrace the runner carriages in the shape of a C.
It is advantageously provided that the runner rollers in the runner carriage form a quincunx arrangement, when viewed from the top, the center roller running in the U-shaped channel. Thus, good balance of the runner carriage is obtained.
Particularly smooth running of the drawer is obtained in that the running flange of the supporting rail is laterally adjustably held by a fastening angle or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Below, embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, without limiting the invention to such embodiments, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a drawer having a guide rail assembly according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one side of the guide rail assembly,
FIG. 3 is a smaller cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a supporting rail,
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of one side of a guide rail assembly shown in an extracted position,
FIG. 6 is a top view of one side of a guide rail assembly,
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a guide rail assembly shown in an inserted position,
FIG. 8 is a top view of the guide rail assembly in the inserted position,
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a runner carriage,
FIG. 10 is a top view of the runner carriage, and
FIG. 11 is a front view of the runner carriage.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The guide rail assembly according to the invention comprises in a conventional manner on each side of a drawer 1 a pull-out rail 2 on the side of the drawer and a supporting rail 3 on the side of the furniture body. One runner carriage 4 is arranged between each supporting rail 3 and pull-out rail 2. The pull-out rails 2 are arranged beneath the bottom of the drawer next to the side walls of the drawer. The runner carriages 4 are provided with runner rollers 5, 5' thereof arranged not superjacently, but beside one another.
Due to this arrangement, the guide rail assembly according to the invention requires only very little space in the direction of the height of the piece of furniture.
A guide flange 6 of the supporting rail 3 has, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 to 4, a U-shaped cross-section and comprises two outwardly projecting horizontal marginal flanges 7. The runner roller 5' of the runner carriage 4 moves in the channel formed by the U-shaped profile, and runner rollers move beneath the horizontal flanges 7. In the illustrated embodiment, the runner carriage 4 is provided with four runner rollers 5, which are arranged at the corners thereof, and with one runner roller 5' arranged substantially in the center of the runner carriage 4. The runner roller 5' has a greater diameter than the runner rollers 5.
In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the running flange 6 of the supporting rail 3 is firmly welded to fastening angle members 8. The supporting rail 3 and the runner carriage 4 are substantially narrower than the pull-out rail 2 so that the drawer 1 can be laterally displaced, which makes compensation of tolerances possible.
In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the supporting rail 3, the runner carriage 4 and the pull-out rail 2 are relatively precisely positioned relative to one another with respect to the breadth of the drawer, i.e. no lateral displacement between the pull-out rail 2 and the supporting rail 3 is possible. In this case, it is of advantage, when, as shown in FIG. 4, the running flange 6 of the supporting rail 3 is adjustably held at the fastening angle member 8. Such adjustability must only be possible, however, during mounting of the piece of furniture. As, for example, shown in FIG. 4, the running flange 6 may have a slot 9 which extends in the direction of the breadth of the drawer and through which projects a rivet 10 which is mounted in the fastening angle member 8. Hence, the running flange 6 can be adjusted in the direction of double arrow B. After such adjustment, the running flange 6 is finally riveted to the fastening angle member 8.
It will be sufficient to arrange such means for the compensation of tolerances on one side of the drawer. On the other side of the drawer, the running flange 6 is advantageously firmly fixed to the fastening angle member, for example riveted thereto.
The pull-out rails 2 may be arranged beneath the drawer side wall as well as, as shown in FIG. 2, in a recess between the drawer side wall and the bottom of the drawer.
The profiles of the supporting rails 3 according to the invention and the arrangement of the runner rollers 5,5' in the runner carriages 4 provide optimal stability of the guide rail assembly.
To improve lateral guiding, lateral compensating rollers 11 are arranged in the runner carriage 4, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
The supporting rails 3 and the pull-out rails 2 are provided wih stops 12 and 14, respectively, for the runner carriages 4 which serve for the guiding of the runner carriages 4.
Each runner carriage 4 has a latch 15 which comprises two legs 15' which move, during normal functioning of the guide rail assembly, along the upper side of the horizontal flanges 7.
Then the drawer 1 is completely taken out of the body of the piece of furniture, i.e. the pull-out rails 2 are separated from the supporting rails 3, the latch 15 engages with a locking projection 16 into a recess 17 in the pull-out rail 2, and the respective runner carriage 4 is secured in the pull-out rail 2 and together therewith can be pulled out of the supporting rail 3.
When the drawer 1 is being inserted into the body of the piece of furniture, i.e. when the pull-out rail 2 is inserted into the supporting rail 3, the runner carriages 4 are automatically unlocked.
At the front ends of the pull-out rail 2, stop members 18 are provided which prevent tilting of the inserted drawer 1 and, if desired, also permit a vertical alignment of the drawer 1.
As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 7, the running flanges 6 of the supporting rail 3 are provided with rearwardly slanted or inclined regions which form self-positioning means 19. Due to self-positioning means 19, a drawer which has not been fully closed will be drawn into the body of the piece of furniture by its own weight.
As already mentioned, the runner rollers 5, 5' are preferably made of plastics material, so that the guide rail assembly needs no lubrication and remains free of grease, which is a considerable advantage. The rails 2, 3 are advantageously coated with plastics material.
|
A concealed guide rail assembly includes runner carriages which are guided on each side of a drawer between a respective supporting rail on the side of a furniture body and a pull-out rail on the side of the drawer. The supporting rails have an upwardly open U-shaped profile with horizontally extending marginal flanges. Rollers of the runner carriages move on the upper side as well as on the lower side of the supporting rails, i.e. in the U-shaped profile and at the marginal flanges.
| 0
|
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
No applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to rotary gear pumps and motors in general, and to the type having pressure balanced bearing block seals in particular.
So-called external gear pumps are used in hydraulic power applications, as both motors and pumps. Reasonable efficiency, long life, and low-cost are normally the design criteria for these widely used pumps and motors. An external gear pump has a pair of intermeshing gears. The gears incorporate shafts which are parallel and which are mounted in bearing blocks which seal the ends of the gears. The gears are contained within a housing and hydraulic oil is supplied at an inlet and is pumped to an outlet on the other side of the meshing gears.
External gear pumps or motors, when used in hydraulic power applications, operate with pressures of up to several thousand pounds per square inch (psi). The high differential pressure and the importance of efficiency makes pump slip a concern. Slip is the fluid flow which leaks from the high-pressure side of the pump or motor to the low-pressure side. The design of external gear pumps minimizes pump slip by careful attention to pump design details. One major source of pump slip is the seal between the end faces of the rotors/gears and opposed bearing blocks. The opposed bearing blocks contain the bearings into which the shafts on which the gears are mounted turn.
The bearing blocks are positioned above and below the rotors in a twin lobe passageway formed in the motor housing. Oil pressure is allowed to reach the distal sides of the bearing blocks, forcing them toward the end faces of the rotors. However, the bearing blocks necessarily must be supported with uneven pressure so as to match the pressure developed within the pump as the rotors turn to carrying fluid from the low-pressure side of the pump to the high-pressure side. If the pressure on the sides of the bearing blocks opposed to the end faces of the rotor are not adequately matched to the pressures developed between the gear teeth of the pump, excessive slippage or bearing block face wear will result. Proper balancing of pressure on the side of the bearing blocks opposite to the end faces of the rotor is typically accomplished by a sealing gasket which supplies different pressures to different portions of the bearing blocks.
The tooling costs for the fabrication of bearing blocks is high, as the finish and dimensions of the block require tight tolerances. Thus, a single block design is often used in several different pump designs. Typically a family of hydraulic pumps will be designed to accommodate a range of hydraulic fluid inlet sizes. The inlet size of the hydraulic pump causes a variation in the hydraulic loading on the bearing blocks. Therefore, the design of the sealing gasket has to the present time been a compromise.
What is needed is a family of external hydraulic gear pumps which can accommodate a variety of hydraulic fluid inlets with a single bearing block design which has better bearing block sealing and reduced bearing block face wear.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The external hydraulic gear pump of this invention incorporates a chamfer in the bearing blocks on either side of the hydraulic fluid inlet. The chamfer functions to cause a family of pump designs with varying hydraulic inlet sizes, to have similar bearing block pressure profiles. The chamfer prevents the buildup of hydraulic pressure immediately adjacent to the hydraulic inlet below a given inlet size so that the bearing block pressure profile for a family of pumps with different inlet sizes more nearly matches the pressure profile of the largest opening used in a particular design family. The sealing gasket on the side of the bearing block opposite the gears is designed to accommodate this single pressure profile. The result is an improved bearing life and reduced slippage, over an entire family of pumps and motors of similar design.
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the cost of producing a family of hydraulic pumps or motors.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a family of hydraulic pumps or motors wherein the needed hydraulic sealing pressure remains substantially constant over a range of hydraulic fluid inlet sizes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a family of hydraulic pumps or motors with reduced wear.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an enlarged isometric view of a bearing block incorporating the chamfer of this invention which allows more uniform pressure compensation for motors with varying inlet sizes.
FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the pump with this invention showing the location and arrangement of the bearing blocks and bearing block hydraulic balancing seals.
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrative view shown superimposed on a top view of the bearing block, the gear teeth, the block chamfer, three inlet ports of varying size, and the prior art balancing seal, and the improved balancing seal, which are positioned on the bottom of the bearing block, but shown superimposed on the top of a bearing block.
FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view of an alternative embodiment pump with this invention showing the location and arrangement of the bearing blocks and bearing block hydraulic balancing seals.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-4 wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a pump 22 , is shown in FIG. 2 . The pump 22 has a housing 24 which has a central bore 26 in which are mounted a first gear 28 mounted to a first shaft 30 , and a second gear 32 mounted to a drive shaft 34 . The drive shaft 34 has a spline 36 to allow the shaft to be connected to a mechanism to be driven, in the case of a motor, or to a drive source such as an electric motor in the case of the pump. The first shaft 30 , has a first bearing surface 38 which rides on a first bearing 40 in a first bearing block 42 . The first shaft 30 has a second bearing surface 44 which rides in a second bearing 46 in a second bearing block 48 . In a similar way the drive shaft 34 has a first bearing surface 50 which rides in a bearing 52 in the first bearing block 42 and a second bearing surface 54 which ride in a bearing 56 in the second bearing block 48 .
The pump housing 24 has an inlet 58 through which hydraulic fluid is supplied. As shown in FIG. 3, the first gear 28 and the second gear 32 intermesh so that only a small volume of hydraulic fluid moves toward the inlet 58 indicated by an arrow. The individual teeth 60 of the gears 28 and 32 rotate along the walls 62 of the central bore 26 of the housing 24 as indicated by arrows 64 . As the gear teeth 60 rotate they sweep along a substantial volume of hydraulic fluid which flows to the outlet 66 of the pump 22 .
As the gear teeth 60 rotate they move hydraulic fluid from the low-pressure side 68 to the high-pressure side 70 of the pump 22 . Pressure begins to build up in the hydraulic fluid when it becomes trapped between adjacent gear teeth 60 and the housing 24 . Thus, the beginning of pressure buildup starts when a volume of fluid is no longer in communication with low-pressure side 68 of the pump 22 . Pressure is built up along an arc such as that labeled α in FIG. 3 . The sealing surface 72 of the bearing block 42 as shown in FIG. 1 and as represented in FIG. 3 is sealed against the open sides 74 of the gears 28 , 32 . In order to form a good seal, the bearing blocks 42 , 48 are forced against the gear open sides 74 by hydraulic pressure which has access to the distal sides 76 of the bearing block 42 .
A sealing gasket 80 , as shown in FIG. 2, engages the distal sides 76 of the bearing blocks 42 , 48 . The seal formed by the gasket 80 divides the bottom surface into a portion 82 which communicates with the high-pressure side of the pump, and a portion 84 which is in communication with the low-pressure side of the pump. The seal 80 is designed so that the high-pressure and low-pressure portions 82 , 84 balance the pressure profile on the sealing surfaces 72 of the bearing blocks 42 , 48 . The design of the seals 80 is complicated by the desirability of manufacturing a family of pumps with identical mechanical components differing only in the size of the hydraulic inlet 58 .
FIG. 1 shows a chamfer 88 which relieves a portion of the sealing surface 72 of the bearing block 42 . The effect of the chamfer 88 is to control the position where pressure begins to build up as the gear teeth 60 rotate as shown by arrow 64 toward the high-pressure side of the pump 22 . The bearing block 42 has a vertical surface 90 which engages the central bore 26 of the housing 24 . The bearing block has cylindrical surfaces 92 which form the waist of the figure eight of the bearing block 42 . The top and bottom of the figure eight have portions 94 which are relieved. The relieved portions 94 communicate with the high-pressure side 70 of the pump 22 as shown in FIG. 3 . The relieved portions 94 are in communication with a high-pressure side 70 of the pump 22 because the high-pressure fluid forces the bearing block 42 toward the low-pressure side of the pump housing 24 , opening up a small gap between the bearing block 42 and the wall 62 of the housing 24 .
FIG. 3 shows the size and positioning of three possible inlet openings 58 . For purposes of explanation a pair of lines 96 define an inlet of ⅞ inch diameter, a second pair of lines 98 define an inlet of 1{fraction (1/16)} inch diameter, and the third pair of lines 100 define an inlet of 1{fraction (5/16)} inch diameter. The right side of FIG. 3 shows three regions of pressure buildup corresponding to each of the three different diameters. Δ 1 is the region of pressure buildup which corresponds with an inlet diameter of 1{fraction (5/16)} inches; Δ 2 is the region of pressure buildup which corresponds with an inlet diameter of 1{fraction (1/16)} inches; and Δ 3 is the region of pressure buildup which corresponds with an inlet diameter of ⅞ inches. These pressure buildup regions correspond to the prior art. With prior art designs a sealing gasket 102 was selected based on Δ 3 which corresponded to the smallest inlet diameter 96 . This results in the prior art design having substantially sub-optimal bearing support for the larger inlets 98 , 100 . In other words the oil pressure profile on the distal sides 76 in the prior art approach does not match the oil pressure on the sealing sides 72 , for the larger in the openings.
As can be seen from FIG. 3 the buildup of pressure within the space between gear teeth 60 , begins when a space is isolated from the inlet 58 , and is complete when the space between gear teeth 60 communicates with, the high-pressure side which occurs when the space between gear teeth 60 , overlies the relieved portion 94 of the bearing blocks 42 , 48 . Isolation from the inlet 58 is controlled by either the inlet or the chamfer 88 . The effect of the chamfer 88 is to substantially eliminate the effect the inlet diameter has on the beginning of pressure buildup.
The effect of the chamfer 88 is shown on the left-hand side of FIG. 3 where pressure buildup regions α and φ are very nearly the same. The pressure buildup region φ is controlled by the size of the chamfer, and is the same for the ⅞ inch inlet 96 and the 1{fraction (1/16)} inch inlet 98 . The largest inlet 100 at 1{fraction (5/16)} is slightly larger than the chamfer 88 and results in the pressure buildup region α. Because the pressure buildup regions α and φ are very nearly the same, a sealing gasket 104 can be designed which is more optimal for hydraulic pumps with a range of inlet sizes. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the prior art gasket 102 optimized for the ⅞ inch inlet 96 , extends about 71 degrees from the symmetry 106 , while the improved sealing gasket 104 extends only about 54.6 degrees from the symmetry axis 106 .
So that the same bearing block 42 may be used in pumps and motors, and two identical bearing block 42 may be used in a single pump or motor, the bearing blocks 42 , 48 are identical and symmetric such that a chamfer 88 is positioned next to both the inlet 58 and the outlet 66 , however when positioned near the outlet the chamfer has little or no effect.
In the same way, the sealing gasket 104 is made to function symmetrically by duplicating it about the symmetry axis 106 , shown in FIG. 3 and thus in actually use has the shape shown in FIG. 2 for the sealing gasket 80 .
It should be understood that the chamfer 88 differs substantially from features used in prior art motor designs which prevented the over-rapid buildup of pressure as the teeth 60 move into the region of pressure buildup. Such prior art features include a very shallow groove in the sealing surface 72 , designed to prevent a pressure spike due to the incompressibility of the hydraulic fluid. The chamfer 88 differs from such a feature designed to prevent chatter due to the incompressibility of the working fluid, because it substantially changes the pressure buildup profile, while the anti-chatter features only prevent a pressure spike, but do not allow free flow of fluid into the gap between gear teeth. The chamfer 88 as, is shown in FIG. 1 as a simple relieving of the surface 72 which allows free flow of hydraulic the chamfer 88 does not result in the removal of so much material that the vertical surfaces 90 which engages the bearing blocks 42 , 48 with the walls 62 of the housing 24 are significantly reduced in bearing area.
FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment hydraulic pump 122 , where the arrangement of the bearing blocks 142 , 148 and the seals 180 are optimized for a pump in which the gears 128 , 132 rotate in a single direction. Because the pump gears rotate only in a single direction a “3” shaped seal 180 is all that is necessary. Because the pump 122 rotates in only a single direction chamfers 188 are only required on the low-pressure side of the pump 122 .
The low-pressure side of the pump 122 is considerably lower pressure generally than the low-pressure side of a similar hydraulic motor. The hydraulic pump 122 of FIG. 4 utilizes this fact to facilitate lubrication of the shaft bearings 140 , 156 . Provision is made on the bearing surfaces 172 of the bearing blocks 142 , 148 to drain oil to the low-pressure side from the shaft bearings 140 , 156 , by connecting the shaft bearings with the low-pressure side of the pump to facilitate bearing lubrication. This is accomplished by passageways 155 in the bearing surfaces 172 of the bearing blocks 142 , 148 and on the underside of the blocks by similar passages 157 .
The high-pressure openings formed by the end portions 94 of the bearing blocks in FIG. 1 are designed to allow rapid filling of the gear teeth with hydraulic fluid. Openings at the end of the bearing blocks are larger in a motor where it is desirable to fill the gears rapidly with fluid, than in a pump 122 where filling is more readily affected.
The precise shape of the U-shaped indentations 159 at the neck of the figure eight shaped bearing blocks as shown in FIG. 4 are designed for tool path economy and positioning exactly where the spaces between the gear teeth 160 are connected with the high- and low-pressure sides of the pump 122 .
The pump housing 124 in FIG. 4 has a high-pressure outlet (not shown) to which hydraulic fluid is pumped. The chamfer 188 , which controls the pressure profile on the bearing blocks, faces the low-pressure inlet 166 .
It should be understood that although a hydraulic pump is described in the claims, the term hydraulic pump should be understood to include a hydraulic motor, because the hydraulic pump and motor can be identical in structure, much as an electric motor can operate as a generator.
It should also be understood that the term fluid inlet refers to the low-pressure side of the pump, and should also be understood as referring to the low-pressure (fluid outlet) side of a hydraulic motor, so that the invention when claimed as a motor reads on a hydraulic pump. Similarly the term fluid outlet refers to the high-pressure side of the hydraulic pump and should also be understood as referring to the high-pressure (fluid inlet) side of a hydraulic motor, so that the invention when claimed as a pump reads on a hydraulic motor. Moreover, fluid described as flowing from the low-pressure side to the high-pressure side in a pump, should be understood to include fluid flowing from the high-pressure side to the low-pressure side in a motor.
It should be understood that the hydraulic motor or pump can be used in a wide variety of applications. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,321 to Forsythe et al. which is incorporated herein by reference.
It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.
|
A chamfer is formed in bearing blocks on either side of the hydraulic fluid inlet. The chamfer allows a family of pumps with varying hydraulic inlet sizes to have similar bearing block pressure profiles. The chamfer prevents the build up of hydraulic pressure immediately adjacent to the hydraulic inlet below a given inlet size so that the bearing block pressure profile for a family of pumps with different inlet sizes more nearly matches the pressure profile of the largest opening used in a particular design family. The sealing gasket on the side of the bearing block opposite the gears is designed to accommodate this single pressure profile. The result is an improved bearing life and reduced slippage over an entire family of pumps or motors of similar design.
| 5
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention related to an improved data processing system and, in particular, to a method and system for provisioning and de-provisioning software and resources assigned to a computing system based upon the organizational role of the user of the computing system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Modern enterprise computing environments include a variety of networked computing devices such as servers, gateways, desktop clients, and pervasive devices including personal digital assistants (“PDA”) and pocket PC's. Within a company's or organization's computing resources, there may be literally thousands of these devices at any given time, usually with one user assigned to each device.
[0003] So, for example, a particular member of an organization or company employee may have a desktop computer or PC assigned to him or her, usually located on his or her desk in his or her office. Additionally, this member or employee may also be assigned a PDA, as well as a laptop computer for use in telecommuting or during business trips.
[0004] Each of these devices will have a variety of hardware and software resources installed on it, some of which may be a part of a “standard” or “company wide” configuration, and other parts of which may be dependent on the member's or employee's function in the company or organization. For example, a company may adopt Linux as their company-wide operating system, so both the laptop and desktop PC's may be configured with a version of the Linux operating system along with some utility programs to allow them to access the company's wired or wireless networks. Additionally, the employee may have a job description which will require him or her to draft documents, and prepare budgets, so both the laptop and the desktop computers may be configured with IBM's Lotus WordPro [TM] word processor application program, as well as Lotus 1-2-3 [TM] spreadsheet application. Further, assume that this employee or member is involved in sales, so a contact management application program may be provided on the desktop and laptop computers, as well. The PDA may also be configured with “filters” or “readers” for the word processor, spreadsheet, and contact management file types, as well.
[0005] Now consider a second employee or member of the same organization who has a different job description, such as a technical support engineer. This person's computers would receive the company-wide options, such as the Linux operating system and networking components, but would not necessarily need the contact management application or the spreadsheet program. Instead, this second employee would need a Java [TM] programming suite, such as IBM's Visual Age [TM] suite, and a client program to remotely access a trouble ticket database.
[0006] In some organizations and company's, there is a manual process for configuring and maintaining these types of computers. As a new employee or member is added to the group, a person within the Information Technology (“IT”) group is responsible to select the appropriate computer platforms, to select the appropriate application programs, and to install each program manually. Then, as the user's job function changes (e.g. he or she moves to a different department, is promoted, etc.), someone within the IT group must manually change the software configuration of the user's computers (e.g. laptop, desktop, PDA, etc.). Additionally, each time an application program is upgraded, the IT group must manually apply the upgrades to the user's computer(s), as well as re-install all of the application programs each time a computer is replaced or repaired. Even worse, most of these installation and upgrade actions require the IT professional to be physically colocated with the computer being modified, which may require substantial travel to support a geographically distributed work force.
[0007] This manual process can be onerous even to a small group or company, and can be paralyzing to medium and large size enterprises. The record keeping requirements can be substantial in order to manage licenses (e.g. manage a company's investment in software products), proliferate new application program installations, provide upgrades, and “swap out” computers for newer or more powerful systems.
[0008] To answer this problem, several companies have developed enterprise configuration management (“CM”) tools which allow an IT department to manage the software configurations of a wide variety of networked computers from a centralized and remote location. One such CM tool is IBM's Tivoli Configuration Manager. Other tools with similar objectives are provided by Computer Associates and BMC Software.
[0009] Then IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager can help a company or organization gain total control over their enterprise software and hardware using its software distribution module which allows an IT department to rapidly and efficiently deploy complex mission-critical applications to multiple locations from a central point. Following initial deployment of systems, the Tivoli CM inventory module automatically scans for and collects hardware and software configuration information from computer systems across the managed enterprise. The software deployment lifecycle has many steps, and Tivoli CM allows IT departments to manage the systems from packaging, planning and administration to delivery, installation and reporting.
[0010] Tivoli CM provides a function known as “multicasting”, which can significantly reduce network bandwidth usage, and which can help in an environment where there are slow speed links between locations (e.g. reaching wirelessly networked devices or systems located through a slow bridge). Using multicasting, software distribution time is independent of the number of targets, as each software package is only sent across the network once.
[0011] Tivoli CM also supports pervasive computing devices with integrated support for Palm Computing's PalmOS [TM], PocketPC's, and Nokia Communicator devices. This allows an IT department to update the configuration information and software on these devices using the same tools with which desktop and server systems are managed. By gaining control over the growing number of pervasive devices being deployed for business applications across the corporate enterprise; IT administrators do not need to learn to use a separate, specialized tool for managing these pervasive computing devices.
[0012] Tivoli CM also includes Enterprise Directory Support, which allows IT administrators to leverage organizational information stored in enterprise directories in order to determine a set of targets for a software distribution or an inventory scan. This allows software distribution and inventory operations to be targeted by specific users, and administrators can store information about users in a single location.
[0013] Additionally, Tivoli CM provides secure management of systems outside a corporate firewall through supporting secure software distribution and inventory operations through firewalls. Environments that have multiple levels of firewalls are also supported, which reduces security exposures inherent in managing in an extended enterprise environment, and allows a IT department to extend their management systems to support a company's or organization's customers and business partners, as well.
[0014] All of these management functions are conveniently provided through Administrative Consoles which run under a popular operating system such as Microsoft Corporation's Windows operating systems. By providing a single administrative console for both software distribution and inventory operations, and requiring only a single log-on for access to all IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager administrative tools, improved operational efficiency and ease of use for administrators are realized.
[0015] However, there still remains a primarily manual task of determining which software application programs and modules should be provisioned onto which computing systems based upon the intended user or “owner” of each system. While these types of configuration management systems greatly simplify the distribution, updating, uninstalling, and inventorying of a list or set of application programs for each computing system within the managed enterprise, they do little to help the IT administrator identify the proper application programs which should or should not be provisioned onto a particular computer or device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The present invention automates the task of software provisioning using directory services such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (“LDAP”) directories and Software distribution tools such as IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager using role-based criteria for user associated with each system to be provisioned and managed. Role-based software provisioning simplifies IT management and offers an automated solution to deploy software based on user roles.
[0017] The present invention may be realized as an enhancement or extension to currently available software distribution tools from various system management companies such as Tivoli and Computer Associates. These software distribution tools are used to distribute software to remote and local machines, and to permit unattended software installation and maintenance. These system management tool providers, however, view the managed computer resources purely from the management perspective, thereby leaving the task of determining which specific software programs are to be configured on each user's computer up to human IT administrator.
[0018] Our new role-based software provisioning automatically distributes the appropriate software programs and updates to computers that are owned by users based on the role of each user in the directory, thereby avoiding the need for intensive manual efforts to determine which computers need what software.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the figures presented herein provide a complete disclosure of the invention.
[0020] FIG. 1 a depicts a typical distributed data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented.
[0021] FIG. 1 b depicts a typical computer architecture that may be used within a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented.
[0022] FIG. 2 depicts the organization and functions of the various networked systems according to the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a name search request and response process.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates an LDAP event notification process.
[0025] FIG. 5 depicts the arrangement of systems for configuration management using the IBM Tivoli CM product as a platform.
[0026] FIG. 6 provides a logical process illustration according to the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 7 provides an enhanced logical process illustration according to the present invention wherein a license manager server is consulted to allow installation of new software or recover licenses for uninstalled software.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0028] The present invention is preferably realized in conjunction with a software configuration management tool such as IBM's Tivoli Configuration Management system, or a similar tool such as those offered by Microsoft Corporation or Computer Associates. Alternatively, or in addition, the present invention may be realized in conjunction with a role-based security and access system, such as the one described in the related and incorporated patent application, or in conjunction with a role-based identity management system.
[0000] Suitable Computing Platforms
[0029] It will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be realized as a software or firmware product being executed by one or more suitable computing platforms. Therefore, we first turn our attention to characteristics of suitable computing platforms for the present invention.
[0030] With reference now to the figures, FIG. 1 a depicts a typical network of data processing systems, each of which may implement the present invention or a portion of the present invention. A distributed data processing system ( 100 ) includes a computer network ( 101 ), which is a communication medium that may be used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within the distributed data processing system ( 100 ). A computer network ( 101 ) may include permanent connections, such as wire or fiber optic cables, or temporary connections made through telephone or wireless communications. In the depicted example, two server systems ( 102 , 103 ) are connected to the computer network ( 101 ) along with a storage unit ( 104 ). In addition, one or more client systems ( 105 - 107 ) also are connected to the network ( 101 ). The clients ( 105 - 107 ) and the servers ( 102 - 103 ) may be represented by a variety of computing devices, such as mainframes, personal computers, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), etc. The distributed data processing system ( 100 ) may include additional servers, clients, routers, other devices, and peer-to-peer architectures that are not shown.
[0031] In the depicted example, the distributed data processing system ( 100 ) may also include the Internet with computer network ( 101 ) representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use various protocols to communicate with one another, such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (“LDAP”), Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”), Hypertext Transport Protocol (“HTTP”), Wireless Application Protocol (“WAP”), etc. Of course, the distributed data processing system ( 100 ) may also include a number of different types of networks, such as, for example, an intranet, a local area network (“LAN”), and/or a wide area network (“WAN”). For example, a server ( 102 ) may directly support a client ( 109 ) and network ( 110 ), which incorporates wireless communication links. A network-enabled phone ( 111 ) connects to the network ( 110 ) through a wireless link ( 112 ), and a personal digital assistance (“PDA”) ( 113 ) connects to the network ( 110 ) through a wireless link ( 114 ), too. The telephone ( 111 ) and the PDA ( 113 ) can also directly transfer data between themselves across a wireless link ( 15 ) using an appropriate technology, such as Bluetooth [TM] wireless technology or an InfraRed Data Arrangement (“IrDA”), to create so-called personal area networks or personal ad hoc networks. In a similar manner, a PDA ( 113 ) can transfer data to another PDA ( 117 ) via a wireless communication link ( 116 ).
[0032] The present invention could be implemented on a variety of hardware platforms; FIG. 1 a is intended as an example of a heterogeneous computing environment and not as an architectural limitation for the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 1 b depicts a typical computer architecture of a data processing system, such as those shown in FIG. 1 a , in which the present invention may be implemented. A data processing system ( 120 ) contains one or more central processing units (“CPUs”) ( 122 ) connected to an internal system bus ( 123 ), which interconnects random access memory (“RAM”) ( 124 ), read-only memory ( 126 ), and input/output adapter ( 128 ), which supports various I/O devices such as a printer ( 130 ), one or more disk units ( 132 ), or other devices not shown, such as a sound system, etc. The system bus ( 123 ) also connects a communication adapter ( 134 ) that provides access to communication link ( 136 ). A user interface adapter ( 148 ) connects various user devices, such as a keyboard ( 140 ) and a mouse ( 142 ), or other devices not shown, such as a touch screen, stylus, microphone, etc. A display adapter ( 144 ) connects the system bus ( 123 ) to a display device ( 146 ), such as a cathode ray tube (“CRT”), liquid crystal display (“LCD”) or plasma display
[0034] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in FIG. 1 b may vary depending on the system implementation. For example, the system may have one or more processors and one or more types of non-volatile memory. Other peripheral devices may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIG. 1 b . In other words, one of ordinary skill in the art would not expect to find exactly the same components or architectures within a network-enabled phone and a fully featured desktop workstation. The depicted examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.
[0035] In addition to being able to be implemented on a variety of hardware platforms, the present invention may be implemented in a variety of software environments. A typical operating system may be used to control program execution within each data processing system. For example, one device may run a UNIX [TM] operating system, while another device contains a simple JAVA [TM] runtime environment. A representative computer platform may include a browser, which is a well-known software application for accessing hypertext documents in a variety of formats, such as graphic files, word processing files, eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”), Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”), Handheld Device Markup Language (“HDML”), Wireless Markup Language (“WML”), and various other formats and types of files. Hence, it should be noted that the distributed data processing system shown in FIG. 1 b is contemplated as being fully able to support a variety of peer-to-peer subnets and peer-to-peer services.
[0036] While the present invention will be described with reference to preferred embodiments in which object-oriented applications are utilized, the invention is not limited to the use of an object-oriented programming language. Rather, most programming languages could be utilized in an implementation of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, though, Java Naming and Directory Interface (“JNDI”) application programming interfaces (“APIs”) are used to provide naming and directory functionality to system management functionality written using the Java programming language. The JNDI architecture consists of an API and a service provider interface (“SPI”). Java applications use the JNDI API to access a variety of naming and directory services, while the SPI enables a variety of naming and directory services to be plugged in transparently, thereby allowing a Java application using the JNDI API to access those services, which may include LDAP, Common Object Request Broker Architecture (“CORBA”), Common Object Services (“COS”) name service, and Java Remote Method Invocation (“RMI”) Registry. In other words, JNDI allows the system administration functionality of the present invention to be independent of any specific directory service implementation so that a variety of directories can be accessed in a common way.
[0037] It should also be noted that the present invention may be implemented, in part or in whole, using a distinction of client functionality versus server functionality. In other words, the data representations of objects may be manipulated either by a client or by a server, but the client and server functionality may be implemented as client and server processes on the same physical device. Thus, with regard to the descriptions of the preferred embodiments herein, client and server may constitute separate remote devices or the same device operating in two separate capacities. The data and application code of the present invention may be stored in local or distributed memory.
[0000] Role-Based Software Provisioning Architecture
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates our role-based software provisioning architecture from a high level perspective ( 20 ). Computer network ( 21 ) or set of networks is used to interface a group of computing systems, including a configuration management server ( 22 ), which is preferably an IBM Tivoli Configuration Management system with a License Management option. The CM Server ( 22 ) is equipped with one or more configurable and deployable software packages ( 22 ′) which can be downloaded to any system under management and installed for use by a user of such a system. As will be described in more detail in the following paragraphs, these software packages may include original installations, updates, enhancements, or de-installation files for application programs such as, but not limited to, word processors (e.g. MS Word, Lotus WordPro), spreadsheets (e.g. MS Excel, Lotus 1-2-3), web browsers (e.g. MS Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator), software development tools (e.g. IBM Visual Age), work flow automation clients, messaging clients (e.g. Lotus Notes, Netscape Communicator, MS Outlook), contact management packages, games, utilities, and the like. These packages may include fully independent executable modules, or plug-ins and extensions such as dynamic link libraries (“DLL”).
[0039] The CM Server ( 22 ) is also equipped with a Directory Service ( 29 ) protocol, as described in detail in the following paragraphs, which allows it to locate any user's computer, files or directories which are connected to the computer network ( 21 ), to modify those files and directories, and to receive notifications (e.g. “events”) when certain files and directories on those systems are changed by other computing processes.
[0040] Additionally, the CM Server ( 22 ) is enhanced to include our new role-based CM auto-provisioning logical processes ( 27 ), preferably including one or more standard user roles ( 28 ) which can be used to assist in defining a new user's role model, as described in further detail in the following paragraphs.
[0041] According to this architecture, each user of a plurality of users (User 1 , User 2 , . . . User N) is supplied with one or more computing systems such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and/or a pervasive computing device (e.g. PDA, WAP-enabled wireless telephone, PocketPC, etc.) ( 24 , 25 , 26 ). Virtual users may also be defined to “own” a community resource such as a server or gateway system.
[0042] Each of these user's computing devices is enhanced to include a directory service client ( 200 , 202 , 204 ) product matching the directory service protocol ( 29 ) of the enhanced CM Server ( 22 ) so as to allow the CM Server to find each of the devices ( 24 , 25 , 26 ), receive notifications from the devices, and make changes to those devices' files and directories. It is important to note that with selection of the appropriate directory service or directory protocol, a wide variety of computing devices ( 24 , 25 , 26 ) can be incorporated and maintained by this architecture, including, but not limited to, systems running Microsoft Windows [TM] operating system variants (e.g. 95/98/2000/NT/XP/CE, etc.), PalmOS [TM], IBM's OS/2, Sun Microsystem's Solaris, UNIX, Linux, or even server-class operating system such as IBM's OS/390 or AIX. Further, a mixture of these types of devices may be configured and managed by a single CM Server system, as well.
[0043] Each of the user devices ( 24 , 25 , 26 ) are also enhanced to include a user role ( 201 , 203 , 205 ) which defines the user's needs for software applications, as described in more detail in the following paragraphs.
[0044] In a general sense of operation, each computing device within the enterprise is assigned a single user or owner, where each user may own one or more computing devices. For simplification of implementation, we restrict each device to having just one assigned user, but with additional logic, it is possible to extend the present invention to allow multiple user's for a single computing device.
[0045] Each new user is assigned one or more “roles” which determine his or her computing needs, typically based upon his or her job description or position within the company or organization. This determines an initial set of software programs and utilities (e.g. a initial software package) to be installed on each of his or her computing devices by the CM Server.
[0046] When a user's role changes, the CM Server receives notification of the change via the directory service, reevaluates his or her software needs based upon his or her current role definition(s), and updates the software, provisions new software, or de-provisions (e.g. recovers unused licenses) as necessary. As the preferred embodiment includes or incorporates a highly capable CM Server, all of this provisioning and configuration management can be performed remotely and on a scheduled basis.
[0000] Directory Services and Protocols
[0047] A directory service or directory protocol allows a networked computer to find or locate any other suitably equipped computer, and to potentially copy or modify the files, folders and directories on that other computer, regardless of the hardware or operating system of the two computers, through a commonly adopted or implemented protocol. One computer can be a relatively sophisticated device such as a desktop PC or web server computer, while the other computer can be similarly sophisticated or less sophisticated such as a PDA or PocketPC.
[0048] There are several known Directory Service protocols available for use in the present invention, including the Internet Engineering Task Force's (“IETF”) X.500 protocol, and it's widely-adopted subset known as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (“LDAP”), which is defined in the IETF's Request for Comments (“RFC”) number 1777. A version 3 of LDAP is defined by RFC 2251, which includes enhanced security features. X.500 and LDAP are well known in the art, as their standards (e.g. the RFC's) are readily available to the public any may be generally implemented without license or fee.
[0049] Additionally, there are a number of suitable alternate Directory Service protocols and products available in the market such as Microsoft Corporation's Active Directory, Novell's Network Directory Service (“NDS”), and Sun Microsystem's Java Naming and Directory Interface (“JNDI”). Many of these alternate Directory Services incorporate part or all of LDAP or X.500 (e.g. “comply with” the RFC's), but also include some proprietary or non-standard functions as well. Widespread adoption of such products as Active Directory, NDS, and JNDI has given rise to them being referred to as “open” or “standard” by those skilled in the art, but in reality, most of these products require a license to use.
[0050] As such, our preferred embodiment uses any suitable directory service protocol, and especially LDAP through incorporation of JNDI. In the present description, we therefore provide details with respect to an embodiment employing LDPA an JNDI, but it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other directory services and directory protocols may be used as well.
[0051] LDAP directories have become ubiquitous in the enterprise IT environment, and as such, our invention leverages the functionality they provide. The LDAP directories are the primary user repository in many enterprises. These directories also contain resources information such as computers and printers. The directories are very efficient in storing and retrieving user and resources information and the relationship that exists between users and resources.
[0052] LDAP is a software-based protocol for enabling anyone or any networked system to locate organizations, individuals, and other resources such as computer files and devices in a network. These resources may be located on the “public” Internet, or on a corporate intranet. LDAP is a subset of X.500, a broader standard for directory services in a network. Many vendors of software have adopted LDAP or have made their products compliant with LDAP, including IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and Novell.
[0053] In a computer networked environment, a “directory” indicates where in the network something is located. The domain name system (“DNS”) is the directory system used on TCP/IP networks such as the Internet, which relates domain names to a specific network addresses. If a domain name is unknown, a directory service such as LDAP allows a person or system to search on other criteria. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , a directory server ( 31 ) (a.k.a. an LDAP Directory System Agent or DSA) may receive a name search request ( 34 ) from a first client device ( 32 ), access a database ( 36 ) which correlates information to names and network addresses, and return ( 35 ) a network name (e.g. a URL), network address (e.g. IP address), or both to the first client ( 32 ) regarding the location and/or name of a second client ( 33 ) on the network. With respect to the present invention, this type of search and location function is useful to find the devices assigned to a user when configuring the software on those devices. The IETF RFC's fully explain the LDAP messaging protocol and search protocol.
[0054] JNDI (“Java Naming and Directory Interface”) is one available programming paradigm which supports both LDAP client and server functions in the Java environment, and as such, is an aspect of our preferred embodiment. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other programming paradigms support LDAP functions as well, and can be alternately used to realize the present invention.
[0055] JNDI, which is part of the Java Enterprise application programming interface (“API”) set, enables Java platform-based applications to access multiple naming and directory services, some of which are LDAP functions. JNDI allows developers to create portable applications that are enabled for a number of different naming and directory services, including: file systems; directory services such as LDAP, Novell Directory Services, and Network Information System (“NIS”); as well as distributed object systems such as the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (“CORBA”), Java Remote Method Invocation (“JRMI”), and Enterprise JavaBeans (“EJB”).
[0056] JNDI allows an LDAP client to register as a “listener” to events posted by LDAP event sources. When a watched file or resource on the LDAP event source changes (e.g. is modified, deleted or added), the event source device sends an event notification to all registered “listeners”. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , a first client device ( 32 ) may register as an event listener for changes to the LDAP directory resources ( 42 ) (e.g. files and folders) on a second client ( 33 ). When one of these resources ( 42 ) is changed, the second client ( 33 ) sends an event notification ( 41 ) to the registered listener, the first client device ( 32 ). The first client device can then act appropriately in response to the event.
[0057] For our purposes, the present invention employs event notification to know when a user's role has been changed. As shown in FIG. 4 , the user's role ( 203 ) including his or her identification (e.g. name, employee number, member number, etc.) are stored within the LDAP directory or file system ( 42 ). During initial system configuration, this role is downloaded from the CM Server into the local LDAP directory of the client device. Later, when the user's role changes (e.g. job function is modified), an event is posted to the CM Server (shown as client 1 in this figure), which triggers our role-based CM logical processes. These logical processes and role definitions are defined in more detail in the following paragraphs.
[0000] Configuration Management Systems
[0058] In general, the various CM systems available on the market operate on similar concepts and functional arrangements. Shown in FIG. 5 are some details of the Tivoli CM architecture, but it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be realized in conjunction with other CM tools and systems, as well as with role-based security and access systems and/or identity management systems. The present description includes details of our preferred embodiment using the Tivoli CM, but it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that these other configurations may also be implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0059] Turning to FIG. 5 , an arrangement ( 50 ) of several networked devices is shown. The Tivoli CM Server ( 22 ) operates as a centralized organizer of software installation, updating, and inventorying logic, drawing its various configuration definitions from a configuration repository ( 52 ) and its application program files for installation and download from a source host ( 54 ). An inventory data handler ( 51 ) is also preferably provided which provides periodic inventory scans of installed bases of software on the managed devices. A repeater server (not shown) may be deployed to hold software packages for later distribution from the CM sever ( 53 ) to realize multicasting on a scheduled basis, as previously described.
[0060] According to our preferred arrangement, each organizational department is optionally provided with a departmental gateway ( 55 , 56 ) through which a plurality of user devices ( 24 , 25 , 57 , 58 ) are accessible using the directory service protocol (e.g. LDAP in our preferred embodiment). In this arrangement ( 50 ), the normal functions of the CM Server such as new device configuration, installation of application programs, updating of application programs, and de-installation of application programs can be accomplished in the usual manner.
[0061] As shown in FIG. 2 and previously described, the CM Server ( 22 ) is modified to include or have remote call access to our new role-based CM logic, which preferably includes one or more model or standard user role definitions for assistance in provisioning new systems for new users.
[0000] User Role Definitions
[0062] Also as previously discussed and shown in FIG. 2 , each user's device is configured to include a user role definition ( 201 , 203 , 205 ) in the directory served by the LDAP client. This user role definition is preferably in the form of a file, but may alternately be stored in other manners so long as it can be initially created, written or downloaded from the remote CM server, and it can be monitored such that changes to it result in an event notification being sent to the CM server and the role-based CM logical processes ( 27 ).
[0063] For example, Table 1 shows an example of a model role definition ( 28 ) for a technical support specialist, while Table 2 shows an example of a model role definition ( 28 ) for a sales person, whose software needs have been previously described.
TABLE 1 Model Technical Support Role Definition <CM_role_definition> <CM_role_name> Tech_support </CM_role_name> <user_name> TBD </user_name> <device> <device_description> IBM ThinkPad </device_description> <OS> Linux Ver. 9.0 </OS> <networking> TCPIP_pkg_15 </networking> <application_programs> Lotus WordPro; Lotus 1-2-3; IBM Visual Age; IBM_inside_trouble_tkt_client; </application_programs> </device> <device> <device_description> Palm Tungsten </device_description> <OS> native </OS> <networking> native </networking> <application_programs> Lotus WordPro_reader_for_PalmOS; IBM_inside_trouble_tkt_reader_for_PalmOS; </application_programs> </device> </CM_role_definition>
[0064] As can be seen from Table 1, an undesignated (e.g. new) technical support person would normally be configured with certain programs for his or her laptop computer (e.g. an IBM ThinkPad) and his or her Palm PDA.
TABLE 2 Model Saleperson Role Definition <CM_role_definition> <CM_role_name> Sales </CM_role_name> <user_name> TBD </user_name> <device> <device_description> IBM ThinkPad </device_description> <OS> Linux Ver. 9.0 </OS> <networking> TCPIP_pkg_15 </networking> <application_programs> Lotus WordPro; Lotus 1-2-3; Goldmine Ver. 12; </application_programs> </device> <device> <device_description> Palm Tungsten </device_description> <OS> native </OS> <networking> native </networking> <application_programs> Lotus WordPro_reader_for_PalmOS; Lotus 1-2-3_reader_for_PalmOS; Goldmine_reader_for_PalmOS; </application_programs> </device> </CM_role_definition>
[0065] Table 2 shows a different configuration of software to be loaded onto new devices (e.g. a laptop and a PDA) for new sales persons. These examples are shown in a markup language format such as extensible Markup Language (“XML”), but could equally well be implemented in binary, text, or other formats.
[0066] To effect assignment of a user role to a specific device during initial configuration, the role-based CM logic must assign a user name or other identifier (e.g. user number, employee number, etc.) to the model role definition, allow the IT administrator to modify the model role definition through the administration console, and then to download the role definition into the appropriate machine(s) as needed. For example, in our preferred embodiment, only the portion of the role definitions which applies to a particular device is downloaded into that device's LDAP directory, such as only downloading the laptop definitions to a laptop computer, and only downloading the PDA definitions to a PDA device. Alternatively, though, the entire user role definition may be stored in each device assigned to a user which would allow polling of any of the user's device to obtain a full description of all of the user's devices.
[0067] Also, during initial configuration of each device, the appropriately designated software packages as listed in the role definitions, are prepared and remotely installed by the CM Server onto the user's devices in the conventional manner.
[0068] After initial configuration, an IT administrator may retrieve a user's role definitions from one or more of the user's devices using the directory services, modify the role, and re-download it to the device(s). Or, the user may modify his or her own role definitions, which would trigger an event notification and appropriate software changes, as described in the following paragraphs.
[0000] Role-Based CM Logical Processes
[0069] Turning to FIG. 6 , the logical processes according to our invention are shown in a generalized manner. These logical processes may be implemented as one program in a suitable programming language, or in a set of coordinated and cooperating programs in a suitable programming language, as necessary. For example, they may be implemented as Java servlets or as one C program, according to the implementer's preferences. In our preferred embodiment, these processes have been realized in a set of C and/or Java programs which remotely connect to the Configuration Manager server.
[0070] In one manner of starting ( 61 ) the role-based CM logic ( 60 ) such as by invocation by an IT administrator, if ( 62 ) a new user is being defined, the administrator is allowed to pick a “standard” or predefined role definition ( 28 ), such as the salespersons' or technical support specialists' role as previously described. The administrator may modify the role definitions as needed, or create an entirely new role definition, using as suitable editor such as an XML editor. This role definition is then stored for later download to the user's device(s) along with the indicated software packages during initial installation.
[0071] If ( 64 ) the user already has a defined role but a new device is being added for the user (e.g. the user has a new PDA but previously had a desktop PC configured), the logical process allows the new device to be configured ( 65 ) with the software packages as indicated by the role definitions for that user, including downloading of the role definition into the user's device(s), until all the devices ( 67 ) have been properly configured.
[0072] If ( 69 ) the role of the user is to be changed, then the IT administrator is provided an opportunity to consult the existing role definitions and modify them for that user ( 600 ), followed by reconfiguring ( 65 ) the software applications on each device which is affected by the role change (e.g. uninstalling a package, upgrading a package, or installing a package), until all the devices ( 67 ) have been properly configured.
[0073] Upon receipt of a change event notification via the directory service protocol ( 41 ) as a result of a user's change to his or her own role definitions (or as the result of a remote administrator changing the role definitions), the change to the role is automatically analyzed ( 600 ) with optional administrator review, followed by automatic reconfiguration ( 66 ) of the affected devices until all the devices ( 67 ) have been properly configured.
[0074] In keeping with the periodic inventory functions of the conventional CM Server systems, these logical processes may also be automatically initiate periodically as well, allowing all of the user's devices to be periodically automatically reconfigured to have only the software packages needed according to their current roles.
[0075] Additionally, in keeping with the license management and recovery functions of the conventional CM Server systems, the logical processes of the present invention will assist in automatically recovering unused software licenses due to user role changes which otherwise would go wastefully allocated until the next manual inventory of that user's software configurations.
[0000] Integration to Role-Based Security Systems or Identity Management Systems
[0076] As previously mentioned, the present invention may alternatively be implemented in conjunction with available role-based security and access systems such as the system described in the related patent application, allowing role definitions of such a system to be utilized in the automatic configuration of user's devices. It is within the skill of those in the art to adapt the presently described embodiment to this alternate embodiment when provided with the description contained herein.
[0000] Integration of License Manager Server
[0077] According to another aspect of a preferred embodiment, a license management server such as the Tivoli License Manager (“TLM”) ( 59 ) shown in FIG. 5 is incorporated into the overall system arrangement, and the logical processes of the invention are adapted to interface to the license manager server as described in the following paragraphs.
[0078] Tivoli License Manager is a well-known system, often employed in conjunction with the Tivoli Configuration Manager system, which provides a comprehensive software asset management function for organizations large and small. TLM tracks the number of owned or leased software licenses, where they are deployed, and how many are unused. When a new computer is configured with one or more software packages, TLM can take the licenses out of available inventory and record them ( 500 ) as being installed on the new computer. If a software package on a computer is uninstalled, TLM can “recover” that license, putting it back into available inventory. Using TLM, an enterprise can more efficiently manage their investment in software licenses, avoid over spending on unnecessary licenses, and comply with copyright and end user license agreement (“EULA”) provisions. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art, however, that alternate license manager systems and platforms may be used in place of the Tivoli product without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0079] Turning to FIG. 7 , an enhanced logical process ( 70 ) according to the present invention is shown which utilizes such a license manager for license management and recovery. Whenever a role is changed or created, an LDAP event is generated and handled as previously described ( 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 69 , 600 ), however instead of proceeding directly to configuring one or more software packages onto the affected computer, a license manager server ( 59 ) is consulted ( 71 ) to determine if it is permissible to add the software package(s) to the computer. If the role change results in the removal or uninstallation of one or more software packages, the consultation ( 71 ) also notifies the license manager server ( 59 ) to return the license to available inventory (e.g. recover the license(s)).
Conclusion
[0080] The present invention may be realized in a variety of forms, programming languages, methodologies, and operating systems on a variety of computing platforms without departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention. A number of example embodiment details have been disclosed as well as optional aspects of the present invention in order to illustrate the invention, but which do not define the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims.
|
Automated software provisioning based upon a set of role definitions for a user of a configurable device such as a computer or personal digital assistant. The present invention may be realized as an enhancement or extension to currently available software distribution tools which are used to distribute software to remote and local machines, and to permit unattended software installation and maintenance. The invention provides role-based software provisioning which automatically distributes the appropriate software programs and updates to computers that are owned by users based on the role of each user, thereby avoiding the need for intensive manual efforts to determine which computers need what software. The invention may also be interfaced to a License Management system in order to accomplish automatic recovery of unused software licenses, and to obtain permission for installing new licenses, based on user role changes.
| 6
|
[0001] This application claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/508,856 filed Jul. 18, 2011, the content of which is incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Goals of achieving energy independence and concerns about depleting fossil fuel reserves and environmental impacts of energy generation has stimulated a lot of interest in research in the area of renewable and sustainable energy. Wind power is one of the fastest growing renewable technologies in the world at present. The United States with 35 GW of installed wind capacity in 2009 has the goal of achieving 20% wind power penetration by 2030. Increasing wind penetration into existing power grids in turn increases the problems caused by the inherent variability and uncontrollable nature of the wind resource. Since the system loads are also variable and represented by forecasts, balancing supply and demand for electric power is becoming increasingly difficult.
[0003] Addressing the issues of variability of wind power by incorporating energy storage units operating in combination with wind farms is an attractive idea. A number of wind to storage projects are also being planned and implemented across the U.S. However, a question that is often unaddressed is the optimal size of the required storage unit for a given system. This work proposes a methodology to compute the optimal storage size required for a system consisting of wind generation and load.
[0004] One of the main characteristics of renewable power such as wind and solar is the inherent variability and uncontrollability. Even with state-of-the art forecasting techniques, actual generation can be substantially deviated from the forecasted values. In addition, the system load is also variable and needs to be forecasted ahead of time for unit commitment and system planning and operation purposes. Although daily loads follow a pattern, every forecast is associated with a certain degree of uncertainty. In a system consisting of only renewable generation and load, with minimum or no connection to the grid, the task of energy balancing is extremely difficult. Incorporation of energy storage units is being considered as a possible solution to this problem. However, energy storage units till date are expensive. Hence the question that arises is, given a generation-load system, what is the optimal amount of storage required. This invention investigates the storage size required by a system consisting of a renewable generation and a load in meeting certain specified reliability indices and considering the forecast uncertainties.
[0005] The incorporation of forecast uncertainties into processes such as generation scheduling, load following, is critical for improving system performance, maintaining system reliability, and minimizing expenses related to the system balancing functions. However, the power system demand and supply balancing process is traditionally based on deterministic models. Scheduling and load following processes use load and wind power generation forecasts to achieve future balance between demand and supply of electric energy. Since the actual load and wind generation can deviate from their forecasts significantly, with increasing penetration of renewable resources, it becomes increasingly difficult to guarantee whether the system would actually be able to meet the required reliability criteria. Hence, it is important to address the uncertainty problem by including the sources of uncertainty including forecasts of load and wind generation into consideration. In this work, a methodology has been presented for incorporating uncertainties associated with wind and load forecast. The consideration of uncertainties is a unique feature that makes this work a significant step forward toward the integration of renewable resources such as wind.
SUMMARY
[0006] In one aspect, systems and methods are disclosed to manage energy system by receiving load forecasts and power generator forecasts with uncertainty specification; performing stochastic optimization on the load and power generation forecasts; determining an optimal storage sizing for energy balancing; and validating the optimal storage sizing; wherein the power generator is connected to an energy storage device with the optimal storage sizing.
[0007] In one embodiment, an optimal size of an energy storage unit is determined for energy balance in a system consisting of wind (renewable) generation and load, taking into consideration the uncertainties in forecasts of both loads and the wind (renewable) power generation. The optimal storage parameters determined are the energy capacity and the power capacity. The minimum initial energy required to be stored over a planning period is also computed. The methodology can be easily modified to address a system with other renewable sources of generation such as solar power. In addition, since no specific storage technology had been considered, the methodology can consider any specific type of storage and scaled to consider a renewable-storage system at the grid level or at a smaller level for systems such as smart buildings. The idea is also applicable to the microgrid systems with renewable generation and with minimum or no connection to electric grids. The optimization model is formulated as a stochastic linear programming problem considering two random quantities, load and wind (renewable) generation. The reliability index of the system is evaluated in terms of the LOLP (Loss of Load Probability). Another reliability index, LOEP (Loss of Energy Probability), is defined to determine the probability of a wind (renewable) energy spillage event due to excess wind (renewable) generation that cannot be accommodated in the system.
[0008] Advantages of the preferred embodiments may include one or more of the following. The system is effective in determining the optimal storage size required for energy balance purposes in a renewable generation-load system taking into account forecast uncertainties and meeting required reliability criteria. The approach is also effective in assessing performance and reliability metrics of a system with existing storage facilities.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system to determine optimal storage for a system with wind generation and a lumped load.
[0010] FIG. 2 demonstrates the discretization process for the wind power forecasts.
[0011] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary process to determine optimal storage.
[0012] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary computer to determine optimal storage.
DESCRIPTION
[0013] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system to determine optimal storage for a system with wind generation and a lumped load. In module 101 , the system receives load forecast as well as wind generation forecasts, both with uncertainty specifications. The input from module 101 is provided to an optimization stage 104 , which can be Stochastic LP based. The use of Stochastic Linear programming formulation addresses the probabilities in the objective function itself. There is no need to do an exhaustive simulation study to determine storage size which is computationally extremely expensive. The result is a determination of optimal storage sizes that are ‘more reliable’ and that is quantifiable from a reliability viewpoint. The result is a determination of optimal storage size 109 and minimum required energy 106 . That information, along with output of module 101 , is provided to a validation stage 110 , which can be an MC based determination of reliability indices in one embodiment.
[0014] In one embodiment, wind power and load forecasts are available for every interval over the planning period. In addition, the forecast uncertainties quantified by confidence intervals or probability distribution of errors are also available. The probability distribution of forecast errors is taken to be Gaussian with zero mean and known standard deviation which may vary between different intervals.
[0015] The energy storage is used as a means for balancing the energy demand and supply. The optimal sizing of the energy storage unit in presence of load and wind generation forecast errors is computed by a stochastic linear program. An energy storage unit can be characterized by its energy capacity (MWh), power capacity (MW), round-trip efficiency, and ramping capability. In one embodiment, the optimal energy capacity and the optimal power discharge capacity of the storage unit are computed. The energy storage unit is modeled by energy continuity equations and hence depicted as a limited energy plant. The minimum initial energy of the storage unit is also obtained.
[0016] Two optimization targets have been considered in one implementation, namely, (i) optimal storage sizing while minimizing the under-generation in the system thereby achieving a low or zero value of loss-of-load probability (LOLP), and (ii) optimal storage sizing while minimizing the magnitude of energy deviations, i.e. both over and under-generation.
[0017] The system of FIG. 1 determines ‘how much’ of energy storage is required for operating the system in a reliable manner. Since size of storage is associated with a cost figure, an optimum must be reached between this and the cost associated with energy deviations (spilled wind energy and unmet demand). The optimal storage size has been computed for energy balance in a system consisting of wind generation and load taking into consideration the uncertainties in forecasts of both load and the wind generation. Optimal storage size is given by the optimal energy capacity and the optimal power capacity. The minimum initial stored energy is also computed. The methodology presented can be easily modified to address a system with other renewable sources of generation such as solar power. In addition, since no specific storage technology had been considered, the methodology can be modified to consider any specific type of storage and scaled to consider a renewable-storage system at the large-scale grid level or at a small-scale system such as smart buildings. The idea is also applicable in the microgrid framework with renewable generation and with minimum or no connection to the electric grid.
[0018] FIG. 2 demonstrates the discretization process for the wind power forecasts. The continuous probability distribution curve is discretized to quantize the forecasts into different levels. The process of discretization is required for the stochastic linear program formulation. In this work, the discrete levels considered are [μ−3 σ, μ−2 μ, μ−σ, μ, μ+σ, μ+2 σ, μ+3 σ] with corresponding probabilities obtained from the given probability distribution function. Here μ is the sum of the forecast at an interval and the mean of the forecast error. Since the forecast error is assumed to have a zero mean, μ represents the forecasted wind power. Also, σ represents the known standard deviation of the forecast error which can vary between different intervals.
[0019] A similar procedure is followed for the load forecast curve, i.e. the continuous probability distribution curve is discretized to generate discrete load levels with probabilities from the continuous probability distribution function.
[0020] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary process to determine optimal storage. In this process, the optimal storage sizing with forecast uncertainties are determined ( 202 ). The system can optimize the problem formulation ( 204 ), and can further perform wind and load forecast treatments ( 206 ). Objective functions can be targeted ( 208 ). From 202 , validation methodologies can be done ( 210 ).
[0021] Since the variables, namely wind generation and loads are probabilistic, a stochastic linear programming model is used. As mentioned earlier, there are two optimization targets in this work, (i) optimal storage sizing while minimizing the under generation in the system thereby achieving a low or zero value of loss-of-load probability (LOLP), and (ii) optimal storage sizing while minimizing the magnitude of energy deviations, i.e. both over and under-generation. Each target corresponds to a different objective function.
Target (i)
[0022] Minimize
[0000]
C
ES
.E
S
max
+C
PS
.P
S
max
+C
Einit
.E
Sinit
[0000]
∑
k
=
1
N
[
π
∑
i
ρ
W
k
i
ρ
L
k
i
·
max
{
0
,
P
L
k
i
-
P
W
k
i
-
P
S
k
}
]
(
1
)
Target (ii)
[0023] Minimize
[0000]
C
ES
.E
S
max
+C
PS
.P
S
max
+C
Einit
.E
Sinit
[0000]
∑
k
=
1
N
[
π
∑
i
ρ
W
k
i
ρ
L
k
i
P
L
k
i
-
P
W
k
i
-
P
S
k
]
(
2
)
[0024] In each case the search space is restricted by the following constraints:
[0000] E S k+1 =E S k −P S k ∀k= 1, 2, . . . N (3)
[0000] E S min ≦E S k ≦E S max ∀k= 1, 2, . . . N (4)
[0000] | P S k |≦P S max ∀k= 1, 2 , . . . N (5)
Where
[0025]
Prob
(
=
P
W
k
i
)
=
ρ
W
k
i
[0000] and
[0000]
Prob
(
=
P
L
k
i
)
=
ρ
L
k
i
[0026] P L k is the load in interval k
[0027] P S k is the power discharged from the storage unit in interval k with a positive value indicating discharge and a negative value indicating charging of the storage unit.
[0028] P S max is the maximum rate of charge or discharge from the storage unit and is computed from the optimization program.
[0029] E S max is the maximum energy limit of the storage and is computed by the optimization program, E S min is the minimum energy required in the storage unit at the start of the planning horizon and is also computed from the optimization program. Here E S min is taken as zero i.e. allowing deep discharge.
[0030] The capital cost of energy storage consists of an energy component, C ES ($/kWh) and a power component, C PS ($/kW).
[0031] Another cost term C Einit ($/kWh) is introduced to reduce the dependence on initial stored energy of the storage unit to meet the objectives.
[0032] π is a constant penalty term which is chosen to be extremely high (here taken as 40,000) to minimize the effect of the energy imbalances. This term is assumed to be the product of two components, a market price in the interval (40 $/kWh), and a penalty factor over the market price for energy imbalances (1000 p.u.). N is the number of intervals considered in the planning period. The efficiency of the battery has been assumed to be 100% and no constraint has been placed on the cycle life of the battery.
[0033] As to reliability indices, loss of load probability (LOLP) can be used as a proxy for power system reliability index. Various steps of Monte Carlo can be used for computing the LOLP index. Another index SGP (Spilled Generation Probability) has also been defined and computed to measure the loss of generated wind energy due to spillage. Such an event occurs when the wind power cannot be accommodated in the system and needs to be curtailed.
[0034] Steps for LOLP and SGP calculation using simple Monte Carlo simulation can be described as follows.
[0000] Step 1: Set the maximum iteration number and let the initial iteration number n=1.
Step 2: Sample the system state randomly (load level, wind generation) based on the given forecast error distribution and perform a simulation to classify it as a loss-of-load event or a spilled generation event. Let α n and β n be defined as follows:
[0000]
α
n
=
{
1
sampled
scenario
is
loss
-
of
-
load
event
0
otherwise
β
n
=
{
1
sampled
scenario
is
spilled
-
generation
event
0
otherwise
[0035] Please note that the sampled scenario is the entire period under study (here a week). Thus, even with the occurrence of a single time interval (here one hour) of loss of load or spilled generation, the corresponding entire period under study (the whole week) is classified as a loss-of-load or spilled-generation event. The resulting LOLP and SGP estimates respectively give the chance that a particular period (the week) will encounter at least one interval (hour) of loss of load or wind spillage.
[0036] Step 3: Calculate LOLP, SGP, and variance of the estimated LOLP and SGP.
[0000]
=
1
n
∑
j
=
1
n
α
j
(
6
)
β
j
(
7
)
V
(
)
=
1
n
(
∑
j
=
1
n
1
n
α
j
2
-
2
)
(
8
)
V
(
)
=
1
n
(
∑
j
=
1
n
1
n
β
j
2
-
2
)
(
9
)
[0037] Step 4: Check whether the variations V( ) and V( ) are less than a specified threshold. If true or n>Nmax, stop; otherwise, n=n+1, go to step 2.
[0038] The system has been tested on a system consisting of a commercial facility which derives its energy requirements from wind power by having installed wind turbines in its geographical campus. The policy of the commercial facility is to maximize the use of ‘green’ wind power and minimize energy purchased from the grid. Hence, the facility intends to invest in battery energy storage for energy balance. The problem is to find out the optimal size of the required energy storage unit. The optimal storage size required for the system in presence of wind power and load forecasts are obtained. Both the wind generation and load forecast errors are assumed to have a Gaussian probability distribution with zero mean. The wind power forecast errors are assumed to have a standard deviation of 20% of the maximum wind power generated during the week, and the load forecast errors are assumed to have a standard deviation of 2% of the peak demand. For simplicity, the standard deviations of the forecasts are considered uniform over all intervals of the period under study here. However, the formulation can also incorporate different standard deviations for different intervals. This feature is particularly important since forecast uncertainties are higher for longer-term forecasts compared to shorter-term forecasts.
[0039] The optimal storage parameters, namely the energy capacity, power capacity, and minimum initial energy required at the start of the week, are computed. For comparison, the same parameters are also computed for the system in a deterministic scenario when both the forecasts are accurate. Thus two cases are considered:
[0040] (I) Deterministic wind and deterministic load
[0041] (II) Stochastic wind and stochastic load
[0000] Furthermore, in each case, the energy storage size is computed addressing two different objectives, minimizing the under-generation and hence loss-of-load probability, and simultaneous minimization of both under-generation and wind spillage. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations validate the optimal storage sizes by computing the estimates of LOLP and SGP of the system.
[0042] The above system determines an optimal sizing of an energy storage unit for energy balancing purposes. The optimal size is characterized by the optimal energy capacity and optimal power capacity of the storage unit. In addition, the minimum initial energy required to be stored at the beginning of an operational period is also obtained. The system uniquely accounts for uncertainties of both wind generation and load forecasts. The system also uses reliability indices to validate the computed optimal parameters. In addition to loss-of-load probability (LOLP), another reliability index, namely spilled-generation-probability (SGP), has been defined and computed to measure the loss of generated energy due to spillage. A stochastic linear programming method has been used to solve the optimization problem and Monte Carlo based simulations are used to compute the reliability indices.
[0043] In one test, a system consisting of wind generation and a commercial load has been tested with the system. Forecast errors of the order of 20% for wind generation and 2% for the load have been considered. The optimal storage sizing required over a week has been computed. It is found that for meeting the zero LOLP reliability criteria, the optimal storage requirement increased by about 4 times under uncertain forecasts compared to that in the accurate forecasts scenario. Also, the storage parameters found to be optimal in accurate forecasts scenario result in much higher LOLP and SGP values under uncertain forecasts.
[0044] The system is effective in determining the optimal storage size required for energy balance purposes in a renewable generation-load system taking into account forecast uncertainties and meeting required reliability criteria. The approach is also useful in assessing performance and reliability metrics of a system with existing storage facilities. Although wind generation is discussed, the system can work with any type of energy generation such as solar or thermal energy production. It should be noted that instead of commercial load, residential or industrial loads could also have been considered. Further, the analysis presented here could be extended to grid level renewable generation and loads with grid level storage technologies such as pumped hydro or compressed air energy storage.
[0045] The system may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of the three. Preferably the invention is implemented in a computer program executed on a programmable computer having a processor, a data storage system, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements, at least one input device and at least one output device.
[0046] By way of example, a block diagram of a computer to support the system is discussed next in FIG. 4 . The computer preferably includes a processor, random access memory (RAM), a program memory (preferably a writable read-only memory (ROM) such as a flash ROM) and an input/output (I/O) controller coupled by a CPU bus. The computer may optionally include a hard drive controller which is coupled to a hard disk and CPU bus. Hard disk may be used for storing application programs, such as the present invention, and data. Alternatively, application programs may be stored in RAM or ROM. I/O controller is coupled by means of an I/O bus to an I/O interface. I/O interface receives and transmits data in analog or digital form over communication links such as a serial link, local area network, wireless link, and parallel link. Optionally, a display, a keyboard and a pointing device (mouse) may also be connected to I/O bus. Alternatively, separate connections (separate buses) may be used for I/O interface, display, keyboard and pointing device. Programmable processing system may be preprogrammed or it may be programmed (and reprogrammed) by downloading a program from another source (e.g., a floppy disk, CD-ROM, or another computer).
[0047] Each computer program is tangibly stored in a machine-readable storage media or device (e.g., program memory or magnetic disk) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer, for configuring and controlling operation of a computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein. The inventive system may also be considered to be embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein.
[0048] The system has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment details and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.
|
Systems and methods are disclosed to manage energy system by receiving load forecasts and power generator forecasts with uncertainty specification; performing stochastic optimization on the load and power generation forecasts; determining an optimal storage sizing for energy balancing; and validating the optimal storage sizing; wherein the power generator is connected to an energy storage device with the optimal storage sizing.
| 8
|
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 095,437 filed Nov. 19, 1979 now abandoned.
This invention relates generally to electric keyboard musical instrument and, more particularly, it is directed to an improved foldable electric keyboard musical instrument assembly of the type which is hand-transportable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As far as it is known, prior efforts to make portable keyboard musical instruments of the struck-reed type have resulted in instruments which are not easily carried about. Such prior instruments weigh at least 70 pounds and have a minimum rigid length for four octaves of at least 30 inches. As such they are not truly hand transportable keyboard musical instruments which can readily be carried about by travelers, students and the like.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric keyboard musical instrument which is of relatively simple construction, and which is foldable, portable and lightweight.
More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide an electric keyboard musical instrument of the struck-reed type which utilizes a plurality of reeds as the musical tone generators and is contained in an assembly that is both a folding case and a support for the actions, and includes protective panels which are readily and securely positioned to protect the keyboard and just as readily removed to permit it to be used.
Another object is to provide an assembly which is compact and functional and permits the protective keyboard panels to be utilized as a music stand supported on the housing of the assembly.
The present invention is particularly adapted to be used with a keyboard which provides a range of at least four octaves and includes an action similar to the Viennese-type action. The keyboard and action is more fully described in my copending application entitled "Electric Keyboard Musical Instrument" which is filed concurrently with this case, Ser. No. 95,558, Nov. 19, 1979, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,494, issued Feb. 9, 1982.
The keyboard is advantageously foldable and is contained within assembly halves which serve as a protective case and as a support means. Further, the assembly arrangement permits the advantageous location of a power supply, amplifiers, volume controls, and speakers. In addition, the compact construction of the assembly permits input-output connections to be located within the housing of the assembly without interference with the keyboard. The assembly halves form a housing, including two box-like members hingably connected so that the keyboard may be folded so that the base of the instrument is folded upon itself. Yet, the keys and actions are protected because of secured but removeable panel members which cover the keys.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric keyboard musical instrument according to the present invention showing the instrument in a carrying case mode with the removeable panels shown in phantom lines;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the housing assembly of the instrument of FIG. 1, taken along lines 2--2;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the housing assembly of FIG. 2 taken along lines 3--3;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the housing assembly of FIG. 2 taken along lines 4--4;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the instrument of FIG. 1 in a fully laid open position; and
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the electric keyboard musical instrument of FIG. 5, taken along lines 6--6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings and to FIG. 1 in particular, a keyboard instrument 2 in accordance with the present invention is shown in the closed or folded configuration whereby the folded unit gives the overall appearance of a carrying case. The illustrated instrument weighs approximately 20 pounds and has a length of about 16 inches in the folded configuration and it may be easily transported by hand from one place to another. Advantageously, by having the instrument adapted to be compactly folded into a carrying condition, the cost of the instrument is reduced by combining together its support means and the protective case.
The instrument 2 is comprised of two assembly halves 4 and 6 which are box-like housings and connected together by a hinge 8. As shown in FIG. 2 in particular, the hinge 8 connects the two assembly halves together along one edge of their base members 10. Each base member 10 is connected to longitudinal wall 12 and the longitudinal wall 12 to a top wall 14. Opposite the longitudinal wall 12 and extending upwardly from the base member 10 is a longitudinal flange 16. The longitudinal wall 12 and the top wall 14 are advantageously separable in order to provide access to the components of the instrument. To complete the top bottom and longitudinal surfaces of the assembly halves, the top wall 14 and the longitudinal flange are connected by means of side panel 20 which is shaped as an angle member and has a top portion 22 and a front portion 24.
When the side panels 20 are in place, they are connected to a single end panel 18 which cooperates with the remainder of the assemblies to form the base for the instrument when it is in its folded and carry case configuration.
Each assembly half 4 and 6 contains one half the instrumental portion of the instrument 2. As shown in FIG. 6 in particular, and as more fully described in my copending application, there is an interaction between a plurality of actions 26, reeds 28 and pickup assemblies 30 to produce the desire tonal effect. Each action is comprised of a key 32, a key balance mounting assembly 34, a hammer assembly 36, a guide block 38, and an escapement 40 and a damper 42. Advantageously, the key balance mounting assembly contains a flexible hinge 44 which connects the key to the mounting assembly. As more fully described in my copending application, the keys 32 are kept in alignment with respect to each other by means of the key balance mounting assembly and the guide block 38, both of which are mounted on the base 10.
As shown in FIG. 5, a compartment 46 is provided in assembly half 4 for the amplifier and controls and speakers of the instrument. A second compartment 48 is provided in assembly half 6 and it contains the power supply as well as speakers. The wiring between the compartments as well as from the pickup assemblies is advantageously contained in a conduit formed at the juncture of the base 10 and the longitudinal flange 16 by means of a flange member 52. In order to permit the assembly halves to be folded as shown in FIG. 2, a notch portion 54 is provided for the connecting wiring.
When the user of the instrument 2 desires to unfold it from its folded configuration as shown in FIG. 1 to its play configuration of FIG. 5, the end panel 18 is first removed and then the side panels 20 are widthdrawn as indicated by the phantom lines of FIG. 1.
After the user is finished using the keyboard it is readily returned to the folded configuration. First, the assembly halves are folded along the hinge 8 so that the base members 10 are back to back. For convenience the instrument may be placed on a flat surface so that the longitudinal walls 12 contact the surface. Next the side panels 20 are slid into place to protect the keys 32.
In order to hold the panels 20 in place a groove 56 is provided in the end portion of the top wall 14. Adjacent the groove 56 and depending from the wall 14 is a support flange 58. The flange 58 serves to stiffen and strengthen the wall 14 beneath the groove 56. The front portion 24 of panel 20 is also connected to the longitudinal flange 16 by means of a groove 62 formed by a shoulder 60 on flange 16 with the conduit forming flange 52 through which a shoulder 66 on portion 24 slides. In the same manner the end portion 64 of top 22 slides through groove 56, thus securing the side panels 20 firmly and positively in place.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 in particular, the end panel 18 is connected to the side panels 20 by means of ledge members 68 which are provided on the fronts 24 and with which "L" shaped hook brackets 70 interconnect.
The panel 18 and the side panels 20 are locked in place by latches 72 on the top wall 14 which are offset with respect to each other when the instrument is in its folded configuration as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, one embodiment of a suitable latch that may be advantageously utilized with the present invention includes a lever 74 which is pivotally connected to wall 14 by a pin and a hook member 76 which is attached to the lever by a second pin. Grooves in the end panel 18 form shoulders 78 with which the hook members 76 of the latch 72 engage, securing the panel to the top walls 14. As a result the outer surface of the folded instrument form an interconnected protective casing for the instrumental components within the casing.
In keeping with the compact concept of the present invention a pair of ribs 80 and 82 are provided which serve as stops for a music stand which may be made by placing the front portions 24 of the side panels 20 in back to back relationship and holding them together by any suitable means such as the clamp 84 as shown in FIG. 6. The edge of one of the panels 20, of the easel thus formed, is positioned against rib 80 and the end panel 18 against the rear rib 82 with the end panel 18 supporting the panels 20.
To those skilled in the art embodiments of the present invention other than the one illustrated in the drawings and described herein will be obvious while still being within the scope of the following claims.
|
A portable electric keyboard musical instrument is disclosed which includes (1) a two-part folding supporting structure, (2) a plurality of vibratile reeds with each having an end fixedly attached to the supporting structure, (3) a plurality of actions for selectively causing respective reeds to vibrate and pickup devices used in spaced relation to the reeds for generating an electrical frequency from the vibrations of the reeds. The keyboard is contained in a hand transportable case which is foldable and serves as a support and protective assembly for the keyboard.
| 6
|
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/982,416 filed on Oct. 31, 2007 now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to housings for axial-flow, rotary agricultural combines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Agricultural combines are large machines that harvest, thresh, separate and clean an agricultural crop. The resulting clean grain is stored in a grain tank located on the combine. The clean grain can then be transported from the grain tank to a truck, grain cart or other receiving bin by an unloading auger.
Rotary combines have one or two large rotors for threshing and separating the harvested crop material. In most rotary combines the rotor or rotors are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the machine. These rotors are provided with an infeed section for receiving harvested crop material, a threshing section for threshing the harvested crop material received from the infeed section and a separating section for freeing grain trapped in the threshed crop material received from the threshing section. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,445,563; 5,688,170 and 7,070,498.
It is well known to provide a housing for receiving a threshing and separating rotor with, secured to the inside of the housing, numerous guide vanes or bars which are arranged in a helical configuration. Conventionally, the guide vanes are fixed so that the rate of throughput of crop material can be varied only by changing the speed of rotation of the rotor.
U.S. Pat. No. RE31,257 describes an axial-flow rotary separator of the type which may be used in a combine harvester and in which crop material is propelled downstream in a generally helical path while being processed within a separator housing by use of adjustable internal guide vanes within the separator housing.
Adjusting guide vanes of this type may be used to vary the rate of axial progression of crop material through the separator so as to control the efficiency of threshing and separating. If, for example, excessive losses of grain in discharged straw occur, the crop material feed rate can be reduced by adjustment of the vanes such as, for example, varying the angle of inclination or the pitch of the vanes.
The present inventors have recognized one drawback to adjusting the angle of the vanes is that the vanes conform to a generally curved, cylindrical or oblong, separating section wall or cover. When the angle of the vanes is changed, the vanes no longer closely conform to the curvature of the wall and gaps can occur. Gaps can become clogged with crop material and make operation of the adjustable vanes difficult.
The present inventors have also recognized that angular movement of the adjustable vanes can change the generally cylindrical, curved shape of the separating section cover. This change can significantly change the characteristics of material flow for the section.
The present inventors have recognized that a need exists for providing a adjustable vane system for an axial-flow, rotary combine housing that could be easily and effectively adjusted and would not adversely affect the operating characteristics of the combine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a adjustable vane system for an axial-flow, rotary combine housing that incorporates at least one flat wall section as part of the otherwise cylindrical or oblong, curved housing cover, and adjustable vanes having flat bases that are angularly adjusted on the surface of the flat wall section.
Preferably, the housing includes fixed vanes on a curved portion of the housing cover that have a lead ends, in a direction of circumferential crop movement, substantially in registry with trailing ends of the adjustable vanes. The adjustable vanes include pivot connections near the trailing ends and swing connections near the lead ends of the adjustable vanes.
Preferably, all of the adjustable vanes are ganged together and moved together. Although, independently moving less than all of the vanes is also encompassed by the invention. A mechanism is provided to swing the adjustable vanes from a position corresponding to the normal helical path of the fixed vanes to a bypass position wherein crop flow through the adjustable vanes is deflected to skip one or more passes between the fixed vanes on the next pass through the fixed vanes.
The vanes on the surface of the flat wall section are very easy to adjust, are easy to move, and seal effectively against the flat wall section throughout a range of position adjustment of the adjustable vanes.
Preferably, the flat wall section is contiguous with a further flat wall section, wherein the two flat wall sections approximate generally the cylindrical or oblong curved shape of the housing cover.
According to the invention, a small angular adjustment of the adjustable vanes eliminates one revolution of crop movement in the separating section of the rotor housing, i.e., advancing the adjusting vanes rearward provides a shortcut for the crop to skip one fixed helical revolution through the paths defined by the fixed vanes.
This adjustment reduces straw damage in the separator section by a significant amount. As an example, in the case where there are six fixed vanes in the separating section, by adjusting the adjustable vanes, the crop will only pass by five fixed vanes. Such adjustment could lower crop damage 15%. Adjustable vanes allow the farmer or operator to fine-tune the harvesting process to balance grain loss with straw damage to meet individual requirements.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will be become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, and from the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of an agricultural combine the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of a crop processing unit taken from the combine shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cover for a crop processing unit of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the cover shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the cover shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 6 is a further bottom perspective view of the cover shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken generally along line 7 - 7 of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken generally along line 8 - 8 of FIG. 2 ; and
FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken generally along line 9 - 9 of FIG. 2 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/982,416, filed on Oct. 31, 2007 which is herein incorporated by reference.
FIG. 1 shows an agricultural combine 10 comprising a supporting structure 12 having ground engaging wheels 14 extending from the supporting structure. The operation of the combine is controlled from operator's cab 15 . A harvesting platform 16 is used for harvesting a crop and directing it to a feederhouse 18 . The harvested crop is directed by the feederhouse 18 to a beater 20 . The beater directs the crop upwardly through an inlet transition section 22 to the axial crop processing unit 24 .
The crop processing unit 24 threshes and separates the harvested crop material. Grain and chaff fall through grates on the bottom of the unit 24 to the cleaning system 26 . The cleaning system 26 removes the chaff and directs the clean grain to a clean grain elevator (not shown). The clean grain elevator deposits the clean grain in grain tank 28 . The clean grain in the tank 28 can be unloaded into a grain cart or truck by unloading auger 30 . Threshed and separated straw is discharged from the axial crop processing unit 24 through outlet 32 to discharge beater 34 . The discharge beater 34 in turn propels the straw out the rear of the combine.
As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the axial crop processing unit 24 comprises a rotor housing 36 and a rotor 37 located inside the housing 36 . The front part of the rotor 37 and the rotor housing 36 define the infeed section 38 of the crop processing unit. Longitudinally downstream from the infeed section 38 are threshing section 39 and separating section 40 . The rotor 37 comprises a drum 100 to which crop processing elements for the infeed section, threshing section, and separating section are affixed. The drum 100 comprises a rearward cylindrical portion 102 and a forwardly extending frusto-conical portion 104 .
The rotor 37 shown in FIG. 2 is similar to the rotor explained in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,498, herein incorporated by reference. However, in contrast to the rotor shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,498, the rotor 37 within the threshing section 39 includes a long tapered profile throughout the threshing section 39 without the cylindrical portion within the threshing section as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,498.
The rotor 37 in the infeed section 38 is provided with helical infeed elements 42 located on the frusto-conical portion of the drum 100 . The helical infeed elements 42 engage harvested crop material received from the beater 20 and inlet transition section 22 .
In the threshing section 39 the rotor 37 is provided with a number of threshing elements 122 for threshing the harvested crop material received from the infeed section 38 .
The separating section 40 of the rotor includes outwardly projecting tines 126 similar to the tines disclosed in FIGS. 11 and 12 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,279, herein incorporated by reference.
The threshing section 39 of the rotor housing is provided with a concave 146 and the separating section 40 is provided with a grate 148 . Grain and chaff released from the crop mat falls through the concave 146 and the grate 148 . The concave and grate prevent the passage of crop material larger than grain or chaff from entering the cleaning system 26 .
The rotor is axially arranged in the combine and defines a central rotor axis RA. The rotor axis RA is a straight line passing through the infeed, threshing and separating portions of the rotor.
As seen in FIG. 7 , the infeed section 38 of the rotor housing 36 is provided with a closed cover 162 and a closed bottom 164 . The cover 162 is provided with helical indexing vanes 165 . The cover and bottom are bolted to axial rails 166 and 168 . The forward portion of the closed bottom 164 is provided with an inlet transition section which is similar to one of those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,070,498 or 5,344,367, herein incorporated by reference.
The closed cover 162 of the infeed section 38 defines an infeed axis IA. The infeed axis IA is parallel to and substantially collinear with the rotor axis RA defined by the rotor. As such, the infeed portion of the rotor is substantially concentrically arranged in the infeed section 38 of the rotor housing as defined by the cover 162 .
As seen in FIG. 8 , the threshing section 39 is provided with a closed threshing cover 172 having helical vanes 174 . The cover is bolted to axial rails 166 and 168 . The concave 146 is pivotally mounted to the frame of the combine below rail 168 at 175 . An adjustment assembly 176 for adjusting concave clearance is mounted to the frame of the combine below rail 166 . The concave 146 is provided with a closed extension 78 .
The threshing cover 172 defines a threshing axis TA that is parallel to the rotor axis RA. The threshing axis is located above the rotor axis RA. In addition, the threshing axis is slightly offset to the side of the rotor axis in a downstream direction. As such, the cover of the threshing section is eccentrically arranged relative to the threshing portion of the rotor.
The separating section 40 is provided with a separating cover 180 having helically arranged, fixed vanes 182 . According to the preferred embodiment, the separating cover 180 has a complex cross-section that comprises a curved section 184 configured along an oblong curvature, and a contiguous first flat wall section 185 and a contiguous second flat wall section 186 . The vanes 182 are curved and are fixedly mounted onto the curved section 184 .
As illustrated in FIGS. 3-6 , a plurality of adjustable vanes 188 are arranged on the first flat wall section 185 . The vanes 188 each have an L-shaped cross section each having a flat base 189 a and an upstanding leg 189 b . The flat base 189 a conforms to a surface of the first flat wall section 185 . The flat base 189 a of each adjustable vane 188 is pivotally attached to the first flat wall section 185 at pivot points 188 a near trailing ends 188 b thereof by use of a fastener or pin. The upstanding leg 189 b of each adjustable vane 188 is in registry with a leading end 182 a of one fixed vane 182 . The leg 189 b of each adjustable vane 188 has a curved edge 189 d to match the edge curvature of the fixed vanes 182 .
The adjustable vanes 188 are connected to an actuation mechanism 189 at a swing point 188 c on the adjustable vane 188 that is spaced from the pivot point 188 a . The actuation mechanism 189 comprises a bar 190 located outside the first flat wall 185 and connected to one, more than one, or preferably all of the vanes 188 at the swing points 188 c by respective fasteners or pins 191 . Each fastener or pin 191 penetrates through a respective curved slot 185 a that is provided through the first flat wall section 185 . The slots 185 a allow for the swinging motion of the adjustable vanes 188 about their pivot points 188 a . Each fastener or pin 191 slides through its respective curved slot 185 a.
A force directed substantially along the longitudinal direction on the bar 190 causes a shifting of one, more than one, or preferably all of the adjustable vanes 188 about their respective pivot points 188 a . The vanes can be shifted from a position corresponding to the helical path of the fixed vanes 182 ( FIG. 5 ) to a position wherein the adjustable vanes 188 are rearwardly shifted ( FIGS. 4 and 6 ) wherein some of the helical crop flow between the rotor and housing after passing between the vanes 188 will be deflected to skip some of the passages defined between the fixed vanes 182 the next pass around the housing and take a more direct route through the annular passage between the rotor and the housing, i.e., the crop material will make fewer helical rotations within the separating section of the rotor housing between the separating section inlet and outlet.
A motion actuator 196 , such as a hydraulic cylinder, is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3 . The motion actuator can be a manual actuator, a pneumatic cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, an electric linear actuator or any other known motion actuator. A powered motion actuator can be controlled from the operator cabin 15 .
Because the adjustable vanes 188 are mounted to a flat wall section 185 , changing the angle of the vanes 188 does not affect their close conformance to the surface of the flat wall section. Furthermore, the use of two contiguous flat wall sections 185 , 186 together approximates the overall curved shape of the housing separating section so that no significant increase in flow resistance is realized.
It is also possible for a sensing means which detects the throughput of crop material to be provided within the separator section 40 . The sensing means may be directly or indirectly connected to a sender which controls the actuation mechanism, so that, in the event of an overload of material in the apparatus, the actuation mechanism can adjust the vanes 188 in order thereby to increase the rate of throughput of crop material, at least temporarily.
The cover 180 is bolted to axial rails 166 and 168 . Grate 148 is also bolted to rails 166 and 168 . Grate 148 is similar to the grate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,891.
The separating cover 180 defines a separating axis SA that is parallel to the rotor axis RA. The separating axis is located above the rotor axis RA. In addition, the separating axis is offset to the side of the rotor axis in a downstream direction. As such, the cover of the separating section is eccentrically arranged relative to the separating portion of the rotor.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a frusto-conical transition section 200 is provided between the threshing section 39 and the separating section 40 , overlapping each section.
The transition section 200 includes a cover 210 having a substantially frusto-conical curvature. The cover 210 includes vanes 214 a , 214 b . The vane 214 a has a relatively wide width similar to the vanes 174 of the threshing section 39 . The vane 214 a is substantially continuous with the last vane 182 a of the separating section 40 . The vane 214 b has a relatively wide width section 214 c similar to the width of the vane 174 of the threshing section 39 , and a relatively thinner width section 214 d similar to the width of the vane 182 of the separating section 40 .
Some rotors provided a further, reverse taper portion 220 of the rotor drum 100 at an outlet end of the processing unit 24 having an angle of taper “J.” A deflecting plate 180 a in the separator cover 180 can be arranged over the reverse taper portion 220 to provide for a smooth, energy-efficient flow of crop material.
From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred.
|
An adjustable vane system for an axial-flow, rotary combine housing that incorporates at least one flat wall section as part of the otherwise cylindrical or oblong, curved housing cover, and adjustable vanes having flat bases that are angularly adjusted on the surface of the flat wall section. The housing includes fixed vanes on a curved portion of the housing cover that have a lead ends, in a direction of circumferential crop movement, substantially in registry with trailing ends of the adjustable vanes. The adjustable vanes include pivot connections near the trailing ends and swing connections near the lead ends of the adjustable vanes. All of the adjustable vanes are gang together and moved together. A mechanism is provided to swing the adjustable vanes from a position corresponding to the normal helical path of the fixed vanes to a bypass position wherein crop flow through the adjustable vanes will skip one or more passes between the fixed vanes on the next pass through the fixed vanes.
| 0
|
INTRODUCTION
[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure include crystalline bazedoxifene free base, crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D, and processes for their preparation.
[0002] The drug compound having the adopted name “bazedoxifene acetate” has a chemical name 1-[4-(2-azepan-1-yl-ethoxy)benzyl]-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-methyl-1H-indol-5-ol acetic acid, and has the chemical structure shown below as Formula I.
[0000]
[0003] Bazedoxifene acetate belongs to the class of drugs typically referred to as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). Consistent with its classification, bazedoxifene demonstrates affinity for estrogen receptors (ER), but shows tissue selective estrogenic effects. For example, bazedoxifene is estrogenic on bone and cardiovascular lipid parameters and antiestrogenic on uterine and mammary tissue and thus has the potential for treatment and prevention of bone tissue loss, replacement of estrogen and prevention of heart and vein diseases in post-menopausal women.
[0004] The preparation of bazedoxifene and its salts is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,998,402, 6,479,535, and 6,005,102. An article by C. P. Miller et al., “Design, Synthesis, and Preclinical Characterization of Novel, Highly Selective Indole Estrogens,” Journal of Medicinal Chemistry , Vol. 44, pages 1654-1657, 2001, also reports the synthetic preparation of bazedoxifene acetate. In these documents, bazedoxifene free base is obtained by debenzylation of dibenzylated bazedoxifene, which was subjected to purification by column chromatography to achieve sufficient purity and then isolated in the form of white or tan foam by evaporation of solvent. However, the existence or preparation of crystalline bazedoxifene free base is not disclosed in the documents.
[0005] European Patent Application No. 0802183 describes a synthesis of bazedoxifene 5-Benzyloxy-2(4-benzyloxyphenyl)-1-[4-(2-bromoethoxy) benzyl]-3-methyl-indole is reacted with azepan, under suitable reaction conditions, followed by deprotection to yield bazedoxifene, which on subsequent treatment with acetone and acetic acid gives bazedoxifene acetate.
[0006] Three crystalline polymorphic forms of bazedoxifene acetate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,683,051 and 7,683,052, and in International Application Publication No. WO 2009/012734 A3. An amorphous form is described in International Application Publication No. WO 2009/102778 A1, International Application Publication No. WO 2009/102771 A1, and International Application Publication No. WO 2009/102773 A1 relate to processes for preparation of polymorphic Form A of bazedoxifene acetate. International Application Publication Nos. WO 2009/012734 A2 pertain to salts of bazedoxifene with polycarboxylic acids, methods of preparation, a method of purification of bazedoxifene by preparation of a salt of bazedoxifene with a polycarboxylic acid, and a polymorphic form of bazedoxifene acetate designated as Form C.
[0007] In the development of pharmaceutical compositions, crystallinity is a desirable property for an active pharmaceutical ingredient. Crystal substances facilitate processing and formulating into most types of pharmaceutical dosage forms. Further, it would be advantageous to employ a crystalline free base as a starting material for preparation of bazedoxifene acetate, to achieve high purity.
[0008] Polymorphism, the occurrence of different crystal forms, is a property of some molecules and molecular complexes. A single molecule, like bazedoxifene acetate, may give rise to a variety of crystalline forms having distinct crystal structures and physical properties like melting point, x-ray diffraction pattern, infrared absorption fingerprint, and solid state NMR spectrum. One crystalline form may give rise to thermal behavior different from that of another crystalline form. Thermal behavior can be measured in the laboratory by such techniques as capillary melting point, thermogravimetric analysis (“TGA”), or differential scanning calorimetry (“DSC”), which have been used to distinguish polymorphic forms.
[0009] The difference in the physical properties of different crystalline forms results from the orientation and intermolecular interactions of adjacent molecules or complexes in the bulk solid. Accordingly, polymorphs are distinct solids sharing the same molecular formula yet having advantageous physical properties compared to other crystalline forms of the same compound or complex.
[0010] One of the most important physical properties of pharmaceutical compounds is their solubility in aqueous solution, particularly their solubility in the gastric juices of a patient. For example, where absorption through the gastrointestinal tract is slow, it is often desirable for a drug that is unstable to conditions in the patient's stomach or intestine to dissolve slowly so that it does not accumulate in a deleterious environment. Different crystalline forms or polymorphs of the same pharmaceutical compounds can and reportedly do have different aqueous solubilities.
[0011] The discovery of new polymorphic forms or solvates of a pharmaceutically useful compound provides a new opportunity to improve the performance characteristics of a pharmaceutical product. It enlarges the repertoire of materials that a formulation scientists has available for designing, for example, a pharmaceutical dosage form of a drug with a targeted release profile or other desired characteristics. Therefore, there is a need for additional crystalline forms of bazedoxifene acetate.
[0012] Since improved drug formulations are consistently sought, there is an ongoing need for new or purer polymorphic form of existing drug molecules. The present invention describes polymorph of bazedoxifene free base and acetate salt that helps to meet aforementioned and other needs.
SUMMARY
[0013] Aspects of the present disclosure provide processes for the preparation of crystalline bazedoxifene free base and acetate salt.
[0014] An aspect of the present disclosure provides processes for preparing crystalline form of bazedoxifene free base, embodiments comprising:
a) either reacting an acid addition salt of bazedoxifene with a base to form bazedoxifene free base; or b) adjusting the pH of the aqueous phase of a mixture of an acid addition salt of bazedoxifene and a solvent comprising water to about 7-10 using a suitable base; and c) isolating the crystalline bazedoxifene free base.
[0018] The isolated crystalline bazedoxifene free base can be present in any form which include but not limited to the anhydrate, a solvate, or a hydrate.
[0019] An aspect of the present disclosure includes anhydrous crystalline bazedoxifene free base, designated as “Form A” that can be characterized by using any of various analytical techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), or Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
[0020] An aspect of the present disclosure includes crystalline anhydrous bazedoxifene acetate designated herein as “Form D,” that can be characterized by any of analytical techniques such as PXRD, DSC, TGA, or FT-IR.
[0021] An aspect of the present disclosure provides processes for preparing crystalline bazedoxifene acetate designated as Form D, embodiments comprising at least one of the steps:
[0022] a) providing bazedoxifene free base in a suitable solvent;
[0023] b) adding a source of acetate ion to the mixture of step a); and
[0024] c) maintaining the mixture of step b) for a time and under conditions suitable for formation of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate.
[0025] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides processes for preparing a crystalline form of bazedoxifene acetate designated as Form D, embodiments comprising at least one of the steps:
[0026] a) providing a mixture of bazedoxifene acetate in a suitable solvent;
[0027] b) adding seed crystals of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D and an anti-solvent; and
[0028] c) isolating crystalline Form D of bazedoxifene acetate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] FIG. 1 is a PXRD pattern of crystalline bazedoxifene free base obtained in accordance with Example 3
[0030] FIG. 2 is a DSC curve of crystalline bazedoxifene free base obtained in accordance with Example 3
[0031] FIG. 3 is a TGA curve of crystalline bazedoxifene free base obtained in accordance with Example 3
[0032] FIG. 4 is a PXRD pattern of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D obtained in accordance with Example 14
[0033] FIG. 5 is a DSC curve of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D obtained in accordance with Example 14
[0034] FIG. 6 is a TGA curve of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D obtained in accordance with Example 14
[0035] FIG. 7 is a DSC curve of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D obtained in accordance with Example 36
[0036] FIG. 8 is a SEM image of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D obtained in accordance with Example 42
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] An aspect of the present disclosure provides processes for preparing crystalline bazedoxifene free base, embodiments comprising:
a) either reacting an acid addition salt of bazedoxifene with a base to form bazedoxifene free base; or b) adjusting the pH of the aqueous phase of a mixture of an acid addition salt of bazedoxifene and a solvent comprising water to about 7-10 using a suitable base; and c) isolating the crystalline bazedoxifene free base.
[0041] The mixture comprising bazedoxifene acid addition salt in step a) may be a suspension or a solution. A mixture comprising a bazedoxifene acid addition salt may be obtained by providing isolated bazedoxifene acid addition salt in a suitable solvent or such a mixture may be obtained directly from a reaction in which a bazedoxifene acid addition salt is formed.
[0042] If it is intended to obtain a clear solution of bazedoxifene free base or its salt, the reaction mixture can be heated to dissolution temperature that can be any temperature as long as the stability of the bazedoxifene or its salt is not compromised and a substantially clear solution is obtained. For example, the dissolution temperature may range from about 20° C. to about the reflux temperature of the solvent.
[0043] Solvents employed for preparation of a crystalline form of bazedoxifene free base include, but are not limited to: alcohols, such as, for example, methanol, ethanol, or 2-propanol; ethers, such as, for example, diisopropyl ether, methyl tert-butyl ether, diethyl ether, 1,4-dioxane, THF, or methyl THF; esters, such as, for example, ethyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, or t-butyl acetate; ketones such as acetone or methyl isobutyl ketone; halogenated hydrocarbons, such as, for example, dichloromethane, dichloroethane, chloroform, or the like; hydrocarbons, such as, for example, toluene, xylene, or cyclohexane; nitriles such as acetonitrile; dipolar aprotic solvents such as dimethyl formamide, dimethyl acetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide or like; water; or any mixtures thereof.
[0044] Alternately, bazedoxifene free base can be generated by following the process of step b). In step b), for generation of bazedoxifene free base from its salt, a base can be added in one lot to the mixture comprising bazedoxifene acid addition salt, or the pH of the aqueous phase can be adjusted to a range from about 7 to about 10, or about 8 to about 9, by addition of base as a solution or in neat form. Bases employed for such purpose in step b) include, but are not limited to: inorganic bases such as alkali metal hydroxides or carbonates; or organic bases such as pyridine, lutidine, triethylamine, 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), dicyclohexylamine, diisopropylethylamine, morpholine, N-methylmorpholine, or ammonium hydroxide; or the like. Suitable times for crystallization will vary, and can be from about 10 minutes to about 10 hours, or longer. Suitable temperatures for crystallization are about −10 to about 50° C., about 10 to about 30° C., or any other temperatures may be used. Amounts of solvent per gram of bazedoxifene acid addition salt will vary and, in embodiments, can be from 5 mL to about 100 mL. Once obtained, crystals of bazedoxifene Form A may be used as the nucleating agent or “seed” crystals for subsequent crystallizations of Form A of bazedoxifene free base from the crystallization solvent.
[0045] Step c) involves isolation of the solid obtained in step b) by any methods to afford the desired crystalline form of bazedoxifene free base.
[0046] The methods by which the solid material is isolated from the reaction mixture, with or without cooling below the operating temperature, induced by seeding, may be any of techniques such as filtration by gravity, filtration by suction, centrifugation, evaporation, or the like, or combinations thereof. The crystals so isolated can carry a small proportion of occluded mother liquor containing a higher percentage of impurities. If desired the crystals may be washed with a suitable solvent.
[0047] The isolated crystalline bazedoxifene free base can be present in any form which include but not limited to the anhydrate, solvate, or hydrate.
[0048] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base may be used as a synthetic intermediate to prepare a bazedoxifene pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt, such as bazedoxifene acetate or bazedoxifene ascorbate. The crystalline bazedoxifene free base may be dissolved in a solvent and reacted with an acid, to form a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt. The crystallization of bazedoxifene free base can further improve the purity of acid addition salt of bazedoxifene. In one embodiment crystalline bazedoxifene free base is an anhydrate crystalline form designated as Form A.
[0049] An aspect of the present disclosure includes anhydrous crystalline bazedoxifene free base, designated as “Form A” that can be characterized by using any of various analytical techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), or Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. For example, there is provided a novel crystalline Form A of bazedoxifene free base characterized by its powder X-ray diffractogram with peaks at 11.28, 15.41, 15.82, 19.02, 19.26, 19.82, 22.30, 22.70 degrees of 2θ values, a PXRD pattern with peaks further at about 13.47, 14.12, 14.61, 16.47, 16.66, 17.50, 18.17, 23.35, 23.72 degrees of 2θ values, a PXRD pattern with peaks further at about 8.71, 9.47, 11.85, 12.80, 20.19, 21.34, 22.16, 24.71, 25.36, 26.48, 28.22, 29.28, 33.70 degrees of 2θ values.
[0050] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure includes crystalline anhydrous Form D of bazedoxifene acetate. Form D can be characterized by any of PXRD, DSC, TGA, or FT-IR. For example, there is provided a novel crystalline anhydrous Form D of bazedoxifene acetate characterized by its powder X-ray diffractogram with peaks at 5.87, 7.83, 11.73, 17.73 degrees of 2θ values, a PXRD pattern with peaks further at about 12.84, 13.40, 19.91, 23.30, 34.63 degrees of 2θ values, a PXRD pattern with peaks further at about 9.91, 15.69, 17.11, 20.51 degrees of 2θ values. The skilled artisan will realize that the precise value of melting point will be influenced by the purity of the compound, the heating rate, and the particle size. Therefore, crystalline Form D of the present invention may have DSC in the range of from about 159° C. to about 166° C.
[0051] An aspect of the present disclosure provides processes for preparing a crystalline form of bazedoxifene acetate designated as Form D, embodiments comprising at least one of the steps:
[0052] a) providing bazedoxifene free base in a suitable solvent;
[0053] b) adding a source of acetate ion; and
[0054] c) maintaining the mixture of step b) for a time and under conditions suitable for formation of crystalline Form D of bazedoxifene acetate.
[0055] Solvents employed for preparation of crystalline Form D of bazedoxifene acetate include, but are not limited to: an alcohol solvent, such as, for example, methanol, ethanol, or 2-propanol; an ether solvent, such as, for example, diisopropyl ether, methyl tert-butyl ether, diethyl ether, 1,4-dioxane, THF, or methyl THF; an ester solvent, such as, for example, ethyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, or t-butyl acetate; a ketone solvent such as acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone; a halogenated hydrocarbon solvent, such as, for example, dichloromethane, dichloroethane, chloroform, or the like; a hydrocarbon solvent, such as, for example, toluene, xylene, cyclohexane, or heptane; a nitrile solvent such as acetonitrile; a dipolar aprotic solvent such as dimethyl formamide, dimethylacetamide or the like; water; or any mixtures thereof.
[0056] A mixture comprising a bazedoxifene free base and a solvent may be obtained by providing bazedoxifene base in a suitable solvent, or such a mixture may be obtained directly from a reaction in which a bazedoxifene free base is synthesized. When a mixture is prepared by providing bazedoxifene free base in a suitable solvent, the bazedoxifene base may be in any form including any crystalline forms, amorphous forms, solvates, hydrates, crystalline anhydrates, or mixtures thereof.
[0057] In step b), sources of acetate ion include, but are not limited to, acetic acid. The source of acetate ion can be added to a mixture comprising bazedoxifene free base at temperatures such as about 0° C. to about 50° C., and the addition may take from about 30 minutes to about 5 hours or longer. The obtained reaction mixture may be further stirred until precipitation occurs.
[0058] In step c), the crystallization can be either initiated by cooling or by addition of a suitable anti-solvent or by both. An anti-solvent as used herein refers to a solvent in which crystalline Form D of bazedoxifene acetate is less soluble or poorly soluble and can be selected from the aforementioned list of solvents.
[0059] Suitable times for crystallization will vary and can be from about 10 minutes to about 1 hour, to about 24 hours, or longer. Suitable temperatures for crystallization include from about −10° C. to about 30° C. or from about 10° C. to about 20° C. Alternately, step-wise cooling can be done to ease the filtration by improving the morphology of crystalline particles. The amount of solvent per gram of crystalline bazedoxifene free base typically varies from about 20 mL to about 200 mL.
[0060] Undissolved particles from a mixture comprising bazedoxifene free base or acetate can be removed suitably by filtration, centrifugation, decantation, or other techniques, such as passing the solution through paper, glass fiber, a particulate bed, or a membrane material.
[0061] Further, the embodiment also includes the reverse mode of addition wherein a mixture comprising bazedoxifene free base is added to a mixture comprising source of acetate ion.
[0062] An another aspect of the present disclosure provides processes for preparing a crystalline form of bazedoxifene acetate designated as Form D, embodiments comprising at least one of the steps:
[0063] a) providing a mixture of bazedoxifene acetate in a suitable solvent;
[0064] b) adding seed crystals of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D and a anti-solvent; and
[0065] c) isolating crystalline Form D of bazedoxifene acetate.
[0066] The mixture of step a) is a clear solution and it can be obtained by heating the reaction mixture to dissolution temperature that can be any temperature as long as the stability of the bazedoxifene acetate is not compromised and a substantially clear solution is obtained. For example, the dissolution temperature may range from about 20° C. to about the reflux temperature of the solvent. A mixture comprising bazedoxifene acetate and a solvent may be obtained by providing bazedoxifene acetate in a suitable solvent, or such a mixture may be obtained directly from a reaction in which bazedoxifene acetate is synthesized. When a mixture is prepared by providing bazedoxifene acetate in a suitable solvent, the bazedoxifene acetate may be in any form including any crystalline forms such as Form A, Form B and like, amorphous forms, solvates, hydrates, crystalline anhydrates, or mixtures thereof. Optionally before addition of seed crystals and anti-solvent, the volume of mixture of step a) can be reduced by evaporation of solvent under vacuum. The amount of seed crystals added in step b) can be 3-15% (w/w) to the starting material i.e. bazedoxifene acetate. Appropriate solvent and anti-solvent can be selected from the list mentioned above. Alternately, step-wise cooling can be done to ease the filtration by improving the morphology of crystalline particles. For example, the reaction mixture can first be cooled from about 30-35° C. to about 15-20° C. over a period of 1 hour followed by maintenance at 15-20° C. for another 1 hour and subsequent cooling to 0-5° C. over a period of about 30 minutes.
[0067] In both the aforementioned embodiments, once obtained, the crystals of bazedoxifene acetate Form D may be used as the nucleating agent or “seed” crystals for subsequent crystallizations of polymorphic Form D from solutions.
[0068] Microscopic observations show that the crystallization conditions strongly affect the particle size and morphology. Further, difference in particle morphology is not related to polymorphism. The crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D of the present application can have rod shaped morphology.
[0069] The purity of the product isolated at any stage of the process can further be increased by any purification technique, such as by recrystallizing or slurrying bazedoxifene free base or its acetate salt, or any other salt of bazedoxifene, in suitable solvents by processes known in the art. Suitable crystallization techniques include, but are not limited to: concentrating, cooling, stirring, or shaking a solution containing the compound, by adding anti-solvent, adding seed crystals, evaporation, flash evaporation, or the like. An anti-solvent as used herein refers to a solvent in which salt of bazedoxifene is less soluble or poorly soluble. The solvents that can be employed for crystallization include, but are not limited to: lower alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol; esters such as ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate, or isopropyl acetate; ethers such as 1,4-dioxane or tetrahydrofuran; nitriles such as acetonitrile; or any mixtures thereof.
[0070] The compounds at any stage of the processes of the present disclosure may be recovered from a suspension or solution, using any of techniques such as decantation, filtration by gravity or by suction, centrifugation, slow evaporation, or the like, or any other suitable techniques. The solids that are isolated may carry a small proportion of occluded mother liquor containing a higher percentage of impurities. If desired, the solids may be washed with a solvent to wash out the mother liquor and/or impurities, and the resulting wet solids may optionally be dried. Evaporation, as used herein, refers to either partial distillation of solvent or almost complete distillation at atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure. Flash evaporation as used herein refers to distilling of solvent by using a technique including, but not limited to, tray drying, spray-drying, fluidized bed drying, or thin film drying, under reduced pressure or at atmospheric pressure.
[0071] The recovered solid may be optionally dried. Drying may be carried out using a tray dryer, vacuum oven, air oven, fluidized bed dryer, spin flash dryer, flash dryer, or the like, at atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure. The drying may be carried out at temperatures less than about 200° C., or about 20° C. to about 80° C., or about 30° C. to about 60° C., or any other suitable temperatures, at atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure. The drying may be carried out for any desired times until the desired quality of product is achieved, such as about 30 minutes to about 5 hours, or about 1 to about 4 hours. Shorter or longer times also are useful.
[0072] In embodiments, the bazedoxifene salt has high purity, such as at least about 99%, at least about 99.5%, or at least about 99.9%, by weight as determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Correspondingly, the level of impurities may be less than about 1%, less than about 0.5%, or less than about 0.1%, by weight, as determined using HPLC.
[0073] Aspects of the present disclosure include crystalline bazedoxifene and crystalline bazedoxifene acetate, formulated as: solid oral dosage forms, such as, for example, powders, granules, pellets, tablets, capsules; liquid oral dosage forms, such as, for example, syrups, suspensions, dispersions, emulsions; injectable preparations, such as, for example, solutions, dispersions, freeze dried compositions Immediate release compositions may be conventional, dispersible, chewable, mouth dissolving, or flash melt preparations. Modified release compositions may comprise hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic release rate controlling substances to form matrix and/or reservoir systems. The compositions may be prepared by techniques such as direct blending, dry granulation, wet granulation, extrusion and spheronization, etc. Compositions may be uncoated, film coated, sugar coated, powder coated, enteric coated, or modified release coated.
[0074] Pharmaceutical compositions of bazedoxifene or a salt thereof comprise one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. Useful pharmaceutically acceptable excipients include, but are not limited to: diluents, such as, for example starches, pregelatinized starches, lactose, powdered celluloses, microcrystalline celluloses, dicalcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, mannitol, sorbitol, sugar, or the like; binders, such as, for example acacia, guar gum, tragacanth, gelatin, polyvinylpyrrolidones, hydroxypropyl celluloses, hydroxypropyl methylcelluloses, pregelatinized starches, or the like; disintegrants, such as, for example starches, sodium starch glycolate, pregelatinized starches, crospovidones, croscarmellose sodiums, colloidal silicon dioxides, or the like; lubricants, such as, for example stearic acid, magnesium stearate, zinc stearate, or the like; glidants, such as, for example colloidal silicon dioxides, or the like; solubility or wetting enhancers, such as, for example anionic, cationic, or neutral surfactants; complex forming agents, such as, for example various grades of cyclodextrins; release rate controlling agents, such as, for example hydroxypropyl celluloses, hydroxymethyl celluloses, hydroxypropyl methylcelluloses, ethyl celluloses, methyl celluloses, various grades of methyl methacrylates, waxes, or the like. Other pharmaceutically acceptable excipients include, but are not limited to, film formers, plasticizers, colorants, flavoring agents, sweeteners, viscosity enhancers, preservatives, antioxidants, or the like.
[0075] The polymorphic forms obtained by the present application, unless stated otherwise, were characterized by PXRD pattern, DSC curves, and TGA curves. PXRD data reported herein was obtained using CuKα radiation, having the wavelength 1.5418 Å and were obtained using a Bruker AXS D8 Advance Powder X-ray Diffractometer. DSC analysis was carried out in a DSC Q1000 instrument from TA Instruments with a ramp of 5° C./minute up to 250° C. TGA analysis was carried out in a TGA Q500 instrument with a ramp 10° C./minute up to 250° C. Crystalline forms are characterized by scattering techniques, e.g., x-ray diffraction powder pattern, by spectroscopic methods, e.g., infra-red, 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and by thermal techniques, e.g., differential scanning calorimetry or differential thermal analysis. The compound of this application is best characterized by the X-ray powder diffraction pattern determined in accordance with procedures that are known in the art. For a discussion of these techniques see J. Haleblain, J. Pharm. Sci. 1975 64:1269-1288, and J. Haleblain and W. McCrone, J. Pharm. Sci. 1969 58:911-929.
[0076] Generally, a diffraction angle (2θ) in powder X-ray diffractometry may have an error in the range of ±0.2°. Therefore, the aforementioned diffraction angle values should be understood as including values in the range of about ±0.2°. Accordingly, the present invention includes not only crystals whose peak diffraction angles in powder X-ray diffractometry completely coincide with each other, but also crystals whose peak diffraction angles coincide with each other with an error of about ±0.2°. Therefore, in the present specification, the phrase “having a diffraction peak at a diffraction angle (2θ±)0.2° of 7.9°” means “having a diffraction peak at a diffraction angle (2θ) of 7.7° to 8.1°”. Although the intensities of peaks in the x-ray powder diffraction patterns of different batches of a compound may vary slightly, the peaks and the peak locations are characteristic for a specific polymorphic form. Alternatively, the term “about” means within an acceptable standard error of the mean, when considered by one of ordinary skill in the art. The relative intensities of the PXRD peaks can vary depending on the sample preparation technique, crystal size distribution, various filters used, the sample mounting procedure, and the particular instrument employed. Moreover, instrument variation and other factors can affect the 2-theta values. Therefore, the term “substantially” in the context of PXRD is meant to encompass that peak assignments can vary by plus or minus about 0.2 degree. Moreover, new peaks may be observed or existing peaks may disappear, depending on the type of the machine or the settings (for example, whether a Ni filter is used or not).
[0077] The D 10 , D 50 , and D 90 values are useful ways for indicating a particle size distribution. D 90 refers to at least 90 volume percent of the particles having a size smaller than the said value. Likewise, D 10 refers to 10 volume percent of the particles having a size smaller than the said value. D 50 refers to 50 volume percent of the particles having a size smaller than the said value. Methods for determining D 10 , D 50 , and D 90 include laser diffraction, such as using equipment from Malvern Instruments Ltd. of Malvern, Worcestershire, United Kingdom.
DEFINITIONS
[0078] The following definitions are used in connection with the compounds of the present application unless the context indicates otherwise. In general, the number of carbon atoms present in a given group is designated “C x -C y ”, where x and y are the lower and upper limits, respectively. For example, a group designated as “C 1 -C 6 ” contains from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. The carbon number as used in the definitions herein refers to carbon backbone and carbon branching, but does not include carbon atoms of the substituents, such as alkoxy substitutions or the like. The term “reacting” is intended to represent bringing the chemical reactants together under condition such to cause the chemical reaction indicated to take place. Unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, to which this invention belongs. All percentages and ratios used herein are by weight of the total composition, unless the context indicates otherwise. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius unless specified otherwise. The present disclosure can comprise the components discussed in the present disclosure as well as other ingredients or elements described herein. As used herein, “comprising” means the elements recited, or their equivalents in structure or function, plus any other element or elements which are not recited. The terms “having” and “including” are also to be construed as open ended unless the context suggests otherwise. All ranges recited herein include the endpoints, including those that recite a range “between” two values. Terms such as “about,” “generally,” “substantially,” or the like are to be construed as modifying a term or value such that it is not an absolute. Such terms will be defined by the circumstances and the terms that they modify, as those terms are understood by those of skill in the art. This includes, at very least, the degree of expected experimental error, technique error and instrument error for a given technique used to measure a value.
[0079] When a molecule or other material is identified herein as “pure”, it generally means, unless specified otherwise, that the material has 99% purity or more, as determined by methods conventional in the art such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or spectroscopic methods. In general, this refers to purity with regard to unwanted residual solvents, reaction by-products, impurities, or unreacted starting materials. “Substantially pure” refers to the same as “pure” except that the lower limit is about 98% purity and, likewise, “essentially pure” means the same as “pure” except that the lower limit is about 95% purity.
[0080] An “alcohol solvent” is an organic solvent containing a carbon bound to a hydroxyl group. “Alcohol solvents” include but are not limited to methanol, ethanol, 2-nitroethanol, 2-fluoroethanol, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, hexafluoroisopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), 2-methoxyethanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, i-butyl alcohol, t-butyl alcohol, 2-ethoxyethanol, diethylene glycol, 1-, 2-, or 3-pentanol, neo-pentyl alcohol, t-pentyl alcohol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, phenol, glycerol, C 1-6 alcohols, and the like.
[0081] “Aromatic hydrocarbon solvent” refers to a liquid, unsaturated, cyclic, hydrocarbon containing one or more rings which has at least one 6-carbon ring containing three double bonds. It is capable of dissolving a solute to form a uniformly dispersed solution. Examples of an aromatic hydrocarbon solvent include, but are not limited to, benzene toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, o-xylene, p-xylene, indane, naphthalene, tetralin, trimethylbenzene, chlorobenzene, fluorobenzene, trifluorotoluene, anisole, C 6 -C 10 aromatic hydrocarbons, or mixtures thereof.
[0082] A “dipolar aprotic solvent” has a dielectric constant greater than 15 and is at least one chosen from amide-based organic solvents, such as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), formamide, acetamide, propanamide, hexamethyl phosphoramide (HMPA), and hexamethyl phosphorus triamide (HMPT); nitro-based organic solvents, such as nitromethane, nitroethane, nitropropane, and nitrobenzene; pyridine-based organic solvents, such as pyridine and picoline; sulfone-based solvents, such as dimethylsulfone, diethylsulfone, diisopropylsulfone, 2-methylsulfolane, 3-methylsulfolane, 2,4-dimethylsulfolane, 3,4-dimethy sulfolane, 3-sulfolene, and sulfolane; or sulfoxide-based solvents such as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO).
[0083] An “ester solvent” is an organic solvent containing a carboxyl group —(C═O)—O— bonded to two other carbon atoms. “Ester solvents” include but are not limited to ethyl acetate, n-propyl acetate, n-butyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, t-butyl acetate, ethyl formate, methyl acetate, methyl propanoate, ethyl propanoate, methyl butanoate, ethyl butanoate, C 3-6 esters, and the like.
[0084] An “ether solvent” is an organic solvent containing an oxygen atom —O— bonded to two other carbon atoms. “Ether solvents” include but are not limited to diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, methyl t-butyl ether, glyme, diglyme, tetrahydrofuran, 1,4-dioxane, dibutyl ether, dimethylfuran, 2-methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, anisole, C 2-6 ethers, and the like.
[0085] A “ketone solvent” is an organic solvent containing a carbonyl group —(C═O)— bonded to two other carbon atoms. “Ketone solvents” include, but are not limited to, acetone, ethyl methyl ketone, diethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, C 3-6 ketones, or the like.
[0086] “Halo” or “halogen” refers to fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine.
[0087] A “halogenated hydrocarbon solvent” is an organic solvent containing a carbon bound to a halogen. “Halogenated hydrocarbon solvents” include, but are not limited to, dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, or the like.
[0088] A “hydrocarbon solvent” refers to a liquid, saturated hydrocarbon, which may be linear, branched, or cyclic. It is capable of dissolving a solute to form a uniformly dispersed solution. Examples of a hydrocarbon solvent include, but are not limited to, n-pentane, isopentane, neopentane, n-hexane, isohexane, 3-methylpentane, 2,3-dimethylbutane, neohexane, n-heptane, isoheptane, 3-methylhexane, neoheptane, 2,3-dimethylpentane, 2,4-dimethylpentane, 3,3-dimethylpentane, 3-ethylpentane, 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, n-octane, isooctane, 3-methylheptane, neooctane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, cycloheptane, C 5 -C 8 aliphatic hydrocarbons, and mixtures thereof.
[0089] A “nitrile solvent” is an organic solvent containing a cyano —(C≡N) bonded to another carbon atom. “Nitrile solvents” include, but are not limited to, acetonitrile, propionitrile, C 2-6 nitriles, or the like.
[0090] Certain specific aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained in more detail with reference to the following examples, which are provided solely for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0091] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (5 g), dichloromethane (75 mL), and water (50 mL) are mixed and triethylamine (4 mL) is slowly added to obtain a pH range of 9.5-10.5 of the aqueous phase. The layers are separated and the aqueous layer is extracted with dichloromethane (2×25 mL). The organic layers are combined followed by addition of water (50 mL), at which point pH of the aqueous phase is about 10.4. To this mixture, a solution of 5% acetic acid (75 mL) is slowly added until the pH is about 9, at which point a crystalline solid forms. The solid is collected by filtration, washed with dichloromethane (25 mL), and dried under vacuum at 50° C. to afford crystalline bazedoxifene free base in 73.27% yield (HPLC purity 99.67%).
Example 2
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0092] Bazedoxifene acetate (15 g) and dimethylformamide (75 mL) are mixed and heated to 70-75° C. to produce a clear solution, followed by filtration to make it particle free. To the filtrate, toluene (1000 mL), morpholine (1 mL), and water (500 mL) are added and the mixture is cooled to 25-30° C. and stirred overnight. The solid that forms is collected by filtration, washed with toluene (20 mL), and dried under vacuum at 70° C. for 5 hours to afford 10 g of crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A.
Example 3
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0093] Bazedoxifene acetate (2 g) and dimethylformamide (10 mL) are mixed and heated to 70-75° C. to produce a clear solution, followed by filtration. To the filtrate, toluene (400 mL), morpholine (1 mL), and water (100 mL) are added and the mixture is cooled to 0-10° C. and stirred overnight. The solid that forms is collected by filtration, washed with toluene (20 mL), and dried under vacuum below 80° C. for about 5 hours to afford crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A (HPLC purity 99.2%, moisture content=0.32%).
Example 4
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0094] Bazedoxifene acetate (47 g) and dimethylformamide (235 mL) are mixed and heated to 80° C. to produce a clear solution, followed by filtration. To the filtrate, toluene (2700 mL), morpholine (3.0 mL), and water (1810 mL) are added and the mixture is stirred overnight at room temperature. The solid is collected by filtration, washed with toluene (70 mL) and water (70 mL), then dried under vacuum below 80° C. for about 6-8 hours to afford Form A of crystalline bazedoxifene free base: D 90 =49.80 microns; D 10 =3.61 microns, D 50 =25.30 microns. The material is subjected to micronization under nitrogen atmosphere with a pressure of 4 kg/cm 2 to afford the particles with D 90 =6.04 microns; D 10 =0.89 microns, D 50 =2.37 microns.
Example 5
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0095] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (1 g) and dimethylsulfoxide (10 mL) are mixed and heated to 60-70° C. to produce a clear solution, followed by filtration. To the filtrate, toluene (50 mL), morpholine (1 mL), and water (30 mL) are added and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The solid so formed is collected by filtration, washed with toluene (5 mL), water (5 mL) and dried under vacuum below 80° C. for about 7 hours to afford 800 mg of crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A.
Example 6
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0096] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (2 g), ethyl acetate (20 mL) and acetone (30 mL) are mixed. To the mixture, 10% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (5 mL) is drop-wise added followed by addition of water (120 mL) and stirring is continued at room temperature for solid formation. The solid so formed is collected by filtration, washed with water (20 mL) and dried under vacuum below 75° C. for about 6-8 hours to afford 1.8 g of crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A.
Example 7
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0097] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (2 g) and dimethylsulfoxide (16 mL) are mixed and heated to 60-70° C. to produce a clear solution, followed by cooling to room temperature and filtration to make it particle free. To the filtrate, toluene (100 mL), aqueous sodium carbonate solution (10%, 5 mL) and water (50 mL) are added and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for solid formation. The solid so formed is collected by filtration, washed with toluene (5 mL), water (5 mL) and dried under vacuum below 80° C. to afford 1.7 g of crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A.
Example 8
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0098] Bazedoxifene acetate (3 g) and dimethylsulfoxide (15 mL) are mixed and heated to 60-70° C. to produce a clear solution, followed by cooling to room temperature and filtration to make it particle free. To the filtrate, toluene (150 mL), 10% aqueous sodium carbonate solution (5 mL) and water (75 mL) are added and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for solid formation. The solid so formed is collected by filtration, washed with toluene (6 mL), water (6 mL) and dried under vacuum below 80° C. for about 7 hours to afford 2.5 g of crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A.
Example 9
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0099] Bazedoxifene free base (400 mg) and methyl tert-butyl ether (30 mL) are mixed and stirred for about 10 minutes. Acetic acid (0.17 g) is added slowly through a dropper and the mixture is stirred overnight for solid formation. The solid is collected by filtration to afford 250 mg of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 10
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0100] Bazedoxifene free base (400 mg) and toluene (30 mL) are mixed and stirred for about 10 minutes. Acetic acid (0.17 g) is added slowly through a dropper and the mixture stirred overnight for solid formation. The solid is collected by filtration to afford 200 mg of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 11
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0101] Bazedoxifene free base (500 mg) and ethanol (10 mL) are mixed and stirred for about 10 minutes. Acetic acid (2 mL) is added slowly through a dropper and the mixture is stirred for 10 minutes at room temperature to produce a clear solution. Diisopropyl ether (30 mL) is added and the mixture is stirred overnight for solid formation. The solid is collected by filtration and washed sequentially with diisopropyl ether (5 mL) and water (5 mL), then is suction dried for 5 minutes. The obtained wet solid is further dried under vacuum at 70° C. for about 4-5 hours to afford 420 mg (85% yield) of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 12
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0102] Bazedoxifene free base (1 g) and ethanol (10 mL) are mixed and heated to 60° C. to produce a clear solution, which is then filtered. The filtrate is cooled to 25-35° C. and acetic acid (4 mL) is slowly added at the same temperature. The mixture is cooled to 10-15° C., followed by addition of diisopropyl ether (5 mL) and seed crystals (20 mg, obtained from a previous example), and then additional diisopropyl ether (55 mL). The mixture is stirred for solid formation. The solid is collected by filtration and sequentially washed with diisopropyl ether (10 mL) and water (5 mL), then is suction dried for 5 minutes. The wet solid is dried under vacuum at 70° C. for about 4-5 hours to afford 900 mg (about 80% yield) of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 13
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0103] Bazedoxifene free base (2 g) and acetone (20 mL) are mixed and heated to 45-50° C. to produce a clear solution, which is filtered. The filtrate is cooled to 25-35° C. and seed crystals (20 mg) are added, followed by drop-wise addition of acetic acid (0.26 g). n-Heptane (50 mL) is added drop-wise over 30 minutes. The formed solid is collected by filtration, sequentially washed with n-heptane (10 mL), and then suction dried for 5 minutes. The wet solid is dried under vacuum at 70° C. for about 4-5 hours to afford 1.5 g of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 14
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0104] Bazedoxifene free base (2 g) and ethanol (4 mL) are mixed and stirred at 25-30° C. Acetic acid (2 mL) is added drop-wise and stirring is continued at the same temperature for 10 minutes. The mixture is cooled to 10-15° C., followed by drop-wise addition of diisopropyl ether (60 mL) and seed crystals (40 mg). The mixture is stirred at the same temperature for 10 minutes and the solid is collected by filtration, sequentially washed with diisopropyl ether (20 mL) and water (5 mL), and suction dried for 5 minutes. The obtained wet solid is dried under vacuum at 70° C. for about 4-5 hours to afford 1.7 g of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D. HPLC purity=99.46%, moisture content=0.61%.
Example 15
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0105] Bazedoxifene free base (500 mg) and acetone (8 mL) are mixed and stirred at 50-60° C. to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered followed by addition of seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (10 mg) and drop-wise addition of acetic acid (0.12 mL). To the mixture, heptane (40 mL) is added over a period of 10 and mixture is stirred for another 10-15 minutes. The solid so obtained is collected by filtration, washed with heptane (10 mL), and dried by suction. The obtained wet solid is then further dried under vacuum at 65-70° C. for about 6-8 hours to afford 400 mg of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 16
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0106] Bazedoxifene free base (700 mg) and acetone (8 mL) are mixed and stirred at 45-55° C. to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered followed by addition of seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (20 mg) and drop-wise addition of a mixture of acetic acid (0.1 mL) in acetone (1 mL) at room temperature. To the mixture, heptane (40 mL) is added over a period of 15-30 minutes and mixture is stirred for another 30 minutes. The solid so obtained is collected by filtration, washed with heptane (5 mL), and dried by suction. The obtained wet solid is then further dried under vacuum at below 70° C. for about 6-8 hours to afford 850 mg of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D.
Example 17
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0107] Bazedoxifene free base (3 g) and acetone (30 mL) are mixed and stirred at 50-55° C. to make a clear solution. Then acetic acid (0.4 mL) and seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (60 mg) are added to the solution under continuous stirring at room temperature. To the mixture, heptane (60 mL) is added over a period of 5-10 minutes and mixture is stirred for another 10 minutes. The solid so obtained is collected by filtration and washed with heptane (15 mL) and dried under vacuum at below 80° C. for about 6-8 hours to afford 2.0 g of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D. D 90 =106.3 microns, D 10 =5.80 microns, D 50 =50.625 microns.
Example 18
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0108] Bazedoxifene free base (18 g) and acetone (162 mL) are mixed and stirred at 45-55° C. to make a clear solution. The said solution is cooled to room temperature and filtered to make particle free. To the filtrate, seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (360 mg) are added at room temperature and mixture is cooled to 15-20° C. followed by addition of a solution of acetic acid (2.34 g) in acetone (18 mL) at the same temperature. To the mixture, heptane (486 mL) is added over a period of 5-10 minutes and mixture is stirred at 15-20° C. for solid formation. The solid so obtained is collected by filtration and washed with heptane (50 mL) and dried under vacuum at below 80° C. to afford 17.80 g of crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D. D 90 =76.17 microns; D 10 =3.58 microns, D 50 =33.59 microns. The material is subjected to micronization under nitrogen atmosphere with a pressure of 4 kg/cm 2 to afford the particles with D 90 =12.32 microns; D 10 =1.11 microns, D 50 =4.19 microns.
Example 19
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0109] Amorphous bazedoxifene acetate Form C, (500 mg) and acetone (30 mL) are charged are mixed and stirred at 45-55° C. temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered followed by partial evaporation (about 90%) of solvent from the filtrate. The remaining mixture in the flask is subjected to cooling to 15-30° C. and seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (10 mg) are added to it. Then slowly n-heptane (30 mL) is added to the above mixture and reaction mixture is stirred for precipitate formation. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with n-heptane (5 mL) to afford the title compound.
Example 20
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0110] Crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form A (1 g) is dissolved in acetone (30 mL) at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered followed by addition of seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (20 mg). Then slowly n-heptane (30 mL) is added to the above mixture and reaction mixture is stirred for precipitate formation for about 10 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration, washed with n-heptane (10 mL), and dried by suction to afford the title compound.
Example 21
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0111] Crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form B (1 g) is dissolved in acetone at 50-55° C. temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is then subjected to about 92% evaporation of solvent from the mixture under vacuum at 40-45° C. The remaining mixture is cooled to room temperature and then filtered to make it particle free and subsequently further cooled to 15-20° C. followed by addition of seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (20 mg) at the same temperature. Then slowly n-heptane (30 mL) is added to the above mixture at the same temperature and reaction mixture is stirred for precipitate formation for about 60 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with n-heptane (5 mL) to afford the title compound.
Example 22
Preparation of Bazedoxifene Free Base
[0112] A mixture of 1-(4-(2-(azepan-1-yl)ethoxy)benzyl)-5-(benzyloxy)-2-(4-benzyloxy)phenyl)-3-methyl-1H-indole (15 g) and ethyl acetate (150 mL) is heated to 40° C. to produce a clear solution, then 10% palladium on carbon (3 g) is added and the mixture is stirred under 10 Kg/cm 2 hydrogen pressure at 45-50° C. until completion of the reaction (about 2 hours), as verified using TLC. The mixture is cooled to room temperature, filtered, and the collected solid washed with ethyl acetate (30 mL). The filtrate is used further treatments.
Example 23
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0113] To the ethyl acetate layer containing bazedoxifene free base (15 mL, from example no. 22), seed crystals of bazedoxifene acetate (20 mg), and acetic acid (0.13 g) are added and the mixture is stirred for 5-10 minutes at room temperature. The solid is collected by filtration, washed with ethyl acetate (10 mL), and then is suction dried for 5 minutes to afford the title compound.
Example 24
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0114] To the ethyl acetate layer containing bazedoxifene free base (15 mL, from example no. 22), seed crystals of crystalline bazedoxifene free base (20 mg) are added and the mixture is stirred for 10-15 minutes at room temperature. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with ethyl acetate (5 mL), and then is suction dried for 5 minutes to afford the title compound.
Example 25
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0115] The ethyl acetate layer containing bazedoxifene free base (15 mL, from example no. 22) is subjected to complete evaporation under vacuum at 55-60° C. to afford the title compound.
Example 26
Purification of 1-(4-(2-(Azepan-1-yl)Ethoxy)Benzyl)-5-(Benzyloxy)-2-(4-Benzyloxy)Phenyl)-3-Methyl-1H-Indole (dibenzylated bazedoxifene)
[0116] A mixture of 1-(4-(2-(azepan-1-yl)ethoxy)benzyl)-5-(benzyloxy)-2-(4-benzyloxy)phenyl)-3-methyl-1H-indole (40 g) and ethyl acetate (400 mL) is heated to 45-50° C. to produce a clear solution, then acetic acid (5.5 g) is added and the mixture is stirred for 15-30 minutes at the same temperature. The reaction mixture is then cooled to 0-5° C. and stirred for solid separation. The solid so obtained is collected by filtration and washed with chilled ethyl acetate (40 mL). The solid is then taken up in 10% aqueous sodium bicarbonate (100 mL) followed by addition of ethyl acetate (200 mL). The organic layer is separated and subjected to complete evaporation under vacuum to afford the title compound of enhanced purity.
Example 27
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0117] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (60 g) is charged in a mixture of methanol (720 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (480 mL) and heated at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to 25-30° C. followed by addition of acetic acid (9.94 g). The reaction mixture is stirred for 15-30 minutes and subsequently seed crystals of Form D (3 g) are added and further the mixture is stirred at the same temperature for about 30 minutes. The reaction mixture is then cooled to 0-5° C. over a period of 1 hour and stirred at the same temperature for 15-30 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with pre-cooled mixture of methanol (72 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (48 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 90° C. for 5-8 hours to afford the title compound in about 87% yield.
Example 28
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0118] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (5 g) is charged in methanol (100 mL) heated at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to 25-30° C. followed by addition of acetic acid (0.82 g). The reaction mixture is stirred for about 1 hour. In a separate flask, slurry of crystalline Form D of bazedoxifene acetate is prepared by providing seed of Form D (250 mg) in methanol (5 mL). The said seed slurry is added to the previous reaction mixture and further it is cooled to 10-15° C. in a period of 30 minutes followed by addition of isopropyl alcohol in a period of 2 hours. The reaction mixture is further cooled to 0-5° C. and maintained at same temperature for 30-45 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration and sequentially washed with isopropyl alcohol (5 mL) and methanol (5 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 90° C. to afford the title compound.
Example 29
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0119] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (20 g) is charged in a mixture of methanol (200 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (200 mL) and heated at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to 25-30° C. followed by addition of acetic acid (3.31 g). The reaction mixture is stirred for 15-30 minutes and subsequently seed crystals of Form D (1 g) are added and further the mixture is stirred at the same temperature for about 30 minutes. The reaction mixture is then cooled to 0-5° C. over a period of 30 minutes and stirred at the same temperature for 15-30 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with pre-cooled mixture of methanol (10 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (10 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 90° C. for 5-8 hours to afford the title compound.
Example 30
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0120] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (5 g) is charged in methanol (100 mL) heated at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to 25-30° C. followed by addition of acetic acid (0.82 g). The reaction mixture is stirred for ˜1 hour followed by addition of seed crystals of Form D (250 mg). The reaction mixture is allowed to cool to 0-5° C. at which point water (200 mL) is slowly added over a period of 2 hours. The reaction mixture is maintained under stirring for another 1 hour at 0-5° C. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with water (10 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 90° C. to afford the title compound.
Example 31
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0121] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (5 g) is charged in methanol (100 mL) heated at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to 25-30° C. followed by addition of acetic acid (0.82 g). The reaction mixture is stirred for about 1 hour followed by addition of seed slurry of Form D (providing 250 mg of Form D crystals in 5 mL of methanol). The reaction mixture is allowed to cool to 0-5° C. in 30 minutes and maintained at the same temperature for another 30-40 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration and washed with water (10 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 90° C. to afford the title compound.
Example 32
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0122] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (20 g) and dimethylformamide (200 mL) are charged into a round bottomed flask and stirred for 10-15 minutes. To the reaction mixture, triethylamine (8 mL) and toluene (400 mL) are added and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 10-20 minutes. Then two lots of water (40 mL and 860 mL) are sequentially added with intermittent stirring for 10-20 minutes and finally the reaction mixture is stirred for 5-6 hours at room temperature. The reaction mixture is then cooled to 7.5-12.5° C. and stirred at the same temperature for another 3-4 hours. The solid formed is collected by filtration, washed with water (40 mL), toluene (40 mL) and dried under vacuum below 50° C. to afford 16.2 g of crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A of 99.79% HPLC purity.
Example 33
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0123] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (5 g) and dimethylformamide (50 mL) are charged into a round bottomed flask, heated to 70-75° C. and stirred for clear solution. The reaction mixture is cooled to 25-35° C. followed by addition of triethylamine (2 mL), toluene (150 mL) and water (150 mL) and subsequently the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 5-6 hours. The solid formed is collected by filtration, washed with water (10 mL), toluene (10 mL) and dried under vacuum below 50° C. to afford crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A of 99.72% HPLC purity.
Example 34
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0124] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (10 g) and dimethylformamide (100 mL) are charged into a round bottomed flask, heated to about 70-75° C. and stirred for clear solution. The reaction mixture is cooled to 25-35° C. followed by addition of triethylamine (4 mL), toluene (200 mL) and water (450 mL) and subsequently the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 5-6 hours. The reaction mixture is cooled to 7.5-12.5° C. and stirred at same temperature for 3-4 hours. The solid formed is collected by filtration, washed with water (20 mL), toluene (20 mL) and dried under vacuum below 50° C. to afford crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A of 99.74% HPLC purity.
Example 35
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0125] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (50 g) and dimethylformamide (400 mL) are charged into a round bottomed flask, heated to about 70-75° C. and stirred for clear solution. The reaction mixture is cooled to 25-35° C. followed by addition of toluene (2500 mL), morpholine (50 mL) and water (1500 mL) and subsequently the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The solid formed is collected by filtration, washed with water (100 mL), toluene (100 mL) and dried under vacuum below 70° C. to afford crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A of 99.65% HPLC purity.
Example 36
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0126] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (35 g) is charged in a mixture of methanol (420 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (280 mL) and heated at reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to 25-30° C. followed by addition of acetic acid (5.8 g) and then seed crystals of Form D (1.75 g). Further the mixture is stirred at the same temperature for about 20 minutes. The reaction mixture is then cooled to 0-5° C. over a period of about 30 minutes and stirred at the same temperature for 15-30 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration, washed with methanol (70 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 80° C. for 5-8 hours to afford the title compound.
Example 37
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0127] Acetic acid (0.764 g) is charged in a mixture of ethyl acetate (35 mL) and ethanol (15 mL) and reaction mixture is cooled to −5 to −10° C. In a separate flask, crystalline bazedoxifene free base is dissolved in mixture of ethyl acetate (35 mL) and ethanol (15 mL) and the said mixture is added to the previous reaction mixture of acetic acid at −5 to −10° C. The mixture is stirred at same temperature for about 24 hours. The solid is collected by filtration and dried under vacuum at about 50° C. for 3 hours to afford the title compound.
Example 38
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0128] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (35 g) is charged in a mixture of methanol (420 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (280 mL) and heated to reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered, cooled to about 38° C., followed by addition of acetic acid (5.8 g), and then seed crystals of Form D (1.75 g) are added. Then the mixture is allowed to cool to 0° C. over a period of about 2 hours. The solid is collected by filtration, washed with precooled methanol (70 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 65° C. for 5 hours to afford the title compound having HPLC Purity of 99.70%. The obtained compound has PSD as D 90 =61.97 microns, D 50 =13.52 microns and D 10 =3.45 microns and specific surface area of 1.72 m 2 /g. The sample is subjected to micronization to afford compound having D 90 =5.97 microns, D 50 =2.90 microns and D 10 =1.11 microns and specific surface area of 4.56 m 2 /g.
Example 39
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0129] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (10 g) is charged in a mixture of methanol (120 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (50 mL) and heated to reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to about 27° C. over a period of 15 minutes followed by addition of acetic acid (1.65 g) and then seed crystals of Form D (0.5 g). Then the mixture is further allowed to cool to 0° C. over a period of about 2 hours. The reaction mixture is maintained at the same temperature for 1 hour and the solid is collected by filtration, washed with precooled methanol (20 mL), and dried under vacuum at about 70° C. for about 6 hours to afford the title compound having HPLC Purity of 99.84%.
Example 40
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0130] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (1.7 Kg) is charged in a mixture of methanol (20.4 L) and isopropyl alcohol (13.6 L) and heated to reflux temperature to make a clear solution and stirred at same for 15-30 minutes. The solution is filtered and subsequently cooled to about 25-30° C. over a period of 10 minutes followed by addition of acetic acid (0.28 Kg) and seed crystals of Form D (85 g). Then the mixture is further allowed to cool to 0-5° C. over a period of about 20 minutes. The reaction mixture is maintained at the same temperature for 30-60 minutes and the solid is collected by filtration, washed with pre-cooled methanol (3.4 L), and dried under vacuum at about 60-65° C. to afford the title compound.
Example 41
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Free Base Form A
[0131] Bazedoxifene hydrochloride (3 Kg), dimethylformamide (30 L), triethylamine (1.2 L), and toluene (60 L) are charged in a reactor and stirred for 10-20 minutes at 25-35° C. Then two lots of water (6 L and 129 L) are sequentially added with intermittent stirring for 10-20 minutes and finally the reaction mixture is stirred for 5-6 hours at 25-35° C. The reaction mixture is then cooled to 7.5-12.5° C. and stirred at the same temperature for another 3-4 hours. The solid formed is collected by filtration, washed with water (4 L), with toluene (4 L), and dried under vacuum at about 50° C. for 8 hours to afford crystalline bazedoxifene free base Form A in about 88% yield.
Example 42
Preparation of Crystalline Bazedoxifene Acetate Form D
[0132] Crystalline bazedoxifene free base (15 g) is charged in a mixture of methanol (180 mL) and isopropyl alcohol (120 mL) and heated to reflux temperature to make a clear solution. The solution is filtered and cooled to about 25-30° C. over a period of 15 minutes followed by addition of acetic acid (1.91 g) and then seed crystals of Form D (0.75 g). Then the mixture is maintained at same temperature for about 20 minutes and then allowed to cool to 0° C. over a period of about 30 minutes. The solid is collected by filtration and dried under vacuum at about 80° C. for about 5 hours to afford the title compound having HPLC Purity of 99.80%. The obtained sample is analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope and the image is depicted in FIG. 8 .
[0133] Throughout this application, various publications are referenced. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art as known to those skilled therein as of the date of the invention described and claimed herein.
[0134] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
|
Aspects of the present disclosure include crystalline bazedoxifene free base, crystalline bazedoxifene acetate Form D, and processes for their preparation. The drug compound having the adopted name “bazedoxifene acetate” has a chemical name 1-[4-(2-azepan-1-yl-ethoxy)benzyl]-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3-methyl-1H-indol-5-ol acetic acid, and has the chemical structure shown below as Formula I.
| 2
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This patent application is a Divisional patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/279,734, which was filed on Jul. 22, 1994, now abandoned.
This patent application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/279,606, filed Jul. 22, 1994, entitled "CHIP CARRIER WITH SINGLE PROTECTIVE ENCAPSULANT", assigned to the assignee of the instant Patent Application, and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a new apparatus and method for directly joining a chip to a heat sink. More particularly, the invention encompasses an apparatus and a method that uses a double-sided, pressure-sensitive, thermally-conductive adhesive tape to directly join a chip or similar such device to a heat sink.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Semiconductor devices are becoming smaller and more dense with the evolution of new technology. However, increases in circuit density produce a corresponding increase in overall chip packaging strategies in order to remain competitive. Chip and chip carrier manufacturers are therefore constantly being challenged to improve the quality of their products by identifying and eliminating problems, reducing package size and weight, decreasing package costs, providing improved thermal efficiencies and better and more advanced chips. Whereas significant improvements are being made to eliminate systematic problems by reducing process variability. Process improvements alone are not sufficient to eliminate all the problems which effect both performance and reliability.
One way to increase performance and reliability is to provide the shortest and most efficient thermal cooling path for the integrated circuit chips. This could be done by bringing the chip physically as close as possible to the heat sink. Another way would be to provide more efficient cooling of the chip. However, when the chips are brought closer to the heat sink, means also have to be provided to securely provide a thermal contact between the chip and the heat sink. In some cases thermally conductive epoxies have been used to provide a better thermal contact between the chip and the heat sink, and in others some sort of thermal type paste has been used.
Research Disclosure, No. 270, Publication No. 27014 (October 1986), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a stick-on heat sink. A heat sink is attached to a module by sliding the module into the heat sink and where the edges of the heat sink snap close to secure the heat sink to the module. It is also disclosed that an adhesive or double sided tape could also be placed on the bottom surface of the heat sink to assure intimate contact between the module and the heat sink.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,697 (Spaight), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses placing a film of thermally conductive material between the chip and the heat sink or heat radiator.
U.S. Pat. No 4,233,645 (Balderes et al.), discloses placing a block of porous material which is impregnated with a suitable liquid between the chip and the heat sink to provide a thermally conductive path.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,856 (Funari et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a direct chip to heat sink attachment process where a thermally conductive adhesive is used to directly secure the heat sink to the chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,570 (Bickford et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses another direct chip to heat sink attachment process where a thermally conductive adhesive is used to directly secure the heat sink to the chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,699 (Christie, et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses solder interconnection whereby the gap created by solder connections between a carrier substrate and semiconductor device is filled with a composition obtained from curing a preparation containing a cycloaliphatic polyepoxide and/or curable cyanate ester or prepolymer thereof; filler having a maximum particle size of 31 microns and being at least substantially free of alpha particle emissions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,101 (Frey, et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a coverless chip carrier which uses at least two encapsulants. The first encapsulant is used to provide flip-chip fatigue life enhancement. The second encapsulant is used to provide limited environmental protection. A third encapsulant is also required for carriers using peripheral leads to contain the second encapsulant prior to curing. Also disclosed is that the encapsulant have a CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) which is within 30 percent of the CTE of the solder balls.
The inventors of this invention, however, are using an entirely different approach to solve this age old problem. They are using a double-sided, pressure-sensitive, thermally-conductive, adhesive tape to directly attach the chip to the heat sink and provide a secure thermal contact between the two.
Furthermore, they have disclosed a novel method and structure which ensures the integrity of the bond between the heat sink and the substrate or chip carrier.
The structure and process of this invention offers several advantages over the prior art. For example, it provide a simplified modular construction, therefore, it utilizes fewer materials and process steps for assembly, and allows ease of workability or repair of the assembled module.
PURPOSES AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a novel method and an apparatus for using a double-sided, thermally-conductive, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape to attach a chip to a heat sink. The invention also encompasses a novel apparatus and method for direct attachment of a heat sink to a chip and/or a substrate.
Therefore, one purpose of this invention is to provide an apparatus and a method that will provide a direct thermal path using a double-sided, thermally-conductive, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape between a chip a heat sink.
Another purpose of this invention is to provide a double-sided, thermally-conductive, pressure-sensitive, adhesive tape between a chip and a heat sink to ensure a secure thermal contact between the two.
Still another purpose of this invention is to have a very economical and efficient thermally conductive path between a chip and a heat sink.
Yet another purpose of this invention is to increase the available area on the substrate or the chip carrier for device joining, for example, active devices, such as, chips, or passive devices, such as, capacitors, etc.
Still yet another purpose of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for ensuring the integrity of the bond between the chip and the heat sink.
Yet another purpose of this invention is the ability to rework or repair the completed or assembled module.
Therefore, in one aspect this invention comprises an apparatus to provide a direct thermally conductive path between at least one chip and at least one heat sink, wherein said apparatus comprises of a double-sided thermally-conductive adhesive tape that secures said heat sink to said at least one chip.
In another aspect this invention comprises a method to provide a direct thermally conductive path between at least one chip and at least one heat sink, wherein said method comprises securing at least a first portion of a double-sided thermally-conductive adhesive tape on one surface of said chip and a second portion on at least a portion of said heat sink.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features of the invention believed to be novel and the elements characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The figures are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the detailed description which follows taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1, illustrates one prior art scheme to connect a chip to a heat sink.
FIG. 2, illustrates a preferred embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 3, illustrates another preferred embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 4, illustrates yet another preferred embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 5, illustrates still yet another preferred embodiment of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
IBM's multilayered ceramic (MLC) electronic packages are among the most technically advanced electronic packages in the industry: however, they are also very expensive. This invention describes one way to reduce cost of such packages without any loss or degradation of their performance. Packaging methods which reduces cost advantageously increases the availability of such electronic packages in the marketplace. As a person skilled in the art knows that increased packaging density is typically achieved by greater utilization of the real estate of the substrate or module.
FIG. 1, illustrates one prior art scheme to connect a chip 20, to a heat sink 10. Typically, the chip 20, is first secured to a substrate or module 30, via a plurality of solder balls 22, on pads 24, that are on the substrate or module 30. The substrate 30, could also have one or more electronic device(s) 28, such as, for example, a decoupling capacitor 28, that is also electrically connected to the substrate 30, via the pads 24, and solder balls 22. For some applications the solder balls 22, and pads 24, could be encapsulated with an encapsulant 26. A thermally conductive compound or material 16, is usually applied over the exposed surface of the chip 20, such that a direct thermal contact is made between the chip 20, and the cap or cover 14, when the cover 14, is placed over to cover the chip 20. A cap sealant 18, is typically provided, in order to secure the cap or cover 14, to the substrate or module 30. The heat sink 10, can now be secured to the cap or cover 14, using a heat sink adhesive 12. The substrate 30, is typically secured to a mother board or card 40, via I/O (Input/Output) means 32, such as, for example, pads, pins, etc.
The cap or cover 14, is typically a metallic or ceramic cap, that is placed over the chip 20, and is permanently secured to the surface of the substrate 30. This is done primarily to prevent; mechanical and chemical injury to the chip 20, solder balls 22, decoupling capacitors 28, encapsulant 26, and any exposed metallurgy or circuitry on the substrate or module 30. It is well known that a leak in the cap 14, or in the cap sealant 18, or any misalignment of the cap 14, may result in irrecoverable module yield losses. These losses could be substantial for an expensive module. A picture-frame type area on the top surface of the substrate 30, is required to specifically seal the cap 14, to the substrate 30, using the cap sealant 18. This frame type surface could be between about 2 mm and about 6 mm wide. Therefore, the placement of all devices, such as, for example, chips 20, decoupling capacitors 28, is restricted to be within this picture frame area, which is typically only between about 50% and about 70%, of the area that would otherwise be available for additional or larger devices. Additionally, the cap or cover 14, typically adds between about 30% and about 50%, to the overall height of the module. Thermal compound 16, must be placed between the chip 20, and the cap 14, to provide an efficient heat transfer path via the heat sink adhesive 12, to the heat sink 10. Furthermore, the presence of the cap or cover 14, adds additional weight to the completed or assembled module.
FIG. 2, illustrates a preferred embodiment of this invention. It has been discovered that for some applications it is prudent to directly join the heat sink 10, to the upper or exposed surface of the chip 20. Various methods have been tried in the past but it has now-been found that a double-sided, pressure-sensitive, thermally-conductive adhesive tape 42, having adhesive 41 and 43, provides the best thermal path from the chip 20, to the heat sink 10. This tape 42, also provides reworkability, as the heat sink 10, can be easily removed for rework or repair of any of the components on the module.
Normally, after one surface of the chip 20, has been properly secured to the substrate 30, the adhesive side 41, of the double-sided, thermally-conductive adhesive tape 42, is secured to the back-side or the non-solder ball side of the chip 20. This could be done manually or by using a suitable machine. The heat sink 10, is then made to contact the adhesive 43, of the double-sided, thermally conductive tape 42, and is secured thereto. For most applications the heat sink 10, will hang over the edges of the chip 20, i.e., the outer edge portions of the heat sink 10, extend beyond the outer edge portions of the chip 20. Care should be taken that the heat sink 10, does not interfere with other electronic components that may be on or near the substrate 30.
As can be clearly seen in FIG. 2, that with the elimination of the cap 14, thermally conductive material 16, cap sealant 18, and heat sink adhesive 12, a tremendous amount of gain has been made in the MLC packaging art. The same chip 20, is now more closer to the heat sink or heat radiator 10, and so now the chip 20, will cool faster and more efficiently. Additionally, more real estate is now available on the surface of the substrate 30, for the placement of more or bigger electronic components.
The simplified electronic package of this invention will replace the existing cap/seal/thermal compound encapsulation system. The preferred encapsulant 26, that is used to encapsulate at least a portion of the solder columns or balls 22, and pads 24, is an EPX5341 encapsulant. EPX5341, is a Trademark of IBM Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., U.S.A. The EPX5341 encapsulant primarily serves two purposes. The first is that it improves the solder ball or solder column's fatigue reliability and secondly it provides an effective barrier against environmental and process exposures.
FIG. 3, illustrates another preferred embodiment of this invention, where the chip 20, is on a substrate 130, that is connected to a card or mother board 140. Before the chip 20, is secured to the heat sink 10, via the double-sided, pressure-sensitive, thermally-conductive, adhesive tape 42, it has been found that for some applications it is better to encapsulate a portion of the chip 20, the substrate 130, the first encapsulant 26, with a second encapsulant 50. In order to ensure that the second encapsulant 50, does not run over the edges of the substrate 130, one could have dams 48, such as a polymer dam 48.
Environmental protection can be furnished by a second encapsulant 50, and as a UV cured urethane overcoat 50, called C5, which covers the first encapsulant 26, such as the EPX5341, and exposed substrate metallurgy. C5 is a Trademark of IBM Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., U.S.A. Typically C5 is dispensed in liquid form and requires a 3rd level of polymer, called Hysol, to be dispensed and cured prior to the dispensing of C5. Hysol is a Trademark of Dexter Electronic Materials Inc., Industry, Calif., U.S.A. Hysol can be used as a dam 48, to prevent the liquid C5, from flowing over the side of the substrate 30, prior to curing of the C5 material 50. The C5 has the additional function of protecting the fragile clip lead bonds 47. It should be noted that both EPX5341 and Hysol require heat curing.
As shown in FIG. 3, the electrical connection from the substrate 130, to the card or mother board 140, is provided via I/O means 47, such as, for example, electrically conducive clips 47, that are electrically connected to the pads 52, that are on the card 140.
FIG. 4, illustrates yet another preferred embodiment of this invention, where the heat sink 70, has an extension 63. The extension 63, has a base 64, which is substantially flat. The extension 63, should be such that the heat sink 70, completely envelopes the electronic components that are on the surface of the substrate 30, such as the chip 20, or the decoupling capacitor 28. Furthermore, the extension 63, should have sufficient space to accommodate the double-sided, thermally-conductive adhesive tape 42, i.e., that at least a portion of the adhesive 43, makes contact with a portion of the heat sink 70, while at least a portion of the adhesive 41, makes contact with at least a portion of the upper surface of the chip 20. At least one adhesive 60, such as a acrylic dot or paste 60, or an epoxy or a suitable polymer 60, is either applied to the peripheral surface of the substrate 30, or to the base 64, and then using this adhesive acrylic dot or paste 60, the heat sink 70, is secured preferably to the peripheral edge surface of the substrate 30. One suitable acrylic 60, that could be used is LOCTITE OUTPUT 384, which is a Trademark of Loctite Corp., Newington, Conn., U.S.A. If sufficient amount of the adhesive 60, is applied to secure the heat sink 70, to the substrate 30, then this could also provide some environmental protection to the electronic components and other features that are on the surface of the substrate 30, and enveloped by the heat sink 70.
FIG. 5, illustrates still yet another preferred embodiment of this invention. Heat sink 170, has a lip or tab 65, that extends at the peripheral edges of the extension 63, and also extends along at least a portion of the peripheral edges of the substrate 30. The lip 65, protects the heat sink 170, from being knocked-off the substrate 30.
The bond integrity between the heat sink 170, and the chip 20, made by the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 42, is ensured by the adhesive bond 60. For some applications one would not need the adhesive bond 60, due to the presence of the lip or tab 65. Furthermore, the tab 65, that closely fits the peripheral edges of the substrate 30, prevents rocking or torquing or other movement of the heat sink 70, under load.
The advantages of an electronic package or module such as the one disclosed in this patent application are many. Such as, the cost of the package is reduced due to (a) fewer process steps to assemble the module, (b) the elimination of the cap, cap seal, thermal compound and related steps, (c) the elimination of yield loss associated with cap misalignment and cap seal leak, etc.
Furthermore, this inventive structure provides a more efficient use of the substrate top surface area, because now nearly 100 percent of the substrate top surface area is available for electronic components and other features. Additionally, the overall module height is reduced between about 30 percent to about 50 percent, because of the deletion of the cap, which allows more room for a cooling device or allows the system designer to reduce the card pitch. This packaging scheme also allows for direct heat sink attach to the chip, thus eliminating the thermal compound and further improving the thermal performance of the module.
Another advantage of using a double-sided, thermally-conductive adhesive tape is the reworkability or repair of the module. The heat sink can be easily pulled-off from the substrate or the chip and the active devices, such as, a chip, or passive devices, such as, a decoupling capacitor, heat sink, etc., or module in its entirety could be reworked or repaired. Furthermore, any circuits on the surface of the substrate could also be reworked or repaired after the heat sink has been removed. Of course a heat sink can be reattached once the rework or repairs have been made.
While the present invention has been particularly described, in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
|
The present invention relates generally to a new apparatus and method for directly joining a chip to a heat sink. More particularly, the invention encompasses an apparatus and a method that uses a double-sided, pressure-sensitive, thermally-conductive adhesive tape to directly join a chip or similar such device to a heat sink.
| 8
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates generally to cutting devices useful for cutting tubular members.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Pipe cutters are used to cut tubular members. Pipe cutters typically include a circular cutting blade that is mounted upon a spindle. The spindle, in turn, is mounted upon an arm that can be moved radially out through a slot in a surrounding housing to be brought into cutting contact with a surrounding tubular member to be cut. During cutting, the blade can rotate at approximately 100 rpm. Pipe cutters are often used downhole, being run in on a tool string to cut a casing member within a wellbore. Commercially available pipe cutters include the MPC Mechanical Pipe Cutter from Baker Hughes Incorporated of Houston, Tex.
[0005] In operation, the pipe cutter is disposed within a tubular member to be cut, and the cutting blade is rotated by a motor. The arm is them moved so that the cutting blade is placed in cutting contact with the tubular member. The pipe cutter also rotates about it central axis, causing a circumferential cut to be made in the surrounding tubular member.
[0006] Cuttings or filings create a problem during cutting. They can cause damage to the cutting blade or prevent a clean cut from being made. As a cut is made deeper, the cuttings can become trapped within the cut, magnifying the problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention provides systems and methods for cleaning or removing cuttings from a cut as cutting is being performed. In a described embodiment, a downhole pipe cutter includes an impeller that is mounted proximate the cutting blade and rotates with the cutting blade. In a described embodiment, the impeller includes one or more paddles that extend radially outwardly from the hub of the spindle. In a particular embodiment, the one or more paddles extend radially outwardly from a central impeller ring. The impeller is rotated with the cutting blade. During cutting, the impeller paddles induce liquid flow and turbulence proximate the area of the tubular being cut. This flow and turbulence will wash and remove cuttings from the cut being made.
[0008] In particular embodiments, the impeller is formed of an elastomer. In alternative embodiments, the impeller is formed of polysiloxane, poly-ether-ether-ketone, polytetrafluoroethylene or another plastic or thermoplastic. In still other embodiments, the impeller is formed of steel or aluminum or another metal.
[0009] In an alternative embodiment, a flow housing is located partially around the impeller. In a described embodiment, the flow housing includes a top plate that lies substantially parallel to the cutting blade and a circumferential side wall that lies radially outside of the paddles. The flow housing helps to improve fluid flow proximate the cut being made.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] For a thorough understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like or similar elements throughout the several figures of the drawings and wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an exemplary pipe cutter which incorporates an impeller in accordance with the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of portions of the pipe cutter shown in FIG. 1 .
[0013] FIG. 3 is an external, isometric view of an exemplary impeller shown apart from the other components of the pipe cutter.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the pipe cutter cutting an exemplary tubular member.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment pipe cutter which includes a flow housing proximate the impeller.
[0016] FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the alternative exemplary pipe cutter shown in FIG. 5 .
[0017] FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment wherein an impeller is disposed on both axial sides of a cutting blade.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] FIGS. 1-4 depict an exemplary pipe cutter 10 which is used to cut tubular members. The pipe cutter 10 generally includes a tubular housing 12 having a tapered nose portion 14 . The housing 12 is shaped and sized to be disposed within a tubular member that is to be cut. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 4 , a cavity 16 is defined within the housing 12 . The cavity 16 is shaped and sized to retain within a support arm 18 which carries a rotary spindle 20 as well as a circular cutting blade 22 . A circular cutting blade 22 is mounted upon the spindle 20 and can be rotated by a motor (not shown) contained within the pipe cutter 10 in a manner known in the art. The support arm 18 is articulable so that the cutting blade 22 can be moved into or out of the cavity 16 during a cutting operation.
[0019] An impeller 24 is also mounted upon the spindle 20 and is rotated along with the cutting blade 22 . The impeller 24 is preferably affixed to the cutting blade 22 using an adhesive or connectors or in another manner known in the art. In a particular embodiment, the impeller 24 includes one or more paddles 26 that extend radially outwardly along the lo blade from the vicinity of the spindle 20 . In certain embodiments, the impeller 24 includes a central impeller ring 28 from which the paddles 26 extend radially outwardly. In the illustrated embodiment, there are eight paddles 26 . However, there may be more or fewer than eight paddles 26 .
[0020] In a particular embodiment, the impeller 24 is formed of an elastomer. In alternative embodiments, the impeller 24 is formed of polysiloxane, poly-ether-ether-ketone, polytetrafluoroethylene or another plastic or thermoplastic. In still other embodiments, the impeller 24 is formed of steel or aluminum or another metal. The impeller 24 can be formed by molding, water jet cutting, laser cutting, machining or in other ways known in the art. In the depicted embodiment, the impeller 24 is located on the lower side of the cutting blade 22 (i.e., the side that is further downhole), as illustrated in FIG. 1 . However, it should be understood that the pipe cutter 10 would operate as effectively if the impeller 24 were placed on the upper side of the cutting blade 22 . In addition, the cutting blade 22 might have an impeller 24 on both sides of the cutting blade 22 . FIG. 7 depicts a cutting assembly wherein there are impellers 24 and 24 placed on both axial sides of a cutting blade 22 .
[0021] During operation, the pipe cutter 10 is submerged within wellbore fluid. Typical wellbore fluids include brine, fresh water, seawater, production hydrocarbons and water or oil-based muds. FIG. 4 illustrates the pipe cutter 10 being used to cut a surrounding tubular member 30 . As depicted, a cut 32 is being created as the cutting blade 22 is rotated in the direction of arrow 34 . As cutting occurs, the paddies 26 push the fluid to create flow and turbulence in the wellbore fluid proximate the cut 32 in the general area shown at 36 in FIG. 4 . This flow and turbulence will act to remove cuttings from the cut 32 and the area proximate the cut 32 .
[0022] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative pipe cutter 10 ′ which includes a flow housing or shroud 40 which is located proximate the impeller 24 . The flow housing 40 functions to help increase fluid flow proximate the cut 32 . By containing fluid proximate the paddles 26 , a more directed stream of higher velocity is created. In the depicted embodiment, the flow housing 40 includes a curved, crescent-shaped top plate 42 and a circumferential side wall 44 which are interconnected and form an interior enclosure 46 . In the depicted embodiment, the flow housing 40 is supported by a support arm 48 which retains the flow housing 40 in a fixed position proximate the cutting blade 22 and impeller 24 . The support arm 48 fixes the flow housing 40 in a position such that the top plate 42 is substantially parallel to the cutting blade 22 and the side wall 44 lies radially outside of the paddles 26 .
[0023] A suitable grease can be used to assist cutting of high strength alloys or other materials. In a particular embodiment, the grease is applied to the paddles 26 prior to run-in and cutting. During operation to cut a tubular member, centrifugal force will cause grease to be applied to the cut from the paddles 26 .
[0024] It can be seen that the invention also provides methods for cutting a tubular member. According to an exemplary method of cutting, the pipe cutter 10 or 10 ′ is disposed within a tubular member 30 to be cut. The cutting blade 22 is then rotated to cut the tubular member 30 . The impeller 24 is rotated to cause fluid flow and turbulence proximate the cut being made in the tubular member, thereby helping to remove cuttings from the cut.
[0025] Those of skill in the art will recognize that numerous modifications and changes may be made to the exemplary designs and embodiments described herein and that the invention is limited only by the claims that follow and any equivalents thereof.
|
Devices and methods for cleaning or removing cuttings from a cut as cutting is being performed. A pipe cutter includes a housing shaped and sized to be disposed within the tubular member, a rotary cutting blade carried by the housing to cut the tubular member when rotated and an impeller operably associated with the cutting blade to create fluid flow and turbulence proximate a cut being made in the tubular member
| 4
|
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS
[0001] Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to a metal stud and track framing system for use in building constructions, particularly for use in the interior and/or exterior wall of a building. In particular, the present invention relates to a fire-rated and non-fire rated track having a stud retention feature.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] A wall assembly commonly used in the construction industry includes a header track, bottom track, a plurality of wall studs and a plurality of wall board members, possibly among other components. A typical header track resembles a generally U-shaped (or some other similarly shaped) elongated channel capable of receiving or covering the ends of wall studs and holding the wall studs in place. The header track also permits the wall assembly to be coupled to an upper horizontal support structure, such as a ceiling or floor of a higher level floor of a multi-level building.
[0006] Header tracks generally have a web and at least one flange extending from the web. Typically, the header track includes a pair of flanges, which extend in the same direction from opposing edges of the web. The header track can be a slotted header track, which includes a plurality of slots spaced along the length of the track and extending in a vertical direction. When the wall studs are placed into the slotted track, each of the plurality of slots accommodates a fastener used to connect the wall stud to the slotted track. The slots allow the wall studs to move generally orthogonally relative to the track. In those areas of the world where earthquakes are common, movement of the wall studs is important. If the wall studs are rigidly attached to the slotted track and not allowed to move freely in at least one direction, the stability of the wall and the building might be compromised. With the plurality of slots, the wall studs are free to move. Even in locations in which earthquakes are not common, movement between the studs and the header track can be desirable to accommodate movement of the building structure due to other loads, such as stationary or moving overhead loads, as described above.
[0007] Slotted track has become a staple product for providing vertical deflection movement across the U.S. within head-of-wall assemblies. The slots are generally ¼ inch by 1-½ inch spaced 1 inch on center vertically along the length of the track leg. These slots have become a source for sound flanking as unsealed slots at the head-of-wall joint will allow sound, smoke, or light to pass from one side of the wall to the other through the unsealed slot. During installation, extra labor is required as mechanical framing screws are used through the slotted track into the stud on both sides of the wall. When the drywall is installed over this framing attachment point, the drywall humps up around the framing screw causing the drywall to flare out away from the framing. When the drywall flares out away from the framing, it no longer maintains a tight seal to the framing and can provide smoke or sound flanking paths through and or around the slots. This flared out drywall around the framing screw also creates an uneven wall surface and requires extra joint compound to create the illusion of an even wall surface.
[0008] It is also desirable or even mandatory to provide fire block arrangements at one or more linear wall gaps, which may be present between the top, bottom or sides of a wall and the adjacent structure. The fire block arrangements often involve the time-consuming process of inserting by hand a fire resistant material into the wall gap and then applying a flexible sealing layer to hold the fire resistant material in place. More recently, heat-expandable intumescent fire block materials have been integrated into the top or bottom track of the stud wall assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Several preferred embodiments of a track having a plurality of bendable tabs are described herein, typically in the context of a wall assembly. One aspect of a track disclosed herein provides a way to secure metal studs to the header track and/or bottom track without driving traditional mechanical framing screws through the leg of the track into the vertically placed studs. In one embodiment, a C-shaped tab track receives the vertically placed metal studs and has a series of, for example, 1/16 inch wide slits spaced apart, for example, approximately every ⅝ to 1-½ inch on center, starting at the open end of the track legs and going vertically up the leg toward the web. The 1/16 inch wide slits run, for example, about ½ inch to 1-inch up the leg of the track within the inward bent portion or straight part of the leg of the tab track. The tab track can be made from light gauge sheet steel and can be manufactured with standard roll form tooling or on a brake press, for example.
[0010] Once the studs are nested into the header track, the pre-bent vertical legs with slits provide a series of tabs that allow numerous locations to lock or secure the vertical studs in place and prevent lateral side to side movement of the studs along the length of the stud wall/header track/footer track. The stud can be installed by inserting the stud at about 90 degrees from its normal position and then rotating the stud into place, thereby outwardly deflecting the tab or tabs aligned with the stud. The tabs adjacent the stud remain inwardly bent to secure the stud in place. To move the stud to a different location, the installer can rotate the stud a half turn which will free up the stud out of the restrictions of the tabs.
[0011] Metal stud framing in today's construction industry is more precise than ever because the wall framing has to share space with more mechanical, electrical, plumbing and data (MEP's) than ever before. In many cases the stud layout gets the lowest priority of importance over the placement of MEP's. For this reason, a stud must be able to have the flexibility to go anywhere necessary to get around the MEP's.
[0012] In the past, metal stud wall framing assemblies that provided set attachment points at 8 inch or 4 inch on center in hopes to provide attachment points for all studs have not been successful because studs, although they cannot exceed the maximum allowable spacing of 16 inch or 24 inch, many times will be less than the maximum spacing in order to work around MEP's.
[0013] For these reason it would be of great value to create a manufactured framing system that provides, in some configurations, the required vertical deflection movement, allows the studs to be placed anywhere within the wall, connects the stud to the track to prevent side to side or lateral movement along the wall length, is made from a solid track in at least an upper portion of the side flange that did not allow smoke, sound or light to travel through the wall, and does not require the extra labor or the cost for additional framing screws or crimping devises at each side of the stud at both top and bottom.
[0014] In one aspect, a track for a fire-rated or non-fire rated wall assembly for a linear wall gap is disclosed. The track includes a web, a first flange and a second flange, wherein the web is substantially planar and has a first side edge and a second side edge, the first flange and the second flange extend in the same direction from the first and second side edges, respectively, wherein each of the first and second flanges is substantially planar such that the track defines a substantially U-shaped cross section, each of the first and second flanges has a free end opposite a respective one of the first side edge and second side edge, each of the first and second flanges has a plurality of slits, each of the slits having a first end adjacent to the free ends of the first and second flanges and a second end opposite the first end, the plurality of slits defining a plurality of tabs in which each adjacent pair of the plurality of slits forms a tab therebetween.
[0015] In some aspects, a length of each of the slits is 1 inch, a width of each of the slits is ⅛ inch, and the tabs are spaced apart 1-¼ inch on center along the length of track. In some aspects, the tabs extend one-third of the length of the first and second flanges as measured from the free ends of the first and second flanges. In some aspects, prior to use, the tabs are aligned with the first and second flanges. In some aspects, the tabs are bendable from a bent to an unbent configuration and from an unbent to a bent configuration. In some aspects, the track further includes a first indicator marked on the upper portion of each of the first and second flanges, the first indicator vertically aligned with at least one slit. In some aspects, the track further includes a second indicator marked on the upper portion of each of the first and second flanges, the second indicator vertically aligned with a second slit having a first end adjacent to the free ends of the first and second flanges and a second end opposite the first end, the second indicator spaced 8 inches apart from the first indicator.
[0016] In some aspects, the track further includes an opening at the second end of each of the plurality of slits, the opening having a width twice a width of the associated slit. In some aspects, the track further includes at least one fire-retardant material strip attached to the track such that the at least one fire-retardant material strip extends lengthwise along a surface of the track. In some aspects, the fire-retardant material strip extends along one or both of the first and second side edges of the web of the track. In some aspects, corners of a free end of the tabs are rounded. In some aspects, the track further includes a compressible foam strip adhesively applied lengthwise along the web of the track.
[0017] In another aspect, a wall assembly for a fire-rated or non-fire rated wall having a linear wall gap includes a footer track; a header track comprising a web, a first flange and a second flange, wherein the web is substantially planar and has a first side edge and a second side edge, the first flange and the second flange extend in the same direction from the first and second side edges, respectively, wherein each of the first and second flanges is substantially planar such that the header track defines a substantially U-shaped cross section, each of the first and second flanges has a free end opposite a respective one of the first side edge and second side edge, each of the first and second flanges has at least one slit, the slit having a first end adjacent to the free ends of the first and second flanges and a second end opposite the first end, the slit forming at least two tabs adjacent the free ends of the first and second flanges, the header track having at least one fire-retardant material strip attached thereto such that the at least one fire-retardant material strip extends lengthwise along a surface of the header track; a plurality of studs extending between the footer track and the header track; and at least a first wall board supported by the plurality of studs; wherein the header track is attached to an overhead structure and the bottom track, wall studs and wall board is movable relative to the header track, and wherein each of the at least two tabs are bent inwardly to capture one of the plurality of studs therebetween.
[0018] In some aspects, the footer track comprises a web, a first flange and a second flange, wherein the web is substantially planar and has a first side edge and a second side edge, the first flange and the second flange extend in the same direction from the first and second side edges, respectively, wherein each of the first and second flanges is substantially planar such that the footer track defines a substantially U-shaped cross section, each of the first and second flanges has a free end opposite a respective one of the first side edge and second side edge, each of the first and second flanges has at least one slit, the slit having a first end adjacent to the free ends of the first and second flanges and a second end opposite the first end, the slit forming at least two tabs adjacent the free ends of the first and second flanges.
[0019] In some aspects, prior to use, the tabs are aligned with the first and second flanges of the header track. In some aspects, the header track has at least one fire-retardant material strip attached thereto such that the at least one fire-retardant material strip extends lengthwise along a surface of the header track. In some aspects, the at least one fire-retardant material strip is an intumescent tape.
[0020] In yet another aspect, a method of assembling a fire-rated wall having a linear wall gap is disclosed. The method includes attaching a footer track to a horizontal floor element; attaching a header track to a horizontal ceiling element, the header track comprising a web, a first flange and a second flange, wherein the web is substantially planar and has a first side edge and a second side edge, the first flange and the second flange extend in the same direction from the first and second side edges, respectively, wherein each of the first and second flanges is substantially planar such that the header track defines a substantially U-shaped cross section, each of the first and second flanges has a free end opposite a respective one of the first side edge and second side edge, each of the first and second flanges has at least one slit, the slit having a first end adjacent to the free ends of the first and second flanges and a second end opposite the first end, the slit forming at least two tabs adjacent the free ends of the first and second flanges, the header track having at least one heat-expandable intumescent strip attached thereto such that the at least one heat-expandable intumescent strip extends lengthwise along a surface of the header track; positioning a plurality of studs between the footer track and the header track; bending at least one of the plurality of tabs towards each of the plurality of studs until the tab contacts and grips the stud; and attaching at least one piece of wallboard to the plurality of studs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] Certain features, aspects and advantages of the various devices, systems and methods presented herein are described with reference to drawings of certain embodiments, which are intended to illustrate, but not to limit, such devices, systems, and methods. It is to be understood that the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating concepts of the embodiments discussed herein and may not be to scale. For example, certain gaps or spaces between components illustrated herein may be exaggerated to assist in the understanding of the embodiments. Dimensions, if provided in the specification, are merely for the purpose of example in the context of the specific arrangements shown and are not intended to limit the disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a profile illustration of a track that may be used as a header track or a bottom track for wall construction, according to one embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a side view illustration of the track of FIG. 1 .
[0024] FIG. 3 is a perspective illustration of the track of FIG. 1 with the tabs bent inward.
[0025] FIG. 4 is an illustration of a head-of-wall and bottom-of-wall assembly incorporating the track of FIG. 1 .
[0026] FIG. 5 is a close-up view of a stud held in place with a track, such as the track shown in FIG. 1 .
[0027] FIG. 6A illustrates another perspective view of the track of FIG. 1 .
[0028] FIG. 6B is an overhead view of the track of FIG. 6A .
[0029] FIG. 6C is a side view of the track of FIG. 6A .
[0030] FIG. 6D is a profile view of the track of FIG. 6A .
[0031] FIG. 6E is a close-up view of one of the slits between the tabs of the track of FIG. 6A .
[0032] FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a track with some of the tabs bent inwards toward the web of the track.
[0033] FIG. 7B is a side view of the track of FIG. 7A .
[0034] FIG. 7C is a profile view of the track of FIG. 7A .
[0035] FIG. 7D is an overhead view of the track of FIG. 7A .
[0036] FIG. 8 is a side view of another embodiment of a track having a plurality of tabs.
[0037] FIG. 9 is a profile view of the track shown in FIG. 8 .
[0038] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the track shown in FIG. 8 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0039] Several preferred embodiments provide a way to secure metal studs to the header track or bottom track without using mechanical screw fasteners. The C- or U-shaped header or bottom track includes a plurality of slits in one or both flanges of the track that form a plurality of tabs in the flanges of the track adjacent the free edge of the flanges. The slits extend partially up the legs or flanges of the track so that the bulk of the track is a solid uninterrupted C- or U-shape profile. The track can, in some embodiments, have fire-retardant material such as intumescent strips added to the surface of the back web of the track to provide fire rated wall assemblies according to UL-2079.
[0040] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 , a first embodiment of a track 10 comprises a web 22 and two side flanges 24 , 26 . A lower end of each of the side flanges 24 , 26 comprises a plurality of tabs 28 , 29 that may be folded or bent inward towards the web 22 to secure a metal stud, as discussed in greater detail below. Preferably, the side flanges 24 , 26 form an interior angle with the web 22 of approximately 89 degrees. In other embodiments, the side flanges 24 , 26 form an interior angle with the web of between approximately 70 and 100 degrees, between approximately 80 and 90 degrees, or between approximately 85 and 90 degrees. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , a height or width 5 of the tabs 28 , 29 may be approximately ½ inch and a total height or width 7 of the flanges 24 , 26 may be approximately 2 inches, resulting in a height or width of the flanges 24 , 26 between the web 22 and the top of the tabs 28 , 29 of approximately 1-½ inch, which can be solid in some cases to inhibit or prevent the passage of smoke, sound, light or air between the track 10 and the upper end portion of the wallboard (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1 , the tabs 28 , 29 may be bent inward toward the web 22 such that a tab displacement 9 is approximately ¼ inch. In some embodiments, the tabs 28 , 29 are approximately ⅝ inch on center with 1/16 inch wide slits separating each tab, as discussed in greater detail below.
[0041] As further illustrated in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments, a vertical indicator 11 may be marked on the flanges 24 , 26 with an inkjet printing method or other method. The indicators 11 may be placed every 8 inch on center to indicate placement of the metal stud. In some embodiments, the vertical indicator 11 may be punched into the surface of the flanges 24 , 26 with a rotary die, which may create an indentation or a through-hole.
[0042] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 , in some embodiments, one or more pieces or strips of a fire-retardant material 38 may be placed on the exterior surface of the web 22 adjacent to the corners between the web 22 and the flanges 24 , 26 . The fire-retardant material 38 preferably extends lengthwise along and is attached to the web of the track, but could be attached to the flanges 24 , 26 in addition or in the alternative. In use, the fire-retardant material 38 can act in helping to prevent fire, smoke, or other debris from moving past the track 10 . Preferably, the fire-retardant material 38 is an intumescent material strip, such as an adhesive intumescent tape. The fire-retardant material 38 is made with a material that expands in response to elevated heat or fire to create a fire-blocking char. One suitable material is marketed as BlazeSeal™ from Rectorseal of Houston, Tex. Other suitable intumescent materials are available from Hilti Corporation, Specified Technologies, Inc., or Grace Construction Products. The intumescent material expands to many times (e.g., up to 35 times or more) its original size when exposed to sufficient heat (e.g., 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Thus, intumescent materials are used as a fire block because the expanding material tends to fill gaps. Once expanded, the intumescent material is resistant to smoke, heat and fire and inhibits fire from passing through the head-of-wall. It is understood that the term fire-retardant material 38 is used for convenience and that the term is to be interpreted to cover other expandable fire-resistant materials as well, such as intumescent paints (e.g., spray-on) or fire-rated dry mix products, unless otherwise indicated. The fire-retardant material 38 can have any suitable thickness that provides a sufficient volume of intumescent material to create an effective fire block, while having small enough dimensions to be accommodated in a wall assembly. That is, preferably, the fire-retardant materials 38 do not cause unsightly protrusions or humps in the wall from excessive build-up of material. In one arrangement, the thickness of the fire-retardant material 38 is between about 1/16 (0.0625) inches and ⅛ (0.125) inches, or between about 0.065 inches and 0.090 inches. One preferred thickness is about 0.075 inches.
[0043] The track 10 can be constructed of any suitable material by any suitable manufacturing process. For example, the track 10 can be constructed from a rigid, deformable sheet of material, such as a galvanized light-gauge steel. However, other suitable materials can also be used. The track 10 can be formed by a roll-forming process. However, other suitable processes, such as bending (e.g., with a press brake machine), can also be used. Preferably, the fire-retardant material(s) 38 are applied during the manufacturing process. However, in some applications, the fire-retardant material(s) 38 could be applied after manufacturing (e.g., at the worksite).
[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates a wall assembly 70 illustrating a head-of-wall assembly 80 and a bottom-of-wall assembly 90 with each assembly incorporating a track 10 . In the head-of-wall assembly 80 , the track 10 is a header track attached to a ceiling surface 16 which may be a concrete ceiling. One or more of the tabs 28 , 29 are bent inward or remain bent inward, depending on the initial position of the tab, to secure the metal stud 18 near the ceiling. Preferably, a tab 28 , 29 on each side of the stud 18 in the length direction of the wall is bent inwardly to secure the stud 18 in place. Similarly, the bottom-of-wall assembly 90 also incorporates a track 10 , used as a bottom track that is secured to a floor component 116 . One or more of the tabs 28 , 29 are bent inward or remain bent inward, depending on the initial position of the tab, to secure the metal stud 18 at the floor. Preferably, a tab 28 , 29 on each side of the stud 18 in the length direction of the wall is bent inwardly to secure the stud 18 in place. Use of the track 10 as both a header track and a bottom track provides a convenient way to secure a metal stud in a wall assembly without the use of metal fasteners, such as framing screws. Once the studs 18 are nested into the track 10 , the tabs 28 , 29 can be pushed inward on either side of the stud 18 and from either side of the wall assembly which will prevent the stud 18 from moving back and forth or side to side. Traditional stud layout is typically 16 inches or 24 inches on center. The manufactured tabs of the track 10 can provide a traditional 16 inch and 24 inch stud layout but the track 10 also allows any other combination of stud spacing because the tabs 28 , 29 are preferably spaced to allow one stud per tab opening. Preferably, the tabs are spaced equally and on center to provide a consistent layout for any stud spacing configuration. The track 10 may also be used for non-standard spacing studs. For example, if a non-standard stud spacing is necessary due to other constraints, slits may be created in the field or at the construction site to form tabs at the location along the flange of the track to secure the stud. Additionally, mechanical fasteners, such as framing screws, may be used to further secure the track to the stud, in addition to the securement provided by the gripping force of the bent tabs on the stud.
[0045] FIGS. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a track with tabs showing the placement of a metal stud within the track. Similar to the track 10 discussed above, the track 110 comprises a web 122 and two side flanges 124 , 126 . A lower end of each of the side flanges 124 , 126 comprises a plurality of tabs 128 , 129 that may be folded or bent inward towards the web 122 to secure a metal stud. When the stud 18 is placed within the track 110 such that the flanges 124 , 126 are on either side of the stud 18 , the tabs 128 , 129 may be bent back vertically to receive the stud 18 . Once the stud 18 is in place, the tabs 128 , 129 may be bent downward vertically to nestle against and securely position the stud 18 within the header track 10 . To move the stud 18 to a different location, the tabs 128 , 129 can be pulled or rotated away from the stud 18 so that the tabs 128 , 129 are even with or extend outward from the flanges 124 , 126 , releasing the stud 18 and allowing it to be removed.
[0046] FIGS. 6A-6E illustrate another embodiment of a track. The track 210 comprises a web 222 and two side flanges 224 , 226 . A lower end of each of the side flanges 224 , 226 comprises a plurality of tabs 228 , 229 . The track 210 includes slits and keyholes that form the tabs and allow the tabs to be easily bent to receive and secure a metal stud. As shown in FIG. 6E , in some embodiments, the track 210 has a series of 1/16 inch to ⅛ inch wide slits 30 spaced apart approximately every 1-¼ inch on center, starting at the open or free end of the flanges 224 , 226 and extending vertically partially along the height or width of the flanges 224 , 226 . One benefit of having the tab spacing wider than the flange width of the stud is that this spacing allows the stud to have the flexibility of moving to the left or the right within the tab spacing. The typical stud flange width is 1-¼ inch wide. By making the tab spacing ⅛-¼ inch wider than the stud, the installer could easily shift the stud slightly to the right or left which is useful when the drywall is installed. Preferably, the drywall installer needs the framing studs to align with the center of the vertical drywall board joints so having the ability to move the studs, even just slightly without removing framing fasteners is very beneficial as it saves labor and speeds up the drywall installation.
[0047] The slits 30 extend approximately ⅓ of the way up each flange 224 , 226 as measured from the free end of the flanges 224 , 226 . As shown, the slits 30 extend partially along the width or height of the flanges 224 , 226 of the track 210 so that the bulk of the track 210 (preferably the upper portion) is a solid uninterrupted U- or C-shaped profile to prevent sound, smoke, or light from passing through the head-of-wall or bottom-of-wall joint. In some embodiments, the slits 30 extend one-third (⅓) of width or height of the flanges 224 , 226 as measured from the free end of the flanges. Additionally, the track 210 allows the drywall to be installed tight and flush against the wall framing members because no mechanical fastener is used to attach the stud 18 to the track 210 . As illustrated in FIGS. 6A-C , some of the tabs 228 , 229 may be bent inward to secure a metal stud while the remainder or unbent tabs 228 , 229 continue straight along a plane defined by the flanges 224 , 226 .
[0048] The slits 30 on the track 210 can be made from a rotary die. Use of a rotary die provides consistency to the manufacture of the slits 30 . A rotary die can also be used to provide an embossed marking along the flanges 224 , 226 of the track 210 for stud layout, as discussed above with respect to the embossed vertical indicators shown in FIG. 2 . The embossed markings can be placed every 8 inches on center so that the installer can determine how many embossed markings are between the studs, for accurate stud placement. For example, if the studs are 16 inches on center, there will be one embossed marking on the flanges of the track between the studs and if the studs are 24 inches on center there will be two embossed marked between each stud.
[0049] The upper portion of each slit 30 has a round key hole 32 to enable the tabs 228 , 229 to bend. In some embodiments, a width of the key hole 32 is up to or equal to twice the width of the slit 30 . The key hole 32 provides flexibility to allow the tabs 228 , 229 to move inward and outward easily without distorting the profile or leg of the track 10 . Additionally, a round key hole 32 allows the flange 224 , 226 to remain flat when the tabs 228 , 229 are pushed in to secure a stud. While a round key hole 32 is illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6E , any other shape of key hole, such as a square, may be used.
[0050] Preferably, in some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6A-E , the free ends of the tabs 228 , 229 can have rounded corners to allow the studs to be easily engaged and gripped or locked into place. Tabs having sharp, 90 degree corners have sharp edges that could potentially get stuck on the stud and create difficulty engaging the stud. When the tabs 228 , 229 are pushed inward on either side of the stud 18 , the tabs create a pocket to grip the stud 18 on both sides of the stud 18 . This pocket prevents lateral movement but it does not restrict the necessary or required vertical deflection movement, if any.
[0051] As discussed above, the track provides a series of pre-bent tabs that provide flexibility and allow the vertical studs numerous locations to lock in place in the track and prevent lateral side to side movement of the stud. To move the stud to a different location, the installer can rotate the stud a half turn which will release the stud out of the restrictions of the tabs. Alternatively, the installer can bend the tabs downward, upward and/or outward to free up the stud. In some embodiments, track can be manufactured with the tabs straight and not pre-bent. When the tabs are not pre-bent, the vertical studs can still be placed anywhere within the series of tabs of the track; however, in this configuration, to engage the stud, the tabs are physically bent by hand or tapped with a hammer on each side of the stud to bend the tabs inward to grip or hold the stud in place and prevent side to side lateral movement of the stud. Pre-bending the tabs during manufacture of the track allows the installer to place and lock-in the studs within the framed wall assembly on layout from the ground and preferably does not require the installer to use a bench or scaffolding to access the top of the wall header track in order to physically push in the tabs on either side of the stud or to mechanically fasten the track to the stud. Any of the embodiments disclosed herein can have pre-bent or straight tabs, or a combination of the two.
[0052] Another embodiment of a track with tabs is illustrated in FIGS. 7A-D . The track 310 comprises a web 322 and two side flanges 324 , 326 . A lower end of each of the side flanges 324 , 326 comprises a plurality of tabs 328 , 329 that may be folded or bent inward towards the web 322 to secure a metal stud, as discussed above. In these figures, the tabs 328 , 329 are shown both bent inward to secure a stud and in a straight position in line with the flanges 324 , 326 .
[0053] Another embodiment of a track with tabs is illustrated in FIGS. 8-10 . The track 410 comprises a web 422 and two side flanges 424 , 426 . A lower end of each of the side flanges 424 , 426 comprises a plurality of tabs 428 , 429 that may be folded or bent inward towards the web 422 to secure a metal stud, as discussed above. In these figures, the tabs 428 , 429 are shown in a straight position in line with the flanges 424 , 426 . Slits 30 separate each of the tabs 428 , 429 and key holes 32 allow the tabs 428 , 429 to be more easily bent to secure and release a stud, as discussed in greater detail above with respect to FIG. 6E . In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , a height or width 5 of the tabs 428 , 429 may be approximately ¾ inch and a total height or width 7 of the flanges 424 , 426 may be approximately 2 inches, resulting in a height or width of the flanges 424 , 426 between the web 422 and the top of the tabs 428 , 429 of approximately 1-¼ inch. In some embodiments, the tabs 428 , 429 are approximately ⅝ inch on center with 1/16 inch wide slits 30 separating each tab, as discussed in greater detail above.
[0054] Tenant Improvement or TI construction is typically used in office build outs. Light gauge steel framing is very common in TI construction. In this type of construction, the steel header track is typically attached directly to the underside of the t-bar ceiling. T-bar ceilings are allowed to float as they are attached with wire hangers to the floor structure above. Floating ceilings need to maintain their flexibility throughout the ceiling so direct attachment of the wall studs and track to a floating ceiling will only make the ceiling and wall more rigid. The more rigid the wall, the more likely sound will pass through the wall. Therefore, it is desirable to have a flexible wall connect to a floating ceiling so that both the wall and the ceiling can maintain their flexibility. The embodiments of the track discussed above provide that flexibility because the studs are only gripped into place by the tabs of the track and are not hard-attached to the track (e.g., by mechanical fasteners). This allows the track the flexibility to move up and down with the ceiling. In order to provide additional sound protection, an adhesively-backed foam tape 39 such as 3M SC URETHANE FOAM TAPE can be factory taped to the track (as shown in FIG. 3 ) so that when the track is installed against the ceiling it will decouple the steel track from the ceiling and create a compressible gasket seal to prevent sound flanking at the head-of-wall joint. The foam tape 39 preferably extends lengthwise along the web and may be applied to either of the edges of the web of the track or may be applied to the center of the web or at any point along with the width of the web.
[0055] Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. In particular, while the present fire-block device, system and method has been described in the context of particularly preferred embodiments, the skilled artisan will appreciate, in view of the present disclosure, that certain advantages, features and aspects of the device, system and method may be realized in a variety of other applications, many of which have been noted above. Additionally, it is contemplated that various aspects and features of the invention described can be practiced separately, combined together, or substituted for one another, and that a variety of combination and subcombinations of the features and aspects can be made and still fall within the scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described above, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims.
[0056] It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the herein-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. Moreover, any of the steps described herein can be performed simultaneously or in an order different from the steps as ordered herein. Moreover, as should be apparent, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0057] Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
[0058] Moreover, the following terminology may have been used herein. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to an item includes reference to one or more items. The term “ones” refers to one, two, or more, and generally applies to the selection of some or all of a quantity. The term “plurality” refers to two or more of an item. The term “about” or “approximately” means that quantities, dimensions, sizes, formulations, parameters, shapes and other characteristics need not be exact, but may be approximated and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like and other factors known to those of skill in the art. The term “substantially” means that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.
[0059] Any dimensions disclosed herein or included in the accompanying drawings are by way of example only unless specifically claimed. Numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also interpreted to include all of the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration, a numerical range of “about 1 to 5” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but should also be interpreted to also include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3 and 4 and sub-ranges such as “about 1 to about 3,” “about 2 to about 4” and “about 3 to about 5,” “1 to 3,” “2 to 4,” “3 to 5,” etc. This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value (e.g., “greater than about 1”) and should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described. A plurality of items may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. Furthermore, where the terms “and” and “or” are used in conjunction with a list of items, they are to be interpreted broadly, in that any one or more of the listed items may be used alone or in combination with other listed items. The term “alternatively” refers to selection of one of two or more alternatives, and is not intended to limit the selection to only those listed alternatives or to only one of the listed alternatives at a time, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
|
A track for a wall construction for use in building construction is disclosed. Embodiments can include a track having a plurality of bendable tabs that can be manipulated to grip or release wall studs to prevent lateral or side to side movement of the studs. Embodiments can include tracks which incorporate various geometries capable of receiving fire-retardant material, including but not limited to intumescent material.
| 4
|
RELATED APPLICATIONS
There is no related application.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX
None.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to spill-proof containers. More particularly, the present invention is directed toward a container for cut flowers, stems, horticultural items, and the like providing a fluid reservoir for maintaining the hydration fluid for the items contained therein. The container facilitates handling, storage, transport, and display of cut flowers while greatly reducing the likelihood of damage and prolonging the useful life of the cut flowers.
2. Background of the Invention
Once a flower is cut, it is deprived of water, food and growth hormones naturally provided by its mother plant. In order for a fresh cut flower to reach its full bloom while retaining its color and scent, it must have access to water at every phase of the distribution chain. When a cut flower is unable to access water, its vascular bundles begin to close and it is unable to absorb the necessary amount of water unless the flower's stem is re-cut and hydrated. As of 2011, floriculture in the United States, including flowers, cut stems, plants, and related horticultural items and goods is estimated to be a $32.1 billion industry. About 20% of fresh cut flowers transactions occur at a florist and 45% of the total dollars spent on fresh-cut flowers occur at a florist. About 52% of fresh cut flower transactions occur at a supermarket and 28% of the total dollars spent on fresh cut flowers occur at a supermarket. Bouquet purchases account for approximately 64% of cut flower sales at a supermarket. Cut flowers make up approximately 70% of total online floral purchases in the US. By their nature, these cut flowers tend to be quite delicate and unable to withstand rough handling or periods of dehydration. Hence, time from cutting to sale is of the essence throughout the industry. With the advent of expedited shipping and transportation services, producers are now able to transport their products great distances in a matter of days. Nevertheless, losses due to wilting and spoilage of the cut flowers are a reality of the industry and account for a significant portion of unrealized sales. In internet retail sales, internet retailers ship flowers “dry”, or without water. An online order can take anywhere from 1-4 days to ship. As a result online flowers often arrive at the final destination wilted. With time and hydration, the flowers return to their pre-shipping condition, however, initial flower receipt quality drives customer perception and effects future customer behavior. Flowers that arrive wilted are typically perceived as lower quality flowers by the consumer.
In supermarket sales, cut flowers are exposed to flower specific secretions, decomposing leaves and microorganisms, dust and other pollutants from the air. These contaminates clog the flower's vascular bundles, and prevent the flower from getting access to sufficient amount of available water. While on display at supermarkets, customers typically remove bouquets from their buckets containing water supply, inspect them and place them back into the buckets above the water supply. Depending on the time of year, conditions of the surrounding environment and type of cut flowers, water can be depleted through evaporation or through flower consumption leading the aforementioned problems. Without access to water, flowers within the bouquet will begin to wilt. Wilted flowers are neglected by customers, and after a certain amount of time, must be thrown away. Cut flower waste or “shrink” at the supermarket level typically range between 8% and 12% of the total flowers offered for sale. Waste represents the number of flowers that aren't sold during the retail display period (typically 5 days). Customers are looking for two things when purchasing cut flowers: first a fresh appearance and secondly a preferred bouquet arrangement. A secondary problem occurs during transport and while on display at supermarkets, as water evaporates from the open buckets and must be refilled. When store employees add water to buckets, water can spill on the floor and create a slipping hazard which exposes the retailer to slip and fall related liability.
The present invention is a container for cut flowers designed to prevent spillage of the hydrating fluid while allowing the flowers to be continuously hydrated. The present container is designed to hold enough water for 5-8 days of transport for the European Market. (250 ml or 8.5 oz. of total water) or 7-11 days of transport for the US Market. (350 ml or 11.8 oz. of total water) The containers are leak resistant if shipped horizontally, puncture resistant and stackable.
The early containers for shipping cut flowers range from a simple box as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,799 issued Oct. 29, 1991 to a more complex crate as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,330 issued Jun. 24, 2003. Long stemmed flowers have been packed in a more complex packaging as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,270 issued Jun. 22, 2004 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,096,416 issued Jan. 17, 2012. Shipping containers for cut flowers providing hydration medium in the containers in the nature of mineral wool, polypropylene or polyester/polyethylene are disclosed in WO 2006/107204 published Oct. 12, 2006 and WO 2007/011224 published Jan. 25, 20007. It is also known in the prior art to use spill proof containers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,827, issued Sep. 10, 2002 discloses a paint container having a rectangular shaped paint holding bucket, an intermediate member with a centrally positioned funnel mounted to the top end rim of the bucket and a cover mounted over the intermediate funnel member. Similarly, United Kingdom Patent Number GB 2461579 published Jan. 6, 2010 is directed to a container with an anti-spill access lid formed with an inwardly directed tapered sleeve which extends into the container. Netherlands Patent Number 9400634 having a filing date of Apr. 20, 1994 discloses a cut flower holder with a stacked inverted flower pot container having an open upper end which is closed by a cap assembly which snaps over the upper lip of the upper flower pot section. The cap assembly has a disc shaped upper portion with a funnel member extending downward from the base of the disc into the chamber of the stacked flower pot container. The bottom of the funnel member is closed but has a plurality of throughgoing apertures which allow water into the funnel. The top of the funnel member is wider than the base and is open to receive the stems of a bunch of cut flowers.
What is needed, therefore, are methods and/or apparatuses for prolonging the useful life of floriculture items. Ideally, the devices will allow the items to withstand the rough handling of commercial production operations, and transportation delays, and in addition may be used in a retail setting to display cut flowers and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is generally directed toward a spill-proof container for cut flowers, stems, horticultural items, and the like used during commercial transportation and retail display of the same. More specifically, the invention includes a container for cut flowers where their blooms, leaves, stems, and the like extend from a primary closure comprising a funnel-shaped structure having an opening capped by a disc member defining a plurality of radial cuts forming flexible, segments. This allows access of the stems into the interior chamber of the container which prevents hydrating liquid from reaching the opening and spilling out regardless of the container's orientation. The funnel-like shape of the primary closure also facilitates filling of the container and/or insertion of flower stems therein. The radial slitted disc member and flexible segments hold the stems and the funnel shaped structure prevents leakage of hydrating fluid when the container is on its side or upended, and facilitates display, growth, viability and shipping. Additionally, the container assembly facilitates loading of the container inasmuch as the funnel-shaped opening eases insertion of stems and the like into the container chamber. A secondary closure member mounted generally adjacent the primary closure member seated on the funnel opening eliminates spillage of any liquids bypassing the primary closure member and additionally functions to space and secure the stems within the container. In a preferred embodiment the container includes flattened portions on its sidewall(s) and a flattened bottom to facilitate loading, transport and storage of, and displaying the cut flowers, stems, and other horticultural products contained therein, and to provide anti-roll properties. In another embodiment, the container is tubular.
It is an object of the invention to provide a spill- and leak-proof container for floricultural products, including cut flowers and related horticultural items.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a spill preventative container for floricultural products that extends the viability of items contained therein.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a spill preventative container for floricultural products that facilitates easy loading of the products therein.
These and other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent when considered with the teachings contained in the detailed disclosure along with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the cut flower container invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the invention shown in FIG. 1 with the stem funnel sleeve shown in phantom;
FIG. 3 is a cross section side elevation view taken across line 3 ′- 3 ′ of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the cut flower container invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the assembled cut flower container shown in FIG. 4 ;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the disc stem holder shown in FIG. 4 ;
FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the cut flower container shown in FIG. 5 ;
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the cut flower container;
FIG. 9 is a perspective side view of the assembled container shown in FIG. 8 ;
FIG. 10 is an enlarged side elevation of the cut flower container shown in FIG. 8 with a funnel member shown in phantom;
FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective enlarged view of the closure assembly shown in FIG. 8 ;
FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the disc member used in a number of the embodiments;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of the cylindrical disc member used in a number of the embodiments;
FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a tubular container embodiment of the cut flower container using the flat disc stem holder;
FIG. 15 is an assembled perspective view of the tubular container shown in FIG. 14 ;
FIG. 16 is a side view partially in phantom of the tubular container shown in FIG. 14 ;
FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of another tubular container embodiment of the cut flower container using the cylindrical stem holder with sectional end;
FIG. 18 is an assembled perspective view of the tubular container shown in FIG. 17 ; and
FIG. 19 is a side view with the funnel member shown in phantom of the tubular container shown in FIG. 17 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiment and best mode of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 . This mode is set forth for the limited purpose now required by statute. While the invention is described in connection with certain embodiments, it is not intended that the present invention be so limited and it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalent arrangements as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This invention may be constructed from any suitable material including but not limited to various polymers and/or plastics, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, various aramids, polyamides, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), fluoroplastics (PTFE, FEP), expanded polypropylene (EPP), nylons, polyamides (PA), polybutene, polycarbonate, polyacetals, polyesters, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, phenolics, polyurethane, vinyl esters, polyisocyanate polymer diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), including any foamed and/or expanded conformations of same, other polymers, various metals and their alloys, biodegradable materials, environmentally sustainable materials, combinations thereof, and the like. Similarly, the invention may be fabricated using any suitable process or combination of processes including but not limited to molding, blow-molding, roto-molding, pressure forming, machining, computer numerical control (CNC) milling, and the like.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1-3 . In the Figures, a container body 20 having planar side walls 22 and a planar bottom wall 24 is provided with a tubular neck 26 extending away from the planar side walls 22 having external threads 27 and defining an opening 28 . The circular opening 28 has a planar end surface 29 and provides access into a chamber 30 formed by the side walls 22 and bottom wall 24 . A tapered funnel member 40 having an open proximal end 42 with an outwardly extending circumferential lip 44 is sized to fit into the chamber 30 of container body 20 with the lip bottom surface 45 resting and being seated upon on the upper end surface 29 of the neck 26 . A tapered frustum conical foam member 50 is inserted into the funnel member 40 until it rests against the distal end against the funnel member bottom end piece 46 . The end piece 46 is provided with throughgoing wicking holes 48 as shown in FIG. 3 allowing hydrating fluid 200 placed in the chamber 30 to wick into the foam member to hydrate the ends of flower stems which are pressed against the upper surface of the foam member 50 . A secondary funnel shaped spacer member 60 with an upper or proximal circumferential extending lip 62 is inserted into the funnel member 40 with the lower surface 63 of lip 62 being seated on the circumferential lip 44 of the tapered funnel member 40 . A circular flat disc 70 , as more clearly seen in FIG. 12 , defining radial slits 72 extending outward from a central aperture or point 71 form flexible flap sections 74 is seated on the upper surface of lip 62 of the secondary funnel shaped spacer member 60 to hold the stems of the cut flowers in a fixed position. A cylindrical top member 80 , as more clearly seen in FIG. 13 , having a lower extending circumferential lip 82 provided with a bottom planar surface 83 is seated on the upper surface of the flat disc 70 . Opposite lip 82 is a flat disc shaped end member 84 defining radial slits 86 extending outward from a central point 88 is secured on the distal end of cylindrical top member 80 . The radial slits 86 form flexible flap sections 89 to hold the stems of the cut flowers a spaced distance from disc 70 . The entire cap assembly is held in place by a circular locking ring 90 with internal threads 92 is mounted over the funnel member lip 44 , secondary funnel spacer member lip 62 , disc 70 , and cylindrical top member lip 82 and is secured to the neck threads 27 of the container body to hold the complete assembly in a fixed position so that a bouquet of cut flowers can be held and hydrated by the fluid 200 in the container.
In FIGS. 4 through 7 , an alternate embodiment of the container is shown including a container 120 of generally conventional form and closure assembly 130 mounted thereto. In this embodiment, the container 120 is generally formed in the shape of a rectangle or cube. The container 120 has planar sides 121 which are generally coplanar. The container 120 includes a planar bottom 122 facilitating freestanding use of the container and a cylindrical neck 126 which open. The neck 126 interconnects the sides 121 forming a generally circular mouth 128 . The neck 126 has external threads 127 that are complimentary to internal threads 162 of the locking ring 160 (discussed in detail below).
The closure assembly 130 is mounted to the cylindrical neck 126 . The closure assembly includes a funnel shaped insert 140 having an inwardly sloping contiguous sidewall forming a tapered funnel-like, frustum conical structure having openings 141 and 142 at both ends. The opening 141 is defined by lip 144 which is adjacent and flush with the planar end surface 129 of the neck 126 . When assembled, the funnel insert 140 projects into the interior chamber of the receptacle 120 . It will be understood by one skilled in the art that anti-spill inserts having other shapes may operate in the same or similar manner.
A stem holder and closure member 150 is positioned atop and seated adjacent the lip 144 of the anti-spill funnel insert 140 . The closure member 150 is circular disc shaped with flat upper and lower surface and has a diameter approximating that of lip 144 . The disc defines a plurality of radial throughgoing slits 156 which run across the substantially diameter of the disc 150 forming flexible wedge shaped sections 158 as seen in FIGS. 6 and 12 to facilitate insertion of cut flower stems into the chamber 123 of the container 120 .
A locking ring 160 having internal threads 162 and inwardly projecting flange 164 is mounted over the disc 150 outer circumference and funnel insert lip 144 and neck 126 . In use the anti-spill funnel insert 140 is inserted into the chamber 123 of the container 120 through the mouth 128 so that lip 144 is generally adjacent to and flush with the mouth 128 of the receptacle 120 . The disc closure member 150 is then positioned atop the anti-spill insert 140 on lip 144 so that it is generally adjacent to and flush with same. In a final assembly step, the locking ring 160 is threaded onto the container neck threads 127 thereby locking and sealing the disc closure member 150 and anti-spill funnel insert 140 onto the mouth 124 of the receptacle 120 .
In FIGS. 8 through 11 , another embodiment of the container is shown including a container body 220 of generally conventional form and a closure assembly 230 mounted thereto. In this embodiment, the container 220 is also generally formed in the shape of a rectangle or cube. The container 220 has planar sides 221 . The container 220 includes a planar bottom 222 facilitating freestanding use of the container and a circular neck 226 which opens into the container chamber 223 . The neck 226 interconnects the sides 221 forming a generally circular mouth 228 . The neck 226 has external threads 227 that are complimentary to internal threads 262 of the locking ring 260 (discussed in detail below).
The closure assembly 230 is mounted to the neck 226 . The closure assembly 230 includes a funnel insert 240 forming a primary closure having an inwardly sloping contiguous sidewall forming a tapered funnel-like, frustum conical structure having openings 241 and 242 at both ends. The opening 241 is defined by lip 244 which is adjacent to and seated flush with the planar end surface 229 of the threaded tubular neck 226 . When assembled, the funnel insert 240 projects into the interior chamber 223 of the container 220 . It will be understood by one skilled in the art that anti-spill inserts having other shapes may operate in the same or similar manner.
A stem holder and closure member 250 is positioned atop and seated adjacent the lip 244 of the anti-spill insert 240 . The closure member 250 is cylindrical and has a diameter approximating that of the first opening 241 with an outwardly extending circumferential lip 252 which is seated on lip 244 of the funnel insert 240 with the opposite end being closed by a thin flexible disc shaped membrane 256 . A plurality of slits 258 run across the diameter of the disc shaped membrane 256 to facilitate insertion of cut flower stems into the container 220 . In this embodiment, slits 253 are cut in a radiant pattern to form a plurality of flexible wedge shaped sections 254 . The distal end of locking ring 260 is flanged inward to provide a stop against circumferential lip 252 of member 250 .
In FIGS. 14 through 16 , a tubular shaped embodiment of the container 320 has closure assembly 330 mounted thereto. The container 320 has a circular sidewall 321 with a planar bottom 322 facilitating freestanding use of the container. A cylindrical neck 326 which is open is interconnected to the sidewall 321 forming a generally circular mouth 328 . The neck 326 has external threads 327 that are complimentary to internal threads 362 of the locking ring 360 (discussed in detail below).
The closure assembly 330 is mounted to the cylindrical neck 326 . The closure assembly includes a funnel shaped insert 340 having an inwardly sloping contiguous sidewall forming a tapered funnel-like, frustum conical structure having openings 341 and 342 at both ends. The opening 341 is defined by lip 344 which is seated adjacent and flush with the planar end surface 329 of neck 326 . When assembled, the funnel insert 340 projects into the interior chamber 323 of the container 320 .
A stem holder and closure member 350 is positioned atop and seated adjacent the lip 344 of the funnel 340 . The closure member 350 is circular disc shaped with flat upper and lower surface and has a diameter approximating that of lip 344 . The disc defines a plurality of radial throughgoing slits 356 which run across the substantially diameter of the disc 350 forming flexible wedge shaped sections 358 to facilitate insertion of cut flower stems into the chamber 323 of the container 320 .
A locking ring 360 having internal threads 362 and inwardly projecting flange 364 is mounted over the disc 350 and funnel insert lip 344 and container front end surface 327 . In use the anti-spill funnel insert 340 is inserted into the chamber of the receptacle 320 through mouth 328 so that lip 344 is generally adjacent to and flush with the mouth 326 of the receptacle 320 . The disc closure member 350 is then positioned atop the anti-spill insert 340 on lip 344 so that it is generally adjacent to and flush with same. In a final assembly step, the locking ring 360 is threaded onto the container neck threads 327 thereby locking and sealing the disc closure member 350 and anti-spill funnel insert 340 onto the mouth 324 of the receptacle 320 .
In FIGS. 17 through 19 , another tubular embodiment of the container is shown including a container 420 of generally conventional form and closure assembly 430 mounted thereto. The receptacle 420 has a cylindrical sidewall 421 . The receptacle 420 includes a planar bottom 422 facilitating freestanding use of the container and a circular neck 426 which is open. The neck 426 interconnects the sidewall 421 forming a generally circular mouth 428 . The neck 426 has external threads 427 that are complimentary to internal threads 462 of the locking ring 460 (discussed in detail below).
The closure assembly 430 is mounted to the neck 426 . The closure assembly 430 includes a funnel insert 440 forming a primary closure having an inwardly sloping contiguous sidewall forming a tapered funnel-like, frustum conical structure having openings 441 and 442 at both ends. The opening 441 is defined by lip 444 which is adjacent and flush with the planar end surface 429 of the threaded tubular neck 426 . When assembled, the funnel insert 440 projects into the interior chamber 423 of the container 420 . It will be understood by one skilled in the art that anti-spill inserts having other shapes may operate in the same or similar manner.
A stem holder and closure member 450 is positioned atop and seated adjacent the lip 444 of the funnel insert 440 . The closure member 450 is cylindrical and has a diameter approximating that of the first opening 441 with a circumferential lip 452 which is seated on lip 444 of the funnel insert 440 with the opposite end being closed by a thin flexible disc shaped membrane 456 . A plurality of slits 458 run across the diameter of the disc shaped membrane 456 to facilitate insertion of cut flower stems into the container 420 . In this embodiment, slits 458 are cut in a radiant pattern to form a plurality of flexible wedge shaped sections 454 . The distal end of closure member 450 is flanged inward to provide a stop against circumferential lip 452 .
A locking ring 460 having internal threads 462 and inwardly projecting flange 464 is mounted over the disc 450 and funnel insert lip 444 and container front end surface 427 . In use the anti-spill funnel insert 440 is inserted into the chamber of the receptacle 420 through mouth 428 so that lip 444 is generally adjacent to and flush with the mouth 426 of the receptacle 420 . The disc closure member 450 is then positioned atop the anti-spill insert 440 on lip 444 so that it is generally adjacent to and flush with same. In a final assembly step, the locking ring 460 is threaded onto the container neck threads 427 thereby locking and sealing the disc closure member 450 and anti-spill funnel insert 440 onto the mouth 424 of the receptacle 420 .
The hydrating solution used in the container may include but is not limited to anti-microbial additives, bactericidal additives, bacteriostatic additives, germicidal additives, biocidal additives, fungicidal additives, growth adjuvants, viability adjuvants, fertilizers, and the like.
As noted supra, it is contemplated that the containers can be large holding 14 oz. of hydrating fluid, medium 9.5 oz. of hydrating fluid and small 4.6 oz. of hydrating fluid. Alternatively, it is further contemplated that the closure assembly of the present invention may be manufactured to be retro-fitted onto existing containers.
It should also be noted that all of the containers can have particles ranging in size from about 1000 to about 4000 microns of cross-linked potassium polyacrylate placed filled in the container chamber. This will yield a gel-like material with the addition of water. Such material can be commercially obtained from Evonik Stockhausen GmbH under the product name STOCKOSORB® 660XL.
The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments which have been described above. Instead, the embodiments described here should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims:
|
The invention is directed toward a spill- and leak-proof container for floriculture items including cut flowers, stems, other horticultural items, and the like. More specifically, the invention includes a receptacle having funnel-like primary closure. The funnel-like primary closure includes a wider opening generally adjacent to and contiguous with the mouth of the receptacle. The narrower opening of the funnel-like primary closure is positioned in the interior of the receptacle. A secondary closure atop the wider opening of the primary closure ensures no liquid can spill.
| 1
|
This invention relates to a work station where sewing operations are conducted on a textile workpiece and, more particularly, to a work station for setting a pocket and a pocket flap on a shirt panel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The manufacture of shirts has changed from a wholly hand manipulated, machine sewing operation to a series of work stations where parts of the garment are made in a more-or-less semiautomated manner. These parts are then assembled in a hand manipulated, machine sewing operation. This change has reduced the labor content of shirts so that much of the manufacturing operation has returned to the better developed countries from underdeveloped countries where labor costs are quite low.
Perhaps the most successful semi-automatic work station is a machine that sets a pocket blank on a shirt panel. Exemplary state of the art pocket setting machines are found in publications of applicant's assignee. These machines comprise a smooth stainless steel horizontal table on which a shirt blank is placed, a die blade where the pocket blank is placed by the machine operator, a folding group for tucking the edges of the pocket blank under the die blade, a sewing head, a transfer clamp that is moved by an x-y positioner and suitable electronic controls to actuate the die blade, the folding group, the x-y positioner and the sewing machine at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. The machine operator places a shirt panel in an appropriate position on the table under the die blade and puts the pocket blank under clips on the die blade. The machine is actuated so the die blade moves downwardly against the shirt panel and the folding group moves against the die blade, tucks the edges of the pocket blank under the die blade and then lifts out of the way. The transfer clamp moves to a position above the die blade and pushes the pocket blank and the shirt panel against the table. The die blade retracts and the transfer clamp is moved by the x-y positioner to a location under the needle of the sewing head. The sewing head drives the needle as the x-y positioner moves the transfer clamp in a predetermined path so the stitch pattern is as desired. While sewing is going on, the machine operator assembles another shirt panel and pocket blank. The sewing head cuts the thread from the assembled pocket and shirt panel and the process repeats.
Some shirt designs include a pocket flap sewn to the shirt panel at a location above the open top of the pocket. The pocket flap may incorporate a fastener, such as a button or snap, to secure the pocket flap to the pocket. Until very recently, pocket flaps were manually sewn to the shirt. This requires a series of separate operations: (1) the shirt panel is marked in some fashion to designate the location of the pocket flap, (2) the shirt panel having the pocket sewn thereon is transported to a manual work station, (3) the pocket flap is delivered to the same manual work station and (4) the flap is manually sewn to the shirt panel.
There has recently been introduced a machine to set a pocket flap on a shirt panel as an adjunct to a pocket setting operation. In this device, a complicated mechanism is provided on the transfer clamp of the pocket setting machine at a location above, but adjacent, the open top of the pocket. The machine operator puts a pocket blank in the work holder and the folding group tucks the edges of the pocket blank under the die blade. The transfer clamp moves to the work holder and the pocket flap is placed in a holder on the transfer clamp. The transfer clamp is moved by an x-y positioner to the sewing head where the pocket is sewn to the shirt panel. After the pocket is sewn, and with the shirt panel stationary, the pocket flap is moved downwardly toward the open top of the pocket by an assembly of air cylinders to its normal position above the pocket and then sewn. While the sewing is going on, the machine operator assembles another shirt panel and pocket blank. The sewing head cuts the thread from the assembled pocket and shirt panel and the process repeats.
This mechanism is complicated and expensive because the flap blank is moved from its retracted position on the transfer clamp to its normal position relative to the pocket by a complicated mechanism using a series of air cylinders. In addition, there is always a positioning problem when moving a work holder with air cylinders so there is always an adjustment problem leading to poor quality workmanship because the pocket flaps are prone to be mispositioned relative to the pocket. In addition, when switching from one style to another, the mechanism for holding and moving the pocket flap may require replacement or adjustment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In this invention, a pocket flap is set onto a shirt panel in the same operation that the pocket blank is set onto the shirt panel. The transfer clamp is modified to accept a pocket flap at a location below the closed bottom of the pocket blank. The pocket blank is placed adjacent the shirt panel and a folding group tucks the edges of the pocket blank between a die blade and the shirt panel in a conventional manner.
The pocket flap is loaded onto the transfer clamp when it has been moved by the x-y positioner to the work holder. The transfer clamp pushes the pocket and shirt panel against the table top and the die blade retracts out of the pocket. The x-y positioner moves the transfer clamp to the sewing head thereby moving the shirt panel, pocket blank and pocket flap. The x-y positioner moves the transfer clamp in a predetermined path under the sewing needle while the transfer clamp pushes the shirt panel and pocket blank against the smooth work table so the pocket blank is sewn to the shirt panel in a predetermined manner depending on the software instructions to the x-y positioner.
A shirt panel holder is then actuated to fix the shirt panel relative to the table. The transfer clamp is moved upwardly out of pressing engagement with the work table and the x-y positioner moves the transfer clamp to a position where the pocket flap is correctly positioned relative to the pocket and shirt panel. The shirt panel holder is retracted to free the shirt panel for movement relative to the work table and the transfer clamp pushes downwardly on the shirt panel. The x-y positioner moves the transfer clamp in a predetermined path under the sewing needle while the transfer clamp pushes the shirt panel against the smooth work table so the pocket flap is sewn to the shirt panel.
This technique has a variety of advantages. First, locating the pocket flap holder on the transfer clamp below the pocket blank makes it easier and quicker to load the pocket flap in its holder. Second, positioning the pocket flap relative to the shirt panel and pocket is done by the x-y positioner and not some additional mechanism. This is very important for several reasons: (1) this requires only a simple technique to fix the shirt panel relative to the work table at the appropriate time thereby eliminating many complicated and expensive components of the prior art, (2) the pocket flap is positioned within the accuracy of the x-y positioner which is a fraction of a millimeter rather than to the accuracy of an air cylinder, and (3) adjustments between pocket flap designs can be accommodated by changing the software controlling the x-y positioner rather than replacing or adjusting some mechanical mechanism.
This invention is accordingly capable of setting a pocket flap in the same operation as setting a pocket at a minimum capital cost, with a high degree of accuracy as provided by the x-y positioner, with a very modest increase in cycle time of the pocket setting operation and with the capability of rapidly adjusting the device to accommodate pocket flaps of different style.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a pocket setting machine having an improved pocket flap setting attachment.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved pocket and pocket flap setter which relies on the existing x-y positioner for locating the pocket flap in its desired position.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved pocket and pocket flap setter which is inexpensive to make and simple to operate and maintain.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become more fully apparent as this description proceeds, reference being made to the accompanying drawings and appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a machine of this invention configured to conduct a pocket setting operation;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a die blade type work holder having a pocket blank thereon;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 2 showing the pocket blank after the folding group has tucked the edges between the die blade and a shirt panel;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a transfer clamp of this invention;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the transfer clamp of FIG. 4, taken along line 5--5 thereof, as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;
FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the transfer clamp of FIG. 4 and the sewing head showing the pocket being stitched to the shirt panel;
FIG. 7 is a front view of the sewing head, showing the shirt panel holder in a retracted position;
FIG. 8 is a front view of the sewing head, showing the shirt panel holder in an extended position holding the shirt panel against the table top;
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the transfer clamp and sewing head, showing the pocket flap in position to be stitched to the shirt panel;
FIG. 10 is a side view of another embodiment of the pocket flap holder of this invention;
FIG. 11 is an isometric view of a pocket flap.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a pocket and pocket flap setting machine 10 of this invention comprises, as major components, a work table 12, a die blade type work holder 14 for receiving a pocket blank 16 above a shirt panel 18, a folding group 20 for tucking the edges of the pocket blank 16 between the die blade 14 and the shirt panel 18, a sewing head 22, a transfer clamp 24 for pushing the pocket blank 16 and shirt panel 18 against the table 12, an x-y positioner 26 for moving the transfer clamp 24 and thereby sliding the pocket blank 16 and shirt panel 18 from the holder 14 toward the sewing head 22 and a digital controller 28 for energizing the various components of the machine 10 at the appropriate times. The work table 12 includes a smooth planar table section 30 which is stainless steel or the like.
The die blade type work holder 14 is partially obscured, in FIG. 1 by the folding group 20 and is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The work holder 14 includes a die blade 32 in the shape of the pocket on the finished shirt, a pair of clips 34 to hold the pocket blank 16 against the die blade 32, an air cylinder 36 for raising and lowering the die blade 32 relative to the table top 30 and means 38 for advancing and retracting the die blade 32 parallel to the table top 30 as shown by the arrow 40.
In use, the die blade 32 is extended and raised above the table top 30 so the machine operator can place the shirt panel 18 in a predetermined location on the table top 30 and place the pocket blank 16 in the clips 34 as shown in FIG. 2. The machine operator presses a pair of switch buttons (not shown) that activates the digital controller 28 and initiates a series of events, starting with extending the cylinder 36 and pressing the die blade 14 lightly against the table top 30. Under the control of the digital controller 28, the folding group 20 pivots downwardly over the die blade 32 and tucks the edges of the pocket blank 16 under the die blade 32 as shown in FIG. 3 and then retracts out of the way.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the x-y positioner 26 includes a transfer arm 42 having an air cylinder 44 and guides 46 mounting the transfer clamp 24 for horizontal and vertical movement. The conventional functions of the transfer clamp 24 are to slide the shirt panel 18 and pocket blank 16 from the work holder 14 to the sewing head 22 and then move the shirt panel 18 and pocket blank 16 under the sewing needle 48 to sew the pocket blank 16 to the shirt panel 18 with a desired stitch pattern. As heretofore described, the pocket setter 10 of this invention will be recognized by those skilled in the art as representative of the pocket setting machines manufactured by the assignee of this invention.
In this invention, the transfer clamp 24 provides a pocket flap holder 50 for receiving a pocket flap blank 52 having a finished lower edge and possibly a button hole or snap 54. The transfer clamp 24, in conjunction with a shirt panel holder 56, the x-y positioner 26 and the sewing head 22, sews the pocket flap blank 52 onto the shirt panel 18 at the end of the pocket setting operation. As will become more fully apparent hereinafter, this is accomplished with a minimum of additional mechanical or electro-mechanical parts and the necessary movement of the pocket flap holder 50 relative to the shirt panel 18 are done by the x-y positioner 26 under the control of the digital controller 28. This means the incremental costs of performing this operation are quite low and there are few components to maintain. In addition, changes in design of the pocket flaps can be readily accommodated with minimum costs because any needed change in movement is done by changing the software instructions in the digital controller 28.
To these ends, the transfer clamp 24 includes a conventional pocket shaped section 58 providing an edge 60 and a gap 62 in the shape of the seam to be sewn. The pocket flap holder 50 is an extension of the transfer clamp 24 and includes a stationary generally U-shaped section 64 having a rigid shoulder 66 and a movable plate 68. As shown best in FIG. 5, the movable plate 68 includes a pair of rigid ends 70 to overlie and captivate the edges of the pocket flap blank 52 and a central foam section 72 for pushing the pocket flap 52 against the table top 30. A vertical guidepost 74 and slide bearing 76 mount the movable plate 68 for vertical movement under the control of an air cylinder 78 which is ultimately controlled by the digital controller 28.
In use, after the edges of the pocket blank 16 have been tucked under the die plate, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer clamp 24 is moved by the x-y positioner 26 to a location where the machine operator loads the pocket flap 52 into the pocket flap holder 50. This may be accomplished at any convenient location, such as where the transfer clamp 24 is above the die plate 32. After the pocket flap 52 is loaded, the machine operator restarts the pocket setter 10 by pushing a pair of switch buttons (not shown). Under the control of the digital controller 28, the transfer clamp 24 pushes downwardly against the pocket blank 16 and shirt panel 18, the die blade 32 is pulled out of the open top of the pocket blank 16 by the mechanism 38 and the x-y positioner 26 moves the transfer clamp 24 to the sewing location under the needle 48 where the pocket blank 16 is sewn to the shirt panel 18 in a conventional manner, i.e. the x-y positioner 26 moves the shirt panel 18 in a predetermined path to create the desired stitch pattern.
After the pocket blank 16 is sewn to the shirt panel 18, the shirt panel 18 is momentarily immobilized by the shirt panel holder 56. To this end, the shirt panel holder 56 comprises a T-shaped bracket 80 having a leg 82 fixed to the sewing head 22 and a cross-bar 84. A pair of small, long stroke air cylinders 86 each include an output comprising a rubber foot 88 on the end of a piston 90. The pistons 90 are normally retracted so the rubber feet 88 are well above the table top 30 as shown best in FIG. 7. This allows the x-y positioner 26 to move the transfer clamp 24, without interference, in a desired path under the sewing needle 48 to sew the pocket flap 16 to the shirt panel 18.
At the end of the pocket sewing operation, the pocket blank 16 is not likely to be positioned in exactly the right place to start sewing the pocket flap blank 52. Thus, the digital controller 28 signals the x-y positioner 26 which moves shirt panel 18 in the direction shown by the arrow 92 as shown in FIG. 6. When the shirt panel 18 is in a position where sewing of the pocket flap blank 52 is to start, the digital controller 18 controls a valve (not shown) to deliver air to the cylinders 86 to extend the rubber feet 88 against the shirt panel 18 thereby pinning the shirt panel 18 to the table top 30 as shown in FIG. 8. This temporarily immobilizes the shirt panel 18. The digital controller 28 signals the valve (not shown) controlling the cylinder 44 thereby raising the transfer clamp 24 relative to the table top 30 and then signals the x-y positioner 26 to move the transfer clamp 24 to a position to begin sewing the pocket flap blank 52 to the shirt panel 18 as shown in FIG. 9 where the sewing head 22 is broken away to expose the transfer clamp. The digital controller 28 opens the valve (not shown) leading to the cylinder 44 which pushes the transfer plate 24 against the shirt panel 18 and table top 30 and then retracts the rubber feet 88 on the end of the piston 90 thereby freeing the shirt panel 18 for movement relative to the table top 30. Thus the outputs, comprising the rubber feet 88 on the ends of respective pistons 90, reciprocate back and forth. At this time, the sewing needle 48 is immediately adjacent the edge 94 of the movable plate 68 where sewing is to be done. The digital controller 28 then starts the sewing head 22 and the x-y positioner 26 to sew the pocket flap blank 52 to the shirt panel 18.
When the pocket flap blank 52 is sewn to the shirt panel 18, the sewing head 22 cuts the thread and the finished shirt panel is removed from the machine 10. While the pocket blank 16 and pocket flap 52 are being sewn to the shirt panel 18, the machine operator is placing another shirt panel 18 under the die blade 32 and placing another pocket blank 16 under the clips 34 in preparation for other machine cycle.
In the embodiments of FIGS. 4-6, the plate 68 is mounted for vertical movement by the guide post 74 and slide bearing 76. Loading of the pocket flap holder 50 may be more easily accomplished by pivoting the plate 68 relative to the rigid shoulder 66, thereby opening the area for the pocket flap 52. As shown in FIG. 10, an actuator 96 is provided for moving the plate 68 between an operative position abutting the edge 66 and a retracted position allowing easy loading of the pocket flap holder 50. The actuator 96 comprises a base 98, an air cylinder 100 having an output 102 rotatably connected to a post or bearing 104 on an arm 106 connected to a plate 108 mounted for pivotal movement about an axis 110. The movable plate 68 is attached to the plate 108. It will be seen that pivoting the plate 68 allows easy loading of the flap holder 50.
Although this invention has been disclosed and described in its preferred forms with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred forms is only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of operation and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
|
A semiautomated sewing station sets a pocket blank and a pocket flap on a shirt panel in an integrated operation. The pocket blank is handled and sewn in a conventional manner. A transfer clamp used to move the shirt panel and pocket blank includes a holder for a pocket flap. After the pocket blank is sewn to the shirt panel, a shirt holder fixes the shirt panel relative to the sewing needle and the transfer clamp is moved by a conventional x-y positioner to place the pocket flap in its customary position over the top of the open pocket. The shirt panel is then released for movement relative to the sewing needle as the transfer clamp again moves the shirt panel relative to the sewing needle for stitching the pocket flap to the shirt panel. In this manner, the x-y positioner is used to place the pocket flap rather than a separate mechanism.
| 3
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from pending U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/247,137 filed Nov. 9, 2000; the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to a duplicator for use in woodworking, and more particularly to a duplicator for attachment to a standard radial arm saw. Specifically, the present invention relates to a duplicator that may be attached to a standard radial arm saw while being movable and adjustable in at least five directions.
2. Background Information
Woodworkers often desire to duplicate a three dimensional object. Such objects may includes faces, patterns, sculptured items, etc. These parts could be carved individually, but it is very difficult to make them similar, let alone identical to each other. The time and skill to individually carve them also makes this option undesirable. It is therefore desirable to have a tool which can be used to make duplicate copies of an article. Such a tool would allow the woodworker to hand carve an original work and then quickly and easily duplicate the work so that the duplicates may be sold.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device of the present invention is a woodworking duplicator which is adapted to be attached to a standard radial arm saw. The device allows a rotating cutting tool and a stylus to be movably supported allowing the user to trace a pattern with the stylus while cutting the pattern into a work piece with the cutter.
The invention provides a duplicator that may be mounted to a radial arm saw wherein the duplicator includes elements that may be moved in five different directions. The invention also provides a duplicator having a stylus and a cutter that may be easily locked into different parallel positions so that the user of the duplicator may more easily trace the item being duplicated. The invention also provides a duplicator that supports the weight of the stylus and cutter tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the best modes in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles of the invention, are set forth in the following description and are shown in the drawings and are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.
FIG. 1 is a front view of the duplicator shown mounted on a standard radial arm saw.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a side view of the device through line 3 — 3 o f FIG. 1, showing the cutting tool contacting a block of wood to be carved.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the device through line 4 — 4 of FIG. 1, showing the stylus contacting an article to be duplicated.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are front views of the duplicator illustrating that the sleeve holding the cutting tool and stylus may be moved in a first horizontal plane.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are side views of the device illustrating the vertical motion of the duplicator, showing that the cutting carriage may be lowered towards or raised away from the table of the radial arm saw.
FIGS. 9 and 10 are side views of the device illustrating that the cutting carriage may be moved in a second horizontal plane toward or away from the post of the radial arm saw.
FIGS. 11 and 12 are partial side views of the device illustrating the vertical rotatability of the cutting tool of the device about the second bar of the duplicator.
FIG. 13 is a partial plan view of the sleeve of the device showing how a first cutting tool and the stylus are mounted on the sleeve.
FIG. 14 is a partial plan view of the sleeve showing a second cutting tool and the stylus, and illustrating how the stylus is adjusted to align with the cutting tool on the sleeve.
FIG. 15 is sectional view taken along line 15 — 15 of FIG. 14 .
FIG. 16 is a front view of the sleeve, with the cutting tool and stylus removed to show the bushings.
FIG. 17 is a front view of the sleeve with the cutting tool and stylus in position for engagement with the block of wood to be carved and the article to be duplicated.
FIGS. 18 and 19 are front views of the sleeve shown in FIG. 17, illustrating the rotatability of the cutting tool and stylus relative to the sleeve.
FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line 20 — 20 of FIG. 17 .
FIG. 21 is a view taken along line 21 — 21 on FIG. 20 .
Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The duplicator device 8 of the present invention is adapted to be mounted on a radial arm saw 10 . Radial arm saw 10 includes a horizontal table 12 , a post 14 extending vertically therefrom, an arm 16 extending horizontally from the post 14 and over the table 12 , and a slide 18 mounted on the underside of the arm 16 . Post 14 is adapted to telescope so that arm 16 moves vertically towards and away from table 12 . Slide 18 is adapted to move horizontally along the underside of arm 16 , both towards and away from post 14 .
Duplicator 8 of the present invention is adapted to be secured to radial arm saw 10 when the saw motor and blade have been removed. Duplicator 8 includes a frame that is generally indicated at 20 . Frame 20 is generally rectangular in shape having first and second bars 22 , 24 being disposed at right angles to end bars 26 , 28 . First bar 22 is attached to slide 18 of arm 16 by any suitable mounting arrangement. A spring 30 is disposed between slide 18 and first bar 22 so as to bias frame 20 upwardly towards arm 16 and away from table 12 of saw 10 .
A sleeve 32 is coaxially, slidably, and rotatably disposed on second bar 24 and is adapted to move horizontally along second bar 24 between end bars 26 , 28 (FIGS. 5 & 6 ). A cutting tool 34 and stylus 36 are mounted on sleeve 32 in any suitable manner. As sleeve 32 moves horizontally along second bar 24 , cutting tool 34 and stylus 36 move with it. Cutting tool 34 and stylus 36 thus slide and rotate in concert. Cutting tool 34 is adapted to carve into a workpiece which is typically a block of wood 38 or other substrate and stylus 36 is adapted to engage the article 40 which is to be duplicated into workpiece 38 .
Device 8 can move in a number of directions so that cutting tool 34 can be used to cut a three dimensional copy of article 40 as stylus 36 traces over article 40 . Cutting tool 34 can make the following movements. Firstly, sleeve 32 can slide horizontally in the A-A′ direction along second bar 24 (FIGS. 5 & 6 ). This allows the cutting tool 34 to cut the block of wood 38 in a first horizontal direction. Secondly, frame 20 can rotate vertically about axis B-B′ (FIG. 6 ). This allows the sleeve 32 to be lowered (FIG. 7) or raised (FIG. 8) relative to table 12 , allowing cutting tool 34 to cut workpiece 38 in a vertical direction. Thirdly, because frame 20 is connected to slide 18 , it can slide towards and away from post 14 in the C-C′ direction (FIGS. 9 & 10 ). This moves cutting tool 34 in the second horizontal direction, thereby allowing for cuts to be made in the block of wood 38 in this direction. Fourthly, sleeve 32 is able to rotate about the axis D-D′ (FIGS. 5, 11 & 12 ), allowing for cuts to be made in this direction. Fifthly, frame 20 can rotate about the vertical axis E-E′ (FIG. 7) as arm 16 is rotated about post 14 of radial arm saw 10 . Finally, as best can be seen in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 , cutting tool 34 and stylus 36 can be rotated about axes F and F′ (FIGS. 20 and 21) in a manner which will be described below. The relative movements and rotatability of cutting tool 34 and stylus 36 in these various directions, allows for any three dimensional object to be duplicated by device 10 .
Stylus 36 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 15 and 20. Stylus 36 includes a handle 42 at one end and a tracing tip 44 at the other. Tracing tip 44 may be adjustably mounted to stylus 36 in any suitable manner such as being received within a slot and being clamped therein by a clamp 46 . While tracing tip 44 is shown as a removable part of stylus 36 , it may be formed as an integral part thereof. The body of stylus 36 includes a slot for receiving a rod 48 therethrough. A suitable clamp 50 secures rod 48 and stylus 36 together. Rod 48 has a threaded first end 52 and a second end 54 that is inserted first through the bore 55 of a bushing 56 connected to sleeve 32 then through a V-shaped bracket 58 and finally through the slot in stylus 36 . Bushing 56 is connected to sleeve 32 by any suitable connectors such as welds or mechanical connectors. Clamp 50 is then inserted into stylus 36 to secure rod 48 in place.
As can be seen from FIGS. 16 & 21, the front face of bushing 56 which lies proximate bracket 58 is provided with a plurality of grooves 60 for receiving the apex 61 of the V of bracket 58 . An internally threaded handle 62 engages the external threads on first end 52 of rod 48 . When handle 62 is rotated, rod 48 is drawn farther towards or away from handle 62 , thereby decreasing or increasing the distance between sleeve 32 and stylus 36 (see FIGS. 13 and 14 ). If it is desired to alter the angle of stylus 36 relative to sleeve 32 , handle 62 is rotated to the point that apex 61 disengages from groove 60 , bushing 50 is rotated so that a different groove 60 is disposed for engagement with bracket 58 , and then handle 62 is rotated until apex 61 re-engages in the different groove 60 .
Cutting tool 34 is connected to the sleeve 32 in the following manner. A second V-shaped bracket 58 ′ is provided to engage in the grooves 60 ′ of a second bushing 56 ′ in the manner described above. Second bracket 58 ′ is connected to an adjustable clamp 64 by a second rod (not shown). Clamp 64 may include any suitable means of securing the cutting tool within its grasp, such as an expandable band having a lock screw 66 disposed for locking the ends of the band together. A second handle 62 ′ is provided to engage the end of the second rod to allow for release and securing of second bracket 58 ′ in second bushing 56 ′. Cutting tool 34 may be any suitable device such as a rotary cutter or a hand-held router. An electrical outlet 70 and switch 72 are provided on frame 20 so that cutting tool 34 may be conveniently and safely operated. Cord 73 of cutting tool 34 may be connected to outlet 70 . An electrical cord 74 connects outlet 70 to a power source (not shown).
It is desirable that tracing tip 44 of stylus 36 and cutting tip 68 of cutting tool 34 be aligned with each other so that as movements are made with stylus 36 over article 40 to be copied, the same movements are made at the same time and in the same relative position by cutting tip 68 . If cutting tool 34 is exchanged for a larger tool 34 ′ (FIGS. 13 & 14 ), then handle 62 can be adjusted to allow for stylus 36 to move farther away from sleeve 32 . This allows the user to adjust the device so that cutting tip 68 and tracing tip 44 remain aligned.
Similarly, the angle of cutting tool 34 and stylus 36 relative to the sleeve 32 may be adjusted (FIG. 18 & 19 ). This is achieved by changing grooves 60 on the bushings 56 , 56 ′ with which the brackets 58 , 58 ′ engage, as previously described. It may also be desirable to sometimes cut a mirror image of an article 40 . In that event brackets 58 , 58 ′ proximate stylus 36 and cutting tool 34 are engaged in grooves which face in opposing directions.
The device of the present invention is used in the following manner:
Referring to FIGS. 1 & 2, article 40 to be duplicated is secured to table 12 by any suitable means. Similarly block of wood 38 or other desired workpiece is positioned alongside article 40 and is secured to table 12 by a suitable holding mechanism. Frame 20 is pulled downwardly towards table 12 by the user grasping second bar 24 , end 26 , 28 or handle 42 of stylus 36 . The user connects cutting tool 34 to outlet 70 , and switches cutting tool 34 on. The user then manipulates stylus 36 so that tracing tip 44 traces out the shape of article 40 being duplicated. As the user does this cutting tool 34 moves in concert with stylus 36 and cutting tip 68 cuts the identical shape into block of wood 38 . Adjustments are made to the angle of stylus 36 and cutting tool 34 as necessary. When block of wood 38 has been shaped into the desired article, cutting tool 34 is switched off and disconnected from outlet 70 . Frame 20 is released and rises back to its at rest position (shown in FIG. 8 ). The duplicated article is removed from table 12 and a new block of wood 38 may then be secured to the table for the manufacture of another duplicate.
Accordingly, the improved duplicator device for a radial arm saw is simplified, provides an effective, safe, inexpensive, and efficient device which provides for eliminating difficulties encountered with prior devices, and solves problems and obtains new results in the art.
In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.
Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.
Having now described the features, discoveries, and principles of the invention, the manner in which the duplicator device is constructed and used, the characteristics of the construction, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices, elements, arrangements, parts, and combinations are set forth in the appended claims.
|
The invention provides a woodworking duplicator which is adapted to be attached to a standard radial arm saw. The device allows a rotating cutting tool and a stylus to be movably supported allowing the user to trace a pattern with the stylus while cutting the pattern into a work piece with the cutter. The invention provides a duplicator that may be mounted to a radial arm saw wherein the duplicator includes elements that may be moved in five different directions. The invention also provides a duplicator having a stylus and a cutter that may be easily locked into different parallel positions so that the user of the duplicator may more easily trace the item being duplicated. The invention also provides a duplicator that supports the weight of the stylus and cutter tool.
| 1
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a National Phase entry of PCT/EP2007/002021, filed Mar. 8, 2007, which claims priority to German Application No. 10 2006 010 775.6, filed Mar. 8, 2006, both of which are incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method for weaving a webbing comprising a right-hand weft thread (SFR) and a left-hand weft thread (SFL), it also relating to a narrow fabric needle loom.
Known from DE 27 19 382 C3 (Berger) is weaving a single-ply seat belt webbing having tubular selvedges on a narrow fabric needle loom by a sole weft needle. One of two single-ply woven edge portions is pulled up to the selvedge of the middle portion to form the one tubular selvedge by pulling the weft thread.
Known from CH 648 069 A5 (Berger) is a webbing particularly for automotive seat belts made on a narrow fabric needle loom. The webbing features a relatively stiff middle portion and soft edge portions formed into tubular selvedges. To speed up production two weft needles are provided working simultaneously in parallel, the one picking a soft weft thread in the middle portion and the two edge portions, the other picking a stiffer weft thread in just the middle portion and picking only the two outermost warp threads of the two edge portions. Two weft needles pick simultaneously two different weft materials into partly different shed openings. The two flat edge portions are drawn into tubular selvedges by the one weft thread picked only via the middle portion. The middle portion is reinforced to achieve a higher performance. The aim was to double the output by using two weft needles as compared to single needle systems. However, the larger mass and the needed larger and faster movements of the auxiliary pickers resulting from the two weft needles only made it possible to achieve much less than twice the output.
Known from DE 33 45 508 C2 (leperband) is a webbing (safety belt) woven single-ply, likewise making use of two weft needles simultaneously to pick two different weft yarns. A monofil weft thread merely serves to reinforce the middle portion and must not be used to pull over the flat edge portions. By current standards these known webbings and methods of their production are too costly and have since ceased to satisfy the increasing demands of the automotive industry. What has particularly increased are the demands on webbing having comfortable soft edge portions whilst the inner portion is required to feature maximized transverse stiffness. On top of this, these known devices for producing webbing are very complicated and difficult to master in operation.
It is thus the object of the present invention to propose a webbing, a method and a narrow fabric needle loom of the aforementioned kind which now avoids or at least greatly minimizes the drawbacks of prior art. This object is achieved by a method as set forth in claim 1 , namely a method for weaving a webbing comprising a right-hand weft thread and a left-hand weft thread, characterized in that the two weft threads are picked into the same shed from both sides of the seat belt webbing, are wound around weft holdbacks in weft reversal loops, are substantially retained by the weft holdbacks until beat by the reed against the fell, it not being until then that a shed change is made. This technique in accordance with the invention results in two weft threads each coming simultaneously from the right-hand and left-hand weft picking side being picked practically symmetrically transversely over the webbing where they are each held back at the opposite side by a separate weft holdback provided there, after which the weft needles are retracted to their side thereby entraining the weft thread and holding it taut until the reed has beaten up the freshly picked weft threads to the already woven webbing material, the weft threads being held back up to this point in time by the weft holdbacks being set by the advanced shed change.
In this arrangement the webbing is advantageously produced without any need of tucking or crotchet, tonque or pusher needles whatsoever and also without any meshing or crotcheting of the weft thread being needed. These weaving devices as standard on more complicated means of prior art can now all be eliminated by application of the method in accordance with the invention. Merely weft holdbacks in contact with the usual control of catch needle holders are still needed.
An advantageous further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention for weaving a seat belt webbing comprising an inner portion, a preferably soft right-hand edge portion and a preferably soft left-hand edge portion, is characterized by a continuous repeat of a first step sequence;
ar) picking the right-hand weft thread from the right-hand side of the webbing into the right-hand edge portion and into the inner portion by means of a right-hand weft needle, al) picking the left-hand weft thread from the left-hand side of the seat belt webbing into the left-hand edge portion and into the inner portion by means of a left-hand weft needle simultaneously to step ar), br) retaining the right-hand weft thread in the transition portion from the inner portion to the left-hand edge portion by means of a left-hand weft holdback, bl) retaining the left-hand weft thread in the transition portion from the inner portion to the right-hand edge portion by means of a right-hand weft holdback simultaneously to step br), cr) tucking the right-hand weft thread with the left-hand weft holdback and returning the left-hand weft holdback to the fell, cl) tucking the left-hand weft thread with the right-hand weft holdback and returning the right-hand weft holdback to the fell simultaneously to step cr), dr) returning the right-hand weft needle to the right-hand side of the seat belt webbing, dl) returning the left-hand weft needle to the left-hand side of the seat belt webbing simultaneously to step cr), e) stripping off the weft loops formed in the previous step from the two weft holdbacks by the reed to the fell and forwarding the two weft holdbacks away from the fell, f) beating the two weft threads by a reed.
The method is advantageously characterized in that two weft needles guiding the weft threads each coming from the right and left weft picking side respectively pick the weft threads simultaneously and practically symmetrically transversely over the webbing, each of which is held back on the opposite side in the transition between the inner portion and edge portion by the weft holdback element located there in each case, after which the weft needles are returned to their side entraining and tensioning the weft threads tensioned until the reed beats up the newly inserted weft threads to the already woven webbing material. Up until this point in time the weft threads held back by the weft holdbacks are beat up and set by the following shed change.
In application of the method in accordance with the invention as it reads from claim 2 both weft threads are arranged in the inner portion, and only one in each case being in the edge portion belonging to its weft thread picking side. This results in the advantage that each edge portion is occupied only with one weft thread and is thus softer, whilst the two weft threads in the inner portion endow it with a higher transverse stiffness due to twice the proportion of material as compared to the edge portions.
Another advantageous further embodiment of the method for weaving a seat belt webbing whose right and left-hand weft threads are hybrid threads is characterized by the following step implemented after weaving: thermosetting the seat belt webbing. Used as weft threads in this arrangement are hybrid threads as are converted after weaving by said thermosetting into monofil-type structures in endowing the seat belt webbing in accordance with the invention with additional monofil qualities adequately for transverse stiffness without making use of actual monofil threads. Hybrid threads are threads made of materials having different melting temperatures as are known from prior art. The advantage in this is that after weaving such hybrid threads as weft threads, as claimed herein, the hybrid threads can be solidified into a monofil condition by subjecting them to thermosetting after weaving, resulting in the components of the hybrid threads having a low melting point to melt embedding the components having a higher melting point into monofil type structures featuring enhanced flexibility, transverse stiffness and as termed with seat belt webbing, rebound transversely to the webbing.
A further advantageous aspect of the method in accordance with the invention is the use an additional left-hand weft needle for picking a monofil weft needle supplied in the transition between the left-hand edge portion and the inner portion, the monofil weft needle being held secure on both sides in addition to the just mentioned weft threads likewise by the weft holdbacks resulting in the monofil weft threads being woven only in the inner portion. This is characterized by the following further steps:
az) picking a monofil weft thread fed preferably in the transition portion from the inner portion to the left-hand edge portion from left to right up to the transition portion from the inner portion to the right-hand edge portion by means of a supplementary weft needle simultaneously to step ar) bz) retaining the monofil weft thread in the transition portion from the inner portion to the right-hand edge portion by means of the right-hand weft holdback simultaneously to step cr), cz) tucking the monofil weft thread with the right-hand weft holdback and returning the right-hand weft holdback up to just before the fell simultaneously to the step cr) dz) returning the supplementary weft needle simultaneously to step dr).
Catching, releasing and beating the monofil weft thread is done analogous to the actions as already described relating to the weft threads as described above, for which, as explained further on in the description, an additional weft needle is employed. The supplementary monofil weft thread additionally incorporated in the inner portion in accordance with the invention results in the advantage that the seat belt webbing now features enhanced transverse stiffness in the inner portion whilst the edge portions remain soft as wanted.
A further advantageous embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention for weaving a webbing is characterized by the following second sequence in the steps optionally alternated with the first sequence of steps as it reads from claim 2 for optionally forming picots at the selvedges of the webbing:
apr) picking the right-hand weft thread from the right-hand side of the webbing over the full webbing width beyond the left-hand webbing side by means of a right-hand weft needle), apl) picking the left-hand weft thread from the left-hand side of the webbing over the full webbing width beyond the right-hand webbing side by means of a left-hand weft needle, simultaneously to step apr), bpr) retaining the right-hand weft thread outside of the webbing adjoining the left-hand edge portion by means of a second left-hand weft holdback in forming weft loops, bpl) retaining the left-hand weft thread outside of the webbing adjoining the right-hand edge portion by means of a second right-hand weft holdback in forming weft loops simultaneously to step bpr), dr) returning the right-hand weft needle to the right-hand side of the seat belt webbing, dl) returning the left-hand weft needle to the left-hand side of the seat belt webbing simultaneously to step dr), ep) stripping off the weft loops formed in the steps bpr) and bpl) from the two weft holdbacks, f) beating the two weft threads by a reed.
This now makes it possible to produce webbing with weft loops or so-called picots optionally included to protrude beyond the selvedge which is particularly favorable in the production of ribbons and braids, mainly for ready-to wear garments. Involved in this is also a further advantageous embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention which is characterized by elastic warp threads being made use of.
In another advantageous further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention multifil threads are employed as weft threads to guarantee a soft selvedge. As a rule multifil threads are also employed as warp threads for seat belt webbing, resulting in the wanted soft selvedge of advantage in the edge portions. In another advantageous further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention elastic threads are employed. This now makes it possible to produce elastic webbings for ready-to wear garments.
The object is furthermore achieved by a narrow fabric needle loom as it reads from claim 9 featuring a right-hand weft needle and a left-hand weft needle configured controllably simultaneously to each other, as well as a right-hand and a left-hand weft holdback for retaining and releasing the left-hand and right-hand weft thread respectively, and also being configured to work coordinated to each other, particularly working simultaneously with each other, and a reed. In a further advantageous aspect of the invention the narrow fabric needle loom is characterized in that the weft holdbacks are fixedly secured to the loom and that an elastic arrangement of stripper/holder wires is provided oriented preferably slightly towards the fell suitable for stripping off the weft thread loops before the shed change and before the fell from the weft holdbacks and retaining same by urging them to the fell until the reed itself beats up the weft threads. In this arrangement the narrow fabric needle loom in accordance with the invention may be additionally characterized in that the weft holdbacks are configured vertically pliant so that they are easily lifted by the tensioned weft threads in facilitating the sliding down of the weft threads.
With the narrow fabric needle loom in accordance with the invention the method in accordance with the invention for producing a seat belt webbing in accordance with the invention fabrication is now much simpler and with less wear and tear as is known in prior art. No catchment threads and no blocking threads now being needed to produce soft edges, this also eliminating the need for all of the equipment needed for this purpose in prior art. This greatly simplifies producing the seat belt webbing as compared to methods and devices as known from prior art. When employing hybrid threads as the weft threads thermosetting is done after weaving which, however, adds nothing to costs of the method as compared to prior art since any seat belt webbing, even when not made of hybrid weft threads, requires thermosetting to endow the seat belt webbing with the necessary shrinkage and stretch together with the wanted buffer for stretching thereof. Further advantages and features read from the sub-claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better appreciation of the invention it will now be explained by way of two example aspects with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, greatly magnified view of a seat belt webbing and salient parts of a narrow fabric needle loom as shown during a first step in the process in which the weft needles have entered the shed roughly by a third.
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic, greatly magnified view of a seat belt webbing and parts of a narrow fabric needle loom as shown during a second step in the process in which the weft needles are fully retracted.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic, greatly magnified view of a seat belt webbing and parts of a narrow fabric needle loom as shown during a third step in the process in which the reed is just before the fell with the weft needles (again) fully retracted.
FIG. 4 is a view similar to that as shown in FIG. 1 but with an additionally employed monofil weft needle for picking a monofil thread.
FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to that as shown in FIG. 2 but showing use of an additional monofil weft needle.
FIG. 6 is a view analogous to that as shown in FIG. 3 but showing use of an additional monofil weft needle.
FIG. 7 is a greatly schematized view of a variant of a weft holdback fixedly secured to the loom and a reed moving thereon shown in the situation in which the weft needles are still located between reed and weft holdback, in a diagrammatic side view at an selvedge of the webbing.
FIG. 8 is likewise a diagrammatic view as shown in FIG. 7 of the configuration as just described but here at a later point in time in which a stripper or holder wire is in contact with the weft loop to shift it to the fell.
FIG. 9 is again a greatly magnified view of the situation as shown in FIG. 8 as viewed in the direction of the arrow DS of FIG. 8 .
FIG. 10 is a view of the reed as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 by way of an example including an example of how the stripper or holder wire is arranged.
FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic top-down view of a webbing with picots at the edges.
FIG. 12 is another diagrammatic top-down view of an exploded detail of the webbing as shown in FIG. 11 to highlight production of the picots at the selvedges.
FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic side view of the weft holdback positions as employed in producing a webbing as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 .
FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic partial section view of a further example aspect of a device in accordance with the invention having a weft needle for two weft threads including an eyelet and a tucker.
FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic partial section view of a magnified detail X as shown in FIG. 14 from the side and in a top-down view.
FIGS. 16 a to 16 c are each a diagrammatic partial section view of a magnified detail X as shown in FIG. 14 from the side view in three different states X 1 to X 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a seat belt webbing 2 the right and left-hand sides of which correspond to the right and left-hand sides of the drawing in accordance with the capital letters R and L evident encircled below FIG. 1 . This applies to all figures as discussed in the following. The seat belt webbing 2 is divided into three portions, a left-hand edge portion RL, an inner portion M and a right-hand edge portion RR. Arranged in each transition portion between the left-hand edge portion RL and inner portion M and between the inner portion M and the right-hand edge portion RR are so-called weft holdbacks SRHR (right-hand) and SRHL (left-hand) evident from FIGS. 2 and 3 by their retaining point symbolized by a thick, black dot. These retaining points are the auxiliary holdback points which by their function lead to each weft reversal points opposite the weft picking side which are located within the material of the seat belt webbing in accordance with the invention and thus “disappear”. Outside of these weft holdback positions simply the soft selvedge exists, indicated simply by a weft thread.
The situation as shown in FIG. 1 shows the weft needles SNL, SNR extended roughly by a third into the shed, whilst FIG. 2 already shows the final position of the weft needles in the fully picked position. By contrast, FIG. 3 shows the opposite situation with the weft needles SNL and SNR fully retracted and also the weft reversal points formed by the weft holdback function at the selvedge of the inner portion. It is evident from FIG. 3 how the reed WB is already advanced nearer to the picking zone which in the next step is advanced to the freshly picked weft threads as indicated by the arrow to be beaten up by the material indicated shaded as already being woven. In this arrangement the weft holdbacks briefly lose their function whilst the weft reversal positions are likewise removed therefrom. Shown in the figures, particularly in FIG. 1 , by way of example, on the right-hand side is a weft holdback SRHR in the shape of a sawtooth. In FIG. 1 the two weft threads SFR and SFL are shown as dots cross-sectionally just before being shifted by the motion of the weft needles onto the weft holdback SRHR in thus attaining the position as shown in FIG. 2 (right-hand side). Evident already from FIG. 3 (right-hand side) is the condition of the weft holdback SRHR in which the weft threads have been removed therefrom and bound to the material by the further action of the reed.
The method in accordance with the invention for weaving a seat belt webbing comprising an inner portion M, a soft right-hand edge portion RR and a soft left-hand edge portion RL, a right-hand weft thread SFR and a left-hand weft thread SFL, functions as a continuous repeat of a step sequence;
ar) picking the right-hand weft thread SFR from the right-hand side of the webbing into the right-hand edge portion RR and into the inner portion M by means of a right-hand weft needle SNR, al) picking the left-hand weft thread SFL from the left-hand side of the webbing into the left-hand edge portion RL and into the inner portion M by means of a left-hand weft needle SNL simultaneously to step ar), br) retaining the right-hand weft thread SFR in the transition portion from the inner portion M to the left-hand edge portion RL by means of a left-hand weft holdback SRHL, bl) retaining the left-hand weft thread SFL in the transition portion from the inner portion M to the right-hand edge portion RR by means of a right-hand weft holdback SRHR simultaneously to step br), cr) tucking the right-hand weft thread SFR with the left-hand weft holdback SRHL and returning the left-hand weft holdback SRHL into the vicinity of the fell BA, cl) tucking the left-hand weft thread SFL with the right-hand weft holdback SRHR and returning the right-hand weft holdback SRHR into the vicinity of the fell BA simultaneously to step cr), dr) returning the right-hand weft needle SNR to the right-hand side of the webbing, dl) returning the left-hand weft needle SNL to the left-hand side of the webbing simultaneously to step cr), e) stripping off the weft loops formed in the previous step from the two weft holdbacks SRHR, SHRL by the reed WB to the fell BA and forwarding the two weft holdbacks SRHR, SHRL away from the fell BA, f) beating up the two weft threads SFR, SFL by the reed (WB).
In steps cr) to e) the weft holdbacks are shuttled on a slight curve, in the forwards motion—away from the fell—the weft threads advanced by the weft needles slide down into place behind the angled upright hook tips into the gussets of the hooks of the weft holdbacks. In the backwards motion the holdbacks SRHL, SRHR move back, the weft needles SNL, SNR also being retracted, whereas the weft thread loops SFS remain hanging on the hooks. After shed closure the reed WB is forwarded, stripping off the weft thread loops and urging them to the fell (see also FIGS. 1 to 6 ).
When strongly reducing the inner portion in its width M, resulting in just a slim strip, whilst simultaneously strongly widening the edge portions RR, RL a webbing materializes totally different from that as described hitherto whose inner portion has the appearance of a thickened ridge. To offset any stresses having occurred the portions can be woven differently, e.g. a plain 1 / 1 weave in the edge portions and panama 2 / 2 in the inner portion. Webbings can be produced highly cost-effectively to advantage even with a large overall width. Since the person skilled in the art is aware of how a narrow fabric needle loom works, details thereof are omitted in the following description. The main components of the seat belt webbing 2 in accordance with the invention namely warp threads KF and the weft threads SFR and SHL are clearly evident.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 6 there is illustrated a step sequence analogous to that as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 with the addition of an extra supplementary monofil weft needle SNZ being shown in the method and device highlighted shaded. Referring now to FIG. 6 particular indication is made to the two weft reversal points SUL on the left-hand side and SUR on the right-hand side, resulting from activation of the weft holdbacks SRHR and SRHL. Evident from FIG. 5 in the region of the transition between the inner portion and the left-hand edge portion at the selvedge of the already finish-woven material is a point ZZ intended as an example for feed of the supplementary thread (SFZ) by means of a heddle or similar means. When tracing the steps of the second example aspect of a weaving method in accordance with the invention in making use of a needle for an additional weft thread as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 , it is evident how as shown in FIG. 4 the weft needles have entered roughly by a third into the shed, FIG. 5 already showing the position of the weft needles after having fully penetrated the shed into the maximum retraction/end position. By contrast FIG. 6 shows the opposite maximum return position of the weft needles from the shed, the reed WB already being underway in a motion as indicated by the adjacent arrow to the already finished fabric or the weft threads in front thereof beaten up to the already finished material. In the next step the reed is again moved away from the fell and weft picking recommences from the start, resulting in the situation again as described in FIG. 4 , and so on. To advantage the edge portions RL and RR are just 4 to 8 warp threads “wide” so that the additional thread is hidden from external view, i.e. invisible in the selvedge of the seat belt webbing.
By the ways and means as just described the method in accordance with the invention in its advantageous further embodiment comprises the following further steps:
az) picking a monofil weft thread SFZ fed preferably in the transition portion from the inner portion M to the left-hand edge portion RL from left to right up to the transition portion from the inner portion M to the right-hand edge portion RR by means of a left-hand supplementary weft needle SNZ simultaneously to step ar) bz) retaining the monofil weft thread SFZ in the transition portion from the inner portion M to the right-hand edge portion RR by means of the right-hand weft holdback SRHR simultaneously to step cr), cz) tucking the monofil weft thread SFZ with the right-hand weft holdback SRHR and returning the right-hand weft holdback SRHR up to just before the fell BA simultaneously to the step cr) dz) returning the left-hand supplementary weft needle SNZ simultaneously to step dr).
It is, of course, just as possible to replace this aspect of the device in accordance with the invention and of the correspond method using the left-hand supplementary weft needle SNZ by a right-hand additional weft needle or analogous simultaneously, the resulting situation then being mirror inverse or symmetrical. When there is sufficient room in the shed a variant involving two additional weft needles—one on the right and one on the left—can be made use of to advantage. In the methods as described hitherto the weft holdbacks SRHL, SRHR are shuttled on a light curve. In the forwards motion thereof—away from the fell—the weft threads advanced by the weft needles slide down into place behind the angled upright hook tips into the gussets of the hooks (see FIGS.).
Referring now to FIG. 7 there is illustrated as an example and strongly diagrammatic, i.e. simply qualitatively, how at the fell BA the webbing 2 opens into a shed A-C formed by the warp threads KF. A hook-shaped curved needle, in this case a weft holdback SRH, fixedly secured to the loom is provided in the vicinity of the fell BA whereby the reed WB is just about to move in the direction of the arrow ZBA to position the weft threads SF as shown in FIG. 8 just before the fell BA by means of the stripper/holder wires FSDr which in the position as shown in FIG. 8 is just before the fell BA, the stripper/holder wires FSDr having contacted the weft threads SF in the position of the reed WB as shown in FIG. 8 . In further motion of the reed moving in the direction of the arrow ZBA it is elastically bent into the broken-line depicted position FSDr′ in thereby stripping the weft threads SF from the hook H of the weft holdback SRH when the reed beats up the weft thread at the fell BA (thus, practically simultaneously).
Referring now to FIG. 9 there is illustrated the situation as just described but now greatly magnified, showing just one selvedge of the seat belt webbing in accordance with the invention in conjunction with the sophistication of the present invention in accordance with the invention. The already finished-woven seat belt webbing 2 is evident from the lower portion in FIG. 9 . A selvedge is represented by a right-hand edge RR. Clearly evident is the reed WB mounting the stripper/holder wires FSDr shown in part section urging the weft thread loops SFS of the weft threads SF wrapping the hook H of the weft holdback SRH against the fell BA. The arrow ZBA indicates motion of the reed as just completed.
Referring now to FIG. 10 there is illustrated diagrammatic a front view of the reed WB as viewed in a direction from left to right in a view as shown in FIG. 7 . Clearly evident is the arrangement of the stripper/holder wire FSDr. It is emphasized that FIGS. 9 and 10 represent just sections of the right-hand edge portion of the seat belt webbing and, again, that there is no correlation between the dimensioning as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 .
Referring now to FIG. 11 there is illustrated very simplified diagrammatically the top-down view on a webbing 4 edged on both sides with picots 6 . Highlighted in FIG. 11 is a portion P extending in the direction of the warp thread as indicated by the arrow K which is exploded in FIG. 12 to detail how a weft thread of a right-hand weft needle is guided in this portion. The weft holdbacks whose function and arrangement was detailed previously in the embodiment of FIGS. 11 and 12 are arranged in the positions A and B located transversely to the width of the webbing. The weft holdback in position A works like a weft holdback in the examples as already described, namely within the two edges of the webbing and serving to hold back the weft thread SFR picked to the left by the right-hand weft needle (not shown) resulting in it forming a weft thread loop within the webbing as shown in position A. As compared to the example aspects described hitherto a second left-hand weft holdback SRHL 2 is additionally positioned at B as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 . This retains the (right-hand) weft thread SFR as picked by the (right-hand) weft needle (not shown) until the weft needle has been retracted from the shed back into its starting position in moving the reed WB (not shown) shortly before the end of the shed to the fell in thus setting the weft thread loop PS for the picot in the position B, i.e. protruding beyond the left-hand edge of the 4 . Producing picots 6 at the right-hand selvedge of the webbing is done analogously to that as said above concerning the left-hand webbing selvedge.
It is emphasized that to simplify its overview FIG. 12 does not show the left-hand weft thread SFL picked from the left simultaneously. In effect, the configuration of the right-hand weft thread SFR merely shown qualitatively to illustrate diagrammatically the warp thread length portion P, as shown in FIG. 11 , is understood to be bunched together in the warp direction, the train of a plurality of weft thread loops then resulting in the picot 6 and picot selvedge 8 respectively.
Referring now to FIG. 13 there is illustrated diagrammatically the two weft holdbacks as employed in the example aspects as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 , i.e. weft holdback SRHL in the position A and weft holdback SRHL 2 in position B located outside of the webbing 4 to be woven. The weft holdbacks are moved as indicated by the arrows VZ away from the fell BA and thereto. The weft holdback SRHL 2 is also operated in two positions Y (up when no picots are produced) and Z (down when picots are produced). If in an advantageous further aspect of the invention more than one double weft thread is to be simultaneously picked per side preferably partly in differing sheds, then it is of advantage to control the up and down motion of the weft holdbacks precisely (analogous to FIG. 13 , positions B: Y and Z) making it easier to tuck a stack of weft thread loops by the weft holdbacks.
Referring now to FIG. 14 there is illustrated a device in accordance with the invention for implementing a variant of the method in accordance with the invention in which the two weft threads SFL and SFR are picked by just one weft needle 28 (see FIG. 15 for details). In the region of its tip 34 the weft needle 28 has an eyelet 36 by means of which the first weft thread SFL is guided and shedded. Retracting the weft needle 28 from the shed results in a second (right-hand) weft thread SFR being tucked and shedded by means of a tucker 42 with a hook 40 which can be rotated into various locked positions.
FIG. 14 shows the position—here greatly magnified to make for a simplified illustration—of the weft needle 28 in which it sheds the left-hand weft thread SFL, the hook 40 having already passed by the right-hand weft thread SFR. Referring now to FIG. 16 there is illustrated how a pusher 30 is provided to urge the weft thread SFR into the path taken by the hook 40 on return of the weft needle 28 as indicated by the arrow RW ( FIGS. 16 a and 16 b ). In this arrangement the right-hand weft thread SFR is entrained by the hook 40 ( FIG. 16 a ) and guided by the weft needle 28 to beyond the left-hand weft holdback SRHL until the hook 40 by contacting in “overrunning” a stopper 32 fixedly mounted on the loom (see FIGS. 14 , 16 b and 16 c ) is turned against a spring latch 38 arranged in the weft needle 28 as shown by way of example in FIG. 15 to thereby “Iose” the right-hand weft thread SFR ( FIG. 16 b ), ending the pick cycle. The next pick cycle begins with the forwards motion of the weft needle 28 as indicated by the direction of the arrow VW as shown in FIG. 16 c , here “overrunning” the stopper 32 fixedly connected to the loom ( FIGS. 14 , 16 b and 16 c )—but now in the opposite direction—causing the hook 40 to be repositioned for tucking.
The method as may be implemented, for example, by the device as shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 c as set forth in claim 22 for weaving a webbing, particularly a seat belt webbing comprising an inner portion M, a soft right-hand edge portion RR and a soft left-hand edge portion RL is characterized by a continuous repeat of a step sequence;
sal) picking the left-hand weft thread SFL from the left-hand side of the webbing into the left-hand edge portion RL and into the inner portion M by means of the weft needle 28 , sbl retaining the left-hand weft thread SFL in the transition portion from the inner portion M to the right-hand edge portion RR by means of a right-hand weft holdback SRHR, sr) tucking the right-hand weft thread SFR with the tucker 42 , sar) picking the right-hand weft thread SFR from the right-hand side of the seat belt webbing into the right-hand edge portion RR and into the inner portion M by means of the weft needle 28 , sbr) retaining the right-hand weft thread SFR in the transition portion from the inner portion M to the left-hand edge portion RL by means of a left-hand weft holdback SRHL, scr) tucking the right-hand weft thread SFR with the left-hand weft holdback SRHL and returning the left-hand weft holdback SRHL to the fell BA, scl) tucking the left-hand weft thread SFL with the right-hand weft holdback SRHR and returning the right-hand weft holdback SRHR to the fell BA particularly simultaneously to step cr), se) stripping off the weft loops formed in the previous step from the two weft holdbacks SRHL, SRHR by the reed WB to the fell BA and forwarding the two weft holdbacks away from the fell BA, f) beating up the two weft threads SFR, SFL by a reed WB.
It is emphasized that the method—as just described—can be implemented not just with one weft needle, variants thereof being possible with e.g. two dual weft needles the same or differing in length as well as in making use of further weft holdbacks as well as all combinations thereof. The person skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all selvedges known from prior art can be produced by the method in accordance with the invention.
In summary it is again pointed out that the invention now does away with the tuck and seal threads as well as the hardware therefor formerly always needed. As compared to prior art the invention provides a thinner webbing which especially with a softer selvedge makes for a great achievement as regards vehicular comfort. In addition to this, the webbing in accordance with the invention is more cost-effective in production than possible in prior art by saving steps in the method and components in the hardware involved. Furthermore, the present invention has the advantage that tensioning the weft thread is now substantially reduced in thus strongly diminishing the wear and tear and frequency of weft thread breakages and weft thread guide points. The knitting needles as needed in prior art and the fluffing associated therewith are now eliminated to advantage by the present invention.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
2 seat belt webbing
4 webbing
6 picot
22 webbing
28 weft needle
30 pusher
23 stopper
34 needle tip
36 eyelet
28 spring latch
40 hook
42 tucker
A-C shed
BA fell
DS arrow
FSDr stripper/holder wires
FSDr′ stripper/holder wires
H hook
KF warp threads
L (encircled) left-hand side
M inner portion
P picot portion
PS picot weft loop
R (encircled) right-hand side
RR right-hand edge portion
RL left-hand edge portion
SF weft thread
SFR right-hand weft thread
SFL left-hand weft thread
SFS weft thread loop
SFZ supplementary weft thread
SNR right-hand weft needle
SNL left-hand weft needle
SNZ left-hand supplementary weft needle
SRHL left-hand weft holdback
SRHL 2 second left-hand weft holdback
SRHR right-hand weft holdback
SRHR 2 second right-hand weft holdback
SUL left-hand weft reversal point
SUL right-hand weft reversal point
VX arrow
WB reed
Y weft thread holdback position
z weft thread holdback position
ZBA arrow
|
The invention relates to a method for weaving a webbing, comprising at least one first (right-hand) weft thread and at least one second (left-hand) weft thread, characterized in that the two weft threads are introduced into the same shed from both sides of the webbing, are wound around weft thread retainers in weft change loops, are substantially retained by the weft thread retainers until shed change and are then stripped off from the left thread retainers by the reed and after shed change and are bound against the stop.
| 3
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Applications Nos. 10-2012-0001126 and 10-2012-0001129, filed on Jan. 4, 2012, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a film laminating apparatus and method for a flat or curved plate member, and particularly, to an apparatus and method for is laminating a film having a predetermined pattern or texture on a surface of a plate member having an arbitrary shape.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
A cabinet forming the external shape of a home appliance such as a washing machine or refrigerator is processed to have a predetermined shape by performing a machining process such as pressing or deep drawing on a panel made of carbon steel, stainless steel, etc.
Various colors may be applied to the cabinet so that the cabinet has a beautiful exterior appearance. The cabinet may entirely have one color or may have a color of two or more tones so as to look more luxurious. A method of coating pigments with two colors on the surface of a metal panel may be considered so that the surface of the metal panel has various colors. However, the method is not used for luxury products due to low durability and poor quality of exterior appearance.
A method of laminating a film having a specific pattern or metallic texture on the surface of a panel may be used as another method. The method can provide the panel with a texture similar to that of an actual metal material, but has a problem in that its application range is limited. That is, in case of a home appliance, a panel has not only an irregular surface such as a protruding portion or concave portion but also various shape including a flat surface, a curved surface, etc. Therefore, it is not easy to uniformly laminate a film on the panel having an arbitrary shape.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1 , a conventional film laminating apparatus 10 is configured by receiving a film supplied from a film supply roll 12 for supplying the is film to be laminated, laminating the film on a surface of a plate member using a pair of pressing rolls 14 and then cutting the film to a predetermined size using a cutter. A protective film laminated on the rear of the film is wound around a winding roll 18 after the film is delaminated from the protective film.
The plate member is washed by sequentially passing through a water supply nozzle 20 , a brush 22 , a moisture removal device 24 and a dryer 26 , and then transferred to the pressing roll 14 by a roller 30 .
The film laminating apparatus continuously laminates the film on the plate member, so that it is possible to uniformly maintain quality and to improve productivity. However, the film laminating apparatus is limited to the case where the member on which the film is to be laminated is a plate member.
Therefore, the film should be manually laminated on a panel having a curved surface or protruding portion. In this case, it is highly likely that a variation in quality may occur, and the productivity is not high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an aspect of the detailed description is to provide a film laminating apparatus capable of easily laminating a film even on a panel having a protruding portion or curved surface.
Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a film laminating method capable of easily laminating a film even on a panel having a protruding portion or curved surface.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, a film laminating apparatus includes a first holder having an absorption means that allows a plate member to be absorbed to a surface thereof by deforming the plate member; a pressing roll pressing a film on a surface of the plate member absorbed to the first holder; a film holder provided to the pressing roll, and fixing the film to be laminated to a surface of the pressing roll; a support means supporting the pressing roll to be movable; a position confirmation means confirming the position of the plate member and the position of the film fixed to the pressing roll; and an alignment means aligning the film and the plate member, based on the positions confirmed by the position confirmation means.
When the film is laminated on the plate member having a curved surface, the plate member is deformed and absorbed on the surface of the first holder through the absorption means provided to the first holder, so that the lamination of the film using the pressing roll is possible. Accordingly, the film can be automatically laminated on plate members having various shapes, so that it is possible to obtain panels having uniform quality and to improve productivity.
The absorption means may include a plurality of absorption holes formed in an upper surface of the first holder; and a vacuum pump forming negative pressure in the absorption holes. In addition, the film holder provided to the pressing roll may have the same configuration.
The support means may be configured to move the pressing roll along a lamination direction of the film on the plate member. The support means may include a rail extended in the length direction of the first holder; a slider mounted to move along the rail, and having the pressing roll rotatably mounted therebeneath; a driving motor rotating the pressing roll; and an ascending/descending means ascending/descending the rail in the vertical direction.
The support means may support the pressing roll to be vertically movable, and the first holder may be mounted to be movable along the lamination direction of the film.
The film may be previously trimmed in a predetermined shape and then supplied to the surface of the pressing roll. The film may be supplied in a state in which the film is wound around a film supply roll and then cut away by a cutter cutting the film after being laminated on the surface of the plate member by the pressing roll.
The film holder may further include a metal net stacked on the surface of the pressing roll. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize the deformation of the surface of the plate member due to the absorption holes provided to the film holder. The metal net may be made of stainless steel.
A concave portion recessed inward from the circumferential surface of the pressing roll may be provided to the pressing roll. In a case where a protruding portion is formed on the surface of the plate member, the concave portion allows the protruding portion to be received by the concave portion in the process of laminating the film, so that the film can be laminated up to the surroundings of the protruding portion by the pressing roll.
The concave portion may include a first cut-away surface extended toward the center of the pressing roll; and a second cut-away surface extended toward the circumference of the pressing roll from the first cut-away surface. Accordingly, the film can be laminated using the pressing roll even when the surface of the plate member is bent to be vertical or inclined.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, a film laminating apparatus includes a first holder having an absorption means that allows a plate member to be absorbed to a surface thereof by deforming the plate member; a second holder having a second absorption means that allows a film cut away in a predetermined shape to be absorbed on a surface thereof; a pressing roll attaching the absorbed film on the surface of the second holder and then pressing the film on the surface of the plate member absorbed to the first holder; a support means supporting the pressing roll to be movable between the first and second holders; a position confirmation means confirming the position of the plate member and the position of the film fixed to the pressing roll; and an alignment means aligning the film and the plate member, based on the positions confirmed by the position confirmation means.
Accordingly, the film can be stably laminated on the surface of the plate member by the pressing roll even when the film to be laminated does not have a rectangular shape but has an arbitrary shape.
The support means may include a rail extended between the first and second holders; a slider mounted to move along the rail, and having the pressing roll rotatably mounted therebeneath; a driving motor rotating the pressing roll; and an ascending/descending means ascending/descending the rail in the vertical direction.
The film may be previously trimmed in a predetermined shape and then supplied to the second holder.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, a film laminating method includes fixing a plate member in a deformed state to a first holding surface so that the first holding surface and a surface of the plate member contact each other; fixing a film to a surface of a pressing roll; pressing the pressing roll having the film fixed thereto on the surface of the plate member; and restoring the plate member to have the initial shape.
Accordingly, the automated film lamination can be performed on even the plate member having a curved surface rather than a flat surface by pressing the film in a state in which the plate member is deformed and fixed to the first holding surface and restoring the plate member to have the original shape. The plate member may have a plate shape in which the entire plate member is adhered closely to the first holding surface, or only a partial surface of the plate member may be deformed and fixed to the first holding surface. That is, the deformed surface may be limited to a region on which the film is attached.
The plate member may be deformed using various methods. For example, the plate member may be deformed by pressing the other region of the plate member except the region on which the film is attached, using a separate frame, or may be deformed using a vacuum absorption method. That is, the deforming the plate member may include deforming the plate member toward the holding surface by applying absorption pressure in the state in which the plate member is holed on the first holding surface. In this case, the restoring of the plate member may include removing the absorption pressure applied to the rear surface of the plate member having the film laminated thereon.
The fixing of the film to the surface of the pressing roll may include cutting away the film in a predetermined shape; and absorbing the cut film to the surface of the pressing roll.
The shape of the cut film may be determined, based on the state in which the plate member is deformed. That is, the film is not laminated on the plate member having the curved surface but laminated on the plate member deformed in a plate shape. Thus, if the shape of the cut film is determined in consideration of the deformation of the plate member in the cutting of the film to be laminated, the film can be more precisely laminated on the plate member.
The fixing of the film to the surface of the pressing roll may include fixing the cut film to a second holding surface; aligning the pressing roll with respect to the film; and transferring the film to the surface of the pressing roll by applying absorption pressure in a state in which the pressing roll contacts an upper surface of the film.
In the pressing of the film on the surface of the plate member, the absorption pressure between the film and the pressing roll may be set to be smaller than the adhesion between the film and the plate member.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, a film laminating method includes fixing a plate member in a deformed state to a first holding surface so that the first holding surface and a surface of the plate member contact each other; transferring, toward a pressing roll, the first holding surface having the plate member fixed thereto; supplying a film between the pressing roll and the plate member; pressing the supplied film on the surface of the plate member using the pressing roll; cutting away the film pressed on the plate member; and restoring the plate member to have the initial shape.
Accordingly, in a case where the shape of the film to be laminated is simple, the film is not cut away in advance, but cut away after the film is laminated on the plate member, thereby more quickly supplying the film.
The film may be supplied from a film supply roll around which a raw film is wound.
According to the exemplary embodiments configured as described above, the plate member having a curved surface is deformed to have a flat surface and then absorbed on the surface of the first holder, so that the lamination of the film using the pressing roll is possible. Accordingly, the film can be automatically laminated on plate members having various shapes, so that it is possible to obtain panels having uniform quality and to improve productivity.
Further, a separate holder for absorbing the film is provided, and the film absorbed to the holder is absorbed to the surface of the pressing roll, so that the film having various shapes can be automatically laminated on the plate member.
Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more 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 the detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a conventional film laminating apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a side view schematically illustrating a film laminating apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a pressing roll in the film laminating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a process of absorbing a film in the film laminating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a process of laminating the film in the film laminating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 6 is a side view schematically illustrating a trimming device provided the film laminating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 ; and
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a film laminating method using the film laminating apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, a film laminating apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 is a side view schematically illustrating a film laminating apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2 , the film laminating apparatus 100 according to the exemplary embodiment includes a first holder 110 absorbing and holding a plate member 50 , and a second holder 120 absorbing and holding a film 60 to be laminated on the plate member 50 .
A plurality of absorption holes 112 are formed in the holding surface 111 of the first holder 110 , and a vacuum pump (not shown) forming negative pressure in the absorption holes 112 is further provided to the first holder 110 . If the vacuum pump is operated, the negative pressure is formed in the absorption holes 112 so as to absorb the plate member 50 . Here, the plate member 50 is formed to have a curved surface as indicated by a dotted line. However, the plate member 50 having the curved surface is absorbed to the holding surface 111 due to the negative pressure of the absorption holes 112 so as to be deformed in the shape of a flat plate. Absorption pressure does not reach a vertical bending portion 51 formed at one end portion of the plate member 50 , and therefore, the vertical bending portion 51 is disposed perpendicular to the holding surface 111 as shown in this figure.
The first holder 110 is disposed to be movable in front, rear, left and right directions with respect to the ground and to be rotatable about a line S 1 as an axis. The movement of the first holder 110 is implemented by a first actuator 114 provided to the first holder 110 . The configuration in which the first actuator and the first holder are disposed to be movable can be implemented using conventional ones known in the art, and therefore, its detailed description will be omitted.
The second holder 120 is disposed adjacent to the first holder 110 . Like the first holder 110 , a plurality of absorption holes 122 are also formed in a holding surface 121 of the second holder 120 so as to generate negative pressure. The absorption holes 122 formed in the second holder 120 are provided as a film holder for allowing the film 60 to be absorbed and fixed to the holding surface 121 .
Meanwhile, first and second cameras 130 and 132 are provided around the first holder 110 . The first and second cameras 130 and 132 recognize the position of the plate member 50 and transmits the recognized position to a controller (not shown), so that the controller controls the film and the plate member to be aligned in a laminating process of the film. The controller is electrically connected to the first actuator 114 so as to control the position of the first holder 110 , based on information obtained by the cameras 130 and 132 .
A rail 140 is provided above the first and second holders 110 and 120 . The rail 140 is formed longer than the region on which the first and second holders 110 and 120 are disposed. The rail 140 is configured to be ascended and descended in the vertical direction by a pair of cylinders 141 respectively provided at both end portions thereof. A slider 143 horizontally moving along the rail 140 is mounted to the rail 140 . The slider 143 has a self-driving means, and the movement of the slider 143 is controlled by the controller.
A pressing roll 150 is rotatably mounted beneath the slider 143 . In FIG. 2 , the pressing roll 150 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise. Meanwhile, the pressing roll 150 may be configured to be rotatable about a line S 2 as a center axis by a driving motor 142 provided on the slider 143 . Thus, the pressing roll 150 is controlled so that the previously set position of the pressing roll 150 can be maintained in the process of coating the film on the plate member. In addition, the pressing roll 150 can move to an arbitrary position on the first and second holding surfaces 111 and 121 .
Meanwhile, a cut-away portion is provided to the pressing roll 150 . The cut-away portion includes a first cut-away surface 151 extended to the center from a circumferential surface of the pressing roll 150 , and a second cut-away surface 152 extended to the circumferential surface in the perpendicular direction from an end portion of the first cut-away surface 151 . The cut-away portion is formed to coat the film 60 on the plate member 50 at a lower portion of the bending portion 51 of the plate member 50 , which will be described later.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the pressing roll 150 . As shown in this figure, a plurality of absorption holes 153 are formed in the surface of the pressing roll 150 , so that the film can be absorbed to the surface of the pressing roll 150 . A stainless net 154 is stacked on the surface of the pressing roll 150 . The stainless net 154 is provided to prevent marks from being formed on the surface of the film due to pressure applied in the laminating process of the film.
That is, in a case where the stainless net 154 is not provided, marks corresponding to the shapes of the absorption holes 153 are formed on the film when the film is pressed on the plate member. However, the stainless net 154 can prevent the absorption holes 153 from directly contacting the film while providing negative pressure to the film. Here, the stainless net 154 is made of a stainless material for the purpose of corrosion prevention, etc., but the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the stainless net 154 may be made of an arbitrary material.
FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a process of transferring the film 60 absorbed and fixed to the second holder 120 to the surface of the pressing roll 150 . Referring to FIG. 4 , the film 60 maintains the state in which the film 60 is absorbed to the surface of the second holder 120 due to the negative pressure formed in the absorption holes 122 . In this state, the pressing roll 150 is positioned so that a position P 1 at the end portion of the first cut-away surface 151 is aligned at the left end of the film 60 , and then transfers the film 60 to the surface of the pressing roll 150 while rotating and moving in the direction of arrows shown in FIG. 3 .
Here, the negative pressure applied to the holding surface of the second holder 120 is set to be smaller than that applied to the surface of the pressing roll 150 , and therefore, the film 60 is absorbed to the second holder 120 in the state in which an external force is not applied. However, if the pressing roll 150 contacts the film 60 , the film 60 is separated from the second holder 120 and then transferred to the pressing roll 150 .
As such, the entire film is transferred to the surface of the pressing roll 150 while the pressing roll 150 is rotating. In this case, the length of the outer circumferential surface of the pressing roll 150 except the cut-away portion is formed identical to or greater than that of the film. In FIG. 4 , the length of the film is set to be smaller than that of the pressing roll 150 , and therefore, the one end portion of the film is placed at a position P 2 at which the second cut-away surface 152 does not approach.
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a process of laminating the film attached to the pressing roll 150 on the plate member 50 . Referring to FIG. 5 , the pressing roll 150 is moved from the second holder 120 to the first holder 110 by the slider and the rail and then approaches the plate member 50 while descending toward the plate member 50 on the first holder 110 .
In this case, the position P 1 is aligned to reach the intersection point of the bending portion 51 and the plate member 50 . Then, the film is laminated on the surface of the plate member 50 while the pressing roll 150 is rotating in the direction of arrows shown in FIG. 5 . In this case, the length of the film is trimmed to be suitable for the length of the plate member 50 . Thus, if the position P 1 is aligned at a predetermined position, the position P 2 is aligned with the end portion of the plate member 50 . Meanwhile, a protective film for protecting an adhesive layer coated on the film is attached on the surface of the film. Thus, after the protective film is removed, the film is laminated on the plate member 50 by rotating and moving the pressing roll 150 in the direction of the arrows.
Here, the negative pressure formed in the pressing roll 150 is set to be smaller than the adhesion of the adhesive layer of the film, so that the laminated film is not again transferred to the pressing roll 150 .
Meanwhile, before being placed on the second holder, the film 50 is cut away to have a desired shape through a trimming process. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a trimming device. Referring to FIG. 6 , the trimming device 200 uses a film 50 supplied in the state in which the film 50 is wound around a supply roll 12 , and includes two tension rolls 210 and 212 for controlling tension of the film 50 supplied from the supply roll 12 to an appropriated level. An extraction roll 12 ′ for extracting the film remaining after the trimming process is provided at a rear end of the tension roll 212 .
The film 50 supplied by the supply roll 12 is transferred to the inside of a cutting machine 220 by a conveyor belt 214 driven by a driving motor 216 . The transferred film is cut away in a predetermined shape by a cutter 222 provided to the cutting machine 220 . The film can be cut away in the exact shape by a sensor 224 for sensing the length and position of the supplied film. A holder 230 for preventing the movement of the film in the cutting process is additionally provided at the entrance of the cutting machine 220 .
The films cut away by the trimming device 200 are supplied one by one to the second holder so as to be laminated on the plate member.
In a case where the width of the laminated film is constant, e.g., in a case where the film has a rectangular shape, the trimming device and the second holder may be omitted. In this case, in the conventional film laminating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 , the plate member is not supplied to the roller 30 but may be supplied in the state in which the plate member is absorbed by the first holder. In a case where the bending portion 51 described above is not provided to the plate member, the cut-away portion formed in the pressing roll 150 may be omitted, and the pressing roll 150 may have a general circumferential shape.
Hereinafter, a method of laminating a film on a plate member according to an exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .
First, the film is cut away in a predetermined shape, using the trimming device. Specifically, a raw film supplied in the shape of a winding roll is loaded into the trimming device 200 (S 10 ), and the position of the supplied film is confirmed through the sensor 224 (S 02 ). Then, the film is cut away in a predetermined shape through the cutting machine 220 (S 03 ). Here, the shape of the cut film is determined in consideration of the state to be deformed through the following absorption process of a plate member. That is, if the shape of the plate member is changed from a straight line into a curved line, The cut film is necessarily cut away in the curved line, corresponding to the shape of the deformed plate member. This is applied to a case where the film is laminated on the entire surface of the plate member and a case where the film is laminated on a partial surface of the plate member.
However, in a case where the degree of deformation is not large, the film may be cut away without considering the deformation.
Subsequently, the cut film is supplied and absorbed to the holding surface 121 of the second holder 120 described in the aforementioned exemplary embodiment (S 04 ), the position of the absorbed film is confirmed using a camera (S 05 ). Then, the film is aligned with respect to the pressing roll 150 (S 06 ). In the alignment process, the film may be aligned by moving the second holder having the film held thereby. Alternatively, the film may be aligned by controlling the position of the pressing roll 150 as described above.
If the alignment of the film is completed, the film is absorbed to the surface of the pressing roll (S 07 ), and a protective film attached to the surface of the film is removed (S 08 ). The protective film may be manually removed or may be removed using a separate device or tool for removing the protective film.
Meanwhile, separately from the trimming process, the plate member is washed using a washing device shown in FIG. 1 . That is, after water is sprayed onto the surface of the plate member, foreign matters are removed using the brush (S 11 ), and the plate member is then dried (S 12 ). The plate member washed and dried as described above is held on the holding surface 111 of the first holder 110 (S 13 ). Then, the plate member deformed and absorbed on the holding surface by applying negative pressure to the plate member using the vacuum pump (S 14 ). In a case where the initial shape of the plate member is flat, the deformation of the plate member may not be performed.
The position of the absorbed plate member is confirmed using the camera (S 15 ), and then aligned with respect to the pressing roll (S 16 ). If the procedure up to step S 16 is completed, the position between the film and the plate member is aligned in a predetermined state, and therefore, the film is laminated on the surface of the plate member as described in FIG. 5 (S 20 ). If the lamination of the film is completed, the plate member is restored to the shape of the plate member before being deformed by removing the negative pressure applied to the absorption holes (S 24 ). Then, the film laminating process is completed through inspection (S 25 ).
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments.
As the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
|
A film laminating apparatus and method for a plate member having a flat or curved surface includes a first holder, a pressing roll, a film holder, support means, position confirmation means and alignment means. The first holder has absorption means that allows a plate member to be absorbed to a surface thereof by deforming the plate member. The pressing roll presses a film on a surface of the plate member absorbed to the first holder. The film holder is provided to the pressing roll, and fixes the film to be laminated to a surface of the pressing roll. The support means supports the pressing roll to be movable. The position confirmation means confirms the position of the plate member and the position of the film fixed to the pressing roll. The alignment means aligns the film and the plate member, based on the positions confirmed by the position confirmation means.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to processes of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons and more particularly, to such a process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds.
2. Description of Related Art
Global warming is a critical issue to be addressed, since it may cause abnormal weather such as flooding, drought, etc. Various recycling techniques have been developed and are daily employed in order to mitigate global warming, reduce garbage, and increase reuse and recycling.
The consumption of activated carbons is increased gradually, which contributes greatly to the environmental disasters. To solve the problem, an environmental friendly activated carbons source (i.e., waste recycle) is critical. Further, it can save energy.
Conventional sources of activated carbons are wood, coconut shells, by-products of fuel instillation, etc. However, they are disadvantageous. For example, tree cutting is a labor-intensive job and can consume green energy. Extracting activated carbons from coconut shells is also a labor-intensive job.
Therefore, the need for improvements exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds comprising (A) washing spent coffee grounds with fresh water, dehydrating same, and conveying same to a pre-carbonation oven for drying and pre-carbonization; (B) removing the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds from the pre-carbonization oven, soaking same in a solution mixed with a predetermined quantity of sodium carbonate (Na 2 Co 3 ) for a predetermined period of time for grease removal, and washing the grease free spent coffee grounds with fresh water; (C) pouring the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds into a post-carbonization oven and heating the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds to the range of 600 to 650° C. to carbonize the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds wherein so that the carbonized spent coffee grounds have a porous structure; (D) supplying saturated steam of 850 to 950° C. to the carbonized spent coffee carbons for activation; and (E) operating a wet global grinder to grind the activated spent coffee carbons until powdered coffee carbons having a size between 0.1 and 20 μm are obtained.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds according to the invention;
FIG. 2 plots temperature versus time for a PU film having powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a PU film without powdered coffee carbons of the prior art as a comparison;
FIG. 3 is a microscopic photograph of the powdered coffee carbons;
FIG. 4 is a microscopic photograph of powdered coffee carbons adhered onto yarns;
FIG. 5A tabulates test organisms and conditions regarding adding the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components of the invention polymer for forming yarns;
FIG. 5B tabulates test results with respect to the test organisms of FIG. 5A ;
FIG. 5C tabulates test organisms and test conditions regarding dyeing yarns coated with the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components and fabric manufacturing;
FIG. 5D tabulates test results with respect to the test organisms of FIG. 5C ;
FIG. 5E tabulates sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test of the PU films containing powdered coffee carbons;
FIG. 5F tabulates test results regarding comparing a gas bag formed of PU film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of PU film without the powdered coffee carbons when subjecting to the deodorization test;
FIG. 5G tabulates sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test of the fabric containing powdered coffee carbons; and
FIG. 5H tabulates test results regarding comparing the fabric containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and the fabric without the powdered coffee carbons when subjecting to the deodorization test.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , a flow chart illustrating a process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds of the invention comprises the following steps in order as discussed in detail below.
In step 11 , a pre-carbonization step is involved. In detail, spent coffee grounds after brewing are washed with fresh water. Next, it is dehydrated. Next, it is conveyed to a pre-carbonation oven for drying and pre-carbonization. The pre-carbonization oven is cylindrical and formed of steel. Temperature of the pre-carbonization oven for drying is kept in the range of 170 to 185° C. for 85 to 120 minutes with a steam pressure of 3 to 6 Kg/cm 2 . The above conditions are only experimental values and may be changed depending on the sources of spent coffee grounds. This pre-carbonization step is necessary, since grease contained in the spent coffee grounds may form tar which may obtain low quality powdered coffee carbons if the pre-carbonization step is eliminated.
In step 12 , a step of removing grease from the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds is involved. In detail, the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds are removed from the pre-carbonization oven and soaked in a solution mixed with 0.5 g/l of sodium carbonate (Na 2 Co 3 ) for about 120 minutes in order to remove grease from the spent coffee grounds. The grease-free spent coffee grounds are then washed with fresh water. As a result, the spent coffee grounds are substantially black and have a flavor of tar. The soak time can be reduced if the solution is heated to 60 to 70° C.
In step 13 , a step of forming coarse coffee carbons is involved. In detail, the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds are poured into a post-carbonization oven heated by a FIR (far infrared) heater. The pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds are heated to a temperature in a range of 600 to 650° C. for drying. After drying, the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds are carbonized (i.e., pyrolysis) due to high heat and lack of oxygen. As a result, the coffee carbons having a porous structure are obtained. The coffee carbons are not powdered, and, thus, further processing is required.
In step 14 , an activation step for the coffee carbons is involved. In detail, saturated steam having a temperature between 850 and 950° C. is supplied to the post-carbonization oven to activate the coffee carbons. As a result, activated coffee carbons having fine granules are obtained. The activated coffee carbons have an improved dirt removal performance.
In step 15 , a grinding step of the activated coffee carbons is involved. FIG. 3 is a microscopic photograph of the powdered coffee carbons. Both powdered coffee carbons and activated carbons have excellent adhesion and thus can be employed as filters, micro-organism killing materials, etc. Note that the powdered coffee carbons may have the fine structure similar to that of nanoscale components. The grinding of the activated coffee carbons is done by a wet grinder and involves the following three stages:
Stage I is for grinding the activated coffee carbons to have structure of the size of several micrometers. In detail, the activated coffee carbons are poured into a grinder having coarse grinding balls having a diameter between 1.75 and 2.5 mm. Next, pure water or solvent (e.g., isopropyl alcohol) is employed to mix with the activated coffee carbons until the activated coffee carbons have a viscosity of about 100,000 centipoises (cps) and a solid percentage of 80 to 85 wt %. The grinder operates for a predetermined period of time. Next, a drying process is employed. As a result, powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 20 μm are obtained. The micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons can be employed for the manufacturing of filters, masks for medical purposes, etc.
Stage II is for further grinding the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons to have structure of the size of about two micrometers. In detail, the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons are poured into another grinder having fine grinding balls with a diameter between 0.7 and 0.9 mm. Next, pure water or solvent (e.g., isopropyl alcohol) is employed to mix with the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons until the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons have a viscosity of less than 2,000 cps and a solid percentage of 70 to 75 wt %. The grinder operates for a predetermined period of time. Next, a drying process is employed. As a result, powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 2 μm are obtained. The micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons can be employed for the manufacturing of yarns, etc.
Stage III is for still further grinding the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons obtained from stage II to have structure of the size of about 0.1 micrometers (i.e., similar to nanoscale components). In detail, the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons are poured into still another grinder having fine grinding balls with a diameter between 0.4 and 0.6 mm. Next, pure water or solvent (e.g., isopropyl alcohol) is employed to mix with the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons until the micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons have a viscosity of less than 100 cps and a solid percentage of 30 to 35 wt %. The grinder operates for a predetermined period of time. Next, a drying process is employed. As a result, powdered coffee carbons having structure of the size of about 0.1 μm are obtained. The micrometer sized powdered coffee carbons (i.e., similar to nanoscale components) can be employed for the manufacturing of yarns, coating materials, etc.
Tests
(I) Pathogenic Micro-organisms Reduction Test
The powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components are added to a polymer, and a threading making process is performed. FIG. 4 shows a microscopic photograph of powdered coffee carbons adhered onto yarns. The yarns are thus produced into a fibrous textile material (i.e., Polyester fibrous textile). The test organisms and test conditions regarding the above addition and thread making process are tabulated in FIG. 5A .
Moreover, as tabulated with respect to test organisms in FIG. 5B , the powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components added to polymer with a threading making process being performed can manufacture a fibrous textile material capable of reducing the number of viable pathogenic micro-organisms.
Further, one piece of sample said to be 94% Nylon and 6% Spandex woven fabric is dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components. The test organisms and test conditions regarding the above woven fabric dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components are tabulated in FIG. 5C .
Furthermore, as tabulated with respect to test organisms in FIG. 5D , the woven fabric dyed with powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components is tested. It is shown that the fabric has excellent capability of reducing the number of viable pathogenic micro-organisms.
(II) Deodorization Test
The powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components can be used as adhesion and added to PU films in a manufacturing process. The sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test of the PU films containing powdered coffee carbons are tabulated in FIG. 5E .
Further, a gas bag formed of PU film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of PU film without the powdered coffee carbons are subjected to the deodorization test, and test results are tabulated in FIG. 5F . It is shown that the invention has improved deodorization performance.
Furthermore, powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components can be used as adhesion and be applied onto fabric with micro-porous coating to form fabric containing powdered coffee carbons similar to nanoscale components and which is in turn subjected to the deodorization test. The sample and other conditions regarding the deodorization test are shown in FIG. 5G .
A gas bag formed of fabric containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention and a gas bag formed of fabric without the powdered coffee carbons are subjected to the deodorization test, and the test results are tabulated in FIG. 5H . It is shown that the invention has improved deodorization performance.
(III) Test of Keeping Temperature at a Constant Level
Referring to FIG. 2 , a PU film containing powdered coffee carbons is illuminated by a halogen lamp of 500 W for about 60 minutes. It is found that the PU film containing powdered coffee carbons has a temperature of about 48° C. As a comparison, the typical PU film without the addition of powdered coffee carbons only has a temperature of about 36° C. when subjected to the same illumination conditions. In brief, the PU film containing powdered coffee carbons of the invention has an improved temperature keeping performance.
Powdered coffee carbons of the invention have a wide range of applications. For example, it can be employed as filters as a replacement of typical activated carbon filters. Further, the powdered coffee carbons do not contain any toxic materials such as fertilizer, toxic chemicals, etc. The powdered coffee carbons can be employed as material in manufacturing masks for medical purposes. Further, the powdered coffee carbons can be used in the textile industry. For example, a predetermined amount of powdered coffee carbons can be added to a polymer for thread making. The manufactured yarns have the features of micro-organism inhabitation, deodorization, temperature keeping, UV (ultraviolet) protection, sweat absorption, etc. Most importantly, the manufacturing processes of the invention involve no chemical reactions. This is a green technology.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
|
A process of manufacturing powdered coffee carbons from spent coffee grounds includes: washing spent coffee grounds, dehydrating same, and conveying same to a pre-carbonation oven for drying and pre-carbonization; removing the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds, soaking same in a solution mixed with a predetermined quantity of sodium carbonate for a predetermined period of time for grease removal, and washing the grease free spent coffee grounds; pouring the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds into a post-carbonization oven and heating same to the range of 600 to 650° C. to carbonize the pre-carbonized spent coffee grounds so that the carbonized spent coffee grounds have a porous structure; supplying saturated steam between 850 and 950° C. to the carbonized spent coffee carbons for activation; and operating a wet grinder to grind the activated spent coffee carbons until powdered coffee carbons having a size between 0.1 and 20 μm are obtained.
| 2
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a door mounted within a door frame and, more particularly, it relates to a door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door mounted within a door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fire retardant door, often referred to as a "fire door", is installed in a building for preventing the passage or spread of fire during a fire event from one part of the building to another. In the interest of public safety, standards have been set by governmental agencies, building code authorities, and insurance companies for the installation and performance of fire door assemblies that pass industry-wide acceptance tests.
Fire rating is an important safety factor in the protection of people within a structure, whether it be an office building, hospital, or nursing home for the sick or elderly. Fire ratings vary with the thickness of a door, or the material composition of the door.
Standard test methods for fire door assemblies, such as ASTM E-152, UL 10(b), or NFPA 252, measure the ability of a door assembly to remain in an opening during a fire to retard the passage of the fire during the fire event and evaluate the fire resistant properties of the door. In conducting such tests, doors are mounted in an opening of a fire proof wall. One side of the door is exposed to a predetermined range of temperatures over a predetermined period of time, followed by the application of a high pressure hose stream that causes the door to erode and provides a thermal shock to the assembly. Doors are given a fire rating based on the duration of the heat exposure of twenty (20) minutes, thirty (30) minutes, forty-five minutes (45) minutes, one (1) hour, one and one-half (11/2) hours, or three (3) hours. The door assembly receives the fire rating when it remains in the opening for the duration of the fire test and hose stream, within certain limitations of movement and without developing openings through the door either at the core or around the edge material.
The spacing around the door between an adjacent door or doorjamb of a door frame is also an important factor in providing and maintaining a predetermined, desired fire rating. This spacing is important in both maintaining fire during the fire event from spreading into an adjacent room around the door edges and preventing or deterring the spread of fire smoke into an adjacent room around the door edges. It is well known that the fire smoke can be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than the actual fire itself. Unfortunately, despite many attempts to effectively seal adjacent rooms from entry of fire smoke, attempts in the past have failed to effectively seal the areas around the door edges from the entry of fire smoke between the room experiencing the fire event and the immediately adjacent rooms.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a door assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door within a door frame which effectively seals any adjacent rooms from fire smoke during a fire event in an adjoining room. Additionally, a need exists for a door assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door within a door frame which maintains a smoke seal between adjacent rooms during a fire event for at least the time duration of the door's fire rating. Furthermore, there exists a need for a door assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door within a door frame which does not effect the aesthetic appearance of the door.
SUMMARY
The present invention is an assembly for sealing a fire resistant door within a door frame during a fire event. The fire resistant door has a plurality of edges. The assembly comprises a first body portion and a second body portion secured to the first body portion. An expansion mechanism between the first body portion and the second body portion for moving the second body portion in a direction generally away from the first body portion and against the door frame upon attaining a predetermined temperature with the first body portion, the second body portion, and the expansion means forming a door edge device wherein the door edge device is secured to at least one of the edges of the fire resistant door.
The present invention further includes a door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event. The door has a plurality of door edges. The door edge assembly comprises a receiving slot formed in each of the door edges and means secured within each of the receiving slots for sealing the door within the door frame with the means expanding against the door frame upon the means attaining a predetermined temperature thereby sealing smoke from passing between the door and the door frame.
The present invention further still includes a method for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event. The door has a plurality of door edges. The method comprises forming a receiving slot in each of the door edges, securing an expandable member within each of the receiving slots, and expanding the expandable member against the door frame upon the expandable member attaining a predetermined temperature.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded side view illustrating a door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event, constructed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating an embodiment of the door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event, constructed in accordance with the present invention, prior to forming the door edge assembly into the proper configuration and the final configuration of the door edge assembly being illustrated in phantom;
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the embodiment of the door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event as illustrated in FIG. 2, constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the door edge assembly being positioned within the door edge of the door;
FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating another embodiment of the door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event, constructed in accordance with the present invention, prior to forming the door edge assembly into the proper configuration and the final configuration of the door edge assembly being illustrated in phantom; and
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the embodiment of the door edge assembly for creating a smoke seal about a closed door in a door frame during a fire event as illustrated in FIG. 4, constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the door edge assembly being positioned within the door edge of the door.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is a door edge assembly, indicated generally at 10, for creating a smoke seal about a closed door 12 in a door frame 13. Each door 12 typically has four edges 14, namely a top edge, a bottom edge, hinge side edge, and a latch throw side edge. It should be noted that the door edge assembly 10 of the present invention is constructed and designed to be used on all four edges 14 of the door 12 for creating an effective smoke seal around the edges 14 of the door 12 between adjacent rooms during a fire event.
Preferably, the door 12 is fire retardant door or fire door is installed in the door frame 13 of a building for preventing the passage or spread of fire during a fire event from one part of the building to another. Especially when used as an interior door, the door 12 must also be aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, the door 12 can include overlaying a core of incombustible material with a thin wood veneer facing that provides the door 12 with an attractive appearance. In addition, other types of aesthetically pleasing doors 12 are within the scope of the present invention including fire resistant or fireproof fiberboard doors.
The door edge assembly 10 of the present invention includes a first body strip 16 having a first side surface 18, a second side surface 20, a front side surface 22, and a back side surface 24 and a second body strip 26 having a first side surface 28, a second side surface 30, a front side surface 32, and a back side surface 34. Both the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 are preferably constructed from a solid wood material, such as poplar or finger joint pine. It should be noted, however, that it is within the scope of the present invention to construct the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 from other materials besides a solid wood material including, but not limited to, wood composite materials, plastic, metal, etc.
Preferably, the first body strip 16 has a width of approximately one and seven-eighths (17/8") inches and a variable thickness. It is within the scope of the present invention for the first body strip 16 to have a width greater than or less than approximately one and seven-eighths (17/8") inches. In addition, preferably the second body strip 26 has a width of approximately one and seven-eighths (17/8") inches and a thickness of approximately seven-sixteenths (7/16") inch. It is within the scope of the present invention for the second body strip 26 to have a width greater than or less than approximately one and seven-eighths (17/8") inches and a thickness of greater than or less than approximately seven-sixteenths (7/16") inch. The length of both the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 is preferably at least equal to the length of the door edge 14 of the door 12.
It should be noted that on several of the door edges 14 of the door 12, the length of both the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 can extend beyond the adjacent door edge 14 to overlap the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 mounted on the adjacent door edge 14, as will be described in further detail below.
The door edge assembly 10 of the present invention further includes a slot formed 36 in the front side surface 22 of the first body strip 16. The slot 36 preferably has a depth of approximately one-eighth (1/8") inch and a width of approximately three-quarters (3/4") inch although having the slot 36 have a depth greater than or less than approximately one-eighth (1/8") inch and a width greater than or less than approximately three-quarters (3/4") inch is within the scope of the present invention. The length of the slot 36 is preferably equal to the length of the door edge 14 of the door 12, the first body strip 16, and the second body strip 26.
Additionally, the door edge assembly 10 of the present invention further includes a intumescent strip 38 or other heat expandable materials receivable within the slot 36. The intumescent strip 38 is constructed and designed to expand upon reaching a certain reaction temperature when exposed to a fire event or other extreme heat source. Preferably, the dimensions of the intumescent strip 38 are approximately equal to the dimensions of the slot 36 such that the intumescent strip 38 does not extend beyond the front side edge 22 of the first body strip 16.
The construction of the door edge assembly 10 of the present invention will now be described in detail. While a preferred embodiment of construction will be described, as will be understood by those persons skilled in the art, a variety of construction methods are within the scope of the present invention.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the intumescent strip 38 is positioned in the slot 36 formed in the front side surface 22 of the first body strip 16. Next, the back side surface 34 of the second body strip 26 is secured to the front side surface 22 of the first body strip 16 by a fastening mechanism 40 thereby completely covering the intumescent strip 38. Preferably, the fastening mechanism 40 is an adhesive layer applied between the back side surface 34 of the second body strip 26 and the front side surface 22 of the first body strip 16 although other types of fastening mechanism are within the scope of the present invention. The adhesive bond layer 40 between the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 can be overcome by the expansion of the intumescent strip 38 during exposure of the door 12 to a fire event or other heat source as will be described in further detail below.
After the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 have been fastened together with the intumescent strip 38 therebetween, the combined first and second body strip 16, 26 are formed into the final door edge assembly 10 of the present invention. In particular, a portion of the first side surface 18, the second side surface 20, and the back side surface 24 of the first body strip 16 and a portion of the first side surface 28, the second side surface 30, and the front side surface 32 of the second body strip 26 are removed thereby creating an assembly first side surface 42, an assembly second side surface 44, an assembly front side surface 46, and an assembly back side surface 48.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the door edge assembly 10 of the present invention can have a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the door edge assembly 10 can also have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration. While the door edge assembly 10 has been described and illustrated as having a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration or a substantially rectangular cross-section configuration, it is within the scope of the present invention that the door edge assembly 10 have a variety of cross-sectional configurations including, but not limited to, a half-circular, a half-oval cross-sectional configuration, a triangular cross-sectional configuration, etc.
With the door edge assembly 10 of the present invention having a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, preferably, the angle between the assembly first side surface 42 and the assembly front side surface 46 is an acute angle of approximately twenty (20°) degrees and the angle between the assembly second side surface 44 and the assembly front side surface 46 is approximately twenty (20°) degrees. It is within the scope of the present invention, however, to have the angle between the assembly first side surface 42 and the assembly front side surface 46 and between the assembly second side surface 44 and the assembly front side surface 46 be greater than approximately twenty (20°) degrees up to and including approximately ninety (90°) degrees, e.g., a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, or less than approximately twenty (20°) degrees.
In order to accommodate the door edge assembly 10 of the present invention, each edge 14 of the door 12 includes a receiving slot 50 formed therein and configured and shaped as the particular door edge assembly 10. Preferably, the receiving slot 50 extends the entire length of the edge 14 of the door 12 for receiving the door edge 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the receiving slot 50 can have a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration for receiving the door edge assembly 10 having a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration or, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the receiving slot 50 can have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration for receiving the door edge assembly 10 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration. It should be noted, however, that a receiving slot 50 having other cross-sectional configurations including, but not limited to, a half-circular, a half-oval cross-sectional configuration, a triangular cross-sectional configuration, etc., are within the scope of the present invention. The actual cross-sectional configuration of the receiving slot 50 is determined by the desired and/or required amount of surface area necessary for securing the door edge assembly 10 within the receiving slot 50 and maintaining the door edge assembly 10 from separating from within the receiving slot 50 of the edge 14 of the door 12.
In the embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, wherein the receiving slot 50 has a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration and a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, respectively, the receiving slot 50 has a first slot surface 52, a second slot surface 54, and a third slot surface 56. Preferably, the angle between the first slot surface 52 and the third slot surface 56 is an angle of approximately seventy (70°) degrees and the angle between the second slot surface 54 and the third slot surface 56 is an angle of approximately seventy (70°) degrees. Like the angles assembly side surfaces 42, 44, 46 of the door edge assembly 10, it is within the scope of the present invention, however, to have the angle between the first slot surface 52 and the third slot surface 56 and between the second slot surface 54 and the third slot surface 56 be greater than approximately seventy (70°) degrees up to and including approximately ninety (90°) degrees, e.g., a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 5, or less than approximately seventy (70°) degrees. In any event, to provide a corresponding fit, the door edge assembly 10 preferably has the same cross-sectional configuration as the receiving slot 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5.
The door edge assembly 10 of the present invention is positioned within the receiving slot 50 such that the assembly first side surface 42 of the door edge assembly 10 is positioned against the first slot surface 52 of the receiving slot 50, the assembly second side surface 44 of the door edge assembly 10 is positioned against the second slot surface 54 of the receiving slot 50, and the assembly back side surface 48 of the door edge assembly 10 is positioned against the third slot surface 56 of the receiving slot 50. Preferably, the door edge assembly 10 is appropriately sized and shaped such that the assembly front side surface 46 is even with the edges 14 of the door 12. If the assembly front side surface 46 of the door edge assembly 10 extends beyond the edges 14 of the door 12 it can be planed or sanded until the assembly front side surface 46 is even with the edges 14 of the door 12.
An adhesive layer 58, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, can be applied between each of the assembly side surfaces 42, 44, 48 of the door edge assembly 10 and each of the slot surfaces 52, 54, 56 of the receiving slot 50, respectively, to maintain the relative position of the door edge assembly 10 within the receiving slot 50. While the door edge assembly 10 has been described as being secured within the receiving slot 50 with adhesive other types of fastening mechanisms are within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, all door hardware (not shown) can be secured directly to the assembly front side surface 42 of the door edge assembly 10 and the door 12 can then be mounted within the door frame 13.
During a fire event, the intumescent strip 38 expands upon reaching the predetermined reaction temperature. The expansion of the intumescent strip 38 within the door edge assembly 10 causes the second body strip 26 to separate from the first body strip 16 in a direction generally away from the first body strip 16 and toward the door frame 13. The second body strip 26 continues to move in a generally outward direction upon expansion of the intumescent strip 38 until the second body strip 26 contacts against the door frame 13.
The contact of the second body strip 26 of the door edge assembly 10 with the door frame 13 creates a seal between the door edge assembly 10 and the door frame 13 along all of the edges 14 of the door 12 such that smoke can not pass therethrough. Any overlap of the door edge assembly 10 with an adjacent door edge assembly 10 on an adjacent door edge 12 further seals the door 12 within the door frame.
Furthermore, the intumescent strip 38 inhibits passage of smoke between the first body strip 16 and the second body strip 26 along all of the edges 14 of the door 12. As a result of the second body strip 26 contacting the door frame 13 and the presence of the intumescent strip 38 a fire event in a room or other part of the building is inhibited from entering the adjacent room about the door 12.
The foregoing exemplary descriptions and the illustrative preferred embodiments of the present invention have been explained in the drawings and described in detail, with varying modifications and alternative embodiments being taught. While the invention has been so shown, described and illustrated, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, and that the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the claims except as precluded by the prior art. Moreover, the invention as disclosed herein, may be suitably practiced in the absence of the specific elements which are disclosed herein.
|
An assembly for sealing a fire resistant door within a door frame during a fire event is provided. The fire resistant door has a plurality of edges. The assembly comprises a first body portion and a second body portion secured to the first body portion. An expansion mechanism between the first body portion and the second body portion for moving the second body portion in a direction generally away from the first body portion and against the door frame upon attaining a predetermined temperature with the first body portion, the second body portion, and the expansion means forming a door edge device wherein the door edge device is secured to at least one of the edges of the fire resistant door.
| 4
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stripper assembly for an injection molding machine.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
Injection molded products are produced in a mold shoe of an injection molding machine. Such a mold shoe comprises an assembly of inserts that cooperate to form a complete mold cavity. A mold shoe of an injection molding machine is normally considered as being made of two halves, namely a hot and a cold half. Typically, the cold half is secured to a moving platen of the injection molding machine, whereas the hot half is secured to a stationary platen. The mold halves are operable between a mold open and a mold closed position by reciprocation of the moving platen. Very broadly speaking, when the mold halves are in their closed position, a mold cavity is formed by a recess in the hot half forming the outside geometry and a core on the cold half forming the inside geometry. The recess and the core generally comprise a number of individual inserts.
After injecting plastic melt into the mold cavity and allowing it to achieve sufficient solidification to withstand part ejection forces without undue deformation, the mold shoe halves are opened. The newly formed products are thereby released from the hot half inserts while still being retained on the cold half inserts. The release of the completed products from the cold half inserts is performed by a stripper assembly mounted on the cold half of the mold shoe. Indeed, the cold half generally comprises a core plate assembly having a subset of the cold half inserts mounted thereon and a stripper assembly for stripping the completed products off the cold half inserts. Such a stripper assembly is connected to actuation means for operating the stripper assembly between a back and a forward position with respect to the core plate assembly. The stripper assembly further comprises at least one slide pair. While operating the stripper assembly between the back and forward position, a release mechanism operates the slides of the slide pairs between an open and a closed position, wherein corresponding slides within a pair diverge and converge respectively while remaining mutually parallel.
The cold half inserts comprise core, neck ring and lock ring inserts. The core and lock ring inserts are secured on a face of the core plate assembly, and corresponding neck ring halves are secured on opposing slides. The neck ring inserts mounted on the slides retain the product on the cold half of the mold shoe as the cold half is separated from the hot half. Once the products have sufficiently cooled, they can be released from the cold half. In order to do so, the stripper assembly is moved from its back to its forward position, thereby pushing the product over the core insert. As the stripper assembly gets close to its forward position, the slides are operated towards their open position by means of the release mechanism. The slides and the neck ring halves mounted thereon diverge and release the completed product Once the parts have been released, the stripper assembly is moved from its forward to its back position and the sides are operated to their closed position by means of the release mechanism.
A typical release mechanism uses cams to establish a defined relationship between the position of the stripper assembly in its stroke relative to the core plate assembly, and the separation position between slides in a corresponding pair.
One typical approach to release mechanism design uses cams that have profiled surfaces that bear directly against compatible slide surfaces, wherein the profile of the cams control the positional relationship of the slides. Such a release mechanism is however not ideal as each slide pair requires its own pair of opening cams.
Another typical approach uses a simplified design of the release mechanism, linking together of all of the slides going in one direction. Such a release mechanism e.g. has the slides opening to the left connected by means of a connecting bar and the slides opening to the right connected by means of another connecting bar. Each linked set includes a cam follower mounted to either a connecting bar or to a slide and comprises a cam follower moveable within a cam to operate the slide pairs between their open and closed positions. The main disadvantage of this release mechanism is an inefficient use of space that results from connecting all of the slides that are to move in the same direction to a common connecting bar. Specifically, practical design considerations dictate that the way the slides and connecting bar are connected cannot be symmetrical about the middle of the mold, and therefore may create spatial restrictions (e.g. interference with a tiebar) in one corner of the mold that are not an issue in another. A further disadvantage is that the two halves of the release mechanism are independent, and hence require separate cams or cam profiles.
Another release mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,177. This release mechanism comprises a guide plate mounted a core plate assembly. The slides are slideably arranged in the guide plate. A first adjustment bar is arranged between the core plate assembly and a first slide, whereas a second adjustment bar is arranged between the core plate assembly and a second slide. Both adjustment bars run at right angles to the direction of displacement of the slides. They comprise grooves extending at an acute angle to the longitudinal direction of the adjustment bars for receiving thrust pins connected to the slides. The grooves of the two adjustment bars are inclined in opposite directions so as to operate the slides in opposite directions as the adjustment bars are displaced. Both adjustment bars are connected via a yoke to actuation means. The problem with this release mechanism is that due to the high number of elements in the actuator coupling, there is a risk that the slides do not open simultaneously. This can then cause the molded product not to be released properly. Furthermore, due to the adjustment bars, the design of the stripper assembly becomes rather cumbersome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a stripper assembly, which has a simple release mechanism while at the same time making the stripper assembly more compact.
In order to overcome the abovementioned problems, the present invention proposes a stripper assembly for an injection molding machine comprising at least one slide pair having a first slide and a second slide and actuation means operatively coupled to said first slide for moving the first slide in a first direction. According to an important aspect of the invention, the stripper assembly further comprises transmission means operatively coupled to said first slide and said second slide for transforming the movement of the first slide in the first direction in a movement of the second slide in a second direction, the second direction being opposite to the first direction. The release mechanism of this stripper assembly, i.e. the actuation means and the connection means is a very simple design and it allows for a very compact design of the stripper assembly. Actuating means are provided for the first slide only. The second slide is coupled to the first slide by the transmission means. By using transmission means capable of transforming the movement of the first slide in a first direction in a movement of the second slide in the opposite direction, there is no need to supply actuation means for the second slide. A further advantage is that the movement of both slides is always synchronized. This is because, due to the transmission means, the movement of the second slides depends directly on the movement of the first slide. If the movement of the slides is not synchronized, the molded product may not be released properly, causing a production stoppage in order to avoid damage to any parts.
According to a preferred embodiment, the stripper assembly has a set of slide pairs with at least one first connecting bar for connecting the first slides and at least one second connecting bar for connecting the second slides. By connecting corresponding slides together, several slide pairs can be operated simultaneously by one and the same actuation means. Actuating means are provided for the first connecting bar only. The second connecting bar is coupled to the first connecting bar by the transmission means. By using transmission means capable of transforming the movement of the first connecting bar in a first direction in a movement of the second connecting bar in the opposite direction, there is no need to supply actuation means for the second connecting bar.
According to another preferred embodiment, the stripper assembly has a first set of slide pairs and a second set of slide pairs, wherein each pair comprises at least one first connecting bar for connecting the first slides and at least one second connecting bar for connecting the second slides. Actuating means are provided for each first connecting bar only. The second connecting bars are coupled to the first connecting bars by the transmission means. Due to the transmission means there is no need to supply actuation means for the second connecting bars.
The first slides of the first set and the first slides of the second set are advantageously operated in opposite directions. This is of particular advantage as interference between the tiebars and the connection bars can be greatly reduced. Indeed, with previously known stripper assembly assemblies, the number of slide pairs was limited due to the fact that, as the slide pairs diverged, one of the connecting bars would hit the tiebar. With the stripper assembly according to the invention, this problem is solved in that the connecting bar that would hit the tiebar is replaced by two connecting bars moving in opposite directions. Indeed, the first connecting bars of the first and second set are both moved away from the tiebar. It is hence possible to increase the number of slide pairs on the stripper assembly, and also the number of inserts in the mold shoe within a given tiebar spacing. This then allows an important increase in production volume with a minimum of alterations to the system.
The first and second connecting bars are advantageously connected to the first and second slides at first end portions thereof, and preferably also at second end portions thereof. The release mechanism is thereby confined to the edges of the stripping assembly. The number of products produced per slide pair is hence not reduced by the release mechanism.
The transmission means preferably couple the at least one first connecting bar to the at least one second connecting bar.
According to first embodiment the transmission means comprises a pivoting lever pivotably mounted between the first and second slides, a first end of the pivoting lever being coupled to the first slide and a second end of the pivoting lever being coupled to the second slide. Such a lever provides a very simple means for transmitting movement of the first slide in a first direction to a movement of the second slide in the opposite direction.
According to second embodiment the transmission means comprises a first toothed face coupled to the first slide; a second toothed face coupled to the second slide, the first and second toothed faces facing each other; and a gearwheel engaging the first and second toothed faces. Such a gear mechanism also provides a very simple means for transmitting movement of the first slide in a first direction to a movement of the second slide in the opposite direction.
The actuation means is preferably mounted on the at least one first connecting bar. The actuation means preferably comprises a cam follower connected to the first slide, and a cam in which the cam follower is movable for moving the first slide in the first direction. Such actuation means are of very simple design and allow the release mechanism to be activated by simply operating the stripper assembly between its backward and forward positions. No actuator is needed for operating the release mechanism. This thus also contributes to the compactness of the design. The release mechanism is automatically interlocked with the stripper assembly motion ensuring no risk of misaligned or mistimed slide motion which could cause damage.
The invention also concerns an injection molding machine having a stripper assembly as described hereabove.
BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be more apparent from the following description of a not limiting embodiment with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a mold shoe of an injection molding machine in an open position;
FIG. 2 is a schematic clamp side view of a stripper assembly according to the invention;
FIG. 3 a is a schematic view of a first embodiment of the transmission means;
FIG. 3 b is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the transmission means;
FIG. 4 is a schematic injection side view of the stripper assembly; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective clamp side view of the stripper assembly.
In the figures, the same reference signs indicate similar or identical elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a mold shoe 10 of an injection molding machine, in particular for producing preforms used in the blow molding of bottles. Such a mold shoe 10 generally comprises a hot half 12 mounted on a stationary platen 14 and a cold half 16 secured to a moving platen 18 . The mold halves 12 , 16 are operable between a mold open and a mold closed position by reciprocation of the moving platen 18 . FIG. 1 shows the mold shoe 10 in its open position. The moving platen 18 is actuated by actuating means 20 . When the mold shoe 10 is in the mold closed position, a mold cavity is formed by a recess 22 in the hot half 12 and a core 24 on the cold half 16 . The cold half 16 is maintained in the closed position by means of clamps 26 on tiebars 28 .
The cavities 22 and the core elements 24 form the molds, which can now be filled with material through a melt inlet 30 . After at least partial solidification of the injected material, the cold half 16 is moved into an open position, away from the hot half 12 , thereby releasing the molded products 32 from the cavities 22 . The cold half 16 comprises a core plate assembly 34 , on which the core elements 24 are mounted, and a stripper assembly 36 for stripping the molded products 32 off the core elements 24 . As the cold half 16 approaches its open position, an actuator 38 actuates the stripper assembly 36 away from the core plate assembly 34 towards the hot half 12 . While moving away from the core plate assembly 34 , the stripper assembly 36 pushes the molded products 32 away from the core plate assembly 34 . Towards the end of its stroke, the stripper assembly 36 releases the molded products 32 . The stripper assembly 36 will be more closely described by referring to FIGS. 2 to 5 .
FIG. 2 shows the clamp side 36 ′ of a stripper assembly 36 according to the invention, i.e. the side facing the core plate assembly 34 . This stripper assembly 36 has two sets 38 , 38 ′ of slide pairs 40 . The second set 38 ′ is a mirror image of the first set 38 about a central axis X of the stripper assembly 36 . The first set 38 comprises three slide pairs 40 , 40 ′, 40 ″, each having a first slide 42 , 42 ′, 42 ″ and a second slide 44 , 44 ′, 44 ″. The first and second slides 42 , 44 are formed so as to define openings 46 between them through which the core elements 24 of the core plate assembly 34 can protrude.
The first slides 42 , 42 ′, 42 ″ have end portions, which are connected to a first connecting bar 48 , thereby rigidly connecting together all of the first slides 42 , 42 ′, 42 ″ of the slide pairs 40 , 40 ′, 40 ″. Similarly, the second slides 44 , 44 ′, 44 ″ have end portions, which are connected to a second connecting bar 50 .
A cam follower 52 is connected to the first connecting bar 48 and is moveable in a cam 84 (shown on FIG. 5 ), which is fixedly attached to the core plate assembly 34 . The cam is designed so that, as the stripper assembly 36 approaches the end of its opening stroke, the cam follower 52 moves the first connecting bar 48 and hence the first slides 42 , 42 ′, 42 ″ in a first direction as indicated by arrow 54 .
A lever assembly 56 is connected between the first connecting bar 48 and the second connecting bar 50 for moving the second connecting bar 50 and the second slides 44 , 44 ′, 44 ″ in a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, as indicated by arrow 58 . The lever assembly 56 can be better described by referring to FIG. 3 a . The lever assembly 56 comprises a main lever 60 pivotably mounted about a pivoting point 62 between the first and second connecting bars 48 , 50 . The first end 60 ′of the main lever 60 is rotatably connected to the first end 64 ′ of a first auxiliary lever 64 . The second end 60 ″of the lever main 60 is rotatably connected to the first end 66 ′ of a second auxiliary lever 66 . The second end 64 ′ of the first auxiliary lever 64 is connected to the first connecting bar 48 and the second end 66 ″ of the second auxiliary lever 66 is connected to the second connecting bar 50 .
According to another embodiment, the lever assembly 56 could be replaced by a gearwheel mechanism 68 as shown in FIG. 3 b . The first connecting bar 48 has a first toothed face 70 , while the second connecting bar 50 has a second toothed face 72 . A gearwheel 74 is arranged between the first connecting bar 48 and the second connecting bar 50 and has its teeth 76 engaging the teeth 78 , 80 of the toothed faces 70 , 72 .
FIG. 4 shows the injection side 36 ″ of the stripper assembly 36 , i.e. the side facing the hot half 12 of the mold shoe 10 . On the injection side 36 ″ of the stripper assembly 36 , the slides 42 , 44 ; 42 ′, 44 ′; 42 ″, 44 ″ comprise fixing means for fixing insert pairs (not shown) thereon. These fixing means are generally indicated by reference sign 82 .
Finally, FIG. 5 shows the clamp side 36 ′ of the stripper assembly 36 in a perspective view. The cam 84 has a cam profile 86 in which the cam followers 52 , 52 ′ can move. As the stripper assembly 36 is actuated in the release direction (indicated by arrow 88 ), the first connection bar 48 of the first set 38 is operated in its first direction 54 , whereas the first connection bar 48 ′ of the second set 38 ′ is operated in the opposite direction 54 ′.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrations described herein, which are deemed to illustrate the best modes of carrying out the invention, and which are susceptible to modification of form, size, arrangement of parts and details of operation. The invention is intended to encompass all such modifications, which are within its spirit and scope as defined by the claims.
|
Stripper assembly for an injection molding machine comprising at least one slide pair having a first slide and a second slide and actuation means operatively coupled to said first slide for moving the first slide in a first direction. According to an important aspect of the invention, the stripper assembly further comprises transmission means operatively coupled to said first slide and said second slide for transforming the movement of the first slide in the first direction in a movement of the second slide in a second direction, the second direction being opposite to the first direction.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing online services. More particularly, the present invention relates to a online trading system that allows users to open accounts in “real time”, i.e. the account is opened while the user waits, and the user is able to perform trading operations immediately after the account is opened.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] The stock market allows individuals to buy and sell ownership interests in publicly traded corporations. Such ownership interests may be traded through trading of shares of company stock, trading of options on a stock, and/or trading of holding companies or mutual funds that own a portion of the company.
[0005] The advent of online trading has made it convenient for individual investors to participate in the stock market, and consumer response to the availability of online trading has been phenomenal. In 1999 alone, the number of online brokerage accounts grew by over 100%, so that by the end of 1999 there were well over 10 million online brokerage accounts. The increased number of investors and increased trading volume has encouraged many brokerages to compete for market share by reducing trading costs. Of course, brokerages can only handle greater volumes at reduced costs by improving the efficiency of their processes.
[0006] One of the processes that would benefit the brokerage is the process for opening new accounts. The traditional process requires interested people to (1) call to request an application; (2) wait for the application to be mailed to them; (3) fill out and sign the application; (4) provide funding information or a write a check; (5) mail the completed application to the brokerage; (6) wait for the account to be opened; and (7) wait for the account access information to be mailed. This process takes an average of 3 weeks to complete, and costs the brokerage roughly $25 per application in time and processing expenses. The “abort” rate (customer decides not to complete the account opening process) ranges as high as 80%.
[0007] A recent improvement in the process for opening accounts is the “Online Application”. In the Online Application process, interested people can locate and electronically fill out an application form on their computers, thereby bypassing steps (1) and (2) above. The brokerage also retained the application in electronic form, so step (6) also required less time. However, because the law requires a signature, people still had to print out, sign, and mail the applications. The Online Application process takes an average of five days to complete, and costs the brokerage roughly $12 per application in time and processing expenses.
[0008] Often, people are motivated to open a brokerage account because they have an investment idea they want to pursue. However, three weeks, or even three days, seems an eternity to people in this modem age of fast service and instant gratification. Thus the brokerages are frustrating the desires of their potential customers even before the first trade is placed. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system by which investors could open trading accounts in real-time, and begin investing immediately once the account has opened. Such a system would preferably isolate the potential investor as much as possible from the commercial difficulties of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, account administration, funds transfer, and fraud prevention, thereby making the investors first experiences as pleasant as possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The problems outlined above are at least in part addressed by an online trading system having a real-time account opening process. In one embodiment, the online trading system comprises one or more computers coupled to a network. The computers maintain a brokerage account database and service web page requests received over the network. The web pages are preferably configured to implement a real-time account opening (RTAO) and process that establishes and funds new brokerage accounts in the account database. The RTAO process may include (a) obtaining contact information; (b) creating a new record in the brokerage account database for the contact information; (c) obtaining brokerage account application information; (d) updating the new record with the application information; (e) displaying a brokerage account contract; and (f) securing online agreement to said brokerage account contract. The process preferably also includes obtaining funding information to automatically initiate a transfer of funds to the brokerage account.
[0010] The present invention further contemplates a method of trading an ownership interest in a publicly traded corporation. In one embodiment the method includes: (a) providing account application information to an online brokerage; (b) electronically signing an account agreement; (c) authorizing a real-time transfer of funds; and (d) placing a online trading order using an abbreviation associated with said publicly traded corporation. The real-time transfer of funds may preferably be an automated clearing house (ACH) transfer from a checking account, or may optionally be a credit card charge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] For a more detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0012] [0012]FIG. 1A is a prior art personal computer;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 1B is a representative block diagram of a personal computer;
[0014] [0014]FIG. 2 is a prior art computer network;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 3 is a component diagram of an online trading system in software space;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a principalling process;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a real-time account opening process; and
[0018] [0018]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a trading order placement process.
[0019] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1A shows an exemplary computer system that a person can use to run software and access information on the internet. A user can interact with the computer system via the user input device 14 and the output device 16 that are coupled to the computer 12 . The computer 12 executes software stored internally or received from digital information communication media 18 . Of course many variations exist for each of these components, and the particular configuration shown is not intended to exclude other configurations that are known in the art.
[0021] [0021]FIG. 1B shows an exemplary configuration of a representative prior art computer 12 . Computer 12 includes a CPU 102 coupled to a bridge logic device 106 via a CPU bus. The bridge logic device 106 is sometimes referred to as a “North bridge” for no other reason than it often is depicted at the upper end of a computer system drawing. The North bridge 106 also couples to a main memory array 104 by a memory bus, and may further couple to a graphics controller 108 via an advanced graphics processor (AGP) bus. The North bridge 106 couples CPU 102 , memory 104 , and graphics controller 108 to the other peripheral devices in the system through a primary expansion bus (BUS A) such as a PCI bus or an EISA bus. Various components that understand the bus protocol of BUS A may reside on this bus, such as an audio device 114 , a modem interface device 116 , and a network interface card (NIC) 118 . These components may be integrated onto the motherboard, or they may be plugged into expansion slots 110 that are connected to BUS A. As technology evolves and higher-performance systems are increasingly sought, there is a greater tendency to integrate many of the devices into the motherboard which were previously separate plug-in components.
[0022] If other secondary expansion buses are provided in the computer system, as is typically the case, another bridge logic device 112 is used to couple the primary expansion bus (BUS A) to the secondary expansion bus (BUS B). This bridge logic 112 is sometimes referred to as a “South bridge” reflecting its location vis-à-vis the North bridge 106 in a typical computer system drawing. Various components that understand the bus protocol of BUS B may reside on this bus, such as hard disk controller 122 , Flash ROM 124 , and Super I/O controller 126 . Slots 120 may also be provided for plug-in components that comply with the protocol of BUS B. The Super I/O controller 126 typically interfaces to basic input/output devices such as a keyboard 130 , a mouse 132 , a floppy disk drive 128 , a parallel port, a serial port, and sometimes various other input switches such as a power switch and a suspend switch.
[0023] Computer 12 may be coupled to a network or to the Internet via modem 116 or NIC 118 . FIG. 2 shows an exemplary network 202 that couples computer 12 to other computers 204 - 212 . In this circumstance, the user of computer 12 can access information stored on other computers. One way for a user to do this is to execute “browser” software on computer 12 . Browser software is normally stored on internal long-term storage media such as hard disk 122 (FIG. 1B). When the user initiates execution of the software, the processor 102 loads the software into memory 104 , and then accesses individual instructions from the software as needed for execution.
[0024] Browser software normally includes a graphical user interface (GUI) that graphically presents the user with a set of options on output device 16 (FIG. 1A), determines which, if any, of the available options that the user selects via input device 14 , and responsively presents a new set of options in accordance with the user's selection.
[0025] Conventional browser software presents the user options in the form of a web page. The browser can retrieve the web page from computer 12 or from other computers coupled to the network. Web pages are typically written in hyper-text markup language (HTML), a programming language that allows programmers to present options in the form of “links” from graphics or textual items within a page to other pages having new options in similar form. Some web pages include embedded software “applets” that the browsers can execute to accept text input, perform calculations, animate objects on the screen, and/or send information to other computers.
[0026] Thus the user of computer 12 can access information and services provided by others on other computers coupled to network 202 (FIG. 2). One such service is online trading. In FIG. 2, assume one or more of the computers (say 212 ) is a web server, that is, a computer that provides access to a set of stored web pages. Another one or more of the computers (say 210 ) is an account server, that is, a computer that maintains a database of all customer accounts at a brokerage. Yet another one or more of the computers (say 208 ) is a trading server, that is, a computer that maintains a tracking database of prices for equities trading on the stock exchange(s), and that maintains a database of customer trading orders.
[0027] A user wishing to place an online trading order launches a web browser on computer 12 , and accesses a “login” web page on web server 212 . The login web page allows the user to type in a username and password, and press a graphic button labeled “Log In”. Pressing the button causes the browser to send the typed information to web server 212 in an attempt to load an account web page. Web server 212 uses the received information to access account server 210 to verify that the user has an account, and to determine the various account balances, preferences, and notices. If the usemame and password are invalid, web server 212 sends a “login failure” web page to computer 12 . Otherwise, web server 212 uses the information received from account server 210 to construct an account web page that is then sent to computer 12 .
[0028] The user can then select a trading button on his account web page, prompting the computer 12 to retrieve a trading order web page from web server 212 . The user can then type in a stock identifier, a price, and an order type, and press a “place order” button. Pressing the button causes computer 12 to send the order information to web server 212 . Web server 212 accesses the account server 210 to verify that the necessary funds are present, and if so, accesses the trading server 208 to get ask and bid quotes for the stock, and constructs a review page. The review page gives the user a chance to review the order, compare his trade price with the current ask and bid quotes, and press either the “Proceed” button or the “Cancel” button. Pressing the Proceed button causes computer 12 to request a confirmation page from web server 212 . In response, the web server 212 sends the order to trading computer 208 , and sends a confirmation to computer 12 .
[0029] The above description illustrates the interaction of the hardware involved in an example of an online trading system. However, the hardware configuration is merely the backdrop for the online trading system. To the user, and indeed, to the brokerage, the hardware configuration is invisible. A wide variety of hardware configurations may be used to achieve essentially the same results. Each of the tasks may be distributed across several computers or congregated onto one.
[0030] Accordingly, a popular way to design and explain network-based software and services is to use “software space”. In software space, the focus is on the tasks to be performed and the interactions between the processes that perform them. FIG. 3 shows an online trading system 302 in software space. Online trading system 302 includes, among other things, a set of web page templates 304 , a customer account database 306 , a chronicling database 308 , and an order database 310 . Chronicling database 308 tracks changes to account database 306 and order database 310 . A web-based interface 312 conveys communications to and from users accessing the online trading system 302 . A web server process 314 provides via interface 312 web pages to the users in response to their requests. Other than the initial login page, the user's computers generate the requests in accordance with options provided by the server process 314 in the web pages. In this manner, the server process 314 maintains control of user access.
[0031] The web pages provided by the server process 314 are generated by the server process 314 using templates 304 and information obtained from databases 306 - 310 . The requests received by the server process 314 guide the process in communicating with the databases to obtain the information needed to service user requests. As mentioned before, these requests will be limited to options provided by the server process 314 in accordance with the web page templates 304 . Consequently, the web page templates 304 define procedures for users to accomplish their desired actions. Some of these procedures are described in detail further below.
[0032] The online trading system 302 also includes other processes, such as, e.g., an order execution process 316 , a customer service process 318 , a fraud checking process 320 , and a principalling process 322 . Each of these processes runs concurrently and independently. Order execution process 316 operates on trading order database 310 to identify which orders can be completed, and to present these orders to the trading exchange (not specifically shown) for acceptance. Once accepted, the orders are marked completed and the account database is updated accordingly.
[0033] Customer service/monitoring process 318 monitors the databases for errors and alerts customer service personnel of any conditions that may require intervention to correct. For example, if real-time accounts remain unfunded after three days, the monitoring process will alert a customer service representative who will cancel any pending limit orders and process other trades in accordance with established risk guidelines. Customer service personnel can also access the databases via process 318 to resolve any customer complaints.
[0034] Fraud checking process 320 screens the account database and chronicling database for questionable account information or suspicious trading activity. This process preferably reviews all new accounts every 30 minutes. Process 320 will flag the relevant accounts for review by a customer service representative and/or impose restrictions on activity in the account.
[0035] Principalling process 322 is now described in detail, beginning with the traditional method. Traditionally, the national association of securities dealers (NASD) regulations have required that every account application be reviewed by a “principal”, i.e. a brokerage representative authorized to make business decisions for the brokerage. The principal scans the application and determines the appropriate account restrictions for margin and option accounts, taking into consideration the net worth, goals, and investment style of the applicant. This must be done within three days of the settlement of the first trade for cash accounts, and within one day of the settlement for option accounts. Recently, this procedure involved manual scanning of applications into work distribution software. The work distribution software then made the application available in image form for review by the principals.
[0036] Principalling process 322 reduces the effort associated with the principalling procedure. Server process 314 in conjunction with templates 304 allows a user to perform the account opening process online, as described in greater detail below. Principalling process 322 makes use of the application information as stored in the account database 306 .
[0037] [0037]FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of principalling process 322 . A brokerage representative may initiate the principalling process by clicking a desktop icon or selecting the program from the program menu. In block 402 , the representative is presented with a “Principal Selection” screen preferably having radio button choices of (a) cash-only accounts; (b) margin accounts; and (c) option accounts. The selection screen preferably also includes a “Go” button and a “Done” button. The representative may select one of the account types and press the “Go” button, or may press the “Done” button to exit.
[0038] Block 404 tests to see if the Done button was pressed. If so, the process halts. Otherwise, in block 406 , the process lists all unprincipalled accounts of the selected type. Alternatively, if there exists more than some maximum number of unprincipalled accounts (e.g. 100), the process may present the maximum number of accounts. The account listing preferably provides different fields depending on the account type. For cash-only accounts, the account listing preferably includes:
[0039] Registration (Individual, JTWROS, Custodian, etc)
[0040] Customer name
[0041] Mailing address
[0042] Additional address (if any)
[0043] Date of birth
[0044] Country of residence
[0045] Occupation
[0046] Employer
[0047] Employer business address (city, state, zip code)
[0048] Officer, Director or 10% shareholder (Yes/No and company name)
[0049] For margin accounts, the account listing preferably includes the above fields along with:
[0050] Annual Income
[0051] Total Net Worth
[0052] Liquid Net Worth
[0053] Investment Objective
[0054] For option accounts, the account listing preferably includes the fields for cash and margin accounts, along with:
[0055] Option level requested (level 1, 2 or 3)
[0056] Marital Status
[0057] Number of dependents
[0058] Options knowledge
[0059] Options trading experience
[0060] Average transaction size
[0061] Number of years experience in trading stocks
[0062] Number of years experience in trading bonds
[0063] Number of years experience in trading options
[0064] Total transactions per year in stocks
[0065] Total transactions per year in bonds
[0066] Total transactions per year in options
[0067] A check box is preferably provided next to each account in the listing. In block 408 , a principal scrolls through the listing, selecting the check boxes next to the accounts that the principal wishes to decline. The computer may pre-select check boxes of accounts that do not satisfy heuristic criteria. Alternatively, the selected check boxes may indicate the accounts that the principal wishes to accept, and the computer may pre-select check boxes of accounts that do satisfy heuristic criteria.
[0068] Once the principal is satisfied with the assigned account statuses, the principal can press a “Continue” at the bottom of the listing. Alternatively, the principal can press a “Cancel” button at the bottom of the listing. In block 410 , a test is made to determine which button was pressed. If the cancel button was pressed, the process returns to the Principal Selection screen in block 402 . Otherwise, the process prompts the Principal for a password in block 412 . Block 412 may also require the Principal to enter a username as well. If the password is incorrect, additional attempts may be allowed.
[0069] Block 414 tests the validity of the password. If the password is still incorrect after several attempts, the process returns to the principal selection screen in block 402 . Otherwise, the process assigns the designated accept/decline status to the listed accounts in block 416 . In block 418 , accounts which have been declined may be sent to the manual review process. Preferably, this involves assigning the declined accounts to a customer service representative who may review the reasons for disapproval and may work with the customer to rectify defects in the application.
[0070] In block 420 , the approved accounts are archived to Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) storage media, where they are kept to satisfy regulatory requirements. In block 422 , each of appropriate online databases are updated to reflect the assigned status of the principalled accounts. A report may also be generated at this time. The process then returns to the selection screen in block 402 .
[0071] This completes the detailed description of the principalling process 322 . Some aspects of the server process 314 are now described. In particular, the account opening process and the trading order entry process implemented by server process 314 will be described in detail.
[0072] [0072]FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of the account opening process. This process will preferably be available seven days per week or have the capability to queue transactions while the system is unavailable so that there is no negative impact on real-time transactions. The server application that implements the account opening is preferably fully redundant and fault-tolerant.
[0073] The process begins in block 502 where the customer is presented with an initial “Application” screen that allows the customer to select an account type and a funding method. Three account types are presented, with a radio button next to each:
[0074] Cash account—requires full funds for purchases
[0075] Margin account—allows borrowing against the assets in the account
[0076] Margin account with options trading.
[0077] The customer selects one of the account types, and then selects a funding method. Four options are provided for the funding method, with a check box next to each:
[0078] Trade today—Open and fund real-time using funds from checking account
[0079] Check enclosed
[0080] Transfer an account from another brokerage, mutual fund, or bank
[0081] Securities certificate(s) enclosed (such as stock certificates).
[0082] The customer selects at least one of the boxes, and then presses a “Next” button. Note that the Trade today option may be absent if the server process determines that one or more of the required databases for real-time account opening is unavailable.
[0083] In block 504 , the customer is prompted to enter name, address, and contact information such as phone number, email address, etc. In block 506 , the address is verified. This verification may include, for example, examining a zip code database to verify that the given city includes that zip code. If a discrepancy is detected, the customer is given unlimited opportunities to correct it. Once the address is verified, an account record is created in block 508 , and the account is added to the account database. This allows customer service to follow through if for some reason the application process is not completed.
[0084] In block 510 , the customer is prompted to enter a social security number, a date-of-birth, residency, and employment information. In block 512 , the entered information is verified. The verification may include, for example, looking up the social security number in a database to ensure that the social security number is valid. The customer is given unlimited opportunities to correct any detected discrepancies. Once the discrepancies have been eliminated, the customer is prompted for investment profile information in block 514 . The investment profile includes such information as the customer's investment objectives, investment experience, and other investment accounts.
[0085] In block 516 , the customer is prompted for a cash reserve portfolio, i.e. money market, treasury bonds, etc., in which to place money not currently invested in securities. In block 520 , the customer's account record is updated with the information that the customer has entered. In block 522 , a test is made to determine if the customer qualifies for a real-time open account. The requirements include U.S. Citizenship or Resident Alien status, a valid social security number, and not being an employee of a brokerage or securities dealer. The requirements may include that the account not be an options account. In addition, the requirements may include a restriction that the customer not have opened more than one account within the past day or so. If the requirements are not satisfied, then in block 524 , the application is printed on paper for the customer to sign and send to the brokerage along with any additional required materials.
[0086] If the requirements for real-time account opening are satisfied, then in block 528 a test is made to determine if the customer requested real-time account funding. If not, then in block 524 the application is printed for mailing with a check or other source of funds for the account. Otherwise, the customer is provided with a disclosure in block 530 . The disclosure preferably complies with the state and federal E-Signature laws, as well as any applicable SEC and NASD regulations, and may read as follows:
[0087] Real-time Account Agreement
[0088] I am of legal age to contract. I acknowledge that I have received, read, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions as currently set forth in the Customer Agreement and as amended from time to time. I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS BROKERAGE DOES NOT PROVIDE INVESTMENT, TAX, OR LEGAL ADVICE OR
[0089] RECOMMENDATIONS. Under penalty of perjury, I certify (1) that my Social Security (or taxpayer ID) number shown on this form is correct and (2) that I am not subject to backup withholding because (a) I am exempt from backup withholding, or (b) I have not been notified by the IRS that I am subject to backup withholding or (c) I have been notified by the IRS that I am no longer subject to backup withholding (cross out item 2 if it does not apply to you). [The Internal Revenue Service does not require your consent to any provision of this document other than the certifications required to avoid backup withholding.]
[0090] I understand that this brokerage will supply my name to issuers of any securities held in my account so that I might receive any important information from them, unless I notify you in writing not to do so.
[0091] I acknowledge that securities held in my Margin account may be pledged, re-pledged, hypothecated, or rehypothecated for any amount due this brokerage in my account(s) or for a greater amount. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS ACCOUNT IS GOVERNED BY A PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION CLAUSE CONTAINED IN THE CUSTOMER AGREEMENT.
[0092] Please select one: ⊙ I AGREE ◯ I DISAGREE
[0093] Your name:
First name Middle name (optional) Last name John Q. Doe
[0094] By selecting the radio button labeled “I Agree” immediately over the customer's printed name, and pressing the “Next” button, the customer is electronically signing a binding agreement. Block 532 checks to see if the agreement has been electronically signed. If not, then the application is printed out for a manual signature in block 524 . Otherwise, the customer is prompted for funding information in block 533 . This funding information is that which is required for an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer of funds from a checking account. It includes standard information from printed checks such as the Name of the Financial Institution, the routing number, and the account number. The amount of the transfer is preferably limited to between $1000 and $5000. The ACH information may preferably be validated, i.e. the computer may verify that the routing number has nine numeric digits, and begins with a 0, 1, 2, or 3.
[0095] In block 536 , the ACH transfer is attempted to fund the account. The results of the attempt are logged in a statistics database in block 538 , as well as to the account in block 540 . In block 542 , a test is made to determine if the account has been funded. The appropriate confirmation page is provided in block 544 or block 546 . In block 544 , a congratulations page is provided with current buying power and trading instructions. An explanation may be provided to explain the accounting method for RTO accounts. For example, the explanation may state that a real-time account balance will be displayed as zero prior to trading and funding and will be displayed as a negative amount after trading but prior to funding. Once the funds have been deposited in the E*TRADE account, the account balance will display the buying power.
[0096] In block 546 , a message is provided that the account has been successfully opened, but that the funds transfer has not been completed. If the transfer is pending, a customer service number is also provided, and the customer is encouraged to call or check back later. If no transfer is pending, the customer is requested to fund the account by mailing a check. Trading is not allowed for these accounts until the funds are received (i.e. the buying power is set to zero). This completes the account opening process.
[0097] The trading order entry process is shown in FIG. 6. In block 602 a trading page is presented, from which a customer may request stock quotes, account balances, and recent news items. The customer may also press a “Place Trading Order” button to place an order. In block 604 , the customer is presented with an order form that has fields for order type (market, limit), number of shares, stock symbol, and price. When the customer presses a “Done” button, the information is parsed and presented to the customer as the computer understands it, and the customer is asked to press a “Confirm” button.
[0098] Once the customer confirms, a test is made in block 606 to determine if the customer's account is a Real-Time Open account. Accounts that have been opened using the real-time account opening process described previously preferably continue to be labeled as RTO accounts until the funds have been received by the brokerage (usually within 3 days). If the account is not a real-time account, in block 614 the order is added to the order data base 310 for execution by the trading process 316 (FIG. 3), and the customer is presented with an “Order accepted” page.
[0099] Otherwise, in block 608 the process checks to see if the RTO account has expired, i.e. if more than 3 days have passed without the arrival of funding for the account. If the account has expired, then in block 616 , the customer is presented with an “Order rejected” page. If the account hasn't expired, then in block 610 , the order is examined for compliance with the restrictions placed on RTO accounts. These restrictions may include a prohibition on trading highly volatile stocks, thinly traded stocks, and “penny” stocks. Also, the customer may not be allowed to perform short sales or trade options, mutual funds, or bonds. The transaction amount plus preceding transaction amounts may be required to be less than the customer's initial funding amount. In block 612 , the validity of the order is determined, and if the order complies with the restrictions, it is added to the order database in block 614 . Otherwise, it is rejected in block 616 .
[0100] While preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or teaching of this invention. For example, real-time funding of accounts may be accomplished using a credit card or debit card. 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.
|
In one embodiment, the online trading system having a real-time account opening process comprises one or more computers coupled to a network. The computers maintain a brokerage account database, and service web page requests received over the network. The web pages are preferably configured to implement a real-time account opening (RTAO) process that establishes new brokerage accounts in the account database. The RTAO process may include (a) obtaining contact information; (b) creating a new record in the brokerage account database for the contact information; (c) obtaining brokerage account application information; (d) updating the new record with the application information; (e) displaying a brokerage account contract; and (f) securing online agreement to said brokerage account contract. The process preferably also includes obtaining funding information to automatically initiate a transfer of funds to the brokerage account.
| 6
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention in general relates to a method of recording and reproducing data. More particularly, the invention concerns a data recording/reproducing method suited for a non-rewritable storage device of the rotation type which is used as an external memory or storage equipment of a computer system and which includes a plurality of tracks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, in the data recording apparatus which constitutes a part of a computer system, there has been no need for recording information indicative of logical erasure or deletion of recorded data on a recording medium at all, because rewritable recording media or easily exchangeable recording media have been employed in all kinds of the conventional recording apparatus.
In reality, when a particular set of recorded data on a rewritable recording medium such as a magnetic disc is to be erased, it is sufficient to delete simply the data set itself or a part of the indexes designating the data set of concern or to write other data at the relevant location. In the case of non-rewritable recording medium of small capacity such as PROM, deletion of data can be readildy accomplished by exchanging the PROM containing the data to be deleted by another PROM loaded with fresh data.
In contrast, in the case of an optical disc utilized as a recording medium of large capacity, it is impossible to accomplish the deletion or rewriting of data once recorded on the recording medium in the manner similar to the data deletion in the magnetic disc and others, because recording of data or information on the optical disc is carried out by forming small holes termed pits in a metallic film deposited over the disc surface through irradiation with a light beam.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a data recording/reproducing method for a data recording/reproducing system which employs a non-rewritable recording medium such as an optical disc incapable of rewriting data, which method allows a recorded data block to be logically erased or deleted so that the data block logically deleted is prevented from being transferred to a host or high-rank system after the deletion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a data recording/reproducing method for a data recording apparatus which unreliable with regard to the data writing or reading on or from a recording medium, which method is capable of distinctly determining with an improved reliability whether a block having data recorded is logically deleted or not.
In view of the above and other objects, there is provided according to an aspect of the invention, a data recording and reproducing method for a data recording/reproducing system in which a rotation type recording medium having a plurality of tracks, each of which is divided into a plurality of blocks is used, the blocks being allotted with respective addresses. According to the data recording/reproducing method of the invention, each of the blocks comprises the data area for recording data and a flag area for recording deletion flag information indicating invalidity of the data of one block. When a deletion command for a particular one of the blocks is issued by a host or high-rank system, a deletion flag is written in the flag area associated with that particular block. Upon data reading, the data of the block associated with the deletion flag is excluded from the data transfer to the high-rank system by checking the deletion flag areas of a series of blocks read out from the recording medium.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each flag area is divided into a plurality of sub-areas. A first one of the sub-areas is used for recording a first deletion flag indicating deletion of data of the block in which that sub-area is present, while a second one of the sub-areas is used for recording a second deletion flag indicating deletion of data of an other block which is in a predetermined address relation with the first mentioned block. When a command for deleting data of a block on the recording medium is issued by the high-rank system, the first deletion flag is set at the flag area of that block, and additionally the second deletion flag is set at the flag area of the other block which is in the predetermined relation with the first mentioned block.
Since the flag information indicating invalidity of one block is also recorded in the flag area of the other block, the flag information indicating a same item i.e. deletion of the data block, can be arrayed at plural dispersed locations on the recording medium. This means that even when writing or reading of a given flag information is accompanied with error, it is possible to refer to other corresponding flag information in at least one other block to check the flag information of the one block, whereby the reliability of the flag information is remarkably enhanced.
By dividing the flag area into three or more sub-areas and using a plurality of the second flags, validness or invalidity of a particular block can be determined through decision by a majority of the flag information read out from three or more blocks on the recording block. According to this method, the probability that the data which should have been deleted might be sent to the high-rank system due to an error involved in writing or reading the flag information can be significantly decreased, whereby the reliability of the recorded data can be correspondingly increased.
The above and other related objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view showing an optical disc having a plurality of tracks;
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating division of a track into a plurality of blocks;
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a format of one block;
FIG. 4 is a view showing a structure of a flag area in the block;
FIG. 5 is a view for illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the invention in which a triplet of deletion flags are employed; and
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of an optical disc type storage equipment for carrying out the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following, the present invention will be described by referring to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a track pattern or format provided on an optical disc for an optical disc storage equipment. The tracks are formed on the disc D in a spiral or helicoidal pattern, wherein the outermost track or turn is designated by T 0 (track 0), the second outer track is designated by T 1 (track 1), . . . and so on up to the innermost track turn designated by T 1023 (track 1023). Referring to FIG. 1, the track N or T N in general designates that portion of the spiral path which extends from a point A to a point B.
Each of the tracks mentioned above is divided into a plurality of areas referred to as blocks or sectors in a manner illustrated in FIG. 2. For convenience of description, the individual blocks are referred to, starting from the leading one, as the block 0 (B 0 ), the block 1 (B 1 ) and so on down to the block m-1(B m-1 ), wherein the region designated by a symbol NB and consisting of the blocks B 0 to B m-4 is destined to be used for ordinary data recording, while the last three blocks B m-3 , B m-2 and B m-1 included in a region designated by a symbol AB are referred to as the alternative blocks and destined to be used upon occurrence of fault in the data writing at the blocks NB. All of these blocks B 0 to B m-1 have, respectively, an information storage capacity and a format equal to one another. A format of one block is illustrated in FIG. 3.
Referring to FIG. 3, a symbol SYNC 1 designates a synchronization mark area recording a VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator) synchronizing signal for recognizing the leading edge of the block under consideration, a reference symbol ID designates a second identifier area at which a block identifying number has been recorded, a symbol SYNC 2 designates a synchronization mark area at which a VFO synchronizing signal for recognizing the succeeding flag area has been recorded, and a symbol FLAG designates an area for indicating the condition of the block under consideration and stores information as to whether data has been written in or deleted from that block. This area FLAG will be elucidated in more detail later on. Further, a reference symbol SYNC 3 designates a third synchronization mark area were the VFO synchronizing signal for recognizing the leading edge of the succeeding data area has been recorded, a symbol DATA designates an area for storing therein data for the user, and finally a symbol ECC/RC (Error Correcting Code/Cylic Redundancy Check) designates an area for holding error correcting/detecting information for the user's data.
FIG. 4 illustrates in detail a configuration of the area FLAG. In the case of the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the flag area FLAG has a 9-byte length and is divided into 9 sub-areas each of one byte. Among the nine sub-areas illustrated in FIG. 4, those which are of significance as information are four sub-areas, i.e. WRT, DEL 1, DEL 2 and DEL 3. The sub-area WRT indicates whether or not data has been written in the block under consideration in which the sub-area WRT exists. The sub-area DEL 1 indicates whether or not the block under consideration has been logically deleted. The sub-area DEL 2 indicates whether the block which immediately precedes the block under consideration is logically deleted or not. The sub-area DEL 3 indicates whether the block which precedes the block under consideration by two blocks is logically deleted or not. This means from another standpoint that the sate of a given block being deleted or not is controlled or supervised by the flag area FLAG of that given block and additionally by the flag areas of the two succeeding blocks, as will be seen in FIG. 5. In other words, every block is controlled or managed at three discrete areas or locations as to whether it is logically deleted or not. In this way, redundancy can be imparted to the information indicative of the deleted or non-deleted state of any given block.
FIG. 6 shows a general arrangement of an optical disc storage system which allows access to be made to the recording medium of the structure described above.
Referring to FIG. 6, a reference numeral 11 denotes an interface controller for controlling data transmission to or reception from a host or high-rank system (CPU channel), a numeral 12 denotes a microprocessor for operating the individual components of the the optical disc control system through predetermined procedures in accordance with commands issued by the host or high-rank system, a numeral 13 denotes a memory for storing therein microcommands for commanding the control operations performed by the microprocessor 12, numeral 14 denotes a buffer memory having a capacity which corresponds at least to the amount of data of one track of the optical disc, a numeral 15 denotes a write circuit for modulating or coding the data outputted from the buffer memory 14 and subsequently supplying the modulated or coded data to an optical head circuit 10, and a numeral 16 denotes a read circuit for demodulating or decoding the output signal S10 from the optical head circuit 10 and transferring the decoded signal to the buffer memory 14. Further, a numeral 17 denotes a selector for selectively connecting an input/output bus to the buffer memory 14. More specifically, the selector 17 serves to select an interface bus 20, a processor bus 21 or a R/W (read/write) circuit bus 22 to be connected to the buffer memory 14 in accordance with the micro-command supplied from the micro-processor 12. In FIG. 6, a driving mechanism for driving the optical disc is omitted from illustration.
As will be seen in FIG. 6, the buffer memory 14 necessarily intervenes in both the process for writing data fed from the upper-rank system on the optical disc and the transfer of data from the optical disc to the upper-rank system. The recording of data in a given block on the optical disc as well as writing of the flag information for deleting a given block is performed by way of the write circuit 15 at a predetermined time upon arrival of the optical head at the block having a designated address which is determined on the basis of the data read from the area ID (FIG. 3) on the optical disc.
Upon reading of the data from the optical disc, that data is stored in the buffer memory 14 to be subsequently checked as to the state of the area FLAG, i.e. whether or not flag information indicates the deletion of data. When the information indicates the deletion, no data transfer is performed to the upper-rank system, but an error event is informed to the upper-rank system to the effect that the logically deleted data has been read out. However, when it is determined that non-deleted data has been read, that data is transferred to the upper-rank system. In this connection, the determination as to the deletion or non-deletion is made through decision by majority on the basis of the states of DEL 1, DEL 2 and DEL 3 read out from each of the three blocks difering from one another in the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 4.
More specifically, the decision by majority may be conducted in the manner shown in the 27 cases in the following table 1. For example, in the second case in the table 1, the value of the majority is 1 which is designating "deleted". In the sixth case, there is no majority and the state of the device fault is indicated. The processing for deletion of data on the optical disc is performed at the flag area of the block which itself is to be logically deleted and the flag areas of two other succeeding blocks as described hereinbefore.
TABLE I______________________________________Decision of deletion erasure/non-deletion of block NDEL 1 of DEL 2 of DEL 3 ofBlock N Block N + 1 Block N + 2State of DEL State of DEL State of DEL Results ofSYNC 2 1 SYNC 2 2 SYNC 2 3 Decision______________________________________OK 1 OK 1 OK 1 deleted OK 0 deleted NG deleted OK 0 OK 1 deleted OK 0 not deleted NG *1 NG OK 1 deleted OK 0 *1 NG deletedOK 0 OK 1 OK 1 deleted OK 0 not deleted NG *1 OK 0 OK 1 not deleted OK 0 not deleted NG not deleted NG OK 1 *1 OK 0 not deleted NG not deletedNG OK 1 OK 1 deleted OK 0 *1 NG deleted OK 0 OK 1 *1 OK 0 not deleted NG not deleted NG OK 1 deleted OK 0 not deleted NG *1______________________________________ NOTE OK: SYNC 2 is synchronized with VFO NG: SYNC 2 is not synchronized with VFO *1: Error information indicative of device fault
In the case of the exemplary embodiment described above, the deletion flag indicative of whether a given block is deleted or not is controlled or monitored with the aid of the flag areas FLAG of the three blocks, i.e. the given block and two other succeeding blocks. However, it should be noted that this feature is not indispensable to the essence of the invention. The deletion flag may be controlled by using the flags of two blocks i.e. the given block and the succeeding one or alternatively by using the flag of other bodies. Further, in the case of the illustrated embodiment, three flag areas are utilized for one block. It will however be understood that when five, seven or more flag areas FLAG are used, the reliability of the deletion flag is correspondingly increased. On the other hand, when a recording medium having a high reliability is used, the number of the flag areas may be reduced down to one.
Although the flag area is provided immediately preceding the data area in the case of the illustated embodiment, it is conceivable that the flag area is provided immediately succeeding the data area or at a location displaced from the data area by several blocks. However, in the latter case, there may arise a possibility of the access speed being lowered. Further, in the case of the illustrated embodiment, the deletion flag of any one of the blocks is controlled or checked by making use of its own flag area and these of two other succeeding blocks. In this connection, it will be appreciated that there exists no need for deletion of the alternative blocks B m-3 , B m-2 and B m-1 . Accordingly, the deletion flag of the last ordinary block of each track is controlled by its own flag area and the other two flag areas of two of the alternative blocks B m-3 , B m-2 and B m-1 . Thus, the deletion flag is prevented from straddling the adjacent tracks.
As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, the inventive feature that the deletion flag is dispersed among a plurality of blocks, say three blocks, information about deletion of the block is available with significantly improved reliability. Considering the reliability of the deletion flag, there are five possible occurrences, that is, two occurrences of successful write and failed write in connection with the writing of the deletion flag and three occurrences of the failed reading, the successful reading of the presence of the flag and the successful reading of the absence of the flag in connection with the reading of the deletion flag. When the probability of failed writing is represented by q' that of failed reading by q, the probability of the presence of a flag or the set flag being read as the absence thereof being represented by p 1 , and the probability of the absence of the flag being read as the presence thereof being represented by p 0 , the reliability of the available deleted state informatin can be arithmetically determined as follows:
(i) In the case where a single flag area is used, the probability of the block which must have been deleted being determined not to be deleted is q'+(1-q')(q+p 1 ).
(ii) In the case where three flag areas are used, the probability that the block which must have been deleted is determined not to be deleted is W 30 ×E 30 +W 21 ×E 21 +W 12 ×E 12 +W 03 ×E 03 +W 30 ×G 30 +W 21 ×G 21 +W 12 ×G 12 +W 03 ×G 03 , where
W.sub.30 =(1-q').sup.3
W.sub.21 =3q'(1-q').sup.2
W.sub.12 =3q'.sup.2 (1-q')
W.sub.03 =q'.sup.3
E.sub.30 =3P.sub.1.sup.2 -3P.sub.1.sup.3 +3P.sub.1 q
E.sub.21 =P.sub.0 P.sub.1.sup.2 +2(1-P.sub.0 -q)(1-P.sub.1 -q)P.sub.1 +(1-P.sub.0 -q) (P.sub.1 +q).sup.2 +P.sub.1.sup.2 q+2P.sub.1 q.sup.2
E.sub.12 =2(1-P.sub.0 -q)P.sub.0 P.sub.1 +(1-P.sub.0 -q).sup.2 +2(1-P.sub.0 -q) P.sub.1 q+2(1-P.sub.0 -q)q.sup.2 +P.sub.1 q.sup.2
E.sub.03 =3P.sub.0 (1-P.sub.0 -q).sup.2 +(1-P.sub.0 -q).sup.3 +3q(1-P.sub.0 -q).sup.2 +3q.sup.2 (1-P.sub.0 -q)
G.sub.30 =6P.sub.1 q(1-P.sub.1 -q)+i q.sup.3
G.sub.21 =q.sup.3 +2(1-P.sub.1 -q)(q-P.sub.0 q+P.sub.1 q-q.sup.2)+2P.sub.0 P.sub.1 q
G.sub.12 =2(1-P.sub.1 -q)(1-P.sub.0 -q)q+2(1-P.sub.0 -q)P.sub.0 q30 2P.sub.0 P.sub.1 q+q.sup.3
G.sub.03 =6P.sub.0 q(1-P.sub.0 -q)+q.sup.3.
In practical applications, a rough estimation has shown that the reliability of the deletion flag is given by 1×10 -5 in terms of the probability of the block which should have been deleteted being determined not to have been deleted in the case where the flag is set at a single area. However, when the flag is dispersed among three blocks, the reliability of the deletion flag is given by 5.5×10 -10 in probability of a misinterpretation occurring.
|
A data recording/reproducing method for a non-rewritable recording medium of a rotating type, each of tracks on the recording medium is divided into a plurality of blocks which are allotted with respective addresses. Each block includes a data recording area and a deletion flag area which is divided into a plurality of sub-areas. One of the sub-areas in a given block is associated with other block which is in a predetermined address relation with the given block. When the content in the data recording area of one block on the recording medium is to be rendered invalid, deletion flag information is also recorded in the sub-area of the other block having the predetermined address relation with the one block. Upon reading, the data of the blocks read out from the recording medium exclusive of the data of the block determined to be invalid on the basis of the flag information is transferred to a high-rank system.
| 6
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a process for the isolation and recovery of β-sitosterol (I) substantially free from α-sitosterol (II).
The steroids in general form an important group of the modern drugs. One of these steroids is β-sitosterol, which is a lipotropic agent. β-sitosterol is even more important as a starting material in the production of other steroids. α-sitosterol is a harmful agent in the conversion of β-sitosterol to other steroid derivatives. It is therefor desirable to produce β-sitosterol free of α-sitosterol.
The present invention is a process for obtaining β-sitosterol which is substantially free of α-sitosterol from starting materials containing both α and β sitosterol, such as the unsaponifiable fraction obtained as a by-product of soap manufacturing from the crude soap skimmings of the sulfate pulp process using as raw material both pinewood and hardwood, especially birch. The β-sitosterol isolated according to the invention is pure enough for the use as starting material in the preparation of steroid intermediates as well as pharmaceutical β-sitosterol. ##STR1##
Although many processes for the separation of sterols from various sources are known, not many of these processes deal with the problems inherent in the separation of β-sitosterol from the neutral fraction obtained in the sulfate pulp processing of pinewood and hardwood. More particularly, prior processes were not generally concerned with obtaining β-sitosterol which is substantially free of α-sitosterol, from a mixture thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,682, for example, concerns the recovery of sterols from sterol-containing materials in general. The method disclosed in this patent comprises fractionating a sterol containing mixture in a liquified, normally gaseous hydrocarbon, e.g. propane, to give a sterol-enriched fraction. The sterol-enriched fraction is then saponified in alcoholic alkali solution whereafter the sterols are crystallized by adding water, and cooling.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,866,797 shows the separation of sterols from unsaponifiables obtained from vegetable oils, tall oils, sugar cane oil and the like, by extraction and crystallization. The unsaponifiable fraction is extracted with ethylene dichloride, and small amounts of water and methanol are added to precipitate the sterols.
A more recent publication, U.S. Pat. No. 3,691,211, teaches a process for preparing sterols from plant sources, especially tall oil pitch, by extraction in a water-alcohol-hydrocarbon mixture, followed by saponification and subsequent recrystallization and leaching. The starting materials for this process are different than those contemplated for use in the present invention and the problems to be solved are different. Thus, although a good yield is obtained, it is not surprising that the process itself is not comparable to that of the present invention.
Another purification method is generally described in Chemical Abstracts, Vol. 81 (1974) 51409 v for purifying crude phytosterol derived from sulfate soap, to β-sitosterol. The process comprises dissolving in ligroin at 70°-75° C. and washing with water at 65°-70° C. The solution is then cooled to give 90.4 percent pure β-sitosterol, the yield being 69.5 percent.
The process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,031 is for the separation of sterols from e.g. the same neutral fraction as in the present invention. The process of U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,031 consists of dissolving the neutral fraction in a water-immiscible solvent, extracting the solution with a hydrophilic phase containing small amounts of water, and recovering sterols from the hydrophilic phase. This process, which utilizes extraction with two solvent phases, can be carried out continuously utilizing a counter-current extraction process.
As compared with all above mentioned processes, the process of the present invention is simpler and gives a better result. The present invention process successfully obtains β-sitosterol which is substantially free of α-sitosterol, and on a commercial scale.
No good process for the separation of α- and β-sitosterol is known. According to U.S. Pat. No. 2,573,265, steroids with a 3β-OH-group and a C 5-6 double bond, as for instance β-sitosterol, form acid addition products with HCLO 4 and HPF 6 , which thereafter can be removed from the other neutral products. In the publication Sci.Res. (Dakka, Pak.) 1969, 162, the separation of α- and β-sitosterol chromatographically on aluminum oxide is described.
The present invention process is based on observations made during experiments with the purification of β-sitosterol. It was found, that α-sitosterol reacts much more easily with acids than β-sitosterol. By observing the reaction gas chromatographically and mass spectrometrically it was found, that α-sitosterol is rearranged in acid conditions so that the position of the double bond in the ring is changed, whereby many rearrangement products are formed, which have not been identified. If the acid treatment is continued for longer than the optimum time, the OH-group of α-sitosterol and at a later stage also the OH-group of β-sitosterol are split off to give dehydration products. In addition to this, a substitution of the OH-group with an acid rest, e.g. chlorine, occurs. The solubilities of both the rearrangement products and the dehydration products differ so much from the solubility of the sterol components that they are easily removed by crystallization. By suitable adjustment of the conditions only rearrangement products are obtained.
According to the book L. F. Fieser and M. Fieser, "Steroids," Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York 159, pages 113 and 114, Δ 8 (13) -ergostenol is isomerized in the presence of hydrogen chloride in chloroform to Δ 14 -ergostenol, and 5-hydroergosterol is isomerized under the same conditions to a mixture containing Δ 8 (14),22 - and Δ 14 ,22 -ergostadienol. The reaction of α- and β-sitosterol with acids has not, however, been studied before.
The rearrangement occurs only at the C 7-8 double bond of α-sitosterol but not at the C 5-6 double bond of β-sitosterol. It is surprising that the reaction products can be removed from the mixture by a simple crystallization. Although rearrangements of this kind by steroids have been earlier described, it is surprising that the reaction can be utilized with such good result specifically for removing α-sitosterol from β-sitosterol containing raw material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the present invention process comprises treatment of the crude sterol mixture containing both α- and β-sitosterol, with an acid. The reaction product is recovered by precipitation from the reaction mixture and the purified β-sitosterol recovered from the precipitate by crystallization from a suitable solvent.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The process of the invention comprises the treatment of a crude sterol mixture containing β- and α-sitosterol, with a strong inorganic or organic acid in an organic solvent. After the acid treatment the reaction product is recovered, e.g. by cooling the solution or evaporation of the solvent. Pure β-sitosterol may be obtained by crystallization from a suitable solvent.
Suitable starting materials include the unsaponifiables from a sulfate pulping process or crude β-sitosterol obtained from the unsaponifiables according to a process described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,031. The unsaponifiable fraction usually contains over 10 percent of β-sitosterol. In addition betulin, betulaprenols, α-sitosterol, campesterol and other neutral substances such as squalene, lignoseryl alcohol and behenyl alcohol and other similar constituents are normally present. The crude β-sitosterol contains β-sitosterol, α-sitosterol and campesterol. It is particularly favorable and surprising that β-sitosterol free from α-sitosterol can be obtained directly from the unsaponifiable fraction.
Acid treatment is preferably carried out using inorganic acids such as hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide and phosphoric acid. Organic acids such as methane sulfonic acid and p-toluenesulfonic acids are also suitable.
Suitable solvents are generally all organic solvents in which the sterol mixture or unsaponifiable fraction dissolve sufficiently. The best results have been obtained by using ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, toluene, xylene, and chloroform.
For carrying out the acid reaction, a temperature range of about 10°-150° C., and preferably about the boiling point of the mixture has been used.
For purification or recovery of β-sitosterol from the acid reaction products, suitable solvents are, for example, ethanol, isopropanol, chloroform, methylene chloride, toluene, ethyl acetate, acetone, heptane, methylethylketone, or their mixtures. Suitable solvent mixtures are e.g. ethanol-methylene chloride, heptane-methylene chloride and toluene-ethyl acetate.
When crude β-sitosterol is treated in the above mentioned way a crude product is obtained, which contains about 90 percent β-sitosterol, about 6 percent campesterol, rearrangement products and possibly dehydration products. When the conditions are suitably chosen, all of the β-sitosterol has reacted to form other products.
By crystallization from the above mentioned solvents the rearrangement and dehydration products are removed. Although the purified β-sitosterol contains campesterol, this is not objectionable for the use of β-sitosterol as starting material in the production of steroids.
When the unsaponifiable fraction starting material is boiled in organic solvents under acid conditions the rearrangement of β-sitosterol as discussed above, occurs. In addition to this the betulin, which is a cell poison, and the fatty acids in the unsaponifiable fraction decompose and these decomposition products are removed in the subsequent crystallization.
The purification process of the invention is thus a simple solution to an important problem. It can be accomplished on an industrial scale. When using the unsaponifiable fraction as starting material, not only is the harmful α-sitosterol removed, but also removed is the poisonous betulin, which accompanies β-sitosterol in most purification processes.
The following examples illustrate the invention in more detail. In all examples, the crude β-sitosterol contains the following components: 59.4 percent β-sitosterol, 33.1 percent α-sitosterol and 7.5 percent campesterol. The unsaponifiable fraction used in the examples contains 12.5 percent β-sitosterol, 25 percent betulaprenols, 10 percent α-sitosterol, 7 percent campesterol and 10 percent betulin. Other suitable starting materials containing β-sitosterol and α-sitosterol include tall oil pitch and neutral extracts derived from soya, wheat, sugar cane and other plant sources. The obtained products have been analysed gas chromatographically. In the examples 1-7 the α-sitosterol has been completely removed.
A concentration of about 15-20% starting material in solvent (5 grams per 25 ml solvent) is used in the following examples as a preferred concentration for ease of handling small sample sizes. However, it has been found that a sample to solvent ratio range of 5 grams sample to between 5 and 100 milliliters solvent will give good results (about 5-50% starting material).
EXAMPLE 1
5.0 g of crude β-sitosterol and 25 ml of ethanol containing 2 percent gaseous hydrogen chloride, were added into a reaction flask. The mixture was refluxed and the reaction was followed with the gas chromatograph Varian 1400 (temperature of the oven 270° C., of the injection port 300° C. and of the detector 300° C. A 3 percent SE-30, chromosorb WHP, particle size 0.147-0.175 mm. length 3 m. column was used. The reaction was followed by gas chromatography, which indicated that after 3 hours refluxing, the α-sitosterol had reacted.
The mixture was cooled and the precipitate filtered. 3.3 g of product (66 percent) was obtained, which contained 90.0 percent β-sitosterol, 6.4 percent campesterol and 3.6 percent rearrangement products, which were removed by crystallizing the product from 15 ml of ethanol. 3 g (60 percent) of product was then obtained containing 93.6 percent β-sitosterol and 6.4 percent campesterol. The melting point of the product was 136°-138° C.
EXAMPLE 2
To the reaction flask was added 5.0 g of crude β-sitosterol, 25 ml of chloroform and about 0.1 percent by weight of the solution of hydrogen chloride gas. The solution was refluxed for 6 hours. The mixture was cooled, which gave 2.8 g of product. This contained 92 percent β-sitosterol, 6.3 percent campesterol and 1.7 percent of rearrangement products. The precipitate was crystallized from 10 ml of isopropanol giving 2.4 g product, which contained 93.7% β-sitosterol and 6.3 percent campesterol. The melting point was 137°-138° C.
EXAMPLE 3
5.0 g of crude β-sitosterol was weighed into a reaction flask and 25 ml of toluene and about 0.1 percent gaseous hydrogen chloride was added. The solution was refluxed for 4 hours. The toluene was evaporated, 20 ml of ethanol was added, the mixture was cooled and the precipitate filtered. 2.8 g (56 percent) of product was obtained containing 90.1 percent β-sitosterol, 6.4 percent campesterol and 3.5 percent rearrangement products.
EXAMPLE 4
To a reaction flask was added 5.0 g of crude β-sitosterol, 25 ml of ethanol and 1 ml of 40 percent HBr in glacial acetic acid. The mixture was boiled for 6 hours. The solution was cooled and the precipitate filtered. 2.5 g (50 percent) of product was obtained, which contained 93.0 percent β-sitosterol, 6.4 percent campesterol and 0.4 percent rearrangement products.
EXAMPLE 5
5.0 g of the unsaponifiable fraction obtained from crude soap skimmings was weighed in a reaction flask and 25 ml of ethanol containing 5 percent hydrogen chloride was added. The mixture was refluxed for 6 hours and the solution cooled below +5° C. The products precipitated as white crystals. The yield was 0.5 g (10.0 percent) of a product containing 88.0 percent β-sitosterol, 5.8 percent campesterol and 6.2 percent rearrangement products, which could be removed by crystallization as in example 1.
EXAMPLE 6
5.0 g of the unsaponifiable fraction was weighed and 25 ml of ethanol and 1 ml of 40 percent HBr in glacial acetic acid was added. The mixture was refluxed for 10 hours. The solution was cooled and the precipitate filtered. 0.5 g (10 percent) of product was obtained. It contained 88.0 percent β-sitosterol, 5.7 percent campesterol and 6.3 percent rearrangement products.
EXAMPLE 7
5.0 g crude β-sitosterol was weighed into a reaction flask. 25 ml of chloroform was added and the temperature of the mixture was adjusted to +10° C. and 0.2 g of hydrogen chloride gas was added. The mixture was kept for 24 hours at +10° C. and then cooled to 0° C. The precipitate was filtered, giving 2.9 g of a product, which contained 93.0 percent β-sitosterol, 6.4 percent campesterol and 0.6 percent rearrangement products. The melting point of the product was 137°-138° C.
The examples 8-36 are set forth in table 1.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Composition of crude reaction product (%) rear- Concen- Reac- β- cam- α- range- Starting tration tion sito- pe- sito- mentEx. material of acid time Yield ster- ster- ster- pro-No. 5 grams Solvent ml Acid % hours grams % ol ol ol ducts__________________________________________________________________________ 8 crude β -sitosterol chloroform 25 HCl c. 0.5 6 2.8 56.0 92.0 6.3 -- 1.7 9 crude β-sitosterol isopropanol 25 HCl 5.0 2 2.6 52.0 92.4 6.4 -- 1.210 crude β-sitosterol isopropanol 25 HCl 1.0 15 3.3 66.0 78.0 6.4 10.2 5.411 crude β-sitosterol toluene 25 HCl c. 0.5 4 2.8 56.0 90.1 6.4 -- 3.512 crude β-sitosterol xylene 25 HCl c. 0.5 12 3.0 60.0 88.0 6.4 -- 5.513 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HCl 1 6 4.0 80.0 76.0 6.3 14.0 3.714 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HCl 0.5 16 4.1 82.0 74.0 6.4 14.6 5.015 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HCl 2.0 3 3.2 64.0 91.0 6.4 -- 2.616 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HCl 5.0 2 2.8 56.0 93.0 6.5 -- 0.517 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HCl 1.0 8 3.3 66.0 90.0 6.4 -- 3.618 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HCl 2.0 2 3.3 66.0 89.0 6.5 -- 4.519 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 2 6 2.5 50.0 93.0 6.4 -- 0.420 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 10 2 2.8 56.0 90.5 6.2 -- 3.621 crude β-sitosterol isopropanol 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 2 16 3.0 60.0 88.0 6.3 0.4 5.322 crude β-sitosterol chloroform 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 2 2 2.8 56.0 90.2 6.4 -- 3.623 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 H.sub.3 PO.sub.4 0.1 10 3.0 60.0 88.0 6.4 1.2 4.424 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 25 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.3 H 0.5 16 3.2 64.0 86.0 6.5 2.4 5.1 unsaponifiable fraction25 from crude soap skimmings ethanol 25 HCl 5 2 0.5 10.0 87.0 5.8 1.2 6.0 unsaponifiable fraction26 from crude soap skimmings ethanol 25 HCl 5 6 0.5 10.0 88.0 5.8 -- 0.2 unsaponifiable fraction27 from crude soap skimmings ethanol 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 2 10 0.5 10.0 88.0 5.7 -- 6.3 unsaponifiable fraction28 from crude soap skimmings ethanol 25 CH.sub.3 SO.sub.3 H 1 8 0.45 9.0 87.0 5.8 1.6 5.6 unsaponifiable fraction29 from crude soap skimmings ethanol 25 HCl 2 8 0.6 12.0 92.0 6.2 -- 1.8 unsaponifiable fraction30 from crude soap skimmings isopropanol 25 HCl 2 6 0.5 10.0 91.5 6.1 -- 2.4 unsaponifiable fraction31 from crude soap skimmings chloroform 25 HCl c. 1 3 0.55 11.0 93.0 6.2 -- 0.8 unsaponifiable fraction32 from crude soap skimmings isopropanol 25 HCl 5 2 0.6 12.0 92.5 6.1 -- 1.4 unsaponifiable fraction33 from crude soap skimmings chloroform 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 1 2 0.55 11.0 91.0 6.2 -- 2.8 unsaponifiable fraction34 from crude soap skimmings ethanol 25 p-CH.sub.3 C.sub.6 H.sub.4 SO.sub.3 H 4 5 0.50 10.0 89.0 6.0 2.0 3.0 unsaponifiable fraction35 from crude soap skimmings acetone 25 HBr/water 4 6 0.40 8.0 88.0 6.2 2.1 3.7 unsaponifiable fraction36 from crude soap skimmings toluene 25 HBr/CH.sub.3 COOH 2 6 0.45 9.0 90.5 6.1 1.0 2.437 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 100 HCl 0.5 4 1.5 30.0 93.0 6.0 -- 1.038 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 50 HCl 0.5 4 2.6 52.0 92.3 6.0 -- 1.739 crude β-sitosterol ethanol 5 HCl 25 6 4.0 80.0 76.0 6.3 3.7 14.0__________________________________________________________________________
|
A process for the isolation and recovery of β-sitosterol substantially free of α-sitosterol from the unsaponifiables obtained from crude soap skimmings or from a crude sterol mixture containing β-sitosterol, α-sitosterol and campesterol. The starting material is treated with an inorganic or organic acid in an organic solvent, whereby α-sitosterol reacts with the acid giving rearrangement products. The solution is cooled and filtered or the solvent is distilled off, whereafter the obtained crude β-sitosterol is recrystallized from an organic solvent, to yield the pure material.
| 2
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/724,736 filed on Nov. 9, 2012, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/780,199, filed on Mar. 13, 2013. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] There is a need for oral care products offering superior protection against acid dissolution of tooth enamel that surpasses traditional fluoride approaches as awareness of erosion and the impact of dietary habits increases among dental practitioners and their patients. Extrinsic and intrinsic acid are the two most important factors governing demineralization, in which the former is prevalent because of the strikingly increased consumption of soft drinks. A. Wiegand et al., “Review on fluoride-releasing restorative materials-fluoride release and uptake characteristics, antibacterial activity and influence on caries formation,” Dental Materials, 2007, 23(3): 343-62. An interesting experiment that used soft drinks to etch tooth enamel indicated that the loss rate of enamel in a soft drink was as high as 3 mm per year. R. H. Selwitz et al., “Dental caries,” The Lancet, 2007, 369(9555): 51-9. For example, Coca Cola could reduce the hardness of enamel by 63% of the original enamel hardness after only 100 seconds of erosion. S. Wongkhantee et al., “Effect of acidic food and drinks on surface hardness of enamel, dentine, and tooth-colored filling materials,” Journal of Dentistry, 2006, 34: 214-220. Dietary acids such as citric acid are particularly damaging to tooth enamel because these acids not only have an acid pH, but they also have a calcium chelating capacity which enhances enamel dissolution. Hence, it is important to have new protective agents that are readily applied, are biologically suitable, and can coat tooth enamel and protect enamel from erosion and attack by foods such as dietary acids.
[0003] Currently, fluoride compounds are widely used to prevent caries formation and have also been identified as minerals that protect against acid erosion if formulated under the right conditions. A. Wiegand et al., “Review on fluoride-releasing restorative materials-fluoride release and uptake characteristics, antibacterial activity and influence on caries formation,” Dental Materials, 2007, 23(3): 343-62. R. H. Selwitz et al., “Dental caries,” The Lancet, 2007, 369(9555): 51-9. C. Hjortsjo et al. “The Effects of Acidic Fluoride Solutions on Early Enamel Erosion in vivo”, Caries Research, 2008, 43: 126-131. But high loading of fluoride may induce dental fluorosis. WHO, “Fluorides and Oral Health: Report of A WHO Expert Committee On Oral Health Status and Fluoride Use,” WHO Technical Report Series 846 Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization, 1994. A. K. Mascarenhas, “Risk factors for dental fluorosis: A review of the recent literature,” Pediatric Dentistry 2000, 22(4): 269-277. Nonfluoride functional agents have also been highlighted to deliver antierosion benefits. Ganss et al. “Efficacy of the stannous ion and a biopolymer in toothpastes on enamel erosion/abrasion” J. of Dentistry, 2012, 40: 1036-1043. There are many publications that also highlight remineralization processes. Nano hydroxyapatite has been employed for remineralization of tooth enamel. L. Li et al., “Bio-Inspired Enamel Repair via Glu-Directed Assembly of Apatite Nanoparticles: an Approach to Biomaterials with Optimal Characteristics,” Advanced Materials, 2011, 23(40): 4695-4701. L. Li et al., “Repair of enamel by using hydroxyapatite nanoparticles as the building blocks,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2008, 18: 4079-4084. Y. Cai et al., “Role of hydroxyapatite nanoparticle size in bone cell proliferation,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2007, 17: 3780-3787. P. Tschoppe et al., “Enamel and dentine remineralization by nano-hydroxyapatite toothpastes,” Journal of Dentistry, 2011, 39(6): 430-7. But the efficiency of enhancing remineralization is highly dependent on the nanostructure of apatite and varies a lot from case to case.
[0004] Casein phosphopeptides-armohous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) complexes are known to bind to tooth enamel and provide a way for remineralization of the enamel. Srinivasan et al. “Comparison of the remineralization potential of CPP-ACP and CPP-ACP with 900 ppm fluoride on eroded human enamel: An in situ study”, Archives of Oral Biology, 2010, 57: 541-544. E. C. Reynolds. “Remineralization of enamel subsurface lesions by casein phosphopeptide-stabilized calcium phosphate solutions,” Journal of Dental Research, 1997, 76: 1587-1595. M. Panich et al. “The effect of casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate and a cola soft drink on in vitro enamel hardness,” Journal of American Dental Association, 2009, 140; 455-460.” However, CPP and other dairy products may have potential health risk to cause allergic reactions, ranging from minor swelling of the mouth to serious anaphylaxis, which can be potentially life threatening. G. H. Docena et al., “Identification of casein as the major allergenic and antigenic protein of cow's milk,” Allergy, 1996, 51(6): 412-416. B. Schouten et al., “Acute allergic skin reactions and intestinal contractility changes in mice orally sensitized against casein or whey,” International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 2008, 147(2): 125-134. In view of the latter problems, alternate materials are needed which will not only provide effective protection of tooth enamel, but also are non-toxic, biologically suitable and provide a readily usable synthesis to provide materials which may be effectively used for enamel protection.
SUMMARY
[0005] Block amphiphilic copolymers having hydrophobic blocks and hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated blocks have been developed where the copolymers are effective to bind to hard tissue which includes hydroxyapatite (HA), enamel and other calcium phosphate phases. These copolymers bind to and protect the hard tissue from acid erosion. The hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated blocks are effective to bind to the hard tissue and the hydrophobic blocks and are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by at least 5 percent after exposure of the hydroxyapatite to the polymers for 0.1-10 minutes and subsequent exposure of the polymer coated hydroxyapatite to a 0.3-1% citric acid solution, such as for 15 minutes at 37° C. as compared to hydroxyapatite that is not bound to the block copolymers. It should be noted that other temperatures and time periods may also be used to illustrate the effect of the composition. In some embodiments, the tooth enamel is exposed to citric acid solution before and/or after applying the block copolymer. In some embodiments, hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by at least 10 percent. In some embodiments, hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by at least 15 percent. In some embodiments, hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by at least 20 percent. In some embodiments, hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by at least 25 percent. In some embodiments, hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by about 30 percent. In some embodiments, hydrophilic phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers are effective to protect the hard tissue from loss of calcium by at least 30 percent.
[0006] In one form, the block copolymers have a molecular weight (Mn) in a range of from about 1,000 to 1,000,000. According to one form, the block copolymers have a molecular weight in a range of 1,000 to 10,000. The hydrophilic blocks may include blocks with pending functional groups such as phosphonic, phosphoryl, carboxyl, sulfonic, amino, hydroxyl groups, or other hydrophilic groups. In an important aspect, the phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated blocks have a molecular weight in a range of from about 200 to about 1,000,000. According to one form, the hydrophobic blocks have a molecular weight in a range of from about 200 to about 1,000,000. The phosphonated or phosphorylated or carboxylated blocks generally comprise from about 10 to about 90 weight percent of the copolymers and the hydrophobic blocks comprise from about 10 to about 90 weight percent of the block copolymers. In any event, the block copolymers are dispersible in an aqueous media and effect protection of tooth enamel from acid erosion. The polymers may be polymers having two blocks (bi-block copolymers), three blocks (tri-block polymers) where there are two blocks which may be hydrophobic and one hydrophilic block or two hydrophilic blocks and one hydrophobic block and multi-armed blocks. Arms extend from a common core and the arms may have one or more blocks.
[0007] In one aspect, the polymers have molecular weights of from about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 and hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks having molecular weights of from about 1,000 to about 1,000,000 which provide a good solubility in water in a range of from about 0.001 to about 100 g/l at 25° C.
[0008] In another aspect, compositions which are effective for use in connection with dental hygiene, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, strips, and gel containing trays which include the block copolymers described herein, are effective for reconstituting protection of tooth enamel from acid erosion as described herein. Regular applications of the compositions, which include the block copolymers, are effective for providing a protective layer on tooth enamel at a first time of application, and thereafter. Regular use of the compositions, as by brushing teeth or use of mouthwash, gels, or strips provide a way of regularly applying the copolymers for protection against acid erosion of tooth enamel. The compositions can include any of the block copolymers disclosed herein, and an orally acceptable carrier, and optionally fluoride.
[0009] In an important aspect the phosphonated or phosphorylated block copolymers have the general formula:
[0000]
[0010] In another aspect, the carboxylated copolymers have the general formula:
[0000]
[0011] Where in the above formulas I and II A is selected from the group consisting of (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OCH 2 CH 2 O) b , or any combination thereof, where for substituent A p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0 or 1, b=0 or 1;
[0012] R 1 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 1 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0013] R 2 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 2 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0014] R 3 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 3 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0015] R 4 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 4 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0016] R 5 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 5 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0017] R 6 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 6 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0018] R 7 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 7 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0019] R 8 is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an ammonium, protonated alkyl amine, H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , or any combination thereof, where for R 8 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1;
[0020] R 9 is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an ammonium, protonated alkyl amine, H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , or any combination thereof, where for R 9 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1;
[0021] R 10 is hydrogen, methyl, alkali metal, or ammonium;
[0022] m and n are each independently in a range from about 5 to about 3000.
[0023] In a preferred embodiment, m is from 5 to 100. In a preferred embodiment, n is from 5 to 400. Preferred block copolymers include poly methyl methacrylate-poly methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate block copolymers, poly methyl methacrylate-poly acrylate acid block copolymers, and poly methyl methacrylate-poly tert-butyl acrylate block copolymers, in particular poly methyl methacrylate-poly methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate block copolymers.
[0024] The block copolymers can be synthesized from reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization (RAFT), atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) which often use a catalyst such as a transition metal catalyst and which can effect multi-armed blocks, other chain transfer polymerization, free radical polymerization, ionic polymerization or direct coupling from homopolymers. Also, the block copolymers can be obtained by hydrolyzing their corresponding block copolymers as the precursors which are obtained from the above polymerization techniques.
[0025] Initiators include, but are not limited to, benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, t-butyl peroxybenzoate, 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and other materials that can generate radicals in direct or indirect approaches. The initiators for ATRP can be 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide or others with similar structure.
[0026] The general chemical formula for the chain transfer agent (CTA) for RAFT polymerization is shown below:
[0000]
[0027] where Z and R can be the same or different substitutes. Typical chain transfer agents include, but are not limited to, cumyldithiobenzoate, 2-cyano-2-yl-dithiobenzoate and 4-cyano-4-[(dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl)sulfanyl]pentanoic acid with their structure shown as below.
[0000]
[0028] In an important aspect the copolymers are the reaction product of hydrophobic monomers such as acrylates (alkyl (meth)acrylate, alkyl acrylate), styrene, olefins (ethylene, propylene, butylenes, butadiene), vinyl monomers (vinyl acetate, vinyl ether), fluoro monomers (perflurocarbon, tetrafluoroethylene), acrylonitrile, which will provide the hydrophobic block after polymerization and other hydrophilic monomers to provide the hydrophilic block. The hydrophilic monomers contain polymerizable groups and active phosphate acid, phosphonic acid and related esters, as well as other phosphorous containing monomers, such as alkyl (meth)acryloyloxyethyl phosphate, bis(2-methacryloxyethyl) phosphate, vinyl phosphonic acid and other monomers. The carboxylated hydrophilic monomers include acrylic acid, methyl (meth)acrylic acid, methyl acrylic acid, and other alkyl (meth)acrylic acids. It should be noted that the hydrophilic block can also be indirectly obtained by hydrolyzing the corresponding precursors.
[0029] In another aspect, the block copolymers comprise from about 0.001 to about 50 weight percent of a dental hygienic composition such as an ingredient which forms the basis of toothpaste or gel which also includes abrasive particulates such as aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, and silicas; flavorants, humectants, antibacterial agents, and remineralizers such as fluoride, hydroxyapatite and phosphates such as calcium phosphate. The block copolymers also may be included in aqueous compositions which form the basis of mouthwash which also include fluoride, alcohol, chlorhexidine gluconate, cetylpyridinium chloride, hexetidine, buffers such as benzoic acid, methyl salicylate, benzalkonium chloride, methylparaben, hydrogen peroxide, domiphen bromide and fluoride, enzymes, and calcium. Mouthwash can also include other antibacterials such as, e.g., phenol, thymol, eugenol, eucalyptol or menthol as well as sweeteners such as sorbitol, sucralose, sodium saccharin, and xylitol. In this aspect the copolymers are dispersible in an aqueous media and the block copolymers form from about 0.001 to about 20 weight percent of the aqueous composition which forms the mouthwash.
[0030] In yet another aspect, the phosphonated or phosphorylated block copolymers are formed in a two-step reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization or a one pot RAFT polymerization reaction. Illustrative of the two step RAFT reaction is shown below.
[0031] Monomer-1 (hydrophobic monomer)+Chain Transfer Agent (CTA)+Free Radical Initiator→Poly(monomer-1)-CTA
[0032] then
[0033] Poly(monomer-1)-CTA+Monomer-2 (phosphorous monomer)+Free Radical Initiator→
[0000]
[0034] In another aspect, the carboxylated block copolymers are also formed in a two-step RAFT polymerization or a one pot RAFT polymerization reaction. Illustrative of the two step RAFT reaction is shown below.
[0035] Monomer-1 (hydrophobic monomer)+CTA+Free Radical Initiator→Poly(monomer-1)-CTA
[0036] then
[0037] Poly(monomer-1)-CTA+Monomer-2 (carboxylated monomer)+Free Radical Initiator→
[0000]
[0038] where A is selected from the group consisting of (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OCH 2 CH 2 O) b , or any combination thereof, where for substituent A p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0 or 1, b=0 or 1;
[0039] R 1 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ), (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e or any combination thereof, where for R 1 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0040] R 2 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 2 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0041] R 3 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 3 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0042] R 4 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 4 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0043] R 5 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 5 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0044] R 6 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 6 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0045] R 7 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 7 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0046] R 8 is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an ammonium, protonated alkyl amine, H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , or any combination thereof, where for R 8 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1;
[0047] R 9 is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an ammonium, protonated alkyl amine, H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , or any combination thereof, where for R 9 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1;
[0048] R 10 is hydrogen, methyl, alkali metal, or ammonium; and
[0049] m and n are each independently in a range from about 5 to about 3000.
[0050] In a preferred embodiment, m is from 5 to 100. In a preferred embodiment, n is from 5 to 400.
[0051] The block copolymers can be synthesized from reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization (RAFT), atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), other chain transfer polymerization, free radical polymerization, ionic polymerization or direct coupling from homopolymers. Also, the block copolymers can be obtained by hydrolyzing their corresponding block copolymers as the precursors which are obtained from the above polymerization techniques. Additional hydrolysis procedure may be needed if hydrophobic monomers are used as the precursors for hydrophilic block.
[0052] Initiators include, but are not limited to, benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, t-butyl peroxybenzoate, 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and other materials that can generate radicals in direct or indirect approaches. The initiators for ATRP can be 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide or others with similar structure.
[0053] The general chemical formula for the chain transfer agent for RAFT is shown below:
[0000]
[0054] where Z and R can be the same or different substitutes.
[0055] In the “one pot” method, the reaction for phosphonated or phosphorylated block copolymer proceeds as follows as part of a single step with the phosphorous acid being added to the reaction mixture having the hydrophobic block:
[0056] Monomer-1 (hydrophobic monomer)+Chain Transfer Agent+Free Radical Initiator→Poly(monomer-1)-CTA+Monomer-2 (phosphorous monomer)→
[0000]
[0057] or, in another aspect, the reaction for carboxylated block copolymer proceeds as follows as part of a single step with the carboxylated monomer being added to the reaction mixture having the hydrophobic block:
[0058] Monomer-1 (hydrophobic monomer)+Chain Transfer Agent+Free Radical Initiator→Poly(monomer-1)-CTA+Monomer-2 (phosphorous monomer)→
[0000]
[0059] where A is selected from the group consisting of (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OCH 2 CH 2 O) b , or any combination thereof, where for substituent A p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0 or 1, b=0 or 1;
[0060] R 1 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e or any combination thereof, where for R 1 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0061] R 2 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 2 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0062] R 3 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 )P, (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 3 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0063] R 4 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 4 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0064] R 5 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) a, (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 5 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0065] R 6 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 6 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0066] R 7 is selected from the group consisting of H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , (C(═O)—OH) c , (C(═O)—OCH 3 ) d , (C(═O)—OC(CH 3 ) 3 ) e , or any combination thereof, where for R 7 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1, c=0, 1, d=0, 1, e=0, 1;
[0067] R 8 is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an ammonium, protonated alkyl amine, H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , or any combination thereof, where for R 8 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1;
[0068] R 9 is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an ammonium, protonated alkyl amine, H a , (CH 2 ) p , (CH 2 CH 2 O) q , (phenyl) x , (C(═O)—O) y , or any combination thereof, where for R 9 p, q=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20; x=0, 1, y=0, 1, a=0, 1;
[0069] R 10 can be hydrogen, methyl, an alkali metal, or an ammonium; and
[0070] m and n are each independently in a range from about 5 to about 3000.
[0071] In a preferred embodiment, m is from 5 to 100. In a preferred embodiment, n is from 5 to 400. The block copolymers can be synthesized from reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization (RAFT), atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), other chain transfer polymerization, free radical polymerization, ionic polymerization or direct coupling from homopolymers. Also, the block copolymers can be obtained by hydrolyzing their corresponding block copolymers as the precursors which are obtained from the above polymerization techniques. Additional hydrolysis procedure may be needed if hydrophobic monomers are used as the precursors for hydrophilic block.
[0072] Initiators include, but are not limited to, benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, t-butyl peroxybenzoate, 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and other materials that can generate radicals in direct or indirect approaches. The initiators for ATRP can be 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide or others with similar structure.
[0073] The general chemical formula for the chain transfer agent for RAFT is shown below:
[0000]
[0074] where Z and R can be the same or different substitutes.
[0075] In the third aspect, the amphiphilic copolymers are prepared by using a free radical polymerization without RAFT chain transfer agent or by using an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) either from ‘one-pot’ polymerization or ‘two step’ polymerization as that for RAFT.
[0076] The water solubility and/or dispersibility of the block copolymers may be controlled by the molecular weight of the hydrophilic portion of the copolymer and the ratios of the two blocks. This is done for example by having a feeding ratio and polymerization time of the phosphorous monomer such that a dispersibility or solubility of the block copolymer is from about 0.001 g/L to 100 g/L in water at 25° C.
[0077] In embodiments of the block co-polymers, the compositions and/or the methods of the invention, the block co-polymer has Formula 1 or Formula 2 and n is from 5 to 320 and m is from 5 to 320.
[0078] In embodiments of the block co-polymers, the compositions and/or the methods of the invention, the block co-polymer is P(MMA) 77 -b-P(AA) 23 , P(MMA) 73 -b-P(AA) 28 , P(MMA) 67 -b-P(AA) 64 , P(MMA) 69 -b-P(AA) 198 , P(MMA) 67 -b-P(AA) 318 , P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 14 , P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 , P(MMA) 17 -b-P(AA) 35 , P(MMA) 17 -b-P(MOEP) 12 , P(MMA) 18 -b-P(AA) 29 or P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 .
[0079] In an embodiment, the term “about” as used herein in regard to a number in a numerical range, for example a positive integer, includes, as a specific embodiment, that specific integer. For example, in an embodiment, “about 5” includes the embodiment of 5.
[0080] All combinations of the various elements described herein are within the scope of the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
[0081] 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
[0082] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0083] FIG. 1 : Controlled synthesis of hydrophobic block via RAFT method by using different monomer/CTA/initiator ratios. MMA stands for methyl methacrylate, CTA stands for chain transfer agent, AIBN stands for azoisobutyronitrile, and MOEP stands for methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate.
[0084] FIGS. 2 a - 2 f : Illustration of Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra of enamel treated with polymers at different pHs and concentrations. FIGS. 2 a , 2 c and 2 e relate to aqueous compositions where the polymers are solubilized at 1 g/L. FIGS. 2 b , 2 d and 2 f relate to aqueous compositions where the polymers are solubilized at 0.2 g/L. The pH of the treatment solution is 3.1 in FIG. 2 a, 3.7 in FIG. 2 b, 4.2 in FIGS. 2 c and 2 d and 7.0 in FIGS. 2 e and 2 f . The insert in FIG. 2 a is a FTIR spectrum of a phosphate copolymer.
[0085] FIGS. 3-1 to 3 - 7 : FIGS. 3-1 through 3 - 3 indicate the UV spectra of a phosphate block copolymer before and after binding with HA powder at different conditions. 3 - 1 : UV spectra of P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 with known concentrations. 3 - 2 : UV spectra of P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 after binding with HA powder at pH=4. 3 - 3 : UV spectra of P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 after binding with HA powder at pH=7. FIG. 3-4 through FIG. 3-6 illustrate the UV spectra of carboxylic block copolymers before and after binding with HA at different conditions. 3 - 4 : UV spectra of P(MMA) 17 -b-P(AA) 35 with standard concentrations. 3 - 5 : UV spectra of P(MMA) 17 -b-P(AA) 35 after binding with HA powder at pH=4. 3 - 6 : UV spectra of P(MMA) 17 -b-P(AA) 35 after binding with HA powder at pH=7. FIG. 3-7 shows dependence of phosphorylated block copolymer and carboxylated adsorption on concentration and pH. Lower pH indicates more polymer adsorbed to HA, while the phosphorylated polymer can be adsorbed onto HA more than the carboxylated polymer.
[0086] FIGS. 4-1 & 4 - 2 : Show the enamel surface morphology after exposing to acid. 4 - 1 : SEM images of untreated enamel surface before (a) and after (b) acid erosion. 4 - 2 : is the enamel surface morphology which was treated by phosphate block copolymer and then exposed to acid erosion—SEM images of P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 treated-enamel surface before and after acid erosion.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0087] The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
[0088] As used throughout, ranges are used as shorthand for describing each and every value that is within the range. Any value within the range can be selected as a terminus of the range and is encompassed by the invention. In addition, all references, patents, patent application publications and books cited herein are hereby incorporated by referenced in their entireties. In the event of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and that of a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.
[0089] Unless otherwise specified, all percentages and amounts expressed herein and elsewhere in the specification should be understood to refer to percentages by weight. The amounts given are based on the active weight of the material.
Examples and Tests
[0090] 1. Controlled synthesis of hydrophobic blocks
2. Block copolymer synthesis
3. Polymer/enamel binding
4, Quantitative analysis of polymer/HA binding
5. Anti erosion test by phosphate block copolymer
6. Anti erosion test by phosphate block copolymer in presence of fluoride
7. SEM observation on the surface morphology of enamel
[0091] 1. Controlled Synthesis of Hydrophobic Blocks
[0092] Typically, 10 mmol MMA, 0.25 mmol RAFT CTA agent (e.g. 4-cyano-4-[(dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl)sulfanyl]pentanoic acid) and 0.1 mmol AIBN were dissolved in 10 ml 1,4-dioxane. After purging with Argon for 1 h, the system was heated to 70° C. for a period of time. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to monitor the average macromolecular weight (Mn) of hydrophobic block. For example, Mn of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) can be well controlled using different monomer/CTA/initiator ratios as shown in FIG. 1 .
[0093] 2. Block Copolymer Synthesis
[0000]
[0094] The synthesis of PMMA-b-PMOEP is shown in Scheme 1. Once the targeted Mn of PMMA segment was achieved, certain amounts of methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate (MOEP) in 1,4-dioxane was then injected into the system with syringe and the reaction was further allowed to continue for different reaction times. The composition of PMMA-b-PMOEP could be adjusted by using different feeding ratios and different polymerization times as shown in Table 1.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Composition of PMMA-b-PMOEP using different
polymerization time and feeding ratios
RAFT -chain
Number of
Number of
MMA
transfer agent
AIBN
MOEP
MMA in
MOEP in
(mol)
(mol)
(mol)
(mol)
copolymer
copolymer
100
2.5
1
50
17
9
100
2.5
1
50
19
14
100
2.5
1
80
17
14
100
2.5
1
80
20
35
[0095] The synthesis of PMMA-b-PAA by RAFT polymerization is shown in Scheme 2-1. Once the targeted Mn of PMMA segment was achieved, certain amounts of acrylic acid (AA) in 1,4-dioxane was then injected into the system with syringe and the reaction was further allowed to continue for different reaction times. The composition of PMMA-b-PAA could be adjusted by using different feeding ratios and different polymerization times as shown in Table 2. PAA stands for poly acrylate acid.
[0096] The synthesis of PMMA-b-PAA can also be prepared by an indirect method shown in Scheme 2-2.
[0000]
[0000]
[0097] The hydrophobic and hydrophilic block chain lengthen can be adjusted by monomer/CTA/initiator ratio and polymerization time. Different block copolymers with different compositions are shown in Table 2.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Compositions of carboxylate block copolymers
Code
Mn
AA fraction
tBE1
9.7k
PMMA 77 -b-PAA 23
0.23
tBE2
9.7k
PMMA 73 -b-PAA 28
0.28
tBE3
11.7k
PMMA 67 -b-PAA 64
0.49
tBE4
21.5k
PMMA 69 -b-PAA 198
0.74
tBE5
29.9k
PMMA 67 -b-PAA 318
0.83
[0098] 3. Polymer/Enamel Binding
[0099] The structure of block copolymer used in this test is P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 14 . Before polymer treatment, the surface of bovine enamel was pre-conditioned by immersing the enamel in 1% citric acid solution (pH=3.8) for 5 min. Polymer solution with different concentrations (0.2 and 1.0 g/L) and different pHs (3.1, 4.2 and 7.0) were used to treat the bovine enamel surface for 5 min at 50 rpm. Then the treated surface was washed with phosphate buffer solution (pH=7.0) and acid solution (pH=3.8) for three cycles (5 min/cycle). The treated and etched enamel was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy after air dry. The FTIR spectra are shown in FIG. 2 . The peaks at 1452, 1407, and 869 cm −1 could be assigned to the existence of carbonated hydroxyapatite on the surface. The peak at 1730 cm −1 could be ascribed to the characteristic absorption peak of C═O in block copolymers. Both the effects of polymer concentration and pH on the binding were evaluated. When increasing the polymer concentration from 0.2 to 1.0 g/L, the relative intensity of peak at 1730 cm −1 was increased, indicating higher polymer concentration could facilitate the binding efficiency. This could be ascribed to the strong interaction between phosphate groups in the block copolymer and the active site on enamel. Also, from the FIGS. 2 a , 2 c and 2 e , when the pH is increased from 3.1 to 7.0 and the polymer concentration is kept constant as 1.0 g/L, less polymer could be adsorbed onto the enamel surface. The first and second dissociation constants, pK a1 and pK a2 for phosphoric acid are 2.12 and 7.21, respectively. The phosphate groups of the copolymer are believed to exist in the form of R—HPO 4 − and R—PO 4 2− , where R stands for the polymer side chains attached to the backbone. The former moiety (R—HPO 4 − ) will be dominant over the latter one at the pH range (3.1-7.0) in this test. The phosphate block copolymer with negative charge could bind with the calcium domains on HA surface via electrostatic interaction. A lower pH value of the polymer solutions appears to facilitate the binding.
[0100] 4. Quantitative Analysis of Polymer/Hydroxyapatite (HA) Binding
[0101] The structures of block copolymers used in this test are P(MMA) 19 -b-P(MOEP) 9 and P(MMA) 17 -b-P(AA) 35 . Polymer solutions of 5 ml with different concentrations and different pH values were mixed with 100 mg HA powder for 2 h at room temperature. After centrifuging for 10 min at 10000 rpm, the solution was used tested by UV-vis spectroscopy. The absorbance of thiocarbonyl group (C═S) before and after binding were utilized to calculate the adsorbed polymer onto HA powder. The calibration curve was performed by using polymer solution with known concentrations. The UV spectra of phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymer before and after binding are shown in FIG. 3-1 to FIG. 3-6 . The calculated adsorbed polymer bound to HA is shown in FIG. 3-7 . It can be seen that when the polymer concentration is gradually increased from 0.06 to 1.0 g/L, more and more polymer could be adsorbed onto the HA surface.
[0102] 5. Anti Erosion Test of Phosphate Block Copolymer
[0103] The structure of block copolymer used in this test is P(MMA) 17 -b-P(MOEP) 12 and P(MMA) 18 -b-P(AA) 29 . Atomic absorption (AA) spectrometry is one of the most reliable and sensitive methods on evaluating the dental erosion by monitoring the mineral loss. The typical testing procedure used was as follows. First, sintered hydroxyapatite (HA) discs were immersed in 1% citric acid (pH=2.5) for 15 min at room temperature, then soaked in water and sonicated for 30 min. HA discs were fixed on a 6 well plate by using KERR compounds. Note that only the top surface of HA was exposed to the solutions. After air drying, the fixed HA discs were challenged by 1% citric acid (pH=3.8) for 15 min at 37° C. with a shaking speed of 50 rpm. The solution was collected and the calcium concentration was designated as [Ca] ref . The HA discs were washed with phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH=7.0) and then treated with polymer solution (1 g/L) or PBS (as blank) for 2 min. After another washing with PBS, the HA was again challenged with citric acid for another 15 min. The solution was collected and the calcium concentration was measured by AA spectrometry [Ca] treat . Because of the heterogeneity among HA samples, the relative calcium level (Ca level), calculated as the following equation (S1), was utilized as an index to assess the protecting efficiency against acid erosion.
[0000]
Ca
level
=
[
Ca
]
treat
[
Ca
]
ref
*
100
%
Equation
S1
[0104] The different polymer treatments on HA surface could influence the calcium level as shown in Table 3. The calcium level after phosphorylated polymer treatments with different polymer treating times was decreased from 91% for blank (non-polymer treated) to 50%, 48%, 34%, 17% for 0.5, 1, 2, or 5 minutes polymer treatment, respectively. The calcium level after carboxylated polymer treatments with different polymer treating time was decreased from 91% for blank (non-polymer treated) to 56%, 60%, 64%, 31% for 0.5, 1, 2, or 5 minutes polymer treatment, respectively. The possible reason is that the adsorbed polymer onto enamel/HA could form a protective layer and prevent the mineral from release.
[0000]
TABLE 3
Calcium released level (%) following acid erosion challenge
Treating time
Treatment
0
30 s
1 min
2 min
5 min
Blank (PBS buffer)
90.7
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
P(MMA) 18 -b-P(AA) 29 ,
n/a
56.4
59.6
63.9
31.2
pH = 4.2
P(MMA) 17 -b-P(MOEP) 12 ,
n/a
50.3
48.3
34.1
16.7
pH = 4.2
[0105] The treatment with phosphate monomer and block copolymer on HA surface could influence on the calcium level as shown in Table 4. The calcium level without treatment is 90%. With treatment with phosphate monomer, the calcium level is still around that level, indicating phosphate monomer treatment has a negligible effect on inhibiting mineral loss during acid challenge. Once the HA is treated by phosphate block copolymer, the calcium level is significantly decreased to 43%, meaning that phosphate block copolymer could protect tooth by lowering down the mineral loss during acid challenge. The possible reason is that the adsorbed phosphate block copolymer onto enamel/HA via its phosphate groups and the hydrophobic groups could obstruct the acid attack by forming a protective layer.
[0000]
TABLE 4
The effect of phosphate monomer and phosphate block copolymer
(P(MMA) 20 -b-P(MOEP) 35 ) on calcium released level
Concentration,
Calcium Level
Treatment
g/L
pH
(%)
Blank (PBS buffer)
n/a
7.0
90.4 ± 13.6
Phosphate monomer
1.0
4.2
88.5 ± 12.6
P(MMA) 20 -b-P(MOEP) 35
1.0
4.2
42.5 ± 7.5
[0106] The carboxlyate block copolymers' protecting effect is similarly evaluated based on the protocol above and the result is shown in Table 5, where the carboxylic monomer, AA, and its homopolymer, polyacrylic acid (PAA), are also included for comparison. The calcium level was also decreased most for the block co-polymer. The pH value doesn't show a significant influence on the anti erosion behavior of the carboxylate block copolymers.
[0000]
TABLE 5
The effect of carboxylic monomer (M-AA), acrylic
acid homopolymer (AA), and tBE4 (PMMA-b-PAA
block copolymer) on calcium released level
Concentration,
Calcium level
Treatment
g/L
pH
(%)
Blank (PBS buffer)
n/a
7.0
90.4 ± 13.6
Acrylic acid monomer
1.0
4.2
77.6 ± 5.6
PAA
1.0
4.2
86.1 ± 14.7
PMMA-b-PAA (tBE4)
1.0
4.2
65.3 ± 9.4
[0107] In order to make a comprehensive comparison, some commercially available copolymers with random structure as well as other carboxylic block copolymers as shown in Table 6. It can be shown that both phosphate and carboxylate block copolymers exhibited a lower value of calcium level released, implying the importance of block structure in protecting tooth from acid challenge. Also, it should be addressed that phosphate block copolymer can more significantly inhibit the mineral loss possibly due to its higher binding strengthen onto HAP surface.
[0000]
TABLE 6
The effect of different polymers on calcium released level
Concentration,
Calcium level
Treatment
g/L
pH
(%)
Blank (PBS buffer)
n/a
7.0
90.4 ± 13.6
P(MMA) 20 -b-P(MOEP) 35
1.0
4.2
42.5 ± 7.5
PAA
1.0
4.2
86.1 ± 14.7
Carbopol
1.0
4.2
82.5 ± 12.8
Gantrez
1.0
4.2
98.2 ± 4.9
PMMA-b-PAA (tBE4)
1.0
4.2
65.3 ± 9.4
[0108] Another anti erosion test completed for the phosphorylated or carboxylated block copolymers was performed using the pH stat instrument. In this experiment, HAP discs were immersed in 15 ml 0.3% citric acid solution (pH 3.8) for 15 minutes before and after 2-minute treatment. The amount of the 10 mM HCl added over time to keep a pH 3.8 was recorded. The % reduction (anti-erosion efficiency) is calculated as
[0000]
(
1
-
(
acid
addtion
time
)
after
(
acid
addtion
time
)
before
)
*
100.
[0000] The higher reduction indicates better protection on erosion. The corresponding results are shown in Table 7. Similar to the findings obtained for the calcium release experiments, the PMAA homopolymer offered almost no protection (0.65%) while the PMMA-b-PAA block copolymers provided greater protection benefits and the PMMA-b-PMOEP block co-polymer provided the greatest benefits, a 30% reduction in erosion. In addition, increasing the molecular weight of the block co-polymer increases the anti-erosion efficacy
[0000]
TABLE 7
Anti-erosion efficiency of homo and block co-polymers
Concentration,
Reduction,
Treatment
g/L
%
PAA (MW = 50,000, Polysciences, Inc)
1.00
0.65
(PMMA)69-b-(PAA)198
1.00
15.16
(PMMA)20-b-P(AA)19
1.00
10.00
(PMMA)19-b-(PMOEP)9
1.00
30.37
[0109] 6. Anti Erosion Test of Phosphate Block Copolymer in Presence of Fluoride
[0110] Since the fluoride ion is widely used in oral care to protect enamel against acid attack, phosphorylated copolymers can greatly enhance the efficiency of this traditional treatment based on the pH stat assessment. It is clearly shown that the anti-erosion efficiency of the mixture of NaF and polymer is increased by 15-30% compared with the copolymer or NaF alone. This result clearly indicates that it's highly promising to enhance the benefits of fluoride when combining with those claimed block copolymer as oral products. Table 8 shows the anti-erosion protection benefits of the PMMA-b-PMOEP block copolymers (1 g/L) in the presence of 500 ppm F.
[0000]
TABLE 8
Anti-erosion efficiency of NaF and NaF + PMMA-b-PMOEP
Treatment
Reduction, %
NaF
30.21
NaF + (PMMA) 19 -b-(PMOEP) 9
54.29
(PMMA) 19 -b-(PMOEP) 9
30.37
[0111] 7. Surface Morphology
[0112] The protective layer that is formed on the enamel surface could prevent the mineral loss as indicated by previous data. This layer could also protect the surface morphology of enamel surface by obstructing the diffusion of external acid. Without any treatment, enamel could be easily etched by acid as shown in FIG. 4 . When the surface was treated by phosphate block copolymer first, the surface morphology before and after acid erosion, the tooth surface was largely preserved as shown in FIG. 4-2 .
|
Described herein are block copolymers having hydrophobic blocks and hydrophilic blocks which are effective in binding to the surface of hard tissue; compositions comprising the same, as well as methods of making and using the same.
| 0
|
BACKGROUND
Technical Field
The present invention relates to nanodevices, and more particularly to devices and methods for stretching biopolymers using nanofluidic channels.
Description of the Related Art
Accurate and inexpensive sensing of biopolymers, especially nucleic acids (DNA, RNA), is important for many scientific and biomedical applications. A high-throughput and robust device to electrically sequence the biopolymers is of great importance. Solid-state bio-sensing techniques, such as artificial nanopores and channels, have been integrated into fluidics for sensing (sequencing) many types of biopolymer molecules, including DNA, RNA, proteins, etc. For precise single molecule sensing of biopolymers, a linearized or fully stretched biopolymer chain conformation is desirable. However, thermodynamically favored conformation of flexible biopolymers, such as a single strain DNA, includes a coiled conformation. One key issue for sensing biopolymers is a large entropic energy barrier for biopolymers (e.g., low entropy for stretched biopolymers and high entropy for coiled ones) to be transported from a large dimension into a smaller dimension. Such a large energy barrier originates from the entropic difference of the flexible polymer.
A large energy barrier greatly lowers the translocation rate of the biopolymers, and can cause very long clogging events in nano-scale channels. Such a large entropy change can cause configurational instabilities of the biopolymers and even drive them to randomly coil and decoil inside the nanofluidic channels or pores. All of these and other problems can lead to reduced and clogged events and thus severely affect proper detection of molecules. Moreover, the entropic energy barrier height increases with the biopolymer chain length, making it very undesirable for precise and high-speed sensing of long biopolymers.
SUMMARY
A device for passing a biopolymer molecule includes a nanochannel formed between a surface relief structure, a patterned layer forming sidewalls of the nanochannel and a sealing layer formed over the patterned layer to encapsulate the nanochannel. The surface relief structure includes a three-dimensionally rounded surface that reduces a channel dimension of the nanochannel at a portion of nanochannel and gradually increases the dimension along the nanochannel toward an opening position, which is configured to receive a biopolymer.
Another device for passing a biopolymer molecule includes a substrate, and a surface relief structure formed on the substrate and having at least one three-dimensionally rounded surface providing a gradually changing depth from a position on the surface relief structure along a channel. The surface relief structure forms a first surface of the channel. A patterned layer is formed on the surface relief structure and forms sidewalls of the channel. A sealing layer is formed over the patterned layer to form a second surface of the channel opposite the first surface.
A method for fabricating a device for evaluating biopolymer molecules includes patterning a surface relief material on a substrate; annealing the surface relief material to reflow the surface relief material to form a surface relief structure that includes a rounded surface; planarizing a channel dielectric layer formed over the surface relief material; patterning the channel dielectric layer to shape a nanochannel over the surface relief material; and forming a sealing layer over the channel dielectric layer to encapsulate a channel, wherein the channel includes a channel dimension at a portion of nanochannel and gradually increases the dimension along the nanochannel toward an opening position, which is configured to receive a biopolymer.
These and other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The disclosure will provide details in the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a fluidic channel device with gradually changing depth for reduction of entropic barrier in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 1B is a top-view of the channel of FIG. 1A .
FIG. 2 shows the fluidic channel device of FIG. 1 along with an electric field distribution graph along the channel, an entropy (S) graph of DNA along the channel and graphs of electrostatic energy (U) and Gibbs free energy (G=U−T*S) of DNA in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a fluidic channel device with gradually changing depth showing controlling of the nano-fluidic channel depth by tuning parameters such as a contact angle of a surface relief on the substrate, radius of the curvature of the reflowed surface relief material, a size of the reflowed material cap, and a height of the reflowed material cap in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 4 shows linear plots and log plots of radius of the curvature R, height h, and a size of the reflowed material cap r as a function of contact angle with given volumes in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 5 shows graphs of channel depth versus x position for controlling nanochannel depths by volume and contact angle (5-90°) for volumes V 1 and V 2 , and contact angles along the x-axis from 0 to 20 μm; and along the x-axis from 0 to 5 μm in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view and a top view of a substrate having a dielectric or surface layer formed thereon to control contact angle in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6A showing surface relief materials patterned on the surface layer or substrate in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6B showing an anneal to reflow surface relief materials in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6D is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6C showing a deposition of a thin dielectric coating in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6E is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6D showing a deposition of a thick insulating dielectric material in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6F is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6E showing a chemical mechanical polish (CMP) planarization and reactive ion etch (RIE) to reduce a thickness of insulating channel dielectric layer in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6G is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6F showing patterning of a nano-fluidic channel in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 6H is a cross-sectional view and a top view of the device of FIG. 6G showing sealing of nano-fluidic channels in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view and a top view of devices showing local heating of surface relief materials before and after heating in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 8A is a top view showing different shapes, surface densities and locations of surface relief material structures in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 8B is a top view showing a transvers bar shape rounded in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view showing integration of electrodes on nanochannels of surface relief materials including single top-bottom electrodes, where the bottom electrode can be the surface relief material in accordance with the present principles;
FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view showing integration of electrodes on nanochannels of surface relief materials including multiple top-bottom electrodes, where the bottom electrode can be the surface relief material in accordance with the present principles; and
FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view showing integration of electrodes on nanochannels of surface relief materials including molecular sensing electrodes, where the bottom electrode can be the surface relief material in accordance with the present principles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In accordance with the present principles, a nanodevice includes a nanochannel having a patterned and reflowed surface relief material to form micro- or nano-scale caps. Such caps can be controlled to have gradual changes in thickness, and serve as a scaffold to define a channel bottom surface, hence yielding a gradually changing channel depth. A flexibly tuned and gradually changing channel depth permits minimized entropic barrier for molecules to translocate. Electrodes can be integrated into the channels for controlling the molecular motion or molecular sensing.
A method for fabricating nanofluidic channels with gradually changing depth are provided by building such channels on a surface relief material with a tunable curvature. The curvature of the surface relief material can be designed by engineering its volume, shape, and contact angle on an underlying substrate. Using this, the channel depth and hence confinement of biopolymers can be accurately and flexibly optimized. This can minimize the entopic barrier of the biopolymer to enter into a narrowest channel region and yield a higher translocation rate.
It is to be understood that the present invention will be described in terms of a given illustrative architecture having a wafer, substrate or other solid-state material; however, other architectures, structures, substrate materials and process features and steps may be varied within the scope of the present invention.
It will also be understood that when an element such as a layer, region or substrate is referred to as being “on” or “over” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or “directly over” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
A design for an integrated circuit chip or nanodevice may be created in a graphical computer programming language, and stored in a computer storage medium (such as a disk, tape, physical hard drive, or virtual hard drive such as in a storage access network). If the designer does not fabricate chips or the photolithographic masks used to fabricate chips, the designer may transmit the resulting design by physical means (e.g., by providing a copy of the storage medium storing the design) or electronically (e.g., through the Internet) to such entities, directly or indirectly. The stored design is then converted into the appropriate format (e.g., GDSII) for the fabrication of photolithographic masks, which typically include multiple copies of the chip design in question that are to be formed on a wafer. The photolithographic masks are utilized to define areas of the wafer (and/or the layers thereon) to be etched or otherwise processed.
Methods as described herein may be used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips or nanodevices. The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In the latter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any case the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present principles, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present principles. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “/”, “and/or”, and “at least one of” for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “A and/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinary skill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.
Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements and initially to FIGS. 1A and 1B , a nanodevice or nanofluidic structure 100 includes a fluidic channel 121 with gradually changing depth for the reduction of entropic barrier in accordance with one illustrative embodiment. FIG. 1A shows a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B shows a top view of the nanofluidic structure 100 . The nanofluidic structure 100 includes a substrate material 101 coated with a surface coating layer 102 . The substrate material 101 may include, e.g., an insulator, a semiconductor, conductor or another suitable rigid material. The surface coating layer 102 may include self-assembled monolayer (SAM, e.g., a single layer of organic molecules), dielectric, metal, glass, semiconductor, etc. A surface relief material or cap 110 may be formed in place or shaped by reflow. Surface relief material or structure 110 may be formed in a spherical cap shape or any other shape having a gradual changing profile. Surface relief material 110 may include a glass, a resist, a polymer, such as polycarbonate, polyethylene, poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), a metal (e.g., a solder), etc.
An optional dielectric layer 111 may be employed to coat the surface relief cap 110 . The dielectric layer 111 may be employed to control a dimension of the nanofluidic channel 121 and is formed in an insulating material on top of the coated spherical cap 110 . A dielectric material 122 seals the nanofluidic channel 121 . A biopolymer 131 , e.g., a DNA molecule, is illustratively shown to demonstrate operation of the nanofluidic structure 100 . The nanofluidic channel 121 may include a larger feed port 107 and/or exit port 107 in communication with the nanofluidic channel 121 .
Referring to FIG. 2 , the nanofluidic structure 100 with a gradually changing nano-fluidic channel depth for reduction of an entropic barrier is depicted in cross-section. A graph 202 shows electric field distribution along the channel. A graph 204 shows entropy (S) of DNA along the channel. A graph 206 shows electrostatic energy (U) and the Gibbs free energy (G=U−T*S) of DNA, where T represents the thermodynamic temperature in an absolute scale, e.g., Kelvin. In the graph 206 , qV is indicated where q is charge and V is voltage.
The spherical cap has a gradually changed height and thus yields a gradually changing channel depth, with the smallest depth at a zenith of the spherical cap. The electrical field reaches a peak value at the shallowest channel depth region (graph 202 ). As a biopolymer enters from a deep channel region and moves into a shallowest region of the channel (at the zenith), it stretches as the channel depth reduces with its entropy value (S) gradually decreasing (graph 204 ). This yields a smooth changing Gibbs free energy (G=U−TS) slope (graph 206 ), where U is the electrostatic energy of the charged biopolymer and T is the temperature. Therefore, the smoothly transitioned channel depth leads to a minimized entropic energy barrier for the biopolymers to transport through the channel, which is important for the translocation and stretching of biopolymers.
Referring to FIG. 3 , in one embodiment, the surface relief material 110 is completely melted to an ideal spherical cap. Nano-fluidic channel depth is controlled by tuning the contact angle of a surface relief on the substrate. R is the radius of the curvature of the reflowed surface relief material, θ is the contact angle, r is the size of the reflowed material cap, h is the height of the reflowed material cap, d 0 is the minimal channel depth, d is the variable channel depth along the x direction, D is the maximum channel depth. In this case, the relationships between the radius of curvature R, the cap height h, the cap size r and the contact angle θ may include the following: (R−h) 2 +r 2 =R 2 , r=R*sin(θ); h 0 =R−R*cos(θ).
Assuming the volume of the surface relief material V is conserved, the volume of the spherical cap V can be written as:
V=π/ 6 *h *(3 r 2 +h 2 )=π/3 *h 2 *(3 R−h )=π/3 *R 3 *(2−3*cos(θ)+cos(θ) 3 ) =V 0
From above, it is clear R can be derived from the initial volume V 0 with the contact angle θ given. Then, h and r can be calculated from R and θ. Assuming the nanochannel is sealed with a flat film ( 122 in FIG. 1A ), the smallest depth is d 0 , and the channel depth d or d(x) along the x direction can be calculated as d(x)=d 0 +(R−sqrt(R 2 −x 2 )). This geometry is illustrative as other geometries are also contemplated and with the scope of the present principles.
Referring to FIG. 4 , where the surface relief material 110 is completely melted to an ideal spherical cap, the parameters R, r, and h are all calculated at different contact angles. Two samples of initial volumes for the surface relief material 110 were used, V 1 =10 2 μm 3 (e.g., 1*10*10 μm 3 or 10 11 nm 3 ) and V 2 =10 4 μm 3 (e.g., 1*100*100 μm 3 or 10 13 nm 3 ). In fact, the 100 times difference in volume causes a 4.64 (=(V 2 /V 1 ) 1/3 ) times difference in the two sets of curves of R, r, and h.
Examples for determining geometrical parameters R, h, and r by volume and contact angle include a first graph 302 , which is a linear plot showing R 304 , h 306 , and r 308 as a function of contact angle (θ) with given volumes (V 1 =1×10 11 , solid lines, and V 2 =1×10 13 nm 3 , dashed lines), and a second graph 310 , which plots of R 312 , h 314 , and r 316 as a function of contact angle (θ) with given volumes (V 1 =1×10 11 , solid lines, and V 2 =1×10 13 nm 3 , dashed lines). r is related to channel depth.
Referring to FIG. 5 , examples for controlling nanochannel depths by volume and contact angle are illustratively shown. A graph 402 shows channel depths with different contact angles (5-90°) for a cap 420 (surface relief material 110 ) with a volume V 1 =1×10 11 nm 3 along the x-axis from 0 to 20 μm (indicated by line 424 ) from a center position of the cap 420 . A graph 404 shows channel depths with different contact angles) (5-90° for the cap 420 with a volume V 1 =1×10 11 nm 3 along x-axis from 0 to 5 μm (indicated by line 426 ). A graph 406 shows channel depths with different contact angles) (5-90° for a cap 422 with a volume V 2 =1×10 13 nm 3 along the x-axis from 0 to 20 μm (indicated by line 424 ) from a center position of the cap 422 . A graph 408 shows channel depths with different contact angles (5-90°) for the cap 422 with a volume V 2 =1×10 13 nm 3 along x-axis from 0 to 5 μm (indicated by line 426 ).
A nanochannel depth (d) can be determined assuming two volumes of the surface relief material ( 110 ) for caps 420 and 422 as 10 11 nm 3 (graphs 402 , 404 ) and 10 13 nm 3 (graphs 406 , 408 ). The channel depth d increases very smoothly with a small contact angle θ, but increases quite dramatically for large contact angles. An initial volume of the surface relief material ( 110 ) for caps 420 , 422 also has an impact on the nanochannel depth slope. At a large distance away from the cap center where x=0, for example x=15 μm, the channel depth is larger for a larger cap. This is because the depth is fixed as the maximum channel depth D=h+d 0 for a small cap, and the channel depth increases as a function of x because of a greater r and h for a larger cap. At a small distance away from the cap center where x=0, for example x=2 μm, the channel depth is larger for a small cap. This is because the cap height changes more abruptly over a same distance x.
This shows that the cap geometry and the channel depth can flexibly be designed by tuning the contact angle and the surface relief material ( 110 ). In practical embodiments, the channel depth may need to change from <5 nm to 100-500 nm over a distance of 1-100 μm. The contact angle and the volume of the surface relief material can be determined according to the corresponding h and r dimensions.
Referring to FIGS. 6A-6H , a fabrication scheme is illustratively shown to achieve such a channel-on-cap configuration for a nanodevice 100 . An example of fabricating nanochannels on a reflowed surface relief material includes depositing a surface layer to control contact angle, patterning surface relief materials and annealing to reflow surface relief materials. A thin dielectric coating is deposited and a thick insulating dielectric material is formed on top. A chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and reactive ion etch (RIE) are employed to reduce the thickness of insulating channel dielectric layer. Nano-fluidic channels are patterned, and sealed. Each of FIGS. 6A-6H include a cross-section view (CS), a top view (TV), and a set of axes X, Y and Z for each view.
Referring to FIG. 6A , a dielectric layer 102 is deposited on top of a substrate material 101 . The dielectric layer 102 is employed as an insulating coating of a nanochannel bottom surface, and is also employed as a layer to flexibly tune the contact angle of surface relief material. The dielectric layer 102 can be either organic or inorganic, it can be realized by physical deposition, chemical deposition, chemical assembly, etc., and the material of dielectric layer 102 may include, e.g., SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , Si 3 N 4 , organic monolayer, etc. The material of substrate 101 can be any material, either organic or inorganic, and it can be, e.g., Si, SiO 2 , Si 3 N 4 , metal, plastic, etc. The dielectric layer (surface layer) 102 controls the surface tension, which in turn determines the contact angle and the shape of reflowed materials.
Referring to FIG. 6B , a surface relief material 110 is patterned by a combination of micro-nano fabrication techniques, which may include lithography, deposition, etching, etc. An initial volume of the surface relief material 110 is determined in this process. The shape of the surface relief material 110 does not have to be square or rectangular.
Referring to FIG. 6C , an annealing process is performed to fully or partially melt the surface relief material 110 to form a cap. The annealing method can be light illumination (e.g., ultraviolet (UV), excimer, visible, infrared (IR), etc.), heat, etc. Preferably, the heating temperature exceeds the melting or glass-transition temperature of the material to fully reflow the material, which makes the material round, preferably in three dimensions. The temperature could also be slightly lower than the melting or glass-transition temperature to only soften the surface relief material. The surface relief material does not have to be round. A localized heat is also possible to partially melt the surface relief pattern. In an alternate embodiment, the surface relief material 110 is formed separately and adhered to the dielectric layer 102 .
Referring to FIG. 6D , the annealed surface relief cap ( 110 ) is optionally coated with another dielectric layer 111 . The coating or dielectric layer material may include, e.g., Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , etc. The deposition can be by atomic layer deposition (ALD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), low pressure CVD (LPCVD), evaporation, etc. The coating material or dielectric layer 111 can be used to harden the underlying surface-relief cap ( 110 ), protect the cap ( 110 ) from etching that follows, and act as an etch-stop layer to control channel depth.
Referring to FIG. 6E , an insulating dielectric layer 120 is coated on top of the spherical cap 110 or dielectric layer 111 , if employed. Layer 120 is to be used to form a fluidic channel. The insulating dielectric layer 120 (channel material) may include, e.g., SiO 2 , Si 3 N 4 , etc.
Referring to FIG. 6F , the insulating dielectric layer 120 is planarized by polishing (e.g., CMP) and optionally thinned by etching, e.g., reactive ion etching or wet chemical etching. The minimum dielectric layer height is set to d 0 , which may be, e.g., less than 100 nm and preferably less than 20 nm.
Referring to FIG. 6G , a nano-channel 121 is patterned and aligned on top of the spherical cap ( 110 ) region by a series of micro-nano fabrication techniques, which may include lithography, deposition, etching, etc. The nanochannels 121 may have different widths at different regions, e.g., with the smallest dimensions on top of the center of the spherical cap 110 . The nano-channel 121 may be configured with tapers 107 or other features to assist in loading and translocating biopolymers.
Referring to FIG. 6H , the channels 121 are sealed with a dielectric material 122 . The sealing method may include wafer bonding and/or pitching off small venting holes using a sacrificial channel material.
Referring to FIG. 7 , in another embodiment, the cap may be formed using different heating techniques to result in different shapes. Local heating of surface relief materials is shown during heating ( 610 ) and after heating ( 612 ). A localized heat source 602 , e.g., a laser or focused light, can be employed to locally modify a shape of surface relief materials 110 . This can result in arbitrary and asymmetric channel depth profiles.
Referring to FIG. 8A , in other embodiments, structure geometry, dimension, and patterning density of the surface relief patterns ( 110 ) can be flexibly changed, according to the need for different dimensions and densities for different channel applications. Tuning shapes, surface density, and locations of surface relief material structures may include complex compound surfaces and shapes. Structures other than those depicted in FIG. 8A are also contemplated.
Referring to FIG. 8B , in one practical embodiment, surface relief material 110 can be patterned as a very long (e.g., 1-10 μm length) bar along the Y direction (shown under the insulating dielectric layer 120 ). In this way, the melted surface relief material is less spherical but rather cylindrical with a uniform round cap along the Y direction. The nanochannel 121 can be very easily aligned to the surface relief materials 110 (if the top cap is very spherical then the lateral lithography alignment to pattern the nanochannels on top of the cap would be very stringent).
Referring to FIGS. 9A-9C , the nanodevices in accordance with the present principles may be configured in a plurality of ways, e.g., by including electrodes or other structures for driving or controlling biopolymers or other molecules. Integrating electrodes with nanochannels on surface relief materials may include single top-bottom electrodes, where the bottom electrodes can be the surface relief material itself, may be embedded in or on the surface relief material, may include multiple top and bottom electrodes, may include molecular sensing electrodes, etc.
Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B , the surface relief structures 110 can be integrated with electrodes for better control of biopolymers and/or sensing the biopolymers. The surface relief material itself can be employed as an electrode. This may include coating the surface relief material 110 with a conductive material, placing a conductor in the surface relief material 110 , making the surface relief material 110 from a conductive material, or provide electrical conductors coated with a layer of linker molecules.
A top electrode 115 and/or 116 may be deposited and patterned or otherwise adhered to the dielectric layer 122 . A method for controlling a biopolymer 131 passing between the electrode 115 and the surface relief material 110 can be based on electrostatic interaction of the charged biopolymer with applied electrical potential. There can be multiple electrodes 116 ( FIG. 9B ) or a single ( FIG. 9A ) top electrode. In one embodiment, the surfaces of electrodes 115 and 116 can be functioned (lined or coated) with organic molecules or linker molecules which can interact with the biopolymer, for example, to hold the biopolymer, sense the biopolymer or otherwise interact with the biopolymer being stretched or sensed. The linker molecules may include with self-assembled molecules with a functional head-group, such as, e.g., benzamide and/or imidazole. Other linker molecules may be employed as well.
Referring to FIG. 9C , in another embodiment, a sensing circuit 135 may be connected between an electrode 117 and the surface relief material 110 to form an ohmic contact using fluid in the channel 121 . Electrical current signals can be used to detect and even sequence the biopolymer 131 as it moves through the channel 121 . Other configurations are also contemplated.
It should be understood that the biopolymers may employ electrophoresis to drive or translocate biopolymers 131 . The motion of dispersed particles, under the influence of a spatially uniform electric field, is employed to move, relative to a fluid disposed in the channel 121 , the biopolymer through the nanochannel 121 .
It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the figures may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two steps shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the steps may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.
Having described preferred embodiments for nanofluidic channels with gradual depth change for reducing entropic barrier of biopolymers (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments disclosed which are within the scope of the invention as outlined by the appended claims. Having thus described aspects of the invention, with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.
|
A device for passing a biopolymer molecule includes a nanochannel formed between a surface relief structure, a patterned layer forming sidewalls of the nanochannel and a sealing layer formed over the patterned layer to encapsulate the nanochannel. The surface relief structure includes a three-dimensionally rounded surface that reduces a channel dimension of the nanochannel at a portion of nanochannel and gradually increases the dimension along the nanochannel toward an opening position, which is configured to receive a biopolymer.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains generally to a control system for an electro-hydraulic actuator of the doser type and in particular to such a control system which provides improved tracking of position request signals.
Electro-hydraulic actuators of the doser type are known in the art. Such actuators operate by applying or exhausting measured quantities or "doses" of fluid to or from a fluid actuator. Each dose effects movement of the actuator in a manner similar to a stepper motor. The doses are administered in an on-off fashion by means such as solenoid actuated valves.
It is known that the dose volume can be controlled by opening a solenoid valve for a discrete time period in response to an electrical pulse of predetermined duration or width from an electronic controller. The effective output travel rate of the doser actuator can thus be varied by changing the pulse frequency and/or the pulse width with the maximum slew rate of the device being limited by the flow capacity of the solenoid valve when it remains continuously open. Such actuators are compatible with and easily controlled by modern digital electronic controls to effect a stepper motor-like response.
Doser type electro-hydraulic actuators and controls are more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,017 in the name of James M. Eastman and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The disclosure of Eastman is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
A control system for a doser actuator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,743 issued in the name of Michael J. Leszczewski also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The disclosure of Leszczewski is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
From these disclosures, it will be recognized that doser actuators do not have inherent digital precision comparable to stepper motors. This is because individual doses cannot be metered with the same precision as the precisely fractionally divided steps of a stepper motor. However, since most control applications utilize closed loop control systems wherein the position of the actuator is the ultimate control parameter, a doser actuator incorporated in a closed loop system can produce actuator position accuracies comparable to those of stepper motors. The doser has advantages of lower cost, reduced complexity, and higher reliability.
An example of an adaptive closed loop control system for an electro-hydraulic actuator is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,361, issued to Martin on Feb. 8, 1977. Such closed loop actuator systems can be used to position various components of turbine engines such as fuel control valves, exhaust nozzles 22, and variable geometry vanes. Additionally, other aircraft uses may include positional control of rotors, elevators, flaps or other components in response to pilot-initiated or automatic control system inputs.
The equilibrium condition for closed loop operation of a doser actuator requires either an error deadband for which no position correction is made or steady state limit cycling wherein the actuator continuously cycles about a desired position. Deadband operation is preferred on most applications because of reduced solenoid operation. In either case, precision of operation depends upon having a small enough minimum doser step or response to accurately move the actuator to its final position. Conversely, as the magnitude of each minimum doser step is reduced, the doser control system tends to exhibit reduced capability with respect to the accuracy of tracking a specific actuator response request. Such problems are further compounded by variations in operation between individual doser actuators, a result of manufacturing tolerances, variations in operating conditions for a specific actuator which may be caused by factors such as temperature, position, altitude, and the like, and variations in response of an actuator to what are commonly referred to as opposing and assisting loads. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a control system for a doser actuator which is able to supply operating pulse widths for actuation of the doser solenoid valves which have a minimum value which closely approaches the minimum threshold pulse for effecting doser actuation while simultaneously providing such a control system which is able to adapt to larger doser position change requests rapidly and accurately.
SUMMARY OF THE INVFNTION
Broadly the invention is an improvement in a closed loop control system for an electro-hydraulic actuator which includes means for generating a position signal representative of the position thereof and being movable in response to a time modulated pulse signal generated by said control system which is based upon an error signal schedule representative of the difference between the actuator position and a desired actuator position to null the error signal. The time modulated pulse signal includes a threshold component and a component proportional to the error signal. The invention is characterized in that it includes correction signal generating means for generating a first threshold correction signal proportional to the error signal when the actuator fails to move in response to a pulse signal, and second threshold correction signal generating means generating a corrected threshold component as a function of small movements of the actuator in response to pulse signals.
The correction signal circuitry may further include memory circuits for storing signals and a gating circuit for inputting the corrected signals to said time modulated pulse signal generating means for as long as movement of the actuator in response to said pulse signal remains below a predetermined limit. The threshold correction signal generating means generates a signal proportional to the magnitude of the first movement of the actuator in response to a pulse signal and a second summing circuit for reducing the corrected pulse signal threshold as a function of that magnitude.
In a specific embodiment of the invention, the control system further includes disabling circuit means for rendering the pulse signal generating means inoperative when the magnitude of said error signal is less than a predetermined minimum (the deadband).
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved control system for an electro-hydraulic actuator of the doser-type.
Another object of the invention is to provide such an improved control system in which the time modulation of the pulse signal is modified in response to actuator response.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a control system wherein the time modulated pulse signal comprises a threshold component and an error component and circuitry for modifying same in response to non-movement and small movement of the actuator to pulse signals.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a system wherein threshold correction circuitry is provided for increasing the threshold component of the pulse signal by an amount proportional to the error signal in response to nonmovement of the actuator.
Still another object of the invention is to provide such a threshold correction circuit which repeatedly recomputes said corrected threshold signal component when the magnitude of the movement of the actuator in response to the pulse signals remains below a predetermined limit and when the error doesn't change direction but remains larger than the deadband.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a system in which the threshold correction circuit includes further circuitry for generating a second threshold correction signal proportional to the magnitude of the first movement of said actuator means to said pulse signal and reducing said threshold component as a function thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features and aspects of the invention will be more fully described and better understood in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a control system for an electro-hydraulic actuator constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIGS. 2, 2(A), and 2(B) are graphs showing the relationship between the position error signal and pulse width signal and the effect of failure of the actuator to respond to the previous error correction signal;
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the function of the threshold correction signal generating means when response to the previous pulse.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the function of the gating means for determining when a correction should be made to the previously assumed threshold pulse width;
FIG. 5 is a more detailed block diagram of the actuator controller of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a detailed blocked diagram of the augmenter in FIG. 5 error signal generating means; and
FIG. 7 is a detailed block diagram of a further modified embodiment of the error signal generating circuitry.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a closed loop actuator control system for an electro-hydraulic actuator used in a gas turbine engine fuel control system, the description of which is in substantial part repeated herein from U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,743 for completeness. The actuator control system is shown as part of a fuel control for exemplary purposes only and should not be limited in its uses by such description. Normally, this control can be utilized for many types of positioning requirements and is specifically adaptable to extensive aircraft applications. Similarly, electro-hydraulic or electro-pneumatic actuators other than that specifically illustrated can be controlled in the manner disclosed hereinafter.
The fuel control system regulates the fuel flow Wf to the gas turbine engine 50 shown in outline and comprises an electronic fuel controller 52, an actuator controller 54, an electro-hydraulic actuator 56, and a fuel valve 42. The electronic fuel controller 52 determines the required position of the fuel valve 42 and the actuator 56 does the positioning under the closed loop control of actuator controller 54. To accomplish this, the electronic fuel controller 52 samples at least one of the various operating parameters of the engine including, but not limited to, the compressor output pressure Pc, the ambient pressure Po, the turbine inlet temperature Ti, the ambient temperature To, and compressor rotor speed N. From the sampled parameters, the controller 52 calculates the position of the fuel valve 42 that will supply the engine with the correct fuel/air ratio.
The desired position of the fuel valve is transmitted to the actuator controller 54 as a position request signal PRS. This position yields the optimum fuel/air ratio for the operating conditions of the engine as sensed during one sampling interval. Along with the position signal, a clock or periodic timing signal CLS is transmitted to the actuator controller 54 to designate the sampling intervals. The actuator controller 54 compares the PRS signal to an actual position signal APS generated by a position sensor 40. The APS signal is representative of the actual position of the valve 42. The comparison forms an error signal PES which can be used to move the actuator 56 to position fuel valve 42, accordingly. Closed loop control is provided by generating a periodic pulse width modulated signal synchronous with the clock signal CLS to either solenoid 32 or solenoid 34 via signal lines 58, or 60, such that the actuator 56 positions the fuel valve in a step wise manner in a direction to null the error. The fuel valve position, as defined by the actuator piston, regulates the amount of fuel flow Wf delivered to the engine 50. The fuel valve is fed at a substantially constant pressure from a pressure regulator 44 via conduit 43. The pressure regulator 44 receives pressurized fuel from an engine-driven pump 46 drawing from a fuel source 48. The regulator recirculates part of the fuel delivered by the pump 46 back to its inlet to maintain a constant pressure head at its output. The actuator 56 is also fluidically connected to the regulator 44 via conduit 43 and receives the pressurized fuel at pressure Ps as a source of motive power. A return conduit 47 from the actuator 56 to the pump 46 is provided to return the fuel of pressure Pr when needed power has been extracted.
The electro-hydraulic actuator 56 is of the doser type having bilateral directional capability and a positional movement corresponding to the magnitude of doses of fluid applied thereto, these in turn being proportional to the duration of a pulse width modulated signal which controls the solenoid valves 32 and 34. Such an actuator and its alternatives are more fully described in the referenced Eastman application. The doser actuator is shown as having a housing 10 incorporating a pair of coaxial cylindrical bores 12 and 14 of unequal diameter. Positioned in bores 12 and 14 on the common shaft 16 which is connected to the desired device to be actuated (fuel valve 42), are a pair of pistons 18 and 20.
Pistons 18 and 20 in association with bores 12 and 14, define three control pressure chambers 22, 24, and 26. Chamber 24 communicates through a passage 28 in housing 10 with a source of hydraulic fluid or fuel under substantial pressure Ps. Chamber 26 communicates through a passageway 30 with the inlet side of the fluid pressure source 46 at pressure Pr.
Chamber 22 is a control pressure chamber at pressure Px varied by the action of a first normally closed source solenoid valve 32 which communicates with the high pressure Ps through passageway 28 and with a second normally closed return solenoid valve 34 which communicates with passageway 30 leading to the return pressure Pr. The areas of pistons 18 and 20 are designed such that at equilibrium the control pressure Px is intermediate between the supply pressure Ps and the return pressure Pr. Opening of the solenoid valve 32 meters high pressure fluid into the chamber 22, thereby causing the piston to move to the right as shown in the drawing and to stop when the valve closes. Similarly, opening of solenoid valve 34 meters fluid flow out of the chamber 22 to the return, causing the piston to move to the left and to stop again when the valve closes. The smallest discrete movements will occur for the shortest actuation pulses for solenoid valves 32 and 34.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown graphically the relationship between the magnitude of the position error signal PES and the pulse width signal (PW) required to move the actuator 10 to a nulled or zero error position. It will be observed that the relationship comprises a family of curves which range between assisting load schedule 80 and a maximum opposing load schedule 82. Both error signal versus pulse width schedules have an upper limit at a saturation level 84 which corresponds to a pulse width of 100% of the pulse cycle time which therefore corresponds to actuator solenoid 32 or 34 being continuously on. At the other extreme of the position error signal versus pulse width schedule, there is a deadband area which corresponds to position error signals below LEL, line 86. Below the LEL error signal value, the actuator 10 does not respond, thereby obviating a constant cycling of the actuator about a 0 value. Nominally between the assisting load and the opposing load schedules 80 and 82 is a basic load schedule 88 which represents substantially an average or mean value of pulse width PW schedule versus PES. This schedule is incorporated in the actuator controller 54. The function of the controller 54 is fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,743 above-referenced. Basically, the controller receives a signal indicative of a desired position for the actuator and another signal from a position sensor 40 indicative of the present position of the actuator. From this, based upon the stored basic load schedule, the actuator controller generates a pulse signal having a pulse width in accordance with the schedule. This pulse is applied to one or the other of the solenoid valves 32 or 34 to move the actuator 10 in a direction to move the actuator from its natural position to the desired position.
In the above-referenced U.S. Patent, it is further recognized that, particularly in small position error signal regions, movement of the actuator 10 to bring the actuator position error signal PES within the lower error limit can be inappropriately slow this being primarily the result of differences between the actual or required error signal versus pulse signal for specific operating conditions and the basic schedule. It was therein proposed to provide an error signal correction signal wherein the correction signal was a resultant of non-movement of the actuator in response to a pulse and a counter signal indicative of the number of such ineffective pulses that occurred prior to first movement of the actuator.
In this prior art system, shown simplified and slightly modified in FIG. 5, the error signal is generated by a summing junction 100 receiving as inputs the position request signal PRS and the actual position signal APS.
These two signals are added in the summing junction 100 and form a position error signal PES of a certain magnitude and polarity. In the embodiment shown the polarity will be negative if the PRS signal is greater than the APS signal and positive if vice versa. Next, the position error signal PES is fed into a polarity detector 102 which generates a multiplicative factor of either a +1 or -1 depending on the polarity of the signal. If the PES signal is positive, a +1 is generated and if negative, a -1 is generated.
The polarity sensor output is fed back to a multiplication circuit 104 which has as an additional input the PES signal. This provides an error signal |PES| which is equal to the absolute value of the position error signal regardless of the original polarity. The |PES| signal is fed into a function generator 106 which operates to provide the base pulse width signal PBS from a schedule which is a function of the system error. The PBS signal is generated once every sampling period by feeding the function generator with the clock signal CLS via signal line 116. The particular function generated by the function generator 106 will be more fully described hereinafter.
The base pulse signal PBS is combined in another summing junction 114 with a correction signal CIS generated by augmenter circuit 130 described in detail below to form a total pulse signal TPS. The total pulse signal is representative of the desired duration of the pulse width for a particular clock period. The TPS signal is transmitted to the input of a pulse generator 118 where pulse width modulation takes place. The pulse generator 118 receives the timing signal CLS via signal line 116 to generate pulses at discrete sampling or timing intervals synchronously with the clock. The duration of the pulse is governed by the magnitude of the TPS signal. The pulse generator can be implemented as a monostable device which has an astable state regulated by the TPS signal. This device can have a fixed level output or it may include means for an initial "spike" of voltage to a high level followed by a reduction to a lower level for the remaining pulse duration. As is known, the "spike" reduces the threshold pulse width needed to open a solenoid valve.
The output pulses from the pulse generator 118 are transmitted to a multiplication circuit 120 which receives, as another input, the output of the polarity detector 102. The multiplication circuit multiplies the output pulse by either a +1 or -1 thereby generating pulses of +v, -v to govern the direction of the actuator position. The multiplier 120 coupled with a pair of commonly connected diodes 122, 124 performs a gating function to the solenoids. If the polarity of the error signal PES is negative (APS less than the position request signal PRS), the output of the pulse generator 118 is gated to the return solenoid 34 through diode 124 to move the actuator piston left. If the actual position signal APS is greater than the position request signal PRS, then polarity detector will output a +1 and the pulse output from generator 118 will be gated to the source solenoid 32 through diode 122 to move the piston right. The movement is in a direction calculated to null the difference between the PRS and APS signals.
FIG. 5 differs from the equivalent FIG. 2 in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,743 in the lumping together of the window comparator 108, the counter 110 and the multiplying digital to analog converter 112 in the latter figure as an augmenter 130 in FIG. 5, and in supplying this augmenter with the total pulse signal TPS. As the name suggests, this device augments the basic pulse signal PBS as needed to adapt to varying solenoid response thresholds. A first embodiment of the improved augmenter circuit is shown in FIG. 6.
The circuit has four separate inputs. The first input is the position error signal PES which is received by a memory 150 and a divider 154. Memory 150 stores the present error signal PES and outputs the previous error signal PES (tp) for every clock signal. The second signal input is the absolute value of the position error signal |PES| received by memory 152, divider 154, summation circuit 160, and a window comparator 166. The third input is the clock signal CLS input to the two memory elements 150 and 152. The fourth signal input is the total pulse signal TPS.
The output of the memory element 152 is fed to one input of the divider 156 and the other input of summation circuit 160. The second input to the divider 156 is transmitted from the output of memory 150. The output of the summation circuit 160 is transmitted to a second window comparator 164. The output of the two dividers 154 and 156 are differenced in a summation circuit 158 whose output is transmitted to a third window comparator 162.
The outputs of all three window comparators 162, 164, and 166, respectively, form bilevel logic signals for the input to the NOR gate 168. Absence of a high level signal on any of the window comparator outputs will produce a high output from the NOR gate 168 and transmit the signal to the multiplier circuit 170.
A third memory 172 is connected to receive and store the total pulse signal TPS previously applied to the actuator. Upon the occurrence of the next clock signal CLS, this signal is output to a summing junction 174. Simultaneously, the pulse width signal PW1 corresponding to the threshold pulse portion of the basic pulse schedule PBS in FIG. 2 is applied to another input of the summing junction 174 wherein it is subtracted from the TPS signal. This signal is now combined with the output from a NOR gate 168 which receives the outputs from the window comparators 162, 164, and 166 which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,743. Since this is a NOR gate, and based upon the previous logic, it will be seen that the NOR gate 168 outputs the signal only when incrementing of the threshold signal PW1 is needed. The output from the NOR gate is combined with the output from the summing junction 174 to provide the correction signal CIS. This signal is then combined with the output PBS from the function generator 106. The value of the previous (ineffective) pulse is seen to be substituted for the threshold portion PW1 of the basic pulse schedule PBS.
The function of the circuit can best be understood with reference to FIGS. 2, 2a and 2b. FIG. 2 depicts incrementing as described in the Leszczewski U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,743 where pulse width is plotted against scalar position error |PES|. If a pulse on the basic schedule does not exceed the solenoid response threshold, the schedule is increased by a small fixed increment with each sampling interval until response does occur. High resolution is assured, but converging into the deadband can be very slow, and accuracy in following slow transients can be poor. Note that following a pulse large enough to exceed the solenoid response threshold, the succeeding pulse will be back on the basic schedule even if the error is not fully corrected. In FIG. 2a, a small scalar position error signal PES 1 produces a pulse derived from the basic schedule 88 shown in dashed lines in FIGS. 2a and 2b. If this pulse is insufficient to cause movement of the actuator 10, a first correction signal CIS 1 is added to the base schedule pulse width PW1. This effectively shifts the basic schedule by an amount equal to CIS 1 to provide schedule 90. In FIG. 2b, a larger position error signal PES 2 occurs. Still assuming non-movement of the actuator 10, a substantially larger error correction signal CIS 2 is produced, it being apparent that the magnitude of the correction signal CIS 2 is proportional to the magnitude of the pulse error signal. This in effect shifts the base schedule from line 88 to new schedule 90.
The pulse width signal TPS applied to the actuator 10 is now seen to comprise an amount equivalent to the least solenoid response threshold PW 1 from the basic schedule 88 plus an additional amount proportional to doser actuator 10 position error signal PES. If the resulting pulse is not sufficient to produce a doser piston movement because it is below the solenoid valve threshold for the particular operating condition, its higher value is substituted for the least solenoid response threshold PW 1 in computing the required pulse width for the next sampling interval. If the solenoid valve continues to not respond, successive sampling intervals will assume response thresholds progressively increased by an amount proportional to position error. Note that when the pulse width finally exceeds the actual solenoid response threshold, it will exceed the threshold by an amount proportional to the last correction signal component CIS. This excess for small errors will be small enough to allow for good resolution while allowing more generous piston responses for larger errors.
This action is further illustrated in FIG. 3, where pulse width is again plotted against piston position error. The assisting and opposing load curves 80, 82 show the optimal pulse width to correct the error for the two extreme load conditions. The basic schedule 88 generally shows the average basic response curve contained in the actuator memory from which the controller generates its first response to an error signal. PW1 is approximately the least anticipated solenoid response threshold and the lowest pulse width value from the basic schedule. If it is assumed that the system is operating in a maximum opposing load situation and the controller is following a ramped position request which is just steep enough to maintain a constant error in spite of the piston movements caused by solenoid valve pulsing, the magnitude of these movements will then be a measure of actuator performance since they show how fast a request ramp can be followed without exceeding the error considered.
Window comparator 164 is modified to provide a response curve as shown in FIG. 4. This insures that incrementing of the pulse width signals is allowed to continue for error reducing responses that are less than some selected quantity B'. This value B' is selected to assure that cancellation of incrementing does not occur for small error changes and is simultaneously selected to assure that incrementing is cancelled when the response exceeds a predetermined maximum quantity B' above which error responses are large enough that precise computation of the solenoid threshold portion of the pulse signal TPS becomes both difficult and unnecessary.
The horizontal broken lines in FIG. 3 show total pulse width signals for successive incremental pulse additions following a failure of the piston to respond. If the maximum opposing load is in effect, then an error A will produce an initial subthreshold response PW2 from the basic schedule. At the succeeding sampling interval the position error signal is assumed the same and the added pulse increment CIS will increase the net or total pulse signal PW3 to become PW2+CIS where CIS=PW2-PW1. At the next clock cycle, the new TPS signal PW3 will exceed the required PWR threshold by an amount ΔPW and the position error is reduced by an amount ΔE. Incrementing of the pulse signal threshold component stops and for the sampling interval which occurs subsequently, the pulse signal will again equal PW2.
It can be seen that ideally, following a first pulse response ΔE, the threshold pulse used for computing the succeeding pulse width, instead of returning to PW1, should be made equal to PWR since this is the true threshold pulse value required for the particular operating conditions in effect. Then, the very next sampling interval will produce an effective pulse width PW4. If the threshold for control could be continually maintained at a value PWR, the desired position correction could be made for each sampling interval. The corresponding ramp slope (the position error A divided by the sampling interval) would then be ideal. Error could be accurately corrected thereafter without further incrementing until it is brought into the deadband or again increased.
This correction can be effected with a further modified augmenter 130 as shown in FIG. 7. The control is as in FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein the augmenter 130 provides a correcting signal CIS when the basic pulse versus error schedule is inadequate. In the circuit of FIG. 7, the output TPS from the memory circuit 172 is again applied to the summing junction 174 and the value PW1 subtracted therefrom. Simultaneously, the input scalar position error signal |PES|, minus previous scalar position error signal |PES (pt)| supplied to window comparator 164 is adjusted by an appropriate gain multiplier K in an amplifier circuit 180 and this second correction signal value is input to the summing junction 174 to establish a further modified pulse augmenting or correction signal CIS. This second correcting signal is subtracted from the TPS minus PW1 signal. It will now be seen that the PW3 signal is reduced by an amount ΔPW that is proportional to the change in the error signal (ΔE) that resulted from the first total pulse signal TPS that produced the ΔE movement. The net effect is to reduce the corrected threshold signal by an amount which establishes the base minimum pulse threshold at the value PWR, the minimum pulse threshold required use for the particular operating conditions. Further, since the value B is selected to be in excess of an error signal A as shown in the attached FIG. 4, this value PWR will continue to be used as the minimum pulse threshold signal for computation of pulse width signals for any particular correction response occurring within the nonlinear (small error signal) region of the response curves.
In the above disclosure, it will now be seen that the improved augmenter circuits of the present invention will provide substantially improved actuator response in the small signal nonlinear region by effecting a larger pulse signal incrementing wherein the increments are proportional to the magnitude of the error signal, by assuring that the incremented or corrected minimum pulse signal is not cancelled until a significant actuator response occurs, and by providing a final correction of the pulse signal to establish the exact value of the minimum pulse threshold required for any particular operating condition utilizing this value until a particular error perturbation has been corrected.
Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with example embodiments, it will be understood that this is illustrative of the invention, and is by no means restrictive, thereof. It is reasonable to be expected that those skilled in the art can make numerous revisions and additions to the invention and it is intended that such revisions and additions will be included in the scope of the following claims as equivalents of the invention.
|
The invention is a control system for generating time modulated pulse signals to effect movement of a doser type actuator. The control system is characterized in that it includes an augmenter circuit which generates a first correction signal additive to scheduled control signals when the actuator fails to respond or has a response below a predetermined limit to an actuating pulse, a second correction circuit which generates a correction signal proportional to the magnitude of the first movement of the actuator response to a pulse signal for reducing the magnitude of the pulse signal in proportion to the magnitude of the movement, and a gating signal or circuit which blocks said first and second correction signal generating circuits generating the augmentation signal when the movement of the actuator in response to a pulse signal is negative or above a predetermined limit, when the positional error changes direction, or when the actuator position is within the desired deadband limits.
| 6
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/061,992, filed on Oct. 24, 2013, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/642,457, filed on Dec. 20, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,591,453.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to systems for the irrigation and/or aspiration of fluids into or from a surgical work site during an endoscopic procedure. More particularly, the invention relates to a multi-purpose irrigation/aspiration system for use during minimally invasive surgery for the purpose of performing any one of a variety of irrigation/aspiration functions such as, for example, tissue lavage, joint distension or uterine distension. Still more particularly, the invention relates to an irrigation/aspiration system having a common control system operating two separate pumps, one pump dedicated to irrigation and one pump dedicated to aspiration. Still more particularly the invention relates to controlling the outflow fluid when an aspirating surgical tool is used with the system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Minimally invasive surgery also referred to herein as endoscopic surgery, often utilizes an irrigation system to force suitable biocompatible fluid into the area surrounding the surgical work site within a patient. The term “irrigation” is used broadly to mean any type of pressurized fluid flow whether it be for irrigation in particular or for other uses described below. Flexible plastic tubing is used to conduct the fluid from a source to the work site and from the work site to a drain or other receptacle. Flexible tubing is also sometimes used as a pressure monitoring line to convey fluid pressure information to a control mechanism. Depending upon the procedure, the irrigating fluid is useful for various purposes such as tissue lavage, hydro-dissection, joint distension, uterine distension, etc. Known irrigation systems include electrically driven pump systems, in which a suitable fluid is pumped through flexible tubes from a source to the work site, gravity-feed systems, in which the pump is replaced by merely adjusting the height of the fluid supply above the patient, and nitrogen powered systems.
[0004] Irrigation systems generally utilize a means to set the pressure desired at the surgical work site. A feedback loop uses information from a pressure sensor to maintain the set pressure within a desired range. The invention described herein includes improvements in pressure control.
[0005] Known aspiration systems employ a source of reduced-pressure (i.e. lower than that of the work site) and include vacuum systems, in which a vacuum source is simply connected via flexible tubes to the work site, and simple gravity controlled drain lines. Aspiration of the fluid serves to either simply remove it to improve visibility, prevent undesirable fluid accumulation or high pressure at the work site, or to regulate the flow rate to maintain a predetermined fluid pressure at the work site.
[0006] Because the irrigation and aspiration functions are commonly used together, prior art irrigation/aspiration systems have been developed to perform both functions with one system, often combined in one console which provides power and control. The irrigation system is generally used in conjunction with an aspiration system which removes the fluid pumped into the work site at a controlled rate depending on the flow rate selected by the surgeon. Dual pump irrigation and aspiration systems are known where one pump is dedicated to the irrigating function and another pump is dedicated to the aspirating function. Each system utilizes a collection of flexible tubes to connect the fluid and vacuum sources to appropriate instruments inserted into the body. The collection of tubes includes a fluid inflow conduit, a fluid outflow conduit and, in some instances, a pressure monitoring conduit. All of the tubes are packaged together as a tubing set and each tubing set is produced as a unit containing all necessary tubes and connections required for performing a particular procedure with a particular system. This invention relates to improvements in dual pump irrigation/aspiration systems.
[0007] Consequently, it is an object of this invention to produce an irrigation/aspiration system having an inflow pump and an outflow pump and a control system for operating each pump in accordance with predetermined characteristics defined for use during a selected one of several different surgical procedures.
[0008] It is also an object of this invention to produce a multi-purpose irrigation/aspiration system capable of operating with a variety of specific types of tubing sets, each set intended for use only during a particular type of surgical procedure.
[0009] It is also an object of this invention to produce a multi-purpose irrigation/aspiration system capable of operating with a variety of specific types of tubing sets which are each identified with a particular coding means associated with that tubing set type to identify the use for which the tubing set and/or the system associated therewith is intended.
[0010] It is also an object of this invention to produce two tubing cassettes for use with a multi-purpose irrigation/aspiration system wherein one cassette is dedicated to and facilitates the engagement of the irrigation tubing with the system and the other cassette is dedicated to and facilitates the engagement of the aspiration tubing with the system.
[0011] It is still another object of this invention to produce a dual pump irrigation/aspiration system having a flow control system which automatically changes the outflow of fluid based on whether another tool, such as a shaver blade handpiece is activated to withdraw additional fluid from a surgical work site.
[0012] It is yet another object of this invention to produce a dual pump irrigation/aspiration system having varying size peristaltic rollers and associated tubing cassettes to facilitate proper assembly.
[0013] It is also an object of this invention to produce a dual pump irrigation/aspiration system having a flow control system capable of controlling selectively pressure and flow on the basis of actual intra-articular pressure or a calculated/inferred pressure.
[0014] It is also an object of this invention to produce a dual pump irrigation/aspiration system having a valve means and a control for the valve means capable of drawing outflow fluid from selected outflow tubes.
[0015] It is yet another object of this invention to produce a dual pump irrigation/aspiration system having a software driven declogging feature.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] These and other objects of this invention are achieved by the preferred embodiment disclosed herein which is a dual pump multi-purpose irrigation/aspiration pump system. The system is designed with a first pump to pump fluid from a source of irrigating fluid and a second pump to provide a source of aspirating vacuum during an endoscopic surgical procedure at a surgical work site. The system comprises a common console and a pump flow control system for controlling both a peristaltic inflow pump and a peristaltic outflow pump. The flow control system utilizes inflow and outflow pressure sensors and inflow and outflow flow rate controls. A tubing set comprising an inflow cassette housing, an outflow cassette housing and a plurality of flexible conduits is used to connect the source of irrigating fluid and aspirating vacuum to the surgical work site. The tubing set contains inflow and outflow pressure transducers and connects them to pressure sensors in the console. The tubing set is adapted for use during a predetermined type of surgical procedure and contains a coding means which carries a code to identify the type of surgical procedure and selected predetermined fluid pressure and flow characteristics associated therewith. Decoding means is provided on the console for reading the coding means to determine the code. Retention means is provided for receiving and holding the tubing cassettes and operatively engaging them and portions of the flexible conduits with their respective (inflow or outflow) pump, the flow rate control means and the decoding means. Also provided is a control means responsive to the code and the pressure sensors for controlling the inflow and outflow fluid pressures and flow rates in accordance with the predetermined characteristic identified by the code.
[0017] A further aspect of this invention is embodied in a system using two tubing cassettes, each for use with a respective one of the irrigation/aspiration pumps accessible on a single power/control console. The tubing cassettes comprise an inflow cassette housing which holds a first flexible tube for supplying irrigation fluid from a fluid source to the surgical work site and an outflow cassette housing which holds a second flexible tube for communicating a vacuum created by the outflow pump to the surgical work site. Additionally, the cassettes may also be provided with pressure transducers for communicating pressure data from inflow and outflow pressure transducers to pressure sensors on the console. The cassette housings for receiving the tubes comprise a code carrying means. The tubing cassettes are adapted to automatically align predetermined parts of the housing, code means and tubes with associated parts of the system console.
[0018] In one aspect of this invention a fluid pump system is provided for supplying fluid to and removing fluid from a surgical site, the system comprising a first peristaltic pump for supplying fluid, the first peristaltic pump having a roller assembly of a first predetermined diameter, and a second peristaltic pump for removing fluid, the second peristaltic pump having a roller assembly of a second predetermined diameter, the second predetermined diameter not equal to the first predetermined diameter.
[0019] Another aspect of this invention is an improvement in a fluid pump system which has a first fluid pump for pumping fluid from a source to a surgical site and a second fluid pump for removing fluid from the surgical site at a first predetermined rate wherein the fluid pump system intermittently operates in conjunction with a surgical tool which, when operational, removes fluid from the surgical site at a second predetermined rate greater than the first predetermined rate. The improvement comprises a sensor for sensing a predetermined parameter of the surgical tool and providing an output signal indicating that the surgical tool is operating. The improvement further comprises an actuating means responsive to the output signal to actuate the second fluid pump to remove fluid from the surgical site at second predetermined rate.
[0020] Another aspect of this invention is an improvement in a fluid pump system which has a first fluid pump for pumping fluid from a source to a surgical site and a second fluid pump for pumping fluid from the surgical site to a fluid drain and for removing fluid from the surgical site at a first predetermined rate, wherein the fluid pump system intermittently operates in conjunction with a surgical tool which, when operational, removes fluid from the surgical site at a second predetermined rate greater than said first predetermined rate. The improvement comprises a first input tube joining the surgical site to the second pump and a second input tube joining the surgical tool to the second pump and a shuttle means for alternatively pinching one or the other of the first and second input tubes, or neither tube. The shuttle means comprises a movable pinching member, moving means for moving the movable pinching member between a first position in which neither of the first or second tubes is closed, a second position in which only the first input tube is closed and a third position in which only the second input tube is closed. The improvement also comprises a control means for sensing the position of the moving means and for producing signals alternatingly representing the first, second and third positions.
[0021] Another aspect of the invention is a method for determining the pressure at a surgical work site in a variety of ways. Various pressure data sources are provided and a selected source is used in the feedback control loop to maintain the set pressure within a predetermined range. The system determines which pressure data sources are available and compares data to determine reliability of the data before selecting the pressure data source to be used. More specifically the invention includes a method for determining the pressure at a surgical work site during an endoscopic surgical procedure utilizing a fluid inflow pump, inflow tubing and an inflow cannula for conveying fluid from a fluid source to the surgical work site and a fluid outflow pump, outflow tubing and an outflow cannula for conveying fluid from the work site to a drain. The method further utilizes a pressure feedback control loop intended to maintain fluid pressure at the surgical work site at a pressure set point by determining actual pressure at the surgical work site and adjusting pressure and flow parameters to maintain the actual pressure at or near the set point pressure. The method comprises the steps of providing a first pressure determining means comprising a pressure sensor near the inflow pump to measure actual pressure at the output of the inflow pump; selectively providing a second pressure determining means comprising a pressure sensor at the surgical work site to measure actual pressure in the joint and providing a third pressure determining means comprising a joint pressure inferring system to calculate the actual pressure at the surgical work site using known and measurable pressure and fluid flow characteristics. The method further comprises selecting either the first, second or third pressure determining means as the source of the actual joint pressure to be used in the feedback control loop. The method may include the step of determining if a signal indicative of pressure is present at the surgical work site and, if so, using such signal to control operation of the pump.
[0022] In yet another aspect of the invention the irrigation/aspiration system is provided with a means for declogging a surgical tool which may suffer a blockage. More specifically, this declogging feature is included within a fluid pump system having a first fluid pump for pumping fluid from a source to a surgical site and a second fluid pump for removing fluid from the surgical site at a first predetermined rate. The fluid pump system intermittently operates in conjunction with a surgical tool which, when operational, removes fluid from the surgical site at a second predetermined rate greater than the first predetermined rate. The declogging feature comprises the method of removing a blockage in the outflow fluid path of the surgical tool wherein the method comprises the steps of producing a declogging signal, communicating the declogging signal to the fluid outflow pump to thereby cause the pump to reverse flow direction for a predetermined period of time and subsequently to return to operation in the forward direction for a different predetermined time. During the period of reversed flow, the surgical tool may be withdrawn from the work site so the clog may be directed to a waste container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a dual pump irrigation/aspiration console constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the tubing set for use with the console of FIG. 1 .
[0025] FIG. 3 is a view of the console of FIG. 1 assembled with the tubing set of FIG. 2 and connected for use during an arthroscopic procedure.
[0026] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of the shaver sensor component of the system.
[0027] FIGS. 4B and 4C are top and bottom perspective views of the shaver sensor shown schematically in FIG. 4A .
[0028] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along the line A-A and omitting certain components for clarity.
[0029] FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a slidable shuttle valve member.
[0030] FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 6 .
[0031] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along the line 8 - 8 with certain components omitted for clarity.
[0032] FIGS. 9 a and 9 b are plan and elevation views, respectively, of FIG. 5 showing the components in one particular state of operation.
[0033] FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are plan and elevation views, respectively, of FIG. 5 showing the components in another state of operation.
[0034] FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are plan and elevation views, respectively, of the components of FIG. 5 in yet another state of operation.
[0035] FIG. 12 is a bottom perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1 showing portions of the outflow cassette and shuttle valve.
[0036] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a portion of the control system incorporated into the console of FIG. 1 .
[0037] FIG. 14 is a schematic pressure/flow diagram describing various components of the system depicted in FIG. 3 .
[0038] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the declogging procedure portion of the control system used in the console of FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown an exemplary dual pump irrigation/aspiration system 10 constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention and comprising pump console 12 and tubing set 14 . Pump system 10 is adapted to deliver irrigating fluid from a fluid source to a surgical work site, at a selected pressure and flow rate, in an exemplary set up as shown in FIG. 3 . The pump is suitable for use during a variety of selected surgical procedures and is, therefore, designed to be operable over a wide range of pressure and flow as selected by the user on control panel display 11 by up/down pressure control buttons to set desired pressure and up/down flow rate control buttons to set desired flow. After being set, display 11 can show actual pressure and/or flow. In the preferred embodiment, the pressure is selectable in 5 mm Hg increments between approximately 0 and 150 mm Hg. The inflow flow rate is selectable between approximately 0 and 2,500 ml/min (milliliters/minute) in the laparoscopic mode and in discrete amounts of 50, 100 or 150 ml/min in the arthroscopic mode (with the outflow flow rate also being 50, 100 or 150 ml/min respectively). As will be understood below, the rates may increase when auxiliary devices are used to remove a greater amount of fluid. Pressure and flow rate are both controlled by a flow control system incorporated into system 10 , the flow control system being microprocessor controlled and menu-driven. Pump console 12 and tubing set 14 serve to communicate fluid from source 34 via irrigation or inflow tubing 16 to the work site 18 and from the work site via aspiration or outflow tubing 20 to a drain 22 . Pump console 12 comprises an inflow peristaltic pump 30 and an outflow peristaltic pump 40 .
[0040] Tubing set 14 comprises a plurality of elongated flexible conduits (such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes) which are retained in predetermined relationships to each other by cassettes 36 and 44 (described below) situated at points intermediate the ends of the various tubes of the tubing set. Tubing cassettes 36 and 44 of the present invention facilitate the engagement of the tubing set to the console 12 by holding intermediate peristaltic roller tubes 50 and 60 , respectively, in predetermined open loop shapes (where the ends of the tubes are attached to laterally spaced bores on the cassette housings). This enables the user to easily and one-handedly place the two cassettes into position at their respective cassette receiving stations on pump console 12 . Tubing set 14 is representative of a disposable tubing set usable with pump system 10 . Each tubing set may be associated with a particular procedure and may have a differently colored cassettes or cassette labels and each separate tube attached to each cassette could be identified by different colors or markings to facilitate hooking up the system to the patient and fluid supplies. The different colors or other indicia could indicate that the code associated with the tubing set causes the system to be programmed to automatically limit flow and pressure ranges depending upon the procedure for which the tubing set is designed.
[0041] Tubing set 14 comprising inflow tubing 16 and outflow tubing 20 . Inflow tubing 16 comprises inflow tubes 32 a , 32 b and 32 c , inflow cassette 36 and inflow tube 38 . Tubes 32 a , 32 b and 32 c provide for communicating fluid from fluid source(s) 34 to inflow tubing cassette 36 attached to the inflow peristaltic pump 30 and then to inflow tube 38 connected to an endoscope sheath 39 or other appropriate inflow device to communicate the fluid to the work site 18 . Outflow tubing 20 comprises a main outflow tube 42 , outflow cassette 44 , auxiliary outflow tube 72 and outflow tube 46 . Outflow tube 42 is connected to a working cannula 43 and is adapted to provide a normal, relatively low flow fluid outflow path for fluid being aspirated from the work site 18 . Auxiliary outflow tube 72 is adapted to provide increased fluid outflow from the work site 18 as will be understood below. Both outflow tubes 42 and 72 are connected to the outflow peristaltic pump 40 as will be understood below.
[0042] Inflow tubing 16 further comprises the aforementioned intermediate roller tube 50 (on inflow cassette 36 ) interposed between inflow tubes 32 a and 38 . Cassette 36 and roller tube 50 are adapted to engage inflow peristaltic pump 30 at an inflow cassette receiving station 31 on the front of pump console 12 . Outflow tubing 20 further comprises outflow cassette 44 which is adapted to hold the aforementioned intermediate roller tube 60 interposed between outflow tubes 42 / 72 and 46 . Outflow cassette 44 and outflow intermediate roller tube 60 are adapted to engage outflow peristaltic pump 40 at an outflow cassette receiving station 41 . Each cassette 36 and 44 is provided with a pressure transducer member on its rear surface. Both cassette receiving stations 31 and 41 have pressure sensors 75 and 76 , respectively, on front panel 102 behind cassettes 36 and 44 , respectively, as best seen in FIG. 1 . The sensors 75 and 76 are adapted to read the pressure when the associated cassette is properly installed.
[0043] The operation and structure of cassettes 36 and 44 and pressure sensors 75 and 76 is best understood by reference to U.S. Design Pat. 513,801 (Stubkjaer) issued Jan. 24, 2006, U.S. Design 513 , 320 (Stubkjaer) issued Dec. 27, 2005 and U.S. Ser. No. 10/701,912 (Blight et al.)(Publication No. US2005/0095155), filed Nov. 5, 2003, all assigned to the assignee hereof and incorporated by reference herein.
Different Size Pump Heads
[0044] Cassettes 36 and 44 facilitate the attachment of tubing set 14 to the input and output peristaltic pumps 30 and 40 , respectively. In the preferred embodiment the cassettes are further improved over the aforementioned references by making the sizes of certain components on the inflow side of the system different from the sizes on the outflow side to avoid improper installation of tubing set 14 on pump console 12 . Attachment of the tubing improperly could create an unsafe situation. While size variations may be achieved in a variety of ways, in the preferred embodiment as best seen in FIGS. 1-3 the size of the loop formed by inflow intermediate roller tube 50 is different than the size of the loop formed by the outflow intermediate roller tube 60 . The relative sizes of the roller assembly of each peristaltic pump are also different and adapted to fit on and work with the chosen loop size. The size of the inflow and outflow cassettes and the tube lengths, i.e. the distances along the intermediate roller tubes between the loop ends 36 a and 36 b , and 44 a and 44 b , respectively (i.e. the length of the roller tubes), is varied to assure that cassettes 36 and 44 can only be installed one way on their respective receiving station. Furthermore, inflow cassette 36 has a loop length L between the top of the peristaltic roller and the top of cassette 36 when the latter is installed at its cassette receiving station. Outflow cassette 40 has a similarly defined loop length L′ at its receiving station. In the preferred embodiment the peristaltic rotor (roller assembly) of the inflow peristaltic pump 30 has a diameter (2.89 inches, 73.4 mm), larger than the rotor of the outflow peristaltic pump 40 (2.45 inches, 62.2 mm). The tube lengths of the intermediate roller tubes are chosen to avoid too little tension (i.e. too long a tube) or too much tension (i.e. too short a tube) on the rotor. In the preferred embodiment the inflow and outflow roller tubes 50 and 60 are made of 50A C-Flex® TPE from Consolidated Polymer Technologies, Largo, Fla., and each has an outside diameter of 0.440 inches (11.18 mm), an inside diameter of 0.305 inches (7.75 mm), and a wall thickness of 0.068 inches (1.73 mm). The inflow roller tube 50 is 8.75 inches (222.25 mm) long and the outflow roller tube 60 is 7.25 inches (184.15) long. These dimensions, when applied to cassettes having roller to cassette distances of L, approximately equal to 4.36 inches (110.74 mm), and L′ approximately equal to 3.54 inches (89.92 mm) enable the cassettes to be properly installed one-handedly onto their respective receiving stations with an acceptable amount of force. In the preferred embodiment the rotors may also be color coded to match the proper inflow or outflow cassette to further facilitate proper installation. Additionally, the intermediate tubes 50 and 60 may also be color coded.
[0045] The loop and rotor size variations of the preferred embodiment have several advantages. Improperly reversing the inflow and outflow cassettes will be almost impossible since placing the larger loop on the smaller rotor (i.e. inflow cassette on outflow rotor) will not only be apparent to the user but will result in a failure to operate. The flexible intermediate tube will simply be too loose. Also, placing the smaller loop on the larger rotor (i.e. outflow cassette on inflow rotor) will also be apparent to the user because the intermediate tube will be stretched too tightly to operate properly, and the force required to place the outflow cassette on inflow rotor will be so high as to make it noticeable to the user that something is wrong. It has been found that there is a relationship between the force required to properly and easily place each cassette (using only one hand) at its respective cassette receiving station. For any given roller tube structure (i.e. diameter, wall thickness, length, etc.) the ratio of tube length to loop length is in the range of approximately 1.7 to 2.1, preferably about 1.9.
Shave Sensor and Shuttle Valve
[0046] During a surgical procedure a shaver blade handpiece 70 may be used within cannula 43 in conjunction with a shaver blade 73 to resect tissue and otherwise remove debris from the work site 18 . The resected tissue and debris are aspirated from the work site 18 along with fluid via cannula 43 and main outflow tube 42 . This fluid path is normally open and the fluid flows at a relatively low rate during the surgical procedure to maintain pressure at the site and to clear debris. However, when handpiece 70 is operating fluid is made to flow at a higher rate via auxiliary outflow tube 72 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, system 10 further comprises a means to identify when shaver handpiece 70 is operating so that the pump control system can automatically establish the higher rate of flow. This is accomplished by sensing a predetermined operating parameter of the handpiece and using this information to activate a fluid diverter.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 3 , to use a shaver handpiece a handpiece drive console 80 is connected via power line 82 to handpiece 70 . In the preferred embodiment a shaver sensor means 84 is used to sense operation of the handpiece by detecting a parameter associated with the power line attached to the handpiece. Sensor 84 is connected via signal line 86 to pump console 12 . As will be understood below, sensor 84 via associated circuitry in pump console 12 identifies when the handpiece 70 is activated and therefore when the fluid flow rate through inflow cassette 36 and outflow cassette 44 must increase to compensate for the fluid withdrawn from the work site by handpiece 70 .
[0048] As schematically shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B and 4C , sensor 84 is removably mechanically clamped onto power cable 82 , preferably near the console 80 end in order to place it outside of the sterile field, and includes a resonant circuit/antenna 87 , an amplifier 89 , a comparator 88 and oscillator 90 . The signal detected by coil 87 is ultimately delivered to console 12 on signal line 86 as a frequency output of oscillator 90 . The input to the oscillator comprises three switches 92 , 93 and 94 . Switch 92 is adapted to provide an input to oscillator 90 on the power-up of sensor 84 (i.e. connection to console 12 ). This causes the frequency output of oscillator 90 to be 10 kHz. Switch 93 is adapted to provide an input to oscillator 90 upon the application of power to power line 82 , thus indicating the shaver handpiece 70 is running. This causes the frequency output of oscillator 90 to be 20 kHz. Switch 94 is adapted to provide an input to oscillator 90 upon receiving a signal from Hall sensor 95 representative of the presence of magnet 96 near the Hall sensor. Magnet 96 is located in a pivoting clamp 97 , one end 98 of which is movable relative to a base 99 containing the Hall sensor. When the clamp is placed on power line 82 the magnet is no longer detected by the Hall sensor (thus leaving switch 94 open). Switches 93 and 94 are adapted to work together to provide a 30 kHz oscillator output. The 30 kHz output is used to increase the speed of inflow pump 30 and to turn outflow pump 40 to the high flow mode and to perform other necessary functions to accomplish this as will be understood below.
[0049] An advantage of sensor 84 is its ability to operate with a variety of shaver systems because it is easily attachable and detachable. The sensing circuit detects near-field radio frequency (RF) leakage (wide spectrum noise) generated by the shaver power line and is, therefore, compatible with all shaver systems (although the method works better with AC powered shavers.)
[0050] To achieve a high flow mode, in addition to increasing the flow rate through inflow cassette 36 the control signal from shaver sensor 84 is used to activate a fluid diverter in the form of a shuttle valve 100 , best seen and understood by reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 through 12 . Shuttle valve 100 is placed on the front panel 102 adjacent outflow cassette 44 at the point near where outflow tubes 42 and 72 enter a manifold (not shown) on outflow cassette 44 . The manifold is an element having two fluid inputs and one common output which serves to join both tubes 42 and 72 to a common peristaltic outflow intermediate roller tube 60 . The flow to the input side of intermediate roller tube 60 is controlled by passing both of the two fluid input tubes (i.e. outflow tubes 42 and 72 ) through shuttle valve 100 .
[0051] Shuttle valve 100 is a pinch valve that operates by alternatingly pinching one or the other of the outflow tubes 42 or 72 closed. Shuttle valve 100 is accessible on the front panel 102 of pump housing 12 adjacent the outflow peristaltic pump 40 . As best seen in FIG. 5 , shuttle valve 100 is attached to the front panel 102 and comprises a hollow slide housing 104 extending away from front panel 102 and containing a sliding shuttle member 106 . Housing 104 essentially provides a track within which shuttle member 106 can slidingly reciprocate. Housing 104 has a central opening 108 wide enough to receive both outflow tubes 42 and 72 when the outflow cassette 44 is loaded onto its cassette receiving station on the front of the pump housing 12 . Sliding shuttle member 106 includes a central opening 110 also adapted to receive both outlet tubes 42 and 72 .
[0052] The operation of shuttle valve 100 is best understood by reference to FIGS. 8 through 11 . In each of these drawings the outflow tubes 42 and 72 have been omitted for clarity. It should also be understood that FIGS. 9A, 10A and 11A are plan views taken along the section line A-A in FIG. 1 while FIGS. 9B, 10B and 11B are front elevation views taken along the section line B-B in FIG. 8 .
[0053] Referring first to FIG. 10A , it is noted that this view is identical to FIG. 5 except for the fact that FIG. 10 a is a view with the outflow cassette 44 in place while FIG. 5 is a view with the outflow cassette 44 omitted. Outflow cassette 44 includes a cover tab 120 which is sized to cover openings 108 and 110 in the slide housing 104 and shuttle member 106 respectively. Tab 120 supports a backing plate 121 which extends perpendicularly from tab 120 toward front panel 102 . Tab 120 is adapted to fit between outflow tubes 42 and 72 to facilitate selectively covering these tubes. As shown in FIG. 12 , housing 104 is a shell generally conforming to the shape of shuttle member 106 . The hollow base of housing 104 is notched at slot 123 to provide lateral support for the bottom of the distal end of backing plate 121 . Housing 104 may be provided with a similar slot (not shown) to provide lateral support for the top of the distal end of backing plate 121 .
[0054] In FIG. 5 shuttle member 106 is shown within slide housing 104 in a central position symmetrically situated around housing 104 opening 108 which is thereby aligned with shuttle 106 opening 110 . As will be understood below, this position is automatically presented to the user upon start-up of system 10 in order to facilitate loading of tubing set 14 . In this central position shuttle member 106 enables outflow cassette 44 to be loaded onto outflow peristaltic pump 40 , as shown in FIG. 10A , with outflow tubes 42 and 72 both received within opening 110 of shuttle member 106 and tab 120 situated between the tubes (not shown). As will be understood below, shuttle member 106 is movable both to the left and right of the central position shown in FIG. 10 a . As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 shuttle member 106 has a left body member 122 and a right body member 124 situated on either side of central opening 110 , each member 122 and 124 having opposed and inwardly facing pinching surfaces 122 a and 124 a adapted to concentrate a squeezing force on outflow tubes 42 and 72 , respectively, by alternatively pushing one tube or the other against backing plate 121 . Shuttle member 106 has a rear surface 126 that can slide along the front panel 102 , rear surface 126 having a vertical slot 128 at the rear of rear surface 126 . Vertical slot 128 is adapted to engage a pin 130 extending through a rectangular slot 132 formed in front panel 102 . Pin 130 is in turn attached to an arcuate cam 134 driven about its axis by a rotatable output drive shaft 136 , driven in turn by shuttle drive motor 140 . It will be understood that the rotating elements of this mechanism could be replaced by a linearly reciprocating mechanism or any other suitable device.
[0055] FIG. 10B shows the relationship of the components of FIG. 10 a (taken along the line B-B of FIG. 8 at the point in time represented by FIG. 10A ). Cam member 134 has a generally semi-circular profile and an outer partially cylindrical arcuate surface 142 situated at a fixed radius from the axis of drive shaft 136 . Surface 142 terminates at opposite edges 144 and 146 . An optical sensor 150 , for example a light (or other radiation) emitting diode situated a predetermined distance from surface 142 , is focused on surface 142 and adapted to sense the position of shuttle member 106 in a non-contact manner by detecting the presence and absence of surface 142 in the field of view of sensor 150 . The shuttle member 106 , cam member 134 and sensor 150 are physically correlated so that a given position of cam member 134 corresponds to define when the shuttle member is centered in the position shown in FIGS. 5 and 10A . In the preferred embodiment this correlation is achieved by having the shuttle member 106 in the central position shown in FIG. 10A when edge 144 of cam member 134 is situated so as to trigger a signal from sensor 150 that arcuate surface 142 cannot be detected. This ‘no-detect” signal is equivalent to detecting edge 144 and indicates to the control system that the shuttle valve member 106 is in its central position thereby indicating that neither of the outflow tubes 42 and 72 is being pinched or occluded. This is the loading and unloading state of the system when neither peristaltic pump is operating.
[0056] Because of the clockwise direction of rotation of the peristaltic roller assemblies, the left side of each cassette 36 and 44 is the input side to its associated pump and the right is the output side of the pump. The input of inflow cassette 36 is provided only by single inflow tube 32 c . However, as will be understood below, the input of outflow cassette 44 is provided by two sources: outflow tube 42 and outflow tube 72 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the exterior surfaces of these tubes may be physically joined to each other and to inflow tube 38 along a predetermined length to facilitate installation of tubing set 14 . While outflow tubes 42 and 72 may be discrete tubes joined along their outer surfaces, they may also be a single tube (not shown) having two lumens. Each lumen would of course be joined by a suitable adapter (not shown) where necessary to connect the lumen to other components. For this reason, outflow tubes 42 and 72 are herein sometimes referred to as a dual lumen tube.
[0057] The shuttle control system incorporates a self-learning protocol on each start-up of console 12 . This feature compensates for any reversal of the polarity of the wiring of motor 140 and determines the home or center position where the shuttle valve must be placed to enable loading and removal of tubing set 14 . This feature operates as follows: (1) on startup a direction of rotation is arbitrarily selected and voltage of an arbitrary polarity is applied to motor 140 to drive it to one extreme of motion at which point current to the motor will increase; (2) at this point the output of detector 150 is determined (it will be either high or low depending upon whether surface 142 is detected or not); (3) the results of steps 1 and 2 are correlated in software and the system thus ‘learns” that whatever extreme position (polarity) resulted from step 1 it is thereafter associated with the signal of step 2 ; (4) the opposite extreme position (polarity) is therefore automatically associated with the other possible signal of step 2 . The zero, center position is then determined by simply reversing direction of the motor until the edge 144 crossover is detected.
[0058] If at some point in the operation of pump console 12 there is detected the operation of an auxiliary device such as handpiece 70 (i.e. via an appropriate signal on line 86 ), the control system will interpret the signal from sensor 84 as a requirement to increase flow through shaver outlet tube 72 (the tube on the right side in FIG. 3 and on the right side of shuttle opening 110 ). This will result in a signal to motor 140 to move in direction 154 to the position associated with shuttle member 106 being in the right-most position as shown in FIG. 11 a . If, however, it is determined desirable to continue drawing fluid from the left outlet tube 42 while pinching off the right outlet tube 72 (for example when shaver handpiece 70 is not running so oscillator 90 does not produce the 30 kHz signal), a signal is sent to motor 140 to rotate cam member 134 in direction 152 . This will result in sensor 150 detecting the presence of cam surface 142 , simultaneously moving pin 130 to the left thereby causing shuttle member 106 to move to the leftmost position as shown in FIG. 9 b to leave open the left tube while pinching the right tube.
Inferred Pressure Sensing System
[0059] Pump system 10 utilizes a unique pressure sensing system to control the operation of inflow and outflow peristaltic pumps 30 and 40 . System 10 monitors the pressure at the surgical site and increases or decreases fluid flow through tubing set 14 to maintain the surgeon requested pressure (i.e. set pressure) at the site while maintaining some outflow to clear debris, etc. from the site. As will be understood below the system uses sensed and/or calculated/inferred pressure information to adjust various parameters to maintain set pressure. The pump fluid control system can operate by receiving pressure information from either the inflow cassette sensor 75 alone, both inflow and outflow cassette sensors 75 and 76 , or from a separate pressure sensing tube 45 attached to sensor port 47 .
[0060] As shown in FIG. 3 , tubing set 14 may be set up as a “one-connection” arthroscopic tubing set or as a “two-connection” arthroscopic tubing set. (In a “two-connection setup, optional tube 45 and pressure port 39 b would be utilized, but in a “one-connection set-up they would not be utilized.) The term “one-connection” refers to the number of irrigating fluid and pressure sensing connections at the work site. A one-connection tubing set utilizes one fluid inflow line such as tube 38 to supply fluid to a work site during a surgical procedure and provides pressure information to the pump flow control system within the console via a pressure transducer attached to the fluid inflow line and operative with sensor 75 to produce a pressure value. In this case the pressure transducer is on the back of cassette housing 36 and sensor 75 is on front panel 102 adjacent cassette 36 . Sensor 75 senses pressure in fluid tube 38 as described in the aforementioned Publication No. US 2005/0095155. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, in arthroscopic procedures, one-connection systems are used with a simplified inflow cannula or scope sheath which does not have a separate pressure sensing port. Alternatively, an optional “two-connection” tubing set could also be used. In this case scope sheath 39 is provided with a fluid inflow port 39 a and a separate pressure sensing port 39 b . The pressure sensing port 39 b is connected via optional pressure sensing tube 45 to a pressure sensor/transducer 47 on pump console 12 . A two-connection tubing set provides a way to determine pressure at the work site while a one-connection tubing set determines pressure at a given point in the fluid path. The pressure at the work site is herein referred to as True Intra-articular Pressure (“TIPS”).
[0061] Since use of the TIPS system is optional, pump system 10 includes a method for determining the source of pressure information used to adjust the fluid flow and pressure produced by the system. Upon start-up, pump system 10 goes through a pressure determination sequence to identify the source of pressure data. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13 , pump system 10 first determines at block 200 whether inflow pump 30 is operating (running) or not (stopped). In either case the sequence of events regarding identifying the source of pressure data is the same. If the pressure sensed by the inflow cassette sensor 75 is greater than a predetermined amount, chosen in the preferred embodiment to be 25 mm Hg, the control system will check at block 202 to see if sensor 47 is producing a signal, thus indicating the optional TIPS line 45 is being used. If the pressure is under the 25 mm Hg threshold the system will default to operating in the “10K” mode, i.e. with measured pressure data coming from sensor 75 . If the measured pressure data exceeds the threshold and a TIPS signal is detected, block 204 will assure that the pump flow control system will continue to use this TIPS pressure data to control the operation of pump console 12 . If no TIPS pressure signal is detected, block 206 will determine whether to use pressure data from the inflow cassette sensor 75 only (the 10K mode) or from an alternate known as the Inferred Pressure Sensing (“IPS”) mode. The IPS system will only be used as a source of pressure data if (1) there is no TIPS signal at port 47 and (2) there is pressure data at both inflow cassette sensor 75 and outflow cassette sensor 76 and (3) there is a difference between the pressures sensed by the inflow and outflow cassette sensors 75 and 76 .
[0062] The pressure values used by the pump flow control system are monitored such that if the TIPS or IPS pressure data fails or if the TIPS and IPS pressure values are significantly different (e.g. by an order of magnitude) the system will revert to the 10K mode for pressure information. The pump flow control system is a servo control loop using, as inputs to a proportional integral derivative (PID) comparator, a set point equal to the pressure selected by a user on control panel 102 and a feedback signal equal to the actual pressure measured by the system (i.e. from the 10K mode, TIPS or IPS).
[0063] The Inferred Pressure Sensing (“IPS”) system is used to indirectly calculate pressure at the surgical site without measuring pressure directly as is done by the TIPS tubing. The IPS system produces a pressure value based on sensed pressure and calculated flow at certain points in the tubing set and calculating the effect of pressure drops associated with certain components of the set. The sensed and calculated/inferred values are used in various equations to arrive at a calculated value representative of the pressure at the surgical site without having to actually measure pressure at the site. The advantage of this is that it enables the system to provide increased pressure measurement accuracy even with a wide variety of cannulas of different sizes. The IPS system is a method of accounting for fluid flow drops and pressure losses and compensating for these drops and losses to thereby maintain a more accurate pressure at the surgical site.
[0064] The mathematical equation describing fluid flow and pressure drops through the various tubes of tubing set 14 is a complex polynomial, although it can be reduced in a first order approximation simply to
[0000] P=R×F (equation 1)
[0000] where R=flow resistance, F=flow rate and P=pressure. This simplified expression is deemed valid because of the magnitude of flow in the surgical procedures involved (about 1 to 2 liters per minute) and because the control system will sample data at very short time intervals thereby approximating a static system, as will be explained below.
[0065] FIG. 3 has been redrawn as a pressure/flow diagram FIG. 14 to explain the IPS system and the application of the aforementioned equation to this IPS system. The components of FIG. 3 each have certain pressure, flow and resistance characteristics that are depicted schematically in FIG. 14 . Thus, in FIG. 14 the following values are measured by the system: P in , the inflow pressure sensed by cassette sensor 75 associated with the inflow cassette 36 ; P out , the outflow pressure sensed by cassette sensor 76 associated with the outflow cassette 44 ; F in , the inflow fluid flow rate going into the work site 18 as determined by an encoder (not shown) adapted to calculate the fluid volume moved by inflow peristaltic pump 30 per unit of time; and F out , the outflow fluid flow rate coming out of the work site as determined by a similar encoder (not shown) adapted to calculate the fluid volume moved by outflow peristaltic pump 40 per unit of time. Those skilled in the art will understand that the flow rates can be determined as a function of the inner diameter of the intermediate roller tubes, the distance between the rollers of the peristaltic rotor assemblies and the speed of rotation of the rotor assemblies. These pressure and flow values are known values which are sampled by the system at intervals such as 10 mm (in the preferred embodiment). The remaining data needed to use the equation P=F×R is the flow resistance of the tubes and cannulas used in the set-up of FIG. 3 .
[0066] To facilitate the explanation of FIG. 14 the various resistances are identified by the name of the component in the flow direction. Thus, the resistance R inflow tube is labeled with the subscript “inflow tube” because it is the resistance of tube 38 , the inflow tube encountered by the fluid after pump 30 . This resistance causes a pressure drop P drop drop inflow tube across the tube. The resistance R inflow tube is calculated during manufacture of system 10 and stored in memory. Thus, the pressure drop P drop inflow tube across tube 38 is known and =F in ×R inflow tube . Therefore, the pressure at the inflow port of cannula 39 (i.e. point 300 ) can now be calculated as
[0000]
P
at inflow cannula
=P
in
−P
drop inflow tube
[0000] which is rewritten as
[0000] P at inflow cannula =P in −R inflow tube ×F in .
[0000] The fluid flowing through the inflow cannula undergoes a further pressure drop before reaching the joint so
[0000] P at inflow cannula −P drop inflow cannula =P joint .
[0000] We know the pressure drop across inflow cannula 39 is
[0000] P drop inflow cannula =R inflow cannula ×F in .
[0000] Therefore,
[0000] P at inflow cannula −( R inflow cannula ×F in )= P joint (equation 2)
[0000] At this point R inflow cannula is unknown.
On the outflow side, we know that
[0000]
P
at outflow cannula
=P
out
+P
drop outflow tube
[0000] and
[0000]
P
drop outflow tube
=R
outflow tube
×F
out
[0000] where P out is the pressure sensed by sensor 76 .
Consequently, the pressure at point 302 is
[0000] P at outflow cannula =P out +( R outflow tube ×F out ).
[0067] In the preferred embodiment, inflow tube 38 and outflow tube 20 are identical in length, inner and outer diameter and material composition and, therefore, R outflow tube is the same as Rinflow tube. We know that the pressure in the joint can be expressed in terms of the parameters at the outflow side as
[0000]
P
joint
=P
at outflow cannula
+P
drop outflow cannula
[0000] and therefore
[0000] P joint =P at outflow cannula ( F out ×R outflow cannula ) (equation 3)
[0000] We know that
[0000]
F
loss
=F
in
−F
out
[0000] to account for leakage of fluid. Because the data sample rate is fast (in the range of approximately 1 to 20 ms, preferably approximately every 10 ms) we assume no fluid loss so that
[0000] F in =F out .
[0000] Therefore, equation 2 may be rewritten as
[0000] P at inflow cannula −( R inflow cannula ×F out )= P joint (equation 4)
[0068] Combining equations 3 and 4 produces the following:
[0000] P at inflow cannula −( R inflow cannula ×F out )= P at outflow cannula +( F out ×R outflow cannula ) (equation 5)
[0000] Rearranging equation 5 results in
[0000] P at inflow cannula −P at outflow cannula =F out ( R outflow cannula +R inflow cannula ) (equation 6)
[0000] In the preferred embodiment the R outflow cannula is very low because outflow cannulas are designed to easily drain fluid from the work site. (As noted below, this explanation requires additional calculations if the outflow cannula is restrictive to any appreciable degree.) Additionally, the outflow flow rate is relatively low so the pressure drop is low. Thus, equation 6 is simplified to
[0000]
P
at inflow cannula
−P
at outflow cannula
=F
out
×R
inflow cannula
[0000] and R inflow cannula is now able to be determined as
[0000] R inflow cannula =( P at inflow cannula −P at outflow cannula )/ F out (equation 7)
[0000] R inflow cannula is now known. These results can now be used in equation 4 (since Pat inflow cannula is known) to predict the pressure in the joint and regulate the control loop using inflow pressure data. Combining equation 7 and equation 4 results in
[0000] P at inflow cannula −( R inflow cannula ×F out )= P joint
[0000] P joint =P at inflow cannula −F out [( P at inflow cannula −P at outflow cannula /F out ]
[0000]
P
joint
=P
outflow cannula
[0069] These results predict the pressure in the joint using outflow pressure data. The results of the P joint calculation from the inflow side is compared to the P joint calculation from the outflow side. If there is any difference between the two, outside of a predetermined range, the system will revert to a different pressure sensing mode. If the results are within the predetermined range, the P joint calculated from the inflow side is used to control the joint pressure. It is noted that this method enables calculation of joint pressure through the use of calculated values and without the necessity for any direct measurements of the joint pressure. This solution holds for the simplest case where all assumptions made above are valid. Further calculations are necessary to account for a more restrictive outflow cannula than is used in the preferred embodiment.
Declogging
[0070] Pump system 10 also incorporates a declogging method for facilitating automatic removal of a blockage of the shaver aspirating tubing line 72 . The declogging system comprises software driven steps which control the output pump 40 to activate this function.
[0071] The declogging feature operates during use of handpiece 70 by sensing various characteristics of the operation of system 10 to determine the likelihood of a clog. If the outflow peristaltic rotor is working and the inflow peristaltic rotor is not working (or if the inflow rotor speed is significantly less than the outflow rotor speed) and if pressure at the work site (or pressure at cassettes) is not changing, it is probable that the shaver blade or aspiration line 72 is clogged. In this event, the user may activate a declog button (not shown) which causes the outflow rotor to be activated in the opposite direction for a time period sufficient to create a pressure pulse to move approximately 5-15 ml of fluid through outflow line 72 , handpiece 70 and shaver 73 . After this time period the outflow rotor resumes normal operation. In the preferred embodiment, 5-15 ml of fluid displacement is deemed sufficient for the size of the tubing used Approximately 5 ml of fluid (approximately 6.2 inches (157.48 mm) long in a 0.25 inch (6.35 mm) internal diameter tube) is an estimate of a volume sufficient to move the fluid back to the clog, and another approximately 5 ml is an estimate of the fluid required to push the clog out. In use, the surgeon would remove the shaver from the work site and aim it at a waste container. The declog button would cause the outflow rotor to be run in reverse as quickly as possible for approximately three revolutions and then forward for approximately six revolutions to push the clog out.
[0072] FIG. 15 is a flowchart describing the operation of the declogging feature.
[0073] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that numerous improvements and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.
|
A fluid pump system having a first fluid pump for pumping fluid from a source to a surgical site and a second fluid pump for removing fluid from the surgical site at a first predetermined rate, wherein said fluid pump system intermittently operates in conjunction with a surgical tool which, when operational, removes fluid from the surgical site at a second predetermined rate greater than said first predetermined rate, the improvement including a sensor for sensing a predetermined parameter of the surgical tool and providing an output signal indicating that the surgical tool is operating; and an actuating means responsive to said output signal to actuate said second fluid pump to remove fluid from the surgical site at second predetermined rate.
| 0
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a hand-held sharpener for encased or unencased pencil cores. Pencil cores of this type generally serve for writing, drawing or the like. A functionally related feature is that, when they are used as intended, the cores are worn down by permanent abrasion. As a result, the shape of the tip of the core changes. It becomes blunt and this requires that the tip or shape of the core, which was originally pointed but has been blunted by use, is restored at relatively short time intervals by a sharpening operation. Hand-held sharpeners of a simple configuration are essentially used for this purpose. In their basic form, such hand-held sharpeners are very much mass-produced articles.
Sharpening waste produced during sharpening, includes powdered and sometimes also pasty core material and also shavings of encasing material, usually consisting of wood, gives rise to a soiling problem. Therefore, in the case of simple hand-held sharpeners, the sharpening is carried out over a waste container receiving the sharpening and shaving waste. Further developments of hand-held sharpeners of this type relate to a shavings-collecting container being directly connected to the hand-held sharpener, in other words is combined with it. Hand-held sharpeners of this type are referred to as container-type sharpeners. In the case of container-type sharpeners, the functional part accomplishing the actual sharpening operation is usually fixed to an inner side of a closure cap of the container intended for receiving the sharpening waste. A sharpening channel of the hand-held sharpener in this case passes through the closure cap of the container. The sharpening operation takes place with the collecting container closed by the closure cap. To prevent sharpening waste from coming out through the sharpening channel once the sharpening operation has been completed and the pencil has been removed from the sharpening channel, it is further known in the case of container-type sharpeners to close the sharpening channel with a closure plug and also to apply the closure plug captively outside its closing position. Such a sharpener is disclosed in German Patent DE 27 34 695 C2.
Furthermore, it is known in the case of container-type sharpeners to support the functional part accomplishing the sharpening operation, to be specific the actual sharpener, flexibly within the container against the sharpening pressure, and for this purpose to configure the container resiliently in an axial direction, see German Patent DE 1 800 222 C2.
To simplify the description of the invention, the sharpened object is referred to hereafter as a “pencil” for short. This is to be understood quite generally as being an encased or unencased pencil core not only for writing purposes but also for drawing purposes or cosmetic purposes. Because of the frequent necessity for a pencil of this type to be sharpened, the user is repeatedly looking for the sharpener, which as experience shows is easily misplaced and therefore not always immediately to hand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a hand-held sharpener as a container-type sharpener which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which, in addition to its sharpening purpose, it can offer other useful functions, including entertainment. This makes it easier to find the often misplaced sharpener. Extending the functional purpose of the sharpener also encourages children in particular to keep restoring the pencil to its functionally optimum form, i.e. to sharpen it, and in this way counter the practice of thoughtlessly putting it aside with a blunted tip. The sharpener is also to be configured in such a way that, in addition to the functional regeneration of the tip of the core, using it by hand is found to be entertaining. The fundamental intention of the invention is to turn a hand-held sharpener configured as a container-type sharpener into a multi-functional part, and in this way to enhance its useful value.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a hand-held, container-type sharpener for encased and unencased pencil cores. The sharpener includes a shavings-collecting container which is compressible with regard to a volume received, and an effect generator operated/triggered by hand and providing an acoustic effect or a visual effect. The effect generator is at least partially disposed in the shavings-collecting container and is operated or controlled by a compressive pressure exerted on the shavings-collecting container.
The object is achieved by a hand-held sharpener that contains a generator, in particular a generator which can be operated by hand, for an additional effect and in which the shavings-collecting container can be manually changed with regard to its volume. The collecting container is advantageously configured in such a way that it can be compressed against a flexible restoring pressure, with the result that the effect generator can be manually operated or controlled by pressure directly in a simple way. This solution can be realized with a relatively low technical outlay, which helps to achieve the property of the hand-held sharpener as a cheap mass-produced article.
The effect generator may be an electronic module or contain an electronic module that has piezoelectric properties. Its effect is then brought about by the hand-held sharpener simply pushing against it, the sharpener being movably guided with respect to the effect generator on account of the way in which the outline shape of the shavings-collecting container can be manually changed, in particular on account of the way in which it can be compressed and flexibly restored.
The effect generator may also be controlled by positive atmospheric pressure, which is produced by manual compression of the shavings-collecting container. As this happens, the pencil inserted in the pencil-guiding channel of the sharpener body supports the atmospheric pressure build-up during the compression of the shavings-collecting container as a closure plug. However, in keeping with its configuration as a multi-functional part, the sharpener according to the invention is not dependent on the sharpening channel of the hand-held sharpener being closed in an essentially pressure-tight manner. The closure effect with the pencil removed can also be achieved simply by the operating hand, in particular by the tip of a finger. This operating hand can then accomplish the compression of the container.
It is particularly simple and cost-effective if a simple wind-instrument module is used as the effect generator. The effect generator may, however, also be a wind-power module, which generates the power for producing the effect electrically. The effect may be of a visual or acoustic nature or else act in some other way.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the shavings-collecting container is compressible and after being compressed the shavings-collecting container provides a flexible restoring pressure.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the effect generator is an electrical module.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the effect generator is one of operated and controlled by positive atmospheric pressure in the shavings-collecting container.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, a sharpener is disposed in the shavings-collecting container. The sharpener has a pencil-core insertion channel formed therein and a closure plug is provided for closing off the pencil-core insertion channel of the sharpener.
In accordance with another added feature of the invention, the effect generator is an acoustic effect generator and has a wind-instrument module.
In accordance with another additional feature of the invention, the effect generator has a wind-power module being a power generator for electrically producing an effect.
In accordance with further feature of the invention, the shavings-collecting container has a wall and the effect a generator is fixed on the wall.
In accordance with a further added feature of the invention, the shavings-collecting container has an interior space formed therein, and the effect generator passes through the wall of the shavings-collecting container and forms an air passage acting from the interior space inside the shavings-collecting container to an outside atmosphere.
In accordance with a further additional feature of the invention, the effect generator has the air passage formed therein leading from outside of the shavings-collecting container to the interior space inside of the shavings-collecting container.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the effect generator has a particle filter disposed in the air passage.
In accordance with yet another further feature of the invention, the shavings-collecting container is manually compressible against a flexible restoring pressure.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the electrical module has piezoelectric properties.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a hand-held sharpener as a container-type sharpener, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, sectional view of a hand-held sharpener configured as a container-type sharpener with a wind-instrument module as an acoustic effect generator according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the hand-held sharpener being functionally similar to that shown in FIG. 1, modified with regard to the configuration of the container;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a third embodiment aof the hand-held sharpener analogous to FIG. 1 with an electrical module with piezoelectric properties as the effect generator; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the hand-held sharpener analogous to FIG. 3 with, however, a modified structural form of the container.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In all the figures of the drawing, sub-features and integral parts that correspond to one another bear the same reference symbol in each case. Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 3 thereof, there is shown a container 1 that has the form of a bellows membrane and is made from a soft plastic. It is thus intrinsically flexible and so readily resilient that it flexibly yields, in particular under compressive pressure acting in a direction of arrows 3 . The container 1 is one with the features and properties of a container according to FIG. 1 of German Patent DE 1 800 222 C2.
In the embodiments according to FIGS. 2 and 4, a cap 4 of a container 5 has the form of a pot that can be slid telescopically on the container 5 . Here, the container 5 is formed of an inflexible material. Inserted in it is a compliant compression spring 6 , which is supported against the cap 4 . A clamping device 7 of any desired type prevents the cap 4 from being lifted off the container 5 by the spring 6 . To this extent, the configuration of the container corresponds to the embodiment according to FIG. 2 of German Patent DE 1 800 222 C2.
In FIGS. 1-4, the container 1 is closed by a screw cap 8 or a sliding cap 4 . Both caps 4 , 8 bear on an inner side of a top closure surface 9 on a housing 10 of a hand-held sharpener in a configuration that is commercially available and commonplace as a mass-produced article. The top closure surface 9 of the cap 4 or 8 is penetrated by an opening 11 , which is in line with a conical pencil guiding channel 12 of the sharpener housing 10 . A paring cutter 13 of the sharpener acts at the circumference of the pencil guiding channel 12 .
The top closure surface 9 of the screw cap 8 is penetrated not only by the opening 11 for the passing through of the pencil but also by a guide opening 20 for a fixing filament 14 of a closure plug 15 , as is known in principle from German Patent DE 27 34 695 C2.
Fixed on a container wall above a container base 18 is an effect generator 16 (FIG. 1 ). The effect generator 16 passes through the wall of a shavings-collecting container 2 of the container 1 and forms an air passage acting from the space inside the container to the outside atmosphere. The air passage, however, shuts off access from the outside to the inside. The effect generator 16 in FIG. 1 is a wind-instrument module 17 , an acoustic effectiveness of which is produced directly by positive atmospheric pressure occurring in the container 1 .
Instead of the wind-instrument module 17 , a wind-powered module may also be present in the same way, as a power generator indirectly producing an electrical effect. The electrical effect generator may then also be positioned at a different location (not represented) from the wind-power module.
In FIG. 3, an electrical module 19 provided with piezoelectric properties passes through the container base 18 . It extends into a path of displacement of the sharpener housing 10 and has the housing of the sharpener 10 pushing against it when there is compression of the container 1 produced by the pressure application 3 on the part of the closure cap 4 or 8 (dash-dotted representations of the sharpener housing 10 in FIGS. 3 and 4 ).
If the effect generator 16 has an air passage, this is provided with a particle filter 21 to prevent sharpening waste from passing through.
For generating an effect using positive atmospheric pressure, the opening 11 in the cap 4 or 8 is closed either by the inserted pencil, by the closure plug 15 or by a hand or finger being placed on by the operating hand and the container 1 is compressed or pushed in the direction of the compressive pressure 3 . The positive atmospheric pressure has the effect that the effect generator 16 is pushed against, or put into operation, either directly or indirectly. It generates a noise or a visual signal. As it does so, the positive pressure within the container 1 or 5 can escape directly through the effect generator 16 .
In the embodiment according to FIGS. 3 and 4, the effect generator 16 is the electrical module 19 , which applies pressure directly to the sharpener housing 10 and the effect generator 16 at the end of the displacement movement in the direction of the compressive pressure 3 . Here, the effect generator 16 is the electrical module 19 with the piezoelectric properties.
|
A container-type sharpener is provided with a generator that can be manually operated or set off and provides an acoustic or visual effect. For this purpose, a shavings-collecting container is configured to be compressible against a flexible restoring pressure and the effect generator is pressure-operated or pressure-controlled.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the anchoring of rock bolts and cables and, more particularly, relates to a method and apparatus for permanently anchoring ground anchor cables and rock bolts in drill holes in rock.
Anchor cables, tie rods and rock bolts have long been used as anchoring elements to strengthen or stabilize mine roofs. Such anchoring elements may be a length of wire or cable, reinforcing bar, or may be rock bolts of various shapes, configurations and sizes.
In order to improve the contact between the anchoring elements and the mine roof, the elements are often fixed or anchored in the drill holes at their inner ends or over substantially their entire lengths. In one method of fixing bolts and cables, the anchoring is achieved by means of a reactive composition which hardens around the anchoring element. For mine roof supports, compositions are needed which harden and rapidly attain maximum strength. Compositions which have been used in the past include inorganic cement compositions, grouts and synthetic resins which have been introduced into drill holes through a feed pipe, or in cartridged form.
In the case of inorganic cement compositions, a prepared hydraulic cement mortar is pumped as a slurry from a container into a drill hole after the anchoring element has been placed in the hole. Alternatively, the element can be driven into the hole filled with mortar which has been pumped in or has been placed in the hole in cartridges.
Various methods and apparatus for anchoring rock bolts and cables in drill holes in mine roofs using inorganic cement compositions are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,233,872, 2,313,310, 2,667,037, 2,930,199, 3,108,422, 3,227,426, 3,326,004, 3,363,422, 3,371,494, 3,436,923, 3,494,134, 3,572,956, 3,604,213, 3,735,541, 3,986,536, 4,126,009, 4,179,861, 4,229,122, 4,252,474, and 4,289,427.
The prior art methods and apparatus have a number of disadvantages. The inorganic cement composition or grout is usually prepared as a slurry which is kept in a container prior to being pumped into the drill hole. The prepared mixture must be agitated and must be pumpable, and thus contains a relatively large quantity of water. This large amount of water requires that the injected material, once injected, must be prevented from escaping from the drill hole by means of a plug, cover or collar plate. The prepared mixture must not be allowed to set in the container, thereby limiting the amount that can be prepared to that which can be used within a short period of time. The same limitations apply when a cement slurry and water of hydration are mixed just prior to injection, or are mixed in the drill hole. Cables and bolts which are fixed in drill holes with grout frequently have a bond with the surrounding earth or mine roof which is friable and which can break down with vibrations such as caused by drilling and blasting. In addition to these disadvantages, the equipment for preparing, storing and injecting the cement compositions is relatively elaborate and thus expensive.
In distinction to these "wet methods", U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,817 discloses the use of a grit moistened with water.
This method has the disadvantage of providing only a mechanical bond, of requiring the installation of a plate to prevent particulate material from falling from the drill hole, and of settling of the material with time and vibration requiring regular tightening of the roof bolts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have now found that these disadvantages can be overcome or alleviated by the method and apparatus of the present invention, resulting in a less expensive, more efficient method for rapidly and permanently installing rock bolts and anchoring cables. The method according to the invention is faster and also results in bonds stronger than achieved with many of the prior art methods. The total cost of an anchoring element installed according to the invention is 30 to 90% of that of other known elements. The equipment for preparing and injecting the cementitious composition is simple and inexpensive.
More specifically, the method of the invention comprises mixing a dry aggregate-cement mixture with a limited, predetermined amount of water in a water fitting and blowing the wetted cementitious mixture through a delivery tube into a drill hole, in which an anchor cable or rock bolt has been inserted, resulting in the cable or bolt becoming permanently anchored in the drill hole. The use of a wetted dry cementitious mixture eliminates leakage of mixture from the drill hole and obviates the use of a plug, cover or collar plate. The equipment conveniently includes a pressurized, dry mix delivery vessel, a source of pressurized air, a water fitting for wetting dry mix with water and a delivery tube for delivery of the wetted dry mix into the drill hole.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for rapidly and permanently installing anchor cables and rock bolts.
It is another object to provide a method for installing anchor cables and rock bolts which includes blowing a substantially dry cementitious composition around an anchor cable or rock bolt in a drill hole.
It is a further object to provide an apparatus for permanently and rapidly installing anchor cables and rock bolts by means of blowing a wetted, dry aggregate-cement mixture into drill holes.
In accordance with these and other objects of the present invention, to be described in detail hereinafter, there is provided a method for permanently installing anchor cables and rock bolts in drill holes, which method comprises conducting a dry mix of an aggregate mixture and cement under pressure to a water fitting, wetting said dry mix at said water fitting with a limited, predetermined quantity of water, to provide a wetted dry mix, said quantity of water being sufficient to permit the hardening of said wetted dry mix but insufficient to allow said wetted dry mix to flow from a drill hole, passing said wetted dry mix from the water fitting under pressure through a delivery means, blowing substantially uniformly wetted dry mix from said delivery means into a drill hole having a space defined by the wall of the drill hole and containing an anchor cable or rock bolt so that the wetted dry mix fills the space between the anchor cable or rock bolt and the wall of the drill hole, and withdrawing the delivery means while filling said space. Preferably, the aggregate mixture consists of particles smaller than about 6.5 mm. Preferably, said quantity of water is in the range of about 4% to 14% by weight of said dry mix.
A further aspect of the invention comprises an apparatus for permanently installing anchor cables and rock bolts in drill holes which apparatus comprises a pressure vessel for containing dry mix; means to supply a source of pressurized air to said vessel; a dry mix conduit; delivery means extending from said dry mix conduit; means for passing dry mix in a controlled manner under pressure from said vessel into one end of said dry mix conduit; a water fitting in communication with one of said dry mix conduit or delivery means downstream from said one end of said dry mix conduit and being operable to receive said dry mix under pressure and to add water to said dry mix; means connected to said water fitting for supplying a limited, predetermined quantity of water, said water substantially uniformly wetting said dry mix prior to said wetted dry mix leaving said delivery means; said delivery means being operable to deliver substantially uniformly wetted dry mix into said drill hole.
Said means to supply a source of pressurized air to said vessel comprise an inlet in said vessel for connecting means to supply pressurized air from a source of pressurized air to said vessel. Preferably, a vibrator is attached to said vessel to ensure uninterrupted passing of dry mix from said vessel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
This invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the apparatus of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective of the water fitting shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the said water fitting from the left as viewed in FIG. 2 showing the components in assembled form.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the apparatus comprises a dry mix pressure vessel, generally indicated at 10.
Dry mix pressure vessel 10 has a cover 12 and a main body 14 with a conically-shaped bottom 16 having a central outlet 18. Cover 12 is preferably provided with a sealing gasket (not shown) so that cover 12 seals onto body 14 which allows for pressurizing of vessel 10. If desired, cover 12 may be hingeably and clampably mounted on main body 14. An air-operated vibrator 20 is mounted onto the side of conically-shaped bottom 16. The vibrator 20 ensures uninterrupted passing of dry mix from vessel 10 through central outlet 18. Attached to outlet 18 is a feed control valve 22. Feed control valve 22 conveniently is a 90° on-off, butterfly-type valve. The discharge side of valve 22 is connected to a "T" 24.
Air from a source of pressurized air 26 is supplied to a manifold 28 by means of air hose 30 connected to air source 26. A separator 32 for removing water from the air and a shut-off valve 34 are positioned in series in air hose 30. Connected to manifold 28 at A is an air hose 36, which is connected into bottom 16 of vessel 10. Positioned in air hose 36 are a strainer 38 and a pressure reducing valve 40. A pressure relief valve 42 is connected to air hose 36 to enable the release of pressure from vessel 10. Connected to manifold 28 at B is vibrator air hose 44 which is connected at its other end to vibrator 20. The amount of air supplied to vibrator 20 can be regulated by control valve 46 in hose 44. Connected to manifold 28 at C is a booster airline 48, which is connected at its other end to "T" 24. The amount of air to "T" 24 can be regulated with booster air control valve 50 in airline 48. Air from booster airline 48 conducts dry mix entering "T" 24 from vessel 10 through feed control valve 22 into and through dry mix conduit 52. Conduit 52 is conveniently a flexible hose.
Connected to dry mix conduit 52 is a water fitting 54. Water fitting 54 is adapted to wet the dry mix with a limited, predetermined quantity of water. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, water fittings 54 comprises a housing 70 having a threaded inlet 72 connected to conduit 52 and a tapered passage 74 coaxial with inlet 72. Housing 70 has an enlarged section 78 adapted to receive water ring 80 having a peripheral groove 82 communicating with the interior of ring 80 through equispaced radial holes 84. The interior wall 86 of ring 80 is cylindrical with the same diameter as the interior portion of passage 74. Enlarged section 78 contains a radial threaded opening 96.
Plug 88 has an external thread 90 adapted to engage internal thread 92 of housing 70 whereby threading of plug 88 into housing 70 secures ring 80 in enlarged section 78. The wall 81 of central passage 95 in plug 88 is concentric with interior wall 86 of ring member whereby a continuous substantially cylindrical passage is formed through water fitting 54 having an initial decreasing taper of about 5° to the axis of the passage to provide a venturi 87 for reasons which will become apparent as the description proceeds. The threaded outlet 94 of plug 88 is connected to delivery means 62. Water is supplied under pressure from a source 56 to the water ring 80 at threaded opening 96 through water supply hose 58 which is provided with a water shut-off valve 59 and a water control valve 60 in series. Water from hose 58 is injected into the dry mix through the plurality of openings 84 provided in the water ring, thereby uniformly wetting the dry mix.
Wetted dry mix is directed, by the air pressure in water fitting 54, from water fitting 54 through flexible delivery means 62 into drill hole 64 drilled into mineface 66. Delivery means 62 is preferably a flexible plastic or rubber tube strong enough to resist kinking. Drill hole 64 has positioned therein an anchor cable or rock bolt 68. Delivery means 62 may be inserted in the drill hole 64 over the anchor cable or next to the anchor cable or rock bolt. The diameter of the drill hole 64 is such that the space in the drill hole between the anchor cable or rock bolt and drill hole sidewall is sufficient to allow insertion of delivery means 62.
The apparatus can be conveniently mounted on wheels (not shown) to allow for easy movement along the mine face.
According to the method of the invention, as exemplified below, dry mix vessel 10 is filled with a dry mix of cementitious composition. The dry mix consists of an aggregate mixture and cement. The aggregate mixture comprises sand and gravel having a range of particle sizes. For best results, the largest particle size should be smaller than about 6.5 mm. For example, suitable aggregate mixtures may have the following screen analyses (U.S. standard sieve series): 95-100% passing No. 3 sieve, 75-85% passing No. 4, 50-70% passing No. 8, 35-55% passing No. 16, 20-35% passing No. 30, 8-20% passing No. 50 and 3-10% passing No. 100. The cement is a suitable grade of Portland cement, such as, for example, No. 50 Portland cement. The dry mix should contain about 80% by weight of aggregate mixture and about 20% by weight of Portland cement. If desired, one or more additives or accelerators may be added. For example, the addition of an accelerator mixture available under the trademark "Scamper No. 16" in an amount of about 1 to 6% by weight of the cement gave excellent results.
Vessel 10 is closed with cover 12 and pressurized with air from air hose 36 by opening shut-off valve 34 admitting air from source 26, usually at 80 to 90 psi, through air hose 30 to pressure reducing valve 40. Pressure reducing valve 40 is adjusted to provide an air pressure of about 40 psi in vessel 10. Delivery means 62 is inserted as far as possible in a drill hole in which an anchor cable or rock bolt has been positioned. Water shut-off valve 59 is opened. Booster air control valve 50 in booster airline 48 is opened to the desired setting, i.e., to give a booster air pressure in the range of about 30 to 90 psi, preferably about 60 psi. Feed control valve 22 is opened and then the vibrator 20 is started by opening vibrator control valve 46. Dry mix passes from vessel 10 through valve 22 into "T" 24 wherefrom it is conducted by the booster air through dry mix conduit 52 through water fitting 54. Immediately after starting the vibrator and almost simultaneous with opening booster air control valve 50, water is admitted to water fitting 54 from water hose 58 by opening water control valve 60 to a predetermined degree. A controlled, limited, predetermined quantity of water is injected under a pressure in the range of about 50 to 120 psi, preferably at about 50 psi, radially inwardly through holes 84 into the flow of dry mix carried by accelerated low-pressure booster air passing through venturi 87 of water fitting 54, thereby wetting the dry mix. The quantity of injected water is carefully controlled with water control valve 60 to produce a wetted dry mix which contains water in the range of about 4% to 14% by weight of dry mix passing through dry mix conduit 52. Amounts of water in this range allow the wetted dry mixes to be blown into drill holes. Less than about 4% water will not adequately wet the dry mix, while more than about 14% will cause some water and cement to exude from the wetted dry mix. Preferably, the wetted dry mix contains about 9% water by weight. Water contents between about 4% and 14% are sufficient to allow hardening or setting of the wet dry mix, but are insufficient to allow wetted dry mix to flow from the drill holes.
The controls for regulating air and water pressures are adjusted in a manner such that no backflow of material occurs in the apparatus. Wetted dry mix is conducted under pressure through delivery means 62 into drill hole 64. As the wetted dry mix fills the drill hole, the delivery means 62 is retracted at a rate such that the space between the anchor or bolt and drill hole wall is completely filled and such that the delivery means 62 does not become plugged or jammed. When the drill hole is completely filled, the feed, air and water controls are shut off, the delivery means is inserted in the next drill hole and the anchoring procedure is repeated without a waiting period between installations. The wetted dry mix sets with time into a hard non-friable mass which forms a strong bond between the drill hole wall and the anchor cable or rock bolt. Dry mix pressure vessel 10 is filled with dry mix as required, of course with air pressure released through pressure relief valve 42.
The invention will now be illustrated by means of the following non-limitative examples.
EXAMPLE 1
Using a dry mix, containing 80% by weight of an aggregate mixture having a screen analysis as given hereinabove, 19.6% by weight of No. 50 Portland cement and 2% by weight of the cement of an accelerator mixture (Scamper No. 16™), wetted in a water ring with 9% water under 50 psi pressure, a series of 12.7 mm diameter steel anchor cables, previously inserted in 44.5 mm diameter drill holes, were installed using the above-described procedure. The wetted dry mix was blown into the hole under 50 psi pressure through a 19 mm diameter delivery hose. The installation was accomplished at an average speed of 5 cm of cable per second. No waiting period between anchoring of successive cables was necessary. In comparison, conventional grouting of anchor cables was much slower at only 1.5 cm/second, i.e., requiring about three times as much time. Moreover, the conventional grouting required capping of the drill hole, thus necessitating additional time.
EXAMPLE 2
A number of anchor cables and different types of rock bolts each of a length of 1.8 m were installed in drill holes in a mine face using the conventional method and means suitable to each bolt and the anchor cables. The conventionally installed anchor cables and rock bolts, as well as the rock bolts installed according to Example 1 of this present invention, were pulled from the drill holes. The pull forces in tonnes are given in Table I.
TABLE I______________________________________ Average PullType of Anchoring Element (1.8 m, Installed) Force in Tonnes______________________________________Anchor cables according to Example 1 15*Swellex ™ 8-12Mark D expansion shell 4-6Grouted Williams ™ expansion bolt 15*Grouted anchor cable 15*Spilt-Set ™ 5-8______________________________________ *After setting for 7 days
As can be seen by comparing the pull forces for the different types of anchoring elements, the anchor cables installed according to the invention have a pull force higher than that of a Swellex™ or Split-Set™ bolts and similar to that of the grouted Williams™ expansion bolt or the grouted anchor cable. Comparatively, the cost of anchor cables installed according to the invention is from about 30 to 90% of the cost of other installed anchoring elements.
It will be understood, of course, that modifications can be made in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
|
A method and apparatus for anchoring rock bolts and cables in drill holes is disclosed. The method of the invention comprises mixing a dry aggregate-cement mixture with a limited, predetermined amount of water in a water fitting and blowing the wetted cementitious mixture through a delivery tube into a drill hole, in which an anchor cable or rock bolt has been inserted, resulting in the cable or bolt becoming permanently anchored in the drill hole. The use of a wetted dry cementitious mixture eliminates leakage of mixture from the drill hole and obviates the use of a plug, cover or collar plate.
The equipement includes a pressurized, dry mix delivery vessel, a source of pressurized air, a water fitting for wetting dry mix with water and a delivery tube for delivery of the wetted dry mix into the drill hole.
| 4
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/689,683, filed on Apr. 17, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/980,643 filed on Apr. 17, 2014, the disclosures of which are is. hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
This invention was made with government support under grant number HD075698 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention.
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to nanogels and methods of their manufacture and therapeutic use. In particular embodiments, the invention relates to polymeric fucoidan-based nanogel vehicles for the treatment of cancer and other diseases associated with P-selectin.
BACKGROUND
Nanogels—porous nanoscale hydrogel networks—are a class of nanomaterials with tunable chemical properties that facilitate targeting and delivery to specific tissues. They are intrinsically porous and can be loaded with small drugs or macromolecules by physical entrapment, covalent conjugation or controlled self-assembly. The porosity of nanogels protect the drugs they carry from degradation and environmental hazards; hence, nanogels can be used as drug delivery agents and contrast agents for medical imaging.
Fucoidans are a class of sulfated, fucose-rich polymers that can be found, for example, in brown macroalgae. Fucoidans have been reported to have anticoagulant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities, as well as high affinity to P-selectin. P-selectin is an inflammatory cell adhesion molecule responsible for leukocyte recruitment and platelet binding. It is expressed constitutively in endothelial cells where it is stored in intracellular granules (Weibel-Palade bodies). Upon endothelial activation with endogenous cytokines or exogenous stimuli such as ionizing radiation, P-selectin translocates to the cell membrane and into the lumen of blood vessels. P-selectin expression has been found to increase significantly in the vasculature of human lung, breast, and kidney cancers. P-selectin has been shown to facilitate the process of metastasis by coordinating the interaction between cancer cells, activated platelets and activated endothelial cells.
It has been unexpectedly found that P-selectin is expressed in stroma and cancer cells in may human tumors, as well as in vasculature. Only one previous report describes P-selectin expression in cancer cells—a metastatic pancreatic tumor cell line. The phenomenon of tumor cell expression of endothelial-specific adhesion molecules such as ICAM-1, VCAM-1, CD31/PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin has been applied to various types of cancer cells and associated with increased metastasis and poor patient prognosis.
The direct administration of fucoidan as a treatment for tumors or metastases can be ineffective, due to toxicity limitations and lack of drug targeting. Disseminated tumors are poorly accessible to nanoscale drug delivery systems due to the vascular barrier, which prevents sufficient extravasation at the tumor site. Strategies to target leaky vasculature via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect have shown little efficacy on avascular tumors and small metastases.
The clinical potential of nanomedicines has not yet been fulfilled in part due to the endothelium barrier which limits the extravasation of nanoparticles from the circulation into solid tumors. Passive targeting mechanisms such as the enhanced permeability and retention “EPR” effect show preclinical efficacy. Yet the effect is less effective in small tumors and metastases. Endothelial cells (EC) in the neovasculature are promising targets due to their genetic stability and exposure to the circulation. Nanoparticle drug carriers targeting the neovasculature are currently under clinical development, however, targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to micro-metastases or tumors lacking neovasculature remains an enduring challenge.
A nanogel containing fucoidan has been produced by chemical acetylation of the hydroxyl groups of fucoidan, rendering it amphipilic and able to form nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin (Lee et al., Carbohydrate Polymers 95 (2013) 606-614). However, by acetylating the hydroxyl groups of fucose, specific affinity of the drug-containing nanogel to P-selectin is eliminated, thereby adversely affecting the ability of the nanogel to target cancer and other diseases associated with P-selectin.
There exists a need for a fucoidan-based nanogel that has a specific affinity to P-selectin to treat cancer and other diseases and conditions associated with P-selectin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Described herein are polymeric drug-carrying nanogels that are capable of targeting to P-selectin and, therefore, are useful in the treatment of cancer and other diseases and conditions associated with P-selectin. Without wishing to be bound to any particular theory, specific affinity to P-selectin requires both free hydroxyls and a proximate negative charge. Thus, presented herein are nanogels having hydroxyls and sulfates that are free for targeting to P-selectin. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the nanogels presented here offer a drug release mechanism based on acidic pH in the microenvironment of a tumor, thereby providing improved treatment targeting capability and allowing use of lower drug doses, thereby reducing toxicity.
P-selectin is a new target for drug delivery in various cancers and contributes both at the tissue level and the cellular level. Since P-selectin is highly involved in inflammatory processes, it is useful for inflammatory diseases such as arthritis and atherosclerosis, which also involve P-selectin on endothelial cells. P-selectin is a cell adhesion molecule known to facilitate metastasis which is expressed in the vasculature of many human tumors. A delivery nanoparticle platform was developed using an algae-derived polysaccharide with intrinsic nanomolar affinity to P-selectin. The nanoparticles target primary and metastatic tumors to impart a significant anti-tumor activity compared to untargeted nanoparticles encapsulating chemotherapies. Single-dose administration of an encapsulated reversible MEK inhibitor results in prolonged inhibition of ERK phosphorylation and increased apoptosis at the tumor site. Additionally, ionizing radiation-induced P-selectin expression guides the targeted nanoparticles to the tumor site, demonstrating a potential strategy to target disparate drug classes to almost any tumor.
P-selectin was identified as a useful target for drug delivery and was used in a set of in vivo and in vitro models to explore its anti-tumor effectiveness, with multiple applications such as targeting aggressive primary and metastatic tumors using irreversible chemotherapies and reversible kinase inhibitor.
In certain embodiments, the nanogels described herein present fucoidan on their surface, specifically targeting P-selectin on activated platelets and activated endothelium. The fucoidan on the surface of the nanoparticles making up the nanogel have free hydroxyl moieties and free sulfate moieties. The nanoparticles release the drug moieties they contain in the acidic tumor microenvironment and lysosomes. The fucoidan also appears to act as an immunomodulator, likely inducing an immune response against the tumor.
In a specific embodiment, a fucoidan-based nanogel is presented that delivers doxorubicin and releases it via pH-sensitive degradation of a hydrazone bond. The doxorubicin is chemically conjugated to polyethylene glycol (PEG), but is only electrostatically bound to the anionic polymer fucoidan. In other embodiments, other cationic drugs may be used, for example, vincristine. The particle size and charge can be modified according to the intended use.
In other specific embodiments described herein, nanogels are synthesized by non-covalent assembly of fucoidan with a hydrophobic drug. Nanoparticle-drug assemblies synthesized using this method include, for example, particles encapsulating one or more of paclitaxel, MEK162, and ispinesib.
Also, in certain embodiments, the invention encompasses methods of treatment of disease associated with P-selectin using the compositions described herein. For example, the compositions may be used in the treatment of malignant neoplasms including carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, and leukemia. Furthermore, the compositions may be used in other P-selectin-associated diseases such as sickle cell disease, arterial thrombosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ischemia, and reperfusion. Combination therapies are contemplated herein. Also, the use of compositions described herein with radiotherapy for improved P-selectin targeting and activity is contemplated.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to a polymeric nanogel with affinity to P-selectin, the nanogel comprises: (i) a sulfated polymer species comprising free hydroxyl moieties and sulfate moieties capable of targeting to P-selectin; and (ii) a drug.
In certain embodiments, the sulfated polymer species is a sulfated polysaccharide and/or protein. In certain embodiments, the drug is a cationic drug.
In certain embodiments, the sulfated polymer species is a fucoidan. In certain embodiments, the fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide comprising sulfated ester moieties of fucose.
In certain embodiments, the nanogel comprises nanoparticles that have a core comprising albumin and a surface comprising fucoidan. In certain embodiments, the nanogel comprises polyethylene glycol (PEG), wherein the drug is conjugated to the polyethylene glycol via hydrozone linkages.
In certain embodiments, the drug is not chemically conjugated to the sulfated polymer species, but is electrostatically bound to the sulfated polymer species. In certain embodiments, the sulfated polymer species is a fucoidan.
In certain embodiments, the drug is doxorubicin (DOX) {(7S,9S)-7-[(2R,4S,5S,5S,6S)-4-amino-5-hydroxy-6-methyloxan-2-yl]oxy-6,9,11-trihydroxy-9-(2-hydroxyacetyl)-4-methoxy-8,10-dihydro-7H-tetracene-5,12-dione} (trade name Adriamycin).
In certain embodiments, the drug is vincristine {(3aR,3a1R,4R,5S,5aR,10bR)-methyl 4-acetoxy-3a-ethyl-9-((5S,7S,9S)-5-ethyl-5-hydroxy-9-(methoxycarbonyl)-2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydro-1H-3,7-methano[1]azacycloundecino[5,4-b]indol-9-yl)-6-formyl-5-hydroxy-8-methoxy-3a,3a1,4,5,5a,6,11,12-octahydro-1H-indolizino[8,1-cd]carbazole-5-carboxylate}.
In certain embodiments, the cationic drug comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of: DOX, vincristine, paclitaxel{(2α,4α,5β,7β,10β,13α)-4,10-bis(acetyloxy)-13-{[(2R,3S)-3-(benzoylamino)-2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoyl]oxy}-1,7-dihydroxy-9-oxo-5,20-epoxytax-11-en-2-yl benzoate}, MEK162 {6-(4-bromo-2-fluoroanilino)-7-fluoro-N-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methylbenzimidazole-5-carboxamide}, ispinesib {N-(3-aminopropyl)-N-[(1R)-1-(3-benzyl-7-chloro-4-oxoquinazolin-2-yl)-2-methylpropyl]-4-methylbenzamide}, daunorubicin (daunomycin) {(8S,10S)-8-acetyl-10-[(2S,4S,5S,6S)-4-amino-5-hydroxy-6-methyl-oxan-2-yl]oxy-6,8,11-trihydroxy-1-methoxy-9,10-dihydro-7H-tetracene-5,12-dione}, epirubicin {(8R,10S)-10-((2S,4S,5R,6S)-4-amino-5-hydroxy-6-methyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)-6,8,11-trihydroxy-8-(2-hydroxyacetyl)-1-methoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrotetracene-5,12-dione}, idarubicin {(1S,3S)-3-acetyl-3,5,12-trihydroxy-6,11-dioxo-1,2,3,4,6,11-hexahydrotetracen-1-yl 3-amino-2,3,6-trideoxo-α-L-lyxo-hexopyranoside}, valrubicin {2-oxo-2-[(2S,4S)-2,5,12-trihydroxy-7-methoxy-6,11-dioxo-4-({2,3,6-trideoxy-3-[(trifluoroacetyl)amino]hexopyranosyl}oxy)-1,2,3,4,6,11-hexahydrotetracen-2-yl]ethyl pentanoate}, mitoxantrone {1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis[2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)ethylamino]-anthracene-9,10-dione}, vinblastine {dimethyl (2β,3β,4β,5α,12β,19α)-15-[(5S,9S)-5-ethyl-5-hydroxy-9-(methoxycarbonyl)-1,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydro-2H-3,7-methanoazacycloundecino[5,4-b]indol-9-yl]-3-hydroxy-16-methoxy-1-methyl-6,7-didehydroaspidospermidine-3,4-dicarboxylate}, vindesine {methyl (5S,7S,9S)-9-[(2β,3β,4β,5α,12β,19α)-3-(aminocarbonyl)-3,4-dihydroxy-16-methoxy-1-methyl-6,7-didehydroaspidospermidin-15-yl]-5-ethyl-5-hydroxy-1,4,5,6,7,8,9,10-octahydro-2H-3,7-methanoazacycloundecino[5,4-b]indole-9-carboxylate}, vinorelbine {4-(acetyloxy)-6,7-didehydro-15-((2R,6R,8S)-4-ethyl-1,3,6,7,8,9-hexahydro-8-(methoxycarbonyl)-2,6-methano-2H-azecino(4,3-b)indol-8-yl)-3-hydroxy-16-methoxy-1-methyl-methyl ester}, bleomycin {(3-{[(2′-{(5S,8,S9S,10R,13S)-15-{6-amino-2-[(1S)-3-amino-1-{[(2S)-2,3-diamino-3-oxopropyl]amino}-3-oxopropyl]-5-methylpyrimidin-4-yl}-13-[{[(2R,3S,4S,5S,6S)-3-{[(2R,3S,4S,5R,6R)-4-(carbamoyloxy)-3,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl]oxy}-4,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl]oxy}(1H-imidazol-5-yl)methyl]-9-hydroxy-5-[(1R)-1-hydroxyethyl]-8,10-dimethyl-4,7,12,15-tetraoxo-3,6,11,14-tetraazapentadec-1-yl}-2,4′-bi-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)carbonyl]amino}propyl)(dimethyl)sulfonium}, actinomycin D (dactinomycin) {2-Amino-N,N′-bis[(6S,9R,10S,13R,18aS)-6,13-diisopropyl-2, 5,9-trimethyl-1,4,7,11,14-pentaoxohexadecahydro-1H-pyrrolo[2,1-i][1,4,7,10,13]oxatetraazacyclohexadecin-10-yl]-4,6-dimethyl-3-oxo-3H-phenoxazine-1,9-dicarboxamide}, sorafenib {4-[4-[[4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbamoylamino]phenoxy]-N-methyl-pyridine-2-carboxamide}, camptothecin {(S)-4-ethyl-4-hydroxy-1H-pyrano[3′,4′:6,7]indolizino[1,2-b]quinoline-3,14-(4H,12H)-dione}, topotecan {(S)-10-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-4-ethyl-4,9-dihydroxy-1H-pyrano[3′,4′:6,7]indolizino[1,2-b]quinoline-3,14(4H,12H)-dione monohydrochloride}, and irinotecan {(S)-4,11-diethyl-3,4,12,14-tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-3,14-dioxo1H-pyrano[3′,4′:6,7]-indolizino[1,2-b]quinolin-9-yl-[1,4′bipiperidine]-1′-carboxylate}.
In certain embodiments, the nanogel comprises fucoidan and DOX-PEG-DOX constructs. In certain embodiments, the nanogel comprises fucoidan on the surface of nanoparticles of the nanogel. In certain embodiments, the nanogel comprises particles having an average particle diameter of from about 20 nm to about 400 nm (e.g., from about 100 nm to about 200 nm, or from about 150 nm to about 170 nm).
In certain embodiments, the nanogel further comprises a fluorophore. In certain embodiments, the fluorophore is a near infra-red dye. In certain embodiments, the near infra-red dye is IR783 {2-[2-[2-Chloro-3-[2-[1,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-sulfobutyl)-2H-indol-2-ylidene]-ethylidene]-1-cyclohexen-1-yl]-ethenyl]-3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-sulfobutyl)-3H-indolium hydroxide, inner salt sodium salt}.
In certain embodiments, the nanogel is a pharmaceutical composition. In certain embodiments, the nanogel is pharmaceutically acceptable.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method of treating a P-selectin associated disease, the method comprising a step of administering to a subject in need of treatment a formulation comprising a polymeric nanogel with affinity to P-selectin, the nanogel comprising: (i) a sulfated polymer species comprising free hydroxyl moieties and sulfate moieties capable of targeting to P-selectin; and (ii) a drug; wherein the nanogel binds to P-selectin and translocates an active endothelial barrier. In certain embodiments, the sulfated polymer species is a sulfated polysaccharide and/or protein. In certain embodiments, the drug is a cationic drug.
In certain embodiments, the subject is human. In certain embodiments, the formulation is a therapeutic agent.
In certain embodiments, the P-selectin associated disease is a member selected from the group consisting of carcinoma, sarcoma, lymphoma, leukemia, sickle cell disease, arterial thrombosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ischemia, and reperfusion.
In certain embodiments, the method comprises administering a radiotherapeutic, wherein the nanogel provides improved P-selectin targeting and activity.
In certain embodiments, the step of administering the nanogel results in targeted delivery of the drug to P-selectin. In certain embodiments, upon delivery of the drug to P-selectin, a local environment having an acidic pH causes release of the drug from the nanogel. In certain embodiments, the nanogel comprises PEG and the local acidic pH environment results in breakage of hydrozone linkages between the PEG and the drug.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a nanogel comprising contacting fucoidan and a drug-PEG construct in the presence of a salt to form hydrogel aggregates, and agitating the hydrogel aggregates to form nanoparticles.
In certain embodiments, the drug-PEG construct is DOX-PEG-DOX. In certain embodiments, the salt is a phosphonobile salt (PBS). In certain embodiments, the agitating includes sonicating the hydrogel aggregates.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a nanogel comprising contacting albumin, fucoidan, and sorafenib in an aqueous salt solution to form hydrogel aggregates, and agitating the hydrogel aggregates to form nanoparticles. In certain embodiments, the albumin is Human Serum Albumin. In certain embodiments, the salt solution is a phosphonobile salt (PBS). In certain embodiments, agitating includes sonicating the hydrogel aggregates.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a method for manufacturing a nanogel comprising contacting fucoidan and paclitaxel in an aqueous solution to form hydrogel aggregates, and agitating the hydrogel aggregates to form nanoparticles.
In certain embodiments, agitating includes sonicating the hydrogel aggregates.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a polymeric fucoidan-based nanogel with affinity to P-selectin, the nanogel comprising a non-covalent assembly of fucoidan and a hydrophobic drug.
In certain embodiments, the hydrophobic drug comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of paclitaxel {(2α,4α,5β,7β,10β,13α)-4,10-bis(acetyloxy)-13-{[(2R,3S)-3-(benzoylamino)-2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoyl]oxy}-1,7-dihydroxy-9-oxo-5,20-epoxytax-11-en-2-yl benzoate}, docetaxel {1,7β,10β-trihydroxy-9-oxo-5,20-epoxytax-11-ene-2α,4,13α-triyl 4-acetate 2-benzoate 13-{(2R,3S)-3-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino]-2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoate}}, Camptothecin {(S)-4-ethyl-4-hydroxy-1H-pyrano[3′,4′:6,7]indolizino[1,2-b]quinoline-3,14-(4H,12H)-dione}, MEK162 {6-(4-bromo-2-fluoroanilino)-7-fluoro-N-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methylbenzimidazole-5-carboxamide}, sorafenib {4-[4-[[4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]carbamoylamino]phenoxy]-N-methyl-pyridine-2-carboxamide}, ispinesib {N-(3-aminopropyl)-N-[(1R)-1-(3-benzyl-7-chloro-4-oxoquinazolin-2-yl)-2-methylpropyl]-4-methylbenzamide}, LY294002 {2-Morpholin-4-yl-8-phenylchromen-4-one}, Selumetinib {6-(4-bromo-2-chloroanilino)-7-fluoro-N-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methylbenzimidazole-5-carboxamide}, PD184352 {2-(2-chloro-4-iodoanilino)-N-(cyclopropylmethoxy)-3,4-difluorobenzamide}, 5-fluorouracil {5-fluoro-1H,3H-pyrimidine-2,4-dione}, Cyclophosphamide {(RS)—N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1,3,2-oxazaphosphinan-2-amine 2-oxide}, Atorvastatin {(3R,5R)-7-[2-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-phenyl-4-(phenylcarbamoyl)-5-propan-2-ylpyrrol-1-yl]-3,5-dihydroxyheptanoic acid}, Lovastatin {(1S,3R,7S,8S,8aR)-8-{2-[(2R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-oxooxan-2-yl]ethyl}-3,7-dimethyl-1,2,3,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen-1-yl (2S)-2-methylbutanoate}, etoposide {4′-Demethyl-epipodophyllotoxin 9-[4,6-O—(R)-ethylidene-beta-D-glucopyranoside], 4′-(dihydrogen phosphate)}, dexamethasone {(8S,9R,10S,11S,13S,14S,16R,17R)-9-Fluoro-11,17-dihydroxy-17-(2-hydroxyacetyl)-10,13,16-trimethyl-6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-3H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one}, gemcitabine {4-amino-1-(2-deoxy-2,2-difluoro-β-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)pyrimidin-2(1H)-on}, Rapamycin (Sirolimus) {(3S,6R,7E,9R,10R,12R,14S,15E,17E,19E,21 S,23S, 26R,27R,34aS)-9,10,12,13,14,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,32,33,34,34a-hexadecahydro-9,27-dihydroxy-3-[(1R)-2-[(1S,3R,4R)-4-hydroxy-3-methoxycyclohexyl]-1-methylethyl]-10,21-dimethoxy-6,8,12,14,20,26-hexamethyl-23,27-epoxy-3H-pyrido[2,1-c][1,4]-oxaazacyclohentriacontine-1,5,11,28,29 (4H,6H,31H)-pentone}, and methotrexate {(2S)-2-[(4-{[(2,4-diaminopteridin-6-yl)methyl](methyl)amino}benzoyl)amino]pentanedioic acid}.
Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention are apparent in the detailed description and claims that follow. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and claims, while indicating embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration only, not limitation. Various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
DEFINITIONS
In order for the present disclosure to be more readily understood, certain terms are first defined below. Additional definitions for the following terms and other terms are set forth throughout the specification.
In this application, the use of“or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise. As used in this application, the term “comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. As used in this application, the terms “about” and “approximately” are used as equivalents. Any numerals used in this application with or without about/approximately are meant to cover any normal fluctuations appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the relevant art. In certain embodiments, the term “approximately” or “about” refers to a range of values that fall within 25%, 20%, 19%, 18%, 17%, 16%, 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, or less in either direction (greater than or less than) of the stated reference value unless otherwise stated or otherwise evident from the context (except where such number would exceed 100% of a possible value).
“Administration”: The term “administration” refers to introducing a substance into a subject. In general, any route of administration may be utilized including, for example, parenteral (e.g., intravenous), oral, topical, subcutaneous, peritoneal, intraarterial, inhalation, vaginal, rectal, nasal, introduction into the cerebrospinal fluid, or instillation into body compartments. In some embodiments, administration is oral. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, administration is parenteral. In some embodiments, administration is intravenous.
“Amino Acid”: As used herein, the term “amino acid,” in its broadest sense, refers to any compound and/or substance that can be incorporated into a polypeptide chain. In some embodiments, an amino acid has the general structure H2N—C(H)(R)—COOH. In some embodiments, an amino acid is a naturally occurring amino acid. In some embodiments, an amino acid is a synthetic amino acid; in some embodiments, an amino acid is ad-amino acid; in some embodiments, an amino acid is an 1-amino acid. “Standard amino acid” refers to any of the twenty standard 1-amino acids commonly found in naturally occurring peptides.
“Nonstandard amino acid” refers to any amino acid, other than the standard amino acids, regardless of whether it is prepared synthetically or obtained from a natural source. As used herein, “synthetic amino acid” encompasses chemically modified amino acids, including but not limited to salts, amino acid derivatives (such as amides), and/or substitutions. Amino acids, including carboxy- and/or amino-terminal amino acids in peptides, can be modified by methylation, amidation, acetylation, protecting groups, and/or substitution with other chemical groups that can change the peptide's circulating half-life without adversely affecting their activity. Amino acids may participate in a disulfide bond. Amino acids may comprise one or posttranslational modifications, such as association with one or more chemical entities (e.g., methyl groups, acetate groups, acetyl groups, phosphate groups, formyl moieties, isoprenoid groups, sulfate groups, polyethylene glycol moieties, lipid moieties, carbohydrate moieties, biotin moieties, etc.). The term “amino acid” is used interchangeably with “amino acid residue,” and may refer to a free amino acid and/or to an amino acid residue of a peptide. It will be apparent from the context in which the term is used whether it refers to a free amino acid or a residue of a peptide.
“Antibody polypeptide”: As used herein, the terms “antibody polypeptide” or “antibody”, or “antigen-binding fragment thereof”, which may be used interchangeably, refer to polypeptide(s) capable of binding to an epitope. In some embodiments, an antibody polypeptide is a full-length antibody, and in some embodiments, is less than full length but includes at least one binding site (comprising at least one, and preferably at least two sequences with structure of antibody “variable regions”). In some embodiments, the term “antibody polypeptide” encompasses any protein having a binding domain which is homologous or largely homologous to an immunoglobulin-binding domain. In particular embodiments, “antibody polypeptides” encompasses polypeptides having a binding domain that shows at least 99% identity with an immunoglobulin binding domain. In some embodiments, “antibody polypeptide” is any protein having a binding domain that shows at least 70%, 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95% identity with an immunoglobulin binding domain, for example a reference immunoglobulin binding domain. An included “antibody polypeptide” may have an amino acid sequence identical to that of an antibody that is found in a natural source. Antibody polypeptides in accordance with the present invention may be prepared by any available means including, for example, isolation from a natural source or antibody library, recombinant production in or with a host system, chemical synthesis, etc., or combinations thereof. An antibody polypeptide may be monoclonal or polyclonal. An antibody polypeptide may be a member of any immunoglobulin class, including any of the human classes: IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, and IgE. In certain embodiments, an antibody may be a member of the IgG immunoglobulin class. As used herein, the terms “antibody polypeptide” or “characteristic portion of an antibody” are used interchangeably and refer to any derivative of an antibody that possesses the ability to bind to an epitope of interest. In certain embodiments, the “antibody polypeptide” is an antibody fragment that retains at least a significant portion of the full-length antibody's specific binding ability. Examples of antibody fragments include, but are not limited to, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)2, scFv, Fv, dsFv diabody, and Fd fragments. Alternatively or additionally, an antibody fragment may comprise multiple chains that are linked together, for example, by disulfide linkages. In some embodiments, an antibody polypeptide may be a human antibody. In some embodiments, the antibody polypeptides may be a humanized. Humanized antibody polypeptides include may be chimeric immunoglobulins, immunoglobulin chains or antibody polypeptides (such as Fv, Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)2 or other antigen binding subsequences of antibodies) that contain minimal sequence derived from non-human immunoglobulin. In general, humanized antibodies are human immunoglobulins (recipient antibody) in which residues from a complementary-determining region (CDR) of the recipient are replaced by residues from a CDR of a non-human species (donor antibody) such as mouse, rat or rabbit having the desired specificity, affinity, and capacity.
“Antigen”: As used herein, the term “antigen” is a molecule or entity to which an antibody binds. In some embodiments, an antigen is or comprises a polypeptide or portion thereof. In some embodiments, an antigen is a portion of an infectious agent that is recognized by antibodies. In some embodiments, an antigen is an agent that elicits an immune response; and/or (ii) an agent that is bound by a T cell receptor (e.g., when presented by an MHC molecule) or to an antibody (e.g., produced by a B cell) when exposed or administered to an organism. In some embodiments, an antigen elicits a humoral response (e.g., including production of antigen-specific antibodies) in an organism; alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, an antigen elicits a cellular response (e.g., involving T-cells whose receptors specifically interact with the antigen) in an organism. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a particular antigen may elicit an immune response in one or several members of a target organism (e.g., mice, rabbits, primates, humans), but not in all members of the target organism species. In some embodiments, an antigen elicits an immune response in at least about 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% of the members of a target organism species. In some embodiments, an antigen binds to an antibody and/or T cell receptor, and may or may not induce a particular physiological response in an organism. In some embodiments, for example, an antigen may bind to an antibody and/or to a T cell receptor in vitro, whether or not such an interaction occurs in vivo. In general, an antigen may be or include any chemical entity such as, for example, a small molecule, a nucleic acid, a polypeptide, a carbohydrate, a lipid, a polymer [in some embodiments other than a biologic polymer (e.g., other than a nucleic acid or amino acid polymer)] etc. In some embodiments, an antigen is or comprises a polypeptide. In some embodiments, an antigen is or comprises a glycan. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, in general, an antigen may be provided in isolated or pure form, or alternatively may be provided in crude form (e.g., together with other materials, for example in an extract such as a cellular extract or other relatively crude preparation of an antigen-containing source). In some embodiments, antigens utilized in accordance with the present invention are provided in a crude form. In some embodiments, an antigen is or comprises a recombinant antigen.
“Associated”: As used herein, the term “associated” typically refers to two or more entities in physical proximity with one another, either directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more additional entities that serve as a linking agent), to form a structure that is sufficiently stable so that the entities remain in physical proximity under relevant conditions, e.g., physiological conditions. In some embodiments, associated moieties are covalently linked to one another. In some embodiments, associated entities are non-covalently linked. In some embodiments, associated entities are linked to one another by specific non-covalent interactions (i.e., by interactions between interacting ligands that discriminate between their interaction partner and other entities present in the context of use, such as, for example, streptavidin/avidin interactions, antibody/antigen interactions, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, a sufficient number of weaker non-covalent interactions can provide sufficient stability for moieties to remain associated. Exemplary non-covalent interactions include, but are not limited to, electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, affinity, metal coordination, physical adsorption, host-guest interactions, hydrophobic interactions, pi stacking interactions, van der Waals interactions, magnetic interactions, electrostatic interactions, dipole-dipole interactions, etc.
As used herein, for example, within the claims, the term “ligand” encompasses moieties that are associated with another entity, such as a nanogel polymer, for example. Thus, a ligand of a nanogel polymer can be chemically bound to, physically attached to, or physically entrapped within, the nanogel polymer, for example.
“Biocompatible”: The term “biocompatible”, as used herein is intended to describe materials that do not elicit a substantial detrimental response in vivo. In certain embodiments, the materials are “biocompatible” if they are not toxic to cells. In certain embodiments, materials are “biocompatible” if their addition to cells in vitro results in less than or equal to 20% cell death, and/or their administration in vivo does not induce inflammation or other such adverse effects. In certain embodiments, materials are biodegradable.
“Biodegradable”: As used herein, “biodegradable” materials are those that, when introduced into cells, are broken down by cellular machinery (e.g., enzymatic degradation) or by hydrolysis into components that cells can either reuse or dispose of without significant toxic effects on the cells. In certain embodiments, components generated by breakdown of a biodegradable material do not induce inflammation and/or other adverse effects in vivo. In some embodiments, biodegradable materials are enzymatically broken down. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, biodegradable materials are broken down by hydrolysis. In some embodiments, biodegradable polymeric materials break down into their component polymers. In some embodiments, breakdown of biodegradable materials (including, for example, biodegradable polymeric materials) includes hydrolysis of ester bonds. In some embodiments, breakdown of materials (including, for example, biodegradable polymeric materials) includes cleavage of urethane linkages.
“Carrier”: As used herein, “carrier” refers to a diluent, adjuvant, excipient, or vehicle with which the compound is administered. Such pharmaceutical carriers can be sterile liquids, such as water and oils, including those of petroleum, animal, vegetable or synthetic origin, such as peanut oil, soybean oil, mineral oil, sesame oil and the like. Water or aqueous solution saline solutions and aqueous dextrose and glycerol solutions are preferably employed as carriers, particularly for injectable solutions. Suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in “Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences” by E. W. Martin. In some embodiments, the composition described herein is a carrier.
“Combination Therapy”: As used herein, the term “combination therapy”, refers to those situations in which two or more different pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of disease are administered in overlapping regimens so that the subject is simultaneously exposed to at least two agents. In some embodiments, the different agents are administered simultaneously. In some embodiments, the administration of one agent overlaps the administration of at least one other agent. In some embodiments, the different agents are administered sequentially such that the agents have simultaneous biologically activity with in a subject.
“Hydrolytically degradable”: As used herein, “hydrolytically degradable” materials are those that degrade by hydrolytic cleavage. In some embodiments, hydrolytically degradable materials degrade in water. In some embodiments, hydrolytically degradable materials degrade in water in the absence of any other agents or materials. In some embodiments, hydrolytically degradable materials degrade completely by hydrolytic cleavage, e.g., in water. By contrast, the term “non-hydrolytically degradable” typically refers to materials that do not fully degrade by hydrolytic cleavage and/or in the presence of water (e.g., in the sole presence of water).
“Pharmaceutically acceptable”: The term “pharmaceutically acceptable” as used herein, refers to substances that, within the scope of sound medical judgment, are suitable for use in contact with the tissues of human beings and animals without excessive toxicity, irritation, allergic response, or other problem or complication, commensurate with a reasonable benefit/risk ratio.
“Pharmaceutical composition”: As used herein, the term “pharmaceutical composition” refers to an active agent, formulated together with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. In some embodiments, active agent is present in unit dose amount appropriate for administration in a therapeutic regimen that shows a statistically significant probability of achieving a predetermined therapeutic effect when administered to a relevant population. In some embodiments, pharmaceutical compositions may be specially formulated for administration in solid or liquid form, including those adapted for the following: oral administration, for example, drenches (aqueous or non-aqueous solutions or suspensions), tablets, e.g., those targeted for buccal, sublingual, and systemic absorption, boluses, powders, granules, pastes for application to the tongue; parenteral administration, for example, by subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous or epidural injection as, for example, a sterile solution or suspension, or sustained-release formulation: topical application, for example, as a cream, ointment, or a controlled-release patch or spray applied to the skin, lungs, or oral cavity; intravaginally or intrarectally, for example, as a pessary, cream, or foam; sublingually; ocularly; transdermally; or nasally, pulmonary, and to other mucosal surfaces.
“Protein”: As used herein, the term “protein” refers to a polypeptide (i.e., a string of at least 3-5 amino acids linked to one another by peptide bonds). Proteins may include moieties other than amino acids (e.g., may be glycoproteins, proteoglycans, etc.) and/or may be otherwise processed or modified. In some embodiments “protein” can be a complete polypeptide as produced by and/or active in a cell (with or without a signal sequence); in some embodiments, a “protein” is or comprises a characteristic portion such as a polypeptide as produced by and/or active in a cell. In some embodiments, a protein includes more than one polypeptide chain. For example, polypeptide chains may be linked by one or more disulfide bonds or associated by other means. In some embodiments, proteins or polypeptides as described herein may contain Lamino acids, D-amino acids, or both, and/or may contain any of a variety of amino acid modifications or analogs known in the art. Useful modifications include, e.g., terminal acetylation, amidation, methylation, etc. In some embodiments, proteins or polypeptides may comprise natural amino acids, non-natural amino acids, synthetic amino acids, and/or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, proteins are or comprise antibodies, antibody polypeptides, antibody fragments, biologically active portions thereof, and/or characteristic portions thereof.
“Physiological conditions”: The phrase “physiological conditions”, as used herein, relates to the range of chemical (e.g., pH, ionic strength) and biochemical (e.g., enzyme concentrations) conditions likely to be encountered in the intracellular and extracellular fluids of tissues. For most tissues, the physiological pH ranges from about 7.0 to 7.4.
“Polypeptide”: The term “polypeptide” as used herein, refers to a string of at least three amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. In some embodiments, a polypeptide comprises naturally-occurring amino acids; alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, a polypeptide comprises one or more non-natural amino acids (i.e., compounds that do not occur in nature but that can be incorporated into a polypeptide chain; see, for example, http://www.cco.caltech.edu/ ˜ dadgrp/Unnatstruct.gif, which displays structures of non-natural amino acids that have been successfully incorporated into functional ion channels) and/or amino acid analogs as are known in the art may alternatively be employed). In some embodiments, one or more of the amino acids in a protein may be modified, for example, by the addition of a chemical entity such as a carbohydrate group, a phosphate group, a farnesyl group, an isofarnesyl group, a fatty acid group, a linker for conjugation, functionalization, or other modification, etc.
“Polysaccharide”: The term “polysaccharide” refers to a polymer of sugars. Typically, a polysaccharide comprises at least three sugars. In some embodiments, a polypeptide comprises natural sugars (e.g., glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, arabinose, ribose, and xylose); alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, a polypeptide comprises one or more non-natural amino acids (e.g, modified sugars such as 2′-fluororibose, 2′-deoxyribose, and hexose).
“Substantially”: As used herein, the term “substantially”, and grammatic equivalents, refer to 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 art 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.
“Subject”: As used herein, the term “subject” includes humans and mammals (e.g., mice, rats, pigs, cats, dogs, and horses). In many embodiments, subjects are be mammals, particularly primates, especially humans. In some embodiments, subjects are livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, cows, swine, and the like; poultry such as chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and the like; and domesticated animals particularly pets such as dogs and cats. In some embodiments (e.g., particularly in research contexts) subject mammals will be, for example, rodents (e.g., mice, rats, hamsters), rabbits, primates, or swine such as inbred pigs and the like.
“Therapeutic agent”: As used herein, the phrase “therapeutic agent” refers to any agent that has a therapeutic effect and/or elicits a desired biological and/or pharmacological effect, when administered to a subject.
“Treatment”: As used herein, the term “treatment” (also “treat” or “treating”) refers to any administration of a substance that partially or completely alleviates, ameliorates, relives, inhibits, delays onset of, reduces severity of, and/or reduces incidence of one or more symptoms, features, and/or causes of a particular disease, disorder, and/or condition. Such treatment may be of a subject who does not exhibit signs of the relevant disease, disorder and/or condition and/or of a subject who exhibits only early signs of the disease, disorder, and/or condition. Alternatively or additionally, such treatment may be of a subject who exhibits one or more established signs of the relevant disease, disorder and/or condition. In some embodiments, treatment may be of a subject who has been diagnosed as suffering from the relevant disease, disorder, and/or condition. In some embodiments, treatment may be of a subject known to have one or more susceptibility factors that are statistically correlated with increased risk of development of the relevant disease, disorder, and/or condition.
Drawings are presented herein for illustration purposes only, not for limitation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent and better understood by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the preparation of pH-sensitive fucoidan nanogels for the delivery of doxorubicin (FiDOX), according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2A shows vials containing fucoidan-paclitaxel nanoparticles (FiPXL), according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2B shows the chemical structure of paclitaxel (PX) and fucoidan (Fi) in the fucoidan-paclitaxel nanoparticles, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3A are plots of dynamic light scattering measurements of FiDOX nanogels, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3B are transmission electron microscope images of nanogels, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing rate of release of doxorubicin from FiDOX nanogels over time, as a function of pH, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5A shows a plot of fluorescence intensity demonstrating in vitro activity of FiDOX nanogels, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5B shows a plot of an MTT cell viability assay, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 shows bioluminescence images demonstrating anti-tumor efficacy of FiDOX nanogels, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a plot of bioluminescence showing anti-tumor efficacy of FiDOX nanogels, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a plot showing laboratory mouse survival curve data following injection of FiDOX nanogel, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic showing fucoidan-ispinesib nanogels (Fi-ISP) and analogous nanoparticles, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are electron micrographs of fucoidan-ispenesib nanoparticles (Fi-ISP) and PGA-ispinesib nanoparticles, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 11 is an electron micrograph of fucoidan-MEK162 nanoparticles, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 12A-12C illustrate P-selectin expression in human cancers.
FIG. 12A illustrates human tissue microarrays (TMA) stained with P-selectin antibody (Lymphoma normal tissue is from the spleen; Lymphoma 1: non-Hodgkin B cell lymphoma (Lymph node); 2: peripheral T cell lymphoma (Lymph node); 3: brain metastases of non-Hodgkin B cell lymphoma; Lung cancer 1: lung squamous cell carcinoma; 2: small cell undifferentiated carcinoma; 3: metastatic lung adenocarcinoma; Breast cancer 1: Infiltrating ductal carcinoma; 2: advanced infiltrating ductal carcinoma; 3: lymph node metastases of infiltrating ductal carcinoma.)
FIG. 12B illustrates a percentage of positively stained samples from the TMAs calculated with imaging software.
FIG. 12C illustrates data from The Cancer Genome Atlas showing P-selectin gene alterations in various cancers
FIGS. 12D-12E illustrate a preparation scheme of P-selectin targeted nanoparticles.
FIG. 12D illustrates preparation schemes for fucoidan-encapsulated paclitaxel nanoparticles (FiPAX) via nanoprecipitation (top) and doxorubicin-encapsulated fucoidan nanoparticles (FiDOX) (bottom) via layer-by-layer assembly, and SEM images of FiPAX and FiDOX nanoparticles (right).
FIG. 12E illustrates binding of IR783 dye loaded FiPAX to immobilized human recombinant P-selectin after 15 min of incubation. Fluorescence was measured with a fluorescent plate reader.
FIGS. 13A-13E illustrate anti-tumor efficacy of FiPAX vs. DexPAX with and without radiation.
FIGS. 14A-14E illustrate selective endothelial/tumor penetration assessments in vitro.
FIG. 14A illustrates assay to test penetration of nanoparticles into an activated endothelial monlayer barrier and infiltration into spheroids composed of tumor cells from a small cell lung cancer patient upon activation with TNF-α.
FIG. 14B illustrates fluorescence of FiPAX or DexPAX nanoparticles in the upper and lower chambers was measured with a fluorescence plate reader at 780 nm (excitation) and 815 nm (emission) after 1 h of incubation.
FIG. 14C illustrates the endothelial monolayer component of the chamber was visualized to estimate nanoparticle internalization using a fluorescent microscope equipped with a NIR sensitive XM10 Olympus CCD camera, binding/internalization of FiPAX or control DexPAX nanoparticles to a bEnd.3 endothelial cell monolayer (CellMask Green membrane stain) upon activation with TNF-α.
FIG. 14D illustrates fluorescence images of nanoparticle penetration into tumor spheres upon endothelial activation.
FIG. 14E illustrates quantification of tumor sphere uptake from 6 images per condition using ImageJ.
FIGS. 15A-15F illustrate targeting P-selectin positive and negative tumors in-vivo.
FIG. 15A illustrates high expression of P-selectin in a PDX model of small cell lung cancer (top), and fluorescence efficiency from IR783 loaded FiPAX and DexPAX injected to tumor bearing mice and imaged with IVIS 24 h and 72 h after injection, n=4 (bottom).
FIG. 15B illustrates tumor growth inhibition of a P-selectin expressing small cell lung cancer PDX after a single treatment on day 12, n=10.
FIG. 15C illustrates radiation induced expression of P-selectin in mice with bilateral 3LL tumors treated with 6 Gy gamma radiation on the right flank tumor only.
FIG. 15D illustrates a percentage of P-selectin positive blood vessels from entire CD31 stained blood vessels. Data is presented as the mean of 4 images per timepoint at 10×.
FIG. 15E illustrates fluorescence efficiency from IR783 loaded FiPAX and DexPAX injected to 3LL tumor bearing mice with or without treatment of 6 Gy gamma radiation on the right flank tumor only.
FIG. 15F illustrates tumor growth inhibition via single administration of nanoparticles after radiation treatment. The data is presented as mean±standard error.
FIGS. 16A-16D illustrate FiDOX efficacy in lung metastasis, P-selectin expression, and Bio distribution of FiDOX.
FIGS. 17A-17E illustrate the efficacy of P-selectin targeted nanoparticles in metastases.
FIG. 17A illustrates representative images of P-selectin and vasculature (CD31) staining in a B16F10 melanoma experimental lung metastasis model 14 days after inoculation.
FIG. 17B illustrates survival data from two experiments using the B16F10 metastasis model treated with a single injection on day 7 after inoculation.
FIG. 17C illustrates survival data from two experiments using the B16F10 metastasis model treated with a single injection on day 7 after inoculation.
FIG. 17D illustrates bioluminescence images acquired 7 days after a single administration of treatment with FiDOX, free doxorubicin (DOX), fucoidan vehicle (Fi), or PBS control.
FIG. 17E illustrates median photon count of the 6 treatment groups measured by IVIS and quantified by LivingImage software.
FIGS. 18A-18E illustrate FiMEK improved pERK inhibition and efficacy.
FIGS. 19A-19D illustrate inhibition of MEK improved anti-tumor efficacy and induced apoptosis by P-selectin targeted nanoparticles in vitro and in vivo.
FIG. 19A illustrates proliferation of and A549 cell lines measured after 4 days of treatment with MEK162 or FI-MEK as indicated (top), and biochemical analysis of A375 and A549 cell lines treated for 4 hours with MEK163 or FI-MEK (bottom).
FIG. 19B illustrates tumor growth of xenograft derived from A375 and SW620 treated once with vehicle, MEK162, FI-MEK or a daily dose of MEK162 (n=6).
FIG. 19C illustrates biochemical (western blot) quantification of pERK and Cleavage PARP on xenografts A375 tumors treated for 2 and 16 hours with MEK163 or FI-MEK.
FIG. 19D illustrates immunohistochemistry of Clevage PARP on xenogfrat HCT116 tumors treated with MEK162 or MEK-IR.
FIG. 20A shows the size distribution of FiDOX, DexDOX, FiPAX, and DexPAX nanoparticles.
FIG. 20B shows the zeta potential of FiDOX, DexDOX, FiPAX, and DexPAX nanoparticles.
FIG. 20C shows SEM images of FiPAX and FiDOX nanoparticles. Scale bar is 100 nm.
FIG. 20D shows that the sizes of FiDOX and FiPAX stays constant over a 5 day period.
FIG. 20E shows the release of DOX over time for pH 7.4 and pH 5.5.
FIG. 20F shows release of PXL over time for pH 7.4 and pH 5.5.
FIG. 21 shows proliferation of cell lines was measured after 4 days of treatment with MEK162 or FI-MEK as indicated. Open circle-MEK162, Open Square-FiMEK.
FIG. 22 shows the drug release profile MEK162 drug from nanoparticles over time at different pH.
FIG. 23A shows IHC staining of P-selectin expression in MEK162 sensitive HCT116 and SW620 xenografts.
FIG. 23B shows whole body imaging of FiMEK nanoparticles in A375 and SW620 xenografts 24 h post administration.
FIG. 23C shows percentage % of tumor size change as calculated from day 0.
FIG. 23D shows growth inhibition of different regiments.
FIG. 23E shows evaluation of apoptosis after single administration of MEK162 or FiMEK.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It is contemplated that methods of the claimed invention encompass variations and adaptations developed using information from the embodiments described herein.
Throughout the description, where compositions are described as having, including, or comprising specific components, or where methods are described as having, including, or comprising specific steps, it is contemplated that, additionally, there are compositions of the present invention that consist essentially of, or consist of, the recited components, and that there are methods according to the present invention that consist essentially of, or consist of, the recited processing steps.
It should be understood that the order of steps or order for performing certain action is immaterial so long as the invention remains operable. Moreover, two or more steps or actions may be conducted simultaneously.
The mention herein of any publication, for example, in the Background section, is not an admission that the publication serves as prior art with respect to any of the claims presented herein. The Background section is presented for purposes of clarity and is not meant as a description of prior art with respect to any claim.
Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide that is found in various species of brown algae and brown seaweed. It can be obtained and purified from natural sources, or it may be synthesized. In general, fucoidan has an average molecular weight of from about 10,000 to about 30,000 (e.g., about 20,000), but other molecular weights may be found as well. Naturally-occurring fucoidan includes F-fucoidan, which has a high content of sulfated esters of fucose (e.g., no less than 95 wt. %), and U-fucoidan, which contains sulfates esters of fucose but is about 20% glucuronic acid. The fucoidan used in various embodiments described herein contains no less than 50 wt. %, no less than 60 wt. %, no less than 70 wt. %, no less than 80 wt. %, no less than 90 wt. %, or no less than 95 wt. % sulfate esters of fucose.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram 100 illustrating the preparation of pH-sensitive fucoidan nanogels for the delivery of doxorubicin (FiDOX). The pH sensitivity is conferred by hydrozone linkages between doxorubicin and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The fucoidan and DOX-PEG-DOX constructs are assembled via a layer-by-layer approach. Fucoidan (Fi) at 102 is contacted with the DOX-PEG-DOX construct (DPD) at 104 in the presence of a phosphonobile salt (PBS), thereby forming hydrogel aggregates at 106. The resulting aggregates are sonicated to form FiDOX nanoparticles. In one example, the particles had average diameter of from about 150 nm to about 170 nm, with a zeta potential of −55 mV.
In various embodiments, the average particle diameter of FiDOX, or other drug-containing fucoidan nanogel, is from about 20 nm to about 400 nm, or from about 100 nm to about 200 nm, or from about 150 nm to about 170 nm. The average particle diameter may be measured, for example, via dynamic light scattering (DLS) of a nanogel dispersed in a solvent, or can be measured via transmission electron micrograph (TEM). In some embodiments, the nanogel has a substantially monodisperse particle size (e.g., has polydispersity index, Mw/Mn of less than 20, more preferably less than 10, and still more preferably less than 5, less than 2, or less than 1.5, e.g., has polydispersity index in the range from 0 to 1, e.g., from 0.05 to 0.3). Nanoparticles similar to FiDOX can be synthesized to encapsulate the drug vincristine, or other cationic drugs, by replacing the DOX-PEG-DOX construct with another drug construct containing the desired drug.
FIG. 2A shows vials containing fucoidan-paclitaxel nanoparticles (FiPXL). These were prepared using a self-assembly approach, without chemical conjugation. This can be performed to encapsulate other drugs as well, such as ispinesib, MEK162, and sorafenib, for example. FIG. 2B shows the chemical structure of paclitaxel (PX) and fucoidan (Fi) in the fucoidan-paclitaxel nanoparticles.
FIG. 3A shows plots of dynamic light scattering measurements of FiDOX nanogels, showing the particle diameter characterization is stable over at least seven days. FIG. 3B shows transmission electron microscope images of the FiDOX nanogels at different concentrations and magnification.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the percentage of released doxorubicin from FiDOX nanogels over time, as a function of pH. Low pH allows faster release due to the breakage of hydrazone bonds.
FIG. 5A shows a plot of fluorescence intensity demonstrating in vitro activity of FiDOX nanogels. The binding of FiDOX to immobilized P-selectin was estimated by measuring fluorescence intensity of bound particles. Soluble fucoidan was able to inhibit binding. A recombinant human P-selectin protein was immobilized on an ELISA plate. FiDOX particles were added to the wells for 15 min and then washed. The bound particles were detected with a fluorescence plate reader. Free fucoidan was used to inhibit the binding of the particles to the immobilized P-selectin on the surface. The particles did not bind to immobilized albumin (BSA).
FIG. 5B shows a plot of an MTT cell viability assay. The plot shows that FiDOX was more cytotoxic to B16F10 cells compared to polyglutamic acid-based nanogels.
FIG. 6 shows bioluminescence images at day 21 of testing, demonstrating anti-tumor efficacy of FiDOX nanogels. A luciferase-expressing B16F10 melanoma lung metastasis model was used. The cells were injected into the tail vein at day 0. The FiDOX particles and controls were injected at day 7. The progression of metastasis was monitored with bioluminescence imaging after injection of luciferin. The bioluminescence images show the luciferase-expressing B16F10 cancer cells after injection of D-luciferin, 21 days after inoculation and 14 days after a single treatment. The FiDOX nanoparticles at 30 mg/kg and above clearly show more effective treatment than the untreated specimens, as well as specimens administered free DOX drug (not in nanoparticle form), or fucoidan nanoparticles without the DOX drug (Fi NPs).
FIG. 7 is a plot of bioluminescence from the same test, showing anti-tumor efficacy of FiDOX nanogels. Here in FIG. 7 , the median number of photons/sec/cm 2 /steradian was measured at given time points to demonstrate decreased tumor burden in FiDOX treated mice.
FIG. 8 is a plot showing laboratory mouse survival curve data in the B16F10 melanoma lung metastasis model treated with a single injection of FiDOX nanoparticles, injected on day 7. The results compared favorably to an injection of free doxorubicin (DOX), fucoidan alone (Fi), and the untreated control.
FIG. 9 is a schematic showing fucoidan-ispinesib nanogels (Fi-ISP) and analogous nanoparticles made by combining ispinesib with fucoidan or Poly Glutamic Acid (PGA) or PGA-PEG. Nanoparticles were formed by non-covalent assembly. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) plots are shown at 906, 910, and 914. FIGS. 10A and 10B are electron micrographs of the fucoidan-ispenesib nanoparticles (Fi-ISP) and PGA-ispinesib nanoparticles. FIG. 11 is an electron micrograph of fucoidan-MEK162 nanoparticles.
1 mg of MEK162 in 0.1 ml of DMSO was added dropwise to 15 mg of Fucoidan in 0.5 ml of sodium bicarbonate. The mixture was immediately sonicated for 2 min with a probe sonicator (40%) under ice. The mixture was centrifuged at 20.00 g for 20 min and the pellet was re-suspended in 1 ml PBS containing 1 mg of Fucoidan and was again sonicated for 2 min under ice. The particles were characterized with DLS, TEM and zeta potential measurements. 155 nm particles were obtained with −50 mV surface zeta potential.
Experimental Examples
Preparation of DOX-PEG-DOX (DPD)
10 mg of Hydrazide-PEG-hydrazide, NH2NH-PEG-NHNH2, MW 3400 (from NANOCS) and 10 mg Doxorubicin were dissolved in 3 ml methanol containing 100 μL of glacial acetic acid. The mixture was stirred in the dark for 24 h and then slowly precipitated in cold acetone/ether (2:1), collected with centrifugation (15,000 g, 20 min) and dried with vacuum. The product, DOX-PEG-DOX (DPD) was purified with Sephadex G25 PD10 desalting column with water as eluent and then lyophilized.
Preparation of FiDOX and DexDOX Nanoparticles:
Fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus (SIGMA) and DPD were both dissolved in double distilled water and were mixed together at a weight ratio of 1:1 and formed immediate gel aggregates. The aggregates were collected with centrifugation (15,000 g 10 min) and re-suspended in PBS containing excess of ×5 Fucoidan. The mixture was sonicated with a probe sonicator 40% intensity (sonics vibra-cell) for 10 sec until a clear dark red solution appeared containing nanoparticles. The particles were collected with centrifugation (30,000 g 30 min), re-suspended in PBS, and sonicated in a bath sonicator for 10 min. The particles were characterized with DLS, TEM, and zeta potential measurement, and 150 nm particles were obtained with −55 mV surface zeta potential measurements ( FIGS. 20A-B ). FIG. 20C shows SEM images of FiDOX nanoparticles. Scale bar is 100 nm. FIG. 20D shows that the sizes of FiDOX stay constant over a 5 day period. FIG. 20E shows the release of DOX over time for pH 7.4 and pH 5.5. FIG. 20E shows release of PXL over time for pH 7.4 and pH 5.5.
Preparation of FiPAX and DexPAX Nanoparticles:
Paclitaxel-encapsulated fucoidan/dextran sulfate nanoparticles (FiPAX and DexPAX) were synthesized using a nano-precipitation method. 0.1 ml of paclitaxel dissolved in DMSO (10 mg/ml), was added drop-wise (20 μL per 15 sec) to a 0.6 ml aqueous polysaccharide solution (15 mg/ml) containing IR783 (1 mg/ml) and 0.05 mM sodium bicarbonate. The solution was centrifuged twice (20,000 G 30 min) and re-suspended in 1 ml of sterile PBS. The suspension of nanoparticles was sonicated for 10 sec with a probe sonicator at 40% intensity (Sonics). The resulted nanoparticles had zeta potential of −52 mV and a size of 95 nm with a PDI of 0.12 ( FIGS. 20A-B ). By suspending the nanoparticles in lower volumes, it was possible to solubilize Paclitaxel (PXL) up to 16 mg/ml in saline solution, which is 2000 times better than free drug. The nanoparticles were lyophilized with a saline/sucrose 5% solution and reconstituted in water at this concentration. FIG. 20C shows SEM images of FiPAX nanoparticles. Scale bar is 100 nm. FIG. 20D shows that the sizes of FiPAX stay constant over a 5 day period. FIG. 20E shows the release of DOX over time for pH 7.4 and pH 5.5. FIG. 20E shows release of PXL over time for pH 7.4 and pH 5.5.
Preparation of Fucoidan—Albumin Nanoparticles Containing Sorafenib:
1 mg of Sorafenib (LC labs) in DMSO was added to 4 mg of Human Serum Albumin (HSA, Sigma) in 0.3 ml of PBS (pH 4 acidified with HCl) to form a milky white mixture. 3 mg of Fucoidan in 0.3 ml water was added to the mixture. The mixture was bath sonicated for 2 min and 0.3 ml of sodium bicarbonate 100 mM was added until pH 8 was reached. The mixture was sonicated with a probe sonicator for 20 sec under ice and white clear solution containing nanoparticles. The solution was centrifuged at 30.00 g for 20 min and the pellet was re-suspended in PBS followed by bath sonication. 90 nm particles were obtained with −42 mV surface zeta potential ( FIGS. 20A-B ).
Preparation of Fucoidan Nanoparticles Containing Paclitaxel:
1 mg of Paclitaxel in 0.1 ml of ethanol was added dropwise to 5 mg of Fucoidan in 0.5 ml of water. The mixture was immediately sonicated for 2 min with a probe sonicator (40%) under ice. The mixture was centrifuged at 20.00 g for 20 min and the pellet was re-suspended in 1 ml PBS containing 1 mg of Fucoidan and was again sonicated for 2 min under ice. The particles were characterized with DLS, TEM and zeta potential measurements ( FIGS. 20A-B ). 180 nm particles were obtained with −51 mV surface zeta potential.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Preparation of Fucoidan-Albumin Nanoparticles Containing Paclitaxel and Near-IR Dye:
Conjugation of Fucoidan to BSA Via Maillard Reaction:
150 μl of BSA (20 mg/ml) was mixed with 150 μl of Fucoidan solution (80 mg/ml), then 150 μl of 0.1 M sodium bicarbonate buffer, pH 8.0, was added. The mixture was frozen at −80° C., freeze-dried, and heated at 60° C. for 5 hr. After heating, samples were dissolved in 1 ml of water, and purified with Sephadex G25 PD10 column to remove salts and unbound sugar, then freeze dried.
Preparation of Particles from Ficoidan Conjugated BSA:
The Fucoidan BSA conjugate (Fi-BSA, 15 mg) was dissolved in 0.5 ml of water. 0.1 mg of IR783 (Sigma) in water was added to the solution. 1 mg of Paclitaxel in 0.1 ml of ethanol was added dropwise and the mixture was sonicated with a probe sonicator for 1 min. The mixture was centrifuged at 20.00 g for 20 min and the pellet was re-suspended in 1 ml PBS. 110 nm particles were obtained with −45 mV surface zeta potential.
Binding of Nanoparticles to Immobilized P-Selectin:
Human recombinant P- and E-selectin (50 ng in 50 μl) was added to high hydrophobicity 96 well elisa plate and incubated at 4° C. overnight. The wells were washed with PBS, incubated with BSA (3% 0.2 ml), and incubated with FiPAX or DexPAX in Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) for 15 min. The wells were gently washed three times with HBSS and the binding of nanoparticles was evaluated using scanning fluorescence intensity performed by TECAN T2000 (‘multiple reads per well’ mode, ex 780 nm, em 820 nm).
Binding of Nanoparticles to P-Selectin Expressing Endothelial Cells:
To induce P-selectin expression, monolayers of bEnd3 cells in 24 well plates were pre-incubated with TNF-α (50 ng/ml) for 20 min prior to the onset of experiments. Control cells were left untreated. The cells were then incubated with 20 μg/ml of nanoparticle for 45 min and another 15 min with CellMask Green (Life Technologies) for membrane staining and HOESCHT 66XX for nuclear staining. The cells were then washed twice with PBS. Images were acquired with an inverted Olympus XX fluorescent microscope, equipped with XM10IR Olympus camera with an IR range and EXCITE Xenon lamp. Similar exposure time and excitation intensity were applied throughout all experiments. Merged images were obtained via processing with ImageJ. Green—Cell membrane (ex 488 nm, em 525 nm), Blue—Nucleus (ex 350 nm, em 460 nm), Red—IR783 dye in particles (ex 780 nm, em 820 nm).
Evaluation of Penetration Through Endothelial and Epithelial Barriers:
A modified Transwell assay was used to test penetration of particles through a monolayer of endothelial cells expressing P-selectin.
bEnd3 cells (5′ 10 4 in 0.5 ml) were grown on Transwell inserts in 24 wells plate for 7 days. The medium was replaced every other day. The confluence of the monolayer was validated with imaging of membrane cell staining to validate the lack of gaps between cell junctions. Following activation by TNF-α as described above, the cells were incubated with 20 μg/ml of nanoparticles for 1 h and then samples from the upper chamber (50 μl) and fluorescent intensity was measured with a fluorescence plate reader (TECAN T2000) at ex 780 nm, em 820 nm. To visualize the particles in the endothelial cells on the insert component of the chamber, the cells were washed twice with PBS and then incubated in HBSS. Images were acquired and processed as described above.
Cell Viability Assay:
bEnd3 cells (5×10 4 ) were seeded in a 96-well plate. Nanoparticles were added to cells that were pre-activated by TNF-α for 30 min, at equivalent drug concentration, and were incubated for 1 h at 37° C. Cells not activated with TNF-α were treated similarly. The drug solution was then removed and replaced with fresh medium, followed by 72 h of incubation at 37° C. Cell survival was assayed by discarding the medium and adding 100 μl of fresh medium and 25 μl of 5 mg/ml MTT solution in PBS to each well. After 90 minutes, the solution was removed and 200 μl of DMSO were 10 added. Cell viability was evaluated by measuring the absorbance of each well at 570 nm relative to control wells.
Anti-Tumor Efficacy in Bilateral s.c Model of 3LL:
Murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) were maintained in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) cell culture medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 1 mM Na pyruvate, and 50 ug/ml penicillin and streptomycin. Tumor cells were subcutaneously implanted (1×10 6 cells per injection) in both hind limbs of eightweek old hairless SKH-1 mice. The tumor models were used for biodistribution and tumor growth studies when the tumor size reached 0.5 cm in diameter.
Irradiation of the tumors was conducted at 6 gy doses using X-ray irradiator.
Near Infrared Imaging In Vivo:
Four hours after irradiation, 200 μl (1 mg/ml) of the nanoparticles labeled with IR783 were injected via the tail vein. Biodistribution of the particles within the tumor-bearing mice was monitored with near infrared (NIR) imaging. NIR images were taken with an IVIS imaging system at various time points. Radiance (photons/sec/cm 2 ) was measured within the tumor region (region of interest, ROI) using the program LivingImage 4.2 provided by Xenogen.
Inhibition of Tumor Growth and Lung Metastasis of B16-F10 Melanoma:
C57BL/6 mice were inoculated intravenously (i.v.) with 1×10 5 B16-F10 cells on day 0 and the tumor was allowed to establish until day 7. In one experiment, mice were divided randomly into 5 groups and injected i.v. with FiDOX, Fi, DexDOX.
After treatment, mice were monitored up to 8 or 17 weeks, depending on the treatment received. At the end of the experiments, mice were sacrificed, their lungs were collected, and the number of surface-visible tumors was examined. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate survival.
Establishment of Tumor Xenografts and Studies in Nude Mice:
Six-week-old female athymic NU/NU nude mice were injected subcutaneously with 5×10 5 of A375, SW620, LOVO, and HCT116 in 100 ml culture media/Matrigel at a 1:5 ratio. For cell-line-derived xenografts, animals were randomized at a tumor volume of 70 to 120 mm 3 to four to six groups, with n=8-10 tumors per group. Animals were orally treated daily with MEK162 (10 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg in 0.5% carboxymethylcel-lulose sodium salt [CMC]; Sigma). Xenografts were measured with digital caliper, and tumor volumes were determined with the formula: (length×width 2 )×(π/6). Animals were euthanized using CO 2 inhalation. Tumor volumes are plotted as means±SEM. Mice were housed in air-filtered laminar flow cabinets with a 12-hr light/dark cycle and food and water ad libitum.
Immunohistochemistry (IHC):
For xenograft samples, dissected tissues were fixed after (e.g, immediately after) removal in a 10% buffered formalin solution for a maximum of 24 h at room temperature before being dehydrated and paraffin embedded under vacuum. The tissue sections were deparaffinized with EZPrep buffer, antigen retrieval was performed with CC1 buffer, and sections were blocked for 30 minutes with Background Buster solution (Innovex). Human P-Selectin/CD62P Monoclonal Antibody (Catalog #BBA30) at 5-15 μg/mL overnight at 4° C. Other antibodies (CD31, P-selectin IFC, Tunel and Cle-PARP) were applied and sections were incubated for 5 hr, followed by a 60 minute incubation with biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG (Vector labs, cat#PK6101) at a 1:200 dilution.
As described herein, it has been identified that human tumors (e.g., lymphomas) express P-selectin primarily on cancer cells and to a lesser extent in the vasculature. Because of the augmented expression on certain tumor cells and vasculature, P-selectin was tested on targeted nanoparticles in a murine model that express P-selectin in both cancer and endothelial cells, models that only express endothelial P-selectin, and models that do not express P-selectin but it can be induced by radiation. For each of the models, appropriate drugs were chosen to achieve high response to a single injection, which demonstrated the platform capabilities of Fi-based nanoparticles.
There was a significant increase in fucodian particle accumulation in P-selectin expressing tumors on cancer cells and endothelial cells (PDX and irradiated 3LL) in tumor bearing mice. An active mechanism of delivery of the chemotherapeutic agents loaded fucoidan nanoparticles (FiDOX and FiPAX) in P-selectin positive aggressive lung metastases and PDX models was not seen in the control nanoparticles with similar charge and size (DexDOX and DexPax. To further characterize the pharmacodynamics of fucoidan based particles, the activities of a reversible kinase inhibitor were investigated. The use of a reversible MEK inhibitor encapsulated in fucoidan nanoparticles allowed evaluation of kinase inhibition in cancer cells and correlation with drug delivery to cancer cells. Comparison of a clinically relevant regimen of daily administration of MEK162 to a single or weekly dose of the nanoparticle formulation was performed. A single or a weekly administration of a reversible inhibitor such as MEK162 encapsulated in a nanoparticle was similar to or more effective as a daily administration. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the delivery system to reach not just endothelial cells but also cancer cells. The reduction of a chronic and systemic inhibition of the pathway and the increase in local tumor concentrations for prolonged periods of time using Fi nanoparticles will be more efficacious and better tolerated.
Because the overexpression of P-selectin on endothelial cells and cancer cells varies substantially from patient to patient, radiation was examined as a way to induce P-selectin locally. In tumors without P-selectin expression, it was demonstrated that radiation increases endothelial P-selectin levels as well as particle accumulation and anti-tumor efficacy. The ability to ‘turn on’ expression of and translocation of P-selectin using radiation has a unique advantage since it could render virtually any tumor vulnerable to P-selectin targeted systems. Also, unexpectedly, non-irradiated tumors experienced a significant therapeutic benefit by a mechanism which may be akin to the abscopal effect.
P-selectin was investigated as a target for localized drug delivery to tumor sites, including metastases. It was found that many human tumors surprisingly express P-selectin spontaneously within their stroma, tumor cells, and tumor vasculature. A nanoparticle carrier was synthesized for chemotherapeutic and targeted therapies using the algae-derived polysaccharide, fucoidan, which exhibits nanomolar affinity for P-selectin. It was found that the targeting of activated endothelium improved the penetration of fucoidan-based nanoparticles through endothelial barriers, leading to a therapeutic advantage in P-selectin-expressing tumors and metastases. The encapsulation of both chemotherapeutic drugs and a reversible MEK inhibitor conferred a therapeutic benefit in P-selectin-expressing tumors, suggesting improved delivery to tumor tissue. On exposing tumors to ionizing radiation, which induced expression of P-selectin, a significant increase in nanoparticle localization and anti-tumor efficacy in tumors that do not spontaneously express the target was observed.
Expression of P-Selectin in Human Cancers:
In order to determine the prevalence of P-selectin expression in cancer tissues, ˜400 clinical samples were assessed via immunohistochemistry. (Table S1). As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B , it was found that P-selectin is highly expressed within multiple types of tumors and their metastases, including human lung (19%), ovarian (68%), lymphoma (78%) and breast (49%). Abundant expression of P-selectin was found in the stroma and vasculature surrounding the tumor cells. However in a subset of cancers, expression of P-selectin on tumor cells was observed. Moreover, significant genomic alterations to the P-selectin gene (SELP) were noted in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ( FIG. 12C ). It was found that SELP is amplified in many cancers including breast (27.5%), liver (15%), bladder urothelial carcinoma (13.4%), and lung adenocarcinoma (12.2%). Moreover, the expression of SELP is associated with poor prognosis in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and renal cell carcinoma. ( FIG. 12C ). The abundant expression of P-selectin in cancer prompted the development a P-selectin-targeted vehicle for selective drug delivery.
P-Selectin Mediated Transport of Nanoparticles:
To design a P-selectin targeted drug delivery system, fucoidan (Fi)-based nanoparticles were prepared to encapsulate three different drug classes with dose-limiting toxicities. Fucoidan-encapsulated paclitaxel (PAX) nanoparticles (FiPAX) were synthesized by co-encapsulating paclitaxel, and a near infra-red dye (IR783) to facilitate imaging, via nano-precipitation as described above in Preparation of FiPAX and DexPAX nanoparticles ( FIG. 12D ). A reversible MEK inhibitor, MEK162 was encapsulated in fucodian nanoparticles (FiMEK) in the same manner that FiPAX was prepared. Fucoidan-encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX) nanoparticles (FiDOX) were synthesized via layer-by-layer assembly of a cationic doxorubicin-polymer conjugate via pH sensitive hydrazone bond (DOX-PEG-DOX, DPD) and the anionic fucoidan ( FIG. 12E ). The DPD conjugate was synthesized via pH-cleavable hydrazine linkages to promote release of the drug in the acidic tumor microenvironment or lysosomes. The FiDOX, FiPAX and FiMEK nanoparticles measured 150±8.1, 105±4.2 and 85±3.6 nm in diameter respectively, and exhibited approximately −55 mV surface charge (zeta potential). Microscopy showed relatively uniform spherical morphology. As shown in Table 1 below and in FIGS. 13A-E , the particles exhibited good serum stability and reconstituted after lyphilization.
TABLE 1
Parameters (units)
Control (NT)
FiDox (24 Hrs)
FiPax (24 Hrs)
WBCs (K/μL)
6.90 ± 0.91
4.71 ± 0.28
5.21 ± 0.70
NE (K/μL)
3.71 ± 3.23
1.46 ± 0.12
1.61 ± 0.48
LY (K/μL)
3.03 ± 2.41
3.20 ± 0.29
3.51 ± 0.26
MO (K/μL)
0.15 ± 0.05
0.06 ± 0.03
0.07 ± 0.02
EO (K/μL)
0.03 ± 0.02
0.01 ± 0.01
0.01 ± 0.01
BA (K/μL)
0.00 ± 0.00
0.00 ± 0.00
0.00 ± 0.00
RBC (M/μL)
10.30 ± 0.69
10.55 ± 0.60
10.55 ± 0.54
Hb (g/dL)
13.30 ± 0.99
13.87 ± 0.50
13.70 ± 0.52
HCT (%)
45.05 ± 2.05
45.73 ± 1.96
45.30 ± 2.78
MCV (fL)
43.75 ± 0.92
43.40 ± 1.14
42.90 ± 0.95
MCH (pg)
12.90 ± 0.14
13.20 ± 0.61
13.00 ± 0.40
MCHC (g/dL)
29.50 ± 0.85
30.40 ± 0.69
30.30 ± 0.89
PLT (K/μL)
1082.00 ± 203.65
753.33 ± 50.08
890.33 ± 125.92
To assess the selectivity of nanoparticle targeting to P-selectin, an untargeted control drug-loaded nanoparticle lacking the fucoidan component was synthesized. Dextran sulfate-encapsulated paclitaxel (DexPAX) nanoparticles were assembled with the same methods as used above. The binding of FiPAX and DexPAX was compared to immobilized human recombinant P-selectin, E-selectin, and BSA, thereby confirming the selective binding to P-selectin in a dose dependent manner ( FIG. 12E : P<0.05).
It was investigated whether a fucoidan-based nanoparticle would bind to activated endothelium and translocate the endothelial barrier. The ability of fucoidan nanoparticles to penetrate through endothelium and into tumor tissue was assessed using a modified Transwell assay. Murine brain endothelial (bEnd.3) cells were grown on the top chamber's membrane, and P-selectin expressing tumor spheroids were grown in the bottom chamber ( FIG. 14A ). The penetration of the nanoparticles through the bEnd.3 monolayer upon activation by TNF-α was measured. The quantity of FiPAX nanoparticles recovered from the bottom chamber increased significantly by ˜30% ( FIG. 14B ) in the presence of TNF-α, while DexPAX increased by 15%, suggesting that endothelial activation enhanced the translocation of the FiPAX nanoparticles. The FiPAX nanoparticles were taken up by the endothelial cells only upon activating with TNF-α, and the cells did not take up the control DexPAX nanoparticle in either case ( FIG. 14C ). Penetration of the nanoparticles into tumor spheres via fluorescence microscopy was quantified. As shown in FIGS. 2D to 2E , a 3-fold increase in the FiPAX-encapsulated dye fluorescence in the tumor spheres upon activation with TNF-α, as well as greater penetration into the spheres, compared to the DexPAX nanoparticles ( FIGS. 14D-14E ). These observations suggest that endothelial activation mediates increased transport of P-selectin-targeted nanoparticles across an endothelial barrier and into solid tumor tissue compared to untargeted particles. These findings support that particle extravasation and tumor penetration to P-selectin expressing tumors in vivo is possible.
Anti-Tumor Efficacy Mediated by P-Selectin:
To determine the net efficacy of P-selectin targeting in vivo, a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model of SCLC which expresses P-selectin was used ( FIG. 15A ). This PDX expressed P-selectin both in tumor endothelium and cancer cells ( FIG. 13A : LX36). When tumors reached 70 mm 3 , mice were randomized into 4 arms: PBS, FiPAX, DexPAX and paclitaxel (PAX). Upon 24 h and 72 h after injection of nanoparticles, the mice were imaged to compare particle localization. The average fluorescence intensity was 2.5 times higher than that of DexPAX after 24 h, and the signal difference increased to 4.1 times at 72 h ( FIG. 15A , FIG. 16B ). Upon administration of a single injection of each treatment, FiPAX nanoparticles significantly inhibited tumor progression as compared to free paclitaxel or untargeted DexPAX nanoparticles ( FIG. 15B ).
To investigate the radiation-induced expression of P-selectin in a model that does not spontaneously express the target, nude mice were inoculated in both flanks with Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) cells. The resulting tumor did not endogenously express P-selectin, as observed by tissue staining ( FIG. 15C ). The right flank tumor of each mouse was irradiated with 6 Gy, while the left tumors were left un-irradiated. It was observed that the expression of P-selectin in the irradiated tumor was apparent by 4 hours and increased substantially by 24 hours ( FIG. 15C ). Notably, P-selectin expression was found in the non-irradiated tumors of the irradiated mice after a 24 hour delay ( FIG. 15C ), as well as an increase in soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) in the blood of the irradiated mice ( FIGS. 16A-16D ).
It was investigated whether radiation could selectively guide P-selectin-targeted drug carrier nanoparticles to a tumor site to result in a net therapeutic benefit. The 3LL bilateral tumor model was irradiated with 6 Gy on the right tumor before injecting the mice i.v. with nanoparticles 4 hours later. To distinguish the effects of radiation-induced P-selectin targeting from an EPR effect or non-induced P-selectin, untargeted DexPAX nanoparticles and non-irradiated control mice were included. At 24 hours after treatment, the fluorescence signal from FiPAX nanoparticles were 3.8 times higher in the irradiated tumors over non-irradiated tumors, while there was no difference in the DexPAX-treated mice ( FIG. 15E, 16D ). Growth was halted in tumors receiving both radiation and FiPAX nanoparticles, resulting in their complete tumor disappearance ( FIG. 15F ). Notably, in mice treated with FiPAX nanoparticles and radiation, significant inhibition was observed in the non-irradiated tumors, suggesting an abscopal-like effect on anti-tumor efficacy mediated by the nanoparticle. To corroborate the in vivo observations, FiPAX binding to radiation-induced P-selectin expression in vitro were evaluated. In bEnd.3 endothelial cells, radiation-mediated P-selectin expression was observed in a dose-dependent manner. The irradiated cells took up FiPAX nanoparticles, while little uptake of DexPAX nanoparticles was measured ( FIGS. 16A and 16B : P<0.05).
Anti-Tumor Efficacy in Endogenous P-Selectin Expressing Metastases:
The anti-tumor efficacy of P-selectin-targeted drug carrier nanoparticles was assessed against an aggressive experimental metastasis model. The i.v. injection of 10′ B16F10 melanoma cells results in lung metastases which exhibit P-selectin expression in the associated vasculature ( FIG. 17A-B ). Three different doses of FiDOX (fucoidan-encapsulated doxorubicin) nanoparticles were then administered to identify a therapeutic window. The mice were divided into 6 groups of 5 mice and treated with a single dose of either free doxorubicin at 6 mg/kg or 8 mg/kg, close to the maximum tolerated dose, fucoidan (30 mg/kg), as a vehicle control, and three concentrations of Fi DOX (1 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg). The treatment with Fi DOX nanoparticles at all three concentrations resulted in decreased tumor burden and prolonged survival upon a single injection, whereas an equivalent amount of free doxorubicin at its maximum tolerated dose, did not have a significant effect ( FIG. 17C ). Fucoidan alone also showed no survival benefit. After 7 days post-treatment, tumor bioluminescence shows a clear reduction in median photon count in the medium and the high dose groups ( FIG. 17D, 17E ). Signs of toxicity as measured by weight loss or complete blood count were not observed ( FIGS. 18A-18E ). The anti-tumor efficacy of FiDOX nanoparticles was also compared to the untargeted DexDOX nanoparticle control and untargeted drug-polymer conjugate, DOX-PEG-DOX at equivalent doxorubicin doses of 8 mg/kg. The mean survival of the FiDOX group was significantly higher at 68.8 days with 400 cured mice compared to DexDOX at 40.2 days with no cures, DOX-PEG-DOX at 39.2 days, and untreated 32.4 at days ( FIG. 17B , p=0.005).
P-Selecting Targeting of Mechanistically Targeted Drugs:
The Ras-ERK pathway is frequently hyperactive in substantial types of cancers including melanoma, colorectal, and lung cancers, and therefores MEK/ERK reversible inhibitors have been tested in large number of clinical trials in RAS- and BRAF-mutated cancers. Blocking this pathway using systemic MEK/ERK inhibitors is, however, dose-limiting with only temporal target inhibition. At high dosage, these treatments cause toxicity in patients such as severe rash and chronic serous retinoscopy (CSR).
It is described herein how P-selectin-targeted delivery improved the efficacy of reversible kinase inhibitors which are specific to cancer cells. For example, the delivery of MEK inhibitor to the tumor microenvironment using P-selectin targeted nanoparticles increased the concentration of drug in the tumor itself, therefore prolonging the duration of inhibition and reduce systemic toxicity.
To this end, MEK162 was co-encapsulated with IR783 within fucoidan-based nano-particles (FiMEK) in the same manner that FiPAX was prepared. In vitro, the release of the MEK162 by the nano-particle was sustained with maximum of 85% reached in 24 hours and accelerated by acidic pH ( FIG. 23A ). Data shows that free MEK162 and MEK162 loaded fucoidan nanoparticles (FI-MEK) had similar biochemical and anti-tumor activity against BRAF mutated melanoma (A375), and NRAS mutated lung (A549) and KRAS mutated colorectal (HCT116 and SW620) cancer cells in vitro ( FIG. 19A , FIG. 21 ).
In tumor bearing mice, a single administration of FIMEK induced significant tumor growth inhibition compared to no effect of oral treatment. A375 and SW620 tumor bearing mice were treated with a weekly dose of MEK162, FiMEK and a daily dose of free MEK162. It was observed that a weekly dose of FiMEK was more effective than a weekly dose of free MEK, and had comparable efficacy with a daily administration. This result was validated in two other models of LOVO and HCT116 xenografts ( FIGS. 23A-23E ).
To further understand the enhanced efficacy of FiMEK compared to oral MEK162, the pharmacodynamics were assessed by measuring the levels of pERK and cleavage of PARP on tumors treated with MEK162 or FiMEK at 2 h and 16 h after administration ( FIG. 19C ). The data shows a similar inhibition of pERK after 2 hours of treatment. However, significant prolong of pERK inhibition was observed in mice treated with FIMEK when compared to mice treated with oral MEK162. An association between prolong inhibition of ERK and induction of apoptosis was observed, indicating the importance of the duration of pathway inhibition. Immunohistochemistry of Clevage PARP on xenogfrat HCT116 tumors treated with MEK162 or MEK-IR was assessed to confirm the death of tumor cells ( FIG. 19D, 19E ). FIG. 22 shows the drug release profile MEK162 from nanoparticles over time at different pH.
|
Described herein are polymeric drug-carrying nanogels that are capable of targeting to P-selectin for the treatment of cancer and other diseases and conditions associated with P-selectin. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the nanogels presented here offer a drug release mechanism based on acidic pH in the microenvironment of a tumor, thereby providing improved treatment targeting capability and allowing use of lower drug doses, thereby reducing toxicity.
| 0
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typically, a zone control system includes two or more zones in a building and each zone includes a thermostat for control of the temperature in the individual zone. The zone control systems can be warm air heated, hydronic or hot water heated, or cooled by an air conditioning type of system. While many different types of heating and cooling apparatus can be used, the most common includes a furnace and/or cooling coil to temper air that in turn is circulated by a fan in duct work. The duct work has dampers to control the flow of the air to the individual zones. While many different types of systems can be used, and are contemplated within the present invention, the present discussion will use the terminology of a hot air system in which heated air is circulated. This will simplify the description.
Typically when a multizone system is operated, the thermostats call for heat and a fan circulates the heated air to the zone which initiated the call for heat. The zone normally will have a damper that is driven to an open position. When the zone that is calling for heat is satisfied, the furnace would be turned off and the damper driven to a closed position. This typically leaves a substantial amount of residual heat at the furnace and much of this heat is lost up the stack while the furnace is waiting for the next call for heat.
Another type of loss in this type of a system is a random operation of the dampers for the individual zones without regard to the prior operation of any of the other zones in the system. This random operation is undesirable and tends to be an energy wasting type of operation. Prior art arrangements have recognized the desirability of synchronizing the operation of various zone dampers, but the loss of heat that remains at the furnace when the systems are turned off still has been ignored.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a multizone control system that is capable of being applied to any type of temperature modifying plant that modifies the temperature of a heat exchange medium and operates a circulator means to circulate the heat exchange medium to different zones. The zones individually have flow control means. In the present invention a series of timing functions are provided that allow for the circulation of the residual heat in the temperature modifying plant or furnace to a zone so that that heat is not lost or wasted. The timing functions then provide for the initiation of the operation of the temperature modifying plant to add heat when necessary. Also, the timing functions provide for the operation of a heating load in the thermostats that are not calling for heat in order to offset their temperature control so that they do not inadvertently call for operation in an unsynchronized manner.
The present invention can be applied to any type of heating plant, cooling plant, and in any type of multizone control. The invention has been specifically disclosed in a two zone system, but can be obviously expanded to a system having more zones merely be adding further thermostats and equipment of the type disclosed in connection with the two zone thermostats specifically shown.
In accordance with the present invention there is disclosed a zone control system adapted to control temperatures in a building having a temperature modifying plant to modify the temperature of a heat exchange medium, circulator means to circulate said medium, and flow control means to regulate the flow of said medium, including: a plurality of zone thermostats with one thermostat per controlled zone, and with each thermostat including temperature responsive means and heat anticipator means to modify the temperature of said temperature responsive means; at least one of said flow control means per controlled zone, and each of said flow control means being capable of energizing said circulator means when said flow control means operates to permit circulation of said heat exchange medium; each zone thermostat including on-off timer means having normally open switch means, and further including intermediate on timer means having normally open switch means; first zone control circuit means including a temperature responsive means of said first thermostat, a heat anticipator means of said first thermostat, and circuit means with normally closed switch means capable of energizing a first flow control means to an open position upon said first thermostat calling for operation of said temperature modifying plant; said timer means of said first thermostat being actuated by said first thermostat calling for operation of said temperature modifying plant; a first of said on-off timer means operating its switch means to an on state after a fixed time interval to latch said first flow control means into an open condition; a first of said intermediate on timer means operating its switch means to an on state after a second fixed time interval to energize said modifying plant and complete a circuit to a secondary anticipation heater of a second zone thermostat capable of adding heat to said second zone thermostat; and said first on-off timer means maintaining its switch means closed for a fixed time interval after said first zone control circuit means is opened by the operation of said first thermostat to ensure that said first flow control means remains open for a fixed time to allow said circulator means to circulate said heat exchange medium.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The single FIGURE discloses a schematic of a two zone control system.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The disclosed invention is applicable to any type of zone control of heating or cooling. The system can be utilized in typical warm, forced air type systems or in hydronic type systems. In the present disclosure of the invention, the device will be described as applied to a forced air heating type system for convenience of explanation. This is not intended to be in any way a limitation on the application of the zone control system. Further, the disclosure will be limited to a two thermostat type of system but can be readily extended to a system having more thermostats and zones than the two specifically described. The extension of the invention will be quite obvious. Also, the disclosure will be in the form of an electromechanical type of thermostat and control system, but can be readily implemented in an all electronic configuration. With this initial background the specifics of a two zone control system will now be explained in detail.
A two zone temperature control system is generally disclosed at 10 with a first zone control thermostat disclosed at 11, and a second zone control thermostat disclosed at 12. The zone control system 10 includes the application of conventional power 13 on conductors L 1 and L 2 at line voltage to a primary winding 14 of a step-down transformer generally disclosed at 15. The step-down transformer 15 has a secondary winding 16 that supplies a low voltage control potential on the conductors 17 and 18.
Connected between the main power lines L 1 and L 2 is a circulator means 20 that would typically be the blower in a forced air furnace in a hot air system. The circulator means 20 is connected by conductor 21 to line L 1 , while it is connected through a conductor 22 to a pair of contacts 23 and 24 to the other side of the line L 2 . It is apparent that any time either of the contacts 23 or 24 becomes closed, that the circulator means or fan 20 is activated to move the air in the forced air system. The contacts 23 and 24 are operated from dampers in the two zones controlled by the thermostats 11 and 12. Details for this will be supplied subsequently.
The first zone control thermostat 11 operates in the first of two of the zones, while the zone control thermostat 12 operates in a second zone. The first zone control thermostat 11 contains a bimetal operated element generally disclosed at 25 that has a contact structure 26 that responds to the operation of the element 25. The thermostat 11 has an anticipation heater 30, which is conventional. The element 25 is connected between the line 18 and the balance of the zone control thermostat 11. The zone control thermostat 11 includes a first zone damper 31 that has an operating mechanism 32 that is connected to the switch 23. The switch 23 is caused to close whenever the damper 31 is energized to open the damper 31. The damper 31 is electrically connected to a normally closed contact 1K2 of a relay 1K that is in turn connected between the conductors 17 and 18 through a timer contact 4T 1 (1), and a normally open relay contact 1K1 of the relay 1K. A common connection is provided between the normally closed relay contact 1K2 and the timer contact 4T 1 (1) by a conductor 33. A circuit is completed between the normally open relay contact 1K1 and the conductor 18 by a conductor 34, and by the relay 1K being connected to the conductor 17 by a conductor 35.
The zone thermostat 11 further includes a timer means 27 made up of three timers. The first of the timers 4T 1 is a four minute delay on-off timer or merely can be considered as an on-off timer means. The timer 4T 1 has a single normally open contact 4T 1 (1) that has been previously mentioned as connected between the relay 1K and the relay contact 1K1. The timer 4T 1 is connected by conductors 40 and 41 between the heat anticipator 30 and the conductor 17.
A second timer 5T 1 is connected by conductors 42 and 43 in parallel with the timer 4T 1 , and is a five minute delay for on timer and will be referred to as an intermediate on timer means. The intermediate on timer means 5T 1 has two normally open contacts that are applied to circuitry that will be described below.
A third timer 10T 1 is connected by conductors 44 and 45 in parallel with the other timers, and it includes a single normally open contact that will be later described.
Completing the zone control thermostat 11 is a normally open contact 5T 2 (2) that is connected to a heater resistor 46 and this parallel combination is connected across the timers 4T 1 , 5T 1 , and 10T 1 . The resistor 46 is in a heat exchange relationship with the heat anticipator 30 as shown at 47. When the contact 5T 2 (2) is closed (along with thermostat 11), the resistor 46 can draw current and the heat generated by the resistor 46 is communicated to the heat anticipator 30. The purpose of this function will be described in connected with the operation of the complete system.
The second zone control thermostat 12 includes elements that are identical to the first and will merely be given appropriate reference numbers so that they can be discussed in connection with the operation. The bimetal operated element 25' has a normally open switch 26' and a heat anticipator 30'. The element 25' is connected through the heat anticipator 30' to a normally closed relay contact 2K2 that in turn is connected to a damper 50 that is shown connected at 51 to the switch 24. The damper 50 operates through the connection 51 to close the switch 24 any time the damper 50 is operated. The damper 50 is connected through a conductor 51 to a common point between a normally open contact 4T 2 (1) and a normally open relay contact 2K1 of the relay 2K. The contact 2K1 is connected by a conductor 53 to the power conductor 18 so that a series energizing circuit for the relay 2K can be completed through the relay contact 2K1, the timer contact 4T 2 (1) and the relay 2K. The relay 2K is connected by a conductor 54 to the other power conductor 17. It will be noted that the relay configuration and timer contacts of the zone control thermostat 12 are the same as that of the zone control thermostat 11. Connected between the heat anticipator 30' and the conductor 17 are three timers 4T 2 which is connected by the conductors 54 and 55 to be energized whenever the heat anticipator 30' is energized. The timer 4T 2 has a single normally open contact 4T 2 (1). The timer 4T 2 again is a four minute delay on-off type timer that will be referred to as an on-off timer means which forms part of an overall timer means 27'. The timer means 27' further includes the five minute delay for on timer or intermediate timer means 5T 2 which is connected by conductors 56 and 57 in parallel with the timer 4T 2 . The intermediate timer means 5T 2 includes two contacts 5T 1 (1) and 5T 2 (1). The timer means 27' is completed by a timer 10T 2 that is connected by conductors 58 and 59 in parallel with the other timers in the timer means 27'. The extended on timer means 10T 2 has a single contact 10T 2 (1). The zone thermostat 12 is completed by a heater resistor 62 which is shown as having a heat exchange relationship 63 to the heat anticipator 30' of the zone control thermostat 12.
It will be noted that the zone control thermostats 11 and 12 are identical in makeup and the number of zones involved in a system can be extended by providing additional zone control thermostats with the appropriate contact structure.
The zone control system is completed by providing two different capacity temperature modifying elements 70 and 71 which form part of a temperature modifying plant generally disclosed at 72. Normally the element 70 would be a relay controlling a low fire burner in a gas fired forced air furnace, while the element 71 would be a high fire burner. The low fire burner control 70 is connected by a conductor 73 to the power conductor 17, while the other side is connected by conductor 74 to the previously noted timer contacts 5T 1 (1) and 5T 2 (1). These contacts are in turn connected at 75 to the conductor 18. It is obvious that when either of the contacts 5T 1 (1) or 5T 2 (1) are closed, that the low fire burner 70 is operated.
Connected in parallel with the low fire burner control configuration of the plant 72 is the high fire burner 71 which is connected by conductor 76 to conductor 17 and by a further conductor 77 to the parallel combination of the contacts 10T 1 (1) and 10T 2 (1). A further conductor 78 completes the circuit to the power conductor 18. It is thus apparent when either of the timer contacts 10T 1 (1) or 10T 2 (1) are closed that the high fire burner 71 is in operation.
SYSTEM OPERATION
Upon a call for heat from any of the single stage zone thermostats 11 or 12, the appropriate timer means 27 or 27' and its associated damper 31 or 50 is operated. It will be assumed that the zone thermostat 11 has a call for heat. As such, the contact 26 closes to element 25 and a complete circuit is provided through the heat anticipator 30, the normally closed relay contact 1K2 and the damper 31. At this same time the timer means 27 is energized and the three timers begin to operate. Energizing the four minute timer 4T 1 will cause contact 4T 1 (1) to close thereby permitting a holding circuit for relay 1K to be energized. The holding circuit is provided through the conductor 33 and the now closed contact 4T 1 (1). The operation of the relay 1K latches itself in through the closing of contact 1K1, while the contact 1K2 opens. This provides an energizing circuit for the timer means 27 and a holding circuit to the damper 31.
Energizing the damper 31 to an open position would permit warm air (if available) to flow to the first zone to satisfy the zone heating requirements. This is accomplished by the switch 23 closing, and the circulator means or fan 20 becoming operational. This operation moves any residual heat in the heating plant to the zone first calling for heat. This typically would occur while the thermostat 11 was cycling on-off with a duty cycle of approximately 50 percent or less. If the duty cycle of the zone thermostat calling for heat exceeds approximately 50 percent, the thermostat would remain on for a five minute interval, thereby permitting operation of the intermediate on timer 5T 1 . When the timer 5T 1 operates, it closes contact 5T 1 (1) energizing the low fire portion 70 of the heat modifying plant 72.
Concurrently with the operation of the low fire heating plant 70, the contact 5T 1 (2) is closed and sets up a circuit to provide a higher level of current and heat dissipation in the heat anticipator 30' of the second zone thermostat 12 if it simultaneously is calling for heat. This additional heat in the zone thermostat 12 would tend to shut "off" the zone thermostat 12, which by implication of the high duty cycle, is the zone of lower heating demand. This synchronization of heat in the other zone thermostats tends towards synchronization of the cycling operation of the various zone thermostats in the entire system. This permits the most air flow through the heat exchanger during a burner operation, and further minimizes the cost of operation of the blower by permitting it to shut off during timers when no zone thermostat is calling for heat.
If the zone calling for heat is not satisfied within the time for the extended on timer means 5T 1 , which has been indicated as 10 minutes, the timer means 10T 1 would operate and its contact 10T 1 (1) would close to energize the high fire burner 71 of the temperature modifying plant 72.
After the zone is satisfied and the zone thermostat 11 stops calling for heat, the zone damper 31 is kept open by the operation of the on-off timer means 4T 1 for a convenient period of time, normally four minutes. This permits the circulator means or blower 20 to continue to operate thereby delivering the heat that is at the heat exchanger so that it is not lost in the system, thereby permitting maximum energy conservation.
The operation of either of the two zone control thermostats 11 or 12 is the same, and can be operated in a reverse manner. As previously indicated, this system could be extended to three or more zones if desired merely by the addition of contacts being operated by the individual timers of the timer means 27 and 27'. As also was indicated at the introduction of the description, the present device could be implemented in any type of heating or cooling system where zones are used and it further could be implemented by any type of mechanical, electromechanical, or solid state technique. As such, the applicant wishes to be limited in the scope of his invention solely by the scope of the appended claims.
|
A multizone control system utilizes a series of timers to ensure that all of the heat supplied to the system is utilized. Timers are used to control transfer of heat from the temperature modifying plant to the zones. The timers are further arranged to bring "on" additional heat to the heat anticipator of the zone of lower demand thereby tending to synchronize the operation of zones and allow for more efficient supply of the heat exchange medium throughout the areas being controlled.
| 6
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/045,346, filed Mar. 10, 2011, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/727,919 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,919,431), filed Dec. 4, 2003, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/499,839, filed Sep. 3, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/499,842, filed Sep. 3, 2003. The disclosure of each of said applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] This invention relates generally to novel catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds. In particular, the catalyst of the invention preferably contains a Group VIII (using the CAS naming convention) metal and a promoter element, which may be chosen from the groups that contain silver, gallium and indium, manganese, and zinc.
[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0006] Hydrogenation of alkynes and/or multifunctional alkenes to compounds containing only one alkene group is an important industrial process and is discussed widely in the patent literature. Acetylene, the simplest alkyne, occurs in many processes as a main product or by-product which is thereafter converted to ethylene or ethane by hydrogenation. Thermal cracking of ethane can be caused to produce mostly ethylene, but a minor undesired product is acetylene. Pyrolysis of simple alkanes or mixtures containing primarily alkanes and partial oxidation of simple alkanes or mixtures containing primarily alkanes can be made to produce various blends that contain as principal products both alkenes and alkynes. Products in lower abundance will often include diolefins, compounds containing both yne and ene functionalities, polyenes, and other unsaturated moieties. Most commonly the desired products are the singly dehydrated compounds containing a single ene functionality. Thus, it is desirable to convert the alkynes to alkenes, but not convert the desired alkenes further to alkanes. Reactions of alkenes are generally more controllable than those of alkynes and diolefins, which tend to create oligomers and undesirable polyfunctional compounds.
[0007] The hydrogenation step is normally carried out on the primary gas produced in the cracking or pyrolysis reaction of natural gas and low molecular weight hydrocarbons, which includes all the initial gas products, also known as “front-end” hydrogenation, or subsequent to fractionation of the gas components, wherein the only stream subjected to hydrogenation is enriched in the highly unsaturated compounds, also known as “tail-end” hydrogenation. The advantage of primary gas hydrogenation is generally an abundance of the hydrogen required for hydrogenation. However, the excess available hydrogen in front-end hydrogenation can result in “run-away” reactivity wherein conversion of alkenes to alkanes reduces the value of the product. Fractionation reduces the available hydrogen but polymer formation is common, the effect of which is to shorten the useful life of the catalyst.
[0008] There are numerous examples of gas-phase hydrogenation of alkynes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,310 by Brown, et al. teaches that the selective hydrogenation of alkynes, which frequently are present in small amounts in alkene-containing streams (e.g., acetylene contained in ethylene streams from thermal alkane crackers), is commercially carried out in the presence of supported palladium catalysts in the gas-phase.
[0009] In the case of the selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene, preferably an alumina-supported palladium/silver catalyst in accordance with the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,124 and its division U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,015 is used. The operating temperature for this hydrogenation process is selected such that essentially all acetylene is hydrogenated to ethylene (and thus removed from the feed stream) while only an insignificant amount of ethylene is hydrogenated to ethane. Proper temperature selection and control results in minimization of ethylene losses and allows one to avoid a runaway reaction, which is difficult to control.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,856,262 describes use of a palladium catalyst supported on potassium doped silica wherein acetylene ranging in concentration from 0.01% to 5% in blends of ethylene and ethane is converted to ethylene in the gas-phase. U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,717 describes use of a palladium-silver supported catalyst to hydrogenate acetylene to ethylene in the gas-phase. The acetylene is present at levels of 1% in a stream of ethylene. U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,292 describes use of a palladium-gold catalyst wherein acetylene contained in a stream of principally ethylene, hydrogen, methane, ethane and minor amounts of carbon monoxide converts acetylene to ethylene in the gas-phase.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 6,395,952 describes recovery of olefins from a cracked gas stream using metallic salts and ligands. The cracked gas stream is hydrogenated prior to scrubbing to remove acetylene from the stream.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,348 describes hydrogenation of C 2 to C 10 alkynes contained in comparable streams of like alkenes over a supported palladium catalyst containing fluoride and at least one alkali metal. Examples show hydrogenation of low concentrations of acetylene, below 1%, being converted to ethylene in a gas principally comprised of methane and ethylene at 200 psig and 130° F. and 180° F. Care was taken to avoid heating the gas to a runaway temperature, wherein at least 4.5% of the ethylene would be converted to ethane and the temperature would become uncontrollable, which varied from about 70° F. to 100° F. above the minimum temperature that would reduce the acetylene concentration to acceptable levels.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,378 describes a complex process for purification of ethylene produced from pyrolysis of hydrocarbons wherein the hydrogenation follows the tail-end hydrogenation technique. At the top of the de-ethanizer the vapor of the column distillate is treated directly in an acetylene hydrogenation reactor, the effluent containing virtually no acetylene being separated by a distillation column called a de-methanizer, into ethylene- and ethane-enriched tail product. The vapor containing acetylene is exposed to selective hydrogenation to reduce acetylene content of the principally ethylene gas or treated with solvent to remove it and preserve it as a separate product. In all cases the acetylene content of the pyrolysis gas contained less than 1.5 mol % acetylene.
[0014] Hydrogenation is also known to occur in the liquid phase where the fluids are easily conveyed or transported as liquids under reasonable temperature and pressure. Naphtha cracking produces significant quantities of C 4 and C 5 unsaturated compounds, with 1,3 butadiene and 1-butene generally having the greatest commercial value.
[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,933 describes a process in which polymer by-products from the steam cracking of naphtha to butadiene are removed. Acetylenes in the liquid hydrocarbon stream are selectively hydrogenated in a reactor to produce a reactor product containing at least hydrogen, butadiene, and polymer by-products having from about 8 to about 36 carbon atoms, and typically containing butenes and butanes. The acetylenic compounds are primarily vinyl acetylene, ethylacetylene, and methylacetylene. These acetylene group-containing molecules are converted to 1,3 butadiene, 1-butene, and propylene, but can react further with butadiene to form polymeric by-products. The reaction is carried out in the liquid phase with butadiene as the carrier. The undesirable feature of this process is that the carrier reacts with the products of the hydrogenation reaction, necessitating the removal of the polymeric by-products described.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,553 describes a dual bed process for hydrogenating butadiene to butenes. This improvement is said to increase selectivity in streams containing high concentrations of butadiene while reducing the isomerization of butene-1 to butene-2, and nearly eliminating the hydrogenation of isobutene to isobutane as well as oligomerization.
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,600 discloses the need for more silver than previously thought necessary in the hydrogenation of acetylenic compounds that are found in butadiene as a result of steam cracking. The reaction is performed in the liquid phase where the product is the carrier.
[0018] U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,178 reports a reduction in the loss of butadiene along with nearly complete reduction of acetylenic compounds by restricting the flow of hydrogen to no more than 80% to 90% of saturation in the hydrocarbon stream. This reduces the potential for polymerization of the vinylacetylenes, as there is no hydrogen remaining in the reaction stream at the end of the reaction. The undesirable aspect of this reduced hydrogen content however, is that the concentration of the hydrogen in the reactor is reduced, which decreases the reaction rate.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,137 also teaches a reduction in the loss of butadiene to butene along with nearly complete conversion of vinylacetylene to butadiene, through the use of an inert diluent gas for the hydrogen. The hydrogen-containing gas includes no more than 25% hydrogen. The reaction takes place in the liquid phase, between a temperature of 40° F. and 175° F., and at a pressure of 80 to 200 psig. Again however, an undesirable aspect of using a diluent is that concentration of the hydrogen in the reactor is reduced, which decreases the reaction rate.
[0020] U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,907 teaches high conversions of multiply unsaturated hydrocarbons to singly unsaturated hydrocarbons without subsequent isomerization, by staging the insertion of hydrogen into one or more reactors in series. An undesirable aspect of using several reactors however, is the increased complexity of the process, resulting in increased cost and more complicated process control.
[0021] There are several examples where non-linear and/or non-hydrocarbon compounds are hydrogenated in the liquid phase. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,293 describes liquid phase hydrogenation and amination of polyols, carried out at pressures below 20 MPa using a supported ruthenium catalyst and containing another metal from Groups VIA, VIIA, and VIII. A ruthenium-palladium or singly palladium catalyst is listed in the examples. An undesirable feature of this process is the need to filter the fine and expensive catalyst out of the product. Catalyst losses are potentially very costly.
[0022] U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,600 discloses hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene using ruthenium-nickel catalysts in the presence of water, which is purported to improve selectivity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,268 discloses hydrogenation of aromatic acetylenic compounds that are impurities in vinyl aromatic compounds, over a supported palladium catalyst. The purported improvement is obtained via reduction of the hydrogen concentration by using a gas phase diluent such as nitrogen or methane. As previously noted, an undesirable aspect of using a diluent however, is the reduction in the concentration of hydrogen in the reactor and corresponding decrease in the reaction rate.
[0023] Carbon monoxide is known to enhance hydrogenation selectivity. It is added to a stream that has been thermally cracked or pyrolized to reduce the hydrogenation of the ene functional groups. U.S. Pat. No. 6,365,790 describes an approach to selective hydrogenation of C 10 to C 30 alkynes to their respective alkenes in the liquid phase, by careful addition of a compound that decomposes to form CO. An undesirable aspect of using an additive is that the additive must later be removed from the product in diminished form.
[0024] U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,395 indicates that CO and H 2 added to a liquid phase of C 3+ multi-ene or mono-yne hydrocarbons, dispersed in the single-ene containing hydrocarbons, results in improved conversion due to better selectivity. The emphasis is on maintaining sufficient pressure to hold the CO and H 2 in the liquid phase rather than dispersed as a heterogeneous phase. Notably, water is added to reduce the amount of CO required as well as to reduce the temperature required.
[0025] U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,906 presents a catalyst formulation wherein acetylene is converted by hydrogenation to ethylene, in the presence of CO in concentrations greater than 1 vol % in a temperature range between 100° C. and 500° C. The catalyst is a zinc oxide or sulphide, which may incorporate chromium, thorium, or gallium oxide. Zinc oxide and zinc sulphide were reportedly chosen for the reason that, although palladium catalysts are reasonably tolerant of the usual organic impurities which act solely as activity moderators, palladium catalysts are poisoned at low temperatures by high concentrations of carbon monoxide, such as those associated with unsaturated hydrocarbon-containing products obtained by the partial combustion of gaseous paraffinic hydrocarbons. This is to be contrasted with their behavior at low carbon monoxide concentrations, typically at concentrations less than 1 vol %, at which moderation of catalytic activity is reported to enhance the selectivity of acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene. At high temperature, palladium catalysts are active even in the presence of carbon monoxide, but selectivity of acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene is drastically reduced by simultaneous hydrogenation of ethylene to ethane.
[0026] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,800, a Lindlar catalyst was used with a feed that contained no CO. The catalyst contained 5% palladium on a CaCO 3 support with about 3% lead as a promoter. After special treatment involving oxidation, reduction in CO, and finally a heat treatment step of the readily oxidized and reduced Lindlar catalyst, the treated catalyst showed improved selectivity at high conversion, but again at higher temperatures above 200° C. selectivity decreased significantly.
[0027] U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,250 describes a supported palladium catalyst employing a “promoter” from Groups 1 or 2 (in the New classification system; CAS Groups IA and IIA) and the palladium being supported on silica that has been pretreated to contain the promoter. The purported advantage is that no carbon monoxide is needed to provide increased selectivity because the selectivity-increasing effect of the carbon monoxide is strongly temperature dependent. Large temperature gradients in the catalyst bed therefore have an adverse effect on the selectivity when carbon monoxide is present. The reaction is performed in the gas phase in one or more beds with or without intermediate cooling or hydrogen gas addition. Acetylene content ranges from 0.01% to 5%. The reported selectivity ranges from 19 to 56%.
[0028] The use of liquid carriers has also been described in several patents for various reasons. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,267 describes the hydrogenation of alkyl aminoproprionitrile in the liquid phase, using hydrogen and ammonia as reactants over a supported catalyst and using an organic solvent. The solvent was selected to absorb excess heat by vaporizing at the process conditions, which is said to provide some temperature control. An undesirable aspect of employing a volatilizing solvent is the concomitant difficulty of employing this technique in a fixed catalyst bed.
[0029] U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,170 teaches selective hydrogenation of a stream from an olefin plant after operation of a depropanizer but prior to operation of a de-ethanizer or de-methanizer. The hydrogenation is performed on the mixed-phase propane rich ethylene stream, as well as subsequently on the vapor product. A method is described by which the acetylenes in the front end of an olefin plant process stream are hydrogenated in the presence of a liquid hydrocarbon. The propane liquids, initially separated out of the inlet process stream, are used later to cool and wash the product of the acetylene hydrogenation reactor by adding them to the acetylene-containing stream during hydrogenation. An undesirable aspect of this process is the need to fractionate the propane from the small amount of ethylene produced.
[0030] U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,732 discloses a process to hydrogenate effluent from a steam cracker containing ethylene, acetylene, propylene, propyne, propadiene, and butadiene, with hydrogen in the presence of a palladium or other noble metal catalyst by use of a gasoline cut as an inert carrier. The rationale for improved catalyst life is that the aromatic content of the gasoline carrier prevents plating out of the diolefins on the catalyst, which can otherwise polymerize and form gums that obstruct the other reactive components from getting to the catalyst surface. An undesirable aspect of this process however, is the need to fractionate the heavier hydrocarbon fraction from the small amount of ethylene produced, although this is not as serious a problem as when propane is used as the carrier.
[0031] Several patents disclose the use of solvents to separate the acetylenic fraction of a fluid stream from the other components. It is well known that dimethylformamide (DMF) and n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) are good liquid absorbents for acetylene. Likewise, it is well known that DMF, furfural, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran (THF), ethanol, butanol, cyclohexanol, and acetonitrile are useful absorbents for 1,3-butadiene.
[0032] French Patent No. 2,525,210 describes a method for the purification of a stream containing mostly ethylene with a smaller amount of acetylene contaminant, wherein the acetylene is not converted to ethane. The basic concept is to hydrogenate a gas stream short of complete conversion, leaving some acetylene in the gas stream, then to absorb the acetylene in a solvent that extracts the acetylene from the ethylene stream. This extracted acetylene is separated from the solvent and recycled to the ethylene stream for hydrogenation. This is said to increase conversion to ethylene. An undesirable aspect of this process is the need to control the hydrogenation significantly below complete conversion.
[0033] U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,313 focuses on the purification of a C 4 stream containing acetylenic compounds by hydrogenation of the acetylenic compounds followed by downstream separation. The hydrogenation step is carried out in the liquid phase after the hydrocarbon has been separated from the absorbing solvent. It is said to be important to remove the acetylenic compounds prior to polymerization since they can form explosive metal acetylides and will cause the polymer to be off-spec. Suitable inert solvents for this process purportedly include: dimethylformamide (DMF), furfural, ethylacetate, tetrahydrofuran (THF), ethanol, butanol, cyclohexanol, and particularly acetonitrile.
[0034] U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,891 describes fractionating a stream of C 4 and C 5 alkadienes into two streams, where one stream is reduced in vinyl acetylenes and the second stream is enriched in vinyl acetylenes. DMSO was used to separate the vinylacetylene from the enriched stream. The DMSO that contains the vinylacetylene was stripped with nitrogen to conentrate the vinylacetylene, which was subsequently hydrogenated in the gas phase. Unconverted vinyl acetylene in the effluent is recycled back to the feed of the fractionation column.
[0035] In some examples, the use of a liquid carrier or solvent is disclosed in which the liquid carrier or solvent is present during the hydrogenation step. U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,595 for example, teaches a process wherein gaseous acetylene or acetylene group containing compounds are contacted with hydrogen via an inert saturated liquid hydrocarbon stream with hydrogenation occurring over a typical Group VIII metal supported on a catalyst medium. Examples of inert saturated hydrocarbons include various hexanes, decanes and decalin. The process requires the acetylene containing compound and saturated hydrocarbon solvent be fed co-currently into the top of a trickle bed reactor because the solubility of the acetylene containing compound in the saturated hydrocarbon solvent is poor at reaction conditions. An undesirable aspect of this process is the poor solubility of the hydrocarbon solvent toward acetylene. This patent teaches that rapid catalyst deactivation can occur with polar solvents. Dimethylformamide (DMF) was used as an absorbent for ethylene and the polar solvent during hydrogenation. The result indicated rapid catalyst deactivation with conversion dropping from 100% to 50% over a period of 17 hours. Accordingly, there is substantial need for a practicable liquid phase hydrogenation process, using non-hydrocarbon solvents, with supported palladium-based catalysts, if these could be developed with sufficient activity and selectivity.
[0036] Combinations of Group VIII catalysts with Group IIIA metals are found in the art for various applications. French Patent No. 2,091,114 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,892 describe a catalyst and process respectively in which a palladium/indium supported catalyst was used to dehydrogenate and reform petroleum liquids. This patent discloses the use of a palladium/indium supported catalyst for hydrogenation, which is the reverse chemical reaction.
[0037] U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,851, EP 564,328, and EP 564,329 describe palladium/gallium catalyst and teach that the group IIIA metal must be deposited on the support before the group VIII metal to achieve superior activity and selectivity for hydrogenation. An undesirable aspect of this method is that the catalyst cannot be formulated as an existing Group VIII catalyst subsequently modified to impart the group IIIA promoter functionality.
[0038] U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,391 describes a catalyst that contains palladium, silver, and an alkaline metal fluoride compound, wherein the metal is chosen from the group of antimony, phosphorus, boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, thallium, and arsenic, for hydrogenation of acetylene in a gas stream that contains about 1.25% acetylene in ethylene. However, this catalyst formulation exhibits a selectivity to ethylene of less than 80% in all reported cases.
[0039] U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,734 describes a catalyst formed from sputtering metals onto a metal mesh support. Specific examples for hydrogenation include palladium, palladium/silver, and palladium/magnesium on wire mesh supports. Some of the undesirable aspects of using wire or foil meshes are that they are difficult and expensive to manufacture, and generally have limited regeneration temperatures and therefore uses.
[0040] U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,548 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,160 describe a process for hydrogenation and a process to manufacture a catalyst respectively, whereby a Group VIII metal and metal M, selected from germanium, tin, lead, rhenium, gallium, indium, gold, silver, and thallium are deposited on a support for the purpose of the hydrogenation of acetylenic compounds or diolefins. The deposition of the metal M is accomplished by solubilizing an organometalic compound of M that is soluble in water. An example is presented for a palladium/tin catalyst formed using tributyltin acetate. The resulting catalyst is used to convert isoprene in heptane to n-methylbutene with 98% selectivity.
[0041] U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,329 relates to a supported catalyst on which palladium and a metal from groups IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, as well as germanium and antimony are deposited, for hydrogenating carbon-carbon double bonds of a conjugated diene polymer. An undesirable aspect of using a supported catalyst to hydrogenate a polymer, even a low molecular weight polymer, is the difficulty of recovering the catalyst once the hydrogenation is complete.
[0042] U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,482 discloses formulation of a catalyst from a metal oxide mixture where one component is reducible and the other is not reducible under selected process conditions. The resulting catalyst has reduced crystallite character which enhances activity. An undesirable aspect of this catalyst preparation is that subsequent processing or regeneration at high temperatures in a reducing atmosphere will tend to cause the catalyst crystallinity to continuously increase.
[0043] As is apparent, an efficient, practicable process for liquid-phase selective hydrogenation, using a catalyst with sufficient activity and selectivity, would be a substantial contribution to the art. It has now been found that significant improvements in the selectivity to ethylene can be obtained from the addition of promoters at high acetylene conversion in accordance with the present invention. Surprisingly, and contrary to the teachings of the conventional art relating to use of a polar solvent, such as dimethylformamide, a progressive decline in catalyst activity with time on stream is not observed with the present invention. Further, gallium and indium promoted catalysts of this invention exhibited satisfactory selectivity. Additionally, and contrary to the teachings of the prior art, excellent selectivity and activity results were obtained using a catalyst formed by first applying a Group VIII metal to the support and then subsequently applying a Group IIIA metal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0044] It is thus an object of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and to provide a catalyst for selective hydrogenation comprising, consisting essentially, or consisting of at least one Group VIII metal and at least one Group IB, IIB, VIIB, or IIIA (using the CAS classification system) metal, where the metals are deposited on a catalyst support.
[0045] The catalyst support may comprise a silica, an alumina, a silica-alumina, an aluminate, an alternate metal or alloy, a sintered or refractory oxide or carbide (including silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, and others known to those skilled in the art) or carbon. The aluminate may comprise mixed alkali metal, alkaline earth, zinc, or cadmium aluminate. The catalyst support is preferably an inorganic support and, more preferably, the catalyst support is an alumina support.
[0046] The Group VIII metal may be palladium, platinum, or nickel. The Group VIII metal is preferably palladium.
[0047] The Group IB metal may be copper, silver, or gold. The Group IB metal is preferably silver, gold, or a combination thereof. The Group VIIB metal may be manganese or rhenium. The Group VIIB metal is preferably manganese. The Group IIB metal is preferably zinc. The Group IIIA metal is preferably gallium, indium, or a combination thereof
[0048] The present invention also provides a method for making a supported hydrogenation catalyst comprising: applying a Group VIII metal to a support to give a final concentration of from about 0.1% to about 1.0% by weight; applying a second metal to the first metal-coated support to give a final concentration of from about 0.05% to about 1.2% by weight; drying; calcining; and reducing such that the final catalyst exhibits a satisfactory conversion, selectivity, and sustained activity in liquid-phase selective hydrogenation.
[0049] The present invention also includes a catalyst as above wherein a supported Group VIII metal catalyst is obtained commercially and further prepared as described herein.
[0050] The present invention further provides a method for screening or evaluating the suitability of catalysts for selective hydrogenation, particularly for screening the catalysts on the basis of estimated or relative conversion, selectivity, and sustained activity. This method provides steps including (among others) applying one or more promoters to a supported Group VIII catalyst, preparing a reactant stream comprising acetylene in NMP, contacting the reactant stream and a hydrogen/carbon monoxide stream with both reference and test catalysts, and measuring product concentrations in steady-state liquid phase hydrogenation of acetylene, from which catalyst performance can be evaluated.
[0051] The present invention also includes a process for selective hydrogenation using the catalyst(s), catalyst preparation method(s), and catalyst screening method(s), all described in more detail herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0052] A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a catalyst for selective hydrogenation comprising, consisting essentially, or consisting of at least one Group VIII metal and at least one Group IB, IIB, VIIB, or IIIA (CAS nomenclature) metal, which may be gallium, indium, silver, manganese, or zinc, where the metals are deposited on a catalyst support.
[0053] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a method for catalyst preparation, comprising: impregnating the support with a solution of a Group VIII metal compound or precursor, the metal concentration of the Group VIII metal compound or precursor preferably being chosen so that 0.01 to 10% of the Group VIII metal is fixed on the support; drying; calcining at 110° C. to 600° C.; reducing at 100° C. to 400° C.; impregnating with a solution of at least one of Group IB, IIB, VIIB, or IIIA metals or precursors, the metal or precursor concentration(s) preferably being chosen so that 0.01 to 10% of the at least one of Group IB, IIB, VIIB, or IIIA metals is fixed on the support; drying; calcining at 110° C. to 600° C.; and reducing at 100° C. to 400° C. The metals may preferably be applied to the support in any order.
[0054] In another preferred embodiment, the impregnating solution may comprise both the Group VIII metal compound or precursor and the at least one of Group IB, IIB, VIIB, or IIIA metals or precursors, such that the metals are preferably applied to the support together and at the same time. In this embodiment, the drying, calcining, and reducing steps may preferably be conducted once.
[0055] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a catalyst for selective hydrogenation wherein a supported Group VIII metal catalyst is obtained commercially and further prepared as described herein preferably by wet impregnation with a promoter metal or metal precursor, although the promoter metal may be applied by any technique known in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.
[0056] The reducing gas is preferably hydrogen or a hydrogen-containing gas, as will be known to those of skill in the art, and may also contain carbon monoxide or a carbon monoxide-containing gas. Both the drying and calcining steps may take place in oxygen-containing or substantially oxygen-free environments.
[0057] The catalyst support is preferably an alumina, but may also be a silica, a silica-alumina, an aluminate, an alternate metal or alloy, a sintered or refractory oxide or carbide (including silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, and others known to those skilled in the art) or carbon. The aluminate may be mixed alkali metal, alkaline earth, zinc or cadmium aluminate. The Group VIII metal is preferably palladium but may also be platinum, or nickel. The Group IB metal may be copper, silver, or gold. The Group VIIB metal may be manganese or rhenium. The Group IIIA metal may be indium or gallium. The Group IIB metal may be zinc.
[0058] The Group IB or IIB metal concentration is preferably 0.01 to 10% by weight. The Group VIIB metal concentration is preferably 0.01 to 10% by weight. The Group IIIA metal concentration is preferably 0.01 to 10% by weight. The molar ratio of the group IB or IIB metal to group VIII metal may be from about 0.1 to about 10. The molar ratio of the group VIIB metal to group VIII metal may range from about 0.1 to about 10. The molar ratio of the group IIIA metal to group VIII metal may range from about 0.1 to about 10.
[0059] The present invention also includes catalysts in which the metal support may comprise a wire, wire mesh, powder, or shot composed of palladium, platinum, nickel, tungsten, tantalum, columbium, molybedenum, chromium, vanadium, titanium, iron, cobalt, carbon, and/or an alloy containing any or all of these elements. The sintered refractory oxide may be tantalum oxide, dysprosium oxide, titanium dioxide, ytterbium oxide, yttrium oxide, gadolinium oxide, and zirconium oxide.
[0060] In another preferred embodiment, the present invention further includes a method for screening or evaluating the suitability of catalysts for selective hydrogenation, particularly for screening the catalysts on the basis of estimated or relative conversion and selectivity.
[0061] In another preferred embodiment, the present invention further includes the application of catalysts as described herein to selective conversion of acetylenic compounds to ethylenic compounds comprising the charging of a feedstream containing the acetylenic compound or compounds to a single pass, continuous reactor containing the catalyst and operated at conditons conducive to hydrogenation. The acetylenic compound may be a gas and the reactor may be operated such that the fluid media in the reactor is in the gas or supercritical fluid phase form. The acetylenic compound may alternatively be a liquid and distributed as a component of a stream wholly or mostly in the gas state at reactor operating conditions such that the fluid media in the reactor is in a gas, supercritical, or mixed phase form. Further alternatively, the acetylenic compound may be a liquid and distributed as a component of a stream wholly or mostly in the liquid state at reactor operating conditions such that the fluid media in the reactor is in the liquid, supercritical, or mixed phase form. Also, the acetylenic compound may be a gas at reactor operating conditions and distributed as a component of a stream wholly or mostly in the liquid state such that the fluid media in the reactor is in a liquid, supercritical, or mixed phase form.
[0062] In another preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process for the use of the inventive catalysts as described in our co-filed application Ser. No. 10/728,310 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,045,670), entitled “Process for Liquid Phase Hydrogenation” by Marvin M. Johnson, Edward R. Peterson, and Sean C. Gattis, hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[0063] The acetylenic compound will typically be absorbed in a non-hydrocarbon solvent, and the non-hydrocarbon solvent may be a polar solvent including, but not limited to: n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethylformamide (DMF), acetone, tetrahydrofuran (THF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), and monomethylamine (MMA).
[0064] To more clearly illustrate the present invention, several examples are presented below. These examples are intended to be illustrative and no limitations to the present invention should be drawn or inferred from the examples presented herein.
EXAMPLES
Catalyst Preparation
[0065] A number of experimental catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of a commercially available “skin” catalyst (also known in the art as “rim” or “eggshell” catalysts) that contained from 0.3 to 0.7 wt-% palladium concentrated near the exterior surface of roughly spherical particles of alumina, which had been heat treated to reduce microporosity. For example, a commercially available catalyst originally available from Mallinckrodt Chemicals, product number E144SDU, containing about 0.5 wt-% Pd on roughly spherical 1/16″ diameter alumina particles, with a surface area of about 40-70 m 2 /gm and a pore volume of about 0.5 may be used. Similar catalysts commercially available from Engelhard and Calsicat (such as 1435DU) may also be used. Several of the experimental catalysts described below were crushed and then double-screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS or U.S. sieve series) screens, thus providing catalyst particles with a minimum dimension in the range of from about 0.0117 to about 0.0165 inches. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other known catalysts and supports may likewise be employed without departing from the scope of the invention. Most of the experimental catalysts described below involved dissolving the nitrate salt of the promoter in the amount of water required to just fill the internal pores of the catalyst support, though other techniques as are known in the art may of course be employed.
Example 1
Comparative
[0066] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . A commercially available Engelhard catalyst that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 was used for this Example. The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. The catalyst was dried for one hour. The dried product was reduced in place at 100° C. and 250 psig for two hours with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 2
Comparative
[0067] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . Preparation of this catalyst began with the Engelhard catalyst of Example 1 that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. The catalyst was dried for one hour, crushed and double-screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place at 400° C. and 150 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 3
Comparative
[0068] Catalyst containing 0.7 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . Preparation of this catalyst began with an Engelhard catalyst which contained 0.7 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. The catalyst was reduced in place at 50° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 4
[0069] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd-1.2 wt-% Au/Al 2 O 3 . Preparation of this catalyst began with the Engelhard catalyst of Example 1 that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. For this Example, the catalyst particles were dropwise impregnated with a gold chloride solution, dried at 150° C. for one hour, and calcined at 300° C. for one hour to produce a 1.2 wt-% Au-0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 product. The product was crushed and double-screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place for one hour at 100° C. and 250 psig with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 5
[0070] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.3 wt-% Ag/Al 2 O 3 . Preparation of this catalyst began with a Calsicat catalyst that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. For this Example, 10 grams of the Calsicat catalyst was dropwise impregnated with 0.047 grams of AgNO 3 dissolved in 5 ml of water, dried for one hour at 150° C., and calcined at 300° C. for one hour to give a 0.3% Ag-0.3% Pd/Al 2 O 3 product. The product was then crushed and double screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens and reduced in place at 100° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 6
[0071] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.6 wt-% Ag/Al 2 O 3 . Preparation of this catalyst began with the Calsicat catalyst of Example 5 that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. For this Example, the procedure of Example 5 was followed except that the concentration of silver nitrate in the impregnating solution was twice that of Example 5. The product was again dried for one hour at 150° C., and calcined at 300° C. for one hour. The 0.6% Ag-0.3% Pd/Al 2 O 3 product was then crushed and double screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place at 100° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 7
[0072] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.1 wt-% Mn/Al 2 O 3 . This catalyst was prepared from an Engelhard catalyst that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. For this Example, the catalyst was dropwise impregnated with manganese acetate, dried at 150° C. and calcined at 300° C. to give a 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.1 wt-% Mn/Al 2 O 3 product. The calcined product was then crushed and double screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place at 300° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 8
[0073] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.385 wt-% In/Al 2 O 3 . This catalyst was prepared from the Engelhard catalyst that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. For this Example, the catalyst was dropwise impregnated with an aqueous solution of indium nitrate, dried at 150° C. for one hour, and calcined at 300° C. for one hour to give a 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.4 wt-% In/Al 2 O 3 product. The calcined product was then crushed and double screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place at 300-314° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 9
[0074] Catalyst containing 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.26 wt-% Ga/Al 2 O 3 . This catalyst was prepared from the Engelhard catalyst that contained 0.3 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. For this Example, the catalyst was dropwise impregnated with an aqueous solution of gallium nitrate, dried at 150° C. for one hour, and calcined at 300° C. for one hour to give 0.3 wt-% Pd-0.26 wt-% Ga/Al 2 O 3 product. The product was then crushed and double screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place at 400° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Example 10
[0075] Catalyst containing 0.5 wt-% Pd-0.5 wt-% Zn/Al 2 O 3 . Preparation of this catalyst began with a palladium catalyst from Calsicat (product number E144SDU) containing 0.5 wt-% Pd/Al 2 O 3 . The alumina supported catalyst particles were roughly spherical and approximately 1/16 inches in diameter. The palladium-containing material was then dropwise impregnated with a solution of zinc formate, dried for one hour at 150° C., and calcined at 300° C. for one hour to give a 0.5 wt-% Pd-0.5 wt-% Zn/Al 2 O 3 product. The product was then crushed and double screened between 40 and 50 mesh (USS) screens, and reduced in place at 400-420° C. and 250 psig for one hour with a 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture (66% H 2 -34% CO).
Catalyst Selective Hydrogenation Screening Tests
Example 11
[0076] A reaction vessel constructed of one-half inch (OD) stainless steel tube was used for these tests. Approximately 3 cm 3 of catalyst was diluted with 6 cm 3 of inert low surface area alumina (alundum) as a catalyst surface area diluent, and placed into the reactor in a fixed bed configuration. Other catalyst surface area diluents may of course be used, as will be known to those skilled in the art. The catalyst was placed in the center section of the reactor between two six-inch deep beds of 3 mm glass beads, one placed upstream of the catalyst for preheat purposes and one downstream, in the exit section. A 1/8″ diameter thermowell was located near the center of the reactor, thus the reaction temperature was measured near the center of the catalyst bed.
[0077] The operating conditions are as shown in Table 1. The liquid reactant flow rate was set at 18 ml/hr of NMP containing 4.2 wt-% dissolved acetylene. A 2:1 H 2 :CO gas mixture was used and the H 2 /C 2 H 2 ratio was 1.56:1. Product gas analyses (for C 2 components only) were obtained after the composition of the product gas, which was taken from a knockout pot that collected virtually all of the NMP, had reached steady state and subsequent samples showed no significant change in composition. The gas composition results are shown in Table 1. The product gas concentrations do not sum to 100% due to the presence of other components in minor amounts and measurement error. Because these were catalyst screening tests, it is estimated that the mass balance closure for these results was about 95%.
[0078] For purposes of comparing the performance of the catalyst formulations tested, the selectivity of ethylene to ethane may be estimated by the ratio of the product ethylene concentration to the concentration of ethane, defined here as the screening selectivity S s (and presented in Table 1) as S s =[C 2 H 4 ]/[C 2 H 6 ]. Also for comparison purposes, the relative acetylene conversions may be estimated from the product acetylene concentrations. This is defined here (and also presented in Table 1) as the screening conversion S c =100−[C 2 H 2 ] where the acetylene concentration is expressed in percent.
[0079] The data shown in Table 1 thus describe representative results for promoted Group VIII selective hydrogenation catalysts made and used in accordance with the invention. As may be seen from examination of the data tabulated in Table 1, significant improvements in the selectivity to ethylene result from the addition of promoters at high acetylene conversion. Contrary to the teachings of the prior art, a progressive decline in activity with time on stream was not observed, and the gallium and indium containing catalysts showed relatively high selectivity. Likewise, excellent selectivity and activity were observed for the catalysts of the invention obtained by applying a promoter metal after first applying the Group VIII metal to the support. Accordingly, the catalysts of the present invention are effective in the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. The indium-promoted catalyst and, to a lesser extent, the gallium-promoted catalyst is effective with palladium on alumina, and exhibit higher selectivity to ethylene than either the silver-promoted or gold-promoted catalysts traditionally used to advantage for the removal of small amounts of acetylene in ethylene by selective hydrogenation in the front-end gas phase hydrogenation process.
[0000]
TABLE 1
T
P
H 2 /CO Flow
Ethane
Ethylene
Acetylene
S c
Catalyst
Composition
(° C.)
(psig)
(ml/min)
(%)
(%)
(%)
S s
(%)
Example 1
0.3% Pd on
111
250
30
10.0
89.4
0.5
8.9
99.5
1/16″ alumina spheres
Example 2
0.3% Pd on
128
150
35
2.6
94.0
0.80
36
99.2
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 3
0.7% Pd on
111
250
40
6.4
93.4
0.1
15
99.9
1/16″ alumina spheres
Example 4
0.3% Pd—1.2% Au on
120
250
35
6.25
93.50
0.15
15
99.9
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 2
0.3% Pd on
119
250
32
2.42
91.0
6.34
38
93.7
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 5
0.3% Pd—0.3% Ag on
114
250
30
3.68
93.5
2.77
25
97.2
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 6
0.3% Pd—0.6% Ag on
115
250
30
3.33
96.2
0.41
29
99.6
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 7
0.3% Pd—0.1% Mn on
122
250
30
3.91
95.6
0.42
24
99.6
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 8
0.3% Pd—0.385% In on
137
250
30
1.46
96.8
1.70
66
98.3
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Example 9
0.3% Pd—0.26% Ga on
130
250
30
2.02
97.5
0.40
48
99.6
40-50 mesh alumina particles
Selective Hydrogenation—Sustained Activity Tests
[0080] Example 12
[0081] The results obtained from Example 11 and shown in Table 1 were considered promising. Therefore, an extended duration run was made with an indium-containing catalyst similar to that of Example 8 but with 0.22 wt-% indium to determine whether this high selectivity catalyst would also have sustained activity for selective hydrogenation. Operating conditions for the sustained activity tests included: reactor pressure of 150 psig; 1.5 wt-% acetylene was absorbed and dissolved in the NMP absorbent to provide the reactant stream; the molar ratio of H 2 to C 2 H 2 was set at 1.26:1; and the flowrate of reactant through the bed (liquid hourly space velocity) was set to an LHSV of 5 hr −1 .
[0082] The catalyst was operated for about 143 hours, and product gas composition was determined at selected intervals, as shown in Table 2. It is estimated that the mass balance closure for these results was about 95%.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Time on Stream (hrs)
70
104
Temperature (° C.)
134
134
Pressure (psig)
150
150
Methane (wt-%)
0.01
0.01
Ethane (wt-%)
1.30
1.19
Ethylene (wt-%)
97.50
98.10
Acetylene (wt-%)
0.39
0.08
Trans-2-butene (wt-%)
0.07
0.06
1-butene (wt-%)
0.21
0.17
Cis-2-butene (wt-%)
0.07
0.06
Butadiene (wt-%)
0.40
0.31
Total (wt-%)
99.95
99.98
S s
75
82
S c (%)
99.6
99.9
[0083] After this extended run, the catalyst bed was flushed with nitrogen at 425° C. and the catalyst was oxidized in air for one hour. The catalyst was then reduced with the 2:1 H 2 :CO mixture at 417° C. and 150 psig, and tested again to determine whether it was active. The catalyst was again both active and selective for the selective hydrogenation of acetylene dissolved in NMP with a H 2 and CO mixture.
Zinc-Promoted Catalyst
Example 13
[0084] This example was performed under conditions similar to those of Example 11, using the catalyst prepared as described in Example 10. The reactant stream comprised 1.5 wt-% acetylene in NMP. The H 2 :CO feed ratio was 2:1 (vol/vol). The H 2 :C 2 H 2 to the reactor was 2.76:1. The reaction pressure was maintained at approximately 250 psig and the average temperature in the catalyst bed was 128° C. The reactant stream flowrate was set to a LHSV of 5 hr −1 .
[0085] Table 3 provides results from these tests in the form of product gas composition as a function of reaction time. It is estimated that the mass balance closure for these results was about 98-99%. As will be seen from the results in Table 3, the zinc-promoted catalyst provides improved ethylene selectivity at high acetylene conversion.
[0000]
TABLE 3
CH 4
C 2 H 6
C 2 H 4
C 2 H 2
t-C 4 H 8
i-C 4 H 8
c-C 4 H 8
1,3-C 4 H 8
S c
Time (hr)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
S s
(%)
0.5
0.04
0.91
97.4
0.48
0.04
0.09
0.07
0.85
107
99.5
1.0
0.02
0.87
97.4
0.37
0.05
0.09
0.08
1.00
112
99.6
1.5
0.02
0.85
97.5
0.29
0.05
0.09
0.07
1.00
115
99.7
2.0
0.01
0.84
97.6
0.24
0.04
0.09
0.07
1.00
115
99.8
2.5
0.01
0.83
97.7
0.21
0.04
0.08
0.06
0.97
118
99.8
3.0
0.01
0.82
97.8
0.20
0.04
0.08
0.06
0.93
119
99.8
3.5
0.01
0.81
97.9
0.18
0.04
0.07
0.06
0.89
121
99.8
4.0
0.01
0.81
98.0
0.16
0.03
0.07
0.05
0.83
121
99.8
4.5
0.01
0.80
98.1
0.14
0.03
0.07
0.05
0.77
123
99.9
5.0
0.01
0.79
98.2
0.12
0.03
0.06
0.04
0.72
124
99.9
Sustained Activity—Zinc-Promoted Catalyst
Example 14
[0086] This example was again performed using the catalyst of Example 10. The test was performed under conditions similar to those of Example 13 but with the following differences. The reactant stream flowrate was set to a LHSV of 10 hr −1 . The average catalyst bed temperature was 140° C., and the H 2 :C 2 H 2 to the reactor was 3.7:1.
[0087] The results of this test are provided in Table 4 in the form of gas composition. The gas composition data are the result of gas analyses only; when the C 4 compounds that collect in the liquid are combined with those in the gas phase, 3.14 wt-% of the acetylene reacted goes to form C 4 compounds initially, but this figure drops to 2.31 wt-% after 14 hours of operation and levels off to about 2.1 wt-% after about 21 hours of operation. It is estimated that the mass balance closure for these results was about 98%-99%.
[0088] Accordingly, the progressive decline in activity with time on stream predicted by the conventional art is not observed. Further, the results of Table 3 indicate improvement in selectivity with time on stream for the catalyst of Example 10.
[0000]
TABLE 4
CH 4
C 2 H 6
C 2 H 4
C 2 H 2
C 4 H 8
1,3-C 4 H 8
S c
Time (hr)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
(wt-%)
S s
(%)
7
0.06
0.33
97.4
1.20
0.07
0.87
295
98.8
14
0.07
0.60
98.1
0.68
0.10
0.43
164
99.3
21
0.02
0.60
98.2
0.77
0.02
0.31
164
99.2
24
0.02
0.50
98.6
0.33
0.02
0.38
197
99.7
[0089] The examples provided in the disclosure are presented for illustration and explanation purposes only and are not intended to limit the claims or embodiment of this invention. While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, modification thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and teachings of the invention. Process design criteria, pendant processing equipment, and the like for any given implementation of the invention will be readily ascertainable to one of skill in the art based upon the disclosure herein. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to be limiting. Many variations and modifications of the invention disclosed herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. Use of the term “optionally” with respect to any element of the invention is intended to mean that the subject element is required, or alternatively, is not required. Both alternatives are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
[0090] The discussion of a reference in the Description of the Related Art is not an admission that it is prior art to the present invention, especially any reference that may have a publication date after the priority date of this application. The disclosures of all patents, patent applications, and publications cited herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, to the extent that they provide exemplary, procedural, or other details supplementary to those set forth herein.
|
A method of screening catalysts for liquid-phase selective hydrogenation by preparing a test catalyst by adding a promoter to a reference catalyst; preparing a liquid reactant stream comprising C 2 H 2 dissolved in n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; testing the test and reference catalysts by contacting the reactant stream and gas mixture comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide in continuous flow with the test catalyst and reference catalyst, respectively, at selective hydrogenation reaction conditions to produce a product stream, condensing substantially all of the n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone from the product stream; measuring the concentrations of products comprising C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 4 , and C 2 H 6 in the product stream at steady state; determining performance parameters for the test catalyst and the reference catalyst comprising the respective C 2 H 2 conversion S c and C 2 H 4 selectivity relative to C 2 H 6 S s ; and comparing the test catalyst performance parameters to those for the reference catalyst.
| 2
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a non-provisional application which claims benefit under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/405,497 filed Oct. 21, 2010, entitled “Ice Worthy Jack-Up Drilling Unit,” which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] None.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] This invention relates to mobile offshore drilling units, often called “jack-up” drilling units or rigs that are used in shallow water, typically less than 400 feet, for drilling for hydrocarbons.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In the never-ending search for hydrocarbons, many oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered over the last one hundred and fifty years. Many technologies have been developed to find new reservoirs and resources and most areas of the world have been scoured looking for new discoveries. Few expect that any large, undiscovered resources remain to be found near populated areas and in places that would be easily accessed. Instead, new large reserves are being found in more challenging and difficult to reach areas.
[0005] One promising area is in the offshore Arctic. However, the Arctic is remote and cold where ice on the water creates considerable challenges for prospecting for and producing hydrocarbons. Over the years, it has generally been regarded that six unprofitable wells must be drilled for every profitable well. If this is actually true, one must hope that the unprofitable wells will not be expensive to drill. However, in the Arctic, little, if anything, is inexpensive.
[0006] Currently, in the shallow waters of cold weather places like the Arctic, a jack-up or mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) can be used for about 45-90 days in the short, open-water summer season. Predicting when the drilling season starts and ends is a game of chance and many efforts are undertaken to determine when a jack-up may be safely towed to the drilling location and drilling may be started. Once started, there is considerable urgency to complete the well to avoid having to disconnect and retreat in the event of ice incursion. Even during the few weeks of open water, ice floes present a significant hazard to jack-up drilling rigs where the drilling rig is on location and legs of the jack-up drilling rig are exposed and quite vulnerable to damage.
[0007] Jack-up rigs are mobile, self-elevating, offshore drilling and workover platforms equipped with legs that are arranged to be lowered to the sea floor and then to lift the hull out of the water. Jack-up rigs typically include the drilling and/or workover equipment, leg jacking system, crew quarters, loading and unloading facilities, storage areas for bulk and liquid materials, helicopter landing deck and other related facilities and equipment.
[0008] A jack-up rig is designed to be towed to the drilling site and jacked-up out of the water so that the wave action of the sea only impacts the legs which have a fairly small cross section and thus allows the wave action to pass by without imparting significant movement to the jack-up rig. However, the legs of a jack-up provide little defense against ice floe collisions and an ice floe of any notable size is capable of causing structural damage to one or more legs and/or pushing the rig off location. If this type of event were to happen before the drilling operations were suspended and the well was suitably secured, a hydrocarbon leak would possibly occur. This type of risk is completely unacceptable in the oil and gas industry, to the regulators and to the public.
[0009] Thus, once it is determined that a potentially profitable well has been drilled during this short season, a very large, gravity based production system, or similar structure may be brought in and set on the sea floor for the long process of drilling and producing the hydrocarbons. These gravity based structures are very large and very expensive, but are built to withstand the ice forces year around.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0010] The invention more particularly relates to an ice worthy jack up rig for drilling for hydrocarbons in potential ice conditions in offshore areas including a flotation hull having a relatively flat deck at the upper portion thereof. The flotation hull further includes an ice bending shape along the lower portion thereof and extending around the periphery of the hull where the ice bending shape extends from an area of the hull near the level of the deck and extends downwardly near the bottom of the hull along with an ice deflecting portion extending around the perimeter of the bottom of the hull to direct ice around the hull and not under the hull. The rig includes at least three legs that are positioned within the perimeter of the bottom of the hull wherein the legs are arranged to be lifted up off the seafloor so that the rig may be towed through shallow water and also extend to the sea floor and extend further to lift the hull partially or fully out of the water. A jack up device is associated with each leg to both lift the leg from the sea bottom so that the ice worthy jack up rig may float by the buoyancy of the hull and push the legs down to the seafloor and push the hull partially up and out of the water when ice floes threaten the rig and fully out of the water when ice is not present.
[0011] The invention further relates to a method for drilling wells in ice prone waters. The method includes providing a flotation hull having a relatively flat deck at the upper portion thereof and an ice bending shape along the lower portion thereof where the ice bending shape extends from an area of the hull near the level of the deck and extends downwardly near the bottom of the hull and an ice deflecting portion extending around the perimeter of the bottom of the hull to direct ice around the hull and not under the hull. At least three legs are positioned within the perimeter of the bottom of the hull. Each leg is jacked down in a manner that feet on the bottom of the legs engages the sea floor and lifts the hull up and fully out of the water when ice is not threatening the rig while the rig is drilling a well on a drill site. The hull is further lowered into the water into an ice defensive configuration so that the ice bending shape extends above and below the sea surface to bend ice that comes against the rig to cause the ice to submerge under the water and endure bending forces that break the ice where the ice flows past the rig.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] A more complete understanding of the present invention and benefits thereof may be acquired by referring to the follow description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a first embodiment of the present invention where the drilling rig is floating in the water and available to be towed to a well drilling site;
[0014] FIG. 2A is an elevation view of the first embodiment of the present invention where the drilling rig is jacked up out of the water for open water drilling through a moon pool;
[0015] FIG. 2B is an elevation view of the first embodiment of the present invention where the drilling rig is jacked up out of the water for conventional open water drilling with a cantilever derrick positioned to drill over the edge of the deck;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an elevation view of the first embodiment of the present invention where the drilling rig is partially lowered into the sea, but still supported by its legs, in a defensive configuration for drilling during potential ice conditions;
[0017] FIG. 4A is an enlarged fragmentary elevation view showing one end of the first embodiment of the present invention in the FIG. 3 configuration with ice moving against the rig;
[0018] FIG. 4B is an enlarged fragmentary view of a second embodiment of the hull configuration;
[0019] FIG. 4C is an enlarged fragmentary view of a third embodiment of the hull configuration;
[0020] FIG. 4D is an enlarged fragmentary view of a fourth embodiment of the hull configuration;
[0021] FIG. 5A is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention where a cantilever derrick is positioned to drill through a moon pool;
[0022] FIG. 5B is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention where a cantilever derrick is positioned to drill over the edge of the deck; and
[0023] FIG. 6 is a top view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Turning now to the detailed description of the preferred arrangement or arrangements of the present invention, it should be understood that the inventive features and concepts may be manifested in other arrangements and that the scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiments described or illustrated. The scope of the invention is intended only to be limited by the scope of the claims that follow.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 1 , an ice worthy jack-up drilling rig is generally indicated by the arrow 10 . In FIG. 1 , jack-up drilling rig 10 is shown with its hull 20 floating in the sea and truss form legs 25 in a lifted arrangement where much of the length of the legs 25 extend above the deck 21 over the hull 20 . The legs may have a triangular shape when viewed from above or a rectangular shape comprising long vertical posts at the corners and many cross members connected to the vertical posts to form a strong, relatively lightweight truss structure. On the deck 21 is a derrick 30 which is used to drill wells in the conventional manner. Not shown is the conventional ancillary equipment for drilling wells on a drilling rig. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1 , the jack-up rig 10 may be towed from one prospect field to another and to and from shore bases for maintenance and other shore service.
[0026] When the jack-up rig 10 is towed to a drilling site in generally shallow water, the legs 25 are lowered through the openings 27 in hull 20 until the feet 26 at the bottom ends of the legs 25 engage the seafloor 15 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B . In a preferred embodiment, the feet 26 are connected to spud cans 28 to secure the rig 10 to the seafloor. Once the feet 26 engage the seafloor 15 , jacking rigs within openings 27 push the legs 25 down and therefore, the hull 20 is lifted out of the water. With the hull 20 fully jacked-up and out of the water, any wave action and heavy seas more easily break past the legs 25 as compared to the effect of waves against a large buoyant object like the hull 20 . As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , well drilling operations may commence in the ordinary course while there is no ice in the area. The configuration in shown in FIG. 2A is for drilling when there is the potential for ice while drilling. The configuration shown in FIG. 2B is for drilling when ice is not expected to be a threat during the drilling operation. For example, when drilling a first well in open water, ice will be less of a threat then when starting to drill a well late in the operational time window. Thus, when ice begins to form on the sea surface 12 , the risk of an ice floe contacting and damaging the legs 25 or simply bulldozing the jack-up rig 10 off the drilling site becomes a significant concern for conventional jack-up rigs and such rigs are typically removed from drill sites by the end of the open water season.
[0027] The ice-worthy jack-up drilling rig 10 is designed to resist ice floes by assuming an ice defensive, hull-in-water configuration as shown in FIG. 3 . In FIG. 3 , ice tends to dampen waves and rough seas, so the sea surface 12 appears less threatening, however, the hazards of the marine environment have only altered, and not lessened. When the ice-worthy jack-up rig 10 assumes its ice defensive, hull-in-water configuration, the hull 20 is lowered into the water to contact same, but not to the extent that the hull 20 would begin to float. A significant portion of the weight of the rig 10 preferably remains on the legs 25 to hold the position of the rig 10 on the drill site against any pressure an ice floe might bring. The rig 10 is lowered so that an inwardly sloped, ice-bending surface 41 bridges the sea surface 12 or extends from above the sea surface 12 down into the water below the sea surface 12 to engage any floating ice that may come upon the rig 10 .
[0028] As best seen in FIG. 4A , the sloped ice-bending surface 41 runs from shoulder 42 , which is above the sea surface so therefore some considerable distance above the bottom of the hull 20 and near the perimeter of the deck 21 , down to neckline 44 . The neckline 44 is very near the bottom of the hull or perhaps below the bottom of the hull and spaced inwardly from the shoulder 42 entirely around the perimeter of the hull 20 . Ice deflector 45 extends downward from neckline 44 either straight down or at some small angle from vertical. If the ice deflector 45 is to be angled from the vertical, it is preferably angled outwardly. Thus, when an ice floe, such as shown at 51 in FIG. 4A comes to the rig 10 , the ice-bending surface 41 causes the leading edge of the ice floe 51 to submerge under the sea surface 12 . A significant bending force is applied by the weight of the rig 10 on the end of the ice floe against the ice-bending surface 41 , the flotation force of the water pressing up on the middle of the ice floe and the weight of the ice floe at the end away from the rig 10 . Ice is less strong against bending then in pure compression such that the ice tends to break from large ice floes into smaller, less damaging, less hazardous bits of ice. For example, it is conceivable that an ice floe being hundreds of feet and maybe miles across could come toward the rig 10 . If the ice floe is broken into bits that are less than twenty feet in the longest dimension, and preferably smaller, such bits are able to pass around the rig 10 with much less concern.
[0029] It should be noted that in describing the ice-bending surface, orientation is key. The ice-bending surface slopes downwardly and inwardly from the shoulder 42 . It slopes upwardly and outwardly from neckline 44 .
[0030] In FIG. 4B , a first alternative shape of the hull is shown with a slightly off vertical)(−10°) ice deflector 145 , wherein the ice bending shape 141 is slightly inset from the shoulder 142 and the area of the hull above shoulder 142 is also an outwardly and upwardly sloping surface. FIG. 4C shows a second alternative embodiment having a convex shaped ice-bending surface 241 with an outward trending curved lip forming the ice deflector 245 for ice recoil. FIG. 4D shows a third alternative embodiment having a concave shaped ice-bending surface 341 with an outwardly and downwardly curved ice deflector 345 .
[0031] The non-linear ice-bending surface 341 may be seen to provide greater bending force as ice slides further down along the ice-bending surface 341 . The outwardly angled ice deflectors 245 and 345 are shaped to prevent any ice from slipping under the hull 20 .
[0032] Ice has substantial compressive strength being in the range of 4 to 12 MPa, but is much weaker against bending with typical flexure strength in the range of 0.3 to 0.5 MPa. As shown, the force of the ice floe 51 moving along the sea surface 12 causes the leading edge to slide under the sea surface 12 and causes section 52 to break off. With the ice floe 51 broken into smaller pieces, such as section 52 and bit 53 , the smaller sections tend to float past and around the rig 10 without applying the impacts or forces of a large floe. It is preferred that ice not be forced under the flat of bottom of the hull 20 and the ice deflector 45 turns ice to flow around the side of the hull 20 . If really thick ice is anticipated in a drilling location, the rig may be provided with an ice deflector 45 that is arranged to extend much further below the bottom of the hull 20 and downwardly at a steeper angle than ice-bending surface 41 and will increase the bending forces on the ice floe. It should be recognized that the neckline may or may not be at the bottom of the flotation portion of the hull 20 such that the ice deflector 45 may extend down from the flat of bottom of the hull 20 or may extend down to the flat of bottom of the hull 20 . Additionally, it should be recognized that the deck 21 may optionally be set off and spaced above the hull 20 .
[0033] To additionally resist the forces that an ice floe may impose on the rig 10 , the feet 26 of the legs may be arranged to connect to cans 28 set in the sea floor so that when an ice floe comes against the ice-bending surface 41 , the legs 25 actually hold the hull 20 down and force the bending of the ice floe and resist the lifting force of the ice floe which, in an extreme case, may lift the near side of the rig 10 and push the rig over on its side by using the feet 26 on the opposite side of the rig 10 as the fulcrum or pivot. The cans in the sea floor are known for other applications and the feet 26 would include appropriate connections to attach and release from the cans, as desired.
[0034] It should probably be noted that shifting from a conventional open water drilling configuration as shown in FIG. 2A to a hull-in-water, ice defensive configuration shown in FIG. 3 may require considerable planning and accommodation depending on what aspect of drilling is ongoing at the time. While some equipment can accommodate shifting of the height of the deck 21 , other equipment may require disconnections or reconfiguration to adapt to a new height off the sea floor 15 .
[0035] The ice-worthy jack-up drill rig 10 is designed to operate like a conventional jack-up rig in open water, but is also designed to settle to the water in an ice defensive position and then re-acquire the conventional stance or configuration when wave action becomes a concern. It is the shape of the hull 20 (as well as its strength) that provides ice bending and breaking capabilities.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 5 , the hull 20 (as viewed from above) may have a circular or oval configuration so as to present a shape that is conducive to steering the broken bits, pieces and sections of ice around the periphery of the rig 10 regardless of the orientation of the rig 10 or path of travel of the ice. The ice tends to flow with the wind and sea currents, which tend not to be co-linear, or some path reflecting influences of both sea and air.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 6 , the hull 20 may have a faceted or multisided shape that provides the advantages of a circular or oval shape, and may be less expensive to construct. The plates that make up the hull would likely be formed of flat sheets so that the entire structure comprises segments of flat material such as steel and is less complicated. The ice-breaking surface 41 preferably extends at least about five meters above the water level or sea surface 12 , recognizing that sea levels shift up and down with tides and storms and perhaps other influences. The height above the sea surface 12 accommodates ice floes that are quite thick or include ridges that extend well above the sea surface 12 . As the height of the shoulder 42 is well above the sea surface 12 , tall ice floes are forced down as they come into contact with the rig 10 . At the same time, the deck 21 at the top of the hull 20 should be far enough above the water line so that waves are not able to wash across the deck 21 . As such, the deck 21 is preferred to be at least 7 to 8 meters above the sea surface 12 and potentially higher. Conversely, the neckline 42 is preferred to be at least 4 to 8 meters below the sea surface 12 to adequately bend the ice floes to break them up into more harmless pieces. Thus, the hull 20 is preferably in the range of 5-16 meters in height from the flat of bottom to the deck 21 , more preferably 8-16 meters or 11-16 meters.
[0038] It should also be noted that the legs 25 and the openings 27 through which they are connected to the hull 20 are within the perimeter of the ice deflector 45 so that the ice floes are less likely to contact the legs while the rig 10 is in its defensive ice condition configuration as shown in FIG. 3 and sometimes called hull-in-water configuration. Moreover, the rig 10 does not have to handle every ice floe threat to significantly add value to oil and gas companies. If an ice worthy drilling rig 10 can extend the drilling season by as little as a month, that could be a fifty percent increase in productivity in some ice prone areas and therefore provide a very real cost saving benefit to the industry. A fifty percent longer drilling window may allow the drilling of two or three wells rather than one or two wells per year substantially reducing costs and increasing the production of oil and gas.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B , the derrick 30 may be positioned to drill through a moon pool that is within the perimeter of the ice deflector 45 as shown in FIG. 5A or may be arranged to drill over the side of the deck 21 in a cantilevered fashion as shown in FIG. 5B .
[0040] In closing, it should be noted that the discussion of any reference is not an admission that it is prior art to the present invention, especially any reference that may have a publication date after the priority date of this application. At the same time, each and every claim below is hereby incorporated into this detailed description or specification as an additional embodiment of the present invention.
[0041] Although the systems and processes described herein have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. Those skilled in the art may be able to study the preferred embodiments and identify other ways to practice the invention that are not exactly as described herein. It is the intent of the inventors that variations and equivalents of the invention are within the scope of the claims, while the description, abstract and drawings are not to be used to limit the scope of the invention. The invention is specifically intended to be as broad as the claims below and their equivalents.
|
The invention relates to an ice worthy jack-up rig that may extend the drilling season in shallow water off shore Arctic or ice prone locations. The inventive rig would work like a conventional jack-up rig while in open water with the hull jacked up out of the water. However, in the event of ice conditions, the legs are held in place by cans embedded in the sea floor to resist lateral movement of the rig and the hull is lowered into the water into an ice defensive configuration. The hull is specifically shaped with an ice-bending surface to bend and break up ice that comes in contact with the hull while in the ice defensive configuration.
| 4
|
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present non-provisional patent application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Serial Number 60/264,366, filed on Jan. 26, 2001.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates generally to devices that aid in the hanging of objects on a wall or other surface and, more particularly, to a template to aid in the positioning of wall-mounted pictures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] As may be appreciated by anyone familiar with home or office decor, the optimal positioning of wall hangings, such as pictures, photos or paintings, on a wall can be a frustrating experience. Separate from the scene depicted in the work of art, photo, etc., the general shape of the picture and frame form a visual element when placed on the wall surface. The size, shape and positioning of the picture adds to the viewer's overall visual impression of the wall and room. Often it is desirable to position a picture on a wall at a visually appealing distance from another visual element of the wall. Such visual elements may be an architectural feature, such as a chair rail or crown molding, or may simply be another wall hanging already positioned on the wall.
[0004] It is often desirable to have a consistent spacing between wall hangings and other significant visual elements. Of visual interest is both the vertical spacing between elements and the horizontal offset between elements lying one above another on the same general wall surface. For example, when three pictures are positioned on a wall, one above another, it is visually desirable to have the elements spaced a consistent vertical distance apart. In the horizontal direction, it is also desirable to have the pictures either in alignment, with one directly below another, or spaced a consistent horizontal distance apart. Hence, three pictures of relatively the same size that are spaced a consistent distance above one another are typically more visually appealing than a random placement of the same art. The pictures may also be offset a uniform horizontal distance from one another to create a visually appealing stair-step effect.
[0005] Wall hangings are typically mounted on a wall by an installer with a preconceived notion of location and spacing to other visual elements. The installer then typically steps back to a reasonable viewing distance to get an overall visual impression, or he may hold the art in place while another viewer provides an opinion regarding the placement. Hence, the “how does that look” scenario may be repeated many times. The result typically is an iterative process of attempting to achieve a visually appealing placement of the art. This iterative process sometimes results in multiple unnecessary nail holes being made in a wall to hang a single picture in the most visually appealing location.
[0006] The spacing of pictures is often accomplished by eye and may often look “about right,” but can still lack in spacing consistency with other elements on the same wall. A tape measure or other similar measuring device may be used to attempt to achieve a consistent spacing, but the tape measure must be held in place against the wall during any measurements and provides no vertical or horizontal reference. The installer must approach the wall and take a measurement from an existing visual element while estimating the vertical or horizontal direction on the wall surface. The installer then marks a location on the wall surface and steps back to a proper viewing distance to get the visual impression the art might create in that position. Hence, the installer is still faced with an imprecise and frustrating iterative process.
[0007] A combination of vertical and horizontal spacing between multiple pictures on the same wall presents special challenges. It is often desirable to position multiple pictures one above another, or to position multiple pictures in a stair-step pattern leading down and across a wall. Of special difficulty is ensuring that the pictures are in alignment horizontally, or that the pictures are spaced a consistent horizontal distance apart. For example, if the installer is attempting to achieve a stair-step placement of the art, the installer must measure both vertically down and horizontally across the wall from an existing visual element. In doing so, the installer must estimate the true vertical direction (down the wall), take a measurement and mark a location. Then, restarting from the marked location, the installer must estimate the true horizontal direction (across the wall), take a measurement and mark the final picture location. Any error the installer makes in estimating the vertical and horizontal directions will directly and adversely affect the final placement of the art.
[0008] Adding to the difficulty, the installer must accomplish these tasks while standing directly adjacent to the wall. The close proximity of the wall substantially denies the installer the typical horizontal and vertical visual references, i.e., the floor or ceiling and adjacent side walls, that are available to a more remote viewer. Unfortunately, it is the remote viewer who will evaluate the result of the installer's efforts.
[0009] Therefore, it can be seen there is a need for a device that aids in the positioning of pictures, art, and/or other wall hangings on a wall at a consistent spacing from other visual elements. There is also a need for a device that provides a vertical and horizontal spacing reference and a linear distance measurement for the installer. There is a further need for a device that may be affixed in position on the wall surface and that may then be viewed from a distance by the installer in order to evaluate the visual impression that will be created by a selected spacing and placement of the wall hanging. It is to the provision of a device meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Briefly described, in a preferred form the present invention comprises a device that aids in the positioning of wall hangings (such as pictures) on a wall at a consistent distance from other visual elements. More specifically, the present invention preferably provides a means for measuring the vertical distance from a selected point on a wall and provides a vertical reference line to that point. In the horizontal spacing of visual elements, the invention preferably provides a self-aligning vertical reference line to the location of the previous element from which a horizontal measurement may be taken to aid the positioning of adjacent elements. The invention also preferably provides a measuring means that is self-supporting on the wall surface and presents a measurement scale that may be easily read from a distance by the installer.
[0011] Stated another way, the present invention comprises a template to aid the hanging of pictures and the like. The template preferably comprises a generally rectangular plate, sheet, or other body with apertures spaced at intervals along the longitudinal axis of the template. The center of gravity of the template preferably lies along the longitudinal axis on which the apertures are placed. Preferably, the distance of each aperture from the upper edge of the template is clearly labeled on the surface of the template.
[0012] In use, the template is preferably positioned on a wall with the upper edge of the template abutting a visual element of interest. The rectangular nature of the template aids in the determination of perpendicular distances from existing visual elements or boundaries such as a ceiling, floor, or adjacent wall. The installer may then use the template to determine the proper spacing and mark appropriate distances for the positioning of adjacent visual elements. The installer preferably then marks the locations of interest directly through the appropriate apertures within the template, as with a pencil, pen or marker.
[0013] Alternatively, the installer can support the template on the wall using a nail placed through the uppermost aperture. The template will then hang in a true vertical orientation due to the center of gravity of the template lying along the longitudinal axis of the template body. The installer can then view the template from a distance to ascertain appropriate spacing from the point of support and other adjacent visual elements. A location of interest preferably is then marked through the appropriate aperture within the template. The installer can also take horizontal measurements using the hanging template as a true vertical reference to the point of support.
[0014] In another aspect, a preferred form of the present invention comprises a template to aid in the hanging of pictures and the like. The template is preferably substantially longer than it is wide and has a central longitudinal axis. A series of apertures are preferably formed through the template and are generally spaced at intervals in a line along the longitudinal axis.
[0015] Preferably, the template is in the shape of a substantially rectangular plate. The template preferably includes visible indicia associated with each aperture. The template body is preferably substantially transparent. The center of gravity of the template preferably lies along the template's longitudinal axis, on which the apertures are spaced. Any of the aforementioned preferred optional embodiments can be used singularly with the preferred form, or in any combination therewith.
[0016] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and from the appended drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] [0017]FIG. 1 is a front view of a picture-hanging template according to a preferred form of the present invention.
[0018] [0018]FIG. 2 is a front view of the template of FIG. 1 in use.
[0019] [0019]FIG. 3 is a second illustration of the template of FIG. 1 in use.
[0020] [0020]FIG. 4 is a front view of a first alternative template with three series of holes.
[0021] [0021]FIG. 5 is a front view of a second alternative template with the holes provided by one slot.
[0022] [0022]FIG. 6 is a front view of a third alternative template with enlarged heads at the ends.
[0023] [0023]FIG. 7 is a front view of a fourth alternative template with a pivotal secondary member for aiding in horizontal spacing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] Referring now to the drawing figures, wherein like references numerals represent like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows an illustrative embodiment of a picture-hanging template of the present invention, represented generally by reference numeral 10 . The template 10 comprises a body 11 such as a rectangular sheet of transparent plastic. The template body 11 can alternatively be constructed of another material, such as metal, acrylic, rubber, wood, a composite, or the like, and can be formed into a block or other regular or irregular shape. While the template 10 can be any desired length, a 36-inch length has been found to be very practical for many routine applications.
[0025] At least one series of holes 12 are provided with the holes of each series spaced apart from one another and formed through the template body 11 , for example, along the template longitudinal axis 14 . Alternatively, the holes 12 may be positioned off-center from the template longitudinal axis 14 , or some of the holes may be along the axis and some off-center from it (see FIG. 4). The holes 12 may be uniformly spaced apart, for example, by one inch, one-half inch, one centimeter, by another unit of measurement, or by any other desired distance. Alternatively, some of the holes 12 may be spaced apart by one distance, such as by one inch, with other holes spaced apart by a smaller distance, such as by one-half inch. If desired, some of the holes 12 may be spaced apart from each other by a random distance. Also, it will be understood that when it is said herein that the template has a series of holes or apertures, this can mean one slot 12 a along a substantial length of the template body 11 (see FIG. 5). That is, the series of holes may be in communication with each other and spaced so closely together that they form a single slot.
[0026] Furthermore, two, three, or another number of hole series' can be provided, with the holes of one series staggered relative to the holes of another series (see FIG. 4), with the holes of one series spaced apart by a distance in English units and the holes of another series spaced apart by a distance in metric units, or with the holes arranged otherwise. Also, the template body 11 can have a frusto-conical, cross-shaped, square, or other shape, with one or more series of vertical holes (for use as described below) and one or more series of horizontal holes for horizontally spacing the objects to be hung. Additionally or alternatively, some or all of the holes may be provided by notches formed in one or more sides of the template body 11 .
[0027] Each hole 12 may be sized so that a pencil tip or small nail (of the type commonly used for hanging objects on walls) can pass through it. For example, holes 12 with an approximately 0.125-inch diameter have been found to be very practical for many routine applications. Also, the holes 12 may be round, slotted, rectangular, or star-shaped, or they may have another regular or irregular shape.
[0028] Each hole 12 , or only some of them, may be clearly marked with indicia 24 , for example, a numerical measurement in inches, centimeters, or another unit of measurement representing the linear distance of the particular hole from the template upper edge 20 , measured along the longitudinal axis 14 . Alternatively, the indicia 24 may be provided by letters or other markings, or they may be arranged with a zero in the middle and increasing numerals on each side of the zero. If it is desired to provide one long slot (or several shorter ones) along the length of the template body 11 , then the indicia 24 may be positioned along the slot at regularly spaced positions corresponding to the linear distance just mentioned (see FIG. 5). The indicia 24 may be printed, stenciled, adhered, engraved, or otherwise marked on or in the template, as desired.
[0029] The template body 11 has sides 16 and 18 that are evenly spaced on either side of and parallel to the longitudinal axis 14 . The upper and lower edges of the template body 11 , edges 20 and 22 respectively, are formed perpendicular to longitudinal axis 14 . The upper and lower edges 20 and 22 may have widths 21 and 23 , respectively, that are sufficiently wide that, when abutted against a surface, permit the template longitudinal axis 14 define a direction perpendicular to the surface. In an alternative aspect of the invention, the template body 11 a may have flared upper and/or lower ends so that the upper and/or lower edges 20 a and 22 a are wider than the template body 11 a at its middle (see FIG. 6). In other words, the template body 11 a may have an enlarged head 13 at one or both of its ends, the head having the shape of a triangle, semi-circle, etc. with a flat surface defining the edge 20 a or 22 a.
[0030] In use, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the template 10 is placed on a wall surface and provides a vertical reference and a vertical measuring means. The template provides a vertical reference by abutting against a pre-existing horizontal surface 102 such as a crown molding or a chair rail, as shown in FIG. 2. Or as shown in FIG. 3, the template 10 can assume a vertical orientation due to the force of gravity acting on the template body. In this way, the feature of the holes 12 being positioned along the template longitudinal axis 14 coincident with the center of gravity is very advantageous. In particular, the vertical measuring means is provided by the numerical measurements 24 marked on the template body 11 , which is now in a vertical position.
[0031] [0031]FIG. 2 depicts a situation where it is desirable to hang adjacent pieces of art (or other objects) at the same height. In attempting to measure the height of a piece of art, it is often problematic or imprecise to estimate the true vertical direction in which to take the measurement. However, a typical wall provides numerous horizontal reference surfaces in the form of the ceiling, crown molding, chair rail and floor. The rectangular shape of the template body 11 , and the width 21 and 23 of the edges 20 and 22 , allows the use of these horizontal references to properly and consistently position the template in a vertical orientation.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 2, a wall surface is bounded at the upper edge by a ceiling 100 and further bounded by a crown molding 102 (or other generally horizontal surface). The template 10 can be positioned on the wall surface abutting the crown molding 102 . The crown molding 102 provides a horizontal reference on which the upper edge 20 of template body 10 is registered. The perpendicular relation of the template upper edge 20 to the longitudinal axis 14 , in combination with the known horizontal crown molding 102 , ensures that the template now extends substantially vertically down the wall surface.
[0033] By reference to the template indicia 24 , the template may be used to measure the vertical distance “Y” to the support 104 (e.g., a small nail, screw, or hook) of a pre-existing picture 106 . The template is then repositioned on the wall surface, with the template upper edge 20 again abutting the crown molding 102 , and used to measure to a new support location 110 for an additional picture 112 . The location may be marked by placing a pencil or small nail directly through one of the template holes 12 , or a point between adjacent template holes may be marked along the side of the template. In this manner, the vertical heights of the adjacent pictures are reliably matched. Of course, the template 10 may be used to hang the first picture 106 .
[0034] It is often desirable to position a wall hanging on a wall some distance below and to one side of another wall hanging. This arrangement creates a visually appealing “stair-step” effect. As depicted in FIG. 3, the template 10 may be pinned or otherwise temporarily mounted on the wall surface through one of the upper holes 12 along the template longitudinal axis 14 . The center of gravity of the template 10 may also lie along the longitudinal axis 14 . The force of gravity acting on the template body 10 urges the template's longitudinal axis 14 into a substantially vertical orientation with the center of gravity lying directly below the point of support 120 . In other words, the template 10 functions similar to a plumb bob to attain a true vertical orientation.
[0035] As further shown in FIG. 3, the point of support 120 of the template 10 may be the support of the selected uppermost piece of art 122 . In other words, the uppermost piece of art may be removed from the wall, and its hanging nail (or other support) may be inserted through one of the holes 12 of the template 10 . The template may then be used to take vertical measurements “Y” to achieve a consistent vertical spacing for the adjacent pieces of art 124 and 126 . The template may also be used to aid in the horizontal positioning of the adjacent art 124 and 126 . A right angle reference 128 is positioned on the template side 16 to provide a ready horizontal reference for measuring and marking the horizontal offset “X” to the final support locations 130 and 132 of the adjacent art. Alternatively, the template 10 can be swiveled about its temporary support 120 , and a line marked to indicate the desired horizontal spacing. In any event, the adjacent pictures may now be positioned on the wall with a consistent vertical and horizontal spacing.
[0036] Additionally, the template 10 may be used to aid in determining the optimal horizontal position of an art piece on the wall. The template 10 can be held against the wall horizontally (by simply turning it sideways), then one of the ends can be abutted against a doorjamb, wall corner, etc., or it can be centered on the wall. A conventional carpentry level can be placed against one of the template edges 16 , 18 , 20 , or 22 to permit the installer to orient the template in the true horizontal position. If needed, the installer can then slide the template horizontally to a position with one of the holes 12 at the approximate midpoint between two (or another number of) pre-existing objects or surfaces. This position can then be marked through the midpoint hole 12 , as described above, to fix the support location for the art piece to be hung. Also, where an object to be hung needs two (or another number of) support locations, the installer can simply count the same number of holes 12 on opposite sides of the midpoint hole, and then mark these positions on the wall through these holes. And in another alternative aspect of the invention, the template can include a secondary body 15 similar to the template body 11 and pivotally coupled to it so that the secondary body can be pivoted into a horizontal position and slid along the length of the template body 11 , for determining horizontal spacing for objects to be hung (see FIG. 7).
[0037] It will be understood that the template 10 can be used for more quickly, easily, and precisely hanging most any object on most any surface. For example, the template 10 can be used to hang drapes, blinds, mirrors, clocks, shelves, or other objects. In addition, the template can be used to hang such objects from a ceiling, from or on a windowsill, on a door, on a bookcase end, or on or from another surface. Also, the template 10 can be used to position an object upward relative to a baseboard or floor.
[0038] The invention thus aids in the positioning of wall-mounted articles. The template provides a consistent vertical reference on the wall surface either by abutting against adjacent surfaces, or by hanging from a support location in a vertical orientation. The template also provides a ready means for measuring distances along the template body and may be self-supporting on the wall surface. Horizontal measurements may also be accomplished more easily and accurately by reference to the vertical template.
[0039] While the invention has been disclosed in preferred forms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, additions, and deletions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
|
A device that aids in the positioning of wall hangings, such as pictures, photos or paintings, on a wall at a consistent distance from other visual elements. The device is in the form of a rectangular template with a series of evenly spaced holes along the centerline of the long axis of the rectangle. The template provides a linear measurement scale. The distance of each hole from the upper edge of the rectangle is marked on the template body. The center of gravity of the template also lies along the centerline of the long axis of the rectangle.
| 1
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/299,807, entitled “Covalent Coupling of Botulinum Toxin with Polyethylene Glycol,” filed on Jun. 21, 2001.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention improves the efficacy of botulinum toxin for the treatment of disorders associated with inappropriate muscle contraction and for cosmetic applications. The toxin is modified so as to decrease its side effects and prolong its clinical utility.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The neurotoxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum exert their paralytic effect at the neuromuscular junction by preventing the release of acetylcholine. Seven serologically distinct botulinum toxins, designated A through G, have been characterized, as well as tetanus toxin. These toxins have similar molecular weights (about 150 kDa) and subunit structures, as well as sequence homologies. The toxins comprise a short peptide chain of about 50 kDa which is considered to be responsible for the toxic properties, and a larger peptide chain of about 100 kDa which is considered to be necessary to enable attachment and penetration of the presynaptic membrane. The short and long chains are linked together by means of disulfide bridges. Although the target proteins differ, all botulinum toxins are believed to exert their neuroparalytic effects by the same mechanism, suppression of acetylcholine release from nerve terminals (reviewed by Brin, M. F. Botulinum toxin: chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and immunology. Muscle and Nerve, Supplement 6:S146-168, 1997, and the references cited therein, incorporated herein by reference).
[0004] Botulinum toxins A and B are approved for use by regulatory authorities in many countries for the treatment of cervical dystonia. They have also been used for the treatment of other disorders involving inappropriate muscle contraction, including intractable low back pain, cerebral palsy, spastic paresis, blepharospasm, hyperhydrosis, hypersialorrhoea, and whiplash, migration and tension headaches. Botulinum toxins have also been administered to reduce deep facial wrinkles and for other cosmetic applications (Carruthers A. and Carruthers, J. Clinical indications and injection technique for the cosmetic use of botulinum A exotoxin. Dermatol. Surg. 24:1189-1194, 1998; Carruthers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,917, issued Mar. 19, 2002, both incorporated herein by reference).
[0005] Botulinum toxins are typically injected into the target site, and it is desirable to limit the action of the toxin to that site. Botulinum toxin can spread through muscle fascia by diffusion (Shaari, C. et al. Quantifying the spread of botulinum toxin through muscle fascia. Laryngoscope 101:960-964, 1991, incorporated herein by reference). Frequently effects on nearby muscles are demonstrable by electromyography (Buchman, A. S. et al. Quantitative electromyographic analysis of changes in muscle activity following botulinum therapy for cervical dystonia. Clin. Neuropharm. 16:205-210, 1993, incorporated herein by reference). This can result in undesirable side effects, for example vertical strabismus and ptosis associated with treatment of blepharospasm, and spread of the toxin to pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles when the target muscles are in the neck (see Shaari et al.). Electromyographic studies show effects of botulinum toxin even on distant muscles (Erdal, J. et al. Long-term botulinum toxin treatment of cervical dystonia—EMG changes in injected and noninjected muscles. Clin. Neurophysiol. 110:1650-1654, 1999, incorporated herein by reference). Significant atrophy of type IIB muscle fibers has been observed in leg muscles after repeated injection of botulinum toxin for cervical dystonia (Ansred, T. et al. Muscle fiber atrophy in leg muscles after botulinum toxin type A treatment of cervical dystonia. Neurology 48:1440-1442, 1997, incorporated herein by reference). Systemic effects include malaise and delayed emptying of the gallbladder (Schneider, P. et al. Gallbladder dysfunction induced by botulinum A toxin. Lancet 342:811-812, 1993, incorporated herein by reference). Rare complications of botulinum toxin administration include urinary incontinence, dysphagia and a generalized botulismlike syndrome (Boyd, R. N. et al. Transient urinary incontinence after botulinum A toxin. Lancet 348:481-482, 1997; Truite, P. J., Lang, A. E. Severe and prolonged dysphagia complicating botulinum toxin A injections for dystonia in Machado-Joseph disease. Neurology 46:846, 1996; Bakheit, A. M. et al. Generalized botulism-like syndrome after intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin A: a report of two cases. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 62:198, 1997, all of which are incorporated herein by reference).
[0006] The action of botulinum toxin on nerve terminals is irreversible, but axon sprouting reverses the clinical effects, usually in two to six months. Injection of the toxin must then be repeated. The development of resistance to botulinum toxin is an important clinical problem. Antibodies against the toxin are presumed to be responsible for most cases of resistance. Naumann, M. et al. Depletion of neutralising antibodies resensitises a secondary non-responder to botulinum A neurotoxin. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 65:924-927, 1998; Hauna, P. A. et al. Comparison of the mouse protection assay and an immunoprecipitation assay for botulinum toxin antibodies. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 66:612-616, 1998, incorporated herein by reference. It is therefore also desirable to reduce the immunogenicity of the toxin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention provides a method for treating disorders of inappropriate muscle contraction by administering a botulinum toxin covalently coupled to polyethylene glycol. Pegylation of the toxin is site directed so that it does not interfere with the neuroparalytic effect of the toxin but reduces its immunogenicity. Preferred proteins for pegylation are botulinum toxins A or B, because there is substantial clinical experience of their use. However another botulinum toxin (C through G) or tetanus toxin may also be pegylated and administered to patients. Pegylation of botulinum toxin will increase its molecular weight and decrease its diffusion from the injection site, thereby reducing side effects. The reduced immunogenicity of pegylated toxin will decrease the development of resistance.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] To prepare botulinum toxin, Clostridium botulinum is cultured in a fermenter, acidified and harvested by centrifugation. The precipitated crude toxin is solubilized and purified using standardized methods ensuring quality and sterility (Schantz, E. J., Johnson, E. A. Properties and use of botulinum toxins and other microbial neurotoxins in medicine. Microbiol. Rev. 56:80-99, 1992, incorporated herein by reference). The preferred toxins for pegylation are botulinum toxin A or B, since there is already much information on their clinical use. However, another botulinum toxin (C through G) or tetanus toxin may also be modified and used according to the invention.
[0009] Information about the mechanism of action and three-dimensional structure of botulinum toxins is known (Lacy, D. B. et al. Crystal structure of botulinum neurotoxin type A and implications for toxicity. Nat. Struct. Biol. 5:898-902, 1998, incorporated herein by reference; Brin, supra), as well as the definition of major immunogenic determinants (Bavari S. et al. Identifying the principal protective antigenic determinants of type A botulinum toxin. Vaccine 16:1850-1856, 1998, incorporated herein by reference). This information is important in the selection of the sites for pegylation.
[0010] The site-specific pegylation is carried out by methods well-known in the art (Veronese, F. M. Peptide and protein PEGylation: a review of problems and solutions. Biomaterials 22:405-417, 2001, incorporated herein by reference). PEG is attached to botulinum toxin at a site, or sites, so that it retains the capacity to prevent acetylcholine release from nerve terminals. Furthermore, PEG is preferably attached onto or close to a sequence of amino acids defining a major immunogenic epitope. See Bavari S. et al., supra. For example, PEG may be attached to the carboxyl or amino terminals of proteins or to ε-amino groups of lysine residues. PEG can also be attached selectively to the sulfhydryl groups of naturally occurring or introduced cysteine residues. However, in view of the role of disulfide bonding between heavy and light chains during the rearrangement of the botulinum toxin molecule, this strategy must be used with caution so as not to interfere with its activity. Again, these examples of site-specific pegylation are illustrative but not comprehensive.
[0011] Included in the invention are botulinum toxins that are genetically modified so as to facilitate site-specific pegylation. Site-directed mutagenesis is carried out by methods well-known in the art. For example, site-directed mutagenesis may be used to replace selectively arginine codons (see Hershfield, M. S. et al. Use of site-directed mutagenesis to enhance the epitope-shielding effect of covalent modification of proteins with polyethylene glycol. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:7185-7189, 1991, incorporated herein by reference). The additional ε-amino group of lysine provides a convenient attachment site that can be introduced into a region of the protein that is highly immunogenic. Another example is site-directed mutagenesis to introduce a cysteine residue at a specific location which is immunogenic and far from the active site of a protein (He, X.-H. et al., supra). These examples are intended to be illustrative and not comprehensive.
[0012] The pegylated botulinum toxin is formulated, stored and assayed for potency under standardized conditions (see Schantz and Johnson, supra). It is then tested for immunogenicity in mice and/or other experimental animals. Pegylation has been shown to suppress the immunogenicity of therapeutically used proteins, including arginase (Savoca, K. V. et al. Preparation of a non-immunogenic arginase by the covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 578:47-53, 1979, incorporated herein by reference), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (Hershfield, M. S. et al. Use of site-directed mutagenesis to enhance the epitope-shielding effect of covalent modification of proteins with polyethylene glycol. New Engl. J. Med. 310:589-596, 1987, incorporated herein by reference), and interleukin-2 (Katre, N.V. Immunogenicity of recombinant IL-2 modified by covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol. J. Immunol. 144: 209-213, 1990, incorporated herein by reference). Pegylation has also been used experimentally to reduce the immunogenicity of a chimeric toxin (Wang, Q.-C. et al, Polyethylene glycol-modified chimeric toxin composed of transforming growth factor oc and Pseudomonas exotoxin. Cancer Res. 53: 4588-4594, 1993, incorporated herein by reference).
[0013] The advantages of using other pegylated proteins in humans are well known. In patients with chronic hepatitis C, a regimen of pegylated interferon alfa-2a given once a week is more effective than a regimen of the same interferon given three times weekly (Zeuzem, S. et al. Peginterferon alfa-2a in patients with chronic hepatitis C. New Engl. J. Med. 343:1666-1672, 2000, incorporated herein by reference). Pegylated megakaryocyte growth and development factor reduces the duration of thrombocytopenia following cancer chemotherapy (Hofmann, W. K. et al. Megakaryocyte growth factors: is there a new approach for management of thrombocytopenia in patients with malignancies? Leukemia 13:14-18, 1999, incorporated herein by reference).
[0014] Increasing the molecular weight of proteins by pegylation can also influence their pharmacokinetics and prolong in vivo efficacy (Clark, R. et al. Long-acting growth hormones produced by conjugation with polyethylene glycol. J. Biol. Chem. 271:21969-21977, 1996, incorporated herein by reference). The resistance of pegylated proteins to proteolysis may also contribute to the prolongation of their half-life in the body (references in Xe, X.-H. et al. Reducing the immunogenicity and improving the in vivo activity of trichosanthin by site-directed pegylation. Life Sciences 65:355-368, 1999, incorporated herein by reference).
[0015] In the case of botulinum toxins it is desirable to increase the molecular weight of the molecule to reduce its diffusion from the site of injection. This can be achieved by coupling several molecules of PEG to one molecule of toxin or by enlarging the size of the PEG covalently attached to the toxin. Electromyography and histological assessment can be used to assess the diffusion of the toxin from the injection site (Borodic, G. E. Histologic assessment of dose related diffusion of muscle fiber response after therapeutic botulinum A toxin injections. Mov. Disord 9:31-39, 1994, incorporated herein by reference).
[0016] Pegylation of several proteins has been shown to decrease their immunogenicity (see He, X.-H. et al. Reducing the immunogenicity and improving the in vivo activity of trichosanthin by site-directed pegylation. Life Sciences 65:355-368, 1999, and references cited therein, incorporated herein by reference). According to the present invention, site-directed pegylation of botulinum toxin will reduce its immunogenicity, thereby overcoming the development of antibody-mediated resistance to the toxin.
[0017] A commercially available pharmaceutical composition containing botulinum toxin is sold under the trademark BOTOX® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.). It consists of a purified botulinum toxin type A complex, albumin and sodium chloride packaged in sterile, vacuum-dried form. The BOTOX® can be reconsistuted with sterile, non-preserved saline prior to intramuscular injection (which should preferably occur within four hours after reconstitution).
[0018] It has been reported that botulinum toxin type A has been used in clinical settings as follows: (1) about 75-125 units of BOTOX® per intramuscular injection (multiple muscles) to treat cervical dystonia; (2) 5-10 units of BOTOX® per intramuscular injection to treat glabellar lines (brow furrows) (5 units injected intramuscularly into the procerus muscle and 10 units injected intramuscularly into each corrugator supercilii muscle); (3) about 30-80 units of BOTOX® to treat constipation by intrasphincter injection of the puborectalis muscle; (4) about 1-5 units per muscle of intramuscularly injected BOTOX® to treat blepharospasm by injecting the lateral pre-tarsal orbicularis oculi muscle of the upper lid and the lateral pre-tarsal orbicularis oculi of the lower lid; (5) to treat strabismus, extraocular muscles have been injected intramuscularly with between about 1-5 units of BOTOX®, the amount injected varying based upon both the size of the muscle to be injected and the extent of muscle paralysis desired (i.e. amount of diopter correction desired); and (6) to treat upper limb spasticity following stroke by intramuscular injections of BOTOX® into five different upper limb flexor muscles, as follows: (a) flexor digitorum profundus: 7.5-30 units; (b) flexor digitorum sublimus: 7.5-30 units; (c) flexor carpi ulnaris: 10-40 units; (d) flexor carpi radialis: 15-60 units; (e) biceps brachii: 50-200 units. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,926 (col. 5, lines 18-48). One unit of botulinum toxin is defined as the LD 50 upon intraperitoneal injection into female Swiss Webster mice weighing 18-20 grams each, or about 50 picograms of botulinum toxin (purified neurotoxin complex).
[0019] The dose and mode of injection of pegylated botulinum toxin will be selected so as to treat effectively disorders of inappropriate muscle contraction while producing minimal weakness of surrounding muscle and systemic effects. The toxin may be formulated into a pharmaceutical composition (i.e., a composition suitable for pharmaceutical use in a subject, including an animal or human) by any acceptable means. See Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences (Mack Publishing Co., Easton, 19th ed. 1995), incorporated herein by reference. Such pharmaceutical compositions typical comprise a therapeutically effective amount of the toxin (i.e., a dosage sufficient to produce a desired result).
|
Modified toxins including botulinum toxin or tetanus toxin coupled to polyethylene glycol, pharmaceutical compositions of modified toxins, and methods for their use are provided. The methods include treating inappropriate muscle contraction, and treatments for cosmetic purposes.
| 2
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This Application is a National Phase Application of PCT/EP2015/056183, filed Mar. 24, 2015, which claims priority to European Application No. 14162003.9, filed Mar. 27, 2014, each of which being incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
The invention relates to a process for preparing isocyanates by phosgenating the corresponding amines, in which problems resulting from the formation of deposits in apparatuses in the reaction section during the startup and shutdown of the process are avoided by chemical engineering measures, especially the assurance of an excess of phosgene over the amine to be phosgenated during the critical startup and shutdown steps of the process.
BACKGROUND
The industrial scale preparation of polyisocyanates by reacting the corresponding amines with phosgene has long been known from the prior art, the reaction being conducted in the gas or liquid phase and batchwise or continuously (W. Siefken, Liebigs Ann. 562, 75-106 (1949)). There have already been multiple descriptions of processes for preparing organic isocyanates from primary amines and phosgene; see, for example, Ullmanns Encyklopadie der technischen Chemie [Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry], 4th ed. (1977), volume 13, p. 351 to 353, and G. Wegener et al. Applied Catalysis A: General 221 (2001), p. 303-335, Elsevier Science B. V. There is global use both of aromatic isocyanates, for example methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MMDI—“monomeric MDI”), polymethylene polyphenylene polyisocyanate (a mixture of MMDI and higher homologs, PMDI, “polymeric MDI”) or tolylene diisocyanate (TDI), and of aliphatic isocyanates, for example hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) or isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI).
Modern industrial scale preparation of polyisocyanates is continuous, and the reaction is conducted as an adiabatic phosgenation as described in EP 1 616 857 B2. Unwanted deposits and by-products in the reactor are avoided through correct choice of reaction temperature and pressure. In the mixing space, a molar excess of phosgene relative to the primary amino groups should be ensured. A three-stage phosgenation line is described in EP 1 873 142 B1, in which the pressure between the first stage of a dynamic mixer and the second stage of a first phosgenation reactor remains the same or rises and, in the third stage, in an apparatus for phosgene removal, the pressure is lower than in the second stage.
WO 2013/029918 describes a process for preparing isocyanates by reacting the corresponding amines with phosgene, which can also be conducted at different loads on the plant without any problems, and more particularly, even when running the plant in the partial load range, the mixing and/or the reaction is said to proceed within the optimized residence time window in each case, by increasing the ratio of phosgene to amine or adding one or more inert substances to the phosgene and/or amine stream. The process of the invention is to enable operation of an existing plant at different loads with constant product and process quality. This is to dispense with the provision of several plants with different nameplate capacities.
The application teaches that essential parameters of a phosgenation, such as the residence times of the co-reactants in the individual apparatuses in particular, are optimized for the operation of the production plant at nameplate capacity, which can lead to problems in terms of yield and product purity when the plant is operated at lower than nameplate capacity (cf. page 2 lines 20 to 36). In order to be able to attain the optimized narrow residence time windows even at partial load (i.e. reduced amine flow rate compared to operation at nameplate capacity), it is suggested that either the phosgene stream and/or the inert fraction be increased (cf. page 3 lines 5 to 19), preferably in such a way that the total flow rate of all components corresponds essentially to that at nameplate capacity (cf. page 6 lines 4 to 8). The application does mention startup and shutdown operations in the description of the background of the invention claimed on page 2, but does not disclose either any technical teaching as to the specific actions by which a non-operational production plant (i.e. amine flow rate and phosgene flow rate equal to zero) is most advantageously brought to the desired operating state of the nameplate capacity nor any technical teaching as to the specific actions by which an operational production plant is most advantageously shut down (i.e. amine flow rate and phosgene flow rate equal to zero). The technical measures disclosed in the application (i.e. the increase in the phosgene flow rate and/or the inert fraction) should be considered exclusively in the context of the problem of operation (i.e. the amine flow rate is significantly greater than zero) of a production plant at lower than nameplate capacity, and of the problem of how a plant operated at nameplate capacity can advantageously be switched to operation at lower than nameplate capacity (see the examples). The document does not address the sequence of startup of individual streams in the startup operation or the shutdown of individual streams in the shutdown operation.
The reaction output from the phosgenation line can be worked up as described in EP 1 546 091 B1. The workup of the reaction product is effected in a layer evaporator, preferably a falling-film evaporator, in which phosgene and HCl are evaporated gently.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,087 (B) likewise describes the removal of phosgene from the reaction mixture of the phosgenation by means of an inert solvent vapor which may originate from the solvent recovery in the phosgenation plant.
One possible embodiment of the solvent removal and recovery is described in EP 1 854 783 A2. Di- and polyisocyanates of the diphenylmethane series (MDI) which have been obtained by reacting corresponding amines dissolved in a solvent with phosgene are first freed of hydrogen chloride and excess phosgene, and then a distillative separation of this crude solution into isocyanates and solvent is conducted. The solvent is recycled into the process to prepare solutions of the feedstocks of the polyisocyanate preparation. In the case of preparation of MDI using monochlorobenzene as solvent, this distillative separation can advantageously be effected in such a way that the crude isocyanate solution is worked up in two steps to give a bottom product containing at least 95% by weight of isocyanate, based on the weight of the isocyanate-containing stream, and this bottom product is subsequently preferably freed of low boilers in further steps. In the first step, 60%-90% of the solvent present in the crude isocyanate solution is removed, preferably by a flash distillation at absolute pressures of 600-1200 mbar and bottom temperatures of 110° C.-170° C., the vapors being worked up in a distillation column having 5-20 plates and 10%-30% reflux, so as to achieve a solvent-containing stream having a diisocyanate content of <100 ppm, preferably <50 ppm, more preferably <20 ppm, based on the weight of the solvent-containing stream. In the second step, the remaining solvent is removed down to a residual content of 1%-3% by weight in the bottom product at pressures of 60-140 mbar absolute and bottom temperatures of 130° C.-190° C. The vapors can likewise be worked up in a distillation column having 5-20 plates and 10%-40% reflux, so as to achieve a solvent-containing stream having a diisocyanate content of <100 ppm, preferably <50 ppm, more preferably <20 ppm, based on the weight of the solvent-containing stream, or this stream, after condensation, is recycled back into the first distillation step as feed. In the same way, the distillate streams removed in the subsequent steps can be recycled back into the first distillation step as feed.
Given suitable design of the distillation, the recycled solvent has the aforementioned diisocyanate contents. In addition, through use of suitable technical measures, it is possible to further increase the solvent quality with regard to diisocyanate content by, for example, wholly or partly removing diisocyanate-containing solvent mist or droplets in the vapors of the one-stage or multistage distillative solvent removal by means of a demister, baffle plate or hydrocyclone, or by quenching (spraying) with fresh or recycled solvent. Combinations of the aforementioned measures are also possible.
EP 1 854 783 A2 describes the quality demands that exist for a solvent for a process for preparing polyisocyanates. It has been found that the purity of the circulated solvent which is used for preparation of the amine solution used in the phosgenation is of crucial significance for the by-product formation in the crude isocyanate. Even a content of only 100 ppm phosgene or 100 ppm of diisocyanate, based on the weight of the solvent, leads to detectable by-product formation in the crude isocyanate. While this leads to a reduction in yield in the case of distilled isocyanates, i.e. in the case of the isocyanates obtained as top product, this causes an unwanted effect on the quality (color) and reaction characteristics in the case of the isocyanates obtained as bottom product, for example the di- and polyisocyanates of the diphenylmethane series. This is detectable, for example, via chlorinated secondary components and an elevated iron content.
Carbon tetrachloride as solvent impurity gets into the phosgenation circuit via the phosgene and accumulates in the solvent through the solvent circuit. With time, the concentration of carbon tetrachloride settles at a uniform level shaped by the losses of carbon tetrachloride via the discharge with the offgas. According to the process conditions, a solvent used in the phosgenation which has not been supplied fresh but comes from recycling streams within the process has a content by mass of carbon tetrachloride of 0.01% to 5%, and in some circumstances even up to 20%, based on the total mass of the solvent including all impurities.
DE-A-19942299 describes a process for preparing mono- and oligoisocyanates by phosgenating the corresponding amines, wherein a catalytic amount of a monoisocyanate is initially charged in an inert solvent together with phosgene, the amine is added, normally dissolved in the solvent, and the reaction mixture obtained is reacted with phosgene. The intermediate formation of sparingly soluble suspensions is avoided. The desired isocyanate, in the case of full conversion of the amine, is formed in high yields and high selectivity within distinctly shortened reaction times, without formation of symmetrically substituted N,N′-urea from the amine as by-product. However, the process is comparatively complicated and energy-intensive, particularly through use of the additional monoisocyanate which has to be removed again at a later stage.
Apart from a few exceptions, the prior art described is concerned only with processes in normal operation. Startup operations until attainment of a steady operating state at the desired target flow rate of the amine (called the “startup time”) or shutdown operations until attainment of complete shutdown (called the “shutdown time”) are not considered in the documents relating to continuous industrial scale processes. Only in documents in which batchwise phosgenation is described are startup phases given more detailed consideration; see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,703 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,822,373. Unexpected downtime (for example an abruptly forced shutdown of the plant) also lead at short notice to process regimes which can differ significantly from those in normal operation.
SUMMARY
The present invention is concerned specifically with such deviations from normal operation in continuous processes for preparing di- and polyisocyanates by phosgenating the corresponding primary amines in the liquid phase. Startup and shutdown periods are a frequent everyday occurrence in industry and are not necessarily associated with opening or another mechanical intervention into the phosgenation plant, but merely with the shutdown and restarting of the phosgenation plant. It is generally a feature of these startup and shutdown periods that there can be deviations in the ratio of phosgene to amine. This is observed especially when the amount of amine to be converted per unit time (the amine flow rate) is very small compared to the operation of the plant at nameplate capacity. These variations in the ratio of phosgene to amine are disadvantageous, solids such as polyurea or amine hydrochloride can form and precipitate out to an increased extent. The same applies to unplanned, abrupt shutdowns of a phosgenation plant in normal operation.
Deviations from normal operation, whether they be planned or the result of unexpected events, can therefore result in an increased risk with regard to seamless operation after restoration of the normal state, for example as a result of increased formation of deposits in apparatuses. There is therefore a need for a process for preparing isocyanates in which this risk is minimized by suitable precautions.
Taking account of this need, the present invention provides a continuous process for preparing an isocyanate ( 1 ) by reacting the corresponding amine ( 2 ) with phosgene ( 3 ) in an inert solvent ( 4 ) in a reaction section ( 1000 ) comprising
(a) a mixing zone ( 1100 ) for mixing amine ( 2 ), phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) and (b) a reaction zone ( 1200 ) arranged downstream of the mixing zone ( 1100 );
at a target temperature T target , wherein the steps of
(A) starting up continuous production, (B) continuous production and (C) shutting down continuous production, and preferably (D) displacing the phosgene ( 3 ) from the reaction section ( 1000 ) are run successively, and wherein, in step (A),
(I) the mixing zone ( 1100 ) and the reaction zone ( 1200 ) are at first at least partly charged
(i) with inert solvent ( 4 ) only, then heated up to T target and then additionally charged with phosgene ( 3 ) but not with amine ( 2 ), preferably together with further inert solvent ( 4 ); or (ii) with inert solvent ( 4 ) and phosgene ( 3 ) without the amine ( 2 ) and then heated up to T target ;
(II) only after step (A) (I) is the reaction zone ( 1200 ) supplied continuously with the amine ( 2 ) and also further phosgene ( 3 ) and further inert solvent ( 4 ) via the mixing zone ( 1100 );
and, in step (C), the continuous production is shut down by first ending the supply of the amine ( 2 ) only, while continuous supply of phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) still continues.
The reaction section ( 1000 ) refers to the part of a phosgenation plant in which the actual reaction of amine with phosgene to give the isocyanate takes place, i.e. the reaction part as opposed to the workup part ( 2000 ). One possible configuration of a reaction section 1000 (with connected workup section 2000 ) in the context of the present invention is shown by FIG. 1 . Optional apparatuses are drawn with dotted lines. According to the invention, the reaction part comprises at least one mixing zone ( 1100 ) and at least one reaction zone ( 1200 ) arranged downstream of the mixing zone ( 1100 ). Arranged downstream of the mixing zone means that the output ( 5 ) of the mixing zone flows into the reaction zone ( 1200 ), with optional intermediate connection of a delay device ( 1110 ). In the process of the invention, during the performance of step (A) (I), no isocyanate is present in the reaction section ( 1000 ). Only with commencement of the amine supply in step (A) (II) does isocyanate ( 1 ) form for the first time. After step (C) has ended, the reaction section ( 1000 ) is free of isocyanate ( 1 ) again, and so the reaction section ( 1000 ) does not contain any isocyanate ( 1 ) from the prior production cycle during step (A) (I). Since no isocyanate ( 1 ) is initially charged in the reaction section ( 1000 ) either, there is accordingly no isocyanate ( 1 ) in the reaction section ( 1000 ) in the process of the invention during the performance of step (A) (I).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a configuration suitable for carrying out the processes of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Various embodiments of the invention are described in detail hereinafter. These may be combined with one another as desired, unless the context unambiguously suggests anything different to the person skilled in the art.
Step (A) of the process of the invention relates the startup operation of the reaction section ( 1000 ) proceeding from a non-operational phosgenation plant. In step (A) of the process of the invention, the starting state that exists in each case is converted to the state of production under normal conditions in such a way that the problems mentioned at the outset occur to a slight extent at most, if at all, as set out in detail hereinafter:
In a first embodiment of the process of the invention, the reaction section ( 1000 ) comprises just one mixing zone ( 1100 ) and a reaction zone ( 1200 ) arranged downstream thereof, both of which may also be combined in a single apparatus, and peripheral equipment such as pipelines, pumps, heaters and the like. Suitable apparatuses for the mixing zone ( 1100 ) are static or dynamic mixing apparatus as known to those skilled in the art, as detailed, for example, in EP 2 077 150 B1 (rotor-stator mixer; see particularly the drawings and the accompanying text passages) and in DE 37 44 001 C1 (mixing nozzle; see particularly the drawings and the accompanying text passages). Suitable apparatuses for the reaction zone ( 1200 ) are known to those skilled in the art, for example vertical tubular reactors preferably divided by horizontal perforated plates and optionally heatable—in the case of an isothermal process regime, optionally connected to a downstream separator for separation of gas phase and liquid phase, as described in EP 0 716 079 B1 with internals in the reactor or in EP 1 601 456 B1 without internals in the reactor.
Mixing zone and reaction zone are at least partly charged in step (A) (I) with inert solvent ( 4 ) and phosgene ( 3 ). Phosgene ( 3 ) is preferably supplied in the form of phosgene solution ( 30 ), i.e. a solution of phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ), as shown in FIG. 1 . The proportion by mass of phosgene ( 3 ) in this phosgene solution ( 30 ) is preferably 3.0% to 95%, more preferably 20% to 75%. For preparation of the phosgene solution ( 30 ), it is possible to employ suitable mixing apparatuses to mix phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) (not shown in FIG. 1 ). Suitable apparatuses for the purpose are known from the prior art. Suitable inert solvents ( 4 ) according to the invention are solvents that are inert under the reaction conditions, for example monochlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene (especially the ortho isomer), dioxane, toluene, xylene, methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, trichlorofluoromethane or butyl acetate. The inert solvent ( 4 ) is preferably essentially free of isocyanate (target proportion by mass <100 ppm) and essentially free of phosgene (target proportion by mass <100 ppm), and this should be noted when using recycling streams. Preference is therefore given to working by a process as described in EP 1 854 783 A2. The solvents can be used individually or in the form of any desired mixtures of the solvents mentioned by way of example. Preference is given to using chlorobenzene or ortho-dichlorobenzene.
In variant (i), the mixing zone ( 1100 ) and the reaction zone ( 1200 ) are at first at least partly charged with inert solvent ( 4 ) and then heated up to the desired target temperature which preferably has a value of 80° C. to 130° C., more preferably of 95° C. to 115° C. The addition of the inert solvent ( 4 ) in this component step, as shown in FIG. 1 , can be effected through the conduit that leads to the mixing of phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ), in which case the phosgene supply ( 3 ) is stopped during this operation. It is also possible (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1 ) to provide a dedicated supply line for the inert solvent ( 4 ) only. Subsequently, the inert solvent ( 4 ) is admixed with phosgene ( 3 ), preferably as shown in FIG. 1 in the form of a phosgene solution ( 30 ), preferably for a sufficiently long period for a proportion by mass of phosgene ( 3 ) of 0.5% to 20%, more preferably of 1% to 10%, based on the total mass of phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ), to become established in the reaction zone ( 1200 ). As soon as the desired target temperature and the desired proportion by mass of phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ) have been attained, the phosgenation is started by addition of amine ( 2 ), preferably as shown in FIG. 1 in the form of an amine solution ( 20 ), i.e. of a solution of the amine ( 2 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ), and of further phosgene ( 3 ), preferably of further phosgene solution ( 30 ). The proportion by mass of the amine ( 2 ) in the amine solution ( 20 ) is preferably 5.0% to 95%, more preferably 20% to 70%. It has been found to be useful to purge the reaction section ( 1000 ) with inert solvent ( 4 ) prior to performance of step (A).
In variant (ii), inert solvent ( 4 ) and phosgene ( 3 ) are introduced into the mixing zone ( 1100 ) and the reaction zone ( 1200 ) before being heated up to the desired target temperature which, in this embodiment too, preferably has a value of 80° C. to 130° C., more preferably of 95° C. to 115° C. This is preferably accomplished in such a way that a solution of phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ) is first prepared (phosgene solution ( 30 )), where the proportion by mass of phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ) is preferably 0.5% to 20%, more preferably from 1% to 10%, based on the total mass of phosgene and inert solvent. This phosgene solution ( 30 ) is introduced via the mixing zone ( 1100 ) into the reaction zone ( 1200 ), as shown in FIG. 1 .
In both variants (i) and (ii), the procedure is preferably such that, at the end of step A (I), at least 50% by volume, preferably at least 80% by volume, more preferably at least 99% by volume and most preferably 100% by volume of the internal volume of the reaction zone ( 1200 ) available for the reaction of the amine ( 2 ) with phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ) is charged with the mixture of amine ( 2 ), phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ). The “internal volume of the reaction zone ( 1200 ) available for the reaction of the amine ( 2 ) with phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 )” in the reaction zone ( 1200 ) in the configuration according to FIG. 1 extends as far as the dotted line level with the conduit for the liquid crude product ( 61 ).
The addition of amine in step A (II) is not started until the mixing zone and reaction zone have been charged at least partly with inert solvent and phosgene and the target temperature of the reaction has been attained. The effect of this is that, at the start of step A (II), a very high molar excess of phosgene ( 3 ) over the amine ( 2 ) is present, which reduces the risk of formation of films and deposits on the apparatus walls in the reaction section.
Amines ( 2 ) which are suitable in accordance with the invention and can be converted by the process described to the corresponding isocyanates are methylenediphenyldiamine, polymethylenepolyphenylpolyamine, mixtures of methylenediphenyldiamine and polymethylenepolyphenylpolyamine, tolylenediamine, xylylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, isophoronediamine and naphthyldiamine. Preference is given to methylenediphenyldiamine, mixtures of methylenediphenyldiamine and polymethylenepolyphenylpolyamine, and tolylenediamine.
In step (A) (II), it is preferable to prepare a solution of the amine ( 2 ) in an inert solvent ( 4 ) (amine solution ( 20 )) and to feed it together with a solution of phosgene ( 3 ) in an inert solvent ( 4 ) (phosgene solution ( 30 )) to the mixing zone ( 1100 ), as shown in FIG. 1 . Appropriately, the same solvent ( 4 ) will be chosen for the amine and the phosgene, although this is not absolutely necessary. The proportion by mass of the amine ( 2 ) in the amine solution ( 20 ) is preferably 5.0% to 95%, more preferably 20% to 70%, based on the total mass of amine ( 2 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ). The proportion by mass of the phosgene ( 3 ) in the phosgene solution ( 30 ) is preferably 3.0% to 95%, more preferably 20% to 75%, based on the total mass of phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ).
The temperatures of the phosgene and amine solutions used are preferably adjusted prior to introduction into mixing zone ( 1200 ), specifically in such a way that the mixing temperature prior to onset of the phosgenation reaction or of the reaction of amine ( 2 ) and HCl formed to give the corresponding amine hydrochloride is sufficiently high to avoid separation of the amine solution into two phases. Such a phase separation leads to a local excess of amine, which can lead to increased formation of ureas from amine and phosgene and hence to increased formation of solids extending as far as blockage of the mixing apparatus. This phenomenon can be observed within particular temperature ranges. Preferably, therefore, the phosgene solution ( 30 ) has a temperature of −20° C. to +80° C., more preferably of −10° C. to +20° C. Most preferably, the temperature of the phosgene solution ( 30 ) is in the range from −5° C. to +10° C. The temperature of the amine solution ( 20 ) is preferably adjusted to +25° C. to +160° C., more preferably +40° C. to +140° C. Most preferably, the temperature of the amine solution is in the range from +50° C. to +120° C. Preferably, the temperature control and metered addition of the reactant solutions are effected at a pressure level above the vapor pressure of the particular solution. In this case, an absolute pressure of 1.0 bar to 70 bar, preferably of 2.0 bar to 45 bar and most preferably of 3 bar to 25 bar may be established.
Concentrations and flow rates of the amine and phosgene reactants in step (A) (II) are preferably chosen such that, in the mixing zone ( 1100 ), after complete displacement of the mixture of amine ( 2 ), phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) initially charged in step A (I), a molar ratio of phosgene to primary amino groups of 1.1:1 to 30:1, more preferably of 1.25:1 to 3:1, is established.
In a second embodiment of the process of the invention, an additional delay device ( 1110 ; shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1 ) for optimization of the mixing of the amine and phosgene reactants is present between the mixing zone ( 1100 ) and reaction zone ( 1200 ). In the simplest case, this is a pipe, the diameter and length of which are matched to the desired production capacity of the reaction section ( 1000 ). The inert solvent ( 4 ) and phosgene ( 3 ) reactants to be added in step (A) (I) pass via the mixing zone ( 1100 ) through the delay device ( 1110 ) into the reaction zone ( 1200 ), meaning that the delay device 1110 , prior to the addition of amine, is also charged, preferably fully, with inert solvent and phosgene as per variant (i) or (ii), in order to be able to charge the reaction zone ( 1200 ) at least partly with inert solvent and phosgene. All the preferred ranges specified for the first embodiment (solvent purity, pressure, temperature, proportion by mass of amine and phosgene in the respective solutions, molar ratio of phosgene to primary amino groups) apply equally to this embodiment. The same applies to the feedstocks and apparatuses designated as preferred.
In a third embodiment of the process of the invention, which can be combined with the two aforementioned embodiments, connected downstream of the reaction zone ( 1200 ) is an apparatus ( 1300 ) for cleavage of the carbamoyl chloride intermediate that occurs in liquid phase phosgenations of amines (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1 ). This is advantageous when the liquid crude product ( 61 ) which is obtained after removal of the hydrogen chloride- and phosgene-containing gas phase ( 71 ) and exits from the reaction zone ( 1200 ) still contains substantial proportions of uncleaved carbamoyl chloride. Suitable apparatuses 1300 are known to those skilled in the art; examples in which the liquid film is produced mechanically include, for example, what are called SAMBAY and LUWA thin-film evaporators, and also Sako thin-film evaporators and ALFA-LAVAL Centritherm evaporators. It is also possible to use layer evaporators having no moving parts. Examples of these are falling-film evaporators (also referred to as falling-stream evaporators or falling-layer evaporators) or else helical tube evaporators and climbing-film evaporators. In the apparatus 1300 , carbamoyl chloride still present in the liquid crude product 61 is cleaved to give the desired isocyanate and hydrogen chloride. In the apparatus 1300 , an isocyanate-containing liquid stream ( 62 ) and a gas stream ( 72 ) comprising hydrogen chloride (with or without excess phosgene) are thus obtained.
In this embodiment, charging of the apparatus 1300 with phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) before the addition of the amine ( 2 ) is started in step (A) (II) is not absolutely necessary. All the preferred ranges specified for the first embodiment (solvent purity, pressure, temperature, proportion by mass of amine and phosgene in the respective solutions, molar ratio of phosgene to primary amino groups) apply equally to this embodiment. The same applies to the feedstocks and apparatuses designated as preferred.
On attainment of the desired operating state, the continuous production of isocyanate (step (B)) is effected in the reaction section ( 1000 ). Step (B) can be conducted by a process known from the prior art. Suitable processes are described, for example, in EP 1 616 857 A1, EP 1 873 142 A1, EP 0 716 079 B1 or EP 0 314 985 B1, and these can in principle be applied without any particular precautions to step (B) of the process of the invention. However, concentrations and flow rates of the amine ( 2 ) and phosgene ( 3 ) reactants are preferably chosen such that a molar ratio of phosgene to primary amino groups of 1.1:1 to 30:1, more preferably of 1.25:1 to 3:1, is established in the mixing zone ( 1100 ). In addition, the preferred configurations described for step (A) relating to solvent purity, pressure, temperature, proportion by mass of amine and phosgene in the respective solutions, are preferably also observed in step (B).
All processes for the continuous production of an isocyanate in the liquid phase afford a crude product comprising a liquid phase containing, as well as the desired isocyanate, dissolved hydrogen chloride and excess dissolved phosgene, and also a gas phase containing hydrogen chloride gas and excess phosgene. After the gas phase 71 has been removed (for example on exit from the reaction zone ( 1200 ) as shown in FIG. 1 or in a suitable separator which follows the reaction zone), what remains is a liquid crude isocyanate solution ( 61 ) which, optionally after passing through an apparatus for cleavage of carbamoyl chloride ( 1300 ), is worked up further by methods known from the prior art (removal of the solvent, fine purification of isocyanate shown in FIG. 1 purely in schematic form as a workup zone 2000 ), in order to obtain the desired isocyanate ( 1 ) in maximum purity. Suitable processes are described in EP 1 854 783 A2 and EP 1 506 957 A1, or else in EP 1 371 635 B1.
The person skilled in the art is aware that a production which is continuous in principle cannot be operated for an arbitrarily long period, but has to be stopped at particular intervals, for example to conduct maintenance operations. The shutdown of a continuous isocyanate production in a manner which avoids or at least minimizes the problems cited at the outset on restart is the subject of step (C) of the process of the invention.
What is essential to the invention is that the continuous production is shut down by first ending the supply of the amine ( 2 ) only, while continuous supply of phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) still continues for a period of time t c . By virtue of continuing application of phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ), preferably in the form of a phosgene solution ( 30 ), a huge excess of phosgene is achieved, by virtue of which all the intermediates still present in the reaction section ( 1000 ), such as amine hydrochloride and carbamoyl chloride, are depleted by reaction. Preferably, the period of time t c is chosen such that the internal volume of the reaction zone ( 1200 ) available for the reaction of the amine ( 2 ) with phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ) is run through 0.1 time to 10 times, preferably 1 time to 5 times, by phosgene ( 1 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ), preferably in the form of the phosgene solution ( 30 ). In the event of compliance with these values, the mixture generally runs significantly more frequently through the mixing zone ( 1100 ) and, if present, the delay apparatus ( 1110 ), since these are generally much smaller than the reaction zone ( 1200 ). The more thoroughly this operation is conducted, the lower the risk of formation of films and deposits. In the course of this, the reaction section ( 1000 ) may be heated wholly or partly by means of industrial heating, the maximum temperatures maintained preferably being those from the continuous mode of operation (step (B)). After performance of step (C), only phosgene ( 3 ) and inert solvent ( 4 ) are thus still present in the reaction section. Isocyanate ( 1 ) and any unconverted amine ( 2 ) present and any intermediates present are purged out of the reaction section by step (C).
After the desired exchange of volume in step (C), it is preferable to finally displace, in a step (D), the phosgene ( 3 ) from the reaction section ( 1000 ) with inert solvent ( 4 ). For this purpose, at first the supply of phosgene ( 3 ) only is ended, while continuous supply of inert solvent still continues. To achieve a lasting effect, the duration t D of this solvent wash should preferably be chosen such that the internal volume of the reaction zone ( 1200 ) available for the reaction of the amine ( 2 ) with phosgene ( 3 ) in the inert solvent ( 4 ) is run through 0.1 time to 10 times, more preferably 1 time to 5 times, by inert solvent ( 4 ). In the event of compliance with these values, the solvent generally runs significantly more frequently through the mixing zone ( 1100 ) and, if present, the delay apparatus ( 1110 ), since these are generally much smaller than the reaction zone ( 1200 ). Purge durations of several days may also be employed and may be advantageous in the context of the present invention. The amount of solvent and purge duration to be chosen depends not only on the apparatus volume of the reaction section ( 1000 ) including peripheral equipment but also, if they are not completely avoidable, on the amount of any deposits present.
The procedure of the invention gives rise to the following advantages for the preparation of isocyanates:
i) The productivity of the reaction section is higher because fewer cleaning periods are needed. ii) The productivity of the reaction section is higher because fewer pressure drops occur in the mixing apparatuses and pipelines. iii) The energy efficiency of the reaction section is higher because fewer deposits on the apparatus walls assure better heat transfer. iv) A lower level of waste arises after the cleaning of the reaction section (minimized polyurea formation). v) The formation of solids which can impair the downstream apparatuses such as pumps and columns by abrasion or deposits is minimized.
Thus, the process of the invention enables, by ensuring a huge excess of phosgene ( 3 ) over the amine ( 2 ) on commencement of step A (II), a technically seamless start of the reaction section without downtime with a directly high end product quality of the desired isocyanate. The process of the invention also enables a more rapid startup and hence a quicker rise in the amine flow rate and hence increased production.
EXAMPLES
General Conditions for the Preparation of a Mixture of Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate and Polymethylene Polyphenyl Polyisocyanate (Collectively MDI Hereinafter) with a “Run-In” Production Plant (Corresponding to Step (B) of the Process of the Invention)
4.3 t/h of a mixture of methylenediphenyldiamine and polymethylenepolyphenylpolyamine (collectively MDA hereinafter; 2 ) at a temperature of 110° C. are mixed with 11 t/h of monochlorobenzene (MCB; 4 ) at a temperature of 30° C. as solvent by means of a static mixer ( 1100 ) to give a 28% MDA solution ( 20 ). Phosgene ( 3 ) is provided by means of a phosgene generator and a phosgene liquefier. Thereafter, the phosgene ( 3 ) is diluted to a 35% phosgene solution ( 30 ) with MCB ( 4 ) in a phosgene dissolution tank. 24 tonnes per hour of 35% phosgene solution ( 30 ) at a temperature of 0° C. are reacted with 4.3 tonnes per hour of MDA ( 2 ) in the form of the 28% MDA solution ( 20 ) at a temperature of 45° C. in an adiabatic reaction, as described in EP 1 873 142 B1. After the two raw material solutions have been mixed in the mixing apparatus ( 1100 ), the reaction solution ( 5 ) obtained is run at a temperature of 85° C. through a suspension conduit ( 1200 ) into a heated phosgenation tower ( 1200 ). At the top of the phosgenation tower, the absolute pressure is 1.6 bar and the temperature is 111° C. The hydrogen chloride formed in the reaction is removed together with traces of phosgene and MCB as gas stream ( 71 ). The liquid reaction mixture ( 61 ) is withdrawn from the phosgenation tower ( 1200 ) and fed to the workup sequence ( 2000 ). For this purpose, it is first introduced as a sidestream into a heated dephosgenation column. At a top temperature of 116° C. and an absolute pressure of 1.6 bar, phosgene is removed overhead together with traces of MCB and hydrogen chloride. Phosgene is absorbed in a phosgene absorption column and run into the phosgene dissolution tank, and hydrogen chloride is directed into a hydrogen chloride absorber and then into a hydrochloric acid tank for further use. After removal of hydrogen chloride and excess phosgene from the isocyanate-containing reaction solution, a crude isocyanate solution is obtained, which is discharged from the bottom of the dephosgenation column and run at a temperature of 155° C. into a first distillation stage, in order to free it of the MCB solvent. The absolute pressure at the top of this solvent distillation column is 800 mbar at a bottom temperature of 155° C. MCB is drawn off in gaseous form overhead, this MCB gas stream being sprayed with cold MCB (30° C.) in a scrubbing column, in order to prevent any possible entrainment of isocyanate into the vacuum conduits. The reaction product is discharged from the bottom of the column and freed of residual MCB down to 1% in a second column. Subsequently, in a countercurrent evaporator, at an absolute pressure of 20 mbar and a bottom temperature of 210° C., the product is freed of secondary components such as phenyl isocyanate and residual MCB. This affords 5.4 t/h of MDI as bottom product, which is worked up by means of further distillation to give MDI of the desired purity ( 1 ) and then run into a tank for further use.
MDI prepared in this way has a residual MCB solvent content of <5 ppm (GC), a content of hydrolyzable chlorine of <100 ppm (after solvolysis by means of titration) and a content of bound chlorine of <50 ppm (Wickbold combustion).
Example 1 Comparative Example, Step (C) Noninventive
The preparation of 5.4 t/h of MDI in continuous mode was conducted at nameplate load as described in the general conditions. The plant was shut down, with simultaneous abrupt stoppage of the phosgene solution and MDA solution supply. The reactor was allowed to cool down, while keeping the reactor pressure constant with nitrogen. After one day of repair operations on another part of the plant, the phosgenation plant was started up by filling the plant with solvent up to the level of the withdrawal conduit for the crude product ( 61 ) and heated up to 105° C. with the aid of a heat transfer agent. The phosgene solution supply was put into operation with a load of 25% of the nameplate load. After one hour, the MDA solution supply was started with a load of 15% of the nameplate load, which corresponded to a production output of 0.8 t/h (MDI). The two streams were then to be increased to nameplate load within two hours. This was not possible because of baked-on solids which had formed in the region of the phosgenation reactor and in the mixing apparatus after the abrupt shutdown. The supply pressure available for the reactants 20 and 30 was no longer sufficient to attain the desired nameplate load. The plant had to be shut down and the regions covered with solids cleaned.
Example 2 Comparative Example, step (A) Noninventive
The preparation of 5.4 t/h of MDI in continuous mode was conducted at nameplate load as described in the general conditions. The plant was shut down by first stopping the MDA supply. MCB from the MDA solution supply and the phosgene solution continued to run with the previous nameplate load volume for one hour. Subsequently, the phosgene supply was stopped, and the plant was freed of phosgene with a two-hour purge with MCB. The temperature of the phosgenation plant was kept at 110° C. by means of industrial heating. Then the phosgenation plant was allowed to cool down, while keeping the plant pressure constant with nitrogen. After several days of repair operations on another part of the plant, the phosgenation plant was started up by filling the plant with solvent up to the level of the withdrawal conduit for the crude product ( 61 ) and heated up to 105° C. with the aid of a heat transfer agent. The phosgene solution and MDA solution supply were switched on simultaneously. The plant was started at 15% of the nameplate capacity, which corresponded to a production output of 0.8 t/h (MDI). The flow rates were then increased to nameplate load within two hours, and the plant was transferred to continuous mode (step (B)). After a further five hours at nameplate load, the phosgenation plant had to be shut down completely because the distributor trays of the dephosgenation column began to become blocked, and the pressure drop over the column rose as a result. The plant had to be shut down in order to free the dephosgenation column of baked-on urea and loose urea present in the column, and to prepare it for a restart.
Example 3 (Inventive)
The preparation of 5.4 t/h of MDI in continuous mode was conducted at nameplate load as described in the general conditions. The plant was shut down by first stopping the MDA supply. MCB from the MDA solution supply and the phosgene solution continued to run with the previous nameplate load volume for one hour. Subsequently, the phosgene supply was stopped, and the plant was freed of phosgene with a two-hour purge with solvent. The temperature of the phosgenation plant was kept at 110° C. by means of industrial heating. Then the phosgenation plant was allowed to cool down, while keeping the plant pressure constant with nitrogen. After several days of repair operations on another part of the plant, the phosgenation plant was started up by filling the plant with solvent up to the level of the withdrawal conduit for the crude product ( 61 ) and heated up to 105° C. with the aid of a heat transfer agent. The phosgene solution supply was put into operation with a load of 25% of the nameplate load. After one hour, the MDA solution supply was started with a load of 15% of the nameplate load, which corresponded to a production output of 0.8 t/h (MDI). The two flow rates were then increased to nameplate load within two hours, and then the phosgenation plant was operated for several months as described in the general conditions. Startup was possible directly with on-spec material.
As the examples show, when baked-on material is already present in the phosgenation reactor during the startup of the phosgenation, great problems arise with the reactant supply into the plant. In the case of the inventive procedure in the startup and shutdown of the phosgenation, by contrast, the formation of baked-on material and precipitates is distinctly reduced, the plant can be operated over a long production cycle, and on-spec material is produced over the whole period.
|
The invention relates to a method for preparing isocyanates by the phosgenation of the corresponding amines in which problems resulting from the formation of deposits in apparatuses of the reaction segment during activation (starting) and deactivation (termination) of the method can be prevented by processing measures, in particular ensuring that there is a surplus of phosgene relative to the phosgenating amine during the critical starting and termination steps of the method.
| 2
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to steering systems of the type used on boats and dashboard mounting structures for such steering systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rotary steering systems used in boats typically have a steering column that extends between a steering wheel and a cable housing. Within the cable housing, rotation of the steering column is translated to a push-pull movement of a cable that extends from that housing. The cable extends out of the housing and is routed to a rudder, outboard motor, or inboard-outboard stern drive. The push-pull movement of the cable acts to pivot the rudder, outboard motor, or stern drive in a desired direction to steer the boat.
Rotary steering systems typically have a completely enclosed cable housing which cannot be readily opened to service the cable or other parts within the housing. When a cable breaks or is worn to the point that it needs to be replaced, it is not possible to access the end of the cable that enters the housing. When the parts within the housing require maintenance, it is typically not possible to open the housing to perform such maintenance. A need has therefore existed for a cable housing that is readily serviceable.
The mounting of the steering system to the dashboard of the boat is often a time-consuming process in the manufacture of a boat. Such mounting process typically requires fastening procedures on both sides of the dashboard that are time-consuming. Accordingly, a need has existed for a dashboard mount for a steering system that allows the steering mechanism to be easily and quickly installed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The rotary steering system of the present invention comprises a steering column having an input end and an output end, a dashboard mount, a cable housing, and a cable. The steering column is mounted for bidirectional rotation and has a pinion gear attached to its output end. A disc having a circumferential surface is also mounted for bidirectional rotation and has teeth that mesh with the pinion gear, such meshing of the teeth transferring motion from the pinion gear to the disc. A first end of a cable has a specially shaped hook section affixed thereto, the hook being insertable into a hole in the circumferential surface of the disc to attach the first end of the cable to the disc. The cable is wrapped around the circumferential surface of the disc and extends tangentially outward from the disc. A cable housing encloses the disc, the pinion, and the first end of the cable. The cable exits the housing through a port. Upon rotation of the disc in one direction, the cable is wrapped further around the circumferential surface of the disc. Upon rotation of the disc in the opposite direction, the cable is unwrapped from the disc. Such wrapping and unwrapping of the cable causes pushing and pulling of the cable. The cable is routed within the boat to a rudder or to an outboard motor or stern drive unit such that pushing and pulling of the cable pivots the rudder to steer the boat.
The present invention incorporates a cable access door on the cable housing. The opening of the cable access door enables one to unhook the first end of the cable from the hole in the circumferential surface of the disc and replace the cable. Whereas in the prior art the entire cable housing unit and cable had to be replaced, the present invention allows for replacement of just the cable when it is worn, frayed, or broken.
The present invention also utilizes a dashboard mount that includes first and second nuts, and a lockwasher. The first and second nuts mate with threads on a sleeve in which the steering column is contained, the first nut meeting with threads on the first side of the dashboard and the second nut meeting with threads on the second side of the dashboard. The lockwasher is positioned between the first side of the dashboard and the first nut. The lockwasher has two vertical walls that prevent rotation of the first nut and a tab that is drawn into a hole in the dashboard upon tightening of the second nut. Mounting of the steering system to the dashboard utilizing the mounting system of the present invention is thus quickly and easily accomplished.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is as simplified illustrative view of a boat showing the arrangement of the steering system of the present invention therein.
FIG. 2 is a section of the steering system taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cable housing of the steering system of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cable housing of the steering system of the present invention with the cover and sleeve removed, and one of the cable access doors in the open position.
FIG. 5 is a top view of the cable housing of the rotary steering system of the present invention with the cover and sleeve removed, and one of the access doors in the open position.
FIG. 6 is a section through the disc showing insertion of the hook of the cable therein.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the dashboard mounting structure of the present invention for mounting steering systems in boats.
FIG. 8 is an axial view of the lockwasher portion of the steering system mounting structure.
FIG. 9 is an axial view of the sleeve of the steering system within which the steering column is mounted for rotation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The steering system for boats of the present invention is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The steering system 10 includes a steering column 12 having an input end 14 and an output end 16, a dashboard mounting structure 18 for mounting the steering system to a dashboard 19, a cable housing 20, and a cable 22. These parts are shown relative to a representative hull 23 of a boat 25 in FIG. 1. A steering wheel 24 is mounted to the input end 14 of the steering column 12 and the output end 16 of the steering column 12 extends into the cable housing 20.
FIG. 2 shows a partial section through the steering system 10 along line 2--2 of FIG. 1. The steering column 12 is mounted for rotation by having its output end 16 engaged with the end of a bolt 30 that is locked in place by a nut 32, the bolt 30 extending through the wall of the housing 20. The steering column 12 has a pinion 34 attached to its output end 16, the pinion 34 having gear teeth 35. The steering column 12 is mounted within a fixed sleeve 36 that extends upward from and, as shown in FIG. 2, may be an integral part of the housing 20. The sleeve 36 has an inner bore 38 in which the steering column 12 is mounted and a cylindrical outer surface 40 which has threads 42 along a portion of its length.
Enclosed within the housing 20 is a disc 44 having a circumferential surface 46 that is mounted for bidirectional rotation on a bolt 48 that extends through the rotation axis of the disc 44. The disc 44 has gear teeth 46 on its circumferential surface such that the gear teeth 35 of the pinion 34 and the gear teeth 46 of the disks mesh to transfer rotation of the steering column 12 to rotation of the disc 44.
The cable 22 has a first end 52 and a second end 54. The first end 52 of the flexible cable 22 has a hook section 56 attached to it and the circumferential surface of the disk has a hole 58 into which the end of the hook 56 is 5 inserted. A set screw or bolt 60 is preferably threaded through the disc 44 next to the hole 58 to provide a steering end stop. The insertion of the hook 56 into the hole is best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. A portion of the cable 22 is wrapped around the circumferential surface 46 of the disc 44 and extends tangentially from the circumferential surface 46 such that rotation of the disc 44 in one direction causes the cable 22 to be wrapped further around the circumferential surface of the disc 44. Rotation of the disc 44 in the opposite direction causes the cable 22 to be unwrapped from the circumferential surface 46 of the disc 44. Such wrapping and unwrapping of the cable 22 about the circumferential surface 46 of the disc 44 causes the cable to be pulled and pushed, respectively. The second end 54 of the cable 22 is attached to a rudder, stern drive or outboard motor, represented schematically at 62, which pivots to turn the boat 25 in the desired direction.
The housing 20 and arrangement of the parts within the housing 20 is best seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. The housing 20 includes a main body 64, a cover 66, a first cable access door 70, and a second cable access door 72. FIG. 4 shows the housing 20 with the sleeve 36, the cover 66, and a cable access door 70 removed. The cable access doors 70 and 72 are each secured in place by screws 74 and 76. As depicted in FIG. 4, the cable access door 70 has been removed to expose the cable 22 as it is attached to the circumferential surface 46 of the disc 44. When the cable access door 70 has been removed, the cable 22 may be readily replaced when worn, frayed or broken. As viewed in FIG. 3, when the cable access door 70 is closed and secured in position by the screws 74 and 76, the cable 22 exits from the housing 20 through a port 78 formed at the mating surface of the door 70 and the main body 64 of the housing 20. The inside of the cable access door 70 has a plastic guide 80 through 5 which the cable 22 is tracked through the port 78. The cable 22 is mounted within a sleeve 82 at the port 78 to further track the cable 22 and prevent abrasion of the cable against the housing 20. The sleeve is held in place by the screw 76 that holds the cable access door 70 in place, the screw 76 fitting within an indention 84 in the sleeve 82.
The housing 22 and the parts arranged within are preferably symmetrical along an axis that runs midway between the access doors 70 and 72. The access doors 70 and 72 are therefore mirror images of each other. The cable 22 could therefore be attached to the opposite side of the housing 22 such that the first end 52 and the hook 56 of the cable 22 are accessed at the cable access door 72. The cable access door 72 may be used instead of the cable access door 70 in instances where it is advantageous to run the cable 22 from the opposite side of the housing 22 because of space or geometry concerns within the boat 25.
In certain instances, it may be desirable to have two cables attached to the disc 44, the first being accessible at the cable access door 70 and the second being accessible at the cable access door 72. For such a case, the second cable is wrapped around the circumferential surface 46 of the disc 44 in the opposite direction of the first cable. The second cable extends tangentially from the circumferential surface 46 such that rotation of the disc 44 in the direction that causes the first cable to be wrapped further around the circumferential surface 46 causes the second cable to be unwrapped from the circumferential surface of the disc 44 and causes the second cable to be pushed. Rotation of the disc 44 in the direction that causes the first cable to be unwrapped from the circumferential surface 46 causes the second cable to be wrapped further around the circumferential surface 46 and thus pulled into the housing.
FIGS. 2 and 7 best show the construction of the dashboard mounting structure 18. The dashboard mounting structure 18 comprises a first nut 90, a second nut 92, and a lockwasher 94. The first and second nuts 90 and 92 have threads that mate with the threads 42 on the cylindrical outer surface 40 of the sleeve 36. The threads 42 are located in the region of a hole 96 that penetrates the dashboard 19 from a first side 100 to a second side 102. The dashboard 19 also has a second hole 104 that penetrates the first side 100. The first nut 90 mates with the threads 42 of the sleeve 36 from the first side 100 of the dashboard and; the second nut 92 mates with the threads 42 of the sleeve 36 from the second side 102 of the dashboard 19. The lockwasher 94 is positioned between the first side 100 of the dashboard -9 and the first nut 90. The lockwasher 94 has two vertical walls 106 that extend outward from a flat base 107 the lockwasher 107 in a direction away from the dashboard 19 with the walls 106 being spaced apart such that the sides of the first nut 90 fit within and such that rotation of the first nut 90 is prevented by the walls 106. The lockwasher 94 further includes a tab 108 that extends inwardly from the base 107 of the lockwasher in a direction toward the dashboard 19 and fits within the second hole 104 of the dashboard. The lockwasher 107 has an internal bore 111, as best shown in FIG. 8, with keys 112 extending inwardly from the bore. The keys 112 fit into keyways 114 on the outer surface of the sleeve 36, thereby preventing the sleeve from rotating with respect to the lockwasher. Since the tab 108 prevents the lockwasher from rotating with respect to the dashboard, the sleeve 36 and the remainder of the steering system 10 are locked in place so they will not rotate as the steering wheel 24 is turned.
Rotation of the steering wheel 24 by an operator causes rotation of the steering column 12 along its columnar axis, and the rotation of the steering column transferred to the disc 44 by meshing of the teeth 35 of the pinion 34 with the teeth 43 on the disc 44. Rotation of the disc 44 causes the cable 22 to wrap or unwrap around the circumferential surface 46 of the disc 44, causing the second end 54 of the cable 22 to be pulled or pushed. Such pushing and pulling of the cable 22 controls the position of the rudder 62 of the boat 25.
The steering system 10 of the present invention is constructed and arranged to provide for easy assembly and maintenance. The system 10 is rapidly assembled by use of the dashboard mounting structure 18. By tightening the second nut 92, the first nut 90 is drawn within the vertical walls 105 of the lockwasher 94 and the tab 107 is drawn into the second hole 104 of the dashboard to secure and the steering system 10 to the dashboard 19 and to lock it in place against rotation. Thus, mounting of the steering system to the dashboard can be easily accomplished by a single assembly using only a wrench to tighten the second nut 92.
It is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.
|
A steering system (10) of a boat (25) has a steering column (12), a dashboard mounting structure (18), a cable housing (20), and a cable (22). Parts within the cable housing (20) transfer rotation of the steering column (12) to a push-pull movement of the cable (22), causing a rudder or the like (62) to be pivoted to steer the boat (25). The cable housing (20) has a cable access door (70) to enable convenient replacement of the cable (22) as needed. The dashboard mounting structure (18) includes first and second nuts (90, 92) and a lockwasher (94) to attach the steering system (10) to the dashboard (98). The lockwasher (94) has vertical walls (106) that prevent rotation of the first nut (90) and a tab (108) that fits into a hole (104) in the dashboard (98) when the second nut (92) is tightened to prevent rotation of the lockwasher and the steering system.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to construction equipment, e.g., a hydraulic shovel, and, in particular, to an excavator control apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, shovel-type construction equipment includes a boom, an arm, and a bucket, which together comprise an operation section and are successively and rotatably connected to the body of the equipment. The boom, the arm and the bucket are each connected to cylinders that can be extended or retracted by operating a lever. Digging with such equipment must be carried out by a very experienced operator because each of the cylinders must be operated simultaneously. Because there are not enough experienced operators today, shovel-type construction equipment in which each of the cylinders is automatically controlled has been proposed. If such equipment is configured to perform an automatic digging routine so that the digging load remains constant, however, a significant variation in digging depth may occur due to changes in the hardness of the ground being dug or the presence of obstacles. As a result, precise digging is difficult to achieve. In particular, when the ground is excavated beyond the intended depth, refilling must take place and, therefore, digging efficiency is considerably reduced. In addition, in correcting the variations in digging depth, the automatic digging control mode must be canceled every time to operate the lever, which results in increased number of digging steps and reduces digging efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The excavator control apparatus of the present invention permits an operator to actuate the lever while the equipment is executing an automatic digging routine to adjust various operating conditions, including the digging load, the digging depth, and the location of the digging, without cancelling the automatic digging routine. Accordingly, the automatic digging routine does not need to be reset if the operator actuates the lever.
The excavator control apparatus can be used to control shovel-type construction equipment that has a boom, an arm and a bucket that are successively and rotatably connected in an operation section. The boom, the arm and the bucket are each connected to at least one cylinder that extends and retracts according to the operation of a lever.
The excavator control apparatus includes an automatic digging control section that allows automatic digging by controlling the extension and retraction of the cylinder, a digging load control device that transmits operation commands to the cylinder to maintain a digging load approximately equal to a set digging load during automatic digging, and an operation command correcting device that corrects the operation commands transmitted to the cylinder by the operation of the lever.
The excavator control apparatus can include a depth limiting device that corrects the operation commands transmitted to the cylinder to maintain a digging depth at least as great as a set digging depth, a bucket path control device that transmits operation commands to the cylinder such that a bucket path is approximately aligned with a set path, a first automatic control switching device that switches between a digging load control mode and a bucket path control mode if a digging depth reaches a set digging depth, and a second automatic control switching device that automatically switches between a bucket path control mode and a digging load control mode if a digging overload condition occurs.
The automatic digging control section can be a microcomputer. Operation and speed detecting sensors can be connected to the automatic digging control section to detect the position of the cylinder. A method of controlling equipment with the excavator control apparatus is also disclosed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent detailed description thereof, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hydraulic shovel;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall construction of an excavator control apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a digging load control mode;
FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a bucket path control mode; and
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a combined control mode.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, and, in particular, to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an example of hydraulic shovel-type construction equipment. The hydraulic shovel 1 comprises a tracked moving section 2, a swinging section 3 that is swingably supported on the upper portion of the moving section 2, and an operation section 4 that is connected to the front end portion of the swinging section 3. Each of these sections is operated by hydraulic power supplied by an engine (not shown) disposed in the rear portion of the swinging section 3. Each of the sections is constructed in a conventional manner.
The swinging section 3 is supported on the upper portion of the moving section 2 by swing bearings (not shown). The swinging section 3 swings as a result of the action of a hydraulic motor 5 that engages a set of inner teeth in the swing bearings. The swinging position of the swinging section 3 is detected by a swinging position detecting sensor 6 and transmitted to a control section 7, as described below in greater detail.
The operation section 4 includes a boom 8 that is swingably connected to the front end portion of the swinging section 3 to swing in a vertical direction, an arm 9 that is connected to the front end portion of the boom 8 such that it can swing to-and-fro, a bucket 10 that is connected to the front end portion of the arm 9 such that it can swing to-and-fro, boom cylinders 11 that vary the position of the boom 8, an arm cylinder 12 that varies the position of the arm 9, and a bucket cylinder 13 that varies the position of the bucket 10. Each cylinder 11, 12, and 13 has an operating position and speed detecting sensor 14, 15, and 16, respectively, that detects its operating position and speed and transmits these values to the control section 7.
A control valve 17 allows each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 and the motor 5 to be switched. Pilot-operated electromagnetic valves 18, 19, 20, and 21 are each connected, respectively, to the control valve for the hydraulic motor 5 and each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13, each of which are provided therein. For this reason, the operating speed of the hydraulic motor 5 and each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 can be freely controlled by a method that uses PWM (pulse width modulation) to control the current passing through each of the electromagnetic valves 18, 19, 20, and 21.
A pair of operation levers 22L and 22R are disposed on the left and right sides of the operator's seat. Engaging the operating levers 22L and 22R causes the hydraulic motor to tilt the cylinders 11, 12, and 13, individually or together, to the right, left, backward or forward. The operation direction and the operation input of the cylinders are electrically detected and transmitted to the control section 7.
The control section 7 is a microcomputer that includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The control section 7 causes signals to be transmitted by such component parts as: the swinging position detecting sensor 6, the operating position and speed detecting sensors 14, 15, and 16, the operating levers 22L and 22R; a digging load detecting sensor 23 for detecting the digging load based on the pressure exerted by the arm cylinder 12; an automatic main switch 24 for switching an automatic digging control mode ON and OFF; mode change-over switch for switching automatic digging control modes (including (i) a digging load control mode for executing only a digging load control mode, (ii) a bucket path control mode for executing only a bucket path control mode, and (iii) a combined control mode for automatically switching the digging load control mode and the bucket path control mode); an automatic digging start (end) switch 26 for starting and ending the automatic digging control mode; a digging load setting element 27 for setting a standard load for the digging load control mode; a digging depth setting element 28 for setting a depth limit for the digging load control mode and a standard depth for the bucket path control mode; and an earth-moving position setting element 29 for setting the earth-moving position in the automatic earth-moving control mode.
Judging from the input signals, the control section 7 transmits operation signals to the electromagnetic valves 18, 19, 20, 21, etc. In the control section 7, control procedures for manual operation control have been previously stored. In manual operation control, operation signals based on the operation of the operating levers 22L and 22R in the operation section cause the operation of a corresponding hydraulic actuator (of hydraulic motor 5 or each of the cylinders 11, 12, or 13) to be controlled. In addition, the control section 7 contains previously stored procedures for automatic digging control (digging load control mode, bucket path control mode, and combined control mode), as described below in greater detail, as well as for procedures for automatic earth-moving control in which the bucket 10 is moved from the place where digging is completed to a set earth-moving position to automatically remove earth. The automatic digging control mode has been selected from among the various modes for the purposes of this description.
The automatic digging control mode is executed when the automatic digging start (end) switch 26 is switched (at the location where digging is started) while the automatic main switch 24 is turned on. The control mode is canceled when the automatic digging control operation is completed by switching the automatic digging start (end) switch 26 with the automatic main switch 24 switched off. As described above, the automatic digging control mode of the embodiment includes (i) a digging load mode, (ii) a bucket path control mode, and (iii) a combined control mode. These modes can be alternatively executed by switching a mode change-over switch 25.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the digging load control mode begins (step S30), a command is transmitted to extend the arm cylinder 12 (step S32) and the bucket cylinder 13 (step S34) for carrying out automatic digging. During automatic digging, the load detected by the digging load detecting sensor 23 and the load set by the digging load setting element 27 are constantly compared with each other (step S54). In one embodiment, since the set load is corrected based on an initial digging load, the corrected set load value is compared with the detected load value (step S36). At the same time, the upward and downward movement of the boom 8 can be controlled based on the compared results. When the detected load and the set load match (i.e., the neutral zone), signals are no longer sent to the boom cylinder 11 (step S58). When the detected load is greater than a set load, a command is transmitted to extend the boom cylinder 11 and reduce the digging load (step S56). When the detected load is less than a set load, however, a command is transmitted to retract the boom cylinder 11 and increase the digging load (step S60). Based on these three factors, a very efficient automatic digging routine can be performed with a constant digging load. The digging load control mode is completed (step S42) when the arm cylinder 12 (step S38) or the bucket cylinder 13 (step S40) reaches the end of its stroke.
In the digging load control mode, the control section constantly determines whether or not the operating lever 22L or 22R has been operated during automatic digging (step S62). When the operating lever has been operated, the command values (electromagnetic valve current values) of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 are each adjusted depending on the lever operation input (step S64). In other words, even during automatic digging, operating the operating lever 22L or 22R allows the operation position and the operation speed of each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 to be freely corrected.
The control section computes the current digging depth based on the detected values of the operation position and speed detecting sensors 14, 15, and 16 (step S46). At the same time, it constantly compares the computed digging depth and the depth set by the digging depth setting element 28 (step S48). When the current digging depth exceeds a set depth, a command is transmitted to the boom cylinder 11 to extend the cylinder. This reduces the digging depth to prevent the ground from being excavated beyond the set depth.
In the bucket path control mode as shown in FIG. 4, operation command values are transmitted to each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 to correct the displacement between the aimed path (linear digging path for maintaining the set depth) and the actual bucket position (computed based on the detected position of each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13) (step S80). In other words, in the bucket path control mode, since linear control movement is performed on the bucket 10 irrespective of the digging load, automatic digging which is suitable for finish digging can be carried out. Similar to the digging load control mode, the control section 7 determines whether the arm cylinder has reached the end of its stroke (step S72), whether the bucket cylinder has reached the end of its stroke (step S74), and whether the lever has been operated (step S82). If the lever has been operated, the command values corresponding to the operation input of the lever are added or subtracted to the current operation commands (step S84).
According to the combined control mode as shown in FIG. 5, rough digging is performed based on the digging load control mode (step S92). During rough digging, the control section constantly determines whether the bucket 10 has reached the set height (1 meter above ground level in a preferred embodiment) (step S94) and whether the bucket 10 has reached a depth set by the digging depth setting element 28 (step S98). When height of the bucket 10 is determined to have reached the set height (step S96), the combined control mode is temporarily stopped upon judgment that the boom 8 has automatically moved upward when the bucket 10 has become full. When the bucket 10 has been judged to equal a set depth, the rough digging is completed and finish digging is executed (step S100). In addition, in finish digging, when the arm cylinder 12 or the bucket cylinder 13 has reached the stroke end (step S102), or in other words when the bucket 10 has reached the place where digging is completed, a command is transmitted to the boom cylinder to extend it (step S104). This causes the boom 8 to move upward. When the height of the bucket 10 has equalled the set height, the combined control mode is temporarily stopped (step S112). On the other hand, when it has been judged that an overload has occurred before the bucket has reached the location where the digging is completed (comparison is made between a previously set overload value and the value detected by the digging load detecting sensor 23), the control section 7 judges whether the bucket 10 is located at the front side of the arm 9 at its vertical position (step S108). When it has judged that the bucket is not located at the front side, the digging depth at that time is temporarily substituted as the set depth (step S122). The finish digging (bucket path control mode) is continued based on the substituted set depth (step S124). On the other hand, when it has judged that the bucket 10 is located at the front side of the arm 9 at its vertical position (step S108), rough digging (digging load control mode, but the boom 8 is not moved downward) is performed again until the height of the bucket 10 equals the set height (step S118). This procedure is repeatedly carried out assuming that earth removing operations such as automatic earth removal control and manual earth removal operation are to be performed.
In the embodiment of the present invention having such a construction, when the digging load control mode is selected to start automatic digging, variations in digging depth may result due to changes in the hardness of the ground and the presence of obstacles. In the digging load control mode, however, when operating lever 22L or 22R is operated, the command values of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 which correspond to the lever operation direction are each adjusted depending on the lever operation input. This allows the operation position and the operation speed of each of the cylinders 11, 12, and 13 to be freely changed. As a result, the variations in digging depth arising from automatic digging can be easily corrected by simply operating the operating lever 22L or 22R, without canceling the special automatic digging control mode. Consequently, automatic digging operations can be carried out easily with considerably higher precision.
In the digging load control mode, when the current digging depth exceeds a set depth, an extension command is transmitted to the boom cylinder 11 to decrease the digging depth. At the same time, the digging load at this point is temporarily substituted as the set load. This substitution prevents the digging depth from exceeding the set depth. Accordingly, digging can be carried out with high precision and efficiency because the set load prevents too much earth from being excavated, which would require an additional refilling operation.
In the bucket path control mode, the bucket 10 is controlled to move linearly along the aimed path.
Therefore, after rough digging has be performed in the digging load control mode, finish digging can be performed in the bucket path control mode efficiently with high precision.
The combined control mode allows the mode to be automatically switched from the digging load control mode to the bucket path control mode when the digging depth reaches a set depth, and from the bucket path control mode to the digging load control mode when a digging overload has occurred. Therefore, digging can be carried out precisely and efficiently by repeating both control modes. In addition, digging is easier because manual mode switching is not necessary. Further, any imprecise and inefficient digging that result from erroneous mode switching can be reliably prevented.
Accordingly, because the present invention is constructed as described above, it allows automatic digging to be carried out with the digging load maintained at a set load, while at the same time allowing corrections of the operation commands to be made to each of the cylinders by lever operation. Consequently, variations in the digging depth that arise during automatic digging can be easily corrected by simply operating the levers, without the operator having to undertake the step of canceling the automatic digging control mode. As a result, automatic digging operations can be carried out very easily with very high precision.
The depth limiting means, which is provided to prevent the digging depth from exceeding a set depth, markedly increases the digging precision and efficiency because overdigging is prevented and too much earth will not be excavated.
When the digging load control means for maintaining the digging load during automatic digging at a set load and the bucket path control means for aligning the bucket path and a set path are both provided, after rough digging has been executed in the digging load control mode, finish digging can be executed in the bucket path control mode.
When the control automatic switching device for automatically switching the mode from the digging load control mode to the bucket path control mode when the digging depth has equaled the set depth, or the control automatic switching device for automatically switching the mode from the bucket path control mode to the digging load control mode when a digging overload has occurred are provided, the operation of the invention is simplified because control switching is performed automatically. Accordingly, since improper control switching is prevented, the problems of reduced digging precision and operation efficiency are overcome.
Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those with skill in the art, the invention is not considered to be limited to the examples chosen for the purpose of disclosure, and thus, the invention covers all changes and modifications that do not constitute a departure from its true spirit and scope.
|
An excavator control apparatus for shovel-type construction equipment includes an automatic digging control section, a digging load control device, and an operation command correcting device. The shovel-type construction equipment has a boom, an arm and a bucket that are successively and rotatably connected in an operation section. The boom, the arm and the bucket are each connected to at least one cylinder that extends and retracts according to the operation of a lever. The digging load control device permits an automatic digging routine to be executed by controlling the extension and retraction of the cylinder. The digging load control device transmits operation commands to the cylinder to maintain a digging load approximately equal to a set digging load during automatic digging. The operation command correcting device corrects the operation commands transmitted to the cylinder by manual operation of the lever without cancelling the automatic digging routine.
| 4
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a shoring leg and, more particularly, to a shoring.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A known shoring system comprises a plurality of vertical legs each of.
A known shoring system comprises a plurality of vertical legs each of which is provided with an adjustable jack at the bottom thereof. A screw-threaded portion of the jack is inserted into the leg and the jack carries a rotatable threaded collar which abuts an end plate carried by the leg. As the collar is rotated, it moves up or down the threaded portion of the jack, thereby lifting or lowering the leg. In this known system, when moving the vertical legs, a jack can become disconnected from its leg, thereby necessitating additional work in relocating the jack within the leg.
In order to obviate or reduce this problem, it has previously been proposed in UK Patent GB2265921 to provide a shoring leg with a latch which serves to maintain an end plate of the shoring leg and a collar of the jack in a predetermined position relative to one another. The known latch comprises a latch member mounted on the leg for movement between a latching position and a release position, the latch member defining adjacent one end thereof a recess adapted, when in the latching position, to receive part of the leg end plate and adjacent one end thereof the adjacent collar of the jack to retain the end plate and the collar in the predetermined position. The latch member is retained in the latching position by means of a leaf spring which is attached to the shoring leg and to which the latch member is secured. The latch member is provided with an integrally formed fulcrum in the form of a stub which contacts the leg, whereby the latch member is movable from its latching position into its release position by pressing on the other end of the latch member to pivot the latch member about the stub.
Whilst the known shoring leg and its latch operate satisfactorily, the present invention aims to provide a shoring leg having a latch requiring fewer components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides a shoring leg provided with a latch for use in maintaining an end plate on the shoring leg and a jack collar in a predetermined position relative to each other, the latch comprising a latch member mounted on the leg to execute a movement from a latching position to a release position, the latch member defining a recess adapted, when in the latching position, to receive part of the leg end plate and to receive a corresponding part of an adjacent collar of a jack to retain the end plate and the collar in said predetermined position, there being means to retain the latch member in the latching position, in which shoring leg the latch member is attached to the leg by mounting means which mounts the latch member for movement relative to the mounting means between the latching position and the release position.
The latch member may be pivotally mounted on the mounting means. The mounting means is typically a mounting bracket fixedly attached to the leg, and the latch member is pivotally mounted on a fulcrum plate of the mounting bracket.
The fulcrum plate of the mounting bracket may be received in a mounting slot formed in the latch member and preferably a central region of the mounting slot of the latch member is narrower than the end regions of the slot. Thus, typically, an inner longitudinal edge of the slot is of arcuate form and an outer longitudinal edge of the slot comprises two linear portions which are inclined to one another so as to meet a fulcrum comer about which the latch is pivotable on the fulcrum plate of the mounting bracket.
The recess may comprise an indentation receiving the leg end plate and a rebate for receiving the jack collar.
The latch member is preferably an elongate member, the recess being defined adjacent one end of the elongate member. The elongate member may be provided at the end thereof remote from the recess, with a finger tab.
Where the latch is an elongate member, the end of the elongate member which is provided with the recess may also be provided with an inclined cam face adjacent the recess.
Conveniently the latch member is at least partially received in a channel which extends axially of the leg. Resilient means, such as a spring, typically in the form of a coil spring which is compressed between the latch member and the leg, is used to retain the latch member in the latching position.
The invention also relates to a leg as described above in combination with a jack, the jack having a collar adjacent the end plate of the leg, part of the end plate of the leg and the corresponding part of the collar being received in the said recess formed in the latch member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be more readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a shoring leg having a latch engaged with a jack collar, the leg and the jack being shown partly in phantom;
FIG. 2 is a front view of the shoring leg of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is side view of a latch member of the latch, showing a mounting slot of the latch member;
FIG. 4 is a side view of a mounting plate of the shoring leg latch; and
FIG. 5 is an end view of the mounting plate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, a hollow vertical shoring leg 1 is provided at its lower end with an adjustable jack 2 . The jack has a portion (not shown) for engaging the ground to support a vertical screw-threaded portion 2 A on which is rotatably mounted an internally threaded collar 3 . The screw-threaded portion of the jack 2 is dimensioned to be received within the hollow leg 1 . The collar 3 has an upper radially outwardly projecting lip 4 dimensioned to engage the lower end of the leg 1 and thus support the leg.
The leg 1 consists of an extruded tube of aluminium with a substantially circular cross-section. The outer surface of the leg 1 is provided with axially extending channels 5 . The leg 1 carries an annular end plate 6 which is fixed at the bottom of the leg 1 for engagement with the jack collar 3 . The end plate 6 projects radially outwardly of the leg 1 and has a greater external diameter than that of the jack collar 3 . When shoring incorporating the leg 1 is to be moved, the leg 1 may be lifted. In order to prevent the jack 2 from becoming separated from the leg 1 when the leg is lifted, the leg is provided with a latch 7 which acts to retain the jack 2 in position.
The latch 7 comprises a vertically disposed elongate member 8 which is partially received in one of the axially extending channels 5 of the leg 1 . An upper portion of the exposed outer face of the latch member 8 is formed at its upper end 9 with a kiurled finger tab 10 . A lower portion of the inner face of the latch member 8 defines a recess 11 . The inwardly facing recess 11 is bounded by upper and lower walls 12 and 13 which are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the latch member 8 . A partition wall 14 parallel to the walls 12 and 13 defines a step in the recess 11 which divides the recess into an upper indentation 15 and a lower rebate 16 , the indentation 15 extending deeper into the latch member 8 than the rebate 16 . A sloping cam surface 17 extends downwardly and outwardly from the inner edge of the lower boundary wall 13 , while the upper boundary wall 12 is connected to the lower end of a concave central portion 18 of the inner face of the latch member 8 by a rounded shoulder 19 . An upper end of the central portion 18 meets an upper portion of the inner face of the latch member 8 at a cusp 20 .
The latch member 8 is formed with a mounting slot 21 which extends longitudinally of the leg 1 in a central portion thereof. The slot 21 comprises upper and lower end edges 22 and 23 which are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the latch member 8 . Inner and outer longitudinal edges 24 and 25 of the slot 21 extend between the end edges 22 and 23 . The inner longitudinal edge 24 is an outwardly convex arcuate edge. The outer longitudinal edge 25 comprises upper and lower linear portions 25 A and 25 B of equal length which are inclined relative to one another so as to meet at a fulcrum corner 26 , thereby defining with the inner longitudinal edge 24 of the slot 21 a central waist in the slot from which the width of the slot increases towards each end of the slot 21 .
The latch 7 is located at the bottom end of the leg 1 , so that the indentation 15 of the recess 11 is aligned with the end plate 6 of the leg 1 and can accommodate a peripheral part of the end plate, while a corresponding part of the collar lip 4 can be received in the rebate 15 of the recess 11 when the lip is adjacent to the end plate 6 .
A rigid mounting bracket 27 for mounting the latch member 8 on the leg 1 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The mounting bracket 27 is formed from a horizontally elongate rectangular strip bent to form a central fulcrum plate 28 flanked by mounting wings 29 and 30 which extend at an angle to the fulcrum plate 28 from respective vertical edges of the fulcrum plate 28 . The width of the strip from which the mounting bracket 27 is made is slightly less than the length of the mounting slot 21 of the latch member 8 , while the thickness of the strip is substantially equal to the horizontal distance between the fulcrum corner 26 of the outer longitudinal edge 25 of the mounting slot 19 and the opposing point on the arcuate inner edge 24 of the slot 21 . The mounting bracket 27 extends through the mounting slot 21 in the latch member 8 , so that the latch member is supported on the fulcrum plate 28 of the mounting bracket 27 . Each of the mounting wings 29 and 30 of the mounting plate 27 is fixedly attached to the leg 1 by suitable fasteners, such as rivets, so that the fulcrum plate overlies the channel 5 of the leg 1 in which the latch member 8 is partially received.
A blind bore 31 is formed in the latch member 8 above the mounting slot 21 , the bore 31 extending into the member 8 transversely of the longitudinal axis of the member 8 from an upper portion of the inner face of the member 8 . A biasing coil spring is partially received in the bore 31 so that it is retained in a compressed condition between the member 8 and the bottom of the channel 5 in which the member 8 is received.
In a normal latching position of the latch 7 shown in FIG. 1 the latch member 8 is biased by the action of the spring 32 so that the latch member 8 sits on the fulcrum plate 28 of the mounting bracket 27 with the lower linear portion 25 B of the outer edge 25 of the slot 21 in engagement with the outer surface of the fulcrum plate 28 . In this position, a peripheral portion of the end plate 6 is received in the indentation 15 with the upper wall 12 of the latch recess 11 is in direct contact with the upper surface of the end plate 6 and the collar lip 4 which abuts end plate 6 is accommodated within the rebate 16 of the latch recess 11 . If, for any reason, such as the leg being moved, the collar 3 starts to separate from the leg 1 , the lower wall 13 of the latch recess engages the collar lip 4 and holds the jack 2 and the leg 1 together, preventing separation of the jack 2 from the leg 1 .
To release the latch 7 , the finger tab 10 on the latch member 8 is depressed towards the leg 1 against the action of the spring 32 . This causes the latch member 8 to pivot on the fulcrum plate 28 about the fulcrum comer 26 , so that the lower linear portion 25 B of the outer longitudinal edge 25 of the slot 21 moves away from the fulcrum plate. The pivoting movement of the latch member continues until the upper linear portion 25 A of the outer longitudinal edge 25 of the slot 21 comes into contact with the fulcrum plate. In this fully depressed position, the latch 7 is in a release position in which the collar 3 can be removed from the rebate 16 , thereby allowing the portion of the jack 2 within the leg 1 to be withdrawn.
If the leg 1 is lowered onto the jack 2 with the latch in its normal latching position, the cam surface 17 first comes into contact with the collar lip 4 . The cam surface slides over the collar lip 4 , causing the lower part of the catch member to move radially outwardly until the collar lip 4 passes beyond the lower wall 13 of the recess and is captured within the recess 11 as the latch 7 is returned to its normal latching position by the spring 32 .
Alternatively, the leg 1 may be lowered onto the jack 2 with the finger tab 10 fully depressed. In this case, the cam surface 17 does not come into contact with the collar lip 4 and the operating lever is not released until the collar lip 4 comes into contact with the end plate 6 . When this occurs, the finger tab 10 is released and the latch 7 returns to its normal latching position.
|
A shoring leg is provided with a latch for use in maintaining an end plate of the shoring leg and a jack collar in a predetermined position relative to each another.
The latch comprises a latch member having a slot to receive a mounting bracket which mounts the latch member for pivotal movement relative to the mounting means from a latching position to a release position. The latch member defines a recess adapted, when in the latching position, to receive part of the leg end plate and a corresponding part of an adjacent collar of the jack to retain the end plate and collar in the predetermined position. The latch member is biased into the latching position by a coil spring acting between the leg and the latching member.
| 4
|
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 264,981, filed May 18, 1981, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to improved properties of synthetic spun fibers and especially to the mechanical (strength-elongation) properties, the texturability by means of friction units or gas jet turbulence and the subsequent treatability without the interpolation of a separate stretching operation.
Synthetic fibers have been known for a long time and are mass produced. They are produced as synthetic yarn from polymers such as polyester, polyamide 6 or polyamide 66.
The synthetic fibers manufactured from these polymers have, in general, a very low orientation level, low strengths and high elongations at break, as well as inadequate thermal stability. For use in textile finishing of acceptable quality, the synthetic fibers are subjected to a separate stretching process (split process). This process is bothersome; it requires the winding up of the yarns after each operation.
In order to decrease the number of separate operations, integrated fiber stretching processes are also known (Chantry, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,187). The spun thread is stretched several times its length, without intermediate winding up, directly between rotating godet wheels. This process produces yarns of high strength and low elongations at break, comparable with the yarns from a split process.
In McNamara, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,492, polyamide 66 yarns are subjected, immediately after the spinning, under definite tension conditions, to a temperature treatment. The tensions are set by means of air turbine-driven rolls running at different speeds. The yarns produced in this way are practically ready-stretched with low elongations at break and specified values of the initial modulus, the 10% modulus and the final modulus.
The additional units required in the fiber stretching complicate the spinning process and finally reach technical limits (stability, temperature constancy) at very high speeds.
In recent times, synthetic fibers have been produced at high draw-off speeds, especially between 2,700 and 4,000 m/min, characterized by a certain degree of pre-orientation (partially oriented yarn/POY). These yarns are particularly suitable for further treatment in a stretch texturing process.
From Plazza et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,872 and Petrille, U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,307, specifications for polyester POY raw yarns are already known which are said to be suitable for "false twist" texturing under special conditions. Noticeable are spinning speeds of ≧2,750 m/min, a birefringence of ≧0.025, elongations at break between 70 and 180% or a boiling shrinkage of 40-60%. The patents give no indication of the friction texturing or the blowing turbulence. The spindle texturing procedures given therein differ in their mode of operation (friction behavior, tensions before and after the spindle) basically from the mentioned newer processes, which are carried out at considerably higher texturing speeds.
Because of the elongation limitation to ≧70% or the boiling shrinkage between 40-60%, these synthetic fibers are not usable for direct textile applications. Under mechanical and thermal stress the finished fabric is not stable. It is under these circumstances that the present invention was conceived.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide synthetic spun fibers which are spun without a godet wheel, drawn off and wound up at speeds of 4,000 to 6,200 m/min, have a tension at 20% elongation σ 20 of ≧0.55 g/dtex and an elongation at break <75%, which further have a boiling shrinkage of less than 20% and a permanent elongation of ≦10%, respond to the following modulus elongation characteristic σ(δ):
(a) For an elongation δ≧10%, the modulus is σ'(δ)≧0;
(b) the minimal value of the modulus in the elongation range δ=10% up to breaking elongation δ f (with δ f representing the elongation at the break of the 1st capillary) is called σ' min and is ≧0; and
(c) the difference (σ' f -σ' min )÷σ' f ≧0
and are especially suitable for treatment in friction stretch texturing and a gas jet turbulence process with speeds ≧550 m/min, as well as for processing into fabrics and knits without the interpolation of a separate stretching operation.
In particular, if there permanent elongation (at 20 cN/tex stress) ≦2% and their hot air shrinkage (at 160° C.) under a stress of 2 cN/tex amounts to ≧0, these yarns as "not drawn yarns" are suitable, without the interpolation of a separate stretching stage, for applications that place high demands on the mechanical and thermal stability.
The above-specified characteristic data of synthetic spun fibers had previously not been achieved by POY yarns. The characterization of a positive hot air shrinkage under stress should be separated from an elongation of the fiber such as occurs generally in traditional POY. The tension at 20% elongation, the low boiling shrinkage and the low elongation at break together with the modulus elongation characteristic meet the changed requirements for the yarns in the friction texturing process or the turbulence process and basically go beyond what is required in the spindle texturing process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide raw yarns which can be treated under considerably higher texturing speeds ≧550 m/min in comparison with spindle processes which have speeds of ≦160 m/min. The speed at which the raw yarn can be treated in a friction unit is limited only by the maximum speed of the unit itself, and can reach up to 6,200 m/min with turbulence units. Turbulence units can be used in a stage in the spinning process, but can also be applied in a separate stage as a blowing texturing unit.
It is known that in friction texturing, under the friction stress, abrasion occurs on the yarn, resulting in dust that consists in part of polymer dust. Because of the special structure of the yarn based on the present invention, the resistance is obviously enhanced. The result is that fewer operating disturbances occur. In turbulence units, the positive effect of these yarns is explained by the elasticity factor, determined by the fiber structure.
A further object of the present invention is to provide synthetic fibers which can also be processed directly into fabrics and knits without the intercalation of a separate stretching stage. Such "not drawn yarns" can therefore be produced, according to the invention, at considerably lower speeds than heretofore customary.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a godet wheel-less production of synthetic fibers such that no form-locking elongation of the synthetic fibers by means of rotating elements (gas turbines, rolls, godet wheels) is used for the build-up of thread tension or stretching tension in the spinning. These yarns thereby distinguish themselves from yarns which are spin-stretched. With godet wheel-less spinning there exists, rather, the contrary problem. Due to the fiber-air friction, friction forces, occuring in the cooling and spinning compartment, lead to an increase in the spinning tension, which can negatively affect the winding up of the synthetic fibers. A good yarn package build-up requires, in general, a winding tension of ≦0.15 g/dtex. The synthetic fiber is therefore preferably bundled or provided with a special preparation, or treated with gas currents in the running direction, so that the spinning tensions are reduced to the necessary degree for the correct winding up.
It is known that the speed is a measure for the development of the fiber structure in the synthetic fiber. The use of extremely high speeds ≧6,400 m/min in the state of the art for the production of hard yarns leads on the other hand to difficult running problems (high rate of fiber breakage) which make such processes questionable. The speed limitation as provided by the present invention has thus the obvious effect of considerably favoring the running security of the process.
The speed is only an indirect characteristic magnitude for the determination of the fiber orientation. Beck describes, in the article "Orientation and Fiber Strengths in the Spinning of Fibers from the Melt Under Free and Forced Convection", in Colloid and Polymer Science, Vol. 258, No. 1, 1980, pages 27 to 41, how a direct relationship exists between speed and the heat conductivity number. It is thus obvious to an air engineer what measures he is to take in order to obtain a good heat conductivity effect under constant fiber speed. Thereby the means for the setting of any desired orientation magnitude is given. In contrast to traditional spinning processes, under the present invention, the delay in the cooling off of the fibers after leaving the spinneret is done away with.
In the subsequent processing of the "not drawn spun fiber" it is important, for certain areas of use, that the permanent elongation be low and that the hot air shrinkage under stress have a value ≧0. Herein also, these yarns are differentiated from POY, which have a higher permanent elongation and show a lengthening in heat under stress. These yarns are not suitable, e.g., for a heat treatment on the tentering frame, where they lead to process troubles. Also, they are characterized by a deficient cold form stability.
Still another object of the invention is to provide raw yarns which are suitable for the areas of use indicated herein. It is surprisingly seen that the extremely high production speeds are not necessary for the production of hard yarns. Even at moderate speeds, yarn properties can be incorporated that alllow subsequent processing without the interpolation of a separate stretching operation. Yarns with σ 20 <1.50 g/dtex are preferably used for the friction texturing and turbulence, yarns with σ 20 ≧1.50 g/dtex preferably for the "not drawn application".
The properties of the spun fibers of the present invention were determined by the following methods:
(a) Strength-elongation properties:
These were determined from the spun fiber on commercial breaking equipment (INSTRON) by plotting of the strength-elongation graph. The breaking strength and elongation at break, the tension at 20% elongation, σ 20 (g/dtex), the modulus function σ'(δ), and the characteristic magnitudes σ' min and σ' f were taken graphically from the graphs or called up directly through a computer.
(b) Permanent elongation (at 20 cN/tex stress):
A fiber strand of denier 1,250 dtex was produced which was under a stress of 2.5 kg and underwent a relative stress of 20 cN/tex. Before the stressing, the length of the strand L 0 was measured under a weight of 2.5 p. Then the strand was subjected 10 sec at room temperature (22° C./65%) to the 2.5 p weight. Then the weight of 2.5 p was again applied and the length L 1 measured after an additional 10 sec. The permanent elongation was then calculated at ##EQU1##
(c) Boiling shrinkage:
On a strand of 2,500 dtex, the length L 1 was determined under the relative stress of 0.1 cN/dtex. Then the strand was put without stress for 10 minutes into boiling water. There then followed a conditioning of at least a half hour before the length L 2 was again measured under the above stress. The boiling shrinkage was then calculated at ##EQU2##
(d) Hot air shrinkage (under stress of 2 cN/tex):
On a strand of denier 1,250 dtex, the length L 1 was measured under stress of 2 cN/tex. The strand was then exposed, under maintenance of the strand stressing, for 10 min to a temperature of 160° C. in a circulating air drying cabinet. There then followed a conditioning of at least a half hour before the length L 2 was again measured under stress. The hot air shrinkage is then calculated at ##EQU3##
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a strength-elongation graph and the modulus function for a polyester (PES) spun fiber which lies outside of the characteristic data specified by the present invention. It should be recognized that this fiber, which is drawn off at 3,500 m/min, has a very low σ 20 value and that the negative minimum σ' min of the modulus function at about 15% elongation is thus within the range δ=10 to f (f being the amount of elongation at break).
FIG. 2 shows a strength-elongation graph and the modulus function for a PES spun fiber that lies within the specified characteristic data. σ' min , which is in the range δ=10 to f, is positive such that σ' f -σ' min ≧0.
FIG. 3 shows a strength-elongation graph and the modulus function for a polyamide 66 spun fiber that lies within the specified characteristic data. The difference (σ' f -σ' min )÷σ' f is 18%.
FIG. 4 shows schematically a spinning system for the production of the fibers in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The melt is forced through a spinneret 2 with the appropriate number of orifices. The melt fibers 1 are cooled by air blast 3 and then run through the fiber bundling guide 4, a frictional tension-increasing device 5, and the conditioning zone 6, which can be either heated or unheated and/or charged with a gaseous medium such as air or steam. The fibers are then led via the fiber guide 7 to a preparation device 8, through a detensioning device 9, which is mechanically driven or operated aerodynamically, and finally are led to the reeling unit 10.
The cooling of the fiber underneath the spinneret is especially important. The fiber temperature must be below the adhesive limit before reaching the fiber guide 4. The distance from the fiber guide to the spinneret is most advantageously between 400 and 1,500 mm.
The cooling speed, however, also has an influence on structure. By means of the dependency between heat conduction number and speed, a quite definite structural range is set by the application of the specified speed range. In particular, a delay in the cooling is avoided.
The frictional tension-increasing device can be adjusted over wide ranges with known means. The fiber-air friction at high spinning speed alone can lead to a build-up of tension in the fiber running direction. Also, however, stationary friction elements can be used around which the fiber goes at a definite angle. Likewise this element can be designed as a jet for the introduction of air at a correspondingly high speed.
From the article by Hamana, "The Process of Fiber Formation in Melt Spinning", in Melliand Textilberichte 4, 1969, page 385, it is known that the magnitude of the spinning tension is a measure for the fiber orientation that is created in the fiber.
The conditioning zone 6, which can also coincide with 5, makes it possible to influence the thermal properties of the fiber in a desired manner. Thus, somewhat higher temperatures in this zone give fibers with lower boiling shrinkage, as well as lower hot air shrinkage.
The preparation device applies to the fiber, in a known manner, a film with an oily substance to influence the fiber adhesion and the treatability properties.
Finally, in the detensioning device 9, the fiber tension is lowered to the point where perfect, bulge-free reeling can take place. The tension here should be set at value ≦0.15 g/dtex.
The present invention can be better understood upon consideration of the following examples:
EXAMPLES 1-5
Polyester of the relative solution viscosity n intr =0.64 melted in the spinning system and forced at the rate of 92 g/min through 32 orifices in a spinneret. The melted fibers were cooled by a horizontally flowing air blast at a speed of 0.4 m/sec. The first fiber guide was located at a distance of 450 mm from the spinneret. Devices 5 and 6 were operated without mechanical elements or electric heating, so that only the air carried along from the set fiber bundle on the basis of the injector principle had an effect on the setting of the spinning tension. The spinning tension in relation to the speed was
3,500 m/min, spinning tension=0.17 g/dtex
4,500 m/min, spinning tension=0.35 g/dtex
5,000 m/min, spinning tension=0.45 g/dtex
5,500 m/min, spinning tension=0.50 g/dtex
6,000 m/min, spinning tension=0.65 g/dtex.
The preparation took place conventionally, before the yarns were reeled, at speeds of 4,500, 5,000, 5,500, 6,000 and 3,500 m/min. In each case full bobbins weighing 12 kg were produced. The characteristic data of the yarns are set forth in TABLE 1.
The yarns of Examples 1-4 came within the specifications of the invention. These yarns showed very good running properties with the use of the friction unit texturing at 600 m/min working speed. This was on a production machine available on the market. Also a blast turbulence produced new types of bulky yarns at 1,100 m/min with smooth and voluminous touch without running problems.
In Examples 3 and 4, the turbulence device was mounted at position 9 in FIG. 4, which led to a trouble-free operation. The use of the yarns of these two examples in weaving for the clothing sector was problem-free. Tenter frame fixation was carried out without any difficulty.
The yarn of example 5 failed on the tenter frame. Its deficiency was characterized by a flabby touch. Its permanent elongation of 11.4% was excessively high, and the hot air shirnkage under stress was negative, i.e., fiber elongation occurred. These specifications were outside of the limits of the invention.
EXAMPLES 6-7
Polyester spun fibers were produced as in Examples 1 to 5, but with the difference that a delivery of 34 g/min was forced through 24 orifices of a spinneret and that air was blown in the tension device 5, with the fibers being drawn off at the constant speed of 4,500 m/min. Thereupon, spinning tensions of 0.46 and 0.37 g/dtex, respectively for examples 6 and 7, were set up. These yarns were further processed without problem as "not drawn yarns". Further characteristic data are set forth in TABLE 1.
EXAMPLES 8-11
Polyamide 66 having a relative solution viscosity n rel =2.5 was melted in a spinnig system and forced at the rate of 38 g/min through 32 orifices of a spinneret. The fibers were cooled by a current of air blown horizontally at 0.3 m/min. The first fiber guide was located at a distance of 400 mm from the spinneret. Devices 5 and 6 were operated without mechanical elements and without electrical heat, so that only the air injected by from the set fiber bundle had any effect on the spinning tension. The spinning tension in relation to the speed was
3,900 m/min, spinning tension=0.37 g/dtex
5,000 m/min, spinning tension=0.72 g/dtex
5,500 m/min, spinning tension=0.88 g/dtex
6,000 m/min, spinning tension=1.05 g/dtex.
The preparation was done conventionally, before the yarns were reeled, at speeds of 5,000, 5,500, 6,000, as well as 3,900 m/min. Full bobbins weighing 12 kg were produced trouble-free. The characteristic data of the fibers are set forth in TABLE 2.
The yarns of Examples 8-10 came within the scope of the invention. These yarns showed a problem-free running under application of the friction unit texturing at 900 m/min working speed. Also a blast turbulence at 1,100 m/min produced new-type yarns without running problems.
Yarns of Examples 9-10, in which (σ f -σ' min )÷σ' f =0, were fabricated "not drawn" into fabric and knits without any problems.
The yarn of Example 11 failed on the tenter frame and led to manufacturing problems in both weaving and knitting, with the goods proving to be very form-unstable because of the high permanent elongation and the negative hot air shrinkage (lengthening). The speed of this example was outside the specified range of the present invention.
EXAMPLE 12-13
Polyamide 66 fibers were produced as in Examples 8-11, but with the difference that a delivery of 19.5 g/min was forced through 16 orifices of a spinneret and that air was blown in the tension device 5, with the fibers being drawn off at the constant speed of 4,500 m/min. Thereby, for these examples, spinning tensions of 0.68 and 0.57 g/dtex, respectively, were set up. These yarns were characterized by high σ 20 values, as well as by a ratio of (σ' f -σ' min )÷σ f =0. These yarns were able to be utilized "not drawn" in both knitting and weaving without any problems.
It should be understood that the foregoing disclosure emphasizes certain specific embodiments of the invention and that all modifications or alternatives equivalent thereto are within the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________Specifications of Polyester (PES) Fibers Described in the Examples 5Example No. 1 2 3 4 Comparison 6 7__________________________________________________________________________Polymer PES → → → → → →Spinning speed (min/min) 4500 5000 5500 6000 3500 4500 4500σ.sub.20 (g/dtex) 1.0 1.4 1.8 2.3 0.48 3.4 2.8σ' (δ = 10 to f) ≧0 ≧0 ≧0 ≧0 <0z.T. ≧0 ≧0σ.sub.min ' >0δ) >0 >0 >0 <0 >0 >0σ.sub.f ' (δ) >0 >0 >0 >0 >0 >0 >0 ##STR1## (%) >0 >0 >0 >0 >0 0 0 Spinning denier (dtex) 211/32 191 174 155 270 77/24 77/24Breaking Strength (g/dtex) 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.6 2.2 4.1 3.8Elongation at Break (%) 74 69 64 56 126 24 34Boiling shrinkage (%) 4.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 55 3.8 7.0Permanent extension (%) 10 9 8 6 19 0.5 1.8Hot air shrinkage under (%) -- -- 0.5 0.8 <0 1.2 1.6stressFriction texturing-Speed 600 600 600 600 -- -- --Friction texturing-Result good good good goodTurbulence-Speed 1100 1100 5500 6000 -- -- --Turbulence-Result good good good goodNot Drawn-Result -- -- good good negative good good__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________Specifications of Polyamide 66 (PA66) Fibers Described in the Examples 11Example No. 8 9 10 Comparison 12 13__________________________________________________________________________Polymer PA 66 → → → → →Spinning speed (min/min) 5000 5500 6000 3900 4500 4500σ.sub.20 (g/dtex) 1.45 1.5 1.55 1.0 2.8 2.5σ' (δ = 10 to f) ≧0 ≧0 ≧0 ≧0 ≧0 ≧0σ.sub.min ' >0δ) >0 >0 >0 >0 >0σ.sub.f ' (δ) >0 >0 >0 >0 >0 >0 ##STR2## (%) 18 0 0 >0 0 0 Spinning denier (dtex) 77/32 72 65 95/32 44/16 44/16Breaking Strength (g/dtex) 3.1 3.3 3.45 2.6 4.5 4.3Elongation at Break (%) 72 67 58 100 40 44Boiling shrinkage (%) 4.5 5.0 5.7 4.3 6.6 6.2Permanent extension (%) 8 7 6 11.4 1.5 1.7Hot air shrinkage (%) -- 1.8 1.5 <0 1.0 1.2under stressFriction texturing-Speed 900 900 900 -- -- --Friction texturing-Result good good goodTurbulence-Speed 1100 1100 1100 -- -- --Turbulence-Result good good goodNot Drawn-Result -- good good negative good good__________________________________________________________________________
|
Improved synthetic spun fibers are disclosed. The fibers have improved properties, especially with respect to the strength-elongation properties, the texturability by means of friction units or gas jet turbulence and the subsequent treatability of the fibers without the interpolation of a separate stretching operation. The fibers are produced from polyester and polyamides.
| 3
|
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention pertains to microstructure devices, methods of forming a microstructure device and a method of forming a MEMS device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Advancements in the field of semiconductor processing have resulted in the development of micro-machining and micro-electromechanics. More specifically, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have been fabricated using semiconductor processing techniques to form electrical and mechanical structures using a given substrate.
[0003] For example, some micro-electromechanical systems devices include cantilevers or other microstages of silicon which may be configured to be electrostatically actuated for various applications. Such MEMS devices may be used in exemplary applications including gyroscopes, accelerometers, tunable RF capacitors, digital mirrors, etc.
[0004] Exemplary MEMS devices including cantilever structures are described in Zhang and MacDonald, A RIE Process For Submicron, Silicon Electromechanical Structures, Cornell University (IOP Publishing Ltd. 1992), the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference. A process is proposed in this publication for the formation of silicon cantilever beams with aluminum side electrodes for use as capacitor actuators. This prior art method is depicted herein as FIGS. 1 - 11 .
[0005] Referring initially to FIG. 1, a silicon substrate 10 , a silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) layer 12 , and photoresist 14 are depicted. Layer 12 is formed to a thickness of 150 nm and photoresist 14 is patterned as illustrated.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 2, a mask defined by photoresist 14 shown in FIG. 1 is utilized to pattern silicon dioxide layer 12 .
[0007] Referring to FIG. 3, plural trenches 16 are formed in substrate 10 utilizing reactive ion etching (RIE) according to the prior art process.
[0008] Referring to FIG. 4, thermal oxidation next occurs resulting in insulative layer 12 a covering sidewalls and lower surfaces of trenches.
[0009] Referring to FIG. 5, contact windows 20 are opened over a surface of substrate 10 to enable desired electrical connection through insulative silicon dioxide layer 12 a to substrate 10 .
[0010] Referring to FIG. 6, an aluminum layer 22 is formed by physical vapor deposition (PVD) to a thickness of 400 nm. The sputtered aluminum layer 22 forms side electrodes 23 within trenches 16 .
[0011] Referring to FIG. 7, photoresist 24 is formed upon the structure of FIG. 6 and is patterned to cover portions of aluminum layer 22 including side electrodes 23 .
[0012] Referring to FIG. 8, portions of the aluminum layer 22 upon the bottom surfaces of trenches 16 are patterned as shown using photoresist 24 .
[0013] Referring to FIG. 9, portions of silicon dioxide layer 12 within the bottoms of trenches 16 are patterned following patterning of aluminum layer 22 .
[0014] Referring to FIG. 10, photoresist 24 of FIG. 9 is stripped from the structure.
[0015] Referring to FIG. 11, a cantilever 26 is released by isotropically etching silicon substrate 10 utilizing a fluorinated plasma (i.e., SiF 6 ). Further details regarding the depicted prior art process are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,390, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0016] Modifications to this aforementioned process have been proposed by M. T. A. Saif and Noel C. MacDonald, as described herein.
[0017] In this modified process, the silicon release step described above with respect to FIG. 11 is performed prior to aluminum metallization. More specifically, the silicon is etched similar to FIG. 3 and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition PECVD or tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) deposition thereafter occurs. The resultant oxide is patterned, the silicon release etch is performed, and aluminum is deposited. This described process eliminates the need to pattern the metal or open contact holes.
[0018] The conventional described processes have associated drawbacks. Initially, the reactive ion etching of silicon substrate 10 shown in FIG. 3 typically results in a rough or scalloped etch profile. The roughness is duplicated in subsequent oxide and aluminum layers formed upon the sidewalls of trenches 16 . Such roughness or scalloping compromises the functionality of the resultant device inasmuch as the area of the electrodes or capacitor plates is not well controlled. Further, such roughness or scalloping limits the scalability of the structure.
[0019] Also, the single crystal reactive etching and metallization process of the prior art contains multiple oxide and aluminum deposition and etch steps resulting in increased complexity.
[0020] In addition, the utilization of SF 6 plasma to release the silicon cantilever 26 attacks the aluminum side electrodes 23 . Although the aluminum is attacked weakly by this chemistry, such may lead to further undesirable non-uniformity of electrodes 23 .
[0021] Accordingly, there exists a need to provide improved processing methodologies and structures which avoid the drawbacks associated with the prior art methodologies and devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The invention pertains to microstructure devices, methods of forming a microstructure device and a method of forming a MEMS device.
[0023] According to one aspect, the invention provides a microstructure device comprising: a semiconductive substrate; a monolithic microstructure device feature coupled with the semiconductive substrate, and wherein at least a portion of the microstructure device feature is configured to move relative to the semiconductive substrate; and a conductive structure provided directly upon at least a portion of the microstructure device feature.
[0024] A second aspect of the invention provides a microstructure device comprising: a semiconductive substrate; a microstructure device feature coupled with the semiconductive substrate, and wherein at least a portion of the microstructure device feature is configured to move relative to the semiconductive substrate; and a titanium nitride structure coupled with at least a portion of the microstructure device feature.
[0025] Another aspect of the invention provides a microstructure device comprising: a semiconductive substrate having a sidewall; a microstructure device feature having a sidewall adjacent to and spaced from the sidewall of the semiconductive substrate, and wherein at least a portion of the microstructure device feature is configured to move relative to the semiconductive substrate; and opposing conductive electrodes individually provided directly upon one of the sidewall of the semiconductive substrate and the sidewall of the microstructure device feature to form a capacitor.
[0026] According to another aspect, a method of forming a microstructure device comprises: forming a monolithic microstructure device feature coupled with a semiconductive substrate; providing a conductive structure directly upon at least a portion of the microstructure device feature; and releasing the microstructure device feature from the semiconductive substrate.
[0027] Another aspect provides a method of forming a microstructure device comprising: forming a microstructure device feature coupled with a semiconductive substrate; depositing a conductive structure upon at least a portion of the microstructure device feature using chemical vapor deposition; and releasing at least a portion of the microstructure device feature from the semiconductive substrate.
[0028] According to an additional aspect, the invention provides a method of forming a microstructure device comprising: providing a semiconductive substrate; forming a microstructure device feature using the semiconductive substrate and comprising material of the semiconductive substrate; and providing a conductive structure directly upon at least a portion of the semiconductive material of the microstructure device feature; and releasing the microstructure device feature from the semiconductive substrate.
[0029] Another aspect provides a method of forming a microstructure device comprising: forming a plurality of trenches within a semiconductive substrate to define a microstructure device feature, the semiconductive substrate and the microstructure device feature having opposing sidewalls; forming respective conductive structures directly upon respective portions of the opposing sidewalls of the semiconductive substrate and the microstructure device feature; and undercutting at least a portion of the microstructure device feature to release the portion of the microstructure device feature from the substrate to permit the portion of the microstructure to move relative to the substrate.
[0030] Yet another aspect provides a method of forming a MEMS device comprising: providing a semiconductive substrate; forming plural trenches having bottom surfaces within the semiconductive substrate to define a MEMS device feature between the trenches, the semiconductive substrate and the microstructure device feature having opposing sidewalls; depositing a titanium nitride layer using chemical vapor deposition upon at least a portion of an upper surface of the semiconductive substrate, upon the opposing sidewalls of the semiconductive substrate and the microstructure device feature to form capacitor electrodes, and upon the bottom surfaces; removing the titanium nitride layer upon the bottom surfaces of the trenches; and undercutting at least a portion of the microstructure device feature to release the portion of the microstructure device feature from the substrate to permit the portion of the microstructure device feature to move relative to the substrate.
[0031] Other devices and methods are also disclosed herein according to other aspects of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] FIGS. 1 - 11 depict sequential process steps of a conventional fabrication methodology.
[0033] FIGS. 12 - 20 depict exemplary sequential process steps according to aspects of the present invention.
[0034] [0034]FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an exemplary device embodying aspects of the present invention and fabricated according to the process of FIGS. 12 - 20 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0035] Exemplary process steps of the present invention are illustrated in FIGS. 12 - 20 and are described with respect to the formation of microstructure devices. One example of a microstructure device 31 is depicted in FIG. 21 comprising a capacitor actuator of a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) device or a microsystems technology (MST) device. Microstructure devices include micromachined components or structures. The depicted microstructure device 31 comprising a MEMS or MST device is exemplary and the present invention may be utilized to fabricate other devices, including other microstructure devices.
[0036] Referring to FIGS. 12 - 20 , an exemplary methodology for fabricating features of microstructure devices is illustrated in sequential process steps. Microstructure device feature refers to a micromachined component or structure of a microstructure device configured to move relative to a substrate. One example of a microstructure device feature is a microstage of substrate material comprising a cantilever, gear, valve, actuator, sensor or other structure of a MEMS device.
[0037] Referring initially to FIG. 12, a microstructure device assembly 30 is depicted at an initial process step. Assembly 30 includes a substrate 40 comprising substrate material 41 utilized to form subsequent devices. An exemplary substrate 40 is a semiconductive substrate, such as monocrystalline silicon. The present invention encompasses other substrates, materials, and/or layers in addition to monocrystalline silicon, such as polycrystalline or amorphous silicon, silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, for example.
[0038] Semiconductive substrate comprises any construction of semiconductive material, including, but not limited to, bulk semiconductive materials such as a semiconductive wafer (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon), and semiconductive material layers (either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials) including silicon on insulator (SOI) and bonded wafer configurations, for example. Substrate refers to any supporting structure, including, but not limited to, the semiconductive substrate described above.
[0039] A layer of insulative material 42 , such as thermal silicon dioxide, is formed upon substrate 40 in the depicted embodiment. Further, photoresist material 44 is patterned upon insulative material 42 as illustrated to form a desired microstructure device feature in the subsequent process steps described below.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 13, the silicon dioxide material 42 is patterned using photoresist material 44 of FIG. 12 forming a mask 43 . Photoresist material 44 has been stripped from assembly 30 in FIG. 13.
[0041] Referring to FIG. 14, a plurality of trenches 46 are formed within substrate 40 as defined by mask 43 . Trenches 46 are formed within substrate 40 using reactive ion etching in one example. The depicted trenches 46 are deep trenches individually having a depth of approximately 5-50 microns and a width of approximately 0.25-5 microns. Individual trenches 46 include plural sidewalls 47 and a bottom surface 49 .
[0042] Referring to FIG. 15, mask 43 , comprising the insulative material 42 , is etched from substrate 40 of assembly 30 following the formation of deep trenches 46 .
[0043] Referring to FIG. 16, a layer of conductive material 48 is provided over substrate 40 . According to the described embodiment, conductive material 48 comprises titanium nitride (TiN). An exemplary CVD process of titanium nitride is performed at pressures of approximately 5-10 Torr, temperatures of approximately 680° C., and utilizing the following gases TiCl 4 at 350 sccm, NH 3 at 100 sccm and nitrogen at 1000 sccm.
[0044] Other conductive materials, such as tungsten, tantelum nitride, or other refractory metals, may also be utilized. An exemplary tungsten deposition process is described in Takayuki Ohba, Chemical - Vapor - Deposited Tungsten for Vertical Wiring, pp. 46-52 (1995), incorporated herein by reference. Conductive material 48 is selected in accordance with aspects of the invention such that direct deposition of the material upon substrate material 41 will not result in an adverse reaction which compromises device fabrication or operation.
[0045] According to embodiments wherein titanium nitride is utilized, the titanium nitride conductive material 48 is deposited in a single layer using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with TiCl 4 as a precursor in the described exemplary process. Conductive material 48 is formed to a thickness of approximately 300 nm in accordance with the illustrative embodiment. Deposition of TiN provides a conformal coating of conductive material 48 having substantially smooth outwardly exposed surfaces even when deposited over a rough substrate, such as sidewalls 47 of individual trenches 46 .
[0046] Referring to FIG. 17, a mask 50 of photoresist material 52 is formed upon conductive material 48 of assembly 30 as depicted. The photoresist is deposited and patterned to form the depicted mask 50 over substrate 40 .
[0047] Referring to FIG. 18, conductive material 48 is patterned utilizing mask 50 . Such patterning removes conductive material 48 from bottom surfaces 49 and adjacent portions of sidewalls 47 of trenches 46 .
[0048] Referring to FIG. 19, photoresist material 52 comprising mask 50 of FIG. 18 has been stripped from assembly 30 leaving remaining conductive material 48 outwardly exposed.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 20, substrate material 41 of substrate 40 adjacent to lower portions of trenches 46 is next isotropically etched using conductive material 48 as a mask. A SF 6 plasma silicon release etch chemistry is utilized according to one processing methodology to etch substrate material 41 . Other etch chemistries are possible including XeF 2 , for example. The depicted process step releases and defines a microstructure device feature 54 of microstructure device 31 . Microstructure device feature 54 is intermediate trenches 46 as shown.
[0050] Referring to FIG. 21, further details of assembly 30 comprising microstructure device 31 are illustrated. Microstructure device feature 54 is coupled with substrate 40 and forms a cantilevered extension from substrate 40 in the described exemplary embodiment. Microstructure device feature 54 comprises monolithic substrate material 41 which extends from substrate 40 . In the depicted arrangement, microstructure device feature 54 is coupled with substrate 40 at a first end 58 while a second end 60 is configured to move relative to substrate 40 . Conductive material 48 is formed directly upon the monolithic microstructure device feature 54 according to aspects of the invention.
[0051] As shown, microstructure device feature 54 and substrate 40 have opposing sidewalls 47 adjacent to and spaced from one another. The depicted sidewalls 47 are arranged to face one another intermediate first end 58 and second end 60 of the exemplary microstructure device feature 54 . Conductive material 48 is provided directly upon an upper surface 56 and sidewalls 47 of microstructure device feature 54 and directly upon sidewalls 47 and an upper surface 61 of substrate 40 .
[0052] Conductive material 48 upon sidewalls 47 of substrate 40 define conductive structures 62 . Conductive material 48 provided upon sidewalls 47 of microstructure device feature 54 provide conductive structures 64 . In the depicted arrangement, conductive structures 62 , 64 form capacitor electrodes of plural capacitors 66 . In the described embodiment, conductive structures 62 , 64 are provided directly upon sidewalls 47 comprising substrate material 41 of respective ones of microstructure device feature 54 and substrate 40 .
[0053] In the depicted embodiment of microstructure device 31 , microstructure device feature 54 including conductive structures 64 is a capacitive actuator which may be actuated responsive to the application of biasing voltages to one or more of conductive structures 62 , 64 . In particular, conductive structures 62 , 64 are biased during operations to create electrostatic forces that result in movement of end 60 of microstructure device feature 54 . The microstructure device feature 54 may be referred to as a capacitive micro-electromechanical actuator 68 .
[0054] Titanium nitride has been shown to deposit conformally on silicon using chemical vapor deposition even though sidewalls 47 comprising silicon in the described embodiment may exhibit a rough surface profile after trenches 46 are formed within substrate 40 . The resultant conductive structures 62 , 64 upon sidewalls 47 result in a titanium nitride layer having lower surface roughness compared with the prior art processes wherein the roughness or scallops on the surface of the silicon is replicated in subsequent oxide and aluminum layers. Such roughness may degrade the performance of the resultant prior art devices.
[0055] Accordingly, in embodiments wherein titanium nitride is utilized, opposing conductive structures 62 , 64 of conductive material 48 have substantially smooth outwardly exposed surfaces. Provision of such surfaces is beneficial to improve controllability of conductive structures 62 , 64 forming the capacitor electrodes and to improve the functionality of the resultant microstructure device 31 in accordance with the described embodiment.
[0056] Titanium nitride is additionally more resistant than aluminum to attack if SF 6 plasma silicon release etch chemistry is utilized in processing of assembly 30 depicted in FIG. 20. Utilization of titanium nitride in accordance with aspects of the invention provides conductive structures 62 , 64 which are more robust than prior art structures.
[0057] Inasmuch as conductive structures 62 , 64 upon substrate 40 are conductors, there is no need for aluminum deposition. Direct formation of conductive structures 62 , 64 on substrate 40 in accordance with aspects of the invention reduces process complexity by eliminating oxide deposition and etch steps utilized in the prior art processes. In addition, there is no need to open contact windows through an intermediate insulating layer (e.g., layer 12 a illustrated in FIG. 5 of the prior art process) inasmuch as conductive material 48 is deposited upon the upper surface 61 of substrate 40 . Further, the geometry of the resultant devices 31 of the invention is improved over the prior art devices S wherein the formation of additional oxide layers reduces lateral dimensions. In addition, processing according to the present invention eliminates the need for processing following the release step shown in FIG. 20 utilized in the Saif and MacDonald process described above.
|
Microstructure devices, methods of forming a microstructure device and a method of forming a MEMS device are described. According to one aspect, a microstructure device includes: a semiconductive substrate; a monolithic microstructure device feature coupled with the semiconductive substrate, and wherein at least a portion of the microstructure device feature is configured to move relative to the semiconductive substrate; and a conductive structure provided directly upon the microstructure device feature.
| 1
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns an arrangement for providing weft thread for a continuous oscillating weft thread magazine of a warp knitting machine. The machine works with a creel and with a delivery means, which delivers the weft thread with constant delivery speed. This machine can include a carriage with thread guides that take the thread from a take-off point at a take-off speed corresponding to its respective position from one carrier chain of the magazine to the other and back again. The invention also relates to a storage arrangement upstream of the take-off point for compensating for the difference between the constant delivery speed and the variable take-off speed. The apparatus can work with working elastic weft threads.
A weft thread provision arrangement of this general type is known in the expander creel for the weft lock machine (type ExWe), manufactured by Liba. The spools in the creel carry elastic weft threads and are friction driven circumferentially. The delivery means forwards these threads at the means consumption speed. The delivery point which is formed by a reversing roller, is located above and approximately in the middle of the travel path of the carriage. The back and forth movement of the carriage, the sinusoidal speed and the delay time at the path ends to lay the threads about the hooks of the carrier chains, lead to a thread consumption varying considerably with time and thus, to a variable take-off speed at the take-off point. The storage arrangement to neutralize the difference between the constant delivery speed and the variable take-off speed comprises a cam controlled lever with two reversing idlers displaced in the direction of the axis of the levers, which work with three location fixed reversing idlers. The storage arrangement takes up thread material during the movement of the carriage from one carrier chain up to the midpoint and redelivers this during the second half of the travel of the carriage.
The problem posed for solution by the invention lies therein that there be provided a weft thread provision arrangement of the forgoing type wherein it is possible to deliver weft threads with constant tension values, in particular tension-free or substantially untensioned to the reversing weft thread magazine, which property is particularly valuable for elastic weft threads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a weft thread transporter for a continuous, oscillating weft magazine in a warp knitting machine driven by a main shaft. This machine has a pair of parallel weft carriers and consumes weft threads from a creel. The transporter is adapted to work with the weft threads when they are either elastic or non-elastic. The transporter has a carriage with thread guides for laying the weft threads across the parallel weft carriers with a cyclically varying laying speed depending upon the position of the carriage. The carriage can lay the weft threads by reciprocating between the parallel weft carriers of the magazine. The transporter has a first and second delivery means. The first delivery means can provide the weft threads from the creel at a substantially constant delivery speed. The second delivery means is downstream from the first delivery means and can deliver therefrom the weft threads at a variable thread drive speed that corresponds to the cyclically varying laying speed. The transporter also has a storage means located between the first and second delivery means for compensating for the difference between the constant delivery speed and the variable thread drive speed.
By employing apparatus of the foregoing type thread can be delivered with substantially constant tension. To this end, the take-off point is formed by a second delivery means whose thread drive speed is preferably variable and corresponds to the take-off speed at a particular time point.
The provision of the second delivery means ensures that on the take-off side, continuously, only that amount of thread length is delivered, as the carriage actually requires or at least a thread length proportional thereto. Unacceptable tension peaks are thus avoided. The weft threads keep the same tension which they had at the first delivery means and maintain it until they reach the reversing weft thread magazine. In this way, it is possible to operate with tension-free or substantially tensionless weft threads in knitted goods, so that after completion of the knitting process, these goods either do not crimp or crimp in a totally uniform manner.
Preferably, the thread drive speed is set to be equivalent to the delivery speed at a given moment. This leads to a tension-free laying of the weft threads.
In a particular embodiment, a second delivery means has its own drive motor which is controlled by means of a computer based upon the position of the carriage. This is one simple manner to obtain the variable thread drive speed.
In another possible embodiment, the second drive means is driven by the main shaft of the knitting machine via an interference drive whose interference input is oscillated by a reciprocating drive arrangement by an amount corresponding to the position of the carriage. In this mode, the thread drive speed is taken off mechanically from the rotation of the main shaft.
It is particularly desirable to provide that the storage means has only one deflecting point which is oscillated by a reciprocating drive arrangement in proportion to the difference between the drive speeds of both of the delivery means. Thus, since only one moveable deflecting point is available, the friction forces operating upon the weft threads are substantially reduced.
In particular, the interference input and the storage means may be driven by the same reciprocating drive means. This simplifies the construction.
It is particularly advantageous if the reciprocating drive means has a stroke drive which comprises a cam drivable by the main shaft of the knitting machine. The cam reciprocates an output element, and is an efficient way of getting a reciprocating drive from the main shaft.
It is advantageous if the deflecting point of the storage means reciprocates on a straight path. If the weft threads are lead to and taken off, from a straight path in a parallel manner, the storage arrangement can operate at its greatest capacity.
In an especially preferred mode, the deflecting point is carried by a carriage which is reciprocatable by means of an endless belt by the reciprocating arrangement. In particular, an endless belt acting as a timing belt can interact with a driven timing belt pulley.
In order to reduce breaking friction to a minimum, the deflecting point of the storage means can be formed by a roller driven at varying speeds. For example, a pinion attached to the carriage can interact with a rack which runs along a straight path. The pinion's drive shaft may be coupled to the shaft of a deflecting roller through two drive branches, each able to free wheel, one able to reverse the direction of rotation. Thus, the deflecting roller can be driven in the desired direction independently of the movement direction of the carriage.
This construction may be achieved in that one drive branch has two spaced gears and the other drive branch with two timing belt pulleys. One drive branch causes a deceleration and the other, an acceleration.
In one alternative, the deflecting roller has its own drive motor which is controlled by a computer. In another alternative, the deflecting point of the storage means is formed by a deflecting roller running drive-free in frictionless bearings. There is also the possibility that the deflecting point of the storage means is formed by a non-rotating round rod with a friction-free upper surface. In all of these cases the braking friction on the weft thread is held to a minimum.
The utilization of the second delivery means permits the first delivery means to be but a single driven roller.
In a further modification, the proportioning of the drive speeds of the second delivery means, the first delivery means, the storage means and the spools relative to each other is achieved by a geared transmission. The use of such gearing permits the achievement of desired tensions without the need to change the basic drive of the storage means in any way.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated, with respect to its preferred embodiments, by the following figures:
FIG. 1 is a schematic, partial, front elevational view of the weft thread provision arrangement.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, viewed from direction A.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the drive arrangement of FIG. 1, viewed along lines B--B.
FIG. 4 is cross-sectional view of the interference drive illustrated in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the thread laying process.
FIG. 6 is a graphical representation showing a plot of thread consumption against time in the thread laying process.
FIG. 7 is a partial, downward perspective view of the components of the storage arrangement as viewed from the left in FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 is a further embodiment in schematic form.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, creel 1 has a plurality of spools 2 supported on pegs 3, which rest on rocking levers 4. Their weight and the influence of springs (not shown) causes them to rest with their circumferences on driving friction rollers 5. These are driven by the main shaft 6 of the corresponding warp knitting machine over an intermediate shaft 7 and other drive elements 8. A first delivery means 9 comprises two rollers 10 and 11, which are coupled with each other by means of a pair of gear wheels 12. These are driven by the main shaft 6 over intermediate shaft 7 and another drive means 13. In this manner, the weft thread S is taken from spools 2 and delivered to a storage means 14.
This storage means 14 comprises a timing belt 15 which is laid over a driven timing belt pulley 16 and a non-driven timing belt pulley 17. Carriage 18 is mounted on belt 15 and supports a reversal point 19. This reversal point 19 oscillates in the direction of arrow P1 to deflect threads S. In this particular example, point 19 comprises a free standing round rod with a friction-free outer surface.
Downstream, a second delivery means 20 has two rollers 21 and 22, which are connected to each other by gear wheel pair 64. They are driven with a varying thread drive speed.
The drive of the storage means 14 and the second delivery means 20 proceeds in the following manner: An intermediate shaft 23 is driven by the main shaft 6 over the intermediate shaft 7 and also by another drive means 24, shown as a belt drive.
A planetary interference drive 27 is shown as a planetary wheel 26 having external teeth and containing a gear train mounted inside of casing 26 to affect the rotation of gears 38 and 40. Specifically positive rotation of gear 38 tends to cause positive rotation of gear 40, but positive rotation of wheel 26 tends to cause negative rotation of gear 40. By means of belt drive 25, the planetary wheel 26 of interference drive 27 is turned by a number of revolutions proportional to the rate of revolution of the main shaft.
Simultaneously, intermediate shaft 23 drives a camplate 30 mounted about axle 29 in cyclic drive 28. Cam followers 31 follow camplate 30 and are mounted on output belt 32, that is laid around two rollers 33 and 34. This output belt is oscillates in the direction of arrow P2. This movement is transferred via roller 34, belt drive 35 and intermediate shaft 36: (a) to interference input 38 of interference drive 27, and (b) storage means 14 via a transmission means comprising change gears 89 which drive the timing belt pulley wheel 16. In this manner, deflecting point 19 oscillates in the direction of arrow P1. Furthermore, the continuous rotation of the interference wheel 26 by the belt drive 25 is altered by the oscillation of gear 38 so that a transmission means comprising change gears 40 on the output side produce a variable drive speed for the second delivery means 20.
The weft threads S eventually arrive at thread guides 41 on carriage 42, which is movable in the direction of arrow P3 on rails 44. Also this drive movement is taken off from the main drive shaft 6 of the warp knitting machine in the conventionally known manner. By this back and forth movement, the weft threads S are placed as magazine weft threads in front of the hooks of two carrier chains 45 and 46, which feed those magazine weft threads (in a direction perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing), to the warp knitting machine.
FIG. 5 illustrates the thread take-up, more precisely. The deflecting point 119 is shown as an undriven, mounted an friction free bearings roller. The thread guide is shown in 3 positions, namely, 41l (left), 41m (middle) and 41r (right). In the laying movement from the left up to the machine mid-point, the sector B1 is laid as sector A1 and the sector C1 as sector C2. The sector C3 therefore represents the actual utilization of weft thread, as seen from delivery means 20. If the carriage is then moved further to the right from the mid-point, sector C3 corresponds in length to sector C4 and sector D1 to D2. The actual use in this movement is thus the sum of sectors A2 and B2. This gives rise to a take-off speed dependent upon the position of the carriage 42. In accordance with the invention, the thread drive speed of the second delivery means 20, is equal or proportional to the take-off speed at that moment.
The diagram of FIG. 6 shows the amount of thread length L forwarded over time t. Curve I shows the forwarded length of the first delivery means which, because of its coupling with the main shaft, has a constant delivery speed. The curve 120 shows the thread drive speed of the second delivery means 20. This takes in to account the small thread speed in the first half of the path movement of the carriage 42, and the large thread speed in the second half. The vertical difference "d" between curves 19 and 120 corresponds to the thread length which must be taken up by the storage means 114.
Furthermore, it is possible to run the first delivery means 9 at the same circumferential speed as the spool 2. The weft threads S thus are subject to no tension whatsoever in the creel 1. The storage means 14 is set exactly to the difference "d". The weft threads thus experience no tension between the two delivery arrangements. Since the thread drive speed of the second delivery means 20 is the same as the actual take-off speed, the threads are untensioned, even in the last segment. Since no unacceptable thread tensions will occur, the resulting ware is very even. Significantly, with elastic weft threads, there is no crimping of the ware after the production of the goods.
It is also possible, if desired, to knit the elastic weft threads with a constant pre-tension. In order to achieve this, an extension of the threads must occur in at least: one segment before the first delivery means 9; after the second delivery means 20; or between the two delivery means, preferably in the first named segment. This can be achieved by a proportional change of the drive speed. Thus, a transmission means comprising change gears 47 in the drive path of the friction rollers 5 reduce the drive speed of the spools. As a result thereof, the weft threads are already extended, even before reaching the first delivery means 9, so that they may be utilized in a condition of pretension. By means of a similar pair of change gears, it is possible to alter the drive speed of the first delivery means 9.
By utilizing change gear pair 39, it is possible to alter the drive speed of the storage means 14 and by using change gear pair 40, the drive speed of the second delivery means 20. Notwithstanding the resulting changes of tension, the cyclic drive 28 is unchanged.
In the storage means 214 as illustrated in FIG. 7, the deflection point 219 is formed by means of a driven reversing roller coupled to and driven by a controlled motor for reversing the direction of said weft threads. The carriage 218 is a plate rotatably supporting a plurality of guide rollers 50 through 53. These rollers roll on guide rails 54 and 55, mounted on a guiding ledge 56. Rack 57 running the length of the predetermined course is stationary in the frame. It meshes with a pinion 58 whose pinion shaft 59 is connected with the shaft of the reversal roller 219 by means of two drive branches one of said branches being operable to accelerate the reversing roller the other one of said branches being operable to decelerate the reversing roller. One of the drive branches is formed by meshed gear wheels 60 and 61. The other branch is formed by two mutually connected timing belt pulleys 62 and 63. The wheels 61 and 62 which ride on a turning shaft, are each equipped to free-wheel, although free wheeling can occur in their complementary wheels instead. The gear wheels 60 and 61 operate at a decelerated speed and the pulleys 62 and 63 at an accelerated speed.
The timing belts 15 as shown in FIG. 1, cause the back and forth motion P1. When, for purposes of storage, the movement direction of P1a predominates (as illustrated in FIG. 7), the gear pairs 60 and 61 are operative which leads to a rotation of the reversal roller 219 in the direction P4. When, in contrast thereto, the movement direction P1b predominates for delivering stored thread, drive occurs over the timing belt pulleys 62 and 63 which, in turn, again leads to a rotation of the turning means 219 in the direction P4, but at a greater speed. Thus the rotational velocity in the storage mode is smaller than the rotational velocity in the thread delivery mode. The transmission ratios of the gear wheels 60 and 61 and the timing belt pulleys 62 and 63 are so chosen that by the interference of the rotation and the translation speeds, roller 219 matches the delivery speed of the first delivery means. This means that there is practically no relative movement between the weft threads and the reversing roller 219 and correspondingly, no friction which can lead to a tension peak.
In FIG. 8, the numbering of items corresponding to previously illustrated items is incremented by 300. In this mode, friction rollers 305 have their own drive 70 for driving spools 2. Delivery means 309, comprising only a single roller, has its own drive 71. The deflection point 319, which is constructed in the form of a driven roller, has its own drive means 72. The back and forth motion of the timing belt 315 is activated by drive 73. The second delivery means 320 is served by its own drive 74.
The drives 70 to 74 may be electrical motors, hydraulic motors or servo motors. They can drive equipment that is the same as just described except for the inclusion of a different drive. All of the individual drives 70 through 74 are controlled by computer 75, which is supplied with the tension requirement data via input means 75a. Input means 75a also includes a synchronizing signal indicating the phasing of the main shaft (shaft 6 of FIG. 1) or the carriage (carriage 42 of FIG. 1). This synchronizing signal is used to keep the above drive motors synchronized with the main shaft and the carriage.
The illustrated embodiments can be carried out in many variations without departing from the basic idea of the invention. Thus, for example, interference drive 27 instead of being a planetary drive, can also be bevel gear differential drive. The second delivery means 20 can be placed in the middle over the path of the carriage 42. If desired, it can also be displaced from this central position.
In sum therefore, there follows the provision of threads, in particular extremely elastic threads, wherein the demand for different thread lengths depends upon the position of the carriage, so that the threads can be delivered to the hooks of the carrier chains 45 and 46 with the least possible pre-tension (where this is desired).
|
The arrangement provides warp threads for an oscillating weft thread magazine for warp knitting machine. The machine uses a creel, a first delivery device with constant delivery speed, and a second delivery device with a variable thread drive speed. The latter speed corresponds to the instantaneous take-off speed of the weft thread by the carriage. A storage arrangement is located between the two delivery devices for smoothing out the differences between the constant delivery speed and the variable take-off speed. This arrangement enables use of elastic weft threads on the weft thread magazine, so that they are provided in a state of constant tension stage; in particular, tension-free or very slightly tensioned.
| 3
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.