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PRIORITY AND COPYRIGHT CLAIMS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/187,389 filed Mar. 7, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] This application includes material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates to the field of electronic inventory control. In particular, the present invention relates to controlling healthcare supply inventories.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Traditionally, inventory control has been done by the company or organization using the items in the inventory. In smaller offices, inventory control is typically not a high priority, and orders may be placed whenever items are out of stock.
[0005] As an office increases in size, inventory management becomes more of a challenge, and monitoring of frequently used or crucial items becomes very important. Typically a person is given the responsibility of monitoring inventory and ordering replacements as supply diminishes. As a company further increases in size, more advanced inventory management techniques may be used. For example, supply and usage trends may be analyzed to determine minimum quantities on hand, and seasonal or other peak usage may be determined.
[0006] Some larger offices have switched to automated or semi-automated inventory tracking systems. These automated systems utilize barcode scanners or other electronic identifiers to track outgoing and incoming inventory, and can prepare purchase requests as supplies diminish.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention improves upon the prior art by shifting the burden of inventory tracking onto a third party; this concept is referred to as vendor managed inventory, or VMI. When a third party provides VMI services for multiple companies, it gains significant buying power which it can use to negotiate better deals, improve supplier responsiveness, and streamline the buying process.
[0008] The present invention allows third-parties to monitor company inventory via the Internet and World Wide Web (“web”). In addition, the present invention allows small to medium sized companies to take advantage of VMI by providing a cost-effective solution to their inventory tracking needs.
[0009] The present invention utilizes web-enabled technologies to revolutionize inventory management by tracking inventory and automatically contacting suppliers, manufacturers, or distributors when additional supplies are needed. This may result in a labor reduction as compared to the labor-intensive inventory maintenance systems currently deployed.
[0010] In addition to reducing labor costs, the present invention may help a company cut other costs. The present invention may help reduce delivery costs by regularly ordering supplies in anticipation of need, thus obviating the need for express shipments. The present invention may also allow third parties to take advantage of manufacturer or distributor specials when offered for the products its customers require, thus further reducing customer cost.
[0011] While purchasing is a large part of inventory maintenance, the present invention may also facilitate other transactions as well. For example, the present invention may allow customers to resell products or equipment to other businesses, thereby maximizing utility. Although some in the prior art, such as Neoforma.com and Medibuy.com, have attempted to provide business-to-business equipment resale through web-based auctions, auctions do not provide equipment availability assurances. The present invention provides a forum through which resellers and customers may interact, where the present invention acts as a broker, thereby assuring both that purchased equipment is delivered, and that a seller receives proper compensation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the major hardware components of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an overview of the software components of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating sample logic implemented when client software attempts to update data stored in a server.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating sample logic implemented when client software polls a data connection.
[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a sample RFID portal and related computer equipment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] The present invention implements an Internet-based, vendor managed inventory (“VMI”) system. A VMI system allows a customer to reduce costs by pushing inventory management responsibilities onto a third party, or manager. Managers may service multiple companies, thus allowing them to negotiate better deals, improve supplier responsiveness, and serve as an effective customer advocate.
[0018] The present invention allows managers to inexpensively monitor customer inventory via the Internet and World Wide Web (“web”). The present invention utilizes web-enabled technologies to revolutionize inventory management by tracking inventory and automatically contacting suppliers, manufacturers, or distributors when products are needed. This may result in a labor reduction as compared to the labor-intensive inventory maintenance systems currently deployed.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the major hardware components of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the present invention utilizes a client/server architecture to facilitate communication between customer inventory systems and managers. A client running on a Customer Inventory System 130 may be used to track inventory, place special orders, and interact with other customers.
[0020] A client may include custom software, such as an application written in Visual Basic, JAVA, or C; commercial software, such as a web page accessible through a web browser; or a combination of custom and commercial software, such as a “plug-in” which operates in a web browser. Examples of common web browsers include Internet Explorer, developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., and Navigator, developed by Netscape Corporation of Mountain View, Calif.
[0021] Customer Inventory Systems 130 may allow manual inventory tracking, semi-automated inventory tracking, or inventory may be dispensed using automated systems. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a handheld device, such as a Palm VII device by Palm Computing, Inc., to be outfitted with a barcode scanner. Such a device can allow barcodes or other identifiers associated with each inventory item to be scanned or otherwise entered into the system prior to or at the time of item distribution. As each item is scanned, a count maintained by the present invention may be adjusted to properly track inventory levels. Recipient-specific labels, including product warnings and other information, can then be printed for each scanned item.
[0022] Other inventory distribution methods contemplated include, but are not limited to, interfacing the present invention with vending machines. Vending machines may allow accurate inventory tracking without requiring human interaction, except to periodically restock a particular supply or group of supplies. In a preferred embodiment, vending machines may include security measures to prevent unauthorized supply distribution. Such security measures may include, but are not limited to, the use of an identification card and personal identification number (“PIN”), and biometric systems. Vending machines equipped with security systems may restrict access to specific supplies on an individual-by-individual level, or group-by-group basis. Vending machines may also be equipped with label printers that allow warnings and other information to be attached to a dispensed item's packaging.
[0023] Alternatively, supply closets or other storage areas can be outfitted with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) portal, as illustrated in FIG. 5 . An RFID portal (Block 500 ) is similar in structure to airport security metal detectors, except that RFID portals can detect or scan RFID tags as such tags pass through a portal. The present invention can monitor RFID tag identifiers, including identifiers assigned to individuals, such that access to a storage area can be monitored, and items removed by an individual can be tracked without any direct user interaction.
[0024] A preferred embodiment of the present invention can also track individual product dispensation, and may require additional information as products are dispensed. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, if a doctor dispenses sample medication to a patient, the present invention may also request a patient identifier, whereas if a package of gauze bandages was removed from inventory to restock an examination room, the present invention may not request a patient identifier. Patient identifiers can be used by the present invention to generate dispensation history reports for various products which may help suppliers and manufacturers to better understand income, race, ethnicity, or other demographic characteristics of typical recipients. The present invention may restrict such reports to only demographic information, and may not include individual-specific information in such reports.
[0025] An alternative embodiment of the present invention allows physicians or others to carry a handheld device through which prescriptions can be written while talking with a patient. Such a handheld device can connect to a local inventory management system through a wireless or wired means, and, when appropriate, a prescribed item sample may be automatically dispensed by a vending machine. Alternatively, a message may be displayed at a nurse's station indicating the items to be pulled from inventory. When items are dispensed by a vending machine or pulled from inventory, inventory counts can be decremented as appropriate, and new orders can be placed as necessary.
[0026] As inventory is distributed, Customer Inventory System 130 may track supply usage habits to determine minimum acceptable quantities on-hand. Usage information may be studied for various periods of time, and the present invention may create an inventory usage model based on collected data. As models are created and refined, the present invention may modify minimum in-stock thresholds to reflect anticipated usage. As quantity in-stock approaches a calculated or specified threshold, Customer Inventory System 130 may automatically request new supplies from Server 100 . Supply requests may include various information, including, but not limited to, urgency of request, customer willingness to accept alternative brands or sizes, billing information, and shipping information.
[0027] As Server 100 receives supply requests, Server 100 may request price quotes from several Manufacturer, Supplier, or Distributor 120 's (“Distributor 120 ”). Distributor 120 may respond with quantity available, price, estimated delivery time, and other such information. Server 100 may then automatically evaluate each Distributor 120 response to find the best value given various factors associated with each customer request. When an appropriate Distributor 120 response is chosen, Server 100 may automatically arrange payment and shipping of requested supplies for Customer Inventory System 130 .
[0028] Communication between Customer Inventory System 130 , Server 100 , and Distributor 120 may be achieved through various methods, including, but not limited to, hypertext transfer protocol (“μM”), file transfer protocol (“FTP”), simple mail transfer protocol (“SM”), or other such related methods.
[0029] Although purchasing is a large part of inventory maintenance, a preferred embodiment of the present invention may also facilitate communication between customers, provide a source of information dissemination, and encourage customer interaction. The present invention may facilitate customer communication by allowing customers to resell products, equipment, or excess inventory to other businesses. The present invention may allow information dissemination by providing an up to date catalog of available equipment and other inventory from which a customer may order. The present invention may facilitate customer communication by allowing managers and customers to author and distribute articles describing new rules, regulations, procedures, revenue generation prospects, or other information of interest to other customers.
[0030] Customer Inventory System 130 may serve as the primary source of customer interaction with the present invention. Articles, catalogs, inventory information, and other such information may be stored on Server 100 , and Customer Inventory System 130 may communicate with Server 100 to obtain requested information.
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of Server 100 , in which relationships between data storage, web server, and application services provided by Server 100 are illustrated. All client communications may first pass through Firewall 210 . Firewall 210 represents a combination of software and hardware which is used to protect the data stored in Web Server 220 , Database Server 230 , and Application Server 240 from unauthorized access.
[0032] As previously described, clients may communicate with the present invention through various protocols, including HTTP. Web Server 220 represents software capable of transmitting and receiving information via HTTP or other protocols. Examples of such software include Internet Information Server, developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; Enterprise Server, developed by Netscape Corporation of Mountain View, Calif.; and Apache Server, developed by the Apache Software Foundation of Forest Hill, Md.
[0033] When a client requests information, Web Server 220 may determine whether a client request requires pre-processing, in which case a request is transferred to Application Server 240 , or if a request simply requires data to fulfill the request, in which case Web Server 220 may communicate directly with Database Server 230 .
[0034] Database Server 230 represents commercially available database software, such as Microsoft SQL Server, developed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Oracle 8i, developed by Oracle Corporation, of Redwood Shores, Calif., or other, similar software. Database Server 230 may store raw data, such as customer inventory information, customer addresses, vendor names, vendor product classes, and other such similar information. Such information may be transmitted to a client by Web Server 220 , or Application Server 240 may interpret information stored in Database Server 230 prior to transmission.
[0035] Application Server 240 may contain business rules associated with the present invention, which can be used to interpret Database Server 230 data prior to transmission of that data to a client. In addition to interpreting information stored in Database Server 230 for client use, Application Server 240 may also monitor inventory levels reflected in Database Server 230 , contact vendors based on information from Database Server 230 , adjust inventory information as new inventory is received, and provide the services necessary to facilitate business-to-business resale of equipment or products stored in Database Server 230 .
[0036] Web Server 220 , Database Server 230 , and Application Server 240 each represent software which may run on the same computer, or on multiple computers. In addition, Application Server 240 may be implemented within Database Server 230 as a set of business rules.
[0037] An alternative description of the present invention follows, in which the present invention is described through a series of functional specifications. This information is included for enablement purposes, and describes the best mode contemplated at the time the present specification was filed. While the following functional specification describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, descriptions within the functional specification should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
[0038] To avoid confusion, the following terms are used in this functional specification:
[0039] Customer—Refers to a buyer of products via the present invention. Customers can have “open account” relationships to avoid credit card and COD shipment problems.
[0040] Linked Supplier—A distinction is made to avoid confusion with other vendors doing business with the present invention, given that payables may be in a common accounts payable system. Distributors, manufacturers, or other vendors (collectively “suppliers”), are distinguished by whether they are using the present invention's inventory tracking and accounting software, and therefore have live Internet linkages into their databases for queries, order processing, and billing.
[0041] Manual Supplier—If a supplier provides goods or services through the present invention, but tracks inventory through a manual interface, such a supplier may be termed a “Manual Supplier”. Open account relationships may be maintained between Linked or Manual Suppliers avoid payment complexities.
[0042] Non-linked Supplier—Suppliers not linked to the present invention.
[0043] Products—Items for sale via the present invention.
[0044] Customer Inventory—A list of products to be maintained at a given customer site.
[0045] In addition to the general definitions set forth above, this functions specification also defines a set of system functions. System functions may fall into one of the following general sub-system categories:
[0046] Interactive—human interface and related functions for tracking inventory counts, inventory consumption rates, ordering critical products, and the like. Interactive processes may be web-based or PC-based (client-server).
[0047] Nightly Processes—periodic processes through which orders can be generated and invoicing and related processes can be performed, including interaction with Distribution system at distributor warehouses.
[0048] Corporate—processes performed within corporate offices, but which update a database. Includes accounting, client data management, and other such processes.
[0049] Distribution—Linked Suppliers integrated with the present invention. Industry standard Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software may be bundled with commercial financial software to provide a complete business system to Linked Suppliers.
[0050] Database Design—A database schema which may be utilized in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0051] The present invention in general, and this functional specification specifically, defines styles and functions included in detailed web pages and other user interface elements that are intended to be available system wide. Web pages, application windows, program screens, and transactions within the present invention should observe common rules. These rules include, but are not limited to:
No customer can view, inquiry into, update or in any way alter another customers data. Transactions can use an IP address or other unique identifier as a cross-check against a customer ID coming in with transmitted pages to insure rule enforcement. For such security procedures, customer IP addresses or other unique identifiers may only be changed through a function accessible only to Corporate staff. No Linked Supplier can see data belonging to another linked supplier. System parameters controlling customer options can be set through an account setup and editing process. Such a process may be accessed by only someone with an authorized identifier. Initially, such identifiers may only be given to Corporate Staff. Data changes will generally be reflected by a transaction log or transaction history, which may be accessible to customers or distributors, and to which Corporate Staff with appropriate security levels may have access.
[0056] Functions involving data changes may be performed as server-side scripts, rather than through client-side logic. In general, such server-side scripts can utilize a logical flow similar to FIG. 3 . As FIG. 3 illustrates, client software running on a customer machine may generate a page containing data to be updated by a web server and transmit said page to said web server (Block 300 ).
[0057] When a web server receives a page from a customer machine, the present invention may attempt to process any changes requested by said page. If such changes are successful (Block 320 ), the present invention may return a confirmation page or cause a confirmation message to be displayed to a customer machine, and appropriate transaction logging may occur.
[0058] If changes are not successful, the present invention may increment a retry count by one (Block 340 ). If the retry count is less than or equal to three, the present invention may retransmit customer changes (Block 370 ) to Block 310 in an effort to make any appropriate changes. If the retry count exceeds three (Block 350 ), the present invention may cause a page containing any error codes or other feedback information to be displayed on a client machine. Such a page may also contain original client data changes as well as a means for resubmitting said changes (Block 360 ).
[0059] Client software may also periodically verify that a data connection exists between said client software and a server acting as part of the present invention. Such software may follow the logic illustrated in FIG. 4 to achieve accurate data connection monitoring. As Block 400 illustrates, client software may send one or more TCP/IP Ping commands or other network test commands to verify that a high-speed connection is still available to a server acting as part of the present invention.
[0060] If a high-speed network connection is detected, the present invention can continue normal operations (Block 410 ). If a high-speed network connection is not detected, the present invention may attempt to reestablish such a connection (Block 420 ). If a high-speed network connection can be reestablished (Block 430 ), the present invention may continue normal operations (Block 410 ). If a high-speed network connection cannot be established, a lower speed network connection, such as a dial-up network connection, may be established by the present invention (Block 440 ). If a lower speed network connection can be established, the present invention may continue normal operations, including periodically attempting to reestablish a high-speed network connection (Block 410 ).
[0061] If a lower speed network connection cannot be established, client software may display an application or page with alternative user interface and alternative functionality (Block 460 ). Such alternative functionality can include local storage of product usage information, local inventory tracking, and limited reordering via a dial-up or other temporary connection with a known supplier (Block 470 ). A client functioning without a data connection may periodically attempt to reestablish high or low speed network connections (Block 480 ). When a connection is reestablished (Block 490 ), a client may transmit product usage scan information to a server acting as part of the present invention.
[0062] In addition to an inventory tracking application, the present invention may also utilize a high speed network connection to transmit new product offerings or special promotions to a client for display to a customer. As new products are entered into a Products table or similar data structure, the present invention may cause such a product to appear on a client. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention may allow customers to select products in which a customer is interested, and the present invention may only display new products or special deals meeting a customer's prior specifications. Such specifications can include, but are not limited to, categories by manufacturer, product trade name, specific product type, general product classification, and quantity available or quantity per shipping unit.
[0063] A client displaying such information may allow a customer to indicate an interest in a product by typing a command, clicking a button or other graphical interface element, or otherwise interacting with said client. If a customer expresses an interest in a featured product, a client may allow a customer to create a one-time order, or to configure recurring orders.
[0064] In addition to allowing customers to record product usage and order new inventory or new products, client software may also display advertisements on a rotating basis, and may be used for other purposes. A typical client software screen may also contain additional information and fields, including, but not limited to, a Product SKU field, a User-ID field, a Doctor-ID field, and a Sales Consultant Contact field.
[0065] When customers are not directly interacting with client software, client software may place a cursor in a Product SKU field by default. Placing a cursor in a Product SKU field can allow client software to ready accept an automatically or manually entered product identifier, such as a barcode label scanned via a wedge-style bar-code scanner.
[0066] As product identifiers are entered, client software may request a User-ID for each product identifier or set of product identifiers. A User-ID is a unique identifier created for each employee or set of employees within an organization. Such identifiers may be entered manually through an active user interface, such as, but not limited to, a keyboard, touch screen, or number pad, or through a passive user interface, such as, but not limited to, biometric recognition equipment, barcode identifiers worn by or associated with an employee, or through RFID tags worn by or associated with an employee. User-ID's may be combined with passwords to create a more secure inventory tracking system.
[0067] User-ID's may be used to track persons removing items from an inventory, but additional tracking or other controls may also be desirable. For example additional authorization may be required when employees remove expensive items or controlled substances from an inventory. The present invention may recognize when such an inventory item is removed, and client software may request an additional identifier, called a Doctor-ID, as authorization. Client software may even allow any user to enter a Doctor-ID for some inventory items, while for other inventory items a Doctor-ID and related password may be required. A biometric or other positive identifier may be used in place of a Doctor-ID or Doctor-ID and password in some applications.
[0068] When appropriate inventory tracking data has been entered into client software, the present invention may transmit such data to a server. A server may send a confirmation message to a client upon receipt of such data. If a confirmation message is not received within a predetermined period of time, the present invention may resend inventory tracking data. If successive resend attempts are unsuccessful, the present invention may follow a process similar to that illustrated by FIG. 3 . Client software may allow additional inventory scans to occur while waiting for confirmation from a server.
[0069] In addition to recording inventory tracking information, client software may also allow a customer to access various options. Such options may include, but are not limited to, an administrative page, an inventory status inquiry page, and an inventory receipt page. An administrative page can allow authorized customers to create, edit, or remove User-ID's, Doctor-ID's, groups of such accounts, and account-specific information. An inventory status inquiry page can retrieve and display a page containing customer inventory records, order status, and other such information.
[0070] An inventory status inquiry may be initiated through client software, which can send a page containing customer-specific information, as well as site-specific identification information stored on a client machine. In a preferred embodiment, a server receiving such a request may select records with appropriate site- and user-specific information from a table of customer inventory records. A server may generate a page or screen containing customer inventory information, including information from several tables. Table 1 below provides an example of columns displayed on a typical inventory request screen, as well as sample table and field names from which such data can be drawn.
TABLE 1 Column Heading Source Table Source Field Description PRODUCTS DESCRIPTION Product CUSTOMER_INVENTORY PRODUCT Quantity In Stock CUSTOMER_INVENTORY ON_HAND_QTY Order Point CUSTOMER_INVENTORY ROP ReOrder Quantity CUSTOMER_INVENTORY ROQ Activity Status CUSTOMER_INVENTORY STATUS
[0071] An advantage of the present invention over the prior art is the ability to simplify adding new items or restocking items into an inventory. Linked Suppliers shipping goods to a customer can provide a specially coded packing list, and a customer can automatically or manually enter such a code into client software. Client software can validate a packing list number as belonging to a customer and ensure a packing list is not credited to a customer system more than once. Entry of an invalid or previously validated packing slip can cause client software to display an error message.
[0072] If a valid packing slip is entered, client software may retrieve shipment contents from a centralized database or from a supplier database, and automatically update customer inventory information to reflect inventory received. Client software may then display a message confirming successful inventory changes, and return a customer to a main page.
[0073] A product search page may also be accessible through client software. A product search page can allow a user to select a search type and, if appropriate, search parameters and search parameter values (collectively “search criteria”). By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, a product search page may allow a customer to search by specific manufacturer and products of a certain classification.
[0074] When a customer has selected appropriate search criteria, client software may pass such search criteria to a server. A server may query a database of products and product descriptions and return products matching or approximating customer search criteria If a user has selected a descriptive search, a server may select records from a Products table, or other similar table, whose data matches or approximates descriptive text entered by a user. If a user has selected a parameter search, a server may select Product table records whose fields match or approximate user search requests. To expedite such selections, a server may index descriptions, manufacturers, product classes, product names, and other frequently searched fields.
[0075] When appropriate records are selected, a server may transmit such records to client software for display. Client software may present such records in a variety of formats, including, but not limited to, a columnar or tabular format. Table 2 lists sample column names, sample source table names, source field names, and additional functionality client software may present when displaying such records.
TABLE 2 Column Heading Source Table Source Field Description PRODUCTS SHORT_DESCRIPTION Product ID PRODUCTS PRODUCT_ID Manufacturer PRODUCTS MANUFACTURER Mfg Item No. PRODUCTS MANUFACTURER_ITEM_NUMBER Prod. Type PRODUCTS PRODUCT_TYPE Prod. Class PRO- PRODUCT_CLASS DUCTIONS Check None Window action field Availability Add to Stock None Window action field Plan
[0076] As Table 2 indicates, client software can allow a customer to check product availability and add products to a stock plan. In a preferred embodiment, client software may make such functionality available for each record displayed. In an alternative embodiment, records may have check boxes or other selection controls, thereby allowing customers to check the availability of multiple items, and add multiple items to a stock plan.
[0077] When a customer checks availability of a product or products, the present invention may search Linked Supplier inventories to determine quantities available, physical location, anticipated delivery times, and the like. When inventory is available, client software may allow a customer to order a product.
[0078] When a customer chooses to add a product to an inventory or stocking plan, client software may request restocking and other parameters from a customer, then send appropriate information to a server. A server may add an appropriate entry to a Customer_Inventory or other similar table, thereby enabling inventory tracking through the present invention.
[0079] Client software can also allow a customer to request a telephone call, an E-mail, or other contact from a sales consultant. In a preferred embodiment, a customer may select a product or supplier, and client software can query a server to determine an appropriate sales consultant for the selected product or supplier. A user can then be presented with a dialog box or other interactive interface which asks a customer to confirm a contact request. Once a contact request has been confirmed, client software may cause a server to store a request message in a Contact_Log table or other similar table.
[0080] In a preferred embodiment, a server may periodically scan Contact_Log table entries. When new or unanswered requests are found, a server may send a notification to a supplier alerting said supplier of such a request, where such a notification can include a customer E-mail address, telephone number, fax number, or other contact information, as well as other relevant customer and product information.
[0081] While the present invention can monitor inventory use and automatically order new inventory when necessary, a customer may anticipate a need for additional inventory based on parameters outside the scope of the present invention. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, if the present invention is used in a hospital, and the Olympics was held in or near the city in which the hospital is located, a hospital administrator may foresee the need to order additional quantities of frequently used supplies. Client software can provide a customer with the ability to quickly place such orders.
[0082] Customers can initiate such an order by clicking a button or otherwise interacting with a graphical or physical interface. In a preferred embodiment, a customer may select from products or groups of products already included in an inventory or stocking plan, or a customer may search for products through an interface similar to that described earlier. As previously described, customers can designate standard restocking quantities, and client software may use such quantities as defaults when clients are requesting additional inventory. Client software may also present quantities on hand to help customers make smarter purchasing decisions. Based on such information, customers can modify order quantities before submitting an order.
[0083] Client software can transmit customer orders to a server. Upon receipt of a customer order, a server can initiate an order fulfillment process.
[0084] A server may also automatically place an order based on customer demand. A server may periodically scan a customer inventory table and monitor inventory usage. As inventory is depleted, a server can predict frequently used items, and order appropriate quantities. Initially, a server may order limited quantities, to limit customer costs. A server may increase order quantities for frequently ordered products as customer usage habits dictate. A server may also construct an historical usage characterization, so that seasonal or other periodic usage patterns can be automatically taken into account.
[0085] As orders are placed, a server can query Linked Supplier inventories to determine each supplier's ability to fulfill an order. A server can calculate shipping costs as each order is processed, and a server can select one or more suppliers who can most cost effectively meet customer needs. As qualified suppliers are identified, orders are placed which can include expedited delivery and other options as specified by a customer or as determined by a server.
[0086] A server can also post supplier invoices to an accounts payable system, generate customer invoices based on supplier invoices, post customer invoices to an accounts receivable system. A server may further integrate with an automated payment system, thereby limiting invoicing and other such expenses.
[0087] In addition to customer and order related functions, a server can also provide administrative functions. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, a user who is not a customer can register to be a customer through a server-provided interface. Such an interface may allow a user to specify a business name, business type, executive director or general manager, physical address, mailing address, shipping address, one or more telephone numbers, employee names, employee licensing and accreditation information, and the like.
[0088] As users submit such information, a server may validate that an address, telephone number, and zip code are all valid with respect to each other, and that all necessary fields have been filled. If any validations fail, a server may present a data entry page along with any invalid data, thus simplifying data correction.
[0089] A server and client software may also allow customers and suppliers to change various information. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, suppliers can change pricing; add or remove vendors and products; add, edit, or remove contacts; view account status and open invoices; and perform other such functions. Customers can adjust inventory counts to reflect audit results; add, edit, or remove employees and employee information; update payment and contact information; view account balances and make payments; and perform other such functions.
[0090] Linked Suppliers can also take advantage of many of these same features. Linked Suppliers implementing the present invention can track inventory; provide real-time inventory information to prospective customers; accept electronic orders; generate pick/pack lists; track order fulfillment process, including tracking into which containers each item in an order has been placed; generate bar-coded packing lists and shipping labels for each container; and generate invoices.
[0091] The present invention also provides Linked Suppliers with other advantages over the prior art. By way of example, without intending to limit the present invention, Linked Supplier inventory needs can be forecast based on prior order history, prior lead times, safety stock quantities, and the like, thereby reducing overall inventory investment. The present invention can also allow enable a Linked Supplier to track processing and shipping status for various products within an order, thereby providing a higher level of customer service. The present invention may also allow managers or other authorized individuals to electronically sign a purchase order, invoice, or other billing or order document and electronically transmit such a document to an appropriate recipient.
[0092] To achieve the functionality set forth above, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the following table structure. The table structure described below is included for enablement and best mode purposes, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.
Table Name— CLIENT_CONTROL
[0095] Table Description and function—This table can reside locally on a customer computer. It can store one or more records containing control data needed to manage on and off-line functions remotely. These records can be updated via an update applet transferring data from the Web Server's SQL database to this control. Its purpose is to provide control over the processes running on the local machine even if it is off-line, and to enable it to reconnect automatically.
Table Name - CLIENT_ERROR_LOG Column (field) Name Description CUSTOMER_ID Customer ID - matches Customer ID in CUSTOMERS data in the Web Server SQL Database IP_ADDRESS This is the IP address for this machine DSL_PORT Connection path or port (e.g., COM2) where DSL connection exists; null if there is no DSL line for this machine DIAL_PORT Connection path ro port (e.g., COM3) where dial-up connection exists; null if there is no dial-up connection for this machine DIAL_CONNECTION_PHONE Phone number the software dials to establish a dial-up connection to the Web server system. Null if there is no dial-up connection DIAL_CALL_BACK Phone number of the dial-up line; to allow call-back from the web server.
[0096] Table Description and function—This table contains an error generation history for processes originating on a customer machine. It can provide an audit trail and view of how well processes are functioning, and a place to record both fatal-error conditions and those that may not need to be displayed to customers. Its data may not be processed, but can be stored for review by system administrators and managers.
Table Name - SYSTEM_ERROR_LOG Column (field) Field Characteristics & Name Description Indexing ERROR_DATE Date of error log entry Index - concatenated with ERROR_TIME ERROR_TIME Time of error log entry Index - with ERROR_DATE CALLER Program name generating the error log entry ERROR_MESSAGE Error message generated by the caller program USER_VIEWABLE Yes - if message also displayed on user seen page; No if internal only message DATA_DUMP Data (if any) causing the error
[0097] Table Description and function—This table can contain a history of errors generated by processes originating from outside a customer machine. The table can provide an audit trail and view of how well processes are functioning, and provide a place to record both fatal and non-fatal errors. Such data can allow system administrators, programmers, and managers to monitor automated, unattended processes.
Table Name - SYS_PARAMETERS Column (field) Field Characteristics & Name Description Indexing ERROR_DATE Date of error log entry Index - concatenated with ERROR_TIME ERROR_TIME Time of error log entry Index - with ERROR_DATE CALLER Program name generating the error log entry ERROR_MESSAGE Error message generated by the caller program USER_VIEWABLE Yes - if message also displayed on user seen page; No if internal only message DATA_DUMP Data (if any) causing the error
[0098] Table Description and function—Stores system-wide parameters in a common table.
Table Name - CUSTOMER_APPLICATION Column (field) Name Description Field Characteristics & Indexing PARAM_ID Identifies parameter Primary Index VAR1 First variable VAR2 Second variable VAR3 Third variable
[0099] Table Description and function—this table can have a data dictionary similar to the CUSTOMERS table, and can be used to temporarily store unapproved, unprocessed customer application data submitted by a Customer/Client Application page. When an application is processed, appropriate records can be deleted from this table.
Table Name - MEMBERS_APPLICATION Column (field) Name Description Field Characteristics & Indexing See CUSTOMERS
[0100] Table Description and function—this table has may use a data dictionary similar to PRACTICE_MEMBERS, and can temporarily store unapproved, unprocessed customer application data submitted by a Customer/Client Application page. When an application is processed, appropriate records can be deleted from this table.
Table Name - CUSTOMERS Field Characteristics & Column (field) Name Description Indexing See PRACTICE_MEMBERS
[0101] Table Description and function—Can store a unique identifier for each customer in a permanent table. Activity logged in CUSTOMER_MAINT_HISTORY table. Can be linked to third-party applications for credit terms, bill to, ship to addresses, phones and other financial data.
Table Name - PRACTICE_MEMBERS Field Characteristics & Column (field) Name Description Comment Indexing CUSTOMER Identifies Unique identifier Primary Index customer (account number); matches CUSTOMER in A/R system NAME Practice Business See Practice Index Name Members for doctor data. SALES_CONSULTANT Identifies sales Index consultant assigned to account IPADDRESS1 Internet address Can have multiple used to link, computers in larger identify offices. computers in customers office IPADDRESS2 Internet address Can have multiple used to link, computers in larger identify offices. computers in customers office IPADDRESS3 Internet address Can have multiple used to link, computers in larger identify offices. computers in customers office IPADDRESS4 Internet address Can have multiple used to link, computers in larger identify offices. computers in customers office DISCOUNT_CODE Identifies which Code must be in Index discount code is DISCOUNT_CODES used to calculate table. prices charged for this customer PHYSICAL_ADDRESS Street address of practice PHYSICAL_STATE State in which the practice is located PHYSICAL_ZIP Zip code of physical location of practice SHIP_TO_ADDRESS Address to which shipments go SHIP_TO_STATE State for ship to address SHIP_TO_ZIP Zip code for ship to address MAIL_ADDRESS Mailing address Literature, documents (for other than only (may be a PO shipments) Box to which UPS & FedEx cannot ship) MAIL_STATE Mail address state MAIL_ZIP Zip code for mail address ADMINISTRATOR Administrator, manager, etc. of Customer
[0102] Table Description and function—This table can be linked to records in a CUSTOMERS table, and can store data pertaining to individual physicians or other health-care professionals working at or with a practice.
Table Name - DISCOUNT_CODES Field Characteristics Column (field) Name Description Comment & Indexing CUSTOMER Customer to Must be in Index - whom the CUSTOMERS table concatenated Practice Member already with is associated MEMBER_NAME MEMBER_NAME Name of health- Together with With care professional CUSTOMER, forms CUSTOMER or physician unique record key linked to CUSTOMER MEMBER_TITLE Title (e.g., Exec. Director) of member MEMBER_MAIL_ADDRESS Separate mailing address for member MEMBER_MAIL_STATE Member mail address state MEMBER_MAIL_ZIP Member mail address zip MEMBER_LICENSE_NO Professional license for member MEMBER_LICENSE_EXPIRE Expiration Date of member's professional license MEMBER_DEGREE1 First degree of member MEMBER_DEGREE2 Second degree of member MEMBER_DEGREE3 Third degree of member MEMBER_DEGREE4 Fourth degree of member MEMBER_NOTES Text/comment field DATE_NEW Date this member was added to table DATE_LAST Last activity date
[0103] Table Description and function—can contain decimal values representing a unique price to be charged or discount to be granted to each customer. Any number of customers may use a discount code. When a decimal value associated with a given code is changed, the result is that all prices for all customers using that code are changed. If a customer's discount code specifies a discount value greater than allowed for a given product, the present invention may limit a price to the maximum discount.
Table Name - CUSTOMER_INVENTORY Field Column (field) Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing DISC_CODE Discount code Identifies Primary Index specific discount; numbering should be 10, 20, 30, etc. to allow for insertions in future, e.g, 14 DISC_VALUE Decimal value for the discount to be given. NOTES Notes; text field for commentary about a particular discount code
[0104] Table Description and function—stores inventory at customer office. One record for each customer/SKU combination, including all that have been used in past, or which are to be used for next ordering cycle. Permanent table. Activity logged in CUSTOMER_INVENTORY_TX table.
Table Name - PRODUCTS Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing CUSTOMER Identifies customer Index - concatenated with PRODUCT PRODUCT Identifies product at Indexed with customer's site CUSTOMER ON_HAND_QTY Quantity of an item on hand at this customer ROP Reorder point When on_hand_qty quantity falls to or below this quantity, a new order is triggered for the product. ROQ Quantity to be Ordering process ordered uses this quantity when a product is “triggered” STATUS Activity status of Values: Index item Active (default, normal setting) NoOrder (continue to use up inventory, but no more orders) NoUse (do not accept scanned usage of product)
[0105] Table Description and function—identifies products available for sale at any point in time. Includes products no longer active. One record for each product/SKU/Item Number.
Table Name - MANUFACTURERS Field Characteristics Column (field) Name Description Comment & Indexing PRODUCT_ID Identifies Primary Index product; SKU; also is“item number” SHORT_DESCRIPTION Short description Index appearing on most printed outputs & screens LONG_DESCRIPION Long description Index, built so each for additional word is indexed description separately. MANUFACTURER Company Index making product; Must be in MANUFACTURERS table MANUFACTURER_ITEM_NUMBER Manufacturer's Index product identifier STATUS Item status Values: Active (default, normal usage) NoOrder (accept usage scans, no orders) NoUse (do not accept usage scans; no activity; obsolete or discontinued) PRODUCT_CLASS Marketing/sales Index classification of product PRODUCT_GROUP Commodity Index classification of product PRODUCT_LINE Financial Index reporting classification of product SELL_START_DATE Date that new Prior to this date orders for this orders will not be product can be processed (new processed product so not available yet) SELL_END_DATE Date after which After or on this date, new orders for orders will not be this product processed cannot be (discontinued processed product) PRODUCT_PICTURE Product Picture JPEG or GIF bit map image
[0106] Table Description and function—This table stores all manufacturers whose products may be carried in the PRODUCTS table. It serves as a reference and validation table for products.
Table Name - ORDERS Column (field) Field Characteristics & Name Description Comment Indexing MANUFACTURER_ID Short abbreviation Primary Index for manufacturer MANUFACTURER_NAME Normal business Indexed name for manufacturer DATE_ADDED Date this Manufacturer was added to the table
[0107] Table Description and function—stores orders generated by nightly process and/or by critical ordering process, which are then downloaded to distributor. Serves as order “header” record. Linked to ORDER_DETAIL table where line items are stored. No maintenance history log table. One record for each order generated and downloaded.
Table Name - ORDER_DETAIL Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing ORDER_NO Order Number; Generated by Primary Index unique identifier for ordering processes; the order increments SYSTEM_PARAMTER for order number ORDER_DATE Date order Index generated ORDER_TIME Time order generated ORDER_SOURCE How order was Sources are: generated AUTO - nightly process MANUAL - manual order entered on terminal in customer's office. CUSTOMER Customer on the Index order LINKED_SUPPLIER Linked Supplier to Index whom the order was downloaded ORDER_STATUS Status of the order; Values: Index shows latest status GEN - generated only, sequence is PLACED - presumed downloaded to supplier S_BILLED - supplier has invoiced Med-e- Track C_BILLED - system has converted supplier invoice to customer invoices STATUS_DATE Date which status changed SHIP_TO_ADDRESS Address to which orders is to be shipped; appears on downloaded order data ORDER_PRODUCT_TOTAL Total value of order for product only; not including tax, shipping, other charges
[0108] Table Description and function—stores line item detail on ORDERS. One record for each line item on an order.
Table Name - LINKED_SUPPLIER Field Characteristics & Column (field) Name Description Comment Indexing ORDER_DTL_ORDER_NO Order number to Index - which this detail concatenated with record belongs ORDER_LINE_NUMBER ORDER_LINE_NUMBER Line number for With order. Order_Dtl_Order_no, forms a unique identifier PRODUCT Product identifier Index for item ordered ORDER_QUANTITY Quantity of the product that is being ordered. SHIP_QUANTITY Quantity of the item shipped; as reflected on an uploaded, processed supplier invoice/packlist CUSTOMER_UNIT_PRICE Price to be charged to customer CUSTOMER_UNI_SALES_TAX Sales tax, if any to be charged customer PRODUCT_ORDERED_SUBTOTAL Value = Order_Quantity * Customer_Unit_price PRODUCT_SHIP_SUBTOTAL Value = Ship_Quantity * Customer Unit_Price LINKED_SUPPLIER_UNIT_COST Price to be paid Linked Supplier for this item LINKED_SUPPLIER_PRODUCT_SHIP_SUBTOTAL Value = Ship_Quantity * Linked_Supplier_Unit_cost
[0109] Table Description and function—Stores and sets up each linked supplier, i.e., distributor that is linked into the web site. One record for each supplier that will be, is now, or has been linked at one time into Med-e-Track. Activity logged in LINKED_SUPPLIER MAINT_HISTORY. Account is linked to Supplier table in the SOLOMAN Accounts Payable subsystem.
Table Name - SUPPLIER_INVOICE Column (field) Name Description Comment SUPPLIER Supplier's ID Unique identifier SUPPLIER_IP_ADDRESS IP Address where linking process occurs OPEN_DATE Date the relationship was setup/started
[0110] Table Description and function—stores uploaded invoice/pack lists from linked suppliers. Serves as “header” record for invoices. A given Order can have multiple invoices. Linked to SUPPLIER_INVOICE_DETAIL records which carry line item detail. Invoices uploaded from distributor reflect orders they have shipped and are then used to generate Customer invoices. The uploaded invoice data is also transferred to the Accounts Payable module of the Solomon IV software for corporate accounting/tracking. Customer invoices generated and recorded in this table are also transferred to the Accounts Receivable module.
Table Name - INTERNAL_INVOICE_SHIP_DETAIL Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing INTERNAL_INVOICE_ID Internal, system Insures unique generated invoice invoice identifier identification in case of similar supplier invoicing schemes/numbers ORDER Order number which the invoice is a shipment/bill for. SUPPLIER_INVOICE Invoice identifier Uploaded invoice from supplier data SUPPLIER_INVOICE_DATE Date of/on supplier invoice that was uploaded SUPPLIER_INVOICE_TIME Time that supplier Invoice time may invoice was not appear in uploaded supplier database. AP_DATE Date supplier invoice data posted to AP tables AP_TIME Time supplier invoice data was posted to AP tables CUSTOMER_INVOICE Invoice ID Presence indicates generated by nightly that nightly process process to bill has run, generating customer for this separate invoice shipment number. CUSTOMER_INVOICE_DATE Date customer invoice generated by nightly process CUSTOMER_INVOICE_TIME Time of customer invoice generation process. AR_DATE Time SHIPMENT Shipment document May be separate ID Index on this field number from invoice no. for packing slip data retrieval. SHIP_VIA Shipping method; e.g., UPS Ground
[0111] Table Description and function—This table contains shipment information for the shipment covered by the Internal Invoice. There is one record for each carton comprising the shipment covered by the Invoice. It is linked to the Internal_Invoice table.
Table Name - SUPPLIER_INVOICE_DETAIL Column (field) Name Comment INTERNAL_INVOICE_ID SHIP_CARTON_ID Together with invoice id, comprises unique record ID TRACKER_NO
[0112] Table Description and function—this table carries the line item level detail for invoices uploaded from the linked supplier/distributor. Some line item level detail is used to update Order data to support quick order status inquiries and track back-ordered items.
Table Name - SUPPLIER_COST Column (field) Name Description Comment INTERNAL_INVOICE_ID Identifier for internal invoice no INTERNAL_INVOICE_LINE_NUMBER Line number for internal Together with Internal invoice Invoice identifier, forms unique key SHIPPED_PRODUCT Product shipped SHIP_QUANTITY Quantity shipped UNIT_PRICE Supplier's Unit price UNIT_TAX Sales Tax (if any) EXTENDED_PRICE Value = Ship_qty * Unit_Price Product only subtotal LINE_TAX_TOTAL Value = Ship_Qty * Unit_Tax LINE_TOTAL_AMOUNT EXTENDED_PRICE + Line_Tax_total
[0113] Table Description and function—Stores prices to be paid to each Linked Supplier in the system. One record for each linked supplier and SKU. Permanent table. Activity logged in SUPPLIER_COST_MAINT_HISTORY table.
Table Name - SUPPLIER_COST_MAINT_HISTORY Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing
[0114] Table Description and function—records changes made to SUPPLIER_COST records. One record for each field changed during an update of a given record.
Table Name - PRODUCT_MAINT_HISTORY Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing
[0115] Table Description and function—records changes made to PRODUCTS table. One record for each field changed during an update of a given record.
Table Name - PRODUCT_CLASS Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing
[0116] Table Description and function—Identifies valid product classes; serves as a reference table.
Table Name - PRODUCT_GROUP Column (field) Name Description PROD_CLASS_CODE Code for product class description DESCRIPTION Text/descriptive name for product_class code
[0117] Table Description and function—Identifies valid product groups; serves as a reference table.
Table Name - PRODUCT_LINE Column (field) Name Description PRODUCT_GROUP_CODE Code for product group description DESCRIPTION Text/descriptive name for Product Group Code.
[0118] Table Description and function—Identifies valid product lines; serves as a reference table.
Table Name - CUSTOMER_INVENTORY_TRANSACTIONS Column (field) Name Description PRODUCT_LINE_CODE Code for product line description DESCRIPION Text/descriptive name for product line code
[0119] Table Description and function—transaction history table for activity altering data in Customer_Inventory table; one record for each change recorded; main use will be recording inventory activity, although transactions will be generated for changes to status, ROP, ROQ and Notes values, i.e., non-on-hand quantity values. Each transaction affects only one data field. Transaction code indicates what update/change activity was performed, and therefore which data field was updated.
Table Name - CONTACT_LOG Column (field) Name Description Comment TRAN_NO Unique identifier for each Functions like transaction; non significant a check number. TRAN_DATE Date transaction processed TRAN_TIME Time transaction processed TRAN_ID Code identifying transaction Values: TBD PRODUCT Product identifier of item affected QTY CUSTOMER Customer whose inventory data was updated/changed USER_ID User performing transaction BEFORE_VALUE Value of data field prior to update action AFTER_VALUE Value of data field after update action
[0120] Table Description and function—this table accepts transactions from the consultant request function, enters and tracks them for followup and management purposes.
Table Name - CUSTOMER_USERS Column (field) Name Description SALES_CONSULTANT_ID ID in Sales_Consultants table. REQUEST_DATE Date customer initiated request REQUEST_TIME Time customer initiated request
[0121] Table Description and function—This table stores information about each user at a customer's site. There are two classes of users, supervisor and staff. Only a user with supervisor rights can add new users. The web page “hard-wires” who the customer is so customer users are kept associated with the correct customer.
Table Name - SALES_CONSULTANTS Column (field) Field Characteristics Name Description Comment & Indexing
[0122] Table Description and function—This table stores data about each Sales Consultant. It is essentialy a reference table.
Column (field) Name Description SALES_CONSULTANT_ID Unique identifier * record key CONSULANT_SHORT_NAME Short name, nicknemame, initials to be used on screens, reports CONSULTANT_FULL_FIRST_NAME First name of consultant CONSULTANT_LAST_NAME Last name of consultant
[0123] It should be obvious to one skilled in the art that the present invention allows inventory tracking and management through a combination of manual, semi-automated, and automated means. The present invention also allows a manager to purchase in bulk and take advantage of promotions and other special offerings, thus reducing inventory costs. In addition, the present invention reduces the amount of inventory which must be kept on-hand by accurately modeling and predicting inventory needs. The present invention further provides customers with the ability to review new equipment, communicate with each other, and buy and sell excess inventory, refurbished equipment, and the like.
[0124] While the preferred embodiment and various alternative embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein, it may be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, including applying the present invention to fields other than healthcare.
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A system and method which allows third-parties to monitor company inventory via the Internet and World Wide Web (“web”) and automatically order needed items. The present invention also provides a forum through which resellers and customers may directly interact to resell surplus and used equipment. The present invention may also allow a third party to act as a broker, thereby assuring that both the equipment purchased is actually delivered, and that the seller is properly compensated.
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This application is a continuation of International Application PCT/CN2004/000642, filed Jun. 15, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the field of crushing and grinding, and more particularly to a crushing and grinding device and a method for crushing and grinding a recirculated pulp material; and further to a soybean milk maker employing said crushing and grinding device and a method for making soybean milk.
BACKGROUND
In the conventional colloid mills used in the fields of medical, cosmetic, dope, fine chemical industry and food processing etc., which are either conical-structured or disc-structured, the milling movements are small due to the limitation of the size of the mill tool. In order to achieve a super-fine grinding of a material, the equipment is usually of bulky structure. Not only are the manufacturing processes of the rotating and stationary mill bodies thereof complicated and costly, but also the motor has to run at very high speed, generally around 8000 rounds per minute, resulting in a loud noise during operation and a large consumption of power.
In the prior art domestic soybean milk maker, in order to achieve miniaturization, the grinding device is driven by a high-speed motor so that the crushing blades hit and crush the beans in filter gauze, with soybean milk filtered through the gauze and then boiled for drinking. Notable disadvantages thereof are: requirement of high rotation speed of the blades, large noise caused during operation, a low production rate of soybean milk, small regulating range of soybean milk concentration and quantity, and difficulty in gauze cleaning. As disclosed in CN2273965Y, “an automatic cycle mini soybean-milk maker of assembled type”, the grinding device thereof consists of a stator (i.e. a stationary grinder) and a rotor (i.e. a rotary grinder). The inventor believes that both the design and manufacture of the stator and the rotor are complicated and difficult, and it is impossible to obtain an integrated structure under conventional processes and technology, thus an assembled arrangement is employed for the stator and rotor, which results in a large number of mill parts, huge labor in assembling, and a high failure rate. Its operation principle is that material is pulled and pushed and thus crushed and ground by a cyclic force caused by the high-speed relative motion between the assembled stator and rotor, so that the material “escapes with high speed from the lower annular gap after being ground”. Thus, the high rotation speed also brings about a disadvantage of large noises.
CONTENTS OF THE INVENTION
In view of above-mentioned disadvantages in the conventional colloid mills, the aim of present invention is to provide a crushing and grinding device for grinding liquid-like materials or materials that contain liquid, and a method thereof. Said device can be miniaturized and manufactured easily, with a low noise and low energy consumption.
The present invention also provides a soybean milk maker and a method for making soybean milk. Said soybean milk maker employs said crushing and grinding device and is capable of overcoming the problems existing in the prior art soybean milk maker, such as large noises, low milk production rate, etc. Said soybean milk maker is suitable for both household and commercial use.
The crushing and grinding device provided in the present invention mainly consists of a motor, a hopper, a crushing and grinding part and a material recirculating part, characterized in that said crushing and grinding part includes a coarse-crushing section and a fine-grinding section, said fine grinding section comprises a pair of grinding components, and said material recirculating part consists of a pump and recirculating ducts provided downstream of said crushing and grinding part.
Since the crushing and grinding device provided in the present invention comprises a coarse-crushing section and a fine-grinding section, and materials are recirculated through the coarse and fine grinding sections through an exterior recirculating mechanism, the rotation speed of the grinding components can be greatly reduced; thus the noise and energy consumption are reduced, too.
The present invention also provides a method for crushing and grinding liquid-like materials or materials that contain liquid. Said method includes the processes of material feeding, material crushing and grinding and material recirculating, characterized in that the material is finely ground after being coarsely crushed, then is recirculating outside of a crushing and grinding chamber through a pump and recirculating ducts which are provided downstream of the crushing and grinding part, so as to improve the fineness and uniformity of material particles in the slurry. The rotor has a rotation speed of 1000˜3000 rounds per minute during crushing and grinding process.
In order to reduce noise and failure rate of a soybean milk maker and to improve the production rate of milk, the present inventor applies above crushing and grinding device in a soybean milk maker. A soybean milk maker employing such crushing and grinding device comprises a milk-producing section, a milk-boiling section and a circuit control system. The milk-producing section thereof consists of a motor, a hopper, a water tank, a crushing and grinding part and a material recirculating part, the milk-boiling section thereof comprises an electric heating device and a boiling cup, the circuit control system thereof comprises a control circuit board and a control valve assembly, characterized in that said crushing and grinding part includes a coarse-crushing section and a fine-grinding section, said fine grinding section comprises a pair of grinding components; and said material recirculating part consists of a recirculating pump, a control valve assembly and corresponding ducts which are provided in the downstream of said crushing and grinding part. An outlet of the recirculating pump is connected with an inlet of said control valve assembly, and one end of said recirculating duct is connected with an outlet of said control valve assembly, and the other end of said recirculating duct leads to the hopper.
A soybean milk maker of this type provided in the present invention is advantageous in that it is compact in structure, easy to assemble, with low failure rate and low noise. Furthermore, the milk production rate is high and it is easy to clean.
The present invention also provides a method for making soybean milk. The said method includes processes of material feeding, crushing, slurry producing and milk boiling, characterized in that the soybean is coarsely crushed and then is finely ground, after that, the ground material is recirculated outside of a crushing and grinding chamber through recirculating ducts, so as to improve the fineness and uniformity of material particles in the slurry. The rotor operates at a rotation speed of 1000˜3000 rounds per minute during the crushing and grinding process.
In the above method, in order to further improve the milk production rate and the taste of the resulting soybean milk, water that is fed to the material is heated to 80° C.˜95° C. before the material has been crushed and ground. The present invention also provides a water tank. Water in said tank can be pre-heated by a heating element so that the temperature of the slurry can be surely kept between 70° C.˜93° C. when the slurry is recirculated outside the crushing and grinding chamber. The heated water in the water tank can also be used to clean the milk producing device automatically after milk producing procedures have been finished, so that the problem that the milk producing device is difficult to clean is also resolved.
When the crushing and grinding device of the present invention is used to grind materials, and when the soybean milk maker of the present invention is used to produce soybean milk, the rotor, preferably, operates at a rotation speed of 2800˜2900 rounds per minute during the crushing and grinding process, which will not only satisfy the technical requirements, but also have the operation noise controlled within the range of 50˜60 decibel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a structural schematic drawing of an embodiment of a crushing and grinding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along line C-C of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of a grinding chamber;
FIG. 5 a - 5 b are top plan views of a crushing blade;
FIGS. 6 a - 6 c are vertical cross-sectional views of three kinds of crushing blade;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the soybean milk maker according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a staggered sectional view along line E-E of FIG. 7 ;
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of FIG. 7 .
In these drawings, following elements are indicated: 1 . hopper; 2 . crushing blade; 3 . retainer ring; 4 . crushing chamber; 5 . top seal ring of the stationary grinder; 6 . stationary grinder; 7 . rotary grinder; 8 . impeller; 9 . bottom seal ring of the stationary grinder; 10 . motor shaft; 11 . motor front cover; 12 . seal ring of the motor shaft; 13 . bearing of the motor shaft; 14 . motor rotor; 15 . motor casing; 16 . motor back cover; 17 . outlet duct; 18 . recirculating duct; 19 . control valve assembly; 20 . slurry discharge duct; 21 . cap for the seal ring of the motor shaft; 22 . circuit controller; 23 . fan blade; 24 . expelling outlet; 25 . hopper cover; 26 . water feeder; 27 . inlet duct of the water feeder; 28 . recirculating duct for feeding slurry; 29 . blowhole of the water feeder; 30 . housing; 31 . slurry inlet; 32 . filter; 33 . control circuit board; 34 . anti-overflow electrode support; 35 . anti-overflow electrode; 36 . cap of the boiling cup; 37 . boiling cup; 38 . handle of the boiling cup; 39 . drain duct; 40 . electric heating discus; 41 . base; 42 . fixing plate of the heating device; 43 . temperature sensor; 44 . electrical heating tube; 45 . water tank; 46 . outlet duct of the water pump; 47 . inlet duct of the water pump; 48 . water level sensor; 49 . water pump; 50 . water intake valve; 51 . control panel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiment 1
The present invention will be further discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments to give a better description of the present invention.
FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 show a preferred embodiment of a crushing and grinding device of the present invention. A fine grinding section of said device consists of a stationary grinder 6 and a rotary grinder 7 with mill teeth distributed uniformly on the inner wall of the stationary grinder 6 and the outer wall of the rotary grinder 7 . The rotary grinder 7 is fitted inside the stationary grinder 6 with a dynamic rotating gap therebetween, the gap size being around 0.03˜0.6 mm. The lower end of the stationary grinder 6 is fixed on a motor front cover 11 through bolts, with a bottom seal ring 9 of the stationary grinder provided between the lower side of the stationary grinder 6 and the motor front cover 11 ; the rotary grinder 7 is securely fitted on a motor shaft 10 with axial alignment and is fastened to the front end of the motor shaft 10 by screws; crushing blade 2 is integrally formed on the upper end surface of the rotary grinder 7 so that a coarse crushing section is formed. A recirculating system comprises a hopper 1 , an impeller 8 of an impeller pump in a crushing and grinding chamber, an outlet duct 17 , a control valve assembly 19 , a recirculating duct 18 and a slurry discharge duct 20 ; the hopper 1 with a repose angle is fixedly screwed on the outer wall of the upper end of the stationary grinder 6 , and a top seal ring 5 of the stationary grinder is provided at the top end of the stationary grinder 6 to ensure sealing; an outlet 24 is provided on the motor front cover 11 ; the impeller 8 of the impeller pump is arranged below the rotary grinder 7 , and the impeller 8 is co-axial with the rotary grinder 7 . In said embodiment, the impeller 8 and the rotary grinder 7 are integrally configured so that the structure of the entire recirculating crushing device is compact. The outlet duct 17 is connected with an inlet of the control valve assembly 19 , and one end of the recirculating duct 18 is connected with one outlet of the control valve assembly 19 , while the other end of the recirculating duct 18 leads to the hopper 1 , and one end of the slurry discharge duct 20 is connected with the other outlet of the control valve assembly 19 ; a circuit controller 22 is connected with the motor and the control valve assembly 19 ; the motor front cover 11 is fastened on the motor casing 15 by bolts, and a shaft bearing 13 for the front end of the motor shaft 10 is securely embedded in the motor front cover 11 , and a seal ring 12 of the motor shaft is provided above the motor shaft bearing 13 , on the front end surface of which a capping 21 for the motor shaft seal ring is pressed. The motor can be forcedly cooled through the fan blades 23 .
The control valve assembly 19 may be an electromagnetic valve, an electrically controlled change valve, and so on.
The repose angle of the hopper 1 is between 25°˜40°, most preferably between 29°˜35°, so that materials in the hopper 1 can flow downward smoothly.
As shown in FIG. 4 , a retainer ring 3 is provided at the lower end of the hopper 1 to prevent the material from overflowing upwardly during crushing, so as to ensure that the material is circulated through the crushing and grinding chamber from the top down to the bottom. When the rotary grinder 7 has a diameter of 46 mm, the inner diameter D of the retainer ring 3 should be between 15˜50 mm, most preferably between 36˜38.5 mm. When said size is between 36˜38.5 mm, the device can grind at high speed and with high efficiency, while a smaller or larger size would lead to an non-smooth down-flow of the material or result in a small amount of the material being unable to enter into the crushing chamber 4 when the grinding process approaches the end. Meanwhile, the height H of the crushing chamber 4 should be between 10˜35 mm, most preferably between 18˜21 mm. In this most favorable height range, the device can achieve a high grinding velocity and a high efficiency. It is difficult for the material in the hopper 1 to enter into the crushing chamber 4 when H is greater than said value, or the material may not flow down smoothly when H is less than said value. Another factor that affects the grinding speed is the height h of crushing blades 2 . When the rotary grinder 7 has a diameter of 46 mm, the height h of the crushing blade 2 should be between 3˜20 mm, most preferably between 7˜10 mm. A slow grinding may occur if h is less than said value, while the device tends to get blocked if h is greater than said value so that it fails to run correctly.
Meanwhile, the shape of the crushing blade 2 can also affect the grinding speed. A preferred structure of the crushing blade 2 is shown in FIG. 5 a or 5 b . A crushing blade 2 includes a main blade area A 1 , a transition area A 2 , and a secondary blade area A 3 . The outer edges of these areas can be broken lines as shown in FIG. 5 a or a curved line as shown in FIG. 5 b , with smooth transition at the connections of said broken lines. The main blade area A 1 serves to pre-crush and take in the material particles, the transition area A 2 serves to transit the pre-crushed material to the secondary blade area A 3 , and the secondary blade area A 3 serves to eventually feed the delivered material to the crushing chamber between the rotating and stationary grinder. Said main blade area A 1 of the crushing blades has an inclination α, i.e. ∠T 1 O 1 N, of 100°˜165°, most preferably 135°˜145°, while the rake angle θ of secondary blade area A 3 , i.e. ∠PO 2 T 2 , is 10°˜70°, most preferably 35°˜50°; a distance from the crushing blade vertex O 1 of the feed inlet of the main blade area A 1 to the outer edge N of the rotary grinder 7 , i.e. X, is 2˜15 mm, most preferably 3˜8 mm, and X is most preferably between 6.5˜7.5 mm when the diameter φ of the rotary grinder 7 is 46 mm. This distance can lead to an optimum feed angle and improvement of the grinding speed of the device. The vertical contour line Y of the crushing blade 2 can be an arc line shown in FIG. 6 a or a straight line shown in FIG. 6 b or 6 c which may be employed for different grinding materials, no matter the crushing blade 2 has a configuration of FIG. 5 a or FIG. 5 b .
In the present embodiment, the rotary grinder 7 and stationary grinder 6 are both of formed with spurs, with a 0.03˜0.6 mm dynamic gap between the rotary grinder 7 and the stationary grinder 6 ; the rotary grinder 7 and stationary grinder 6 can also have a skewed-tooth or tapered-tooth configuration; they can be single stepped or multiple stepped; the cross-section of the teeth may be rectangular, stepped-shaped, or of taper.
The fine grinding section consisting of the stationary grinder 6 and rotary grinder 7 can also be replaced by a pair of millstones counter-rotating with each other, and the grinding surface thereof may be horizontal.
The coarse crushing section and fine grinding section of the crushing and grinding device may be integrally formed as shown in FIG. 1 , and they may separate from each other, for example, the crushing blade 2 may be separately mounted on the motor shaft 10 . In another preferred embodiment of an integral structure, the gap between the top ends of the stationary grinder 6 and the rotary grinder 7 can be enlarged to form a V-shaped opening, so as to directly form the coarse crushing section which, in place of the crushing blade 2 , primarily crushes the material particles and makes them enter into the fine grinding section downstream for further grinding. The gap size of the opening depends on the size of material particles to be crushed.
The impeller 8 of the pump employed in the recirculating system can also be an independent impeller and is mounted on the motor shaft 10 . Said pump can be any suitable liquid pump in the prior art, which can also be mounted outside the grinding chamber.
The steps for the crushing and grinding process are as following:
(a) putting the liquid-like materials or materials that contain liquid which are to be crushed into the hopper 1 ; (b) initiating the motor according to programmed procedures through the circuit controller 22 so as to drive the rotary grinder 7 , the crushing blades 2 at the top of the rotary grinder and the impeller 8 of the impeller pump, and the control valve assembly 19 is set to circulation state; (c) under the suction of the impeller 8 of the impeller pump, the material crushed by the crushing blade 2 and ground between the rotary grinder 7 and stationary grinder 6 is fed back into the hopper 1 by passing through the expelling outlet 24 , the outlet duct 17 , the control valve assembly 19 and the recirculating duct 18 ; (d) when the material meets the milking production standard after continuous recirculation through the crushing and grinding part, the circuit controller 22 operates the control valve assembly 19 according to the programmed procedures so that the control valve assembly 19 is in a state to discharge the slurry, the slurry then is discharged from the slurry discharge duct 20 ; (e) the circuit controller 22 controls the motor according to the programmed procedures so that the motor is in a stand-by state, and the whole grinding process is finished.
After the slurry has been completely discharged, a cleaning process can be started. The device can be cleaned automatically by adding cleaning liquid from the hopper then repeating the above-described process.
Of course, for some materials, to meet the crushing requirements, upon using of the present crushing and grinding device, repeated crushing and grinding is not necessary. In this case, the present crushing and grinding device can directly discharge the crushed and ground materials under the control of the control valve 19 .
According to the prior art, the rotary grinder 7 can also be connected to the motor shaft through a coupling joint. Obviously, the structure of this coupling arrangement is relatively complex, and it brings about a higher installation requirement.
Embodiment 2
As shown in FIGS. 7 , 8 , 9 , a preferred embodiment of soybean milk maker according to present invention comprises a milk-producing section, a milk-boiling section and a circuit control system:
(a) The milk-producing section consists of a milk-producing device, a water supplying system, a recirculating system, a motor and a control circuit board. The milk-producing device mainly takes the form of the crushing and grinding device according to Embodiment 1 to crush and grind beans and peas materials, wherein the structures, shapes and connections of the hopper 1 , crushing blades 2 , retainer ring 3 , crushing chamber 4 , top seal ring 5 of the stationary grinder, stationary grinder 6 , rotary grinder 7 , impeller 8 , bottom seal ring 9 of the stationary grinder, motor shaft 10 , motor front cover 11 , seal ring 12 of the motor shaft, bearing 13 of the motor shaft, motor rotor 14 , motor casing 15 , motor back cover 16 , outlet duct 17 , capping 21 for the seal ring of the motor shaft and fan blade 23 are all same as those in the crushing and grinding device of Embodiment 1, or may employ other alternative arrangements described in Embodiment 1. The water supplying system consists of a water tank 45 , a water pump 49 , an inlet duct 47 of the water pump, an outlet duct 46 of the water pump, a water intake valve 50 , a water feeder 26 and an inlet duct 27 of the water feeder. A heating device is provided in the water tank. A fixing plate 42 for the heating device and a water level sensor 48 are secured on the wall of the water tank 45 , and an electrical heating tube 44 and a temperature sensor 43 are inserted on the fixing plate 42 for the heating device. The water intake valve 50 is connected with the water tank 45 . The recirculating system consists of the impeller 8 of the impeller pump, a recirculating duct 28 for feeding slurry, the outlet duct 17 , the recirculating duct 18 , the slurry discharge duct 20 and a drain duct 39 . An electrically controlled change valve may be taken as the control valve assembly 19 . A boiling cup 37 communicates with the other outlet of the electrically controlled change valve via the discharge duct 20 . The expelling outlet 24 is connected with the outlet duct 17 , while the other end of the outlet duct 17 is connected to the inlet of the electrically controlled change valve. One end of the recirculating duct 18 is connected with an outlet of the electrically controlled change valve, and the other end thereof connected with the recirculating duct for feeding slurry 28 secured on the water feeder 26 . One end of the slurry discharge duct 20 is connected with the other outlet of the electrically controlled change valve, and the other end thereof is coupled to the slurry inlet 31 on the cap 36 of the boiling cup with the centers thereof aligned. One end of the drain duct 39 is connected to a drain device (not shown in Figures, may be a container, or a connecting duct leading to a cloacae), and the other end thereof is connected to an outlet of the electrically controlled change valve. The control circuit board 33 is connected with the motor and the electrically controlled change valve. The water feeder 26 is clapped on a hopper cover 25 . An outlet duct 46 of the water pump is connected with the inlet duct 27 of the water feeder 26 . The water feeder 26 distributes water so that water flows down along walls of the hopper 1 . (b) The boiling cup 37 of the milk-boiling section is provided on an electrical heating discus 40 . The bottom of the boiling cup 37 is preferred to be spherical, and said sphere R is preferred to be consistent with the top sphere R of the electrical heating discus 40 so as to achieve a larger thermal conducting area. The electrical heating discus 40 is fastened on a base 41 by screws. The slurry inlet 31 fixed on the cap 36 of the boiling cup is coupled to the slurry discharge duct 20 with centers thereof aligned. While an anti-overflow electrode 35 fixed on the cap 36 of the boiling cup is connected with an anti-overflow electrode support 34 secured on the housing 30 in the manner of elastic contact. In addition, the electrical heating discus 40 can also be embodied as an electromagnetic heating component. The boiling cup 37 may be taken off by means of a handle 38 of the boiling cup. (c) The circuit control system consists of a control circuit board 33 and a control panel 51 . The control circuit board 33 is connected with the motor, the electrically controlled change valve, the water pump 49 , the water intake valve 50 , the electrical heating tube 44 and temperature sensor 43 in the water tank 45 , the water level sensor 48 on the water tank 45 , the electrical heating discus 40 , the anti-overflow electrode support 34 , and the control panel 51 provided on the housing 30 , respectively (neither connecting wires nor specific structure of the control circuit board are shown in Figures, and it is not difficult for an ordinary person skilled in the art to realize these features), to control the processes, such as feeding water into the water tank, heating water in the water tank, feeding the hopper with water, and so on. To facilitate a user to disassemble and use the soybean milk maker according to present invention, and to guarantee safety and sanitary condition, the hopper cover 25 of the milk producing device in the soybean milk maker according to the present invention is preferably connected with the housing 30 through a hinge structure, and all ducts are made of special food-safe materials. In addition, all of the ducts interconnects with each other through inserting & snapping structures.
When the water feeder 26 supplies water to the hopper 1 , in order to facilitate the materials to flow downward more smoothly, especially to facilitate cleaning the milk producing, it is preferred to connect the inlet duct 27 of the water feeder to the water feeder 26 , and to provide blowholes 29 on the water feeder 26 , through which water is supplied to the hopper 1 , more specifically, the water is sprayed to the inner walls of the hopper by the blowholes. Thus not only materials adhered on the inner wall of the hopper 1 can be rinsed off, which is advantageous for the down-flow of the material, but also foams produced in the hopper 1 is reduced during the recirculating milk producing process.
Turn on the soybean milk maker, then the control circuit board 33 gets into its operating state and gives an instruction to the water intake valve 50 to automatically feed water into the water tank 45 . When the water level reaches the design value, the water level sensor 48 on the wall of the water tank 45 sends a signal to the control circuit board 33 , and the control circuit board 33 gives an instruction to the water intake valve 50 to stop water feeding (the operating principle of such a device is similar to that of a water-feeding device in a fully-automatic washer of prior art, and will not be described here), then the soybean milk maker gets ready for the next operation procedure which was described above. Thus, the degree of automation is improved and the equipment is more convenient to use.
In a preferred embodiment of a soybean milk maker according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7 , a filter 32 is screwed on the slurry inlet 31 of the cap 36 of the boiling cup. Said filter 32 can either be a rigid filter mesh or a flexible filter bag, which is used for filtering the soybean slurry to fit the taste of a user who favors a finer soybean milk. The filter 32 may be taken off from the slurry inlet 31 while cleaning, and may be screwed on the slurry inlet 31 after cleaning. The operation is easy and convenient.
The control valve assembly 19 may also be configured as an electromagnetic valve assembly. But an electrically controlled change valve, compared with an electromagnetic valve assembly, which is employed in a soybean milk maker would lead to a space saving and reduction in parts numbers. Since the valve body of a change valve cannot keep water or sediments, and opening, closing, changeover, sealing thereof are more reliable, the lifespan of the soybean milk maker is extended.
The milk producing procedures of a soybean milk maker according to the present invention are:
(1) feeding soaked soybeans or dry soybeans into the hopper, then turning on the power via the control panel; (2) feeding water into the water tank, and pre-heating the water to a predetermined temperature under the control of the control circuit board; (3) a water pump supplies heated water to the hopper, and a motor of a recirculating crushing and grinding device operates to produce slurry; (4) under the control of the control circuit board, the final soybean milk produced according to the design procedures is discharged into the boiling cup and boiled therein then poured out for drinking; (5) the water pump is controlled by the control circuit board to feed the hopper with water once again, the motor of the recirculating crushing and grinding device is operated to clean the recirculating crushing and grinding device, and dirty water is discharged through the drain duct; and, (6) the control circuit board 33 controls the equipment so that the equipment is in a stand-by state, and all processing procedures are finished.
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The present application discloses a recirculating crushing and grinding device for crushing and grinding liquid-like materials or materials that contain liquid, said device comprises a motor, a hopper, a crushing and grinding part and a material recirculating part. Said crushing and grinding part includes a coarse-crushing section and a fine-grinding section, said fine grinding section consists of a pair of grinding components, and said material recirculating part consists of a pump and recirculating ducts provided downstream of said crushing-grinding part. The present application also discloses a soybean milk maker employing said recirculating crushing-grinding device, and a method for crushing and grinding a recirculated material and a method for producing soybean milk. The equipment disclosed in the present invention is easy to manufacture, with the advantages of a low noise during operation and low energy consumption.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/896,587 filed May 17, 2013 (allowed); which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/208,210, filed Aug. 11, 2011 (U.S. Pat. No. 8,466,194); which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/158,420, filed Nov. 19, 2008 (U.S. Pat. No. 8,013,012); which is a U.S. National Stage entry of PCT/AU2006/002000 filed Dec. 22, 2006; which claims priority to Australian Application No. 2005907277, filed Dec. 23, 2005. All of these applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to bioactive molecules. More particularly, this invention relates to spiroketals of potential therapeutic benefit and/or use as a pharmaceutical or agrochemical.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Bio-discovery is a growing field, which investigates and screens for bioactive natural products from natural environments, including plants, microorganisms, coral and other marine life. In the search for bioactive natural products, biological material is screened for molecules having properties that may be of therapeutic benefit for potential use in a range of treatments, for example treatments for cancer, antiprotozoal treatments, antiparasitic treatments, antifungal treatments, antibiotic treatments and anti-inflammatory treatments, or for pesticidal activity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention arises from the discovery of new spiroketal derivatives which have potentially new therapeutic uses as cytotoxic agents, antiprotozoal agents, antiparasitic agents, antibiotic agents and anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive agents, or potential as pesticidal agents for pharmaceutical or agricultural use.
[0005] One aspect of the invention provides compounds of the formula (I)
[0000]
[0000] wherein:
[0006] X, Y and Z are each independently selected from —S—, —O—, —NH—, —N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl), and —C(R) 2 ;
[0007] n is 1 to 10;
[0008] m is 1 to 16;
[0009] R 1 to R 28 are each independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —Si(R) 3 , —B(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R;
[0010] R is selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl and —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl; or
[0011] one or more of R 1 (or R 2 or R 3 ) is connected to R 4 (or R 5 ), R 4 (or R 5 ) is connected to R 6 (or R 7 ), R 6 (or R 7 ) is connected to R 8 (or R 9 ), R 8 (or R 9 ) is connected to R 10 (or R 11 ), R 10 (or R 11 ) is connected to R 12 , R 12 is connected to R 13 (or R 14 ), R 13 (or R 14 ) is connected to R 15 (or R 16 ), R 15 (or R 16 ) is connected to R 17 (or R 18 ), R 19 (or R 20 ) is connected to R 21 , R 22 (or R 23 ) is connected to R 24 (or R 25 ), R 26 (or R 27 ) is connected to R 28 to form a C 1 -C 8 disubstituted (fused) saturated or unsaturated carbo- and heterocyclic rings further substituted by R, —(C═W)R and —W(C═W)R;
[0012] one or more of R 1 (or R 2 or R 3 ) is connected to R 4 (or R 5 ), R 4 (or R 5 ) is connected to R 6 (or R 7 ), R 6 (or R 7 ) is connected to R 8 (or R 9 ), R 8 (or R 9 ) is connected to R 10 (or R 11 ), R 10 (or R 11 ) is connected to R 12 , R 12 is connected to R 13 (or R 14 ), R 13 (or R 14 ) is connected to R 15 (or R 16 ), R 15 (or R 16 ) is connected to R 17 (or R 18 ), R 19 (or R 20 ) is connected to R 21 , R 22 (or R 23 ) is connected to R 24 (or R 25 ), R 26 (or R 27 ) is connected to R 28 to form a double bond connection, an epoxides or a thioepoxide;
[0013] one or more of R 1 and R 2 (or R 1 and R 3 ) (or R 2 and R 3 ), R 4 and R 5 , R 6 and R 7 , R 8 and R 9 , R 10 and R 11 , R 13 and R 14 , R 15 and R 16 , R 17 and R 18 , R 19 and R 20 , R 22 and R 23 , R 24 and R 25 , R 24 (or R 25 ) is connected to R 26 (or R 27 ), R 26 and R 27 form a double bond to W, and W is selected from sulfur, oxygen, NH or N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl);
[0014] one or more of R 1 and R 2 (or R 3 ) connected to R 4 and R 5 , R 4 and R 5 connected to R 6 and R 7 , R 6 and R 7 connected to R 8 and R 9 , R 8 and R 9 connected to R 10 and R 11 to form a triple bond;
[0015] or a pharmaceutically, agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt thereof.
[0016] In some embodiments, where any one or more of R 1 to R 28 is C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, one or more of R 1 to R 28 may further comprise an aryl or heteroaryl group.
[0017] In some embodiments, where any one or more of R 1 to R 28 is C 2 -C 20 alkenyl the alkenyl units may be singular or multiple.
[0018] In yet other embodiments, where any one or more of R 1 to R 28 is C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, one or more of R 1 to R 28 may further comprise an aryl or heteroaryl group.
[0019] In still yet other embodiments, where any one or of R 1 to R 28 is C 2 -C 20 alkynyl the alkynyl units may be singular or multiple.
[0020] In one embodiment, the compound of formula (I) is a compound of formula (II):
[0000]
[0000] wherein
[0021] X, Y and Z are independently selected from —O—, —S—, —NH—, —N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl)- and —CH 2 —;
[0022] R 50 is selected from —CH 3 , —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl and heteroaryl;
[0023] R 51 , R 52 , R 57 , R 58 , R 61 , R 62 , R 67 , R 68 , R 69 and R 70 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R;
[0024] R 53 to R 56 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 54 and R 55 taken together form a double bond or are —O—; or R 53 and R 54 or R 55 and R 56 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0025] R 59 and R 60 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0026] R 63 to R 66 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 64 and R 65 taken together form a double bond or are —O—; or R 63 and R 64 or R 65 and R 66 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0027] R 71 and R 72 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 71 and R 72 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0028] R 73 to R 76 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 74 and R 75 taken together form a double bond or are —O—; or R 73 and R 74 or R 75 and R 76 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0029] R 77 and R 78 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 10 alkyl, —C 2 -C 10 alkenyl and —C 2 -C 10 alkynyl;
[0030] W is selected from —O—, —S—, —NH— and —N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl)-;
[0031] R is selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl and —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl;
[0032] p and q are independently 0 or 1; and
[0033] r is an integer from 1 to 8;
[0034] wherein each alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl and heteroaryl is optionally substituted; or a pharmaceutically, agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt thereof.
[0035] In some embodiments of formula II,
[0036] X, Y and Z are independently selected from —O— and —S—;
[0037] R 50 is selected from —CH 3 , —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl and heteroaryl;
[0038] R 51 , R 52 , R 57 , R 58 , R 61 , R 62 , R 67 , R 68 , R 69 and R 70 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R;
[0039] R 53 to R 56 independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 54 and R 55 taken together form a double bond or —O—;
[0040] R 59 is hydrogen and R 60 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0041] R 63 and R 64 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R;
[0042] R 65 is hydrogen and R 66 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 65 and R 66 taken together form a carbonyl group; or R 64 and R 65 taken together form a double bond;
[0043] R 71 is hydrogen and R 72 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 71 and R 72 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0044] R 73 to R 76 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 74 and R 75 taken together form a double bond or —O—;
[0045] R 77 and R 78 are independently selected from hydrogen and —C 1 -C 10 alkyl;
[0046] W is selected from —O—, —S—, —NH— and —N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl)-;
[0047] R is selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl and —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl;
[0048] p and q are 0 or 1; and
[0049] r is an integer from 1 to 8;
[0050] wherein each alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl and heteroaryl is optionally substituted;
[0051] or a pharmaceutically, agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt thereof.
[0052] In some embodiments the compound of formula I is a compound of formula III:
[0000]
[0000] wherein:
[0053] R 50 is selected from —CH 3 , —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl and heteroaryl;
[0054] R 51 , R 52 , R 57 and R 58 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(O)R and —OC(O)R;
[0055] R 53 to R 56 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(O)R and —OC(O)R; or R 54 and R 55 taken together form a double bond or —O—;
[0056] R 59 is hydrogen and R 60 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0057] R 63 and R 64 hydrogen;
[0058] R 65 is hydrogen and R 66 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 65 and R 66 taken together form a carbonyl group; or R 64 and R 65 taken together form a double bond;
[0059] R 71 is hydrogen and R 72 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 71 and R 72 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0060] R 73 to R 76 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl, —COR, —CO 2 R, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 , —C(W)R and —WC(W)R; or R 74 and R 75 taken together form a double bond or —O—;
[0061] R is selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 20 alkyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 20 alkenyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, arylalkyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocyclylalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 10 dihaloalkyl and —C 1 -C 10 trihaloalkyl;
[0062] p and q are 0 or 1; and
[0063] r is an integer from 1 to 8;
[0064] wherein each alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl and heteroaryl is optionally substituted;
[0065] or a pharmaceutically, agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt thereof.
[0066] In preferred embodiments of the compounds of formula II, one or more of the following applies:
[0067] X, Y and Z are independently oxygen or sulphur; especially oxygen;
[0068] R 50 is —CH 3 , aryl, heterocyclyl or heteroaryl, especially —CH 3 , phenyl or heteroaryl, more especially —CH 3 , phenyl or benzodioxolane;
[0069] R 51 , R 52 , R 57 and R 58 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 trihaloalkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —SH, —SC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —NH 2 , —NHC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl; especially; hydrogen, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl; especially hydrogen;
[0070] R 53 to R 56 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 trihaloalkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —SH, —SC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —NH 2 , —NHC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl or R 54 and R 55 taken together form a double bond or —O—; especially; hydrogen, C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl or R 54 and R 55 taken together form a double bond or —O—; especially hydrogen or R 54 and R 55 taken together form a double bond or —O—;
[0071] R 59 is hydrogen and R 60 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group; especially where R 60 is —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 10 alkyl; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0072] R 61 , R 62 , R 67 , R 68 , R 69 and R 79 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 trihaloalkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —SH, —SC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —NH 2 , —NHC 1 -C 6 alkyl, N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl; especially hydrogen, —C 1 -C 3 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl; more especially hydrogen;
[0073] R 63 and R 64 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 trihaloalkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —SH, —SC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —NH 2 , —NHC 1 -C 6 alkyl, N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl; especially hydrogen, —C 1 -C 3 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl; more especially hydrogen;
[0074] R 65 is hydrogen and R 66 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group; especially where R 60 is —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 10 alkyl; or R 59 and R 60 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0075] or where R 64 and R 65 form a double bond or —O—; especially a double bond;
[0076] R 71 is hydrogen and R 72 is selected from —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl, —OC 2 -C 10 alkenyl, —Ocycloalkyl, —Oaryl, —Oheterocyclyl, —Oheteroaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylcycloalkyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylaryl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheterocyclyl, —OC 1 -C 10 alkylheteroaryl and —OC(O)R; or R 71 and R 72 taken together form a carbonyl group; especially where R 72 is —OH, —OC 1 -C 10 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 10 alkyl; or R 71 and R 72 taken together form a carbonyl group;
[0077] R 73 , R 74 , R 75 and R 76 are independently selected from hydrogen, —C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkenyl, —C 2 -C 6 alkynyl, —C 3 -C 8 cycloalkyl, —C 6 -C 14 aryl, —C 5 -C 14 heteroaryl, —C 3 -C 14 heterocyclyl, halo, —CN, —NO 2 , —C 1 -C 6 haloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 dihaloalkyl, —C 1 -C 6 trihaloalkyl, —COC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —CO 2 H, CO 2 C 1 -C 6 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —SH, —SC 1 -C 6 alkyl, —NH 2 , —NHC 1 -C 6 alkyl, N(C 1 -C 6 alkyl) 2 and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl or R 74 and R 75 taken together form a double bond or —O—; especially hydrogen, —C 1 -C 3 alkyl, —OH, —OC 1 -C 6 alkyl and —OC(O)C 1 -C 6 alkyl or R 74 and R 75 taken together form a double bond or —O—; more especially hydrogen or R 74 and R 75 taken together form a double bond or —O—;
[0078] R 77 and R 78 are independently selected from hydrogen and —C 1 -C 3 alkyl; especially hydrogen and methyl, more especially hydrogen;
[0079] r is an integer from 3 to 7.
[0080] In some embodiments the compound of the invention is selected from: is
[0000]
[0000] also referred to as EBI-23;
[0000]
[0000] also referred to as EBI-24;
[0000]
[0000] also referred to as EBI-25;
[0000]
[0000] also referred to as EBI-42;
[0000]
[0000] also referred to herein as EBI-72;
[0000]
[0000] also referred to herein as EBI-73;
Other compounds of the invention include:
[0000]
[0081] The term “alkyl” refers to optionally substituted linear and branched hydrocarbon groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms. Where appropriate, the alkyl group may have a specified number of carbon atoms, for example, —C 1 -C 6 alkyl which includes alkyl groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 carbon atoms in linear or branched arrangements. Non-limiting examples of alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, s- and t-butyl, pentyl, 2-methylbutyl, 3-methylbutyl, hexyl, heptyl, 2-methylpentyl, 3-methylpentyl, 4-methylpentyl, 2-ethylbutyl, 3-ethylbutyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl, tridecyl, tetradecyl, pentadecyl.
[0082] The term “alkenyl” refers to optionally substituted unsaturated linear or branched hydrocarbon groups, having 2 to 20 carbon atoms and having at least one double bond. Where appropriate, the alkenyl group may have a specified number of carbon atoms, for example, C 2 -C 6 alkenyl which includes alkenyl groups having 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 carbon atoms in linear or branched arrangements. Non-limiting examples of alkenyl groups include, ethenyl, propenyl, isopropenyl, butenyl, s- and t-butenyl, pentenyl, hexenyl, hept-1,3-diene, hex-1,3-diene, non-1,3,5-triene and the like.
[0083] The term “alkynyl” refers to optionally substituted unsaturated linear or branched hydrocarbon groups, having 2 to 20 carbon atoms and having at least one triple bond. Where appropriate, the alkynyl group may have a specified number of carbon atoms, for example, C 2 -C 6 alkynyl groups have 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 carbon atoms in linear or branched arrangements. Non-limiting examples of alkynyl groups include ethynyl, propynyl, butynyl, pentynyl, hexynyl and the like.
[0084] The terms “cycloalkyl” and “carbocyclic” refer to optionally substituted saturated or unsaturated mono-cyclic, bicyclic or tricyclic carbon groups. Where appropriate, the cycloalkyl group may have a specified number of carbon atoms, for example, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl is a carbocyclic group having 3, 4, 5 or 6 carbon atoms. Non-limiting examples may include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclopentenyl, cyclohexyl, cyclohexenyl, cyclohexadienyl and the like.
[0085] “Aryl” means a C 6 -C 14 membered monocyclic, bicyclic or tricyclic carbocyclic ring system having up to 7 atoms in each ring, wherein at least one ring is aromatic. Examples of aryl groups include, but are not limited to, phenyl, naphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, indanyl and biphenyl. The aryl may comprise 1-3 benzene rings. If two or more aromatic rings are present, then the rings may be fused together, so that adjacent rings share a common bond.
[0086] “Heterocyclic” or “heterocyclyl” refers to a non-aromatic ring having 3 to 8 atoms in the ring and of those atoms 1 to 4 are heteroatoms, said ring being isolated or fused to a second ring selected from 3- to 7-membered alicyclic ring containing 0 to 4 heteroatoms, wherein said heteroatoms are independently selected from 0, N and S. Heterocyclic includes partially and fully saturated heterocyclic groups. Heterocyclic systems may be attached to another moiety via any number of carbon atoms or heteroatoms of the radical and may be both saturated and unsaturated, which includes all forms of carbohydrate moieties. Non-limiting examples of heterocyclic include pyrrolidinyl, pyrrolinyl, pyranyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, morpholinyl, tetrahydrofuranyl, tetrahydrothiophenyl, pyrazolinyl, dithiolyl, oxathiolyl, dioxanyl, dioxinyl, oxazinyl, azepinyl, diazepinyl, thiazepinyl, oxepinyl and thiapinyl, imidazolinyl, thiomorpholinyl, and the like.
[0087] The term “heteroaryl” as used herein means a stable monocyclic or bicyclic ring of up to 7 atoms in each ring, wherein at least one ring is aromatic and at least one ring contains from 1-4 heteroatoms, selected from sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen. Heteroaryl includes, but is not limited to, oxazolyl, thiazolyl, thienyl, furyl, 1-isobenzofuranyl, pyrrolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, isothiazolyl, isooxazolyl, pyridyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyradazinyl, indolizinyl, isoindolyl, indolyl, purinyl, phthalazinyl, 1,2,3-triazolyl, 1,2,4-triazolyl, 1,2,3-oxadiazoyl, 1,2,4-oxadiazolyl, 1,2,5-oxadiazolyl, 1,3,4-oxadiazolyl, 1,2,3,4-oxatriazolyl, 1,2,3,5-oxatriazolyl, 1,3,5-triazinyl, 1,2,4-triazinyl, 1,2,3-triazinyl, benzofuranyl, isobenzofuranyl, thionaphthenyl, isothionaphthenyl, indoleninyl, 2-isobenzazolyl, 1,5-pyrindinyl, pyrano[3,4-b]pyrrolyl, isoindazolyl, indoxazinyl, benzoxazolyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, cinnolinyl, quinazolinyl, naphthyridinyl, pyrido[3,4-b]pyridinyl, pyrido[3,2-b]pyridinyl, pyrido[4,3-b]pyridinyl, acridinyl, carbazolyl, quinaoxalinyl, pyrazolyl, benzotriazolyl, thiophenyl, isoquinolinyl, pyridinyl, tetrahydroquinolinyl, benzazepinyl, benzodioxanyl, benzoxepinyl, benzodiazepinyl, benzothiazepinyl and benzothiepinyl and the like.
[0088] The alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl and heterocyclyl groups may be substituted with one or more substituent independently selected from —F, —Cl, —Br, —I, —CO 2 R, —CN, —OR, —SR, —N(R) 2 , —NO 2 , —NROR, —ON(R) 2 , —SOR, —SO 2 R, —SO 3 R, —SON(R) 2 , —SO 2 N(R) 2 , —SO 3 N(R) 2 , —P(R) 3 , —P(═O)(R) 3 , —OSi(R) 3 , —OB(R) 2 wherein R is as defined above.
[0089] As used herein, the terms “halo” or “halogen” refers to fluorine (fluoro), chlorine (chloro), bromine (bromo) and iodine (iodo).
[0090] Yet another aspect of the invention provides a pharmaceutically, agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt of a compound of formula (I) or formula (II).
[0091] The terms “pharmaceutically acceptable salts”, “agriculturally acceptable salts” or “pesticidally acceptable salts” as used herein refer to salts which are toxicologically safe for systemic or localised administration or suitable for application to a plant or an agricultural, industrial or household environment. The pharmaceutically, agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salts may be selected from the group including alkali and alkali earth, ammonium, aluminium, iron, amine, glucosamine, chloride, sulphate, sulphonate, bisulphate, nitrate, citrate, tartrate, bitarate, phosphate, carbonate, bicarbonate, malate, maleate, napsylate, fumarate, succinate, acetate, benzoate, terephthalate, palmoate, pectinate and s-methyl methionine salts, piperazine and the like.
[0092] It will also be recognised that compounds of the invention may possess asymmetric centres and are therefore capable of existing in more than one stereoisomeric form. The invention thus also relates to compounds in substantially pure isomeric form at one or more asymmetric centres e.g., greater than about 90% ee, such as about 95% or 97% ee or greater than 99% ee, as well as mixtures, including racemic mixtures, thereof. Such isomers may be obtained by isolation from natural sources, by asymmetric synthesis, for example using chiral intermediates, or by chiral resolution. The compounds of the invention may exist as geometrical isomers. The invention also relates to compounds in substantially pure cis (Z) or trans (E) forms or mixtures thereof.
[0093] The compounds of the present invention may be obtained by isolation from a plant or plant part, or by derivatisation of the isolated compound, or by derivatisation of a related compound.
[0094] Still yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of isolating one or more compounds of formula (I) or formula (II), which method includes the step of extracting said one or more compounds from a plant or plant part.
[0095] Preferably, the plant is of the family Lauraceae.
[0096] Preferably, the genus is Litsea, Cinnamomum, Cryptocarya, Beilschmiedia, Endiandra, Neolitsea and Lindera.
[0097] Preferably the species is Litsea spp. such as Litsea sebifera, Litsea polyantha, Litsea cassiaefolia, Litsea elliptica, Litsea ferruginea, Litsea firma, Litsea garciae, Litsea oppositifolia, Litsea australis, Litsea bennettii, Litsea bindoniana, Litsea breviumbellata, Litsea connorsii, Litsea fawcettiana, Litsea glutinosa, Litsea granitica, Litsea leefeana, Litsea macrophylla, Litsea reticulata ; especially Litsea breviumbellata, Litsea connorsii and Litsea leefeana; Cinnamomum spp. such as Cinnamomum acuminatifolium, Cinnamomum acuminatissimum, Cinnamomum acutatum, Cinnamomum africanum, Cinnamomum aggregatum, Cinnamomum alainii, Cinnamomum alatum, Cinnamomum albiflorum, Cinnamomum alcinii, Cinnamomum alexei, Cinnamomum alibertii, Cinnamomum alternifolium, Cinnamomum altissimum, Cinnamomum ammannii, Cinnamomum amoenum, Cinnamomum amplexicaule, Cinnamomum amplifolium, Cinnamomum anacardium, Cinnamomum andersonii, Cinnamomum angustifolium, Cinnamomum angustitepalum, Cinnamomum antillarum, Cinnamomum appelianum, Cinnamomum arbusculum, Cinnamomum archboldianum, Cinnamomum areolatocostae, Cinnamomum areolatum, Cinnamomum areolatum, Cinnamomum arfakense, Cinnamomum argenteum, Cinnamomum aromaticum, Cinnamomum arsenei, Cinnamomum asa - grayi, Cinnamomum assamicum, Cinnamomum aubletii, Cinnamomum aureo - fulvum, Cinnamomum australe, Cinnamomum austro - sinense, Cinnamomum austro - yunnanense, Cinnamomum bahianum, Cinnamomum bahiense, Cinnamomum baileyanum, Cinnamomum baillonii, Cinnamomum balansae, Cinnamomum bamoense, Cinnamomum barbato-axillatum, Cinnamomum barbeyanum, Cinnamomum barlowii, Cinnamomum bartheifolium, Cinnamomum barthii, Cinnamomum bazania, Cinnamomum beccarii, Cinnamomum bejolghota, Cinnamomum bengalense, Cinnamomum biafranum, Cinnamomum bintulense, Cinnamomum birmanicum, Cinnamomum blumei, Cinnamomum bodinieri, Cinnamomum bonii, Cinnamomum bonplandii, Cinnamomum borneense, Cinnamomum bourgeauvianum, Cinnamomum boutonii, Cinnamomum brachythyrsum, Cinnamomum bractefoliaceum, Cinnamomum burmannii, Cinnamomum camphora, Cinnamomum cassia (syn. C. aromaticum ), Cinnamomum caudiferum, Cinnamomum chartophyllum, Cinnamomum citriodorum, Cinnamomum contractum, Cinnamomum filipes, Cinnamomum glanduliferum, Cinnamomum glaucescens, Cinnamomum ilicioides, Cinnamomum impressinervium, Cinnamomum iners, Cinnamomum japonicum, Cinnamomum javanicum, Cinnamomum jensenianum, Cinnamomum kotoense, Cinnamomum kwangtungense, Cinnamomum liangii, Cinnamomum longepaniculatum, Cinnamomum longipetiolatum, Cinnamomum loureiroi, Cinnamomum mairei, Cinnamomum micranthum, Cinnamomum migao, Cinnamomum mollifolium, Cinnamomum oliveri, Cinnamomum osmophloeum, Cinnamomum parthenoxylon, Cinnamomum pauciflorum, Cinnamomum philippinense, Cinnamomum pingbienense, Cinnamomum pittosporoides, Cinnamomum platyphyllum, Cinnamomum porphyrium, Cinnamomum propinquum, Cinnamomum reticulatum, Cinnamomum rigidissimum, Cinnamomum saxatile, Cinnamomum septentrionale, Cinnamomum subavenium, Cinnamomum tamala, Cinnamomum tenuipilum, Cinnamomum tonkinense, Cinnamomum triplinerve, Cinnamomum tsangii, Cinnamomum tsoi, Cinnamomum validinerve, Cinnamomum verum, Cinnamomum virens, Cinnamomum wilsonii and Cinnamomum laubatii especially Cinnamomum laubatii, Cinnamomum oliveri, Cinnamomum virens and Cinnamomum camphora ; or Cryptocarya spp. such as C. alba, C. angulata, C. aristata, C. ashersoniana, C. chinensis, C. cinnamomifolia, C. corrugata, C. crassinervia, C. cunninghamiana, C. densiflora, C. ferrea, C. foetida, C. gigantocarpa, C. glaucescens, C. grandis, C. hypospodia, C. invasorium, C. laevigata, C. leptospermoides, C. mackinnoniana, C. massoia, C. meissneri, C. membranaceae, C. multipaniculata, C. murrayi, C. nigra, C. nitens, C. oblata, C. odorata, C. palawanensis, C. pleurosperma, C. pluricostata, C. rigida, C. scortechinii, C. transversa, C. tomentosa, C. triplinervis, C. vulgaris, C. angulata, C. bamagana, C. bellendenkerana, C. bidwillii, C. brassii, C. burckiana, C. clarksoniana, C. claudiana, C. cocosoides, C. cunninghamii, C. endiandrifolia, C. erythoxylon, C. exfoliata, C. floydii, C. foveolata, C. glaucocarpa, C. leucophylla, C. lividula, C. macdonaldii, C. meisneriana, C. melanocarpa, C. microneura, C. obovata, C. onoprienkoana, C. putida, C. rhodosperma, C. saccharata, C. sclerophylla, C. smaragdina, C . sp Boonjee, C . sp Gadgarra, C. triplinervis var. riparia ; especially C. angulata, C. bamagana, C. bellendenkerana, C. bidwillii, C. brassii, C. clarksoniana, C. cocosoides, C. corrugata, C. cunninghamii, C. exfoliata, C. glaucescens, C. grandis, C. hypospodia, C. laevigata, C. leucophylla, C. lividula, C. macdonaldii, C. mackinnoniana, C. melanocarpa, C. microneura, C. murrayi, C. oblata, C. onoprienkoana, C. pleurosperma, C. putida, C. rhodosperma, C. triplinervis var. riparia, C. vulgaris; Beilschmiedia bancroftii, Beilschmiedia brunnea, Beilschmiedia castrisinensis, Beilschmiedia collina, Beilschmiedia elliptica, Beilschmiedia obtusifolia, Beillschmiedia oligandra, Beilschmiedia peninsularis, Beilschmiedia recurva, Beilschmiedia tooram, Beilschmiedia volckii ; especially Beilschmiedia bancroftii, Beilschmiedia castrisinensis, Beilschmiedia peninsularis, Beilschmiedia recurva, Beilschmiedia tooram, Beilschmiedia volckii; Endiandra acuminata, Endiandra anthropophagorum, Endiandra bellendenkerana, Endiandra bessaphila, Endiandra collinsii, Endiandra compressa, Endiandra cooperana, Endiandra cowleyana, Endiandra crassiflora, Endiandra dichrophylla, Endiandra dielsiana, Endiandra discolor, Endiandra floydii, Endiandra glauca, Endiandra globosa, Endiandra grayi, Endiandra hayesii, Endiandra hypotephra, Endiandra impressicosta, Endiandra insignis, Endiandra introrsa, Endiandra jonesii, Endiandra leptodendron, Endiandra limnophila, Endiandra longipedicellata, Endiandra microneura, Endiandra monothyra subsp monothyra, Endiandra monothyra subsp trichophylla, Endiandra montana, Endiandra muelleri, Endiandra palmerstonii, Endiandra phaeocarpa, Endiandra sankeyana, Endiandra sideroxylon, Endiandra sieberi, Endiandra virens, Endiandra wolfei, Endiandra xanthocarpa; especially Endiandra bessaphila, Endiandra compressa, Endiandra globosa, Endiandra insignis, Endiandra jonesii, Endiandra microneura, Endiandra monothyra subsp monothyra, Endiandra montana, Endiandra palmerstonii, Endiandra sankeyana; Neolitsea australiensis, Neolitsea brassii, Neolitsea dealbata; especially Neolitsea dealbata ; and Lindera queenslandica.
[0098] The parts of the plant may include fruit, seed, bark, leaf, flower, roots and wood.
[0099] Preferably the extract is obtained from the seed, epicarp or mesocarp.
[0100] For example, the biomass obtained from seeds, leaves and bark of the plant is subject to initial solvent extraction, for example with a polar solvent such as methanol. The initial extraction is then concentrated and diluted with water and subject to extraction with a second solvent, for example, ethyl acetate. The solvent samples from the second extraction are pooled and subject to separation by preparative HPLC fractionation. The fractions are analysed by analytical HPLC and pooled according to the retention time of compounds found in the samples. The pooled fractions are weighed, bioassayed and analysed by analytical HPLC. Further fractionation using one or more preparative HPLC is performed to isolate specific compounds. Each compound is bioassayed and its structure identified by UV, NMR and mass spectrometric techniques.
[0101] Other compounds of the invention may be obtained by derivatising compounds isolated from plants or parts of plants, especially from the genus Litsea, Cinnamomum and Cryptocarya.
[0102] Derivatives of the natural compounds can be obtained by techniques known in the art. For example, hydroxy groups may be oxidised, to ketones, aldehydes or carboxylic acids by exposure to oxidising agents such as chromic acid, Jones' reagent, KMnO 4 , peracids such as mCPBA (metachloroperbenzoic acid) or dioxiranes such as dimethyldioxirane (DMDO) and methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (TFDO). Oxidising agents may be chosen such that other functional groups in the molecule are or are not also oxidised. For example, a primary alcohol may be selectively oxidised to an aldehyde or carboxylic acid in the presence of secondary alcohols using reagents such as RuCl 2 (PPh 3 ) 3 -benzene. Secondary alcohols may be selectively oxidised to ketones in the presence of a primary alcohol using Cl 2 -pyridine or NaBrO 3 -ceric-ammonium nitrate. Alcohols may be oxidised in the presence double and triple bonds and without epimerisation at adjacent stereocentres using Jone's reagent. Alternatively, reagents chosen may be less selective resulting in oxidation at more than one functional group.
[0103] Hydroxy groups may also be derivatised by etherification or acylation. For example, ethers may be prepared by formation of an alkoxide ion in the presence of base and reacting the alkoxide with an appropriate alkylhalide, alkenylhalide, alkynylhalide or arylhalide. Similarly acylation may be achieved by formation of an alkoxide ion and reaction with an appropriate carboxylic acid or activated carboxylic acid (such as an anhydride).
[0104] Acyl groups may be hydrolysed to provide alcohols by acid or base hydrolysis as known in the art.
[0105] Silyl groups may be introduced onto hydroxy groups to provide silyl ethers using mild base and a silyl chloride reagent, for example Me 3 SiCl and triethylamine in THF or agents such as MeSiNHCO 2 SiMe 3 in THF.
[0106] Sulfonates may be readily introduced onto hydroxy groups by reaction with a suitable sulfonate group. For example, methanesulfonates may be introduced by treatment of a hydroxy group with MsCl and triethylamine in dichloromethane. Tosylate groups may be introduced by reacting a hydroxy group with TsCl and pyridine. Allylsulfonates may be introduced by reacting a hydroxy group with allylsulfonyl chloride and pyridine in dichloromethane.
[0107] Ketones may be reduced to secondary alcohols by reducing agents such as lithium aluminium hydride and other metal hydrides without reducing double bonds, including α-unsaturated ketones.
[0108] Double bonds and triple bonds may be reduced to single bonds using catalytic reduction, for example, H 2 /Pd. Double bonds may also be oxidised to epoxides using oxidising agents such as per acids, for example mCPBA or dioxiranes, such as DMDO and TFDO. Double bonds may also be subject to addition reactions to introduce substituents such as halo groups, hydroxy or alkoxy groups and amines.
[0109] A person skilled in the art would be able to determine suitable conditions for obtaining derivatives of isolated compounds, for example, by reference to texts relating to synthetic methodology, examples of which are Smith M. B. and March J., March's Advanced Organic Chemistry, Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2001 and Larock R. C., Comprehensive Organic Transformations, VCH Publishers Ltd., 1989. Furthermore, selective manipulations of functional groups may require protection of other functional groups. Suitable protecting groups to prevent unwanted side reactions are provided in Green and Wuts, Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 3 rd Edition, 1999.
[0110] The compounds of the invention may also be synthesised from commercially available starting materials. Three synthetic pathways to synthesise the EBI-23 are set out below:
[0000]
Synthesis 1:
[0111] The first approach to EBI-23 (1) was based on a convergent synthesis of two halves, the lactone (2) and triol (3).
[0000]
[0112] The triol 3 was prepared asymmetrically in 9 steps by the following protocol (Scheme 1). Epoxide 4 was resolved into the R-stereoisomer 5 using Jacobsen's catalyst (R,R). Epoxide 5 was ring opened with vinyl magnesium bromide in the presence of copper (I) iodide and the resulting alcohol protected as a TBS ether (6). TBS ether 6 was converted to epoxide 7 using meta-chloroperbenzoic acid (mCPBA) followed by kinetic resolution with Jacobsen's catalyst (S,S). Epoxide 7 was subject to the same sequence affording epoxide 8 which was reacted with the dithiane 9 producing dithiane 3.
[0000]
[0000] Alternatively, 8 can be prepared by Scheme 1.1 below:
[0000]
[0113] The right hand portion of EBI-23, that is lactone 2, is obtained from pyrone 13, which is constructed according to the literature (e.g. Harris et al., Strategies and Tactics in Organic Synthesis, 2004, 5, 221 and O'Doherty et al., Organic Letters 2000, 2, 2983-2986 , Tetrahedron Letters 2000, 41, 183-187). Diol 10 is mono TBS protected (i.e. 11) and then ring enlarged (NBS/H 2 O) affording the lactol 12. Jones oxidation followed by stereoselective Luche reduction produces 13, which can be transformed into the bromide (lactone) 2, by two different protocols, after TBS protection and selective deprotection of the primary TBS ether. The first protocol converts the alcohol (13) to the mesylate 14, which undergoes a Finkelstein reaction with lithium bromide giving 2. The second procedure converts directly the alcohol 13 into 2 using tetrabromomethane and triphenylphosphine (Scheme 2).
[0000]
[0114] Both halves, that is 2 and 3, are coupled (15) by butyl lithium deprotonation of dithiane 3 and addition of the anion to bromide 2. The resulting dithiane is deprotected with mercury salts affording ketone 16, which undergoes TBS deprotection and subsequent acid catalysed ring closure affording EBI-23 (Scheme 3).
[0000]
Synthesis 2:
[0115] Route 2 (Scheme 4) is based on a Grubb's ring closing metathesis (RCM) strategy. Reaction of triol 3 with known epoxide 17 followed by acylation (acrolyl chloride) and RCM will give rapid access to lactone 15, which on treatment with mercury salts and subsequent acid catalyst provides EBI-23.
[0000]
Synthesis 3:
[0116] Route 3 (Scheme 5) utilises acetylene chemistry, in that epoxide 8 is converted into acetylene 18, using sodium acetylide followed by TBS protection. Treatment of 18 with butyl lithium and reaction with 2-furfural affords furan 19. Furan 19 undergoes ring enlargement, Jones oxidation, Luche reduction and TBS protection giving 20, which on exposure to acid reveals EBI-23. Unfortunately, this approach lacks stereocontrol at one position.
[0000]
[0117] Use of variously substituted starting materials will give rise to substitution on the spiroketal products.
[0118] A further aspect of the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for treatment or prophylaxis of a disease or condition comprising an effective amount of one or more compounds of formula (I) or formula (II), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, diluent and/or excipient.
[0119] Dosage form and rates for pharmaceutical use and compositions are readily determinable by a person of skill in the art.
[0120] Dosage forms include tablets, dispersions, suspensions, injections, solutions, syrups, troches, capsules, suppositories, aerosols, transdermal patches and the like. These dosage forms may also include injecting or implanting devices designed specifically for, or modified to, controlled release of the pharmaceutical composition. Controlled release of the therapeutic agent may be effected by coating the same, for example, with hydrophobic polymers including acrylic resins, waxes, higher aliphatic alcohols, polylactic and polyglycolic acids and certain cellulose derivates such as hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. In addition, the controlled release may be affected by using other polymer matrices, liposomes and/or microspheres.
[0121] Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and acceptable carriers for systemic administration may also be incorporated into the compositions of this invention.
[0122] Suitably, the pharmaceutical composition comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or an acceptable excipient. By “pharmaceutically acceptable excipient” is meant a solid or liquid filler, diluent or encapsulating substance that may be safely used in systemic administration. Depending upon the particular route of administration, a variety of carriers, well known in the art may be used. These carriers or excipients may be selected from a group including sugars, starches, cellulose and its derivates, malt, gelatine, talc, calcium sulphate, vegetable oils, synthetic oils, polyols, alginic acid, phosphate buffered solutions, emulsifiers, isotonic saline, and pyrogen-free water.
[0123] Any suitable route of administration may be employed for providing a human or non-human with the pharmaceutical composition of the invention. For example, oral, rectal, parenteral, sublingual, buccal, intravenous, intraarticular, intra-muscular, intra-dermal, subcutaneous, inhalational, intraocular, intraperitoneal, intracerebroventricular, transdermal and the like may be employed.
[0124] Pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention suitable for administration may be presented in discrete units such as vials, capsules, sachets or tablets each containing a predetermined amount of one or more pharmaceutically active compounds of the invention, as a powder or granules or as a solution or a suspension in an aqueous liquid, a non-aqueous liquid, an oil-in-water emulsion or a water-in-oil emulsion. Such compositions may be prepared by any of the method of pharmacy but all methods include the step of bringing into association one or more pharmaceutically active compounds of the invention with the carrier which constitutes one or more necessary ingredients. In general, the compositions are prepared by uniformly and intimately admixing the agents of the invention with liquid carriers or finely divided solid carriers or both, and then, if necessary, shaping the product in to the desired presentation.
[0125] In powders, the carrier is a finely divided solid which is in a mixture with the finely divided active component.
[0126] In tablets, the active component is mixed with the carrier having the necessary binding capacity in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired.
[0127] The powders and tablets preferably contain from five or ten to about seventy percent of the active compound. Suitable carriers are magnesium carbonate, magnesium stearate, talc, sugar, lactose, pectin, dextrin, starch, gelatin, tragacanth, methylcellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, a low melting wax, cocoa butter, and the like. The term “preparation” is intended to include the formulation of the active compound with encapsulating material as carrier providing a capsule in which the active component, with or without carriers, is surrounded by a carrier, which is thus in association with it. Similarly, cachets and lozenges are included. Tablets, powders, capsules, pills, cachets, and lozenges can be used as solid forms suitable for oral administration.
[0128] For preparing suppositories, a low melting wax, such as admixture of fatty acid glycerides or cocoa butter, is first melted and the active component is dispersed homogeneously therein, as by stirring. The molten homogenous mixture is then poured into convenient sized molds, allowed to cool, and thereby to solidify.
[0129] Formulations suitable for vaginal administration may be presented as pessaries, tampons, creams, gels, pastes, foams or sprays containing in addition to the active ingredient such carriers as are known in the art to be appropriate.
[0130] Liquid form preparations include solutions, suspensions, and emulsions, for example, water or water-propylene glycol solutions. For example, parenteral injection liquid preparations can be formulated as solutions in aqueous polyethylene glycol solution.
[0131] The compounds according to the present invention may thus be formulated for parenteral administration (e.g. by injection, for example bolus injection or continuous infusion) and may be presented in unit dose form in ampoules, pre-filled syringes, small volume infusion or in multi-dose containers with an added preservative. The compositions may take such forms as suspensions, solutions, or emulsions in oily or aqueous vehicles, and may contain formulatory agents such as suspending, stabilising and/or dispersing agents. Alternatively, the active ingredient may be in powder form, obtained by aseptic isolation of sterile solid or by lyophilisation from solution, for constitution with a suitable vehicle, e.g. sterile, pyrogen-free water, before use.
[0132] Aqueous solutions suitable for oral use can be prepared by dissolving the active component in water and adding suitable colorants, flavours, stabilizing and thickening agents, as desired.
[0133] Aqueous suspensions suitable for oral use can be made by dispersing the finely divided active component in water with viscous material, such as natural or synthetic gums, resins, methylcellulose, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, or other well known suspending agents.
[0134] Also included are solid form preparations which are intended to be converted, shortly before use, to liquid form preparations for oral administration. Such liquid forms include solutions, suspensions, and emulsions. These preparations may contain, in addition to the active component, colorants, flavours, stabilizers, buffers, artificial and natural sweeteners, dispersants, thickeners, solubilizing agents, and the like.
[0135] For topical administration to the epidermis the compounds according to the invention may be formulated as ointments, creams or lotions, or as a transdermal patch. Ointments and creams may, for example, be formulated with an aqueous or oily base with the addition of suitable thickening and/or gelling agents. Lotions may be formulated with an aqueous or oily base and will in general also contain one or more emulsifying agents, stabilising agents, dispersing agents, suspending agents, thickening agents, or colouring agents.
[0136] Formulations suitable for topical administration in the mouth include lozenges comprising active agent in a flavoured base, usually sucrose and acacia or tragacanth; pastilles comprising the active ingredient in an inert base such as gelatin and glycerin or sucrose and acacia; and mouthwashes comprising the active ingredient in a suitable liquid carrier.
[0137] Solutions or suspensions are applied directly to the nasal cavity by conventional means, for example with a dropper, pipette or spray. The formulations may be provided in single or multidose form. In the latter case of a dropper or pipette, this may be achieved by the patient administering an appropriate, predetermined volume of the solution or suspension. In the case of a spray, this may be achieved for example by means of a metering atomising spray pump. To improve nasal delivery and retention the compounds according to the invention may be encapsulated with cyclodextrins, or formulated with their agents expected to enhance delivery and retention in the nasal mucosa.
[0138] Administration to the respiratory tract may also be achieved by means of an aerosol formulation in which the active ingredient is provided in a pressurised pack with a suitable propellant such as a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) for example, dichlorodifluoromethane, trichlorofluoromethane, or dichlorotetrafluoroethane, carbon dioxide, or other suitable gas. The aerosol may conveniently also contain a surfactant such as lecithin. The dose of drug may be controlled by provision of a metered valve.
[0139] Alternatively the active ingredients may be provided in the form of a dry powder, for example a powder mix of the compound in a suitable powder base such as lactose, starch, starch derivatives such as hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP).
[0140] Conveniently the powder carrier will form a gel in the nasal cavity. The powder composition may be presented in unit dose form for example in capsules or cartridges of, e.g., gelatin, or blister packs from which the powder may be administered by means of an inhaler.
[0141] In formulations intended for administration to the respiratory tract, including intranasal formulations, the compound will generally have a small particle size for example of the order of 1 to 10 microns or less. Such a particle size may be obtained by means known in the art, for example by micronization.
[0142] The active compounds of the invention and of the composition of this invention are present in an amount sufficient to prevent, inhibit or ameliorate one or more diseases or conditions selected from the group consisting of: a bacterial infection, a protozoal infection, a parasitic infestation, a cell proliferative disorder, an inflammatory disorder or a pest infestation. Suitable dosages of the compounds of the invention and the pharmaceutical compositions containing such may be readily determined by those skilled in the art.
[0143] In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of treating or preventing of a disease or condition comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of one or more compounds according to the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0144] In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided the use of one or more of the compounds according to the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment or prophylaxis of a disease or condition.
[0145] In non-limiting embodiments compounds of the invention have one or more activities selected from antiparasitic activity (e.g., against an endoparasite and/or an ectoparasite, such as, Haemonchus contortus ), antibiotic activity (e.g., against Bacillus subtilis ), antiprotozoal activity (e.g., against Giardia sp. Portland) cytotoxic activity (e.g., against a basal cell carcinoma and/or a squamous cell carcinoma and/or a melanoma and/or a fibrosarcoma and/or a murine myeloma, and/or antitumor activity (e.g., against a leukemia, a melanoma, a prostate cancer, a breast cancer, an ovarian cancer and/or other solid tumor cancers), anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive activity and/or pesticidal activity.
[0146] In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of treating or preventing a bacterial infection comprising administering to a subject a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0147] In preferred embodiments, the compound of formula (I) and formula (II) is one of EBI-23, EBI-24 and EBI-25.
[0148] The bacterial infection may be caused by a Gram positive or Gram negative bacteria, especially Gram positive bacteria including bacteria of the Genus Bacillus (e.g. B. subtilis, B. anthracis, B. cereus, B. firmis, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. pumilus, B. coagulans, B. pantothenticus, B. alvei, B. brevis, B. circulans, B. laterosporus, B. macerans, B. polymyxa, stearothermophilus, B. thuringiensis, sphaericus ), Staphylococcus (e.g. S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. saprophyticus ), Streptococcus (e.g. S. pyogenes, S. pneumoniae, S. agalactiae, S. pyogenes, S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae, S. equisimilis, S. equi, S. zooepidemicus, S. anginosus, S. salivarius, S. milleri, S. sanguis, S. mitior, S. mutans, S. faecalis, S. faecium, S. bovis, S. equinus, S. uberus, S. avium ), Aerococcus, Gemella, Corynebacterium, Listeria, Kurthia, Lactobacillus, Erysipelothrix, Arachnia, Actinomyces, Propionibacterium, Rothia, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Eubacterium, Nocardia, Mycobacterium.
[0149] In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of treating or preventing a parasitic infection comprising administering to a subject a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0150] In preferred embodiments, the parasite is a helminth (worm), especially nematodes, trematodes and cestodes, especially Haemonchus contortus, Trichinella spiralis, H. placei, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, Ostertagia circumcincta, O. ostertagi, Mecistocirrus digitatus, Trychostrongylus axei, Trichuris trichiura, T. vulpis, T. campanula, T. suis, T. ovis, Bunostomum trigonocephalum, B. phleboyomum, Oesophagostomum columbianum, O. radiatum, Cooperia curticei, C. punctata, C. oncophora, C. pectinata, Strongyloides papillosus, Chabertia ovina, Ancylostoma duodenale, A. braziliense. A. tubaeforme, A. caninum, Ascaris lumbricoides, Enterobius vermicularis, E. gregorii, Ascaris lumbricoides, Paragonimus Westermani, Clonorchis sinensis, Fasciola hepatica, Taenia solium, T. saginata, Capillaria aerophile, Necator americanus , species of the genus Trichuris, Baylisascaris, Aphelenchoides, Meliodogyne, Heterodera, Globodera, Nacobbus, Pratylenchus, Ditylenchus, Xiphinema, Longidorus, Trichodorus, Nematodirus.
[0151] In this embodiment, preferred compounds include EBI-23 and EBI-24.
[0152] In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of treating or preventing a cell proliferative disorder comprising administering to a subject a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0153] In a preferred embodiment, the cell proliferative disorder is a cancer, especially where the cancer is selected from leukaemia, melanoma, prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, fibrosarcoma, colon cancer, lung cancer, a neoplasm and other solid tumor cancers.
[0154] In this embodiment, preferred compounds include EBI-23, EBI-24, EBI-25 and EBI-42.
[0155] The present invention further contemplates a combination of therapies, such as the administration of the compounds of the invention or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof together with the subjection of the subject to other agents or procedures which are useful in the treatment of cell proliferative disorders such as tumors. For example, the compounds of the present invention may be administered in combination with other chemotherapeutic drugs, or with other treatments such as radiotherapy. Suitable chemotherapeutic drugs include, but are not limited to, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicine, etoposide phosphate, paclitaxel, topotecan, camptothecins, 5-fluorouracil, tamoxifen, staurosporine, avastin, erbitux, imatinib and vincristine. The compounds of the invention may be administered simultaneously, separately or sequentially with the chemotherapeutic drug.
[0156] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating or preventing a protozoan infection comprising administering to a subject a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0157] In a preferred embodiment, the protozoan infection is selected from Giardia spp., Trichomonas spp., African trypanosomiasis, amoebic dysentery, babesiosis, balantidial dysentery, Chaga's disease, coccidiosis, malaria and toxoplasmosis, especially Giardia spp. and Trichomonas spp. infections.
[0158] In this embodiment, preferred compounds include EBI-23, EBI-24 and EBI-25.
[0159] In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a use of a compound of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for treating or preventing a bacterial infection, a parasitic infection, a protozoan infection or a cell proliferative disorder.
[0160] In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of treating or preventing an inflammatory disorder comprising administering to a subject a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0161] In a preferred embodiment, the inflammatory disorder is general inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, or a disorder associated with a malfunctioning immune system, such as an autoimmune disorder. In a preferred embodiment, the compound of the invention is capable of immunomodulation, especially immunosuppression. The compounds of the invention are also useful as immunosuppressive agents in organ transplantation.
[0162] Without wishing to be bound by theory, the presence in the taglienone compounds of an alpha-beta unsaturated ketone moiety, susceptible to nucleophilic substitution by reactive protein thiols, parallels the reactive structure and potentially the pharmacological activities of ethacrynic acid. The latter compound inhibits glutathione transferase and other thiol-sensitive proteins, potentiates anticancer agents such as ionising radiation due to depletion of thiol content, and is used clinically as a diuretic. Ethacrynic acid also inhibits the pro-inflammatory NF-kappa B signalling pathway, including inhibition of the secretion of the pro-inflammatory mediators IL-6, IL-10, nitric oxide, and HMGB1 from macrophages (Killeen et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 2006, 316:1070-9).
[0163] The compounds of the invention are a preferred structural class because many variations in structure of the hydrophobic tail may confer potential for a range of bioactivities depending on the microenvironment of the protein binding site. For example, ethacrynic acid required a 10-fold higher concentration than EBI-23 to achieve cell arrest, and showed no selectivity against tumor cells.
[0164] In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of diuresis comprising administering to a subject, a compound according to the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
[0165] Use of a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in the manufacture of a diuretic medicament.
[0166] The term “subject” as used herein includes humans, primates, livestock animals (e.g., sheep, pigs, cattle, horses, donkeys), laboratory test animals (e.g., mice, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs), companion animals (e.g., dogs, cats), birds (e.g., chickens, ducks, geese, parrots, cockatoos, pigeons, finches, raptors, ratites, quail, canaries), captive wild animals (e.g., foxes, kangaroos, deer) and reptiles (e.g., lizards and snakes). Preferably, the subject is human, a companion animal, a livestock animal or a laboratory test animal. Even more preferably, the subject is a human, a companion animal or livestock animal.
[0167] An “effective amount” means an amount necessary at least partly to attain the desired response, or to delay the onset or inhibit progression or halt altogether, the onset or progression of a particular condition being treated. The amount varies depending upon the health and physical condition of the individual to be treated, the taxonomic group of individual to be treated, the degree of protection desired, the formulation of the composition, the assessment of the medical situation, and other relevant factors. It is expected that the amount will fall in a relatively broad range that can be determined through routine trials. An effective amount in relation to a human patient, for example, may lie in the range of about 0.1 ng per kg of body weight to 1 g per kg of body weight per dosage. The dosage is preferably in the range of 1 μg to 1 g per kg of body weight per dosage, such as is in the range of 1 mg to 1 g per kg of body weight per dosage. In one embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 mg to 500 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. In another embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 mg to 250 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. In yet another embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 mg to 100 mg per kg of body weight per dosage, such as up to 50 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. In yet another embodiment, the dosage is in the range of 1 μg to 1 mg per kg of body weight per dosage. Dosage regimes may be adjusted to provide the optimum therapeutic response. For example, several divided doses may be administered daily, weekly, monthly or other suitable time intervals, or the dose may be proportionally reduced as indicated by the exigencies of the situation.
[0168] Reference herein to “treatment” and “prophylaxis” is to be considered in its broadest context. The term “treatment” does not necessarily imply that a subject is treated until total recovery. Similarly, “prophylaxis” does not necessarily mean that the subject will not eventually contract a disease condition. Accordingly, treatment and prophylaxis include amelioration of the symptoms of a particular condition or preventing or otherwise reducing the risk of developing a particular condition. The term “prophylaxis” may be considered as reducing the severity or onset of a particular condition. “Treatment” may also reduce the severity of an existing condition.
[0169] In another aspect of the invention, the compounds of the invention are suitable for use as a pesticide. The invention therefore further provides a pesticidal composition comprising a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically, an agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically, an agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable carrier.
[0170] The pesticidal composition may be in the form of an emulsifiable concentrate, a flowable, a wettable powder, a soluble powder, a solution, an aerosol, a dust, a granule or a bait. A person skilled in the formulation of pesticidal compositions would be able to prepare such formulations.
[0171] Suitable carriers for pesticidal compositions include, but are not limited to, oils, especially petroleum oils, emulsifiers, solvents such as water or hydrocarbons, surfactants, aerosol spray components such as CFCs, talc or clay.
[0172] In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling pests comprising applying an effective amount of a compound of the invention or a pharmaceutically, an agriculturally or pesticidally acceptable salt thereof to a subject and/or an agricultural or other environment infested with the pest.
[0173] The pest is preferably an insect, especially flies, beetles, grasshoppers, locusts, butterflies and moths and their larvae or nymphs, especially the flies ( Diptera ) such as true flies, fleas, lice, ticks, mosquitoes, gnats and midges.
[0174] In some embodiments, the pest infests plants. Examples of such pests include, but are not limited to, Acyrthosiphon kondoi (blue-green aphid), Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid), Agrotis spp. (cutworm), Agrypnus variabilis (sugarcane wireworm), Anoplognathus spp. (christmas beetles), Aphodius tasmaniae (blackheaded pasture cockchafer), Austroasca alfalfae (lucerne leaf hopper), Bathytricha truncate (sugarcane and maize stemborer), Bemisia tabaci (whitefly), Brachycaudus helichrysi (leaf curl plum aphid), Brevicoryne brassicae (cabbage aphid), Bruchophagus roddi (lucerne seed wasp), Bruchus pisorum (pea weevil), Bryobia spp. (bryobia mite), Ciampa arietaria (brown pasture looper), Chortoicetes terminifera (Australian plague locust), Chrysodeitis angentifena (tobacco looper), Chrysodeitis eriosoma (green looper), Contarinia sorghicola (sorghum midge), Deroceras spp. (slugs), Diachrysia oricalcea (soybean looper), Etiella behrii (lucerne seed-web moth), Frankliniella schultzei (tomato thrips), Graphognathus leucoloma (white fringed weevil), Halotydeus destructor (redlegged earth mite), Hednota pedionoma (pasture webworm), Helicoverpa armigera (corn earworm), Helicoverpa punctigera (native budworm), Helix spp. (snails), Heteronychus arator (African black beetle), Leucania convecta (common armyworm), Lipaphis erysimi (turnip aphid), Listroderes difficilis (vegetable weevil), Melanacanthus scutellaris (brown bean bug), Merophyas divulsana (lucerne leaf roller), Myzus persicae (green peach aphid), Nala lividipes (black field earwig), Mythimna convector (common armyworm), Nezara viridula (green vegetable bug), Nysius vinitor (rutherglen bug), Nysius clevelandensis (grey cluster bug), Oncopera rufobrunnea (underground grass grub), Orondina spp. (false wireworm), Othnonius batesi (black soil scarabs), Penthaleus major (blue oat mite), Persectania ewingii (southern armyworm), Petrobia lateens (brown wheat mite), Pieris rapae (cabbage white butterfly), Piezodorus hybneri (redbanded shield bug), Plutella xylostella (cabbage moth/diamondback moth), Rhopalosiphum maidis (corn aphid), Sericesthis spp. (small brownish cockchafers), Sitona discoideus (sitona weevil), Sminthurus viridis (lucerne flea), Spodoptera exigua (lesser armyworm), Spodoptera letura (cluster caterpillar Spodoptera mauritia (lawn armyworm), Stomopteryx simplexella (soybean moth), Tetranychus ludeni (bean spider mite), Tetranychus urticae (two spotted mite), Therioaphis trifolii f. maculata (spotted alfalfa aphid), Thrips tabaci (onion thrips), Thrips imaginis (plague thrips), Zizina labradus (grass blue butterfly), Zygrita diva (lucerne crown borer).
[0175] In other embodiments, the pests infest subject and/or environments other than plants. Examples of such pests include, but are not limited to, lice, ants including Camponotus spp., Lasius alienus, Acanthomyops interjectus, Monomorium pharaonis, Solenopsis molesta, Tetramorium caepitum, Monomorium minimum, Prenolepis impairs, Formica exsectoides, Iridomyrmex pruinosus, Cremastogaster lineolata, Tapinoma sessile, Paratrechina longicornis , cockroachs, mosquitos, bed bugs including Leptoglassus occidentalis, Acrosternum hiare, Chlorochroa sayi, Podius maculiventris, Murgantia histrionica, Oncopeltus fasciatus, Nabis alternatus, Leptopterna dolabrata, Lygus lineolaris, Adelpocoris rapidus, Poecilocapsus lineatus, Orius insidiosus, Corythucha ciliata , bees, wasps, black widow spider, booklice, boxelder bug, brown recluse spider, clothes moths including Tineola spp., Tinea spp., Trichophaga spp., carpet beetles, centipedes, clover mites, cluster and face flies, cigarette and drugstore beetles, crickets including Acheta spp., Gryllus spp., Gryllus spp., Nemobius spp., Oecanthus spp., Ceuthophilus spp., Neocurfilla spp., daddy-long-legs, domestic flies, drain flies, earwigs, European hornet, fleas including Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis, Ctenocephalides spp., Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Nosopsyllus spp., Xenopsylla cheopis, Xenopsylla spp., Cediopsylla simplex, Cediopsylla spp., fungus gnats, ground beetles, hide and larder beetles, horse/cattle/deer/pig flies, house dust mites including Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides spp., mites including Ornithonyssus sylviarum, Dermanyssus gallinae, Ornithonyssus bacoti, Liponyssoides sanuineus, Demodex folliculorum, Sarcoptes scabiei hominis, Pyemotes tritici, Acarus siro, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Dermatophagoides sp., human lice, humbacked flies, Indian meal moth, millipedes, mud daubers, multicolored asian lady beetle, house borer, midges and crane flies, periodical and “dog-day” cicadas, powderpost beetles, roundheaded and flatheaded borers, pseudoscorpions, psyllids or jumping plant lice, spider beetles, sac spiders, sap beetles, termites, silverfish and firebrats, sowbugs and pillbugs, springtails, stinging hair caterpillars, tarantulas, vinegar flies, wasps and hornets, wharf borer, woods cockroach, yellowjacket wasps, fungus beetles, seed weevils, sawtoothed and merchant grain beetles, confused and red flour beetles, granery and rice weevils, indian meal moth, mealworms, drain flies, ticks including Dermacentar spp., Ixodes spp., Rhipicenphalus spp., carpenter bees, fleas, assassin bugs, human lice, chiggers, mystery bugs, european hornet, stinging hair caterpillars, black-legged tick, mayflies, black flies, horsehair worms, crickets, gypsy moths, grasshoppers, gnats, midges, locusts, mosquitoes including Aedes albopictus, Aedes Canadensis Aedes triseriatus, Aedes tivittatus, Aedes vexans, Aedes spp., Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Anopheles spp., Coquillettidia perturbans, Coquillettidia spp., Culex pipiens, Culex spp.
[0176] An agriculturally effective amount may be determined by those skilled in the art using known methods and would typically range from 5 g to 500 g per hectare.
[0177] The environment that is infested with a pest may be an agricultural environment, a household environment or an industrial environment.
[0178] As used herein, the term “agricultural environment” refers to an environment in which agriculture is carried out, for example, the growing of crops, trees, and other plants of commercial importance. The agricultural environment includes not only the plant itself, but also the soil and area around the plants as they grow and also areas where parts of plants, for example, seeds, grains, leaves or fruit, may be stored.
[0179] A “household environment” includes environments that are inhabited by humans or animals and may include indoor environments such as carpets, curtains, cupboards, bedding and the air inside a house. An “industrial environment” includes environments which are used for industrial purposes such as manufacture, storage or vending of products. Industrial environments include warehouses, manufacturing plants, shops, storage facilities and the like.
[0180] In this aspect, preferred compounds of the invention include EBI-24 and EBI-25.
[0181] The invention further provides use of a compound of the invention as an agrochemical.
[0182] Accordingly, the compound of the invention may be formulated in an appropriate manner for delivery to crops, pastures, forests and other agricultural environments, preferably for the alleviation and/or eradication of one or more insect pests.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0183] FIG. 1 : Flowchart for initial solvent extraction of compounds of formula (I);
[0184] FIG. 2A : Flowchart showing the solvent partition for the aqueous concentrate obtained from FIG. 1 ;
[0185] FIG. 2B : Flowchart showing the solvent partition for the ethyl acetate residue obtained from FIG. 1 ;
[0186] FIG. 3 : Flowchart showing the steps in preparative HPLC chromatography;
[0187] FIG. 4 : Graphically represents the treatment of B16 melanoma cells with EBI-23 in C57BL/6 mice;
[0188] FIG. 5 : Graphically represents the treatment of DU145 prostate tumors in nude mice as depicted from the time of commencing treatment; and
[0189] FIG. 6 : Graphically represents the treatment of DU145 prostate tumors in nude mice as depicted from the time of tumor cell injection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Activity Screening
[0190] Solvent extraction samples from Litsea leefeana (epicarp and mesocarp), Cinnamomum laubatii (seed) and Cryptocarya lividula (epicarp and mesocarp) containing compounds of formula (I) and formula (II) were tested to determine therapeutic activity by screening in a range of Microbial Screening Technologies bioassays, notably NemaTOX, ProTOX, MycoTOX, CyTOX, DipteraTOX and TriTOX. For ease of description these bioassays will be described briefly prior to the extraction and chemical structure elucidation methodologies.
[0191] NemaTOX (alternatively referred to herein as Ne) is an anthelmintic bioassay, applicable to all parasitic nematodes with free-living life cycle stages, and can be used as a screen to detect activity and define the species spectrum of compounds against parasitic nematodes and examine the impact of pre-existing resistance to other anthelmintic classes on potency. Haemonchus contortus was utilised for this assay.
[0192] The effect on larval development is determined in this assay by the method described by Gill et al. (1995) Int. J. Parasitol. 25: 463-470. Briefly, in this assay nematode eggs were applied to the surface of an agar matrix containing the test sample and allowed to develop through to the L3, infective stage (6 days). At this time the stage of larval development reached and any unusual features (deformity, paralysis, toxicity) were noted by microscopic examination.
[0193] ProTOX, (alternatively referred to herein as Bs) is an antibacterial bioassay, broadly applicable to most aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The bioassay features a solid phase agar base into which the test compound has been incorporated together with a chromogen. As the bacteria multiply in the well, the chromogen is metabolised from blue in a two-step process to a colourless compound. Compounds with potent bactericidal activity inhibit bacterial metabolism of the chromogen while bacteriostatic compounds induce limited metabolism as indicated by an intermediate pink colour. ProTOX is broadly applicable to a range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria under aerobic and microaerophilic conditions. ProTOX assays were carried out using Bacillus subtilis.
[0194] Briefly, in ProTOX, the bacteria (24 hour broth) were applied to the surface of an agar matrix containing the test sample and allowed to grow for 48 h. The assay was monitored at 24 and 48 hours and the active wells noted. Known antibiotics yield consistent colour transitions which are concentration and time dependent. These patterns provided an important guide to the early recognition of interesting characteristics. Generally bactericidal actives give no colour change at both 24 and 48 hours while bacteriostatic actives are active at 24 hours but less potent or inactive at 48 hours.
[0195] MycoTOX (alternatively referred to herein as Tr) is a non-chromogenic bioassay used to detect activity against filamentous fungal pathogens of plants and animals. The bioassay features a solid phase agar base into which the test compound has been incorporated. As the growth patterns of filamentous fungi are readily apparent on the agar surface the extent of mycelial growth, sporulation (if relevant to the species under investigation) and colour changes with maturation are measured. Compounds with potent antifungal activity inhibit germination of fungal spores and provide a stark contrast to wells containing inactive compounds with the excessive fungal growth. Lower concentrations of such compounds, or compounds exhibiting a more fungistatic mode of action, show reductions in mycelial growth, extent of sporulation or reductions in other characteristic patterns of colony maturation.
[0196] MycoTOX, involves a fungus (spore suspension or mycelial fragments) applied to the surface of an agar matrix containing the test chemical and allowed to grow for a period of up to a week (depending on species). The assay was monitored at two discrete times to identify key development phases in the life cycle (for example mycelial growth and extent of sporulation) and the active wells noted. The monitoring times were dependent on the fungal species under investigation.
[0197] The MycoTOX assays were carried out using Trichophyton rubrum.
[0198] CyTOX (alternatively referred to herein as Cy) is a microtitre plate bioassay use to identify potential antitumor actives. CyTOX is a chromogenic bioassay with broad application to a wide range of tumor and non-tumor cell lines. The colour transitions in CyTOX are proportional to cell metabolism and turnover and hence offer useful recognition patterns to support the diagnostic classification of actives within a framework of known cytotoxic and antitumor actives.
[0199] CyTOX features a liquid media into which the test compound has been incorporated together with a novel chromogen. As the cells grow and divide the chromogen is metabolised from purple in a single step process to a colourless metabolite. CyTOX is routinely undertaken using NS1 murine myeloma cell line as a guide to mammalian cell toxicity.
[0200] Briefly, in CyTOX the cells were applied to the media containing the test chemical and allowed to grow for 72 hours. The assay was monitored at 24, 48 and 72 hours and the active wells identified.
[0201] DipteraTOX. DipteraTOX is referred to herein as DipG, DipP and DipH. DipG represents no grazing of larva. DipP represents no pupae formation and Dip H represents no hatching of flies. A value of A in DipG, Dip P or Dip H represents very active and a value of P represents active. In DipteraTox the fly eggs are applied to the surface of an agar matrix containing 250 μg per mL of the test chemical and allowed to hatch, develop and pupate for a period up of two weeks. The assay was monitored at two discrete times to determine the extent of grazing of the agar matrix at Week 1 and the presence of adult flies at Week 2. Activity was scored qualitatively as active or inactive at Days 7 and 14 to denote failure to feed and failure to development to the adult stage, respectively. Drosophila melanogaster was utilised for this assay.
[0202] TriTOX (alternatively referred to herein as Gi) is a microtitre plate based chromogenic bioassay for the screening of anti-protozoan activity of pathogenic, anaerobic/microaerophilic protozoans for example Giardia spp. and Trichomonas spp. The bioassays are run under anaerobic conditions and features species specific chromogens. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (approximate LD99) are determined by the following method: stock solutions of the unknowns are serially diluted ½ to give 12 concentrations over a 2,048-fold range. Aliquots of each concentration(s) are applied to the wells of 96-well microtitre plates and diluted with media. Test substances are scored as active or inactive based on the chromogen colour change. The lowest concentration at which the compound is active is noted as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Additionally, microscopic inspection is carried out to identify any patterns of morphological change that may be consistent with a type of toxicity and therefore mode of action. Giardia spp. was utilized for this assay.
[0203] In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, particular preferred embodiments will now be described by way of the following non-limiting examples.
Example 1
Methods
Extraction
[0204] Biomass samples, including seeds, leaves and bark, from Litsea leefeana (epicarp and mesocarp), Cinnamomum laubatii (seed) and Cryptocarya lividula (epicarp and mesocarp) where collected and subject to the following extraction process. These samples and their subsequent fractions are referred in the below examples as EB116, EB115 and EB 77 for samples and subsequent fractions from Litsea leefeana, Cinnamomum laubatii and Cryptocarya lividula respectively.
Phase 1—Extraction
[0205] The biomass was generously covered with methanol and shaken (˜2 L, overnight) followed by filtration to give the first extract. This process was repeated a second time (˜2 L, ˜5 hours) to generate the second extract. Each extract was examined by analytical HPLC and bioassayed ( FIG. 1 ). The sequential methanol extracts are combined and the solvent removed by rotary evaporation to afford an aqueous concentrate.
Phase 2—Solvent Partition
[0206] The aqueous concentrate from the extraction was diluted with water to 400 mL. The diluted sample (code ‘Cr’) was subsampled for HPLC and bioassay, then shaken with an equal volume of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) in a reparatory funnel and the individual layers, EtOAc1 and H2O1, collected. Note, occasionally a precipitate would form that was insoluble in either layer. This precipitate was collected by filtration and dissolved in methanol (code ‘Me’). The lower aqueous layer (H2O1) was twice more extracted with ethyl acetate to give EtOAc2 and EtOAc3 along with the remaining H2O3 layer. Subsamples of all layers were examined by analytical HPLC and bioassay ( FIG. 2A ).
[0207] The sequential ethyl acetate extracts were pooled and the solvent removed by rotary evaporation to afford a residue that is weighed. On occasions, analytical HPLC indicated the EtOAc extract contained considerable amounts of extremely lipophilic (RT>9 minutes) material. To remove this material a 10:9:1-hexane:methanol:water partition was performed ( FIG. 2B ).
Phase 3—Preparative HPLC Fractionation
[0208] The residue from the solvent partition was investigated by analytical HPLC to find optimum chromatographic conditions for separation of the metabolites present. Using these optimum conditions the residue (˜2 g) was fractionated by preparative reverse phase HPLC (C18, single injection) into 100 fractions ( FIG. 3 ). Subsamples of all 100 fractions are examined by analytical HPLC. After analysis of the HPLC traces, the 100 fractions were consolidated into 20 to 30 pooled fractions (pools), some of which may be >80% pure. These pooled fractions were weighed, bioassayed and examined by analytical HPLC.
Solvent Partition Summary for EB116, EB115 and EB 77
[0209] Biomass samples of Litsea leefeana (EB 116), Cinnamomum laubatii (EB 115), and Cryptocarya lividula (EB77) under went extraction and solvent partitioning, using phase 1 and 2 described above. Table 1 summarises the amounts of extractable material obtained after solvent partitioning with ethyl acetate.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Weights after Ethyl Acetate Partition of Extracts
HPLC
Sample
Weight 1
EtOAc 2
% Ext. 3
Comment
EB116
780
32.8
4.2
Very complex #
EB115
902
39.6
4.4
Good %
EB77
416
11.4
2.7
Excellent
1 Weight: Total sample weight in grams of plant material supplied and used for the study.
2 EtOAc: Ethyl acetate extractables.
3 % Ext.: Ethyl acetate extractables expressed as a percentage of the total sample weight.
# 0.6 g of material precipitation during ethyl acetate extraction.
% 31.6 g of material precipitation during ethyl acetate extraction.
Preparative HPLC
[0210] The preparative HPLC was carried out on a system consisting of two Shimadzu LC-8A Preparative Liquid Chromatographs with static mixer, Shimadzu SPD-M10AVP Diode Array Detector and Shimadzu SCL-10AVP System Controller. The column used was 50×100 mm (diameter×length) packed with C18 Platinum EPS (Alltech).
[0211] Approximately 2 grams of ethyl acetate extracted material was dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (4 mL) and subjected to preparative HPLC with typically conditions being 60 mL/minute with gradient elution of 30% to 100% acetonitrile/water over 20 minutes followed by acetonitrile for 10 minutes. One hundred fractions (20 mL) were collected, evaporated under nitrogen, and then combined on the basis of HPLC analysis.
UV Analysis
[0212] UV spectra were acquired during HPLC with the Shimadzu SPD-M10AVP Diode Array Detector as mentioned above.
NMR Analysis
[0213] All NMR spectra were acquired in d6-dimethyl sulphoxide and referenced to the residual dimethyl sulphoxide signals or deuterated chloroform (CDCl 3 ) and referenced to residual chloroform signals. 1D NMR spectra, 1 H and 13 C [APT], were acquired at 300 and 75 MHz respectively on a Varian Gemini 300BB (Palo Alto Calif. USA) spectrometer. 2D NMR spectra, HSQC, HMBC, COSY and TOCSY, and a 1D NMR 1 H spectrum were acquired on a Bruker DRX600 (600 MHz) NMR spectrometer.
[0214] Analysis of NMR data was performed using ACD/SpecManager and ACD/Structure Elucidator, both version 6.0 from Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc. (Toronto, ON, Canada).
Electrospray Mass Sepctrometry Analysis (ES-MS)
[0215] All positive electrospray mass spectra were performed on a Finnigan/Mat TSQ7000 LCMS/MS (San Jose Calif. USA).
Example 2
EB116
Extraction and Solvent Partition
[0216] Extraction and solvent partitioning of EB116 afforded 780 g of material. Each of the extraction and solvent partition layers were tested for bioactivity using the above bioassays. It can be seen from Table 2 that the extracts and ethyl acetate layers of the solvent partition all contain high Ne, Bs, Tr and Cy activity.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Activity of Extracts and Solvent Partitions.
Sample
Ne 4
Bs 4
Tr 4
Cy 4
EB116.PY1.7-Ext1
4
64
2
256
EB116.PY1.7-Ext2
16
128
8
1024
EB116.PY1.19-Cr
0
0
0
8
EB116.PY1.19-EtOAc1
64
2048
16
2048
EB116.PY1.19-EtOAc2
32
128
8
2048
EB116.PY1.19-EtOAc3
1
2
1
64
EB116.PY1.19-H2O1
1
0
2
16
EB116.PY1.19-H2O2
0
0
0
4
EB116.PY1.19-H2O3
0
1
0
8
EB116.PY1.19-Me
0
0
0
0
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
[0217] The successive aqueous concentrated extracts were subjected to HPLC. The column used was 50×100 mm (diameter×length) packed with C18 Platinum EPS (Alltech). Approximately 2 grams of extracted material was dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (4 mL) and subjected to preparative HPLC with typical conditions being 60 mL/minute with gradient elution of 30% to 100% acetonitrile/water over 20 minutes followed by acetonitrile for 10 minutes.
[0218] For comparison purposes the first ethyl acetate partition and the third water layers were analysed by HPLC. There were little or no compounds of interest remaining in the third water layer of the third water/ethyl acetate solvent partition.
EB116: Preparative HPLC Fractionation
[0219] In a manner similar to that described in Phase 3 above the EB116 ethyl acetate solvent partition samples where pooled and further worked up using preparative HPLC chromatograph.
[0220] The preparative HPLC was used to produce 100 fractions. These fractions were pooled depending on the relative concentration of compounds indicated in the preparative HPLC chromatograph.
[0221] The bioactivity of each fraction or pooled fraction resulting from the preparative HPLC was determined using the above bioassay method. The results are summarised below at Table 3.
[0000]
TABLE 3
Activity of Preparative HPLC Pools.
Sample
Weight 5
Ne 4
Bs 4
Tr 4
Cy 4
EB116.LA2.139-1/12
64
1
0
0
4
EB116.LA2.139-13/14
15
0
0
0
4
EB116.LA2.139-15/16
22
0
0
2
8
EB116.LA2.139-17/21
19
0
0
0
4
EB116.LA2.139-22/26
21
0
0
0
16
EB116.LA2.139-27/31
37
1
0
0
32
EB116.LA2.139-32/33
29
4
2
0
256
EB116.LA2.139-34/35
29
1
1
0
32
EB116.LA2.139-36
1022
1
4
2
32
EB116.LA2.139-37
27
2
8
2
64
EB116.LA2.139-38/40
70
16
32
32
256
EB116.LA2.139-41/45
205
32
1024
32
1024
EB116.LA2.139-46/47
74
16
256
32
1024
EB116.LA2.139-48/50
146
16
126
64
512
EB116.LA2.139-51/56
287
64
2048
32
2048
EB116.LA2.139-57/58
120
16
512
8
2048
EB116.LA2.139-59/63
370
16
2048
4
2048
EB116.LA2.139-64/70
102
8
128
0
2048
EB116.LA2.139-71/80
53
0
2
0
2048
EB116.LA2.139-81/90
17
0
0
0
32
EB116.LA2.139-91/100
55
1
0
0
128
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EB115: Extraction and Solvent Partition
[0222] Extraction and solvent partitioning of EB 115 afforded 902 g of material. Each of the extraction and solvent partition layers were tested for bioactivity using the above bioassays. It can be seen from Table 4 that the extracts and ethyl acetate layers of the solvent partition all contain high Ne, Bs, Tr and Cy activity.
[0000]
TABLE 4
Activity of Extracts and Solvent Partitions.
Sample
Ne 4
Bs 4
Tr 4
Cy 4
EB115.PY1.6-Ext1
8
16
128
256
EB115.PY1.6-Ext2
8
16
128
256
EB115.PY1.18-Cr
1
0
4
8
EB115.PY1.18-EtOAc1
16
128
256
1024
EB115.PY1.18-EtOAc2
8
8
64
128
EB115.PY1.18-EtOAc3
0
0
8
8
EB115.PY1.18-H2O3
1
0
4
8
EB115.PY1.18-Me
0
0
1
8
4 LD 99 μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
[0223] The successive aqueous concentrated extracts were subjected to HPLC. The column used was 50×100 mm (diameter×length) packed with C18 Platinum EPS (Alltech). Approximately 2 grams of extracted material was dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (4 mL) and subjected to preparative HPLC with typical conditions being 60 mL/minute with gradient elution of 30% to 100% acetonitrile/water over 20 minutes followed by acetonitrile for 10 minutes.
[0224] For comparison purposes the first ethyl acetate partition and the third water layers were analysed by HPLC. There were little or no compounds of interest remaining in the third water layer of the third water/ethyl acetate solvent partition.
EB115: Preparative HPLC Fractionation
[0225] In a manner similar to that described in Phase 3 above the EB115 ethyl acetate solvent partition samples where pooled and further worked up using preparative HPLC chromatograph.
[0226] The preparative HPLC was used to produce 100 fractions. These fractions were pooled depending on the relative concentration of compounds indicated in the preparative HPLC chromatograph.
[0227] The bioactivity of each fraction or pooled fraction resulting from the preparative HPLC was determined using the above bioassay method. The results are summarised below at Table 5.
[0000]
TABLE 5
Activity of Preparative HPLC Pools.
Sample
Weight 5
Ne 4
Bs 4
Tr 4
Cy 4
EB115.LA2.138-1/13
44
1
0
8
4
EB115.LA2.138-14/21
9
0
0
0
0
EB115.LA2.138-22
2
0
0
0
0
EB115.LA2.138-23/28
12
0
0
0
2
EB115.LA2.138-29/33
29
0
0
4
16
EB115.LA2.138-34/36
22
0
0
4
16
EB115.LA2.138-37
45
1
0
16
32
EB115.LA2.138-38
151
4
8
32
512
EB115.LA2.138-39
88
0
2
32
512
EB115.LA2.138-40
70
4
4
32
256
EB115.LA2.138-41
64
0
16
64
512
EB115.LA2.138-42
56
0
8
32
256
EB115.LA2.138-43
10
0
8
0
64
EB115.LA2.138-44/47
137
4
16
128
128
EB115.LA2.138-48/49
185
4
32
1024
128
EB115.LA2.138-50/52
148
16
16
1024
512
EB115.LA2.138-53/56
48
8
128
128
1024
EB115.LA2.138-57/60
130
0
32
32
1024
EB115.LA2.138-61/65
130
4
256
64
2048
EB115.LA2.138-66/70
16
2
32
0
128
EB115.LA2.138-71/80
16
0
2
0
128
EB115.LA2.138-81/90
5
0
0
0
4
EB115.LA2.138-91/100
12
0
0
0
8
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EB77: Extraction and Solvent Partition
[0228] Extraction and solvent partitioning of EB77 afforded 416 g of material. Each of the extraction and solvent partition layers were tested for bioactivity using the above bioassays. It can be seen from Table 6 that the extracts and ethyl acetate layers of the solvent partition all contain high Ne, Bs, Tr and Cy activity.
[0000]
TABLE 6
Activity of Extracts and Solvent Partitions.
Ne
Bs
Tr
Cy
Sample
Titre
LD 99 4
Titre
LD 99 4
Titre
LD 99 4
Titre
LD 99 4
EB77.MG1.41-
4
440
64
27
16
110
256
6.8
Ext1
EB77.MG1.41-
2
340
32
21
16
43
128
5.3
Ext2
EB77.MG1.57-
64
140
512
17
256
34
2048
4.3
EtOAc1
EB77.MG1.57-
1
250
4
62
4
62
32
7.7
EtOAc2
EB77.MG1.57-
0
1
110
2
55
8
14
EtOAc3
EB77.MG1.57-
1
4200
0
2
2100
8
530
H2O1
EB77.MG1.57-
1
4200
0
2
2100
8
530
H2O2
EB77.MG1.57-
1
4300
0
0
8
530
H2O3
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
[0229] The successive aqueous concentrated extracts were subjected to HPLC. The column used was 50×100 mm (diameter×length) packed with C18 Platinum EPS (Alltech). Approximately 2 grams of extracted material was dissolved in dimethyl sulphoxide (4 mL) and subjected to preparative HPLC with typical conditions being 60 mL/minute with gradient elution of 30% to 100% acetonitrile/water over 20 minutes followed by acetonitrile for 10 minutes.
[0230] For comparison purposes the first ethyl acetate partition and the third water layers were analysed by HPLC. There were little or no compounds of interest remaining in the third water layer of the third water/ethyl acetate solvent partition.
EB77: Preparative HPLC Fractionation
[0231] In a manner similar to that described in Phase 3 above the EB77 ethyl acetate solvent partition samples where pooled and further worked up using preparative HPLC chromatograph.
[0232] The preparative HPLC was used to produce 100 fractions. These fractions were pooled depending on the relative concentration of compounds indicated in the preparative HPLC chromatograph.
[0233] The bioactivity of each fraction or pooled fraction resulting from the preparative HPLC was determined using the above bioassay method. The results are summarised below at Table 7.
[0000]
TABLE 7
Activity of Preparative HPLC Pools.
Ne
Bs
Tr
Cy
Sample
Weight 5
Titre
LD 99 4
Titre
LD 99 4
Titre
LD 99 4
Titre
LD 99 4
EB77.LA3.110-1/11
68.6
2
1100
0
4
540
32
67
EB77.LA3.110-12/13
11.7
0
0
0
4
92
EB77.LA3.110-14/15
12.7
0
0
0
4
99
EB77.LA3.110-16/22
28.0
0
1
880
1
880
128
6.8
EB77.LA3.110-23/26
40.7
0
1
1300
4
320
1024
1.2
EB77.LA3.110-27/28
22.6
0
8
88
256
2.8
512
1.4
EB77.LA3.110-29/33
68.9
2
1100
2
1100
64
34
1024
2.1
EB77.LA3.110-34/35
116.5
64
57
32
110
512
7.1
2048
1.8
EB77.LA3.110-36
46.2
32
45
32
45
512
2.8
1024
1.4
EB77.LA3.110-37
41.4
32
40
32
40
128
10
512
2.5
EB77.LA3.110-38
40.8
64
20
16
80
512
2.5
1024
1.2
EB77.LA3.110-39
36.6
32
36
32
36
512
2.2
1024
1.1
EB77.LA3.110-40
18.4
8
72
8
72
8
72
256
2.2
EB77.LA3.110-41/43
102.4
128
25
128
25
8
400
2048
1.6
EB77.LA3.110-44/45
87.6
128
21
256
11
8
340
1024
2.7
EB77.LA3.110-46/48
116.0
128
28
512
7.1
8
450
2048
1.8
EB77.LA3.110-49/51
94.3
256
12
512
5.8
8
370
2048
1.4
EB77.LA3.110-52
21.0
32
20
128
5.1
4
160
512
1.3
EB77.LA3.110-53
31.2
32
31
256
3.8
2
490
2048
0.48
EB77.LA3.110-54
37.0
64
18
128
9.0
2
580
2048
0.57
EB77.LA3.110-55
42.1
128
10
256
5.1
2
660
2048
0.64
EB77.LA3.110-56/58
142.7
256
17
1024
4.4
1
4500
2048
2.2
EB77.LA3.110-59/60
66.8
64
33
256
8.2
0
2048
1.0
EB77.LA3.110-61/62
23.5
16
46
64
11
0
1024
0.72
EB77.LA3.110-63/70
50.8
4
400
64
25
0
2048
0.77
EB77.LA3.110-71/80
11.5
0
0
0
64
5.6
EB77.LA3.110-81/90
8.9
0
0
0
64
4.3
EB77.LA3.110-
29.2
0
1
910
0
128
7.1
91/100
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
Example 3
Chemical Structural Elucidation
EBI-23
[0234] The pool of like material (fractions 59-63, 370 mg) from the gradient preparative HPLC run was dissolved in methanol and subjected to preparative HPLC (10 mL/minute with isocratic elution of 55% water/acetonitrile over 30 minutes, through a 5 μm Phenomenex Luna C18(2) 20×100 mm column).
[0235] Fractions 27 to 32 were combined, concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR (Table 8). From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB116.LA3.31-27/32 contained the following compound referred to herein as EBI-23.
[0000]
[0000]
TABLE 8
NMR Data for EBI-69 in DMSO-d6 at 75/600 MHz
No.
13 C
1 H
Multiplicity (J Hz)
2
161.3
3
123.2
6.15
d (9.8)
4
140.8
7.06
dd (9.8, 5.1)
5
67.9
4.35
t (4.9)
6
79.0
5.10
m
7
47.6
2.03, 2.41
dd (14.6, 6.9)
dd (14.6, 2.4)
8
105.1
9
40.0
1.78, 1.85
m
10
62.2
3.94
m
11
37.0
~1.5, ~1.3
m
12
63.4
4.19
m
13
43.2
~1.5, ~1.3
m
14
66.6
4.24
dd (10.4, 4.6)
15
37.0
~1.5, ~1.3
m
16
25.1
1.22
m
17
~29
1.22
m
18
~29
1.22
m
19
~29
1.22
m
20
~29
1.22
m
21
~29
1.22
m
22
~29
1.22
m
23
~29
1.22
m
24
~29
1.22
m
25
31.3
1.22
m
26
22.1
~1.25
m
27
13.9
0.84
t (7.0)
[0236] The bioassay results of Table 9 and those stated in Example 4 ‘Additional in vitro activity’ in Example 5 “Details and results of anti-inflammatory screening of EBI-23 and EBI-24” and Example 18 “Immunomudulation inhibition of the mixed lymphocyte reaction” clearly indicate that compound EBI-23 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antiparasitic and therefore would be useful in the treatment of infestation by a parasite, such as an ectoparasite and/or an endoparasites of humans and/or animals, (C) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, (D) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals, (E) an anti-inflammatory and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an anti-inflammatory condition, and (F) an immunosuppressive agent.
[0000]
TABLE 9
Bioassay of EBI-23
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
Ne LD 99 4
BS LD 99 4
Tr LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
EB116.LA3.31-27/32
82.1
100
3.1
—
0.78
50
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-24
[0237] From the preparative HPLC described above fractions 36 to 40 were combined. Fractions 36 to 40 which were concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR (Table 10). From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB116.LA3.31-36/40 contained the following compound referred to herein as EBI-24.
[0000]
[0000]
TABLE 10
NMR Data for EBI-24 in DMSO-d6 at 75/600 MHz
No.
13 C
1 H
Multiplicity (J Hz)
2
161.3
3
123.2
6.14
d (10.0)
4
140.8
7.04
dd (10.0, 5.2)
5
67.9
4.37
t (4.9)
6
78.9
5.09
m
7
47.6
2.42, 2.04
dd (14.6, 6.9)
dd (14.6, 2.5)
8
105.2
9
40.0
1.86, 1.79
m
10
62.2
3.94
m
11
37.0
1.59, 1.31
m
12
63.4
4.20
m
13
43.2
1.54, 1.33
m
14
66.9
3.51
m
15
37.2
1.30
m
16
25.1
1.35, 1.23
m
17
~29
1.22
m
18
~29
1.22
m
19
~29
1.22
m
20
~29
1.22
m
21
~29
1.22
m
22
~29
1.22
m
23
~29
1.22
m
24
~29
1.22
m
25
31.9
1.91
m
26
128.9
5.36
m
27
131.5
5.39
m
28
25.0
1.94
m
29
13.8
0.91
t (7.4)
10-OH
n.d.
12-OH
n.d.
[0238] The bioassay results of Table 11 and those stated in Example 4 ‘Additional in vitro activity’ and in Example 5 “Details and results of anti-inflammatory screening of EBI-23 and EBI-24” and Example 18 “Immunomudulation inhibition of the mixed lymphocyte reaction” clearly indicate that compound EBI-24 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antiparasitic and therefore would be useful in the treatment of infestation by a parasite, such as an ectoparasite and/or an endoparasites of humans and/or animals, (C) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, (D) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals, (E) an insecticide and therefore would be useful use in the eradication and/or growth inhibition of an insect including a broad range of insect species, (F) an anti-inflammatory and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an anti-inflammatory condition, and (G) an immunosuppressive agent.
[0000]
TABLE 11
Bioassay of EBI-24
Ne
BS
Tr
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
DipP 4 /DipH 4
EB116.LA3.31-
43.5
100
13
—
0.78
100
P/P
36/40
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-25
[0239] From the preparative HPLC described above fractions 56 to 63 were combined. Fractions 56 to 63 which were concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR (Table 12). From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB116.LA3.31-56/63 contained the following compound referred to herein as EBI-25:
[0000]
[0000]
TABLE 12
NMR Data for EBI-25 in DMSO-d6 at 75/600 MHz
No.
13 C
1 H
Multiplicity (J Hz)
2
161.3
3
123.2
6.14
d (9.9)
4
140.7
7.05
dd (9.9, 5.3)
5
68.0
4.38
t (4.9)
6
78.9
5.09
m
7
47.6
2.40, 2.06
dd (14.6, 6.8)
dd (14.6, 2.4)
8
105.2
m
9
38.9
1.85, 1.78
m
10
62.0
3.93
m
11
37.0
1.52, 1.34
m
12
63.1
4.14
m
13
39.3
1.61, 1.54
m
14
70.8
4.92
m
15
33.5
1.53, 1.47
m
16
24.6
1.24
m
17
~29
1.22
m
18
~29
1.22
m
19
~29
1.22
m
20
~29
1.22
m
21
~29
1.22
m
22
~29
1.22
m
23
~29
1.22
m
24
~29
1.22
m
25
31.3
1.22
m
26
22.1
1.25
m
27
13.9
0.84
t (7.0)
10-OH
n.d.
12-OH
n.d.
[0240] The bioassay results of Table 13 and those stated in Example 4 ‘Additional in vitro activity’ clearly indicate that compound EBI-25 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, (C) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals, and (D) an insecticide and therefore would be useful use in the eradication and/or growth inhibition of an insect including a broad range of insect species.
[0000]
TABLE 13
Bioassay of EBI-25
BS
Tr
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
Ne LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
DipH 4
EB116.LA3.31-
44.6
—
25
—
1.6
50
P
56/63
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-37
[0241] Pooled fractions 42 to 44 of EB115 ( Cinnamomum laubatii ) were isolated and analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR. From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB115.LA3.31-60-40/42 contained a compound referred to as EBI-37 which was identical to EBI-23.
[0242] The bioassay results of Table 14 clearly indicate that compound EBI-37 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, and (C) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals.
[0000]
TABLE 14
Bioassay of EBI-37
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
Ne LD 99 4
BS LD 99 4
Tr LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
EB115.LA3.60-40/42
130
—
6.3
—
0.78
50
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-38
[0243] Fractions 47 to 49 of EB 115 were pooled and concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR. From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB115.LA3.60-47/49 contained a compound referred to herein as EBI-38 and found to be identical to EBI-24.
[0244] The bio assay results of Table 15 clearly indicate that compound EBI-38 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antiparasitic and therefore would be useful in the treatment of infestation by a parasite, such as an ectoparasite and/or an endoparasites of humans and/or animals, (C) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, and (D) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals.
[0000]
TABLE 15
Bioassay of EBI-38
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
Ne LD 99 4
BS LD 99 4
Tr LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
EB115.LA3.60-47/49
7.7
50
13
—
0.78
50
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-39
[0245] Fractions 62 to 64 of EB 115 were concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR. From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB115.LA3.60-62/64 contained a compound referred to herein as EBI-39 which was found to be identical to EBI-25.
[0246] The bioassay results of Table 16 clearly indicate that compound EBI-39 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, and (C) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals.
[0000]
TABLE 16
Bioassay of EBI-31
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
Ne LD 99 4
BS LD 99 4
Tr LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
EB115.LA3.60-62/64
7.7
—
13
—
1.6
50
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity, however the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-42
[0247] Fractions 83 to 86 of EB115 were combined, concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR (Table 17). From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB115.LA3.60-83/86 contained the following compound referred to herein as EBI-42:
[0000]
[0000]
TABLE 17
NMR Data for EBI-42 in DMSO-d6 at 75/600 MHz
No.
13 C
1 H
Multiplicity (J Hz)
2
161.3
3
123.1
6.15
d (9.8)
4
140.7
4.01
dd (9.8, 5.1)
5
67.7
4.44
t (4.8)
6
80.1
5.21
m
7
45.6
2.42, 2.25
dd (14.8, 6.5)
dd (14.8, 2.5)
8
102.9
9
29.2
1.97, 1.86
m
10
127.3
5.62
m
11
128.5
5.96
m
12
66.4
3.86
m
13
38.9
1.78, 1.66
m
14
70.5
4.93
m
15
33.4
1.52
m
16
24.5
1.24
m
17
~29
1.23
m
18
~29
1.23
m
19
~29
1.23
m
20
~29
1.23
m
21
~29
1.23
m
22
~29
1.23
m
23
~29
1.23
m
24
~29
1.23
m
25
31.2
1.22
m
26
22.0
1.25
m
27
13.9
0.84
t (7.0)
28
170.0
29
20.9
1.98
s
[0248] The bioassay results of Table 18 and those stated in Example 4 ‘Additional in vitro activity’ clearly indicate that compound EBI-42 has efficacy as a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders.
[0000]
TABLE 18
Bioassay of EBI-42
Cy
Gi
Sample
Weight 5
Ne LD 99 4
BS LD 99 4
Tr LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
EB115.LA3.60-62/64
1.8
—
—
—
1.6
—
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Weight in mg.
EBI-69
[0249] Fractions 92 to 100 of EB77 were combined, concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by UV spectroscopy, HPLC analysis, ES-MS and NMR. From the HPLC, ES-MS and NMR analysis it was determined that EB77.LA4.92-100 contained the following compound referred to herein as EBI-69 which was found to be identical to EBI-23.
[0250] The bioassay results of Table 19 and those stated in Example 4 ‘Additional in vitro activity’ clearly indicate that compound EBI-69 has efficacy as (A) a cytotoxic agent and therefore would be useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of cell proliferative diseases such as tumors, leukaemia, lymphoma and related disorders, (B) an antiparasitic and therefore would be useful in the treatment of infestation by a parasite, such as an ectoparasite and/or an endoparasites of humans and/or animals, (C) an antibiotic and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by bacteria of humans and/or animals, (D) an antiprotozoal and therefore would be useful in treatment or prophylaxis of an infection by protozoa of humans and/or animals, and (E) an insecticide and therefore would be useful use in the eradication and/or growth inhibition of a an insect including a broad range of insect species.
[0000]
TABLE 19
Bioassay of EBI-69
Ne
BS
Tr
Cy
Gi
Titre/
Titre/
Titre/
Titre/
Titre/
Sample
Wt 5
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
LD 99 4
DipP 4
LD 99 4
EB77.LA4.92-100
28
1/63
16/3.9
0/—
256/0.24
P
4/16
4 LD 99 in μg/mL calculated as weight of chemical in last well with activity; however, the real value may be lower as end point not attained.
5 Wt is weight in mg.
[0251] Fraction 9 of EB 116 was concentrated, under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by ES-MS and NMR. From the NMR and mass spectrometric data, this fraction yielded a compound comprising one or both of the following compounds referred herein as EBI-72.
[0000]
[0252] R 1 is Ac and R 2 is H or R 1 is H and R 2 is Ac.
[0253] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz) 0.94 (t, 3H), 1.23 (vbs, 15H), 1.30-1.63 (m, 4H), 1.67-2.00 (m, 7H), 2.00 (s, 3H), 2.22 (dd, J 14.6, 2.7 Hz, 1H), 2.50 (s, 3H), 2.22 (dd, J 14.6, 6.9 Hz, 1H), 3.1 (bs, 1H), 4.08 (bs, 1H), 4.10-4.12 (m, 1H), 4.52 (t, J 4.9 Hz, 1H), 4.98-5.06 (m, 2H), 5.27-5.50 (m, 2H), 6.18 (d, J 9.9 Hz, 1H), 6.86 (dd, J 9.9, 5.2 Hz, 1H).
[0254] ES-MS C28H4407 515 (M+Na), 1006 (2M+Na).
[0255] Fractions 10 and 11 of EB 116 were pooled and concentrated under vacuum, freeze dried and the resulting product was analysed by ES-MS and NMR. From the NMR and mass spectrometric data, this fraction yielded a compound comprising one or both of the following compounds referred herein as EBI-73.
[0000]
[0256] R 1 is Ac and R 2 is H or R 1 is H and R 2 is Ac.
[0257] 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 300 MHz) 1.17-1.63 (m, 16H), 1.8 (bd, 2H), 1.87-2.00 (m, 2H), 2.03 (s, 3H), 2.10-2.27 (m, 2H), 2.43-2.63 (m, 3H), 3.73-3.87 (m, 1H), 4.30-4.43 (m, 1H), 4.47 (t, J 5.1 Hz, 1H), 4.97-5.10 (m, 2H), 5.90 (s, 2H), 6.14 (d, J 5.1 Hz, 1H), 6.57-6.77 (m, 3H), 6.86 (dd, J 9.9, 5.1 Hz, 1H).
[0258] ES-MS C30H4009 566 (M+Na−1).
Example 4
Additional In Vitro Activity
EBI-23
[0259] Additional in vitro assays were performed and demonstrated that EBI-23 has: cytotoxic activity against normal human fibroblasts (NFF) at 30 μg/mL; and antitumor activity against the following cell lines:
leukemia K562 at 3 μg/mL; melanoma MM96L at 1 μg/mL; melanoma MM418c5 at 1 μg/mL; prostate DU145 at 3 μg/mL; breast MCF-7 at 1 μg/mL; ovarian C180-135 at 1 μg/mL.
EBI-24
[0266] Additional in vitro assays were performed and demonstrated that EBI-24 has: cytotoxic activity against normal human fibroblasts (NFF) at 10 μg/mL; and antitumor activity against the following cell lines:
leukemia K562 at 10 μg/mL; melanoma MM96L at 3 μg/mL; melanoma MM418c5 at 10 μg/mL; prostate DU145 at 10 μg/mL; breast MCF-7 at 10 μg/mL; ovarian C180-13S at 3 μg/mL.
EBI-25
[0273] Additional in vitro assays were performed and demonstrated that EBI-25 has: cytotoxic activity against normal human fibroblasts (NFF) at 30 μg/mL; and antitumor activity against the following cell lines:
leukemia K562 at 30 μg/mL; melanoma MM96L at 10 μg/mL; melanoma MM418c5 at 10 μg/mL; prostate DU145 at 30 μg/mL; breast MCF-7 at 300 μg/mL; ovarian C180-13S at 3 μg/mL.
EBI-42
[0280] Additional in vitro assays were performed and demonstrated that EBI-42 has:
[0000] no cytotoxic activity against normal human fibroblasts (NFF) at 10 μg/mL; and
[0281] antitumor activity against the following cell lines;
melanoma MM96L at 10 μg/mL; and ovarian C180-13S at 10 μg/mL.
Example 5
Details and Results of Antiinflammatory Screening of EBI-23 and EBI-24
[0284] Three main assays were performed; transformation, regression and mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLRs). Reference is made to Moss et al., (D J, Rickinson A B, Pope J H: Long-term T-cell-mediated immunity to Epstein-Barr virus in man. III. Activation of cytotoxic T cells in virus-infected leukocyte cultures. Int J Cancer 1979, 23:618-625). Complete regression of virus-induced transformation in cultures of seropositive donor leukocytes
[0285] Both regression and MLR quantitative experimental results were obtained visually and by the addition of [methyl- 3 H]thymidine (3H-T). 3H-T is a nucleoside analogue and is incorporated into the DNA of proliferating cells. If cells are proliferating, the counts/minute (cpm) is high; if cells are dead, the cpm is low.
Transformation and Regression
Transformation Background
[0286] EBV seronegative and seropositive donors' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were infected with EBV. A small percent of the B-cells contained within the PBMC population were transformed into immortalised lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs).
Regression Background
[0287]
[0000]
TABLE 21
Regression in EBV sero-positive PMBCs induced
by EBV specific memory T-cells
Day 8-10
Day 14
Day 28
EBV sero+ donor PBMC +
transformation
regression/death
death
EBV
EBV sero− donor PBMC +
transformation
transformation
growth
EBV
[0288] Regression only occurs in EBV sero-positive PBMCs induced by EBV specific memory T-cells.
[0000] Experiments with EBI-23 and EBI-24 Isolated from Both EB116 and EB115
Methods:
[0289] EBI-23 and EBI-24 were added at 2 μg/mL concentration individually to EBV seropositive and seronegative donors PBMCs previously infected with EBV, to monitor the inhibition of transformation and/or regression.
[0290] The cells were then incubated for 28 days when results were determined visually and by the addition of 3H-T to obtain quantitative data.
Results:
[0291] The individual transformation summaries were determined by visual data and 3H-T cpm data from EBV seronegative donors' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The control used was these PBMCs minus chemical. The 3H-T cpm cut-off values were determined for each individual assay by this control value, plus and minus a five (5)-fold difference. This 5-fold difference was chosen as it compared the 3H-T cpm data from controls and visual inspection of all test wells.
[0292] The individual regression summaries were determined by visual data and 3H-T cpm data from EBV seropositive donors' PBMC. The control was these PBMCs minus chemical. The 3H-T cpm cut of values were determined for each individual assay by this control value, plus and minus a one hundred (100)-fold difference. This 100-fold difference was chosen as it compared the 3H-T cpm and visual data from controls with the 3H-T cpm and visual data of all test wells. The positive control was the cpm from cells incubated with cyclosporine (CSA), a chemical known to inhibit regression, while the negative control was PBMC minus virus and chemical.
Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction (MLR):
MLR Background and Method
[0293] Studying the Effect of EBI-23 and EBI-24 Isolated from EB115 and EB116 on Allogeneic T-Cell Responses.
[0294] PBMCs were mixed with irradiated, HLA mismatched LCLs and monitored for T-cell activation/growth after six (6) days.
Results
[0295] The individual MLR summaries were determined by visual data and 3H-T cpm from PBMCs+HLA mismatched LCLs plus EB chemical. The control was these PBMCs+LCLs minus chemical. The 3H-T cpm cut of values were determined for each individual assay by this control value, plus and minus a five (5)-fold difference. This 5-fold difference was chosen as it compared the 3H-T cpm and visual data from controls with the 3H-T cpm and visual data of all test wells. The positive control was the cpm from cells incubated with cyclosporine (CSA), a chemical known to inhibit MLR, while the negative control was PBMC alone and LCL alone
Results of Screening for Specific Chemicals:
[0296] EBI-23 and EBI-24 showed strong inhibition of transformation.
Example 6
Derivatisation of EBI-23 by Hydrogenation
[0297] 1 mg of EBI-23 in 200 μL methanol was treated with 4 mg PtO 2 for 24 hours at room temperature to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 26 H 48 O 6 ; Exact mass: 456.3451; Molecular weight: 456.6557; C, 68.38; H, 10.59; O, 21.02. MS (ESI): 479, (M+Na).
Example 7
Derivatisation of EBI-23 by Acetylation
[0298] 1 mg of EBI-23 in 400 μL acetic anhydride and pyridine (1:1) was stirred at room temperature for 17 hours to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 30 H 48 O 8 ; Exact mass: 536.3349; Molecular weight: 536.6973; C, 67.14; H, 9.01; O, 23.85. MS (ESI): 559, (M+Na).
Example 8
Derivatisation of EBI-24 by Hydrogenation
[0299] 1 mg of EBI-24 in 200 μL methanol was treated with 4 mg PtO 2 for 24 hours at room temperature to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 28 H 46 O 6 ; Exact mass: 478.33; Molecular weight: 478.66; MS (ESI): 501, (M+Na), 533 (M+Na+MeOH), 565 (M+Na+2MeOH).
Example 9
Derivatisation of EBI-24 by Oxidation
[0300] 1 mg of EBI-24 in 200 μL acetone was treated with 50 μL freshly prepared dimethyldioxirane (DMDO) solution and stirred for 1 hour at 0° C. and 3 hours at room temperature to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 28 H 42 O 7 ; Exact mass: 490.2931; Molecular weight: 490.6289; MS (ESI): 513, (M+Na), 1003 (2M+Na).
Example 10
Derivatisation of EBI-24 by Acetylation
[0301] 1 mg of EBI-24 in 400 μL acetic anhydride and pyridine (1:1) was stirred at room temperature for 17 hours to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 32 H 50 O 8 ; Exact mass: 562.3506; Molecular weight: 562.7346; MS (ESI): 585, (M+Na).
Example 11
Derivatisation of EBI-24 by Hydrogenation
[0302] 1 mg of EBI-25 in 200 μL methanol was treated with 4 mg PtO 2 for 24 hours at room temperature to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 28 H 48 O 7 ; Exact mass: 496.34; Molecular weight: 496.6765; MS (ESI): 551, (M+Na+MeOH), 1079 (2M+Na+2MeOH).
Example 12
Derivatisation of EBI-25 by Oxidation
[0303] 1 mg of EBI-25 in 200 μL acetone was treated with 50 μL freshly prepared dimethyldioxirane (DMDO) solutions and stirred for 1 hour at 0° C. and 3 hours at room temperature to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 28 H 44 O 7 ; Exact mass: 492.3087; Molecular weight: 492.6448; MS (ESI): 515, (M+Na), 1007 (2M+Na).
Example 13
Derivatisation of EBI-25 by Acetylation
[0304] 1 mg of EBI-25 in 400 μL acetic anhydride and pyridine (1:1) was stirred at room temperature for 17 hours to give:
[0000]
[0000] C 30 H 48 O 8 ; Exact mass: 536.3349; Molecular weight: 536.6973; MS (ESI): 559, (M+Na)
Example 14
Effects of Derivatisation of EBI-23, EBI-24 and EBI-25
[0305] A series of derivatisation reactions were conducted on 1 mg amounts of EBI-23, EBI-24, and EBI-25. Mass spectra were run to confirm the nature of the derivatives but the product(s) weren't purified for this preliminary screen of growth-inhibiting activity in a human tumor cell line. The results were compared on the assumption that no losses occurred during derivatisation.
[0306] EBI-23 lost most of its activity with hydrogenation and oxidation (presumably due to loss of the double bond) whereas acetylation of the OH or epoxidation of the double bond had less effect. The related structure EBI-24 with a double bond in the long side chain was 10-fold less potent than EBI-23 and only hydrogenation caused loss of activity. EBI-25 was the least potent of this series. It became more active after epoxidation, perhaps as a consequence of increased polarity counteracting the acetylated OH.
Example 15
Morphological and Cell Cycle Effects of EBI-23
[0307] At doses close to the IC50, no distinctive change in morphology such as apoptosis was observed with these compounds. This tends to rule out targets such as PKC (prototype compound PMA), DNA damage (prototype cisplatin), kinases (prototype staurosporine), mitochondria or the plasma membrane (cell lysis).
[0308] Flow cytometry of several cell lines after 24 hour treatment with 1 μg/mL EBI-23 suggests a variable degree of G2/M arrest. This was not accompanied, however, by the typical rounded morphology of cells treated with tubulin ligands. No DNA fragments were detected, reinforcing the visual observation that little if any apoptosis occurred.
Example 16
Inhibition of B16 Melanoma Growth by EBI-23 in C57BL/6 Mice
[0309] After a preliminary experiment to determine the MTD in mice, C57BL/6 mice were implanted with B16 melanoma cells (0.5 million cells per site, 2 sites per mouse sc, 3 mice/group) and treatment commenced 24 hours later. For this initial study, EBI-23 was prepared by diluting an ethanol solution into saline, such that the final ethanol level was 2%. The cloudy solution thus obtained was injected intraperitoneally into mice every day for 7 days. Tumor size and body weight were measured over time.
[0310] The results ( FIG. 4 ) showed a dose-related response, with a significant reduction in B16 growth by a dose of 250 μg/mouse/day, and a measurable response at 80 μg.
[0311] The mice tolerated this regime well, except there was some weight loss at the higher dose. Treatment was discontinued at 13 days because of limited supply of EBI-23.
Example 17
Treatment of DU145 Prostate Tumors in Nude Mice
[0312] The action of EBI-23 on DU145 prostate tumors in nude mice was investigated. Mice were treated with 200 mg/mouse/day to day 14 then 400 mg/mouse/day. The results are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .
Example 18
Immunomodulation
Inhibition of the Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction
[0313] Gamma-irradiated lymphoblastoid cells (LCL, Esptein-Barr virus-transformed B-cells; 17,000) were added to human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBMC; 50,000 per microtitre well), then the drug, incubated at 37 C as above and labeled with [3H]-thymidine on Day 4. Cells were lysed and washed onto glass fibre mats for scintillation counting. The same drug concentrations were tested for direct toxicity by assay on control LCL (10,000 cells/well).
[0314] The MLR measures the ability of normal human T-cells to undergo a proliferative response to allo antigens expressed by a non-proliferating B-cell line. A positive control compound, the clinically-used immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A, completely inhibited the MLR. EBI-23 was found to inhibit the MLR at 1 μg/mL. This was not due to general toxicity because the growth of control LCLs was unaffected.
[0315] Inhibition of MLR by EBI-23 at a dose somewhat higher than the level required to inhibit cell growth suggests that EBI-23 has potential as an immunosuppressive drug. Without wishing to be bound by theory, such reactivity, and indeed anticancer activity, may arise at the molecular level from the potential for beta substitution by nucleophiles in the lactone ring. Such nucleophiles could include amino or reactive thiol groups in specific cellular proteins, with specificity conferred by the chemical reactivity and aliphatic tail of individual members of the EBI-23 family.
Example 19
[0316] A number of plant extracts were subjected to purification by HPLC with one of the following HPLC separation systems:
[0000] Column: Phenomenex luna 5 u 250×4.60 mm C18
Flow: 0.5 ml/min
Solvent System: Methanol/water
Gradient:
Method:
[0317]
[0000]
EBA.M
Time (min)
0
20
40
50
51
55
% Methanol
90
90
100
100
90
90
[0000]
EBC.M
Time (min)
0
10
40
55
56
65
% Methanol
70
90
100
100
70
70
[0000]
EBB.M
Time (min)
0
30
40
45
50
51
55
% Methanol
85
90
90
100
100
85
85
[0318] The isolated compounds were tested against a number of human and non-human cancer cell lines. The human tumor cell lines were: MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and T47D, breast cancer; DU145 and PC3, prostate cancer; CI80-135, ovarian cancer; MM96L, D04, SkMel5, MM418c5 melanoma; HT29, colon cancer; K562 and HL60, leukemia. Mouse cell lines were the B16 mouse melanoma and LK2 UV-induced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Neonatal foreskin fibroblasts (NFF) were used as normal control cells. Cells were cultured at 37° C. in 5% carbon dioxide/air, in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% fetal calf serum.
[0319] The results are shown in Table 22.
[0000]
TABLE 22
Description and anticancer activities of spiroketals
HPLC
HPLC
IC50 (ug/ml) for each cell line
Retention
EB
(drug dose which inhibits cell growth by 50%)
Compound
Time (min)
Method
NFF
MCF7
T47D
DU145
PC3
K562
CI80-13S
MM96L
B16
EBI-23
2
0.5
0.7
1.0
1.7
0.2
0.15
0.5
EBI-24
0.8
0.2
0.7
0.6
0.75
1.3
EBI-25
3
0.34
1
6.1
5
1.6
EBI-42
>10
6
>10
>10
6
6
EBI-72
21.5
A
45
6
32
25
EBI-73
10.7
A
6
1.7
6
2
7
1.7
EB99-EBB_30.3
30.3
B
25
1.5
3
3
7
2
1.5
EB99-EBB_33.3
33.3
B
4
2
0.3
2
3.5
0.3
0.3
EB120_EBC_29.9
29.9
C
3
0.3
0.4
0.7
4
0.3
0.2
EB116/11/5b_5-7.5
6
A
8
1
10
1.1
1
EB116/11/5b_13-14
13.5
A
8
1.2
12
1.5
9
EB116_EBA_16.3
16.3
A
1.1
0.9
1
1.2
0.7
1
EB116_EBA_24.6
24.6
A
1.2
0.92
0.9
1.1
0.37
0.5
EB116_EBA_32.2
32.2
A
1
1
1
1
0.1
0.11
EB116_EBA_17.9
17.9
A
30
3.2
10.8
30
EB116_EBA_38.2
38.2
A
6
1.1
2
8
1
1
EB116_EBA_35.5
35.5
A
6
3
6
3.5
[0320] Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprises”, and variations such as “comprise” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers or steps but not to the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.
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The present invention relates to spiroketal compounds that are useful in methods of treating or preventing protozoal infections, parasitic infections, bacterial infections, cell proliferative disorders and anti inflammatory disorders. The spiroketal compounds are also useful as immunosuppressive agents, and also in methods of controlling pests.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of German application DE 10 2007 010 309.5, filed Feb. 23, 2007; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention concerns a switching resonance intake system, hereinafter, intake system, for short, for an internal combustion engine, with a first and a second cylinder bank. The cylinder banks are each coordinated with a resonance container with a group of swing pipes leading to the cylinders, and the resonance containers are joined together by resonance pipes provided with switching valves.
[0003] Intake systems with resonance charging for optimal filling of the cylinders under different engine speeds and load ranges are familiar in the prior art. Thus, German patent DE 103 21 323 B3 represents and describes an intake system of the kind mentioned-above, configured for a 6-cylinder flat engine. This intake system by virtue of the fact that it is intended for a flat engine is symmetrical in configuration. Between the two resonance containers connected to the swing pipes there are provided two resonance pipes, while each resonance pipe has a central switching valve. The air supply to the intake system occurs in such a way that an air supply line has two individual pipes leading to one of these resonance pipes, which pass upstream into a single common pipe segment, in which a throttle valve is disposed. This concept of an intake system has proven to work well in a flat engine and thanks to the cylinder arrangement that is specific to a flat engine it enables a compact configuration for the intake system. The switching resonance pipes are disposed between the two resonance chambers.
[0004] A similar intake system is known from published, German patent application DE 198 42 724 A1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,272. Here, a throttle valve is coordinated with each individual pipe leading to the resonance pipe.
[0005] A switching resonance intake system for an internal combustion engine with two cylinder banks in a V-layout is known from published, German patent application DE 39 40 486 A1. Here, two curved groups of swing pipes are opposite each other. Within the curve, resonance chambers are arranged, into which annular, length-adjustable resonance channels emerge. For this, the resonance channels on the one hand are provided with rotary slide valves; thanks to the rotation, an opening provided in the slide valve is moved and thereby changes the length of the resonance channels in continuous fashion. All resonance channels are oriented in the same direction. The swing pipes assigned to the one cylinder bank are connected to those resonance chambers adjacent to this cylinder bank. The resonance chambers are located between the resonance pipes and the swing pipes. The two resonance chambers are connected to each other by a channel, in which a switching valve is arranged. In relation to the lengthwise orientation of the internal combustion engine and, thus, the intake system, the swing pipes are arranged, on the one hand, around the resonance channels and, on the other hand, parallel to each other and in planes perpendicular to the lengthwise axis of the internal combustion machine. Due to the annular arrangement of the resonance pipes in this intake system, one has a configuration with a large structural height.
[0006] European patent EP 1 105 631 B1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,152, shows an intake system with swing pipe and resonance system, in which resonance and swing pipes are disposed alternatingly next to each other in a ring around a central inner space. The inner space accommodates a rotary slide valve formed of several chambers, with which one can vary the length of the pipes continuously. Two resonance chambers are formed in the slide valve, which can be connected by a gate. The resonance pipes can be altered not only in the length, but also in their cross section, by shutting off one of the resonance pipes.
[0007] German patent DE 40 32 380 C2 discloses an intake system for an internal combustion engine of the in-line kind, wherein the intake system has two resonance chambers, to each of which are connected resonance pipes of different length or different cross section. These resonance pipes can be switched in groups and in the same direction for the two resonance chambers. The resonance chambers can be connected to each other by a gate. The air supply comes via the resonance pipes to the resonance chambers and from there to the swing pipes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a switching resonance intake system for an internal combustion engine that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, in which the switching resonance intake system is suitable for an internal combustion engine with cylinder banks in V-layout, and the intake system has a compact configuration.
[0009] With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a switching resonance intake system for an internal combustion engine having a first and a second cylinder bank. The switching resonance intake system contains resonance containers each being coordinated with the cylinder banks; a group of swing pipes leading to cylinders of the cylinder banks, the swing pipes associated with one of the cylinder banks being connected to the resonance container adjacent to the other one of the cylinder banks; resonance pipes joining together the resonance containers; and switching valves disposed in the resonance pipes.
[0010] The problem is solved for an intake system of the kind mentioned above in that the swing pipes coordinated with the one cylinder bank are connected to the resonance container adjacent to the other cylinder bank.
[0011] Accordingly, based on the configuration of the intake system according to the invention, the swing pipes connected to the one, first cylinder bank are connected to the resonance container which is disposed next to the other second cylinder bank and the swing pipes connected to the second cylinder bank are connected to the resonance container which is next to the first cylinder bank. This basic configuration of the intake system makes possible the most diverse modifications, and in all of them one can achieve a compact configuration for the intake system, thanks to the mentioned coordination of swing pipes and resonance containers.
[0012] Thus, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the swing pipes and/or the resonance pipes are disposed inside the resonance container. Thus, one has a nested arrangement for the parts bringing about the leading of air into the intake system. The volumes of the resonance containers enclose the swing pipes and/or the resonance pipes.
[0013] In particular, the swing pipes coordinated with the particular cylinder bank are passed through the resonance container that is next to the cylinder bank.
[0014] An especially compact configuration of the intake system can be achieved when the swing pipes of the intake system, starting from the cylinder banks, are curved in the direction of the top side of the intake system and/or the resonance pipes starting from the cylinder banks are curved in the direction of the bottom side of the intake system. In particular, the group of intake pipes of the intake system is curved in one direction and the group of resonance pipes of the intake system is curved in the opposite direction, in particular, the two groups are nested one in the other. Preferably, the resonance pipes are curved in a U-shape.
[0015] In view of the fundamental principle of the invention, it is considered especially advantageous to arrange the swing and resonance pipes at a slant to a plane running across the lengthwise axis of the internal combustion engine, i.e., transverse to the crankshaft axis of the internal combustion engine. Preferably, the swing pipes are disposed parallel to each other and the resonance pipes parallel to each other, while the orientation of the swing pipes and the resonance pipes differs from each other.
[0016] The switching valves associated with the resonance pipes are disposed in the end or the central regions of the resonance pipes. If they are disposed in the end regions, one gets an optimized charging, albeit with higher structural expense for the case when each resonance pipe is coordinated with a central switching valve. In the case when the switching valves are disposed in the end regions of the resonance pipes, each resonance pipe has two switching valves; when disposed in the central regions, there is one switching valve for each resonance pipe.
[0017] Preferably, the resonance pipes form a first and a second resonance stage, which can be switched independently of each other, wherein a first switchable resonance pipe forms the first resonance stage and two second switchable resonance pipes form the second resonance stage.
[0018] According to a special embodiment of the invention, the air supply of the intake system has two supply lines, which are connected directly to the resonance container. Thus, the air supply does not go to one of the resonance pipes, but directly to the two resonance containers. This produces an especially good charging outcome.
[0019] The air supply preferably has at least one throttle valve, wherein the two air supply lines are disposed between the throttle valve and the two resonance containers. It is quite conceivable to assign a throttle valve to each air supply line, which will then open in synchronization. The length of the particular supply line preferably corresponds to at least half the length of a resonance pipe.
[0020] In view of the concept of the invention, an especially compact intake system can be achieved by nesting the individual functional components of the intake system in each other. Structurally, this is accomplished, in particular, by a multipiece configuration of the housing components of the intake system. Thus, the intake system has a bottom shell, an insert placed in this, a middle shell, and a top shell. The bottom shell holds, in particular, the switching valves and the bottom shell has the flange connection to the cylinder head and reproduces a partial geometry of the resonance pipes and the swing pipes. The insert reproduces, in particular, a partial geometry of the resonance pipes. The middle shell has, in particular, a flange for the connection of the throttle valves, lower admission fittings for the swing pipes and a partition wall between the two resonance containers; moreover, the middle shell reproduces partial geometries of the resonance pipes and the swing pipes. The top shell, in particular, has admission fittings for the swing pipes and the resonance pipes and reproduces partial geometries of the resonance pipes and swing pipes.
[0021] Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
[0022] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a switching resonance intake system for an internal combustion engine, 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.
[0023] The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic functional diagram of a switching resonance intake system according to the invention;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic, three-dimensional representation of the intake system, seen from above at a slant;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic, three-dimensional view of the intake system shown in FIG. 1 , seen from below at a slant;
[0027] FIGS. 4 to 7 are diagrammatic, three-dimensional views showing the formation of the intake system from the individual components;
[0028] FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic, cross sectional view through the intake system, cut in the region of an intake connector; and
[0029] FIGS. 9 to 12 are schematic representations of the intake system to illustrate the functional principle of the intake system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a switching resonance intake system 1 for an internal combustion engine configured as a V6 engine with a resonance container 2 and a resonance container 3 . The air supply of the intake system 1 has two supply lines 4 and 5 , which are connected directly to the resonance containers 2 and 3 . A throttle valve 6 governs the amount of air being supplied to the supply lines 4 and 5 . Instead of the one throttle valve 6 shown, there can be two synchronously opening throttle valves, each throttle valve cooperating with one supply line 4 or 5 .
[0031] The two resonance containers 2 and 3 are connected by two resonance pipes 7 and 8 . The resonance pipe 7 has a central switching valve 9 , the resonance pipe 8 has a central switching valve 10 .
[0032] The resonance container 2 is assigned a group of three swing pipes 11 , which are connected to one cylinder bank 12 of the internal combustion engine. The resonance container 3 is assigned a group of swing pipes 13 , which are connected to the other cylinder bank 14 of the internal combustion engine. The peculiarity of the intake system of the invention is, and the functional representation is to be interpreted in this sense from the aspect of the structural configuration of the intake system, that the resonance container 2 disposed at the left side is connected via the swing pipes 11 to the cylinder bank 12 located on the right side in the structural configuration and the resonance container 3 disposed on the right is connected via the swing pipes 13 to the cylinder bank 14 arranged on the left in the structural configuration.
[0033] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the intake system 1 operating by the functional principle of FIG. 1 in its structural configuration, namely, in three-dimensional views, shown at a slant from beneath and from above. One recognizes the multipiece makeup of the intake system 1 , especially the multipiece makeup of the housing 15 of the intake system 1 . The multipiece makeup is prominently shown by the representation of FIGS. 4 to 7 .
[0034] FIGS. 1 to 7 shall now be described to explain the makeup of the intake system 1 .
[0035] The intake system 1 is used in a V6 engine. Depicted in the region of the bottom side of the housing 15 are the discharge openings 16 of the six swing pipes 11 , 13 , while three swing pipes 11 form a first group and three swing pipes 13 form a second group. The reference number 12 indicates the cylinder bank coordinated with the swing pipes 11 , the reference number 14 indicates the cylinder bank coordinated with the swing pipes 13 . At the bottom side of the housing 15 , three resonance pipes are formed. The one resonance pipe is designated by the reference number 8 in the sense of the diagram in FIG. 1 , the other two resonance pipes are designated by 7 in the sense of FIG. 1 . In the region of the vertical central axis of the intake system, which goes across the axis of the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine, the central switching valves 9 and 10 are coordinated with the resonance pipes 7 and the resonance pipe 8 , respectively. The switching valves 9 and 10 can pivot on an axis 19 , while the common adjustment of the switching valves 9 is done by a servo-drive 20 and the adjustment of the switching valve 10 by a servo-drive 21 . In the position shown in FIG. 4 , the switching valves 9 and 10 close the resonance pipes 7 and the resonance pipe 8 , respectively. In a position preferably rotated about 90 degrees, they open up the passage of the resonance pipes 7 and 8 .
[0036] For the air supply, the intake system 1 has a supply pipe connector 22 , which is provided with a vertical partition wall 23 ( FIG. 2 ), so that two separate airflows enter the housing 15 , forming the supply lines 4 and 5 in this way. Near the partition wall 23 and upstream from it, a throttle valve (see FIG. 11 ) with circular cross section can pivot about a horizontal transverse axis of the supply pipe connector 22 , which in its blocked position closes the passage of the supply pipe connector 22 and can move along a semicircular front contour 24 of the partition wall 23 in order to reach its fully open position. The drive unit for the throttle valve is also not depicted.
[0037] The following description pertains to the individual parts of the intake system 1 and the assembly of these parts to form the intake system 1 .
[0038] FIG. 4 illustrates a lower shell 25 of the intake system 1 . This has the actuators for the two resonance stages, specifically, the drive unit 20 for the two switching valves 9 and the drive unit 21 for the switching valve 10 . Moreover, the lower shell 25 has a flange connection 26 near the cylinder bank 14 and a flange connection 27 near the cylinder bank 12 . Continuous holes for the fastening of the lower shell 25 to the cylinder head—eight holes are present—are indicated by reference number 28 .
[0039] Finally, a partial geometry of the resonance pipes 7 and 8 is reproduced in the lower shell 25 , and moreover a partial geometry of the swing pipes 11 and 13 is reproduced in the lower shell 25 .
[0040] FIG. 5 shows a molded part inserted from above into the lower shell 25 , being designated as insert 29 . The insert 29 is an additional shell for production layout of the resonance pipes, i.e., the resonance pipe 8 and the two resonance pipes 7 . From FIG. 5 one notices that resonance pipes 7 and 8 are created with a U-shaped bend, the apex of the U being directed downward. Moreover, from FIG. 5 one notices (and also refer to FIG. 12 in this regard) that the resonance pipes 7 and 8 as well as the swing pipes 11 and 13 are disposed at an angle α to a lengthwise center axis 30 of the intake system 1 , and thus to the crankshaft axis of the V6 engine, which deviates from a right angle and is less than a right angle. FIG. 12 shows this angle with respect to a parallel line to the lengthwise center axis 30 . Therefore the cylinders of the cylinder bank 12 of the engine are displaced slightly toward the cylinders of the cylinder bank 14 of the engine in the longitudinal direction. The bank offset results because two connecting rods are mounted in each journal in the crank mechanism of the engine.
[0041] FIG. 5 , finally, shows a central groovelike seat 31 extending along the length of the insert 29 , whose function shall be described in the next paragraph.
[0042] FIG. 6 illustrates a middle shell 32 connected to the lower shell 25 and insert 29 after they have been assembled. It contains the supply pipe connector 22 , the lower admission fittings 33 of the swing pipes 11 and 13 , as well as the partition wall 34 of the two resonance containers 2 and 3 , while the partition wall 34 being continuous in the lower region engages with the seat 31 (see FIG. 8 ).
[0043] Moreover, as is to be seen from the representation of FIG. 8 , partial geometries of the resonance pipes 7 and 8 and of the swing pipes 11 and 13 are reproduced in the middle shell 32 .
[0044] FIG. 7 shows the arrangement described thus far and an upper shell 37 placed thereon. The upper shell 37 reproduces the upper admission fittings for the swing pipes 11 and 13 , the admission fittings for the resonance pipes 7 and 8 , the partial geometry of the resonance pipes 7 and 8 and the swing pipes 11 and 13 (see FIG. 8 ). Only FIG. 2 shows that the upper shell 37 is closed with a cover 38 . This is not significant to the functioning of the intake system 1 .
[0045] FIG. 8 shows a cross section through the intake system 1 of the invention to illustrate the basic layout. It shows that the partition wall 34 forms the two resonance containers 2 and 3 , separated from each other. They basically occupy the space of the housing 15 that is not occupied by the swing pipes 11 , 13 or the resonance pipes 7 , 8 . From the trend of the cross section in FIG. 8 one infers that the swing pipes and the resonance pipes are arranged inside the resonance containers 2 and 3 . This is clear from the trend of the cross section shown in FIG. 8 . It is shown there that the swing pipe 8 is led through the resonance container 2 . If the trend of the cross section does not occur in the region of the swing pipe 11 , but rather that of the swing pipe 13 on the other side of the intake system, one gets a cross sectional pattern corresponding to the mirror image of FIG. 8 with respect to the partition wall 34 . The functional principle per FIG. 9 shows that the swing pipes 11 draw air from the resonance container 2 and the swing pipes 13 draw air from the resonance container 3 . The respective swing pipes 11 and 13 taper toward the cylinder bank 12 and 14 .
[0046] FIG. 10 shows a functional representation to illustrate the function of the resonance pipes 7 , 8 . The respective resonance pipe 7 or 8 is U-shaped, and the length of the respective resonance pipes is the same. The switching valve 10 serves to open the resonance stage 1 , the switching valve 10 opens the resonance stage 2 . The cross section of the resonance stage 1 , i.e., that of the resonance pipe 8 , is smaller than the cross section of the resonance stage 2 , i.e., that of the combined cross section of the two resonance pipes 7 .
[0047] FIG. 11 shows the functional principle of the air intake of the swing pipes from the resonance containers. The swing pipes 11 draw air from the resonance container 3 , the swing pipes 13 draw air from the resonance container 2 .
[0048] FIG. 12 illustrates the functional principle of the intake module with regard to the resonance pipe 7 , forming the resonance stage 1 , and that of the two resonance pipes 8 , forming the resonance stage 2 . The diameter of the resonance pipe 7 corresponds to the diameter of the respective resonance pipe 8 , so that the combined diameter of resonance stage 2 is greater than the diameter of resonance stage 1 . The switching valve 9 serves to open the resonance stage 1 , the two synchronously operated switching valves 10 serve to open the resonance stage 2 . These switching valves 10 are shown in FIG. 12 as a continuous bar.
[0049] The resonance intake system functions as follows: in a lower rpm region, resonance stage 1 and resonance stage 2 is closed. In a middle rpm region, resonance stage 1 is open and resonance stage 2 is closed. In an intermediate range between the medium rpm range and the upper rpm range, the resonance stage 1 is closed and resonance stage 2 is open. In an upper rpm range, resonance stage 1 and resonance stage 2 is open.
[0050] Thus, the intake system of the invention makes sure that the natural frequency of the intake system is adapted for optimal filling of the cylinder in a V-engine over the entire rpm range.
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A switching resonance intake system is provided an internal combustion engine with a first and a second cylinder bank. The cylinder banks are each coordinated with a resonance container with a group of swing pipes leading to the cylinders, and the resonance containers are joined together by resonance pipes provided with switching valves. In the intake system, the swing pipes coordinated with the one cylinder bank are connected to the resonance container adjacent to the other cylinder bank. The intake system is intended for use in an internal combustion engine with cylinder banks having a V-layout.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to control reagents. More particularly, it relates to control reagents formulated so as to improve the stability of the analytes contained therein, without affecting the usefulness of the composition.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
Work in clinical analysis requires the investigator to evaluate a given sample to determine whether a particular analyte of interest is present, and if so, in what amount. Such information is extremely valuable in diagnosis and treatment of patient. The analyses referred to supra are being carried out, more and more frequently, using automated methods. These methods are diverse, but generally involve the preparation of a sample which is then introduced to an automatic analyzer. The analyzer is set up to carry out various reactions designed to measure the analyte or analytes of interest, and to determine a particular value or "signal" associated with these reactions. Sophisticated automated systems convert these reading into a value indicative of the analyte's presence or concentration, thereby providing the investigator with a precise determination of the particular analyte of interest.
The analytical systems outlined supra, as well as any analytical system used for clinical purposes requires that a control be used. Such controls permit the investigator to check the accuracy of the system being used. In clinical diagnosis where some analytes are present in only vanishingly small amounts, and where minute changes in levels mean the difference between normal and pathological conditions, a satisfactory control reagent becomes an integral, and critical part of the analytical system.
Control reagents should be as similar to the sample type for which they serve as a control as possible. Biological fluids such as blood and serum, e.g., are extremely complex compositions, however, and there are many examples of formulations designed to be as close as possible to biological fluids and to serve as controls therefor. A cursory sampling of the patent literature in this area includes, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,678,754 (Hoskins); 4,643,976 (Hoskins); 4,529,704 (Tremner et al.); 4,438,702 (Engler et al.); 4,405,718 (Rapkin et al.); 4,372,874 (Modrovich); 4,301,028 (Barth et al.); 4,276,376 (Hundt et al.); 4,260,579 (Barton et al.); 4,230,601 (Hell); 4,199,471 (Louderback et al.); 4,193,7666 (Dounora et al.); 4,127,502 (Li Mutti et al.); 4,126,575 (Louderback); 4,123,384 (Hundt et al.); 4,121,905 (Maurukas): 4,054,488 (Marbach); 4,078,892 (Steinbrink, Jr); 3,973,913 (Louderback); 3,920,580 (Mast); 3,920,400 (Scheibe et al.); 3,859,047 (Klein); 3,466,249 (Anderson); 3,852,415 (Vandervoorde); 3,274,062 (Lou); 3,260,648 (Fox). The approaches taken in these patents vary. Many of them teach control reagents useful for determining one, or a family of a few related analytes. Others are more general, and relate to improvements in the field in general. It is the latter group to which the present invention belongs.
As was noted supra, attempts are made within the art to formulate control reagents that are as close to the type of material for which they are controls as possible. As a result, control reagent are frequently based upon blood, plasma, or serum, be these human or mammalian (e.g., bovine).
Control reagents of the type discussed supra do have certain drawbacks, which are inherent in any natural product based material. For this, and other reasons, the art has also contemplated and used control reagents which are serum free. Generally, these water based control reagents have to be substantially modified so as to make them as close to a biological sample as possible. An example of such a modification is the inclusion of a polymeric viscosity agent, to make the reagents' rheological properties as close to biological samples as possible.
A major problem with all control reagents is the tendency of the analyte of interest to undergo chemical reactions in situ, thereby leading to false results when the control is in fact used. An example of such a chemical reaction is simple oxidation. Oxidized analyte, or analyte which otherwise reacts prior to use of the control system, leads to shifts in signal formation and away from true control values. Generally, these controls produce a greater signal than a corresponding amount of analyte in a sample being analyzed.
It has now been found, surprisingly, that control reagents can be prepared where the problem alluded to supra is avoided, without any disruption in the chemistry of the stabilized system. The invention, elaborated upon more fully infra, involves the incorporation of at least one antioxidant or one hydroxylamine into a liquid based control reagent which also contains a known amount of at least one analyte. The resulting material, referred to hereafter as a stabilized control reagent, is useful in the same way any control reagent is useful.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 presents a correlation curve between a bovine serum based control reagent and capillary blood.
FIG. 2 shows a correlation curve when the control reagent is plasma based.
FIG. 3 depicts correlation between blood and a synthetic, serum free control reagent.
FIG. 4 shows correlation when a serum free control was stressed.
FIG. 5 also shows correlation following stress.
FIG. 6 also shows correlation following stress.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the examples which follow, the material SERASUB™ is used. SERASUB™ is a commercially available, synthetic serum substitute; however, its composition is proprietary to the manufacturer and is unknown to the inventors, and thus is not reported herein. Additional information and examples are provided using different media, it being understood, however, that SERASUB is the preferred, but not required medium. The examples provided using SERASUB are presented to satisfy the best mode requirement.
EXAMPLE 1
A glucose control reagent was prepared using "stripped" bovine serum. This material has its cholesterol removed, and contains a predetermined amount of glucose.
The control material was combined with 100 mg/dl of N-t-butyl hydroxylamine HCl, to prepare a control reagent. This material was then tested against samples of capillary blood, which had been adjusted to contain a known amount of glucose. Both the controls and blood samples were tested in the same analytical apparatus, using an indicator system which employs the well known hexokinase assay system for measuring glucose.
A correlation curve is presented as FIG. 1. It shows that the control reagent described herein behaved very similarly to capillary blood under the conditions described, indicating that the material was useful as a control reagent.
EXAMPLE 2
A control reagent based upon plasma was used, the formulation of which was as follows:
______________________________________pH (1% soluton in 0.15 M NaCl)pH 7.6AbsorbanceAbsorbance at 710 nm 0.0Absorbance at 570 nm 0.2ProteinProtein 15. %Electrolyte analysisSodium 67 mEα/LPotassium 0.6 mEα/LChloride 11. mEα/LResults from a sample diluted to 7.3% proteinin 0.9% (0.15 M) saline:Cholesterol @ 7.5% proteinCholesterol 111. MG/DLIron @ 7.0% proteinIron 102. us/dLA/G ratioA/G ratio 1.2Glucose 2. ms/dLBUN 0. ms/dLCreatinine 0.0 ms/dLUric acid 0.0 ms/dLAlbumin 4.0 s/dLGlobulin 3.3 s/dLCalcium 0.9 ms/dLInorganic phosphorous 0.1 ms/dLTriglycerides 2. ms/dLAlkaline phosphatease 0. u/LSGOT 0. u/LSGPT 4. u/LLDH 17. u/LTotal bilirubin 0.1 ms/dL______________________________________
This material was then combined with N,N-dimethyl hydroxylamine. HCl (10 mg/dl), and tested against blood samples, as in Example 1. FIG. 2 presents the correlation curve obtained for this material, and indicates that the plasma control was very similar to capillary blood.
EXAMPLE 3
A control reagent was prepared by mixing 47.5 g of SERASUB, 2.5 g MES/CAPS (ratio of 8%:92%), and 0.015 g of N-(tert-butyl) hydroxylamine hydrochloride (final concentration: 30 mg/dl). This formulation was tested against capillary blood, and the results are presented in FIG. 3. Again, there is good correlation between blood and the control.
EXAMPLE 4
In order to test the stability of the control reagent of example 3, a similar formulation was prepared. Specifically, 190 g of SERASUB, 10 g of 1M MES/CAPS, and 0.24 g of N-(tert-butyl) hydroxylamine hydrochloride were combined, and stressed by being subjected to a temperature of 55° C. for three days. The stressed reagent was tested against capillary blood, and FIG. 4 shows the results. These indicate that notwithstanding the temperature stress, the control reagent remained useful.
EXAMPLE 5
The limits of stability for the control reagents were tested, by subjecting the formulation described supra to 9-10 days of stress at 55° C. FIG. 5 shows that it was only after this severe stress that the correlation began to diverge.
EXAMPLE 6
A similar test was carried out, stressing the reagent by subjecting it to room temperature for 9 days. FIG. 6 shows that the stress did not lead to significant problems with correlation.
The foregoing examples show that control reagents can be prepared which contain a carrier, a known amount of an analyte of interest, as well as an additive selected from the group consisting of a hydroxylamine and an antioxidant. "A hydroxylamine" as the term is used herein refers to any compound which contains the hydroxylamine group. As such, the class of compounds may be depicted as RNHOH, where R may be substituted as desired. For example, when "R" is hydrogen, the compound is hydroxylamine. Other compounds encompassed by the invention include N-(tert-butyl) hydroxylamine, O-tert butyl hydroxylamine, O-benzyl hydroxylamine, N,O-dimethyl-hydroxylamine, N,N-dimethylhydroxylamine, and N,N-diethylhydroxylamine. Also encompassed by the designation are hydroxylamine salts, acid addition salts such as the HCl and H 2 SO 4 salts, being preferred.
"Antioxidant" as used herein, refers broadly to the class of compounds and substances which prevent the formation of compounds such as peroxides, ketones, aldehydes and acids from materials which do not contain these group in their monomeric state. Antioxidants are used because, in practice, a reaction of the following type is desired in the systems used in clinical analysis: ##STR1## wherein "R" is the reactant of interest. Undesirable reactions which take place include: ##STR2## Antioxidants prevent the latter reaction from occurring, via interfering with the reaction:
R--O--O.+AH→R--O--O--OH+A.
Among the oxidants which function in the way described are "BHA" (3-tertiary butyl 4-hydroxy anisole), "BHT" (2,6-ditertiary-butyl 4-methyl phenol), "TBHQ" (2-(1,1-dimethyl)-1,4-benzenediol), "PQ" (propyl gallate, i.e., 3,4,5 trihydroxyl benzoic acid), and the tocopherol family of molecules, i.e., Vitamin E and its derivatives. The choice of carrier is one that is left to the artisan. As has been indicated by the discussion, supra, control reagents may be based, e.g., on plasma, serum, blood, water, or other fluid materials. When a biological sample is used as the carrier (e.g., plasma), human source material is preferred, although other mammalian materials, such as bovine plasma or serum, may be used. The control reagents need not be prepared in solution form, however, as it is possible to prepare, e.g., suspensions or emulsions by adding materials to the other components listed above. Polymers and copolymers may be combined with the other ingredients listed above to create such suspensions or emulsions. It is also possible to have liquid free formulations of the control reagents, such as lyophilisates, powders, tablets, and so forth. The control reagent may also be incorporated into a test carrier or other form of analytical apparatus, if desired. Additional ingredients may also be added to the control reagent as desired. These may include preservatives, biocides, viscosity agents such as polystyrene sulfonate, buffers, dyes, and so forth. Other additives may be combined with the active ingredients as well, as is represented by the state of the art with respect to control reagents. These will be well known to the skilled artisan.
It will be understood that the specification and examples are illustrative but not limitative of the present invention and that other embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.
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Control reagents an oxidant or a hydroxylamine compound together with other ingredients, the most important of which is a known amount of the analyte for which the reagent acts as a control.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/933,458 filed Sep. 18, 1997 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,260 on Jun. 6, 2000.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an ultrasonic liposuction device and a method of using the same to remove unwanted tissue or fat from a mammalia body. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an ultrasonic liposuction device which includes a push rod which vibrates at a predetermined frequency, and which in turn drives a probe or cannula at a predetermined frequency and amplitude in order to assist in the cavitation, emulsion and removal of fat tissue from a patient's body.
2. Background and Description of the Related Art
During the past 20 to 25 years, liposuction or “suction assistant lipectamy” has become a widely accepted procedure for removing localized areas of fat tissue which are normally unresponsive to diet or exercise. Regions of the body which are frequently treated by liposuction include: the waist (“love handles”); buttocks; thighs (“saddle bags”); ankles; lower legs; upper arms and the jowl area of the face. Liposuction has become a major source of revenue for the cosmetic industry. In conventional liposuction the removal of unwanted fat tissue is typically accomplished by inserting a narrow metal probe or cannula through an incision in the patient's skin and moving the probe back and forth within the patient's body to loosen the fat tissue. A vacuum is applied to suck out fat tissue that the cannula is in contact with. The procedure normally results in long tubular cavities in a wattle like pattern in the patient's fatty tissue area. The cannula generally has a rounded end and a small opening along the side or at the top in order to allow the fat particles to be removed. By manipulating the tube in and out of the area, a large amount of fatty deposit may be removed and the subject area is flattened, thereby approving the appearance the patient upon which the procedure is being performed.
Although the aesthetic benefits of conventional liposuction are well documented, the conventional procedure described above is normally very traumatic and usually accompanied by severe bruising of the treated area and the surrounding area. In fact, the bruising may be quite extensive due to the disruption of the small blood vessels which are attached to the fat globules being removed. Blood loss is also a concern for patients due to the fact that conventional liposuction devices are unable to differentiate between fat and connective tissue or blood vessels, the tissue is being ripped from the body was connective tissue and/or blood vessels.
In addition to the trauma to the patient, the physician generally uses a great deal of energy due to the force required to move the probe in and out of the area being treated. This force is necessary on the physician's behalf because the in and out movement of the probe shears off fat tissue particles. The fat tissue particles sheared off are drawn into the tube and out of the body by vacuum. The reason a blunt end probe or cannula is used is that the blunt end of the cannula pushes the larger blood vessels and nerves out of the way thereby causing less damage or trauma to the patient.
As can be seen above, conventional liposuction and the devices used therein have well documented undesirable side effects, including, unwanted trauma to the patient and physical exhaustion and tiring of the surgeon. In response to these disadvantages, ultrasonic lipectomy or liposuction procedures have been developed which rely on an ultrasonic transducer to vibrate the probe to reduce the effort of the surgeon and reduce the trauma to the patient. Generally, in these procedures the suction probe is connected to an electromechanical transducer of either magnetostrictive or electrostrictive design. Upon activation of the transducer longitudinal vibrations are sent up the probe and the distal end of the probe is turned into a vibrating wand which serves to liquefy (emulsify or cavitate) the fat that comes in contact with it either through heat (U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,491 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) or cavitation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,761 which is also hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The vibratory effect of the probe allows the surgeon to move the probe through fatty tissue very easily. The fatty emulsion or liquid that results from melting or cavitation is removed from the body, much in the same way as standard liposuction technique, that is, by way of as suction source and a collection bottle. The level of vacuum needed to remove the fat from ultrasonic liposuction is substantially less than that needed in the standard liposuction procedure due to the fact that the fat is liquefied or emulsified. The liquification of the fatty tissue surrounding the distal end of the probe allows the probe to be easily inserted and retracted from the body, and as a consequence reduces the trauma to the patient and reduces the effort needed by the surgeon. Obviously one of the benefits of ultrasonic liposuction is less fatigue on the part of the surgeon which allows him to be more efficient and more alert and allows him to perform more procedures in a day. In addition, less bleeding has been seen during the use of these procedures and the ultrasonic vibration of the probe has shown to have a cauterizing effect on small blood vessels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,273 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,907 both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety outline several of the advantages offered by ultrasonic liposuction. Ultrasonic liposuction devices developed to date require cannulas or probes which are specifically designed to resonate or translate at desired frequencies. The probes are vibrated at ultrasonic frequencies in the range of 16,000 to 60,000 cycles per second. Therefore, the probes that are being used are subject to stresses and fatigues not encountered by passive probes used in conventional liposuction procedures. Additionally, the ultrasonic liposuction probes generally must be designed to provide sufficient multiplication of the amplitude input provided by the transducer which drives it.
It is known that a particularly effective probe for ultrasonic liposuction is a hollow cylindrical probe with a bullet shaped tip on the distal end. The tip can be welded or otherwise affixed to the probe. Both probe and tip can be manufactured from a variety of acoustically conductive metals, including cold-rolled steel, titanium and aluminum. In presently known devices, the probe and tip are manufactured from the same materials, or from very similar materials, to ensure effective propagation of the ultrasonic waves all the way to the tip of the probe. Propagation of the waves to the distal tip of the probe is desirable, because this causes the tip of the probe to be able to melt and emulsify fat, facilitating insertion of the probe into the fatty tissue.
However, there is a disadvantage sometime associated with an ultrasonic probe having an acoustically conductive tip. For instance, when the probe has been inserted into the fatty tissue near the skin or the peritoneum, resistance can be met. When resistance is met, the wattage at the tip increases, and it can increase to the point of damaging the skin or the peritoneum. During such manipulations, the heat generated at the tip of the probe may be in excess of the heat reasonably required for the melting of fat. In other words, if care is not exercised, the tip may be hotter than it needs to be, and the result can be burning of tissues, damage of muscles or blood vessels, and even penetration of membranes, such as the skin or the peritoneum. Therefore, while the bullet shaped tip of acoustically conductive material, it can be very beneficial during penetration, it can under certain circumstances, also be detrimental.
Relying on the probe as the vibrational element to transmit the vibration or multiply the vibration provided by the input acoustical source also results in numerous disadvantages when performing ultrasonic liposuction. Straight cylindrical probes normally do not provide gains for ultrasonic vibration and accordingly, the probes must be driven at the high input amplitudes necessary for tissue liquefaction. This causes high stress concentration at node points or points where the vibratory motion and the standing wave are zero. When stress is high, material heating problem can occur. The problem is that the temperature of the probe at the stress know points elevates and again can cause tissue burning or charring when in contact with the tissue of the body or the patient in which the liposuction application is being performed. Obviously, this major drawback of using laboratory elements must be avoided since the probes are inserted deeply in the body and burning or scarring of the lower levels epidermis or other tissues or organs may result.
In practice, the probes described heat significally at the nodal regions and are prone to fracture at high amplitudes and have a tendency to break into transverse motion wherein the tips of the probes causing fracturing and the possibility of leaving pieces of metal in the body of the patient in which the operation is being performed.
The necessity to construct the probe out of a material which transmits the vibratory amplitude of the electromechanical transducer also provides a number of disadvantages to a field of ultrasonic liposuction. Generally, the probes are limited in construction a titanium or titanium alloy due to the expansion/contraction characteristics of titanium and can be very fragile in design in that a risk of loss of amplitude or frequency may occur with minor probe damage such as scratching or general wear so that the vibrational frequency of the probe is out of tune of that desired or indicative by the electromechanical transducer. Additionally, the working end of the probe must be larger than the body of the probe in order to accommodate the aspiration channel and maintain the ultrasonic resonance.
OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for removal of tissue.
Another object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic liposuction device which does not suffer from the disadvantage of having a probe which becomes too hot.
Another object of the present invention is to minimize the need for expansion and contraction of the probe which in turn minimizes the need for nodes.
A further object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic liposuction device which may utilize interchangeable probes to facilitate different types of probe manipulations.
It is still further object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic liposuction device which is easy to use and economical to manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which minimizes injury to nerves and blood vessels and overall trauma during a liposuction procedure included reduced blood loss.
Another object of the present invention includes providing liposuction device which minimizes trauma and which yields a more even reshaping of overlaying skin surfaces than conventional procedures and allows the surgeon to know how much and where the fat that is being removed is coming from.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic liposuction device which is designed to allow interchangeable probes to be used which do not require specialized design or tuning.
Another object of the present invention is to allow probes other than those constructed of titanium or titanium alloy such as carbon fiber or various aluminum alloys to be used while obtaining benefits of using the convention probes described of the related art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a durable ultrasonic liposuction device which is usable even after general wear and which is not affected by scratches and minor abrasions to the probe which occur during the normal course of liposuction.
Another object is to provide an ultrasonic liposuction device which includes a probe have a large lumen so that high volume aspiration may be utilized to speed the evacuation of soft tissue and thus decrease the surgery and anesthesia time in a liposuction procedure.
Another object of the present invention is to increase the surface area of the suction apparatus by increasing the number of holes in communication with the fat and inner lumen of the probe.
Another object of the present invention is to utilize curved probes and probes of a variety of sizes and shapes, the probes being substantially independent of the transmission properties of the probe.
Another object is to allow to provide a ultrasonic liposuction device whereby the frequency of the probe can be controlled by the user.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings and detailed description contained herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An ultrasonic probe for removing tissue from a human being or other animal, particularly for removing fatty tissue, comprises a handpiece housing containing a piezoelectric crystal transducer, a push rod which is formed of titanium or stainless steel releasably secured to the housing and a probe formed of substantially any material and being any size is removably attached to the distal end of the push rod. It should also be noted that the probe can be solid, rather than hollow, if aspiration of the melted fatty tissue is not required. If the probe is hollow, it can have a lateral opening for aspiration, or there could be an opening through the tip of the probe.
The piezoelectric crystal assembly comprises several disc-shaped piezoelectric crystals, each having a central bore. The crystals are mounted in line with each other within the handpiece housing. The crystals extend along a portion of the outer surface of the rod, so that there is efficient energy transfer between the crystals and the push rod through the changeover. The handpiece housing is formed of a material such as metal and comprises a central cylindrical member.
The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, both as to its structure and its operation, will be best understood from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of alternative probes that may be used in conjunction with the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of alternative probes with a sleeve covering various lengths of the aspirating.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an ultrasonic liposuction device 10 used for ultrasonically removing fatty tissue is illustrated according to the present embodiment of the invention and includes a handpiece or housing 12 which houses piezoelectric transducer motor stack 46 for providing ultrasonic vibrations to push rod 14 . Push rod 14 which has a proximal end 16 is typically attached to motor stack 46 at its proximal end 16 and a distal end 15 which extends through bushing 18 . Push rod 14 is the mechanical connection of probe 40 and the piezoelectric transducer of motor stack 46 .
Motor stack 46 is comprised of a tin plated copper disk 28 fixably attached to a first ceramic piezoelectric crystal 30 which is itself attached to a copper disk 32 and subsequently attached to a second ceramic piezoelectric crystal 34 . Finally, motor stack 46 includes a second tin plated copper disk 36 which is designed to threadingly receive proximal threaded end 16 of the push rod 14 . The motor stack 46 is electrically connected through connector 24 to a source of electrical energy shown schematically as 42 . When electric current is supplied from the source of electrical energy 42 to the motor stack 46 through the connector 24 the motor stack, more specifically the piezoelectric crystals 30 and 34 vibrate back and forth at the desired frequency. The frequency supplied to the push rod 14 can vary in the range of 6,000 to 60,000 cycles per second depending on the intended use. It is preferable that the range of frequency be between 20,000 and 30,000 cycles per second and more preferably 22,000 to 25,000 cycles per second for the removal of fat tissue without unwanted burning or trauma. The motor stack 46 may be comprised of any vibrational element, but is preferably a piezoelectric transducer like those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,086 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,822 which is also hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. A high frequency source of alternating voltage 42 is supplied to the motor stack 46 through an opening in the rear cap 26 of the housing 12 .
With an alternating voltage of an ultrasonic frequency applied, the piezoelectric crystals 30 and 34 vibrate in a known manner at the ultrasonic frequency. The frequency is in the range of 20 KHz to 65 KHz and it is preferably approximately 20 to 40 KHz most preferably in the range of 22.5 to about 25 KHz. The amplitude of the ultrasonic vibration is from 0 to 0.0015 inch, and preferably approximately 0.0002 to 0.005 inch which preferably translate to no greater than about 500 microns when measured at the tip, even more preferably less than about 250 microns at the tip and even more preferably in the range of about 5 microns to about 125 microns (0.0002 to about 0.005 inch) when measured at the tip. The crystals are mechanically coupled to push rod 14 . Push rod 14 translates the ultrasonic vibrations generated at the crystals 30 and 34 to the proximal end 43 of the probe 40 .
The probe 40 generally has a smoothly contoured outer surface which is substantially symmetrical about its longitudinal axis of ultrasonic liposuction device 10 . The probe 40 is preferably made of surgical or stainless steel but may in some cases be made of hard plastic and can take on a number of a variety of shapes and is not necessary for the probe 40 to have or be constructed of a vibrational element. This feature is one of the more flexible aspects of the present invention. Since the present invention does not require the probe to be constructed of a resonating a metal such as titanium or vanadium, the probe 40 can be shaped in essentially any size or desired design criteria which satisfies the intended liposuction use. The probe 40 may be slightly tapered toward the distal end. The probe 40 can be of of any length but is generally from about 5 cm to about 40 cm depending upon its intended use. For example, a cannula probe 40 of about 30 cm in length might be prepared for large areas such as the buttocks while a small bicentimeter probe 40 is preferred for facial surgery. Probe 40 can be made of, among other things, aluminum, carbon fiber, plastic, and surgical stainless-steel and may include 45.degree. angles in the probe or contain a flat end to function as a “bloodless knife”. The diameter of the probe 40 can also vary and is typically in the range of 5 to 25 mm preferably slightly tapered with the smaller diameter of the distal end of the probe 40 . Normally, the distal end 41 of the probe 40 is rounded or bullet shaped and approximates a hemisphere. The distal end 41 of the probe 40 is preferably shaped in this way in order to effectively push large blood vessels and nerves out of the way to one side or the other to reduce trauma to the patient and reduce loss of feeling and excessive loss of blood. The proximal end 43 of the probe 40 threadingly engages the distal threaded end 15 of the push rod 14 and may include a slit indented area that is adapted to receive a rubber hose 27 . The rubber hose 27 connects the probe 40 to a source of vacuum shown schematically at 20 . The outside of the housing 12 functions as a grip area for the surgeon to place his hand and is separated from the push rod 14 via bushing 18 . Bushing 18 functions as a bearing for push rod 14 and is preferably self lubricating, the preferred design choice being manufactured out of Teflon®. The proximal end 16 of the push rod 14 is threadingly engaged by the motor stack 46 whereby the piezoelectric crystals 30 and 34 function to vibrate the push rod 14 . The push rod 14 is generally formed of a titanium or vanadium material whereby the vibration frequency generated at the motor stack 46 is translated through the push rod 14 to distal threaded end 15 of the push rod 14 . The push rod 14 may be selectively manufactured in an order to function to multiply and increase the frequency of the vibration generated in the motor stack 46 or simply transform the vibrational energy of the piezoelectric crystals 30 and 34 .
Front cap 22 is rigidly attached to the housing via bolts 23 which secure the front cap to the housing with the flange 19 of bushing 18 being disposed between the front gap 22 and the housing 12 . Similarly, rear cap 26 is fixedly attached to the rear portion of the housing 12 via bolts 29 which mount the rear cap to the housing 12 .
The ultrasonic liposuction device 10 of the present invention and the method of using the ultrasonic liposuction device 10 of the present invention has several important advantages over the standard medical practice of fat removal or liposuction and over liposuction wherein the ultrasonic probe is required to resonate from the frequency provided from the motor stack 46 . The present invention substantially reduces the injury to nerves and considerably reduces bleeding and produces a smoother and more even surface than punching holes. The device also eases the labor of moving the probe 40 by the surgeon since cavitation or emulsification is doing substantially all the work and pressure, twisting, speed of physical movement by the surgeon and scraping are not necessary. The new method and device shortens the surgical time and there is reduced tearing stretching or heating of the tissue and no removing of chunks of tissue either due to cutting or high suction pressure. The liquid material aspirated by the pump also flows easily since there are few particles or pieces of fat. FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention whereby the probe 25 is not hollow but rather solid with a spatula shaped end which may be useful in scraping of fat material either in conjunction with or separate from the ultrasonic aspects of the method.
One of the more novel features of the present invention is that the push rod 14 which is normally constructed out of acoustic material is substantially protected from damage due to the fact that it is housed almost entirely within the housing 12 , bushing 18 , and front cap 22 . Thus the useful life of the liposuction device 10 is extended and the durability of the liposuction device 10 is increased.
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate alternative probes 40 which may be used with the present liposuction device 10 . As illustrated the probes 40 may have holes 58 through which the emulsified or liquefied fat may be removed. The probe 40 having holes 58 may also include a sleeve 56 which may be threadingly secured to the probe 40 . The sleeve 56 allows the vacuum to be selectively applied to the desired areas. The sleeve 56 may fit tightly over the probe 40 or may fit loosely whereby the probe 40 could the be solid and liquified or emulsified fat could be withdrawn in the space between the probe 40 and the sleeve 56 .
Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments in an application, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of, or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly it is to be understood that the drawings and the descriptions herein are proffered by way of example only to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.
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An ultrasonic liposuction device comprises a piezoelectric crystal transducer assembly that is connectable to a solid push rod that provides for the use of an interchangeable operative probe. The push rod is made of one material and the probe is made of a different material. The probe can be hollow, if aspiration of the fatty tissue is desired, or it can be solid.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to doors for elevators, in particular, locking mechanism to prevent unintended opening of such doors.
PRIOR ART
As used hereinafter, the term “freight elevator” or “elevator” for short, will be understood to also apply to passenger elevators, goods lifts and other systems of similar function whether or not commonly described by these terms. Operators, passengers, and goods on an elevator are protected by a door carried on the elevator car while they and others are also protected by a separate door closing the elevator shaft at each landing. It is desirable, for such protection, that both the car door and landing doors be locked closed when the car is displaced away from a landing either vertically or horizontally. Various systems and devices have been proposed and/or produced to assure the locking of elevator car doors and landing doors. There has remained a need for a simple, reliable door locking system for freight elevator cars and landing doors including those with power door operators.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides, for freight elevators and the like, an integrated locking system for both elevator car and landing doors. More specifically, the locking system comprises a set of elements, essentially all mechanical, that serve to maintain a door of the car and the doors of the landings the car serves closed when the car is out of registration either vertically or horizontally with a landing. The system is arranged with lock control elements on the car and at the landings. These car and landing elements are ordinarily in mutual alignment and are conditioned for lock release only when the car is in the correct position at a landing. A driven one of the elements on the car is displaced automatically when a car door operator is energized. The driven element, with the condition that the car is properly vertically and horizontally positioned at a landing, is capable of unlocking both the associated landing door and the car door. The driven element, activated by the door operator, engages an element fixed on the landing door lock release and, in turn, this landing door release element displaces a car door lock release element. The various elements are arranged so that the landing door lock release element cannot be engaged by the driven element nor is it interposed between the driven element and the car door release element when the car is not registered with the landing. This condition of disconnection or disabling of the driven element ensures that the landing and car doors remain locked.
The disclosed door locking device is applied to horizontally sliding doors. The locking and unlocking elements for the most part rely on pivotal motion and thereby avoid erratic movement frequently encountered with translation or straight-line action induced by friction sticking at flat contacting or guiding surfaces of the locking elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic perspective view of a freight elevator car on which a door locking device of the invention is employed;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the locking device taken from an outside front view of the top area of the freight elevator car with the car shown at a location below that of registration with a landing;
FIG. 2 a is a plan view of the locking device of FIG. 2 ;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a right-hand part of the locking device for a right-hand horizontally sliding door panel, the right-hand orientation being taken from the reference of a person standing in the elevator car, the left hand part of the locking device being essentially a mirror image;
FIG. 3 a is a plan view of the device of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the elevator car in registration with the landing and, specifically, showing a landing door locking part of the device in a release position;
FIG. 4 a is a plan view of the device as positioned in FIG. 4 ;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 , but showing positions of the locking device where a fault has occurred and the device continues to lock the associated door panel; and
FIG. 5 a is a plan view of the device as positioned in FIG. 5 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the figures and, in particular, FIG. 1 , an elevator car 10 suitable for carrying freight or goods is shown. The car 10 moves vertically in a shaft to serve multiple landings spaced vertically from one another as is customary. Passage between the shaft and the car 10 is controlled by a landing or entrance door schematically illustrated at 11 and representative of a door at each landing. The landing door 11 is of the center-opening, horizontal sliding type such that one-half of the door slides to the right and one-half to the left. While not illustrated in detail, the right and left portions of the door 11 can each be comprised of multiple panels that are synchronized in their horizontal sliding movement as is known in the industry. The elevator car 10 is supplied with a similar center-opening, horizontal sliding door 12 having a right side 13 and left side 14 when viewed from the interior of the car 10 .
The invention provides a mechanical locking system for the car door 12 and each landing door 11 that in regular duty prevents these doors from being opened when the car 10 is not aligned or registered with a landing. The locking system disclosed herein will be seen to be “mechanical” such that it is conditioned to release the car door and a particular landing door by the physical presence of the car 10 at a proper position in registration with the landing.
At each landing 11 , the door locking system includes a door interlock assembly 16 arranged to releasably lock its respective landing door closed. The interlock assembly 16 is duplicated in right and left-hand versions, i.e. mirrored respectively, for the right and left-hand portions of the entrance door 11 . Each interlock assembly 16 includes a bell crank type structure 17 that pivots about a center 18 fixed on a respective left or right portion of the door 11 . The crank 17 includes a generally horizontal arm 19 with a depending hook 21 adapted to latch onto a bracket 22 fixed to the respective landing. A generally vertical arm 23 of the bell crank 17 extends upwardly from the horizontal arm 19 and pivot center 18 . The arm 23 carries two cam rollers 26 , 27 one spaced above the other and both spaced above a third cam roller 28 located with its axis concentric with the pivot center 18 .
The right and left sides 13 , 14 of the car door 12 , like the entrance door 11 , can have multiple panels that are synchronized in their horizontal sliding movement for opening and closing. The door locking system includes a locking device 31 associated with each car door side 13 , 14 . The device 31 associated with the right and left door panels are symmetrical, i.e. mirrored. The locking device 31 has a pair of spaced opposed vertical bars, one bar 32 is “driven” and one bar 33 is a “lock bar”. Each bar 32 , 33 is part of a respective four bar linkage generally designated by the numerals 34 , 35 that ensures it remains vertical while being capable of moving a limited distance towards, with, or away from the other bar in a vertical plane common to the other bar.
FIGS. 3-5 illustrate a right-hand locking device 31 with the orientation referenced from within the elevator car 10 . The driven bar 32 is pivotally supported on a pair of bell crank levers 36 forming parts of the four bar linkage 34 . The driven bar 32 is connected to arms of the bell crank levers 36 with pin joints 38 . The bell crank levers 36 are pivotally supported on respective cantilevered pins 39 projecting from a bracket or plate 41 . The plate 41 is fixed to the respective door panel 13 . Other arms of the bell crank levers 36 pivotally support a connecting link 47 , the remaining element of the four bar linkage 34 , on pins 48 . The bell crank levers 36 and link 47 support the driven bar 32 in a vertical orientation and for limited, generally translatory horizontal motion.
The lock bar 33 is supported on the bracket or plate 41 in a manner similar to that of the driven bar 32 . The lock bar 33 is assembled on pins 51 carried on levers 52 , 53 . The levers 52 , 53 pivot on pins 54 , fixed on the bracket 41 . Pins 56 on the levers 52 , 53 support a bar 57 that serves as a counterweight and connecting link. The lock bar 33 , levers 52 , 53 and counterweight bar 57 work as the four bar linkage 35 and support the lock bar for limited generally horizontal translatory motion. The counterweight bar 57 resiliently biases the lock bar 33 horizontally towards the driven bar 32 .
Integral with the upper lever 52 is a generally horizontal arm 58 with an upstanding lock or hook 59 adjacent its distal end. The counterweight 57 serves to resiliently bias this hook 59 upwardly to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 where it locks onto a bracket 61 fixed to the elevator car 10 . When the hook 59 is engaged with the bracket 61 , the associated elevator car door panel forming the right side 13 of the car door is prevented from opening. As shown in the various figures, a similar arrangement is provided for the panel on the left side 14 of the elevator car door 12 .
The car door panels are power operated by an electric motor 66 ( FIG. 1 ). Suitable electrical controls, under proper conditions, energize the motor 66 in one rotary direction to open the door panels and in the opposite rotary direction to close the door panels. The motor 66 driving through a gear box 67 and toothed pulley 68 is connected to the door panels with a high torque or high force toothed belt 69 . An upper strand or reach of the belt 69 is fixed to the right door panel 13 and the lower reach of the belt is fixed to the left door panel 14 . More specifically, the belt 69 is anchored by brackets 71 to the driven bar 32 of the locking device 31 at both the right and left sides 13 , 14 of the car door 12 .
The following is an explanation of the automatic operation of the lock devices 16 , 31 . FIGS. 3 a , 4 a and 5 a show that the right door panel cam rollers 26 , 27 of the interlock assembly 16 are installed in a vertical plane that is common to these rollers and, normally, to the driven and lock bars 32 , 33 , the latter elements forming lock control bars of the car door locking device 31 . The same is true for the left hand door panel, rollers 26 , 27 and driven and lock bars 32 , 33 . The car door locking devices 31 travel vertically with the car and when a car door panel is horizontally opened or closed, the locking device or assembly as well as the adjacent companion landing door panel and interlock assembly 16 travels horizontally with the car door. From FIGS. 3-5 , it will be seen that when the motor 66 opens a car door panel through forces transmitted by the belt 69 to the associated driven bar 32 of the locking device 31 , the driven bar will simultaneously open the companion landing door panel by engagement with the cam roller 28 , recognizing that the latter cam roller is fixed relative to its associated landing door panel.
The landing and car door locks 16 and 31 are not readily accessible to a person in the car 10 and are normally intended to be released automatically, if the car is properly registered with a landing, by operation of the car door operator or motor 66 . Assuming the car 10 is properly located at a landing as depicted in FIGS. 4 and 4 a , the door operating motor 66 is energized to open the car door and the landing door. Initial movement of the belt 69 to open the door panels 13 , 14 moves the driven bars 32 in a generally horizontal direction by swinging them on their respective levers 36 . With the car 10 registered with a landing 11 , the cam rollers 26 - 28 are interposed between the associated driven and lock bars 32 , 33 . Consequently, motion of the driven bar 32 is transmitted to the lock bar 33 through the rollers 26 - 28 . More specifically, the bell crank 17 of the interlock assembly or landing door lock 16 is rotated by contact of the driven bar 32 with the upper roller 26 . Pivotal movement of the bell crank arm 17 causes the middle roller to move the lock bar 33 of the car door locking device 31 generally horizontally by swinging on the levers 52 , 53 , overcoming the bias force of the counterweight 57 . Swinging the lever 52 causes the hook 59 to be lowered, thereby releasing its lock on the fixed bracket 61 . Further motion of the belt 69 and driven bar 32 draws the door towards its open position by force applied through the bracket 71 . Simultaneously, each landing door panel is opened by force applied by the respective car door driven bar 32 to the lower roller 28 , which is fixed relative to the respective landing door panel.
The landing door lock hook 21 is raised to release its grip on the fixed bracket 22 by engagement of the upper roller 26 with the driven bar 32 . This engagement can be initiated when the car moves into the zone of the respective landing and an upper or lower camming edge 77 or 78 of the driven bar 32 contacts the roller 26 . Unlatching of the landing door panel may be completed as the driven bar 32 is moved in the door opening direction and the roller 26 further pivots the bell crank 17 .
With reference to FIG. 4 a , it will be understood that with the lower roller 28 engaged by the driven bar 32 or the lock bar 33 , the landing door panels are automatically opened and closed by the motor 66 in unison with the car door panels 13 , 14 . When the landing and car door panels are moved by the motor 66 to the closed position, the weight of the interlock arm 19 causes the landing door hook to relatch and the counterweight 57 causes the car door hook 21 to latch or relock.
From the foregoing, it will be understood that, assuming a car 10 is properly aligned at a landing, the initial movement of the car door operating motor 66 serves to unlock the car door panels 13 , 14 and the corresponding landing door panels 11 . The initial motion of the motor 66 in a sense is “lost motion” with respect to the car and landing doors since only the driven bar and lock bar 32 , 33 move in this stage. After the lock bar 33 is moved a sufficient distance to lower the lock hook 59 , the motor 66 moves the door panels toward their open positions.
FIGS. 3 , 3 a , 5 and 5 a illustrate conditions where the car 10 is out of registration, e.g. below, a landing 11 and, consequently, the interlock cam rollers 26 28 of the landing door lock or interlock assembly 16 , are out of the space between the driven and lock bars 32 , 33 . In this condition, the driven bar 32 cannot pivot the landing door lock bell crank 17 to unlock its hook 21 nor can it influence the car door lock bar 33 to release its lock hook 59 . FIG. 5 illustrates a condition where the driven bar 32 has been moved to its unlocking position but is rendered ineffective to displace the lock bar 33 because of the absence of the cam rollers 26 , 27 in the space between these bars. Note with reference to FIGS. 3 a , 4 a and 5 a , the same ineffectiveness of the driven bar 32 to unlock both the landing and car door locks obtains where the elevator car is horizontally displaced from a landing so that the cam rollers 26 - 28 do not extend into the space between the driven and lock bars 32 , 33 even where the car is vertically registered with a landing.
In the event of electrical power failure, malfunction of the door operating motor 66 or a broken belt, the car door locking device 31 and landing door lock 16 , will automatically open, if the car 10 is properly registered with the landing 11 , by force of a spring 81 . The spring 81 operates to pivot a lever 82 carrying a cam roller 83 bearing against the driven bar 32 to move the driven bar bell crank 17 with associated cam rollers 26 - 28 and the lock bar 33 to their respective door unlocking positions.
It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited.
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A door locking system for a freight or passenger elevator or goods lift installation having vertically spaced landings served by a vertically movable car, the landings and car each being protected by associated horizontal slide doors, a mechanical interlock device at each landing that prevents a landing door from opening without the presence of the car in registration with the landing, a door lock on the car for normally preventing the car door from opening when the car is out of registration with any landing, the interlock device being arranged to mechanically enable the door lock to release the car door to open when the car is in registration with a landing.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a National Stage Application of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2011/053864 (filed on Mar. 15, 2011), under 35 U.S.C. §371, which claims priority to Austrian Patent Application No. A 853/2010 (filed on May 25, 2010), which are each hereby incorporated by reference in their respective entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for hydrolysis of preferably solid organic substrates, in particular energy crops and vegetable waste, which comprises a collecting bin for receiving organic substrates, and conveying means for transporting the organic substrates to a charging device for batchwise filling of a hydrolizer with the organic substrates, said hydrolizer being provided on the output side with a depressurizing unit with a valve-controlled pressure baffle and a steam separator upstream of a flash tank.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Methods and apparatus of this kind are used for pretreatment of organic substrates, which after having passed a hydrolizer (a device for thermal pressure hydrolysis) are fed into a fermenter, for instance a biogas or biofuel plant.
Thermal pressure hydrolysis uses a technology called “steam explosion,” which is known from biogas and biofuel plants. “Steam explosion” is a technical process in which the input material is heated up to 300° C., preferably 150° C. to 200° C., and exposed to a pressure of 3 bar up to 20 bar. This pressure-temperature state is upheld for a certain period of time, after which the substrate is suddenly depressurized to atmospheric pressure. Due to this depressurization shock the cell substance is completely broken down. All of the organic substance is then present in liquified form for further processing.
The initially inhomogeneous substrate mixture (for instance, energy crops, harvesting waste etc.) is transformed into a homogeneous pulp having the following properties: cellulose is set free; crusts of hemicellulose-lignin complexes are broken down; hemicellulose is cooked; yeast, mildew and other undesirable microorganisms are destroyed; the substrate is sterilized; and fibrous matter is destabilized.
Prior to further substrate processing, for instance in a bio-gas plant, “steam explosion” thus takes care of the process steps of hydrolysis and homogenization. Fermentation conditions may thus be specifically optimized for processes of acido/acetogenesis and methanogenesis.
The result of such pretreatment is an increased substrate yield and improved product quality, in the case of a biogas plant a higher substrate decomposition rate with increased gas production and improved gas quality. Typically, specific methane content (CH 4 ) is increased while noxious hydrogen sulfide content (H 2 S) is reduced.
U.S. Patent No. 2003/0121851 A1 describes a method and apparatus for treating biologically degradable organic waste. Before the organic waste is submitted to thermal pressure hydrolysis an alkaline solution (KOH) is added to the substrate and the substrate is subjected to temperatures of 170° C. to 225° C. and correlated vapour pressure in the hydrolizer. Solid/liquid separation is then carried out. Prior to treatment the substrate may be preheated in a tank by recycled steam from the hydrolizer.
From WO 2008/011839 A2 there has for instance become known a plant for continuous and discontinuous hydrolysis of organic substrates. The plant essentially comprises a shredder for the inhomogeneous organic substrate, from which the substrate is fed to a metering charger for the hydrolizer. After treatment of the substrate in the hydrolizer it is conveyed via an “overshooting pipe” into a flash tank, from which an exhaust gas line leads to a condenser and a substrate line leads to a fermenter. The exhaust gases are fed into a steam condenser, which is water-cooled, and the condensate obtained by this step is recycled to the flash tank. The substrate line to the fermenter contains a heat exchanger whose waste heat is supplied via an external heat exchanger circuit to a heat exchanger used as preheating device, which will heat the input substrate coming from the shredder.
From SU 1620487 A1 there is known a hydrolizer having two concentric screw conveyors in a cylindrical housing, between which a drum screen is disposed. The organic material enters an outer cylindrical annular chamber via a feeder pipe and is compressed by the first screw conveyor, with superheated steam being fed into the outer annular chamber via a steam line. Then the material arrives in the inner hollow space where it is transported in reverse direction to an exit opening by the second screw conveyor.
The known methods and apparatus suffer from the disadvantage of not being energetically optimized and having a relatively complex structure.
In this context there has become known from EP 2 177 280 an apparatus for discontinuous hydrolysis of organic substances, which comprises the following components: a liquid-filled preconditioning tank for receiving solid floatable organic substrates, with an agitator and a steam distributor unit, configured as a special jet stock for creating a flotation effect; a screw conveyor for taking organic substrate from a floating mat building up on the surface, with an integrated sieve unit and a recirculation line for recirculating the filtrate; a charger unit with a pressure vessel (blow gun) and a charger gate and an additional valve-controlled connecting line to the hydrolizer; a transfer pump for taking liquid from the preconditioning tank and feeding it to the charger unit; a hydrolizer with agitator for carrying out thermal pressure hydrolysis; a valve-controlled depressurizing unit with a pressure baffle, a cyclone; and a flash tank with integrated heat exchanger.
The apparatus known from EP 2 177 280 is suitable in particular for the processing of substrates and substrate mixtures with a certain liquid content or admixture of liquid, where the floatable solid components are separated by rinsing or flotation prior to charging the hydrolizer. It is a disadvantage that reliable balancing of substrate intake is not possible due to the uncontrolled intake of liquid of the solid component during the pulping process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to optimize an apparatus for hydrolysis of relatively dry organic substrates with regard to both operation and energy management, while still achieving a compact design.
In accordance with the invention this object is achieved by proposing that the conveyor means comprise a screw conveyor with a hollow shaft, into which is fed superheated steam from the steam separator, which is preferably configured as a cyclone, the hollow shaft having steam vents in a heating zone in the conveying area for the organic substrate for directly subjecting the organic substrate to superheated steam. Through these steam vents in the hollow shaft the organic substrate is effectively and uniformly exposed to steam already prior to entry into the hydrolizer, and by using waste steam from the steam separator energy is conserved.
The apparatus may be further energetically optimized by providing the heating zone of the conveyor screw with a connecting line to the collecting bin for the organic substrate, through which the superheated steam exiting from the heating zone is fed into the collecting bin and will pass on into a storage bunker if provided.
Operationally, the apparatus is optimized by metered addition of process water, the charger unit of the hydrolizer being furnished according to the invention with a metering unit for process water to enable sufficient watering of the organic substrate prior to entry into the hydrolizer. For heating the process water a heat exchanger is provided, which is in thermal contact with the flash tank, thus permitting recovery of the waste heat of the flash tank.
In the method of the invention superheated steam is separated from the substrates treated by thermal pressure hydrolysis immediately upon discharge of a partial batch and flashing, and is used for heating the organic substrate input in the hydrolysis process, the separated superheated steam being directly blown into a conveyor screw, which feeds the organic substrate to the thermal pressure hydrolysis process.
In accordance with the invention the initially dry substrate absorbs the condensation heat of the superheated steam in the screw conveyor and is heated to 70° C., preferably to 100° C., and is additionally steamed, whereby the surface structures of the substrate are softened and water is absorbed. By the simultaneous motion of the conveyor screw during the steaming process the contact between the media is intensified.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more detail referring to the enclosed schematic drawings. There is shown in:
FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus for hydrolysis of preferably solid, organic substrates in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a variant in accordance with the invention of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 illustrates a detail of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 .
FIG. 4 illustrates a further variant in accordance with the invention of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
The apparatus for hydrolysis of organic substrates shown in FIG. 1 essentially comprises the following components: a collecting bin 1 for receiving solid organic substrates, for instance shredded straw or silage, with an intake opening 2 for the substrate and a waste steam line 3 ; a conveyor means, such as a screw conveyor 4 for transporting organic substrates, with a heating unit 5 , which receives superheated steam from the steam separator 14 via a line 6 ; a charging device 7 with a pressure vessel 8 (blow gun) plus valve-controlled charging port 9 into the hydrolizer 10 and a valve-controlled connecting line 11 to the hydrolizer 10 ; a hydrolizer 10 for carrying out thermal pressure hydrolysis including an agitator 23 ; a depressurization unit 12 with a valve-controlled pressure baffle 13 , a steam separator 14 (i.e. a cyclone) leading to a flash tank 15 ; a unit 16 for heating of the hydrolizer 10 ; and a flash tank 15 with integrated heat exchanger 17 .
The screw conveyor 4 passes through a closed heating zone 18 of the heating unit 5 , into which superheated steam from the steam separator 14 configured as a cyclone, is fed via the steam line 6 .
Furthermore, the heating zone 18 of the screw conveyor 4 may be provided with a connecting line 19 to the collecting bin 1 for the organic substrate, through which superheated steam exiting from the heating zone 18 flows into the collecting bin 1 and preheats the substrate stored there.
In accordance with a detail of the invention shown in FIG. 3 , the screw conveyor 4 is provided with a hollow shaft 25 , into which is fed via line 6 a superheated steam from the steam separator 14 preferably configured as a cyclone. The superheated steam may also be fed directly into the hollow shaft 25 by means of the steam line 6 (see FIG. 4 ). In the conveyor area for the organic substrate the hollow shaft 25 has slit-shaped steam vents 26 , which will permit effective, uniform steaming of the substrate.
At the end of the hollow shaft 25 of the screw conveyor 4 , which dips into the collecting bin 1 , there is provided a preferably valve-controlled exit opening 27 for venting surplus superheated steam into the collecting bin 1 .
Description of the Process
The substrate present in the collecting bin 1 usually consists of material in the form of short fibers or crumbs with a particle size of up to 5 cm, typically with 30% (e.g. silage) to 90% (e.g. straw) of dry substance.
The screw conveyor 4 takes substrate from the collecting bin 1 and transports it to the charging unit 7 of the hydrolizer 10 . (The amount of substrate present in the screw conveyor 4 at a typical filling level practically corresponds to a batch charge of the hydrolizer 10 and at the same time to a filling of the collecting bin 1 ).
Collecting bin 1 and screw conveyor 4 are designed such that superheated steam from the flashing process of the depressurization unit 12 may be directly fed to the substrate contained in there via a distribution and feeder device of the heating unit 5 , in particular the steam vents in the hollow shaft 25 . Condensation heat transferred when the steam contacts the substrate will heat the substrate up to 100° C., typically to more than 70° C. This will significantly reduce the heating effort required to reach the operating point of the hydrolizer 10 , i.e. up to 180° C.
An additional positive effect lies in the steaming of the substrate, that is in the softening of the surface structures and the absorption of water by the substrate. Humid air or residual steam passes from the heating zone 18 to the collecting bin 1 or is expelled as waste air.
The screw conveyor 4 sequentially transports a defined amount of preheated and humidified substrate into the pressure vessel 8 of the charging unit 7 . When the required filling level of substrate is reached a defined volume of process water is additionally metered into the pressure vessel 8 via a metering unit 20 to achieve a sufficiently watered substrate mixture. In order to reduce the heating effort required for the hydrolizer 10 this process water is preheated to between 50° C. and 100° C. by the heat exchanger 17 in the flash tank 15 .
This kind of sequential charging permits accurate control of the mass flows entering the hydrolizer 10 , separately for the substrate and the process water. This will enable targeted setting of operational parameters and system throughput.
The pressure vessel 8 of the charging unit 7 is a so-called “blow gun”, i.e. after filling with a charge the vessel is tightly closed against the ambient atmosphere by shutting the intake opening, and is brought to the system pressure of the hydrolizer 10 by opening a valve-controlled connecting line 11 . The valve of the connecting line 11 is then again closed.
The pressure vessel 8 is emptied cyclically via the valve-controlled charging port 9 by the pressure difference between pressure vessel 8 and hydrolizer 10 (usually 1 to 2 bar) arising when the hydrolizer has been partly emptied. If required, system pressure may be increased by introducing compressed air into the pressure vessel 8 to ensure complete emptying of the charging unit 7 .
After filling of the hydrolizer 10 by means of the “blow gun” the hydrolysing process will proceed under continuous heating via a heating unit 16 and simultaneous pressure increase, for a certain retention period of e.g. 30 minutes up to some hours.
A defined volume will then be discharged by excess system pressure and will be disintegrated in the depressurization unit 12 by spontaneous flashing and a pressure shock.
Charging and discharging of the substrate into and from the hydrolizer 10 is carried out in a sequence of short cycles, for instance 2 to 4 cycles per hour, each addressing only part of the hydrolizer volume, for instance 10% to 30%. This particular mode of operation with a rapid series of charging and discharging cycles for part of the reactor volume will subsequently be called quasi-continuous.
Quasi-continuous operation has a number of decisive advantages over known continuous or discontinuous processes. a) Due to batchwise discharge the pressure baffle 13 can have large diameter with high throughput, thus avoiding wear and damage to the baffle and congestions, which typically occur in continuous processes; b) By discharging each time only part of the hydrolizer volume all of the substrate is discharged with maximum flash effect or “degree of severity,” resulting in optimum disintegration of the substrate. Classical discontinuous batch processes with total reactor discharge in each cycle suffer from an unavoidable residuum of less disintegrated substrate, since the excess pressure driving the discharge will decrease continuously as the reactor discharge progresses. c) Classical batch processes due to their operational mode require cyclical heating, which means high power peaks and a discontinuous consumption of heating medium. In quasi-continuous operation of the hydrolizer 10 heating power will permanently be constant, which will conform to the typical operation of a biogas plant.
Heating of the hydrolizer 10 usually is effected by steam, thermal oil or a gas burner. In case the system is combined with a biogas plant with co-generation (generation of electric power and waste heat in a combined heat and power plant CHP or a similar internal combustion system)—a typical plant configuration—a device for feeding hot waste gas from co-generation may be used for directly heating the hydrolizer 10 . This will achieve further energy optimization of the system.
The substrate exiting the hydrolizer 10 , which is largely disintegrated or liquified, enters a cylone 14 , where a gas component (superheated steam) is separated while the liquid/solid component flows downwards into the flash tank 15 .
By a shell-and-tube or plate-type heat exchanger 17 in the flash tank 15 , the high system temperature of the substrate (approx. 100° C.) may be exploited, for instance to preheat the process water used for liquid enrichment in the pressure vessel 8 .
From the flash tank 15 the treated substrate is removed for further processing by a suitable conveying means (for instance a thick matter pump).
In the variant of the invention shown in FIG. 2 the collecting bin 1 receiving the organic substrate is preceded by a storage bunker 21 with a mixer 24 and a conveyor 22 . The mixer 24 destroys substrate agglomerations, which would inhibit further entry of the substrate into the conveyor 22 . The rotational motion of the mixer 24 can also optimize the feeding of the substrate into the conveyor.
By directing the waste steam line 3 from the collecting bin 1 into the storage bunker 21 residual steam may once more be used to preheat the substrate. The pressure shock of the entering steam will additionally loosen the substrate in the bunker, which helps to avoid agglomerations in the substrate.
In the variant in accordance with FIG. 4 the hollow shaft 25 with steam vents 26 of the screw conveyor 4 ′ has at its bottom end a switching valve 32 , through which solid or liquid substrate that has entered the hollow shaft 25 through the steam vents 26 , will be removed. This is done cyclically by the input of recycled waste steam from the steam separator 14 via the connecting line 6 . By its excess pressure material deposited inside the hollow shaft 25 is blown out through the opened switch valve 32 and returned either to the collecting bin 1 , the storage bunker 21 (not shown here, see FIG. 2 ), or some other collector unit. Congestion of the hollow shaft 25 or its steam vents 26 by substrate particles will thus be avoided.
Furthermore the switch valve 32 permits flushing with cleansing media or compressed air. The switch valve 32 may additionally be used to feed a surplus of process steam into the collecting bin 1 or the storage bunker 21 and to relieve excess pressure in the heating zone 18 .
Loose substrate such as shredded straw and silage may have very low bulk density, such that the substrate mass in the screw conveyor 4 respectively in the heating zone 18 will not be sufficient for a complete batch filling of the charging unit 7 and the desired total filling of the tubular heating zone 18 cannot be achieved.
To avoid this situation the screw conveyor 4 ′ has a larger diameter in the area of the collecting bin 1 than in the heating zone 18 , resulting in a compactification zone 28 at the transition to the heating zone 18 , in which the transported material is compacted. The screw flight of the conveyor is for instance varied in such a way that the diameter of the screw is reduced at a ratio of 2:1 at the transition to the heating zone 18 , leading to compact filling of the screw flight in the heating zone 18 . This compactification does not create excess pressure, it simply increases substrate density.
Practical experiments have shown that in the instance of “bulky” fibrous substrates being put into the pressure vessel 8 (blow gun) of the charging unit 7 , in particular at low rates of exchange, pressure equalization between hydrolizer 10 and blow gun 8 prior to discharge will not be sufficient to reliably ensure fast and complete emptying of the blow gun.
This problem may be solved by disposing in the pressure vessel 8 of the charging unit 7 a rotatable clearing screw 29 , in the form of a narrow helical metal strip 33 along the inner wall of pressure vessel 8 , that will not impede the filling process. The clearing screw 29 is rotated during the charging process of the hydrolizer 10 with transport direction downwards and causes substrate adhering to the wall of the pressure vessel 8 to be scraped off, resulting in a brisk downward movement even at low system excess pressure, which will guarantee fast and complete emptying of the blow gun. The clearing screw 29 itself does not create excess pressure since it is not a compacting screw, and the installation is not prone to wear or failure.
Since the substrates to be treated mostly come from agricultural sources it cannot be excluded that heavy foreign objects such as stones or small metal parts will enter the system. Since the overall system preferably works without prior screening or removal, such substances will accumulate over time in the hydrolizer 10 , as they cannot escape due to quasi-continuous partial charging and discharging and as the connection to the depressurization device 12 is not usually located in the immediate vicinity of the hydrolizer bottom.
In order to avoid the building-up of sediment which might cause damage, an effective removal system for such foreign substances is provided. Preferably, the hydrolizer 10 is connected via a valve to a sediment chamber 30 , which is opened during the removal process and is then closed again. After pressure equalization against the ambient atmosphere the sediment chamber 30 may be emptied via a second valve. In this way removal of deposited foreign objects can be carried out while the system is in operation.
The high temperature of the substrate discharged from the hydrolizer 10 and transferred to the cyclone or steam separator 14 is exploited for preheating process water or other liquids. Heat transfer in the area of the heat exchanger 17 may be optimized by actively guiding the hot substrate flowing from the cylone 14 into the flash tank 15 to the heat transfer surface, in this case preferably the wall of the tank.
This will preferably be done by providing the steam separator with an internal cone 31 joined to a cylindrical area 34 , which forms an annular gap with the tank wall, the depressurization device 12 opening tangentially into the steam separator 14 . The typical design of a cyclone with the tip of the cone pointing downwards to a central outlet (see FIG. 1 ) is here inverted, letting the substrate flow downwards in the annular gap at the outer periphery of the cone 31 . This fits in well with the tangential charging of the cyclone leading to peripheral distribution of the liquid substrate along the cyclone wall. The hot substrate flows directly along the heating surface of the heat exchanger 17 prior to mixing with the other material in the flash tank 15 .
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The invention relates to a device for the hydrolysis of preferably solid organic substrates, in particular of energy crops and plant residues, with a collection vessel ( 1 ) for receiving the organic substrates, with a conveying means ( 4 ) for transporting the organic substrates into a charging device ( 7 ) for the batch-wise charging of a hydrolyzer ( 10 ) with the organic substrates, the hydrolyzer ( 10 ) being provided on the output with a pressure-release device ( 12 ) having a valve-controlled pressure diaphragm ( 13 ) and a steam trap ( 14 ) arranged upstream of an expander tank ( 15 ). According to the invention, the conveying means ( 4 ) includes a conveyor worm ( 4 ′) with a sleeve shaft ( 25 ), which is charged with hot steam from the steam trap ( 14 ), which is preferably designed as a cyclone, the sleeve shaft ( 25 ), in the conveying zone for the organic substrate, having, in a heating zone ( 18 ), steam-outlet openings ( 26 ) for directly charging the organic substrate with hot steam.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 USC §365 from International Application PCT/BR2004/000016, filed on Feb. 20, 2004, which claims priority from International Application PCT/BR2003/000024, filed on Feb. 21, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention refers to a process for obtaining fatty acid alkyl esters, rosin acids and sterols from crude tall oil (CTO) which involves several esterification and distillation steps.
2. Background Art
The use of sterols to take control of cholesterol level in human nutrition body industry might increase a lot the demand of non-sterols. Consequently, separation process of sterols from Crude Tall Oil is highly interesting from the economical viewpoint, since this is one of the main source of sterols. Crude tall oil typically comes from the sulphate process employed in the manufacture of cellulose from wood. More particularly, the spent black liquor from the pulping process is concentrated until sodium salts (soaps) of various acids separate out and are skimmed off. The salts are acidified or decomposed with sulphuric acid so as to provide the crude tall oil.
Crude tall oil is refined mainly by vacuum distillation processes to separate the various compounds almost completely into rosin and fatty acid fractions. The current technology is based on distillation where the acids are fractionated in several columns. Using a first column to separate the more volatile fatty acids and rosin acids, from the less volatile materials, which include many of the unsaponifiable and neutral materials such as sterols and their esters. A second column is commonly designed to separate the more volatile fatty acids from the less volatile rosin acids. The tall oil fatty acids usually contain 1-5% rosin acids as by-products. This process usually ends up with a bottom that is currently called as “pitch”, where sterols, heavy hydrocarbons, wax alcohols are the main substances. Commercially, only fatty and rosin acids are produced. Pitch usually is used as a fuel. Due to the high distillation temperature there is significant sterols degradation. Also the most part of the free sterols are converted into esters. Tall oil pitch is a very viscous, dark product, which is rather difficult to handle. So far, there is no economic commercial process running to extract sterols from the pitch. From the state of the art a number of processes are known describing ways to extract sterols from CTO soaps using solvents and distillation processes prior to any acid splitting process, which theoretically could avoid sterols losses. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,456, U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,111, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,573. However, these processes are characterised by a high technical effort and were not reduced into practice for economical reasons.
A method of separating sterols from crude tall oil, wherein the sterols are not destroyed in the process, would be a useful invention in the chemical preparation industry. Therefore, the objective of this invention is to find out an economic process to separate the three main crude tall oil (CTO) components, fatty acids or their esters, rosin acids, and sterols, to get these commercially valuable products.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention therefore provides a new process for obtaining fatty acid alkyl esters, rosin acids and sterols from crude tall oil (CTO), which is characterised by the following steps:
(a) reacting the free fatty acids present in the CTO with lower alcohols; (b) esterifying the sterols in the CTO with boric acid or transesterifying with catalyst; (c) separating the fatty acid lower alkyl esters and rosin acids from the remaining sterol borate esters or sterol esters of fatty acids to produce a stream of sterol esters; (d) separating the fatty acid alkyl esters from the rosin acids to produce a first stream of fatty acid lower alkyl esters and a second stream of rosin acids; and (e) converting said sterol esters into the free sterols to produce a third stream rich in free sterols.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In more detail, in step (a) of the process the fatty acids are converted into their respective C 1 -C 4 alkyl esters, preferably into their methyl esters. The major advantage of this step lies in the low boiling point of the esters thus obtained, which makes it easy to separate them from the other fractions. This is preferably done in a single esterification step due to the selective enzymatic or chemical reaction between fatty and rosin acids, with means that usually only the fatty acids are converted into their respective esters. The esterification can be conducted by means of acidic catalysts, like for example methane sulfonic acid or Fascat® at temperatures of 120 to 150° C., or enzymes, like for example the lipase Novozym® CaLB (Novozymes A/S, Denmark) at temperatures of 20 to 60° C., depending on the activity optimum of the micro-organisms. Usually, the enzymatic reaction takes a significantly longer time. The esterification can be carried out under pressure.
In step (b), boric acid (H 3 BO 3 ) is added to the CTO which contains fatty acid alkyl esters, sterols and rosin acids to transform all the free sterols into sterol triesters. Sterol esters are much more stable than free sterols which leads to less degradation products, especially those due to the dehydration reaction. By this step it is possible to achieve a better separation between rosins and neutrals and to avoid the unwanted degradation of the sterols. Usually, the esterification is conducted a temperature of 200 to 230° C.
Or, Fascat®4350 (Tin based catalyst) is added to the CTO which contains fatty acid alkyl esters, sterols and rosin acids to transform all the free sterols into sterol fatty esters. Usually, the transesterification is conducted at a temperature of 230° C. for 3-4 hours.
In step (c) the fatty acid alkyl esters and rosin acids are separated from the sterol borate esters and other high molecular weight hydrocarbons, preferably by means of a short pass distillation, and more preferably by means of a wiped film evaporator. The latter process is again operated preferably at a reduced pressure of from 0.01 to 10 mmHg and a temperature of 160 to 240° C.
In step (d) the fatty acid esters are separated from the remaining rosin acids by means of distillation, short path distillation or fractionation, employing milder conditions compared to the acid distillation. The fatty acid alkyl esters, preferably fatty acid methyl esters, are thereby advantageously obtained without rosin acids contamination and leaving less fatty acids in the bottom stream. The distillation is preferably carried out by means of a wiped film evaporator which is usually conducted at a reduced pressure of 0.01 to 10 mmHg and a temperature of 190 to 240° C. and/or a subsequent column consisting of e.g. 15 steps with reflux, condensate, reboiler, known from the state of the art.
In step (e), the borate sterol esters are easily converted to the free sterols through hydrolysis or solvolysis. The preferred solvent, however, is water.
This process can also be applied to the tall oil pitch to enrich the sterols content. The borate esters step can be applied to separate tocopherols and sterols from the fatty acids portion in the soy bean vegetable oil distillate (VOD), and also to separate sterols and high molecular alcohols in the sugar cane waxes. The first stream, fatty acid methyl esters, is used to produce methyl dimerate, a raw material used to make polyamides as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,373. The second stream, the rosin acids, is used to produce adhesives and other conventional products. The sterols can be used as feed in the existent purification sterols processes. The viscosity of this stream can be decreased by adding soy bean oil during the last distillation or by reacting alcohols, C 12 -C 18 -saturated or unsaturated during the boric acid esterification step. The alcohols can be recovered after the hydrolysis step.
EXAMPLES
1. Comparative Example
Wiped Film Evaporator Distillation of Crude Tall Oil
This example illustrates for comparison purpose a wiped film evaporator (WFE) distillation of crude tall oil (CTO) in the same wiped film evaporator equipment used to develop the entire process, without selective enzymatic or chemical esterification of fatty acid and transforming all free sterols into sterols borate triesters.
600.0 ml/h of CTO were passed through a WFE. The CTO contained 4.7% b.w. sterol, of which only 9.0% b.w. was already present as sterol esters. The WFE was operated at 1 mm Hg, with a initial residue temperature of 190° C. The residue fraction (residue 1) leaving the bottom of the WFE represented 64.0% b.w. of the CTO feed. The residue 1 contained 38.0% b.w. rosin acids, 40.0 b.w. % of TOFA. In the second distillation, the WFE was operated at 1 mm Hg, with a initial residue 1 temperature of 240° C. The residue fraction (residue 2) leaving the bottom of the WFE represented 15.0% b.w. of the residue 1 feed. The residue 2 contained 40% b.w. rosin acids, and 6% b.w. total sterol. The sterol yield in this process was 25% b.w., which means that 75% b.w. of the sterols undergo thermal degradation or distilled off together with the rosins and fatty acids.
From this example one can see that it is not possible to separate the fatty acids from the rosin acids using short path distillation, and also the sterols recovery is too low.
Inventive Examples 2-7
These inventive examples describe the use of a selective chemical and enzymatic esterification of fatty acid from crude tall oil followed by the esterification of sterols by boric acid. The fatty acid alkyl esters, rosin acids and sterol borates are separated in accordance with the present invention, to avoid the sterol degradation in the residue fraction, and producing a high quality fatty acid ester (TOFA-Me) and rosin acids from crude tall oil.
2. Esterification Step
a) Chemical esterification: 1 kg of CTO obtained from RESITEC Industrias Quimicas LTDA, were placed together with 750 g (23.43 moles) of methanol from Aldrich Chemical Co. and 12 g of methanesulfonic acid (0.12 moles) from Merck KGaA, into a 2-1-Büchi laboratory autoclave BEP 280 equipped with a thermometer, and mechanical agitator. Over a two-hour period, the temperature was maintained at 140° C. Thereafter, the temperature was reduced from 140° C. to 70° C. and the unreacted methanol distilled off. The maximum reaction pressure in the reaction was 7 bar. The acid value of the CTO was reduced from initially 154 mgKOH/g to 65 mgKOH/g.
b) Enzymatic esterification: 3 kg of CTO obtained from RESITEC Industrias Quimicas LTDA were placed together with 750 g (23.43 moles) of methanol from Aldrich Chemical Co., 120 g of water, and 1.5 g of Novozym® CaLB L from NOVOZYMES Latin America Ltda, in a 4-1-3-necked round bottom flask equipped with a thermometer, a mechanical agitator, and a condenser. The samples were shaken for 180 hrs at 30° C. The initial acid value of 154.0 mgKOH/g was reduced to 64.0 mgKOH/g.
c) Enzymatic esterification with immobilised enzyme: 50 g of CTO obtained from RESITEC Industrias Quimicas LTDA were placed together with 5.0 g (0.16 moles) of methanol from Aldrich Chemical Co. and 2.5 g polypropylene carrier MP 100 (Membrana, Germany) previously loaded with 1.25 g Novozym® CaLB L (Novozymes A/S, Denmark), in a flask. The samples were shaken for 22 hrs at 45° C. The initial acid value of 147.0 mgKOH/g was reduced to 69.2 mgKOH/g.
d) Enzymatic esterification with ethanol and immobilised enzyme: 50 g of CTO obtained from RESITEC Industrias Quimicas LTDA were placed together with 5.0 g (0.11 moles) of ethanol from Aldrich Chemical Co., 5.0 g of water and 2.5 g polypropylene carrier MP 100 (Membrana, Germany) previously loaded with 1.25 g Novozym® CaLB L (Novozymes A/S, Denmark), in a flask. The samples were shaken for 22 hrs at 45° C. The initial acid value of 147.0 mgKOH/g was reduced to 80.2 mgKOH/g.
The following experiments were carried out with chemical or enzymatic esterified crude tall oil, after removal of methanol and water by evaporation, according to example 2a-2d.
3. Esterification with Boric Acid/Transesterification with Tin Catalyst
a) 1 kg of CTO esterified (by step 2) was dried at 110° C. and 40 mmHg, and 5.0 g of boric acid (0.03 moles) obtained from Aldrich Chemical Co., were placed into a 2-liter, 3-necked round bottom flask and reacted for 4 h at 220° C. to convert all the free sterols into esters.
b) 1 kg of CTO esterified (by step 2) dried at 110° C. and 40 mmHg and 0.4 g of Fascat®4350 obtained from Atofina, were placed into a 2-liter, 3-necked round bottom flask and reacted for 4 h at 230° C. to convert all the free sterols into esters.
4. Separation of Fatty Acid Alkyl Esters and Rosin Acids from Sterol Borates/Sterol Fatty Ester
1 kg of the product produced by step 3 was distilled in the WFE which was operated at 2 mm Hg, 210° C. and feed flow of 550 ml/hour. The residue 1 leaving the bottom of the WFE represented 20.0% w/w of the CTO feed. The residue 1 contained 21% w/w of sterols as esters and the top fraction 2 representing 80% w/w with no sterols having 62% of fatty acid methyl ester, 33% of rosin acids and 5% of unsaponifiable material. Thermal degradation reactions were minimal.
5. Separation of Fatty Acid Alkyl Esters from Rosin Acids
1600 g of the top fraction 2 obtained in the in the step 4 were distilled in a laboratory column distillation at 250° C. (bottom)/210° C. (top) and 2 mmHg. The top fraction 1 represented 65% w/w contained 90% of fatty acid methyl ester, 0.3% of rosin acid and 9.7% of unsaponifiable material. The bottom fraction 2 represented 35% having 90% of rosin acid and 10% of heavy components.
6. Hydrolysis of Sterol Borate Esters
To 500 g of the residue 1, obtained in the step 4, was added 200 g of purified water, and the resulting solution heated to 90° C. stirred for 1 hour. After phase separation the residue was washed two times with 50 g purified water and dried.
7. Solvolysis of Sterol Fatty Acid Esters
To 500 g of the residue 1, obtained in the step 4, was added 100 g of glycerin, heated up to 220° C. stirred for 3 hour. After this step 85% of free sterols are obtained and separated by appropriate methods.
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The disclosed invention refers to a process for obtaining fatty acid alkyl esters, rosin acids and sterols from crude tall oil (CTO), which is characterized by the following steps: (a) reacting the free fatty acids present in the CTO with lower alcohols; (b) esterifying the sterols in the CTO with boric acid or transesterifying the sterols with a catalyst; (c) separating the fatty acid lower alkyl esters and rosin acids from the remaining sterol borate esters or sterol esters of fatty acids to produce a stream of sterol esters; (d) separating the fatty acid alkyl esters from the rosin acids to produce a first stream of fatty acid alky esters and a second stream of rosin acids; and (e) converting the sterol esters into the free sterols to produce a third stream of free sterols.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the moving and transportation of bedridden persons and patients in hospitals, homes and nursing homes and more particularly, to the transportation of patients from one location in a bed to another, from the bed to a wheelchair or dolly and back to the bed and from a dolly to an x-ray table or the like and back, as the case may require. The patient transport device includes, in a first preferred embodiment, a flat rail bed having spaced, parallel, upturned side rails which receive rollers carried by a seat or body support slidably positioned on the rail bed and designed to overlap and traverse the rail bed as the rollers traverse the rails. A hand support is provided as an optional feature and in a second preferred embodiment, the rail bed is longer and the seat or body support is larger to accommodate the entire body, in order to facilitate movement of persons in a prone position from one support plane to another. In a most preferred aspect of this embodiment of the invention, the rail bed is mounted on hydraulic cylinders to facilitate height adjustment of the body support.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The transportation of bedridden and sick patients in homes, nursing homes, hospitals and clinics from bed to wheelchair and back, or to a transportation dolly and from the dolly to an x-ray table and the like, is commonly done with the aid of several individuals and a blanket or sheet. This method is at best cumbersome, and is sometimes painful, particularly in the case of patients which have just returned from surgery and must be moved from ICU to a dolly, and then to a hospital bed. Considerable discomfort and pain can even be experienced when moving a person from one side of the bed to another, especially immediately following an injury or surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,849, dated Aug. 18, 1953, to M. G. Webb et al, discloses an "Invalid Chair for Bathtubs". The device is characterized by a frame formed of a pair of horizontal rails extending transversely over the bathtub, a pair of vertical legs depending from the rail ends which extend outside of the bathtub, connecting bars joining the rails and the legs, a horizontal guide bar with the rails movably engaging the guide bar, a chair, rollers carried by the chair and movably engaging the rails and retaining means holding the chair against movement on the rails.
It is an object of this invention to provide a patient transport device which is characterized by a generally flat rail bed provided with upturned, parallel and spaced rails and a seat slidably disposed on the rail bed and carrying multiple rollers engaging the rails.
Another object of the invention is to provide a patient transport device which can be used in homes, hospitals, nursing homes and like institutions for transporting bedridden, injured and sick patients from one side of the bed to another or from the bed to a wheelchair or to and from other means of transportation such as a dolly, which patient transport device includes a rail bed provided with parallel, spaced, upturned rails and a seat having rollers mounted thereon, the rollers engaging the rails to facilitate slidable movement of the seat along the rail bed in either direction to support and move the patient.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a patient transport device which is designed to relocate a patient lying in a prone position, which device is characterized by a generally flat rail bed having spaced rails at the foot and head thereof and a cooperating supporting member provided with rollers at spaced intervals, with at least some of the rollers engaging the rails, such that the supporting member is slidably mounted on the rail bed for transporting the patient from a bed to a transport dolly, x-ray table or the like.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a device for slidably transporting persons in the seated or prone position from one point to another, which device includes a rail bed of selected size having spaced, generally parallel and upturned rails and a seat or body support of selected size slidably disposed on the rail bed and fitted with axles and cooperating rollers which engage the rails to facilitate sliding movement of the seat or body support from one side of the rail bed to the other.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a patient transport device for transferring a patient from one point to another, which device includes a generally flat rail bed having spaced and generally parallel, upturned rails with a body support slidably positioned on the rail bed and carrying spaced axles with rollers engaging the rails and further including hydraulic cylinders supporting the rail bed for adjusting the height of the body support.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects of the invention are provided in a patient transport device which, in a preferred embodiment, is characterized by a generally flat rail bed having parallel, spaced, upturned rails and a seat which is slidably positioned on the rail bed and is provided with multiple rollers cooperating with the rails to facilitate sliding movement of the seat with respect to the rails. In another preferred embodiment, the seat is enlarged to define a body support and the rail bed is supported on a frame which includes hydraulic cylinders to facilitate height adjustment of the rail bed and the body support with respect to the floor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the patient transport device of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken along line 2--2 of the patient transport device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken along line 3--3 of the patient transport device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the patient transport device of this invention;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view, taken along line 5--5 of the patient transport device illustrated in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is sectional view, taken along line 6--6 of the patient transport device illustrated in FIG. 4; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic of a hydraulic system used to adjust the height of the patient transport device illustrated in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the patient transport device is illustrated by reference numeral 1. The patient transport device 1 includes a generally flat rail bed 2, having oppositely disposed, spaced and upward standing rails 3 on both sides thereof. Each of the rails 3 is characterized by a rail side 4, which extends upwardly from the rail bed 2 and an inwardly extending rail flange 5. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that each of the rails 3 defines an inwardly facing channel and in a most preferred embodiment of the invention, the rails 3 are formed integrally with the rail bed 2, according to the knowledge of those skilled in the art. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a hand support 6 extends from the rail side 4 of one of the rails 3 and spans a portion of the length of the rail bed 2, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. A seat is generally illustrated by reference numeral 7 and is disposed over the rail bed 2. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the seat 7 is either square or rectangular in configuration and is characterized by parallel seat ends 8, parallel seat sides 9 and a generally flat bottom surface 19 and upper surface 23. The seat 7 is further fitted with two sets of axle mount brackets 10, each of which are disposed in spaced relationship with respect to each other, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. A pair of axles 14 extend through the axle flanges 12, respectively, of corresponding sets of the axle mount brackets 10, while the seat flange 11 of each of the axle mount brackets 10 lies flat against the bottom surface 19 of the seat 7 and is attached to the seat 7 by means of fasteners 13. It will be appreciated that the seat 7 can be manufactured of a variety materials, including wood, fiberglass, plastic and stainless steel, in non-exclusive particular. However, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the seat 7 is constructed of stainless steel and the fasteners 13 are characterized by metal screws which extend through apertures (not illustrated) in the seat flanges 11 of the axle mount brackets 10, respectively, to attach the axle mount brackets 10 securely to the seat 7. In another most preferred embodiment of the invention and as further illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the seat ends 8 of the seat 7 overhang each end of the rail bed 2 when the seat 7 is located at the extreme ends of the rail bed 2, respectively, while the seat sides 9 likewise overhang the rails 3, for purposes which will be hereinafter described. A pair of outside rollers 15 are rotatably mounted on opposite ends of each of the axles 14, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and multiple clamps 17, fitted with allen screws 18, serve to prevent the outside rollers 15 from moving inwardly on the axles 14 and exiting the channels formed by the rail side 4, rail flange 5 and the rail bed 2, respectively. Additional clamps 17 are secured to the axles 14 adjacent the respective axle flanges 12 and serve to prevent the axles 14 from sliding in the axle flanges 12, in order to further insure that each set of outside rollers 15 traverse the rails 3 smoothly and evenly as the seat 7 traverses the rail bed 2 from end to end. Roller stops 24 are secured to the ends of each of the rails 3, in order to limit the travel of the outside rollers 15 and the seat 7, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingly, it will be appreciated from a consideration of FIGS. 1-3 that the seat 7 is able to traverse the entire length of the rail bed 2 with the seat ends 8 overhanging the open ends of the rail bed 2, respectively, as each corresponding set of outside rollers 15 contacts the respective roller stops 24, mounted at the ends of the rails 3. Thus, the overhang of the seat ends 8 and the seat sides 9 is designed to prevent pinching or cutting a patient who is seated on the seat 7.
Referring now to FIGS. 4-6 of the drawings, in another preferred embodiment of the invention the patient transport device 1 is characterized by a larger rail bed 2, fitted with rails 3 which are designed in the same manner as the rails 3 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, except that the rails 3 in this embodiment of the invention are spaced farther apart than those illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. A body support 20 is designed to support a patient in a prone position and serves as a counterpart to the seat 7 in the FIG. 1-3 embodiment of the invention. The body support 20 is defined by body support ends 21, which overlap the rails 3, provided in the the rail bed 2 and by body support sides 22, which overlap corresponding open ends of the rail bed 2. As in the case of the upper surface 23 of the seat 7, the upper surface 23 of the body support 20 is generally flat and the respective sets of outside rollers 15 are supported on spaces axles 14, carried by the axle flanges 12 of the respective axle mount brackets 10, in the same manner as the patient transport device illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. The body support 20 is additionally fitted with inside rollers 16, which are secured to the axles 14, carried by additional axle mount brackets 10, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Each of the axle mount brackets 10 is characterized by a seat flange 11, secured by means of fasteners 13 to the bottom surface 19 of the body support 20, and an axle flange 12 carring an axle 14. The spaced axles 14 are stabilized in the respective axle flanges 12 by means of additional clamps 17, which are fitted with allen screws 18, in the same manner as the patient transport device 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that each set of outside rollers 15 are constrained to remain inside the rails 3, respectively, while the inside rollers 16 traverse the rail bed 2 at points inwardly of the rails 3, in order to support the entire span of the body support 20.
In a most preferred embodiment of the invention and referring now to FIGS. 4-7 of the drawings, a pair of hydraulic cylinders are generally illustrated by reference numeral 25 and are positioned at opposite ends of the rail bed 2. The hydraulic cylinders 25 are fitted with pistons 27, respectively, the free ends of which pistons 27 are secured to the rail bed 2 by means of piston brackets 41. The pistons 27 cooperate with the cylinders 26 in conventional fashion and a pair of piston webs 36 extend from each piston 27 along opposite ends of the rail bed 2 as illustrated, in order to further stabilize the rail bed 2 and the body support 20 on each piston 27. A cylinder base 37 supports each cylinder 26 and cooperating piston 27 and is fitted with a fill plug 38, for charging the hydraulic cylinders 25 with hydraulic fluid. An inlet nipple 28 and outlet nipple 30 are provided in spaced relationship on each of the cylinders 26 and cooperate with an inlet line 29 and an outlet line 31, respectively, in order to apply and release pressure in the respective cylinders 26 and raise and lower the pistons 27, rail bed 2 and body support 20, as deemed necessary. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the inlet lines 29 and outlet lines 31 communicate with a valve 32, which receives a control lever 35 and is positioned in cooperation with a pump 33 and a reservoir 34, in order to control the flow of hydraulic fluid to and from each of the cylinders 26 of the hydraulic cylinders 25, as hereinafter described. Base webs 39 serve to stabilize each hydraulic cylinder base 37 securely on a base plate 40, which is supported by a pair of legs 42, spanned by a brace 43. In a most preferred embodiment of the invention a set of wheels 44 is provided on wheel brackets 46, mounted on the opposite extending ends of each set of legs 42 and conventional wheel stops 45 are provided on the wheels 44, in order to stabilize the patient transport device 1 in a selected location.
In operation, and referring again to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, the patient transport device 1 of this embodiment of the invention is used primarily to move a patient from one side of a bed to another or from a bed to a wheelchair and back into the bed, and for similar patient relocation. Typically, while a patient is sitting on the bed, the patient transport device 1 is inserted beneath the legs and pelvic area, with the buttocks resting on the seat 7 and the seat 7 is moved to the appropriate position on the rail bed 2 in order to move the patient. Accordingly, the patient can be moved either laterally or longitudinally on a bed, or from the bed to a dolly or wheelchair with minimum effort and with the help of only one other person.
Referring again to FIGS. 4-7 of the drawings, the patient transport device of this embodiment is used primarily to transfer patients to and from a bed to a dolly and from the dolly to x-ray table and back, under circumstances where the patient must remain in the prone position. Under these circumstances, the patient is first moved from the center of the bed by conventional techniques or by use of the patient transport device illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, depending upon his or her condition. When the patient is lying on the edge of the bed, the patient transport device illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 is adjusted in height by operating the hydraulic cylinders 25 until the upper surface 23 of the body support 20 is slightly above the level of the bed. The patient transport device 1 is then positioned close to the bed and the body support 20 is situated with one of the body support sides 22 projected beneath the patient and fully extended on the rails 3. The wheel stops 45 are then manipulated to prevent the wheels 44 from rolling and the patient is gently urged farther onto the body support 20, which is then slidably adjusted on the rails 3 away from the bed. The wheel stops 45 are then unlocked and the patient is delivered to the desired location. Unloading of the patient is effected by aligning the body support 20 slightly above the level of the receiving surface by manipulating the control lever 35 and adjusting the hydraulic cylinders 25. One of the body support sides 22 is then manipulated over the receiving surface and the patient is gently transferred to the receiving surface by sliding the body support 20 from beneath him.
Referring again to FIG. 7 of the drawings, it will be appreciated that the hydraulic cylinders 25 are operated in conventional manner to raise and lower the rail bed 2 and body support 20 in the patient transport device 1 embodied in FIGS. 4-6. For example, under circumstances where the rail bed 2 and body support 20 are to be raised, the control lever 35 is pivoted to the "up" position to force hydraulic fluid from the reservoir 34 through the valve 32 and the inlet lines 29 into the cylinders 26. This action occurs by operation of the pump 33 and causes the pistons 27 to extend from the cylinders 25. The rail bed 2 and body support 20 are lowered by manipulating the control lever 35 in the opposite direction to the "down" position, to cause hydraulic fluid to flow from the cylinders 26 through the outlet line 31 and the valve 32, back into the reservoir 34. This action reduces the hydraulic pressure in the cylinders 26 and allows the pistons 27 to retract in the cylinders 26. It is understood that while a hydraulic system is illustrated in the drawings for raising and lowering the rail bed 2 and body support 20, other means, including mechanical jacking means and air cylinders, can be used, in non-exclusive particular.
It will be further appreciated that in the course of providing outside rollers 15 and inside rollers 16 which roll in the rails 3 to facilitate smooth sliding of the seat 7 and body support 20, the outside rollers 15 and inside rollers 16 can be adapted for rotation on the axles 14 or the axles 14 can be adapted to rotate with respect to the respective axle flanges 12. In the former case, bearings (not illustrated) are preferably provided in the outside rollers 15 and inside rollers 16 and in the latter case, both the outside rollers 15 and inside rollers 16 are secured to the respective axles 14.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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A patient transport device which is characterized in one embodiment by a flat rail bed having spaced, parallel, upturned rails on opposite sides, with a seat slidably disposed over the rails by means of rollers rotating in the rails on spaced axles carried by the seat. The device is designed to transport patients from one side of a bed to the other, as well as to and from wheelchairs and dollys. In another embodiment, the seat is enlarged to define a body support, the body support and rail bed combination is supported by hydraulic cylinders to facilitate height adjustment and the larger patient transport device is used to transport patients to and from x-ray tables, dollys, hospital beds and the like.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a disk drive system for accessing a disc-shaped storage medium such as an optical disk and, more particularly, to a disk drive system enabling access not only to a disk-shaped storage medium but also to a small-sized storage medium such as smart media.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In recent years, a wide variety of devices have been presented using so-called smart media (SSFDC: solid state floppy disk card) as recording media.
[0005] The smart media are light-weight (2 g) and thin small-sized (length: 45 mm, width: 37 mm, height: 0.76 mm) flush memory cards which have a simple structure and are easy to carry to allow the use as a removable storage medium for a portable information terminal such as a digital camera.
[0006] In addition, the smart media are suitable for helping making these applied products smaller and have excellent portability allowing themselves put between leaves of a pocket notebook or a pass-case to carry.
[0007] Data writing and reading of smart media is conducted by connecting an access device for smart media not only to a digital electronic still camera and a portable information terminal but also to a personal computer etc. or by means of an adapter through a slot of a PC card.
[0008] Connecting an access device for external attachment to a personal computer, however, needs a space for the device and a connection code, as well as costing labor for the connection. In addition, it has such a shortcoming as larger electric power consumption than that consumed for an internally provided device.
[0009] Moreover, internally providing an access device for smart media has such a drawback as that the size and cost of a main body of a personal computer are increased because an information apparatus such as a personal computer has a limited installation space for internally mounting a device. Also as to a slot for a PC card, since it is scarcely mounted on standard desk-top personal computers for the same reason, use of a PC card requires an access device for the PC card to be added.
[0010] Technique directed to solving these conventional problems is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3060055. Making use of the fact that in many desk-top personal computers, an FDD drive is installed using an installation space (bay) for a peripheral equipment provided at the front of the main body, the art recited in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3060055 proposes a composite FDD device in which a drive for smart media is internally provided in an FDD drive and an insertion slot of a floppy disk and an insertion slot of smart media are provided together on the upper and lower sides.
[0011] As described in the foregoing, conventional techniques have the following problems.
[0012] Although a dedicated device for accessing smart media is conventionally installed by external attachment to a personal computer or provision within the same, the installation occupies a space for putting the personal computer or a free space within the main body of the personal computer because the dedicated device should be provided together with other disk drive devices. In a case where a dedicated device for accessing a smart media is installed later, it will be difficult to ensure an installation space in an information apparatus such as a personal computer in many cases.
[0013] On the other hand, according to the related art disclosed in the above-described Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3060055, although a drive for smart media is contained in an FDD drive, the FDD drive has a dedicated specification different from that of an ordinary FDD drive. Therefore, it is impossible to replace the FDD drive with an ordinary FDD drive and install the same with ease. Moreover, access is made by inserting smart media one by one to deteriorate efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-described shortcomings of conventional techniques and to provide a disk drive system realizing reduction in a device installation space in an information apparatus such as a personal computer by allowing a space for a disk drive to make access to both optical disk media and smart media.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive system which realizes a smart media changer function through attachment of a plurality of smart media, thereby efficiently accessing a plurality of smart media.
[0016] According to one aspect of the invention, a disk drive system including a disk-shaped disk storage medium and a disk drive for accessing the disk storage medium, comprises
[0017] a media cartridge of the same shape as that of the disk storage medium to which not less than one small-sized storage medium is attachable, wherein
[0018] the disk drive includes
[0019] access means for accessing the small-sized storage medium mounted on the media cartridge.
[0020] In the preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided, and
[0021] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0022] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0023] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium, and
[0024] the position detection means being structured by
[0025] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw.
[0026] In another preferred construction, the disk drive includes:
[0027] a disk rotation shaft for rotating the media cartridge and the disk storage medium at a predetermined rotation speed,
[0028] a disk storage medium access unit for executing access to the disk storage medium,
[0029] an access unit for executing access to the small-sized storage medium mounted on the media cartridge, and
[0030] identification means for identifying an attached media as the media cartridge or the disk storage medium.
[0031] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0032] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0033] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0034] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium, and
[0035] the position detection means being structured by
[0036] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw, and
[0037] the disk drive includes:
[0038] a disk rotation shaft for rotating the media cartridge and the disk storage medium at a predetermined rotation speed,
[0039] a disk storage medium access unit for executing access to the disk storage medium,
[0040] an access unit for executing access to the small-sized storage medium mounted on the media cartridge, and
[0041] identification means for identifying an attached media as the media cartridge or the disk storage medium.
[0042] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge includes a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0043] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge.
[0044] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0045] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0046] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0047] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0048] the position detection means being structured by
[0049] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw, and
[0050] the media cartridge includes
[0051] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0052] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge.
[0053] In another preferred construction, the disk drive includes
[0054] a disk rotation shaft for rotating the media cartridge and the disk storage medium at a predetermined rotation speed,
[0055] a disk storage medium access unit for executing access to the disk storage medium,
[0056] an access unit for executing access to the small-sized storage medium mounted on the media cartridge, and
[0057] identification means for identifying an attached media as the media cartridge or the disk storage medium, and
[0058] the media cartridge includes
[0059] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0060] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge.
[0061] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0062] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0063] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0064] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0065] the position detection means being structured by
[0066] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw,
[0067] the disk drive includes:
[0068] a disk rotation shaft for rotating the media cartridge and the disk storage medium at a predetermined rotation speed,
[0069] a disk storage medium access unit for executing access to the disk storage medium,
[0070] an access unit for executing access to the small-sized storage medium mounted on the media cartridge, and
[0071] identification means for identifying an attached media as the media cartridge or the disk storage medium, and
[0072] the media cartridge includes
[0073] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0074] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge.
[0075] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0076] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0077] the media cartridge includes:
[0078] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0079] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0080] four of the attachment units,
[0081] each the attachment unit being located at every angle of 90 degrees relative to the center of the media cartridge.
[0082] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0083] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0084] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0085] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0086] the position detection means being structured by
[0087] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw, and
[0088] the media cartridge includes:
[0089] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0090] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0091] four of the attachment units,
[0092] each the attachment unit being located at every angle of 90 degrees relative to the center of the media cartridge.
[0093] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0094] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0095] the media cartridge includes
[0096] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0097] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0098] each the attachment unit including
[0099] an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit, and
[0100] the disk drive includes
[0101] identification means for identifying each the attachment unit by the identification unit.
[0102] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge includes
[0103] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0104] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0105] each the attachment unit including
[0106] an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit, and
[0107] the disk drive includes
[0108] identification means for identifying each the attachment unit by the identification unit,
[0109] each the identification unit being composed of
[0110] a combination of a plurality of terminals, and
[0111] the identification means individually identifying
[0112] each the attachment unit based on the combination of terminals.
[0113] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0114] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0115] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0116] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0117] the position detection means being structured by
[0118] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw,
[0119] the media cartridge includes
[0120] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0121] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0122] each the attachment unit including
[0123] an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit, and
[0124] the disk drive includes
[0125] identification means for identifying each the attachment unit by the identification unit,
[0126] each the identification unit being composed of
[0127] a combination of a plurality of terminals, and
[0128] the identification means individually identifying
[0129] each the attachment unit based on the combination of terminals.
[0130] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0131] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0132] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0133] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0134] the position detection means being structured by
[0135] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw,
[0136] the media cartridge includes
[0137] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0138] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0139] each the attachment unit including an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit, and
[0140] the disk drive includes identification means for identifying each the attachment unit by the identification unit,
[0141] each the identification unit being composed of
[0142] a predetermined pattern, and
[0143] the identification means being composed of
[0144] means for optically reading the pattern to individually identify the attachment unit.
[0145] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge includes
[0146] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0147] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge, and
[0148] each the attachment unit including
[0149] an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit, and
[0150] the disk drive includes
[0151] identification means for identifying each the attachment unit by the identification unit,
[0152] the identification unit forming
[0153] the information which individually identifies each the attachment unit by a physical configuration provided on a surface or on the outer periphery of the media cartridge, and
[0154] the identification means individually identifying
[0155] each the attachment unit based on a difference in the physical configuration.
[0156] In another preferred construction, in the media cartridge, a unit to be detected for the position detection of the small-sized storage medium is provided,
[0157] on the disk drive side, position detection means for detecting the unit to be detected of the media cartridge is provided,
[0158] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0159] claws provided on a disk surface of the media cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0160] the position detection means being structured by
[0161] a micro-switch for sensing a contact by the claw,
[0162] the media cartridge includes
[0163] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0164] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the media cartridge,
[0165] each the attachment unit including
[0166] an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit, and
[0167] the disk drive includes
[0168] identification means for identifying each the attachment unit by the identification unit,
[0169] the identification unit forming
[0170] the information which individually identifies each the attachment unit by a physical configuration provided on a surface or on the outer periphery of the media cartridge, and
[0171] the identification means individually identifying
[0172] each the attachment unit based on a difference in the physical configuration.
[0173] In another preferred construction, the small-sized storage medium is a smart media.
[0174] In another preferred construction, the disk drive is an optical disk drive and the disk is an optical disk.
[0175] According to another aspect of the invention, a media cartridge
[0176] formed to have the same shape as that of a disk storage medium mounted on a disk drive for accessing the disk storage medium, and
[0177] comprising not less than one attachment unit for holding the small-sized storage medium so as to be accessible by access means provided at the disk drive.
[0178] In the preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0179] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive,
[0180] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0181] claws provided on a disk surface of the cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium.
[0182] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0183] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive,
[0184] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0185] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the cartridge.
[0186] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0187] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive,
[0188] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0189] claws provided on a disk surface of the cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium, and
[0190] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0191] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the cartridge.
[0192] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0193] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive,
[0194] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0195] claws provided on a disk surface of the cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium,
[0196] a plurality of attachment units which are provided within a disk surface and on which the small-sized storage medium is to be mounted,
[0197] each the attachment unit being located at an equal position from the center of the cartridge, and
[0198] four of the attachment units,
[0199] each the attachment unit being located at every angle of 90 degrees relative to the center of the cartridge.
[0200] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0201] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive, wherein
[0202] each the attachment unit includes an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit by identification means of the disk drive.
[0203] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0204] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive,
[0205] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0206] claws provided on a disk surface of the cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium, wherein
[0207] each the attachment unit includes an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit by identification means of the disk drive.
[0208] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0209] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive,
[0210] the unit to be detected being composed of
[0211] claws provided on a disk surface of the cartridge so as to correspond to an attachment position of the small-sized storage medium, wherein
[0212] each the attachment unit includes an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit by identification means of the disk drive,
[0213] each the identification unit being composed of a combination of a plurality of terminals.
[0214] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0215] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive, wherein
[0216] each the attachment unit includes an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit by identification means of the disk drive,
[0217] each the identification unit being composed of a predetermined pattern optically read by the identification means of the disk drive to identify the attachment unit.
[0218] In another preferred construction, the media cartridge further comprises
[0219] a unit to be detected for the position detection for detecting a position of the small-sized storage medium by position detection means provided on the side of the disk drive, wherein
[0220] each the attachment unit includes an identification unit for indicating information which uniquely identifies each the attachment unit by identification means of the disk drive,
[0221] the identification unit forming
[0222] the information individually identifying each the attachment unit by a physical configuration provided on a surface or on the outer periphery of the cartridge.
[0223] In another preferred construction, the small-sized storage medium is a smart media.
[0224] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the detailed description given herebelow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0225] The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given herebelow and from the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to be limitative to the invention, but are for explanation and understanding only.
[0226] In the drawings:
[0227] [0227]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disk drive system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0228] [0228]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a front surface of a media cartridge according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0229] [0229]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a back surface of the media cartridge according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0230] [0230]FIG. 4 is a view showing an appearance of a smart media;
[0231] [0231]FIG. 5 is sectional view showing a state where a smart media is attached to the media cartridge according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0232] [0232]FIG. 6 is a view for use in explaining media cartridge positioning operation according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0233] [0233]FIG. 7 is a view for use in explaining media cartridge positioning operation according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0234] [0234]FIG. 8 is a view showing a state where the smart media is positioned at a smart media access unit according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0235] [0235]FIG. 9 is a view showing a state where the smart media is sandwiched together with the cartridge according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0236] [0236]FIG. 10 is a plan view of the smart media access unit according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0237] [0237]FIG. 11 is a view showing a configuration of a terminal for drive recognition in the media cartridge according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0238] [0238]FIG. 12 is a view showing another structure for mechanically recognizing the smart media attached to the media cartridge;
[0239] [0239]FIG. 13 is a view showing a further structure for optically recognizing the smart media attached to the media cartridge;
[0240] [0240]FIG. 14 is a view showing another example of a structure of a smart media.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0241] The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be discussed hereinafter in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instance, well-known structures are not shown in detail in order to unnecessary obscure the present invention.
[0242] In the following, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0243] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a structure of a disk drive system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The disk drive system according to the present embodiment is composed of a disk drive 10 capable of conducting reading and writing of both an optical disk such as a CD-ROM and smart media and a media cartridge 20 of the same size as that of an optical disk on which a plurality of smart media can be mounted.
[0244] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the disk drive 10 includes, at a tray unit 11 which can be put into and extracted from a main body of a drive 12 , a disk rotation shaft 13 of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, an optical disk access unit 14 for conducting access (write or read) to the optical disk, a smart media access unit 15 for conducting access (write or read) to a smart media 30 mounted on the media cartridge 20 , a media recognition sensor 16 for recognizing the smart media 30 mounted on the media cartridge 20 and a media positioning unit 17 for positioning the smart media 20 , and a disk keep unit 18 .
[0245] The media cartridge 20 , as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, is structured with a cartridge main body 21 of the same size as that of the optical disk which has a shaft hole 21 a fit in the disk rotation shaft 13 provided at the center, on which smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d , media positioning claws 23 a to 23 d and media recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d are provided.
[0246] The smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d are formed of concavities on the surface of the media cartridge 20 in which the smart media 30 shown in FIG. 4 is fit in and mounted and whose configuration is adapted to an outer configuration of the smart media 30 .
[0247] The smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d are formed at four positions on the media cartridge 20 .
[0248] Here, the smart media 30 to be attached is formed to have an approximately square outline and provided with a cutout 32 at a part, on the surface of which a contact area 31 is arranged for conducting data access as illustrated in FIG. 4. Structure of this smart media 30 is that commonly used.
[0249] Provided at a plurality of the parts of the upper edges of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d are projects 26 for fixing the attached smart media 30 not to be detached. At the time of mounting the smart media 30 on the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d , the smart media 30 is pressed so as to climb over the projections 26 .
[0250] Formed at each of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d is an opening 25 for making the contact area 31 of the attached smart media 30 be exposed to the back side.
[0251] Data read and write of the smart media 30 attached to the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d is executed as a result of contact of the smart media access unit 15 to the contact area 31 through the opening 25 .
[0252] Provided on the back side of the media cartridge 20 are the media positioning claws 23 a to 23 d in the proximity and corresponding to the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d as shown in FIG. 3. Provided on the back side of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d are the drive recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d , respectively.
[0253] Detection of any of the media positioning claws 23 a to 23 d by the media positioning unit 17 provided on the tray unit 11 of the disk drive 10 results in positioning the mounted smart media 30 relative to the smart media access unit 15 .
[0254] The media positioning claw 23 a to 23 d, as illustrated in FIG. 6, are fixed projecting from the back side of the media cartridge 20 . The media positioning unit 17 of the tray unit 11 is structured to have a micro-switch 17 a for sensing a contact by the media positioning claws 23 a to 23 d arranged in a concavity 17 b in which the media positioning claws 23 a to 23 d are fit in.
[0255] Sensing of any of the drive recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d by the media recognition sensor 16 of the tray unit 11 leads to recognition of the positioned smart media 30 .
[0256] The drive recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d are each formed of a combination of terminals, one minus terminal and two plus terminals as illustrated in FIG. 11 and based on a combination of current flows at the time of electrical contact of the drive recognition sensor 16 , determination is made which of the smart media 30 of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d is positioned at the smart media access unit 15 and selected.
[0257] The smart media access unit 15 is provided to be up and down movable on the tray unit 11 . In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, arranged on the upper surface of the access unit 15 is a smart media access terminal 15 a for conducting data writing and reading in contact with the contact area 31 of the smart media 30 and arranged in the vicinity of the same is the media recognition sensor 16 .
[0258] The disk keep unit 18 of the disk drive 10 is provided in the drive main body 12 so as to be up and down movable and to press the positioned smart media 30 toward the smart media access unit 15 by a predetermined force.
[0259] Next, description will be made of operation of thus structured disk drive system according to the present embodiment.
[0260] When an optical disk or the media cartridge 20 is set to the tray unit 11 to close the tray unit 11 , the optical disk access unit 14 confirms whether the optical disk is inserted or not.
[0261] Then, an optical disk mode is set when the optical disk is sensed and a smart media mode is set when the same is not sensed.
[0262] In the optical disk mode, data write and read to and from the inserted ordinary optical disk is conducted by the optical disk access unit 14 .
[0263] In the smart media mode, that is, when the media cartridge 20 is inserted, the system operates in the following manner.
[0264] First, a rotation speed is set to be a rotation speed for the smart media cartridge 20 (lower than a speed for an optical disk).
[0265] At this time, while the micro-switch 17 a in the media positioning unit 17 is at the off state as illustrated in FIG. 6, when the media cartridge 20 rotes to make the media positioning claws 23 a to 23 d fit in the media positioning unit 17 and come into contact with the micro-switch 17 a , the micro-switch 17 a is turned on as illustrated in FIG. 7.
[0266] Turn-on of the micro-switch 17 a stops the rotation of the media cartridge 20 . The foregoing operation enables the smart media 30 mounted on the media cartridge 20 to be positioned at the smart media access unit 15 as illustrated in FIG. 8.
[0267] After the positioning, the smart media access unit 15 and the disk keep unit 18 move from the opposite sides to fix the smart media 30 being sandwiched together with the media cartridge 20 as illustrated in FIG. 9.
[0268] At this time, the smart media access terminal 15 a and the drive recognition sensor 16 shown in FIG. 10 come into electrical contact with the contact area 31 of the smart media 30 and the drive recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d of the media cartridge 20 .
[0269] Coming into contact of the drive recognition sensor 16 with the drive recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d leads to determination which of the smart media 30 of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d is positioned and selected according to a combination of electric currents at the time of contact.
[0270] Then, data write and read to and from the smart media 30 is conducted by the smart media access terminal 15 a of the smart media access unit 15 .
[0271] In addition, in a case of accessing other smart media 30 , rotate the media cartridge 20 to position other smart media 30 mounted on other smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d and to make access in the same manner.
[0272] The foregoing mechanism realizes a smart media changer capable of simultaneously accessing four smart media 30 .
[0273] Although in the above-described embodiment, determination which of the smart media 30 of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d is positioned is made by electrical contact of the drive recognition sensor 16 with the drive recognition terminals 24 a to 24 d , other arrangement is possible as shown in FIG. 12 in which a drive recognition projection unit 27 made up of a plurality of projects is provided on the side of the media cartridge 20 in place of the drive recognition terminals and a contact sensor 16 a for identifying a combination of the drive recognition projects 27 by mechanical contact is provided on the side of the disk drive 10 .
[0274] Further possible is an arrangement as illustrated in FIG. 13 in which a drive recognition pattern 28 such as a bar code is provided on the side of the media cartridge 20 in place of the drive recognition terminal and an optical sensor 16 b for optically reading and identifying the drive recognition pattern 28 is provided on the side of the disk drive 10 . Other than a pattern such as a bar code, characters and the like can be optically read and recognized.
[0275] Moreover, replacing the openings of the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d of the media cartridge 20 by openings 25 a through which not the part of the contact area 31 but the whole of the smart media 30 is exposed enables detachment of the smart media 30 from the smart media attachment units 22 a to 22 d without direct contact of a finger with the contact area 31 .
[0276] In addition, although in the above-described embodiment, the smart media access unit 15 is provided on the tray unit 11 of the disk drive 10 , it can be provided not on the tray unit 11 but on the side of the drive main body 12 .
[0277] The system is applicable not only to a disk drive of a tray type but also to that of a clamshell type.
[0278] Applicable as the disk drive 10 are such drives as a CD-ROM drive, a CD-R drive, a CD-R/RW drive, a DVD-ROM drive, a DVD-RAM drive, and a PD drive.
[0279] Furthermore, although in the above-described embodiment, the number of smart media which can be set in the media cartridge 20 is four, it can be not more than four or not less than four if physically allowed.
[0280] As described in the foregoing, according to the disk drive system of the present invention, incorporation of a smart media reading and writing function into a disk drive allows a space for the disk drive to make access to both an optical disk media and the smart media, thereby enabling reduction of a device installation space in an information apparatus such as a personal computer.
[0281] In addition, since the function of the smart media changer is realized by the arrangement in which a plurality of smart media are mounted on a smart media cartridge, the plurality of smart media can be handled simultaneously to enable efficient use.
[0282] Although the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to exemplary embodiment thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be understood as limited to the specific embodiment set out above but to include all possible embodiments which can be embodies within a scope encompassed and equivalents thereof with respect to the feature set out in the appended claims.
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A disk drive system having a disk-shaped disk storage medium and a disk drive for accessing the disk storage medium including a media cartridge of the same shape as that of the disk storage medium to which not less than one small-sized storage medium is attachable, and an access unit provided in the disk drive for accessing the small-sized storage medium attached to the media cartridge.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/486,257, (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,768,428), filed Jun. 1, 2012, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/492,136, filed on Jun. 1, 2011, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for medical monitoring and more particularly to a wireless system for collecting an electromyogram (EMG) signal and transmitting that signal to a hand-held device, such as a smart cell phone or other personal digital device having a display.
Neuromuscular feedback can be useful for muscle rehabilitation, relaxation, general conditioning, strengthening, and athletic training. In particular, surface electromyography (sEMG) uses skin-mounted electrodes to collect myoelectric signals associated with the contraction of a user's muscles. By placing an electrode patch over a muscle or a muscle group which is injured, which is being exercised to increase strength and/or performance, or which is in a state of hypercontraction, the activity of that muscle or muscle group can be monitored quantitatively. For example, a percentage of maximum effort can be monitored with a visual display provided to the user and/or trainer in order to optimize a rehabilitation or training protocol.
While such sEMG feedback offers great promise in both rehabilitation and training regimens, most sEMG equipment is relatively large, not portable, inconvenient to use, offers limited types of data, and requires significant energy consumption. It would thus be desirable to provide low energy consumption systems which are more convenient for the user and which minimally interfere with the training or other exercise or muscle control protocols. In particular, it would be desirable to provide monitoring systems employing an electrode patch which does not need to be wired to a remote unit for either powering or data collection. At least some of these objectives will be met by the inventions described herein.
2. Description of the Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,197 describes a wearable exercise training system which monitors a muscle force signal (EMG) and provides feedback to the user. U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,742 describes a table top system for measuring EMG and stimulating muscle groups in response. U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,234 describes a rehabilitation system that exercises a body limb and measures EMG. Other patents and publications of interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,420; 6,238,338; 6,440,067; 6,643,541; 6,984,208; 7,152,470; 7,359,750; 7,369,896; 7,602,301; 7,613,510; 7,628,750; 7,878,030; U.S. Publ. Nos. 2007/0021689; 2009/0150113; 2009/0171233; 2009/0326406; 2010/0106044; 2010/0137735; 2010/0137749; 2010/0234699; 2010/0234714. Commercial EMG systems are available from Noraxon USA, Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. and Thought Technology Ltd., Quebec, Canada.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system for monitoring and displaying muscle force data to a user. The system comprises a wearable patch or sensor unit which carries a pair of spaced-apart sensing electrodes and a ground electrode on a surface thereof. The patch is adapted to be secured to a patient's skin over a muscle group to be monitored with the electrodes in contact with the skin. Usually, the patch will have an adhesive surface for adhering to the skin, but straps, wraps, fitted clothing, tapes, and other conventional skin fasteners or compression aids could also be used.
The wearable patch or sensing unit will also carry circuitry needed to monitor a surface electromyogram (sEMG) signal present on the user's skin above the target muscle group, digitize the monitored (analog) signal, and wirelessly transmit the signal in the form which may be received by a remote monitor. Such wireless transmission will typically rely on digital transmission and may conveniently be implemented by a WiFi and/or a blue-tooth enabled personal communication or entertainment device having a display screen and capable of being programmed with software which can process the received signal and display the signal in a desired format. For example, the output may be displayed as a bar graph or other conventional data format (progress meter, line graph, pie graph, XY scatter chart, etc.) which provides an easy visual display of the effort being put forth by the user, typically as a percentage of maximum effort. Alternatively, the display device may be a dedicated hand-held, table mounted of other display unit intended for use primarily or only the patch device of the present invention.
Of particular interest to the present invention, the circuitry on the patch will be adapted to limit the power required to receive, digitize, process, and transmit the EMG signal to the remote display unit. The circuitry will typically include a limited bandwidth amplifier which receives signals from the electrodes and produces an analog output. An analog-to-digital converter receives and rectifies the analog output at a sample rate in the range from 3000 sec −1 to 4000 sec −1 . The patch also carries a microprocessor which filters the digital signal from the converter to produce a smoothed output. In addition, a transmitter is provided on the patch which receives the output from the microprocessor and generates a wireless signal which can be transmitted to the display unit.
In particular aspects of the present invention, the sensing electrodes and/or ground electrode on the patch may be coated with silver chloride. The display unit may comprise a hand-held unit, such as a personal communicator or entertainment unit, for example an iPhone®, an iPad®, an iPod® Touch®, a Blackberry® phone, an Android® phone, or the like. The system of the present invention, however, is also compatible with laptop computers, desktop computers, and other conventional processors with display units having blue-tooth, WiFi, or other wireless reception capabilities. Still further, the display could be wall mounted, desktop mounted, or placeable anywhere it is accessible by the user, the physician, and or the patient.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a method for displaying muscle force data to a user comprises placing a patch on the user's skin over a muscle group to be monitored. The patch carries electrodes which engage the skin in order to sense EMG activity and produce a very low power analog electrical signal. The very low power electrical signal sensed by the electrodes is filtered and amplified with a limited bandwidth amplifier disposed on the patch. The filtered and amplified signal, in turn, is converted and rectified to produce a digital signal, where the conversion is at a rate in the range from 3000 sec −1 to 4000 sec −1 . The digital signal is further filtered by a microprocessor on the patch to produce a smoothed output. The smoothed output is transmitted to a remote display unit (as described above) which receives and displays the smoothed output as a visual representation of the muscle activity being generated.
It has been found by the inventors herein that the sample rate from 3000 sec −1 to 4000 sec −1 provides sufficient samples to digitally filter the 400 Hz bandwidth after it is digitally rectified while still achieving rejection of most aliased artifacts. The numerical filter within the microprocessor then takes the rectified “spiked” signal and produces a smoothed, average signal using digital filtering set up from 0.5 Hz to 3 Hz. This approach both sums the data and averages the data to minimize the traffic and noise in the data collection and presentation. The signal may be resampled at 20 sec −1 to capture muscle contractions so that as much data as possible can be delivered to the device and observed by the user with minimum energy consumption from the patch battery. It is important to note that not all raw data is delivered to the remote visual display. By appropriately filtering the data, only data necessary to provide a useful visual presentation of the muscle activity is provided. The system allows for the delivery of the filtered average of the raw data as “data packets” of 20 sec −1 to the remote display device. By thus mathematically offsetting and suppressing unneeded data, a running cumulative average may be provided which is sufficient for the user while minimizing the energy consumption of the patch. Moreover, the integration of the filter, analog-to-digital converter, and the microprocessor allows for a further reduction in energy consumption.
Additionally, session data may be stored and evaluated separately for indication of muscle activity variance that may indicate risk of muscle fatigue. Data may be monitored for such deviations by comparison of sampled data over time to muscle calibration data. As muscle activity slopes downward in effectiveness over time, thresholds that correspond with muscle fatigue may be established. Once the threshold is reached, data may be delivered to the device and observed by the user to alert the user to potential for fatigue and a query for reduction or cessation of activity.
In use, the patch and system comprising the patch and a display unit allow muscle activity to be measured and filtered to provide useful data to users. In particular, the useful data comprises information on (1) which muscle is contracting, (2) when the target muscle is contracting, (3) how efficiently the target muscle is contracting, (4) indications or signs of muscle fatigue, (5) optionally providing a prompt or alert when the muscle may be worked harder to achieve a pre-determined goal, (6) optionally providing a prompt or alert when the muscle should be worked less to avoid injury or avoid exceeding a predetermined work pattern, and (7) prompt or alert when the user should relax and, as appropriate, recontract the muscle.
In other aspects of the present invention, the display unit may be used to adjust the filter bandwidth in the patch circuitry. For example, the bandwidth could be changed to increase or decrease the sensitivity or smoothness of the data output. Stroke and other patients with very low muscle activity would be able to decrease the filtering and increase sensitivity so that they can observe such low activity. Similarly, temperomandibular joint (TMJ) patients can adjust the sensitivity and filtering to be able to detect release of muscles surrounding the TMJ.
In yet other aspects of the present invention, the patch circuitry could be changed to transmit two data streams with the same and/or different levels of filtering, e.g., one with high frequency filtering and one with low frequency filtering. Transmitting two signals with the same filtering could service different electrode sensors on the patch The data streams could be sent selectively, simultaneously, or sequentially to the display. The ratio between the high frequency and low frequency filtered muscle activity signals can be an indicator of muscle fatigue.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a wearable patch placed on a user's quadriceps, constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. It should be noted that the patch may also be placed on a variety of other muscles and muscle groups which might be monitored.
FIGS. 2 and 2A illustrate a system according to the present invention comprising a wearable patch and a display unit in the form of a personal communication device.
FIGS. 3A-3C and 4 through 7 illustrate circuitry which may be employed on the patch for collecting, filtering, and processing data according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates a communication protocol for storing and sharing information acquired by the patch.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:
As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a patch 10 according to the present invention will typically comprise a backing 12 , a first sensing electrode 14 , a second sensing electrode 16 , and a ground electrode 18 . The patch may optionally include further sensing and/or ground electrodes, but usually the pattern of three electrodes as illustrated will be sufficient. The patch 10 will also carry circuitry 19 to receive voltage from the electrodes 12 , 14 , convert the voltage to a digital signal, process the digital signal, and deliver the processed signal to a display unit 20 as described in detail below.
Referring now to FIG. 2 , the patch 10 of the present invention will be worn on a user's skin over a target muscle or muscle group which is desired to be monitored. The patch 10 may be placed over any muscle group, e.g., as illustrated in the patient's upper leg. Patch 10 may be secured using adhesive placed on the same surface which carries the electrodes. Alternatively, straps, bandages, or other attachment mechanisms or devices could be utilized for holding the patch 10 in place. The system of the present invention will usually include at least a video display unit 20 , typically a hand-held personal communication or entertainment unit of the type described above, and may include audio outputs as well. Alternatively, the display unit could provide just an alphanumeric output, but generally will be desirable to provide a visual display capable of presenting graphic as well as alphanumeric information to the user.
The system architecture can be understood with reference to FIG. 2A . The patch (sEMG device) includes the electrodes (sensors), circuitry to process the signal and data, and a wireless transceiver to communicate with a display (host device). The display also includes a wireless transceiver to communicate with the patch. In addition, the display includes memory, a user interface UI, a processing unit API, a file management system, and optionally a second transceiver for communicating with other units and/or the internet.
Detailed circuitry which may be used to implement the system and methods of the present invention is provided in FIGS. 3 through 7 . The circuitry will provide the following operative components. A power supply typically includes a single-cell battery with a voltage from 0.9 V to 1.5 V in order to power the patch. The battery voltage is applied to a switch up converter (U 1 ) to convert the battery voltage to a regulated 3.3 V supply for the electronics. This switching converter uses a variable width modulation to alternatively charge inductor L 1 with current from the battery and then discharge the inductor through an internal diode to the energy storage capacitors C 2 and C 10 . The pulse width is varied to maintain a constant voltage across these capacitors. The circuitry will typically also include a power switch, a power light or other indicator, a signal strength indicator, and a battery charge indicator.
A blue-tooth module U 2 controls radio frequency (RF) communication with the remote display unit. Although blue tooth is shown, virtually any other low power wireless transceiver or wired connector could be used, e.g., USB, WiFi, ultrawide band, Z-wave, ANT, etc. The module U 2 establishes a virtual serial connection that has bi-directional, asynchronous port RXD and TXD. Two signals, CTS and RTS, control the flow of data. A virtual link can be established either to a standard computer blue-tooth module or to a more specific communications bridge, such as those included in Apple® devices such as the iPhone® and the like. The blue-tooth module U 2 manages communication with an Apple® specific security chip U 11 that provides authentication when communicating with an Apple® product. Once the virtual link is established, further communication with the patch remains the same.
An Atmel® microprocessor U 9 controls the acquisition and processing of data from the analog signal front end and responds to and sends data over the virtual link as required. The microprocessor is clocked at 3.6864 MHz to allow for exact division to 115 K Baud for serial communication. The microprocessor software is stored on an internal flash memory that is loaded with programming hardware from Atmel®. Other microprocessors could also be used.
A reference voltage VR is exactly half the 3.3 V power supply. Voltage divider R 4 R 5 creates a voltage that is buffered by U 4 A to provide a low impedance source that is connected to the patient through a reference electrode TP 5 . This same voltage provides a reference to the digital-to-analog converter DAC, U 6 . U 4 C is not used.
The electrode signal into the circuitry is applied differentially between TP 3 and TP 4 . An instrumentation amplifier U 3 amplifies the electrode signal and generates an output referenced to VR. The differential amplifier is combined with input capacitors C 12 and C 13 , and an integrator formed by U 4 B, C 17 and R 11 works together to form a third order high pass active filter with a corner frequency of about 10 Hz. This signal is then applied to amplifier U 4 D that is configured as a third order, active low pass filter with a corner frequency of about 400 Hz that serves as an anti-alias filter for the system. Passive components R 8 , R 9 , C 18 , C 15 , R 10 and C 16 are part of this filter. The filtered analog signal is then applied to the digital-to-analog converter U 6 . Since the DC gain is one, the input to the digital-to-analog converter is also referenced to VR.
The digital-to-analog converter converts the voltage applied to its input pin 2 to a 13-bit result. If its input voltage is equal to VR, the output code generated is 0x1000 in HEX. One count lower is 0x0FFF and one count higher is 0x1001. The input is sampled when the control signal/Cs is brought low and the converted data is clocked out by DClk on the serial output DOUT. Since the numerical processing in U 9 rectifies the differential encoded signal, the frequency is effectively doubled so that the 400 Hz input signal is handled as if were an 800 Hz signal. Thus, the sample frequency is set as 4000 sec −1 to reduce the magnitude of alias frequencies to a reasonable level. Note that R 17 and R 18 are included to prevent the digital-to-analog converter from interfering with the microprocessor programming when the Pod is connected to the Atmel® programmer.
Further signal processing is performed by the microprocessor to convert the 400 Hz differential input into an average amplitude signal with 4 degrees of time response. This filtered signal is then sub-sampled at 20 sec −1 and sent to the remote display for further interpretation and display.
Referring now to FIG. 8 , protocols for storing and transmitting data collected by the patch are shown:
1. The sEMG device (patch) measures a 0.0-0.2 mV signal from muscle of the patient through a skin mounted sensor.
2. The sEMG device (patch) transmits a converted, amplified, rectified and filtered signal wirelessly or via a hard wired connection to a host device.
3. The host device (display) displays the real time and historical signal to the user in selectable graphical formats. The host stores the results locally.
4. The host device can transmit stored results using any combination of wireless or wired connectivity supported by the device encrypted over the internet.
5. A cloud-based server receives the results and stores the data in a SQL database.
6. Another cloud based component runs a web server.
7. The web server can be accessed via any HTML enabled device.
8. Patients and third parties can compare and/or display historical information.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.
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The system for displaying muscle force data includes a wearable patch and a remote visual display. The wearable patch carries electrodes suitable for sensing electromyographic signals on the skin of the patient. The patch carries circuitry which converts the detected electromyographic signal to a digital output which can be transmitted to the remote visual display. The circuitry relies on filtering to produce a usable digital signal at very low power consumption. The transmitted signal can be used to drive a variety of visual displays, including a conventional hand-held personal communicators and entertainment devices which had been programmed to suitably process the visual display.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/135,050, filed May 23, 2005 now abandoned, entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Measuring Formation Properties”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/573,289, filed May 21, 2004. The present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/735,901, filed Apr. 16, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,395,879, entitled “MWD Formation Tester”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/440,835, filed May 19, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,309, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/381,243, filed May 17, 2002.
BACKGROUND
During the drilling and completion of oil and gas wells, it may be necessary to engage in ancillary operations, such as monitoring the operability of equipment used during the drilling process or evaluating the production capabilities of formations intersected by the wellbore. For example, after a well or well interval has been drilled, zones of interest are often tested to determine various formation properties such as permeability, fluid type, fluid quality, formation temperature, formation pressure, bubblepoint and formation pressure gradient. These tests are performed in order to determine whether commercial exploitation of the intersected formations is viable and how to optimize production.
Wireline formation testers (WFT) and drill stem testing (DST) have been commonly used to perform these tests. The basic DST test tool consists of a packer or packers, valves or ports that may be opened and closed from the surface, and two or more pressure-recording devices. The tool is lowered on a work string to the zone to be tested. The packer or packers are set, and drilling fluid is evacuated to isolate the zone from the drilling fluid column. The valves or ports are then opened to allow flow from the formation to the tool for testing while the recorders chart static pressures. A sampling chamber traps clean formation fluids at the end of the test. WFTs generally employ the same testing techniques but use a wireline to lower the test tool into the well bore after the drill string has been retrieved from the well bore, although WFT technology is sometimes deployed on a pipe string. The wireline tool typically uses packers also, although the packers are placed closer together, compared to drill pipe conveyed testers, for more efficient formation testing. In some cases, packers are not used. In those instances, the testing tool is brought into contact with the intersected formation and testing is done without zonal isolation across the axial span of the circumference of the borehole wall.
WFTs may also include a probe assembly for engaging the borehole wall and acquiring formation fluid samples. The probe assembly may include an isolation pad to engage the borehole wall. The isolation pad seals against the formation and around a hollow probe, which places an internal cavity in fluid communication with the formation. This creates a fluid pathway that allows formation fluid to flow between the formation and the formation tester while isolated from the borehole fluid.
In order to acquire a useful sample, the probe must stay isolated from the relative high pressure of the borehole fluid. Therefore, the integrity of the seal that is formed by the isolation pad is critical to the performance of the tool. If the borehole fluid is allowed to leak into the collected formation fluids, a non-representative sample will be obtained and the test will have to be repeated.
Examples of isolation pads and probes used in WFTs can be found in Halliburton's DT, SFTT, SFT4, and RDT tools. Isolation pads that are used with WFTs are typically rubber pads affixed to the end of the extending sample probe. The rubber is normally affixed to a metallic plate that provides support to the rubber as well as a connection to the probe. These rubber pads are often molded to fit within the specific diameter hole in which they will be operating.
With the use of WFTs and DSTs, the drill string with the drill bit must be retracted from the borehole. Then, a separate work string containing the testing equipment, or, with WFTs, the wireline tool string, must be lowered into the well to conduct secondary operations. Interrupting the drilling process to perform formation testing can add significant amounts of time to a drilling program.
DSTs and WFTs may also cause tool sticking or formation damage. There may also be difficulties of running WFTs in highly deviated and extended reach wells. WFTs also do not have flowbores for the flow of drilling mud, nor are they designed to withstand drilling loads such as torque and weight on bit.
Further, the formation pressure measurement accuracy of drill stem tests and, especially, of wireline formation tests may be affected by filtrate invasion and mudcake buildup because significant amounts of time may have passed before a DST or WFT engages the formation. Mud filtrate invasion occurs when the drilling mud fluids displace formation fluids. Because the mud filtrate ingress into the formation begins at the borehole surface, it is most prevalent there and generally decreases further into the formation. When filtrate invasion occurs, it may become impossible to obtain a representative sample of formation fluids or, at a minimum, the duration of the sampling period must be increased to first remove the drilling fluid and then obtain a representative sample of formation fluids. The mudcake is made up of the solid particles that are plastered to the side of the well by the circulating drilling mud during drilling. The prevalence of the mudcake at the borehole surface creates a “skin.” Thus there may be a “skin effect” because formation testers can only extend relatively short distances into the formation, thereby distorting the representative sample of formation fluids due to the filtrate. The mudcake also acts as a region of reduced permeability adjacent to the borehole. Thus, once the mudcake forms, the accuracy of reservoir pressure measurements decreases, affecting the calculations for permeability and producibility of the formation.
Another testing apparatus is the formation tester while drilling (FTWD) tool. Typical FTWD formation testing equipment is suitable for integration with a drill string during drilling operations. Various devices or systems are used for isolating a formation from the remainder of the borehole, drawing fluid from the formation, and measuring physical properties of the fluid and the formation. For example, the FTWD may use a probe similar to a WFT that extends to the formation and a small sample chamber to draw in formation fluids through the probe to test the formation pressure. To perform a test, the drill string is stopped from rotating and the test procedure, similar to a WFT described above, is performed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view, partly in cross-section, of an embodiment of a formation tester apparatus disposed in a subterranean well;
FIGS. 2A-2E are schematic elevation views, partly in cross-section, of portions of the bottomhole assembly and formation tester assembly shown in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevation view, partly in cross-section, of the formation tester tool portion of the formation tester assembly shown in FIG. 2D ;
FIG. 3A is an enlarged cross-section view of the draw down piston and chamber shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-section view along line 3 B- 3 B of FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the formation tester tool shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the formation probe assembly taken along line 5 - 5 shown in FIG. 4 ;
FIGS. 6A-6C are cross-sectional views of a portion of the formation probe assembly taken along the same line as seen in FIG. 5 , the probe assembly being shown in a different position in each of FIGS. 6A-6C ;
FIG. 7 is an elevation view of the probe pad mounted on the skirt employed in the formation probe assembly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 ;
FIG. 8 is a top view of the probe pad shown in FIG. 7 ;
FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a hydraulic circuit employed in actuating the formation tester apparatus;
FIG. 10 is a graph of the formation fluid pressure as compared to time measured during operation of the tester apparatus;
FIG. 11 is another graph of the formation fluid pressure as compared to time measured during operation of the tester apparatus and showing pressures measured by different pressure transducers employed in the formation tester;
FIG. 12 is another graph of the formation fluid pressure as compared to time measured during operation of the tester apparatus that can be used to calibrate the pressure transducers;
FIG. 13 is a graph of the annulus and formation fluid pressures in response to pressure pulses; and
FIG. 14 is a graph of pressure versus temperature of a typical oil-bearing formation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function.
In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”. Also, the terms “couple,” “couples”, and “coupled” used to describe any electrical connections are each intended to mean and refer to either an indirect or a direct electrical connection. Thus, for example, if a first device “couples” or is “coupled” to a second device, that interconnection may be through an electrical conductor directly interconnecting the two devices, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices, conductors and connections. Further, reference to “up” or “down” are made for purposes of ease of description with “up” meaning towards the surface of the borehole and “down” meaning towards the bottom or distal end of the borehole. In addition, in the discussion and claims that follow, it may be sometimes stated that certain components or elements are in fluid communication. By this it is meant that the components are constructed and interrelated such that a fluid could be communicated between them, as via a passageway, tube, or conduit. Also, the designation “MWD” or “LWD” are used to mean all generic measurement while drilling or logging while drilling apparatus and systems.
To understand the mechanics of formation testing, it is important to first understand how hydrocarbons are stored in subterranean formations. Hydrocarbons are not typically located in large underground pools, but are instead found within very small holes, or pore spaces, within certain types of rock. Therefore, it is critical to know certain properties of both the formation and the fluid contained therein. At various times during the following discussion, certain formation and formation fluid properties will be referred to in a general sense. Such formation properties include, but are not limited to: pressure, permeability, viscosity, mobility, spherical mobility, porosity, saturation, coupled compressibility porosity, skin damage, and anisotropy. Such formation fluid properties include, but are not limited to: viscosity, compressibility, flowline fluid compressibility, density, resistivity, composition and bubble point.
Permeability is the ability of a rock formation to allow hydrocarbons to move between its pores, and consequently into a wellbore. Fluid viscosity is a measure of the ability of the hydrocarbons to flow, and the permeability divided by the viscosity is termed “mobility.” Porosity is the ratio of void space to the bulk volume of rock formation containing that void space. Saturation is the fraction or percentage of the pore volume occupied by a specific fluid (e.g., oil, gas, water, etc.). Skin damage is an indication of how the mud filtrate or mudcake has changed the permeability near the wellbore. Anisotropy is the ratio of the vertical and horizontal permeabilities of the formation.
Resistivity of a fluid is the property of the fluid which resists the flow of electrical current. Bubble point occurs when a fluid's pressure is brought down at such a rapid rate, and to a low enough pressure, that the fluid, or portions thereof, changes phase to a gas. The dissolved gases in the fluid are brought out of the fluid so gas is present in the fluid in an undissolved state. Typically, this kind of phase change in the formation hydrocarbons being tested and measured is undesirable, unless the bubblepoint test is being administered to determine what the bubblepoint pressure is.
In the drawings and description that follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features of the invention may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The present invention is susceptible to embodiments of different forms. Specific embodiments are described in detail and are shown in the drawings, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that illustrated and described herein. It is to be fully recognized that the different teachings of the embodiments discussed below may be employed separately or in any suitable combination to produce desired results. The various characteristics mentioned above, as well as other features and characteristics described in more detail below, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1 , an MWD formation tester tool 10 is illustrated as a part of bottom hole assembly 6 (BHA) which includes an MWD sub 13 and a drill bit 7 at its lower most end. BHA 6 is lowered from a drilling platform 2 , such as a ship or other conventional platform, via drill string 5 . Drill string 5 is disposed through riser 3 and well head 4 . Conventional drilling equipment (not shown) is supported within derrick 1 and rotates drill string 5 and drill bit 7 , causing bit 7 to form a borehole 8 through the formation material 9 . The borehole 8 penetrates subterranean zones or reservoirs, such as reservoir 11 , that are believed to contain hydrocarbons in a commercially viable quantity. It should be understood that formation tester 10 may be employed in other bottom hole assemblies and with other drilling apparatus in land-based drilling, as well as offshore drilling as illustrated in FIG. 1 . In all instances, in addition to formation tester 10 , the bottom hole assembly 6 contains various conventional apparatus and systems, such as a down hole drill motor, mud pulse telemetry system, measurement-while-drilling sensors and systems, and others well known in the art.
It should also be understood that, even though the MWD formation tester 10 is illustrated as part of a drill string 5 , the embodiments of the invention described below may be conveyed down the borehole 8 via wireline technology, as is partially described above. It should also be understood that the exact physical configuration of the formation tester and the probe assembly is not a requirement of the present invention. The embodiment described below serves to provide an example only. Additional examples of a probe assembly and methods of use are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,080,552, entitled “Method and Apparatus for MWD Formation Testing”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,309, entitled “MWD Formation Tester”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,803, and entitled “Equalizer Valve”; each hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Further examples of formation testing tools, probe assemblies and methods of use, whether conveyed via a drill string or wireline, or any other method, include U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/133,643, filed May 20, 2005, entitled “Downhole Probe Assembly”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,260,985, entitled “Formation Tester Tool Assembly and Methods of Use”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,261,168, entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Using Formation Property Data”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,533, entitled “Methods For Using A Formation Tester”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,537, entitled “Methods for Measuring a Formation Supercharge Pressure”; each hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
The formation tester tool 10 is best understood with reference to FIGS. 2A-2E . Formation tester 10 generally comprises a heavy walled housing 12 made of multiple sections of drill collar 12 a , 12 b , 12 c , and 12 d which threadedly engage one another so as to form the complete housing 12 . Bottom hole assembly 6 includes flow bore 14 formed through its entire length to allow passage of drilling fluids from the surface through the drill string 5 and through the bit 7 . The drilling fluid passes through nozzles in the drill bit face and flows upwards through borehole 8 along the annulus 150 formed between housing 12 and borehole wall 151 .
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B , upper section 12 a of housing 12 includes upper end 16 and lower end 17 . Upper end 16 includes a threaded box for connecting formation tester 10 to drill string 5 . Lower end 17 includes a threaded box for receiving a correspondingly threaded pin end of housing section 12 b . Disposed between ends 16 and 17 in housing section 12 a are three aligned and connected sleeves or tubular inserts 24 a,b,c which creates an annulus 25 between sleeves 24 a,b,c and the inner surface of housing section 12 a . Annulus 25 is sealed from flowbore 14 and provided for housing a plurality of electrical components, including battery packs 20 , 22 . Battery packs 20 , 22 are mechanically interconnected at connector 26 . Electrical connectors 28 are provided to interconnect battery packs 20 , 22 to a common power bus (not shown). Beneath battery packs 20 , 22 and also disposed about sleeve insert 24 c in annulus 25 is electronics module 30 . Electronics module 30 includes the various circuit boards, capacitors banks and other electrical components, including the capacitors shown at 32 . A connector 33 is provided adjacent upper end 16 in housing section 12 a to electrically couple the electrical components in formation tester tool 10 with other components of bottom hole assembly 6 that are above housing 12 .
Beneath electronics module 30 in housing section 12 a is an adapter insert 34 . Adapter 34 connects to sleeve insert 24 c at connection 35 and retains a plurality of spacer rings 36 in a central bore 37 that forms a portion of flowbore 14 . Lower end 17 of housing section 12 a connects to housing section 12 b at threaded connection 40 . Spacers 38 are disposed between the lower end of adapter 34 and the pin end of housing section 12 b . Because threaded connections such as connection 40 , at various times, need to be cut and repaired, the length of sections 12 a , 12 b may vary in length. Employing spacers 36 , 38 allow for adjustments to be made in the length of threaded connection 40 .
Housing section 12 b includes an inner sleeve 44 disposed therethrough. Sleeve 44 extends into housing section 12 a above, and into housing section 12 c below. The upper end of sleeve 44 abuts spacers 36 disposed in adapter 34 in housing section 12 a . An annular area 42 is formed between sleeve 44 and the wall of housing 12 b and forms a wire way for electrical conductors that extend above and below housing section 12 b , including conductors controlling the operation of formation tester 10 as described below.
Referring now to FIGS. 2B and 2C , housing section 12 c includes upper box end 47 and lower box end 48 which threadingly engage housing section 12 b and housing section 12 c , respectively. For the reasons previously explained, adjusting spacers 46 are provided in housing section 12 c adjacent to end 47 . As previously described, insert sleeve 44 extends into housing section 12 c where it stabs into inner mandrel 52 . The lower end of inner mandrel 52 stabs into the upper end of formation tester mandrel 54 , which is comprised of three axially aligned and connected sections 54 a, b , and c . Extending through mandrel 54 is a deviated flowbore portion 14 a . Deviating flowbore 14 into flowbore path 14 a provides sufficient space within housing section 12 c for the formation tool components described in more detail below. As best shown in FIG. 2E , deviated flowbore 14 a eventually centralizes near the lower end 48 of housing section 12 c , shown generally at location 56 . Referring momentarily to FIG. 5 , the cross-sectional profile of deviated flowbore 14 a may be a non-circular in segment 14 b , so as to provide as much room as possible for the formation probe assembly 50 .
As best shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E , disposed about formation tester mandrel 54 and within housing section 12 c are electric motor 64 , hydraulic pump 66 , hydraulic manifold 62 , equalizer valve 60 , formation probe assembly 50 , pressure transducers 160 , and draw down piston 170 . Hydraulic accumulators provided as part of the hydraulic system for operating formation probe assembly 50 are also disposed about mandrel 54 in various locations, one such accumulator 68 being shown in FIG. 2D .
Electric motor 64 may be a permanent magnet motor powered by battery packs 20 , 22 and capacitor banks 32 . Motor 64 is interconnected to and drives hydraulic pump 66 . Pump 66 provides fluid pressure for actuating formation probe assembly 50 . Hydraulic manifold 62 includes various solenoid valves, check valves, filters, pressure relief valves, thermal relief valves, pressure transducer 160 b and hydraulic circuitry employed in actuating and controlling formation probe assembly 50 as explained in more detail below.
Referring again to FIG. 2C , mandrel 52 includes a central segment 71 . Disposed about segment 71 of mandrel 52 are pressure balance piston 70 and spring 76 . Mandrel 52 includes a spring stop extension 77 at the upper end of segment 71 . Stop ring 88 is threaded to mandrel 52 and includes a piston stop shoulder 80 for engaging corresponding annular shoulder 73 formed on pressure balance piston 70 . Pressure balance piston 70 further includes a sliding annular seal or barrier 69 . Barrier 69 consists of a plurality of inner and outer o-ring and lip seals axially disposed along the length of piston 70 .
Beneath piston 70 and extending below inner mandrel 52 is a lower oil chamber or reservoir 78 , described more fully below. An upper chamber 72 is formed in the annulus between central portion 71 of mandrel 52 and the wall of housing section 12 c , and between spring stop portion 77 and pressure balance piston 70 . Spring 76 is retained within chamber 72 . Chamber 72 is open through port 74 to annulus 150 . As such, drilling fluids will fill chamber 72 in operation. An annular seal 67 is disposed about spring stop portion 77 to prevent drilling fluid from migrating above chamber 72 .
Barrier 69 maintains a seal between the drilling fluid in chamber 72 and the hydraulic oil that fills and is contained in oil reservoir 78 beneath piston 70 . Lower chamber 78 extends from barrier 69 to seal 65 located at a point generally noted as 83 and just above transducers 160 in FIG. 2E . The oil in reservoir 78 completely fills all space between housing section 12 c and formation tester mandrel 54 . The hydraulic oil in chamber 78 may be maintained at slightly greater pressure than the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid in annulus 150 . The annulus pressure is applied to piston 70 via drilling fluid entering chamber 72 through port 74 . Because lower oil chamber 78 is a closed system, the annulus pressure that is applied via piston 70 is applied to the entire chamber 78 . Additionally, spring 76 provides a slightly greater pressure to the closed oil system 78 such that the pressure in oil chamber 78 is substantially equal to the annulus fluid pressure plus the pressure added by the spring force. This slightly greater oil pressure is desirable so as to maintain positive pressure on all the seals in oil chamber 78 . Having these two pressures generally balanced (even though the oil pressure is slightly higher) is easier to maintain than if there was a large pressure differential between the hydraulic oil and the drilling fluid. Between barrier 69 in piston 70 and point 83 , the hydraulic oil fills all the space between the outside diameter of mandrels 52 , 54 and the inside diameter of housing section 12 c , this region being marked as distance 82 between points 81 and 83 . The oil in reservoir 78 is employed in the hydraulic circuit 200 ( FIG. 9 ) used to operate and control formation probe assembly 50 as described in more detailed below.
Equalizer valve 60 , best shown in FIG. 3 , is disposed in formation tester mandrel 54 b between hydraulic manifold 62 and formation probe assembly 50 . Equalizer valve 60 is in fluid communication with hydraulic passageway 85 and with longitudinal fluid passageway 93 formed in mandrel 54 b . Prior to actuating formation probe assembly 50 so as to test the formation, drilling fluid fills passageways 85 and 93 as valve 60 is normally open and communicates with annulus 150 through port 84 in the wall of housing section 12 c . When the formation fluids are being sampled by formation probe assembly 50 , valve 60 closes the passageway 85 to prevent drilling fluids from annulus 150 entering passageway 85 or passageway 93 .
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , housing section 12 c includes a recessed portion 135 adjacent to formation probe assembly 50 and equalizer valve 60 . The recessed portion 135 includes a planar surface or “flat” 136 . The ports through which fluids may pass into equalizing valve 60 and probe assembly 50 extend through flat 136 . In this manner, as drill string 5 and formation tester 10 are rotated in the borehole, formation probe assembly 50 and equalizer valve 60 are better protected from impact, abrasion and other forces. Flat 136 is recessed at least ¼ inch and may be at least ½ inch from the outer diameter of housing section 12 c . Similar flats 137 , 138 are also formed about housing section 12 c at generally the same axial position as flat 136 to increase flow area for drilling fluid in the annulus 150 of borehole 8 .
Disposed about housing section 12 c adjacent to formation probe assembly 50 is stabilizer 154 . Stabilizer 154 may have an outer diameter close to that of nominal borehole size. As explained below, formation probe assembly 50 includes a seal pad 140 that is extendable to a position outside of housing 12 c to engage the borehole wall 151 . As explained, probe assembly 50 and seal pad 140 of formation probe assembly 50 are recessed from the outer diameter of housing section 12 c , but they are otherwise exposed to the environment of annulus 150 where they could be impacted by the borehole wall 151 during drilling or during insertion or retrieval of bottom hole assembly 6 . Accordingly, being positioned adjacent to formation probe assembly 50 , stabilizer 154 provides additional protection to the seal pad 140 during insertion, retrieval and operation of bottom hole assembly 6 . It also provides protection to pad 140 during operation of formation tester 10 . In operation, a piston extends seal pad 140 to a position where it engages the borehole wall 151 . The force of the pad 140 against the borehole wall 151 would tend to move the formation tester 10 in the borehole, and such movement could cause pad 140 to become damaged. However, as formation tester 10 moves sideways within the borehole as the piston is extended into engagement with the borehole wall 151 , stabilizer 154 engages the borehole wall and provides a reactive force to counter the force applied to the piston by the formation. In this manner, further movement of the formation test tool 10 is resisted.
Referring to FIG. 2E , mandrel 54 c contains chamber 63 for housing pressure transducers 160 a, c , and d as well as electronics for driving and reading these pressure transducers. In addition, the electronics in chamber 63 contain memory, a microprocessor, and power conversion circuitry for properly utilizing power from a power bus (not shown).
Referring still to FIG. 2E , housing section 12 d includes pins ends 86 , 87 . Lower end 48 of housing section 12 c threadedly engages upper end 86 of housing section 12 d . Beneath housing section 12 d , and between formation tester tool 10 and drill bit 7 are other sections of the bottom hole assembly 6 that constitute conventional MWD tools, generally shown in FIG. 1 as MWD sub 13 . In a general sense, housing section 12 d is an adapter used to transition from the lower end of formation tester tool 10 to the remainder of the bottom hole assembly 6 . The lower end 87 of housing section 12 d threadedly engages other sub assemblies included in bottom hole assembly 6 beneath formation tester tool 10 . As shown, flowbore 14 extends through housing section 12 d to such lower subassemblies and ultimately to drill bit 7 .
Referring again to FIG. 3 and to FIG. 3A , drawdown piston 170 is retained in drawdown manifold 89 that is mounted on formation tester mandrel 54 b within housing 12 c . Piston 170 includes annular seal 171 and is slidingly received in cylinder 172 . Spring 173 biases piston 170 to its uppermost or shouldered position as shown in FIG. 3A . Separate hydraulic lines (not shown) interconnect with cylinder 172 above and below piston 170 in portions 172 a , 172 b to move piston 170 either up or down within cylinder 172 as described more fully below. A plunger 174 is integral with and extends from piston 170 . Plunger 174 is slidingly disposed in cylinder 177 coaxial with 172 . Cylinder 175 is the upper portion of cylinder 177 that is in fluid communication with the longitudinal passageway 93 as shown in FIG. 3A . Cylinder 175 is flooded with drilling fluid via its interconnection with passageway 93 . Cylinder 177 is filled with hydraulic fluid beneath seal 166 via its interconnection with hydraulic circuit 200 . Plunger 174 also contains scraper 167 that protects seal 166 from debris in the drilling fluid. Scraper 167 may be an o-ring energized lip seal.
As best shown in FIG. 5 , formation probe assembly 50 generally includes stem 92 , a generally cylindrical adapter sleeve 94 , piston 96 adapted to reciprocate within adapter sleeve 94 , and a snorkel assembly 98 adapted for reciprocal movement within piston 96 . Housing section 12 c and formation tester mandrel 54 b include aligned apertures 90 a , 90 b , respectively, that together form aperture 90 for receiving formation probe assembly 50 .
Stem 92 includes a circular base portion 105 with an outer flange 106 . Extending from base 105 is a tubular extension 107 having central passageway 108 . The end of extension 107 includes internal threads at 109 . Central passageway 108 is in fluid connection with fluid passageway 91 that, in turn, is in fluid communication with longitudinal fluid chamber or passageway 93 , best shown in FIG. 3 .
Adapter sleeve 94 includes inner end 111 that engages flange 106 of stem number 92 . Adapter sleeve 94 is secured within aperture 90 by threaded engagement with mandrel 54 b at segment 110 . The outer end 112 of adapter sleeve 94 extends to be substantially flushed with flat 136 formed in housing member 12 c . Circumferentially spaced about the outermost surface of adapter sleeve 94 is a plurality of tool engaging recesses 158 . These recesses are employed to thread adapter 94 into and out of engagement with mandrel 54 b . Adapter sleeve 94 includes cylindrical inner surface 113 having reduced diameter portions 114 , 115 . A seal 116 is disposed in surface 114 . Piston 96 is slidingly retained within adapter sleeve 94 and generally includes base section 118 and an extending portion 119 that includes inner cylindrical surface 120 . Piston 96 further includes central bore 121 .
Snorkel 98 includes a base portion 125 , a snorkel extension 126 , and a central passageway 127 extending through base 125 and extension 126 .
Formation tester apparatus 50 is assembled such that piston base 118 is permitted to reciprocate along surface 113 of adapter sleeve 94 . Similarly, snorkel base 125 is disposed within piston 96 and snorkel extension 126 is adapted for reciprocal movement along piston surface 120 . Central passageway 127 of snorkel 98 is axially aligned with tubular extension 107 of stem 92 and with screen 100 .
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6C , screen 100 is a generally tubular member having a central bore 132 extending between a fluid inlet end 131 and outlet end 122 . Outlet end 122 includes a central aperture 123 that is disposed about stem extension 107 . Screen 100 further includes a flange 130 adjacent to fluid inlet end 131 and an internally slotted segment 133 having slots 134 . Apertures 129 are formed in screen 100 adjacent end 122 . Between slotted segment 133 and apertures 129 , screen 100 includes threaded segment 124 for threadedly engaging snorkel extension 126 .
Scraper 102 includes a central bore 103 , threaded extension 104 and apertures 101 that are in fluid communication with central bore 103 . Section 104 threadedly engages internally threaded section 109 of stem extension 107 , and is disposed within central bore 132 of screen 100 .
Referring now to FIGS. 5 , 7 and 8 , seal pad 140 may be generally donut-shaped having base surface 141 , an opposite sealing surface 142 for sealing against the borehole wall, a circumferential edge surface 143 and a central aperture 144 . In the embodiment shown, base surface 141 is generally flat and is bonded to a metal skirt 145 having circumferential edge 153 with recesses 152 and corners 2008 . Seal pad 140 seals and prevents drilling fluid from entering the probe assembly 50 during formation testing so as to enable pressure transducers 160 to measure the pressure of the formation fluid. The rate at which the pressure measured by the formation test tool increases is an indication of the permeability of the formation 9 . More specifically, seal pad 40 seals against the mudcake 49 that forms on the borehole wall 151 . Typically, the pressure of the formation fluid is less than the pressure of the drilling fluids that are circulated in the borehole. A layer of residue from the drilling fluid forms a mudcake 49 on the borehole wall and separates the two pressure areas. Pad 140 , when extended, conforms its shape to the borehole wall and, together with the mudcake 49 , forms a seal through which formation fluids may be collected.
As best shown in FIGS. 3 , 5 , and 6 , pad 140 is sized so that it may be retracted completely within aperture 90 . In this position, pad 140 is protected both by flat 136 that surrounds aperture 90 and by recess 135 that positions face 136 in a setback position with respect to the outside surface of housing 12 . Pad 140 is preferably made of an elastomeric material, but is not limited to such a material.
To help with a good pad seal, tool 10 may include, among other things, centralizers for centralizing the formation probe assembly 50 and thereby normalizing pad 140 relative to the borehole wall. For example, the formation tester may include centralizing pistons coupled to a hydraulic fluid circuit configured to extend the pistons in such a way as to protect the probe assembly and pad, and also to provide a good pad seal.
The hydraulic circuit 200 used to operate probe assembly 50 , equalizer valve 60 , and draw down piston 170 is illustrated in FIG. 9 . A microprocessor-based controller 190 is electrically coupled to all of the controlled elements in the hydraulic circuit 200 illustrated in FIG. 10 , although the electrical connections to such elements are conventional and are not illustrated other than schematically. Controller 190 is located in electronics module 30 in housing section 12 a , although it could be housed elsewhere in bottom hole assembly 6 . Controller 190 detects the control signals transmitted from a master controller (not shown) housed in the MWD sub 13 of the bottom hole assembly 6 which, in turn, receives instructions transmitted from the surface via mud pulse telemetry, or any of various other conventional means for transmitting signals to downhole tools.
When controller 190 receives a command to initiate formation testing, the drill string has stopped rotating. As shown in FIG. 9 , motor 64 is coupled to pump 66 that draws hydraulic fluid out of hydraulic reservoir 78 through a serviceable filter 79 . As will be understood, the pump 66 directs hydraulic fluid into hydraulic circuit 200 that includes formation probe assembly 50 , equalizer valve 60 , draw down piston 170 and solenoid valves 176 , 178 , 180 .
The operation of formation tester 10 is best understood in reference to FIG. 9 in conjunction with FIGS. 3A , 5 and 6 A-C. In response to an electrical control signal, controller 190 energizes solenoid valve 180 and starts motor 64 . Pump 66 then begins to pressurize hydraulic circuit 200 and, more particularly, charges probe retract accumulator 182 . The act of charging accumulator 182 also ensures that the probe assembly 50 is retracted and that drawdown piston 170 is in its initial shouldered position as shown in FIG. 3A . When the pressure in system 200 reaches a predetermined value, such as 1800 p.s.i. as sensed by pressure transducer 160 b , controller 190 (which continuously monitors pressure in the system) energizes solenoid valve 176 and de-energizes solenoid valve 180 , which causes probe piston 96 and snorkel 98 to begin to extend toward the borehole wall 151 . Concurrently, check valve 194 and relief valve 193 seal the probe retract accumulator 182 at a pressure charge of between approximately 500 to 1250 p.s.i.
Piston 96 and snorkel 98 extend from the position shown in FIG. 6A to that shown in FIG. 6B where pad 140 engages the mudcake 49 on borehole wall 151 . With hydraulic pressure continued to be supplied to the extend side of the piston 96 and snorkel 98 , the snorkel then penetrates the mudcake as shown in FIG. 6C . There are two expanded positions of snorkel 98 , generally shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C . The piston 96 and snorkel 98 move outwardly together until the pad 140 engages the borehole wall 151 . This combined motion continues until the force of the borehole wall against pad 140 reaches a pre-determined magnitude, for example 5,500 lbs., causing pad 140 to be squeezed. At this point, a second stage of expansion takes place with snorkel 98 then moving within the cylinder 120 in piston 96 to penetrate the mudcake 49 on the borehole wall 151 and to receive formation fluids.
As seal pad 140 is pressed against the borehole wall, the pressure in circuit 200 rises and when it reaches a predetermined pressure, valve 192 opens so as to close equalizer valve 60 , thereby isolating fluid passageway 93 from the annulus. In this manner, valve 192 ensures that valve 60 closes only after the seal pad 140 has entered contact with mudcake 49 that lines borehole wall 151 . Passageway 93 , now closed to the annulus 150 , is in fluid communication with cylinder 175 at the upper end of cylinder 177 in draw down manifold 89 , best shown in FIG. 3A .
With solenoid valve 176 still energized, probe seal accumulator 184 is charged until the system reaches a predetermined pressure, for example 1800 p.s.i., as sensed by pressure transducer 160 b . When that pressure is reached, controller 190 energizes solenoid valve 178 to begin drawdown. Energizing solenoid valve 178 permits pressurized fluid to enter portion 172 a of cylinder 172 causing draw down piston 170 to retract. When that occurs, plunger 174 moves within cylinder 177 such that the volume of fluid passageway 93 increases by the volume of the area of the plunger 174 times the length of its stroke along cylinder 177 . This movement increases the volume of cylinder 175 , thereby increasing the volume of fluid passageway 93 . For example, the volume of fluid passageway 93 may be increased by 10 cc as a result of piston 170 being retracted.
As draw down piston 170 is actuated, formation fluid may thus be drawn through central passageway 127 of snorkel 98 and through screen 100 . The movement of draw down piston 170 within its cylinder 172 lowers the pressure in closed passageway 93 to a pressure below the formation pressure, such that formation fluid is drawn through screen 100 and snorkel 98 into aperture 101 , then through stem passageway 108 to passageway 91 that is in fluid communication with passageway 93 and part of the same closed fluid system. In total, fluid chambers 93 (which include the volume of various interconnected fluid passageways, including passageways in probe assembly 50 , passageways 85 , 93 [ FIG. 3 ], the passageways interconnecting 93 with draw down piston 170 and pressure transducers 160 a,c ) may have a volume of approximately 40 cc. Drilling mud in annulus 150 is not drawn into snorkel 98 because pad 140 seals against the mudcake. Snorkel 98 serves as a conduit through which the formation fluid may pass and the pressure of the formation fluid may be measured in passageway 93 while pad 140 serves as a seal to prevent annular fluids from entering the snorkel 98 and invalidating the formation pressure measurement.
Referring momentarily to FIGS. 5 and 6C , formation fluid is drawn first into the central bore 132 of screen 100 . It then passes through slots 134 in screen slotted segment 133 such that particles in the fluid are filtered from the flow and are not drawn into passageway 93 . The formation fluid then passes between the outer surface of screen 100 and the inner surface of snorkel extension 126 where it next passes through apertures 123 in screen 100 and into the central passageway 108 of stem 92 by passing through apertures 101 and central passage bore 103 of scraper 102 .
Referring again to FIG. 9 , with seal pad 140 sealed against the borehole wall, check valve 195 maintains the desired pressure acting against piston 96 and snorkel 98 to maintain the proper seal of pad 140 . Additionally, because probe seal accumulator 184 is fully charged, should tool 10 move during drawdown, additional hydraulic fluid volume may be supplied to piston 96 and snorkel 98 to ensure that pad 140 remains tightly sealed against the borehole wall. In addition, should the borehole wall 151 move in the vicinity of pad 140 , the probe seal accumulator 184 will supply additional hydraulic fluid volume to piston 96 and snorkel 98 to ensure that pad 140 remains tightly sealed against the borehole wall 151 . Without accumulator 184 in circuit 200 , movement of the tool 10 or borehole wall 151 , and thus of formation probe assembly 50 , could result in a loss of seal at pad 140 and a failure of the formation test.
With the drawdown piston 170 in its fully retracted position and formation fluid drawn into closed system 93 , the pressure will stabilize and enable pressure transducers 160 a,c to sense and measure formation fluid pressure. The measured pressure is transmitted to the controller 190 in the electronic section where the information is stored in memory and, alternatively or additionally, is communicated to the master controller in the MWD tool 13 below formation tester 10 where it may be transmitted to the surface via mud pulse telemetry or by any other conventional telemetry means.
When drawdown is completed, piston 170 actuates a contact switch 320 mounted in endcap 400 and piston 170 , as shown in FIG. 3A . The drawdown switch assembly consists of contact 300 , wire 308 coupled to contact 300 , plunger 302 , spring 304 , ground spring 306 , and retainer ring 310 . Piston 170 actuates switch 320 by causing plunger 302 to engage contact 300 that causes wire 308 to couple to system ground via contact 300 to plunger 302 to ground spring 306 to piston 170 to endcap 400 that is in communication with system ground (not shown).
When the contact switch 320 is actuated controller 190 responds by shutting down motor 64 and pump 66 for energy conservation. Check valve 196 traps the hydraulic pressure and maintains piston 170 in its retracted position. In the event of any leakage of hydraulic fluid that might allow piston 170 to begin to move toward its original shouldered position, drawdown accumulator 186 will provide the necessary fluid volume to compensate for any such leakage and thereby maintain sufficient force to retain piston 170 in its retracted position.
During this interval, controller 190 continuously monitors the pressure in fluid passageway 93 via pressure transducers 160 a,c until the pressure stabilizes, or after a predetermined time interval.
When the measured pressure stabilizes, or after a predetermined time interval, controller 190 de-energizes solenoid valve 176 . De-energizing solenoid valve 176 removes pressure from the close side of equalizer valve 60 and from the extend side of probe piston 96 . Spring 58 then returns the equalizer valve 60 to its normally open state and probe retract accumulator 182 will cause piston 96 and snorkel 98 to retract, such that seal pad 140 becomes disengaged with the borehole wall. Thereafter, controller 190 again powers motor 64 to drive pump 66 and again energizes solenoid valve 180 . This step ensures that piston 96 and snorkel 98 have fully retracted and that the equalizer valve 60 is opened. Given this arrangement, the formation tool 10 has a redundant probe retract mechanism. Active retract force is provided by the pump 66 . A passive retract force is supplied by probe retract accumulator 182 that is capable of retracting the probe even in the event that power is lost. Accumulator 182 may be charged at the surface before being employed downhole to provide pressure to retain the piston and snorkel in housing 12 c.
Referring again briefly to FIGS. 5 and 6 , as piston 96 and snorkel 98 are retracted from their position shown in FIG. 6C to that of FIG. 6B and then FIG. 6A , screen 100 is drawn back into snorkel 98 . As this occurs, the flange on the outer edge of scraper 102 drags and thereby scrapes the inner surface of screen member 100 . In this manner, material screened from the formation fluid upon its entering of screen 100 and snorkel 98 is removed from screen 100 and deposited into the annulus 150 . Similarly, scraper 102 scrapes the inner surface of screen member 100 when snorkel 98 and screen 100 are extended toward the borehole wall.
After a predetermined pressure, for example 1800 p.s.i., is sensed by pressure transducer 160 b and communicated to controller 190 (indicating that the equalizer valve is open and that the piston and snorkel are fully retracted), controller 190 de-energizes solenoid valve 178 to remove pressure from side 172 a of drawdown piston 170 . With solenoid valve 180 remaining energized, positive pressure is applied to side 172 b of drawdown piston 170 to ensure that piston 170 is returned to its original position (as shown in FIG. 3 ). Controller 190 monitors the pressure via pressure transducer 160 b and when a predetermined pressure is reached, controller 190 determines that piston 170 is fully returned and it shuts off motor 64 and pump 66 and de-energizes solenoid valve 180 . With all solenoid valves 176 , 178 , 180 returned to their original position and with motor 64 off, tool 10 is back in its original condition and drilling may again be commenced.
Relief valve 197 protects the hydraulic system 200 from overpressure and pressure transients. Various additional relief valves may be provided. Thermal relief valve 198 protects trapped pressure sections from overpressure. Check valve 199 prevents back flow through the pump 66 .
The formation test tool 10 may operate in two general modes: pumps-on operation and pumps-off operation. During a pumps-on operation, mud pumps on the surface pump drilling fluid through the drill string 6 and back up the annulus 150 while testing. Using that column of drilling fluid, the tool 10 may transmit data to the surface using mud pulse telemetry during the formation test. The tool 10 may also receive mud pulse telemetry downlink commands from the surface. During a formation test, the drill pipe and formation test tool are not rotated. However, it may be the case that an immediate movement or rotation of the drill string will be necessary. As a failsafe feature, at any time during the formation test, an abort command may be transmitted from surface to the formation test tool 10 . In response to this abort command, the formation test tool will immediately discontinue the formation test and retract the probe piston to its normal, retracted position for drilling. The drill pipe may then be moved or rotated without causing damage to the formation test tool.
During a pumps-off operation, a similar failsafe feature may also be active. The formation test tool 10 and/or MWD tool 13 may be adapted to sense when the mud flow pumps are turned on. Consequently, the act of turning on the pumps and reestablishing flow through the tool may be sensed by pressure transducer 160 d or by other pressure sensors in bottom hole assembly 6 . This signal will be interpreted by a controller in the MWD tool 13 or other control and communicated to controller 190 that is programmed to automatically trigger an abort command in the formation test tool 10 . At this point, the formation test tool 10 will immediately discontinue the formation test and retract the probe piston to its normal position for drilling. The drill pipe may then be moved or rotated without causing damage to the formation test tool.
The uplink and downlink commands are not limited to mud pulse telemetry. By way of example and not by way of limitation, other telemetry systems may include manual methods, including pump cycles, flow/pressure bands, pipe rotation, or combinations thereof. Other possibilities include electromagnetic (EM), acoustic, and wireline telemetry methods. An advantage to using alternative telemetry methods lies in the fact that mud pulse telemetry (both uplink and downlink) requires active pumping, but other telemetry systems do not. The failsafe abort command may therefore be sent from the surface to the formation test tool using an alternative telemetry system regardless of whether the mud flow pumps are on or off.
The down hole receiver for downlink commands or data from the surface may reside within the formation test tool or within an MWD tool 13 with which it communicates. Likewise, the down hole transmitter for uplink commands or data from down hole may reside within the formation test tool 10 or within an MWD tool 13 with which it communicates. The receivers and transmitters may each be positioned in MWD tool 13 and the receiver signals may be processed, analyzed, and sent to a master controller in the MWD tool 13 before being relayed to local controller 190 in formation testing tool 10 .
Commands or data sent from surface to the formation test tool may be used for more than transmitting a failsafe abort command. The formation test tool may have many preprogrammed operating modes. A command from the surface may be used to select the desired operating mode. For example, one of a plurality of operating modes may be selected by transmitting a header sequence indicating a change in operating mode followed by a number of pulses that correspond to that operating mode. Other means of selecting an operating mode will certainly be known to those skilled in the art.
In addition to the operating modes discussed, other information may be transmitted from the surface to the formation test tool 10 . This information may include critical operational data such as depth or surface drilling mud density. The formation test tool may use this information to help refine measurements or calculations made downhole or to select an operating mode. Commands from the surface might also be used to program the formation test tool to perform in a mode that is not preprogrammed.
Measuring Formation Properties
Referring again to FIG. 9 , the formation test tool 10 may include four pressure transducers 160 : two quartz crystal gauges 160 a , 160 d , a strain gauge 160 c , and a differential strain gage 160 b . One of the quartz crystal gauges 160 a is in communication with the annulus mud and also senses formation pressures during the formation test. The other quartz crystal gauge 160 d is in communication with the flowbore 14 at all times. In addition, both quartz crystal gauges 160 a and 160 d may have temperature sensors associated with the crystals. The temperature sensors may be used to compensate the pressure measurement for thermal effects. The temperature sensors may also be used to measure the temperature of the fluids near the pressure transducers. For example, the temperature sensor associated with quartz crystal gauge 160 a is used to measure the temperature of the fluid near the gage in chamber 93 . The third transducer is a strain gauge 160 c and is in communication with the annulus mud and also senses formation pressures during the formation test. The quartz transducers 160 a , 160 d provide accurate, steady-state pressure information, whereas the strain gauge 160 c provides faster transient response. In performing the sequencing during the formation test, chamber 93 is closed off and both the annulus quartz gauge 160 a and the strain gauge 160 c measure pressure within the closed chamber 93 . The strain gauge transducer 160 c essentially is used to supplement the quartz gauge 160 a measurements. When the formation tester 10 is not in use, the quartz transducers 160 a , 160 d may operatively measure pressure while drilling to serve as a pressure while drilling tool.
Referring now to FIG. 10 , a pressure versus time graph illustrates in a general way the pressure sensed by pressure transducers 160 a , 160 c during the operation of formation tester 10 . As the formation fluid is drawn within the tester, pressure readings are taken continuously by transducer 160 a , 160 c . The sensed pressure will initially be equal to the annulus pressure shown at point 201 . As pad 140 is extended and equalizer valve 60 is closed, there will be a slight increase in pressure as shown at 202 . This occurs when the pad 140 seals against the borehole wall 151 and squeezes the drilling fluid trapped in the now-isolated passageway 93 . As drawn down piston 170 is actuated, the volume of the closed chamber 93 increases, causing the pressure to decrease as shown in region 203 . This is known as the pretest drawdown. The combination of the flow rate and snorkel inner diameter determines an effective range of operation for tester 10 . When the drawn down piston bottoms out within cylinder 172 , a differential pressure with the formation fluid exists causing the fluid in the formation to move towards the low pressure area and, therefore, causing the pressure to build over time as shown in region 204 . The pressure begins to stabilize, and at point 205 , achieves the pressure of the formation fluid in the zone being tested. After a fixed time, such as three minutes after the end of region 203 , the equalizer valve 60 is again opened, and the pressure within chamber 93 equalizes back to the annulus pressure as shown at 206 .
In an alternative embodiment to the typical formation test sequence, the test sequence is stopped after pad 140 is extended and equalizer valve 60 is closed, and the slight increase in pressure is recorded as shown at 202 in FIG. 10 . The normal test sequence is stopped so that a response to the increase in pressure 202 may be observed. Since the test sequence has been stopped before draw down piston 170 is actuated, no fluid flow has been induced by the formation probe assembly; the formation probe assembly is maintaining a substantially non-flow condition. The non-flow pressure response to increase 202 can be recorded and interpreted to determine properties of the mudcake, such as mobility. If the response to increase 202 is a quick equalization of the pressure back to hydrostatic 201 , then the mudcake has high permeability, and is most likely not very thick or durable. If the response is a slow decrease in pressure, then the mudcake is likely thicker and more impermeable.
To assist in determining mudcake thickness, in addition to the method described above, the position indicator on the probe assembly, described in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/133,643, filed May 20, 2005, entitled “Downhole Probe Assembly,” may be used to measure how far the probe assembly extends after engagement with the mud filtrate. This measurement gives an indication of how thick the mud filtrate is, and may be used to bolster the data gathered using pressure response, described above. Again, this measurement may be taken under a non-flow condition of the formation probe assembly, as previously described.
When taking pressure measurements, it is also possible to use the different pressure transducers to verify each gauge's reading compared to the others. Additionally, with multiple transducers, hydrostatic pressure in the borehole may be used to reverify gauges in the same location, by confirming that they are taking similar hydrostatic measurements. Because quartz gauges are more accurate, the quartz gauge response may be used to calibrate the strain gauge if the response is not highly transient.
FIG. 11 illustrates representative formation test pressure curves. The solid curve 220 represents pressure readings P sg detected and transmitted by the strain gauge 160 c . Similarly, the pressure P q , indicated by the quartz gauge 160 a , is shown as a dashed line 222 . As noted above, strain gauge transducers generally do not offer the accuracy exhibited by quartz transducers and quartz transducers do not provide the transient response offered by strain gauge transducers. Hence, the instantaneous formation test pressures indicated by the strain gauge 160 c and quartz 160 a transducers are likely to be different. For example, at the beginning of a formation test, the pressure readings P hyd1 indicated by the quartz transducer P q and the strain gauge P sg transducer are different and the difference between these values is indicated as E offs1 in FIG. 11 .
With the assumption that the quartz gauge reading P q is the more accurate of the two readings, the actual formation test pressures may be calculated by adding or subtracting the appropriate offset error E offs1 to the pressures indicated by the strain gauge P sg for the duration of the formation test. In this manner, the accuracy of the quartz transducer and the transient response of the strain gauge may both be used to generate a corrected formation test pressure that, where desired, is used for real-time calculation of formation characteristics or calibration of one or more of the gauges.
As the formation test proceeds, it is possible that the strain gauge readings may become more accurate or for the quartz gauge reading to approach actual pressures in the pressure chamber even though that pressure is changing. In either case, it is probable that the difference between the pressures indicated by the strain gauge transducer and the quartz transducer at a given point in time may change over the duration of the formation test. Hence, it may be desirable to consider a second offset error that is determined at the end of the test where steady state conditions have been resumed. Thus, as pressures P hyd2 level off at the end of the formation test, it may be desirable to calculate a second offset error E offs2 . This second offset error E offs2 might then be used to provide an after-the-fact adjustment to the formation test pressures, or calibration of the strain gauge.
The offset values E offs1 and E offs2 may be used to adjust specific data points in the test. For example, all critical points up to P fu might be adjusted using errors E offs1 , whereas all remaining points might be adjusted offset using error E offs2 . Another solution may be to calculate a weighted average between the two offset values and apply this single weighted average offset to all strain gauge pressure readings taken during the formation test. Other methods of applying the offset error values to accurately determine actual formation test pressures may be used accordingly and will be understood by those skilled in the art.
As previously generally described, quartz gauges are used for accuracy because they are steady and stable over time and retain their calibration over a wide variety of conditions. However, they are slow to respond to their environment. There are changes in pressure taking place during the measurement that the quartz gauge cannot detect. On the other hand, strain gauges are susceptible to change and to calibration effects. However, they are quick to respond to changes in their environment. Thus, both gauges may be used, with the quartz gauge used to get an accurate pressure reading while the strain gauge is used to look at the differences in pressure.
In another embodiment for calibrating the strain gauge using the quartzdyne gauge, a simple linear fit may be used. Referring to FIG. 12 , pressure curve 500 is illustrated representing a typical drawdown and buildup curve measured during a pressure formation test. Portion 502 of curve 500 shows a stable pressure, which is typically a measure of the annulus pressure because the formation test has not begun yet. The annulus pressure will usually be higher than the formation pressure because most wells are drilled in overbalanced situations, where the drilling fluid in the annulus is kept at a higher pressure than the formation so as to stabilize the borehole and prevent borehole deterioration and blowout.
The pressures measured by the quartz gauge, P Q1 , and the corrected strain gauge, P SG1 , will be the same in curve portion 502 , where the pressure is stable and near hydrostatic, and before any dynamic responses are detected by either gauge. Once the formation pressure test has begun, a slight increase in pressure is illustrated at 501 before the drawdown is commenced, illustrated by curve portion 504 . After drawdown is completed, the formation pressure is allowed to build back up until it stabilizes, illustrated at curve portion 506 . Now, a second set of stabilized pressures may be taken, P Q2 and P SG2 , and they will most likely be different because the dynamic response of the strain gauge is much less accurate than the dynamic response of the quartz gauge.
To recalibrate the strain gauge, two unknown values are identified and a simple linear fit is applied to the known and unknown values. The unknown values may be identified as P off , representing the pressure offset between the two sets of stable pressure measurements, and P slope , representing the slope of the curve between the two sets of stable pressure measurements. The known values are P Q1 , P SG1 , P Q2 and P SG2 . The linear fit equations may be represented as:
P Q1 =P off +( P slope *P SG1 ), and
P Q2 =P off +( P slope *P SG2 ); which may be expressed as:
P slope =( P Q1 −P Q2 )/( P SG1 −P SG2 ), and
P off =P Q1 −( P Q1 −P Q2 )/( P SG1 −P SG2 )* P SG1 ; which may be expressed as:
P SG corrected =P off +( P slope *P SG ).
With two equations and two unknowns, the equations may be solved as above to arrive at P SGcorrected , a corrected value obtained from the strain gauge. Alternatively, the strain gauge may be corrected based on the known values alone, substituting for P off and P slope to acquire the equation:
P SG corrected =P Q1 −( P Q1 −P Q2 )/( P SG1 −P SG2 )*( P SG1 −P SG2 ).
Further, these gauge corrections may be done “on the fly,” or after each test as each sequential test is completed in the wellbore. The corrections may be done on the fly using real time streaming of the data to the surface using telemetry means, or, alternatively, using downhole processors and software placed in the tool.
Using the MWD tool's embedded software (and neural network techniques) and a downhole reference standard, such as the quartz gauge, every depth point in the borehole may be corrected to the reference. In a formation tester, there will typically be various types of pressure gauges for measuring pressure in the flow lines that carry formation fluids. For example, the formation fluid flow lines, such as lines 91 , 93 may be in fluid communication with quartz gauges and strain gauges, such as transducers 160 a , 160 c of FIG. 9 . After a drawdown, where formation fluids are drawn into the formation tester, drawing in of fluids is stopped and the fluids are allowed to build back up to the pressure of the surrounding formation. After several of these drawdowns and buildups, the strain gauges may exhibit large errors in their readings. Thus, as mentioned before, these strain gauge pressure transducers need to be calibrated. In one embodiment, the pressure readings at every point in the well where pressure was measured may be used as a reference point for continual calibration of the strain gauges, thereby eliminating the need to calibrate and recalibrate the strain gauges.
Every location in the well has a discrete pressure and associated temperature as well stabilization occurs. See FIG. 14 , for example, for the relationship between pressure (in p.s.i.) and temperature (° C.) for a typical oil-bearing formation. Each time a pressure test is run, the pressure taken by the quartz gauge may be used as a continual calibration point for the strain gauges. If the data is continuously collected, a three-dimensional, contour-type plot of pressure vs. temperature may be created. The three dimensions that may be used are measured pressure, reference pressure, as described above, and temperature. Then, neural network techniques found in the tool's embedded software may be applied to the collected data such that the strain gauge transducers do not require recalibration.
Pressure transducers typically have a pressure data input range to which their accuracy is defined, such as zero to 10,000 p.s.i. or zero to 20,000 p.s.i. Accuracy is commonly measured as a percentage of full scale, thus the accuracy of a 10,000 p.s.i. gauge will be greater because the percentage number of that gauge will be less than the same percentage number of 20,000. To improve accuracy of the formation testing tool, several gauges may be used to cover the possible ranges of pressures to be tested, instead of using one gauge that covers the whole range. Therefore, to make the tool more accurate, multiple pressure gauges are used.
Alternatively, the range of a gauge may be calibrated for a smaller range to make the gauge more accurate. The manufacturer of the pressure gauge may set the electronics to detect a broad range of pressures. The electronics, which are very similar between gauges, may be adjusted to scale the transducer over a smaller range, thereby improving accuracy. Similarly, the same transducer may be used for different pressure ranges by using two or more calibration tables. The pressure data output effect of the transducer for the full pressure input range may be determined for one pressure transducer, and then two or more calibration tables may be established to interpret the output information given by the transducers for different pressure input ranges. Therefore, accuracy may be improved without the use of multiple transducers.
Accurate determination of formation pressure is vital to proper use of the measured formation pressures. However, changing densities of fluids in the formation testing tool's flow lines can be problematic. The measured pressure can be corrected for the density of the fluid in the vertical column of the flow line. The pressure transducers may be measuring accurate pressures of the formation fluids the transducers communicate with, but these transducers are removed from the location of the probe that gathers the formation fluids. For example, transducers 160 a , 160 c , 160 d are located below the probe assembly, as illustrated in FIG. 2D-E . Thus, the pressure at the probe may be different from the pressure measured at the transducers due to this location offset.
Preferably, the vertical offset between the reference point of the transducer and the fluid inlet point at the probe is a known distance. Additionally, if the formation testing tool is located in a deviated or inclined well, the orientation of the tool may be known from a navigational package. Thus, vertical known distance between the transducer and the probe inlet may be calculated for any inclination of the tool in the well. Lastly, if the fluid present in the flow line connecting the transducer and the probe inlet is known, then the pressure gradient of that fluid may be used to calculate the pressure at the probe inlet with respect to the pressure at the transducer.
For example, water has a pressure gradient of 0.433 p.s.i. per foot. If it was known that water was present in the flow line and that there was a foot difference between the pressure transducer and the probe inlet, a 0.433 p.s.i. correction may be made in the reading of the pressure transducer.
Thus, it is preferred that the pressure transducers be disposed as close to the probe assembly as possible.
In another embodiment of formation testing, while the formation probe assembly is engaged with the borehole, instead of pulling fluids into the probe assembly, or after pulling fluids into the probe assembly, fluids can be pushed out of the assembly into the formation. Thus, fluid communication may be established with the formation in the direction that is opposite to that of draw down, with such communication tending to pressure up the formation. This may be accomplished by adjustments to the sequence of events described previously. Now, the response to this pressure up can be recorded, and the pressure over time can observed for a portion of the formation. How the formation responds can be interpreted to obtain many of the formation properties previously described. Specifically, the pressure transient response to the change in formation pressure may be used to determine permeability of the mud cake, estimating the damage to the near wellbore formation and calculating mobility of the formation. For further detail on the process just described, reference may be made to the Society of Petroleum Engineers paper number 36524 entitled “Supercharge Pressure Compensation Using a New Wireline Method and Newly Developed Early Time Spherical Flow Model” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,075 entitled “Wireline Formation Tester Supercharge Correction Method,” each hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Furthermore, the formation may be pressured up as just described, except to the point where the formation material breaks or fractures. This is called an injectivity test, and may be done with fluid from the same area (at the present measurement location), or fluid, such as water, which may be obtained from another area of the formation. The fluids obtained from another area may be stored in either a pressure vessel or in the drawdown piston assembly, and then injected into another area that contains a different fluid. Fluids may also be carried from the surface and selectively injected into the formation.
If injection rates are high enough to materially break or induce fracture in the formation, a change in pressure can be observed and interpreted, as has been previously described, to obtain formation properties, such as fracture pressure, which may be used to efficiently design future completion and stimulation programs. It should be noted that the injectivity may be performed to test the mud cake's ability to prevent fluid ingress to the formation. Alternatively, the test may be performed after a draw down and the mud cake is no longer present.
Formation testers may also be used to gather additional information aside from properties of the producible hydrocarbon fluids. For example, the formation tester tool instruments may be used to determine the resistivity of the water, which can be used in the calculation of the formation's water saturation. Knowing the water saturation helps in predicting the producibility of the formation. Sensor packages, such as induction packages or button electrode packages, may be added adjacent the probe assembly that are tailored to measuring the resistivity of the bound water in the formation. These sensors, preferably, would be disposed on the extending portions of the probe assembly, such as the snorkel 98 that may penetrate the mudcake and formation, as illustrated in FIG. 6C . In addition, sensors may be disposed in the flow lines, such as flow lines 91 , 93 , to measure water properties in the fluids that are drawn into the formation tester assembly.
The advantage of the probe style formation test tool described herein is the flexibility to place the probe in a specific position upon the borehole to best obtain a formation pressure, or, alternatively, to not place the probe in an undesirable location. A tool such as an acoustic imaging device can provide a real time image of the borehole so the operator can determine where to take a pressure test. Additionally, the image from a porosity-type tool may provide information on porosity quality at an orientation within a portion of the well at constant depth, or at a direction along the wellbore (constant azimuth). It may also provide a real-time image of fractures intersecting the wellbore, providing the opportunity to avoid these fractures to obtain a good test for matrix pressures, or to test at these fractures to determine fracture properties. The image from these tools may be sensitive enough to determine that the probe from the pressure device actually tested at the pre-determined position and verify that the test was taken at the chosen position. These tools may also be used to examine the condition of the wellbore. This may be significant in high angle or horizontal wellbores where debris such as unremoved cuttings may still be in place and could interfere with obtaining an accurate formation pressure measurement.
It is common for the borehole to exhibit abnormalities due to erosion from the drill string or circulated drilling fluids. Abnormalities also exist due to fault lines and different types of formations abutting each other. Thus, often it is necessary to have a pre-existing image of the formation so that pressure measurements may be taken at pinpoint locations rather than at random locations in the formation. Acoustic, sonic, density, resistivity, gamma ray and other imaging techniques may be used to image the formation in real time. Then, the formation testing tool may be azimuthally oriented to locations of greatest or least porosity, permeability, density or other formation property, depending on what is to be gained from the pressure or other formation testing tool measurement. In cases where imaging tools indicate a sealing or “tight” zone, pressure measurements may be used to verify whether there is fluid communication or not. Alternatively, the imaging tools may be used to find zones that should not be pressure tested, such as highly dense or impermeable zones.
Afterwards, the previously mentioned imaging techniques may be used to verify where the pressure or other measurement was taken. The seal pad may leave an imprint on the borehole wall, thus an electrical imaging tool or acoustic scanning tool may be used to image after the test to verify the pad location on the borehole wall.
Pressure and other formation testing tool measurements may be taken with the mud pumps on or off. Pressure in the annulus is higher with pumps on than with pumps off, and the pressure drops in the direction of flow. With higher pressures from circulating, there is a higher rate of influx of drilling fluids and filtrate going into the formation, thus forming the mudcake more rapidly. The equivalent circulating density (ECD) is a measure of the drilling fluid density taking into account suspended drilling cuttings, fluid compressibility and the frictional pressure losses related to fluid flow. ECD will decrease with time if circulation continues but drilling stops because, as the drilling mud circulates, more of the drilling cuttings are filtered out while new cuttings are not being added. If pressure measurements are being taken by the formation tester, a difference may be noticed in the formation pressure because of the change in ECD from pumps-on to pumps-off.
For example, the formation probe assembly may be extended and a drawdown test performed wherein the pressure decreases as the fluids are drawn into the formation tester. Then, after the drawdown chamber is full, the pressure may build back up to equilibrate with the pressure in the undisturbed formation. Now, if the pumps are turned on, the ECD in the annulus increases, increasing the pressure sensed by the formation tester. If the pumps are turned off, the pressure will return to the original pressure before pumps were turned on. This pressure difference is due to the difference in the ECD and the hydrostatic pressure, and may be used to indicate how much drilling fluid is penetrating the formation, or how much communication there is between the drilling fluids and the formation. This difference may be equated to mobility or pressure transients, thereby obtaining more accurate measurements. These effects are associated with supercharge pressures and effects, which are more thoroughly described in various of the previously incorporated references.
With the pumps on, pressure pulses are sent downhole by the mud pumps, communication pulsers or other devices, and the pulses may be seen to exhibit sinusoidal behavior. During a pressure test, with the probe assembly extended, the probe may detect these pressure pulses through the formation because the inside of the probe assembly is relatively isolated from the wellbore fluids. The pressure pulses as detected in the wellbore may be compared with the pressure pulses as detected by the formation tester.
Referring now to FIG. 13 , a pressure pulse curve 600 represents pressures created by the mud pumps or pulsers and detected by a pressure sensor in communication with the annulus such as a PWD sensor in the MWD tool 13 , or other LWD tool. Pressure curve 602 represents pressures detected by the formation probe assembly, which are the pressure pulses that have traveled from the annulus, through the formation, and into the isolated probe assembly. Pressure curves 600 and 602 have peaks 604 , 606 and 608 , 610 , respectively. These peaks may be used to determine peak shifts or phase delay 612 and amplitude difference 614 . With the phase delay 612 and amplitude difference 614 , mudcake properties, such as permeability, porosity and thickness may be determined. Further, similar formation properties may be determined.
In an alternative embodiment to the embodiment just described, the formation testing tool includes more than one formation probe assembly. Instead of creating pressure pulses at the surface of the wellbore, the pulses may be created by one probe assembly while the other probe assembly takes measurements. While at least two formation probe assemblies are extended and engaged with the borehole wall, one probe assembly may pulse fluid into the assembly and back out into the formation by reciprocating the draw down pistons. Meanwhile, the other probe assembly takes measurements as described above.
Formation tests may be taken with the formation tester tool very soon after the drill bit has penetrated the formation. For example, the formation tests may be taken immediately after the formation has been drilled through, such as within ten minutes of penetration. Taking tests at this time means there is less mud invasion and less mudcake to contend with, resulting in better pressure and/or permeability tests, better formation fluid samples (less contamination) and less rig time required to obtain these data. Taking tests immediately after drilling will also allow the drilling operator look for casing points immediately. These tests may also indicate whether the zone is depleted, or whether hole collapse is imminent. Corrective actions may then be taken, such as casing the hole, changing mud properties, continuing drilling, or others.
Additionally, the formation may be tested on the way into a drilled hole and on the way out to observe changes in the mudcake and formation over time. The two sets of measurements may be compared to identify changes that are occurring to the borehole and surrounding formation. The differences over time may indicate supercharging effects, more fully developed in the various references previously mentioned, and may be used to correct a model of the formation to account for the supercharge pressure.
Predicting pore pressure is typically accomplished by measuring the magnitude of formation compaction. Formation compaction typically occurs in shales, thus shale formations must be drilled and logged to obtain the necessary data to create pore prediction models. The formation testing tool described herein may measure pore pressure directly. This measurement is more accurate and may be used to calibrate pore pressure predictor models.
Using Formation Property Data
After measuring formation pressure, permeability and other formation properties, this information may be sent to the surface using mud pulse telemetry, or any of various other conventional means for transmitting signals from downhole tools. At the surface, the drilling operator may use this information to optimize bit cutting properties or drilling parameters.
Knowing mudcake properties allows adjustments to certain drilling parameters if the mudcake differs from a known, predetermined, or desirable value; adjustments to the mud system itself may also be made, to enhance the mud properties and reduce mud cake thickness or filtrate invasion rate. For example, if the mudcake is found to be contaminated or impermeable, the drilling mud properties can be adjusted to reduce the pressure on the mudcake or reduce the amount of contaminants ingressing into the mudcake, or chemicals may be added to the mud system to correct mud cake thickness.
Furthermore, pressure measurements taken downhole may indicate the need to make downhole pressure adjustments if, again, the downhole measurements differ from a desirable known or predetermined value. However, instead of adjusting mud properties, other mechanical means may be use to control the downhole pressure. For example, with a choke control or a rotating blowout preventer (BOP), the choke or rotating BOP restriction may be manipulated to mechanically increase or decrease the resistance to flow at the surface, thereby adjusting the downhole pressure.
An exemplary drilling parameter that may be adjusted is the rate of drill bit penetration. Using the formation tester in the ways described above, certain rock properties, also described above, can be measured. These properties may be directed to the surface in real time so as to optimize the rate of penetration while drilling. With a certain shape of the probe and knowing the shape of the frontal contact area of the borehole wall, certain formation properties may be measured. If a formation probe assembly such as that illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 A-C, or in the U.S. Patent Application entitled “Downhole Probe Assembly,” previously mentioned and incorporated by reference, is used to engage the formation, force vs. displacement of the probe assembly may then be determined using an extensiometer or potentiometer. The force vs. displacement information may be used to calculate compressive strength, compressive modulus and other properties of the formation materials themselves. These formation material properties are useful in determining and optimizing the rate of drill bit penetration.
Measurements taken by the formation testing tool may be used for optimizing additional drilling applications. For example, formation pressure may be used to determine casing requirements. The formation pressures taken downhole may be used to determine the optimal size and strength of the casing required. If the formation is found to have a high formation pressure, then the hole may be cased with a relatively strong casing material to ensure that the integrity of the borehole is maintained in the high pressure formation. If the formation is found to have a low pressure, the casing size may be reduced and different materials may be used to save costs. Rock strength measurements taken with the tool may also assist with casing requirements. Solid rock formations require less casing material because they are stable, while formations composed of sediments require thicker casing.
In inclined or horizontal wells, and particularly when the drilling fluid has stopped circulating, heavier density particles in the drilling fluid settle toward the lower side of the borehole. This condition is undesirable because the effective density of the fluid is lowered. When the surrounding formation is at a higher pressure than the drilling fluid, hole blowout becomes more likely. To detect this condition, the formation testing tool may be oriented to the low side of the borehole, where measurements may now be taken. In one embodiment, the probe assembly may be extended and pressures taken. Preferably, the pressure transducers that are in communication with the annulus, such as transducer 160 c or the PWD sensor in the MWD tool, can be used to take the pressure of the annulus fluid without extending the probe. If the fluid on the low side of the borehole is found to have a higher density or weight than the equivalent drilling fluid density or weight, then the drilling fluid properties may be adjusted to correct this condition. Alternatively, or in addition, the measurements may be taken at other locations in the borehole, such as at the upper side.
Anisotropic formations exhibit properties, any property, with different values when measured in different directions. For example, resistivity may be different in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction, which may be due to the presence of multiple formation beds or layering within certain types of rocks.
For example, formation anisotropy may be determined by taking formation measurements, such as pressure and temperature, re-orienting the tool rotationally and taking additional measurements at additional angles around the borehole. Alternatively, if multiple probe assemblies or other measuring devices are disposed about the tool, these measurements taken about the tool may be taken simultaneously. In addition to taking direct formation measurements, the tool may take other measurements, such as sonic and electromagnetic measurements. After all such measurements have been taken, the formation anisotropy for each type of measurement may be calculated. A formation anisotropy value may be tied to or compared with acoustic, resistivity and other measurements taken by other tools. This would allow, for example, resistivity to be correlated with permeability changes using known formation models (more fully described below).
Typically, formation pressure measurements are estimated and/or predicted by interpreting certain formation measurements other than the direct measurement of formation pressure. For example, pressure while drilling (PWD) and logging while drilling (LWD) measurements are gathered and analyzed to predict what the actual formation pressure is. Analysis of data such as rock properties and stress orientation, and of models such as fracture-gradient models and trend-based models, can be used to predict actual formation pressure. Furthermore, direct formation measurements may be used too supplement, correct or adjust these data and models to more accurately predict formation pressures. The advantage with the formation testing tools described and referenced herein is that the pressure and other formation data may be sent uphole real time, thereby allowing the models to be updated real time.
Additionally, each measured formation property, including those previously listed and defined, may themselves be used to map or image the formation. Ultimately, a formation model is developed so it is known what the formation looks like on a computer screen at the surface of the borehole. An example of such a formation model is the Landmark earth model. Each additional measured property of the formation may be used to make complementary images, with each new property and image adding to the accuracy of the formation model or image. Thus, the properties gathered by the formation tester tools referenced herein, particularly pressure data, may be used to create better models or enhance existing ones, to better understand the formations that are being penetrated. As described before, these models and data may be updated “on the fly” to calibrate various models for better formation pressure predictions.
Similarly, formation test data, such as pressure, temperature and other previously described data, gathered using a formation testing tool 10 may be used to improve or correct other measurements, and vice-versa. Other measurements that may benefit from real time pressure data and pressure gradient information include: pressure while drilling (PWD), sonic or acoustic tool measurements, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, resistivity, density, porosity, etc. These measurements or interpretive tools, such as pore-pressure prediction tools or models, may be updated based on physical measurements, and are at least somewhat dependent on pressure or other formation properties. Drilling mud properties may also be adjusted in a similar fashion, based on the formation measurements taken real time. Further, the formation data may be used to assist other services, including drilling fluid services and completion services, and operation of other tools.
While drilling, LWD tools may be measuring the resistivity of the formation fluids and creating resistivity logs. From the resistivity log and other data, water saturation of the formation may be calculated. Changes in water saturation with depth may be observed and may be consolidated into a gradient. The water saturation level is related to how far above the 100% free water level the test depth is. The water saturation levels and gradient may be used to create a capillary pressure curve. The pressure data from the formation testing tool may be matched up with the capillary pressure curve, which may then be projected downhole to estimate the free water level. The free water level may be used to determine the amount of hydrocarbons, especially gas, that are available for production. At the 100% free water level, production is not viable. Thus, the free water level may be determined without having to test down to the actual free water level.
Pressure measurements may also be used to steer the bottom hole assembly (BHA). If formation pressure measurements indicate that the current zone is not producible or otherwise unattractive for drilling, then the BHA, including the drill bit, may be steered in another direction. An example of a steerable BHA assembly is Halliburton's GeoPilot system. Such directional drilling is intended to steer the BHA into the highest pressure portions of the reservoir, maintain the BHA in the same pressure zone, or avoid a decreased pressure zone. Again, petrophysical data, such as those formation properties previously mentioned, may also be used to more accurately steer the BHA.
The bubble point, as previously defined, can be a beneficial real time measurement. Measuring changes in the bubble point of formation fluids with depth of the formation tester tool in the wellbore allows a bubble point gradient to be determined. Plotting the bubble point gradient generally allows transitions back and forth between gas, water and oil and to be observed, or identification of a zone that is not connected to another zone based on downhole pressure measurements. The bubble point gradient may be used to steer the BHA. Steering downward toward denser fluids is desirable, as the lighter fluids, i.e., the ones having higher bubble points due to retaining more dissolved gases, tend to move upward. Therefore, as fluids with lower bubble points are encountered, the BHA is steered toward these fluids.
The bubble point gradient, as well as other gradients, may be computed on the fly as bubble points and pressure measurements are taken at different depths during the same trip into the borehole. The data is sent to the surface real time for the gradients to be calculated and used.
As described above, pressure while drilling, taken in the annulus, and actual formation pressure are two distinct measurements. With the ability to obtain actual formation pressure, these two measurements may be combined and interpreted for flags, or warnings, and the flags may then be sent to the surface. Prior to the advent of FTWD, these measurements had to combined and interpreted at the surface because actual formation pressure could only be obtained after drilling had stopped. Therefore, the warning could only be determined after the fact. The types of flags that may be sent to the surface include the annulus pressure being below the formation pressure and the annulus pressure being above the fracture gradient.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. While the preferred embodiment of the invention and its method of use have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and teachings of the invention. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only, and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the invention and apparatus and methods disclosed herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited by the description set out above, but is only limited by the claims which follow, that scope including all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.
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This application relates to various methods and apparatus for rapidly obtaining accurate formation property data from a drilled earthen borehole. Quickly obtaining accurate formation property data, including formation fluid pressure, is vital to beneficially describing the various formations being intersected. For example, methods are disclosed for collecting numerous property values with a minimum of downhole tools, correcting and calibrating downhole measurements and sensors, and developing complete formation predictors and models by acquiring a diverse set of direct formation measurements, such as formation fluid pressure and temperature. Also disclosed are various methods of using of accurately and quickly obtained formation property data.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application which claims benefit under 35 USC §120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/790076 filed May 28, 2010, entitled “ENHANCED SMEAR EFFECT FRACTURE PLUGGING PROCESS FOR DRILLING SYSTEMS,” and to PCT Application Ser. No. PCT/US2010/036649 filed May 28, 2010, entitled “ENHANCED SMEAR EFFECT FRACTURE PLUGGING PROCESS FOR DRILLING SYSTEMS,” which designates the United States, both incorporated herein in their entirety; both of which in turn claim benefit to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/182,499 filed May 29, 2009, entitled “ENHANCED SMEAR EFFECT FRACTURE PLUGGING PROCESS FOR DRILLING SYSTEMS” which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] None
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] This invention relates to drilling wells for producing fluids such as oil and gas and particularly to drilling wells where fracturing and lost circulation is a concern.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In the process of drilling oil and gas wells, drilling mud is injected into the center of the drill string to flow down to the drillbit and back up to the surface in the annulus between the outside of the wellbore and drillstring to carry the drill cuttings away from the bottom of the wellbore and out of the hole. The drilling mud is also used to prevent blowouts or kicks when the borehole is kept substantially full of drilling mud by maintaining head pressure on the formations being penetrated by the drillbit. A blowout or kick occurs when high pressure fluids such as oil and gas in downhole formations are released into the wellbore and rise rapidly to the surface. At the surface these fluids can potential release considerable energy that is hazardous to people and equipment. The drilling muds used for drilling oil and gas wells have been developed with weighting (densifying) agents to provide sufficient head pressure to prevent the initial release of high pressure fluids and gases from the formation. However, density alone does not solve the problem as the drilling mud may drain into one or more formations downhole lowering the volume of drilling mud in the hole and, thus, head pressure for the wellbore. The situation where drilling mud is draining into one or more formations is called “lost circulation.”
[0005] Lost circulation and stuck pipe are two of the most costly problems faced while drilling oil and gas wells. To reduce the likelihood of lost circulation, particles of “lost circulation material” (commonly called “LCM”) are added to drilling muds to plug the formations into which the drilling mud is being lost. It is a simple and elegant solution in that the particles flow toward the leaking formation carried by the drilling mud and then collect in the leaking formation at the side of the wellbore. Eventually, however, when losses of drilling fluid become excessive, it is necessary to stop drilling and install a string of casing to seal off the portion of the existing wellbore so that drilling may re-commence at the bottom of the casing string. Installing casing or liner creates substantial costs as drilling is suspended while the casing is installed and cemented. Expenses for installing casing string are only part of the cost as the day rates for the drilling rig and personnel continue while further progress on drilling stops.
[0006] It should also be noted that the interior dimension of the hole is reduced as each successive string of casing is added to the borehole. It is common to require a minimum diameter within the casing at the target zone in order to produce hydrocarbons that may be present when considering the space needed for tubing, valves, pumps and other equipment. Thus, the borehole is initially drilled substantially oversized anticipating successively smaller wellbore dimensions with each string of casing. It is also incumbent on the drilling crew to reach milestones before a new string of casing is installed so as to preserve final interior dimension of the casing.
[0007] A drilling stabilizer and/or drill collar may be used in the bottom hole assembly (BHA) of a drill string. Drilling stabilizers mechanically stabilize the BHA in the borehole in order to avoid unintentional sidetracking, vibrations, and to ensure other drillstring components do not contact the wellbore wall. Drilling stabilizers are composed of a hollow cylindrical body and stabilizing blades, both made of high-strength steel. The blades can be either straight or spiraled, and may be hardfaced for wear resistance. Drill collars add weight to the drilling assembly to allow the bit to have greater force on the bottom of the hole. Drill collars may be slick or spiraled and are manufactured in a variety of diameters. Drill stabilizers and spiral drill collars have sharp edges that may cut or scrape the well bore, removing some of the filter cake already formed.
[0008] The second area of substantial added cost for well drilling is when a pipe gets stuck in the hole. Drillstrings, casing, and wireline logging tools may stick in the wellbore. These pipes are often stuck because permeable zones allow the differential pressure of the drilling fluid hydrostatic pressure and formation pressure to stick the drill string against the filter cake with greater force than can be applied to pull the pipe loose. Drill collars are often “stabilized”, that is, stabilizers may be installed above and below the collars to prevent them from contacting the wall and becoming differentially stuck. In addition, wellbore collapse and spalling debris including rock may also cause a pipe to get stuck, trapping the drillstring in the wellbore.
[0009] Casing drilling is an operation where the drill string is actual casing pipe instead of the normal smaller diameter drill pipe. The casing drilling process has been partially effective at reducing lost circulation and improving wellbore stability through what has been called the smear effect. The smear effect is the mechanical conditioning of the wellbore and any filter cake, reducing permeability and packing any fractures or loss zones with drilling mud and cuttings. However, casing drilling is not applicable to all wells and has not been effective at reducing these problems in all areas and for all well configurations. What is needed is a method to reduce or prevent lost circulation by smearing the wellbore without spalling or scraping.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention relates to a smear tools which are designed to press LCM, filter cake or cuttings into the fractures, voids, fissures, and vugs to plug leaks, increase wellbore strength, increase hoop stress, maintain well control and/or limit losses of the drilling fluid. The smear tools are designed to press the inside surfaces of the wellbore and not scrape or scratch the inside surface to avoid opening up any fractures, void, fissures, vugs and the like.
[0011] In one embodiment a smear tool may be 10-70 feet in length, containing either helical or straight blades manufactured as a solid or welded blade that covers up to 90 percent of the tool section. The smear tool should have an outer diameter that occupies 75 to 95% of the Nominal Hole Diameter (NHD) which may be calculated or modeled using a variety of techniques. Flow through channels, called junk slots, allow fluids, cuttings, and LCM to flow over or through the smear tool and press solid materials into the wall of the formation. The smear tool surfaces in the flow through channels are designed to capture solids against the formation wall and smear the solids with a trowel surface into the wall of the formation. Multiple smear tool designs are presented although the smear tool has four basic surfaces including a leading edge, capture surface, trowel surface, and a trailing edge.
[0012] In another embodiment, a smear tool with a smooth trowel surface smears filter cake, cuttings, or LCM into the wellbore. The smooth trowel surface has a leading edge, a capture surface, a smear surface, and a trailing edge. The smear tool may be greater than 3 meters or 10 feet in length, and the smooth trowel covers up to 95 percent of the smear tool length, said smear tool smooth trowel diameter is at least 75% of the NHD, and the smooth trowel compresses particles into the wellbore while drilling. The leading edge has a radial distance that his less than the radial distance of the trailing edge from the tool body.
[0013] In an additional embodiment, a trowel tool is provided with a smooth trowel surface attached to the tool body, where the smooth trowel surface is at least 3 meters (10 feet) in length, the smooth trowel surface covers up to 95 percent of the trowel tool length, the trowel tool diameter is at least 75% of the NHD, and the smooth trowel compresses particles into the wellbore while drilling.
[0014] Additionally, a process for drilling a wellbore includes determining a rate of progress (ROP) for a drill string, placing at least 0.5 meters of smooth trowel surface for each meter per hour of ROP, drilling a wellbore using a smooth trowel surface to increase compaction of solids into fissures and decrease lost circulation, wherein said smooth trowel surface is at least 10 feet (3 meters) in length, the smooth trowel surface covers up to 95 percent of the tool length, the tool diameter is at least 75% of the NHD, and the smooth trowel surface compresses particles into the wellbore without scraping or scratching the wellbore surface.
[0015] The smear tool may have a straight trowel or a helical trowel. The smear tool may have one, two, three, four, five, six, or more trowel surfaces distributed around the smear tool to provide a consistent smear effect. The smooth trowel surface may be greater than 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, or 90 feet (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, or 30 meters) in length. The smooth trowel surface diameter may be about 75, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, or 99 percent of the NHD. One, two, three, four, five, or more smear tools may be used in the drill string to provide a consistent smear effect across a longer portion of the drill string. A combination of an eccentric smear tool, a concentric smear tool and/or a smooth trowel tool may be used to increase contact of the smooth trowel surface with the wellbore.
[0016] In another embodiment, lost circulation material including ground nut shells; calcium carbonate; graphite; coke; carbon; sulfur; plastic; resins; sand; crushed rock; metal particles; ceramic particles; glass beads; expanded perlite particles; hard rubber compound particles; urethane particles; crushed cement; and/or crushed coal may be circulated with the smear tool and/or trowel tool to fill in pores and fissures.
[0017] Additionally, a drilling fluid may be used containing granular lost circulation material wherein the lost circulation material comprises particles for accomplishing enhanced smear fracture plugging where the lost circulation material particles have a particle size distribution from about 100 microns to about 1500 microns with substantial populations of particles throughout the entire range of the particle size distribution. The particles of the lost circulation material are also in the drilling fluid in a range from at least 0.5 pound per barrel up to 15 pounds per barrel to flow with the drilling fluid and also to form plugs at any lost circulation areas at the periphery of the wellbore and form a filter cake at such lost circulation areas and block or reduce fluid flow from the wellbore into the lost circulation areas. A drillstring is provided with at least one smear section along a portion of the perimeter of the drillstring to smear filter cakes of lost circulation material into lost circulation areas and compress the lost circulation material into more secure plugs to enhance the performance of the lost circulation material at the lost circulation areas, where the smear section has a smear surface that has an effective diameter of at least about 75% of the diameter of the wellbore and smears the walls of the wellbore as the drill string rotates. The drillstring is rotated to drill the wellbore further into the earth and turn the smear section so that the smear surface smears along the inside surface of the wellbore and especially press the lost circulation materials into a plug of more dense mass of particles and condition the lost circulation areas to reduce lost circulation, pipe sticking, and spalling.
[0018] While the first preferred range of particle size distribution for the lost circulation material is in the range from 100 microns to 1500 microns it is more preferred to have the range extend to various wider ranges where the lower end of the range is 75 microns and even as low as 50 microns. The upper end of the range may more preferably about 2000 microns, about 2500 microns, about 3000 microns, about 3500 microns and including as high as about 4000 microns. It should be noted that across the range, substantial populations of particles should present in the drilling fluid to be available for plugging lost circulation zones or areas.
[0019] In a particularly preferred arrangement the lost circulation material comprises a combination of about one third fine ground nut hulls with a d50 of about 600 microns; about one third medium ground nut hulls with a d50 of 1500 microns; and one third coarse ground calcium carbonate 250 with a d50 of 250 microns. The d50 number is the diameter of the particle that is within the range where fifty percent of the particles are smaller and fifty percent of the particles are larger.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The embodiment of the invention which uses a special smear tool instead of casing drilling techniques, together with further advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a first embodiment of a smear tool of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a top cross sectional view of the first embodiment of the smear tool inside a borehole;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of a second embodiment of a smear tool of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a top cross sectional view of the second embodiment of the smear tool inside a borehole;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of a third embodiment of a smear tool of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 6 is a top cross sectional view of the third embodiment of the smear tool inside a borehole;
[0027] FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of fourth, fifth and sixth embodiments which are similar from the front perspective of a smear tool of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 8 is a top cross sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the smear tool;
[0029] FIG. 9 is a top cross sectional view of the fifth embodiment of the smear tool;
[0030] FIG. 10 is a top cross sectional view of the sixth embodiment of the smear tool;
[0031] FIG. 11 is a front elevation view of a seventh embodiment of the smear tool;
[0032] FIG. 12 is a top view of the seventh embodiment of the smear tool;
[0033] FIG. 13 is a top view of different smear tool configurations comprising a variety of leading edge, capture surface, trowel surface, and training edge configurations;
[0034] FIG. 14 demonstrates a smear tool with two or more junk slots,
[0035] FIG. 15 is a top view of a single lobed trowel that may be either machined A or welded B to create an eccentric tool; and
[0036] FIG. 16 is a side view of A) a BHA with one or more smear tool sections and B) a detail of a smear tool section.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] Turning now to the preferred arrangement for the present invention, reference is made to the drawings to enable a more clear understanding of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the inventive features and concept 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.
[0038] As a wellbore is drilled from the surface down into the earth through many layers of rock, sand, shale, clay and other formations, many of these formations are relatively impermeable. In other words, these impermeable formations generally do not accommodate liquids or permit gas or liquids to pass through. However, there are formations that are permeable and some of these permeable formations have fluids that are under pressure. The fluids primarily include both salt and fresh water but may include oil, natural gas and mixtures of these and other fluids. Fluids that are under pressure in formations in the ground present a concern to the drilling operators in that a lot of force may be released through the penetration of such formations by the drilling equipment. In the event of an uncontrolled release of such high pressure fluids into the borehole may cause a destructive blowout.
[0039] As used herein “smear tool” refers to a tool with a flat surface that can press cuttings, debris, filter cake and LCM into the well bore. The smear tool is designed not to scrape, but to smear the mud filter cake, cuttings, and LCM into a nearly impermeable cake. A variety of smear tool designs and configurations are shown in FIGS. 1-16 .
[0040] As used herein “trowel tool” refers to a smooth surfaced tool that is either solid or hollow with ribs attached to the tool body.
[0041] As used herein “junk slot” refers to a channel in the exterior of a tool that allows mud, cuttings, and debris to flow past the tool. In some embodiments the junk slot may be a channel in other embodiments the junk slot may be a hole in the body of the tool that allows fluids and debris to flow through the tool.
[0042] As used herein “Bottom Hole Assembly” or BHA refers to the drill bit, drill collars, stabilizers, actuators, and associated equipment. The BHA may be approximately 10-100 meters in length or more and have a variety of configurations. BHA configurations may be adapted to the type of drill bit used, the well type, well size, drilling operator, and the like.
[0043] Meters, yards and feet may be used herein for distance calculations. Typically one meter is roughly three feet but for more accurate calculations 1.00 meter is equal to 3.28 feet or 1.09 yards.
[0044] As previously described, to maintain control of high pressure fluids, drilling fluids have been developed that have high density to maintain high wellbore pressure that is higher than any expected formation pressure. High density is conventionally achieved by the addition of weighting agents or densifying agents that comprise small, but very dense particles. Particle sizes of such weighting agents is typically less than 100 microns. Even without weighting agents, drilling fluids typically accumulate very small particles called drilling solids that are also about 100 microns or less, depending on the mesh size of the shaker screens. The drilling fluid accumulates particles of this size as they are believed to created as cuttings break-up or fracture and because of their small size, are not removed by mesh size of the shakers. Thus, drill cuttings larger than 100 microns are typically removed at the surface to avoid having the drilling fluid becoming overwhelmed with cuttings before being recirculated into the well.
[0045] Drilling fluids have a number of functions such as lubricating moving parts, cooling the bit and carrying drill cuttings to the surface. The maintenance of wellbore pressure is simply another important function of drilling mud or drilling fluid. However, the drilling fluid level must be closely monitored as the drillbit will encounter and create fractures, fissures and highly porous regions that will receive or adsorb the drilling fluid. Drilling fluid is continuously added to the wellbore, but in the event that fluid loss is substantially faster than the rate that the drilling fluid is added, the fluid head pressure in the wellbore reduces and the vulnerability of experiencing a kick or blowout increases. Again, drilling fluid technology has advanced to aid in managing this situation as well. In particular, modern drilling fluids include particles that collect at the fractures, fissures, vugs and porous regions to close off these openings to further fluid loss. These particles collect at these porous formations forming a plug, or filter cake where the liquid fluid has already passed out of the wellbore and into the formation.
[0046] To enhance the effectiveness of the particles in sealing these openings like porous formations and induced fractures, a combination of a drill string having certain physical characteristics along with a preferred selection of lost circulation material present in the drilling fluid has shown surprising results in maintaining the stability of the walls of the wellbore for longer periods so that the drilling of longer well sections between installation of casing strings is practical. The reduction of a single casing string is a significant financial advantage for a oil or gas well as most of the cost for casing a borehole is in the number of strings installed, not so much the depth of each casing string. In other words, there is not much additional cost in adding more length to a single casing string and a well of a certain depth is far less expensive with three casing strings versus four casing strings.
[0047] The present invention provides a means of mechanically conditioning permeable formations to reduce their permeability thereby reducing the likelihood and amount of lost circulation, reducing the likelihood of differential sticking of the drillstring to the side of the wellbore, and mechanically conditioning unstable formations to reduce the likelihood of breakout of rock (spalling) and wellbore collapse which also causes stuck pipe.
[0048] Thus, the advantage of the present invention in permitting longer and deeper drilling cycles by maintaining the integrity of the open walls of the wellbore cannot be overstated.
[0049] Focusing on the physical characteristics of the drillstring of the present invention which includes a smear section which can be directly above the BHA or one or more smear tools may be placed within the drill string to mechanically press the particles or filter cake into the openings and fissures of the wellbore. The smear tool has a diameter of at least 75 percent of the diameter of the wellbore for at least 10% of the length over at least the bottom 300 feet of the drillstring. A smear section may include casing and liner drilling, sometimes called “casing while drilling.”. The smear tool or the large diameter segments cause smearing and compression and compaction of the cake and solids into the openings and fissures in the walls of the wellbore. It is believed that this action of smearing and compression and compaction of the particles maintains the stability of the wellbore and specifically the walls for more effective maintenance of the circulation of the drilling mud. One preferred example of such a smear tool is casing or liner drilling where the drillstring is large diameter and the annular space for carrying the cuttings to the surface is “tight” in comparison to the diameter of a conventional drill string. Casing drilling is not simply the substitution of casing for drillpipe as the drillbits are different and issues with directional drilling are significant for a casing string that is much less tolerant of bending.
[0050] The preferred lost circulation material is preferably a combination of one or more certain granular materials having a preferred particle size distribution. What is believed to make an effective LCM is to have a relatively broad particle size distribution where substantial populations of particles exist throughout the entire particle size distribution. Where existing LCM's seem to fall short is that there is insufficient populations of particles at portions of the needed particle size distribution. The present invention was at least partially inspired when lost circulation problems were resolved by adding extra amounts of smaller particle size materials. Apparently, there are lost circulation zones that are not adequately plugged without particles in a broad range of sizes that are also subjected to the smearing of a smear surface. With the present invention, lower amounts of LCM may be added or maintained in the drilling fluid. It is conventional to provide LCM at ten pounds per barrel in the drilling fluid. With the present invention, LCM may be present about less than about eight pounds per barrel and may more preferably be present at less than five pounds per barrel.
[0051] The most preferred materials are selected from ground nut hulls and calcium carbonate (ground marble) and combinations thereof although other suitable known LCM material or proppant materials may be used. The suitable choices include granular materials such as ground nut shells, calcium carbonate, graphite, coke, carbon, sulfur, plastic, resins, sand, crushed rock of all types, metal particles, ceramics, glass beads, expanded perlite, hard rubber compounds, urethane, crushed cement, crushed coal, and mixtures of one or more such materials, but are not limited to these materials. The preferred LCM may be formulated into a single blended product or it can be formulated at the wellsite using a combination of products where the full spectrum of particle size distribution is provided into the drilling fluid. The particle size distribution is a particularly important aspect of the LCM such that minimal amounts (less than about 6%) are smaller than about 128 micron or 120 mesh and trace amounts are larger than 2001 microns or 5 mesh. The formulation includes at least two percent at about 120 mesh or 128 micron with an increasing population from 120 mesh to 10 mesh so that the highest population being between 36 and 10 mesh based on weight percent. This formulation having the median particle size in the range between 500 and 2000 microns
[0052] A second example of an effective combination of granular LCM's is: ⅓ (by weight) of fine ground nut hulls called “Nut Hulls Fine” in the trade (which are ground nut hulls with a d50 of about 600 microns); ⅓ (by weight) of medium ground nut hulls called “Nut Hulls Medium” in the trade (which are ground nut hulls with a d50 of about 1500 microns); and ⅓ by weight Calcium Carbonate 250 (which is ground marble with a d50 of 250 microns) or ground nut shells in the same size range.
[0053] These particle size distributions (“PSD”s) are known to be effective for certain pipe to hole diameter ratios, bit types and formations so that lower concentrations (typically measured in pounds per barrel) may be confidently used, but this invention is not limited to these exact PSD's. The key feature of this invention is that the particle size distribution is selected to be between or overlap the particle size of the drilling fluid being used (usually 0 to 100/150 microns) and the drill cuttings (usually with a d10>250 microns) being generated. For larger drill cutting sizes the PSD would have much larger particles and the concentration within any given range may be more or less than the preferred example above.
[0054] Another way of describing the preferred range of particle size distribution is that the range is from about 100 microns to about 1500 microns where substantial populations of particles throughout the range are present in the drilling fluid. It is more preferred to have the lower end of the range be about 75 or even as low as about 50 microns. The upper end of the range may be about 2000 microns, about 2500 microns, about 3000 microns, about 3500 microns and including about 4000 microns.
[0055] The concentration of the mixed, granular LCM should be about 0.5 to 15 ppb (pounds per barrel of drilling fluid). In practice, the LCM is added to the drilling fluid continuously at this concentration while drilling. The LCM particles are large enough that when the drilling fluid returns to the surface and goes over the shale shakers on the drilling rig, the LCM is removed by the shaker screens. As a result, the LCM would need to be replenished, but there may be times where the shakers might be bypassed for a short duration of drilling so that the LCM would be recycled. Also, shaker systems are available that can recycle a specific desired size range or PSD for LCM into the drilling fluid.
[0056] As described above, in some arrangements, the smear tool is actually the casing or liner pipe when drilling by a method known as casing or liner drilling. It is not always practical to drill with casing or liner pipe for various known reasons such as where the additional costs of casing drilling are not justified, or when the well is a deviated well and casing resists bending or the casing connections are too weak.
[0057] To obtain the benefits of smearing where casing or liner drilling is not suitable, several smear tools have been developed which are designed to press the special LCM, filter cake and cuttings into the fractures, voids, fissures and vugs to plug leaks, increase wellbore strength due to increased hoop stress, maintain well control and/or limit losses of the drilling fluid. The smear tools are designed to press the inside surfaces of the wellbore and not scrape or scratch the inside surface to avoid opening up any fractures, void, fissures, vugs and the like.
[0058] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a first embodiment of a smear tool is indicated by the arrow 10 . The smear tool comprises a main body 14 that may be characterized as a pipe joint or drillpipe joint that is approximately the same diameter as conventional drillpipe. While a typical length of drillpipe is 30 feet, the smear tool is shown being shorter. The length of a smear tool could be from about 5 feet long to 60 feet long. The smear tool includes external pipe threads 15 at the base and internal pipe threads 17 at the top with an axial passage 18 indicated by dashed lines. All smear tools presented herein may have any number of different threaded connection orientations, including “pin-up”, “double pin”, and “double box” or others. With the threads 15 and 17 , the smear tool may be added to a drillstring between two joints of drillpipe or other tools in the BHA and the axial passage is aligned with and approximately the same dimension as the passage through the drillpipe. Attached to the periphery of the body of the smear tool is the trowel 20 . Trowel 20 is comprised of a helical blade that wraps around the body of the smear tool 10 with a small front nose 21 and a broader trailing end 22 . The working surfaces of the trowel 20 are the leading surface 25 and the main smear surface 26 . The leading surface 25 is shaped to capture the particles P along the inside wall W of the wellbore and push the particles firmly against the wall W as the smear tool 10 rotates with the drillstring. Main smear surface 26 follows the leading surface to maintain and continue a broad pressure on the particles that form the cake. As the particles are forced into tighter proximity, the interstitial spacing between the particles is reduced and the rate at which fluids may pass through the compressed filter cake should be reduced. While the trowel 20 is not shown to have fully wrapped around the body of the smear tool 10 , an extended smear tool with one or more full wraps may easily be seen to meet the general features shown in FIG. 1 .
[0059] A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 where a smear tool is indicated by arrow 110 . The smear tool 110 is very similar to smear tool 10 except that the trowel is formed of a number of segments. Four segments are illustrated and indicated by numbers 120 A, 120 B, 120 C and 120 D. Each segment is spring mounted to accommodate deflection of each of the trowel segments by springs 129 while pins 131 help maintain alignment of the trowel segments with the body of the smear tool 110 . The purpose of allowing deflection is so that the smear tool will have less negative effect on the directional drilling aspect of a well operation. This deflection and movement of the segments may also be achieved by hydraulic pressure and pistons.
[0060] Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 where smear tool 210 is shown to have two trowels extended approximately the length of the body 214 of the tool. The trowels 220 include a contour similar to the prior embodiments to press the particles of cuttings and the filter cake into the wall of the wellbore. With two trowels 220 , it is expected that more pressure will be imposed on the filter cake. It should also be understood that three, four and more trowels could be mounted on the underlying body of the smear tool. It should also be seen that the trowels 220 are straight rather than helical which should be easier to construct.
[0061] A fourth embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 where smear tool 310 is shown with a full jacket trowel 320 . The jacket fully wraps around the body of the smear tool 310 where the diameter of the full jacket trowel 320 is only slightly less than the diameter of the drillbit. There is no leading surface, but the upper and lower edges 325 of the full jacket trowel 320 are preferably angled inwardly to give the wall of the wellbore some relief as the tool is moved up and down the hole. In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , the full jacket trowel is a solid mass attached to the body 314 . This is quite simple, but might be rather heavy.
[0062] A fifth embodiment of the smear tool 410 is shown in FIG. 9 although it would appear relatively indistinguishable from the fourth embodiment as shown in FIG. 7 . Thus, in FIG. 9 , radial ribs connect the trowel 420 to body 414 . As compared to the fourth embodiment the hollow trowel has a reduced volume of material, and the weight and perhaps the cost would be less. The embodiment in FIG. 9 is anticipated to operate in an equivalent manner to the embodiment in FIG. 8 .
[0063] In FIG. 10 , a sixth embodiment of the smear tool 510 is similar to the fifth embodiment except that the hollow trowel 520 is mounted to the body 514 by flexible ribs 529 . Thus, while the massive trowel 520 is able to contact a lot of the wall of the wellbore, there is significant flexibility for wells that are deviating where the drillpipe may be moving around within the wellbore.
[0064] In FIGS. 11 and 12 , a seventh embodiment of the smear tool 610 is shown having a large body 614 and roller trowels 620 . Three roller trowels are shown evenly spaced around the body 614 , but more or fewer roller trowels 620 could be installed. The body includes recesses to receive the roller trowels 620 and provides rotation on axes 620 a with mounts upon which the roller trowels may freely rotate as the roller trowels come into contact with the wall of the wellbore. The roller trowels 620 have a generally smooth perimeter that rolls along the inside wall of the wellbore to smear the LCM and cuttings against the wall without scarifying the wall.
[0065] These various embodiments of the smear tools would preferably be installed in a drilling assembly, preferably the bottom hole assembly to bring the smear tool as close to the bit as practical. This is desirable because the benefit of the smear tool will only occur when the smear tool reaches the formation. The farther back in the drilling assembly the smear tool is, the longer is the time before the formations are smeared and strengthened. It may be necessary to space multiple smear tools periodically in the drill string. As noted above, it is desirable that the ratio of the smear tool diameter to the wellbore diameter to be greater than 0.75.
[0066] It is also desirable that the smear tool would contact all 360 degrees of the borehole circumference at some time during one rotation. If it does not, then some of the wellbore would still be weak—unsmeared. It is desirable, but not critical, that the smear tool would not affect the directional properties of the bottom hole assembly and drilling assembly. If the smear tool is nearly full gage and rigid, it would act like a stabilizer which would impede progress for other aspects of the drilling operation.
[0067] It is also desirable that the smear tool smashes cuttings and added LCM into the wellbore wall, not just existing filter cake and mud solids. So the smear tool is designed to direct the flow of mud and cuttings between the tool and the wellbore. Smearing cuttings into the wall may be very important to plugging natural or induced fractures or vugs.
[0068] The diameter of these smear tools, for most circumstances, will preferably not be full gage. Typically the preferred diameter would range from about 75 to about 95% of the hole diameter (similar to a casing or liner outside diameter). It is recognized that in certain formations, smear tools that are very close to or at the diameter of the hole might be desirable. The ends of the smear tool may be tapered to facilitate transport down the well bore and prevent scraping at the toe and heal of the tool. The tool may also have a variety of features including different threads and locking mechanisms, recesses for fishing tools and handling, as well as channels holes for equipment, wires, hydraulics and other mechanical features.
EXAMPLE 1
Lost Circulation Material
[0069] The invention was tested in several wells in the Kuparuk and Tarn fields in Alaska and two wells in the Piceance field in western Colorado. Each well was drilled using casing drilling or sometimes called casing while drilling (CwD). The first well in the Piceance field using CwD had substantial fluid losses of 13,900 barrels and the smear effect was never realized even though several types of conventional LCMs were used. The second well in the Piceance field using CwD used the special LCM blend and had fluid losses of only 6,500 barrels, the data from this well, Table 1, illustrates the effectiveness of the LCM.
[0000]
TABLE 1
LCM reduced Loss Rate
CwD with normal
CwD with special
LCM Blend
LCM Blend
Loss Rate
>100 bph (barrels
0 bph
per hour)
Percent Returns
58%
100%
LCM Particle size
250-2000 microns
75-2000 microns
distribution
LCM
1.5 lb/bbl
2.5 lb/bbl
Concentration
[0070] The third well in the Piceance field using CwD with the special LCM blend had fluid losses of only 3,700 barrels. This is a 73% reduction in fluid loss as compared to the 13,900 barrels of fluid loss in the first well which used conventional LCM.
[0071] Another measure of the smear effect is an increase in the maximum pressure that the wellbore will tolerate before fracturing and having fluid losses. This maximum pressure is usually expressed in terms of an equivalent density in pounds per gallon and is measured by imposing pressure on a fluid column at the surface. The higher the equivalent density, the less likely the well is to have fluid losses and longer the well can be the deepened before running and cementing the casing.
[0000]
TABLE 2
LCM Density
Kuparuk Field Test
Kuparuk Field Test
Tarn Field Test
#1
#2
Initial
Final
Initial
Final
Initial
Final
before
after
before
after
before
after
special
special
special
special
special
special
LCM
LCM
LCM
LCM
LCM
LCM
Maximum
13.0
15.7
12.7
14.4
13.4
18.0
Equivalent
Density (lbs/gal)
Increase in
2.7
1.7
4.6
Maximum
Equivalent
Density (lbs/gal)
LCM Particle
75-2000
75-2000
75-1700
size distribution
microns
microns
microns
LCM
1.4 lb/bbl
3.0 lb/bbl
2.0 lb/bbl
Concentration
EXAMPLE 2
Smear Tool
[0072] The smear tool offers a unique opportunity to reduce circulation loss and continue drilling even through unconsolidated reservoirs. The smear tool is used while drilling and placed as close as possible to the BHA. With one of several unique designs shown in FIG. 13 , the smear tool is able to press cuttings, debris and (if present) lost circulation material into the wall of the formation. By pressing these materials into the wall and repeatedly smoothing the wall, hoop stress is increased and the wall is consolidated, preventing lost circulation.
[0073] The Smear Tool balances two competing interests by providing the right trowel surface without sticking to the well bore filter cake. The each smear tool design in FIG. 13 has a leading edge 721 , a capture surface 725 , a smear surface 726 also referred to as a trowel, and a trailing edge 722 designed to reduce scraping while smoothing the wellbore wall. The trowel may have straight trowels 220 that run straight along the length of the tool body as shown in FIG. 5 or helical trowels 20 that wrap around the tool body as shown in FIG. 1 . Straight trowels are beneficial because they may be easily welded to the tool body. Helical trowels although difficult to weld, may be machined into the surface of the tool. FIG. 13A demonstrates a smear tool with a well defined junk slot between the trailing edge 722 of one trowel and the leading edge 721 of the adjacent trowel. FIG. 13B is similar to 13 A with an angled junk slot and shallower leading edge 721 and a longer capture surface 725 . FIG. 13C provides a simple junk slot with a large smear surface 726 . The simple junk slot and small capture surface allow the smear tool to be machined easily and provides a large smear surface. The junk slot should be designed to accept the LCM and cuttings and press them in to the wall of the well bore. The more narrow junk slot design of FIGS. 13 A, B, and C and in FIGS. 14 A, B, C, D, and E cause an improvement in the migration of drill cuttings and added lost circulation material particles from the flowing fluid onto the capture surface and then to the smear surface due to the rotation of the drill string and centrifugal force acting on the cuttings causing them to migrate towards the counterclockwise and outward direction.
[0074] Smear tool length is determined by the rate of penetration (ROP) for the drill string. Ideally the smear tool would press the unconsolidated well bore for 30 minutes to one hour or more. Although smearing the well bore for less time is still beneficial, best results are obtained when the smear tool contacts the well bore at a specific depth for at least 45 minutes depending upon the formation type and amount of lost circulation. Longer residence time will only increase the benefit of using the smear tool by smearing additional solids into the pores and fissures of the wellbore. By multiplying the ROP in meters per hour by the minutes of residence time per hour, you obtain a rough estimate of the desired tool length in meters.
[0000] ROP(m/h)*Residence Time/60 min=Tool Length in meters
[0000] ROP may be measured in feet per hour and the length of the smear tool may be measured in feet. These values may be calculated and used interchangeably where 1 meter is equal to approximately 3 feet and feet per hour is approximately ⅓ of meters per hour. Table 3 depicts multiple ROP's and the minimum and optimum smear tool length. ROP and thus smear tool length may be affected by lithology, drilling mud, bit condition and type, as well as other factors. Since drilling will occur through a variety of lithologies, the tool length will likely be determined by looking at a variety of ROP values and identifying a tool length that will work across all ROP values.
[0000]
TABLE 3
Tool Length determined by ROP
Minimum
ROP
Length
Residence
Optimum
Residence
(meters/hour)
(meters)
Time (min)
Length (feet)
Time (hours)
3.2 m/h
1.6 m
30 min
3.2 m
1 hr
5 m/h
2.5 m
30 min
5 m
1 hr
10 m/h
5 m
30 min
10 m
1 hr
20 m/h
10 m
30 min
20 m
1 hr
25 m/h
12.5 m
30 min
25 m
1 hr
30 m/h
15 m
30 min
30 m
1 hr
[0075] As shown in Table 3, smear tool lengths may range from approximately 1.7 meters (5 feet) to over 30 meters (90 feet) dependent upon formation conditions and ROP. Although standard pipe sections range from 6.7 to 25 meters (20 to 75 ft), smear tool surface will typically be less than that of the pipe section. In some instances, pipe threading, fishing connectors, and the like must be present. In order to achieve longer smear tool lengths, two or more smear tool sections may be placed in the drill string to achieve a longer residence time. In the 30 m/h example above, the smear tool may consist of three 10 meter (30 ft) smear tools achieving a total smear tool length of about 27 to 30 meters (80 to 90 ft).
[0076] As part of a drillstring, the smear tool has limitations on the total length of the smooth trowel surface when compared to the total length of the smear tool body. Frequently drillstring tools must have threads, connectors, catches and the like at the leading and/or trailing edge to allow the tool to connect with other sections and/or be retrieved during fishing operations. Thus even though the tool body is 7 to 25 meters (20 to 75 ft), the smooth trowel surface may only be 75, 80, 83, 85, 90, 95 or 99 percent of the total tool length. When calculating residency time it is important to ensure that the smooth trowel surface has sufficient residence time to smooth the wellbore and fill any voids with material, typically 30 min, 40 min, 45 min, 50 min, 55 min, 60 min or more residence time will ensure fissures and holes are filled reducing the need to line unconsolidated sections of the well and prevent lost circulation.
EXAMPLE 3
Trowel Tool
[0077] The trowel tool offers the benefits of the smear tool but does not have channels that direct the LCM, filter cake, or cuttings to the wellbore. The trowel tool shown in FIGS. 7-10 has solid jacket 320 that fully wraps around the body of the smear tool 310 where the diameter of the full jacket trowel 320 is approximately the diameter of the drillbit or other tools on the drillstring. There is no leading surface, but the upper and lower edges 325 of the full jacket trowel 320 are preferably angled inwardly to give the wall of the wellbore some relief as the tool is moved up and down the hole. In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , the full jacket trowel is a solid mass attached to the body 314 . This is quite simple, but might be too heavy for some BHA configurations. One option is to use radial ribs as shown in FIG. 9 to connect the trowel 420 to body 414 . In FIG. 10 , the trowel 520 is mounted to the body 514 by flexible ribs 529 . Thus, while the massive trowel 520 is able to contact a lot of the wall of the wellbore while maintaining significant flexibility for wells that are deviating where the drillpipe may be moving around within the wellbore. The trowel tool may be used in conjunction with the smear tool to achieve an appropriate smear length. In other words to achieve a 20 m (60 ft) optimum smear length a 10 m (30 ft) smear tool may be used with a 10 m (30 ft) trowel tool to achieve approximately 20 m (60 ft) of smear length.
EXAMPLE 4
Drilling with a Smear Tool
[0078] In FIG. 16A , a BHA 830 contains from top to bottom, a motor 840 , an actuator 845 for directional drilling, and a drill bit 850 . This is a simplified view of a BHA which may contain additional equipment. The BHA may also be assembled without an actuator, may have an articulated drill bit, may contain a variety of stabilizer and collar assemblies, or may not have any stabilizers or collar assemblies. One or more smear tool sections, 820 A and optionally 820 B, may be placed above the BHA 830 or be incorporated into the design of the other BHA componenets in or above 830 . One or more sections of drill pipe (not shown) may be placed between the smear tool 820 A and the BHA 830 . Additionally the smear tool will have a larger diameter than the standard pipe sections. In instances where there is a change in diameter an intermediate connector may be used to reduce problems with changes in pipe diameter. If a stabilizer is used, it may hinder smear tool contact and reduce smear tool effectiveness. In order to ensure smear tool contact with the wellbore surface the smear tool should be placed away from or should be larger than any stabilizers if used in the BHA.
[0079] In FIG. 16B a smear tool section 820 is connected to an intermediate connector 860 which is connected to a smaller pipe 855 . The smear tool body 814 may be a variety of sizes dependent upon the NHD which will also affect the size of the drill pipe used 855 . Drill pipes range from 2⅜ inches to 8⅜ inches or larger. Pipe sizes continue to increase as demands for longer and larger wells continues. Typical drill pipe diameters include 2⅜″, 2⅞″, 3½″, 4″, 4½″, 5″, 5½″, 6⅝″, and 8⅜″ or 5 cm, 6 cm, 7 cm, 8 cm, 9 cm, 10 cm, 11 cm, 12 cm, 13 cm, 14 cm, 15 cm, 16 cm, 17 cm, 18 cm 19 cm, 20 cm, 21 cm, 22 cm, 23 cm, 24 cm, 25 cm as well as other sizes not listed. When an intermediate connector 860 is required, the transition from smaller pipe 855 diameter to intermediate connector 860 is preferably less than 1½″ or 3.5 cm although other custom diameter pieces may be used. In one embodiment a 6⅜″ drill pipe is connected to a 8⅜″ smear tool with a 8⅜″ connector. In instances where a much larger bit is used several intermediate connectors 860 may be used to gradually increase pipe diameter to that of the smear tool 820 . In one example a 5½″ drill pipe may be increased to 6⅝″ diameter intermediate connector which is then increased with another 8⅜″ diameter intermediate connector which may then be connected to an 8⅜″ diameter smear tool. In other embodiments a 2⅜″ diameter pipe may be connected to a 3½″ diameter intermediate connector, a 2⅞″ diameter pipe may be connected to a 4″ intermediate connector, a 4″ diameter pipe may be connected to a 5½″ intermediate connector, and the like. The use of connectors allows the smear tool to be a larger diameter. This allows the trowel to extend to 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 99 or greater percent diameter of the NHD. Table 4 provides multiple examples of NHDs, drill pipes, and smear tool diameters that will achieve a consistent smear effect.
[0000]
TABLE 4
Smear Tool Diameter
Smear
Nominal
Tool
Smear
Hole
Trowel
Tool
Intermediate
Drill
Bit
Diameter
%
Diameter
Body
Connector
Pipe
Size
(NHD)
(D T /NHD)
(D T )
Diameter
Diameter
Diameter
4″
4″
94%
3¾″
2⅜″
—
2⅜″
4.5″
4.5″
94%
4¼″
3½″
3½″
2⅜″
6″
6″
92%
5½″
4½″
4½″
3½″
7″
7″
96%
6¾″
6⅜″
5½″ &
4½″
6⅜″
8″
8″
94%
7½″
6⅜″
6⅜″
5″
9″
9″
94%
8½″
8⅜″
8⅜″
6⅜″
10″
10″
95%
9½″
8⅜″
8⅜″
6⅜″
12″
12″
75%
9″
8⅜″
8⅜″
6⅜″
12″
12″
83%
10″
8⅜″
8⅜″
6⅜″
12″
12″
92%
11″
8⅜″
8⅜″
6⅜″
[0080] Drilling is conducted according to a drilling plan that takes into consideration lithology, well design, modeling, and goals. When developing a drilling plan, the presence and length of smear tool may be considered and integrated into the drilling plan. The drillstring may include one or more sections of smear tool either adjacent or separated by one or more drill pipes. The presence and length of smear tool may be calculated from both the presence of unconsolidated portions of the formation, ROP, and ability of the smear tool to prevent loss in those sections. In areas where loss is a concern, additional measures may be taken, such as adding LCM, slowing the ROP to allow greater smear time, or a combination of slowing ROP and adding LCM. If loss is prevented, the use of the smear tool or smear tool in combination with LCM may reduce the need to add casing, delay the need to trip out and add casing immediately, or provide additional drilling time to reach a milestone where casing is scheduled.
[0081] This process may be improved by using an eccentric smear tool that encourages contact with the wellbore as shown in FIG. 15 . An eccentric smear tool would have a disproportional weight causing the tool to rotate off-balance and contact the wall each rotation. There is a range of eccentric tools, as shown in FIG. 15A a junk slot milled into the side of a solid tool would maximize the amount of smear surface 926 and force solids in the junk slot to contact the leading edge 921 and the capture surface 925 . The increased smear surface 926 would then have more contact with the wellbore leading to greater smear effect. Alternatively, as shown FIG. 15B a welded straight bar 920 would create a differential eccentric weight causing the leading edge 921 and capture surface 925 to deviate more from the center of the wellbore. Each may have benefits depending upon lithology, manufacturing costs, and wellbore properties. Additionally, these tools need not be used in isolation, an eccentric smear tool may be used with an concentric smear tool and/or smooth trowel surface to encourage greater contact for these tools. In one embodiment a smear tool with a single straight bar as shown in FIG. 15A or B may be used adjacent to a concentric smear tool as shown in FIG. 13 or 14 to obtain the benefits of the off-center wellbore contact in conjunction with a large amount of smear surface. Additionally, the above configuration may be placed adjacent to a smooth trowel tool as shown in FIGS. 7 through 12 , to finish smoothing the surface once all of the solid particles have been pressed into the wellbore wall.
[0082] The smear tool with its unique design that reduces scraping, may be used in any well type where circulation loss may be a problem. The low cost and ease of adding a smear tool to any drillstring provides a useful tool for a variety of drilling operations. The scope of protection for this invention is not limited by the description set out above, but is only limited by the claims which follow. That scope of the invention is intended to include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. Each and every claim is incorporated into the specification as an embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the claims are part of the description and are a further description and are in addition to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. 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.
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This invention relates to drilling a well, particularly an oil or gas well, where casing or liner will be installed to stabilize the wellbore. The present invention is intended to permit more drilling and longer lengths of casing or liner to be installed at one time. The present invention includes a combination of a smear tool and specially sized granular lost circulation material solids in the drilling mud which work together to close and seal leaking formations and fractures whether pre-existing or induced by drilling. By the natural collection of the inventive solids along with the conventional particles in the drilling mud to form a filter cake at the problem areas along the wall of the wellbore and the smear tool arranged to compress the filter cake into the problem areas, lost circulation is minimized Maintaining circulation naturally allows for longer drilling cycles and potentially fewer liner joints in the well. As such, larger diameter boreholes are located in the hydrocarbon bearing formation and less time is spent installing casing or liner pipe.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fluid friction clutch, and more especially to a fluid friction clutch for driving a fan in a liquid-cooled internal combustion engine wherein a viscous fluid is circulated between a reservoir and a working chamber to transmit torque between a drive disk and the clutch housing.
Clutches of this type are known, for example, from German Pat. Nos. 12 84 186 and 12 86 350 and are used preferably as cooling fan transmissions to control the temperature of the circulating cooling media in an automotive internal combustion engine. When the clutch is disengaged, all of the viscous fluid is in the reservoir, and the housing of the clutch with the fan attached thereto is entrained only as the result of bearing friction between the clutch housing and the drive shaft and friction produced by air located in the working gaps between the clutch housing and the drive disk. In the process, especially when ball bearings are used a relatively low rpm of the clutch is established, which in the case of high capacity truck cooling fans may drop to very low values, for example, 300 rpm, because of the high counter momentum. With rising temperatures of the cooling medium, the valve to the working chamber is opened by means of a suitable, thermostatically actuated servo mechanism, and the viscous fluid is forced into the working chamber as a result of the pressure prevailing in the reservoir. This pressure is a function of the output velocity of the clutch. Simultaneously, the fluid entering the working chamber is moved back into the reservoir via a baffle, so that a circulation of the fluid is obtained. The volume of the viscous fluid pumped from the working chamber is a function of the relative rpm or relative circumferential velocity between the drive disk and the clutch housing, i.e., the driving and driven rpm of the clutch.
It follows from these relationships that, in the case of a low output velocity of the clutch, the flow of the fluid into the working chamber is poor or delayed and that, while at the same time, with a correspondingly high relative velocity between the driving and driven sides of the clutch, there is a relatively rapid movement of the fluid from the working chamber. Both of these phenomena are disadvantageous, especially in the case of high viscosities of the viscous fluid, for example, in excess of 0.015 gm/sec, or 15,000 centistokes, because they may result in a delayed actuation of the clutch (starting of the fan) and thus in the overheating of the internal combustion engine. A lag in this actuation is particularly critical during the cold starting of the internal combustion engine, in view of the rapid rise in the engine output. The cold fluid is highly viscous and therefore passes through the valve orifice only with difficulty. With a fan having a large diameter and a high driving torque, lags in actuation of several minutes may occur, so that the cooling of the internal combustion engine during the rapid rise in load is no longer assured. For low output velocities of the clutch, i.e., low rpm of the fan, this results, as mentioned hereinabove, in decisive disadvantages concerning the actuation behavior of a fluid friction clutch of this type. On the other side, low output velocities are wanted, because they favor the warm up of the engine, save fuel and reduce the fan noise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved fluid friction clutch.
Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a fluid friction clutch with improved control of the behavior so that the output velocity of the clutch will rise as uniformly as possible, i.e., approximately in proportion to the rise in temperature of the cooling medium to be controlled.
Specifically, it is an object of the invention to improve the flow conditions of the viscous fluid into the working chamber and the conditions of its return flow from the working chamber during low output velocities of the clutch, in view of an improved actuating behavior of the clutch.
Still another object is to provide an improved cooling system for an automotive vehicle employing the fluid friction clutch according to the invention.
In accomplishing the foregoing objects, there has been provided in accordance with the present invention a fluid friction clutch, comprising a driven disk member; a drivable housing member surrounding the drive disk member in such a manner as to provide a working chamber therebetween for receiving a fluid capable of transmitting rotational force between the driven disk member and the housing member; a reservoir separate from the working chamber for containing the fluid; a selectively openable and closable inlet orifice providing fluid communication between the reservoir and the working chamber; a return conduit providing fluid communication between the working chamber and the reservoir; and a supplemental disk member rotatable with the driven disk member and positioned within the reservoir so as to be wetted by the fluid at least when the fluid friction clutch is at rest.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments which follows, when considered together with the attached figures of drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a clutch with a supplemental disk;
FIG. 2 is a partial radial section taken along the line II--II in FIG. 1 of a clutch with the supplemental disk;
FIG. 3 is an axial section taken along the line III--III in FIG. 2 of a clutch with the supplemental disk and baffles; and
FIG. 4 is an axial section taken along the line III-IV in FIG. 2 of a clutch with the supplemental disk and baffles.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The supplemental disk provided in accordance with the present invention which is fixedly connected with the drive shaft results in the following advantages:
Initially, the fluid pressure of the viscous fluid in the reservoir is no longer dependent solely on the output velocity of the clutch, but also on the driving rpm of the clutch through the supplemental disk. This leads, in spite of low output velocities of the clutch, to higher fluid pressures, so that the conditions of the flow through the orifice of the valve into the working chamber are improved in the sense that the working chamber is being filled in a more uniform manner. This in turn leads to a gradual increase in the output rpm of the clutch, i.e., to a rise in the output velocity which is approximately proportional to the rise in temperature of the cooling medium. A delay in the actuation of the clutch is thereby effectively prevented. Furthermore, by means of the supplemental disk designed in keeping with the invention, the fluid in the reservoir is heated by the friction between the supplemental disk and the fluid, thereby reducing its viscosity. This in turn leads to improved flow conditions for the fluid and to an improved actuating behavior as the result of the better filling of the working chamber.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the inlet orifice to the working chamber is located in the region of the external diameter D or circumferential periphery of the supplemental disk. This coordination of the supplemental disk and the inlet orifice of the valve results in a good transport effect of the supplemental disk and thus in an improved inflow behavior of the viscous fluid.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, an additional gap for the transfer of torque between the supplemental disk and the clutch housing is provided. By means of this additional gap, on the one hand, the viscous fluid in the reservoir is heated more rapidly as a result of the retained heat and thus its viscosity is reduced, and on the other hand, the so-called idle rpm of the clutch, i.e., its minimum output velocity, is increased because of the additionally transmitted torque. The higher rpm in turn again lead to improved inflow properties of the viscous fluid.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, passage orifices are provided in the supplemental disk, thereby making possible the flow of the viscous fluid from the forward side of the supplemental disk into the additional gap, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the additional gap, i.e., the transferability of the additional torque.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, grooves or blades are provided on the supplemental disk to cause efficient transport of the fluid in the lower range of output velocity, thereby again improving the inflow conditions of the viscous fluid.
According to another advantageous development of the invention, a baffle is provided in the area of the inlet orifice, to produce an acceleration of the fluid moved outwardly by the supplemental disk into the working chamber. This leads to a more rapid and uniform filling of the working chamber and thus to an improved control behavior of the clutch.
In still another advantageous embodiment of the invention, an additional baffle is provided in the vicinity of the return conduit in the reservoir. This additional baffle causes a delay in the return flow of the fluid from the working chamber. This takes place because the fluid returning through the return conduit is met by a counter flow moved by the supplemental disk as a result of the baffle, resulting in a delay of the return flow of the fluid and thus in a slower emptying of the working chamber. The delayed emptying of the working chamber in turn effects a more uniform filling thereof and thus an improved actuating behavior of the clutch.
By means of a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a trap pocket is provided on the baffle in the vicinity of the return bore, thereby further increasing the baffle or delaying effect.
Still another advantageous embodiment of the invention provides an additional bore between the reservoir and the working chamber, resulting in an additional flow of the viscous fluid, in the case of a closed valve, from the reservoir into the working chamber. This increases the idle rpm and improves the actuating behavior of the clutch.
Through a further embodiment of the invention, the effect of an additional flow of the fluid may be enhanced by the placing of a baffle or a trap pocket, respectively, in the vicinity of the additional bore.
All of the measures according to the invention result in a strengthening of the fluid flow in the lower range of the output velocity of the clutch, i.e., of the rpm of the fan, and simultaneously a braking of the return flow of the fluid, while the effect practically disappears in the upper range of the rpm of the fan, i.e., this yields a more uniform filling of the working chamber in the intermediate rpm range also, so that stable intermediate rpm operations are additionally attained. By means of the gradual rise in the output velocity of the clutch from idle running to the fully actuated rpm, delays in the actuation are eliminated and internal combustion engines equipped with a fluid friction clutch according to the invention are secured against overheating. It is also further possible, as the result of the measures according to the invention, to operate clutches of this type with a fluid of higher viscosity then heretofore, leading to the transfer of a higher torque.
Exemplary preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and shall be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates a fluid friction clutch of the type used preferentially for driving a fan for a liquid cooled internal combustion engine. Herein, the drive shaft 1 of the clutch is powered by the internal combustion engine or by one of its accessories. The drive disk 2 is fixedly connected for rotation with the drive shaft 1, the drive disk being located between the clutch housing 3 and the combination of a clutch cover 4 and a partition 7 connected with the clutch cover. On the external circumference of the clutch housing 3, a fan (not shown) may be mounted to produce a cooling flow of air for a water-containing radiator of an internal combustion engine. The central area of clutch cover 4 is enclosed by an inner cover 5 and forms a unit fixedly joined for rotation with the clutch housing 3. This unit is rotatingly mounted on the drive shaft 1 by means of a pair of ball bearings 6. In the conventional manner, working gaps 10 and 11 are located between the drive disk 2 on the one side, and the partition 7 and the clutch housing 3, on the other. Together, the working gaps form the working chamber 8 of the clutch.
Separately from the working chamber 8, a reservoir 9 is provided, which is connected with the working chamber 8 by the inlet orifice 12 and the return orifice 19 together with the return conduit 20. A viscous fluid, not numbered, is in the reservoir 9. Its fill level is indicated for a standing clutch in FIG. 1. The control of the inflow from the reservoir 9 into the working chamber 8 is effected by means of a valve lever 13, which opens and closes the inlet orifice 12 and is moved by means of a control pin 16, which is actuated by a bimetal element 17. Valve lever 13 is rotated around the bearing 14 on the inner cover 5, with the compression spring 15 acting in the direction of lifting the valve lever 13 from the inlet orifice 12.
The return flow of the viscous fluid from the working chamber 8 into the reservoir 9 is effected by means of a baffle 18 arranged in the radially outward area of the drive disc 2. The baffle moves the fluid transported by the drive disk 2 through the return orifice 19 and the return conduit 20 into the reservoir 9. When the inlet orifice 12 is open, as a result of lifting of the valve lever 13, there is a constant circulation of the viscous fluid between the working chamber 8, with its associated work gaps 10 and 11, and the reservoir 9.
The fluid friction clutch described up until this point is known with respect to its layout and mode of operation. According to the present invention, a supplemental disk 21 is arranged in the fluid reservoir 9. The disk 21 penetrates through the partition 7 and is fixedly joined for rotation with the drive shaft 1. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an additional gap 23 is located between the rear side of the supplemental disk 21 and the forward side of the partition 7, this gap being dimensioned with respect to its width so that the filling of the gap with viscous fluid effects the transmission of an additional torque between the supplemental disk 21 and the partition 7 and the housing 3, respectively. for the transfer of such a torque by means of the shear forces of a viscous fluid, known silicone oils are used, e.g., silicone oils having viscosities in the range of approximately 6,000 to 60,000 centistokes.
The function of the supplemental disk according to the invention, in combination with the fluid friction clutch, shall be described hereinafter.
As indicated in FIG. 1, viscous fluid is present in the reservoir 9 to the level shown with the clutch at rest, so that the supplemental disk 21 is immersed in the fluid and thus wetted by it. The rotating drive shaft 1 entrains the supplemental disk 21 and thus the fluid wetting it, which is urged in the outward direction by the centrifugal effect. Simultaneously, an additional torque is transmitted to the clutch housing 3 as the result of the fact that the additional gap 23 is filled with viscous fluid, so that the housing 3 is also entrained by the drive shaft 1, even though with considerable slipping. At the same time, the viscous fluid in the reservoir 9 is being heated by the friction due to the slipping and thereby loses some of its viscosity. As a result of the reduced viscosity of the fluid, its flow properties are improved so that it arrives more rapidly and uniformly in the working gaps 10 and 11 of the clutch. This assures uniform start-up of the clutch.
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show advantageous further developments of the invention, wherein identical reference numbers are used for identical parts of the clutch. FIG. 2 shows a radial section of the clutch along the line II--II in FIG. 1, wherein, however, in FIG. 1 the return conduit 20 has been placed in the plane of the drawing for the sake of improved representation. This is not true for the actual clutch, as seen in FIG. 2. To improve the inflow of viscous fluid from the reservoir 9 into the working chamber 8, a baffle 24 is provided behind the inlet orifice 12 in the direction of rotation, indicated in FIG. 2 by arrows in the clockwise direction, said baffle being visible in its axial dimension in FIG. 3. The viscous fluid transported by the supplemental disk 21 builds up in front of the baffle 24 and thus flows more rapidly through the inlet orifice 12 into the working chamber 8.
For the further improvement of the control behavior of the clutch, another baffle 25 (seen in FIGS. 2 and 3) is provided in the reservoir 9 in the vicinity of the outlet of the return conduit 20. This baffle 25 also effects a buildup of viscous fluid, because of the rotation of the supplemental disk 21, and this buildup acts against the return flow of the viscous fluid through the return conduit 20 from the working chamber 8. This measure acts to delay the rapid return flow of the fluid from the working chamber 8, so that, in the case of a low output velocity of the clutch, i.e., a high difference in rpm between the driving and driven sides of the clutch, the working chamber 8 remains adequately filled with fluid and is thus able to transmit a torque, thereby enabling the clutch to start up uniformly. In order to enhance the buildup effect in front of the baffle 25, the latter may be encompassed laterally by a plate member 26 which extends radially inwardly over a portion of the supplemental disk 21 to form a trap pocket 27.
To further improve the inflow behavior of the viscous fluid from the reservoir 9 to the working chamber 8, an additional bore 28 (FIGS. 2 and 4) is provided in the partition 7. This bore 28 yields, in cooperation with a baffle 29 arranged in its vicinity, a supplemental flow of the fluid into the working chamber 8, even when the inlet orifice 12 is closed. To increase the buildup effect of the baffle 29 in front of the additional bore 28, this baffle may also be provided with a plate member 30 extending over the supplemental disk 21 at least to a certain extent in the radially inward direction, so that in the vicinity of the additional bore 28, a trap pocket 31 is created for the fluid transported by the supplemental disk 21.
To improve the transport action of the supplemental disk 21, the latter has grooves 32 extending essentially in the radial direction, these grooves being worked into one or both of the frontal sides of the supplemental disk 21. In FIGS. 2-4, the grooves are shown on the forward side of the supplemental disk only. In place of the grooves 32 shown in the drawing, protruding blades may also be arranged on the supplemental disk 21.
Finally, in the supplemental disk 21 (as seen in FIG. 2) passage orifices 33 are arranged, which make possible passage of the fluid from the forward side 22 of the supplemental disk 21 into the rearward additional gap 23. This assures the adequate filling of the additional gap 23 with viscous fluid.
To demonstrate the operational behavior of the clutch, the different fill states of the working chamber 8 and of the reservoir 9 are shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. Thus, FIG. 1 shows the clutch at rest, wherein the level of the fluid is relatively high and the fluid fills almost entirely the lower half of the reservoir 9. The valve lever 13 closes the inlet orifice 12 in FIG. 1, and all of the fluid is being pumped from the working chamber 8 into the reservoir 9. When the engine is running, i.e., the drive shaft 1 is rotating, the clutch housing 3 is entrained as a result of the friction of the bearings 6 and the air friction in the working gaps 10 and 11. Additionally, a torque is transmitted by the additional gap 23 (i.e., between the supplemental disk 21 and the partition 7) from the drive shaft 1 to the clutch housing 3. The fluid present in the reservoir 9 is thereby distributed more rapidly over the circumference of the reservoir 9 in the form of a fluid ring, as seen in FIG. 3. In this state, the valve lever 13 closes the inlet orifice 12, and all of the fluid is in the reservoir 9, but in contrast to FIG. 1, in the form of a fluid ring stabilized by the centrifugal force. In this filling state, the clutch housing 3 and the fan attached to it run at the so-called idle rpm, wherein the radiator of the internal combustion engine does not yet require the flow of air provided by the fan. Only when the temperature of the cooling medium of the engine begins to rise and with it the cooling air coming from the radiator and impacting the bimetallic element 17, is the valve lever 13 lifted slowly from the inlet orifice 12, so that fluid may flow into the working chamber 8 as a result of the pressure prevailing in the reservoir 9. This fluid pressure is enhanced by the supplemental disk 21 provided according to the invention, and the supplemental disk 21 simultaneously reduces the viscosity of the fluid by means of the friction-generated heat. The result of both measures is an improved, i.e., more uniform, flow of the fluid into the working gaps 10 and 11 of the clutch. This insures the uniform start-up of the clutch, approximately proportional to the rise of temperature of the cooling medium of the engine and prevents the delayed actuation of the clutch. When the valve lever 13 completely opens the inlet orifice 12, i.e., during the maximum operation of the fan, the fill state of the clutch is as shown in FIG. 4.
Relatively little viscous fluid is then found in the reservoir 9, although it is again in the form of a fluid ring, while the overwhelming part of the fluid is in the working chamber 8 and the working gaps 10 and 11, while the fluid circulates in a known manner between the working chamber 8 and the reservoir 9. It is seen in FIG. 4 that, at this full load rpm of the fan, the supplemental disk 21 is no longer wetted by the fluid because its diameter is less than the diameter of reservoir 9, so that its effect is deactivated while the fan is operating within its full range of rpm. The supplemental disk thereby fulfills its function, in combination with the further embodiments in the form of baffles and additional bores, in the lower range of output velocities of the clutch and thus improves the control behavior of the clutch in this rpm range, while in the upper rpm range, the effect of the supplemental disk is neutralized.
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Disclosed is a fluid friction clutch, preferably for driving the fan in an automotive cooling system, comprising a driven disk member; a drivable housing member surrounding the driven disk member in such a manner as to provide a working chamber therebetween for receiving a fluid capable of transmitting rotational force between the driven disk member and the housing member; a reservoir separate from the working chamber for containing the fluid; a selectively openable and closable inlet orifice providing fluid communication between the reservoir and the working chamber; a return conduit providing fluid communication between the working chamber and the reservoir; and a supplemental disk member rotatable with the driven disk member and positioned within the reservoir so as to be wetted by the fluid at least when the fluid friction clutch is at rest.
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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to x-ray bone densitometers for measuring bone health and particularly to a bone densitometer providing computer assisted detection of measurement artifacts and operator errors.
[0002] X-ray bone densitometers make measurements at two x-ray energies to provide separate attenuation images of two basis materials, typically bone and soft tissue. The bone attenuation image is substantially free from attenuation caused by soft tissue allowing areal bone density (g/cm 2 ) to be accurately determined in vivo for assessments of bone strength and health. The bone attenuation image also provides improved definition of bone outlines, allowing measurements, for example, of bone morphology (e.g., vertebral height) such as may be useful for detecting crush fractures associated with osteoporosis.
[0003] In order to achieve accurate quantitative results from a bone densitometer, the patient must be properly positioned, motionless during the scan, and free from high-density materials such as pins or buttons. For proper analyses of the scanned data, the measurement regions may need to be correctly identified by the operator.
[0004] if a problem with the scan is not detected promptly, the patient may need to be recalled and scanned again, incurring additional expense and inconvenience. It is also possible that improper scanning may not be recognized at all, producing an erroneous result.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0005] The present invention provides computer-assisted densitometry in which software monitors the steps of acquiring and analyzing the data with the intent of identifying potential positioning and/or analysis errors. This computer assistance provides a backup to the operator or physician review of the measurement, advising them of a possible problem. Computer assistance together with the oversight of the physician or operator may significantly decrease errors in the acquisition and analysis of the data, and decrease errors from any other source that affects the ultimate clinical measurement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0006] [0006]FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a bone densitometer performing a posteroanterior or lateral scan of a patient with a fan beam under the control of a computer;
[0007] [0007]FIG. 2 is a geometric representation of two successive fan beams in the scanning pattern of FIG. 1 showing how height of a bone may be determined using shifts in the images produced by the divergent rays of the fan beams;
[0008] [0008]FIG. 3 is a bone image of the lumbar spine such as may be acquired from the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing its composition from scan lines obtained in the scans of FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0009] [0009]FIG. 4 is a figure similar to that of FIG. 3 showing a bone image for the proximal femur;
[0010] [0010]FIG. 5 is a plot of attenuation taken along one scan line of FIG. 3 showing an attenuation peak caused by a metallic foreign object in the proximity of the patient that creates a density artifact;
[0011] [0011]FIG. 6 is a detailed fragmentary view of the bone image of the femur per FIG. 4 showing a discontinuity caused by patient motion in a lateral direction during the scanning process;
[0012] [0012]FIG. 7 is a plot similar to FIG. 5 of a column of data from the bone image of the femur taken along line 7 - 7 of FIG. 4 showing a discontinuity in density such as may indicate patient motion in a superior-inferior direction;
[0013] [0013]FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the process of correlating a template with a bone image such as that of FIG. 3 to identify proper patient positioning and proper location of the scan area as well as positioning of various regions of interest used in other measurements of the image;
[0014] [0014]FIG. 9 is a simplified lateral view of a spine showing curvature away from the surface of the table such as creates magnification artifacts that may affect density measurements. This lateral view is positioned over a graph of vertebral height as deduced from the fan beam parallax per FIG. 2 such as may be used to trigger an operator warning condition;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 10 is a simplified representation of a template per FIG. 8 having predefined regions of interest at the proximal femur that may be used to analyze the quality of the acquired data;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 11 is a graphical representation of the bone image of lumbar vertebrae such as may be displayed to the operator to allow positioning of intervertebral fiducial points for the segmentation of the vertebral bodies to determine bone density The graphical representation is positioned next to a plot of bone density along the centerline of the vertebrae whose minimums can be used to analyze operator located intervertebral points;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 12 is a histogram of density values used to determine the threshold for defining intervertebral spaces in FIG. 11;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 13 is a sample operator screen showing indications to the operator of possible errors; and
[0019] [0019]FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing various stages of the computer assistance envisioned by the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 1, a bone densitometer, 10 , includes a patient table, 12 , providing a horizontal surface for supporting a patient in supine or lateral position along a longitudinal axis 16 .
[0021] A C-arm 18 , has a lower end positioned beneath the patient table 12 to support an x-ray source 20 and an upper end positioned above the patient table 12 supporting an x-ray detector 22 . The x-ray source 20 and x-ray detector 22 may be moved in a raster pattern 25 so as to trace a series of transverse scans 33 of the patient during which dual energy x-ray data are collected by the x-ray detector 22 . This raster motion is produced by actuators under control of a translation controller 19 according to methods well understood in the art.
[0022] In the preferred embodiment, the x-ray source 20 provides two x-ray energies and the x-ray detector 22 is a multi-element CZT detector providing for energy discrimination. However, other methods of dual energy measurement including those providing for rotating filter wheels or variations in x-ray tube voltage may also be used.
[0023] The x-ray source 20 produces a fan beam 24 whose plane is parallel to the longitudinal axis 16 . The raster pattern 25 is adjusted so that there is a slight overlap between successive scan lines of the fan beam 24 as will be described below.
[0024] The x-ray source 20 , x-ray detector 22 , and translation controller 19 communicate with and are under the control of computer 26 which may include both dedicated circuitry and one or more processors having the ability to execute a stored program portions of which will be described in detail below. The computer 26 communicates with a terminal 28 including a display 30 and a keyboard 31 and a cursor control device such as a mouse 35 allowing for operator input and the output of text and images to the operator as is well understood in the art.
[0025] In operating the bone densitometer 10 , the computer 26 will communicate with the translation controller 19 to scan a region of the patient in one or more transverse scans 33 during which a number of scan lines 34 of data will be collected, each with a different ray of the fan beam 24 . These data will include attenuation measurements at two distinct energy levels.
[0026] At each data point, the two measurements may be combined to produce separate bone and soft tissue images. Referring now to FIG. 3, a bone image 32 associated with a scan of the lower lumbar vertebrae may be composed of data of a variety of scan lines 34 associated with each of the rays detected by the x-ray detector 22 . Bone density of other skeletal sites (for example the femur or the forearm) also may be measured. The measurements of each scan line produce a row of pixels 36 representing an areal bone density along the ray line of that measurement. The bone density may be mapped to a gray scale to present the bone image 32 on the terminal 28 to the operator.
[0027] In a typical study, images of one or both of two areas are obtained, of a scan area 37 of the lower lumbar spine 89 producing bone image 32 , or of scan area 38 of either proximal femur 87 producing bone image 40 shown in FIG. 4.
[0028] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 14, the present invention provides a program executable by the computer 26 that assists the operator in ensuring high quality and accurate scans are obtained. At process block 42 and 44 the operator inputs, through a terminal 28 , patient information including patient age, height, weight and gender as well as the particular scan area ( 37 or 38 ) being acquired.
[0029] The patient 14 is then positioned on the patient table 12 and the C-arm 18 moved to the scan area 37 or 38 as may be appropriate for the particular scan. The operator initiates the scan through the terminal 28 as indicated by process block 46 .
[0030] The data acquired in the scan provides the first source of error, and therefore at process block 48 , the scan data is checked. This checking process can be concurrent with the scan or performed at the conclusion of the scan. Generally, if the checking is performed during the scan, the particular steps of the check will be conducted repeatedly on all the data of bone images 32 or 40 acquired up to that instant. Otherwise, if the checking is performed after the scan, it is conducted on the entire bone image 32 or 40 . Typically, when the checking is performed during the scan, it is also performed at the conclusion of the scan when a more comprehensive analysis can be performed.
[0031] The invention contemplates a number of checks of the scan data, not all of which need be performed in the invention. A first step 50 of this checking evaluates the location of the patient 14 on the table 12 . Ideally, for the scan of the lower lumbar spine 89 , the patient 14 is positioned so that the patient's spine 89 is centered on the table 12 and aligned with the longitudinal axis 16 .
[0032] This checking of the spine 89 , location can be performed in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 8, the bone image 32 or 40 is correlated with a template 52 providing a corresponding bone density image standardized to an average patient. The template 52 is mathematically shifted along the bone image 32 or 40 and the two images are correlated by a mathematical correlation process 54 that compares each pixel of the bone image 32 or 40 (B i ) with the aligned pixel of the template (T i ) over the entire image (i pixels). This process is performed by a correlator 54 realized in software on the computer 26 and is continued until the best alignment is obtained. The alignment process may include optionally not only translation laterally and in an inferior/superior direction, but also rotation and scaling to fit the template as accurately as possible to the scan data.
[0033] When maximum correlation is obtained, indicated by output 57 of the correlator 54 , the location of the patient 14 can be obtained by reviewing the template's predetermined centerline 58 to determine the location of the patient's spine 89 or femur 87 with respect to the table 12 and relative angulation of each. Per step 50 , if the angulation of the spine 89 or translation of the spine 89 or femur 87 on the table 12 , as scanned, deviates by more than a predetermined about from the centerline of the table 12 , a warning will be generated. Each such warning is provided to the operator to allow repeat of the acquisition as indicated by process branch 56 .
[0034] The location of the template may also be used to define certain regions of analysis in the underlying bone image 32 and 40 , and to determine angulation of the bones as may be used in later analysis steps to be described.
[0035] A second step 60 of checking the scan data as shown in FIG. 14, evaluates whether the bone is out of plane, that is, not parallel with the top of the patient table 12 (in the case of the spine 89 ) or the amount of angulation of the bone (in the case of the neck of the femur 87 ).
[0036] Referring to FIG. 9, the spine 89 may arc upward away from the top of the patient table 12 . Vertebrae 62 that are closer to the top of the patient table 12 and thus the x-ray source 20 , will have greater magnification in the image 64 received by the x-ray detector 22 than vertebra 62 ″, whose image 64 ″ at the x-ray detector 22 ″ will be smaller. The smaller image produces an apparent greater areal density, which may affect the integrity of the scan. Accordingly, the present invention may provide a measurement of spine height 66 as a function of longitudinal distance along the spine 89 that may be compared against a desired limit 68 and an operator warning if the spine height 66 exceeds this limit 68 .
[0037] Referring now also to FIG. 2, the spine height 66 (or the height of any bone) may be deduced in a variety of manners including through a lateral scan of the patient. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, the spine height 66 is deduced by analyzing a region of overlap 70 between two successive images obtained by fan beams 24 and 24 ″ in successive transverse scans 33 . Vertebra or other bones 72 that are further off the patient table 12 will produce more widely separated images 74 than bone 72 ′ closer to the table surface, which produce less widely separated images 74 ′. Shifting the images 74 and 74 ′ to obtain alignment in the overlap region of either bone 72 or bone 72 ′ thus provides a triangulation giving a measurement of height of the bones 72 , 72 ′.
[0038] Height determinations of this kind need only be made occasionally during the acquisition of the images 32 and 40 because of the slowly varying geometry of the bones and thus the overlap of the fan beams 24 and 24 ″ need not equal the width of the entire fan beam 24 .
[0039] Referring again to FIG. 14, the check of scan data per process block 48 may include the step 73 of evaluating whether the scan area 37 or 38 corresponds with the area of the patient 14 actually scanned. Referring again to FIG. 8, this may be done by checking the absolute magnitude of the greatest correlation between the selected template 52 and the particular bone image 32 or 40 . Failure of a threshold correlation to be achieved may indicate that the patient region that was scanned is inappropriate.
[0040] Step 75 searches for high-density artifacts caused, for example, by pins or metallic items in the patient 14 or on the patient's clothing or on surface of the table 12 , such as buttons or clips. Referring to FIG. 5, these artifacts may be identified by extremely high attenuations 71 in a given scan line 77 of a bone image 32 or globally with respect to all data of a completed bone image 32 . Additional or alternative filters may be applied to these data that evaluate not only the magnitude of the histogram but also its steepness and/or dual energy characteristics, as will be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art.
[0041] Referring again to FIG. 14, an important source of errors in the acquired data, as checked at process block 48 , may be patient motion, which may be evaluated as indicated by step 80 . Referring to FIG. 6, lateral motion of the patient will be manifest in a bone image 32 or 40 as a discontinuity 82 in the vertical edges of the imaged bone. Bone edges are readily visible in the bone images 32 and 40 and may be further identified by prelocated analysis zones imprinted on the template 52 aligned with the underlying bone image 32 . A mathematical derivative taken along the edges of the bone near the discontinuity 82 will identify the discontinuity 82 as a value exceeding a predetermined threshold, triggering a warning to the operator as well as a visual marking of the bone image 32 or 40 . Again, this process may be performed upon completion of the scan or on a line-by-line basis.
[0042] Superior-inferior patient motion, resulting in shifting a vertically oriented bone along a vertical axis, will not reveal pronounced discontinuities per FIG. 6 but will affect the density taken along the bone as shown in FIG. 7. Here, a general trend in the density as a function of distance 84 along the bone shows a discontinuity 86 at the moment of patient motion. Again, a simple differentiation process followed by a thresholding will indicate possible patient motion.
[0043] Referring again to FIGS. 14 and 4, a consideration in obtaining good scans of the femur 87 is that the neck 88 of the femur 87 be substantially horizontal so as to render an accurate bone density measurement without overlap with the pelvis or density artifacts caused by foreshortening. Angulation of the neck 88 may be determined through the height measurement technique described with respect to FIG. 2 or may be deduced by an anisotropic scaling of a template 52 during correlation that shortens its width disproportionately to its height. This checking of bone angle is indicated at step 93 .
[0044] Referring now to FIG. 10, a template 52 for the proximal femur 87 is shown such as may be scaled, as described above, to the collected bone images 32 and 40 and which has embedded analysis zone 90 and two soft tissue measurement zones 92 used to guide analysis of the bone images 32 or 40 after the template 52 is properly aligned. Using the analysis zone 90 , the neck 88 of the femur 87 may be analyzed per step 94 in FIG. 14 to see if sufficient neck area is available for accurate bone density measurement. If not, an operator warning is provided. In this case, area may be determined by a simple counting of bone in the analysis zone 90 .
[0045] Similarly, as indicated by step 96 , the availability of soft tissue zones 92 free from bone may be evaluated using the soft tissue measurement zones 92 . Suitable soft tissue is determined by counting soft tissue pixels in the soft tissue measurement zones 92 . A certain amount of soft tissue is necessary to provide an accurate reference to calibrate the bone density measurements, as is understood in the art.
[0046] Referring now to FIG. 14 and FIG. 10, a final step in the analysis of the scan data 100 investigates whether there is sufficient separation (distance 102 ) between the femur 87 and the pelvis 91 . This analysis, again, may use the correlated and scaled template 52 , to review the length of an embedded separation line 95 in the template 52 after scaling.
[0047] Referring again to FIG. 4, these measurements may alternatively be performed by fiducial points marked by the operator on the bone images 32 , as prompted by the computer 26 , or by other image recognition techniques such as, for example, those which identify fiducial points such as the lesser or greater trochanter neck and other landmark features in the particular scanned regions.
[0048] Returning to FIG. 14, once the data have been acquired at process block 46 and confirmed at process block 48 , the program may proceed to process block 107 where operator input is accepted for analysis purposes. If at process block 48 the scan data is not approved, that is it fails one or more of the steps 50 , 60 , 73 , 75 , 80 , 93 , 94 , 96 , and 100 ), the operator may nevertheless proceed to provide analysis of the data at process block 107 . The data, however, will be marked to indicate possible artifacts.
[0049] At process block 107 , the operator may provide input to allow the analysis of the data. Referring to FIGS. 14 and 11, at step 115 of FIG. 14, this operator input data may, for example, be the placement of markers 108 in the intervertebral spaces 110 between vertebrae 62 . The placement of these markers 108 may be done by manipulation of the cursor control device 35 according to techniques known in the art.
[0050] Such intervertebral markers 106 determine the measurement of vertebral height, which is necessary to compute vertebral area and determine if a particular vertebra 62 has had a crush fracture. The location by the operator of the intervertebral markers 108 may be checked by software review of the underlying data of the bone image 32 . Referring momentarily to FIG. 9, the bone density data of the bone image 32 , collected up to the time of the check, may be plotted in a histogram 112 , which may be used to make a determination of a boundary 114 between bone and soft tissue. This boundary 114 may be applied to row-averaged bone density data of the bone image 32 in the area of the spine (aligned generally along line 11 - 11 through FIG. 3) to determine points of minima 116 corresponding with the intervertebral spaces 110 . Referring also to FIG. 13, to the extent that the operator places intervertebral markers 108 ″ in locations that deviate significantly from the minima 116 , the operator will be notified in the checking process 118 shown in FIG. 14 so as to have the opportunity to re-input the data as indicated by the process path 120 . Notification may be by text messages and/or highlighting of the misplaced markers or erroneous operator data.
[0051] The operator may then proceed to calculation of diagnostic output at process block 122 , in this case measurements of bone area, bone content, bone density, and vertebral height, either after a correction of the operator input or a notation that the input was not corrected (if a correction was suggested by the program).
[0052] At succeeding block 124 , the diagnostic output (in this case vertebral height) is checked against standard output ranges as a final safety check on the data. Typically, the diagnostic output of a densitometer will be either a bone mineral density reading in grams per square centimeter or a T-score or Z-score, the former being the number of standard deviations of the diagnostic output from a reading expected of a healthy 30-year old standard woman and the latter being the number of standard deviations of the diagnostic output from an age-adjusted standard woman.
[0053] Specifically, as indicated by step 126 , the computer 26 may store an expected range of clinically experienced BMDs, T-scores, or Z-scores and compare the diagnostic output against these to flag a problem if the diagnostic output is outside of this range.
[0054] As indicated by step 128 , a similar process may be used to check diagnostic outputs of vertebral height used in assessing possible crush fractures or other morphometric aspects of the vertebra. Here, the diagnostic output may be compared against patient height or against other vertebra of the patient above and below the given vertebra or against an average of the patient's vertebrae used to define a range within which the diagnostic output reading should fall. Generally, a crush fracture will cause a deviation of vertebra height from its neighbors, but the ranges are established to embrace the normal expected deviation.
[0055] At step, 132 the report is generated which may include images marked as described above and warnings that were not corrected per branch 56 and 120 .
[0056] It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims.
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An x-ray densitometry system provides computer assistance to the operator in identifying possible sources of scanning or analysis error through computer review of the acquired data, operator input, and the ultimate diagnostic outputs.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/968,098, entitled “WCSP On-Package Substrate SM Decoupling” filed on Aug. 27, 2007 by Rajen M. Murugan, et al., commonly assigned with the invention and incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The disclosure is directed to a semiconductor device having wafer level chip scale packaging (WCSP) substrate decoupling for the mid-frequency range.
BACKGROUND
As semiconductor devices have gotten ever smaller, competing performance requirements of these devices forces semiconductor manufactures to be conflicted. On the one hand, the market demands that the semiconductor devices, such as those used in mobile communications, have increasingly faster operating speeds. On the other, however, that same market demands that these faster operating speeds be achieved with reduced power consumption. These competing design requirements have forced the industry to try to strike a balance between faster operating speeds and reduced power consumption.
In many high performance electronics devices, the printed circuit board (PCB) typically has a microchip tied into a memory chip, and when the input/output (I/O) of the memory is required to switch faster, it requires more current from the power distribution network. The faster the device switches the more current it pulls from the power distribution network, which results in noise. Moreover, increase in noise has also arisen due to layer reductions made in the package in which the microchip is encased, thereby causing routing congestion in the package. Routing congestion can cause cross-talk issues due to capacitance and inductance coupling, which adds to the noise issues within the system. Because crosstalk can generate significant unwanted noise in nearby lines, causing problems of skew, delay, logic faults, and radiated emission, the crosstalk phenomena is drawing more attention than. If this noise remains unmanaged, it can affect the I/O and functionality of the device. For example, noise can cause the devices to lose data, produce high electromagnetic interference, blow transistors, or cause complete device failure. Manufactures have managed to lower current noise level at the PCB and the high current noise within the microchip.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor device that comprises a microchip that has an outermost surface. First and second bond pads are located on the microchip and near the outermost surface. A first distribution line is located over and contacts the first bond pad, and a second distribution line is located over and contacts the second bond pad. A first under bump metal (UBM) contact is located between the first and second bond pads. The first UBM is laterally offset from the first bond pad, is located over and contacts the first distribution line, and has a first solder bump located thereon. A second UBM contact is located between the first and second bond pads and is laterally offset from the second bond pad. It is located over and contacts the second distribution line and has a second solder bump located thereon. A first capacitor contact is located between the first and second solder bumps. It is located over and contacts the first distribution line and has solder located thereon. A second capacitor contact is located between the first and second solder bumps. It is located over and contacts the second distribution line and has solder located thereon. A first end of a capacitor contacts the solder located on the first capacitor contact and a second end of the capacitor contacts the solder located on the second capacitor contact.
Another embodiment provides a semiconductor device that includes a microchip having an outermost surface. First and second bond pads are located on the microchip and near the outermost surface. The first under bump metal (UBM) contact is located on the outermost surface of the microchip and between the first and second bond pads. The first UBM contact is offset from the first bond pad. A second UBM contact is located on the outermost surface of the microchip and between the first and second bond pads. The second UBM contact is offset from the second bond pad, and a capacitor supported by the microchip is located between the first and second UBM contacts.
In another embodiment, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device. This embodiment includes providing a microchip having a first passivation layer located thereover. The microchip includes first and second bond pads located on the microchip near an outermost surface thereof, a first distribution line located over and contacting the first bond pad, a second distribution line located over and contacting the second bond pad, a first under bump metal (UBM) contact located between the first and second bond pads and laterally offset from the first bond pad and located over and contacting the first distribution line, a second UBM contact located between the first and second bond pads and laterally offset from the second bond pad and located over and contacting the second distribution line, a first capacitor contact located between the first and second UBM contacts and located over and contacting the first distribution line, a second capacitor contact located between the first capacitor contact and the second distribution line and located over and contacting the second distribution line, and a second passivation layer located over the first and second distribution lines. The method further includes forming a first solder bump on the first UBM, forming a second solder bump on the second UBM contact, placing a first end of a capacitor over the first capacitor contact and placing a second end of the capacitor over the second capacitor contact, and bringing the first and second solder bumps located on the first and second UBM contacts into contact with first and second bond pads located on a printed circuit board.
In another embodiment, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device that includes providing a microchip having first and second under bump metal (UBM) contacts located on an outer most surface of the microchip and located between first and second bond pads and having first and second capacitor contacts located between the first and second UBM contacts, placing solder on the first and second UBM contacts and the first and second capacitor contacts, placing first and second ends of a capacitor on the solder located on the first and second capacitor contacts, and bringing the solder located on the first and second UBM contacts into contact with first and second bond pads located on a printed circuit board.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The disclosure is described with reference to example embodiments and to accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a semiconductor device that can be made using the principles of the invention;
FIGS. 2-8 illustrate different stages of the fabrication of a microchip manufactured by certain embodiments of the invention; and
FIG. 9 illustrates a partial overhead view of the microchip.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a semiconductor device 100 that can be made in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, the device 100 includes a microchip 110 . As used herein, a microchip 110 , which may also be referred to as a die, is a miniaturized electronic circuit that includes transistors 115 , with overlying dielectric layers 120 that have interconnects 125 , including metal lines and vias or contact plugs formed therein. The transistors 115 may be of conventional design and include structures, such as gate electrodes, wells and source/drains. Though not shown, the semiconductor device 100 may further include memory blocks with which the microchip is associated. They may be incorporated into the microchip 110 or be electrically connected to a separate microchip. In certain embodiments, the microchip 110 may also include a high frequency filter 130 , such as a capacitor, which is schematically shown by the dashed box. In one embodiment, the filter 130 may be incorporated directly into the microchip 110 in a conventional manner. The filter 130 may be configured to filter frequencies greater than 2 GHz.
The microchip 110 has an outermost surface 135 , which is the surface over which one or more outer passivation layers may be located. The outermost surface 135 includes bond pads 140 , 145 located within the outermost surface 135 that may be of conventional design. The illustrated embodiment further includes a passivation layer 150 that is located over the outermost surface 135 . A distribution line 155 , which may be a power, ground or signal line, extends from the bond pad 140 and partially across the microchip 110 . Another distribution line 160 extends from the bond pad 145 and partially across the microchip 110 as shown. These distribution lines 155 , 160 may be of conventional design and form separate circuits within the microchip 110 .
Another passivation layer 165 that is located over the distribution lines 155 , 160 may also be included in one embodiment as shown. Located over the distribution lines 155 , 160 are under bump metal UBM contacts 170 , 175 and capacitor contacts 180 , 185 . Solder bumps 188 , 190 located on the UBM contacts 170 , 175 and solder pads 192 , 194 located on the capacitor contacts 180 , 185 may also be included in one embodiment, as illustrated.
FIG. 1 also illustrates a capacitor 196 that is located on the solder pads 192 , 194 and bridges the distribution lines 155 , 160 . The solder bumps 188 , 190 may be positioned to contact bond pads 197 of a printed circuit board (PCB) 198 . The PCB 198 may also include an associated low frequency filter 199 , schematically shown by the dashed box and that is configured to remove low frequencies of less than 200 MHz. The capacitor 196 filters out noise that occurs within the distribution layers that is not removed by filters 130 , 199 .
FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the device 100 of FIG. 1 at an earlier stage of fabrication and shows only a layer 210 and the outermost surface 135 of the microchip 110 , as mentioned above. Layer 210 may comprise a conventional dielectric material used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. The layer 210 contains at least a portion of a distribution network within the microchip 110 . Noise within the medium frequency range (200 MHz to 2 GHz) may occur within the distribution network of the microchip 110 due to increased distribution line density.
In the past, frequencies in the medium range have not been a problem because the packaging portion of the microchip 110 was a passive environment. However, package materials are now showing transmission line effects within the package that can disrupt the operational quality of the microchip 110 , with inductance being one of them. This problem has arisen because of distribution line (e.g., power and signal lines) density within the package has increased due to the reduction of the numbers of layers in which those distribution lines are formed. The increased density of the distribution lines within the package increase capacitance and inductance coupling within the microchip 110 , which results in cross talk or noise.
Present systems are ineffective in that system-level power distribution network decoupling is poor, which leads to system failure and functional issues. For example, large excessive current transient riding on the power distribution network leads to electromagnetic emission at the package/integrated circuit (IC) interface. Further, high-level coupling of noise from the power distribution network to the fast switching I/O leads to signal integrity problems, and at present, there is ineffective PCB-based decoupling capacitance in the mid-frequency ranges stated above.
The microchip 110 at this stage also includes the bond pads 140 , 145 , mentioned above. The bond pads may also be of conventional design and may comprise conductive materials, such as aluminum, copper, or a combination thereof. Though the bond pads 140 , 145 are shown formed within the layer 210 , it should be understood that in other embodiments, the bond pads 140 , 145 may also be formed on top of layer 210 . The microchip 110 of FIG. 2 may be provided by obtaining it from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the microchip 110 of FIG. 2 after the formation of the passivation layer 150 over the microchip 110 . The passivation layer 150 may be comprised of conventional materials and conventional deposition processes may be used to form the passivation layer 150 . For example, the passivation layer 150 may be comprised of an organic resin. In one embodiment, the passivation layer 150 is deposited as a continuous layer across the surface 135 and on the bond pads 140 , 145 and is patterned to expose at least a portion of the bond pads 140 , 145 , as generally shown. Though the illustrated embodiment shows the passivation layer 150 located directly on the surface 135 and the bond pads, 140 , 145 , it should be understood that in other embodiments, an intervening layer may be located between the surface 135 and the bond pads 140 , 145 . The passivation layer 150 helps to encapsulate the microchip 110 and protect it from environmental conditions and contamination. The microchip 110 of FIG. 3 may be provided by obtaining the device of FIG. 3 from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the microchip 110 of FIG. 3 after the formation of distribution lines 155 , 160 . The distribution lines 155 , 160 may be comprised of conventional materials and conventional deposition processes may be used to form them. For example, the distribution lines 155 , 160 , may be comprised of copper, aluminum or a combination of these or other conductive materials, and they may be deposited using chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, or physical vapor deposition processes. In one embodiment, the distribution lines 155 , 160 are formed by depositing a continuous layer across the microchip 110 and patterning it to form separate distribution lines 155 , 160 , as generally shown. However, unlike the passivation layer 150 , the distribution lines 155 , 160 are patterned to be in contact with the bond pads 140 , 145 . Though the illustrated embodiment shows the distribution lines 155 , 160 located directly on the passivation layer 150 , it should be understood that in other embodiments, an intervening layer may be located between the passivation layer 150 and the distribution lines 155 , 160 . One or more additional conductive layers may also be located between the bond pads 140 , 145 and the distribution lines 155 , 160 such that they are in electrical contact with the bond pads 140 , 145 . As seen in the illustrated embodiment, the distribution lines are separated and not in direct electrical contact with each other. As such, they form two separate electrical circuits with bond pad 140 and 145 , respectively. As with prior stages, the microchip 110 of FIG. 4 may be provided by obtaining it from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the microchip 110 of FIG. 4 after the formation of another passivation layer 165 . The passivation layer 165 may be comprised of conventional materials, such as an organic region, and conventional deposition processes may be used to form them. In one embodiment, the passivation layer 165 is formed by depositing a continuous layer across the microchip 110 and is patterned to expose portions of the distribution lines 155 , 160 as generally shown. Though the illustrated embodiment shows the passivation located directly on underlying layers, it should be understood that in other embodiments, an intervening layer may be located between those underlying layers and the passivation layer 165 . As with prior stages, the microchip 110 of FIG. 5 may be provided by obtaining it from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the microchip 110 of FIG. 5 after the formation of under bump metal (UBM) contacts 170 and 175 and capacitor contacts 180 , 185 . In one embodiment, these contacts may be comprised of the same type of conductive material, such as copper, aluminum, or combinations thereof. Additionally, conventional deposition processes may be used to form them. For example, these contacts may be deposited using chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, or physical vapor deposition processes. In one embodiment, these contacts are formed by depositing a continuous conductive layer across the microchip 110 and patterning it to form the contacts, 170 , 175 , 180 , and 185 , as generally shown.
The metal used to form these contacts is also deposited within the openings of the passivation layer 165 , and thus, are in respective electrical contact with the bond pads 140 , 145 . For example, UBM contact 170 and capacitor contact 180 are in electrical contact with distribution line 155 and bond pad 140 , whereas UBM contact 175 and capacitor contact 185 are in electrical contact with distribution line 160 and bond pad 145 ; thereby, forming separate electrical circuits. Though the illustrated embodiment shows contacts 170 , 175 , 180 and 185 located directly on distribution lines 155 , 160 , it should be understood that in other embodiments, an intervening conductive layer might be located between distribution lines 155 , 160 and contacts 170 , 180 and 175 , 185 , respectively. As with prior stages, the microchip 110 of FIG. 6 may be provided by obtaining it from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of the microchip 110 of FIG. 6 after the formation of UBM solder bumps 188 and 190 and capacitor contact solder bumps 192 , 194 on the UBM contacts 170 and 175 and capacitor contacts 180 , 185 , respectively. Bumps 188 , 190 and 192 , 194 may be applied at the same time or in separate steps, and thus, may be applied by separate manufacturers. The solder may comprise a conventional material and be applied using conventional processes. Since the solder is formed on UBM contacts 170 , 175 and capacitor contacts 180 , 185 , they are in respective electrical connection with distribution lines 155 , 160 and bond pads 140 , 145 . As with prior stages, the microchip 110 of FIG. 7 may be provided by obtaining it from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
FIG. 8 illustrates the device 110 of FIG. 7 after the placement of the capacitor 196 on the capacitor contacts 192 , 194 . The capacitor is positioned on the contacts 192 , 194 and is followed by a re-flow process that permanently connects the capacitor 196 to the contacts 192 , 194 . The capacitor 196 is designed to filter out medium frequencies ranging from about 200 MHz to about 2000 GHz. The capacitor 196 electrically connects the bond pad 140 , the distribution line 150 , and the solder bump 188 to the bond pad 145 , the distribution line 160 , and the solder bump 190 . Given this configuration, the capacitor 196 serves as a filter to remove noise within the medium frequency range as stated above, thereby decoupling capacitance and inductance within the device and removing cross-talk and improving the performance of the microchip 110 . As with prior stages, the microchip 110 of FIG. 8 may be provided by obtaining it from an external or internal source of the manufacturer.
Once the fabrication of the microchip of FIG. 8 is completed, it is brought into contact with the bond pads 197 of the PCB 198 , as shown in FIG. 1 and permanent connection is achieved by re-flowing the solder bumps 197 .
FIG. 9 shows a schematic overhead view of a portion of the semiconductor device 100 . As seen, the solder bumps 188 , 190 , and the capacitor 196 are connected to bond pads 140 , 145 by distribution lines 155 , 160 and metal lines 905 , 910 .
Thus, the embodiments set forth herein, provide effective capacitors that provide decoupling within the mid-frequency range at the bottom of the wafer level CSP (WCSP), more specifically in the clearance area between the solder balls, which has not been utilized previously. The reduction in leads length reduces the associated parasitics of the capacitance, in particular the effective series inductance. Moreover, the close proximity of the capacitors to the I/O provides the additional charge supply for the I/O during fast switching activity with associated memory.
Some advantages associated with the embodiments set forth herein include must lower cost than embedded passives with easily assembly. Further, it can be implemented on all WCSP designs where other solutions require capacitors located on the PCB to solve system-level problems. Additionally, because the capacitor is located on the bottom of the WCSP substrate, the mechanical and real-estate limitations associated with other solutions in not present.
Those skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates will appreciate that other and further additions, deletions, substitutions, and modifications may be made to the described example embodiments, without departing from the disclosure.
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One aspect of the invention provides a semiconductor device that includes a microchip having an outermost surface. First and second bond pads are located on the microchip and near the outermost surface. A first UBM contact is located on the outermost surface and between the first and second bond pads. The first UBM contact is offset from the first bond pad. A second UBM contact is located on the outermost surface and between the first and second bond pads. The second UBM contact is offset from the second bond pad, and a capacitor supported by the microchip is located between the first and second UBM contacts.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to crystallography, and more specifically, to an apparatus for cleaving crystalline materials.
In the semiconductor industry, a monocrystalline wafer of semiconducting or semi-insulating material is commonly used as a substrate material. Many applications, (such as laser diodes), require the fabrication of monocrystalline devices whose physical dimensions are crystallographically perfect, or nearly so. To produce devices of such precise dimension, these monocrystalline materials are often broken along preferred cleavage planes (the [110] planes in gallium arsenide, or the [111] planes in silicon, for example).
Heretofore, a typical method for cleaving wafers was to manually apply a force, concentrated either at a point or along a line, on a major surface of the wafer. This was a time consuming and imprecise operation which often resulted in inaccurate wafer breakage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus for cleaving crystalline material comprising a platform having an edge over which a workpiece projects, and a rotatable member having a scribing point and protrusion extending substantially radially therefrom, and located on a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotatable member. Upon axial rotation of the rotatable member, the arcs described by the scribing point and protrusion are substantially parallel to the platform edge, and intersect that portion of the workpiece which projects over the edge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an edge view of the preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, the basic elements of the preferred embodiment include a platform 12 to which a workpiece 14 is secured, and a rotatable member 22.
The platform 12 has at least one substantially straight edge 16, and a clamp 10 (or an equivalent means) for securing the workpiece 14 to the platform 12 such that a portion of the workpiece overhangs the platform edge 16. The workpiece 14 generally comprises a wafer of monocrystalline semiconducting or semi-insulating material of known crystallographic orientation (for example, with its major surfaces parallel to the [100] plane). The crystal should additionally be oriented such that the desired cleavage planes are essentially parallel to the platform edge 16. For example, the workpiece 14 may typically comprise a 20 mil thick wafer of gallium arsenide (of zinc blende type crystal structure) oriented such that its major surface is parallel to the [100] plane, and the [110] planes are parallel to the platform edge.
The rotatable member 22 (illustrated as a disc, although the invention is not so restricted) is rotatable about axis 26. A scribing point 18 and protrusion 20 extend substantially radially from the surface of the rotatable member 22. A knob 24, for example, is provided as a means for rotating the member 22, although it should be obvious that other manual or machine driven means for rotation are possible as well.
The rotatable member 22 is positioned such that upon rotation, the arcs described by the scribing point 18 and protrusion 20 are essentially parallel to the platform edge 16, and intersect the workpiece 14. The direction of rotation is such that the scribing point intersects the workpiece, followed by the protrusion intersecting the workpiece. In operation, the rotation of the scribing point 18 through the workpiece creates a notch on the leading edge 28 of the workpiece. As the rotation continues (in the indicated direction) the protrusion 20 contacts and applies a bending moment to the workpiece, causing a fracture to propagate from the notch through the length of the workpiece which overhangs the platform edge. Although the apparatus thus described is entirely functional, to further facilitate a predictable cleavage plane fracture, several additional features can be incorporated into the apparatus design, and are more clearly represented in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Referring to FIG. 2, a scribe 17, having the scribing point 18 on an end thereof, is spring-loaded in the rotatable member. This can be accomplished, for example, by utilizing a cylindrical scribe 17 which is slidably mounted in a hole 21 in the rotatable member, and which rests against a spiral compression spring 19 which is anchored in the hole. The spring 19 might be anchored, for example, by a screw 23 in the opposite side of the hole 21 from which the scribing point 18 extends. This spring-loading feature tends to reduce the impact force of the scribing point on the workpiece 14 and therefore creates a more precisely defined notch. Furthermore, it permits greater tolerance when aligning the rotatable member 22 with the platform/workpiece during initial setup of the apparatus.
This view further illustrates the side profile of the protrusion 20. The protrusion profile should be such that upon rotation of the member 22, the protrusion applies a force to the workpiece 14 in a gradual manner. For example, the protrusion can comprise a portion of continuously increasing radius, which leads into a portion of constant radius.
Referring to FIG. 3, an end view of the apparatus following a stroke of the rotatable member 22, is shown. It can be seen that the protrusion 20 is canted with respect to the planes of the workpiece and platform. This cant can be considered in terms of the radial distance the protrusion extends from the axis of rotation 26, as a function of the rotatable member to platform edge distance. That is, the cant is such that the minimum radius of the protrusion is at a point closest to the platform edge, and the maximum protrusion radius is at a point displaced from the platform edge. This canted profile of the protrusion 20 provides a greater bending moment to the workpiece (by first applying force at a point displaced from the notch) than would a protrusion of, for example, rectangular end profile.
Other modifications to the apparatus can be performed while still remaining within the scope of the invention. For example, an automated means for indexing the workpiece across the platform, or a more sophisticated rotation means than the illustrated knob 24, can be employed to increase the output rate of the apparatus.
The present invention thus provides an automatic and highly repeatable means for fabricating cleaved crystalline wafers of precise and accurate dimension.
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An apparatus for accurately and precisely cleaving crystalline material comprising a platform having an edge over which a workpiece projects, and a rotatable member having a scribing point and protrusion extending substantially radially therefrom. Upon rotation of the rotatable member, the arcs described by the scribing point and protrusion are substantially parallel to the platform edge, and intersect that portion of the workpiece which projects over the platform edge.
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INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-225000 filed on Aug. 1, 2002, including its specification, drawings and abstract, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus (TPV system) that generates electric power through the thermophotovoltaic energy conversion in which infrared light (also termed infrared ray or heat ray) radiated from a heat source is converted into electric power by photoelectric conversion elements (photoelectric conversion cells).
2. Description of the Related Art
In a photovoltaic generator apparatus, an emitter (radiator) is heated to radiate infrared light of a predetermined wavelength, and the infrared light is caused to strike photoelectric conversion elements, and is thereby converted into electric power. The photovoltaic generator apparatus, being free of movable portions, allows realization of a low-noise and low-vibration system.
The photovoltaic generation of power is excellent as a next-generation energy source in terms of its cleanliness, quietness, etc. To heat the emitter, various heat sources are available, for example, combustion heat, solar heat, atomic decay heat, etc. Normally, a combustion gas produced by burning a fossil fuel represented by such gas fuels as butane and the like, and such liquid fuels as kerosene and the like, is used for heating the emitter.
The thermophotovoltaic generator apparatuses require a consideration of a cooling structure for cooling the photoelectric conversion cells and recovering heat therefrom.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus that is further improved in the cooling (heat recovery) performance so as to increase the energy conversion efficiency.
In accordance with the invention, a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus includes: a burner that is supplied with a fuel and an air, and that burns the fuel; an emitter heated by a combustion heat produced by the burner; a photoelectric conversion cell that converts a radiant light from the emitter into an electric power; and a cell holder portion that holds the photoelectric conversion cell. A cooling device is provided for causing a cooling liquid to receive a heat from the photoelectric conversion cell by contacting the cooling liquid and a back surface of the cell holder portion with each other. In this apparatus, a surface of the cell holder portion that contacts the cooling liquid is a non-horizontal surface.
In the above-described thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus, the cooling liquid may include at least two kinds of liquids.
The at least two kinds of liquids may include two liquids that have a relationship in which one of the liquids has a greater specific gravity and a lower boiling point than another one of the liquids.
The thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus may further include an external circuit that accelerates circulation of the cooling liquid.
The external circuit may have a fan that improves a heat dissipation characteristic.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals are used to represent like elements and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, illustrating a state of the apparatus prior to operation;
FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along line II—II in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus of the first embodiment, illustrating a state of the apparatus during operation;
FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, illustrating a state of the apparatus prior to operation. FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along line II—II in FIG. 1 . Inside the generator apparatus, a fuel gas passageway 10 a is contained within an air passageway 10 b , and the fuel gas passageway 10 a and the air passageway 10 b form a burner 10 .
An emitter 12 is formed of a porous material of SiC or Al 2 O 3 so as to have a container-like shape. After gas exits from the burner 10 and burns, the combustion gas passes through the emitter 12 while giving heat to the emitter 12 . The gas from the emitter 12 enters a heat exchanger 16 via a path A. The air to be supplied to the burner 10 flows into the heat exchanger 16 via a path B.
The combustion gas, after being subjected to heat exchange with air in the heat exchanger 16 , is discharged out as exhaust gas via an exhaust fan 18 . The exhaust fan 18 performs the function of introducing air by sucking and discharging exhaust gas.
Heat absorbed by the emitter 12 exits in the form of light from surfaces of the emitter 12 due to radiation. The light from the emitter 12 passes through an SiO 2 glass 20 that forms a combustion chamber, and then enters photoelectric conversion cells 22 , whereby the light is converted into electricity.
In the drawings, reference numeral 24 represents a cell holder portion formed of a highly heat conductive substance such as Al or the like. Air introduced into the cell holder portion 24 via a lower portion 24 a of the cell holder portion 24 cools the photoelectric conversion cells 22 , and passes through the heat exchanger 16 as described above, and then flows into the air passageway 10 b that forms the burner 10 .
An outer shell member 28 , together with the cell holder portion 24 , defines a closed space in which a cooling liquid is contained. A cooling chamber 30 has cooling fins 32 . Vapor occurring from the cooling liquid retained between the outer shell member 28 and the cell bolder portion 24 is cooled in the cooling chamber 30 , and is returned therefrom.
A portion of the heat generated by the photoelectric conversion cells 22 is given to the aforementioned cooling liquid, and another portion is given to the air, and the rest is released outside via the outer shell member 28 . The thus-warmed air enters the heat exchanger 16 , and receives heat from the exhaust gas and is therefore heated to high temperature. The high-temperature air mixes with the fuel supplied via the fuel gas passageway 10 a . The mixture is jetted from the burner 10 and therefore burns, heating the emitter 12 . Light radiated from the emitter 12 is converted into electricity by the photoelectric conversion cells 22 .
The photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photoelectric conversion cells 22 is about 60% at the maximum. If each photoelectric conversion cells 22 has an output of 3 W/cm 2 , the cells produce substantially equal amounts of heat. Therefore, efficient recovery of the heat and return thereof to the emitter is most critical to improvement in efficiency. Furthermore, photoelectric conversion cells degrade in conversion efficiency as the temperature rises. Therefore, the cooling is important in this sense, too.
This embodiment employs as the aforementioned cooling liquid a first liquid 40 and a second liquid 42 that are retained between the outer shell member 28 and the cell holder portion 24 . For example, the first liquid 40 is “Fluorinert” (a trademark of 3M in US, which has a specific gravity of 1.7, and is water-insoluble, and has a boiling point of about 50° C.), and the second liquid 42 is water in this embodiment.
Next, the state of the thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus of the embodiment during operation will be described with reference to FIG. 3 . After the combustion for power generation starts, the Fluorinert 40 , having a comparatively low boiling point, starts boiling first. As a result, the Fluorinert 40 moves to above the water 42 , and then cools and accumulates in the cooling chamber 30 , as indicated in FIG. 3 . The accumulated Fluorinert 40 a has a greater specific gravity than water, and therefore moves toward the water 42 . However, if the water 42 has high temperature, the Fluorinert 40 a immediately boils and returns to the cooling chamber 30 . It is to be noted that heat is released via the cooling fins 32 .
A cooling water contact surface (heat transfer surface) 24 b of the cell holder portion 24 in this embodiment is an inclined surface, that is, a non-horizontal surface, as shown in FIG. 1 .
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , since the cooling water contact surface 24 b of the cell holder portion 24 is formed as an inclined or non-horizontal surface, bubbles do not attach to the cooling water contact surface 24 b.
Next, attachment of bubbles will be considered. Bubbles are likely to attach to asperities of the back surface of the cell holder portion 24 . This is a characteristic of attachment of a fluid, such as a liquid or gas, to a solid. In order to prevent or reduce this attachment, the invention simultaneously uses at least two kinds of cooling liquids.
For example, this embodiment uses the Fluorinert 40 and the water 42 . The Fluorinert 40 receives heat mainly from the water 42 , and then evaporates. As shown in FIG. 1 , the cell holder portion 24 in contact with the back side of the photoelectric conversion cells 22 is covered with the water 42 . Thus, the solid asperities of the back wall surface of the cell holder portion 24 are filled by the water 42 , so that it is unlikely that bubbles of the Fluorinert 40 will attach to the wall.
Furthermore, the Fluorinert 40 is allowed to absorb heat from the water 42 before the Fluorinert 40 reaches the cooling chamber 30 . Therefore, good heat absorption is achieved. This will be more specifically explained. The water temperature is higher in a top portion of the water than in a bottom portion thereof. Therefore, as bubbles of the Fluorinert 40 ascend, the Fluorinert bubbles continuously absorb heat.
Thus, it is important that one of the liquids have a greater specific gravity and a lower boiling point than the other liquid. That is, the liquid that mainly contacts the cell holder portion 24 is a liquid that has a higher boiling point than one of the liquids that exists at a lower site.
FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a cooling chamber 30 is connected in communication to a separate chamber 52 via a pipe 50 . The separate chamber 52 is open to the atmosphere via an opening 52 a . However, leakage from the separate chamber 52 is prevented by a labyrinth 54 .
As the boiling of the Fluorinert becomes brisk, Fluorinert gas exits from the cooling chamber 30 , and flows through the pipe 50 to the separate chamber 52 to reside therein. Since circulation occurs as indicated by arrows in FIG. 4 , the cooling efficiency improves. Thus, this embodiment is characterized in provision of an external circuit that accelerates the circulation of the cooling liquid.
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention. The third embodiment is a modification of the second embodiment. Specifically, an intermediate portion of a pipe 50 as mentioned above is provided with a fan 60 that is driven by steam of Fluorinert. In turn, the fan 60 rotates a propeller 62 .
The fan 60 and the propeller 62 thus provided absorb kinetic energy from the Fluorinert, thus improving the cooling performance. A current of air produced by the propeller 62 is sent to a major body of the thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus, thereby further improving the cooling performance. Thus, this embodiment is characterized in that an external circuit as mentioned above is equipped with a fan that enhances the heat dissipation.
According to the thermophotovoltaic generator apparatuses of the foregoing embodiments of the invention, the cooling (heat recovery) performance is further enhanced. Therefore, the apparatuses of the embodiments achieve an advantage of further improved energy conversion efficiency.
While the invention has been described with reference to what are presently considered to be preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments or constructions. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements. In addition, while the various elements of the disclosed invention are shown in various combinations and configurations, which are exemplary, other combinations and configurations, including more, less or only a single embodiment, are also within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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A thermophotovoltaic generator apparatus has: a burner that is supplied with a fuel and an air, and burns the fuel; an emitter heated by combustion heat produced by the burner; a photoelectric conversion cell that converts radiant light from the emitter into electric power; and a cell holder portion that holds the photoelectric conversion cell. A cooling device is provided for causing a cooling liquid to receive heat from the photoelectric conversion cell by contacting the cooling liquid and a back surface of the cell holder portion with each other. A surface of the cell holder portion that contacts the cooling liquid is a non-horizontal surface. The apparatus employs at least two kinds of cooling liquids.
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The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining the fractional distribution by weight of fibre specific surface, in a cellulose pulp which has undergone mechanical treatment. It relates more particularly to a specific surface fractionator for mechanical pulps.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The specific surface is a physical property of pulps which is gaining more and more attention, particularly where mechanical pulps are concerned. The property is generally connected with the degree of surface development of individual fibres resulting from beating or refining (in a refiner), hence its importance in pulps which are made by mechanical means or which, if chemically made, are subjected to beating. It is defined as the total surface per unit weight of a pulp and it can be measured, of course indirectly, e.g. by the method described in the paper by A. A. Robertson and S. G. Mason (Pulp and Paper Magazine of Canada, December 1949, p.103-110).
While the average specific surface of a mechanical pulp is of interest per se for the characterization of mechanical pulps and for the development of on-line controls in the production of such pulps, more recently attention has been directed to the fractional distribution by weight of fibre specific surface of such pulps i.e., obtained by the fractionating of such pulps into several fractions, in increasing or decreasing order of values of specific surface, and the measuring of the specific surface of the respective fractions. In co-pending United States patent application No. 747,878 filed Dec. 6, 1976, now abandoned, by the same inventors, a process is described for reducing the linting propensity of a mechanical pulp, in which process the fraction or fractions of the pulp below a certain specific surface are subjected to additional mechanical working. Knoweldge of the fractional distribution by weight of fibre specific surface in such a pulp is, of course, of great help in deciding how big a fraction of the pulp should be thus reworked.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Broadly the present invention relates to an apparatus for use in determining fractional distribution of fibres by specific surface in a sample of mechanically treated pulp, said apparatus comprising, a hydrocyclone means having an overflow outlet and an underflow outlet, at least two collecting chambers, means for agitating pulp in each of said collecting chambers, pump means to feed pulp to said hydrocyclone means, means to selectively connect said pump means with each said chamber to feed pulp from said selected chamber to said hydrocyclone means, means for selectively directing material discharged from one of said overflow and said underflow outlets to a selected one of said chambers and means for measuring the amount of pulp collected in said selected one of said chambers.
DRAWINGS
In the drawing
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a particular embodiment of the apparatus of the invention.
FIg. 2 shows a typical fractionation curve obtained by means of this.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The apparatus of the invention consists of a hydrocyclone adapted to discharge either the underflow fraction or the overflow fraction into a series of consecutive separate receptacles or a series of separate compartments of a single receptacle. By underflow fraction is understood the fraction discharged from the apex outlet of the hydrocyclone and said outlet is accordingly denoted as the underflow outlet; while by overflow fraction is understood the fraction discharged from the outlet opposite the apex and said outlet is accordingly denoted as the overflow outlet. The underflow fraction tends to be enriched in fibres of low specific surface so that a fractionation based at least in part on specific surface occurs in the hydrocyclone. Several hydrocyclones can be used, each discharging into one or more compartments but it may be preferred to use one hydrocyclone adapted to be connected or positioned to discharge pulp into the respective compartments or chambers. Each of the compartments is connected by a suitable connection line, e.g. a pipe or hose, through a pump to the inlet of the hydrocyclone, each such connection line being fitted with a valve to open or shut the flow of pulp slurry from such compartment to the hydrocyclone. In addition, each of the compartments is provided with an outlet for the removal of a sample of pulp from each such compartment. The receptacle containing the desired number of compartments, will generally be stationary, e.g. placed on a stationary support, while suitable support is provided for the movement of the hydrocyclone into selected positions to discharge at a selected compartment e.g. a frame fitted with a horizontal rail along which the hydrocyclone, fitted with a suitable bracket, can be made to slide. Alternatively, the hydrocyclone may be stationary, and the receptacle provided with means for moving relative to it or suitable piping provided to selectively connect an outlet of the hydrocyclone to the desired compartment.
Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, 1 denotes a receptacle divided into six compartments designated respectively by numbers 11 to 16. The receptacle 1 may be made of any suitable material, e.g. it may be convenient to make it in glass or transparent plastic, such as plexiglass to enable the operator to read the level of slurry in each of the compartments, but it can also be made of stainless steel or the like, with a sight-glass provided for measuring the level of slurry. Receptacle 1 is supported by support 2, and an upper frame 3 is provided with a horizontal rail 3A, along which hydrocyclone 5 is made to slide via bearings 5A. The hydrocyclone may be supported on the rail by means of a bracket fitted on the hydrocyclone and adapted to glide along the rail, or by any other means. The hydrocyclone is of conventional construction and of a suitable size for laboratory use, e.g. a 5 cm diameter hydrocyclone having an inlet diameter about 8.5 mm, an overflow outlet of 11 mm and an underflow outlet diameter selected between 8 mm and 4 mm in accordance with the fraction being processed. The inlet of the hydrocyclone is connected via line 6 and pump 7 with collector line 8 which, in turn, is connected with the individual compartments 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 by respective lines 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25, each fitted with a valve (respectively 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35) to open or shut the flow of pulp slurry through said line. Sampling outlet 9 is also connected with collector line 8 and is fitted with a valve 39 to open or shut the flow of pulp slurry therethrough. Line 8 may be slightly inclined in the direction of outlet 9 to facilitate flow by gravity. Recirculation line 17, fitted with valve 37, provides a by-pass for the slurry pumped to the inlet of the hydrocyclone. This line 17 is adapted to be selectively connecting to the compartment from which the pulp is being pumped. Gauge 29 indicates the hydrocyclone inlet pressure. Control of the pressure serves to control the volumetric flow rate through the hydrocyclone and this may be accomplished by adjusting the valve 38 in line 6 to throttle the pump 7 or by adjusting in amount of recirculation via valve in line 17 or both. The overflow outlet of the hydrocyclone is connected with line 18 for discharge of the overflow fraction into compartment 16 from where the accumulated slurry may be evacuated via outlet 19. The line 18 is adapted to be connected to discharge into the supply compartment at the beginning and end of each test as will be described hereinbelow. Air line 26, with branches leading into each of the compartments 11 to 15, (exemplified by 27 leading into compartment 11) is provided as an agitator or a mixing means to ensure uniform consistency of the slurry in each compartment, it is connected to a suitable source of air (not shown). In each compartment a yardstick or a graduated sight-glass, as the case may be, is provided permitting visual determination of the level of the slurry in each compartment; only one such yardstick, 28 in compartment 11 is shown in the drawings. However each compartment will normally be provided with one. The lines 6 and 18 which are connected with the movable hydrocyclone represent pipes or hoses which are flexible or extensible and may, e.g. be coiled or uncoiled to follow the movement of the hydrocyclone from one end of the apparatus to the other. The line 18 must also be adapted to be connected, to discharge selectively into each of the compartments in the same manner as the line 17.
Depth of each of the compartments 11 to 15 inclusive i.e., the height of the yardstick (sight-glass) 28 etc. should preferably be substantially constant and the compartments sized so that the fraction collected in these compartments when diluted to the required consistency will attain about the same level in each compartment. This results in more uniform accuracy in measuring the flow. If the height of the compartment is to be constant each of the compartments must be reduced in cross-sectional area in accordance with the percent solids i.e., fibres etc. in the feed to be accumulated in such compartment. Thus for a given installation knowing the amount of the fraction to be collected (the underflow outlet size for given operating conditions) the volume of the compartment can be calculated. The compartments 12, 13, 14 15 progressively decrease in width i.e. the spacing between the dividing walls 32, 44, 46, 48 and 50 progressively reduces. Obviously such a reduction in area could also be obtained by appropriately changing the third dimension (into the paper) to thereby change the volume of the compartments while maintaining the height substantially constant.
It is not absolutely essential that the compartments be dimensioned so that the depth of the liquid in each chamber will be substantially constant when diluted to the required consistency, however, as above indicated it is a preferred mode construction since it improves the accuracy of the equipment and facilitates operation.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows: A sample of the pulp is diluted to a selected consistency suitable for fractionating a pulp in a hydrocyclone, viz. one between 0.05 to 0.3% preferred 0.1 to 0.15% and placed in compartment 11. The level of slurry in compartment 11 is noted, the hydrocyclone is positioned above compartment 11, the lines 17 and 18 positioned to discharge into compartment 11 and pump 7 is activated. While the pump is working, valve 31 is open. When stable operation is attained the hydrocyclone is moved into position over compartment 12 and the line 18 positioned to discharge into chamber 16. The underflow fraction is collected in compartment 12, while the overlow fraction is collected in 16 and used in any suitable manner or discarded. When the required sample has been collected in compartment 12 the hydrocyclone is again positioned over, and the line 18 connected to discharge into, the compartment 11, the pump is stopped (and valve 31 closed), and the level of slurry in 11 is measured. Positioning the cyclone and line 18 to discharge into compartment 11 when the pump is stopped permits the system to drain into the sample feed. The difference in level in compartment 11, the consistency of the slurry being known or determined, gives a measure of the weight of fibre fed to the hydrocyclone. A cross-check of the weight is provided by the volumetric flow rate which, given the time of flow and the consistency, permits the determination of the weight. Valve 31 may now be opened again, at the same time as valve 39, and a sample taken from compartment 11 for a laboratory determination of specific surface. The compartments 11 and piping 8 is then washed and the valves 31 and 39 are then closed. The slurry in compartment 12 is diluted to substantially the same consistency as was previously selected in compartment 11, the level of the slurry in compartment 12 is noted, the hydrocyclone is positioned over and the line 18 is positioned to discharge into compartment 12, valve 32 is opened and the pump 7 is set in operation. After stable operation of the cyclone is attained, the cyclone is positioned to discharge into compartment 13 while line 18 is positioned to discharge to compartment 16 and a new underflow fraction is now collected in compartment 13. After the sample has been collected the cyclone and line 18 are positioned to discharge into compartment 12 again and the pump is stopped. When the pump is stopped and valve 32 closed, the level of the slurry remaining in compartment 12 is measured, and this remaining slurry may be removed by opening valves 32 and 39 as described hereinabove for chamber 11 i.e., a sample is taken for a determination of the specific surface and consistency of the slurry in compartment 12 and the piping 8 and compartment 12 are then cleared. The procedure is repeated with the hydroclone discharging into compartment 14 and 15 etc. whatever the number of compartments provided or fractionation desired. Since the specific surface, consistency and amount of sample are known the amount by weight of pulp in the underflow fraction having the specific surface measured may be determined.
The hydrocyclone separates the pulp into an overflow fraction and an underflow fraction. The relative size of the fraction, for a given pulp as is well known, is, in a hydrocyclone of given geometry (maximum diameter, cone angle etc) a function of the relative size of the openings, namely the inlet, overflow and underflow openings. When the fractionation is made on the basis of consecutive underflow franctions, it will be necessary to use decreasing underflow openings as the hydrocyclone is positioned over consecutive compartments, otherwise the underflow fraction ("reject rate") will tend towards unity i.e., 100% of the feed. The underflow opening of the hydrocyclone is reduced, e.g. by applying tips of smaller diameter or otherwise reducing the diameter of the outlet, as the hydrocyclone is moved from one compartment to the next. Theoretically, a large number of tips of decreasing size should be used but in practice a limited number of tips will be quite satisfactory for effective fractionation. For example, with a hydrocyclone of a maximum diameter of about 5 cm. a cone angle 5°, an inlet diameter of 8.5 mm. and an overflow outlet diameter 1.1 cm., a tip or underflow outlet of 8 mm. is used when the hydrocyclone is discharging to compartment 12 and 13, a diameter of 4 mm. is used for compartment 14 and 15, and so on. The selection of the size of the tips and of the number of the different tips is a function of the desired "fineness" of the breakdown, or number of fractions, and is well within the skill of the man familiar with the art. For the above specific example the volumes of the compartments 11 to 15 that were substantially filled were respectively 0.144, 0.108, 0.072, 0.036 and 0.018 cu. meters. The height of each compartment was 60 cm.
The weight of fibre in each underflow fraction being thus determined (from the level of slurry in the corresponding compartments at the measured consistency), the ratio of such weight to the weight of fibre in the initial sample is easily calculated. The specific surface of each such fraction withdrawn through outlet 9 having been determined by known laboratory methods, it is now possible to draw a cumulative distribution curve of specific surface by plotting the values of average specific surface of the underflow fractions versus the corresponding weight fraction. A representation of such a plot is shown in FIG. 2.
The above described apparatus refractionates consecutive underflow fractions, whereby the fractional distribution of fibre specific surface is obtainable. It is also apparent that with suitable modifications e.g. inversion of the hydrocyclone and connection of the underflow or apex outlet to line 18 and discharging through the overflow outlet into the selected compartments 12 to 15 inclusive (or whatever number of compartments are used) the overflow fraction could be examined in a similar manner and the cumulative distribution curve of specific surface for the overflow fraction could be obtained. It is also apparent that the tip sizes i.e., underflow outlets will be adjusted to obtain the required or desired percent by weight of overflow fraction to obtain the required fractional distribution. It has been found in operating in this manner that the consistency normally does not require adjustment since there will be only a small change in consistency between feed and collected overflow fractions.
While the average specific distribution of the overflow fractions may be obtained, it is generally the underflow fraction that is of main interest since this fraction presents the most difficulties in the operation of paper machine, particularly in relation to lint. Thus one would normally collect the underflow fraction and determine the fractional distribution by weight of fibre specific surface for the underflow fractions.
Modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as identified in the appended claims.
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A method and apparatus for determining the fractional distribution of fibers by specific surface in a sample of mechanically treated pulp comprising: a hydrocyclone, at least two collecting chambers, a pump to feed pulp to said hydrocyclone, means to selectively connect the pump inlet with each chamber and means to selectively connect one of the outlets of the hydrocyclone to a selected chamber.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of international application number PCT/EP2008/001623 filed on Feb. 29, 2008, which claims the benefit of German application number 10 2007 011 606.5 of Mar. 2, 2007, which are each incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a non-woven fiber fabric, also, in particular, in the form of a flat material or as part of a flat material, a method for its production as well as various uses of the non-woven fiber fabric.
The invention is aimed, in particular, at non-woven fiber fabrics which can be used as a biodegradable material in medicine, in particular, as implants or carrier materials for living cells (tissue engineering) but also at non-woven fiber fabrics which may be used in food technology in a variety of applications, in particular, as preliminary products for foods.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For this purpose, a new non-woven fiber fabric is suggested in accordance with the invention which contains fibers which consist of a gelatin material and have a thickness of, on average, 1 to 500 μm, wherein the non-woven fiber fabric has a plurality of areas, at which two or more fibers merge into one another without any phase boundary. The special feature of the non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention is to be seen, in particular, in the fact that the linking of the fibers in the non-woven fiber fabric can be attributed to the areas, at which two or more fibers form a point of connection, at which no phase boundaries are apparent and, therefore, material conditions which are universally the same can be observed at the points of connection.
These areas are not, therefore, formed by any adhesion or welding of fiber surfaces which are adjacent to one another but rather the special feature is to be seen in the fact that the fiber surfaces disappear when the point of connection is formed.
Particularly for the purposes of the application in medicine and, in this case, in particular, for the purposes of tissue engineering, average fiber thicknesses in the range of 3 to 200 μm, in particular, in the range of 5 to 100 μm are recommended. The preferred fiber thicknesses allow, in particular, a simple colonization of the non-woven fiber fabric with living cells for the formation of implants.
The non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention may be easily produced with the open pore structure desired for the cell colonization and offer a very large, specific surface for this purpose.
At the same time, the non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention form, when observed macroscopically, a carrier material which is beneficial for a homogenous cell distribution following the colonization. The interconnecting pore structure of the non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention, which is superior to that of porous sponge structures, is particularly advantageous for the subsequent growth of cells.
The non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention may also be achieved with a sufficient form stability which is also adequately maintained in the wetted state. This may be ensured, in particular, by an adequate number of individual fibers which have a large diameter.
The resorption of the carrier structure of the non-woven fiber fabric in the case of implants is also ensured on account of the biological tolerance of the gelatin material.
The gelatin material in the fibers is biodegradable in a simple manner and for controlling the degradation behavior of the fibers of the non-woven fiber fabric it is advantageously provided for the gelatin material of the fibers to be cross-linked at least partially. The degradation behavior may be controlled via the degree of cross-linking and also the strength of the non-woven fiber fabric influenced in a moist to completely wetted or swollen state.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gelatin material of the fibers is predominantly amorphous. This has the advantage that a gelatin material of the fibers in the amorphous state can easily be wetted. This is particularly the case when the gelatin material of the fibers is present in an amorphous state to 60% by weight or more.
This may also be expressed as initial wettability with pure water which is intended to be 1 minute or less. This specification of time is measured in accordance with the time which is required for the absorption of a drop measuring 50 μl by a non-woven fiber fabric with the weight per unit area of 150 g/m 2 . The good initial wettability is expressed, for example, by the fact that a sample of the non-woven fiber fabric placed on a surface of water will be wetted, as it were, instantaneously and by absorbing water will sink into the water.
The capillary suction effect may be used to characterize the structure of the non-woven fiber fabric, in particular, its cavity structure. In the case of preferred non-woven fiber fabrics with pure water, this should generate a height of rise of the water of 15 mm or more within 120 seconds.
In a further, preferred embodiment of the invention, the maximum water absorption capacity of the non-woven fiber fabric, which is brought about by or is co-dependent on, in particular, a swelling of the gelatin material used for the fibers, is at least four times the dry weight of the non-woven fiber fabric, i.e., preferably 4 g or more, in particular, 10 g or more per gram of non-woven fiber fabric.
Non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention preferably have a surface energy of 25 mN/m or less, in particular, 10 mN/m or less. This facilitates the initial wetting of the non-woven fiber fabric.
The tear resistance, which is preferably 0.15 N/mm 2 or more at a specific weight per unit area of the non-woven fiber fabric in the range of 140 to 180 g/m 2 in the dry state, is of particular importance for the non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention, wherein a breaking elongation in the hydrated state (state of maximum water absorption due to swelling) of the non-woven fiber fabric is, in addition, preferably 150%, in particular, 200% or more.
Such non-woven fiber fabrics are excellent to handle, in particular, in the case of medical applications in the dry state and also offer an adequate strength in the hydrated, i.e., swollen state and so they may be adapted very easily to the conditions of the body at the implant site when used as implant carrier materials. In particular, a satisfactory suturing strength is also achieved for fixing the implants.
Preferred non-woven fiber fabrics of the present invention have an open pore structure with a permeability of the non-woven fiber fabric to air of 0.5 l/min×cm 2 or more, wherein this parameter is determined in accordance with German Standard 9237. Non-woven fiber fabrics are particularly preferred, with which the gelatin material of the fibers is present in a partially cross-linked gel form, which means that the stability of the non-woven fiber fabric at the body temperature of a patient is sufficient, on account of the cross-linking, even in the swollen state, for it to be handled without the non-woven fiber fabric thereby tearing or being damaged in another way.
In this respect, those non-woven fiber fabrics are of importance, in particular, which form a closed-pore fibrous gel structure in a hydrated state. This means that the non-woven fiber fabrics, which can and should certainly have an open pore structure in the dry state, lose their open porosity on account of the considerable amounts of water absorbed by the gelatin parts and the swelling following therefrom and then form a closed-pore, fibrous gel structure. This is of particular significance when the tissue areas to be covered by an implant bleed profusely and the implant is also intended to be used at the same time as a cover for open wounds or for the purpose of stopping bleeding.
The non-woven fiber fabric of the present invention has, in particular, fibers consisting of gelatin material which are produced with a rotor spinning process and at least some of the fibers have an intertwined structure.
Preferred gelatin materials as starting materials for the production of fibers for the non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention have a gel strength of 200 Bloom or more.
Additional, preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to non-woven fiber fabrics of the type described above, with which the non-woven fiber fabric contains at least one additional type of fibers which are formed from an additional material different to the gelatin material.
Such additional materials, from which the additional type of fibers can be formed, are, in particular, chitosan, carrageenan, alginate, pectin, starch and starch derivatives, regenerated cellulose, oxidized cellulose and cellulose derivatives, such as, for example, carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC), hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), hydroxy ethyl cellulose (HEC) and methyl cellulose (MC). In addition, synthetic biocompatible polymers are suitable, such as, for example, polylactic acid and polylactate copolymers, polydihydroxysuccinic acid, polycaprolactons, polyhydroxybutanoic acid and polyethylene terephthalate. In addition, gelatin derivatives are suitable, such as, for example, gelatin terephthalate, gelatin carbamate, gelatin succinate, gelatin dodecyl succinate, gelatin acrylate (cf., for example, EP 0 633 902), as well as gelatin copolymers, such as, for example, gelatin polylactide conjugate (cf. DE 102 06 517).
The invention relates, in addition, to a flat material, containing a non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention which has already been explained in detail in the above. Such flat materials can contain one or several layers of the non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention.
The flat materials according to the invention contain a membrane extending parallel to the non-woven fiber fabric for certain application purposes.
The membrane can, in this respect, serve as a carrier layer for the non-woven fiber fabric and so very low weights per unit area can, in particular, be realized in the case of the non-woven fiber fabric.
Alternatively or in addition, the membrane can form a barrier layer which inhibits the proliferation of cells and so an undisturbed growth of the cells which are desired or have been introduced into the implant is possible, in particular, with the use as a carrier material for tissue engineering applications. In this connection, it is also advantageous when the membrane is permeable for cell nutrients.
The invention relates, in addition, to a flat material of the type described above, wherein the non-woven fiber fabric is colonized by living cells, in particular, chondrocytes or fibroblasts.
With these applications, fiber diameters of, in particular, on average 3 μm or more are used and so the cell colonization is simple to configure. In this respect, pore sizes of, on average, approximately 100 μm to approximately 200 μm are preferred.
The invention relates, in addition, to the use of the non-woven fiber fabric described above as well as the flat material likewise described above as a cell colonization material.
The invention relates, in addition, to the use of the non-woven fiber fabric described above as well as the flat material described above as a medical wound cover.
The invention relates, in addition, to the use of the non-woven fiber fabric described above as well as the flat material described above as a medical implant.
The invention relates, in addition, to the use of the non-woven fiber fabric described above as a food.
The non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention and the flat materials according to the invention can also be used for the production of depot medicines. In this respect, it may also be provided for the gelatin material of the fibers to contain a pharmaceutical substance.
Optionally, in addition or alternatively, the non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention and the flat material according to the invention can serve as a carrier for a pharmaceutical substance.
A preferred pharmaceutical substance, in particular, for the use as a material for covering wounds is the substance thrombin.
In addition or alternatively, the pharmaceutical substance can contain cell growth factors, in particular, a peptide pharmaceutical, in particular, growth modulators, such as, for example, BMP-2, BMP-6, BMP-7, TGF-β, IGF, PDGF, FGF.
The invention relates, in addition, to a method for producing non-woven fiber fabrics of the type described above, wherein the method includes the steps of:
(a) providing an aqueous spinning solution which contains a gelatin material; (b) heating the spinning solution to a spinning temperature; and (c) processing the heated spinning solution in a spinning device with a spinning rotor; (d) and, optionally, an additional treatment of the non-woven fiber fabric obtained by adding property-changing additions in a fluid or gaseous state of aggregation.
The method according to the invention operates as a rotation spinning method, with which the fibers or filaments generated by the spinning rotor are collected as non-woven fiber fabrics on a suitable collection device.
A suitable collection device is, for example, a cylinder wall which is arranged concentrically to the spinning rotor and which can, possibly, likewise be driven for rotation. A further possibility is the horizontal collection of the filaments on a base surface, for example, a perforated metal sheet which is arranged beneath the spinning rotor.
The flight time of the fibers or filaments can be predetermined via the distance between the exit openings of the spinning rotor and the collection device and this time is selected such that an adequate solidification of the spinning solution discharged in fiber form is made possible and so the fiber form is retained when impacting on the collection device.
This is aided, on the one hand, by the cooling of the fiber or filament materials during the flight time, on the other hand, by the gel formation of the gelatin and, in addition, by an evaporation of water or of the solvent.
The fibers or filaments generated by the spinning rotor may easily be collected in a state, in which points of connection between two or more fibers are formed in a plurality of areas of the non-woven fiber fabric and the fibers merge into one another at these points without any phase boundary.
In the optional additional treatment step (d), the non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention may be adapted to specific applications in a plurality of characteristics.
By cross-linking the gelatin material, the mechanical and, in particular, chemical properties can be modified. For example, the resorption properties for medical application purposes can be specified via the degree of cross-linking of the gelatin material.
The non-woven fiber fabric of the present invention, which is regularly highly flexible, may be stiffened in subsequent treatment steps, for example, in order to improve the form stability and to make the introduction into a target area easier.
The non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention may be saturated and/or coated with liquid media in subsequent treatment steps. Other biodegradable polymer materials or also wax-like materials can, in particular, be considered for this purpose.
The non-woven fiber fabrics of the present invention, with which a fiber thickness of on average from 1 to 500 μm is generated, may be generated by means of the method according to the invention and described above, in particular, in a simple manner and wherein, in addition, the areas characteristic for the invention are formed, at which two or more fibers are connected or, as it were, melt into one another without any phase boundary. A spinning solution, with which the proportion of gelatin is in the range of approximately 10 to approximately 40% by weight, is preferably used for the method according to the invention.
The gel strength of the gelatin is, in this respect, preferably approximately 120 to approximately 300 Bloom.
The spinning solution is preferably heated to a spinning temperature in the range of approximately 40° C. or more, in particular, in the range of approximately 60 to approximately 97° C. These temperatures enable, in particular, a simple formation of the characteristic areas of the non-woven fiber fabrics, at which two or more fibers are connected to or merge into one another without any phase boundaries.
The spinning solution is preferably degassed prior to the processing in step (c) and so long fibers with a very homogeneous fiber thickness are obtained in the non-woven fiber fabric.
The degassing will preferably be carried out by means of ultrasound.
Preferably, a cross-linking agent will already be added to the spinning solution to generate partially cross-linked gelatin materials in the fibers. Cross-linking may, however, also be brought about and in addition in the case of the fibers already spun by bringing them into contact with a cross-linking agent, whether gaseous or in solution.
The method according to the invention can be carried out particularly reliably when the rotor is heated to a temperature of approximately 100 to approximately 140° C. This temperature is particularly suitable for processing the aqueous spinning solutions, which contain gelatin materials, in the rotation spinning method.
A further cross-linking will preferably be carried out on the non-woven fiber fabric which is already finished and this determines the final degree of cross-linking of the gelatin material in the non-woven fiber fabric and, therefore, its biodegradability.
Various methods are available for the cross-linking, wherein enzymatic methods, the use of complexing agents or chemical methods are preferred.
In the case of the chemical cross-linking, the cross-linking will be carried out by means of one or more reactants, in particular, with aldehydes, selected from formaldehyde and dialdehydes, isocyanates, diisocyanates, carbodiimides, alkyl dihalides and hydrophilic dioxiranes and trioxiranes, such as, for example, 1.4 butanediol diglycidether and glycerin triglycidether.
It is recommended, in particular, in the case of the medical application to remove surplus cross-linking agent from the non-woven fiber fabric or the flat material following the cross-linking.
As described above, it is preferable for a cross-linking agent to already be added to the spinning solution and for a further cross-linking to then be carried out on the finished non-woven fiber fabric, so-to-speak in a second step, until the desired degree of cross-linking is reached.
The non-woven fiber fabrics of the present invention can be produced, in particular, as extremely flexible flat materials, are thereby elastic and are very easy to shape. In addition, the non-woven fiber fabrics can be regarded as structures which are completely open in comparison with sponge structures which have likewise already been used as a carrier material for tissue engineering and are likewise porous but have cell walls.
In this respect, very small filament thicknesses may be produced, in particular, with the spinning rotor spinning method suggested in accordance with the invention, wherein the gelatin need be subjected to higher temperatures during the entire spinning process only for a very short time, i.e., the temperature burden on the gelatin material can be limited to a considerable extent with respect to time and leads to fibers consisting of a gelatin material which corresponds essentially to the initial gelatin material in its molecular weight spectrum.
Non-woven fiber fabrics according to the invention can have an essentially uniform average fiber thickness.
Alternatively, non-woven fiber fabrics can, within the scope of the present invention, have a proportion of fibers, the average fiber thickness of which differentiates them from the other fibers. They can, in particular, have a larger average fiber thickness. By using two or more fiber fractions in the non-woven fiber fabric which differ as a result of their average fiber thickness, its mechanical strength values can be influenced in a targeted manner.
Alternatively or in addition, two or more layers of non-woven fiber fabric can, on the other hand, be combined to form a flat material, wherein the individual layers can have fibers of different, average fiber thicknesses. It is, of course, also possible in the case of these flat materials to use layers of non-woven fiber fabric with fibers of an essentially uniform, average fiber thickness together with layers of non-woven fiber fabric with several fiber fractions having different, average fiber thicknesses.
Non-woven fiber fabrics with fiber fractions having different, average fiber thicknesses, e.g., approximately 7 μm together with approximately 25 μm may be realized with the method according to the invention in that a spinning rotor is used, in which spinning nozzles with nozzle openings of different sizes are provided during the spinning procedure.
When the non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention is used as a carrier material for living cells, the non-woven fiber fabric has a great advantage over sponge structures or woven fabric structures in that very varied cavities are offered for the storage of the cells and so the cells can find the storage locations which are ideal for them. This already applies for non-woven fiber fabrics which have a uniform, average fiber thickness.
These and further advantages of the present invention will be explained in greater detail in the following on the basis of the drawings as well as examples.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a device for carrying out the method according to the invention;
FIGS. 2 a to c show micrographs of a non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention in different enlargements;
FIG. 3 shows a graph of height of rise/time for different materials;
FIGS. 4 a to c show a schematic illustration of a device for calculating the heights of rise illustrated in FIG. 3 ; and
FIGS. 5 a and b show tension/elongation results for conventional cell carrier materials and those according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Example 1
Production of a Non-Woven Fiber Fabric
A 20% aqueous solution of a pork rind gelatin (300 Bloom) is produced by mixing 20 g of gelatin and 80 ml of distilled water at room temperature. After the gelatin has swollen for a period of approximately 60 minutes, the solution is heated for one hour to 60° C. and subsequently degassed with ultrasound.
This solution is then processed with a spinning device 10 , as shown schematically in FIG. 1 . Spinning devices of the type described in DE 10 2005 048 939 A1 are also suitable and reference is made to the content of this publication in full.
The spinning device 10 includes a spinning rotor 12 which can be caused to rotate about a vertical axis of rotation 16 by a drive unit 14 .
The spinning rotor 12 has a container 18 for accommodating the aqueous gelatin spinning solution which can be supplied continuously during the spinning procedure from a supply channel 22 via a funnel 20 .
The container 18 has at its outer circumference a plurality of openings 24 , via which the spinning solution is discharged in a filament form due to centrifugal force.
A collection device 26 in the form of a cylinder wall is provided at a predetermined distance a from the openings 24 and collects the spinning solution shaped to form filaments or fibers. On account of the flight time predetermined via the distance a at a specific rotational speed of the spinning rotor 12 , the spinning solution forming the filaments or fibers will be solidified to such an extent that the filament form is essentially retained when impinging on the collection device 26 ; on the other hand, the areas, in which two or more fibers or filaments melt, as it were, into one another and create points of connection, at which the phase boundaries of the fiber sections abutting on one another are removed (cf., in particular, FIG. 2 b ), can still be formed.
The spinning rotor 12 together with the drive unit 14 and the collection device 26 are arranged in a housing 28 which separates a spinning chamber from the surroundings.
In the present example, the spinning rotor 12 is driven at a rotational speed of 2,000 to 3,000 U/min. The rotor 12 is heated to a temperature of 130° C. The gelatin solution is heated to 95° C. and supplied to the rotor 12 so that a continuous generation of filaments can be carried out. The filaments are collected on the collection device 26 as fleece by means of suction. The distance a is approximately 20 cm and, therefore, defines a flight time of approximately 0.01 m/sec.
The average diameter of the filaments or fibers obtained may be influenced via the size of the openings 24 of the container 18 of the spinning rotor 12 , the rotational speed of the spinning rotor 12 as well as the concentration of gelatin in the spinning solution. In the present example, the diameter of the openings 24 is approximately 0.9 mm.
In the example specified above, filaments with a filament thickness in the range of 2.5 to 14 μm (average fiber thickness 7.5 μm±2.6 μm) are obtained. An example of a non-woven fiber fabric which can be obtained with the method according to the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2 a to c in different enlargements.
The relatively loose non-woven fiber fabric as shown in FIG. 2 a can, of course, also be obtained with a higher filament or fiber density but non-woven fiber fabrics with the density as shown in FIG. 2 a can also be connected, when several are placed one on top of the other, to form a self-supporting sheet material in the form of a fleece or, however, be placed on carrier materials, such as, for example, membranes or films.
FIG. 2 b shows, in a scanning electron micrograph, the non-woven fiber fabric 30 according to the invention which can be obtained with the method according to the invention with a plurality of fibers 32 consisting of a gelatin material and, in particular, the areas 34 which distinguish the invention and in which two or more fibers 32 are connected to one another without a phase boundary.
In FIG. 2 c , the effect of the intertwining of the individual filaments 36 is made visible in a light micrograph in polarized light, wherein the intertwining sections are visualized by way of light-dark areas 38 .
Example 2
Production of a Cell Carrier Material
Predetermined pieces of material are punched from the non-woven fiber fabric obtained in Example 1 and placed in layers on top of one another until a fleece with a desired weight per unit area, for example, in the range of approximately 20 to approximately 500 g/m 2 is achieved.
In the present Example, a multi-layered fleece, formed with a weight per unit area of 150 g/m2, is produced and, subsequently, partially cross-linked with the aid of gaseous formaldehyde. The cross-linking conditions in detail were as follows:
The non-woven fiber fabric is incubated in a gas atmosphere for approximately 17 hours over a formaldehyde solution of 10% by weight. Subsequently, the non-woven fiber fabric is slow cooled in a refrigerator for 48 hours at approximately 50° C. and 70% relative humidity. The cross-linking reaction is hereby completed and the surplus amount of formaldehyde (cross-linking agent) which was not used will be removed.
Samples were punched from fleeces produced in this manner and compared in their water absorption properties as well as mechanical properties with conventional cell carrier materials in the form of porous gelatin sponges as well as a material consisting of oxidized cellulose.
The width of the sample was 1 cm each time.
FIG. 3 shows the height of rise of pure water plotted against the time for these three materials, wherein the curve designated with the letter A corresponds to the fleece according to the invention as a multi-layered non-woven fiber fabric, the curve B a conventional gelatin sponge and the curve C the conventional cellulose material which is commercially obtainable.
It is obvious from the comparison of the absorption of water over the unit of time that gelatin materials are clearly superior to the cellulose materials such as those used in sample C.
The sample of fleece from the non-woven fiber fabric according to the invention and according to curve A is, again, clearly superior to the gelatin material in a sponge form (curve B) in its water absorption capacity per unit of time, as is apparent from FIG. 3 .
The practical advantage of this speed of water absorption, which is increased considerably, is to be seen in the fact that liquids, such as, for example, blood, can be absorbed more quickly and to a greater extent and, in the case of wounds which are to be treated, this leads to an improved staunching of the bleeding.
In FIGS. 4 a to c , the principle for measuring the height of rise per unit of time is illustrated schematically. The prepared sample 40 is clamped via a holding device 42 so as to hang freely downwards and placed over a basin 44 with temperature-controlled water (25° C.). At the beginning of the measurement, the basin with the water is moved upwards to such an extent that the sample dips into the supply of water to a depth of 2 mm. Subsequently, the height of rise which is generated via capillary forces is registered as a function of time and then entered in the graph according to FIG. 3 . A measuring stick 46 applied to the sample 40 makes the reading of the height of rise easier.
Tension/elongation measurements were also carried out on the samples described above with a width of 15 mm and a thickness of approximately 1 mm, namely in the dry state ( FIG. 5 a ). Only the two samples based on gelatin were compared, i.e., on the one hand, the fleece produced in accordance with the invention and, on the other hand, the conventional sponge sample with the same dimensions.
It is apparent from FIG. 5 a that the gelatin fleece in accordance with the present invention has a considerably higher specific tensile strength in comparison with the gelatin sponge in the dry state (water content approximately 10% by weight) and, in addition, allows a considerably greater elongation in the dry state, as well. Whereas the tension/elongation curve for the gelatin sponge sample (curve B) already breaks off after an elongation of approximately 7 to 8%, i.e., the sample tears, the fleece sample according to the invention may be stretched by approximately 17% before any tearing of the sample is observed. In this respect, a considerably higher tensile strength in comparison with the sponge sample is also ascertained.
In the completely hydrated state of the samples ( FIG. 5 b ), i.e., in a state, in which the cross-linked gelatin material of the sponge or of the fleece according to the invention are completely swollen, even greater and more significant differences are obtained. The water content is, in this case, more than 100% by weight in relation to the gelatin material.
A standard sponge in the size 80×50×10 mm as well as the fleece according to the invention in the size 80×50×1 mm were used for the comparison. The sponge has a dry weight per unit area of 120 g/m 2 , the fleece one of 180 g/m 2 .
In this case, tearing of the sample is observed for the sponge sample after an elongation of just about 75% (curve B) whereas the fleece sample according to the invention may be stretched to 400% (curve A) before it finally tears. In the hydrated state, as well, the fleece (with 2.6 N tensile force) achieves a higher strength than the sponge.
This is of quite particular significance for the use of the fleece materials as carriers for cell implants since this gives the attending physician the possibility of deforming, stretching and adapting the cell implant to the conditions of the wound of the patient to be treated almost as required.
Example 3
Production of Sugar-Free Candy Floss
Analogous to Example 1, a 20% by weight aqueous spinning solution is produced with the following composition:
15 g of gelatin type A, 260 Bloom, edible quality
15 g of gelatin hydrolysate type A, average molecular weight 3 kD
70 g of water
Coloring matter (e.g., raspberry) and aromas (e.g., vanilla-cola) can be added according to the producer's specifications.
The spinning solution is heated to 70° C. and spun in the spinning rotor.
The product collected has the consistency and sensory perception of candy floss.
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In order to provide a non-woven fiber fabric, in particular, in the form of a flat material or as part of a flat material which can be used as a biodegradable material in medicine, in particular, as an implant or carrier material for living cells (tissue engineering) but also a non-woven fiber fabric which can be used in food technology in a variety of applications, in particular, as a preliminary product for foods, a non-woven fiber fabric is provided containing fibers consisting of a gelatin material, wherein the thickness of the fibers is on average 1 to 500 μm and wherein the non-woven fiber fabric has a plurality of areas, at which two or more fibers merge into one another without any phase boundary.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to sheet metal connectors and more particularly to a support adapted to fill corner base gaps in flashing, and further to support patches which are applied to cover over and seal said gaps.
In the construction industry one recurring problem is that of sealing the intersection of a housing, such as a dormer or scuttle which is erected around a hole or port cut into a planar surface such as the roof of a building. Typically, the seam where the surface and housing meet is covered over and, more or less sealed off with aluminum, copper or galvanized steel flashing. As fabricated, such flashing normally comprises base and wall planar portions disposed more or less at a right angle to each other, each portion being adapted to bear upon the particular surface adjacent thereto. Connecting these two portions is an intermediate angular section, the angle and width of which will be a function of the ductility and thickness of the strip stock used to fabricate the flashing. In use, the flashing is normally nailed or otherwise fastened in place to the base planar surface and the housing walls. Where more sealing is needed, a bead of silicone, tar or other sealing material can be laid down along the two edges of the flashing to close off any air gaps which might exist. Where greater corrosion protection is required, the flashing may be covered with a vinyl plastic coating on the external surface. Techniques for producing and using such materials are well known in the construction industry.
When the surfaces being joined are substantially planar, few problems arise from the use of said flashing as described above. However, at the external corners where two walls on the housing intersect and abut at some angle, usually a right angle, a gap will arise in the flashing, at the point where the abutting walls join the underlying planar base surface, due to the divergence of the base and intermediate portions of the flashing. A normal practice is to cover over this gap with a plastic or tar patch which substantially covers this gap and seals it. However, while the patch is supported by the surface and walls to which it is attached, the portion lying over the gap in the intermediate angled section of the flashing is usually unsupported so that it presents an easily punctured point of weakness in the composite structure.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved support for patches used to seal corner joints in flashing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved support for corner patches which can be easily and inexpensively fabricated in the field.
A feature of the present invention is that it provides a patch support to which said patch may be tacked so as to firmly fix its position relative to said corner joint.
An advantage of the present invention is that when used, the integrity of a corner point in flashing is equal to that of the remainder of the structure.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the illustrations and specifications which follow.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The above objects, features and advantages are met by a support for patches used to cover base gaps arising at the corners of flashing used to seal the junction of a housing erected around a port cut into a planar surface, with said surface, said flashing being attached both to said surface and to said housing, said support being adapted for placement over said base gap and comprising:
(a) mating means adapted to engage said surface and to fit over a portion of said flashing on either side of said base gap; and
(b) cover means extending from said mating means and adapted to cover said base gap, said support being further adapted to provide a tacking point for a patch which when fitted over said support will provide a leak free corner joint for said housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a typical housing erected on a planar surface such as a roof;
FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 showing the arrangement of the flashing relative to the walls of the housing and the planar surface;
FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a first embodiment of the support of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an isometric view showing the combination of the support of FIG. 3 to a corner support for the housing of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an isometric view showing the placement of support of FIG. 3 and a sealing patch on the housing of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the support of FIG. 6 when set in place.
FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Turning now to FIG. 1, a housing 10, which has been erected around an opening or port 12 cut into planar surface 14, is shown. Typically, such a housing comprises at least one (for rounded ports) and, more usually, four (for rectangular or square shaped ports) more or less vertically disposed walls 16 which are sized and positioned so as to rest upon the portion of planar surface 14 which lies immediately adjacent to port 12. Customarily, the open seam at the junction line between the base of each of walls 16 and surface 14 is closed off and sealed with one or more strips of flashing 18. Such flashing which is typically made from materials such as aluminum, galvanized steel, copper, weather resistant flexible plastics such as polypropylene and the like, is readily available. Further, to provide both corrosion protection and an enhanced sealing capability supplementary roof sealants such as a vinyl coating 20 applied over the base metal of the flashing may be used. When planar surface 14 is also covered with such a sealant, bonding of the roof sealant to the flashing acts to provide an extra measure of leak tightness in the composite structure.
As shown in detail in FIG. 2, flashing 18 comprises base or horizontally disposed planar portion 22 which is adapted to extend over and bear upon wall 16. Providing a transition between and connecting these two portions is intermediate portion 26. It should be understood that the use of the terms horizontal and vertical are used hereinabove and are merely representative of the relative disposition of these two portions and are not an absolute limitation upon the placement of the flashing when used as herein described. The flashing is customarily held in place by nailing or screwing the horizontal and vertical portions of the flashing to corresponding areas of the adjacent surfaces. Where additional sealing is needed, the edges of the flashing/wall or surface interface may be covered with a sealant (not shown) such as tar, putty, silicone rubber and the like to prevent water from leaking through.
When housing 10 has a plurality of walls 16, the structure further may also comprise corner supports 28 to reinforce the housing structure where two of the walls abut each other and facilitate the handling of housing 10 when it is shop fabricated and brought to the construction site as a more or less completed structure. Where flashing is an integral part of the structure, angular corner support 28 may also include a pair of flaps 29 adapted to engage, cover over the end of and be sealable to the mating sections of intermediate portion 26.
While the fabrication technique described above provides satisfactory sealing along the flat sides of walls 16, it is found that where the planes of two abutting walls cross each other on planar surface 14, the divergence of the two base portions 22 and intermediate portions 26 of the adjacent portions of flashing 18 creates a gap 30 between them. Customarily, the gap is covered over with a patch 32, usually of a vinyl material, which is configured to engage both the two abutting sides of housing 10 and the adjacent areas of planar surface 14 and be sealable thereto so as to preserve the overall sealing integrity of the flashing. However, it is often found that such a construction is not entirely satisfactory since the part of patch 32 which lies directly over gap 30 is unsupported and is easily punctured.
The problem as elucidated above is solved with support 40 of the present invention, one embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 3. As shown, this comprises base means 42, having at the left and right sides thereof, a pair of angular connectors 44 which are disposed to materially engage either of the two flaps 29 of flashing 18. Situated between connectors 44 is corner support 46 which is more or less triangular shaped and angularly disposed so as to fit into and substantially fill gap 30 when placed in position. Such a placement is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 shows a combination of support 40 and angular corner support 28 with angular connectors 44 being located beneath flaps 29 for better sealing of the composite structure. As shown, the composite structure also has a number of strategically placed holes 48 to facilitate joining the structure to both surface 14 and to housing 10, thus firmly fixing it in place. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a corner 50 in housing 10 showing the final placement of the composite structure shown in FIG. 4 and further showing the position of a patch 32 which has been placed thereon, relative to each of walls 16, the abutting portion of flashing 18 and planar surface 14. As shown, the portion of patch 32 which lies over support 46 is now fully supported and no longer represents an area of weakness in the finished structure.
Preferably, support 40 is covered with a vinyl or other heat sealable material so that the patch material over support 46 may be easily heat sealed thereto. By so doing, patch 32 is centered and firmly fixed in place before final sealing to side walls 16 and floor surface 14. When this is done, it is found that the mass of support 46 acts as a heat sink so that burn holes in the patch material, particularly over gap 30, do not form as a result of the heating. As a result, the overall integrity of the patch is enhanced.
Turning now to FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 9, other embodiments of the present invention are shown. In FIG. 6, the embodiment of base section 42 has extension offsets 52 while gap support 46 has a pair of angled extensions 54 attached thereto. As shown in FIG. 7, these extensions are adapted to fit underneath the ends of the base and intermediate portions of flashing 18 being joined, thus providing a continuous support surface which smoothly travels around and fills gap 30 at corner 50.
Also shown are a pair of side legs 55 which are attached to the sides of corner support 46. These act to prevent support 46 from being inadvertently depressed so that patch 32 would not rest upon it. It is understood that while legs 55 are shown as a part of this particular embodiment, such a feature can readily be incorporated into any of the various embodiments shown herein.
The embodiment shown at FIG. 7 differs from that shown in FIG. 6 in that corner support 56 is integral with the base and gap support portions so that a single, unitary corner support is provided rather than having such support being provided by two separate pieces, as shown in FIG. 5.
Still other embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. As depicted,in both of these base portion 42 and integral corner support 56 are shortened relative to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.
This construction is readily adaptable for use in either acute (FIG. 8) or obtuse (FIG. 9) angled corners of housing 10 particularly when both planar surface 14 and vertical walls 16 are covered with a heat sealable roofing material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In a preferred embodiment, support 40 further has an adhesive applied to its underside. By so doing, the patch support can be positively and firmly positioned against both surface 14 and walls 16 during the installation of housing 10.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing fromt he spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
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Disclosed is a corner gap support used in conjunction with flashing applied to seal the seams created at the junction of a housing erected around a port in a surface, with said surface. As fabricated, the device is adapted both to fill corner gaps in said flashing and to act as a support for patching material used to seal said gaps.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is based on a minimum-maximum speed governor for fuel-injected internal combustion engines. A speed governor of this kind is already known (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 30 18 720), in which a leaf spring acting as the idling spring rolls off in accordance with rpm on a two-part support bearing provided with a contoured rolloff path; the form selected for the contoured rolloff path produces a spring characteristic such that the idling regulation is stabilized. By means of an adjusting cam actuatable by the adjusting member, the second part of the support bearing, which is supported on the governor housing, can be forced away from the leaf spring when the adjusting member is pivoted into the full-load position, the intended result being to reduce as much as possible the influence of the leaf spring during full-load speed regulation. In this type of minimum-maximum speed governor, it is unnecessary to use an additional idling spring such as is used for instance in a minimum-maximum speed governor of similar design known from German Offenlegungsschrift No. 29 00 198.
With both the known governors, a sufficiently large load increase is possible while the engine speed is dropping, and because of the idling spring as it rolls or by means of the additional idling spring, the P-degree or speed drop is increased in the direction of a higher rpm, so that the engine is "intercepted" when the load is rapidly decreasing and will not stall. In both speed governors, the exertion of force by the idling springs is at least predominantly precluded after the idling sleeve travel distance has been covered, as a result of which, advantageously, these springs either do not influence the speed regulation characteristic curve or else do so only to an insignificant extent. However, despite the improved idling speed regulation attained with them, both known speed governors operating as minimum-maximum speed governors of an injection pump for Diesel vehicle engines have a so-called "start-up weakness", the source of which is the relatively small increase in fuel quantity when the adjusting member has been pivoted out of the idling position. Furthermore, in the known minimum-maximum speed governors no speed regulation takes place between the idling range and the maximum engine speed, except for a torque control which may be provided in some cases. Because of the lack of a regulating function above the idling range until the breakaway point where speed regulation is effected, not only is there reduced engine smoothness, but starting up is more difficult when there is high driving resistance, for instance when engaging the engine while driving uphill; as a result, if the position of the adjusting member (the driving pedal position) is unchanged, the engine can either race up to the maximum full-load speed or "killed", depending on the torque difference. Engine racing causes increased clutch wear, among other effects.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The speed governor according to the invention has the advantage over the prior art that by means of the adjusting cam actuatable by the adjusting member, and with the adjusting member pivoted out of the idling position into a partial-load position, the smoothness of engine operation is substantially improved. If the adjusting member is displaced from the idling position in the direction of full load, then the increase in prestressing force of the leaf spring together with the increase in the supplied fuel quantity controlled by the governor lever results in the attainment of a higher partial-load rpm, dependent on the load. By means of the governor sleeve which is displaced as the engine accelerates, the spring rate of the leaf spring is continuously increased, producing characteristic governing curves which continuously drop exponentially, and thereby substantially improving the ride. The resultant shape of the performance graph--with the pivoting of the adjusting member at relatively low engine speed, the fuel quantity increases sharply; the characteristic curves in the medium speed range are dropping; and there is a slight increase in fuel quantity in the lower load range at a relatively high engine speed--combines the advantages of a minimum-maximum speed governor with those of an all-speed governor while avoiding their specific disadvantages. In addition to the effects on starting behavior already mentioned, the tendency to "bucking" is also reduced sharply. By means of the adjusting cam supported on the force transmission lever, the influence of the lead spring is precluded at the point of full-load speed regulation, without requiring additional adjusting devices to that end.
As a result of the characteristic disclosed, advantageous improvements to and further developments of the minimum-maximum speed governor disclosed are attainable. By means of the connecting link guide on the adjusting lever of the adjusting cam, the governor performance graph is adaptable within wide limits to required operating conditions, while the characteristic of the adjusting cam rotatable in accordance with the pivot angle of the adjusting member, is known per se from the prior art already mentioned, that is, German Offenlegungsschrift No. 30 18 720.
If the speed governor according to the invention is provided with the characteristics known from the prior publications mentioned above, then it is possible to set the increase in the controlled fuel supply quantity taking place per angular degree of the pivot angle through which the adjusting member travels, and simultaneously also to set the course of the partial-load engine speeds established in accordance with the load, in such a manner as to effect, for instance, a supply quantity which increases progressively over the pivot angle of the adjusting member, at least at relatively low engine speeds.
The invention will be better understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the ensuing detailed description of two preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken through the first exemplary embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a detail of the second exemplary embodiment, showing only those characteristics essential to the invention; and
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing curves of the regulation performed by the governor according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the first exemplary embodiment of a minimum-maximum speed governor according to the invention, shown in longitudinal section in FIG. 1 and embodied as a centrifugal governor, a centrifugal governor 11 is secured on a camshaft 10 of an injection pump for internal combustion engines; the pump is known and therefore not shown further. The pivotably supported flyweights 12 of the governor 11 transmit their pivoting movement, effected by rpm-dependent centrifugal force, in the form of a sleeve stroke onto a governor sleeve 13 and its sleeve bolt 14. The sleeve bolt 14 is articulated by means of a bearing tang 15 on a guide lever 16, which is pivotable on a pivot shaft 18 secured in a governor housing 17 and thus guides the governor sleeve 13 in its reciprocating movements. By means of the bearing tang 15, one end 19a of a deflecting lever 19 is also articulatedly connected with the sleeve bolt 14 of the governor sleeve 13, and another end 19b of this deflecting lever 19 is articulatedly coupled with a lever-like adjusting member 22 via a pin 21 engaging a connecting link guide 20 of the deflecting lever 19. The adjusting lever 22 is secured on a lever shaft 23 supported in the governor housing 17 and acting as a pivot shaft. The lever shaft 23 furthermore carries an operating lever 24 located outside the governor housing and shown in dotted lines. The deflecting lever is coupled via a bearing point 25 disposed between its two ends 19a and 19b with a governor lever 26, which is embodied as a two-armed lever; at one end, the governor lever 26 is articulated via a resiliently yielding tongue 27 onto a governor rod 28, which serves as the supply quantity adjusting member of the injection pump, while on the other end it is supported on an adjustable and resiliently yielding pivot bearing 29. The governor lever 26 is shown as being located in front of the sectional plane of the drawing, and in such a case the bearing location 25 is secured on a second lever part 19c of the deflecting lever 19, which part 19c is firmly connected via a bolt 30 with the deflecting lever 19; the part 19c is located in front of the sectional plane of the drawing and is therefore indicated by dot-dash lines.
A force transmission lever 31 is also supported on the pivot shaft 18 of the guide lever 16, and a torque control spring capsule 32 acting as a stroke stop for the sleeve bolt 14 is adjustably secured in this force transmission lever 31. At engine speeds below the maximum or full-load speed, one free end 31a of the force transmission lever 31, in response to the force exerted by a main governor spring 34, rests against a stop 33 fixed to the housing. The prestressing force of the main governor spring 34 acting as the maximum speed governor spring is determined by the location in which it is installed in the apparatus, and it can be adjusted by means of a spring support 35 embodied by a threaded sheath screwed into the governor housing 17. An idling stop screw 36 is disposed inside the governor housing 17 and fixes the idling position, shown, of the adjusting member 22 and thus fixes the position of the operating lever 24 as well. The starting and full-load position of the operating lever 24 is indicated by dot-dash lines and is determined by a full-load stop 37 shown by dashed lines.
A leaf spring 38 acting as the idling spring is disposed in the governor housing 17 approximately parallel to the force transmission lever 31; one end 38a of the leaf spring 38 rests on spring support 39b, which is adjustable in order to adjust the prestressing force of the leaf spring 38, and the other end 38b presses against a transverse bolt 41 in the guide lever 16 and thereby transmits the force of the leaf spring 38 onto the governor sleeve 13.
The spring support for the first end 38a of the leaf spring 38 is embodied by a convexly shaped bearing surface 39b on a head 39a of an idling adjusting screw 39. The idling adjusting screw 39 also serves at the same time as a guide for an end section 42a of a support bearing 42 resting on the leaf spring 38 between the two ends 38a and 38b. The support bearing 42 is provided on its side oriented toward the leaf spring 38 with a curved rolloff path 43, by means of which the effective spring length of the leaf spring 38 at a given time is fixed. In the illustrated position of rest of all the governor parts, the leaf spring 38 is prestressed by the idling adjusting screw 39 to such an extent that the spring length which is effective in this position is determined at a bearing point on the curved rolloff path 43 indicated with an arrow P1. If with increasing engine speed the governor sleeve 13 is moved by the flyweights 12 toward the torque control spring capsule 32 within an idling sleeve path a, then the effective spring length of the leaf spring 38 is shortened in accordance with the embodiment of the curved rolloff path 43 in the direction of a second bearing point P2 indicated by way of example. The angle of inclination α shown by way of example for this point P2 thereby decreases. The curved rolloff path 43 shown has a continuously curved course; however, it is also possible for it to have at least two points where it changes course, for instance at the bearing points P1 and P2, should governor curves of such a shape be required.
An adjusting cam 44 is rotatably supported on a bearing arm 31b of the force transmission lever 31 gripping around the leaf spring 38; in FIG. 1, this is embodied by an adjusting eccentric 44 supported inside support bearing 42. A pivot shaft 44a of the adjusting cam 44 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner with an adjusting lever 45 and coupled via a connecting link guide 46 with the adjusting member 22.
The connecting link guide 46 in the illustrated embodiment comprises an oblong slot in the adjusting lever 45 and a pin 47 engaging this oblong slot and secured on the adjusting member 22. If the operating lever 24 and thus the adjusting member 22 which is connected therewith in a rotationally fixed manner are now pivoted out of the illustrated idling position about a pivot angle marked β in the direction toward its full-load position indicated by dot-dash lines, then the curved rolloff path 43 of the support bearing 42 is displaced toward the leaf spring 38 adjusted in accordance with this pivot angle β by means of the adjusting cam 44 such as to increase the prestressing force of the leaf spring 38. At the same time, by means of the pin 21 of the adjusting member 22 engaging the connecting link guide 20 of the deflecting lever 19, the deflecting lever 19 and thus the bearing location 25 for the governor lever 26 are pivoted counterclockwise, so that depending upon the size of the pivot angle β and the instantaneous load on the engine, a partial-load rpm is established which is dependent on the shape of the conecting link guide 46 on the adjusting lever 45 and is increased in comparison with the idling rpm; an increase in the supply quantity which is dependent on the form of the connecting link guide 20 in the deflecting lever 19 is established as well.
FIG. 2 shows the portion essential to the invention of a second practically embodied example, in which aside from the force transmission lever embodied as a sheet-metal part, the parts serving to vary the spring prestressing force of the idling spring 38 are embodied differently from the parts used in the first exemplary embodiment. The reference numerals of these elements in the second exemplary embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals but with a prime, while identical elements are identified by the same reference numerals without any change. The support bearing 42' is embodied as a sheet-metal part, like the force transmission lever 31, and its curved rolloff path 43 oriented toward the leaf spring 38 is produced by a corresponding curvature of the support bearing 42'. One end 42a' of the support bearing 42' and the end 38a of the leaf spring 38 resting thereon are secured on a guide bushing 51, which in turn is placed upon the idling adjusting screw 39 and rests with a concave annular face 41a on the convex bearing face 39b on the head 39a of the idling adjusting screw 39. The adjusting cam 44' is again embodied here as an adjusting eccentric, and it is secured on the pivot shaft 44a connected firmly with the adjusting lever 45. With this structure, in which the adjusting cam 44' is embodied as an adjustable stop for the support bearing 42', the adjusting cam 44' may be provided with any desired cam shape capable of realizing a required adjusting principle, so that simultaneously with the shaping of the connecting link guide 46, which is shown here as of straight-line shape, and by means of the shaping of the support bearing 42' itself, the increase in the prestressing force of the leaf spring 38 which takes place from degree to degree as the adjusting member 22 pivots can be controlled such that it is progressive, for instance, as shown in FIG. 3, or it may adhere to some other principle.
In the diagram shown in FIG. 3, a governor performance graph is shown in which several characteristic governing curves of the governor according to the invention are plotted. The governing path R of the governor rod 28 is plotted on the ordinate, while the rpm n is plotted on the abscissa. A full-load governing curve a, which includes points A, B, C, D and E, applies in the illustrated form only after starting with the operating lever 24 resting on the full-load stop 37; during operation, however, the curve shown in solid lines and defined by points F-C-D-E applies, because of a starting lock or starting block means which is known and is therefore not shown further or described herein. Between points C and C1, a torque control is effected by the torque control spring capsule 32; a dropping curve of similar shape can also be controlled by means of the progressively acting idling leaf spring 38, as is indicated in a partial-load governing curve b by the dashed portion 4' of the curve. The idling governing curve is marked c and connects the points G-H-J-K-L. The curve segment H-J shows the course of the governing path, which drops exponentially and is controlled by the leaf spring 38 during the course of rolling off on the rolloff curve 43, over the rpm n. The associated pivot angle β is also shown, increasing by 5° intervals, rising from 0° in curve c to 20° at curve b and to 35° at curve a. By means of the main governor spring 34 which is adjusted in a fixed manner, the speed regulation is always effected at the same full-load speed n E , for instance at points D and K in curves a and c.
It is not difficult to see in FIG. 3 that the curve segment H-J of the idling governing curve c controlled by the leaf spring 38, wih the adjusting member 22 located forward, is shifed obliquely toward the upper right as far as the urve segment B-C of curve a. As a result, a sharp, rogressively rising increase in the supply quantit in the partial-load governing range at the left o the line connecting points J and C can be inferre from the plotted curves. The curve segments located above the horizontal line F-C fixed by the starting lock means are shown in dashed lines, because they apply only during starting; under load, however, such curves can produce excessive smoke. A dot-dash curve segment a' of the curve a would be attainable because of the kinematics of the levers, but it is limited by the maximum possible governing path Rmax of the regulating rod 28, this path being defined by the line A-B. The excess path from B to M is absorbed by the force-storage spring included in the yielding tongue 27. The progressively increasing intervals between the individual governing curves beginning at the idling governing curve c and proceeding up to the full-load governing curve a are generated by means of the increase in the prestressing force of the leaf spring 38 (shift of the governing curves toward the right) which is controlled by the adjusting cam 44 and by means of the increase in governing path per degree of pivot angle of the adjusting member 22 (shift of the governing curves upward) controlled by the connecting link guide 20, so that in every load position of the adjusting member 22, a stable governing posture is attained in the event of a sharply rising increase in governing path while the engine speed is dropping.
The mode of operation of the minimum-maximum speed governor embodied in accordance with the invention will now be described briefly once again, referring to FIGS. 1 and 3:
In the illustrated position of rest of all the governor elements, the adjusting member 22 rests on the idling stop screw 36, and as a result of the prestressing force of the leaf spring 38, the governor sleeve 13 is pressed via the transverse bolt 41 and the guide lever 16 into the outset position shown, in which the governor lever 26 has displaced the governor rod 28 into its idling starting position G; in this case, this represents approximately 13.5 mm of governing path. In cold starting, the adjusting member 22 can be pivoted in the direction of its full-load stop 37, and the governor rod 28 will then be displaced as far as its starting position, marked S in FIG. 1. This position corresponds to point A of curve a at RWmax. RW sets forth the regulating or governing path.
If the engine speed increases, then the governor rod 28 remains in its instantaneous starting position if the adjusting member 22 is in the idling position, corresponding to the curve segment G-H in FIG. 3, until the prestressing force of the leaf spring 38 is overcome. As the engine speed increases further to an idling speed n LL , the governing path R is then pulled back to a governing path for idling regulation indicated by the idling point LL on the curve a. During overrunning, the governor can run up as far as the maximum or full-load speed n E , for instance, whereupon speed regulation then begins, at point K.
If the adjusting member is pivoted by 20°, for instance, during partial-load operation, then at a corresponding load a partial-load engine speed n TL is established as indicated by point TL on curve b. The range which in minimum-maximum speed governors is otherwise unregulated, that is, the range between the range determined by the idling springs and the maximum speed n E , and in which only the supply quantity is adjusted in accordance with the pivot angle of the adjusting member, is in the speed governor according to the invention no longer compulsorily present in the speed governor according to the invention; in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 described in connection with FIG. 3, it is present only in the upper engine speed range. Thus, it is possible to adapt the supply quantity and the partial load rpm n TL being established to engine requirements in every pivoted position of the adjusting member 22. Optimizing of the governor performance graph in a manner designed for a specific engine can be accomplished beforehand by means of the design of the shapes of the adjusting cam 44, the curved rolloff path 43 and the connecting link guides 20 and 46. As curve segment b' shows, the leaf spring 38 can also fulfill the function of a torque control spring. In the present example, however, a known torque control spring capsule 32 is used.
The foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention, the latter being defined by the appended claims.
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The governor includes a force transmission lever subject to the prestressing force of a main governor spring, which lever the governor sleeve comes into operative contact after traversing an idling sleeve path a, and a leaf spring acting as the idling spring. The leaf spring is supported between its two ends on a curved rolloff path, determining its effective spring length, of a support bearing, the operative position of which is adjustable toward the leaf spring in accordance with the pivot angle (β) of an adjusting member by means of an adjusting cam actuable by the adjusting member such as to increase the prestressing force of the leaf spring. The adjusting cam is supported on the force transmission lever in order to prevent influencing the maximum engine speed. With the adjusting member shifted from the idling position toward the full-load position, the corresponding governor characteristic curve is shifted, simultaneously with an increased supply quantity controlled by the governor, toward a higher partial-load engine speed, and by means of the spring rate of the leaf spring which changes as the engine runs up to maximum speed, governor characteristic curves are produced which continuously drop exponentially.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a blanket construction for use on apparatus used in the compressive shrinkage of textile fabrics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many textile fabrics, and in particular those made wholly or partly from cellulosic fibers, have a tendency to shrink undesirably as a result of becoming wet or undergoing conventional laundering processes. To obviate undesirable shrinking, many such fabrics are customarily pre-treated using a compressive or compaction shrinkage process, in order to pre-shrink the fabrics and increase their stability. Examples of compressive shrinkage processes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,146,694 to Wrigley, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,292 to Hojyo and a popular process is known by the tradename SANFORIZE.
In compressive shrinkage processes, fabric is typically laid out over the working face of a thick endless rubber blanket so that it is free of folds or wrinkles. The rubber blanket is positioned on a plurality of rotatable rolls which support the blanket along its bearing surface, and the blanket is typically conveyed along an endless path by way of a driven cylinder which contacts the outer blanket surface. In this way, fabric placed on the outer surface of the blanket is caused to be carried through a number of processing stations.
First, the fabric is typically moistened, then it is compressed along with the blanket between a roll and a heated cylinder or shoe. As the fabric and blanket pass between the nip (i.e., the point of contact between the two contiguous elements) and the blanket is compressed, adjacent portions of the outer surface of the blanket are caused to be extended. As the blanket and fabric leave the roll, the blanket contracts, and the fabric is forced to follow suit. As a result, the yarns in the warp direction are caused to shorten, and the filling yarns are pushed upwardly, thereby mechanically shrinking the fabric. The fabric is then fed to a dryer, where it is dried in its pre-shrunk condition.
Because the rubber blanket is endless, great lengths of fabric can be processed in a continuous manner. However, the sections of the rubber blanket must be cooled following their contact with the heated cylinder before they can receive a new section of untreated fabric. Such cooling is generally performed by applying water to the blanket as it travels between the point of fabric removal and the point of untreated fabric lay-down. Because too much moisture on the blanket can interfere with proper fabric conditioning, it is generally necessary that the amount of water on the blanket working surface be closely controlled. Generally this is performed by water removal rolls, which squeegee the excess water from the cooled blanket. Because it is important that the blanket stay properly lubricated, water is often added to the bearing surface of the blanket at various positions throughout the process, e.g., before the point of fabric lay-down and following contact of the blanket with the heated cylinder.
As should be apparent, the rubber blankets are exposed to great stresses during the compression shrinkage process as a result of the repeated heating and cooling, the tensions at which the blanket must be run on the machine, the compression forces endured by going through the nip, and the repeated wetting operations. As a result, the blankets have a tendency to crack along the edges, which considerably shortens the blanket life and can interfere with proper machine operation and fabric finishing.
To combat this problem of blanket edge cracking, around 1970, at least one company began to bevel the edges along the outer surface of the blanket (i.e., the surface on which the fabric is treated). Although the bevels were largely effective in reducing the cracking tendency of the blanket edges, they tend to be somewhat undesirable in that the bevels reduce the dimension of the working face of the blanket. Typically, rubber blankets have about a 13' inside circumference and a width ranging from about 68" to 126". Of this width, the bevel usually accounts for approximately 1/2 to 11/2 inches of the width along each blanket side. Because fabric cannot be properly treated along this portion, the bevel can result in loss of up to 3" or more of the width of the working face of the blanket.
In addition, when a rubber blanket is positioned on the compressive shrinkage machinery with the correct amount of tension, the blanket edges have a tendency to curve upwardly. Not only does this increase blanket wear, but the fact that the edges are not planar with the rest of the blanket can mean that fabric processed close to the blanket edge can have a different appearance from that of the other regions.
Further, during the shrinkage process, water has a tendency to be flung around the blanket edges, where it can splash onto to the fabric being treated. It has been found that the outer surface bevels tend to encourage the transmission of undesirable water to central portions of the outer surface of the blanket, which is undesirable from a fabric quality perspective. Because such water can damage the fabric and cause processing irregularities, rubber blanket manufacturers generally recommend that the working face of the blanket to be used be at least 6-8 inches wider than the fabric to be treated thereon. Thus, where a 11/2 inch bevel is provided along each side, it commonly results that the blanket is required to be at least 9 inches wider than the fabric which is to be treated thereon. Obviously, a loss of efficiency with respect to the amount of fabric that can be treated is realized by virtue of the blanket being required to be so much wider than the fabric which it is used to treat. Further, the machinery which is required to treat a given width of fabric is also necessarily larger than would be desirable and maximally efficient.
In addition, oils and/or re-wetting solutions are generally applied to the fabric prior to the shrinkage operation in order to assist with the water's penetration into the fabric, increase lubricity, and help move the filling yarns of the fabric closer together. Such oils and re-wetters, as well as many fabric finishes, tend to have a softening effect on the rubber, causing the rubber to revert back to a gum state and form dead rubber on the blanket surface. The formation of dead rubber is also encouraged by the high temperatures of the heated cylinder. As a result, users of compressive shrinkage apparatus must test blanket hardness frequently (e.g., by durometer testing for Shore A hardness or the like) in order to ensure that proper hardness is maintained and that too much dead rubber has not built up on the working surface.
Once the blanket hardness has been found to deviate upwardly or downwardly about 12% from its original level, blanket manufacturers recommend that the blanket be ground to remove the dead rubber on its surface. In this way, the surface of the blanket is prevented from becoming too slick and from losing its ability to grab hold of the fabric being treated. Such grinding is usually performed by backing the rubber blanket against a rotatable roll covered with abrasive material (e.g., grinding cloth or abrasive fabric), which grinds the working face of the rubber blanket until the dead rubber area has been removed. Typically this requires removing about a sixteenth of an inch of the rubber surface with each grinding. Because, for example, a blanket which begins at 25/8 inches thick usually must remain at least two inches thick to work effectively, the number of grindings is thus very limited. As a result, the life of the rubber blanket can be undesirably short.
As noted above, when the proper tension is applied to the rubber blanket during machine operation, the edges of the blanket tend to curl upwardly. During the grinding process, the tension on the blanket must be increased above the optimum working tension level, in order to flatten the ends out so that the blanket surface can be ground evenly. Often times, however, the technicians doing the grinding forget to re-set the original tension on the blanket following the completion of the grinding process, and fabric processed thereafter is treated under less than optimal conditions. Not only does this reduce the effectiveness of the shrinkage process, but the effective life of the blanket is also reduced. Furthermore, the amount of bevel is reduced with each grinding since a layer of the central portion of the outer surface (i.e., a layer of the working face) is removed with each grinding operation.
In addition, conventional blankets typically include a slight radius along the corners of each of their edges; the radius rounds out the sharp edges, which helps reduce the incidence of blanket edge cracking. Because of the difficulty perceived by the machine operators in reapplying the radius to the angled outermost corners of the working face formed by the grinding operation, many operators are lax about reapplying the radius to the angled corner, which can reduce the quality and safety of the blanket.
Despite these negatives, however, compressive shrinkage blankets continue to be made with side edges beveled along their outer surface to this day, since heretofore no functionally superior product has been available.
Thus, a need exists for a rubber blanket construction for use in compressive shrinkage apparatus which has a reduced tendency to curl at the edges and which has an increased life-span.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other needs are met through the provision of a rubber blanket having beveled edges along the inner surface (i.e., the surface of the endless rubber blanket which bears against the rolls.) Surprisingly, it has been found that by beveling the side edges of the blanket along the inner surface, many of the negatives typically associated with the outer surface bevels are obviated, while the advantages of a beveled edge construction are still attained. For example, when the blanket is properly tensioned on the machinery, the edges have less of a tendency to curl upwards than with the outer surface beveled or unbeveled prior art blanket constructions. Not only does this reduce the stresses along the blanket edges, but the blanket does not require the large amount of over-tensioning to flatten it out for grinding. In addition, water has less of a tendency to be flung onto the working face of the blanket than with the prior outer surface bevel construction, which means that a greater width of the working face of the blanket can be utilized. Further, the bevels on the inner surface of the blanket remain constant despite repeated grinding operations, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the bevels and correspondingly, the life of the blanket.
In embodiments of the invention having beveled edges only along the inner surface of the blanket, the width of the working face is increased to the entire width of the blanket, which means that larger widths of fabric can be treated. This is of particular importance in that commercially popular fabrics have in recent times been produced at greater widths, which would otherwise require wider processing apparatus. Further, since in these embodiments an unbeveled outer surface is utilized, the provision of radii to the right-angled corners along the outer surface can be performed easily by the operator following grinding.
In alternative embodiments utilizing bevels on both the outer and inner blanket structure, good resistance against edge cracking is achieved while the disadvantage of edge curling is minimized.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional compressive shrinkage operation;
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a prior art rubber blanket edge construction;
FIG. 3 is a cut-away plan view of a prior art blanket such as that shown in FIG. 2, as it appears when positioned around a roll and properly tensioned for machine operation;
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a rubber blanket edge construction according to the instant invention; and
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blanket according to the instant invention as it appears when extending around a roll on a compressive shrinkage apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
FIG. 1 is schematic representation of a conventional compressive shrinkage process utilizing a Morrison-type compressive shrinkage machine. This arrangement can be used in combination with prior art blanket constructions as well as with the construction of the instant invention. A length of fabric 10 is advanced to the shrinkage machine, shown generally at 12, so that the fabric extends along a working face 14a of a rubber blanket 14. Tension is applied such as by roll 16, so that the fabric 10 extends smoothly along the working face 14a of the rubber blanket, and is substantially free of wrinkles. As illustrated, the rubber blanket 14 extends around a pressure roll 18 and is in turn compressed between the pressure roll and a heated cylinder 20 which applies heat to the fabric. In a preferred form of the invention, the heated cylinder 20 is heated by steam. In the manner described above with respect to conventional compressive shrinkage apparatus, the outer surface of the rubber blanket 14 is extended during the process, so that as the blanket and fabric leave the roll 18, the blanket contracts and the fabric 10 is forced to follow suit. The fabric 10 is then removed from the blanket and fed to a dryer 22 such as a Palmer drying cylinder, then desirably to a cooling drum 24. The fabric 10 is then desirably advanced to either a further processing stage or to a take-up mechanism.
As illustrated, water is optionally applied to the bearing surface 14b of the blanket at positions 26 and 28, i.e., preceding the pressure roll 18 and immediately following the steam cylinder 20, in order to keep the rubber blanket 14 lubricated, and to assist in cooling it in preparation for the laying-down of untreated fabric. The blanket 14 then desirably continues around the tension roll 30 and a bottom idler roll 32 and, because it is in the form of an endless loop, returns back to its original position proximate the pressure roll 18. As shown at 31, water is also desirably sprayed on the working face 14a of the blanket proximate the tension roll 30, i.e., downstream of the position where the fabric is removed from the blanket, in order to cool the working face of the rubber blanket 14. Because it is important to control the amount of water on the outer surface of the blanket, water removal rolls 34 are preferably provided to remove water prior to the introduction of the fabric 10, with such water being collected by a pan 35. Water is then desirably added to the bearing face of the blanket, such as illustrated at 26 and 28, to keep the blanket properly lubricated.
In addition, a blanket which is not precisely aligned on the rolls or the processing of a fabric which is unevenly tensioned or skewed will have a tendency to cause the blanket to move sideways along the rolls, where it can potentially work its way off the machine. To prevent the blanket from working its way off of the machine, lateral stop rolls 36 are usually provided along opposite sides of the rubber blanket 14 to act as side bumpers, thereby assisting in maintaining the blanket on the rolls. However, continued contact between the blanket edges and the stop rolls can further reduce the blanket life by encouraging blanket edge cracking. For this reason, blanket manufacturers generally recommend that the width of blanket which is used on a machine be narrower than the distance between the two lateral stop rolls. However, because the widths of fabric to be processed often require a maximized blanket working face for a given machine, processors often use blankets which continually contact both of the lateral stop rolls during processing, in order to maximize the width of working face which is available, despite the negative effects on blanket life.
FIG. 2 shows a prior art rubber blanket construction 40 having an outer surface bevel. As illustrated, the blanket 40 has an overall thickness T which is generally about two to three inches on a blanket having an inside circumference of about 13 feet. Each of the side edges of the outer blanket surface is beveled to form a bevel B which defines a bevel width Bw (i.e., the distance between the inwardmost point of the bevel to an imaginary line drawn upwardly from the blanket edge) and a bevel thickness Bt (i.e., the distance into which the bevel B extends into the blanket thickness T.) (For purposes of this application, the term "bevel" is meant to include slanted or inclined surfaces which can be of a variety of shapes, including but not limited to planar, rounded, mixed geometric, and irregularly shaped.) In a typical blanket construction, the blanket thickness T is about 2 to 3 inches, with the bevel width generally being from about 1/2" to 11/2" on each side of the blanket, the bevel thickness being from about one-half to two thirds of the blanket thickness T, and the bevel sloping at an angle of about 45°. As shown in FIG. 3, this results in a blanket which has an overall blanket width Wo, and a working face width Ww equal to the overall blanket width minus the bevel width Bw on each side. As discussed above, the width of fabric F which can be effectively processed on a blanket working face of a given width is less than the width of the working face.
Because of the tendency of such prior art blankets to curve upwardly at the edges when properly tensioned on the machinery (as shown, for example, in FIG. 3 at C) and the tendency of water to be flung around the edges of the blanket, manufacturers generally recommend that margins L of at least about three to four inches of blanket working face be left on either side of the fabric F being processed. For example, with a conventional 72 inch wide blanket having an inch-wide bevel along each side edge of the outer blanket surface, a manufacturer would typically recommend that fabric widths no larger than 64" be processed. Thus a great deal of the blanket outer surface goes unused and it is required that machinery be much larger than would be optimal in order to produce a given width of fabric.
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a blanket construction according to the instant invention. The blanket 50 is in the form of an endless rubber belt and includes an outer surface 50a, an inner surface 50b defining a bearing surface 50c which is adapted to contact a plurality of rotatable rolls. The blanket has an overall thickness T', which can be selected according to the machinery on which it will be utilized as well as the fabric F which it will be used to process. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the overall blanket thickness T' is about 2-3 inches, and preferably about 25/8 to 23/4 inches. The blanket 50 includes a bevel B' along each of the side edges, each of which defines a bevel width Bw' (i.e., the distance between the inwardmost point of the bevel to an imaginary line drawn downwardly from the blanket outer edge) and a bevel thickness Bt' (i.e., the distance into which the bevel extends into the overall blanket thickness T'.) Although the bevel is illustrated as being rounded in FIG. 4, it is noted that other bevel shapes can be utilized within the scope of the instant invention, including, but not limited to, planar bevels (such as that shown in FIG. 2) and those of mixed geometric or irregular shape. For example, the inner surface 50b can be beveled gradually at each side edge of the belt to define first and second substantially planar bevels; in a preferred form of this embodiment, each of the bevels extends at substantially a 45° angle relative to the bearing face of the belt.
In the illustrated embodiment, the bevel thickness Bt' is slightly over one-half of the overall blanket thickness T'. While this thickness ratio has been found to be useful, it is to be noted that other ratios and bevel angle slopes are anticipated within the scope of the instant invention. Similarly, while the bevel width Bw' is illustrated as being approximately equal to the bevel thickness Bt', it is to be noted that various dimensions of bevel width and ratios of bevel width to thickness are anticipated according to this invention.
As discussed above, by providing the bevels B on the inner surface of the blanket 50, a blanket having a reduced propensity for edge cracking can be achieved, without the corresponding reduction in working face dimension and tendency to transfer water associated with the prior outer surface beveled blanket constructions 40. In addition, and as illustrated in FIG. 5, the edges 52 of the blanket 50 do not tend to curve upwards when the blanket is properly tensioned for operation on the machine M, unlike those of the prior outer surface beveled blanket constructions 40. In addition, when the bevels are provided only on the inner surface 50b and the outer surface 50a is substantially unbeveled, a working face dimension Ww can be achieved which equals the overall width Wo of the blanket itself. As a result, greater widths of fabric F can be processed thereon than with prior art blanket constructions, and more efficient processing can be achieved.
Further, because the blankets according to the present invention have been found to have less of a tendency to transfer water undesirably to the working face of the blanket, the safety margins L' along the blanket edges can be reduced from those required during the use of conventional blankets. For example, in a 72 inch conventional blanket with one inch bevels along the side edges of the outer blanket surface, a manufacturer would typically recommend that fabrics no wider than 64 inches be processed thereon, in order to account for the reduction in working face caused by the provision of the bevels, and to leave 3 inch working face margins along each side of the fabric. In contrast, because the working face of a similarly sized blanket made according to certain embodiments of the instant invention is the full 72 inch width of the blanket and undesirable water transfer is reduced, fabrics as wide as 68 inches or greater can be processed on a 72 inch wide blanket having one inch bevels on the inner surface.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), bevels are provided along the side edges of both the outer and inner surfaces of the blanket; again, the bevels can be of any angle, shape or dimension, though care must be taken that the edges of the blanket are not caused to be too thin as a result of being beveled along both outer and inner blanket surfaces. While this embodiment does not provide the advantage of the working face being equal to the overall blanket width, the tendency for the blanket edges to curl up is reduced. As a result, undesirable water splash is minimized, and a greater dimension of the blanket face can be utilized.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. For example, it is contemplated that blankets according to the instant invention can be used in similar apparatus such as those used to calendar substantially all-polyester fabrics, it being recognized that in such instances the introduction of water and use of a dryer may not be necessary. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
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A construction for a rubber blanket for use on a fabric compressive shrinkage apparatus is described. The blanket includes an inner bearing surface defining a bearing face and an outer surface defining a working face, with the edges of the belt along the bearing surface being beveled so that the bearing face is relatively narrower than the overall belt width. The specially-configured edge construction reduces the tendency of the edges of the blanket to curve upwardly when the blanket is properly tensioned for operation of the apparatus, and the tendency of water to be flung around the edges of the belt and onto the working face is reduced. Further, the beveled side edges promote longer blanket life by reducing the tendency for the edges to crack. Also as a result of the edge construction, a larger effective working face of the blanket can be attained, thereby enabling larger widths of fabric to be processed on the apparatus than previously achievable with outer surface-beveled blankets.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/222,510, filed on
Mar. 21, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/954,974, filed on Jul. 30, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,709,494, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/569,095, filed on Aug. 7, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,597,687, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/840,728, filed on Aug. 17, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,372,437, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 (e) of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/838,467, entitled “Method and System for Preserving Amnion Tissue For Later Transplant,” filed Aug. 17, 2006. The contents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to tissue allografts and, in particular, to placental membrane tissue grafts (amnion and chorion) and methods of preparing, preserving, and medical uses for the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Human placental membrane (e.g. amniotic membrane or tissue) has been used for various types of reconstructive surgical procedures since the early 1900s. The membrane serves as a substrate material, more commonly referred to as a biological dressing or patch graft. Such membrane has also been used widely for ophthalmic procedures in the United States and in countries in the southern hemisphere. Typically, such membrane is either frozen or dried for preservation and storage until needed for surgery.
Such placental tissue is typically harvested after an elective Cesarean surgery. The placenta has two primary layers of tissue including amniotic membrane and chorion. The amniotic membrane is a non-vascular tissue that is the innermost layer of the placenta, and consists of a single layer, which is attached to a basement membrane.
Histological evaluation indicates that the membrane layers of the amniotic membrane consist of epithelium cells, thin reticular fibers (basement membrane), a thick compact layer, and fibroblast layer. The fibrous layer of amnion (i.e., the basement membrane) contains cell anchoring collagen types IV, V, and VII. The chorion is also considered as part of the fetal membrane; however, the amniotic layer and chorion layer are separate and separable entities.
Amniotic membrane and chorion tissue provide unique grafting characteristics when used for surgical procedures, including providing a matrix for cellular migration/proliferation, providing a natural biological barrier, are non-immunogenic, promote increased self-healing, are susceptible of being fixed in place using different techniques including fibrin glue or suturing. And, such grafts, when properly prepared, can be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time, without need for refrigeration or freezing, until needed for a surgical procedure.
Known clinical procedures or applications for such amnion grafts include Schnciderian Membrane repair (i.e. sinus lift), guided tissue regeneration (GTR), general wound care, and primary closure membrane. Known clinical procedures or applications for such chorion grafts include biological would dressing.
A detailed look at the history and procedure for harvesting and using “live” amniotic tissue for surgical procedures and a method for harvesting and freezing amniotic tissue grafts for ophthalmic procedures is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,142 issued to Tscng, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
There is a need for improved procedures for harvesting, processing, and preparing amnion and/or chorion tissue for later surgical grafting procedures.
There is a need for improved procedures for processing and preparing multiple layers of amnion and/or chorion tissue for later surgical grafting procedures.
There is a need for preparing and storing such tissue such that the stroma and basement sides of the tissue are easily and quickly identifiable by a surgeon when using such tissue in a surgical procedure.
For these and many other reasons, there is a general need for a method for preparing placenta membrane tissue grafts for medical use, and that includes the steps of obtaining a placenta from a subject, cleaning the placenta, separating the chorion from the amniotic membrane, disinfecting the chorion and/or amniotic membrane, mounting a selected layer of either the chorion or the amniotic membrane onto a drying fixture, dehydrating the selected layer on the drying fixture, and cutting the selected layer into a plurality of tissue grafts. There is an additional need for a drying fixture that includes grooves or raised edges that define the outer contours of each desired tissue graft and that make cutting of the grafts more accurate and easy. There is a further need for a drying fixture that includes raised or indented logos, textures, designs, or text that emboss the middle area of the tissue grafts during dehydration and that enables an end user to be bale to distinguish the top surface from the bottom surface of the graft, which is often necessary to know prior to using such grafts in a medical application or surgical procedure. Such logos, textures, designs, or text can be used for informational purposes or they can, additionally and advantageously, be used for marketing or advertising purposes. There is a need for grafts that are comprised of single layers of amnion or chorion, multiple layers of amnion or chorion, or multiple layers of a combination of amnion and chorion.
The present invention meets one or more of the above-referenced needs as described herein in greater detail.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the present invention is directed to one or more methods of preparing placenta membrane tissue grafts, comprising the steps of obtaining a placenta from a subject, wherein the placenta includes an amniotic membrane layer and a chorion tissue layer, cleaning the placenta in a solution, separating the chorion tissue layer from the amniotic membrane layer, mounting a selected layer of either the chorion tissue layer or the amniotic membrane layer onto a surface of the drying fixture, dehydrating the selected layer on the drying fixture, and thereafter, cutting the selected layer into a plurality of placenta membrane tissue grafts. The placenta membrane tissue grafts can be either amniotic membrane tissue grafts or chorion tissue grafts. Since amniotic membrane has a stromal side and an opposite, basement side, when dehydrating an amniotic membrane layer, such layer is mounted onto the drying fixture with the basement side facing down and stromal side facing up.
Preferably, the drying fixture includes a texture or design adapted to emboss such texture or design into the placenta membrane tissue grafts during the step of dehydration wherein the texture or design embossed into the placenta membrane tissue enable a user to identify a top and bottom surface of the placenta membrane tissue.
Preferably, the placenta is cleaned in a hypertonic solution wherein the hypertonic solution comprises NaCl concentration in a range of from about 30 % to about 10 %.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises the step of, after separation of the chorion tissue layer from the amniotic membrane layer, soaking the selected layer in an antibiotic solution. Optionally, the method then also includes the step of rinsing the selected layer to remove the antibiotic solution.
In some embodiments, the method further includes the step of, after separation of the chorion tissue layer from the amniotic membrane layer, physically cleaning the selected layer to remove blood clots and other contaminates.
In other features, the step of dehydrating the selected layer further comprises placing the drying fixture in a breathable bag and heating the bag for a predetermined period of time. Preferably, the bag is heated at a temperature of between 35 degrees and 50 degrees Celcius and the predetermined period of time is between 30 and 120 minutes, wherein 45 degrees Celcius and 45 minutes of time in a non-vacuum over or incubator for a single layer of tissue generally seems ideal.
In one arrangement, the surface of the drying fixture has a plurality of grooves that defines the outer contours of each of the plurality of placenta membrane tissue grafts and wherein the step of cutting comprises cutting the selected layer along the grooves.
In another arrangement, the surface of the drying fixture has a plurality of raised edges that define the outer contours of each of the plurality of placenta membrane tissue grafts and wherein the step of cutting comprises rolling a roller across the top of the selected layer and pressing the selected layer against the raised edges.
In another feature, the method further comprises the step of mounting one or more additional layers of chorion tissue or amniotic layer onto the surface of the drying fixture prior to the step of dehydration to create a plurality of laminated placenta membrane tissue grafts having a thickness and strength greater than a single layer of placenta membrane tissue grafts.
In a further feature, each of the plurality of placenta membrane tissue grafts is rehydrated prior to use of the respective graft for a medical procedure.
In yet further features, the present invention includes tissue grafts processed and prepared according to any of the methods described herein.
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a tissue graft that comprises a dehydrated, placenta tissue having a top and bottom surface and an outer contour sized and shaped for use in a suitable medical procedure, wherein a texture or design is embossed within the dehydrated, placenta tissue and wherein the embossment distinguishes the top from the bottom surface of the placenta tissue; and wherein the dehydrated, placenta tissue graft is usable in the suitable medical procedure after being rehydrated. In a feature of this embodiment, the dehydrated, placenta tissue comprises either an amniotic membrane layer or a chorion tissue layer. In yet another feature, the dehydrated, placenta tissue comprises two or more layers of amniotic membrane and chorion tissue, wherein the two or more layers include a plurality of amniotic membrane, a plurality of chorion tissue, or a plurality of amniotic membrane and chorion tissue.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further features and benefits of the present invention will be apparent from a detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein similar elements are referred to with similar reference numbers, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a high level flow chart of the primary steps performed in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exemplary tissue check-in form used with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an exemplary raw tissue assessment form used with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an exemplary dehydration process form used with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary drying fixture for use with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is more particularly described in the following examples and embodiments that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the invention arc now described in greater detail. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which are not intended to influence the scope of the present invention. Additionally, some terms used in this specification are more specifically defined below.
Without intent to limit the scope of the invention, exemplary instruments, apparatus, methods and their related results according to the embodiments of the present invention are given below. Note that titles or subtitles may be used in the discussion of exemplary embodiments of the present invention for convenience of a reader, which in no way should limit the scope of the invention. Moreover, certain theories are proposed and disclosed herein; however, in no way they, whether they are right or wrong, should limit the scope of the invention so long as the invention is practiced according to the invention without regard for any particular theory or scheme of action.
Overview of the Process
Turning first to FIG. 1 , a high level overview 100 of the steps undertaken to harvest, process, and prepare placental material for later use as an allograft is disclosed. More detailed descriptions and discussion regarding each individual step will follow. At a high level, initially, the placenta tissue is collected from a consenting patient following an elective Cesarean surgery (step 110 ). The material is preserved and transported in conventional tissue preservation manner to a suitable processing location or facility for check-in and evaluation (step 120 ). Gross processing, handling, and separation of the tissue layers then takes place (step 130 ). Acceptable tissue is then decontaminated (step 140 ), dehydrated (step 150 ), cut and packaged (step 160 ), and released (step 170 ) to the market for use by surgeons and other medical professionals in appropriate surgical procedures and for wound care.
Initial Tissue Collection (Step 110 )
The recovery of placenta tissue originates in a hospital, where it is collected during a Cesarean section birth. The donor, referring to the mother who is about to give birth, voluntarily submits to a comprehensive screening process designed to provide the safest tissue possible for transplantation. The screening process preferably tests for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and type 2 (anti-HIV-1 and anti-HIV-2), hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg), antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), antibodies to the human T-lymphotropic virus type I and type II (anti-HTLV-I and anti HTLV II), CMV, and syphilis, using conventional serological tests. The above list of tests is exemplary only, as more, fewer, or different tests may be desired or necessary over time or based upon the intended use of the grafts, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Based upon a review of the donor's information and screening test results, the donor will either be deemed acceptable or not. In addition, at the time of delivery, cultures arc taken to determine the presence of, for example, Clostridium or Streptococcus. If the donor's information, screening tests, and the delivery cultures are all negative (i.e., do not indicate any risks or indicate acceptable level of risk), the donor is approved and the tissue specimen is designated as initially eligible for further processing and evaluation.
Human placentas that meet the above selection criteria arc preferably bagged in a saline solution in a sterile shipment bag and stored in a container of wet ice for shipment to a processing location or laboratory for further processing.
If the placenta tissue is collected prior to the completion or obtaining of results from the screening tests and delivery cultures, such tissue is labeled and kept in quarantine. The tissue is approved for further processing only after the required screening assessments and delivery cultures, which declare the tissue safe for handling and use, are satisfied.
Material Check-in and Evaluation (Step 120 )
Upon arrival at the processing center or laboratory, the shipment is opened and verified that the sterile shipment bag/container is still sealed and intact, that ice or other coolant is present and that the contents are cool, that the appropriate donor paperwork is present, and that the donor number on the paperwork matches the number on the sterile shipment bag containing the tissue. The sterile shipment bag containing the tissue is then stored in a refrigerator until ready for further processing. All appropriate forms, including a tissue check-in form, such as that shown in FIG. 2 , are completed and chain of custody and handling logs (not shown) arc also completed.
Gross Tissue Processing (Step 130 )
When the tissue is ready to be processed further, the sterile supplies necessary for processing the placenta tissue further arc assembled in a staging area in a controlled environment and are prepared for introduction into a critical environment. If the critical environment is a manufacturing hood, the sterile supplies are opened and placed into the hood using conventional sterile technique. If the critical environment is a clean room, the sterile supplies are opened and placed on a cart covered by a sterile drape. All the work surfaces are covered by a piece of sterile drape using conventional sterile techniques, and the sterile supplies and the processing equipments are placed on to the sterile drape, again using conventional sterile technique.
Processing equipment is decontaminated according to conventional and industry-approved decontamination procedures and then introduced into the critical environment. The equipment is strategically placed within the critical environment to minimize the chance for the equipment to come in proximity to or is inadvertently contaminated by the tissue specimen.
Next, the placenta is removed from the sterile shipment bag and transferred aseptically to a sterile processing basin within the controlled environment. The sterile basin contains , preferably, 18 % NaCl- hypertonic saline) solution that is at room or near room temperature. The placenta is gently massaged to help separate blood clots and to allow the placenta tissue to reach room temperature, which will make the separation of the amnion and chorion layers from each other, as discussed hereinafter, easier. After having warmed up to the ambient temperature (after about 10-30 minutes), the placenta is then removed from the sterile processing basin and laid flat on a processing tray with the amniotic membrane layer facing down for inspection.
The placenta tissue is examined and the results of the examination are documented on a “Raw Tissue Assessment Form” similar to that shown in FIG. 3 . The placenta tissue is examined for discoloration, debris or other contamination, odor, and signs of damage. The size of the tissue is also noted. A determination is made, at this point, as to whether the tissue is acceptable for further processing.
Next, if the placenta tissue is deemed acceptable for further processing, the amnion and chorion layers of the placenta tissue are then carefully separated. The materials and equipments used in this procedure include the processing tray, 18% saline solution, sterile 4×4 sponges, and two sterile Nalgcne jars. The placenta tissue is then closely examined to find an area (typically a corner) in which the amniotic membrane layer can be separated from the chorion layer. The amniotic membrane appears as a thin, opaque layer on the chorion.
With the placenta tissue in the processing tray with the amniotic membrane layer facing down, the chorion layer is gently lifted off the amniotic membrane layer in a slow, continuous motion, using care to prevent tearing of the amniotic membrane. If a tear starts, it is generally advisable to restart the separation process from a different location to minimize tearing of either layer of tissue. If the chorion layer is not needed, it may be gently scrubbed away from the amniotic membrane layer with one of the sterile 4×4 sponges by gently scrubbing the chorion in one direction. A new, sterile 4×4 sponge can be used whenever the prior sponge becomes too moist or laden with the chorion tissue. If the chorion is to be retained, then the separation process continues by hand, without the use of the sponges, being careful not to tear either the amnion layer or the chorion layer.
Care is then taken to remove blood clots and other extraneous tissue from each layer of tissue until the amniotic membrane tissue and the chorion are clean and ready for further processing. More specifically, the amnion and chorion tissues are placed on the processing tray and blood clots are carefully removed using a blunt instrument, a finger, or a sterile non-particulating gauze, by gently rubbing the blood until it is free from the stromal tissue of the amnion and from the trophoblast tissue of the chorion. The stromal layer of the amnion is the side of the amniotic membrane that faces the mother. In contrast, the basement membrane layer is the side of the amnion that faces the baby.
Using a blunt instrument, a cell scraper or sterile gauze, any residual debris or contamination is also removed. This step must be done with adequate care, again, so as not to tear the amnion or chorion tissues. The cleaning of the amnion is complete once the amnion tissue is smooth and opaque-white in appearance. If the amnion tissue is cleaned too much, the opaque layer can be removed. Any areas of the amnion cleaned too aggressively and appear clear will be unacceptable and will ultimately be discarded.
Chemical Decontamination (Step 140 )
The amniotic membrane tissue is then placed into a sterile Nalgene jar for the next step of chemical decontamination. If the chorion is to be recovered and processed further, it too is placed in its own sterile Nalgene jar for the next step of chemical decontamination. If the chorion is not to be kept or used further, it can be discarded in an appropriate biohazard container.
Next, each Nalgene jar is aseptically filled with 18% saline solution and sealed (or closed with a top. The jar is then placed on a rocker platform and agitated for between 30 and 90 minutes, which further cleans the tissue of contaminants.
If the rocker platform was not in the critical environment (e.g., the manufacturing hood), the Nalgene jar is returned to the critical/sterile environment and opened. Using sterile forceps, the tissue is gently removed from the Nalgene jar containing the 18% hypertonic saline solution and placed into an empty Nalgene jar. This empty Nalgene jar with the tissue is then aseptically filled with a pre-mixed antibiotic solution. Preferably, the premixed antibiotic solution is comprised of a cocktail of antibiotics, such as Streptomycin Sulfate and Gentamicin Sulfate. Other antibiotics, such as Polymixin B Sulfate and Bacitracin, or similar antibiotics now available or available in the future, are also suitable. Additionally, it is preferred that the antibiotic solution be at room temperature when added so that it does not change the temperature of or otherwise damage the tissue. This jar or container containing the tissue and antibiotics is then sealed or closed and placed on a rocker platform and agitated for, preferably, between 60 and 90 minutes. Such rocking or agitation of the tissue within the antibiotic solution further cleans the tissue of contaminants and bacteria.
Again, if the rocker platform was not in the critical environment (e.g., the manufacturing hood), the jar or container containing the tissue and antibiotics is then returned to the criticaUsterile environment and opened. Using sterile forceps, the tissue is gently removed from the jar or container and placed in a sterile basin containing sterile water or normal saline (0.9% saline solution). The tissue is allowed to soak in place in the sterile water/normal saline solution for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The tissue may be slightly agitated to facilitate removal of the antibiotic solution and any other contaminants from the tissue. After at least 10 to 15 minutes, the tissue is ready to be dehydrated and processed further.
Dehydration (Step 150 )
Next, the now-rinsed tissue (whether it be the amniotic membrane or chorion tissue) is ready to be dehydrated. The amniotic membrane is laid, stromal side down, on a suitable drying fixture. The stromal side of the amniotic membrane is the “tackier” of the two sides of the amniotic membrane. A sterile, cotton tipped applicator may be used to determine which side of the amniotic tissue is tackier and, hence, the stromal side.
The drying fixture is preferably sized to be large enough to receive the tissue, fully, in laid out, flat fashion. The drying fixture is preferably made of Teflon or of Delrin, is the brand name for an acetal resin engineering plastic invented and sold by DuPont and which is also available commercially from Werner Machines, Inc. in Marietta, Ga. Any other suitable material that is heat and cut resistant, capable of being formed into an appropriate shape to receive wet tissue and to hold and maintain textured designs, logos, or text can also be used for the drying fixture. The tissue must be placed on the drying fixture so that it completely covers as many “product spaces” (as explained hereinafter) as possible.
In one embodiment, similar to that shown in FIG. 5 , the receiving surface of the drying fixture 500 has grooves 505 that define the product spaces 510 , which are the desired outer contours of the tissue after it is cut and of a size and shape that is desired for the applicable surgical procedure in which the tissue will be used. For example, the drying fixture can be laid out so that the grooves arc in a grid arrangement. The grids on a single drying fixture may be the same uniform size or may include multiple sizes that are designed for different surgical applications. Nevertheless, any size and shape arrangement can be used for the drying fixture, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In another embodiment, instead of having grooves to define the product spaces, the drying fixture has raised ridges or blades.
Within the “empty” space between the grooves or ridges, the drying fixture preferably includes a slightly raised or indented texture in the form of text, logo, name, or similar design 520 . This textured text, logo, name, or design can be customized or private labeled depending upon the company that will be selling the graft or depending upon the desired attributes requested by the end user (e.g., surgeon). When dried, the tissue will mold itself around the raised texture or into the indented texture—essentially providing a label within the tissue itself. Preferably, such texture/label can be read or viewed on the tissue in only one orientation so that, after drying and cutting, an end user (typically, a surgeon) of the dried tissue will be able to tell the stromal side from the basement side of the dried tissue. The reason this is desired is because, during a surgical procedure, it is desirable to place the allograft in place, with basement side down or adjacent the native tissue of the patient receiving the allograft. FIG. 5 illustrates a variety of marks, logos, and text 520 that can be included within the empty spaces 510 of the drying fixture 500 . Typically, a single drying fixture will include the same design or text within all of the empty spaces; however, FIG. 5 shows, for illustrative purposes, a wide variety of designs that can be included on such drying fixtures to emboss each graft.
In a preferred embodiment, only one layer of tissue is placed on the drying fixture. In alternate embodiments, multiple layers of tissue are placed on the same drying fixture to create a laminate-type allograft material that is thicker and stronger than a single layer of allograft material. The actual number of layers will depend upon the surgical need and procedure with which the allograft is designed to be used.
Once the tissue(s) is placed on the drying fixture, the drying fixture is placed in a sterile Tyvex (or similar, breathable, heat-resistant, and sealable material) dehydration bag and scaled. Such breathable dehydration bag prevents the tissue from drying too quickly. If multiple drying fixtures are being processed simultaneously, each drying fixture is either placed in its own Tyvex bag or, alternatively, placed into a suitable mounting frame that is designed to hold multiple drying frames thereon and the entire frame is then placed into a larger, single sterile Tyvex dehydration bag and sealed.
The Tyvcx dehydration bag containing the one or more drying fixtures is then placed into a non-vacuum oven or incubator that has been preheated to approximately 35 to 50 degrees Celcius. The Tyvex bag remains in the oven for between 30 and 120 minutes, although approximately 45 minutes at a temperature of approximately 45 degrees Celcius appears to be ideal to dry the tissue sufficiently but without over-drying or burning the tissue. The specific temperature and time for any specific oven will need to be calibrated and adjusted based on other factors including altitude, size of the oven, accuracy of the oven temperature, material used for the drying fixture, number of drying fixtures being dried simultaneously, whether a single or multiple frames of drying fixtures are dried simultaneously, and the like.
An appropriate Dehydration recordation form, similar to that shown in FIG. 4 , is completed at the end of the dehydration process.
Cutting & Packaging (Step 160 )
Once the tissue has been adequately dehydrated, the tissue is then ready to be cut into specific product sizes and appropriately packages for storage and later surgical use. First, the Tyvex bag containing the dehydrated tissue is placed back into the sterile/critical environment, The number of grafts to be produced is estimated based on the size and shape of the tissue on the drying fixture(s). An appropriate number of pouches, one for each allograft, are then also introduced into the sterile/critical environment. The drying fixture(s) are then removed from the Tyvex bag.
If the drying fixture has grooves, then the following procedure is followed for cutting the tissue into product sizes. Preferably, if the drying fixture is configured in a grid pattern, a #20 or similar straight or rolling blade is used to cut along each groove line in parallel. Then, all lines in the perpendicular direction are cut.
If the drying fixture has raised edges or blades, then the following procedure is followed for cutting the tissue into product sizes. Preferably, a sterile roller is used to roll across the drying fixture. Sufficient pressure must be applied so that the dehydrated tissue is cut along all of the raised blades or edges of the drying fixture.
After cutting, each separate piece or tissue graft is placed in a respective “inner” pouch. The inner pouch, which preferably has a clear side and an opaque side, should be oriented clear side facing up. The tissue graft is placed in the “inner” pouch so that the texture in the form of text, logo, name, or similar design is facing out through the clear side of the inner pouch and is visible outside of the inner pouch. This process is repeated for each separate graft.
Each tissue graft is then given a final inspection to confirm that there are no tears or holes, that the product size (as cut) is within approximately 1 millimeter (plus or minus) of the specified size for that particular graft, that there are no noticeable blemishes or discoloration of the tissue, and that the textured logo or wording is readable and viewable through the “inner” pouch.
To the extent possible, oxygen is removed from the inner pouch before it is sealed. The inner pouch can be sealed in any suitable manner; however, a heat seal has shown to be effective. Next, each inner pouch is separately packaged in an “outer” pouch for further protection, storage, and shipment.
It should be noted that the above process does not require freezing of the tissue to kill unwanted cells, to decontaminate the tissue, or otherwise to preserve the tissue. The dehydrated allografts are designed to be stored and shipped at room or ambient temperature, without need for refrigeration or freezing.
Product Release (Step 170 )
Before the product is ready for shipment and release to the end user, a final inspection is made of both the inner and outer pouches. This final inspection ensure that the allograft contained therein matches the product specifications (size, shape, tissue type, tissue thickness (# of layers), design logo, etc.) identified on the packaging label Each package is inspected for holes, broken seals, burns, tears, contamination, or other physical defects. Each allograft is also inspected to confirm uniformity of appearance, including the absence of spots or discoloration.
Appropriate labeling and chain of custody is observed throughout all of the above processes, in accordance with accepted industry standards and practice. Appropriate clean room and sterile working conditions are maintained and used, to the extent possible, throughout the above processes.
Overview of Clinical Applications
In practice, it has been determined that the above allograft materials can be stored in room temperature conditions safely for at least five (5) years.
When ready for use, such allografts are re-hydrated by soaking them in BSS (buffered saline solution), 0.9% saline solution, or sterile water for 30-90 seconds.
Amnion membrane has the following properties and has been shown to be suitable for the following surgical procedures and indications: Guided Tissue Regeneration (GTR), Schneiderian Membrane repair, primary closure, and general wound care.
Laminated amnion membrane has the following properties and has been shown to be suitable for the following surgical procedures and indications: GTR, Reconstructive, General Wound Care, Neurological, ENT.
Chorion tissue grafts have the following properties and have been shown to be suitable for the following surgical procedures and indications: Biological Dressing or Covering.
Laminated chorion tissue grafts have the following properties and have been shown to be suitable for the following surgical procedures and indications: GTR, Reconstructive, General Wound Care, Neurological, ENT.
Laminated amnion and chorion combined tissue grafts have the following properties and have been shown to be suitable for the following surgical procedures and indications: Advanced Ocular Defects, Reconstructive, General Wound Care, Biological Dressing.
Although the above processes have been described specifically in association with amnion membrane and chorion recovered from placenta tissue, it should be understood that the above techniques and procedures arc susceptible and usable for many other types of human and animal tissues. In addition, although the above procedures and tissues have been described for use with allograft tissues, such procedures and techniques are likewise suitable and usable for xenograft and isograft applications.
In view of the foregoing detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, it readily will be understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application. While various aspects have been described in the context of screen shots, additional aspects, features, and methodologies of the present invention will be readily discernable therefrom. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements and methodologies, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Furthermore, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes described and claimed herein are those considered to be the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. It should also be understood that, although steps of various processes may be shown and described as being in a preferred sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent a specific indication of such to achieve a particular intended result. In most cases, the steps of such processes may be carried out in various different sequences and orders, while still falling within the scope of the present inventions. In addition, some steps may be carried out simultaneously. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended nor is to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.
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A method for preparing placenta membrane tissue grafts for medical use, includes obtaining a placenta from a subject, cleaning the placenta, separating the chorion tissue from the amniotic membrane, mounting a selected layer of either the chorion tissue or the amniotic membrane onto a drying fixture, dehydrating the selected layer on the drying fixture, and cutting the selected layer into a plurality of tissue grafts. Preferably, the drying fixture includes grooves or raised edges that define the outer contours of each desired tissue graft, after they are cut, and further includes raised or indented logos that emboss the middle area of the tissue grafts during dehydration and that enables an end user to distinguish the top from the bottom side of the graft. The grafts are comprised of single layers of amnion or chorion, multiple layers of amnion or chorion, or multiple layers of a combination of amnion and chorion.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation-in-part application based on an invention that was disclosed in U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/476,975, filed 9 Jun. 2003, a PCT application (International Application No. PCT/US2004/018265) filed 9 Jun. 2004, and a U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 10/543,744 filed 29 Jul. 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,534 all entitled “Rotary Engine System”. The benefits of priority available under applicable law is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to internal combustion engines, and more specifically, to non-turbine rotary engines having a non-eccentric configuration.
BACKGROUND
Internal combustion engines having a rotary configuration can generally be classified as turbine or non-turbine. In turbine engines, a flow of combustion gases parallel to an axle impacts inclined vanes attached to the axle, causing the axle to rotate. This rotational motion is then used to perform work. This type of rotary internal combustion engine is widely accepted and used.
The field of non-turbine rotary engines has seen far less development and practical application. In this field, only eccentric rotary engines, such as the Wankel engine, have been significantly developed and used. Non-turbine rotary engines that are also non-eccentric have been proposed in numerous patents, but have not seen significant development and use to this date.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The rotary internal combustion engine of my invention overcomes many of the problems and defects of prior art devices in a design that is simple, durable, and easily implemented. In its most basic embodiments it is comprised of two rotatable vane type pistons mounted for axial rotation in a sealed casing. Engageable locking mechanisms can lock the two pistons in position proximate to each other so as to form a combustion space between the two pistons. One piston is released to rotate at or prior to initiating combustion in the combustion space, while the other remains fixed.
As the free piston rotates around to the position where the first piston is located, it drives exhaust from a prior cycle out of an exhaust outlet and then compresses air towards the combustion space. The force of these compressed gases can serve to move the formerly fixed piston to the starting position for the moving piston as the moving piston takes the position formerly held by the fixed piston. However, in the preferred embodiments of my invention, two units are operated in tandem. In this situation, the power stroke of one unit provides power to help finalize the cycle of the other unit and rotate the moving piston all the way to the fixed piston position. In either case, the roles of the pistons are reversed on the next cycle with the piston that was fixed before becoming the moving piston and the piston that was moving before becoming the fixed piston.
In the preferred embodiments my engine is operated using Hydrogen for fuel and thereby generates water vapor (steam) as a combustion byproduct. Fuel and oxidizer is first introduced in the initial combustion space and used to initiate combustion; however, in order to facilitate the continued rotation of the driven piston and to further drive it, additional fuel and/or oxidizer can be introduced behind the driven piston into the area of hot expanding and combusting gases that is driving the piston after combustion within the initial combustion space so as to assist in its continued rotation. Water may also be introduced into the combustion chamber as an entrained mist or spray so as to lubricate its working parts and/or generate additional steam to enhance the operation of the system. This is done by spraying water in advance of the driven piston, so as to coat and lubricate the casing in the pathway of the driven pathway. This water is also converted into steam as the piston passes and the water coated surfaces of the casing are exposed to the hot gases behind and driving the driven piston. Thus the primary byproduct of my invention—water—is not only non-polluting in itself, it can and is intended to serve as a piston/combustion chamber lubricant for my invention. And, in its preferred embodiments my invention serves to largely eliminate piston/combustion chamber lubricants as well as exhaust as sources of environmental pollution. However, it is also capable of being used with more typical fuels and lubricants if desired.
DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A provides a first schematic side view of my invention, illustrating its casing and two radial vanes/pistons in locked position at the initiation of a power stroke.
FIG. 1B provides a first schematic perspective view of my invention. Like FIG. 1A , it illustrates the casing and two radial vanes/pistons in locked position at the initiation of a power stroke.
FIG. 1C provides a more detailed side schematic of the top portion of the combustion chamber of my invention, illustrating the shape of its engageable locking mechanisms.
FIG. 2A provides a second schematic side view of my invention, illustrating its two vanes/pistons at a later point in time where the stationary piston remains in its starting position and the rotating piston has moved more than half way around towards its starting position.
FIG. 2B provides a second schematic perspective view of my invention. Like FIG. 2A , it illustrates the two vanes/pistons at a later point in time where the stationary piston remains in its starting position and the rotating piston has moved more than half way around towards its starting position.
FIG. 3A provides a third schematic side view of my invention, illustrating its two vanes/pistons at a still later point in time where the stationary piston has moved from its starting position into position to be the rotating piston on the next cycle and the rotating piston has moved to the stationary piston position so as to be positioned to act as stationary piston on the next cycle.
FIG. 3B provides a third schematic perspective view of my invention. Like FIG. 3A , it illustrates the two vanes/pistons at a still later point in time where the stationary piston has moved from its starting position into position to be the rotating piston on the next cycle and the rotating piston has moved to the stationary piston position so as to be positioned to act as stationary piston on the next cycle.
FIG. 3C provides a schematic view of a combustion chamber of my invention operating in conjunction with a clutch and gear system as part of a power train.
FIG. 4A provides a schematic view of combustion in a chamber A (which has pistons A 1 , A 2 ) driving piston A 2 from its second position. In this initial combustion phase, piston A 2 is linked to piston B 1 in chamber B illustrated in FIG. 4B .
FIG. 4B provides a schematic view of a chamber B (which has pistons B 1 , B 2 ) linked to chamber A such that the power phase of chamber A, for piston A 2 is used to move piston B 1 through to the completion of its cycle to first position in chamber B.
FIG. 5A provides a schematic view of chamber A where piston B 2 of chamber B (in its initial combustion phase) is being used to assist piston A 2 of chamber A.
FIG. 5B provides a schematic view of chamber B where piston B 2 of chamber B (in its initial combustion phase) is being used to assist piston A 2 of chamber A.
FIG. 6A provides a schematic view of chamber A where piston A 1 of chamber A (in its initial combustion phase) is being used to assist piston B 2 of chamber B.
FIG. 6B provides a schematic view of chamber B where piston A 1 of chamber A (in its initial combustion phase) is being used to assist piston B 2 of chamber B.
FIG. 7A provides a schematic view of chamber A where piston B 1 of chamber B (in its initial combustion phase) is being used to assist piston A 1 of chamber A.
FIG. 7B provides a schematic view of chamber B where piston B 1 of chamber B (in its initial combustion phase) is being used to assist piston A 1 of chamber A.
FIG. 7C provides a more complete schematic chart showing operational details related to the functioning of two combustion chambers in tandem.
FIG. 8 provides a schematic view of a clutch and gear arrangement for use with my invention, the two combustion chambers acting cooperatively such that each combustion chamber serves during its power stroke to help move necessary elements of the other chamber to required positions for a next power stroke in that other chamber.
FIG. 9A provides a schematic side view of a chamber of my invention, illustrating a mechanical timing chain arrangement to operate a locking mechanism of the invention. This mechanism can also be used to time the engagement of clutches and gears related to the operation of the invention.
FIG. 9B provides a schematic perspective view based on FIG. 9A .
FIG. 9C provides a schematic view of a combustion chamber of my invention operating in conjunction with a clutch and gear system as part of a power train and an electronic monitoring and control system.
FIG. 10A provides a first schematic chart showing preferred types and positionings of sensors and their relationship to the overall operation of the control system of my invention.
FIG. 10B provides a second schematic chart showing preferred types and positionings of sensors and their relationship to the overall operation of the control system of my invention.
FIG. 10C provides a third schematic chart showing preferred types and positionings of sensors and their relationship to the overall operation of the control system of my invention.
FIG. 11 provides a schematic view of a fuel injection assembly suitable for use with my invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An initial understanding of the structure and operation of my invention can best be obtained by review of the basic schematics illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 3C . As will be noted upon review of these figures, my invention is relatively simple in overall design. Its combustion chamber is formed by a casing 1 defining a closed internal plenum (denoted generally by arrow 2 ). A rotatable shaft 3 with a first radial piston A 1 attached extends through plenum 2 . A rotatable sleeve 4 on shaft 3 with a second radial piston A 2 attached also extends through plenum 2 such that said first radial piston A 1 and said second radial piston A 2 define two substantially closed spaces within plenum 2 . (An engine bearing system for my invention can include radial and axial load carrying sealed bearings with synthetic lubricant and/or ceramic bearings, and thrust bushings). A first engageable locking mechanism 5 serves to prevent rotary movement of a radial piston A 1 , A 2 . (The position of a radial piston A 1 , A 2 when engaged by said first locking mechanism 5 will be hereafter referred to as the first position). A second engageable locking mechanism 6 likewise prevents rotary movement of a radial piston A 1 , A 2 . (The position of a radial piston A 1 , A 2 when locked by said second locking mechanism will be hereafter referred to as the second position).
The substantially closed space between radial pistons A 1 , A 2 when one of said radial pistons A 1 , A 2 is in the first position and the other radial piston A 2 , A 1 is in the second position serves as an initial combustion space (denoted generally by arrow 7 in FIG. 1A ). As will be noted in reviewing the drawings of the preferred embodiment, the first locking mechanism 5 (when engaged) merely needs to prevent a piston A 1 , A 2 from moving away from the initial combustion space 7 . Locking mechanism 5 does not need to prevent it from moving into the initial combustion space 7 when engaged. Likewise, the second locking mechanism 6 prevents a piston A 1 , A 2 from moving away from initial combustion space 7 when engaged, but does not prevent it from moving into the initial combustion space 7 . Locking mechanisms 5 , 6 can be advantageously formed by cylindrical members with flattened portions (i.e.-removed semi-cylindrical sections) within casing 1 and generally adjacent plenum 2 , such that a slight rotation will release a radial piston A 1 , A 2 . (See, FIG. 1C ). A preferred apparatus or means for operating these locking mechanisms is described in more detail in the discussion of FIGS. 9A and 9B , below.
In the preferred embodiments illustrated, fuel and oxidizer are introduced into initial combustion space 7 by, respectively, a fuel insertion inlet 7 A and a separate oxidizer insertion inlet 7 B. (However, these two could be combined with a single opening serving as both fuel insertion inlet 7 A and oxidizer inlet 7 B). Combusting the fuel and oxidizer mixture introduced in the initial combustion space 7 drives a radial piston A 1 , A 2 from the second position towards the first position as illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 3C . (Combustion can be initiated by a simple spark mechanism which can be positioned on, e.g., casing 1 or radial pistons A 1 ,A 2 ). The second engageable locking mechanism 6 is disengaged at or prior to combusting said fuel and oxidizer mixture, but the first engageable locking mechanism 5 remains engaged during the process. As a radial piston A 1 , A 2 moves from the second position to the first position, it expels exhaust from a prior combustion through at least one exhaust outlet 8 . After passing the exhaust outlet 8 the radial piston A 1 ,A 2 compresses the oxidizer (usually ambient air) received via oxidizer insertion inlet 7 B towards initial combustion space 7 . In addition, as illustrated in the drawing figures, this basic combustion cycle can be supplemented by a second combustion at a later point in the cycle. This can be readily accomplished by the positioning of a second fuel insertion inlet 9 A and a second oxidizer insertion inlet 9 B between the second position and exhaust outlet 8 . Combustion can, once again, be initiated using means well known in the mechanical arts via a spark from radial pistons A 1 , A 2 or casing 1 . In this manner, the continued rotation of the driven piston is facilitated by the introduction of additional fuel and/or oxidizer behind the driven piston into the area of hot expanding and combusting gases that is driving the piston after combustion within the initial combustion space.
Although my invention, as previously outlined, can operate purely on the combustion of fuel and oxidizer, its operation is greatly enhanced by the introduction of clean water as vapor or spray during the combustion process. This is done by spraying water in advance of the driven piston, so as to coat and lubricate the casing in the pathway of the driven pathway. This water is also converted into steam as the piston passes and the water coated surfaces of the casing are exposed to the hot gases behind and driving the driven piston. It also assists in converting the extreme heat generated by the combustion of my preferred fuel, hydrogen, into a more utilizable form. Water absorbs the heat of hydrogen combustion, flashing into steam and lowering the temperature of the combustion chamber substantially in the process. The pressure generated by the high volume of steam generated in this process is a primary source of force for driving the radial pistons A 1 , A 2 of my invention. Further, as exhaust, this steam also provides a very useful byproduct for, e.g., home or business heating purposes or for power generation. Water used for this purpose can be advantageously entrained in the air/oxidizer stream for the system via atomizer spray nozzles 7 C, 9 C. Alternatively, water can be injected at various other points through the casing. In whatever manner it is produced, and however it is initially used after it is exhausted from a combustion chamber, the steam produced and used by my invention can easily be run though a condensation system and then reintroduced (recycled) as water for further use in my invention.
The torque and power generated by a single chamber of my invention can be advantageously harnessed using a clutch and gear system of the type schematically illustrated in FIG. 3C . In operation, clutch CA 2 is engaged while radial piston A 2 is reacting to combustion (prior to reaching exhaust outlet 8 ) and conveys torque via gear GA 2 to a power train. During this same period, radial piston A 1 is engaged at the first position via locking mechanism 5 . Thus, clutch CA 1 is disengaged, breaking the connection between radial piston A 1 and gear GA 1 . However, as soon as the next cycle begins, the positions and actions of the aforesaid elements are reversed.
The aforesaid system can be used alone or in conjunction with a flywheel or system equivalent to maintain a steady stream of power/torque and facilitate the operation of my invention. However, it is more advantageous to operate at least two of my combustion chambers in tandem, so that the combustion phase of one assists the other in completing its cycle. Oxidizer compressed by radial piston A 1 , A 2 while being driven from the second position to the first position and/or introduced via oxidizer inlet 7 B serves to push the other radial piston A 1 , A 2 from the first position to the second position. (See, FIGS. 2A through 3B ). Unfortunately, at this point, the compressed air between piston A 1 and piston A 2 may serve to force them apart, preventing the next piston A 1 , A 2 in line from being able to reach the first position. This problem is compounded by the fact that the exhaust from combustion has been allowed to escape via outlet 8 . Thus, there is no longer any countervailing force in operation. When at least two combustion chambers are operated in tandem, the power stroke of one chamber can be used to facilitate completion of the cycle in the other.
The general operations of multi-chamber systems can be illustrated using only two chambers A, B operating in tandem. (See, FIGS. 4A through 7B ). Obviously, in this situation, each chamber A, B initiates combustion of fuel at a different time such that one chamber engine, the “later” chamber, is initiating combustion in its initial combustion space 7 after the other chamber, the “earlier” chamber, has already initiated combustion in its initial combustion space 7 . Thus, when the earlier chamber has largely exhausted the energy available from combustion (its moving radial piston may even have passed exhaustion outlet 8 and begun releasing combustion byproducts), the later chamber will have just initiated combustion in its initial combustion space or, at the least, will be earlier in its combustion cycle. In this situation, the excess power available from the later chamber can be used to help finish the cycle of the earlier chamber by assisting in driving the moving radial piston of the earlier chamber the remainder of the distance to the first position.
The best understanding of this system can, once again, be gained from first reviewing simplified schematics illustrating two chambers A, B operating in tandem as shown in FIGS. 4A through 7B :
1. In FIG. 4A combustion is initiated in chamber A (which has pistons A 1 , A 2 ) driving piston A 2 from second position. In this initial combustion phase, piston A 2 is linked to piston B 1 in chamber B. (See, FIG. 4B ). Thus, the power phase of chamber 1 , for piston A 2 is used to move piston B 1 through to the completion of its cycle to first position in chamber B. 2. In FIGS. 5A and 5B , the situation is reversed, with piston B 2 (in its initial combustion phase) being used to assist piston A 2 in moving to first position. 3. In FIGS. 6A and 6B , the cycle illustrated above continues, with piston A 1 of chamber A in its initial combustion phase serving to assist piston B 2 of chamber B. 4. In FIGS. 7A and 7B , the tandem system returns to its initial configuration, ready for the beginning of another cycle, with piston B 1 in its combustion phase assisting piston A 1 back to first position.
The foregoing information and system review provides a basis for understanding the more detailed schematic chart presented in FIG. 7C .
The torque and power generated by two combustion chambers A, B operating in tandem can be advantageously harnessed using a clutch and gear system of the type schematically illustrated in FIG. 8 . Here, as in FIG. 3C , a respective clutch CA 1 , CA 2 and gear GA 1 , GA 2 is engaged while its respective radial piston A 1 , A 2 is reacting to combustion and conveys torque to a power train. During the period that a radial piston A 1 , A 2 is engaged at the first position via locking mechanism 5 , its respective clutch CA 1 , CA 2 is disengaged, breaking the connection between radial piston A 1 , A 2 and its respective gear GA 1 , GA 2 . However, in this case, as discussed with reference to FIGS. 4A through 7C , a second chamber B is also operating in the same general manner. And, a radial piston B 1 , B 2 of the second chamber B will also be connected via its respective clutch CB 1 , CB 2 and gear GB 1 , GB 2 to the power train during at least part of the time that A 1 , A 2 is connected thereto. This connection serves to assist in moving the radial piston A 1 , A 2 , B 1 , B 2 of the system that is nearing the end of its cycle back to the first position in its respective chamber A, B. For this purpose, I have found it advantageous to intiate combustion in a chamber A, B when the radial piston of the other chamber A, B that has just experienced combustion has traversed approximately 180 degrees from the second position. This provides support for the “weak” part of the cycle in each chamber A, B and assures smooth and effective operation.
Coordinating the activities of single chamber or even of two chambers operating in tandem can be accomplished by mechanical linkages of the type well known in the mechanical arts for use with engines and mechanical systems. They can also be accomplished via electronic monitoring and operational systems of the type currently known and practiced with regard to engines and mechanical systems. However, I have found it advantageous to combine these approaches by coordinating mechanical linkages with an electronic monitoring and operational system. Thus, FIGS. 9A and 9B provide schematic views of a chamber of my invention, illustrating a mechanical timing chain arrangement to operate locking mechanism 5 . (This embodiment also features manifolds 26 for introduction of water and air into the combustion chamber). In these drawing figures, a timing chain or belt 20 runs between inner shaft 3 and pulley 21 . Pulley 21 is arranged to turn a cam 22 that interacts with a lever arm 23 to operate a link 24 connected to engageable locking mechanism 5 and biased by tensioner 25 . There is a 1:1 correspondence between the turning of the shaft 3 and the turning of cam 22 with the system being arranged to disengage locking mechanism 5 so as to allow radial piston A 1 to pass and be locked into the first position at an appropriate point in its cycle. (Similar mechanisms can be used to time and effectuate the engagement/disengagement of other elements, clutches and gears related to the operation of the invention). Arrangements of this type can advantageously be coupled with an electronic monitoring and control system of the type illustrated schematically in FIG. 9C . Further details regarding the type and positioning of sensors and the overall operation of my control system are provided by the charts of FIGS. 10A-10C , which describe the sensor devices and their functions and locations.
Finally, the operations of my invention can be facilitated by the introduction and use of a fuel injection system and apparatus of the type illustrated in FIG. 11 . In this apparatus, hydrogen or another fuel is injected into the manifold pasageway with the fluid “push” to propel it past the valve C into the combustion chamber to mix with the oxidizer. First, hydrogen or another fuel is injected into tube A between fluid piston B and valve C when fluid piston B is in a raised or withdrawn position as schematically illustrated in solid lines in FIG. 11 . Second, fluid piston B moves to an advanced or extended position as scheamtically indicated in broken lines in FIG. 11 injecting the fuel into the combustion space, Valve C may be spring loaded and forced to allow the said fuel to enter the combustion chamber by the pressure exerted thereon by the fuel when pushed by piston B, or (alternatively) can be mechanically operated and opened to allow entry of the fuel into the combustion chamber where it can mix with oxidizer. Third, valve C closes and fluid piston B moves back to the position indicated in solid lines in FIG. 11 so that the cycle can be repeated. Generally, there are at least two injectors of this type used, and a compressor and compressed air can advantageously be used to operate and move fluid piston B. The system outlined does not allow oxidizer to mix with hydrogen and/or other fuels outside of the engine housing, a very important feature in avoiding premature and/or accidental combustion and explosions. Mixing hydrogen or another fuel with an oxidizer in a plenum prior to injection or insertion into the combustion space or chamber can cause the hydrogen or fuel to ignite before it gets in the combustion chamber. Overall, the device acts like a hypodermic syringe in injecting fuel for combustion purposes.
Defined in other terms, low pressure pure hydrogen of some other fuel is injected into a small tube A using an actual hydrogen injection device and a few milliseconds later a pressurized fluid pushes the pure hydrogen or other fuel as a valve C opens inside the combustion chamber/space and the pure hydrogen or other fuel is pushed into the combustion area. The compressed oxidizer needed for combustion of the hydrogen or other fuel comes from two sources, trapped oxidizer in the piston plate's path after the exhaust ports and before the first combustion position and/or injected oxidizer at various locations along the periphery of the piston plate path.
However, numerous changes and variations can be made to the system without exceeding the scope of the inventive concept. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.
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This rotary internal combustion engine has two rotatable vane type pistons mounted for axial rotation in a sealed casing. In an exemplary cycle, one piston is released to rotate at or prior to initiating combustion in the combustion space between the two pistons, while the other remains fixed. As the free piston rotates around to the position where the fixed piston is located, it drives exhaust from a prior cycle out of an exhaust outlet and then compresses air towards the combustion space. The roles of the pistons are reversed on the next cycle. Two units may be operated in tandem so that the power stroke of one unit provides power to help finalize the cycle of the other. Hydrogen is used as a preferred fuel, and water preferably serves as a lubricant.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to catalysts uniformly distributed in mesoporous aerogels and ambigels having a three-dimensional nanoarchitecture and a metal-oxide framework. Specifically disclosed are Au—TiO 2 aerogels and their oxidation of carbon monoxide. The gold is inserted into the aerogel as a monolayer-protected cluster (MPC). Much of this invention was disclosed in Rolison et al., Nano Letters , 2002, 2(5), 545–549, and Rolison et al., Science , 2003, in press which is incorporated herein by reference including the references cited therein.
2. Description of Background Art
An extensive literature describes the ability of nanometer-sized gold supported on titania (Au/TiO 2 ) to catalyze the low-temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide. The mechanism of oxidation—in particular the individual roles of gold and titania—is still being elucidated. Agreement exists that oxygen is activated at either titania or the gold-titania interface, while carbon monoxide undergoes weak reversible adsorption at the surface of the gold nanoparticle. The surface diffusion of adsorbed CO on the gold to the activated oxygen sites at the interface, with possible spillover of activated oxygen to the gold, enhances oxidative turnover.
Studies by Haruta and coworkers, Catal. Lett . 1997, 44, 83–87 incorporated herein by reference, show that 3-nm gold particles supported on titania optimize the effectiveness of catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide. Gold sized at 3 nm appears to balance the need for a large ratio of perimeter to bulk, (i.e., high catalyst dispersion) while still presenting enough surface area for carbon monoxide adsorption and surface diffusion. Smaller particles are thought to be partially buried in the titania support, while larger particles are thought to lose carbon monoxide to desorption before diffusion to the active perimeter permits oxidation. Although 12-nm Au supported on iron oxide remains active for CO oxidation, which argues for a less size-dependent mechanism, such as spillover involving reactive atomic oxygen, titania-supported catalysts with gold particles larger than 5-nm are reported to be less active for CO oxidation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We now report the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic efficacy of gold-titania (Au—TiO 2 ) composite aerogels and ambigels as ambient-temperature oxidation catalysts for carbon monoxide. The composite aerogel offers a catalytic nanoarchitecture in which a framework in the form of a network of nanoscopic titapia, or other activating oxides such as iron oxide, or cerium oxide, serves as the host and alkanethiolate-monolayer protected gold clusters (Au-MPCs ) are guests. We previously showed that about-to-gel sol will nanoglue solid guests into the gel's nanostructure to create materials that retain molecular access to the guest and add the properties of the guest to the composite (U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,014, incorporated herein by reference).
Aerogels are nanoscopic pore-solid architectures with high surface area (150–1000 m 2 /g) and a continuous mesoporous network. The high surface area makes aerogels particularly attractive for catalysis and should allow for deposition of large effective concentrations of gold or other metal catalyst nanoparticles while maintaining a well dispersed population of particles. The three dimensional (3-D) continuous mesoporous network facilitates rapid diffusion of reactants to active sites in the aerogel, such that mass transport occurs on the order of open-medium diffusion rates. As mass transport must be factored into the kinetics of any catalyst, the continuous mesoporous structure of aerogels will be critical to their performance as composite, nanostructured catalysts, oxide supported catalysts in particular. A variation on aerogels is ambigels, or ambient-pressure processed aerogel-like materials, Rolison and Dunn, Journal of Materials Chemistry 2001, 11, 963–980 and incorporated herein by reference. Ambigels retain many of the properties of aerogels, including continuous mesoporosity and high surface areas, but are somewhat more dense and may have somewhat lower specific surface areas than aerogels, as they are processed differently (but more conveniently) than aerogels. The differences in processing will be described in greater detail below.
This invention also includes the use of monolayer-protected clusters (MPCs), in this case monolayer-protected gold clusters (Au-MPCs) in the preparation Au/TiO 2 catalysts. More general ligand-stabilized colloids are described by Toshima et al., Applied Organometallic Chemistry 2001, 15, 178–196 and incorporated herein by reference. Gold-MPCs like those used in our specific example here were first synthesized by Brust et al. J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Chem. Comm . 1994, 801–802 and incorporated herein by reference, and consist of 2–3 nm gold cores containing anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred gold atoms, depending on preparation conditions, which are protected from aggregation by thiolated organic capping agents. A mixed monolayer can be created by synthesizing gold-MPCs in the presence of mixed ligands, or by making permethyl-terminated alkylthiolate-protected MPCs and then stoichiometrically exchanging with the ligands of choice.
Using Au-MPCs in the preparation of nanoparticle-on-oxide catalysts is desirable because one starts with Au(0) particles with a relatively well-controlled size distribution. Au-MPCs can be isolated and stored as dry compounds, thus providing chemical and processing flexibility when designing and preparing nanocomposites. Judicious choice of protecting ligands leads to particles that dissolve readily in solvents suitable for sol-gel chemistry. Finally, the protecting ligand may also be chosen such that it specifically attaches to hydroxyls on the metal oxide colloids in the about-to-gel sol, giving good dispersion of the metal particles in the final gel.
Gold nanoparticles are known to be active as small molecule oxidation catalysts when supported on a number of crystalline and amorphous oxides. The MPCs-aerogel synthetic strategy can be extended to a number of oxides that are known to promote small molecule oxidation by gold nanoparticles absorbed thereon. Other oxides include those of iron, cobalt, manganese, aluminum, vanadium, cerium, and any other that are formed via sol-gel process and can form a three-dimensional pore-solid network that acts as a support for MPCs.
The Au—TiO 2 aerogel-derived architecture may effectively catalyze other oxidative reactions such as olefin epoxidation and sulfur oxidation. Furthermore, MPCs of other catalytically important metals, including but not limited to Ag, Pd, Pt, and their alloys, can be synthesized and incorporated into aerogel 3-D architecture, extending the flexibility of the 3-D architecture to other catalytic reactions, including reductive reactions such as hydrogenation over Pd.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Au-MPCs are synthesized and modified by literature procedures described in Brust et al. above and in Murray et al., in Langmuir , 1998, 14, 17–30 and incorporated herein by reference. The size and purity of mixed-monolayer Au clusters are more controllable if one makes gold-decanethiolate (Au-DT) clusters first and subsequently performs ligand-exchange reactions to get the final desired monolayer compositions, Murray et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc . 1996, 118, 4212–4213 and Langmuir 1999, 56, 7–10; Murray et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc . 1997, 119, 9175–9178, the three references incorporated herein by reference. In place-exchange reactions, either mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA; at 50% stoichiometric) or 11-mercaptoundecanol (MU; in 5-fold excess for nearly complete exchange) is added to a solution of Au-DT clusters in toluene and stirred for 5 days. After rotary evaporation of the toluene, Au-MUA: DT clusters are suspended in water and collected on a frit.
Monolayer-protected Au-titania composite gels (Au—TiO 2 ) are made by adapting previously described procedures in Pietron et al., J. Non-Cryst. Solids 2001, 285, 13–21 and Dagan et al., J. Phys. Chem . 1993, 97, 12651–12655 both references incorporated herein by reference. Ethanolic solutions of Au-MPC and titanium(IV)isopropoxide are added to a stirred mixture of H 2 O, 70% nitric acid, and Au-MPC in ethanolic solution, forming a sol which is allowed to gel and age. Alternatively, ethanol and titanium(IV)isopropoxide are added to a stirred mixture of ethanol, H 2 O, and 70% nitric acid, and allowed to stir for 1 minute creating a titania sol, after which ethanolic solutions of Au-MPC are added to the pre-formed sol. In either case, the gels are subsequently processed as aerogels which involves loading under acetone into a supercritical dryer (Fisons Bio-Rad E3100) and rinsing with liquid CO 2 over ˜4 h before heating above the critical temperature (T c (CO 2 )=31° C.) and then venting the pressure. The uncalcined aerogels feature well-dispersed 2–3 nm Au particles, as shown by transmission electron microscopy ( FIG. 1 ).
FIG. 1 shows the transmission electron micrograph of uncalcined Au—TiO 2 composite aerogel, containing 6.3% Au derived from mixed monolayer Au clusters with 1:1 molar mixture of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid and decanethiol added to the titania sol. The average diameter of the gold core in the MPC guests in the composite aerogel is 2.3 nm.
In an alternate procedure, ambigels are created by replacing the supercritical drying step with further rinses using lower surface-tension nonpolar solvents, such as hexane. After several rinses with hexane, the gels are dried by covering the containers with a solvent-resistant film, making a pinhole in the film, and heating the gels to about 50° C., slowly evaporating the solvent over 1–3 days.
In either case, the dry gels are heat-treated under vacuum to remove residual water and organics and then calcined in air (2° C. min −1 to 425° C.). The resultant alkanethiolate-free aerogels or ambigels (in which the titania has crystallized and the alkanethiolate has been pyrolyzed) consist of broken monolithic pieces, very dark purple in color. The pieces are gently ground into sub-mm grains with an agate mortar and pestle before analytical or catalytic studies.
After calcination to crystallize amorphous titania to anatase TiO 2 and to burn off the alkanethiolate ligands, the ˜2-nm Au particles in the Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels and ambigels segregate to the surfaces of the titania nanocrystals and aggregate to average diameters of 5–10 nm. This calcination-induced growth can be seen by high-resolution TEM, whether mixed-monolayer (Au-MUA:DT) or single-ligand monolayers of 11-mercaptoundecanol (Au-MU) protect the Au clusters in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b , respectively. FIG. 2 shows transmission electron micrographs of Au—TiO 2 aerogels calcined at 425° C. The lattice fringes visible arise from anatase titanium dioxide nanocrystallites. FIG. 2 a is of 3.6 wt. % Au, prepared using Au-MUA—DT; average particle size in the calcined composite aerogel is 5.5 nm. Note that some gold particles appear to contact multiple anatase particles. FIG. 2 b is 4 wt. % Au, prepared using Au-MU; average particle size in the calcined composite aerogel is 8.1 nm, this sample is also well crystallized, but lattice fringes have been suppressed due to the choice of an objective aperture that increases the contrast between Au and titania. The calcined composite aerogels and ambigels have primary TiO 2 particle sizes of 10–12 nm, which is comparable to the average Au particle size. This size comparability allows individual Au particles to make contact with multiple titania particles, in contrast to morphologies in which the titania particle size greatly exceeds the Au particle size. The crystallinity of titania in the post-calcination composite aerogels is evident by the pervasive lattice fringes seen in FIG. 2 a . Phase identification as anatase was verified by electron and X-ray diffraction for composites derived from both Au-MPC guests. The Raman spectrum of MPC-derived Au—TiO 2 composite aerogel (1 wt % Au) has peaks characteristic of anatase TiO 2 at 405, 520 and 630 cm −1 . The results of N 2 physisorption measurements (Micromeritics ASAP 2010) are summarized in Table 1 for Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels and ambigels; with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas and average pore sizes and distributions (BJH equation with cylindrical pore geometry). Powdered Au—TiO 2 aerogels are analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (Fisons 220iXL, monochromatic Al—Kα X-rays, 250×1000-μm spot), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS; Galbraith Laboratories) microspot Raman spectroscopy (Renishaw Ramiscope; 514.5-nm line of the Ar-ion laser), X-ray diffraction (Bruker D8 Advance), EPR spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy.
TABLE 1
Surface area and porosimetry of Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels and ambigels
Weight % of Au in
Type of Au-MPC and
BJH Pore
Cumulative
Au—TiO 2 aerogel or
amount used in 8 mL of
BET Surface
Diameter;
Pore Volume
ambigel
TiO 2 sol
Area [m 2 g −1 ]
desorption [nm]
[mL g −1 ]
1.9–2.4% (XPS)
35 mg of Au-MU
204
7.0
0.44
5–7% (est.)
60 mg of Au-MU
155
15.6
0.72
1% (est.)
17 mg of Au-MUA:DT
179
8.7
0.48
3.6% Au (AAS)
40 mg of Au-MUA:DT
142
16.4
0.72
6.3% Au (AAS)
80 mg of Au-MUA:DT
148
11.3
0.56
10% Au (est.)
120 mg of Au-MUA:DT
94
11.8
0.37
1% est-ambigel
17 mg of Au-MUA:DT
186
5.9
0.34
To study the ambient-temperature oxidation of CO, powdered Au—TiO 2 composite aerogel or ambigel is loaded into a glass reactor (2.45 mm i.d. tube) between glass-wool plugs and connected via polyethylene fittings to ¼″ copper tubing. Oxygen and carbon monoxide are mixed directly through a T-joint with exit flow rates varied between 0.3 and 2.0 mLs −1 . The ratios of O 2 :CO are varied from 1:2 to 25:1 to measure the effect of stoichiometry on measured rate constants. The reactor outlet stream is collected in gas-sampling bags and analyzed by gas chromatography. Rate constants are calculated using the total gas flow rate, and the balance of gases as measured by gas chromatography.
The activity of Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels for ambient-temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide was determined as a function of weight loading and/or average size of included gold; these data are summarized in Table 2. The oxidation rate of CO, measured in moles converted per second per gram catalyst, rise monotonically with gold loading. The 3.6 wt % Au—TiO 2 aerogel composite derived from Au—MUA:DT performs very well, converting ˜1×10 −5 mols −1 of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide per gram catalyst, despite doing so with 5.5-nm Au particles. A comparably loaded Au—TiO 2 aerogel with 8.1-nm Au particles (made using Au-MU) is also active, but 25-times less so. Catalytic activity continues to rise for Au weight loadings>3.6 wt %, with rates of 2×10 −5 mols −1 g cat −1 for 10 wt % Au—TiO 2 composite aerogel. The single ambigel trial yields a rate constant of 2×10 −7 mols −1 g cat −1 for CO oxidation, which is roughly 10 times smaller than the value reported for the same Au-modified titania gel processed as an aerogel. Given the smaller average pore diameter and pore volume of the ambigel version of the compositionally identical aerogel, it is likely that mass transport of reacting gases is less efficient and gold is somewhat less accessible in the ambigel version of the material.
In our study, the gas flow rates were varied considerably from experiment to experiment (ranging from linear flow rates of 1–10 cm s −1 ); yet, little or no measurable effect of flow conditions on measured rate constants was observed.
TABLE 2 Activity of Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels for ambient-temperature oxidation of CO Rate constant per Gold-normalized Type of Au-MPC gram of catalyst rate constant precursor Weight % of Au in catalyst [(mol s −1 g cat −1 ) × 10 −6 ] [(mol s −1 mol Au −1 ) × 10 −2 ] Au-MU 1.9–2.4% (XPS) 4–6 3.3–4.9 5–7% (est.) 0.4 0.1(est.) Au-MUA:DT 1% (est.) 2–3 3.9–5.9 (est.) 3.6% Au (AAS) 8–15 4.2–8.0 6.3% Au (AAS) 13–20 4.1–6.3 10% Au (est.) 21–27 4.1–5.3 Au-MUA:DT 1% (est.) 0.2 0.1 (est.) ambigel
It is unlikely that CO oxidation at Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels involves a radically different chemical mechanism than at other Au/TiO 2 catalysts. We propose that Au—TiO 2 composite aerogel catalysts perform so well for particle sizes that offer minimal activity for more standard Au/TiO 2 catalysts because multiple Au∥TiO 2 interfaces form at many of the Au particles as the TiO 2 aerogel densifies during crystallization and as the ˜2-nm gold cores aggregate. High resolution TEM supports this supposition. Although in an individual TEM micrograph, contact between particles is difficult to distinguish from mere overlap in projection, the difference is clear in a through-focus series of micrographs. For the Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels shown in FIG. 2 , we observe that the Au particles contact multiple anatase nanoparticles.
The ability of the aerogel nanoarchitecture to create multiple points-of-contact of Au to TiO 2 contrasts with the single interfacial perimeter that forms when gold is deposited onto pre-formed TiO 2 or hydrous titanium oxide powders. Multiple Au∥TiO 2 junctions shorten the average lateral diffusion distance that CO must travel to the oxygen-active interface, as compared to the single-perimeter case. This multiplicity of contact between the Au guest and the TiO 2 host, which provides a three-dimensional control of the reaction zone, is depicted schematically in FIG. 3 . Particle size still matters in Au—TiO 2 composite aerogels, however, as catalytic performance diminishes when the size of the Au guests reaches ˜8.1 nm.
Others have proposed a similar “extended perimeter” hypothesis when comparing formation of particles from organogold complexes deposited by CVD on commercial nanocrystalline and amorphous TiO 2 . The average particle size of Au deposited on the nanocrystalline support was 8 nm, yet modest rates of CO oxidation (compared to rates we report here) were still observed, in contrast to the sharp drop-off in activity for particles>˜3 nm reported previously when using colloidal gold deposited on commercial nanocrystalline titania.
In summary, a new way to make highly active Au—TiO 2 catalysts has been described. Au-MPCs can be tailored in terms of their surface characteristics and their core sizes, making them very attractive for molecular-level control of architecture in supported catalysts. Au-MPCs allow introduction of the same type of metal particle at any step in the processing of nanocomposites, allowing one to optimize for a given application. Aerogel and ambigel architectures provide important 3-D design and application flexibility through the bicontinuity of the nanoscopic networks of catalyst and mesopores.
FIG. 3 depicts schematically the enhancements of Au/TiO 2 contacts within Au/TiO 2 composite aerogels.
The high porosity of aerogels and ambigels and the synthetic flexibility of Au-MPC guests have allowed us to structure the titania support around nanoparticulate metal catalysts while retaining high activity for the included metal. The high surface area of aerogels may allow for deposition of unprecedented amounts of metal on the support. Activities for CO oxidation comparable to the best Au—TiO 2 catalysts described in the literature have been achieved, with few steps yet taken toward optimization.
EXPERIMENTS
In the procedure below, the gold MPCs used had an average core diameter of 3 nm and an approximately 1:1 mixed monolayer of decanethiolate and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, and are referred to as Au- MUA - DT in the disclosure and in the main publication describing the invention.
Detailed Synthesis of Gold Aerogel and Ambigel Composites
Method 1
In a plastic beaker, 4.1 g of ethanol were added to 2.60 g, or 9.1 millimoles of titanitun (IV) isopropoxide.
In a second plastic beaker, 0.353 g, or 20 millimoles of water, 0.062 g of 70% nitric acid (0.9 millimoles of nitric acid), and 4.1 g of ethanol were added together.
A magnetic stir bar was added to the second beaker, the contents were stirred for 1 minute. The contents of the two beakers were mixed, and the mixture was stirred for 1 minute, followed by addition of 2 mL of a 8.5 mg/mL solution of gold-MPC creating a dark purple sol, which was allowed to stir for another minute and subsequently poured into a plastic mold.
Method 2
In a plastic beaker, 4.1 g of 4 mg/mL MPC/Ethanol solution (or 20 mg of MPC in 5 mL ethanol) was added to 2.60 g, or 9.1 millimoles titanium (IV) isopropoxide.
In a second plastic beaker, 0.353 g, or 20 millimoles water, 0.062 g of 70% nitric acid (0.9 millimoles nitric acid), and 4.1 g of 4 mg/mL MPC/Ethanol solution (20 mg of MPC in 5 mL of ethanol) were added together.
A magnetic stir bar was added to the second beaker, the contents were stirred for 1 minute. The contents of the two beakers were mixed, and the mixture was stirred for 1 minute and subsequently poured into a plastic mold.
Both Methods:
The mold was covered with an air-tight, stretchable wax film. Within 3 hours the dark purple (from the MPC concentration) sol had formed a firm gel, which was allowed to age overnight.
After aging the gel overnight, an excess of acetone was poured over the gel to quench the aging process. The gel was removed from the mold and broken into approximately half-centimeter-sized pieces and placed in a glass jar under acetone. The acetone was changed 3 to 4 times daily for three days to rinse the reagents from the bulk of the gel.
Processing of Gold-aerogel and Gold-ambigel Composites
Aerogel Processing:
After a total of 12 acetone rinses, the gels were loaded, under acetone, into a Fisons 3100 Critical Point Dryer. Liquid carbon dioxide at 10° C. and approximately 750 psi (˜50 atm pressure) is flushed slowly through the dryer for 5 to 10 minutes every 40 to 60 minutes, removing the acetone and filling the pores with liquid CO 2 . After about 7 rinses, the temperature in the dryer is raised from 10° C. through the CO 2 critical temperature, about 31° C. and on up to 40° C., over a period of about 30 minutes. The dryer is left at 40° C., now containing the gels and CO 2 in its supercritical fluid phase (at a pressure of 1200 to 1400 psi, or 75 to 90 atm), for about 45 minutes. The pressure is then slowly vented to ambient over a period of about 30 minutes. The gel pieces are then removed from the dryer.
Ambigel Processing:
After a total of 12 acetone rinses, the gels were further rinsed two times with 2:1 (vol:vol) acetone:hexane, two times with 1:1 acetone:hexane, two times with 1:2 acetone:hexane, and finally nine times with hexane alone, with roughly three hours of equilibration time between each rinse and 3 to 4 rinses per day. After the last hexane rinse, the jars in which the gel pieces were stored was covered with a solvent-resistant film. A pinhole was made in the film and the gels pieces and solvents were heated to 50° C. The solvent evaporated over about three days yielding dry, dark purple solid gels.
Heat Treaments (Calcining), Both Aerogels and Ambigels:
The dry gel pieces were then heated to 110° C. under vacuum for three hours to remove residual water, followed by further heating at 220° C. for three more hours to remove residual organic material. The pieces were removed from the oven and transferred to a furnace and heated from room to temperature to 425° C. at 2° C./minute, held for two hours at 425° C. and cooled to room temperature again at 2° C./minute, yielding the final product that was used for characterization and catalytic studies.
The weight fraction of the gold can be varied linearly between 1% and 10% by adjusting the fraction of dissolved gold MPC in the ethanol solvents in the initial sol-gel process. Final weight percent gold in MPC concentration in total mass of MPCs the final Au—TiO 2 ethanol in preparation composite 1 mg/mL 17 mg 1% 4 mg/mL 40 mg 3.6% 8 mg/mL 80 mg 6.3% 12 mg/mL 120 mg 10%
Au-MPC Synthesis.
Monolayer-protected gold clusters (MPCs) were synthesized according to methods first described by Brust referenced above and later extended and modified by Murray, Langmuir 1998, referenced above. Typically 0.73 g (2.1 millimoles) of HAuCl 4 ·×H 2 O (Alfa Aesar) in ca. 50 mL of H 2 O was added to a vigorously stirred solution of 2.8 g of tetraoctylammonium bromide (TOABr) (Aldrich) in ca. 200 mL of toluene. The Au(III) salt was transferred from the aqueous phase to toluene by the phase-transfer catalyst (TOABr), resulting in a dark orange organic phase. The aqueous phase was then removed. To the stirred organic phase, 0.13 g (0.7 millimoles) of decanethiol were added. The solutions were stirred for 30 minutes. 0.8 g (21 millimoles) of NaBH 4 in ca. 50 mL H 2 O were added to the stirred solution, which immediately turned a very dark (almost black) brown-purple color. The reaction was allowed to proceed for at least three hours. The aqueous phase was removed and discarded. Toluene was removed by rotary evaporation, yielding a waxy black solid. The product was suspended in ethanol 3 times followed by decanting of the ethanol to remove residual TOABr, then re-suspended in ethanol and collected on a medium-pore glass frit funnel. Typically about 0.34 g of MPC was collected (˜70%). Some of the product loss likely occurs during the washing and decanting. Decanethiol-MPC was found to be free of phase-transfer catalyst and unreacted ligand by NEAR spectroscopy. DT-MPCs, as-prepared, are soluble in most nonpolar, aprotic solvents.
Ligand exchange reactions described by Murray and coworkers, 1996 and 1997 referenced above were used to get the final desired monolayer compositions. In place-exchange reactions, either 11-MUA or 11-mercaptoundecanol (Aldrich) was added to a stirred solution of DT-MPC in toluene. In the case of 11-mercaptoundecanol (11-MU), a ca. 5-fold excess (based on estimation of the average number of ligands on each MPC, by preparation conditions and the corresponding MPC) of 11-MU was added, to completely or nearly completely exchange 11-MU for decanethiol. In the case of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA), a quantity of 11-MUA stoichiometrically equal to ca. ½ of the ligands on the MPCs was added to effect approximately equivalent exchange. In both cases, exchange was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 5 days. The mixed-monolayer, 11-MUA:DT-MPC is an amphiphilic macromolecule, and removing excess displaced ligand after exchange is labor intensive. Thus, after rotary evaporation, the WPCs were simply suspended in water (Barnstead Nanopure) and collected on a frit funnel. By estimation, a product that was at most ca. 8% impure resulted. As the MPCs were ultimately incorporated into an aerogel that was calcined to remove all organics in the final processing step, the impurity was seen as unimportant.
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Gold-titania (Au—TiO 2 ) composite aerogels and ambigles were synthesized, characterized, and tested as ambient temperature catalysts for carbon monoxide. Adding alkanethiolate-monolayers-protected gold clusters (with ˜2 nm Au cores) directly to titania sol before gelation yields uniformly dispersed guests in the composite aerogel. The Au guests aggregate to 5 to 10 nm upon calcination to remove alkanethiolate and crystallize amorphous titania to anatase. The resulting composite aerogel exhibits high catalytic activity toward CO oxidation at room temperature at Au particle sizes that are essentially inactive in prior Au—TiO 2 catalysts. Transmission electron microscopy illustrates the three-dimensional nature of the catalytic nanoarchitecture in which gold guests contact multiple anatase nanocrystallites.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for controlling an inverter under altering voltage and particularly to a method to change the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycle of the inverter to maintain the existing dimming range and stabilize actuating electric output and protect the life span of transformers and loads.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Backlight module is a key element of the actuating light source of a display panel. Besides, providing a lighting source, the dimming function to alter the actual light projection effect in response to the environment illuminating condition is the basic function of the backlight module in practical applications.
The actuating electric source for the backlight modules now on the market mostly adopts high voltage inverters. They can be classified in current feeding push-pull parallel resonant inverters and single stage inverters. The transformers used in the inverters include winding transformers and piezoelectric transformers. Their duty cycle waveforms are shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A ( FIG. 1A is a burst mode dimming method, FIG. 2A is a standby mode dimming method, technical details can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,839,253). For discussion purpose, assuming input voltage is DC 10V, the dimming efficiency (dimming duty cycles are 1 a and 1 c ) is 100%, then the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 a and 2 c is 50% ON and 50% OFF. The transformer oscillation duty cycles 3 a and 3 c are 100% sinuous waveform based on the amplitude of 10V. Assuming the load (cold cathode lamp) outputs a lamp feedback current of 6 mA, when the input voltage is altered to 20V, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B , the existing dimming mechanism relatively increases the lamp feedback current (such as 12 mA) when the input voltage alters. In order for the backlight module to maintain the illumination at the existing dimming efficiency, the lamp current feeds back electricity to the dimming controller (or getting a voltage feedback electricity from the transformer output end or input end as the comparison value). By comparing the feedback electricity with a reference value built in the dimming controller, a second dimming duty cycle is determined. As shown in the drawings, when the input voltage is altered to DC of 20V, the dimming duty cycles 1 b and 1 d are transformed to 50% ON and 50% OFF. The electric conductive cycles 2 b and 2 d are changed to 50% ON and 50% OFF when the electric conductive interval is maintained 50% ON and 50% OFF. The transformer oscillation duty cycles 3 a and 3 d are 50% ON and 50% OFF at the amplitude of 20V. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 4A , the input voltage is DC 10V, the dimming efficiency (dimming duty cycles 1 e and 1 g ) is 50%. FIGS. 3B and 4B show that the input voltage is DC 20V, the dimming efficiency (dimming duty cycles 1 f and 1 h ) is changed to 25%. The assumed conditions for the rest electric conductive cycles 2 e , 2 g , 2 f and 2 h , and the oscillation duty cycles 3 e , 3 g , 3 f and 3 h are same as previously discussed. While such a dimming control mechanism can maintain the existing efficiency and illumination for the cold cathode lamp, as shown in the drawings, there are still drawbacks, notably:
1. As the dimming duty cycle is squeezed, the actual applicable dimming range of the backlight module is affected. As shown in FIG. 3B , the applicable dimming range of the existing backlight module mostly is between 20% and 100%. But when the input voltage has great alterations, the transformer that originally has 50% of dimming efficiency could result in a single sinuous waveform at 25%. As a result, the backlight module cannot continuously correct the dimming efficiency downwards, Hence the actual dimming efficiency range is limited between 50% and 100%, not the original setting of 20% to 100%.
2. The oscillation amplitude of the transformer and actuator is changed (such as from 10V to 20V) when the input voltage is altered. This will shorten the life span of the transformer and actuator.
3. When the input voltage fluctuates greatly and is not stable, the lamp current of the cold cathode lamp will generate a higher waveform factor. As a result, blacking phenomenon is easily occurred to the ignition end of the cold cathode lamp.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore the primary object of the present invention is to solve the aforesaid disadvantages occurred to the conventional techniques of altering dimming duty cycle under the varying input voltage. The present invention alters the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycle without changing the dimming duty cycle, electric conductive cycle and transformer oscillation duty cycle to maintain the existing dimming range and a constant voltage amplitude oscillation of the transformer, and generate symmetrical and even lamp current on the load (cold cathode lamp) so that the life span of the transformer and load can be maintained without suffering.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A through 4B are schematic views of duty cycles of conventional dimming mechanisms.
FIGS. 5A through 8B are schematic views of duty cycles of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is another circuit block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Please refer to FIGS. 5A , 6 A, 9 and 10 for an embodiment of the method for controlling an inverter under altering voltage of the invention. To facilitate comparison with the conventional dimming mechanism previously discussed, the assumed conditions are same as those set forth above. However, they are not the limitation of the invention. The control method and circuit embodiment include:
A. A first controller 1 to receive an external dimming signal 11 to determine dimming duty cycles 1 i , 1 k , 1 p , and 1 r . The first controller 1 is a pulse-width modulation (PWM) impulse signal generator. The external dimming signal 11 is set by users through an external dimming knob. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A , the dimming duty cycles 1 i and 1 k are 100%. In FIGS. 7A and 8A , the dimming duty cycles 1 p and 1 r are 50%. In FIGS. 5A , 6 A, 7 A and 8 A, the input voltage 7 is 10V.
B. A second controller 2 to receive the dimming duty cycles 1 l , 1 k , 1 p and 1 r , and the input voltage 7 and respond to operating conditions of a transformer 4 of an inverter to determine output electric conductive cycles 2 i , 2 k , 2 p and 2 r . The second controller 2 is a PWM frequency generator or a micro-controller 10 integrated with the first controller 1 . The circuit of the embodiment adopts a piezoelectric transformer 4 . Depending on the size of the input voltage 7 , the second controller 2 may be coupled with a floating voltage level device 21 . In FIGS. 5A and 6A , corresponding to the dimming duty cycles 1 i and 1 k of 100%, the electric conductive cycles 2 i and 2 k also are 100% ON. The electric conductive interval is 50% ON and 50% OFF. In FIGS. 7A and 8A , corresponding to the dimming duty cycles 1 p and 1 r of 50% , the electric conductive cycles 2 p and 2 r also are 50% ON and 50% OFF. The electric conductive interval is 50% ON and 50% OFF. (In FIGS. 6A and 8A , a maintenance voltage is still provided while the electric conductive interval is in the OFF condition. However, such a maintenance voltage does not affect the operation of the invention. To facilitate discussion, the variable of this maintenance voltage is omitted to avoid confusion).
C. An actuator 3 to receive the electric conductive cycles 2 i , 2 k , 2 p and 2 r to determine oscillation duty cycles 3 i , 3 k , 3 p and 3 r to be output to the transformer 4 of the inverter. The actuator 3 may be a double-switch power transistor, and generates the sinuous oscillation duty cycles 3 i , 3 k , 3 p and 3 r through the charging effect of an inductor 41 . As shown in FIGS. 5A and 6A , corresponding to the dimming duty cycles 1 i and 1 k of 100% , the oscillation duty cycles 3 i and 3 k also are 100% ON. In FIGS. 7A and 8A , corresponding to the dimming duty cycles 1 p and 1 r of 50% , the oscillation duty cycles 3 p and 3 r also are 50% ON and 50% OFF.
D. When the input voltage 7 alters, the invention provides a preset reference electricity value, and compares with the input voltage 7 and outputs a modulated signal to an electricity detector 6 of the second controller 2 , and according to the alteration of the input voltage 7 , changes the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 i , 2 k , 2 p and 2 r based on the oscillation duty cycles 3 i , 3 k , 3 p and 3 r of the transformer 4 at step C. The electricity detector 6 may be a linear logic circuit containing a comparator or a comparison circuit of a micro-controller 10 integrally built in the second controller 2 , or a micro-controller 10 formed by integrating the first controller 1 , second controller 2 and electricity detector 6 . At step D, a feedback electricity 51 may be obtained and make the union comparison with the input voltage 7 to determine the electric conductive interval of electric conductive cycles 2 j , 2 m , 2 q and 2 u . Meanwhile, the electricity detector 6 is a linear logic circuit of a window type comparator. The determination criteria of union are divided as follows:
D1: When the feedback electricity 51 and the input voltage 7 are unchanged, the dimming duty cycles 1 i , 1 k , 1 p and 1 r and the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 l , 2 k , 2 p and 2 r remained unchanged.
D2: When the feedback electricity 51 alters, but the input voltage 7 is unchanged, the dimming duty cycles 1 i , 1 k , 1 p and 1 r are changed according to the alteration of the feedback electricity 51 . But the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 l , 2 k , 2 p and 2 r remained unchanged. This situation mostly occurs to the lamp current of a cold cathode lamp 5 having an abrupt and a short abnormal condition or damage. In such an occasion, return to the normal condition usually takes place. If return to the normal condition fails, the cold cathode lamp 5 could be damaged and has to be replaced.
D3: When the feedback electricity 51 remained unchanged, but the input voltage 7 alters, dimming duty cycles 1 j , 1 m , 1 q and 1 u remain unchanged. The electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 j , 2 m , 2 q and 2 u are altered according to alteration of the input voltage 7 .
D4: When the feedback electricity 51 and the input voltage 7 are changed, the dimming duty cycles 1 i , 1 k , 1 p and 1 r remain unchanged. The electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 j , 2 m , 2 q and 2 u are altered according to alteration of the input voltage 7 if the allowing range of the actuator 3 is not exceeded. If the allowing range of the actuator 3 is exceeded, the dimming duty cycles 1 j , 1 m , 1 q and 1 u are changed according to alteration of the feedback electricity 51 , and the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycles 2 j , 2 m , 2 q and 2 u are altered according to alteration of the input voltage 7 .
Based on the determination criteria of D3 and D4 previously discussed, also referring to FIGS. 5B and 6B , when the input voltage 7 is changed to 20V, the dimming duty cycles 1 j , 1 m , 1 q and 1 u , and electric conductive cycles 2 j , 2 m , 2 q and 2 u do not change because of alteration of the input voltage 7 . Hence the existing dimming range can be maintained. The electric conductive interval of the actuator 3 is altered from 50% ON and 50% OFF to 25% ON and 75% OFF. Alteration of the electric conductive interval shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B also adopts the same fashion.
E: The electric conductive cycles 2 j , 2 m , 2 q and 2 u are generated after the electric conductive interval depicted at step D has been altered. Under the charge and discharge effect of the inductor 41 , the oscillation duty cycles 3 j , 3 m , 3 q and 3 u of the transformer 4 remain unchanged. The oscillation voltage amplitude also is maintained at 10V. Namely, the transformer 4 oscillates under the same voltage amplitude. Hence the life span of the transformer 4 can be maintained, and the lamp current of the cold cathode lamp 5 is maintained constant. Therefore blacking of one end can be reduced, and the service life of the cold cathode lamp 5 increases.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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A method for controlling an inverter under altering voltage aims to change the electric conductive interval of the electric conductive cycle of the inverter corresponding to alteration of an input voltage so that the dimming duty cycle, electric conductive cycle and transformer oscillation duty cycle of the inverter can be maintained at a selected level. Thereby when the input voltage is altered, the existing dimming range can be maintained and actuation electricity output is stabilized. The transformer can be protected and the life span of the load can be extended.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for recovering valuable metals such as zinc, iron and the like from a dust having a higher content of zinc, such as the one generated in an electric arc furnace for steel manufacture or the like.
A dust generated in an iron and/or steel melting furnace, such as the electric arc one, is thus far collected by means of a dust collector. The amount of the dust generated normally corresponds to 1 to 1.5% by weight of the crude steel manufactured, and the dust contains large amounts of valuable metals, namely 25 to 30% by weight of iron, 20 to 25% by weight of zinc and 3 to 4% by weight of lead. The present situation is, however, such that the dust is to be subjected to a collective treatment by specific refiners to whom the dust generated is handed over, due to unavailability of a proper and easy recovering method of the valuable metals which can be operated on a simple and small scale.
Several methods have been proposed as the recovering method, including a rotary kiln method and also recently, a treating method using plasma heat.
The former method aims mainly at separating zinc from other materials in the dust and comprises reducing the zinc and iron oxide in the dust by means of a rotary kiln and separating the resulting metals. This method, however, has the drawbacks of the complexity of process and a high energy consumption; that is, since the free board atmosphere in the rotary kiln is highly oxidizing, the zinc vapor once reduced and separated is reoxidized in the free board of the rotary kiln, so that it must be further processed in a zinc smelting furnace, electrowinning or the like, to be recovered as metallic zinc. Further, the reduction product of the iron component thus obtained is a sponge iron containing a large amount of gangue minerals, so that it cannot be recovered and used as is as useful resources and hence has not yet been recovered as metallic iron.
In the latter method, since a large amount of energy is consumed for plasma generation, and the zinc and iron recovered are of relatively low value considering the energy consumed, no satisfactory result has been obtained which justifies the cost of treatment.
Moreover, another problem involved in the method is that the excessively high temperature used in the method causes the vaporization of undesirable metals, e.g., copper and resultant contamination of the zinc product.
The present invention has been achieved in view of such circumstances. The object of the invention is to provide a process for recovering valuable metals from an iron dust containing zinc easily and with a low energy consumption for treatment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The process for recovering valuable metals from a dust containing zinc according to this invention comprises mixing the dust containing zinc with a reductant (such as coal- or petroleum-base coke) and a flux (such as lime stone) for adjusting the basicity of slag, forming the mixture into large-sized pellets having a particle diameter not less than 16 mm with a pelletizer, charging the pellets into a shaft type furnace provided with a preheating zone at the upper part and with a reducing zone at the lower part and removing, in the upper preheating zone, moisture and ignition loss components in the pellets by utilizing the exhaust CO gas from the later-stage melting furnace while prereducing, in the reducing zone, the pellets under such conditions of CO 2 /CO gas ratio and gas temperature that the reduction of iron oxide is made to proceed selectively while the reduction of zinc oxide is suppressed to the possible minimum, then charging the prereduced pellets into a melting furnace to melt and reduce them in the furnace, separating zinc, or zinc and lead, by evaporation followed by condensation to recover them, and separating iron and some lead, or iron alone, by means of the difference in their specific gravities to recover the iron as a molten pig iron and the lead as a crude lead. Thus, the valuable metals can be recovered easily with a low energy consumption.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flow chart of apparatuses one embodiment of the process for recovering valuable metals according to this invention.
FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing the effect of temperature and CO 2 /CO ratio on the equilibria of ZnO+CO⃡Zn+CO 2 , FeO+CO⃡Fe+CO 2 and CO 2 +C⃡2CO.
FIG. 2(b) is a diagram showing the conditions of the gas inside and outside the pellet.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relation of the zinc removal rate and the iron oxide reduction rate with the pellet diameter.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of iron and zinc inside the pellet (in the radial direction).
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
This invention will be elucidated below with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings (FIG. 1).
A dust D having a high zinc content, coke C as a reductant, and lime stone or dolomite as flux F1 are charged and mixed in a blender 1 and then formed into pellets 16 mm or more in diameter with a pelletizer 2. The pellets thus formed are charged into a preheating-prereducing furnace 3 of shaft type. In the preheating zone of the upper part of the preheating-prereducing furnace 3, the pellets are dried by the hot gas introduced from the lower part of the furnace and CO--CO 2 gas generated at the prereducing zone, or by said gases further diluted with air introduced from midway of the preheating-prereducing furnace.
The dried pellets are preheated, while further descending through the shaft furnace, by the gas ascending from the prereducing zone. In the preheating zone, there are removed the ignition loss components in the pellets, including CO 2 evolved by the decomposition of lime stone and/or dolomite, etc. used as the flux F and substances which are generated by the decomposition etc. of carbonates and the like contained in the dust D.
The pellets thus preheated go down to the reducing zone of the lower part of the preheating-prereducing furnace 3, i.e., the prereducing zone of the furnace 3, and the iron oxide therein is reduced to an extent which corresponds to the atmosphere formed by interaction between the reducing gas adjusted in the gas temperature-composition regulating furnace 4 and the coke added beforehand as a reductant at the time of pelletizing the dust D.
That is, the conditions of the gas introduced into the reducing zone of the furnace should be controlled such that, as shown in FIG. 2(a), the conditions of the gas inside the pellets are regulated within the range surrounded by the equilibrium curves of FeO+CO=Fe+CO 2 and C+CO 2 =2CO for the selective reduction of iron oxide and the equilibrium curve of ZnO+CO=Zn+CO 2 which corresponds to the pressure of vaporized zinc at 0.02 atmospheric pressure, for example, to control the reduction of zinc oxide practically at zero level, i.e., a range shown by hatching in the Figure.
Accordingly, the temperature of the pellets for satisfying the above conditions is in the range of 650-910° C., preferably 850° C., and the gas temperature-composition regulating furnace is controlled so as to give such a temperature and atmosphere of the pellets. When the temperature inside the pellet is maintained at 850° C. as in this example, the CO 2 /CO ratio in the pellet has an equilibrium value as shown by the point A in FIG. 2(a), but it is influenced by the diffusion of the gas introduced from the gas temperature-composition regulating furnace. That is, even when the CO 2 /CO ratio of the introduced gas is substantially higher than the ratio preferable for the atmosphere in the pellet, as in the example shown in the Figure, the atmosphere inside the pellet assumes the value as shown by the curve B under the influences of the gas film resistance at the pellet surface and the diffusion resistance in the pore inside the pellet.
That is, when the composition of the gas introduced into the reducing furnace is adjusted so that the gas conditions inside the pellet may be kept in the range shown by hatching in FIG. 2(a), the layer of the pellet near to its surface, under the influence of the composition of the gas introduced into the reducing furnace, becomes a region where the oxidation of iron proceeds; on the other hand, in the inner part of the pellet, with said region as the boundary, iron oxides are reduced by the reductant coke added at the time of pelletizing, while the reduction of zinc oxides is suppressed.
Since the layer of the pellet near to the surface is a strongly oxidizing region for zinc as described above, the zinc vapor formed by the reducing reaction taking place inside the pellet (corresponding, for example, to 2% zinc vapor in the present example), in the course of diffusing from the inside to the outside, is oxidized in said oxidizing region and captured in the pellet as zinc oxide. As a result, an effect of the suppression of the zinc loss from the pellet is also obtained of reducing the zinc removal rate of the pellet.
This effect is clearly demonstrated by the results of experiments shown in FIG. 4.
The prereduced pellets are charged into a melting furnace, such as a low frequency induction furnace 5, where iron oxide, zinc oxide and lead oxide are reduced and molten and the remaining metal oxides are mostly formed into slag S1. The reduced iron is discharged as a molten pig iron Fe (containing about 4% of carbon) and the slag S1 as a molten slag, continuously from the low frequency induction furnace 5 via a settling furnace 6.
On the other hand, a part or the major part of the reduced lead Pb is separated in the induction furnace by means of the difference of the specific gravity from molten iron, and stored in a trap pot 7, from which lead is periodically taken out as crude one.
A part of lead and the major part of the reduced zinc and lead is vaporized due to their relatively lower boiling point, led to a condenser 8 together with the reducing gas CO, condensed, cooled, and recovered as condensed zinc and lead. The reducing gas CO which has passed through the condenser 8 is sent to the gas temperature-composition regulating furnace 4 via a scrubber 9. In the regulating furnace 4, the reducing gas CO is partially burnt with the combustion air A1 and mixed with a dilute recycle gas G1 to meet the aforementioned conditions of gas for selective prereduction of iron oxide.
The exhaust gas from the preheating-prereducing furnace 3 is led to a gas incinerator 10 to burn the combustible components completely, then sent to a scrubber 11 to be washed and cooled, and exhausted through a mist eliminator 12 and a dust collector 13 out of the system.
The washing water from the scrubbers 9 and 11 is led to a pH regulating tank 14 for pH adjustment and then sent to a settling tank 15 to precipitate solid matters, which are withdrawn as a sludge SS and returned to the preheating-prereducing furnace 3 by means of mixing with dust I and pelletizing. A part of the water thus cleaned is recycled as the washing water for the scrubbers 9 and 11 and the remainder of the water is discharged out of the system via water treatment equipment.
Numerals 16, 17 and 18 each indicate a blower, 19 a pump and 20 a heat exchanger.
EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE
Green pellets having the composition shown in Table 1 were charged into the preheating-prereducing furnace (shaft furnace) 3 at a rate of 100 kg/hr and treated therein under conditions of the temperature of the gas introduced to the furnace 3 of 850° C. and the CO 2 /CO ratio of the introduced gas of 2. Then the samples of the pellets were collected from the bottom of the reducing furnace 3.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 ZnO C Cd Pb Na K Cl CaO SiO.sub.2 MgO Al.sub.2 O.sub.3__________________________________________________________________________Wt % 35.90 18.73 13.69 0.06 3.71 1.17 1.58 1.53 6.57 4.63 0.84 0.94__________________________________________________________________________
Analysis was made of the compositions of the pellets thus sampled and classified according to the pellet diameter. Resultingly, it was found that, as shown in FIG. 3, pellets of diameters of 17 mm, 20 mm and 25 mm showed a zinc removal rate of 8.5%, 8.0% and 6.8%, respectively, and a reduction rate of iron oxide of 35%, 39% and 41%, respectively; thus the larger the pellet diameter was, the more suppressed was the zinc loss and the more improved was the iron oxide reduction rate.
Although the larger the particle diameter of the pellets, the more preferable as described above, the particle size of pellets which can be commercially produced with conventional pelletizer is about 50 mm at the most, and pellets of still larger size are difficult to obtain.
The pellet of a particle diameter of 20 mm mentioned above was analyzed for its internal composition. The analysis was made with the respective portions of the pellet divided into 4 portions of equal weight from the surface layer toward the center of the pellet. It was found that, as shown in FIG. 4, in the close proximity of the surface the pellet contained 28% of zinc and 22% of iron, revealing that the reduction of iron had not proceeded near the surface and zinc had been concentrated to the surface.
This is presumably because an oxidizing region is formed in the surface part of the pellet by the interdilution between the gas introduced from the outside and the gas coming out from the inside of the pellet and, though a zinc gas corresponding to 2% zinc vapor diffuses from the inside toward the outside of the pellet, it is captured then in the oxidizing region.
On the other hand, in a region ranging from about 1 mm below the surface to the center of the pellet the zinc content and the iron content were found to be approximately constant, respectively, the zinc content being about 15.5% and the iron content being about 27.5%. Thus, in this region the reduction of zinc is suppressed and the reduction of iron is promoted. When examined with individual pellets of different sizes, the larger the particle diameter, the larger the above-mentioned effect.
The above results reveal that by making the diameter of the pellets not less that 16 mm, the reduction of zinc can be suppressed and the reduction of iron can be promoted, the energy required in melting and reduction in the later-stage melting furnace 5 can be reduced, and the evaporation loss of zinc in the preheating-prereducing furnace 3 can be prevented and resultingly the recovery efficiency in the later-stage zinc condenser 8 can be improved, as compared with the case of prior pellets having a diameter of 15 mm or less.
EFFECT OF THE INVENTION
As set forth above, according to this invention, an iron dust with a high concentration of zinc produced in steel manufacture is mixed with a reductant (typically coke) and a flux F1, formed into a large-sized pellets with diameter of 16 mm or more with a pelletizer, then the pellets are subjected in a preheating-prereducing furnace to the removal of the moisture and the ignition loss components and to the preliminary reduction of iron oxide contained therein, thereafter subjected to melting and reduction in a melting furnace, then zinc, or zinc and the major part of lead, are separated by evaporation to recover them as condensed zinc and lead, and iron and a part of lead are separated according to the difference of the respective specific gravities to recover the iron as a molten pig iron and the lead as a crude lead. Accordingly, this invention exerts the following effects:
(1) Since the iron oxide is prereduced in a preheating-prereducing furnace prior to its charge into the melting furnace, the reduction rate of the iron oxide charged into the melting furnace is improved and the electric power consumption for the reduction of iron oxide can be reduced.
(2) The large-size pellets having a pellet size of 16 mm or more and containing a reductant (typically coke) therein of this invention show a lower reduction rate as compared with iron-containing pellets of conventional size, but they make it possible to maintain a reductive atmosphere inside the pellets more easily as compared with those of smaller sizes and to form gas conditions such that the reduction of ZnO is suppressed to the minimum while the reduction of iron oxide is promoted to the utmost.
(3) If the conditions for the gas to be charged to the furnace are set up such that the atmosphere inside the pellet is regulated within a range surrounded by the equilibrium curve of ZnO+CO=Zn+CO 2 corresponding to the partial pressure of Zn (for example, a zinc vapor partial pressure of 0.02 atm) and those of FeO+CO=Fe+CO 2 and C+CO 2 =2CO, the concentration of zinc in the gas leaving the prereducing zone of the furnace can be expected to be practically zero because, at the upper part of the furnace, the partial pressure of CO in the gas ascending in the interior of the furnace while reacting therein would be lowered to a considerable extent and the temperature of the gas will be lowered, compared to the partial pressure of CO and temperature of the gas at the spot near to the bottom of the preheating-prereducing furnace where the partial pressure of CO is the highest.
Further, as described in the Example, an effect can also be expected wherein the zinc which has been reduced and vaporized in the inner part of the pellet is again captured as the oxide (i.e., solid) in the strongly zinc-oxidizing region near the surface.
(4) Valuable metals as zinc and lead can be easily recovered; because the melting furnace is suitable for melting and reducing the pellets and vaporizing zinc since the furnace has a high stirring power and it can be simply constructed so as to keep its body gastight.
(5) Bursting rarely occurs when the pellets are charged into molten iron in the furnace, because the ignition loss components have been removed in advance. Thus, the operation with a stable molten iron can be achieved and the generation of dust can also be reduced.
(6) By adopting a temperature of the shaft furnace bottom of 650-910° C., preferably 850° C. which is higher than the decomposition temperature of lime stone or dolomite, it becomes possible to use an inexpensive material as lime stone and the like as the flux to be added beforehand to the pellets for slag regulation.
(7) If the reduction of charged materials is conducted in the melting furnace alone, an excess of reducing gas will be generated, which may be difficult to be utilized effectively unless the plant site location is suitable for such utilization. In this invention, by adopting the prereduction and further the preheating of the pellets by gas which has been used for prereduction, the energy possessed by the gas can be utilized effectively and the energy consumption of the process as a whole can be reduced.
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There is disclosed a process for recovering valuable metals from a dust containing zinc comprising mixing the dust containing zinc with a reductant and a flux for regulating the basicity of slag, forming the mixture into pellets with a pelletizer, charging the pellets into a shaft type preheating-prereducing furnace provided with a preheating zone at the upper part and with a reducing zone at the lower part and removing, in the preheating zone, moisture and ignition loss components in the pellets, while prereducing in the reducing zone, the pellets under such conditions that a reduction of iron oxide is made to proceed selectively while the reduction of zinc oxide is suppressed to the possible minimum, charging the prereduced pellets into a melting furnace to melt and reduce them in the furnace, separating zinc, or zinc and lead, by evaporation followed by condensation to recover them, and separating iron and lead, or iron, according to the difference in their specific gravities to recover the iron as a molten pig iron and the lead as a crude lead.
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This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/130,737 filed Apr. 22, 1999.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and compositions for the needleless administration of permanent cosmetics and tattoos. In particular, the present invention relates to hypodermic injectors for use in delivering pigment or other desired materials to targeted layers of the skin.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Since ancient times, people have used paint and other coloring techniques to improve attractiveness and for cultural or religious purposes. Today, many people seek permanent colorations or other permanent or long-term cosmetic enhancement as a substitute for repeated application of cosmetics. A number of intradermal injection and surgical devices for use in applying permanent cosmetics have been known for years. They are commonly used, for example, to create decorative tattoos on a person's skin or to form permanent eyelid liners to replace paint-on cosmetic eyelid liners. The devices inject ink, dye, or other marking fluid just under the skin surface, so that the ink is retained within the skin and the color of the ink and the design formed by the ink injection pattern is visible.
The devices use a skin-penetrating needle which has the capacity to retain some quantity of ink or dye, a mechanism to reciprocate the needle for repeated punctures of the skin to implant the ink under the skin in the desired pattern, and a pen-like housing which the operator holds and uses to guide the device. A number of different devices, particularly with different types of reciprocating needle drives, have been disclosed over the years (See e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,840,076; 4,508,106; 4,644,952; 4,798,582; and 6,033,421 herein incorporated by reference in their entireties).
All of the currently used methods for delivering permanent makeup, tattoo pigment, and other cosmetic materials to the subdermal tissue require the use of one or more needles that penetrate the skin to deliver the pigment or dye. The colored pigment is applied to the skin by superficially puncturing the skin, and moving the needle in an axial reciprocal motion in and out of the skin to urge the color pigment into position just under the skin, where the pigment is permanently retained. This procedure inevitably involves exposure of the needle to blood in the body tissues. Such methods present a risk of disease transmission and infection, pain, and apprehension in treated subjects.
Because of the HIV and hepatitis epidemics, among a host of other diseases, healthcare and other professionals who routinely use needles have raised serious concerns about their health and safety, as well as that of their subjects. For example, the once routine procedure of administering cosmetics through the use of needles may be a life-threatening event. Infectious diseases have been transmitted to healthcare workers and other professionals by needlestick and sharp injuries. For example, over one million needlestick injuries are reported every year. Sixty to ninety percent of all reported needlestick injuries are incurred by the administering personnel. Indeed, needlestick injuries are the most common occupational injury experienced by healthcare professionals. Needlestick injuries have been shown to transmit a large number of infectious diseases, including, AIDS, blastomycosis, brucellosis, cyptococosis, diphtheria, Ebola fever, gonorrhea (cutaneous), hepatitis B, herpes, hepatitis C, malaria, leptospirosis, mycobacteriosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, mycoplasmosis, staphylococcal infections, scrub typhus, toxoplasmosis, sporotrichosis, syphilis, streptococcal infections, and tuberculosis. Thus, the art is in need of methods and compositions for applying permanent cosmetics without the health risks, pain, and fear associated with conventional techniques.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and compositions for the needleless administration of permanent makeup and tattoos. In particular, the present invention relates to hypodermic injectors for use in delivering pigment or other desired substances to targeted layers of the skin.
The present invention provides a system comprising a needleless injector suitable for injecting cosmetic material through a skin surface of a subject, the needleless injector comprising: a housing, wherein the housing includes an injection end comprising an orifice; an ampule containing the cosmetic material; a driver capable of forcing the cosmetic material out of the orifice of the injection end of the housing at a sufficient velocity to pierce the skin surface of the subject; and an energy mechanism for moving the driver. In some embodiments of the present invention, the cosmetic material comprises pigment. In other embodiments, the cosmetic material is selected from the group including, but not limited to, collagen, elastin, polypeptides, and nutrients.
The needleless injector of the present invention may be associated with a variety of features that improve safety and/or utility. For example, in some embodiments of the present invention, the needleless injector further comprises a nozzle tip. In preferred embodiments, the nozzle tip is detachably connected to the injection end of the housing. In other preferred embodiments, the nozzle tip is transparent. In yet other preferred embodiments, the nozzle tip comprises a pressure sensitive activator, wherein the activator is capable of activating the energy mechanism, for example, when the end of the injector is pressed against the skin surface of the subject.
In other embodiments, of the present invention, the needleless injector further comprises a trigger, wherein the trigger is capable of activating the energy mechanism. Triggers include, but are not limited to, levers, buttons, switches, or other easy to manipulate activation means.
In yet other embodiments of the present invention, the needleless injector comprises a plurality of ampules containing the cosmetic material. The ampules may be included within the needleless injector or may be external to the injector, but attached by one or more injection tubes to the injector.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the energy mechanism comprises compressed gas. The compressed gas can be supplied in one or more gas cartridges, by an air compressor attached to the housing through one or more tubes, or any other means of delivering forces air through or into the injection device. In alternate embodiments, the energy mechanism is selected from a group including, but not limited to, springs and pyrotechnic charges.
The present invention further provides a method of injecting cosmetic material through a skin surface of a subject, comprising: providing a needleless injector, wherein the injector comprises the cosmetic material and a means for forcing the cosmetic material out of the injector at a sufficient velocity to pierce the skin surface of the subject; placing a surface of the injector in contact with the skin surface of the subject; and activating the means for forcing the cosmetic material out of the injector at a sufficient velocity to pierce the skin surface of the subject.
The present invention also provides a method of injecting cosmetic material through a skin surface of a subject, comprising: providing any of the systems described above; placing the needleless injector of the system in contact with the skin surface of the subject; and activating the energy mechanism.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a pigment applicator device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A-C show a perspective view of a pigment applicator device in a second embodiment of the present invention.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and compositions for the needleless administration of permanent and semi-permanent makeup and tattoos. In particular, the present invention relates to hypodermic injectors for use in delivering pigment or other desired substances to targeted layers of the skin. The present invention provides devices that are safe, sterile, and needle-free, as well as methods that increase the comfort level of the application, eliminating the spread of blood borne-diseases and decreasing the apprehension level of subjects who obtain the treatment. The needleless injectors also afford a further advantage in that the injected material can be dispersed through a greater volume of tissue than when a bolus injection is introduced through a conventional hypodermic needle. Thus, the devices of the present invention provide dramatic new levels of safety and ease-of-use for permanent cosmetic applications, tattooing, and rehabilitation and repigmentation of surgical and burn patients (e.g., scar camouflage, breast cancer reconstruction, birth mark camouflage, burn camouflage, stretch mark camouflage, and the like). The devices also have the added advantage of reducing environmental contamination associated with needle disposal.
The devices of the present invention provide a needle-free micropigmentation delivery method, by, for example, epidermal air injection of micro-pigments, as well as dermatological substances such as collagen, elastin, polypeptides, and nutrients of various sorts, to the basal layers of the skin. As such, the methods do not involve the penetration of the skin by a needle, the devices prevent needlestick injuries and avoid the risk of exposure to blood-borne diseases, as well as lessening skin trauma and aiding in healing time as well as allowing a higher comfort level per procedure.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the devices use compressed air (e.g., a compressed inert gas such as carbon dioxide [CO 2 ]) as the power source to inject the micropigments or other substances through a micro-orifice, penetrating the epidermis within a fraction of a second. In other embodiments of the present invention, the devices use medical grade compressed ambient air supplied by a suitable air compressor. Methods and apparatuses capable of supplying medical grade pathogen free air suitable for use in the present invention are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,795,371, 5,230,727, and 4,670,223, herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. The pigment deposition process of the present invention is repeated until the desired effect is achieved. The present invention is not limited to any particular power source, as a number of other delivery means provide a velocity sufficient to cause the injected material to pierce the skin and enter the underlying tissues. Such methods include, but are not limited to the use of springs, pyrotechnic charges or the like instead of gas power as the injection delivering force. Examples of power sources that find use with the present invention are found in hypodermic injectors used in the delivery of medication to the blood stream, including, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,993,412; 5,593,388; 5,851,198; 5,769,138; 5,722,953; 5,704,911; 5,697,917; 5,643,211; 5,599,302; 5,569,189; 5,520,639; 5,503,627; 5,480,381; 5,176,642; 5,062,830; 5,064,413; 4,790,824; 4,643,721; 4,623,332; 4,596,556; 4,421,508; 4,089,334; 3,688,765; 3,115,133; 2,816,54; and 2,754,818, all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
The size of the orifice through which the micro-pigment or dermatological substance is injected is determined by the size and the pressure contained within the gas cartridge or the pressure delivered by other energy sources, as well as the size and shape of the device nozzle tip that makes contact with the skin. These factors also affect the depth of penetration into the skin. As a result of this procedure, micro-pigment or other injected material is permanently deposited under the surface of the skin. The device can be adjusted to regulate the depth of the injection as desired, in order to allow deposit of the injected material to the appropriate depth for achieving, for example, permanent coloration (i.e., as opposed to temporary coloration).
In some embodiments, of the present invention, the needleless injector further comprises a liquid-transfer apparatus designed to facilitate the fluid transfer of the pigment or cosmetic material into the injection chamber prior to delivery to the target. (See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,397, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety). In other embodiments of the present invention, the ampules are filled prior to using the needless injector by any of a number of ampule filing devices (See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,912 herein incorporated by reference in its entirety).
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, sterile nozzle tips are the only part of the device that make direct contact with the skin, and may be disposed of after each procedure. The compressed air may be provided in a pressurized gas cartridge, wherein the sterile gas cartridges make no direct contact with the skin, and can also be disposed of after each use, eliminating any chance of contamination. The compressed air may also be provided through attachment of the device with a suitable air compressor or other source of pressurized air.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the device has a pressure sensitive deployment mechanism that ensures proper seating of the injector face against the skin surface before sample delivery is accomplished. A second level of safety can be employed by requiring both proper seating of the injector face and depression of an activation button or switch by the technician. Thus, the needleless injector device assures safe use, even by inexperienced operators under adverse conditions.
The present invention also provides methods for the removal of pigment (e.g., tattoos and permanent cosmetics) from a subject. For example, rather than injecting a pigment to the subdermal tissue layers, the devices of the present invention are used to inject a removal solution to the subdermal layers to remove or reduce pigmentations. Any solution capable or reducing or removing coloration finds use with the present invention. For example, in some embodiments of the present invention, trichloracetic acid is applied to a pigmented area. In other embodiments of the present invention, nitric acid is applied to a pigmented area. In yet other embodiments of the present invention, removal may be conducted by injecting a solution that solubilizes the pigment and removing the solution. Any type of removal is contemplated. In some embodiments solution removal comprises suction or drainage of the solution from the skin. In preferred embodiments the skin is treated to facilitate removal. For example, the skin may be treated with heat, chemicals, hormones, and the like to open pores. In other embodiments of the present invention, removal comprises injecting a solution that carries the pigment into the bloodstream.
In preferred embodiments, the needleless injector is for use with human beings. However, it is contemplated that the present invention will find use in veterinary applications, as well as for identification of animals (e.g., tattooing and branding).
Definitions
To facilitate an understanding of the present invention, a number of terms and phrases are defined below:
As used herein, the term “needleless injector” refers to a device capable of introducing a material through the skin of a subject without the use of a needle. Needleless injectors may include a needle, for example, to draw the injectable material into the device prior to injection, but carry out the injection process without piercing the skin of the subject with a needle.
As used herein, the term “ampule” refers to a container for storing one or more injectable materials. Ampules may contain a single chamber or multiple chambers and can be made of any desirable material for storing the injectable material.
As used herein, the term “cosmetic material” refers to any material that is to be injected substantially beneath the skin surface for cosmetic purposes (i.e., as opposed to injection in the bloodstream for medical purposes). Cosmetic materials include, but are not limited to pigments, collagens, elastins, polypeptides, carbohydrates, lipids, and nutrients (e.g., vitamins).
As used herein, the term “pigment” refers to a substance used as coloring. Pigments include liquid and dry coloring material, and include, but are not limited to, pigments used in tattooing and permanent makeup applications.
As used herein, the term “energy mechanism” or “power source” refers to a system for delivering a force to a driver or other device or material. Energy mechanisms include, but are not limited to compressed gas, pyrotechnic charges, springs, and the like.
As used herein, the term “driver” refers to a portion of a device that imparts or transmits motion, power, or forceful pressure to another device part or to a material. Drives include, but are not limited to, pistons, levers, articulators, and the like.
As used herein, the term “sufficient velocity to pierce the skin surface of a subject” refers to a velocity capable of delivering an injectable material beneath the skin surface of a subject. In preferred embodiments, the velocity delivers the injectable material to the subdermal tissue, while avoiding substantial delivery to the bloodstream. The velocity will vary depending on the location, thickness, and type of skin. For example, fluid materials can be delivered beneath the skin if accelerated at a velocity between about 800 feet per second and 1,200 feet per second, although lower or higher velocities may be appropriate for particular injectable materials or skin types. It should be noted that, in some embodiments of the present invention, the needleless injector of the present invention deposits pigments and compositions in skin tissues to a sufficient depth in order to ensure that a permanent marking remains retained by the tissue, and such that a clearly visible marking remains after the passing of time, but not so deep that the deposited pigments or compositions enter the subject's blood supply. Velocity of the devices may be controlled by a number of factors including, but not limited to, the amount of force applied to the injectable material or the diameter of the passage, nozzle, or tip through which the injectable material travels. In some embodiments of the present invention, changes to velocity may be made by adjusting the device accordingly (e.g., adjusting the tension of a spring, adjusting the force applied by a pressurized gas, and adjusting the diameter of the passage, nozzle, or tip, by substituting a separate component into the device or by turning an adjustment dial that physically alters the diameter of the passageway). One skilled in the art is capable of testing the appropriate velocity for particular applications by, for example, testing a variety of velocities on a test animal or tissue. For example, a tissue sample corresponding to a tissue to be treated is injected using the device of the present invention and the location of the pigment is identified (e.g., by dissection, microscopy, and the like). In some embodiments, the test tissue is part of a living animal and the maintenance of the coloring is monitored over time. The presence and amount of injectable material that enters the blood stream for a particular velocity and tissue type can be detected by obtaining a blood sample and detecting the presence of the injectable material (e.g., detecting the presence of a detectable marker injected with the injectable material). Adjustments may also be made by the practitioner during a treatment simply by visual observation of undesired results (e.g., penetration that is too shallow or too deep), with corrections being made accordingly.
As used herein, the terms “suitable air compressor” or “suitable compressed air,” and equivalents, are used in their broadest sense to describe a compressed air source free of pathogens.
As used herein, the term “medical grade air” refers to a pathogen free air.
As used herein, the terms “material” and “materials” refer to, in their broadest sense, any composition of matter.
As used herein, the term “pathogen” refers to disease-causing organisms or infectious agents, microorganisms, or agents including, but not limited to, viruses, bacteria, parasites (including, but not limited to, organisms within the phyla Protozoa, Platyhelminthes, Aschelminithes, Acanthocephala, and Arthropoda), fungi, and prions.
As used herein, the term “peptide” refers to any substance composed of two or more amino acids.
As used herein, the term “carbohydrate” refers to a class of molecules including, but not limited to, sugars, starches, cellulose, chitin, glycogen, and similar structures. Further, carbohydrates can occur as components of glycolipids and glycoproteins.
As used herein, the term “lipid” refers to a variety of compounds that are characterized by their solubility in organic solvents. Such compounds include, but are not limited to, fats, waxes, steroids, sterols, glycolipids, glycosphingolipids (including gangliosides), phospholipids, terpenes, fat-soluble vitamins, prostaglandins, carotenes, and chlorophylls. As used herein, the phrase “lipid-based materials” refers to any material that contains lipids.
As used herein, the term “organic solvents” refers to any organic molecules capable of dissolving another substance. Examples include, but are not limited to, chloroform, alcohols, phenols, and ethers.
As used herein, the term “sample” is used in its broadest sense. In one sense it is meant to include a specimen or culture; on the other hand, it is meant to include biological and environmental samples. Biological samples include blood products, such as plasma, serum and the like. Biological samples may be animal, including human, fluid, solid or tissue. Environmental samples include environmental material such as surface matter, soil, water, crystals and industrial samples. These examples are not to be construed as limiting the sample types applicable to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following examples are provided in order to demonstrate and further illustrate certain preferred embodiments and aspects of the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the scope thereof.
As shown in FIG. 1, a needleless injection device according to one embodiment of the present invention is embodied in a pen-sized device. The needleless injector device ( 10 ) according to an embodiment of the invention is useful for hypodermic injection of pigment or other cosmetic material without piercing the skin with a needle.
The preferred embodiment ensures precise delivery through an orifice with a diameter of approximately 0.0032′ (i.e., approximately 0.08 mm). However, larger or smaller diameters may be used, so long as accurate penetration of the skin and delivery of the injectable material is maintained (e.g., different diameters to regulate velocity of the injectable material or fineness or coarseness of the applied mark). In this embodiment, the injected material is linearly accelerated via pneumatic propulsion. Safety is maintained and inadvertent activation of the injection device ( 10 ) is avoided via a pressure sensitive (e.g., resistance) triggering feature that allows for proper tensioning of the nozzle and orifice at the injection site prior to automatic deployment and/or through activation of a control switch by the user. For example, activation of the injector device ( 10 ) will not occur until the injector is properly positioned to provide the required resistance from the skin surface of the subject to allow for sufficient tension and pressure to be applied to a trigger of the injector device ( 10 ) to activate it to deliver the dosage of injectable material. Improper positioning resulting in insufficient resistance by the skin surface of the subject will prevent the injector device ( 10 ) from being inadvertently activated. For example, tight tolerances between a trigger cap and a housing will prevent the cap from sliding along the housing to trigger the device ( 10 ), if the device ( 10 ) is more than 10 degrees off of an axis perpendicular to the skin surface of the subject to be treated.
The injector device ( 10 ) has a main body ( 20 ), a chamber housing ( 30 ), a cap ( 40 ), a piston ( 50 ), an actuating member ( 250 ), and a first gas chamber ( 70 ). The main body ( 20 ) includes a first body portion ( 21 ) integrally connected to a second body portion ( 22 ). The main body ( 20 ) comprising the first body portion ( 21 ) and second body portion ( 22 ) may be a single unit in design and manufacturing. In a preferred embodiment of the device, the second body portion ( 22 ) has a slightly larger diameter than that of the first body portion ( 21 ). A flange ( 23 ) is formed due to a larger diameter of the second body portion ( 22 ). The first body portion ( 21 ) and the second body portion ( 22 ) each has an elongated cylindrical shape. However, in alternative embodiments, other shapes (e.g., rectangular, triangular, octagonal or the like) may be used. The main body ( 20 ) also has an elongated cavity ( 24 ) centrally disposed along the length of the first body portion ( 21 ) and partially along the length of the second body portion ( 22 ). The elongated cavity ( 24 ) forms an opening that is located on the end of the main body ( 20 ), located opposite the second body portion ( 22 ). In some embodiments, the elongated cavity ( 24 ) has a cylindrical shape with a substantially homogenous diameter. However, in alternative embodiments, other shapes such as rectangular, triangular or the like may be used. In other embodiments, the diameter of the elongated cavity ( 24 ) gradually tapers off as the elongated cavity ( 24 ) nears the second body portion ( 22 ). In such embodiments, the smaller diameter portion of the elongated cavity ( 24 ) limits the backward movement of the piston ( 50 ) and tends to increase the rate of acceleration when the jet injection device ( 10 ) is first activated.
The second body portion ( 22 ) includes a lever passageway ( 80 ) and the first gas chamber ( 70 ) for storing compressed inert gas (e.g. carbon dioxide). However, alternative embodiments may use other gases or a gas/liquid combination. The elongated cavity ( 24 ), containing a second gas chamber ( 90 ), and the first gas chamber ( 70 ) are coupled together to provide gaseous communication with each other through a passageway ( 100 ). The first gas chamber ( 70 ) of the second body portion ( 22 ) has an opening on the opposite end of the passageway ( 100 ), through which compressed gas is pre-filled into the first gas chamber ( 70 ). A retention groove ( 27 ), preferably ring-shaped, is formed around the inner diameter of the first gas chamber ( 70 ) near the end of the large opening in the first gas chamber. A chamber plug ( 28 ) is disposed within the opening of the first gas chamber ( 70 ) to seal in the compressed inert gas, once the gas has been loaded. The chamber plug ( 28 ) forms an air tight seal in the first gas chamber ( 70 ) by engaging the retention groove ( 27 ). The retention groove ( 27 ) also prevents the chamber plug ( 28 ) from detaching itself from the second body portion ( 22 ) due to the presence of compressed gas in the first gas chamber ( 70 ). The chamber plug ( 28 ) is configured and sized to firmly fit into the opening of the first gas chamber ( 70 ). In alternative embodiments, instead of the retention groove ( 27 ), the inner surface of the first gas chamber may be threaded so that the chamber plug ( 28 ), with corresponding outer threads, may be screwed into the first gas chamber ( 70 ). Alternatively, the first gas chamber ( 70 ) may be a sealed compartment in which compressed gas is injected through a valve or may comprise a replaceable gas containing cartridge. A seal may be obtained by using an adhesive or other suitable materials. The chamber plug ( 28 ) may be made of any suitable rigid materials, such as plastic, rubber, ceramic, metal, composites and the like. Although the main body ( 20 ) may be made of plastic by such process as an injection molding, other suitable materials, such as ceramic, glass, metal, composites or the like, may be used. In addition, the first body portion ( 21 ) and the second body portion ( 22 ) may be formed together as one injection mold or may be formed from separate portions coupled together by adhesives, welding, snap fits or the like.
Inside the elongated cavity ( 24 ), a release valve ( 110 ) is attached to the wall to block off and seal the passageway ( 100 ). In its normal position, the release valve ( 110 ) blocks the gas flow from the first gas chamber ( 70 ) into the elongated cavity ( 24 ). When the release valve ( 110 ) is displaced from its original position, the compressed gas from the first gas chamber ( 70 ) is released into the elongated cavity ( 24 ). More specifically, the compressed gas is released into a second gas chamber ( 90 ), which is a part of the elongated cavity ( 24 ). The release valve ( 110 ) is preferably sufficiently large to fully cover the opening in the passageway ( 100 ), thus preventing any gas leakage. The release valve ( 110 ) is preferably displaced by applying force on its side, but it should be attached firmly enough to withstand the pressure exerted by the compressed air in the first gas chamber ( 70 ) or a shock (e.g., due to inadvertent mishandling of the device by the user, such as dropping the device). In addition, the release valve ( 110 ) should resist being displaced until the injector device ( 10 ) is placed in contact with the skin of a subject and sufficient resistance is encountered to permit the injector device ( 10 ) to be activated by applying sufficient pressure to displace the release valve ( 110 ).
In some embodiments, a lever passageway ( 80 ) may be formed on the side wall of the main body ( 20 ) and extends from the outer to the inner surface of the second body portion ( 22 ) at a slightly slanted angle. However, other configurations may be used. The lever passageway ( 80 ) is adapted and configured to hold a lever ( 81 ) which protrudes through the lever passageway ( 80 ). In one preferred embodiment, the lever ( 81 ) is a cylindrical rod with a rounded end ( 82 ). The rounded end ( 82 ) protrudes out of the second body portion ( 22 ). The lever ( 81 ) has preferably the sufficiently same cross-section and diameter as the lever passageway ( 80 ) to firmly fit inside the passageway ( 80 ) to provide a sufficiently tight air and fluid seal so as to not hinder with the effective performance of the injection device ( 10 ). However, there may be some clearance between the lever ( 81 ) and the passageway ( 80 ) to bleed-out excess gas pressure over a time, once the injector device ( 10 ) has been used. In an alternative embodiment, there may be a plurality of levers ( 81 ) disposed through a plurality of lever passageways ( 80 ) to ensure the displacement of a release valve ( 110 ). For example, in some embodiments, the main body ( 20 ) may accommodate two levers positioned at a 90 degree angle to each other, so that the combined force of the levers ensure proper displacement of the release valve ( 110 ). In alternative embodiments, the lever ( 81 ) and the passageway ( 80 ) may be formed in a rectangular rod shape or any other suitable shapes. In still other embodiments, the lever ( 81 ) may be made of resilient plastic or other suitable materials.
The chamber housing ( 30 ) includes an elongated tubular body ( 31 ), a neck portion ( 32 ), and a liquid chamber ( 33 ) for holding, prior to injection, pigment or other injectable material. The chamber housing ( 30 ) has an orifice ( 34 ) at one end and has an opening configured to receive the piston ( 50 ) at the other end. The orifice ( 34 ) is centrally positioned on an injector face ( 35 ). The injector face ( 35 ) has a flat surface, except that the center region around the orifice ( 34 ) is slightly raised. The raised surface around the orifice ( 34 ) provides firm contact against a receiving surface, such as the skin surface of the subject to be treated. This helps to insure that the injector is properly positioned and will not be activated until sufficient pressure is applied to the injector device ( 10 ).
In particularly preferred embodiments, the outer diameter of the neck portion ( 32 ) is smaller than the outer diameter of the elongated tubular body ( 31 ), which forms a shoulder portion ( 36 ) where the two parts join together. The shoulder portion ( 36 ) rests on the surface of the opening formed by the elongated cavity ( 24 ) of the main body ( 20 ). However, the outer diameter of the neck portion ( 32 ) is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the elongated cavity ( 24 ) of the main body ( 20 ), so that the neck portion ( 32 ) firmly fits inside the elongated cavity ( 24 ). To firmly engage the neck portion ( 32 ) of the chamber housing ( 30 ) with the elongated cavity ( 24 ) of the main body, the middle section of the neck portion ( 32 ) may have a slightly larger outer diameter that fits into a groove formed inside the elongated cavity ( 24 ). Once coupled together, the chamber housing ( 30 ) cannot be released from the main body ( 20 ), unless extreme force is applied. In alternative embodiments, the raised outer diameter of the neck portion is configured such that threads are present on the outer diameter of the neck portion ( 32 ) and matching threads are formed inside the elongated cavity ( 24 ) to screw-in the chamber housing ( 30 ). This provides the advantage of allowing the user to assemble the device ( 10 ) when needed or just prior to giving an injection. This assembly option also allows the user to select a variety of different treatments while minimizing the number of complete injectors ( 10 ) that must be carried or stocked. It also facilitates manufacture of the device ( 10 ), since the injector ( 10 ) and the chamber housing ( 30 ) may be manufactured at different times. Further, the main body ( 20 ) and the chamber housing ( 30 ) may be attached and sealed together by any suitable method, such as adhesives, welding or the like. A ring joint ( 210 ), in the form of a plastic weld fillet, is also used to further reinforce the attachment of the chamber housing ( 30 ) to the main body ( 20 ). In some preferred embodiments, the ring joint ( 210 ) abuts against the shoulder portion ( 36 ) and the opening surface of the elongated cavity ( 24 ). The ring joint ( 210 ) provides additional strength to securely hold the chamber housing ( 30 ) in the main body ( 20 ). Although not shown in the drawings, in some embodiments, an O-ring may be placed between the shoulder portion ( 36 ) of the chamber housing ( 30 ) and the opening surface of the elongated cavity ( 24 ) to provide an additional air and fluid tight seal.
It is contemplated that the chamber housing ( 30 ) is formed of glass or other suitable materials, such as plastic, ceramic, polycarbonate or the like. However, in the preferred embodiment, the chamber housing ( 30 ) is transparent so that the injection material and the various moving parts can be visually examined by the user during treatment of a subject and/or to monitor or test the function of the device.
A cap ( 40 ) may be mounted on the end of the chamber housing ( 30 ) to cover the orifice ( 34 ). The cap ( 40 ) provides and maintains sterility of the injection device ( 10 ) and prevents an accidental discharge of the injection material. Threads ( 41 ) for mounting the cap ( 40 ) are on the outer surface of the end portion of the chamber housing ( 30 ). The cap ( 40 ) has matching threads ( 42 ) on the inner surface, so that the cap ( 40 ) can be screwed-on at the end portion of the chamber housing ( 30 ). Once screwed-on, the cap ( 40 ) provides an air and fluid tight seal around the orifice to prevent any foreign material from being introduced into the device. In alternative embodiments, the cap ( 40 ) and the end portion of the chamber housing ( 30 ) can be configured so that the cap ( 40 ) is snapped-on instead of screwed-on. The cap ( 40 ) may be made of any suitable material. However, in preferred embodiments, the cap is composed of rigid material such as plastic polymers, rubber, ceramic or the like.
The piston ( 50 ) has an elongated cylindrical body ( 51 ) with an indented front surface ( 52 ) at one end and a head ( 54 ) at the opposite end. The head ( 54 ) includes a rear surface ( 55 ), which is preferably concave. In alternative embodiments, the front and rear surfaces may be flat, or have other suitable shapes. The elongated cylindrical body ( 51 ) of the piston ( 50 ) is disposed inside the liquid chamber ( 33 ) for sliding movement along its length. In preferred embodiments, the elongated cylindrical body ( 51 ) has substantially the same outer diameter as the diameter of the liquid chamber ( 33 ) to provide free sliding movement along the length of the liquid chamber ( 33 ). Due to an air and fluid tight seal around a plunger ( 56 ), the air and fluid tight seal around the piston ( 50 ) may not be necessary. In alternative embodiments, the head ( 54 ) of the piston ( 50 ) has substantially the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the elongated cavity ( 24 ) to form an air and fluid tight seal with a minimal friction between the head ( 54 ) and the walls of the elongated cavity ( 24 ). The space defined between the head ( 54 ) and the back wall of the elongated cavity ( 24 ) is the second gas chamber ( 90 ). The head ( 54 ) is disposed inside the elongated cavity ( 24 ) so that the compressed gas introduced in the second gas chamber ( 90 ) expands the head ( 54 ) against the wall surface of elongated cavity ( 24 ), providing an additional seal, so that the compressed gas introduced into the second gas chamber ( 90 ) pushes the piston ( 50 ) forward.
In some embodiments, where the lower portion ( 57 ) of the head ( 54 ) makes contact with the neck portion ( 32 ) of the chamber housing ( 30 ), the shapes of both portions may be configured to match each other. In the preferred embodiment, the end surface ( 230 ) of the neck portion ( 32 ) forms a concave surface while the lower portion ( 57 ) of the head ( 54 ) forms a convex surface. The matching shapes assist in delivering substantially all of the injectable material in the liquid chamber ( 33 ) to the desired injection site. However, in alternative embodiments, other suitable shapes, such as a flat surface, may be used, and the piston ( 50 ) may be made of any suitable material such as plastic, glass, ceramic, metal, composites or the like.
In preferred embodiments, a plunger ( 56 ) is positioned inside the liquid chamber ( 33 ). The plunger ( 56 ) has an outer diameter which is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the liquid chamber ( 33 ) to form an air and fluid tight seal. The plunger ( 56 ) is disposed between the piston ( 50 ) and the orifice ( 34 ). The injectable material is situated in front of the plunger ( 56 ) (i.e., between the orifice ( 34 ) and the plunger ( 56 )) so that the forward movement of the plunger ( 56 ) forces the injectable material toward the orifice ( 34 ). The front surface of the plunger ( 56 ) may be configured to match the opening defined by an orifice guide ( 240 ). In preferred embodiments, the front surface of the plunger ( 56 ) has a convex surface to match the concave shape of the orifice guide ( 240 ), whose vertex is the orifice ( 34 ). The shape of the orifice guide ( 240 ) focuses and increases the velocity of injectable material as it exits the orifice ( 34 ). The matching shapes of the orifice guide ( 240 ) and the plunger ( 56 ) tend to minimize the waste of injectable material, since most of the injectable material is forced out through the orifice ( 34 ). The shape of the rear surface of the plunger ( 56 ) matches the front surface ( 52 ) of the piston ( 50 ). The similarly shaped configuration provides for an even distribution of the pressure on the rear of the plunger ( 56 ) when the piston ( 50 ) moves forward. This tends to minimize jams or distortion as the plunger ( 56 ) is driven forward. In some embodiments, the plunger ( 56 ) is made of rubber or other suitable materials, such as plastic, composites or the like. In alternative embodiments, the plunger ( 56 ) and the piston ( 50 ) are formed as an integrated piece either by attaching the plunger ( 56 ) to the piston ( 50 ) or by molding the piston assembly to include the plunger ( 56 ).
In preferred embodiments, the device further comprises a resistance sensitive trigger which includes an actuating member ( 250 ) that is an elongated tubular member that slides over the second body portion ( 22 ) of the main body ( 20 ). The actuating member ( 250 ) has a trigger portion ( 251 ), a raised rail, and a retainer slot ( 253 ). The actuating member ( 250 ) is enclosed at one end and has an opening at the other end. On the inner surface of the enclosed end, there is a spring surface ( 254 ) for holding or mounting a coil spring ( 255 ). In some embodiments, the resistance sensitive trigger also includes a coil spring ( 255 ) that is positioned between a spring surface ( 254 ) and the chamber plug ( 28 ) and provides a resilient bias toward the rear end. As the proper use of the injection device ( 10 ) requires that the injector device ( 10 ) be positioned substantially perpendicular to the skin surface of the subject before the injectable material is injected into the injection site, the tension strength of the coil spring ( 255 ) is sufficiently strong to prevent accidental triggering when the injection device ( 10 ) is not properly positioned. Typically, a minimum applied pressure of 2.2 lbs/in.sup. 2 (1.0 kg/2.5 cm.sup. 2 ) is required to discharge the injector. However, slightly lower or higher minimums may be required, depending on the skin of the subject, the location at which the injection is to be administered, or the desired depth of the treatment. In alternative embodiments, alternate resistance elements may be used instead of the coil spring ( 255 ), including, but not limited to deformable rubber or plastic, strain gauges or the like.
In some embodiments, a retainer slot ( 253 ) is positioned in the front opening of the actuating member ( 250 ), for mounting a retainer ( 256 ). The retainer slot ( 253 ) is formed around the inner circumference of the actuating member ( 250 ), extending from one side of the raised rail to the other side. The retainer ( 256 ), which in preferred embodiments is in a form of a thin circular rod, is mounted into the retainer slot ( 253 ). In some embodiments, the circumferential length of the retainer ( 256 ) is substantially equal to that of the retainer slot ( 253 ). In these embodiments, when the actuating member ( 250 ) is installed onto the second body portion ( 22 ), the retainer ( 256 ) generally rests against the flange ( 27 ). This prevents the actuating member ( 250 ) from detaching itself from the second body portion ( 22 ) due to rearward force exerted by the coil spring ( 255 ). In preferred embodiments, the retainer ( 256 ) may be made of plastic or other suitable materials such as metal or the like. In alternative embodiments, the retainer ( 256 ) and the actuating member ( 250 ) may be formed as one integral member by molding process or other suitable processes. The actuating member ( 250 ) is typically made of plastic or other suitably rigid and resilient materials, such as glass, composite, ceramic or metal. In some embodiments, the trigger portion ( 251 ) is on the outer end surface of the actuating member ( 250 ). It preferably forms a concave surface and is coated with a textured material to prevent depressing force, such as from a thumb, from slipping.
In some preferred embodiments, when the actuating member ( 250 ) is not depressed, the lever ( 81 ) rests on the flat thinner inner surface of the raised rail. This is the normal state of the injection device ( 10 ) prior to injection. When the actuating member ( 250 ) is depressed, the actuating member ( 250 ) moves forward, and forces the lever ( 81 ) toward the center of the second body portion ( 22 ). The inward movement of the lever displaces the release valve ( 110 ) and consequently releases the compressed gas in the first gas chamber ( 70 ). The raised rail can be formed as an integral part of the actuating member by a molding process or other suitable processes.
In some embodiments, the second body portion ( 22 ) includes three spines ( 400 ) and the actuating member ( 250 ) includes corresponding three spline slots ( 401 ) adapted to slidably receive the spines ( 400 ) of the second body portion ( 22 ). The spines ( 400 ) and spline slots ( 401 ) are provided to assist the actuating member ( 250 ) to slide along the second body portion as the actuating member ( 250 ) is depressed to deliver an injection. The spines ( 400 ) and spline slots ( 401 ) substantially prevent the actuator member ( 250 ) from rotating about the second body portion ( 22 ) to avoid jamming of the actuating member ( 250 ) during an injection. The spines ( 400 ) and spline slots ( 401 ) also prevent rotational movement of the actuating member ( 250 ) about the second body portion ( 22 ) when the cap ( 40 ) is removed or threaded onto the chamber housing ( 30 ). This limits the amount of torsional stress placed on the lever ( 81 ) in the passageway ( 80 ) during an injection or when removing or threading the cap ( 40 ) onto the chamber housing ( 30 ). In alternative embodiments, a different number of spines and spline slots may be used. Also, if the lever ( 81 ) is sufficiently strong enough the spines and spline slots may be eliminated. In further alternatives, the spines ( 400 ) and/or spline slots ( 401 ) may be coated with a lubricant or formed from materials with low frictional coefficients to facilitate sliding movement of the actuating member ( 250 ) along the second body portion ( 22 ). In preferred embodiments, the spines ( 400 ) and spines slots ( 401 ) have a rectangular cross-section. However, in alternative embodiments, the spines and spline slots may have other cross-sections, such as triangular, saw tooth, dove tail or the like, to resist rotational movement of the actuating member ( 250 ) about the second body portion ( 22 ).
The operation of the needleless injector device according to the preferred embodiment will now be discussed. The user unscrews or unsnaps the cap ( 40 ) from the main body ( 20 ), thus revealing the orifice ( 34 ) of the injector device ( 10 ). The user then positions the injector device ( 10 ) perpendicularly against the skin surface to provide firm and secure contact of the orifice ( 34 ) against the skin surface. The injector device ( 10 ) requires the device ( 10 ) to be properly oriented and in contact with the skin of the patient, since the injector device ( 10 ) is designed so that it cannot be activated or discharged without the device ( 10 ) being placed against the skin surface. Otherwise, with the high fluid delivery velocity, a jet injector could injure a person's eye or other part of the body.
As the trigger portion ( 251 ) of the actuating member ( 250 ) is depressed, the skin surface of the patient resists the pressure being applied to the actuating member ( 250 ) of the resistance sensitive trigger and the coil spring ( 255 ) is compressed between the chamber plug ( 28 ) and the spring surface ( 254 ). Sufficient pressure (generally a minimum of 2.2 lbs/in.sup.2 [1.0 kg/2.5 cm.sup.2]) must be applied at the trigger portion ( 251 ) to overcome the tension of the coil spring ( 255 ). Concurrently, as the inclined region pushes against the lever ( 81 ), the lever ( 81 ) is pushed inward toward the center axis of the main body ( 20 ). As the actuating member ( 250 ) is pressed further against the skin surface, the lever ( 81 ) pushes against the side of the release valve ( 110 ), displacing the release valve ( 110 ). This exposes the opening of the passageway ( 100 ), and the compressed gas stored in the first gas chamber ( 70 ) is released into second gas chamber ( 90 ). When sufficient pressure is built up inside the second gas chamber ( 90 ), the piston ( 50 ) is pushed forward so that it slides forward in the liquid chamber ( 33 ). The seal around the head ( 54 ) of the piston ( 50 ) substantially prevents any gas from leaking into the other parts of the elongated cavity. The forward movement of the piston ( 50 ) causes the front surface ( 52 ) of the piston ( 50 ) to make contact with the rear surface of the plunger ( 56 ), to move the plunger ( 56 ) forward. As the plunger ( 56 ) moves forward, the injectable material exits from the orifice ( 34 ) at a high velocity and penetrates the skin surface at the injection site.
As shown in FIG. 2A-C, a needless injection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is embodied in a pen-sized device. As shown in FIG. 2A, the needless injector device ( 300 ) comprises an outer casing ( 301 ), a disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ), a movable activator ( 303 ), a pigment well lid ( 304 ), a pigment inlet ( 305 ), and a CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ). The injector device ( 300 ) may also comprise a pressure regulator device to maintain the pressure within the injector device ( 300 ) upon changes in the ambient temperature. Where appropriate, the injector device ( 300 ) incorporates the design features described in detail above.
In preferred embodiments, the outer casing ( 301 ) is made of any durable material such as various plastics, metals, glasses, or ceramics. The casing can include a textured outer surface to assist in gripping or holding the device. The outer casing can also include instructions, warnings, identification marks or other desired text. The outer casing ( 301 ) is designed to be associated with other structural elements including various access panels (e.g., pigment well lid ( 304 ) and a CO 2 cartridge access panel). The access panels may be attached to or incorporated into the outer casing ( 301 ), for example, by hinges, snaps, hook and eye attachments, and the like or may be sliding panels. The access panels allow the technician to gain access to the interior of device through openings in the outer casing ( 301 ), for example, to replace or insert pigment ampules ( 309 ) or CO 2 cartridges ( 306 ).
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in some embodiments, the outer casing encloses the CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ), a channel ( 307 ) that allows passage of the injectable material and air flow from the CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ), channel guides ( 308 ), and an attachment zone for attachment to the movable channel activator ( 303 ) and the disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ).
In preferred embodiments, the movable activator ( 303 ) is attached to the outer casing either permanently (e.g., adhesively or through molding during production) or detachably (e.g., threading or any conventional fasteners to facilitate quick removal of or attachment to the injector outer casing ( 301 )). When sufficient force is applied to movable activator through contact of the device with the skin of a subject, the activator causes movement in the channel ( 307 ), backward inside the inner cavity of the device, such that the pigment inlet ( 305 ) is in position to allow pigment to enter the channel ( 307 ) and such that the CO 2 cartridge is triggered to discharge. For example, the movement of the channel ( 307 ) can align the pigment inlet ( 305 ) with a pigment outlet ( 310 ) in the pigment ampule ( 309 ). A microdroplet of pigment ( 311 ) from the pigment ampule ( 309 ) enters the channel ( 307 ), for example, because of pressure release caused by access of the pigment to the channel ( 307 ). Additionally, the movement of the channel ( 307 ) displaces a valve sealing one end of the CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ), such that gas is discharged from the CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ) through the channel, forcing the microdroplet of pigment ( 311 ) to travel through the channel ( 307 ), out of the device ( 300 ), and through the skin of the subject. In preferred embodiments, the discharge also causes the channel ( 307 ) to return to its original position.
In some embodiments, the disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ) is attachable to the ejector end of the device and can be attached to either the movable activator ( 303 ) or the outer casing ( 301 ). The nozzle assembly includes external acme threading or any conventional fasteners to facilitate quick removal of or attachment to the injector. In preferred embodiments, the nozzle tip ( 302 ) is formed of a strong material capable of withstanding high pressure and stress such as gamma stabilized high impact polycarbonate, polypropylene and any derivatives thereof, or any medical grade material or composite capable of withstanding the pressure and stress subjected by the injector during use. In preferred embodiments, the nozzle comprises a nozzle channel ( 312 ) that extends through the length of the nozzle tip ( 302 ). The channel is designed to align with the channel ( 307 ) of the injection device ( 300 ). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the channel ( 307 ) extends through the movable activator ( 303 ), with the nozzle channel ( 312 ) having a diameter at the base ( 313 ) of nozzle tip ( 302 ) that allows insertion of the channel ( 307 ) into the channel ( 312 ), forming a contiguous path for the flow of the injectable material. When attached to the injection device ( 300 ), the base ( 313 ) of the disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ) is in contact with the movable activator ( 303 ), such that contact and seating of the tip ( 314 ) of the disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ) with the skin of a subject can be physically transmitted to the movable activator ( 303 ). In some embodiments of the present invention, the disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ) is made of a transparent material to allow monitoring of the flow of injectable material through the nozzle tip ( 302 ). Examples of nozzles that find use with hypodermic injectors include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,953, 5,697,917, and 5,643,211, herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.
In preferred embodiments, the pigment or other cosmetic material to be injected is contained in one or more ampules ( 309 ) which is contained within the outer casing ( 301 ). In preferred embodiments, the ampules can be inserted, removed, and replaced as desired. However, the present invention contemplates that the ampules may be permanently incorporated into the injection device ( 300 ) during production and that once emptied, the injection device ( 300 ) is discarded. In other embodiments, micropigments are injected into the channel from a plurality of injection tubes attached to a plurality of ampules (either inside or outside of the device), such that a microdroplet of pigment or other material is injected into the channel in a controlled manner (e.g., activation of a button or lever that controls the displacement of a release valve at the end of the injection tube contained within the injection device). Such embodiments allow multiple materials, combinations, or mixtures to be injected. As shown in FIG. 2A and 2B, the ampule comprises a pigment outlet ( 310 ). The pigment outlet ( 310 ) can be an opening in the ampule that allows passage of a small portion of the pigment contained in the ampule. Prior to placement in the injection device ( 300 ), the pigment outlet is preferably sealed, for example, by a removable adhesive strip. Just prior to placement in the device, the seal is removed. However, it is contemplated the seal may be removed during or after placement of the ampule in the injection device. For example, a projectile contained on the outer surface of the channel ( 307 ) can break the seal after the ampule ( 309 ) is inserted into injection device ( 300 ) and after the pigment well lid ( 304 ) is closed. Movement of the channel ( 307 ) following proper contact and seating of the nozzle tip ( 302 ) on the skin of a subject, aligns the pigment inlet ( 305 ) of the channel ( 307 ) with the pigment outlet ( 310 ), allowing transfer of a microdroplet of pigment from the ampule ( 309 ) to the channel ( 307 ). The material in the ampule ( 309 ) enters the channel due to a differential pressure between the inside and outside of the ampule ( 309 ). The pressure differential can be created, for example, by pressure loading and sealing the ampule ( 309 ), by applying pressure from the closure of the pigment well lid ( 304 ), or by having a moveable barrier compress the ampule (e.g., compress the ampule in conjunction with the activation of the movable barrier). It is contemplated that multiple ampules, or multichamber ampules, containing more that one type of injectable material can be incorporated into a single injection device ( 300 ).
The injection device ( 300 ) may also comprise one or more channel guides ( 308 ) within the outer casing ( 301 ), movable activator ( 303 ), or nozzle tip ( 302 ). The channel guides comprise an outer diameter that attaches to the inner surface of the outer casing ( 301 ), movable activator ( 303 ), or nozzle tip ( 302 ). The channel guides further comprise an inner diameter comprising an opening that securely encompasses the channel ( 307 ), maintaining the channel in a desired linear trajectory. The channel guides are made of a rigid and durable material that maintains the position and direction of the channel ( 307 ) while allowing the channel ( 307 ) to slide within the openings. Such materials include metals, plastics, glasses, ceramics, and the like.
In operation, the disposable nozzle tip ( 302 ) of the injector device ( 300 ) attaches to the movable activator ( 303 ) at the front of the device. The nozzle tip ( 302 ) pressed against the skin depresses the movable activator ( 303 ) which moves the channel ( 307 ) backward inside the inner cavity of the instrument. The channel ( 307 ) directs the micro-pigment droplets through the nozzle tip ( 302 ), propelled by the jet of air from the CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ). The channel ( 307 ) is opened at both ends. The channel contains a micro-pigment inlet ( 305 ) which, when passed across the pigment ampule ( 309 ) located above the channel ( 307 ), releases a single droplet into the channel ( 307 ). The channel ( 307 ) continues backward and triggers the CO 2 cartridge ( 306 ) activating a jet of air through the channel ( 307 ) carrying the micro-droplet through the channel ( 307 ) into the nozzle tip ( 302 ) and injecting it into the epidermis layer within a fraction of a second, creating a permanent deposit into the skin. The channel ( 307 ) and the moveable activator ( 303 ) return to their normal pre-depressed position. This procedure can be repeated to obtain the desired effect.
In alternate embodiments of the present invention, the energy mechanism is provided as a suitable air compressor that provides burst of compressed air upon activation by the technician. As shown in FIG. 2C, the outer casing ( 301 ) is penetrated by an air compressor inlet valve ( 500 ). The inlet valve is connect, either by construction or detachably, to a compressor channel ( 501 ), which is in gaseous communication with the channel ( 307 ). The compressor inlet valve is connected at its external end ( 502 ) to any of a variety of compressed gas sources, including, but not limited to a suitable air compressor, external pressurized gas tank, and the like. The internal end ( 503 ) of the compressor inlet valve ( 500 ), comprises an activator piston ( 504 ) with an opening on its inner end ( 506 ), in gaseous communication with the compressor channel ( 501 ). The activator piston contains an opening at its lowed end, which, in an inactive state is blocked from gaseous communication with a compressor inlet valve chamber ( 505 ). When the activator piston ( 504 ) is depressed, the opening in the activator piston ( 504 ) is lowed and exposed to the compressor inlet valve chamber ( 505 ) allowing gaseous communication between the compressor inlet valve chamber ( 505 ) and the compressor channel ( 501 ). The activator piston is depressed by contact with a trigger ( 507 ), which is exposed on one end to the outside of the outer casing ( 301 ), allowing activation by the technician. In some embodiments, the trigger ( 507 ) is prevented from being depressed unless an actuating member is activated by pressure between the end of the injection device and the surface of the skin. Thus, the injection device must be in contact with the skin and the technician must depress the trigger to initiate injection.
All publications and patents mentioned in the above specification are herein incorporated by reference. Various modifications and variations of the described method and system of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in appropriate fields are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
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The present invention relates to methods and compositions for the needleless administration of permanent makeup and tattoos. In particular, the present invention relates to hypodermic injectors for use in delivering pigment or other desired substances to targeted layers of the skin, avoiding needlestick injuries and transmission of disease to the treated subject.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing a component from, or placing a component on, an underwater valve.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus suitable for removing a component from, or placing a component on, an underwater valve in a controlled manner.
For this purpose, the apparatus according to the invention comprises a gantry, connecting means on the gantry for connecting a hoisting cable thereto, docking means on the gantry for joining the gantry to a base located on or near the underwater valve, a sliding frame slidably arranged on the gantry, means for securing the component to the sliding frame, and a system for displacing the sliding frame relative to the gantry.
The invention further relates to a method of removing a component from an underwater valve with the use of the apparatus according to the invention comprising the steps of:
(a) lowering a gantry to the underwater valve;
(b) joining the gantry to a base located adjacent the valve;
(c) securing a sliding frame carried by the gantry to the component to be removed;
(d) releasing the component from the valve;
(e) raising the sliding frame relative to the gantry; and
(f) lifting the gantry from the underwater valve.
In addition thereto the invention relates to a method of placing a component on an underwater valve with the use of the apparatus according to the invention comprising the steps of:
(a) securing the component to a sliding frame carried by a gantry;
(b) lowering the gantry to the underwater valve;
(c) joining the gantry to a base located adjacent the valve;
(d) lowering the sliding frame relative to the gantry so as to bring the component to a desired position;
(e) connecting the component to the valve;
(f) releasing the component from the sliding frame; and
(g) lifting the gantry from the underwater valve.
When the gantry has been joined to the base, the sliding frame is slidable in a direction which is parallel to a central axis (which axis is vertical or substantially vertical) of the underwater valve along which the components should be removed or placed. Therefore there is no risk of damaging the components or the underwater valve, when a component of the underwater valve is replaced.
The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows schematically a top view of the apparatus according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows schematically a side-view of the same apparatus during lowering of the gantry to an underwater valve;
FIG. 3 shows schematically a side-view of the same apparatus after the gantry has been joined to a base attached to the underwater valve;
FIG. 4 shows schematically a side-view of the same apparatus during the lifting of the gantry from the underwater valve wherein a valve component is secured to the sliding frame, reproduced on a scale smaller than the scale of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2, the apparatus comprises a gantry 1 having four uprights 2, connected to each other by horizontal members 3 and 4, and a sliding frame 5, which is slidably arranged in the gantry 1, and which comprises a central connection element 6, to which upper horizontal members 7 are connected by support elements 8, and vertical members 9 connected to the upper horizontal members 7 and to lower horizontal members 10.
The gantry is provided with hoisting cable connecting means 11 to which a hoisting cable 12 is releasably connected.
The sliding frame 5 is provided with component securing means comprising in the preferred embodiment a pick-up member 13 with holding elements 14 for securing to the sliding frame 5 an actuator unit 15 of an underwater valve 17 arranged in pipeline 18. The pick-up member 13 is releasably connected to the central connection element 6 of the sliding frame 5, and the holding elements 14 are arranged on extendible arms 19, which are rotatably about axis 20 connected to vertical members 9 of the sliding frame 5. Moreover, the pick-up member 13 is provided with bolts 25 which can be screwed in threaded holes (not shown) in the actuator unit 15.
The apparatus further comprises a hoist 26 arranged on the gantry 1 for displacing the sliding frame 5. The hoist is connected to the sliding frame 5 by means of a hook 27 and a hoist line 28 which is guided over pulleys 29 and 30 connected to a hoisting bar 34 which is secured to the top section of the gantry 1, thus forming a sliding frame displacement means. For the sake of clarity, the hoisting bar 34 with the pulleys 29 and 30 and the hoist line 28 with the hook 27 are not shown in FIG. 1.
To guide the displacement of the sliding frame 5 relative to the gantry 1, the sliding frame 5 is provided with rollers 35 rotable about axis 36, which can run along guide rails 37 attached to the uprights 2 of the gantry 1.
The gantry 1 is provided with docking pins 38 for joining the gantry 1 to a base 42 arranged on the underwater valve 17. The base 42 comprises mating funnels 43 for receiving the docking pins 38, which mating funnels 43 are attached to a cradle 44 connected by means of pins 45 to locating plates 46 which are welded to the housing of the underwater valve 17.
As an operative example of the method of removing a component from the underwater valve 17 with the use of the apparatus, removing the actuator unit 15 will now be described. At first the gantry 1 is lowered (see FIG. 2) at the end of the hoisting cable 12 by means of hoisting means (not shown) arranged on a support vessel (not shown), until the gantry 1 reaches the underwater valve 17. Then, for example with the aid of a diver (not shown), the gantry 1 is so positioned that the docking pins 38 can enter the mating funnels 43, and the gantry 1 is further lowered so as to be joined to the base 42.
Thereupon the diver lowers the sliding frame 5 to a lower position, screws the bolts 25 in the threaded holes (not shown) in the actuator unit 15, and connects the holding elements 14 to the lower part of the actuator unit 15.
When the actuator unit 15 is secured to the sliding frame 5 (see FIG. 3), the diver (not shown) releases the actuator unit 15 by undoing the bolt and nut assemblies (not shown) which join the lower flange of the actuator unit 15 to the upper flange of the bonnet 50 of the valve 17. Then the diver raises the sliding frame 5, with the actuator unit 15 attached thereto, to an upper position with use of the hoist 26, wherein the sliding frame 5 is displaced in a direction which is parallel to a central axis 51 of the underwater valve 17 along which the components of the valve 17 should be removed or placed, which central axis 51 is vertical or substantially vertical.
Subsequently the gantry 1 is lifted from the valve 17 (see FIG. 4) and brought on board of the support vessel (not shown), where the actuator unit 15 is taken out of the sliding frame 5.
Placing the actuator unit 15 on the underwater valve 17 comprises the above-described steps in a reverse order. At first, on board of the support vessel (not shown), the actuator unit 15 is secured to the sliding frame 5, and the sliding frame 5 is raised to an upper position, near the top section of the gantry 1. Then the gantry 1 is lowered to the underwater valve 17 by the hoisting cable 12, and secured to the base 42. Thereupon the diver lowers the sliding frame 5 so as to allow placement of the actuator unit 15 on the valve 17, wherein the sliding frame 5 is displaced in a direction which is parallel to the central axis 51 of the valve 17. Subsequently the actuator unit 15 is secured to the valve 17, released from the sliding frame 5, and the gantry 1 is lifted from the valve 17.
If required, the above-described method of removing the actuator unit 15 from the underwater valve 17 can also be applied to remove other components of the valve 17, for example, the bonnet 50 and although it is located in the housing of the valve 17, the valve body (not shown). These components can be placed by applying the above-described method of placing the actuator unit 15 on the valve.
Since, when removing the actuator unit 15 or other component from the valve 17 or when placing the component thereon, the sliding frame 5 is lowered or raised in the direction wherein components of the valve 17 should be removed or placed, and since lowering and raising of the sliding frame 5 is controlled in situ, the valve 17 or the component will not be damaged when the component is removed from the valve 17 or placed thereon.
It will be appreciated that for removing or placing a component other than the actuator unit 15 the pick-up member 13 used for holding the actuator unit 15 should be replaced by a suitable pick-up member 13 to which the component can be secured.
If desired, the hoisting bar 34 can be releasably secured to the top section of the gantry 1 to allow lifting of the sliding frame 5 out of the gantry 1, so as to facilitate replacing of a pick-up member 13.
In order to correct misalignment of the sliding frame 5, the rollers 35 can be attached to extendible arms of which the length can be adjusted.
In an alternative embodiment of the sliding frame displacement means the sliding frame 5 is displaced by means of two hydraulic lifting cylinders (not shown), well known to the art, arranged at opposite sides of the gantry 1. To control the operation of the lifting cylinders the gantry 1 is provided with a control unit which is connected to a pump on the support vessel by means of a hose (not shown).
Latching means (not shown), well known to the art can be provided with which the diver can secure the gantry 1 to the base 42 to prevent tipping of the gantry 1.
To facilitate guiding of the gantry 1 as it is lowered to the valve 17 or raised from the valve 17, use can be made of guide means such as guide lines 52 and guide funnels 53 carried by the gantry 1, where the guide lines 52 extend from the support vessel (not shown) to the mating funnels 43 of the base 42. These guide lines 52 pass through the guide funnels 53 arranged on the gantry 1 and through bores 54 in the docking pins 38.
In the above-described embodiments of the invention the base 42 is attached to the underwater valve 17, so that when the apparatus is joined to the base 42, the sliding frame 5 is slidable in the direction in which the components of the valve 17 should be removed or placed, even if the valve 17 is tilted owing to torsion in the underwater pipeline 18.
However if the underwater valve 17 cannot tilt, for example, because it is fixed to a foundation, it is not required that the base be attached to the valve 17, in this case the base 42 can be attached to the foundation.
The invention is not restricted to a gantry 1 having four uprights 2, the gantry 1 may, for example, comprise three uprights 2.
Many other variations and modifications may be made in the apparatus and techniques hereinbefore described, both by those having experience in this technology, without departing from the concept of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be clearly understood that the apparatus and methods depicted in the accompanying drawings and referred to in the foregoing description are illustrative only and are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.
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An apparatus and a method for removing a component from, or placing a component on, an underwater valve comprises a base attachable to the flowline that carries the valve, and a two part assembly having a gantry that is aligned and mounted on the base and a sliding frame placed in sliding engagement with the gantry. The sliding frame guides the component towards or away from the underwater valve, after the gantry is properly aligned with respect to the valve by its connection to the base.
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RIGHTS OF THE GOVERNMENT
The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for quantifying the degree of crazing in plastic transparencies, such as those used for aircraft windscreens and passenger cabin windows.
Aircraft transparencies and commercial aircraft cabin windows tend to craze if subjected to mechanical or chemical stress. Crazing is the phenomena that results in tiny microcracks in a transparency surface. In general, the microcracks are perpendicular to the surface and are usually aligned in a structured pattern corresponding to the direction of applied stress. The microcracks are wide enough that the two sides of the crack are not in optical contact, and therefore behave like tiny mirrors and reflect light according to the law of reflection. The visual effect of crazing is that the transparency will suddenly illuminate if a light source (such as the sun) is in a correct position with respect to the eye position where the law of reflection is satisfied. If no light source is in the connect position with respect to the eye, the transparency may exhibit only a minor haze effect and may be otherwise substantially totally transparent. The crazing phenomena is therefore somewhat insidious in that it occurs only under certain conditions. No commercial system is available for quantitatively measuring the degree of crazing in transparencies with any acceptable degree of reliability, and it is highly desirable to have a system for quantifying crazing in aircraft transparencies for replacement when safe limits of crazing are exceeded.
The invention meets the need as just suggested by providing a system for quantitatively measuring crazing in plastic transparencies. The system of the invention includes a diffuse light source disposed on one side of the transparency and a calibrated photometric light detector on the other side arranged to capture and quantify the amount of light reflected from the microcracks comprising the crazed condition. The amount of reflected light is proportional to the degree (quantity and size of microcracks) of crazing in the transparency.
The invention can easily be configured as a portable system and facilitates a determination of the amount of crazing in an aircraft transparency without removing the transparency from the aircraft. The system is highly sensitive to the orientation of the microcracks.
The invention may find substantial use on aircraft to determine when crazing has reached a level requiring replacement of the transparency, for establishing limits on crazing for removal of critical passenger windows used by flight crews for inspecting the leading edge of wings for icing, and for setting basic FAA safety standards regarding crazing in commercial airline windows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the foregoing principles and objects of the invention, a system for measuring crazing in a transparency is described which comprises one or more light sources disposed near a first surface of the transparency for projecting fight rays through the transparency at the portion thereof having a crazed condition, optical detectors corresponding in number to the number of light sources disposed on the opposite side of the transparency, each detector positioned to detect only light from a single corresponding source reflected from the crazed portion of the transparency, and a source of power for the sources and detectors. A sequencing circuit may be included to selectively activate selected light sources and corresponding optical detectors.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of representative embodiments thereof read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of the crazing measurement system of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view in partial cutaway of the FIG. 1 system; and
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view in partial cutaway of an alternative embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of the crazing measurement system of the invention. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view in partial cutaway of the system of FIG. 1. In accordance with a principle feature of the invention, representative system 10 may comprise a first light source portion 11 and a second detector portion 12 housed separately and configured for placement on opposite sides of a transparency 13 to be tested for the presence of crazing. Source portion 11 may be placed on either side of transparency 13 in order to effect a measurement, but, because of the geometry of the measurement system relative to transparency 13 being measured, it may be preferable to place source portion 11 on the side of transparency 13 having the suspected crazed condition (indicated generally at crazed region 14). The crazed condition of region 14 is characterized by tiny microcracks 15 in the transparency surface which behave like tiny mirrors.
Light source portion 11 comprises substantially light fight housing 17 enclosing a distributed light source 19. Light source 19 preferably comprises an elongated source having a large light emitting surface, such as might be provided by one or more elongated fluorescent lamps or an array of smaller fluorescent, incandescent, or other type of lamps, or any combination of lamps disposed behind optional diffuser 20. Light source 19 may be a point or line source, but preferably comprises an extended or distributed source in order to ensure that some part of source 19 satisfies the laws of reflection geometry with respect to the orientation of microcracks 15 and the location detector portion 12, and is preferably large enough, as by including a diffuser 20, to maximize the sensitivity of system 10 to multiple angles of microcracks 15. Light source 19 is powered by any suitable power source 22 as would occur to one practicing the invention, including AC or DC sources, or a battery source for portability of system 10. Switch 23 is disposed at any convenient location on housing 17 for interconnection of light source 19 and power source 22 for activation of light source 19.
Detector portion 12 comprises a second substantially light tight housing 26 enclosing optical detector (photodetector) 25. Detector 25 may comprise a photodiode, phototransistor, selenium cell or photoresistor, or other detector type as would occur to the skilled artisan guided by these teachings. Power source 27 comprises any suitable power source in the form of AC, DC or battery power (for portability). Switch 28 :interconnects detector 25 and power source 27 for selective activation of detector 25.
In the operation of system 10, light source portion 11 is placed on the side of transparency having the crazed condition and detector portion 12 is placed on the side of transparency 13 opposite source portion 11 and in registering relationship therewith. Light source portion 11 and detector portion 12 are placed relative to each other such that light from source 19 may be projected through transparency 13 into housing 26. Light baffle 30 is disposed in any suitable position within either or both of housings 17,26 in order to prevent light from source 19 from direct projection onto detector 25. Light rays 31 from source 19 are projected onto region 14 and are partially reflected as rays 31r from any crazing condition 14 in the form of microcracks 15 present in transparency 13. Because microcracks 15 tend to be approximately perpendicular to the surface of transparency 13, reflected rays 31r are concentrated in the area of lens 32 and imaged onto photodetector 33 of detector 25. The light detected by detector 25 is proportional to the degree of crazing present in transparency 13 and may be displayed using any suitable display means such as digital display 34. System 10 may be calibrated using a piece of translucent plastic having no crazing but which scatters a known percentage of light toward detector 25. Alternative calibration methods may be envisioned by the skilled artisan practicing the invention, the same not being limiting of the invention, and may include use of a known diffuser. Calibration of system 10 may be achieved by rotating detector portion 12 through 180° from the normal measurement orientation and placing it in registration with portion 11 with no transparency therebetween, which provides a measure related to luminance of source 19 and sensitivity of detector 25.
In order for system 10 to be suitably portable, handles 35,36 may be attached to portions 11,12 substantially as shown so that portions 11,12 may be hand held. Each of housings 17,26 are preferably lined with a dark, light absorbing material to prevent reading errors resulting from light reflection or scatter from the interior surfaces of the housings. Because the structure of aircraft windows may include two or more transparencies in a spaced relationship, crazing measurements in situ on an aircraft window using system 10 may require a different spacing between source 19 and detector 25 than corresponding measurements on a single transparency (for example, in a laboratory environment). Accordingly, movable sleeve 37 may be included in either housing 11 or 12 in order to permit selective expansion of the spacing between source 19 and detector 25. If system 10 is to be used in sunlight or other lighted environment, optional flexible skirts 38,39 may be disposed on each respective periphery of housing 17,26 (or sleeve 37) for contacting transparency 13 to prevent ambient light from entering housing 26 and affecting light intensity readings on detector 25.
In the measurement of example transparencies in demonstration of the invention, three aircraft passenger windows having light, medium, and heavy crazing were measured and compared to measurements on a new clear piece of plastic and a dirty scratched piece of plastic, neither of which were crazed. Test results were repeatable within 10% and accurately separated the different levels of crazing correctly as well as being insensitive to the non-crazed plastic transparencies.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, system 10 may include a second light source and detector disposed within respective housings 17,26 at 90° from source 19 and detector 25 to provide increased sensitivity to multiple orientations of microcracks 15.
Referring now to FIG. 3, shown therein is a schematic perspective view in partial cutaway of an alternative embodiment of the invention, in the form of system 40, wherein a plurality of light sources 41 are disposed in a generally circular arrangement behind annular light baffle 42 within housing 43, and a corresponding plurality of detectors 45 are disposed in a generally circular arrangement within housing 46 for placement in registering relationship on opposite sides of a transparency to be measured for crazing. It is noted that although four sources 41 and four corresponding detectors 45 are shown in quadrature within housings 43,46, any suitable plurality of sources and detectors may be used within the intended scope of these teachings and the appended claims, the specific plurality not considered limiting of the invention. A sequencing circuit 50 interconnects light sources 41 and power supply 52 therefor with correspondingly placed detectors 45 and power supply 53 therefor such that only one light source 41 and the correspondingly placed detector 45 are activated at a time, and the plurality of sources 41 and detectors 45 may be activated sequentially in pairs. The plurality of sources 41 and detectors 45 within system 40 allows measurement of crazing in a transparency with respect to substantially all orientations of microcracks 55 in the transparency without manually repositioning housings 43,46 between measurement events.
The invention therefore provides system and method for in situ measurement of crazing in a transparency utilizing one or more diffuse distributed light sources and a corresponding number of suitably placed detectors. It is understood that modifications to the invention may be made as might occur to one with skill in the field of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. All embodiments contemplated hereunder which achieve the objects of the invention have therefore not been shown in complete detail. Other embodiments may be developed without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.
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A system for measuring crazing in a transparency is described which comprises one or more light sources disposed near a first surface of the transparency for projecting light rays through the transparency at the portion thereof having a crazed condition, optical detectors corresponding in number to the number of light sources disposed on the opposite side of the transparency, each detector positioned to detect only light from a single corresponding source reflected from the crazed portion of the transparency, and a source of power for the sources and detectors. A sequencing circuit may be included to selectively activate selected light sources and corresponding optical detectors.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/857,834, filed Jun. 2, 2004 and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 therefrom. This application is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to prevention of water damage to balsa wood cores of fiberglass boat hulls.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Fiberglass boats are typically constructed using an inner and outer fiberglass skin separated by a balsa wood core. The balsa wood core is in the form of small separate blocks preattached to a fabric or fabric like material mesh on one side only. This allows the separate blocks to tilt in two directions relative to each other to readily follow the convex contours of a boat. The spaces between the separate blocks are called veins.
[0004] While the balsa wood is very light weight and offers adequate crush resistance (on end grain), it is quite vulnerable to water infiltration between the fiberglass skins of a boat which in time may cause the core to decay and then eventually to rot. Typically when this happens, the boat owner puts off repair until the damage is extensive or structural integrity is compromised since the current method of repair is drastic. This expensive procedure involves de-skinning of entire outer fiberglass covering, replacement of the damaged balsa core, and then replacement of the outer skin. This entails hundreds of person-hours of effort and can take a boat out of service for an entire season.
[0005] Examination of the prior art reveals several patents related to localized repair of non-metallic structures or objects. U.S. Pat. No. 2,307,958 of Hellier relates to a method of repairing rubber vehicle tires by using air pressure to locate and dry ply separations, by injecting the dry air through a hole with a hollow needle. A cement is then injected to reattach the separated plies.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,951 of Krchma et al. relates to a method of treating blisters in asphaltic membrane covered roofs. A selected liquid hydrocarbon miscible with the asphalt of the membrane is introduced through a flexible hose with a puncture output nozzle, and the liquid hydrocarbon is used to heal the localized blistering of the asphalt.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,439 of Speer is related to an apparatus and method of plastic repair such as of vinyl seat covers. It involves the use of a tool with a narrow jet of heated air to cure a heat curable repair compound.
[0008] Clearly these patents do not teach techniques which can be applied to the repair of fiberglass boat hulls. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,661 of Cederstrom is a method of localized repair of surface blisters of laminated plastic objects including fiberglass boat hulls. Cederstrom '661 is primarily involved with osmosis type damage to the exterior boat hull skin. Using a combination of controlled heat or cooling with mechanical action of a strong compressed air jet, in Cederstrom '661 the damaged area is cleaned and dried in a single operation using a HYAB-osmosis tool. Damaged material below the skin is not removed; instead it is reinforced with a penetrating epoxy.
[0009] A similar system is noted in the website of Star Distributing Corporation of Mystic CT in their excerpt entitled “Cost Effective Restoration of Decay in Wooden Core Fiberglass Boats©”. Star Distributing describes a time-consuming method for repairing wood damaged boat hulls by tapping the boat with a mallet to estimate wood damaged areas by listening for hollow echo sounds, drilling holes in those estimated areas, letting the wood damaged areas dry by ambient air and heat, and then pouring Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES) into the estimated damaged portions of a hull. The method of Star Distributing does not physically remove damaged core; it just treats it with poured CPES. The method of Star Distributing dries out areas with rudimentary ventilation and heat, but not with a system of vacuum plates and sources to facilitate controlled drying and removal of moisture. The only mention of vacuuming in Star Distributing is to a usual domestic vacuum cleaner, but Star Distributing uses a vacuum to remove drill waste, airborne fiberglass particles and water leaking from the lowest drilled hole.
[0010] In addition, the method of Star Distributing does not physically remove damaged wood core areas; it only treats drill-exposed areas with poured-in CMES, leaving unexposed, damaged wood core areas which may not be in contact with the CPES, and which may cause further wood rot damage in the future.
[0011] Initially, tapping the surface is used by both Star Distributing and optionally by the present invention. But the present invention goes much further. After initial tapping, then the present invention uses the moisture meter/infrared camera, which can accurately predict not just hollow areas, but non-hollow, moisture-ridden areas. The present invention uses an analytical grid pattern, dries wood-infested areas with heat and vacuum, then re-tests the dried areas with the moisture meter/infrared camera, after using the vacuum plate sub-system.
[0012] Star Distributing does not remove damaged areas; it only treats them with CMES. In contrast, the present invention uses augers and bits to remove out rotted core; Star Distributing only dries it.
[0013] The present invention uses moisture meters to locate water. The present invention uses grids to make moisture location more accurately, and to take notes for future moisture testing. But Star Distributing just pokes holes to examine wood thereat.
[0014] If there is water present, Star Distributing uses a vacuum cleaner to remove water at lowest point. The present invention uses vacuum to pull in air from upper holes and leaves it on for days, to facilitate drying. The present invention's continuous vacuuming facilitates fast drying of the core. Star Distributing dries by allowing approximately 1 week drying. But the present invention uses multiple measuring and monitoring with moisture meters and similar devices to ascertain proper drying.
[0015] Both Star Distributing's and the present invention's techniques are minimally invasive. But the present invention removes rotted sections of wood core and dries out non-rotted wet areas. Unlike Star Distributing, the present invention uses flexible cable tools and bits to remove rotted wood. The present invention preferably uses chopped fiberglass and epoxy to replace wood core. Star Distributing physically fills bare areas where the present invention removes rotted wood. But Star Distributing, after drying the wood core (whether bad or good) doesn't teach removing wood rot. Additionally, Star Distributing relies heavily by using the mallet tapping to locate holes representing separation of wood from fiberglass (de-lamination). Such a reliance does not rise to the level of sophistication of the present invention, which can detect moisture infested areas even if there is no separation of the fiberglass skin from the adjacent water infested wood core areas.
[0016] After drying by ambient air over time (one week), Star Distributing uses liquid CPES that is soaked up by wood that takes a long time to dry. After ambient drying, Star Distributing adds another CPES in-filling. The CPES coat is poured in to replace wood lignum lost to bacterial consumption. In contrast, the present invention is removing and replacing the damaged wood.
[0017] Unlike Star Distributing, the present invention also has optional preventive maintenance. Star Distributing does not remove damaged wood, but fills drilled plug holes with Fill It and Layup and Laminating Epoxy (LLE). Star Distributing's main emphasis is use of poring in CPES to the damaged wood.
[0018] Clearly, the repair methods of Cederstrom '661 and Star Distributing are different from the present invention. Cederstrom '661 and Star Distributing do not extend the method to a systematic analysis of a fiberglass boat hull having a balsa wood core, by using moisture meter techniques to locate damaged areas not visible to the tapping or to the naked eye, and to heat and remove the damaged wood core with accurately measured minimal incisions of the fiberglass boat outer skin.
[0019] The invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,143 of Franguela, Ship Hull Repair Apparatus, describes a device that can be rapidly deployed to repair a breach in the hull of a boat. It acts to plug the hole in the hull and is designed to be installed by a diver from the exterior in an emergency to stem the flow of water into the boat if the breach is below the water line. This apparatus will seal a hole in the hull of any type of construction (eg.—metal, fiberglass, wood) as long as it is sized to be compatible with the damage.
[0020] FIG. 1 of Franguela '143 shows the method of installation by a diver. FIG. 1A of Franguela '143 shows a perspective view of the apparatus showing the mounting plate (sealing disk) 15 with two pneumatic storage cylinders 39 and 40 which contain compressed air or other gas to operate the apparatus. The crossectional side view of FIG. 4 permits one to quickly grasp the operational features of the apparatus. In this view, the configuration is as stored and prior to installation. It will be appreciated that four legs (see FIG. 2 ) 20 through 23 would be pushed through the hull breach protruding into the inside of the boat hull. Pneumatic piston 34 within cylinder 16 is poised to pull on cables 37 which will pivot legs 20 through 23 into the configuration shown in FIG. 7 upon pressure released from pneumatic storage cylinder 44 . This action locks the apparatus to the side of the hull aided by distal hooks such as 27 and 28 . At this time, compressed gas is released from cylinder 39 to inflate annular sealing bladder 38 to form a water tight seal against the boat hull.
[0021] Although the repair is complete, there will be some hydrodynamic drag from the apparatus extending somewhat from the hull surface if below the water line. If above the water line or close to it, the repair also imposed aesthetic problems. Also, the repair may lose viability after long term use due to possible permeation of compressed gas through the flexible sealing bladder. For these reasons, the invention of Franguela '143 is considered to be an emergency and temporary repair apparatus.
[0022] In contrast to Franguela'143, the present invention is a repair system and method for fiberglass boats. The present invention is a system for locating core damage in fiberglass boat hulls while in dry dock, removing damaged wood core and repairing water intrusion damage to the damaged wood core areas. Further, drying apparatus involving the use of vacuum pumps and heaters are used to prepare the damaged areas for permanent repair. The method of the present invention is not designed to repair a hull breach which transverses both the outer and inner skins of a fiberglass boat, nor is the repair method applicable to wood or metal hull construction. Both the method and apparatus of the present invention bear no relation to the repair apparatus of Franguela '143.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0023] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for repair of water damaged balsa wood cores within fiberglass boat hulls.
[0024] It is also an object of the present invention to provide for such a system, which minimizes surgical incision, and wholesale removal of large sections of the outer fiberglass skin of a boat hull.
[0025] Other objects will become apparent from the following description of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0026] In keeping with these objects and others, which may become apparent the system and method of the present invention replaces only those sections of rotted balsa core of a boat hull as needed while minimizing the damage to the outer fiberglass skin. In early stages of moisture attack, only sporadic regions and spots on the boat are damaged. The boat hull repair method of the present invention locates the damaged areas, dries out the damaged areas, repairs the damaged core, and prevents further damage by closing any leaks in the boat hull skins.
[0027] Early attention to these areas using methods of this invention greatly limits the labor content of the repair. Then, as part of the repair, analysis of the moisture entry paths and their repair would prevent further deterioration. The rotted balsa is removed by using rotary cutting tools, and alternatively the chips can be vacuumed out. A preferred embodiment entails the chips, foreign matter, or sediment to be blown out of the boat hull with a tool such as an air chuck or the like. The access to the bad areas is through relatively small holes in the outer fiberglass skin. The cavities thus formed are not refilled by balsa; instead a filled epoxy is used.
[0028] Suspected rotted areas are initially spotted by visual inspection, sounding, and “tug” tests. At this point, a moisture meter is used to verify the presence of water-saturated or moist wood; this is done through the outer skin. It is not a highly invasive procedure.
[0029] Once a region is identified as having water infiltration, a grid pattern is drawn on the outer fiberglass. A few core samples are taken with a hole saw. Rectangular openings below areas of wet core or wood are cut in the outer skin. Gasketed vacuum plates are attached to the side over these openings and a vacuum pump is attached using a manifold. Now a systematic moisture map of each grid location is made whereby the moisture content of the core is recorded along with the date. More core samples are taken where indicated by moisture readings.
[0030] As time goes on, moisture readings will decrease as the vacuum draws in heated dry air. Dry heated air under pressure can also be forced in above the wet core or wood regions. When the moisture reading is very dry (about 5%) The repair of the rotted areas can start.
[0031] Using commonly available tools and equipment, the wet core or wood areas of balsa are removed through small openings in the fiberglass shell. Both pneumatic and electrically driven hand tools can be used. Typically, straight and right-angle grinder drivers are used with butterfly cutters, de-burring bits, and other types of de-veining tool bits. Using a drive motor with a tool at the end of a flexible shaft enables one to reach wet core or wood areas far from the edge of a core hole. Thus deep cavities can be made with minimal exterior damage. Wood chips and debris are usually removed by using a tool such as an air chuck or a powerful vacuum at the end of a hose attached to a commercial vacuum cleaner, alternatively any tool which can accomplish the same purpose commonly known to persons skilled in the art may be utilized.
[0032] However, the vacuum system attached to the vacuum plates is only used for the drying process. Large attached sections of damaged core are physically removed using a routing procedure with rotary tools and bits. Debris and smaller particles are vacuumed out using a vacuum cleaner.
[0033] Once the cavities are made, and after drying, epoxy is mixed with chopped glass mill fiber and the mixture is applied to fill the cavities using a manual or pneumatically driven caulking gun. The skin repair is made by sanding the repair flush with the outer boat contour, applying a seal coat, a gel coat and finally a barrier water proofing.
[0034] Instead of taking three months to cut open large sections of a boat hull, the selective incisions and treatment of a core damaged boat hull can be done in less than three weeks duration, with significant labor and material savings.
[0035] Therefore, the present invention provides a method for boat repair, which includes detecting troubled areas of the boat, such as water infested wood core areas. The repair procedure further includes boring relatively small cavities within the boat in relation to the troubled areas. Heat is applied to the troubled areas and water damaged particles are blown out and/or vacuumed from the boat through the holes.
[0036] Detecting troubled areas is accomplished by utilizing a moisture meter or a heat sensing thermal or infra-red camera to detect the presence of moisture damaged wood core between the inner and outer skins of the boat, or beneath the deck or roof areas of the boat.
[0037] Once the moisture-ridden areas are located, areas of the boat are in a grid marked to clearly identify the troubled areas. Typical markings associated with the grid include recording the date and amount of moisture in each grid square if deemed necessary.
[0038] Additionally, the method for boat hull repair includes a search in finding the trough of the boat where water accumulates.
[0039] Once the areas are identified, the holes are drilled, at suspected damaged areas, and an auger removes particles from within the boat.
[0040] While straight augers can be used near the drilled holes for relatively inaccessible areas away from the drilled hole, a flexible auger removes particles from within the boat.
[0041] An auger can also be utilized to aid in facilitating the airflow within the boat.
[0042] As part of the repair process, heat is applied with a heater, such as a gas driven heater, an electric heater, an infrared heater, a convection heater or by placing the boat within a temperature control room. The heat dries out the moisture, allowing the water damaged particles to be removed and replaced. Heat may be selectively applied to damaged areas, or to the entire boat.
METHOD OF OPERATION
[0043] The methods of this invention are intended to identify and repair all wet core hull areas and to perform preventive maintenance on dry hull areas to restore the integrity of a fiberglass boat hull and to prevent new water infiltration damage beyond the level of a new hull.
[0044] The wet area repair guidelines using a surface moisture meter such as a model GRP33 use the following criteria. Any balsa cored area reading 15% or above is considered a wet area. Any wood cored area reading 20% or above is considered a wet area. In addition, any balsa/wood cored area with a relative difference of 5% or more than the average moisture reading of the surrounding area is considered wet and must be repaired.
[0045] An overview of the repair steps involves removing all through-hull fittings or hardware. Wet core areas are then dried out using heat lamps, lights or heaters, hot-vac systems, or octopus vacuum with grid system. If necessary, any area not drying out is de-cored and repaired accordingly. After repairs are finished, all through-hull fillings or hardware is reinstalled using new sealant. The recommended sealants are 3m 4200 Marine Grade Sealant/Adhesive for both below the waterline and above the waterline.
[0046] The preferred methods of repair are well described in the above sections of the invention relating to a minimally invasive procedure requiring the drying out of wet core areas. These methods offer great benefits in reduced labor costs; they are described in the text above and FIGS. 1 through 9 A. In cases where the core is not responding to drying attempts, the areas are de-cored. This can be accomplished either from the interior, as detailed in the discussion of FIG. 11 , or from the exterior in a similar procedure. If performed from the interior, clear access must be provided to the repair area. All equipment, sole plates, insulation, and all other items that may prevent clear access must be removed prior to the repair.
[0047] Obviously, all removed items must be replaced after the repair. If the de-coring is performed from the exterior of the hull, access is more easy. The procedure is similar to that in FIG. 11 , but it is the outer laminate instead of the inner laminate that is penetrated. Also, It is the schedule and finish of the outer laminate that must be matched in the final steps.
[0048] The general preventive maintenance guidelines call for three different approaches applicable to three different regions of a hull. First, all dry areas below the waterline are to be disassembled, de-cored and reassembled with new sealant. The steps in this procedure are detailed in the discussion of FIG. 12 . Secondly, all dry areas above the waterline will be cleaned of all old sealant around the outside edge of the hardware; then the hardware is resealed from the exterior with a new bead of sealant. Third, all gunnel/stainless is removed and inspected. The steps for preventive maintenance of this region are described in the text for the maintenance chart of FIG. 10B .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0049] The present invention can best be understood in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments shown in drawings, in which:
[0050] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art boat hull repair method, wherein a portion of boat hull with a major part of the fiberglass skin is peeled away, revealing the damaged areas of the core;
[0051] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a moisture meter used in diagnosing a moisture damaged core of a fiberglass boat hull requiring treatment according to the system and method of the present invention;
[0052] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a collection of fabric backed balsa wood core blocks inside a boat hull, shown with the outer fiberglass skin layer removed;
[0053] FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a portion of a boat hull being treated in accordance with the system and method of the present invention;
[0054] FIGS. 2A and 2B are side elevational views of grid systems shown depicted upon respective left and right sides of a boat hull, showing sources of water intrusion, such as port hole windows and motor vent holes;
[0055] FIG. 3 is a close-up perspective detail view of a vacuum draw plate used in connection with vacuum cleaning of moisture and damaged wood core debris of a boat hull being treated in accordance with the system and method of the present invention;
[0056] FIG. 4 is a close-up perspective view of the vacuum system of the present invention;
[0057] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the vacuum and pressure systems shown in place at a boat hull to be repaired;
[0058] FIG. 5 is a close-up detail view of saw equipment used for introducing incision holes of the system and method of the present invention;
[0059] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a straight oriented hand-held drilling and routing tool of the system and method of the present invention;
[0060] FIG. 7 is a is a perspective view of a bent, right angle oriented hand-held drilling and routing tool of the system and method of the present invention;
[0061] FIG. 8 is a is a perspective view of a flexible oriented hand-held drilling and routing tool of the system and method of the present invention;
[0062] FIG. 9 is a close-up elevational view of a portion of a boat hull being treated in accordance with the system and method of the present invention;
[0063] FIG. 9A is a close-up elevational view of a flexible auger used on a portion of a boat hull being treated with the system and method of the present invention;
[0064] FIG. 10A is a chart showing the relation between the different repair techniques of this invention for repair of wet core damaged areas in fiberglass boat hulls;
[0065] FIG. 10B is a chart showing the preventive maintenance techniques of this invention for different areas of a fiberglass boat hull. FIGS. 10A and 10B together constitute a combined chart entitled, “Repair and Maintenance for Fiberglass Hulls”;
[0066] FIG. 11 is a cutaway side view, taken as shown in the dashed line ellipse “ 11 ” shown in FIG. 9 , showing a damaged area of the hull with a wet core section, further showing the outer skin removed and showing various layers progressively downward and inward through the hull with a section of the inner laminate (skin) removed and the wet core area cut out with a bevel to effect a de-core procedure from the interior of the boat; and,
[0067] FIG. 12 is a close-up exploded view 12 of a hull detail with through-hull hardware shown as being just removed for preventive maintenance below the waterline taken as shown in the dashed line ellipse designated as “ 12 ” in the region of the porthole shown at the front end of boat hull 2 shown in FIG. 9 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0068] FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art method of boat repair which involves peeling back of the fiberglass skin to locate and repair the damaged areas. Boat hull 1 is shown with part of the fiberglass skin peeled back 3 from its normal attached position 2 to reveal damaged areas 5 in the exposed balsa block core 4 . This analogous to “major surgery” as compared with the “laparascopic surgery” approach of this invention.
[0069] FIG. 1A shows an analog moisture meter 8 . Digital meters as well as moisture probes attached to PDA's or laptop computers are also available. Infrared cameras, or other remote moisture detectors, may also be used for thermal imaging of moisture presence.
[0070] FIG. 1B is a hull detail showing compound curve contour 20 , balsa blocks 23 , mesh 22 to which blocks 23 are preattached, and the inner fiberglass to which mesh 22 is loosely attached. Note that blocks 23 can adjust to hull contour 20 ; in so doing spaces or veins 24 are formed between the balsa blocks. These veins 24 often act as conduits for infiltrated water which is then conducted to damage larger regions.
[0071] FIG. 2 is an exterior hull section 1 with skin intact. Grid region 10 is drawn on the surface for a systematic moisture survey of the surface to locate damaged areas. Vacuum plates 14 are attached over openings in the hull to extract moisture from damaged areas via vacuum hoses 11 . Tape 12 is used to attach plates 14 to the hull.
[0072] FIGS. 2A and 2B show two different sides of boat 1 hull respectively. They show the location of port hole windows 6 and motor vents 7 .
[0073] FIG. 3 is a close-up of vacuum plate 14 . It preferably includes a preferably transparent plate 30 such as of polycarbonate, gasket 31 , such as of a flexible sealing material such as closed cell foam, which forms an airtight seal against the hull, and hose barb 32 for attachment to vacuum hose.
[0074] FIG. 4 shows a stand-alone vacuum system 35 . Commercial vacuum pump 36 is attached via large vacuum hose 37 to vacuum manifold 38 . Vacuum gauge 39 indicates vacuum. A number of hose barbs 42 are used for attachment of vacuum hoses 11 . Those barbs 42 not used are capped by seal caps 41 to prevent vacuum leakage.
[0075] FIG. 4A shows a combined vacuum and pressure center 45 . Vacuum pump 36 is powered by motor 46 which is plugged into outlet 53 . Intake line 48 from manifold to vacuum pump attaches to vacuum manifold 38 ; drain spigot 47 is to drain out accumulated water from the air drawn in by vacuum pump 36 . Vacuum hoses 11 are attached to vacuum plates 14 . The pressure supply side obtains compressed air from an external source via compressed air line 56 which is attached to air inlet filter 49 on air tank 50 . Electric heater 54 attached to outlet 53 heats the compressed air in tank 50 before it is distributed via compressed air manifold 55 and hoses 51 to line filters 52 . These lead to input openings in the fiberglass hull skin to aid in drying damaged areas. Compressed air gauge 40 indicates pressure at manifold 55 .
[0076] FIG. 5 shows hole saw equipment including electric drill driver 60 , mandrel 61 , and two sizes of hole saw 62 . A cordless version can be used as well.
[0077] FIG. 6 shows a straight pneumatic tool 66 powered by compressed air hose 68 with control valve 67 and veining bit 69 .
[0078] FIG. 7 shows right angle pneumatic driver 72 with control valve 73 , chuck 74 and butterfly bit 75 .
[0079] A flexible shaft driver 78 with flexible shaft 79 , guidepiece 82 , collet 81 and deburring tool 80 is shown in FIG. 8 . It can be electrically or pneumatically driven.
[0080] A section of attached fiberglass skin 2 is shown in FIG. 9 . It has core access hole 85 which enabled the removal of damaged core region 86 .
[0081] FIG. 9A illustrates the use of a modified flexible shaft auger 90 in removing damaged core creating cavity 98 through access hole 85 . Here adjustable stand 94 with hook 93 supports motor 91 via hanger loop 92 . Flexible shaft 95 feeds through a bendable semi-rigid outer covering 96 (like that of a gooseneck lamp) to emerge at guidepiece 82 . Collet 81 retains cutting tool bit 80 . The modification is the addition of sleeve 96 which permits tool 80 to be oriented in any direction to gouge out cavity 98 .
[0082] The repair and maintenance charts of FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate the relationships between the different techniques of this invention in renewing the integrity of fiberglass boat hulls. In the repair chart of FIG. 10A , the first step is to locate the wet core areas as discussed above with the use of a moisture meter and possibly drawing a grid system on the exterior hull surface for accurate data collection of moisture content over time. While the preferred method of repair is the minimally invasive method discussed above (shown as the leftmost branch), in some cases, stubborn wet areas are found which do not respond to the drying techniques already discussed in detail. In these cases, either the inner or outer laminates or skins are actually removed over the entire wet area. This can be done from the interior whereby no repair is required on the highly visible exterior surface. In some cases, the wet area cannot be reached from the interior and the repair must be made from the exterior surface. This method of repair is called de-coring whereby the wet core section is actually cut out. Then, new core material is added, and the repair area is finished to blend in with the rest of the inner or outer laminate in the vicinity. This process is commonly done when the core is rotted. Alternatively, the outer skin is surgically cut in the vicinity of the water damage to facilitate drying of the cores which have no rot.
[0083] The dry areas of the hull are treated to three basically different preventive maintenance techniques as described by chart 10 B. Above the waterline, old sealant is cleaned or removed from around any hardware. Then a bead of new sealant is used to seal the exterior of the hardware.
[0084] All gunnel/stainless is removed and inspected. All broken or bent screws are removed, and misdrilled holes or deck-to-hull seams are repaired and/or sealed with sealant. The gunnel/stainless is then reinstalled with a new bead of sealant. Finally, drain holes are drilled in the gunnel molding on the underpart.
[0085] Below the waterline, all through-hull hardware is removed. Core material is carefully removed to a predetermined depth such as, between one to two inches from the edge of the cutout. The de-cored areas are then filled with epoxy before the hardware is reinstalled with new sealant.
[0086] FIG. 11 is a side cutaway view, taken as shown in the dashed line ellipse “ 11 ” shown in FIG. 9 , of an example of a wet area repair from the interior of the hull, illustrating the progressive steps encountered in the repair. In the cutaway view of FIG. 11 , the uppermost item shown is the vacuum suction cup 138 , which is placed above and having a connection through plastic bag 137 , under which is bleeder fabric layer 136 , then strip ply/peel layer 134 and the lowest layer, which is fiberglass level 121 . FIG. 11 also shows the affected region after inner laminate 122 is ground back until all damaged areas are removed. Inner laminate 122 is tapered back at region 128 to a suitable taper, such as, for example, a 20:1 taper ratio and the wet core is removed with a tool, such as a sharp bevel. This area is further prepared by grinding or filling any voids with a filler, such as, for example, polyester putty. All dust and loose debris is blown out and/or vacuumed out of the area to be laminated. The next step is to apply the first layer of fiberglass. This involves solvent-wiping the prepared laminate area and then applying, for example, 2 oz/sq.ft. chopped strand mat (CSM) or other suitable material, to the repair area with a appropriate overlap, such as a two inch overlap, at the perimeter. This new laminate layer is then allowed to cure. The opposite skin and laminated perimeter 130 is prepared for replacement of the core by grinding to a near white condition and insuring the overlaps are smooth. The next step is to prep the new core. The new core is pattern cut and pre-fit to the repair area. The edges are machined to closely fit the beveled perimeter. All dust and foreign debris is again blown out and/or vacuumed out from the repair area. The next step is bedding of the new core material. Bagging of the core involves first placing a seal, such as tacky tape, around the perimeter of the prep area. The bedded surface of the balsa core is then primed with a primer, such as, for example, catalyzed V/E resin, before bedding. Next, using the V/E resin, chopped strand mat material, such as at least 2 oz/sq.ft. of the chopped strand mat (CSM) materials, are applied and catalyzed. Vacuum bag 137 is carefully sealed around the periphery using a seal, such as for example, tacky tape 132 . Vacuum is then applied through vacuum port suction cup 138 . After cure, bag 137 is removed. The core is ground and detailed, cleaned, and then primed with catalyzed resin. When resin is cured, any voids are filled with a filler, such as for example, polyester putty. All excess putty or resin/fiberglass are cleaned from the core. Repair area is then prepared for the replacement laminate by grinding the perimeter to a near white condition. The core is feather ground to eliminate any excess portion of excess putty. The area to be laminated is again vacuumed and cleaned. The final step is the step of installing the new surface laminate. The repair area to be laminated is solvent wiped, and then the original inside laminate schedule is applied. This involves installing the first laminate ply to overlap the existing laminate by an appropriate dimension, such as, for example, a minimum of two inches. Each successive ply should overlap the previous by a minimum dimension, such as, for example, of one inch. After curing, a light grinding of between each set of laminates is performed. Finally the exposed surface finish should replicate the original interior surface and be equal in finish to the existing production standard.
[0087] FIG. 12 illustrates dry area preventive maintenance procedures used below the waterline. FIG. 12 is a close-up exploded detail view of the region surrounding any through-hull hardware feature, taken as shown in the dashed line ellipse designated as “ 12 ” in the region of the porthole shown at the front end of boat hull 2 shown in FIG. 9 . In FIG. 12 , removed hardware 150 is shown removed from the porthole. Outer fiberglass laminate 121 , dry undamaged core 123 and inner laminate 122 are shown. The next step of the procedure includes the step where one appropriate sections 151 , such as for example, one inch deep sections, of core 123 are removed from between laminates 121 and 122 . After the cutout is cleaned out, de-cored regions 151 are filled with an epoxy 155 , such as, for example, West Systems Marine Epoxy. After epoxy 155 is set, it is sanded smooth. Then the true-hull hardware 150 is reinstalled with new sealant, such as for example, as 3M 5200 Marine Grade Sealant/Adhesive.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0088] The present invention has broad applications to many technical fields for a variety of articles. For illustrative purposes only, a preferred mode for carrying out the invention is described herein, wherein a repair system for treating boat hulls with rotted balsa wood cores utilizes a minimally invasive incision and treatment technique of the fiberglass boat hull.
[0089] As shown in FIG. 1 , in a prior art boat hull repair method, a major portion of boat hull 1 with a large part of the fiberglass skin 3 is peeled away from fiberglass skin 2 , revealing the damaged areas 5 of the balsa wood core of hull portion 4 to be treated and removed.
[0090] In contrast, in the present invention, general areas 5 of moisture damage to a boat hull 1 are determined by exposing the exterior surface of a boat hull 1 to a moisture detector 8 , such as a moisture meter as shown in FIG. 1A , or by other moisture sensing equipment, such as a thermal or infra-red camera. A typical moisture meter 8 has either a digital or analog output, showing moisture readings of from zero to about thirty percent moisture content on a relative scale extending from a very dry condition to a most condition and finally to a wet condition.
[0091] FIG. 1B shows a collection of fabric backed balsa wood core blocks 23 inside a boat hull 1 , shown with the outer fiberglass skin layer removed. The balsa wood blocks are shown slightly fanning outward along a rear curved inner fiberglass reinforced fabric mesh backing 22 attached to an inner fiberglass skin 21 , following a curve contour 20 of the boat hull 1 . The triangular area gaps located between adjacent balsa wood blocks 23 are defined as veins 24 , through which water intrusions flow, thereby damaging adjacent balsa wood blocks 23 . When water intrudes into the area between the inner fiberglass layer 21 and outer fiberglass boat hull skin layer 3 , these balsa wood blocks 23 are susceptible to moisture damage and rot, thereby interfering with the structural integrity of the inner buoyant core of the boat hull 1 .
[0092] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9 , the boat hull repair system and method of the present invention removes the aforementioned moisture and water damaged wood core from within the fiberglass skin layers 3 and 21 of a boat hull 1 .
[0093] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a front view of a side of a boat hull 1 , typically comprising an exterior fiberglass skin 3 and an interior fiberglass skin layer 21 shown in FIG. 1B , both separated by a core of a plurality of small, flat edged balsa wood core blocks 23 connected by a flexible fiberglass reinforced textile mesh strips 22 , as shown in FIG. 1B , which allows the incremental placement of the individual, generally linear based, blocks 23 over one or more complex curves 20 of the boat hull. Typically the blocks 23 are one to two inches in length, with thickness' varying in a range of from about one quarter (¼) inch in thickness to about three quarters (¾) inch in thickness. Often the balsa wood blocks 23 are either three eighth (⅜) inch to about one half (½) inch in thickness.
[0094] Although the blocks 23 are positioned adjacent to each other, as shown in FIG. 1B , they are spaced apart from each other by a small distance, to allow the incremental bending of the strip of flat blocks 23 over a complex curve contour 20 of the boat hull 1 . However, these spaces, referred to in the maritime trade as “veins” 24 are vulnerable to exposure to water running therethrough, from cracks or damaged seals in the boat hull 1 or its accessory structures, such as port holes, gunnel molding, weep holes in the anchor area or ventilation holes. Other areas of water intrusion include the motor compartments of the boat. Water further collects in the trough areas of the boat hull 1 , where the complex curves 20 are of such configuration that they cannot be filled by balsa wood blocks 23 .
[0095] The balsa wood cores shown in FIG. 1B before moisture damage thereto, are susceptible to water induced rot, eventually pulverizing and leaving areas having a lack of structural integrity in the areas of damaged and pulverized balsa wood core blocks 23 .
[0096] The prior art generally includes macro cutting of large sections of the damaged balsa wood core areas of blocks 23 underneath the outer fiberglass skin 3 of the boat hull 1 , and surgically removing wholesale sections of balsa wood block aggregates.
[0097] In contrast, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 9 , the present invention uses selectively placed microsurgical incisions, to make minor incisions in the outer fiberglass skin 3 of the boat hull 1 , and selectively targeting the moisture ridden areas of the balsa wood core blocks 23 shown in FIG. 1B before moisture damage thereto between the inner and outer fiberglass layers 3 and 21 of the boat hull 1 .
[0098] First, the boat hull 1 is examined with moisture meters 8 , shown in FIG. 1A , to ascertain the general area of moisture infestation before any cuts are made into the outer boat hull skin 3 . Thermal imaging cameras can also be used.
[0099] Then, as shown in FIG. 2 , a grid region 10 is laid out over the general areas of moisture infestation, and selective cuts are made to identify the exact locations of the moisture ridden core areas of balsa core blocks 23 . As shown in FIG. 5 , holes may be cut, for example, by a hand-held hole drill 60 having a mandrel 61 holding cylindrical serrated, barbed hole saws 62 . Typically the grid region 10 is graphed out by using a grease pencil or other marker and a straight edge, such as a ruler or yardstick. Additionally, the grid pattern can be implemented by optical projections or other similar temporary marking means. The grid region 10 is broken down into discernable sections, labeled by section labels, such as, for example, “A”, “B”, “C”, etc.
[0100] Normally the grid region 10 shown in FIG. 2 is not marked all the way up to the top of the boat hull 1 , because the top portion of a boat hull 1 is normally not infested with water permeation.
[0101] The grid region 10 is dated at locations of significant moisture readings every two or three days during treatment. Moisture readings are repeated during treatment, to ascertain whether moisture content has decreased from wet readings of between twenty and thirty percent concentration, to a relatively dry concentration of less than ten percent moisture content, during treatment of the boat hull 1 with the heating and vacuum system and method of the present invention, whereby vacuum plates 14 are attached with fastening means, such as tape 12 , over openings in the hull 1 to extract moisture from damaged areas via vacuum hoses 11 . As shown in FIG. 3 , vacuum plates 14 include transparent plate portion 30 , such as of polycarbonate, and at least one vacuum hose barb 32 , to which is attached a respective vacuum hose 11 shown in FIG. 2 . An elastomeric seal 31 , such as a closed cell foam gasket, seals vacuum plate 14 upon boat hull 1 .
[0102] Stand-alone vacuum system 35 , shown in FIG. 4 , includes vacuum pump 36 having large vacuum hose 37 attached to vacuum manifold 38 , wherein vacuum gauge 39 indicates vacuum. Vacuum manifold 38 has a plurality of hose barbs 42 , to which are attached vacuum hoses 11 . Unused barbs 42 are capped by seal caps 41 to prevent vacuum leakage through vacuum manifold 38 .
[0103] An overall vacuum and pressure center 45 with vacuum pump 36 , being powered by motor 46 plugged into outlet 53 , is shown in FIG. 4A . Intake line 48 from manifold to vacuum pump attaches to vacuum manifold 38 and drain spigot 47 drains out accumulated water from the air drawn in by vacuum pump 36 . At the boat hull 1 , vacuum hoses 11 are attached to vacuum plates 14 . The pressure supply side obtains compressed air from an external source via compressed air line 56 which is attached to air inlet filter 49 on air tank 50 . Electric heater 54 attached to an electrical power source, such as, for example, outlet 53 , heats the compressed air in tank 50 before it is distributed via compressed air manifold 55 and hoses 51 to line filters 52 . These lead to input openings in the fiberglass hull skin, in the regions of vacuum plates 14 , to aid in drying damaged areas. Compressed air gauge 40 indicates pressure at manifold 55 .
[0104] FIG. 9 shows a typical hole 85 cut through an exterior fiberglass skin of the side of a boat with the hole saw tool shown in FIG. 5 , in the region of a rotted wood core portion 86 of the wood core 20 , shown in FIG. 1B before moisture damage thereto, beneath the exterior fiberglass skin of the boat hull.
[0105] Core samples are taken through the exterior boat hull fiberglass skin, in the vicinity of the sawed holes shown in FIG. 9 . Visual observations are made to see the condition and color of the damaged core sample, to ascertain pulverization and/or rotting of the moisture infested wood blocks, shown in FIG. 1B before moisture damage thereto.
[0106] As shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 , various straight oriented routing tools ( FIG. 6 ), right angle bent oriented routing tools ( FIG. 7 ) and flexible multidirectional oriented routing tools ( FIG. 8 ) are used to rout out and remove significant chunks and portions of water rooted debris from the damaged wood core portions beneath the exterior fiberglass skin of the boat hull shown in FIGS. 2, 2A , 2 B and 9 .
[0107] FIG. 9A shows a flexible auger including a motor suspended by a hook and hanger loop. The motor rotates a cutting tool by producing power through a flexible shaft, similar to those of tools of Dremel Corporation. The flexible shaft is guided through a stiffening sleeve, such as a high durometer elastomeric tubing slipped at the shaft and handpiece remotely inserted through a hole to an inaccessible area beneath the boat hull skin. The stiffening sleeve assists in guiding the normally too flexible shaft. By adding the stiffening sleeve, the collett holding the cutting tool can be remotely manipulated in place for cutting. Alternatively, a bendable outer covering such as used with a gooseneck lamp can be used over the flexible shaft.
[0108] Heat is applied from propane fired hot air heaters through small incisions, similar to incisions for applying vacuum therethrough (as in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 ) typically in the top of the damaged area, to dry out the moisture ridden damaged balsa wood core areas 86 of the wood core areas 20 , shown in FIG. 1A , similar to the moisture damaged areas 5 of wood core area 4 of prior art FIG. 1 , before moisture damage thereto.
[0109] As also shown in FIG. 2 , during the selective boat hull drying process, vacuum is selectively applied from below, also through small incisions, to promote drying by facilitating circulation of air within the boat hull.
[0110] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4 A, vacuum force is selective applied under sealed vacuum draw plates 14 having a preferably centrally located vacuum hose barb 32 connectable to a vacuum hose 11 and vacuum power source 36 . The vacuum draw plates 14 are preferably made of transparent but strong materials, such as polycarbonate, and are sealed at respective edges thereof by a gasket 31 , such as, for example, a closed cell foam gasket.
[0111] As shown in FIGS. 2, 2A , 2 B, 4 , 4 A and 5 , vacuum can be selectively applied in a number of moisture ridden areas by a plurality of vacuum draw plates 14 attached by respective vacuum hoses 11 to a vacuum gauge-controlled manifold 38 connected by a further vacuum hose 48 to a vacuum power source 36 , such as a commercial electrically powered vacuum pump having an AC power plug and electrical cord.
[0112] While direct cleaning out can be done of the moisture infested balsa wood core areas 86 , with straight or bent electrically or pneumatically powered routing tools operating within the boundaries of the incisions, it is alternatively known that damaged and/or wet balsa wood material can also be removed remotely from beneath the exterior fiberglass skin of the boat hull, by using routing tools shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 A, having flexible neck portion conduits 79 or 95 connecting a routing head to a power supply, wherein the flexible conduits 79 or 95 are used to direct the location of routing tool heads 80 at selected locations beneath uncut portions of the exterior fiberglass skin 2 of the boat hull.
[0113] Veining bits are used in straight, angled or flexible necked routing grinder tools (shown in FIGS. 6, 7 , 8 and 9 A respectively) to remove the damaged balsa wood core blocks shown in FIG. 1B before moisture damage thereto. Butterfly bits and other de-burring bits are used with drills for de-veining and removing damaged core areas.
[0114] After the removal of the damaged core, the dry cleaned cavities are filled and re-packed with a re-sealing epoxy resin having a high density filler, such as chopped glass mill fibers. The resin is applied from a dispenser, such as, for example, a manually operable caulking gun, which injects the epoxy resin into the cavities. Alternatively, the caulking gun may be powered by an air pump.
[0115] The treated areas are sealed first with ferring compound, then a sealant, such as epoxy, vinyl ester, etc., then covered by a gel coat and finally covered by a waterproof barrier coat such as a creamy gel coat and color of finish gel coat. This sealing process is repeated. For cosmetic finishing of the repaired areas, the areas are wet sanded then treated areas are treated with a surface finishing compound, and finished by sanding and wax compounding of the surface, to restore the treated areas to be as smooth and blemish-free as before treatment.
[0116] As noted herein, preventive steps can also be done in accordance with the present invention, to prevent water intrusion and future moisture damage to the boat hull.
[0117] In the foregoing description, certain terms and visual depictions are used to illustrate the preferred embodiment. However, no unnecessary limitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrations depicted, beyond what is shown in the prior art, since the terms and illustrations are exemplary only, and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.
[0118] It is further known that other modifications may be made to the present invention, without departing the scope of the invention, as noted in the appended Claims.
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A method for preventive maintenance of a boat hull to restore the integrity of a fiberglass boat hull and prevent new water infiltration damage to a boat hull. The wet area repair guidelines using a surface moisture meter. Any balsa cored area reading 15% or above is considered a wet area. Any wood cored area reading 20% or above is considered a wet area. The preventive maintenance steps involve removing all through-hull fittings or hardware. Wet core areas are then dried out using heat lamps, lights or heaters, hot-vac systems, or octopus vacuum with grid system. If necessary, any area not drying out is de-cored and repaired accordingly. After repairs are finished, all through-hull fillings or hardware is reinstalled using new sealant.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d).
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
N/A
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to stairway construction and specifically to tread supports for stairways.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
This invention was not made under contract with an agency of the US Government, nor by any agency of the US Government.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Construction of wooden stairs for residential use is a surprisingly painful process for the builder.
The stairs must obviously traverse a vertical height from one end to the other, however, in most instances, the horizontal run of the stairs is pre-set by an architect while the vertical height may or may not be set: outdoor patio steps, for example, will depend upon the distance from the top of the patio to the ground or landing at the lower end. Thus the builder must construct the steps within an entirely defined boundary.
Since local building codes, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other regulations and rules require that steps be of even height, that is, each step being the same height as the steps above and below it, the builder must then divide the height change into a number of even increments. For example, a height change of 8′3½″ (99.5 inches) would not allow 10 steps of 10 inches each, as one step would be ½ inch short. Rather, the builder would have to calculate some reasonable number of inches per step and number of steps which “works” for the given height and is possible to do. In the given example, cutting 10 steps of 9.95 inches each is probably not possible as most construction measuring devices are denominated in units of ⅛ inch, 1/16 inch, and so on, but not 1/20 (0.05) of an inch. Rounding to the nearest ⅛ inch unit would result in the ½″ deviance mentioned previously, cutting long pieces of wood on-site to within 1/16 of an inch tolerance is difficult at best and would still leave some small deviation. In this case the builder might, after some math headaches, conclude that 8 rather tall steps of 12 7/16″ (12.4375″), would be difficult but at least would be even. However, under the Uniform Building Code at the present time in the US steps must be no more than 8″ in height, thus sending the builder back to the math.
Obviously, this example is constructed to be very annoying to the builder, but the problem is a real one even with simpler numerical requirements.
Once the math problem has been accomplished the builder's problems are NOT over. The builder must then obtain a comparatively expensive piece of wood for the “stringer”, that is, the main support beam of the stairway which runs at a diagonal from lower end to upper end, holding up all of the stairs.
A stringer is a single strong piece of wood, usually a 2×12 or the like, which under many codes must be solid wood, not composite material such as plywood or the like as composites are generally deemed unsafe for the extreme loads placed on the stairway. The stringer length much be calculated—a relatively easy issue—and normally two or more long, solid, wide, pieces of wood are bought. Depending on the stair width and length, the expense of purchasing stringers is not great but is not insignificant. Then the stringers must be cut on site.
Each step is cut individually in triangular cuts removed from the stringers, and since the treads and risers of the staircase have thickness, the previous calculations of the height of each step are now adjusted to compensate in the cutting for the treads and risers which will be part of the step.
Obviously, numerous precise cuts on an expensive piece of wood are less than desirable for the builder. The possibility of a single cut passing entirely through the stringer and thus ruining it is present, as is the possibility of a single cut which is of proper depth but misplaced so badly that the wood cannot be recut correctly and with a safe strength, requiring the reinforcement or even replacement of the stringer.
Once the stringer is cut, the stairs risers and treads may finally be fastened to it.
The strength of the stringer is dramatically reduced by the cutting: after the expense and difficulty of using a 2×12 piece of wood as the stringer, that 2×12 may well have only a 2×6 thickness remaining at its narrowest and thus weakest points—where the stairs are cut the deepest into the stringers.
It is worth considering that pre-made stairs which might be nailed or otherwise fastened to an uncut stringer would only be usable in circumstances in which the height to be traversed measures EXACTLY a multiple of the stair height. For example, pre-made steps of exactly 8 inches each would be allowable for sets of stairs which cover a rise of exactly 16 inches, 24 inches, 32 inches and so on, but would NOT be allowable for stairs which need to cover a rise of 17 inches, 23 inches, 25 inches, and so on.
It would obviously be preferable to provide a device which allows the stringer to remain whole and uncut.
It would obviously be preferable to provide a device which allows the stringer to remain whole and uncut and thus stronger.
It would obviously be preferable to provide a device which allows the stringer to remain whole and uncut and thus allow the use of narrower and thus less expensive stringers.
It would obviously be preferable to provide a device which allows the builder to avoid the exasperating mathematics necessary to bridge a given rise and run with a set of equal stairs which meet all regulatory requirements.
These and many other issues are addressed by the present invention, whose advantages, aspects, objectives and embodiments are disclosed below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
General Summary
The present invention teaches a mathematically pre-calculated tread support which is mounted upon the top edge of a stringer, the device having numerous possible riser heights available to the builder in the form of numerous choices of fastener placement. The device allows the stringer to retain full strength without being cut into and thus provides a stronger stringer of for example lumber such as 2×4, 2×6, 2×8, 2×10, 2×12, etc.
It further teaches that the tread support may have an alignment guide so that a builder, knowing the number of steps and the height to be traversed and having simply divided one by the other to obtain a stair rise, may then adjust the device to the correct rise, spot by eyeball the correct fastener placement to use, and then build the staircase without further need for calculation.
The present invention further teaches that the tread support of the bottom-most stair in a set will need to provide the proper rise, but will not have the same amount of stringer available underneath for support, and therefore the tread support must have a second configuration which can be placed in a smaller vertical space of stringer and yet be fully supported at the proper height.
The present invention further teaches that the tread support will require left-handed and right-handed embodiments, for use on the opposite ends of stair treads.
In detail, the device of the invention teaches a two part tread support having a generally triangular profile. The lower part will conform to the top and side of a diagonal stringer, regardless of the angle of the slope of the stringer, and has holes therethrough for fasteners such as screws, bolts and the like (or other fasteners as they become available) to be used to hold the support to the stringer. A fin of the lower part extends upward.
The lower part and the upper part are connected at a pivot allowing them to assume a range of angles in relation to one another. The pivot is disposed at one corner of the device, the corner where the stringer and the tread meet (and for stairs having risers, the same place where the riser bottom meets as well).
The upper part will conform to the bottom of the tread, and may have means for fastening to the tread. The fin of the lower part is coplaner and overlapping with the upper part.
The upper and lower parts each have upon them respective pluralities of holes. The groups of holes are both disposed centered at approximately the same distance from the pivot. Thus at the proper angles, various different pairs of holes of the two different groups will overlap. A fastener may be place through the holes to fix the two parts together at the chosen angle, which results in fixing the two parts together with the desired riser height.
The exact placement of the holes may be pre-calculated so that the holes will, in their various combinations of overlapping, provide numerous different heights.
In the best mode now contemplated and presently preferred embodiment, the holes will cover a span of inches with every possible adjustment from a minimum to maximum height in increments of a mere ⅛ inch. It has been determined that a group of approximately 13 to 14 holes on one part of the support, overlapping with a group of approximately 5 holes on the other part will provide this wide range. In practice, a range of over two inches may be accommodated and wider ranges are possible as well. Other increments may be used, however, ⅛ inch is a common increment of carpentry and is thus presently preferred.
An important advantage of the present invention is that an alignment guide is provided. This alignment guide allows a builder to pivot the two pieces relative to one another until the alignment guide indicates the riser height which the builder desires. At that point, the precision of the alignment guide and hole placement is such that the builder can visually see which pair of holes (one from the fin of the lower part and one from the upper part) are precisely overlapping, after which the builder may simply insert the fastener through the desired pair of holes, fastening the tread support in the proper configuration. A rivet is presently preferred for the fastener, due to strength, but any fastener now known or later developed may of course be used if issues of strength, durability and regulations may be addressed.
For additional strength, each unit has thereon not two but five groups of holes, so that with one unit at each end of a tread, the tread is supported by seven fasteners at one end and the pivot point (also preferably a rivet) at the other end, making a total of eight fasteners holding up the end of the step or tread. Obviously additional fastening groups may be provided for even more support.
SUMMARY IN REFERENCE TO CLAIMS
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device for use on a stringer of a set of stairs, the stringer having a top and a side, the tread support device for use supporting a level tread, the tread support device comprising:
a pivot point;
a first lower part, the lower part having a vertical fin;
a second upper part, the upper part and the lower part pivoting relative to one another about the pivot point;
a first riser height H measured at a first edge of the device distal from the pivot point, the riser height H having a plurality of values;
a first plurality of holes passing through the fin of the lower part, the first plurality of holes centered at a first distance from the pivot point;
a second plurality of holes passing through the upper part, the second plurality of holes also centered at the first distance from the pivot point;
a first pair of holes including a first hole of the first plurality of holes and a second hole of the second plurality of holes which are overlapping when the riser height H is a first riser height H 1 ;
the first and second plurality of holes arranged so that as the riser height H increases by a first increment X from H 1 to a riser height H 2 , the first pair of holes are no longer overlapping and a second pair of holes including a third hole of the first plurality of holes and a fourth hole of the second plurality of holes do overlap;
a fastener dimensioned and configured to pass through the overlapping pairs of holes and disposed within an overlapping pair of holes.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a set of stairs including the tread support device of claim 1 , the set of stairs further comprising:
an uncut stringer, the stringer supported at a first end and at a second end, the first end higher than the second end, the stringer having a top surface disposed at an angle due to the first end being supported higher than the second end;
the tread support device disposed upon the top surface, the first lower part fastened to the stringer, the fastener disposed through the first pair of holes such that the riser height H has the value H 1 ;
a tread, the tread disposed upon the second upper part of the tread support device, the tread fastened to the second upper part.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the increment X is ⅛ inch (3 mm).
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device further comprising:
a second tread support device, the second tread support device having a second tread support device pivot point;
a second tread support device lower part, the second tread support device lower part having a second tread support device vertical fin;
a second tread support device upper part, the second tread support device upper part and the second tread support device lower part pivoting relative to one another about the second tread support device pivot point;
a second tread support device first riser height H measured at a second tread support device second edge distal from the second tread support device pivot point, the second tread support device riser height H having a plurality of values;
a second tread support device first plurality of holes passing through the second tread support device fin of the second tread support device lower part, the second tread support device first plurality of holes centered at a second tread support device first distance from the second tread support device pivot point;
a second tread support device second plurality of holes passing through the second tread support device upper part, the second tread support device second plurality of holes also centered at the first distance from the second tread support device pivot point;
a third pair of holes including a fifth hole of the second tread support device first plurality of holes and a sixth hole of the second tread support device second plurality of holes which are overlapping when the second tread support device riser height H is the first riser height H 1 ;
the second tread support device first and second plurality of holes arranged so that as the second tread support device riser height H increases by the first increment X from H 1 to the riser height H 2 , the third pair of holes are no longer overlapping and a fourth pair of holes including a seventh hole of the second tread support device first plurality of holes and an eighth hole of the second tread support device second plurality of holes do overlap;
a second fastener dimensioned and configured to pass through the overlapping pairs of holes of the second tread support device and disposed within an overlapping pair of holes;
the second tread support device further comprising:
a height adjustment mechanism separate from the pluralities of holes, the height adjustment mechanism providing a second independent adjustment to the riser height H of the second tread support device, the height adjustment mechanism located on the second tread support device second edge;
the second edge being shorter than the first edge.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the height adjustment mechanism further comprises:
a bolt, secured to the second tread support device second edge with the bolt parallel to the second edge, whereby a bottom step is additionally supported.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the bolt is secured to the second edge by passing through a bracket attached to the second tread support device lower part, the bolt passing through a bracket nut attached to the bracket and further passing through a jam nut.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the second plurality of holes on the upper part are arranged in a first pivot line, the first pivot line passing through the pivot point, while the first plurality of holes on the lower part are arranged in a group, the group deviating from the first pivot line.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the pivot point further comprises: a rivet.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the fastener further comprises: a rivet.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the first edge further comprises:
an alignment guide, the alignment guide having a series of markings, the series of markings bearing indicia indicating the value of the riser heights H 1 and H 2 , measured to the nearest increment X.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the alignment guide is sufficient accurate that when riser height H 1 is indicated, the overlap of the first and second holes is visible and the first and second holes overlap, and when riser height H 2 is indicated, the overlap of the third and fourth holes is visible and the third and fourth holes overlap;
whereby the overlap is sufficiently accurate that the fastener may pass through the visibly overlapping holes.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the lower part further comprises a flat-to-stringer-support portion, the flat-to-stringer-support portion disposed upon such stringer top.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the lower part further comprises a side-of-stringer-support portion, the side-to-stringer-support portion disposed upon such stringer side.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the flat-to-stringer-support portion further comprises: a fastening hole allowing fastening of the tread support device to such stringer.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a stairway tread support device wherein the upper portion further comprises a tread support part, the tread support part having such tread disposed thereon and fastened thereto.
It is therefore another aspect, advantage, objective and embodiment of the invention, in addition to those discussed previously, to provide a system for fastening treads to stringers and supporting the treads, the system comprising:
a first tread support device of claim 1 having a left-handed orientation;
a second tread support device of claim 1 having a right-handed orientation;
a third tread support device of claim 6 having a left-handed orientation;
a fourth tread support device of claim 6 having a right-handed orientation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an elevational oblique view of a first and a second embodiment of the device in use on a set of stairs.
FIG. 2 is a transparent side view diagram of a first and second embodiment of the device, in use on a set of stairs.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the device in use on a set of stairs.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the device in use on a set of stairs, showing additional details of the bottom step.
FIG. 5 is an oblique view of a first embodiment of the invention, in a right-handed sub-embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an oblique view of a first embodiment of the invention, in a left-handed embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a transparent view of the first embodiment of the device in a right-handed embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a transparent view of the first embodiment of the device in a left-handed embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a transparent side view of the lower portion of the device's first embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a side view of the upper portion of the device's first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is an oblique view of the second embodiment in a left-handed sub-embodiment for the bottom step.
FIG. 12 is an oblique view of the second embodiment in a right-handed sub-embodiment for the bottom step.
FIG. 13 is a side view of the second embodiment of the invention, left-handed.
FIG. 14 is a side view of the second embodiment of the invention, right-handed.
FIG. 15 is a front view of the second embodiment of the invention, left-handed.
FIG. 16 is a side view of the second embodiment of the invention, right-handed.
FIG. 17 is an oblique view of the bottom bolt assembly of the invention.
FIG. 18 is a transparent side view of the bottom bolt assembly of the invention.
INDEX TO REFERENCE NUMERALS
Stairs 100
Stringer 102
Tread 104
Tread support device 106
Bottom tread support 108
Bottom bolt 110
Stairs 200
Stringer 202
Tread 204
Tread support 206
Bottom tread support 208
Bottom bolt 210
Tread support upper portion 212
Tread support lower portion 214
Adjustable height device 216
Stairs 300
Tread 304
Tread support 306
Bottom tread support 308
Bottom bolt 310
Bottom bolt 410
Bottom bolt bracket 420
Bracket nut 422
Jam nut 424
Tread support (right) 506
Tread support upper portion 530
Tread support lower portion 532
Flat to stringer support 534
Side of stringer support 536
Fin 538
Flat to tread support 540
Fin holes group 1 (on lower portion) 542
Fin holes group 2 (on lower portion) 544
Pivot 546
Pivot hole 1 (w/ rivet) 546 a
Pivot hole 2 (w/ rivet) 546 b
Upper portion holes group 1 548
Upper portion holes group 2 550
Fastener (rivet) 552
Fastener (rivet) 554
Alignment scale 556
Fastening point 572
Tread support (bottom step) 1208
Bottom bolt 1210
Bottom bolt bracket 1220
Bracket nut (square) 1222
Jam nut 1224
Tread support upper portion 1230
Tread support lower portion 1232
Flat to stringer support 1234
Side of stringer support 1236
Flat to tread support 1240
Fin holes group 1 (lower portion holes) 1242
Pivot (w/ rivet) 1246
Pivot hole 1 (w/ rivet) 1246 a
Upper portion holes group 1 1248
Upper portion holes group 2 1250
Fastener (rivet) 1252
Fastener (rivet) 1270
Fastener hole 1 1270 a
Fastening point 1272
Partially occluded hole 1274
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the presently preferred embodiment and best mode now contemplated for carrying out the invention, the invention is a generally triangular tread support which has overlapping upper and lower portions which may pivot in relation to one another. By pivoting the halves, the value of the riser height may be adjusted up and down, by reference to an alignment guide the correct pair of holes among two pluralities of overlapping holes, one group on each part, may be chosen and secured together to maintain the desired riser height. The device of the invention in a presently preferred embodiment and best mode now contemplated may change height from 6.5″ to 8″ inches (16.5 cm to 20.32 cm) in height in accordance with the ADA and Uniform Building Code. However, it is not so limited, for example in jurisdictions which have different laws, or should US standards change, the device may adjust to virtually any range of heights by recalculation of hole locations.
FIG. 1 is an elevational oblique view of a first and a second embodiment of the device in use on a set of stairs. Stairs 100 have stringer 102 (one of two such), which is a sturdy diagonal member of wood or the like and which serves as the main support of the stairs. Tread 104 may be seen, while the risers have been omitted from the diagrams for the sake of clarity.
Tread support device 106 is seen mounted on the top edge of a stringer, one of six in use: four are similar and are triangular, while bottom tread support 108 and it's matching companion are only approximately triangular, since they must provide space (one corner is clipped off) to make up for the fact that the stringer 102 does not extend all the way to the end of the bottom-most tread. To make up for the lack of support, bottom bolt 110 is provided.
It will be immediately seen that both of the types have two sub-types: left and right handed. One type goes onto the left stringer and one type goes onto the right. Note that the actual designation as to which is “left” or “right” is made looking from the bottom of the the stairs to determine the left and right, however one type must fit on a left stringer and one type fits onto a right stringer.
FIG. 2 is a transparent side view diagram of a first and second embodiment of the device, in use on a set of stairs. Stairs 200 have stringer 202 visible.
It will be immediately noted that stringer 202 , like stringer 102 , is not cut.
An uncut stringer is stronger than a stringer made of the same size of wood but cut: the cuts narrow a stringer and weaken it. Thus, the uncut stringer is one important feature and advantage of the present invention. Tread 204 may be seen. It may be made of materials such as TREX® brand material, wood, polymers, composites and the like.
Tread support 206 is seen in transparency, with the tread support lower portion 214 behind the tread support upper portion 212 and the stringer 202 . The upper and lower portions 212 / 214 are not identical, nor are they strictly overlapping, rather they are angled a bit in relationship to one another. As they are installed, they are fixed into angular relationship and are no longer free to pivot.
Bottom tread support 208 may be seen to have the clipped corner (not actually clipped during manufacture, the expression is used to describe the fact that one corner of the triangle is not manufactured), which is necessary as it will be seen that stringer 202 runs under the full length of the stairs higher up but only under part of the length of the lowest stair, in addition to the lowest stair having no depth of a riser below it. Thus, the bottom unit must be able to cope with different conditions from all the other units and yet provide the same rise, and thus adjustable bottom bolt 210 is provided.
Adjustable height device 216 (which is different from the overall unit) is seen but is clearer in later diagrams: this part of the tread support allows the overall adjustment of heights on all the steps, not just on the bottommost step. This part of the invention, the adjustment device, 216 , is seen to comprise two sets of holes on two different portions of the device, the holes overlapping in a number of configurations which allow different heights to be maintained, and a fastener which may pass through the selected pair of holes. One unit of the invention may have a plurality of such height adjustment devices 216 thereon: in the presently preferred embodiments the number is four, however, more may be used for extra support or fewer may be used if it may be safely accomplished, all within the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the device in use on a set of stairs. The stringer cannot be seen, but stairs 300 have tread 304 which is held in place by tread support 306 .
Again, bottom tread support 308 has bottom bolt 310 , and will be explained in greater detail in the next diagram. FIG. 4 is a front view of the device in use on a set of stairs.
Bottom bolt 410 passes twice through bottom bolt bracket 420 having bracket nut 422 . It may then be tightened into place by means of jam nut 424 .
FIG. 5 is an oblique view of a first embodiment of the invention, in a right-handed sub-embodiment.
Tread support 506 , the unit, has two major portions: tread support upper portion 530 and tread support lower portion 532 .
Flat-to-stringer-support 534 is a flat area dimensioned and configured to engage flatly to the sloping top surface of a stringer, by which means weight of the stairs and weight on the stairs may be efficiently transferred to the stringer.
Side-of-stringer-support 536 is dimensioned and configured to engage flatly to the vertical side face of the stringer, and by means of numerous fastening points 572 (in this case, holes which allow screws, bolts or the like to be driven into or through the wooden stringer) allows for efficient fastening. Other fasteners may be used if they are safe and meet code, whether fasteners now known (rivets, nails) or later devised, however, in the present embodiment, certain fasteners are strongly preferred. Note that additional fastening points may be provided on other surfaces, such as flat-to-stringer-support surface 534 , the flat-to-tread-support 540 , etc.
Fin 538 protrudes above the rest of the lower part 532 and lays, coplaner, against matching parts of the upper part 530 . The fin 538 has two groups of holes on it: fin holes group 1 , 542 , and also fin holes group 2 , reference number 544 . While one group is sufficient, a plurality of groups may optionally provide greater strength. The positioning of these holes is calculated and manufactured very precisely.
With one group, the weight on the tread, pressing down through upper part 530 , is transmitted to lower part 532 and the stringer by way of one pivot 546 (preferably a rivet) and one fastener through the holes (preferably another rivet). A second group of holes ( 544 ) allows the addition of a third fastener for additional strength, conveniently located close to the riser end of the tread where maximum strength is usually needed.
Pivot 546 may seen in parts in later diagrams ( FIG. 6 , FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 ) and comprises not just a rivet as an axle, but also pivot hole 1 ( 546 a ) and pivot hole 2 ( 546 b ), through the lower and upper parts of the device.
Upper portion holes group 1 ( 548 ) and upper portion holes group 2 ( 550 ) are very precisely precalculated and positioned. This is for the functioning of the invention. In particular, these holes must match very precisely with the matching hole groups 542 and 544 of the fin.
In usage, as the two parts of the invention are slowly pivoted relative to one another, the value of the rise height (the shape of the triangle) will change, increasing and decreasing, and the carefully positioned holes will have different pairs (one hole on the upper piece and one hole on the lower piece) come into a complete overlap at different times equating to different rise heights. By careful calculation and placement, these holes will provide a useful set of alignments, preferably every ⅛ inch, very precisely and yet without the need to do more than rotate the two parts to the correct amount.
After the correct riser height is achieved, the device is locked permanently into that shape. FIG. 6 is an oblique view of a first embodiment of the invention, in a left-handed embodiment, showing fastener (rivet) 552 and fastener (rivet) 554 passing through a pair of overlapping holes in this way. While the groups on the other part are arranged in several rows and in arcs, the groups 552 / 554 are on straight lines, which lines if extended will pass through the pivot 546 .
This can be seen in transparency in FIG. 7 , which is a transparent view of the first embodiment of the device in a right-handed embodiment. It will immediately be seen that rivets 552 and 554 are holding a pair of holes in alignment. Careful study of the diagram reveals that in transparency all four sets of holes are seen. Thus, at the top of group 544 of the fin, group 550 (a line) may be seen. Similarly, atop group 542 of the lower part, group 548 (another straight line) may be seen.
Alignment scale 556 is also clearly visible. An alignment scale such as 556 may be located at any convenient location on the device. Alignment scale 556 may align to an edge, a corner of one piece, a guide mark on the device, a notch on the device, etc.
This alignment scale greatly eases the use of the device. In particular, the indicia of the scale (lines as depicted, letters, numbers, holes, marks, painted or printed indicia, etc) may tell the builder/user exactly what value of riser height is set in when a given indicia or alignment mark matches some external object, such as the top of the stringer, the top of the riser below, a matching pointer on the other half, etc. Thus a user desiring a 7½″ inch step would simply slide the device to 7½″ indicator of the alignment guide. At that point, one pair of holes would be clearly overlapping and in alignment, rather than blocked or partially occluded. That aligned pair of holes would be visible to the user, who would then slide the fastener (a rivet, bolt, or other device now known or later developed) through and then secure it, for example by popping the rivet in or tightening a nut onto a bolt.
At the present time rivets are the preferred embodiment rather than bolts or the like, for the purpose of securing the holes in the desired configuration, while screws and bolts are preferred for fastening to the stringer.
FIG. 8 is a transparent view of the first embodiment of the device in a left-handed embodiment. This diagram at first sight appears identical to FIG. 7 , but in fact it is a view of the matching device having the opposite handedness.
FIG. 9 is a transparent side view of the lower portion of the device's first embodiment. This is shown without the upper portion for additional clarity, while FIG. 10 is a side view of the upper portion of the device's first embodiment, shown without the lower portion for additional clarity.
FIG. 11 is an oblique view of the second embodiment in a left-handed sub-embodiment, while FIG. 12 is an oblique view of the second embodiment in a right-handed sub-embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a side view of the second embodiment of the invention, left-handed, while FIG. 14 is a side view of the second embodiment of the invention, right-handed.
As discussed previously, this second embodiment is useful or necessary for the bottom-most step in a set of stairs. Adverting back to FIG. 1 , it is obvious that the stringer physically cannot extend as far under the lowest step as it does for other steps higher up: the ground intervenes. This situation is very common in real building situations. Thus the second embodiment tread support 1208 is necessary in order to create a complete system of stairs.
Bottom bolt 1210 passes through bottom bolt bracket 1220 which is physically secured to the bottom part 1232 . Bracket nut 1222 and jam nut 1224 serve to lock the bolt 1210 in place and prevent it from rotating during use.
Note that the single square nut is advantageous for diverse reasons, including fit to the bracket, ease of use and so on.
Tread support upper portion 1230 and tread support lower portion 1232 do however have most of the same configurations as in the previously discussed embodiment.
Flat-to-stringer-support 1234 effectively transfers weight to the stringer while side-of-stringer-support 1236 provides efficient location of fasteners, such as at fastening point 1272 .
Flat-to-tread support 1240 provides a flat surface for the tread to rest upon, fin holes group 1 ( 1242 ) match with upper portion holes group 1 ( 1248 ).
Pivot 1246 and pivot hole 1 1246 a may be seen, as may fastener (rivet) 1252 and fastener (rivet) 1270 . Fastener 1270 and fastener hole 1 ( 1270 a ) actually serve to secure the bolt bracket to the device as a whole.
Partially occluded hole 1274 ( FIG. 13 ) is provided to illustrate how the device is used and how it appears in use. The hole having the fastener 1252 may be seen through, unoccluded. Other holes are blocked, or in the case of hole 1274 , partially eclipsed. Thus a builder has a quite easy time once they have lined up the alignment guide, in deciding which hole is proper for their needed elevation change. While the alignment guide is not shown on this embodiment, alternative alignment guides may be used. In practical terms, alignment for the bottom step may be accomplished by matching the same holes used for other steps supports (which do have guides). In even more practical terms, the bottom step has the bottom bolt 1210 which is adjustable, so at final installation the builder will simply adjust the bolt properly in any case.
FIG. 15 is a front view of the second embodiment of the invention, left-handed, FIG. 16 is a side view of the second embodiment of the invention, right-handed. Bolt 1210 , bracket 1220 , the upper and lower parts 1230 / 1240 and so on may be seen. FIG. 17 is an oblique view of the bottom bolt assembly of the invention, while FIG. 18 is a transparent side view of the bottom bolt assembly of the invention. Again, the locking nut 1224 (jam nut) and bracket nut 1222 obviously cooperate to easily secure bolt 1210 . Fastener hole 1270 a is more clearly visible.
The disclosure is provided to allow practice of the invention by those skilled in the art without undue experimentation, including the best mode presently contemplated and the presently preferred embodiment. Nothing in this disclosure is to be taken to limit the scope of the invention, which is susceptible to numerous alterations, equivalents and substitutions without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is to be understood from the appended claims.
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A tread support device for stairways is generally triangular with two parts which pivot in relationship to one another to allow selection of any desired riser height. Precalculated groups of holes on each of the two parts overlap, with different sets of holes overlapping at different riser heights separated by different increments of ⅛ inch. An alignment guide allows easy selection of the desired riser height, after which the holes which are aligned and overlapping are fastened together to keep the device whole. A complete system consists of left-handed and right-handed tread support units, along with right and left handed units designed to meet the base of the steps with adjustable bolts. A stairway may be built using uncut stringers by use of the invention.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/290,106 filed May 10, 2001, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to optical fiber transmission systems, and more particularly to optical fibers that are constructed to prevent theft of optical signals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Unauthorized and undetected tapping of optical signals from optical fiber transmission lines is a concern of a variety of users. Transmission cables, even those carrying highly sensitive information, often extend across substantial lengths of insecure territory. If an optical fiber is actually cut, and spliced into an eavesdropping device, the potential presence of an unwanted listener is easily detected due to the interruption in the signal at the receiving station. However, more sophisticated techniques are available that allow tapping of a portion of the signal without interruption with such a small loss of power that the tapping goes undetected. One such technique involves forming a refractive index grating in the core of the fiber. Typically, the optical fiber in which the grating is written has a dopant that is sensitive to photoinduced refractive index change. Once written, the grating diffracts a portion of the signal wavelength through the side of the fiber, where it is then easily “read” by a photodetector located next to the fiber. The grating is produced by exposing a short length of the fiber core to suitable laser radiation to create bands of refractive index perturbations. This can be done without enough compromise of the bulk transmission characteristics of optical fiber to be detected.
Another technique, simpler in concept, is to form a bend in the fiber. This causes “leaking” of the signal into the optical fiber cladding where it can be intercepted without detection from the source or receiving stations.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
The first case of intrusion is dealt with according to the invention by constructing the optical fiber with a highly absorbing UV coating. This prevents access of the core of the fiber to the “writing” radiation necessary to form the grating. In one variation of this embodiment, one or more additional optical paths are provided in the optical fiber for monitoring signals. The added optical paths allow monitoring signals to be transmitted in the optical fiber, separate from the information signal, to signal any attempt to breach the cladding of the optical fiber.
The second case of intrusion is addressed by increasing the sensitivity of the optical fiber to microbending loss to the extent that bends in the fiber cause such high attenuation of the signal that the bends do not go undetected at the receiving station.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of one type of unauthorized fiber tapping technique;
FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a method used to implement the scheme of FIG. 1, and a prevention method according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a plot of optical power vs. radius of the optical fiber showing the power distribution in the fiber;
FIG. 4 is a refractive index profile for an optical fiber designed to prevent unauthorized tapping using a microbending method;
FIG. 5 is a plot of bending loss vs. bending radius for five different optical fiber index profiles; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic cross section of an optical fiber designed for preventing unauthorized tapping according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Techniques are known in the art for tapping electromagnetic radiation from an optical fiber. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,061,032; 5,832,156; and 5,850,302, which are incorporated herein by reference. When unauthorized, this corollary to well known wire tapping may be referred to herein as fiber tapping. The method described in these patents requires the writing of a blazed and chirped refractive index grating in the core of the fiber being tapped. Optical fibers carrying sensitive information over long transmission lines offer easy opportunities for access to the physical fiber by the unauthorized user. It is then not difficult to strip the cable jacket and write a tap grating in the core of the exposed fiber. The fiber coating may also be easily removed for this operation. Techniques are known for writing gratings through fiber coatings so even stripping the fiber coating may be unnecessary for fiber tapping. Since the amount of power tapped from the main signal may be kept low (but still sufficient to allow the signal to be read) signal power loss at the receiving station may be within the normal limits of the system and the breach therefore not detected.
The fiber tapping technique just described is illustrated in FIG. 1, where optical fiber 12 is shown with core 20 and cladding 21 . This section of optical fiber is shown stripped of the usual optical fiber coating. A Bragg grating 14 is written into the exposed section of optical fiber by the unauthorized user. A small portion of the signal radiation traveling in the core 20 is diffracted from the core by the grating and is detected using a lens or prism 23 to focus the tapped beam 26 into photodetector 24 . An index matching medium 22 may be used to increase the tap efficiency.
One way to prevent this form of fiber tapping, according to the invention, is to prevent access to the core of the fiber by the UV radiation required to form grating 14 . This may be implemented, in one embodiment, by forming a highly UV absorbing cladding on the optical fiber. As mentioned earlier, the coating of the optical fiber is easily removed. The cladding is not. Physically, the cladding is a continuation of the core, and both form an integral glass body, with only small amounts of added impurities distinguishing the core from the cladding. Thus if the cladding is made impermeable to UV radiation, the core will not easily be accessed by the means necessary to form the fiber tap. This might be implemented by coating the optical fiber with a robust opaque material, such as a metal. But this approach is vulnerable to methods that include removing the opaque coating. Removing the coating may be easily accomplished without detection.
The preferred approach to implementing the prevention method of the invention is to incorporate UV absorbing centers into the body of the cladding glass. These cannot be removed without removing at least part of the cladding itself, which destroys or impairs the light guiding property of the fiber and would be easily detected. In one embodiment the absorbing centers are metal ions, for example, transition or refractory metal ions such as Ti, Zr, Fe, Ta, Ni, Co. The metal ions may be chosen to have high absorption of UV wavelengths used to write gratings, and lower absorption in the band of wavelengths of the optical signal, typically 1.3-1.6 microns.
FIG. 2 illustrates the technique used in forming a typical refractive index grating, and the means of the invention for preventing use of this technique. A section of optical fiber 31 is shown with a portion of the optical fiber coating 32 stripped to expose the optical fiber. For clarity the core and cladding are not shown in this figure. The signal being transmitted by the optical fiber is represented by arrow 36 .
The stripped portion of optical fiber is exposed to radiation from a UV laser, represented by 33 , directed through a phase mask 34 . This is a conventional and well-known process for forming gratings. The result is a refractive index grating 35 formed in the core. This grating corresponds to grating 14 in FIG. 1 and is the essential feature of this type of fiber tap.
The grating 35 is shown in phantom because in this embodiment of the invention, access to the interior or core of the optical fiber by the UV radiation from UV source 33 is prevented by UV blocking layer 39 .
Absorption properties of various ions are well known. Also well known is that the absorption spectra show wide variations between wavelengths of interest here. One of the wavelength regions of interest is that used to form gratings in a germania doped optical fiber, i.e. 200-300 nm. The absorption peak of typical germania doped optical fiber is at 242 nm. Accordingly, to prevent effective writing of gratings using radiation in this wavelength region, the absorbing layer should have relatively high absorption in the wavelength range 200-300 nm. Correspondingly, it is preferred that the absorption layer have lower absorption in the wavelength of the signal, which typically will be in the wavelength region of 1300 to 1600 nm.
The following example is given for a dopant that meets these criteria.
Experimental data show that in alkali-silicate glasses, the absorption coefficient of nickel at 220 nm is about 1.5×10 10 dB/km per % nickel, and at 330 nm is about 1.4×10 9 dB/km. (Similar absorption spectra can be found for other metals.) Therefore, UV radiation at 200 nm will be attenuated by about 10-15 dB after transmission through 1 micron of silica doped with 1% Ni.
At the signal wavelength, 1300 to 1600 nm, the absorption coefficient of Ni is 3.6×107 dB/km per % Ni, which is approximately 400 times lower than the absorption at the wavelength being blocked, i.e. 200 nm.
Accordingly, a blocking layer ( 39 in FIG. 2) with a thickness of, for example, 1-20 microns doped with, for example, 0.1 to 5% Ni effectively prevents writing a grating necessary for a fiber tap. The doping level and the blocking layer thickness allow a tradeoff, with greater thickness of the blocking layer allowing lower doping, and higher doping allowing a thinner blocking layer and more separation between the blocking layer and the core as well as between the blocking layer and the cladding surface.
Selection criteria for the UV blocking ions also includes the diffusion coefficient of the blocking ions in a high silica, or pure silica, host. This is due to the fact that to effectively incorporate the blocking ions in the cladding of the optical fiber requires, in the typical case, that the ions be introduced at the preform stage. The possibility of diffusing ions into a drawn fiber to produce the blocking coating exists, especially for short fiber sections, but is commercially less attractive than treating the preform. It is desirable that blocking ions incorporated at the outer portion of a preform, diffuse slowly during heating (2000-2400° C.) of the preform for fiber draw. The cladding thickness of typical optical fiber is tens of microns. Accordingly, diffusion distance for the blocking ions can be up to 20 microns, but preferably below 10 microns, without detriment. Typical transition metal ions are expected to have diffusion properties that meet this specification.
In principle, the UV blocking layer 39 can be placed anywhere within the fiber cladding provided that its width is adequate to absorb enough UV radiation to prevent effective writing of a grating. Among the factors to be considered for blocking layer placement is the balance between separation between the blocking layer and the core to avoid attenuation of the signal, and the goal of burying the blocking layer as deep as possible to prevent its removal without disrupting the signal. The power at different locations across the optical fiber diameter can be calculated to aid in the proper placement of the blocking layer. FIG. 3 shows the optical power distribution at 1550 nm plotted vs. radial position in a typical optical fiber design.
The power distribution data show that <10 −11 of the total optical power at 1550 nm transmits at a distance greater than 40 microns from the fiber center. Therefore, if a barrier layer with an attenuation of at least 10 8 dB/km at 1.3-1.6 microns is placed at a distance larger than 40 microns from the fiber center, it causes attenuation of less than 0.00 1 dB/km at the transmission wavelengths. Viewed another way, since the fiber core is typically less than 10 microns, a separation between the core and the blocking layer of at least 10 microns, or at least 20 microns from the center of the fiber, should easily be adequate to avoid excessive signal attenuation, while allowing a relatively large space for the blocking layer, and for space between the blocking layer and the surface of the cladding.
As mentioned above, the preferred method for fabricating the blocking layer incorporates absorbing ions into the preform prior to drawing the optical fiber. A typical preform with a 40 mm diameter and 1 meter long can be drawn into about 100 km of 125 micron diameter fiber. A UV blocking layer that is 320 microns thick in the preform will produce an approximately 1 micron thick blocking layer in the drawn fiber. Consequently, the thickness of the blocking layer in the preform stage is a few hundred microns to 8 mm, preferably in the range 100 microns to 8 mm, or even 16 mm. The latter translates into a blocking layer of approximately 50 microns.
The absorbing ions for the blocking layer can be introduced into the preform using any of the known techniques for preform preparation. A brief description of typical preparation approaches follows.
In a solution doping process a porous soot layer is deposited on the inside of a silica tube. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,940, which is incorporated herein by reference. A solution that contains the required transition metal ions is used to soak the porous soot layer. Upon drying, the soot layer is sintered and the transition metal ions are incorporated into the consolidated silica layer in the desired concentration. This operation may be carried out in one step, or in several steps, depending on the thickness and metal ion concentration desired for the blocking layer. To bury the blocking layer, a second layer of soot is deposited on the consolidated material just described, and consolidated without addition of metal ions. After preparing the cladding with the blocking layer, the core rod is inserted and the usual collapse performed. When the fiber is drawn from this preform, it contains the desired blocking layer.
Sol-gel methods may also be used for preparing preforms incorporating blocking layers. A typical overclad tube made by sol-gel has an outside diameter of for example 40 mm with a typical inside diameter of 24-32 mm. The transition metal ions can be easily incorporated in the sol-gel by adding a metal salt or hydroxide to the sol solution. The doped gel tube is then sintered and used to overclad a core rod to form the preform. Incorporation of dopants in a silica sol-gel body may follow the well-known approaches used for germanium doping. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,364, which is incorporated herein by reference.
As described above, unauthorized and undetected fiber tapping may also be achieved using the bend method. The fiber is bent with a small enough bend radius that radiation leaks from the fiber core through the cladding. This is a well known fiber loss mechanism, and a wide variety of techniques are used to avoid microbending losses. However, an intentional bend with a small bend radius will induce loss of signal in nearly any commercial fiber.
According to the invention, the opposite of the usual objective is practiced. Here the desire is to increase the bend sensitivity of the optical fiber, so that any bend that will cause sufficient leakage for detecting the information in the signal, will cause such a large signal attenuation that it will be easily detected at the receiving station. It has been discovered that a high bend sensitive fiber can be produced by introducing an undoped outer ring region at a substantial distance from the fiber core. Furthermore, such bend sensitive designs do not adversely impact the transmission properties, provided the fiber cable is installed to have a large minimum bend radius.
FIG. 4 shows schematically a bend sensitive fiber design. In a typical dispersion-managed fiber design the radial index profile typically consists of an up-doped core region, surrounded by a down-doped trench region, then an up-doped ring region. In the profile shown, the core, trench region and ring region extend to a radius of approximately 8 microns. The refractive indices in these regions are characterized by a delta that may be defined generally as (N-N o )/N o where N is the index of a region, and N o is the index of undoped silica. In a typical dispersion-managed design, where the delta of each region is identified as Δ 1 , Δ 2 , and Δ 3 , respectively, the delta values are:
0.003<Δ 1 <0.012
−0.007<Δ 2 <−0.0002
0.001<Δ 3 <0.006.
The next region in the figure, extending between 8 microns and 14 microns, is an undoped layer. Following the objective of this embodiment of the invention, the bend sensitivity of the fiber design is made much greater by adding an outer up-doped region. In FIG. 4, the outer up-doped region is shown at 41 . The region 41 has a preferred index range of 0.0005<Δ 4 <0.0034, and a preferred location ranging between 12 and 26 microns from the fiber center.
FIG. 5 shows bending loss vs. bend radius at 1550 nm in fiber designs having different index Δ 4 in the outer ring region. The five lines 51 - 55 give data for N=0.0025; N=0.0020; N=0.0012; N=0.0; and N=−0.0012, respectively. The figure shows that as the outer ring delta increases from −0.00082 to +0.00171, the bending loss increases by a factor of greater than 500. In fiber taps that employ bending the fiber, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,723 (which is incorporated herein by reference), the radius of curvature of the bent fiber is related to the angle α between the fiber and bent tube and the distance x between the fiber-tube contact and the tube bent joint by R=x/sin(α/2). The bent fiber length is given as αR or xα/sin(α/2). For x=10 mm, α=15 degree or 0.26 radian, R is 76.6 mm and the bent fiber length is 20 mm.
The up-doped layer that serves to increase the bending sensitivity can be made economically by overcladding a core rod using a tube that is doped with GeO 2 of the appropriate refractive index. The up-doped tube is commercially available and can be made by either a soot process or sol-gel method. After overcladding, the preform may be drawn to have the bending sensitive layer sandwiched between the transmission fiber core and the outer clad.
The bend-loss inducing up-doped layer is preferably located inside the UV-blocking layer, and an undoped silica layer is sandwiched between these two layers. Therefore the up-doped tube is used as the first overclad tube followed by an undoped overclad tube, and then overcladded by the tube that contains highly absorptive transition metal ions.
Physical intrusion into the optical fiber structure can be signaled according to another embodiment of the invention by disposing breach-detection channels in the cladding of the optical fiber. This expedient is useful, for example, for detecting attempts to remove the blocking layer and expose the core for writing a grating.
Diameters of breach-detection paths in a preferred case may be in the range 3 to 10 microns and the centers located between 85 microns and 95 microns from the fiber center. The breach-detection path has a radial index profile of either a high index and small core diameter or a moderate index and large core diameter.
Wavelength calculations show that when the breach-detection path consists of 0.025 Δ within a 1.5 micron core radius, less than 10 −11 of the optical power in the LP 01 fundamental mode leaks beyond 16.5 microns radius. This index profile will be single mode at 1.55 microns since the cutoff wavelength is at 1.25 microns.
When the breach-detection path consists of 0.015 Δ within a 5 micron core radius, less than 10 −11 of the optical power in the LP 01 fundamental mode leaks beyond 17 microns radius. At 1.55 microns, in addition to the LP 01 fundamental mode, this index profile also supports the LP 11 and LP 02 higher order modes which have respective cutoff wavelengths of 3.2 microns and 2.0 microns.
Therefore, when the blocking layer is located further than 17 microns from the center of the breach-detection path of the above index designs, the blocking layer will not adversely attenuate the radiation in the breach-detection cores. However, the radial feature of a larger core diameter has the advantage of easier alignment when the optical fiber is spliced.
Breach-detection paths may be easily made by the sol-gel method used for the overclad tube. The gel body of the overclad tube can be made with a number of openings parallel to the longitudinal tube axis. Upon drying and partial densification, fully dense GeO 2 -doped rods may be placed inside these openings. Upon complete densification of the overall tube, the GeO 2 doped rods will be incorporated to form the breach-detection light paths. Fiber drawing of this preform will result in breach-detection paths around the outer fiber circumference.
FIG. 6 is an illustration of a fiber design employing three of the principles described above. The figure shows an optical fiber cross section with alternate layers sectioned (for clarity). The optical fiber core, typically doped with germania, is shown at 61 . The primary cladding layer 62 is a silica layer, surrounded by an up-doped layer 63 for increasing the bend sensitivity of the fiber. Layer 64 is a silica layer, surrounded by layer 65 which is a UV blocking layer. Layer 66 is the outer cladding layer of, for example, silica. In this embodiment, layer 66 incorporates breach-detecting channels 68 .
The fiber design illustrated by FIG. 6 employs all three embodiments of the invention. However, fibers of the invention may employ one, or two, of these embodiments. The use of the blocking layer, and the breach-detection paths are coupled in the sense that a recommended use of the breach-detection paths is to detect an unauthorized user trying to frustrate the blocking layer by physically removing a portion of the cladding.
In the course of the development of the invention it became evident that there is an advantage in using a larger fiber than the 125 micron fiber most commonly used. This is partly due to the fact that the security enhancing expedients of the invention involve adding layers to the basic optical fiber structure. That is especially the case with the fiber structure of FIG. 6, which has three added structural components. The breach-detection paths especially may be implemented using a fiber diameter larger than 125 microns. As an example, a 200 micron fiber may have a core, trench, and ring regions of conventional dimensions, i.e. the similar to those in 125 micron fiber, with breach-detection paths centered at 81.25 microns from the center, and the inner radius of the highly absorptive layer at approximately 40 microns from the center. An intruder will be compelled to remove the highly absorptive layer by grinding the fiber surface parallel to the fiber longitudinal axis such that a proper phase-mask can be placed for grating formation in the fiber core. With these fiber dimensions, the grinding process will destroy at least 34% of the breach-detection paths and will cause about 4.7 dB light intensity reduction transmitted by these paths.
The optical fiber design shown in FIG. 6 has eight added breach-detection paths. Obviously more, or fewer, may be used. At least three would be considered desirable.
Various additional modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art. All deviations from the specific teachings of this specification that basically rely on the principles and their equivalents through which the art has been advanced are properly considered within the scope of the invention as described and claimed.
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The specification describes optical fibers that are constructed to prevent theft of optical signals. One construction is designed to block access of the core of the fiber to the “writing” radiation necessary to form a grating tap. In this embodiment the optical fiber cladding is provided with a highly absorbing UV layer. In a variation of this embodiment, one or more additional optical paths are provided in the optical fiber to accommodate monitoring signals. The added optical paths allow monitoring signals to be transmitted in the optical fiber, separate from the information signal, to signal an attempt to breach the outer coating or the cladding of the optical fiber.
A second case of intrusion is addressed by increasing the sensitivity of the optical fiber to microbending loss to the extent that bends in the fiber cause such high attenuation of the signal that the bends do not go undetected at the receiving station.
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CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 60/296,313, filed Jun. 6, 2001.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to an apparatus for measuring the level of gaseous pollutants in the crankcase of an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the apparatus continuously separates particulates and lubricating oil from crankcase gas to facilitate measuring gaseous pollutants of interest.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] Designers of internal combustion engines strive to reduce levels of pollutants generated in the engine. One carrier of pollutants is blow-by gas in the crankcase. This gas is typically recirculated by a Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system into the intake manifold of the engine where the gas flows into the combustion chamber to be burned. In order to optimize the design of the PCV system, it is desirable to measure, in real time, the level of pollutants in the blow-by gas. Once the level of pollutants is known it is possible to make changes to the engine control system, engine components and the PCV system to reduce pollutant levels.
[0004] One method of indirectly measuring pollutant levels is to perform a spectral analysis of oil used in the engine. With this method, the engine is operated under a prescribed operating condition for a specified period. At the end of the period, a sample of the engine oil is subjected to a spectral analysis that exposes the level of contaminants in the oil. The pollutant level in the blow-by gas is then inferred from the results of the spectral analysis and knowledge of the prescribed operating condition to which the engine was subjected. While the spectral analysis test is used by engine designers, it has two shortcomings. The first shortcoming is the time needed to produce measurements of pollutant levels. A typical specified period can be 10,000 miles of operation in an automobile. With such a long test period, engine designers are limited to running a few tests before an engine design must be ready for production. Second, the spectral analysis test only provides indirect information on the aggregate level of pollutant levels in the blow-by gas. The test does not provide pollutant levels as a function of time. This leaves the engine designer guessing what mode of engine operation produces the worst pollutant level.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Accordingly, one aspect of this invention is to provide a system for facilitating measurement of pollutant levels in the crankcase gas of a running engine.
[0006] In accordance with this aspect, the present invention provides a gas separator system for providing contaminant-free engine crankcase gas to a gas analyzer. The system has an inlet member for receiving the crankcase gas from the engine and an oil separator for separating at least a portion of the contaminants from the crankcase gas. A pump is arranged to draw the crankcase gas through the inlet member and move the separated crankcase gas to the gas analyzer.
[0007] Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes 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 SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] [0008]FIG. 1 is a pneumatic diagram of the apparatus;
[0009] [0009]FIG. 2A is side view of the oil separator and standpipe assembly with a cross section of the oil separator housing;
[0010] [0010]FIG. 2B is a front view of the oil separator and standpipe assembly; and
[0011] [0011]FIG. 3 is an example of crankcase gas data.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] [0012]FIG. 1 shows a pneumatic diagram of an engine crankcase gas sampling system 1 . The system is generally constructed as a test fixture for use in an engine dynamometer cell, but may also be constructed as a piece of portable test equipment or incorporated into a vehicle. A vacuum pump 2 provides vacuum at intake 3 for drawing a continuous stream of blow-by gas through a probe 4 in the crankcase of the engine 6 . The direction of the continuous stream is indicated by arrows drawn on the lines interconnecting components of the system 1 . In an exemplar embodiment, the pump 2 is a four-head diaphragm type to provide a sufficient vacuum level with a minimum magnitude of pressure pulsations in the system 1 . At the point the probe 4 is connected to the engine 6 , the blow-by gas is contaminated with particulate matter, light (<C 4 ) and heavy (>=C 5 ) hydrocarbons, and engine oil in liquid and vapor phases. The contaminated blow-by gas is drawn by the vacuum through the probe 4 and into the standpipe 8 and oil separator 10 . The standpipe 8 and oil separator 10 together separate a substantial portion of the liquid and vaporous oil from the blow-by gas. The gas velocity in the standpipe 8 is low enough to allow the separated oil to drip down the inside wall of the standpipe 8 and reenter the engine 6 via the probe 4 .
[0013] At the output of the oil separator 10 , the blow-by gas and oil vapor flow out through a nipple 12 and on to an optional coalescer 14 . While not required, the coalescer 14 operates to separate additional liquid oil from the stream flowing out of the oil separator 10 . Depending on the level of liquid oil entering the system through the probe 4 , using the coalescer 14 to further lower the level of liquid oil may assist in extending the service interval of a downstream coalescing filter 16 . If the coalescer 14 is not used, a simple fluid conduit may be interconnected between the nipple 12 and the input of the coalescing filter 16 .
[0014] The coalescing filter 16 removes any remaining liquid and most, if not all, of the particulates from the contaminated blow-by gas. Any remaining oil vapor can be removed at a later stage by a condenser 18 (if used) and a hydrocarbon (HC) trap filter 20 . Upon leaving the coalescing filter 16 , the sampled blow-by gas is clean of particulate matter, liquid oil and a substantial amount of vaporous oil. The clean blowby gas is then vacuumed into the pump 2 and expelled therefrom at an outlet pressure into the optional condenser 18 . The flow rate and pressure of gas at the outlet of the pump 2 should be matched to the input requirement of a chosen gas analyzer 22 . This match may be performed with regulator arrangement 19 at the inlet to the gas analyzer 22 . Also at the outlet of the pump 2 is a pressure relief valve 24 . The pressure relief valve 24 prevents excessive pressure from accumulating between the output of the pump 2 and the input to the gas analyzer 22 in the event the condenser 18 , HC trap filter 20 or related plumbing become plugged. The relief pressure of the pressure relief valve 24 should be set greater than the outlet pressure of the pump 2 . In an exemplar embodiment, a relief pressure of 25 PSIG is used with an outlet pressure of 15 PSIG.
[0015] The condenser 18 is desirable if, after passing through the coalescing filter 16 and pump 2 , the clean blow-by gas still contains a level of vaporous oil that may prematurely clog or destroy the HC filter 20 . If the condenser 18 is used, a condenser temperature in the range of approximately thirty-two to forty degrees Fahrenheit should be sufficient to remove remaining traces of oil vapor from the blow-by gas. In an embodiment where the condenser 18 is omitted, it may be replaced with a simple fluid conduit interconnecting the output of the pump 2 to the input of the HC trap filter 20 .
[0016] The blow-by gas enters HC trap filter 20 prior to being pumped into the gas analyzer 22 . The HC trap filter 20 removes the heavy hydrocarbons from the blow-by gas. Upon exiting the apparatus at the outlet of the HC trap filter 20 , the blow-by gas has been filtered of contaminants and is in a condition for the gas analyzer 22 to accept and measure. Typical types of gas analyzers 22 used to analyze the blow-by gas include C 0 2 and NO x analyzers.
[0017] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, components are shown to facilitate purging the separated contaminants from the system 1 after a test is performed. To purge the system 1 , an external compressed air source is attached at the purge air connector 26 . In an exemplar embodiment, the compressed air source is regulated to about 40 PSIG. Purging commences by opening of solenoids SV- 1 , SV- 2 , SV- 3 (if the coalescing sump is used), SV- 4 , and SV- 5 (if the condenser is used.) With the solenoids opened, the regulated shop air flows through SV- 1 into a first tee 28 and through SV- 2 into a second tee 30 . Purge air from the first tee 28 flows in a reverse direction through the coalescing filter 16 and, if used, the coalescing sump 14 . Oil and residual blow-by gas are pushed by the purge air out of the coalescing filter 16 and through solenoid SV- 4 to an exhaust system 32 . A portion of purge air from the first tee 28 continues to flow in a reverse direction to the coalescing sump 14 , where the sump 14 is purged through open solenoid valve SV- 3 . Purge air also flows through the oil separator 10 and standpipe 8 , thereby returning oil trapped in those components to the engine 6 .
[0018] Purge air from the second tee 30 flows in a reverse direction through the HC trap filter 20 and the condenser 18 , if it is used. Purge air coming through the condenser 18 passes through the open solenoid valve SV- 5 and into the exhaust system 32 . Some purge air also moves forward toward the attached gas analyzer 22 .
[0019] The exhaust system 32 collects the purge air from solenoid valves SV- 4 and SV- 5 (which is included only when the condenser is used) and passes the collected air through a separator 34 . The separator 34 collects contaminants into a bowl that must be periodically emptied. Clean air is exhausted into the atmosphere after being processed by the separator 34 .
[0020] An important consideration in using the apparatus is the rate at which the pump 2 draws vacuum to pull crankcase gas through the probe 4 . It is undesirable to have the apparatus draw gas at a rate high enough to have a material effect on the PCV flow rate in the engine 6 . A suggested guideline is to limit the system 1 to drawing gas at a rate less than 10% of the rate blow-by gas is produced by the engine 6 . To achieve this limited flow rate, a flow control valve 48 may be inserted in the inlet stream of the pump 2 . In an exemplar embodiment, the flow control valve 48 is set to a flow rate of eight standard cubic feet per hour (SCFH).
[0021] Turning now to FIG. 2A, the standpipe 8 is shown together with a cross-section of the oil separator 10 . The cross section is taken along section line 2 A- 2 A of FIG. 2B. The standpipe 8 has the oil separator 10 at an outlet end and may have a probe connector 36 attached at a probe end. Stainless steel has been found a suitable material for the standpipe 8 .
[0022] As shown in FIG. 2B, the outlet end of the standpipe 8 is closed, and a hole 38 is formed in the wall of the standpipe 8 at a location such that the hole 38 is contained within the oil separator housing 40 . The hole 38 should be formed as close to the edge of the oil separator housing 40 as possible so that oil flows from the separator 10 into the hole 38 and then down the standpipe 8 to the engine 6 . The oil separator housing 40 is loosely filled with a fibrous material 42 such as woven copper mesh.
[0023] In operation, the standpipe 8 and oil separator 10 assembly is placed in a generally vertical position with probe connector 36 at the bottom. Gas drawn from the crankcase probe 4 enters the standpipe 8 and travels upward towards the oil separator 10 . Oil in the crankcase gas accumulates on the interior wall of the standpipe 8 and drips back down to the engine 6 . At the top of the standpipe 8 , the gas may still contain engine oil vapor and some oil in liquid phase. The gas enters the hollow interior of the separator housing 40 via the hole 38 in the wall of the standpipe. The gas then flows through the fibrous material 42 and out through the nipple 12 . Oil vapor condenses onto the fibrous material 42 while the gas flows through it. The condensed oil wicks out of the fibrous material 42 and is drawn by gravity to the lowest portion of the separator housing 40 where it drips though the hole 38 and back into the engine 6 .
[0024] A trade-off should be considered when choosing the dimensions of the standpipe 8 and separator housing 40 . A longer standpipe 8 and more voluminous separator housing 40 will be more effective at removing liquid and vaporous oil than shorter and smaller ones, respectively. However, the larger parts will undesirably increase the propagation delay of crankcase gas through them.
[0025] Turning now to FIG. 3, a graph is shown with an example of C 0 2 pollutant data taken from blow-by gas. The blow-by gas was analyzed using a C 0 2 gas analyzer 22 . The vertical axis 44 of the graph represents crankcase C 0 2 concentration in percent and the horizontal axis 46 represents time in minutes. In this graph, the engine 6 was running at 1200 RPM from the first through the sixth minute, at 1600 RPM from the seventh through the twelfth minute, 2000 RPM from the thirteenth minute to the nineteenth minute and at 3600 RPM from the twentieth through the twenty-sixth minute of the test. Load on the engine 6 was varied at each minute interval and the gas flow rate was allowed to stabilize through the system 1 . At the end of each minute, the gas analyzer 22 produced a data point. The test was repeated several times as is indicated by the legend of FIG. 3.
[0026] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
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A gas separator system for providing contaminant-free engine crankcase gas to a gas analyzer. The system has an inlet member for receiving the crankcase gas from the engine and an oil separator for separating at least a portion of the contaminants from the crankcase gas. A pump is arranged to draw the crankcase gas through the inlet member and move the separated crankcase gas to the gas analyzer.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a water and energy recovery process for an ice rink and in particular, a process utilizing demineralized water.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Municipal, well or lake water is commonly used to make the initial ice sheet of an ice rink and for maintenance of the ice. Such water contains mineral salts, dissolved solids and other impurities. The higher the concentration of these impurities, the higher the "specific conductance" (ie. micromhos/cm) of the water. Using water having a high level of impurities, and accordingly, a high specific conductance (ie. 200-800 micromhos/cm), results in poor ice quality and increased energy and operating costs for the following reasons.
As the ice rink water freezes, the water port ion freezes first pushing dissolved solids into the remaining liquid portion where salts and other impurities concentrate. This final portion eventually freezes, but at the surface of the ice sheet, where at the presence of a high concentration of impurities causes the ice surface to be soft, shaley, and opaque in appearance.
Based on a municipal water supply having a specific conductance of 350 micromhos/cm, a typical core sample of an ice sheet would reveal the bottom portion (ie. concrete or sand interface) as being relatively pure (ie. 180 micromhos/cm), while the surface of the ice could have a specific conductance as high as 700 micromhos/cm. Additionally, the specific conductance of the ice surface will increase over time, through the inherent processes of evaporation and sublimation, further deteriorating the quality of the ice surface.
During the maintenance of the ice, an ice resurfacer (ie. Samboni', Olympia', etc.) is used to shave the ice to remove slush, snow, and dirt from the surface of the ice. The resurfacer then floods the surface of the ice with fresh water thereby applying a fresh surface layer of ice. The shavings picked up by the resurfacer from the ice's surface are stored in a snow tank within the resurfacer. After the resurfacing operation, the shavings in the snow tank are dumped into an ice pit to melt and the resulting water is disposed of by drainage into the municipality's sewage system.
The amount of energy and water used for ice making and maintenance is substantial. For example, a rink must heat about 120 gallons of water to 150 degrees Fahrenheit every time the ice of the rink is flooded. Not only does this require energy to heat the water (about 90,000 Btu/flood), but the warm water creates a refrigeration load of about 260,000 Btu/flood (ASHRAE, Journal, April 1992, "Modernizing and Retrofitting Ice Skating Rinks", Russell Blades).
In terms of water consumption, ice making and maintenance will require about 800,000 gallons of water per year for an average sized rink. Additionally, to help speed up the melting of the ice in the ice pit, many ice rink operators apply hot water to the pit from a hose. This practice not only wastes water, but energy as well.
For ice rinks that use cooling towers or evaporative condensers and compressors, annual water usage for this equipment is typically an additional 2,500,000 gallons.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved ice rink maintenance process which reduces water and energy consumption while improving the quality of the ice surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides an ice making and maintenance process for an ice rink which reduces water and energy consumption and consequently, operating costs, while at the same time improving the quality of the ice.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided an ice making and water recovery process for an ice rink, comprising the steps of: demineralizing water to produce flood water substantially free of mineral salts, dissolved solids and other impurities; heating said demineralized water for use as flood water for the said ice rink; resurfacing the surface of the ice rink by (i) scraping the surface to remove ice shavings comprising dirt, snow and slush and (ii) flooding the surface with said heated, demineralized flood water; depositing the ice shavings in a holding means and melting the ice shavings thereby producing recovered water; repeating the step of demineralizing, utilizing the recovered water in said flood water.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an ice making and water and energy recovery process for an ice rink, comprising the steps of: demineralizing water to produce flood water substantially free of mineral salts, dissolved solids and other impurities; heating the demineralized water for use as flood water for the ice rink; resurfacing the surface of the ice rink by (i) scraping said surface to remove ice shavings comprising dirt, snow and slush and (ii) flooding the surface with the heated, demineralized flood water; depositing said ice shavings in an holding means and melting the shavings thereby producing recovered water; utilizing the recovered water as a coolant in a refrigeration unit utilized to maintain the temperature of said ice; repeating said step of demineralizing, utilizing said recovered water in said flood water.
An advantage of the present invent ion is that the thickness of the ice required to provide a suitable ice surface for skating is significantly reduced. By utilizing the water recovery process of the present invention, the thickness of the ice can be maintained at about 0.75 inches as compared to the traditional 1.5 inches required for ice rinks maintained under conventional ice maintenance programs. As ice acts as an insulator (thermal conductivity of 15 Btu in/ft 2 hr degrees Fahrenheit,), the greater the ice thickness, the lower the refrigerant temperature has to be to produce a given ice surface temperature. In addition to requiring an increased refrigerant load, increased ice thickness creates problems of increased thermal lag and consequently poorer quality ice. The ice produced by the present process is faster, harder, and more resilient to chipping and skate cuts.
An additional advantage of the process of the present invention is that less flood water at a lower temperature is utilized resulting in significant energy savings. In present ice rinks, operators will use flood water in the 130° F.-180° F. range. This is necessary due to the impurities in the flood water and the presence of air. The process of the present invention requires that the flood water need only be heated to 90° F.-130° F. to obtain positive results. Consequently, by using ninety gallons of demineralized water at ninety degrees Fahrenheit, the energy requirements to heat the water would only be 22,500 Btu/flood and the resulting refrigeration load only 112,700 Btu/flood. This represents an energy savings of 75% in water heating and 58% in the flood water refrigeration load.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the ice produced from the process may be maintained at a higher temperature while maintaining a high quality ice surface. Based on a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE/TIC--10289, Energy and Conservation in Ice Skating Rinks, 1980, Bruce Dietrich and Thomas McAvoy), for every 1 degree Fahrenheit the refrigerant and ice temperature can be raised, refrigeration plant energy usage is decreased by about 6%. Utilizing the process of the present invention, the temperature of the ice can be raised about 2 degrees Fahrenheit without effecting the quality of the ice. This effectively results in a potential energy savings of 12% as compared to conventional systems.
In addition to the above, the process of the present invention drastically reduces water consumption since water derived from melted ice shavings is reutilized in the ice maintenance process. It is estimated that 40% to 80% of water used for ice maintenance can be saved using the process of the present invention. This also eliminates the need and problems associated with disposal of the ice shavings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following is a description, by way of example only, of the preferred embodiment of the water recovery process forming the subject invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a flow sheet diagram of the process;
FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an ice pit and the plumbing layout associated therewith;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a resurfacer and its interaction with a water heater;
FIG. 4 is a flow sheet diagram showing the utilization of recovered heat from the refrigeration plant in the melting of ice shavings in an ice pit; and
FIG. 5 is a flow sheet diagram of the heat recovery system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring first to FIG. 1, pipeline 20 feeds municipal water into ice pit 30. A proper water level is maintained in ice pit 30 through the use of float valve 22. In ice pit 30, the municipal water is commingled with reject water from the process and ice shavings deposited from resurfacer 90 (FIG. 3). Pipeline 32 carries water from ice pit 30 to water softener 40. The flow of water in pipeline 32 is controlled by valve 24 and pump 34. Conductivity controller unit 36 monitors the quality of the water in pipeline 32 and adjusts the flow of municipal water in pipeline 20 to vary the concentration of impurities in the water as required. Alternatively, conductivity controller unit 36 advises the operator by a monitor or alarm (not shown) that the concentration of the impurities have exceeded a specified level.
Pipeline 38 carries the water from water softener 40 to carbon filter 50. Pump 44 transports the treated water through pipeline 42 from filter 50 to demineralization unit 60. Reject water from demineralization unit 60 is transported by pipeline 46 back to ice pit 30. Demineralized water is removed from the demineralization unit 60 and transported via pipeline 48 to flood water storage tank 70. Conductivity controller unit 62 monitors the quality of the demineralized water and increases or decreases the flow of reject water in pipeline 46 accordingly. More particularly, where the quantity of the demineralized water is poor, most of the demineralized water is rejected and recirculated in the system for further demineralization.
Demineralized water is drawn from flood water storage tank 70 via pipeline 72 into heater 80. Heater 80, utilizing gas from gas line 82 (FIG. 3), heats the flood water to about ninety to about one hundred and thirty degrees Fahrenheit (the optimum temperature for the flood water). Hose 74 carries the heated flood water through gas pump nozzle 76 into a water tank of a resurfacer shown in FIG. 3. Turning to FIG. 3, ice shavings are scraped from the surface of the ice and stored in ice tank 94 of the resurfacer. Flood water stored in water tank 92 of resurfacer 90 is then used to apply a new layer of ice to the freshly scraped surface of the ice. The ice shavings stored in snow tank 94 of the resurfacer 90 are then deposited into ice pit 30. Returning to FIG. 1, pipeline 31 drains excess water from the process thereby allowing fresh make-up water from pipeline 20 to be introduced into the process as required.
In operation, municipal water is fed into ice pit 30 via pipeline 20. In ice pit 30, the municipal water is mixed with reject water from demineralization unit 60 and ice shavings deposited from resurfacer 90. A suitable level of liquid is maintained in ice pit 30 through the use of float valve 22. As the level of liquid in ice pit 30 begins to drop, float valve 22 opens to allow additional municipal water to flow into the ice pit. The water mixture is transported in pipeline 32 via pump 34 to water softener 40. Conductivity meter 36 monitors the specific conductance of the water mixture in pipeline 32 and adjusts the flow of municipal water into the process.
In water softener 40, the water mixture is treated prior to entry in demineralization unit 60 whereby the treated water is demineralized by reverse osmosis. The water mixture is then fed via pipeline 38 to carbon filter unit 50 where the water mixture is further treated prior to entry in demineralization unit 60. Pump 44 pumps the treated water via pipeline 44 to demineralization unit 60. In demineralization unit 60, minerals and other impurities are removed from the treated water through reverse osmosis. Reject water from demineralization unit 60 is transported back to ice pit 30 via pipeline 46 for further use in the process.
Demineralized water is removed from demineralization unit 60 and transported to flood water storage tank 70 via pipeline 48. Conductivity meter 62 monitors the specific conductance of the demineralized water and adjusts the flow of reject water in pipeline 46 accordingly.
The demineralized water is stored in flood water storage tank 70 and transported, as required, via pipeline 72 to hot water heater 80. The heated demineralized water in water heater 80 is used to fill water tank 92 of resurfacer 90. Resurfacer 90 then resurfaces the ice's surface by first scraping and then flooding the surface with the heated demineralized water. The ice scrapings from the ice's surface are deposited into snow tank 94 of resurfacer 90. Resurfacer 90 then transports the ice shavings and deposits them into ice pit 30. Water is removed from the process via pipeline 31 so that fresh municipal water can be continuously added to the process.
It is preferable that a gas pump nozzle 76 be used to control the amount of flood water supplied to the resurfacer 90 from heater 80. The use of a gas pump nozzle not only prevents the occurrence of over flowing from supplying too much water to the resurfacer but also allows an operator to control the amount of flood water being supplied to the resurfacer so that the exact quantity required is provided. This ensures that heated flood water is not needlessly wasted.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the preferred embodiment of ice pit 30 is shown. Pipeline 20 feeds municipal water into ice pit 30. Liquid level valve 102 controls the flow of the municipal water into ice pit 30 and ensures that a minimum level of water is maintained in the ice pit. Ice pit 30 is constructed of concrete and consequently a membrane 104 is required to coat the inner surface 106 of the ice pit 30. This membrane prevents the relatively pure water stored in ice pit 30 from decalcifying the concrete walls of the pit through absorption, by the water stored in the pit, of minerals contained within the concrete.
Steel grate 108 is placed over the top opening of ice pit 30 to prevent impurities from falling into the pit as well as for safety purposes. Drain pipe 110 elevates drain 112 so that water removed from ice pit 30 and, as a consequence, from the process, is from the upper portion of the water mixture stored in ice pit 30 where impurities in the form of oils are more highly concentrated.
Pipeline 32 having ball check valve 116, transports the combined water mixture from ice pit 30 to the water softening and carbon filter unit where the water is treated prior to entry in the demineralization unit. Ball check valve 116 controls the flow of water out of ice pit 30 and prevents some contaminants from leaving the ice pit 30 and continuing on in the process.
Although, as discussed above, the water can be demineralized in the demineralization unit 60 by reverse osmosis technology (such as through the use of the Pro Ice" system from Bassai Limited) other demineralization processes such as aleionization or distillation may be used.
The properties of the demineralized flood water can be further enhanced by adding an oxygen elimination device to the process. This device could be an ion exchange column; absorption screening process, a surface active agent that is effective at lowering the surface tension of the water, or an oxygen resin scavenger. As air is also a good insulator, any trapped air in the ice will increase the refrigeration plant energy usage. The elimination of air will not only reduce energy requirements, but it will improve the appearance of the ice (ie. improved gloss and clarity) and increase the density of the ice resulting in reduced cuts in the ice's surface. The oxygen resin scavenger is the preferred device for the present invention.
Refering now to FIG. 4, the melting time of the ice shavings in ice pit 30 can be decreased by recovery and utilization of heat produced in the ice rink's refrigeration plant 110.
Refrigeration plant 110 includes compressors 112, evaporator condenser 116 and chiller 118. Liquid refrigerant is piped from evaporator condenser 116 to chiller 118 via pipeline 132. The refrigerant is then fed via pipeline 134 to compressors 112. Hot discharge gas from compressors 112 is piped to the evaporator condenser 116 via pipeline 130 and the cycle is then repeated.
Hot water recovered from compressors 112 of refrigeration plant 110 may be piped to ice pit 30 via pipeline 114 and dispersed over the contents of the pit through the use of a spray nozzle. Alternatively, hot discharge gas (temp. approx 240 degrees Fahrenheit) from compressors 112 can be piped through the ice pit to assist in the melting of the ice shavings.
In addition to utilizing recovered heat from an ice rink's refrigeration system to assist in the melting rate of the ice shavings, the process may be adapted to utilize the cool or chilled water held in ice pit 30 as an additional coolant in the ice rink's refrigerant system.
Referring to FIG. 5, the contents of ice pit 30 may be circulated via pipeline 120 through evaporator condenser 116 providing necessary cooling water for the condenser.
Use of cool water originating from ice pit 30 as described above, helps to reduce the head pressure of the compressors and reduce the run time on condenser fans. In addition, since the water from the ice pit has a low conductivity or TDS, scale formation can be minimized and the cycles of concentration for the condensers can be increased.
The process may be further improved by utilizing recovered heat from the refrigeration plant to heat the demineralized flood water. The current practice used in the maintenance of most ice rinks is to pipe the reject water from the refrigeration system to a water tank. Some water is recirculated from the water tank (ie. 1.2 cycles of concentration might be typical for an ice rink) through the refrigeration system, but most of the water in the tank goes to drain.
It has been found that the temperature of the demineralized flood water required to obtain good quality ice is about ninety to one hundred and thirty degrees Fahrenheit. Coincidently, the temperature of reject water from compressors in the ice rink's refrigeration system is also about ninety degrees Fahrenheit.
Referring to FIG. 5 again, cold municipal water is fed through compressors 112 via feedline 122. The water, now having been warmed to approximately 90° F., is fed. to storage tank 136 via pipeline 138. From storage tank 136, the water is fed to water softener 40 and filter 50 (FIG. 1) for pretreatment prior to entering the demineralization unit 60 (FIG. 1).
While the process forming the present invention has been described and illustrated with specific reference to the various embodiments, it will be appreciated that numerous variations of these embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention described herein.
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A water and energy recovery process for an ice rink is disclosed. The process includes softening and carbon filtering water for use as flood water on an ice rink. The water is then demineralized by reverse osmosis to produce flood water having a specific conductance of about 2 to 30 micromhos/cm. The demineralized water is heated to 90° F. and utilized in a resurfacer to flood the surface of the ice rink. The ice shavings removed from the surface of the ice by the resurface are deposited into a holding means and melted by utilizing recovered heat from the ice rink's refrigeration unit. The melted water from the holding means is used as a coolant in the ice rink's refrigeration unit. The steps of the process are then repeated, utilizing the warmed water from the refrigeration unit.
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[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/564,944 filed on Nov. 30, 2011 the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The disclosure relates generally to ceramic precursor batch compositions and more particularly to ceramic precursor batch compositions and batches for forming ceramic honeycombs.
[0003] In the formation of ceramic bodies, e.g., silicon carbide, cordierite, mullite, alumina, or aluminum titanate bodies, plasticized mixtures of various inorganic powder batches are prepared which are then formed into various shapes. These plasticized mixtures should be well blended and homogeneous in order for the resulting shaped body to have relatively good integrity in both size and shape, and uniform physical properties. These mixtures typically further include organic additives such as binders, plasticizers, surfactants, lubricants, and dispersants as processing aids to enhance cohesion, plasticity, lubricity, and/or wetting, and therefore to produce a more uniform batch.
[0004] Cellulose ethers have been used as extrusion binders to impart plasticity while imparting good drying behavior. While other ceramic binder systems can also be used for ceramic extrusion, cellulose ethers such as methylcellulose (MC), hydroxypropylcellulose (HPMC) and hydroxyethylmethylcellulose (HEMC) can form high temperature gels. The gelling behavior facilitates rapid drying while preventing distortions that can occur with other binder systems as they are heated.
[0005] In order to form the batches described above into various shapes, the batch materials are usually fed through an extruder. The rate at which the batch materials can be fed through the extruder is limited in part by the T onset of the batch. T onset refers to the temperature at which the rheology of the batch begins to transition from low to high viscosity. Higher T onset can enable greater batch feed rate and higher batch feed rate can result in reduced processing costs.
SUMMARY
[0006] One embodiment of the disclosure relates to a ceramic precursor batch composition. The ceramic precursor batch composition includes inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients and a cellulose-based polymer. The cellulose-based polymer includes a methylcellulose showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature. The exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C.
[0007] Another embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method of producing a ceramic precursor batch composition. The method includes compounding inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients and a cellulose-based polymer. The cellulose-based polymer includes a methylcellulose showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature. The exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C.
[0008] Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described in the written description and claims hereof, as well as the appended drawings.
[0009] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary, and are intended to provide an overview or framework to understand the nature and character of the claims.
[0010] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiment(s), and together with the description serve to explain principles and operation of the various embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 plots a relationship between peak maximum intensity temperature upon rehydration and dissolution of a cellulose-based polymer using the concentrated micro-calorimetry test method disclosed herein and batch T onset .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] Various embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, if any.
[0013] “Concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response” refers to the thermal response of a material subjected to the concentrated micro-calorimetry test method described herein.
[0014] “T onset ” refers to the temperature at which the rheology of the batch begins to transition from low to high viscosity. When referenced herein, T onset was determined by using a temperature sweep in a capillary rheometer, where the value was defined as the temperature at which the capillary pressure increases by 15% above the stable baseline pressure during extrusion through a zero length capillary die.
[0015] “Methylcellulose” refers to a class of cellulose-based polymers that are cellulose ethers having at least some degree of methoxy substitution and may also optionally have additional molar substitution, such as hydroxypropyl substitution to form hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC).
[0016] “Methoxy degree of substitution” is the average number of methoxy groups attached per anhydroglucose unit of a cellulose-based polymer.
[0017] “Hydroxypropyl molar substitution” is the number of moles of hydroxypropyl groups per molecule of anhydroglucose in a cellulose-based polymer.
[0018] Compositions disclosed herein can, in exemplary embodiments, have a higher T onset . For example, ceramic precursor batch compositions can have a T onset of at least 1° C. higher, such as at least 2° C. higher, and further such as at least 3° C. higher, and yet further such as at least 4° C. higher, and still yet further such as at least 5° C. higher, including from 1° C. to 5° C. higher, than an otherwise identical or substantially similar batch composition that does not comprise methylcellulose showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak of at least 52° C.
[0019] Compositions disclosed herein comprise inorganic-ceramic forming ingredients as well as organic ingredients or additives, wherein the organic ingredients or additives include at least one cellulose-based polymer.
[0020] The inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients may be synthetically produced materials such as oxides, hydroxides, etc., or they may be naturally occurring minerals such as clays, talcs, or any combination of these. Embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the types of powders or raw materials. These may be chosen depending on the properties desired in the ceramic body.
[0021] In one set of exemplary embodiments, the inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients may yield an aluminum-titanate ceramic material upon firing. In other exemplary embodiments, the inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients may be those that yield cordierite, mullite, or mixtures of these on firing, some examples of such mixtures being about 2% to about 60% mullite, and about 30% to about 97% cordierite, with allowance for other phases, typically up to about 10% by weight.
[0022] One composition, by way of a non-limiting example, which ultimately forms cordierite upon firing is as follows in percent by weight: about 33-41, such as about 34-40 of aluminum oxide, about 46-53 such as about 48-52 of silica, and about 11-17 such as about 12-16 magnesium oxide.
[0023] The at least one cellulose-based polymer, which can act as a binder in the compositions disclosed herein, in at least one set of embodiments, comprises a methylcellulose showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature, wherein the exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C., such as at least 53° C., and further such as at least 54° C., and yet further such as at least 55° C., including from 52° C. to 56° C.
[0024] In one set of exemplary embodiments, the methylcellulose is a hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC).
[0025] The hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) can, for example, have a methoxy degree of substitution from about 1.6 to 2.0, such as from about 1.7 to 1.9, including about 1.8, and a hydroxypropyl molar substitution from about 0.10 to 0.25, such as from about 0.12 to 0.20, including about 0.13. Examples of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose include, but are not limited to F-type HPMC available from Dow Chemical as F240, SE-Tylose product Metalose MOB 20000 P4, and Aqualon product Culminal MHPC 20000 PFF.
[0026] The cellulose-based polymer can be present in the ceramic precursor batch composition in an amount of at least 1.0% on a weight percent by super addition basis, such as an amount ranging from about 1.0% to about 6.0% on a weight percent by super addition basis, and further such as an amount ranging from about 2.0% to about 5.0%, on a weight percent by super addition basis.
[0027] In exemplary embodiments at least 50%, such as at least 60%, and further such as at least 70%, and still further such as at least 80%, and yet still further such as at least 90%, and even further such as at least 95%, and yet even further such as at least 98%, and still yet even further such as at least 99% of the total amount of cellulose-based polymer in the ceramic precursor batch composition is a cellulose-based polymer comprising a methylcellulose, such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature, wherein the exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C.
[0028] In exemplary embodiments, the ceramic precursor batch composition comprises inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients and a cellulose-based polymer, wherein essentially all of the cellulose-based polymer in the composition is a methylcellulose, such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature, wherein the exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C.
[0029] In exemplary embodiments, the ceramic precursor batch composition comprises inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients and a cellulose-based polymer, wherein the cellulose-based polymer consists essentially of a methylcellulose, such as hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature, wherein the exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C.
[0030] Compositions disclosed herein can also include at least one solvent. The solvent may provide a medium for the cellulose-based polymer to dissolve in thus providing plasticity to the ceramic precursor batch and wetting of the powders. The solvent may be aqueous based such as, but not limited to, water or water-miscible solvents. Most useful may be aqueous based solvents which provide hydration of the binder and powder particles. Typically, the amount of aqueous solvent may be from about 18% by weight to about 50% by weight, on a weight percent by super addition basis.
[0031] Compositions disclosed herein can also comprise at least one kosmotropic agent, such as a salt. The kosmotropic agent, such as a salt, can be present with the cellulose-based polymer (for example, in a system containing the cellulose-based polymer and a solvent) before the cellulose-based polymer is mixed with the other batch ingredients or the salt can be added as a separate ingredient or both. Examples of salts that can be used include sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, ferric chloride, sodium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, sodium carbonate, and sodium phosphate.
[0032] In certain exemplary embodiments, the at least one salt may be present in a solvent system containing cellulose-based polymers, such as HPMC. For example, the at least one salt can be present in the solvent system in a molar concentration of no greater than 1×10 −3 , such as a molar concentration of from 0.01×10 −3 to 1×10 −3 , including a molar concentration of from 0.05×10 −3 to 0.5×10 −3 .
[0033] In certain exemplary embodiments, the at least one salt can be present in the solvent system containing cellulose-based polymers, such as HPMC, in a molar concentration of less than 0.01×10 −3 . In certain exemplary embodiments, the solvent system containing cellulose-based polymers is essentially salt free.
[0034] Applicants have surprisingly found that when the salt content of a solvent system containing cellulose-based polymers, such as HPMC, is kept as low as possible, it can be easier to identify whether or not the cellulose-based polymers will correlate to a resulting ceramic precursor batch composition having sufficiently high T onset .
[0035] The ceramic precursor batch composition may further comprise other additives such as surfactants, oil lubricants and pore-forming material. Non-limiting examples of surfactants that may be used in certain exemplary embodiments include C 8 to C 22 fatty acids and/or their salts or derivatives. Additional surfactant components that may be used with these fatty acids include C 8 to C 22 fatty esters, C 8 to C 22 fatty alcohols, and combinations of these. Exemplary surfactants include stearic, lauric, oleic, linoleic, palmitoleic acids, and their derivatives, stearic acid in combination with ammonium lauryl sulfate, and combinations of all of these. In an illustrative embodiment, the surfactant may be lauric acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and combinations of these. The amount of surfactants typically may be from about 0.25% by weight to about 2% by weight, on a weight percent by super addition basis.
[0036] Non-limiting examples of oil lubricants may be light mineral oil, corn oil, high molecular weight polybutenes, polyol esters, a blend of light mineral oil and wax emulsion, a blend of paraffin wax in corn oil, and combinations of these. Typically, the amount of oil lubricants may be from about 1% by weight to about 10% by weight, on a weight percent by super addition basis. In an exemplary embodiment, the oil lubricants may be present from about 3% by weight to about 6% by weight, on a weight percent by super addition basis.
[0037] In filter applications, such as in diesel particulate filters, it may be desirable to include a pore forming material in the mixture in an amount effective to subsequently obtain the porosity required for efficient filtering. Examples of pore forming materials include particulate substances (not binders) that burn out of the green body in the firing step. Other pore forming materials do not burn out in the firing step. Some types of pore forming materials that may be used, although it is to be understood that embodiments herein are not limited to these, include non-waxy organics that are solid at room temperature, elemental carbon, and combinations of these. Some examples may be graphite, starch, cellulose, flour, etc. In one exemplary embodiment, the pore forming material may be elemental carbon. In another exemplary embodiment, the pore forming material may be graphite, which may have the least adverse effect on the processing. In an extrusion process, for example, the rheology of the mixture may be good when graphite is used. The pore forming material may be up to about 60% by weight as a superaddition. Typically, the amount of graphite may be from about 1% to about 50%, such as from about 3% to about 30% by weight based on the inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients. If a combination of graphite and flour are used, the amount of pore forming material may be typically from about 1% by weight to about 25% by weight with the graphite at 5% by weight to 10% of each and the flour at 5% by weight to about 10% by weight.
[0038] The disclosure also provides a method of producing a ceramic honeycomb body, comprising the steps of compounding inorganic ceramic-forming ingredients and a cellulose-based polymer, among other ingredients. The ingredients may be mixed in a muller or plow blade mixer. A solvent may be added in an amount that is less than is needed to plasticize the batch. With water as the solvent, the water hydrates the binder and the powder particles. The surfactant and/or oil lubricant, if desired, may then be added to the mix to wet out the binder and powder particles.
[0039] The precursor batch may then be plasticized by shearing the wet mix formed above in any suitable mixer in which the batch will be plasticized, such as, but not limited to, a twin-screw extruder/mixer, auger mixer, muller mixer, or double arm, etc. Extent of plasticization is dependent on the concentration of the components (binder, solvent, surfactant, oil lubricant and the inorganics), temperature of the components, the amount of work put in to the batch, the shear rate, and extrusion velocity. During plasticization, the binder dissolves in the solvent and a high viscosity fluid phase is formed. The binder formed is stiff because the system is very solvent-deficient. The surfactant enables the binder phase to adhere to the powder particles.
[0040] In a further step, the composition may be extruded to form a green honeycomb body. Extrusion may be done with devices that provide low to moderate shear. For example hydraulic ram extrusion press or two stage de-airing single auger are low shear devices. A single screw extruder is a moderate shear device. The extrusion may be vertical or horizontal.
[0041] It will be appreciated that honeycomb bodies disclosed herein may have any convenient size and shape and the disclosed embodiments are applicable to all processes in which plastic powder mixtures are shaped. The process may be especially suited to production of cellular monolith bodies such as honeycombs. Cellular bodies find use in a number of applications such as catalytic, adsorption, electrically heated catalysts, filters such as diesel particulate filters, molten metal filters, regenerator cores, etc.
[0042] Generally honeycomb densities range from about 235 cells/cm 2 (1500 cells/in 2 ) to about 15 cells/cm 2 (100 cells/in 2 ). Examples of honeycombs produced by embodiments herein, may include those having about 94 cells/cm 2 (about 600 cells/in 2 ), or about 62 cells/cm 2 (about 400 cells/in 2 ) each having wall thicknesses of about 0.1 mm (4 mils). Typical wall thicknesses may be from about 0.07 to about 0.6 mm (about 3 to about 25 mils), including from about 0.18 to 0.33 mm (about 7 to about 13 mils), although thicknesses of about 0.02-0.048 mm (1-2 mils) are also possible. Methods disclosed herein may be especially suited for extruding thin wall/high cell density honeycombs.
[0043] The extrudates may then be dried and fired according to known techniques. The firing conditions of temperature and time may depend on the composition and size and geometry of the body, and embodiments herein are not limited to specific firing temperatures and times. For example, in compositions which are primarily for forming cordierite, the temperatures may typically be from about 1300° C. to about 1450° C., and the holding times at these temperatures may be from about 1 hour to about 6 hours. For mixtures that are primarily for forming mullite, the temperatures may be from about 1400° C. to about 1600° C., and the holding times at these temperatures may be from about 1 hour to about 6 hours. For cordierite-mullite forming mixtures which yield the previously described cordierite-mullite compositions, the temperatures may be from about 1375° C. to about 1425° C. For mixtures that are primarily for forming aluminum titanate, the temperatures may be from about 1350° C. to about 1500° C. and the holding times at these temperatures may be from about 10 hours to about 20 hours. Firing times depend on factors such as kinds and amounts of materials and nature of equipment but typical total firing times may be from about 20 hours to about 80 hours. For metal bodies, the temperatures may be about 1000° C. to 1400° C. in a reducing atmosphere preferably hydrogen. Firing times depend on factors as discussed above but may be typically at least 2 hours and typically about 4 hours. For zeolite bodies, the temperatures may be about 400° C. to 1000° C. in air. Firing times depend on factors as discussed above but may be typically about 4 hours.
[0044] Concentrated Micro-Calorimetry Test Method
[0045] The following concentrated micro-calorimetry test method was used to determine the concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response of cellulose-based polymers described herein. HPMC was the cellulose-based polymer used in the test method. The test method, which involves a type of solution micro-calorimetry method, provides a sensitive analytical technique used to measure the endothermic heat of dehydration for HPMC upon heating as well as the exothermic heat of rehydration and dissolution for HPMC upon cooling. Under heating, HPMC undergoes dehydration and eventually gelation, which is captured by an endothermic response in the micro-calorimeter. The endothermic peak(s) is the response due to the thermal transition of HPMC from a hydrophilic solute to a hydrophobic gel. Upon cooling, HMPC undergoes rehydration and dissolution, which is captured by an exothermic response in the micro-calorimeter. The exothermic peak is the response due to the thermal transition of HPMC from a hydrophobic gel to a hydrophilic solute.
[0046] The concentrated micro-calorimetry test method involves mixing an amount of HPMC, alumina (A10), and water as a sample preparation, and then analyzing the thermodynamic response of the sample upon heating and cooling. The test method can include one of two sample preparation techniques, each of which provide comparable results. The first sample preparation technique involves dry blending 400 grams of alumina (A10) with 23.14 grams of HPMC for two minutes in a Quisinart mixer at a speed of 4 on the mixer dial. While the powder is mixing, 90 grams of water is added slowly to the dry mix. After the addition of all of the water, the speed on the mixer is increased until thorough blending is achieved. The damp powder is removed from the mixing bowl and poured into a beaker for loading into a Brabender to form an alumina batch for extrusion. The alumina batch is run at 50 rpm in the Brabender until 100 kJ of energy is achieved. The material is removed from the Brabender and rolled out onto a glass top and cut into pieces for loading into an Instron where it is put under vacuum and pressure to remove air and form a billet for extruding into a rod. Two 13 millimeter rods are extruded to be tested using a capillary rheometer. A section of the extruded rod is set aside for micro-DSC analysis.
[0047] The second sample preparation technique involves placing 2.3 grams of alumina (A10) into a 15 milliliter centrifuge tube along with 0.135 grams of HPMC and mixing the dry material at least 5 minutes in a lab-quake. To this mixture was added 0.540 milliliters of ultra-pure water, which was mixed into the mixture using a mortar and pestle until a consistent paste was achieved. The mixture was placed in Saran™ wrap until being loaded into an ampoule for immediate testing (within 30 minutes of mixing).
[0048] Samples prepared in accordance with the methods described above were equilibrated to room temperature before being placed in the calorimeter. The standard testing parameters were an isothermal hold at 26° C. for 20 minutes followed by a temperature ramp at 0.7° C./minute from 26 to 100° C. Then a cooling profile was used from 100 to 26° C. at 0.7° C./min. Both endothermic de-hydration and exothermic re-hydration events were recorded.
[0049] An exothermic rehydration and dissolution event or exothermic response upon cooling is a micro-calorimetry thermal response having a fingerprint that includes at least one “peak” using the above-described test method. The exothermic response begins when the temperature of the solution reaches the transition onset temperature, which is when the micro-calorimetry thermal response exhibits a transition from a gelled state to a soluble state. At temperatures above the transition onset temperature, the solution in the above-described test method exhibits an approximately constant decrease in temperature per amount of heat removed from the solution. At the transition onset temperature and in a temperature range below it, the solution temperature decrease per the amount of heat removed deviates from that observed above the transition onset temperature. A temperature below the transition onset temperature at which this deviation reaches a localized maximum is a peak at its maximum intensity.
[0050] Method to Determine T onset
[0051] Tonset was determined using a capillary temperature sweep method. An alumina paste mixture prepared by a sample preparation technique described above was loaded into twin barrels of a capillary rheometer having a zero length die at the end of the right barrel and a 16 mm length die at the end of the left barrel. Both dies have a 1 millimeter diameter hole. The temperature was increased from room temperature at a rate of about 1° C. per minute while the paste was extruded at a speed of ½″ per second (piston speed of about 3.39 millimeters per minute). Both barrels were extruded simultaneously. After all the data is collected, it is analyzed by a macro that calculates the T onset of the material.
[0052] Applicants have surprisingly found that certain ceramic precursor batch compositions having certain cellulose-based polymers included as a binder material can exhibit increased T onset . Specifically, applicants have found that when methylcellulose, and particularly hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), showing a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response comprising, upon rehydration and dissolution, an exothermic peak below a transition onset temperature, wherein the exothermic peak has a maximum intensity at a temperature of at least 52° C. is used, increased T onset can be achieved.
[0053] The disclosure and scope of the appended claims will be further clarified by the following examples.
EXAMPLES
[0054] A series of mixtures containing HPMC, alumina (A10), and water were prepared in accordance with a sample preparation technique described above. With respect to ingredient selection, the only variable that was changed was the HPMC. Specifically, an F-type HPMC from a series of different manufacturer lots was used in each of Samples 1-17, for which a concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response was determined using the concentrated micro-calorimetry test method described above and for which a T onset was determined using the method to determine T onset described above. Two experimental runs were conducted for each sample. The results are set forth in Table 1.
[0000]
TABLE 1
μ-DSC rehydration and dissolution
Sample No.
Average T onset (° C.)
peak temperature (° C.)
1
56.61
55.78
2
56.57
54.92
3
53.14
53.53
4
51.83
52.23
5
51.45
52.15
6
50.72
52.08
7
49.70
51.60
8
49.53
51.46
9
49.60
51.43
10
50.50
51.40
11
49.51
51.40
12
49.63
51.40
13
50.51
51.31
14
49.83
51.28
15
50.22
51.23
16
50.14
50.80
17
49.83
50.74
[0055] Using Sample 3 as a reference, a difference or offset for each of the other samples (relative to Sample 3) can also be determined with respect to both T onset and μ-DSC rehydration and dissolution peak temperature, as set forth in Table 2.
[0000]
TABLE 2
Average
μ-DSC rehydration and dissolution peak
Sample No.
T onset offset (° C.)
temperature offset (° C.)
1
3.47
2.25
2
3.43
1.39
3
0.00
0.00
4
−1.31
−1.30
5
−1.69
−1.38
6
−2.42
−1.45
7
−3.45
−1.93
8
−3.61
−2.07
9
−3.55
−2.10
10
−2.64
−2.13
11
−3.63
−2.13
12
−3.51
−2.13
13
−2.63
−2.22
14
−3.31
−2.25
15
−2.92
−2.30
16
−3.00
−2.73
17
−3.31
−2.79
[0056] As can be seen from Tables 1 and 2, a strong correlation exists between the concentrated micro-calorimetry thermal response fingerprint of a given cellulose-based polymer, such as HPMC, and T onset . FIG. 1 plots the relationship between peak maximum intensity temperature upon rehydration and dissolution of F-type HMPC using the concentrated micro-calorimetry test method disclosed herein and T onset . As can be seen, a strong linear relationship exists between the peak maximum intensity temperature of the HPMC and T onset . This relationship can be expressed mathematically as:
[0000] y T onset =1.55 x μ-DSC +0.31
[0057] Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended that any particular order be inferred.
[0058] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Since modifications combinations, sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the disclosure may occur to persons skilled in the art, the disclosure should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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A precursor batch composition that can be used to make porous ceramic articles is provided. The batch composition includes a cellulose-based polymer and, in particular, a methylcellulose showing a specified micro-calorimetry thermal response fingerprint that correlates to an increased T onset .
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a 35 U.S.C. §371 national phase application of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2008/000265, filed on Feb. 1, 2008, the disclosures and contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. The above-referenced PCT International Application was published in Chinese as International Publication No. WO 2009/100571 A1.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for separation and purification of epothilones. In particular, the invention relates to a method for separation and purification of epothilones B and A.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Epothilone is a novel natural cytotoxic compound produced by myxobacteria as a new cytotoxic active component stabilizing microtubules (See Gerth, K, et. al., J. Antibiot. 49: 560-563 (1966)). It is biologically similar to paclitaxel which has significant antineoplastic activity on various solid tumors of human beings. That is, epothilone induces tubulin-polymers to form a super stable state one, inhibits mitosis, and thereby suppresses reproduction of tumor cells in a manner similar to paclitaxel.
Epothilones are superior to paclitaxel-based medicines in sources, synthesis methods, hydrophilicity, antineoplastic activity, antitumor spectrum and so on. In addition, epothilones, preferably epothilone A and most preferably epothilone B, have various advantages than current therapies, particularly the treatment using paclitaxel which has induced drug tolerance of tumors. Therefore, as a novel antitumor drug, epothilones are deemed as a promising candidate to replace paclitaxel with great market potential. The structures of epothilones B and A are shown below.
Since the antineoplastic activity of epothilones has been discovered in 1995, epothilones have been widely and deeply investigated from many aspects including chemistry, biology, medicine, pharmacy and so on, and certain results have been obtained.
With the advancement of research, there is an increasing need for epothilones with a high purity. Thus, how to separate and purify epothilones becomes an urgent problem to be solved. Many works have been made in China and oversea on epothilones, particularly processes for separation and purification of epothilones B and A. Chinese Patent No. ZL01820141.5, for example, discloses a method of separation and purification of epothilones, wherein desorption of epothilones, particularly epothilone A and/or epothilone B from a resin is disclosed. Chinese Patent No. ZL02110067.5 relates to a method of separation and purification of epothilones from fermentation broth of myxobacteria, wherein it discloses that technical means including adsorption by mixed resins, solid-liquid stepwise extraction, molecular sieve chromatography, crystallization and HPLC, etc are used to separate and obtain epothilones from fermentation broth of myxobacteria. In Chinese Patent No. ZL99803121.6, RP-HPLC is disclosed as a method used to purify epothilones B and A, while in patent No. CN03822662.6, normal HPLC is used to separate epothilones B and A.
Current techniques mainly use preparative chromatographic columns to separate and purify epothilones B and A, which not only need expensive apparatuses, but also consume a great amount of methanol or acetonitrile, with only a limited amount of product obtained in one time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With respect to defects existing in the art of separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A, the object of the invention is to provide a novel method for separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A by using normal phase silica gel chromatography.
The method of the invention comprises:
dissolving a sample containing epothilones B and A in C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s) to form a mixture, wherein the mixture is mixed with silica gel or not;
loading the mixture on a silica gel column;
gradient eluting the silica gel column with a normal phase silica gel column eluent;
collecting fractions; and
obtaining products.
Preferably, the method of the invention using normal phase silica gel chromatography for separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A further comprises the following steps:
dissolving a sample containing epothilones B and A in C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s) to form a mixture, wherein the mixture is mixed with silica gel of a first normal phase silica gel column or not;
loading the mixture on the first normal phase silica gel column;
gradient eluting the silica gel column with a normal phase silica gel column eluent;
collecting fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A;
combining the fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A;
concentrating the combined fractions followed by crystallization to obtain a crude crystal containing epothilones B and A;
dissolving the crude crystal containing epothilones B and A in C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s) to form a second mixture, wherein the second mixture is mixed with silica gel of a second normal phase silica gel column or not;
loading the second mixture on a second normal phase silica gel column;
gradient eluting the silica gel column with a normal phase silica gel column eluent;
collecting fractions containing epothilone B and fractions containing epothilone A respectively.
Epothilone B, after crystallization, is dissolved in t-butanol and lyophilized to obtain amorphous powder with a high purity; and epothilone A is dissolved in t-butanol and lyophilized to obtain amorphous powder with a high purity.
In the method of the invention using normal phase silica gel chromatography for separation of epothilones B and A, both of the first and second normal phase silica gel columns are those common in the art. In present invention, silica gel used in the first and second normal phase silica gel columns may be the same or different, and the same silica gel used for both columns is preferred.
In the method of the invention using normal phase silica gel chromatography for separation of epothilones B and A, the preferred amount of the silica gel used in the first normal phase silica gel column has a mass ratio of the silica gel to the sample of 5-10:1, and the amount of the silica gel used in the second normal phase silica gel column has a mass ratio of the silica gel to the crystal sample of 50-200:1.
The normal phase silica gel column is preferred to be balanced by a solvent of C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s) before use so as to obtain better yields of epothilone B and epothilone A. Preferably, C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s) may be one or more of dichloromethane, trichloromethane and bromoethane, wherein dichloromethane, trichloromethane or a combination thereof is more preferred.
The gradient eluent of the normal phase silica gel columns of the invention may be C 1 -C 7 hydrocarbons, C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s), C 1 -C 7 ketones, C 1 -C 7 esters or any combinations thereof, wherein
C 1 -C 7 hydrocarbons may be one or more selected from petroleum ether, n-hexane, cyclohexane and n-heptane, wherein petroleum ether is further preferred;
C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compound(s) may be one or more selected from dichloromethane, trichloromethane and bromoethane, wherein dichloromethane is further preferred;
C 1 -C 7 ketones may be selected from acetone, butanone and a combination thereof; wherein acetone is further preferred;
C 1 -C 7 esters may be selected from ethyl acetate, isobutyl acetate and a combination thereof; wherein ethyl acetate is further preferred.
The more preferred gradient eluent of the normal phase silica gel column of the invention may be one or a combination of two or more selected from petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, acetone, trichloromethane and dichloromethane.
Preferably, the eluent of the first normal phase silica gel column is a combination of acetone and petroleum ether, or a combination of ethyl acetate and petroleum ether. In the combination of acetone and petroleum ether, the preferred volume ratio of acetone and petroleum ether is 1:3-9, and in the combination of ethyl acetate and petroleum ether, the preferred volume ratio of ethyl acetate and petroleum ether is 1:1-9.
Preferably, the eluent of the second normal phase silica gel column is a combination of acetone and petroleum ether, or a combination of petroleum ether and acetone with either dichloromethane or trichloromethane. In the combination of acetone and petroleum ether, the volume ratio of acetone and petroleum ether is 1:3-9, and in the combination of petroleum ether and acetone with either dichloromethane or trichloromethane, the volume ratio of acetone and petroleum ether is 1:3-9, and the volume of dicholomethane or trichloromethane is 5%-50% of the total volume.
In the process of separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A by normal phase silica gel chromatography, crystallization of epothilones B and A may be performed by any conventional techniques in the art. In order to achieve better performance, it is preferred to use n-heptane, ethyl acetate, or a combination thereof as the solvent for crystallization. It is more preferred that crystallization solvent is a mixture of n-heptane and ethyl acetate with a volume ratio of 1:1. The crystallization may be preferably performed by solving the crude product containing epothilones B and A, or the crude product containing epothiloine B in an appropriate amount of ethyl acetate, adding n-heptane therein and letting the solution stand at room temperature, then cooling to 4° C. so as to obtain crystals.
In the process of separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A by normal phase silica gel chromatography, the sample containing epothilones B and A that is loaded on the first normal phase silica gel column is obtained by treating a fermentation broth of a strain of myxobacteria that generates epothilones with conventional means and then removing impurities therein.
In order to achieve the object of the invention better, the sample containing epothilones B and A that is loaded on the first normal phase silica gel column is a crude product obtained by treating a fermentation broth containing epothilones B and A with non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbents. Specifically, the method is performed as:
adding a resin of a first non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent column into the fermentation broth of myxobacteria, and filtering by a vibrating screen and washing by water to remove impurities at the same time, and then loading the resin in a column, gradient eluting with an alcohol solution, and combining fractions containing epothilones B and A;
diluting the combined fractions containing epothilones B and A to an appropriate concentration, then loading the diluted solution on a second non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent column, gradient eluting with an alcohol solution, collecting fractions containing epothilones B and A, combining the fractions and then obtaining the sample containing epothilones B and A.
In present invention, the first non-polar macroporous resin and the second non-polar macroporous resin are non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbents used to separate epothilones from the fermentation broth. The non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbents may be the same or different.
The preferred first non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent of present invention may be XAD-1600 or HP-20, such as Amberlite XAD-1600 (Rohm & Haas, America) and Diaion HP-20 (Mitsubishi Chemical, Japan), wherein XAD-1600 is more preferred.
The preferred second non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent of present invention may be non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbents of H41 or H60 (produced by Chinese Academy of Forestry Institute of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Science and Technology Development Corporation), wherein non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbents of H41 are more preferred.
The eluent used in the first non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent and the second non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent is an alcohol solution, such as a solution of ethanol or methanol. An ethanol solution is preferred. A more preferred eluent used for the first non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent is an ethanol solution of 30%-100% by volume; and an eluent used for the second non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent is an ethanol solution of 30%-80% by volume.
In the process of separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A by normal phase silica gel chromatography, the fractions eluted from the adsorbents and the fractions eluted from the normal phase silica gel columns are measured by HPLC, and the fractions preferred to be collected are those:
fractions from the first non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent have over 50 ferment units based on total of epothilones B and A by analysis of HPLC;
fractions from the second non-polar macroporous polymeric adsorbent have over 50 ferment units based on total of epothilones B and A by analysis of HPLC;
fractions from the first normal phase silica gel column have more than 80% chromatographic purity based on total of epothilones B and A by analysis of HPLC; and
fractions from the second normal phase silica gel column have more than 97.5% chromatographic purity based on epothilone B and more than 92.5% chromatographic purity based on epothilone A by analysis of HPLC.
The analysis of HPLC may be performed by any conventional methods in the art, wherein the following process is preferred:
a reversed-phase semi-preparative column (Agilent ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18), 250*9.4 mm, 5 μm of particle diameter of fillers, 1.5 mL/min of flow rate, measured at 249 nm, and methanol:water=80:20 as mobile phase; or
an analytical column (SHIMADZU XOD-C18), 150*6.0 mm, 5 μm of particle diameter of fillers, 1.0 mL/min of flow rate, measured at 249 nm, and acetonitrile:methanol:water=40:20:50 as mobile phase.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention for separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A by normal phase silica gel chromatography, the method comprises the following steps:
(1) filtering the fermentation broth wherein XAD-1600 type resin is added by a vibrating screen and washing by water to remove impurities at the same time, then loading the resin in a column, gradient eluting with an ethanol solution of 30%-100% by volume, collecting fractions sectionally, collecting respectively fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A after analysis by HPLC, and then combining fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A;
(2) diluting the combined fractions containing epothilones B and A to form an alcohol solution with an appropriate concentration, or concentrating combined fractions to a suitable volume by vacuum evaporation and then diluting to form an alcohol solution with an appropriate concentration, loading the alcohol solution on H41 type resin column, and gradient eluting with an alcohol solution of 30%-80% by volume, collecting fractions sectionally, collecting fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A after analysis by HPLC, combining fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A, concentrating the combined fractions by vacuum evaporation until dry so as to obtain a sample containing epothilones B and A;
(3) dissolving the sample containing epothilones B and A in trichloromethane or dichloromethane, wherein the mixture is mixed with silica gel of a first normal phase silica gel column or not; then loading the mixture on the first normal silica gel column, gradient eluting by a mixture of petroleum ether/acetone or a mixture of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate, collecting fractions sectionally, collecting fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A after analysis by HPLC, combining fractions containing epothilone B and epothilone A, concentrating combined fractions by vacuum evaporation until dry, performing crystallization by a mixed solvent of ethyl acetate/n-heptane to obtain crude crystal containing epothilones B and A;
(4) dissolving the crude crystal containing epothilones B and A in trichloromethane or dichloromethane, wherein the second mixture is mixed with silica gel of a second normal phase silica gel column or not; then loading the second mixture on the second normal silica gel column, gradient eluting by a mixture of petroleum ether/acetone or a mixture of petroleum ether/acetone/trichloromethane, collecting fractions sectionally, collecting respectively fractions containing epothilone B and fractions containing epothilone A after analysis by HPLC;
(5) performing crystallization on fractions containing epothilone B by ethyl acetate/n-heptane, then dissolving the crystal in t-butanol and lyophilizing the solution to obtain product in a form of amorphous power with a high purity; dissolving epothilone A in t-butanol and lyophilizing the solution to obtain a product in a form of amorphous power with a high purity.
According to actual requirement on purity, epothilone B or epothilone A obtained from step (5) may be further purified. For example, epothilone B may be further purified by re-crystallization as described in the invention, and epothilone A may be purified by the second normal phase silica gel column of the invention again, so that epothilone B or epothilone A with a higher purity, such as 99.0% or above, may be obtained.
Epothilone B: ESIMS m/z 508 [M+H] + ; 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ: 6.98 (1H, s, H-19), 6.60 (1H, bs, H-17), 5.42 (1H, dd, J=7.9, 2.8 Hz, H-15), 4.24 (1H, m, H-3), 3.77 (1H, dd, J=8.4, 4.2 Hz, H-7), 3.30 (1H, m, H-6), 2.82 (1H, dd, J=7.7, 4.5 Hz, H-13), 2.70 (3H, s, H-21), 2.54 (1H, dd, J=14.1, 10.6 Hz, H-2a), 2.38 (1H, dd, J=14.1, 3.0 Hz, H-2b), 2.10 (1H, m, H-14a), 2.09 (3H, d, J=1.0 Hz, H-27), 1.90 (1H, m, H-14b), 1.72 (2H, m, H-8, H-11a), 1.49 (2H, m, H-10), 1.41 (3H, m, H-9, and H-11b), 1.39 (3H, s, H-23), 1.28 (3H, s, H-26), 1.17 (3H, d, J=6.8 Hz, H-24), 1.08 (3H, s, H-22), 1.00 (3H, d, J=7.0 Hz, H-25); 13 C NMR (CDCl 3 , 100 MHz) δ 220.6 (s, C-5), 170.6 (s, C-1), 165.2 (s, C-20), 151.8 (s, C-18), 137.6 (s, C-16), 119.6 (d, C-17), 116.1 (d, C-19), 76.7 (d, C-15), 74.1 (d, C-7), 72.8 (d, C-3), 61.7 (d, C-12), 61.4 (s, C-13), 53.1 (s, C-4), 42.9 (d, C-6), 39.2 (t, C-2), 36.4 (d, C-8), 32.4 (t, C-11), 32.1 (t, C-14), 30.7 (t, C-9), 22.7 (q, C-26), 22.3 (t, C-10), 21.5 (q, C-23), 19.5 (q, C-22), 19.1 (q, C-21), 17.1 (q, C-25), 15.9 (q, C-27), 13.6 (q, C-24).
Epothilone A: ESIMS m/z 494 [M+H] + ; 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 , 400 MHz) δ 6.98 (1H, s, H-19), 6.60 (1H, bs, H-17), 5.44 (1H, dd, J=8.7, 2.1 Hz, H-15), 4.20 (1H, m, H-3), 4.10 (1H, br s, 3-OH), 3.79 (1H, dd, J=8.4, 4.2 Hz, H-7), 3.22 (1H, m, H-6), 3.04 (1H, m, H-13), 2.92 (1H, m, H-12), 2.70 (3H, s, H-21), 2.52 (1H, dd, J=14.5, 10.6 Hz, H-2a), 2.42 (1H, dd, J=14.5, 3.2 Hz, H-2b), 2.12 (1H, m, H-14a), 2.09 (3H, d, J=1.0 Hz, H-27), 1.88 (1H, m, H-14b), 1.75 (2H, m, H-8, H-11a), 1.56 (1H, m, H-10a), 1.44 (4H, m, H-9, H-10b and H-11b), 1.41 (3H, s, H-23), 1.17 (3H, d, J=6.8 Hz, H-24), 1.10 (3H, s, H-22), 1.00 (3H, d, J=7.0 Hz, H-25); 13 C NMR (CDCl 3 , 75 MHz) δ 220.1 (s, C-5), 170.6 (s, C-1), 165.1 (s, C-20), 151.8 (s, C-18), 137.5 (s, C-16), 119.8 (d, C-17), 116.2 (d, C-19), 76.5 (d, C-15), 74.5 (d, C-7), 73.0 (d, C-3), 57.5 (d, C-12), 54.7 (d, C-13), 53.0 (s, C-4), 43.3 (d, C-6), 39.0 (t, C-2), 36.2 (d, C-8), 31.5 (t, C-14), 30.5 (t, C-9), 27.2 (t, C-11), 23.4 (t, C-10), 21.7 (q, C-23), 20.1 (q, C-22), 19.1 (q, C-21), 17.1 (q, C-25), 15.8 (q, C-27), 14.1 (q, C-24).
According to present invention, a flow chart for illustration of separation and purification of epothilones B and A is shown in FIG. 1 .
The method of the invention can well separate epothilone B from epothilone A to obtain epothilone B and epothilone A with a purity of over 95.0%, preferably over 99.0%. Furthermore, comparing with techniques for separation of epothilones B and A in the art, the method of the invention has many advantages such as higher yield, simpler process and better operability. The method of the invention needs no expensive apparatus for preparing chromatographic columns, and is more suitable for industrial production. In addition, the method of the invention doesn't consume a great amount of solvent having high toxicity, such as methanol and acetonitrile.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flow chart for illustration of separation and purification of epothilone B and epothilone A;
FIG. 2 is a HPLC chromatogram of epothilone B having a chromatographic purity of higher than 99.0% after the separation and purification;
FIG. 3 is a HPLC chromatogram of epothilone A having the chromatographic purity of higher than 99.0% after the separation and purification;
FIG. 4 is a PXRD graph of the amouphous powder of lyophilized epothilone B (2θ(degree), using Cukα, λ=0.154056 nm); and
FIG. 5 is a PXRD graph of the amouphous powder of lyophilized epothilone A (2θ(degree), using Cukα, λ=0.154056 nm).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Example 1
3 ton fermentation broth of epothilones, wherein XAD-1600-type resin had been added, was filtered by a vibrating screen and washed by water. The resin was loaded in a column using a 30% ethanol solution, and then the column was eluted by an ethanol solution of 95%. Fractions were collected sectionally, and fractions containing epothilones B and A were collected and combined after analysis by HPLC. The combined fractions was condensed to 10 L, which contained 54.38 g epothilone B and 110.50 g epothilone A after analysis by HPLC (external standard method).
The obtained 10 L solution was prepared to be an ethanol solution of 30%. The ethanol solution was loaded on a H41-type resin column (20 cm*300 cm, bed volume: 70 L), and then the column was eluted with ethanol solutions of 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% in sequence with a two bed volume per concentration. The column was eluted by a 70% ethanol solution at last. Fractions were collected sectionally, and fractions containing epothilones B and A were collected and combined after analysis by HPLC. The combined fractions was condensed until dry so as to obtain a sample containing epothilones B and A.
The sample containing epothilones B and A was dissolved in CHCl 3 . The dissolved sample was loaded on a first normal phase silica gel column (silica:sample=5:1), and then eluted by petroleum ether/ethyl acetate (80:20 by volume) for three bed volumes first, followed by petroleum ether/acetone (85:15 by volume) for two bed volumes and petroleum ether/acetone (80:20 by volume) for four bed volumes in sequence. Fractions were collected sectionally. Desired fractions containing epothilones B and A were collected after analysis by HPLC, combined, and then concentrated until dry.
The concentrated product was crystallized twice by using ethyl acetate/n-heptane of a ratio of 1:1 so as to obtain crude crystal containing epothilones B and A, which contains 40.26 g epothilone B and 31.81 g epothilone A measured by HPLC (external standard method) with a total chromatographic purity of 97.9%.
Example 2
After dissolving 5 g crude crystal containing epothilones B and A obtained from Example 1 in 5 ml dichloromethane, the solution was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (4 cm*80 cm, 300 g silica gel). The silica gel column was balanced by dichloromethane, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone with ratios of 90:10, 85:15, 83:17 and 80:20. Fractions were collected sectionally. Desired fractions containing epothilone B and desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected and combined respectively after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed respectively until dry. Finally, 2.40 g epothilone B of 98.7% (yield 89%) and 1.90 g epothilone A of 95.8% (yield 92%) were obtained.
Example 3
After dissolving 5 g crude crystal containing epothilones B and A obtained from Example 1 in 5 ml trichloromethane, the solution was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (4 cm*80 cm, 300 g silica gel). The silica gel column was balanced by trichloromethane, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone/trichloromethane with ratios of 90:10:10, 85:15:10, 83:17:10 and 80:20:10. Fractions were sectionally collected. Desired fractions containing epothilone B and desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected and combined respectively after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed respectively until dry. Finally, 2.48 g epothilone B of 98.9% (yield 92%) and 1.88 g epothilone A of 96.7% (yield 90%) were obtained.
Example 4
After dissolving 5 g crude crystal containing epothilones B and A obtained from Example 1 in 5 ml dichloromethane, the solution was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (6 cm*100 cm, 800 g silica gel). The silica gel column was balanced by dichloromethane, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone/dichloromethane with the ratios of 90:10:40, 85:15:30, 83:17:20 and 80:20:10. Fractions were sectionally collected. Desired fractions containing epothilone B and desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected and pooled respectively after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed respectively until dry. Finally, 2.53 g epothilone B of 98.5% (yield 94%) and 1.94 g epothilone A of 97.8% (yield 92%) were obtained.
Example 5
Epothilone B with a high purity was obtained by re-crystallization of epothilone B obtained from Example 2-4; and epothilone A with a high purity was obtained by purifying obtained epothilone A by silica gel again.
10 g epothilone B sample with a HPLC chromatographic purity of 98.5% was dissolved in 15 ml ethyl acetate by heating to 52° C., and then 15 ml n-heptane was added therein. The obtained solution stood at room temperature and then was cooled to 4° C. for 24 hours. The solution was filtered and above steps were repeated on obtained crystal. Finally, 8.7 g crystal pure epothilone B of 99.4% was obtained.
After dissolving 5 g epothilone A with a HPLC chromatographic purity of 97.5% obtained from Examples 2-4 in 5 ml dichloromethane, the solution was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (300 g silica gel). The silica gel column was balanced by dichloromethane, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone/dichloromethane with ratios of 90:10:40, 85:15:30, 83:17:20 and 80:20:10. Fractions were collected sectionally. Desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected, combined after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed until dry. Finally, 4.3 g epothilone of A 99.5% was obtained.
The HPLC chromatograms of pure products of epothilone B and epothilone A obtained according to above methods are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively.
Example 6
Preparation of Amorphous Powders of Epothilone B and Epothilone A
Epothilone B and epothilone A with high purities obtained from Example 5 were dissolved in t-butanol respectively and lyophilized so as to obtain amorphous powders.
0.52 g epothilone B was dissolved in 50 ml t-butanol by heating, and then cooled to room temperature. The solution was then lyophilized at −20° C. for 48 hours in VIRTIS Genesis freeze-dryer. The lyophilized product was further dried at 30° C. for 96 hours under high vacuum, and then at 52° C. for 48 hours under high vacuum. Obtained lyophilized powder was measured by X-ray diffraction.
0.41 g epothilone A was dissolved in 30 ml t-butanol by heating, and then cooled to room temperature. The solution was then lyophilized at −20° C. for 48 hours in VIRTIS Genesis freeze-dryer. The lyophilized product was further dried at 30° C. for 96 hours under high vacuum, and then at 52° C. for 48 hours under high vacuum. Obtained lyophilized powder was measured by X-ray diffraction.
The PXRD graphs of epothilone B and epothilone A obtained according to above methods are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (The measurement of the powders by X-ray diffraction was performed on Rigaku D/max-2200).
Comparative Example 1
After dissolving 5 g crude crystal containing epothilones B and A obtained from Example 1 in 5 ml dichloromethane, the solution was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (4 cm*80 cm, 300 g silica gel). The silica gel column was balanced by petroleum ether/acetone with a ratio of 1:1, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone with ratios of 90:10, 85:15, 83:17 and 80:20. Fractions were collected sectionally. Desired fractions containing epothilone B and desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected and combined respectively after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed respectively until dry. Finally, 0.94 g epothilone B of 98.3% (yield 35%) and 0.72 g epothilone A of 95.2% (yield 35%) were obtained.
Comparative Example 2
After dissolving 5 g crude crystal containing epothilones B and A obtained from Example 1 in 5 ml dichloromethane, the solution was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (4 cm*80 cm, 300 g silica gel). The silica gel column was balanced by petroleum ether/dichloromethane with a ratio of 1:1, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone/trichloromethane with ratios of 90:10:10, 85:15:10, 83:17:10 and 80:20:10. Fractions were collected sectionally. Desired fractions containing epothilone B and desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected and combined respectively after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed respectively until dry. Finally, 0.97 g epothilone B of 98.4% (yield 36%) and 0.83 g epothilone A of 95.7% (yield 40%) were obtained.
Comparative Example 3
After dissolving 5 g crude crystal containing epothilones B and A obtained from Example 1 in 5 ml dichloromethane, the solution was mixed with silica gel, and the mixture was dried under vacuum. The dried mixture was loaded on a second normal phase silica gel column (4 cm*80 cm, 300 g silica gel). The silica gel column was filled by dry process and compacted by vacuumizing, and then gradient eluted in sequence with petroleum ether/acetone/dichloromethane with ratios of 90:10:10, 85:15:10, 83:17:10 and 80:20:10. Fractions were collected sectionally. Desired fractions containing epothilone B and desired fractions containing epothilone A were collected and combined respectively after analysis by HPLC, and then condensed respectively until dry. Finally, 0.81 g epothilone B of 98.7% (yield 30%) and 0.70 g epothilone A of 95.4% (yield 34%) were obtained.
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The invention discloses a method for the separation and purification of epothilones, especially discloses a method for the separation and purification of epothilones B and A using normal phase silica gel chromatography, which comprises loading the sample after dissolving the sample containing epothilones B and A with C 1 -C 7 alkyl halide compounds or mixing the sample with silica gel, then gradient eluting silica gel column by an elution solvent of normal phase silica gel column, and finally obtaining products.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a fluid jet loom in which the supply of a jet fluid used for insertion or the weft yarn into the warp shed, such as air or water, is controlled by a valve unit or valve units. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and an apparatus for monitoring the weft insertion in such loom.
In air jet looms, the weft yarn ejected from the weft yarn inserting main nozzle is introduced into a weft yarn guide passage defined by a so-called modified reed or a large number of weft yarn guide members juxtaposed on the slay. A plurality of auxiliary nozzles are provided along the guide passage to help the weft yarn to complete its travel or flight along the guide passage. The state of travel of the weft yarn being inserted in this manner is governed by tne weft inserting conditions such as fluid jet pressure or timing from the main or auxiliary nozzles. Unless these weft inserting conditions are controlled satisfactorily, such weft inserting error as the weft yarn deviating from the weft yarn guide passage or forming a loop in the guide passage during weft insertion will not be avoided, thus detracting considerably from the quality of the woven fabric.
Therefore, the timing of fluid ejection at the main or auxiliary nozzles need be controlled in accordance with the prevailing weaving conditions such as the kind of the weft yarn or the cloth width. Such control can be made by adjustment of the timing of opening or closing the valve units used for controlling the supply of the jet fluid to the respective nozzles. Such valve timing adjustment is done while checking the fluid pressure at the injection nozzle. For example, as disclosed in the Japanese laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 87372/1980, the foremost part of a connection tube from an air pressure gauge is sealingly connected to an ejection orifice of the auxiliary nozzle, and the valve opening timing is adjusted in such a manner that the pressure indicated on the gauge rises to the peak state at the loom rotation angle corresponding to the predetermined ejection start time at the auxiliary nozzle.
However, since such opening timing adjustment may be achieved while the loom is at a standstill it is not possible to make a check as to whether the fluid discharge is taking place in the preset manner during tne actual loom operation. Thus, when one of the valve units is used for controlling the fluid ejection at an auxiliary nozzle during the loom operation, the number of weft insertion errors may be increased drastically.
Such failure of the valve unit may be caused for example when the start signal for the magnetic solenoid is missing, or when a noise signal other than tne start signal is occasionally applied to cause the malfunction of the solenoid. In addition, the sliding valve piston may be burned resulting in an increased frictional resistance thus oostructing the smooth valve opening or closing operation. In a mechanical valve unit in which the valve is moved by a cam in the forward stroke and by a spring in the rearward stroke, there may be instances wherein, on account of the burned state of the valve piston, the spring force is not effective to cause the return movement of the valve piston.
However, it is difficult and time-consuming to deduce from the apparent increase in the number of weft inserting errors that the cause of trouble resides in the malfunction of the valve unit or units.
When the air pressure gauge is used for adjustment of the nozzle opening timing as mentioned hereinabove, the ejection port of the auxiliary nozzle is stopped by tne foremost part of the auxiliary nozzle so that the discharge fluid pressure in the auxiliary nozzle reaches a maximum in a snort time irrespective of the opening degree of the valve piston. Thus, the adjustment of the valve opening timing based on the peak indication on the pressure gauge is extremely difficult and requires great skill on the part of the operator.
Therefore, there are presently desired a method and an apparatus for easily and precisely sensing the actual fluid ejection timing during the loom operation and monitoring the weft insertion for assuring the optimum weft inserting conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the method of monitoring weft insertion according to the present invention, the jet fluid pressure at the outlet side of the valve unit controlling the supply of the discharge fluid used for impelling the weft yarn into the warp shed is converted into corresponding electrical signals and, when the signals are below the preset value, an alarm is issued or the loom operation discontinued.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ejection fluid pressure at the output side of the plural valve units controlling the fluid supply to the main or auxiliary nozzles is converted by pressure detection elements such as piezo-electric elements and, unless all of the electrical signals from the pressure detection elements associated with the respective valve units reach a preset value, the alarm lamp or buzzer is activated or the loom operation discontinued.
The pressure detection element is provided at the discharge fluid outlet side of the valve unit in fluid communication with the fluid supply duct and fitted with the terminal sections for taking the electrical signals. Upon opening the valve unit, the jet fluid flows from the inlet towards the discharge side of the valve unit so that the fluid pressure acts on the detection element. Therefore, by connecting an oscilloscope probe to the terminal unit of the detection unit, the electrical signals converted from the discharge fluid pressure are taken at the oscilloscope and the discharge fluid pressure curve is delineated on the oscilloscope as a function of the opening and closure of the valve unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A more detailed understanding of tne invention may be had from the following description of the preferred embodiments to be read and understood in conjunction witn the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing substantial parts of the fluid jet loom embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a slay employed in the loom shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the piezo-electric element and the magnetic valve unit employed in the loom shown in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are longitudinal sectional views showing two different modifications of the valve unit;
FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a topical electric circuit used for monitoring weft insertion in accordance with the present invention;
FIGS. 8(a) to (n) are graphic charts showing the operating states of the various parts of the electrical circuit; and
FIGS. 9 and 10 are block diagrams showing two different examples of the electrical circuit employed for monitoring the weft insertion in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3 showing an embodiment of the present invention applied to, for example, an air jet loom, a large number of weft guide elements 3 are juxtaposed on a slay 1 in opposition to a reed 2, and a weft yarn Y is inserted into a weft yarn guide passage T defined by a row of guide slots 3a of the weft yarn guide elements 3 as it is entrained in a pressurized air current supplied from a weft inserting main nozzle 4 mounted on the slay 1. Between the reed 2 and the weft guide member 3, there are mounted upright a plurality of auxiliary nozzles 5 along the length of the weft guide passage T at a constant spacing from one another. Thus, the air jet supplied from the auxiliary nozzles 5 assists in the travel of the weft yarn Y through the weft guide passage T. A plurality of base blocks 6 are arranged on the slay 1 in a straight line with each base block 6 carrying a preset number of the weft guide members 3 and a preset number of the auxiliary nozzles 5.
Below the slay 1, there are mounted a sub-tank 7 for the main nozzle 4 and a sub-tank 8 for the auxiliary nozzles 5 for storage of pressurized air. Between the main nozzle 4 and the sub-tank 7 supplied with pressurized air from a fluid source, not shown, there is interposed an electro-magnetic valve unit 9 in such a manner that a jet fluid in the sub-tank 7 is supplied to the main nozzle 4 through an inlet supply pipe 10, the valve unit 9 and an outlet supply pipe 11. Similarly, between the sub-tank 8 connected to the fluid source and the auxiliary nozzles 5, electro-magnetic valve units 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D similar in construction to the valve unit 9 are associated with the base blocks 6. In the drawing, four such units 12A to 12D are shown. The jet fluid in the sub-tank 8 is supplied into the auxiliary nozzles 5 through inlet supply pipes 13, valve units 12A to 12D and outlet supply pipes 14 connected to fluid conduits 6a in the base blocks 6 connected in turn to the associated auxiliary nozzles 5 as shown in FIG. 2. Starting from the valve unit 12A closest to the main nozzle 4, the valve units 12A to 12D are opened sequentially in timed relation with the passage of the weft yarn Y so that the jet fluid is discharged cyclically from the auxiliary nozzles 5 associated with the respective blocks 6, starting from the nozzles 5 associated with the block 6 closet to the main nozzle.
Since the electro-magnetic valve units 9, 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D are of the same construction, only tne valve unit 9 for the main nozzle 4 is hereafter explained.
As shown in FIG. 3, a valve body 16 is disposed within the housing 15 for sliding in the left and right direction, and is biased by a spring 17 in a direction for closing a fluid passage within the housing 15 connecting from the inlet supply pipe 10 to the outlet supply pipe 11. An enclosure cylinder 18 is secured by any suitable means to the left side end of the housing 15 and a solenoid 19 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 18. In the cylinder 18, a plunger 20 is mounted for sliding in the same direction as the valve body 16. A plunger pin 20a abuts on a valve piston 16a of the valve body 16. As the solenoid 19 is energized, the plunger 20 is attracted by a core 21 so that the plunger pin 20a causes the valve body 16 to be displaced against the action of the spring 17 for exposing the fluid passage in the housing 15. The solenoid 19 is connected by a line 9a to a control unit 41 as shown in FIG. 1.
In the present embodiment, a connecting pipe section 22 is interposed between the connecting pipe 11 and an outlet passage in the housing 15, and a pressure sensor such as a piezo-electric element 23 is disposed in a suitable aperture in the pipe section 22 so as to contact or to be in fluid communication with a fluid supply passage in the connecting pipe section. A pair of terminal sections 23a are provided to the outer surface of the piezo-electric sensor 23 and connected to cables 23b connected in turn to a display apparatus such as an oscilloscope 40 as shown by way of example in FIG. 1.
As also shown in FIG. 1, piezo-electric sensor 25A, 25B, 25C and 25D are similarly associated with the electromagnetic valve units 12A to 12D. Also, these valve units 12A to 12D are connected through lines 12a to 12d to the control unit 41 shown in FIG. 1. Although the piezo-electric elements are used in the present embodiment for pressure detection, and the changes in pressure are directly changed into corresponding electric signals, limit switches, differential transformers or the like devices known in the art in whicn mechanical displacement is induced by the changes in pressure and converted into corresponding electrical signals, may also be used similarly to the piezo-electric sensors.
The present invention may also be implemented with a fluid jet type loom in which a mechanical valve unit 24 shown in FIG. 4 is used in place of the aforementioned electro-magnetic solenoid. In the present modification, a cap member 27 is threadedly attached to the lower end of a housing 26 for a valve body 25, and a valve rod 25a connected to the valving member 25 is projected down from the cap member 27. A spring 29 is interposed between a spring retainer 28 attached to the valve rod 25a in the cap member 27 and the lower end of the housing 26, and is urged in a direction such that the fluid passage within the housing 26 connecting from an inlet supply pipe 35a to an outlet supply pipe as later described is opened or closed by the valve body 25. A roller 30 is mounted for free rotation to the lower end of the valve rod 25a and rests on a cam surface of a cam plate 33 secured by a screw 32 to a driving shaft 31 which may be revolved in time with the loom operation. The mounting position of the cam plate relative to the driving shaft 31 can be adjusted with the aid of the screw 32. To the upper end of the housing 26 is threadedly mounted a connection cap member 34 to the peripheral surface of which is threadedly mounted the outlet supply pipe 35bconnected in turn to the main or auxiliary nozzles. Below the supply pipe 35b, piezo-electric elements 23 provided with terminal sections 23a are fitted in a suitable aperture in the wall of the cap member for directly communicating with the fluid supply passage in the supply pipe 35b.
In the present embodiment, the fluid discharge pressure curve in the jet nozzle is determined by the cam profile of the cam plate 33. When it is desired to adjust the jet timing in dependence upon the width of the woven cloth or the kind of the weft yarn, the tightening degree of the screw 32 need be changed for adjusting the mounting angular position of the cam plate 33. Such angular position adjustment of the cam plate 33 may be easily and accurately achieved by taking at the oscilloscope 40 the electrical signals from the piezo-electric element 23 indicating the prevailing jet fluid pressure as in the preceding embodiment.
It should be noted that the pressure sensor such as the piezo-electric sensor 23 may be mounted at any position provided that the mounting position is at the downstream side of the valve body 25. Thus, the pressure sensor may be mounted in an insertion aperture 26a which is provided in the housing 26 instead of the connection cap member 34. Also, the pressure sensor may be mounted to the base of the main nozzle 4 or to the base of a desired one of the auxiliary nozzles 5 instead of the valve unit, although such modification is not shown for simplicity.
The manner in which the weft insertion in the loom having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is monitored in accordance with the present invention is hereafter explained by referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, 7 and 8. It snould be noted that the weft insertion in the loom having tne structure of the valve unit shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be monitored substantially in the same manner as described hereinbelow as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
During loom operation, the valve unit 9 is opened in synchronism with the weft insertion for discharging the fluid jet through the main nozzle 4. This causes the weft yarn Y to be propelled from the nozzle 4 and inserted into the weft guided passage T. Also, in synchronism with the timing of the passage of the leading end of the weft yarn Y, the valve units 12A to 12D are sequentially opened under control by the control unit 41 in a known manner and starting from the valve unit 12A closest to the main nozzle 4 so that the fluid discharge from the auxiliary nozzles 5 is achieved sequentially starting from the nozzle 5 closest to the main nozzle 4. The jet fluid pressure in the valve units 9 and 12A to 12D is converted into corresponding electrical signals by the piezo-electric elements 23 and 25A to 25D, these electrical signals being taken at a circuit shown in FIG. 7 through a cable, not shown, which is different from the aforementioned cables 23b connected to the oscilloscope 40. The manner in which these electrical signals or the fluid pressure are changed with the occasional rotational angle of the crank shaft of the loom is shown at (a) to (e) in FIG. 8.
As shown in FIG. 7, the electrical signals outputted from the piezo-electric sensor 23 and indicative of the fluid pressure are introduced through a filter-amplifier 26 and a discrimination circuit 27 to a SET input of a flip-flop circuit F1. The discrimination or switching circuit 27 is designed to switch off a converted signal S1 whenever the signal S1 is below a reference level V 0 shown at (a) in FIG. 8. The converted electrical signal S2 supplied from the piezo-electric element 25A is supplied to a SET input of a flip-flop circuit F2 through a filter-amplifier 28 and a discrimination or switching circuit 29. The circuit 29 is designed to switch off a converted electrical signal S2 whenever the signal S2 is below a reference level V 1 at (b) in FIG. 8. The converted signals S3, S4 and S5 supplied from the piezo-electric sensors 25B are supplied respectively to SET inputs of flip-flop circuits F3, F4 and F5 through the same circuit as that for the conversion signal S2, that is, the filter-amplifier 28 and the discrimination circuit 29.
When the converted electrical signals S1 to S5 supplied from the piezo-electric elements 23, 25A to 25D are above the reference levels V 0 and V 1 , signals are outputted from the discrimination circuits 27 and 29 so that high-level signals S6, S7, S8, S9 and S10 are outputted from the flip-flop circuits F1 to F5 as shown at (g) to (k) in FIG. 8 and are supplied to a NAND circuit 30. When the nigh-level signal S10 from the flip-flop circuit F6 is supplied to the NAND circuit 30, the signal outputted from the circuit 30 is inverted from the high level to the low level as shown at (l) in FIG. 8. The output signal from the NAND circuit 30 is introduced into an AND circuit 31, to which a signal indicative of the rotational angle of the loom (P shown at (f) in FIG. 8, hereinafter termed timing signal) is also supplied from a sensor 32 adapted for sensing the rotational angle of the loom, such as conventional rotary encoder. In the present embodiment, the timing signal P is outputted directly after closure of the electro-magnetic valve unit 12D. Thus, the output signal level from the AND circuit 31 is determined on the basis of the timing signal P and a combination of the output signals from the flip-flop circuits F1 to F5 that are obtained after the fluid discharge from the main nozzle 4 and the auxiliary nozzle 5 and the insertion of one weft yarn are terminated. When the electro-magnetic valve units 9 and 12A to 12D are operating properly in the manner described hereinabove, no signals are outputted by the NAND circuit 30.
The timing signal P from the sensor 32 is supplied to the RESET terminals of the flip-flop circuits F1 to F5, at which time the output signals from these flip-flop circuits are inverted to the low level as indicated at (g) to (k) in FIG. 8.
When the valve unit 12C, for instance, is not operating properly and the converted electric signal S4' from the piezo-electric sensor 25C is below the reference level V 1 , the output signal S9 from the flip-flop circuit F4 remains at a low level, as shown at (j) in FIG. 8. Thus, even when the output signal S10 from the flip-flop circuit F5 is supplied to the NAND circuit 30, the output signal from the NAND circuit 30 is not inverted but remains at a high level as indicated at (l) in FIG. 8. When the timing signal P supplied from the loom rotation angle sensor 32 is supplied to the AND circuit 31, a trouble signal St is outputted from the circuit 31 as indicated at (m) in FIG. 8, which signal is introduced to the SET input of the flip-flop circuit F6. The result is that an alarm signal Sa is outputted from the flip-flop circuit F6 as indicated at (n) in FIG. 8 and an alarm lamp 33 is illustrated by the signal Sa. Thus, with the alarm lamp 33 turned on, the operator is informed that one of the valve units 9 and 12A to 12D is not operating properly and thus may proceed to remove the cause of trouble of the valve unit 12C that may give rise to the error in weft insertion.
The flip-flop circuit F6 can be reset by the operation of an operating button 34.
In this manner, the operating state of a plurality of electro-magnetic valve units operating at a nigh speed can be checked at all times in the present embodiment thus providing for a proper control of the operating state of the electro-magnetic valve unit on which depends the optimum weft inserting operation. That is, the optimum weft insertion may be assured at all times on the basis of the actual operating state of the valve units during the loom operation.
The terminal sections of the piezo-electric elements 23 of the valve units 9 and 12A to 12D are connected to the oscilloscope 40 through line 23b as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, as described above. When it is assumed that the oscilloscope probe is connected to the terminal sections 23a of the valve unit 12A shown in FIG. 1, the fluid pressure in the connecting pipe section 22 is converted by the piezo-electric element 23 into corresponding electrical signals, which signals are indicated as discharge fluid jet pressure curve C on the oscilloscope 40. In this manner, it is possible to accurately grasp the first and last transition states, fluid discharge period, start and stop of jet discharge and the fluid discharge pressure per se at the auxiliary valves 5 controlled oy the valve unit 12A, and accordingly to make a check whether or not the actual start and stop timing of fluid discharge at the auxiliary nozzle 5 during the loom operation is coincident with the preset timing. Should difference exist between the two, the command program for the electro-magnetic valve unit 12A in the control unit 41 can be suitably modified for accurately setting the fluid discharge timing at the auxiliary nozzle. In this manner, it is possible to grasp how the preset ejection timing is changed in the course of the actual loom operation. Also, when the electrical command signals from the control unit 41 are supplied to the electro-magnetic valve unit 12A, it is possible to grasp whether or not the opening and closure state of the valve body 16 is in accordance with the electrical command signals.
Likewise it is possible to measure the discharge fluid pressure in the remaining valve units 12B to 12D and, based on the comparison of the respective fluid pressure curves, to determine the effective distribution of the jet fluid for the sequential fluid discharge for possibly reducing the consumption of the jet fluid.
These various advantages are derived from using the pressure sensors such as piezo-electric sensor 23 for converting the fluid pressure at the discharge side of the valve units 9 and 12A to 12D into corresponding electrical signals. Above all, the piezo-electric sensor 23 is highly insusceptible to factors other than the fluid pressure, such as changes in temperature, while it can be operated extremely easily because there is no necessity of carrying out zero point compensation of the electrical signals with each measurement of the ejection timing at the ejection nozzles. Also, the piezo-electric elements 23 are low in costs and, even in instances wherein a large number of the valve units are employed in the fluid jet loom and the piezo-electric sensors 23 are mounted to the respective valve units, the investment costs can be drastically lowered.
FIG. 9 shows a modified circuit for monitoring the operating state of the electro-magnetic valve units of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the converted electrical signals from the piezo-electric sensors 23 and 25A to 25D are supplied to a filter-amplifier 35 and a discrimination circuit 36. The circuit 36 issues a pulse signal each time a conversion signal is supplied thereto from the sensors 23 and 25A to 25D, which pulse signal is supplied to a counter circuit 37. The counter circuit 37 issues a high level signal for every five pulse signals supplied thereto, which high level signal is inverted by an inverting amplifier 38 to a low level signal which is supplied to an AND circuit 31. The timing signal from the loom rotating angle sensor 32 is supplied to the AND circuit 31 and the counter cirucit 37. At this time, only the counter circuit 37 is reset while there is no output signal issued from the AND circuit 31.
When one of the valve units 9 and 12A to 12D is not operating properly, only four pulse signals are supplied to the counter circuit 37 and, at the instant that the timing signal P is issued from the loom rotation angle sensor 32, both input signals to the AND circuit 31 are at a high level. Thus, the circuit 31 issues a high level signal to a flip-flop circuit F6 for lighting the alarm lamp 33.
In a modification shown in FIG. 10, alarm lamps 33 may be respectively associated with the piezo-electric sensors 23 and 25A to 25D provided to the electro-magnetic valve units 9 and 12A to 12D.
In the present modification, to each of the flip-flop circuits F1 to F5 are associated an inverting amplifier 38, AND circuit 31 and a flip-flop circuit F6 shown in FIG. 8, in such a manner that, when one of the valve units 9 and 12A to 12D, such as unit 12C, is not operating properly, the alarm lamp 33 associated with the valve unit 12c is illuminated. In this manner, the valve unit in trouble can be located instantly.
In a further modification of the present invention, a limit switch may be employed in place of the piezo-electric sensor, which limit switch may be turned on when the fluid pressure exceeds a preset valve for activating an alarm lamp or buzzer or causing the standstill of the loom.
Although the electro-valve units are used in the aforementioned control circuits, similar control circuits may be used in conjunction with the mechanical valve units making use of a cam and a cam follower roller shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 for monitoring the weft insertion in the loom. In addition, although the description has been made hereinabove in connection with the shuttleless loom making use of pressurized air as the weft impelling fluid, the present invention can be implemented when pressurized water is used as the impelling fluid, in a manner which is apparent to those skilled in the art.
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According to the present invention, the respective fluid pressures at the output sides of the plural jet fluid valve units in a fluid jet loom are converted into electrical signals by respective pressure detection elements such as piezo-electric elements. An alarm lamp or buzzer is activated or the loom operation stopped unless all of the electrical signals supplied from the pressure detection elements associated with the valve units reach preset values.
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[0001] The present invention relates to electrical generators and, in particular, to improvements to efficiency in electromechanical energy conversion in electrical generators and electric motors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Faradays Law governs induction in the motion of a closed current bearing conducting loop through a magnetic field. This law is formulated, in simple terms, in regard to the motion of such a loop across the field lines of a uniform magnetic field, which is not the case when multiple loops are in close proximity to one another and are rotating through a field inside a generator.
[0003] Many applications of known motor control theory have developed to adjust or compensate for this negative unwanted (armature reaction) departure from the simple case.
[0004] Lenz's Law is a law of physics which governs the conventional coil's resistive and decelerative armature reaction and is an extension of Newton's Third Law which states that, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
[0005] Where electric generators are concerned this applies when a conducting loop is moved through a magnetic field and said loop is connected to a load such that electric current flows in the closed loop circuit.
[0006] This electric current flow produces a magnetic field around the loop which creates a counter-electromotive torque which impedes the loop's progress through the magnetic field.
[0007] Additional external torque must therefore be applied to the rotation of the loop to keep it moving through the magnetic field or rotation will cease and power delivered to the load will also cease.
[0008] The magnitude of the generator's induced resistive magnetic field around the loop is directly proportional to the magnitude of current flowing in the loop and to the load.
[0009] It is also important to note that the generator coil's induced repelling magnetic field (equal and opposite reaction) is simultaneous and in an identical time frame to the action causing it i.e. the approaching magnetic field which produces the induced voltage in the coil as well as the current flow and external magnetic field.
[0010] The load resistance that is connected to the loop plays an important role in dictating how much current can flow through the loop.
[0011] No current flows with an infinite resistance, no-load condition and maximum current flows with an infinite load, short circuit condition.
[0012] Variations of load magnitude vary the current flow through the loop and dictate what magnitude of external torque increase must be applied to overcome the loop's armature reaction (internally-induced electromagnetic resistance).
[0013] When a generator is operating in a no-load condition and rotating at a specified speed, a voltage is being induced in the generator's coils but there is an open circuit, infinite resistance connected to the loop and the loop rotates freely through the magnetic field because no current can flow through it and no armature reaction is created and minimum external torque must be applied to the loop to keep it rotating.
[0014] When an on-load resistive load is connected to the loop, current begins to flow in the loop and a decelerative armature reaction results in which a self-induced resistive electromagnetic counter-electromotive torque is produced.
[0015] This requires additional torque to be supplied to the loop to sustain power to the load and to overcome the counter-electromotive torque created by the loop's induced magnetic field which opposes the loop's rotation inside the magnetic field.
[0016] Multiple loads connected to generators are connected in parallel with the cumulative total approaching an infinite load/short circuit/maximum current flow/maximum armature reaction condition as described by Ohm's Law where:
[0000] R total =1 /R 1 +1 /R 2 +1 /R 3 + . . . 1 /R n
[0017] Loads vary with regard to the phase angle differential (power factor) that they create between the voltage and current sine waves where the maximum load power factor is created by a worst case scenario of a purely resistive load and a power factor of 1 or voltage and current in phase with one another.
[0018] All load applications implied herein pertain to the worst case scenario and are of a purely resistive nature transferring maximum power form the generator to the load.
[0019] Faraday's Law and Lenz's Law apply equally to a cage wound rotor (loop) rotating through a uniform stationary magnetic field (or vice versa) and a salient pole round stator coil with an externally rotating magnetic field (or vice versa). This invention applies to both cases.
[0020] The Regenerative Acceleration Generator (ReGen-X) coil according to the present invention, takes advantage of the structure of a high impedance multiple-loop salient pole winding or low impedance bi-filar windings to create a positive armature (accelerative) reaction rather than a negative (decelerative) one as per all typical generators which only have low impedance multiple loops of wire making up their rotor armature.
[0021] All conventional generators operate as inductors and electromagnets when supplying power to a load. As inductors they store energy in the external electromagnetic field around the coil, and as electromagnets they simultaneously create a counter-electromagnetic-torque (armature reaction) which always opposes the generators rotating magnetic field direction and always in the same time domain.
[0022] As electromagnets, the conventional generator coil produces a magnetic field with the same polarity and in the same time domain as the approaching magnetic field which in turn instantly resists the rotor's approaching magnetic field and resists its departure equally vigorously when the current in the coil changes direction and the coil's magnetic field polarity is reversed.
[0023] For all intents and purposes, the duty cycle of current flow in a conventional generator coil is 360 degrees, meaning it is always flowing [except very briefly at Top Dead Centre (TDC) when falls to zero very briefly before it changes direction] and producing resistive internal forces.
[0024] For example when the rotor's North magnetic pole approaches the conventional generator coil the voltage induced in the coil increases which in turn increases the current flowing through the load which in turn increases the coil's induced repelling North pole magnetic field/armature reaction. See FIGS. 8 a,b,c,d.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The Regenerative Acceleration (ReGen-X) Generator coil takes advantage of the structure of the multiple-coil salient pole winding by utilizing specially wound wire coil configurations to store potential energy internally and electrostatically briefly inside the coil as voltage rather than externally and instantaneously in the electromagnetic field as per a conventional generator coil.
[0026] It is the conventional generator coil's induced resistive electromagnetic field that manifests itself instantly between the generator coil and the approaching rotor magnet which is responsible for the negative deceleration effects created by all typical generators when supplying power to a load.
[0027] Reducing or even eliminating this negative effect would have an overall benefit of increasing the generator's efficiency by mitigating the internally created electromagnetic resistance and reducing the additional external torque (and energy) which is always required to overcome it.
[0028] The ReGen-X does not reduce or eliminate these negative effects but reverses them instead by delaying current flow in the coil until the rotating magnetic field reaches TDC.
[0029] In comparison to the conventional coil design which employs large gauge windings with the aim of minimizing losses within the coil (q.v.) the ReGen-X coil can use relatively small gauge wire, which leads to many more turns being used in a ReGen-X coil than in a conventional coil.
[0030] A bi-filar wound coil may also be employed which reduces the turns ratio and coil's internal resistance to that closely resembling a conventional coil. If a non bi-filar generator coil winding is employed a step down transformer may also be required.
[0031] One consequence of both of these coil winding techniques/design characteristics is to raise the self-induced capacitance of the coil while modifying its higher excitation-frequency behavior (as described in further detail below) to create a delayed and accelerative armature reaction.
[0032] At TDC an approaching magnetic field is as close as it is going to get to a generator coil's core and it is at this position that the maximum voltage or electro-motive-force (EMF) is induced in the coil.
[0033] When the coil is connected to a load in an on-load condition, the result is maximum current flow and maximum electromagnetic field energy stored externally around the coil, with maximum electromagnetic resistance being produced.
[0034] This necessitates a maximum additional torque and work to be supplied externally by the prime mover if system deceleration avoidance is desired. Also at TDC, the induced current in the coil is changing direction and the repelling magnetic field changes polarity to a maximum magnitude attractive magnetic field which opposes the rotor magnet's departure away from the coil's core, again necessitating additional externally applied torque and power to keep the rotating magnetic field moving away without deceleration.
[0035] If the current flow in the conventional generator coil can be delayed until TDC or even after it as per the ReGenX coil then Lenz's Law, Newton's Third Law and the Law of Conservation of Energy no longer apply in the simple manner as expected to the operation of the conventional coil because their foundations are based on unrestricted and continuous current flow in the same time domain.
[0036] If current flow can be delayed until after TDC, Lenz's Law can even provide a reversed accelerative on-load effect than is commonly expected with the decelerative on-load effect. (For the purposes of this discussion typical time delays regarding core hysteresis do not apply). If current flow in the generator coil can be delayed until after the rotating magnetic field has already moved past the coil's core at TDC, the rotor's magnetic field can approach the coil unimpeded and without the effects normally prescribed to it by the usual application of Lenz's Law (i.e an equal and opposite resistive reaction in the same time domain) to generator behavior because this simple interpretation of Lenz's Law's operation is dependent on continuous current flow in a generator coil and an instantaneous repelling magnetic field.
[0037] The premise behind the operation of the Regenerative Acceleration Generator (ReGen-X) coil is that the generator coil's delayed current flow and subsequent delayed electromagnetic field can assist (rather than resist) the generator rotor's rotating magnetic field's approach to the generator coil and departure away from the generator coil by delaying current flow in the coil until after TDC by 45 degrees when compared to a conventional generator coil. The ReGen-X coil operation is similar to that of a capacitor where energy is stored internally in the electrostatic field inside the coil between the wires rather than in the external magnetic field as per a conventional generator coil which operates as an inductor.
[0038] This internally-stored, delayed and then instantaneously released magnetic field is responsible for the ReGen-X generator coil's accelerating and assistive force and Lenz's Law reversal when supplying power to a load.
[0039] Embodiments of the present invention are based on this observation and many further refinements will become apparent as described in detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0040] FIG. 1 : The parasitic capacitance that exists across the windings of an inductor.
[0041] FIG. 2 : The Time Constant Rise Time in a Series Inductor Circuit. The ReGenX coil's inductance contributes to the coils rise time post TDC which in turn contributes to the 45 degree current time delay.
[0042] FIG. 3 : A Rotating Magnetic Field Approaching a Stationary Stator Coil, TDC to that Coil and Moving Past said Coil.
[0043] FIG. 4 : A rotating North Pole magnet field approaching a stationary coil which is connected to a load at a certain frequency F 1 .
[0044] FIG. 5 : The oscilloscope current waveform through a purely resistive load (PF=1) for a conventional generator coil (A) and a ReGenX coil (B) with the same rotor magnet and identical rotor magnet relative positioning.
[0045] FIG. 6 : Rotor Magnetic Field at TDC and Approach and Departure Frequencies of Rotor Magnet.
[0046] FIG. 7 : Discharging Delayed Regenx Coil's Induced Magnetic Field Accelerating Rotor's North Pole Magnetic Field While Attracting the Approaching South Pole Magnetic Field.
[0047] FIG. 8 : 8 A, B, C, D. Examples of Rotating Coil Loop in a Uniform Magnetic Field
[0048] FIG. 9 : Stage 1 Conventional Generator Coil North Pole Magnetic Field Approaching Coil
[0049] FIG. 10 : Stage 2 Conventional Generator Coil North Pole Magnet Receding From Coil
[0050] FIG. 11 : Stage 1 ReGenX Generator Coil, North Pole Magnet Approaching Coil
[0051] FIG. 12 : Isolation Oscilloscope Shot Showing ReGenX Coil Current 45 Degree Delay
[0052] FIG. 13 : ReGenX Coil (B) Current Sine Wave Peaking Post TDC
[0053] FIG. 14 : Isolation Oscilloscope Shot Showing ReGenX Coil Current 135 Degree Delay
[0054] FIG. 15 : Stage 3 ReGenX Generator Coil, North Pole Rotor Magnetic Field Being Accelerated Away From Coil's Core Post TDC and South Pole Rotor Magnet Being Accelerated Toward ReGenX Coil's Core
[0055] FIG. 16 : Shows the relative positioning between ReGenX generator coils to maximize Flux Harvesting.
[0056] FIG. 17 : Flux Harvesting Between Two Coils
[0057] FIG. 18 : Flux Harvesting Between Four ReGenX Coils
[0058] FIG. 19 : Flux Harvesting Example of Flux Directions With Regard to Discharging Motor Flux and Rotor Flux Generator Direction and Regen-X Core Penetration Direction with Salient Coils
[0059] FIG. 20 : Flux Harvesting Employing A Concentric E Core on No Load
[0060] FIG. 21 : shows a Concentric E core with a ReGen-X salient coil mounted on the middle finger of the E core, with a conventional coil wrapped around the ReGen-X coil on the outer E core fingers.
[0061] FIG. 22 : shows the rotor flux paths for a ReGen-X Toroid Core application on no load.
[0062] FIG. 23 : Bi-Coil Toriod Core ReGenX Generator Coils On Load
[0063] FIG. 24 : Bi-Filar Wound Coil
[0064] FIG. 25 : Bi-Filar Wound Parallel Connected Coil
[0065] FIG. 26 : Bi-Filar Wound Series Connected Coil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0066] The moment when the equivalent rotating magnet representing the coil 310 is neither approaching nor receding from the stator magnet/coil 320 is referred to as ‘top dead center’ or TDC as shown in FIG. 3 . At TDC the maximum potential energy (EMF/voltage) is induced in the generator coil. At TDC, the generator's rotating magnetic field is neither approaching nor receding from the coil and as far as the generator coil's inductive reactance is concerned (AC resistance to current flow) it is zero. However, the instant just prior to TDC, maximum current is flowing in the coil and maximum electromagnetic resistance is being produced.
[0067] As the generator's rotor transitions though TDC, it moves through a region of maximum coil-induced, repelling electromagnetic resistance (rotor magnet approaching just prior to TDC) to zero induced electromagnetic resistance (directly at TDC) to maximum induced attractive or resistive electromagnetic field as the rotor magnet attempts to move away from just past TDC.
[0068] This is depicted in FIGS. 8 a,b,c,d at the apex of the sine wave at the TDC position (AC current sine wave apex). The current flow in the coil must cease at TDC just prior to moving in the other direction, not unlike the action of a pendulum. When the current flow ceases, the resistive forces produced by the coil and the effects usually expected as a consequence of Lenz's Law also must cease because they rely on current flow to exist and manifest themselves.
[0069] In a generator coil at TDC, the normal consequences of Lenz's Law are suspended and therefore many limitations to the present system normally expected from Newton's Third Law are suspended because current flow in the coil stops just prior to changing direction post-TDC where all the expected rules of generator dynamics resume functioning. While current flow in the conventional coil ceases at TDC the effects are not manifested due to the conventional coils' time constant.
[0070] In the conventional generator coil, current flow ceases at TDC but in the ReGen-X coil maximum current flow exists because at TDC, the AC impedance of the coil is at its minimum, and the induced voltage in the coil is at its maximum. At TDC, the maximum induced voltage in the ReGen-X coil can be dissipated through the coil via current flow which creates a maximum delayed magnetic field of maximum magnitude having the same repelling polarity as the now receding rotor magnetic field and an attracting polarity to the opposite approaching magnetic pole on the rotor.
[0071] When compared to a conventional generator coil where the maximum repelling magnetic field occurs just prior to TDC and just post TDC the ReGenX generator coil's maximum repelling magnetic field occurs at 45 degrees past TDC. In essence the rotor's magnetic field is already past the coil's core and already moving away when current flow and repelling magnetic field peak and assist its departure.
[0072] The inventor of the present generator has observed that all prior art generators exhibit the behavior (see FIG. 4 b ) in that the rotating loop, in the close (in the angular sense) neighbourhood parallel to the field lines of the external, or stator, field, exhibit no inductive behavior whatsoever because no magnetic field lines are being cut. In such a neighborhood, hereinafter referred to as ‘top dead center’ or TDC, the flow of current in the loop ceases with respect to the conventional coil, just prior to changing direction and thus the Lenz effects have no consequence. The coil's impedance to current flow is only governed by the DC resistive behavior of the loop of wire and the resistance of the load connected to the loop. Where the ReGen-X coil is concerned, however, maximum current flows because the otherwise highly restrictive impedance to current flow is minimized. At TDC the rotating magnetic field is neither approaching nor receding and at this moment the total coil inductive reactance drops to zero and the total impedance of the coil drops to the low DC resistance of the coil because the total coil impedance is determined by frequency of operation as shown below.
[0073] Total Inductive Reactance (X L ) of a Generator Coil:
[0000] X L =2 πFL
[0000] where: X L is the total inductive reactance
F is the operating frequency of the coil
L is the inductance of the coil
As can be deduced from the above equation, as the operating frequency of the coil is increased, the coil's inductive reactance must also increase.
Total Impedance (Z T ) of a Generator Coil:
[0074]
Z
T
=X
L
+R
DC
+X
C
[0000] where: X L is the total inductive reactance of the coil
R DC is the DC resistance of the coil windings
X C is the capacitive reactance of the coil
As can be deduced from the above equation, as the inductive reactance of the coil is increased, the total impedance of the coil must also increase.
[0075] If we employ Ohm's Law which states that:
[0000]
I=V/ZT
[0000] We can deduce that, as the coil impedance increases, the current flow decreases accordingly.
[0076] At TDC with regards to the ReGen-X COIL, V induced is maximum, Z T is minimum, I is maximum and the coil's induced magnetic field is also maximum. With regards to a conventional generator coil, current I is zero at TDC because at that exact moment it is changing direction, but maximum just prior and just post TDC. At TDC the induced voltage in any generator coil is maximum. Consequently, maximum voltage and lowest coil impedance coexist simultaneously at certain points during the AC cycle of the present invention. Generators of the prior art all do this but the behavior is not noticeable because coil impedance is designed to be minimized.
[0077] At TDC, the ReGen-X coil's delayed maximum magnitude magnetic field pushes away on the now already receding rotor magnet, while attracting the next approaching opposite pole magnet on the rotor.
[0078] 1. The present invention is a generator coil with sufficient inductance, impedance and self-induced capacitance when operated at a sufficient frequency which will, in the regions prior to TDC, disallow current to flow in the coil or to store energy externally around the coil in the electromagnetic field as an inductor, but will force the coil to store useful energy internally in the electrostatic field capacitively.
[0079] At the moment of TDC, this maximum internally-stored energy is released as a magnetic field of identical polarity to the receding rotor magnetic field with its full instantaneous force being exerted upon the magnet pole at the 45 degree mark because the coil's capacitively stored voltage and resultant current flow takes time due to the ReGenX coil's time constant.
[0080] Five known benefits result:
[0000] i. The receding magnetic field is accelerated away from the coil faster than it otherwise would be.
ii. The next opposite magnetic pole on the rotor is attracted to the coil by the additional force.
iii. Electric current delivers power to the load.
iv. The energy required to be delivered by the prime mover decreases accordingly.
v. More power can be delivered by the ReGen-X coil over a conventional coil without overheating danger because the ReGen-X coil's duty cycle has been significantly reduced and the coil has time to dissipate heat between the AC current pulses.
[0081] The ReGen-X coil has more than six different modes of operation which can be employed at any time and in any combination with a plurality of coils via electronic or manual switching of the coil configurations such as:
[0000] i. Parallel wound, parallel connected bi-filar wound motor coil.
ii. Parallel wound, series connected bi-filar wound motor coil.
iii. Parallel wound, parallel connected bi-filar wound conventional (system decelerating) coil.
iv. Parallel wound, series connected bi-filar wound ReGen-X (system accelerating) coil.
v. High Impedance ReGen-X coil.
vi. Any of the above employed in concert with a step up or step down transformer.
[0082] ReGenX Coil Flux Harvesting
[0083] 2. In a further embodiment, when operated as a plurality of salient or independent coils, subject to particular positioning of the coils, (as described in greater detail below) the discharging flux from the ReGen-X coil can be collected into the adjacent coils operating as ReGen-X coils or conventional coils and the net flux in the coils is additive, including the rotor flux plus the induced flux from other coils, comprising a mode hereinafter referred to as flux harvesting.
[0084] 3. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, flux harvesting as described above also applies in a ReGen-X coil adjacent to a motor coil such that the discharging magnetic field form the motor coil can be collected in the ReGen-X coil and the net power consumption by the motor coil reduced significantly. Information in the appendix attached hereto provides an explanation of why an inductor behaves as a capacitor at certain frequencies.
[0085] An ideal inductor would not behave like a capacitor, but in the real world there are no ideal components. Basically, any real inductor can be thought of an ideal inductor that has a resistor in series with it (wire resistance) and a capacitor in parallel with it (parasitic capacitance). Now, where does the parasitic capacitance come from? an inductor is made out of a coil of insulated wire, so there are tiny capacitors between the windings (since there are two sections of wire separated by an insulator). Each section of windings is at a slightly different potential (because of wire inductance and resistance). As the frequency increases, the impedance of the inductor increases while the impedance of the parasitic capacitor decreases, so at some high frequency the impedance of the capacitor is much lower than the impedance of the inductor, which means that the inductor behaves like a capacitor. The inductor also has its own resonance frequency. This is why some high frequency inductors have their windings far apart—to reduce the capacitance.
[0086] Capacitors have two conductive plates separate by an insulator. The turns of wire in a coil can also create a capacitor because between each turn of wire there are two conductors separated by an insulator, which can be air, enamel, ceramic, etc. When the right frequency is applied to the inductor, the inter-turn capacitance can create a resonant circuit. This inter-turn capacitance only happens with AC and not DC because inductors are a short with DC.
[0000] FIG. 1 shows the parasitic capacitance that exists across the windings of an inductor.
The Non-Ideal Inductor
[0087] In general, inductors are more problematic than capacitors.
The parasitic elements are:
1) resistance within the leads and the wire of the inductor,
2) capacitance between the leads and between the loops of wire, and
3) the equivalent resistance corresponding to core losses (if the inductor uses a ferromagnetic core).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0088] As stated above, Faradays Law governs induction in the motion of a closed current-bearing conducting loop through a magnetic field. This law only applies simply (without geometrical modification) with regard to the motion of such a loop across the field lines of a uniform magnetic field.
[0089] In a typical generator or motor, multiple loops are in close proximity to one another and are rotating through the stator magnetic field or are placed on salient generator coils. The net induced magnetic fields produced around each current-bearing wire produces a negative effect according to Lenz's law which states that “when an EMF (voltage) is generated by a change in magnetic flux according to Faradays Law, the polarity of the induced EMF is such that it produces a current (when the coil is connected to a load) whose induced magnetic field polarity opposes the change which produces it.” FIG. 27 shows how the induced magnetic field inside any loop of wire always acts to try to keep the magnetic flux through the loop constant. The attached appendix gives a pertinent explanation, of Faraday's Law.
[0090] Conventional Coil Operation with an Approaching Magnetic North Pole
[0091] As a magnetic North pole approaches a coil, its magnetic field intersecting with the coil increases and causes an electromotive force (‘EMF’ or voltage) to be induced across the coil, in accordance with Faraday's Law and Lenz's Law, as given by Equation (1.1), where we take advantage of the fact that since flux Φ B for a coil is given by Φ B =NAB ⊥ where B ⊥ represents magnetic field perpendicular to the coil and the number of turns of the coil N and perpendicular area A remain constant, to obtain the second form given
[0000] ε=− dΦ B /dt=−NAd/B ⊥ dt (1.1)
[0092] This EMF in turn causes an electric current to flow through any load connected across the coil as well as through the coil windings 310 , as shown in FIG. 6 . A ferrous core placed coaxially in the coil acts to concentrate, magnify, resist (core hysteresis, reluctance) and guide the flux through the centre of the coil.
[0093] In accordance with Lenz's Law, the induced EMF acts to resist the change in magnetic field in the Coil, and hence the current flowing in the coil acts so as to attempt to make the end of the coil nearest to the approaching magnet a magnetic North pole [as is indicated by the ‘−’ sign in Equation (1.1) and illustrated in FIG. 6 ]. This induced EMF continues to be generated (along with its associated current) until the magnet is at its minimum distance from the centre of the core (TDC). It is worth noting at this point that the present convention for the design of coils for use in generators is that their internal DC resistance is minimized (through using wire of a relatively large diameter) with the aim of minimizing Joule-heating losses in them.
[0094] Joule-heating is a function of current flow duty cycle and the duty cycle of a conventional coil is 100%, or a full 360 degrees of the sine wave with the slightest exception at TDC when the current stops briefly only to resume flowing in the opposite direction. The ReGen-X coil avoids Joule-heating problems because, when operated above the critical minimum frequency, the ReGen-X coil current flow duty cycle is restricted only to the small moment at TDC and the coil has time to cool over the remainder of the duty cycle.
[0095] [72] Conventional Coil Operation with a Receding Magnetic North Pole
[0096] As the magnetic North pole 715 passes its minimum distance from the centre of the core and starts to recede from the coil, its magnetic field intersecting with the coil decreases and again causes an electromotive force (‘EMF’) to be induced across the coil, in accordance with Faraday's Law and Lenz's Law, as given by Equation (1.1). This EMF in turn causes an electric current to flow through any load connected across the coil as shown in FIG. 7 .
[0097] In accordance with Lenz's Law, the induced EMF once more acts to resist the change in magnetic field in the coil, and hence the current flowing in the coil acts so as to attempt to make the end of the coil nearest to the approaching magnet a magnetic South pole 710 [as is indicated by the ‘−’ sign in Equation (1.1) and illustrated in FIG. 7 ]. This means that the current flows through the coil in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 6 .
[0098] This process continues while the next pole on the rotor (a magnetic South pole) approaches (the coil's core and is resisted in its attempt to do so) its minimum distance from the centre of the core, and then the current reverses once more until a North pole is at the minimum distance position. This process is continually repeated in the conventional coil whereby the conventional coil's direction of current flow is always producing an externally-induced magnetic field around the coil which resists the rotor magnet's departure from the coil while simultaneously resisting the opposite pole's approach with an infinitesimally small respite at TDC when the current direction changes.
[0099] ReGen-X Coil Construction
[0100] In comparison to the conventional coil design which employs large gauge windings with the aim of minimizing resistive losses within the coil (q.v.) the ReGen-X coil can use relatively small gauge wire, and this leads to many more turns being used in a ReGen-X coil than in a conventional coil. A consequence of this design characteristic is to raise the inductance of the coil so that above a certain frequency the current flow is delayed until TDC while the self-induced capacitance is increased. The high inductance, high impedance, high DC resistance variant of the ReGen-X coil produces a large repelling magnetic field and useful increases of kinetic energy and motive force into the system but they do not deliver much useable electrical energy because it is primarily consumed by the high DC resistance of the coil itself.
[0101] The same “acceleration under load” effects can be achieved equally well by employing the bi-filar coils as previously described without requiring small gauge wire, or a large turns ratio. This IP variation provides large additions of positive motive force/kinetic energy into the system with useable electrical power being delivered to a load.
[0102] At a certain critical excitation frequency ω c the reactance of the coil due to its:
[0000] 1. Inductance X L becomes relatively large in magnitude; and,
2. Mutual capacitance between turns, X c , becomes relatively small in magnitude.
[0103] The capacitance between individual wire turns of the coil, called parasitic capacitance, does not cause energy losses but can change the behavior of the coil. Each turn of the coil is at a slightly different potential, so the electric field between neighboring turns stores charge on the wire, so the coil acts as if it has a capacitor in parallel with it. At a high enough frequency this capacitance can resonate with the inductance of the coil forming a tuned circuit, causing the coil to become self-resonant.
[0104] For example, an inductor often acts as though it includes a parallel capacitor, because of its closely spaced windings. When a potential difference exists across the coil, wires lying adjacent to each other at different potentials are affected by each other's electric field. They act like the plates of a capacitor, and store charge. Any change in the voltage across the coil requires extra current to charge and discharge these small ‘capacitors’. When the voltage changes only slowly, as in low-frequency circuits, the extra current is usually negligible, but when the voltage changes quickly the extra current is larger and can be significant.
[0105] The inventor's proposition is that this means (for all practical purposes) that once being excited at a frequency of above ω c the coil ceases to function as an inductor and begins to function as a capacitor.
[0106] The excitation frequency of the coil ω e is a function of the number of pole pairs n p and the angular velocity of the rotor ω r as shown in Equation (2.1).
[0000] ω e =n p ω r (2.1)
[0107] While ω e is of the same order as ω c or less, the ReGen-X coil operates in substantially the same manner as a conventional coil. Above ω c however, carefully considering the rate of change of magnetic flux in the core is the key to understanding the operation of the coil.
[0108] The coil of the present invention operates at a higher frequency than conventional coils, with coils of higher inductance and, in some embodiments, employs parallel wound series connected bi-filar windings which increase coil impedance and self-induced capacitance by 200% or more.
[0109] Above a certain critical minimum frequency the ReGen-X coil does not allow current to flow through the coil or the load until TDC. In doing so, the ReGen-X coil delays the repelling magnetic field normally produced by the coil until the rotor magnetic field is already moving away from TDC. A good mechanical analogy would be an air compressor blowing air into a balloon. Like a magnetic or electric field, pressure, being a per-unit area force, does not represent energy until it is exerted over a distance and otherwise may be regarded as potential energy. As long as the inflow pressure exceeds the air pressure being built up inside the balloon, the balloon will continue to inflate. At TDC, or any transition points 90, 180, 270 and 360 degrees, (see FIG. 5 ) the inflow pressure is instantly reversed and the balloon's stored air pressure is released in the same direction as the air compressor's forced air direction and the net air force equals the balloon's stored potential+the potential delivered by the compressor.
[0110] The “air pressure” being stored inside the balloon corresponds to voltage potential stored inside the generator coil. The “compressor” corresponds to the prime mover causing the rotor magnet to move toward the coil thus inducing an electromotive pressure in the coil. If, however, the pump's inflow pressure ceases the air pressure inside the balloon will begin to deflate the balloon. The only difference between the conventional coil and the ReGen-X coil is that the ReGen-X coil balloon scenario is actually a vacuum which sucks the air out of the air compressor into the balloon without any back pressure and less work being required by the compressor to deliver air into the balloon and then releases it, and then sucking it in again. The conventional coil (balloon) is always fighting the compressor—and as the pressure (voltage) builds inside the balloon (coil) more and more work is required to be delivered by the compressor.
[0111] It is worth noting again that at TDC in a conventional coil there is no relative motion between the generator's rotor magnets and the coil, and there is no induced voltage in the coil or current flow at the instant the current is changing direction, but due to the rise and decay time constants of the inductor coil it is not noticeable because the coil's time constant prevents the current from instantly decaying down to zero. FIG. 2 shows the Time Constant Rise Time in a Series Inductor Circuit. The ReGenX coil's inductance contributes to the coils rise time post TDC which in turn contributes to the 45 degree current time delay.
[0112] An inductor (also choke, coil or reactor) is a passive two-terminal electrical component that stores energy in its magnetic field. For comparison, a capacitor stores energy in an electric field, and a resistor does not store energy but rather dissipates energy as heat. Any conductor has inductance. An inductor is typically made of a wire or other conductor wound into a coil, to increase the magnetic field.
[0113] When the current flowing through an inductor changes it creates a time-varying magnetic field inside the coil, a voltage is induced, according to Faradays law of electromagnetic induction, which by Lenz's law opposes the change in current that created it. Inductors are one of the basic components used in electronics where current and voltage change with time, due to the ability of inductors to delay and reshape alternating currents.
[0114] Inductance (L) results from the magnetic field forming around a current-carrying conductor. Electric current through the conductor creates a magnetic flux proportional to the current. A change in this current creates a corresponding change in magnetic flux which, in turn, by Faradays law generates an electromotive force (EMF) in the conductor that opposes this change in current. Thus inductors oppose changes in current through them and the higher the inductance value the longer the coil takes to allow current to flow in the circuit. Conventional generator coils employ coils of low inductance whereas the ReGen-X coil has inductance values and time constants that can be five times greater. This has an important role to play in the coils ability to allow current to flow through the coil.
[0115] The effect of an inductor in a circuit is to oppose changes in current through it by developing a voltage across it proportional to the rate of change of the current. The relationship between the time-varying voltage v(t) across an inductor with inductance L and the time-varying current i(t) passing through it is described by the differential equation:
[0000]
v
(
t
)
=
L
i
(
t
)
t
[0116] When there is a sinusoidal alternating current (AC) through an inductor, a sinusoidal voltage is induced. The amplitude of the voltage is proportional to the product of the amplitude (I P ) of the current and the frequency (f) of the current.
[0000] i ( t )= I P sin(2 πft )
[0000]
i
(
t
)
t
=
2
π
fI
P
cos
(
2
π
ft
)
v
(
t
)
=
2
π
fLI
P
cos
(
2
π
ft
)
[0000] In this situation, the phase of the current lags that of the voltage by π/2.
[0117] If an inductor is connected to a direct current source with value I via a resistance R, (see FIG. 4C ) and then the current source is short-circuited, the differential relationship above shows that the current through the inductor will discharge with an exponential decay:
[0000] i ( t )= Ie −(R/L)t
[0118] The delay in the rise/fall time ( FIG. 4D ) of the circuit is in this case caused by the back-EMF from the inductor which, as the current flowing through it tries to change, prevents the current (and hence the voltage across the resistor) from rising or falling much faster than the time-constant of the circuit. Since all wires have some self-inductance and resistance, all circuits have a time constant. As a result, when the power supply is switched on, the current does not instantaneously reach its steady-state value V/R. The rise instead takes several time-constants to complete. At TDC the coil is neither approaching nor receding from the stationary coil, therefore f=0 and coil total impedance Z t =coil DC resistance R DC (only). No X L (inductive reactance) component exists because it is frequency dependent.
[0119] ReGen-X Coil Operation Above Critical Frequency with an Approaching Magnetic North Pole
[0120] The situation as a magnetic North pole approaches the Regen-X coil with a speed that means
[0000] ω e >>ω c
[0000] In this situation the magnetic flux in the core has a relatively high, positive rate of change and this means that because the inductance of the ReGen-X coil is relatively high the reactance of the coil is also high (X L =ω L =2πf L ) leading to a high overall impedance (Z coil =X L +R DC +X c ) and so there is a relatively low current flow in the coil and load. Instead, the majority of the energy contained in the magnetic field in the core/coil combination (W=LI 2 /2) remains in the core. (Where the usual circuit variable names are used; f:frequency, L:inductance, I:current, R:resistance, subscripting i.e. ‘DC’ means zero-frequency etc.)
[0121] Coil Operation Above Critical Frequency with a Coaxial Magnetic North Pole
[0122] At the instant the magnet is coaxial with the coil the situation is as illustrated in FIG. 9 . Because the rate of change of the magnetic flux is instantaneously zero, the impedance of the coil drops rapidly and magnetic field in the core is ‘discharged’ back towards the rotor, repelling the passing North magnetic pole and attracting the next South magnetic pole in the series. It is postulated by the inventor that in this situation Lenz's law applies in the opposite sense and so the EMF generated by the coil is defined by Equation (2.2).
[0000] ε Regen-X =+dΦ B /dt=+NAdB ⊥ /dt (2.2)
[0123] At TDC there is no horizontal motion and no vertical motion as far as the coil is concerned. At TDC there is no relative motion thus no changing flux inside the coil core because it is already maximum. At TDC just prior to the rotor magnet beginning to move away from the stationary coil the maximum coil-induced voltage can then be dissipated through the low DC resistance of the coil, producing a maximum repelling magnetic field which accelerates the rotor magnet's departure while simultaneously attracting the opposite pole rotor magnetic field now moving into position. At TDC+T 1 (location of rotating “N” in FIG. 3 ) f, or the reactive oscillation in the coil, exists again. Flux change is uniform if RPM is uniform—there is no maximum change in flux. However flux magnitude increases as the rotor magnet approaches the stationary core and it peaks at TDC. At TDC flux magnitude is maximum inside the coil core. Coil-induced voltage is also maximum.
[0124] The drawings (SEE FIG. 4 ) show that the induced flux predominates below the critical minimum frequency ω c resulting in a single sinusoidal wave in the equivalent circuit. Above ω c , the coil produces an AC pulse at TDC (See FIG. 4 b ) which is very narrow but still a sine wave. On the rotor of the present invention, the alternating magnet poles are virtually touching each other for maximum frequency and the frequency at TDC, i.e. neither approaching nor receding. There is no relative movement so the frequency must be zero if no movement exists.
[0000] In order to reduce the amount of energy required to rotate the rotor and, therefore, reduce the amount of energy required to generate electric power, the distortion of the magnetic flux across the pole faces must be eliminated or at least reduced.
In fact the present invention does not directly reduce or eliminate it, but instead reverses it by delaying it by 180 degrees.
[0125] FIG. 4 shows a rotating North Pole magnet field approaching a stationary coil which is connected to a load at a certain frequency F 1 . In this condition a conventional generator coil will decelerate the rotor magnets speed of approach and reduce the frequency of the coil's induced current. Initially when the ReGenX coil is connected to a load, current flows in the coil but it is delayed by 45 degrees so the full repelling forces as dictated by Lenz's Law and Newton's Third Law are not manifested—as shown in the oscilloscope shots in FIG. 5 .
[0126] FIG. 5 shows the oscilloscope current waveform through a purely resistive load (PF=1) for a conventional generator coil (A) and a ReGenX coil (B) with the same rotor magnet and identical rotor magnet relative positioning. At 90 degrees (TDC) the rotor magnet is Top Dead Centre to both the conventional and ReGenX coil's core and is just about to move past the coil's cores. The conventional coil is experiencing the maximum repelling resistive force as can be exerted by the conventional coil's induced magnetic field because the current magnitude is also maximum. At TDC the ReGenX coil's stored voltage is released through the coil and the load and the coil's Time Constant delays its immediate manifestation. The ReGenX coil's current is delayed by 45 degrees and does not fully manifest itself until the 135 degree mark which is post TDC.
[0127] At post TDC (post 90 degrees) the rotor's rotating magnetic field has already moved past the coil's cores and when the delayed current finally peaks at the 135 degree mark the ReGenX coil's repelling magnetic field also peaks. The result is the rotor magnet's departure away from the ReGenX coil's core is accelerated by the forces exerted by the ReGenX coil's current magnitude and resultant induced magnetic field on the rotor's magnetic field. The current frequency is increased from F1 to F2 as shown in FIG. 6 as is the rotor's speed and the mechanical power in the generator's drive shaft.
[0128] The ReGenX generator coil attracts the approaching South Pole rotor magnetic field while simultaneously repelling the rotor's North Pole magnetic field as it moves away from TDC. F1 and F2 can also be looked at as the resultant externally applied forces required to move the rotor magnet toward and away from the coil's core. In a conventional generator coil scenario the externally applied mechanical energy must be increased to compensate and overcome the resistive repelling forces the generator coil applies on the approaching rotor magnetic field (F1) and the attracting forces as the rotor magnetic field tries to move away. In the ReGenX generator coil operation the externally applied mechanical force can be reduced in proportion to the attracting force (F1) and repelling force (F2). As can be seen from the various diagrams in FIGS. 8 a , 8 b , 8 c and 8 d , TDC can occur at 0, 90, 180 or 270 degrees depending on where the sine wave is triggered on the oscilloscope. In every case, at TDC the rotating loop is parallel to the generator stator's magnetic lines of force.
Conventional Generator Coil Operation, Stage 1 and Stage 2
[0129] FIG. 9 shows what happens when a North Pole rotor magnet approaches a conventional coil which is connected to a load, current flows to the load and the coil produces both a repelling resistive electromagnetic force as seen by the approaching rotor magnet as well as an attractive resistive electromagnetic field as seen by the receding magnetic field. The net effect is more externally applied force must always be applied to the rotor magnets to keep them approaching the coil or they will decelerate and eventually stop if the load current is great enough. The higher the current magnitude flowing in the coil the stronger the coil's induced magnetic field and the more force must be applied to the rotor.
[0130] When the North Pole rotor magnetic field begins to move away from the coil's core as shown in FIG. 10 , the current flow direction changes direction as well and the coil's induced resistive magnetic field changes from a repelling magnetic field to an attracting magnetic field which resists the North Pole rotor's departure.
[0131] ReGen-X Generator Coil Operation, Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3
[0132] In Stage 1 as shown in FIG. 11 , when the rotor's magnet field approaches the ReGen-X coil above a certain critical minimum frequency the coil impedance delays current flow in the coil and it does not peak until the rotor magnet passes TDC. TDC is the point in time when the rotor magnet is neither approaching nor receding the coil and it is essentially stationary. FIG. 5 shows the current sine wave in the ReGenX coil (B) which is minimal prior to TDC and maximum after TDC. When the rotor magnetic field approaches a ReGenX coil above the coil's critical minimum frequency the current is delayed and the resultant repelling magnetic field is minimal as shown in the isolation diagram below FIG. 12 .
[0133] FIG. 12 shows the current sine wave for a conventional generator coil (A) which peaks at the 90 degree mark (TDC). The resistive repelling magnetic field produced by the coil increases in magnitude until it peaks at 90 degrees and then changes direction to a maximum magnitude resistive attracting magnetic field after the 90 degree mark when the current flow in the coil also changes direction. The current flowing in the ReGenX generator coil on the other hand is small prior to the 90 degree mark and does not peak until after TDC or until the rotor magnet is already moving away from the coil's core. The NET result is the post 90 degree (accelerative) repelling forces are greater than the pre 90 degree (decelerative) repelling forces exerted by the ReGenX coil's induced magnetic field on the rotor's rotating magnetic field and rotor acceleration occurs under load. FIG. 13 shows Stage 2 for the ReGenX generator coil when the rotor magnetic field is TDC, neither approaching nor receding from the coil's core.
[0134] At TDC the impedance of the coil drops to the low DC resistance of the coil while the induced voltage in the coil is at a maximum. The maximum induced voltage can now be dissipated through the coil's low DC resistance which produces maximum current flow through the coil and to the load. The ReGenX coil's current flow is delayed by the coil's inductance rise time as shown in FIG. 2 . and maximum current flow and corresponding maximum magnetic field produced around the coil does not fully manifest itself until 45 degrees post TDC. Once the rotor's magnetic field begins to move away from the coil's core at TDC the ReGenX coil's delayed and peaking magnetic field repels and accelerates the rotor magnetic field in the same direction as its original trajectory and accelerates its departure away from the coil at a faster rate than it otherwise would be.
[0135] FIGS. 14 & 15 show Stage 3 for the ReGenX coil operation where the rotor's rotating magnetic field has moved past the coils core at TDC. When the ReGen-X coil discharges its delayed magnetic field which is the same polarity as the receding rotor magnet it accelerates the magnet's departure at a faster rate while simultaneously attracting the opposite pole on the rotor which is now moving into position. The net effect is less externally applied force can be applied to the rotor magnets to keep them approaching the coil as opposed to a conventional generator coil which requires an increase in eternally applied force. The higher the current magnitude flowing in the ReGen-X coil the stronger the coil's induced magnetic field and the less force is required to keep the rotor rotating and the generator producing electrical energy.
[0136] Coil Positioning with Regards to Flux Harvesting with a Plurality of Salient ReGenX Generator Coils and or Conventional Generator Coils
[0137] The ReGenX generator coil has the unique ability to convert rotor magnetic flux to electrical energy as well as discharging magnetic flux from an adjacent ReGenX or conventional generator coil and or motor coil. When a ReGenX generator coil is placed in the vicinity of another ReGenX generator coil and the first ReGenX coil is connected to a load, the induced voltage in the second coil will be increased by a certain amount because the first coil's induced magnetic field is being discharged and entering the second ReGenX coil in the same magnetic direction. The effect is that the net flux penetrating the second coil's core will be increased according to the magnitude of the magnetic coupling coefficient between the two coils and vice versa.
[0138] When the second ReGenX coil is placed on load, the power delivered to the load by the first coil will be increased due to the flux harvesting feature of the ReGenX generator coil. If a conventional generator coil replaces the second coil in the scenario above the same effect will occur. If a motor coil replaces the second coil the motor coil's flux will be collected in the first ReGenX generator coil as dictated by the magnetic coupling coefficient between the two coils.
[0139] FIG. 16 shows the relative positioning between ReGenX generator coils 1610 & 1615 to maximize Flux Harvesting.
[0140] When the motor coils 1620 , as shown in FIGS. 16-19 receive electric current in the correct direction, the current creates a magnetic field around the motor coil with a North pole polarity 1910 which causes the North Pole rotor magnets to accelerate away from the motor coils. When the ReGen-X coils discharge their stored electro-magnetic-energy into the load which is physically connected to them, they also create a magnetic field around the coil which has the same polarity as the already receding North pole rotor magnet.
[0141] The adjacent ReGen-X coil's discharging flux is also collected in all the available ReGen-X coils and vice versa. The discharging flux from the motor coils (M) enters the ReGen-X generator coil in the same direction as the North pole rotor flux, and the two flux magnitudes are additive. The ReGen-X coil's electrical power output to the load is increased by the magnitude of the motor flux which is collected in the ReGen-X coil's core.
[0142] FIG. 20 shows a Concentric E core with a ReGen-X salient coil mounted on the middle finger of an E core, with a conventional coil wrapped around the ReGen-X coil on the outer E core fingers. The conventional coil in this embodiment is used to supply power to a load while creating conventional armature reaction. Rotor flux enters the E core via the North pole rotor magnet on the middle E core finger and returns to the rotors' South poles via the outer E core fingers. The flux directions are reversed when the South pole rotor magnet is facing the E core's middle finger.
[0143] FIG. 21 shows a Concentric E core with a ReGen-X salient coil mounted on the middle finger of the E core, with a conventional coil wrapped around the ReGen-X coil on the outer E core fingers. When the ReGen-X coil discharges its stored flux, it accelerates the North pole magnet's departure while attracting the approaching South pole magnet on the rotor, and the rotor is accelerated. A receding South pole rotor magnet produces the same flux direction in the core as an approaching North pole rotor magnet. The discharging North pole flux from the ReGen-X coil enters the external coil fingers of the E coil in the same direction as the approaching rotor magnet flux, and all the fluxes are additive. The output power delivered by the conventional coil to the load is increased by the net magnitude of flux produced by the ReGen-X coil and that collected by the conventional coil. The conventional coil in FIG. 21 can be substituted for a motor coil or vice versa while retaining the flux harvesting features described in FIGS. 20 and 21 .
[0144] FIG. 22 shows the rotor flux paths for a ReGen-X Toroid Core application on no load.
[0145] FIG. 23 shows the ReGen-X coil induced flux paths for a ReGen-X Bi-coil Toroid Core application. The discharging flux (hash tag arrows) from coil 1 enters coil 2 in the same direction as the rotor flux path direction and vice versa. Because the induced fluxes are entering the coils in the same direction as the rotor flux, all the fluxes are cumulative and the output power to the load is increased accordingly.
[0146] Bi-Filar wound coil is created by winding two wires around the core simultaneously.
[0147] The parallel connected bi-filar winding is employed when the ReGen-X coil is to be used as a motor coil or a conventional generator coil because the inductive properties of this coil are identical to that of a conventionally wound coil.
[0148] Connecting the bi-filar coil into a series wound coil increases the coil's self induced capacitance and changes the on-load characteristics (when operated above the minimum critical frequency) from a counter-electromotive-torque producing coil to a complementary-electromotive-torque producing coil which accelerates the system rather than decelerating it. FIG. 26 shows input wire A 2610 , input wire B 2620 and output wire A 2630 .
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The present invention relates to electrical generators and, in particular, to improvements to efficiency in electromechanical energy conversion in electrical generators and electric motors. The regenerative acceleration generator coil according to the present invention takes advantage of the structure of a high impedance multiple-loop salient pole winding or low impedance bi-filar windings to create a positive armature (accelerative) reaction rather than a negative (decelerative) reaction as exhibited by prior art generators which only have low impedance multiple loops of wire making up their rotor armature. The generator of the present invention reverses these negative effects by delaying current flow in the coil until the rotating magnetic field reaches TDC.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crystalline optical fiber for infrared rays which has a core-crust structure and to a method of manufacturing the crystalline optical fiber.
2. Background of the Invention
A quartz glass fiber has been widely used for optical communication and has produced good results. There are two types of quartz glass fibers. One of them is the step index type. The other is the graded index type. The quartz glass fiber of the step index type has a double structure consisting of a core and a crust. This crust in a quartz fiber is usually called a cladding.
Although such quartz glass fibers have good properties, they can only be used for visible light or near infrared rays.
The light of a CO 2 (carbon dioxide) laser has a wide range of use for industry and medical treatment. However, since the wave-length of the light is as long as 10.6 μm, it cannot be transmitted with a low loss through any glass fiber developed so far.
Although some fibers have been developed for a CO 2 laser, a relatively large loss is caused at the time of the transmission of the light of the laser. Therefore, the fibers are only used for communication at a short distance of several meters or less. However, the light of the CO 2 laser is often used as power for material processing. Therefore, the fibers are useful enough for the light as power for such purposes.
A glass fiber and a crystalline fiber have been developed as optical fibers through which the light of a CO 2 laser can be transmitted. The glass fiber is made of a chalcogenide glass, a fluoride glass or the like. The crystalline fiber is made of a metal halide crystal which can be of three broadly classified kinds as follows:
(1) Silver halide crystal
AgBr, AgCl, AgI or a mixture thereof
(2) Thallium halide crystal
TlBr, TlCl, TlI or a mixture thereof
(3) Alkali halide crystal
CsI, CsBr or a mixture thereof
Other crystalline optical fibers of ZnSe, ZnS and so forth have also been develped.
One of methods of manufacturing a crystalline optical fiber is an extrusion method in which the manufacturing is started with a preform. Other methods include a pull-up method and a pull-down method in which the manufacturing is started with a molten material.
In the extrusion method, the preform of a single crystal is put in a container, softened by heat and extruded through a die to manufacture a thin fiber.
In the pull-up and the pull-down methods, the material is put in a crucible and is melted. In the pullup method, a seed crystal is immersed in the molten material and gradually pulled up in the same manner as an ordinary growth of a crystal. In the pull-down method, a hole is previously provided in the bottom of the crucible so that a crystal is gradually pulled down through the hole.
Since the speed of the extrusion is high, the productivity of the extrusion method is higher than those of the pull-up and the pull-down methods.
The present invention relates particularly to an improvement in manufacturing a crytalline optical fiber in the extrusion method.
Each of the above-mentioned metal halide crystalline optical fibers is normally made of only a core with no crust. The core is inserted into a polymer tube when the core is used as the optical fiber. In that case, the air between the core and the tube acts as a crust. Since the core and the air differ from each other in refractive index, infrared rays are transmitted through the core while being totally reflected by the boundary between the core and the air. However, the air only acts as a very unstable crust.
The surface of the core, which plays an extremely important role in the transmission of light, is likely to be contaminated or damaged depending on the environment around the optical fiber. When the surface of the core is contaminated or a water drop clings to the surface, an intense energy absorption takes place because the contaminations and water have large absorption coefficient in the infrared region. Since the light of a CO 2 laser is intense, heating results from the absorption to destroy the optical fiber However, such a problem can be solved by providing the optical fiber with a crust which prevents the absorption.
In Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 132301/81 (the term "OPI" as used herein means an "unexamined published application") published on Oct. 26, 1981, it was proposed that the peripheral surface of the core of an optical fiber for infrared rays be coated with a metal film through evaporation in a vacuum so as to protect the core and to prevent the infrared rays from leaking out of the surface of the core. The film is made of gold with a thickness of 1 μm. Although gold reflects infrared rays well enough to effectively confine them in the core, the optical fiber coated with the gold ha disadvantages as described next. It is difficult to uniformly coat the peripheral surface of the core of circular cross section with the gold by evaporation. The gold prepared as the material for the coating film is significantly wasted. The thickness of the coating metal film cannot be made larger than about 1 μm. For that reason, the film cannot physically protect the core or sufficiently confine the infrared rays in the core. Since gold is not transparent to infrared rays, the gold intensely absorbs them so that the gold is heated. Also for the same reason, the thickness of the film cannot be made large. Therefore, the crust on the core should be made of a material through which the infrared rays are well transmitted similarly to a quartz glass fiber
Although a method of manufacturing a crystalline optical fiber comprising a core of a crystal for infrared rays and a crust has been proposed, the number of the manufacturing steps of the method is large and the method is complicated.
A method of manufacturing a core and a crust at a single time unlike the above-mentioned prior art was proposed in the Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 208506/82 published on Dec. 21, 1982. In this method, a solid solution crystal of TlBr and TlI is used. The preformed crystal is put in a die, heated and extruded through a thin nozzle to manufacture a thin fiber. The temperature of the crystal seems to play an important role in the method. The temperatures of the die and the nozzle and the speed of the extrusion are set at 300° C., 220° C. and 10 mm/min., respectively. As a result, the crystal grains of the peripheral portion of the fiber are made small and those of its central portion are made large. Since the central and the peripheral portions differ from each other in crystal grain diameter, the fiber has a double structure consisting of a core and a crust. The optical fiber having the core-crust structure is thus manufactured in the simple extrusion method. The lower the temperatures are, the smaller the diameter of each crystal grain is. The grain diameter is 20 μm, 100 μm, and 200 μm, respectively when the temperature of the nozzle is 300° C., 350° C., and 400° C. Since the temperature of the nozzle is lower than that of the die, the peripheral portion of the material being extruded through the nozzle is cooled more than the central portion thereof so that the crystal grains of the peripheral portion become small and those of the central portion become large. The phenomenon that the double structure of the optical fiber confines light therein is explained by the facts that the angle of divergence of the light is small and the transmission factor of the fiber is high. The transmission factor of an optical fiber made of the same material but having no core-crust structure is 90%, while that of the optical fiber having the core-crust structure is 92%. In the method, heaters are non-uniformly distributed in order to make the temperature of the nozzle lower than that of the die.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an extrusion method in which a core is not previously manufactured and then coated with a cladding, but the core and crust of a crystalline optical fiber having a core-crust structure are manufactured simultaneously and integrally.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber which is an improvement of an optical fiber made of a mixed crystal of AgBr and AgCl and has a boundary between a core and an inner crust and another boundary between the inner crust and an outer crust so that the light of a CO 2 laser can be much better confined in the core.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a device for manufacturing a crystalline optical fiber according to the present invention.
FIGS. 2a and 2c show sectional views of conventional crystalline optical fibers wherein the diameters of crystal grains thereof are nearly equal to each other throughout the cross section of the fiber.
FIGS. 2b and 2d show sectional views of crystalline optical fibers manufactured according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a device for evaluating the diameter of a light beam.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A first method of manufacturing a crystalline optical fiber according to the present invention is hereafter described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1a shows a sectional view of a crystalline optical fiber extrusion device for performing the method. A preform 1 is a good single crystal of a metal halide. Dies 4a and 4b define a cylindrical space, in which the preform 1 is put. An extrusion die 2 is provided at the downstream end of the space. A heater 5 for heating the dies 4a and 4b is provided around them. Thermocouples (not shown the drawing) are provided in the dies 4a and 4b to monitor the temperatures thereof. The heating power of the heater 5 is controlled depending on the monitored temperatures to keep them at prescribed levels.
A ram 3 for extruding the preform 1 through the extrusion die 2 is provided so that the ram 3 can be moved back and forth in the cylindrical space.
The constitution of the extrusion device show in FIG. 1a is well known. The method is characterized by the temperature and extrusion speed of the preform 1.
In many conventional methods of extruding a crystalline optical fiber, the temperatures of the dies are 250° C. or more. In most of the methods, the temperatures are 300° C. or more. In the methods, the speed of the extrusion is 10 mm/min. or less. In most of the methods, the speed is 5 mm/min. or less.
In the method according to the present invention, the temperature of the dies 4a and 4b is 80° to 200° C., and the speed of the extrusion is 5 to 30 mm/min. Therefore, in the method the temperature is lower and the speed is higher than in the conventional methods; particularly when the invention is used at extrusion speeds greater than 10 mm/min.
The metal halide crystal used as the preform 1 is as follows:
(1) Silver halide crystal
AgCr, AgBr, or a mixture thereof
(2) Thallium halide crystal
TlCl, TlBr, KRS-5 or a mixture thereof
(KRS-5 is a well known mixture of TlBr and TlI)
(3) Alkali halide crystal
CsBr CsI, or a mixture thereof
A very small quantity of other elements, which do not degrade the optical properties of the metal halide crystal, may be added thereto for the purpose of improving the mechanical properties of the crystal or for the like.
The metal halide crystal as the preform 1 is put in the die 4, heated at 80° to 200° C., by the heater 5 and extruded at the speed of 5 to 30 mm/min. through the extrusion die 2, so that the thin polycrystalline fiber 6 is continuously manufactured.
FIG. 2b shows an enlarged sectional view of the polycrystalline fiber 6. The view is as seen through a microscope. It is understood from the view that a central portion 10 of the cross section of the fiber has small crystal grains and a peripheral portion 12 of the cross section thereof has large crystal grains. Since the central portion 10 having the small crystal grains is referred to as the core 10 and the peripheral portion 12 having the large crystal grains is referred to as the crust 12, the fiber can be said to have a double structure consisting of the core 10 and the crust 12.
In the method according to the present invention, the temperature at the extrusion nozzle is not made lower to set a nonuniform temperature gradient, as is done in the above-menitoned Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 208506/82. In the present method, the temperature of the dies 4a and 4b is uniform throughout them. The temperature is equal to that of the preform 1. If the temperature of the dies 4 is more than 200° C., the crystal grains of the central portion 10 and the peripheral portion 12 of the fiber 6 would have almost the same diameter as shown in FIG. 2a. When the temperature of the dies 4 is 200° C., a diameter difference is produced between the crystal grains of the central portion 10 and those of the peripheral portion 12. As the temperature of the dies 4 is lowered from 200° C., the number of the small crystal grains increases and that of the large crystal grains decreases, namely, the central portion 10 becomes larger. In other words, the thickness of the crust 12 becomes smaller along with the fall in the temperature and becomes larger along with the rise in the temperature. If the temperature is lower than 80° C., both the central and the peripheral portions 10 and 12 of the fiber 6 would have small crystal grains like those of the central portion 10 shown in FIG. 2b and would spread throughout the fiber 6, so that the double structure consisting of the core 10 and the crust 12 would disappear.
To be brief, the core-crust structure 10 would disappear above the temperature of 200° C., and the crust 12 would disappear below the temperature of 80° C. For that reason, the double structure would disappear under such temperature conditions.
The ratio of the average diameter D 1 of each crystal grain of the crust 12 of the fiber 6 to that d 2 of each crystal grain of the core 10 is 5 or more. The difference between the core 10 and the crust 12 is the difference between the sizes of their crystal grains. The ratio needs to be 5 or more in order to make the difference significant.
The thickness of the crust 12 needs to be considerably large in order to protect the core 12 and effectively confine light therein. For that purpose, the thickness of the crust 12 needs to be 5% or more of the diameter of the core 10.
In the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 208506/82, a thallium halide crystal fiber having a core-crust structure is manufactured by extrusion. However, the crystal grains of the core of the fiber are large and those of the crust thereof are small, in contrast with the optical fiber manufactured in the method according to the present invention. In that prior art, the temperature of the nozzle is made lower to set a temperature gradient on the cross section of the fiber to make the crystal grains of the crust small. Therefore, the prior art is greatly different from the method of the invention.
As described above, in the method according to the present invention, the temperature of the extruded crystal material and the speed of the extrusion are prescribed at 80° to 200° C., and 5 to 30 mm/min., respectively. These conditions cause the extrusion of the crystalline optical fiber 6 comprising the core 10 of small crystal grains and the crust 12 of large crystal grains.
A second method of manufacturing a crystalline optical fiber according to the present invention is hereafter described. FIG. 1b shows a sectional view of a crystalline optical fiber extrusion device for performing the method. A preform 1 is a good crystal comprising a core 1b and a crust 1a. Both the core 1a and the crust 1b is made of a mixture of AgBr and AgCl. Since the composition ratios of the core and the crust are not equal to each other, they come to have different structures when the preform 1 is extruded.
The core 1a is a mixed crystal whose main constituent is AgBr and contains 0.1 to 10% by weight of AgCl, the quantity of which is referred to as x % by weight hereinafter.
The crust 1b is a crystal made of only AgCl or is a mixed crystal whose main constituent is AgCl and which contains 0.1 to 10% by weight of AgBr, the quantity of which is referred to as y % by weight hereinafter.
Amount of AgCl added to the main constituent of AgBr in the core 1a is larger than the amount of AgBr added to the main constituent of AgCl in the crust 1b namely, a relationship y<x is set.
The composition ratios of the core and the crust are simply expressed in two cases as follows:
(1) Core AgBr : AgCl=100: x
Crust AgCl : AgBr=100: y
0.1≦x; y≦10;y>x
(2) Core AgBr : AgCl=100: x
Crust AgCl : AgBr=100 : 0
0.1≦x≦10
Alternatively, the following case is also avilable in the present invention:
The core 1a is a mixed crystal whose main constituent is AgCl and contains 0.1 to 10% by weight of AgBr, the quantity of which is referred to as x % by weight hereinafter.
The crust 1b is a crystal made of only AgCl, or is a mixed crystal whose main constituent is AgCl and which contains 0.1 to 10% by weight of AgBr, the quantity of which is referred to as y % by weight hereinafer. Amount of AgBr added to the main constituent of AgCl in the core is larger than the amount of AgBr added to the main constituent of AgCl in the crust, namely, a relationship y≦x is set.
The composition ratios of the core and the crust are simply expressed in two cases as follows:
(1) Core AgCl : AgBr=100: x
Crust AgCl : AgBr=100: y
0.1≦x; y≦10;y<x
(2) Core AgCl : AgBr=100: x
Crust AgCl : AgBr=100 : 0
0.1≦x≦10
When the preform 1 is extruded in the method, the core 1a of the preform 1 becomes, as shown in FIG. 2d, the core 10 and an inner crust 12a which are hereinafter sometimes referred to as a core-inner-crust portion, and the crust 1b of the preform 1 become an outer crust 12b.
It is necessary to prepare the preform 1 to perform the method. The core 1a of the preform 1 is first grown as a single crystal in a pull-up method or a boat method. The core 1a is then cylindrically ground. After that, the crust 1b of the preform 1 is grown on the cylindrical core. The preform 1 is thus manufactured as a mixed crystal of AgBr and AgCl. A very small quantity of other elements, which do not degrade the optical properties of the fiber, may be added to the preform 1 for the purpose of improving the mechanical properties of the fiber or for the like.
As dies shown in FIG. 1b dies 4a and 4b define a cylindrical space, in which the preform 1 is put as a starting material. An extrusion die 2 having a small hole is provided at the downstream end of the cylindrical space to extrude the softened preform 1 through the extrusion die.
A heater 5 for uniformly heating the dies 4a and 4b and the preform 1 is provided around the dies 4a and 4b. Thermocouples (not shown in the drawing) are provided in the dies 4 to monitor their temperatures. The heating power of the heater 5 is controlled depending on the monitored temperatures to keep them at prescribed levels.
A ram 3 extrudes the preform 1 through the extrusion die 2 and is provided so that the ram 3 can be moved back and forth in the cylindrical space. The constitution of the extrusion device shown in FIG. 1b is well known.
The method according to the present invention is characterized by the composition of the preform 1 and the temperature and speed of the extrusion.
In many conventional methods of extruding a crystalline optical fiber, the temperature of the dies is 250° C. or more. In most of the methods, the temperature is 300° C. or more. In the methods, the speed of the extrusion is 10 mm/min. or less. In most of the methods, the speed is 5 mm/min. or less.
In the method according to the present invention, the temperature of the dies 4 is 80° to 200° C. and the speed of the extrusion is 5 to 30 mm/min. The temperature and the speed in the methods are lower and higher than those in the conventional methods, respectively.
The double structured preform 1, which is the mixed crystal of silver halides, is put in the cylindrical space inside the dies 4, covered with the ram 3 and heated at the temperature of 80° to 200° C. by the heater 5 so that the preform is not melted but is softened.
An appropriate mechanical force is applied to the ram 3 to extrude the polycrystalline optical fiber 6 at the speed of 5 to 30 mm/min. from the extrusion die 2. The thin fiber 6 is thus continuously manufactured.
FIG. 2d shows an enlarged sectional view of the polycrystalline optical fiber 6. A thick line in the drawing represents a boundary Y between the core 1a and crust 1b of the fiber. The boundary is previously present in the preform 1. Thin lines in the drawing represent the boundaries between the crystal grains of the fiber. The crystal grains of the central portion 10 of the fiber are very small, while those of the peripheral portions 12a and 12b are very large.
The ratio of the diameter D 2 of each crystal grain of the central portion of the fiber to that D 1 of each crystal grain of the peripheral portion thereof is 5 or more. Although the forms and dimensions of the crystal grains are not uniform, there is a clear difference between the sizes of the crystal grains of the central and the peripheral portions. The difference neither gradually nor randomly takes place but does take place nearly across a single circle. This is an important fact.
Because of the difference between the sizes of the crystal grains, another boundary X is produced. The boundary X is concentric to the peripheral surface of the fiber. Therefore, the fiber has two boundaries X and Y. The boundary X results from the difference between the sizes of the crystal grains. The other boundary Y results from the difference between the compositions of the core 1a and crust 1b of the preform 1. Inside and outside the boundary Y within the inner and outer crusts 12a and 12b the crystal grains are large on the whole and do not differ from each other in diameter. However, since the compositions inside and outside the boundary Y are made different from each other in the manufacturing of the preform 1, the different compositions remain inside and outside the boundary Y.
If the temperature was higher than 200° C., the crystal grains of the central and peripheral portions 10, 12a and 12b of the fiber would have almost the same diameter throughout the cross section of the fiber. In that case, the crystal grains would uniformly have a large diameter as shown in FIG. 2c.
A fiber whose structure is shown in FIG. 2c is hereinafter used as a comparison example manufactured in a conventional method. The structure has only a core-crust boundary Y (shown by a thick line in the drawing) which results from the difference in composition.
When the temperature is 200° C., small crystal grains appear in the central portion 10 of the fiber 6. When the temperature is lower than 200° C., the crosssectional area having the small crystal grains in the central portion expands. Namely, the core of the fiber 6 becomes larger, and the crust thereof become smaller. To be brief, the thickness of the crust becomes smaller accordingly as the temperature falls. The crust extends outside the boundary X. The core extends inside the boundary X.
If the temperature was lower than 80° C., all the crystal grains of the fiber 6 would become small as though the portion 10 inside the boundary X shown in FIG. 2b was spread throughout the fiber 6, so that the core-crust structure changing across the boundary X would disappear.
In brief, the core would disappear above the temperature of 200° C. and the crust would disappear below the temperature of 80° C., so that the double structure would disappear in both these cases.
As mentioned above, the ratio of the average diameter D 1 of each crystal grain of the crust of the fiber 6 to that D 2 of each crystal grain of the core thereof is preferably 5 or more.
The thickness of the crust needs to be considerably large in order to effectively confine light in the core. The thickness needs to be 5% or more of the diameter of the core.
The diameter of each crystal grains of the central portion is several μm, while that of each crystal grain of the peripheral portion is 30 μm to several tens of μm depending on the diameter of the fiber 6. When the diameter of the fiber is 1 mm, the diameter of each crystal grain of the crust is about 50 to 100 μm. When the diameter of the fiber is 0.7 mm, the diameter of each crystal grain of the crust is about 40 to 70 μm.
In the method according to the present invention, the composition and structure of the preform are prescribed and the temperature and speed of the extrusion are prescribed at 80° to 200° C. and 5 to 30 mm/min., respectively. As a result, the crystalline optical fiber having the double structure, which consists of the core and the crust different from each other in crystal grain diameter, is characterized by the boundary X. This fiber is manufactured by the extrusion process.
When the preform 1 is extruded into the thin fiber 6 from the extrusion die 2 under high pressure, the crystal grains forming the fiber 6 are made small. After the fiber is extruded through the die 2, recrystallization occurs in which the small crystal grains are incorporated as large crystal grains. It is presumed that the speed of the recrystallization of the small crystal grains of the central portion of the fiber and that of the recrystallization of the small crystal grains of the peripheral portion thereof are made different from each other due to the nonuniformity of the stress in the fiber being extruded. This nonuniformity makes the diameter of each crystal grain of the central portion different from that of each crystal grain of the peripheral portion different and also makes the refractive index of the grains of the central portion and that of the grains of the peripheral portion different form each other due to the distribution of the stress in the fiber. The core-crust structure of the fiber functions to confine light in the core.
The optical fiber manufactured in the first method according to the present invention has the double structure as described above. When the light of a CO 2 laser is transmitted through such a fiber, the transmission factor is higher than that of a single-structure conventional fiber such as shown in FIG. 2a.
The crystalline optical fiber manufactured in the second method according to the present invention has the triple structure consisting of the core inside the boundary X, the inner crust between the boundaries X and Y and the outer crust outside the boundary Y. Since the fiber is manufactured from the preform having the double structure consisting of the core and the crust as described above, the fiber is provided with the triple structure.
When the light of a CO 2 laser is transmitted through the fiber having the triple structure, the light is efficiently confined in the core of the fiber. For that reason, the effective transmission factor of the fiber is high.
Since the crust protects the core, the transmission factor of each of the fibers manufactured in the first and the second methods is less degraded even if the surface of the fiber is scratched.
Each of the optical fibers manufactured in the first and the second methods makes it easy to obtain a light beam of smaller diameter. When the divergence of the light beam is measured by an evaluation device shown in FIG. 3, the diameter of the beam is determined in terms of the burn pattern of an acrylic resin plate. It is understood from the result of the measurement that the diameter of the light beam transmitted through each of the optical fibers is smaller than that of the light beam transmitted through the conventional fiber. In other words, the crystalline optical fibers manufactured in the first and the second methods according to the present invention confine the light of a CO 2 laser more effectively than the conventional fiber.
The present invention is hereafter described with detailed embodiment thereof, in which a mixed crystal of AgCl and AgBr is used. A preform is prepared which is made of the mixed crystal, whose main constituent is AgBr mixed with 0.1 to 10% by weight of AgCl or is AgCl mixed with 0.1 to 10% by weight of AgBr. If the quantity of the additive mixed in the main constituent was smaller than 0.1% by weight, crystal grains would be too large and no small crystal grains would be produced. If the quantity of the additive mixed in the main constituent was larger than 10% by weight, the crystal grains would be too small and no large crystal grains would be produced.
The preform is extruded at a temperature of 80° to 200° C., and a speed of 5 to 30 mm/min. by the extrusion device shown in FIG. 1a so that a polycrystalline optical fiber is manufactured. The fiber has a double structure consisting of small crystal grains in the central portion of the fiber and large crystal grains in the peripheral portion thereof, as shown in FIG. 2b. The diameter of each crystal grain of the central portion is several μm, while that of each crystal grain of the peripheral portion is 30 μm to several tens of μm. When the diameter of the fiber is 1 mm, the thickness of the peripheral portion is about 50 to 100 μm. When the diameter of the fiber is 0.7 mm, the thickness of the peripheral portion is 40 to 70 μm.
The fiber is measured by the evaluation device shown in FIG. 3. The light of a CO 2 laser is transmitted through the fiber, condensed by a ZnSe lens and projected on an acrylic resin plate so that the surface of the plate is burnt. The burnt state of the surface is referred to as a burn pattern from which the diameter of the spot of the light beam projected on the plate is determined. The diameter of the spot of the light beam is referred to as the divergence of the beam on the acrylic resin plate. Since the light is condensed by the lens, the divergence of the light on the acrylic resin plate is nearly equal to that of the light outgoing from the end of the fiber. When the diameter of the fiber is 0.7 mm, the diameter of the spot is 0.4 mm. The same measurement is performed on the conventional crystalline fiber which has nearly crystal grains as shown in FIG, 2a and has the same composition as the fiber manufactured according to the present invention. The diameter of the spot of the light beam transmitted through the conventional fiber is 0.7 mm, which means that the light beam is distributed across the whole fiber. In contrast with that, the light beam is distributed in only the central portion (core) of the fiber manufactured according to present invention. The transmission factor of the conventional fiber is 60%, while that of the fiber manufactured according to the present invention is 68%. The transmission factor is measured again after a part of the surface of each of the fibers is scratched by sandpaper. The transmission factor of the scratched conventional fiber is 50%, while that of the scratched fiber manufactured according to the present invention is 66%. Since the surface of the core of the conventional fiber is exposed, the light beam is more likely to be scattered and absorbed due to the scratching so as to decrease the transmission factor. Since the light beam is not transmitted through the crust of the fiber manufactured according to the present invention but is transmitted through primarily through the core, the transmission factor is scarcely decreased even if the surface of the fiber is scratched.
Table 1 shows the results of the measurement of the light spot diameter and the transmission factor as to both the fibers.
TABLE 1______________________________________ Beam spot diameter Transmission factor______________________________________Crystalline optical fiberaccording to the present 0.4 mm 66% (*68%)inventionConventional crystallineoptical fiber 0.7 mm 50% (*60%)______________________________________ *value before scratching.
The present invention is hereafter described with reference to another embodiment thereof, in which a crystalline optical fiber comprising a core, an inner crust and another crust is manufactured only by extruding a preform through the use of an extrusion device. The core function to transmit the light of a CO 2 laser through only the central portion of the fiber. Both of the crusts coat the core to mechanically protect it and reflect the light on the boundary between the core and the inner crust. For that reason, the transmission factor of the fiber is higher than that of an optical fiber made of only a core. When the diameter of the optical fiber manufactured according to the present invention is 0.7 mm, the transmission factor of the fiber is 68%. The transmission factor of a conventional optical fiber (shown in FIG. 2c) having the same diameter and length as the fiber manufactured according to the present invention is 55%, which is 13% less than than of the present invention. Therefore, it is understood that the light of the CO 2 laser is very effectively transmitted through the optical fiber manufactured according to the present invention. Since the light is transmitted through only the core of the fiber, the light can be more condensed by using a ZnSe lens or the like. When the divergence of the light of the CO 2 laser transmitted through the fiber is measured by the evaluation device shown in FIG. 3, the light is condensed by a ZnSe lens and projected on the acrylic resin plate which is burnt by the light. The diameter of the light beam transmitted through the fiber is determined from the burn pattern of the plate. The diameter of the burn pattern made by the light beam is 0.3 mm, while that of the burn pattern made by the light beam transmitted through the conventional optical fiber is 0.6 mm. Since the conventional fiber also has a core-crust structure, the diameter of the light beam outgoing from the end of the fiber is 0.6 mm which is less than the outside diameter (0.7 mm) of the fiber. The transmission factor of the conventional fiber is also good. However, these properties of the optical fiber manufactured according to the present invention are much better than those of the conventional optical fiber.
Table 2 shows the results of measurement of the beam spot diameter and the transmission factor for both the fibers.
TABLE 2______________________________________ Beam spot diameter Transmission factor______________________________________Crystalline optical fiberaccording to the present 0.3 mm 68%inventionConventional crystallineoptical fiber 0.6 mm 55%______________________________________
According to the present invention, a crystalline optical fiber having a double structure consisting of a core and a crust or another crystalline optical fiber having a triple structure consisting of a core, an inner crust and an outer crust can be manufactured simply by extruding preforms, through the use of an extrusion device, as described above.
Since the crystalline optical fiber having the double structure comprises the core through which the light of a CO 2 laser is transmitted and the crust coating the core, the transmission factor of the fiber is higher than that of an optical fiber made of only a core. Since the core is not coated with the crust in a process separate from the extrusion but both the core and the crust are simultaneously and integrally produced by the extrusion, the manufacturing of the optical fiber is very simple.
Since the crystalline optical fiber having the triple structure comprises the core through which the light of a CO 2 laser is transmitted and the inner and the outer crust coating the core, the light is more efficiently transmitted through the fiber than an optical fiber made of only a core or than an optical fiber made of only a crystalline core and a crust, and the light can be more condensed downstream to the outgoing end of the fiber having the triple structure, so as to project the light of heightened energy density on a workpiece or the like. For that reasons, the optical fiber having the triple structure is much more useful in industrial processing and medical treatment.
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A crystalline metal halide optical fiber having a two or a three layer structure. The core consists of relatively small crystals. An inner crust surrounds the core and has the same composition but consists of relatively large crystals. An optical outer crust surrounds the inner crust and has a different composition from the inner crust but has generally the same sized crystals. The differing crystal sizes can be produced from a preform by extruding a crystal at a low uniform temperature at a relatively high speed.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/369,747, filed Apr. 4, 2002, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to extrusion members used in the construction of sign and display assemblies and, more particularly, to an assembly for adding a hinged face to a sign or display cabinet.
BACKGROUND
In the present state of the art, illuminated signs are commonly constructed using rectangular sign boxes or cabinets. A sign box typically encloses a light source, such as a row of flourescent light tubes, that is mounted within the sign box. The sign box has one or more faces formed of translucent sheets that are mounted over the light source. Each face may be painted or marked with text or a design that is illuminated by the light source inside the sign box.
Sign boxes provide a weatherproof housing for the fluorescent light tubes, ballasts, wiring and other components in the sign. In many cases, the sign box is constructed using a framework of aluminum extrusions which form frame members and mounting components. The frame members and sign faces must be rigidly connected with one another to support the weight of the sign and withstand external forces, such as gale winds. At the same time, the frame members must allow access to the internal components of the sign so that the internal components can be serviced.
In many standard sign boxes, sign faces are bolted to the sign box frame. To service internal components in the sign box, the sign faces are disassembled from the frame to enable access to the sign box interior. Disassembly of a sign face requires effort and increases the overall time required to perform routine service on a sign installation. Accordingly, it is beneficial to provide an assembly for sign boxes to permit access to the interior of the sign box without requiring disassembly of the frame structure for the sign. One approach to solving this problem has been the use of sign boxes that have sign faces mounted to the frame on a piano hinge. Piano hinges allow a sign face to be pivoted to an open position without disassembling the frame. However, the piano hinge has been conventionally attached to both the frame and the sign face making complete removal of the sign face from the frame difficult. While it is nice to have a sign face that swings open, in certain applications, it would be even more desirable to have a sign face that has both the capability to be swung open and the capability to be easily detached from the frame. In still other applications, replacing the piano hinge for a more simplified hinge assembly creates a more cost effective design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the foregoing, the present invention provides a hinge assembly for enabling a sign face to be hinged to a sign box frame. The hinge assembly may be retrofitted to an existing sign box installation. Alternatively, the hinge assembly may be manufactured and sold as part of a new sign box installation. The hinge assembly allows a standard sign box to be opened and closed, permitting easy access to internal components in the sign box. In one embodiment of the invention, the components of the assembly may be mounted over the front face of a sign box to permit the front face to be pivoted open and closed.
The hinge assembly may include one or more components for mounting on a new or existing sign box. For example, an adapter may be provided to enable a sign face or a sign face assembly to be mounted on a sign box frame in a hinged manner. The hinged sign face may be mounted onto the adapter without the need for special tools or additional fasteners. The adapter may be formed from various materials and have different shapes for attachment to a sign box frame. For example, the adapter may be formed of an aluminum extrusion and include a main body portion configured for attachment to a sign box frame. A fulcrum may be provided on the adapter for supporting the sign face. Alternatively, a receptacle may extend from the main body portion of the adapter over a side of the sign box to allow for the hinged connection of a sign face assembly on the sign box. The receptacle may be configured in the form of a slotted box having a receptacle slot to serve as a hinge receptacle. The hinge assembly may also include a hinge connector on a sign face or a sign face assembly that is mountable on the adapter in a hinged manner without the need for tools or fasteners. The hinge connector may include a hinge tongue that is configured to be supported on the fulcrum or inserted within the receptacle slot of the adapter to form a hinge. The hinge connector may be attached to various types of sign faces or sign face assemblies for hinged mounting on the adapter. For example, the hinge connector may be attached to a rigid sign face material, a flexible sign face material, or a support assembly for such face materials for attachment to the sign box.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing summary as well as the following description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the figures in which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmented cross-sectional elevation view of a hinge adapter mounted on a sign box in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a fragmented cross-sectional elevation view of a hinged sign face assembly in accordance with the present invention, showing the hinge adapter and a sign face assembly hinged to the adapter and pivoted to an open position on a sign box.
FIG. 3 is a fragmented cross-sectional elevation view of the hinged sign face assembly of FIG. 2 , showing the hinge adapter and the sign face assembly pivoted to a closed position on the sign box.
FIG. 4 is a fragmented cross-sectional elevation view of the hinge adapter of FIG. 1 mounted with a pivot stop mechanism that engages the hinge connector of the sign face assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1–4 in general, and to FIGS. 1–2 specifically, a hinge adapter, generally designated 10 , for use in a hinged sign face assembly is shown. The adapter 10 is configured to be mounted on the top surface 6 of a standard sign box 5 . The adapter 10 is mountable along a top edge 6 of the sign box 5 to support a sign face assembly 9 having a sign face 7 in a hinged manner on the sign box 5 . The sign face assembly 9 is supported by and hinged to the adapter 10 and is pivotal on the adapter between an open position, as shown in FIG. 2 , and a closed position, as shown in FIG. 3 . In the open position, the sign face assembly 9 is pivoted on the adapter away from the sign box so that the internal components in the sign box are accessible for servicing. In the closed position, the sign face assembly 9 is pivoted on the adapter so as to enclose and protect the internal components within the sign box.
The hinge adapter 10 has a configuration that is simple to manufacture by conventional techniques, such as by extrusion or molding. The adapter 10 can be incorporated onto existing sign boxes as well as new sign box installations. The adapter 10 comprises a generally rectangular body section 12 , which as shown in FIG. 1 may be hollow. The main body section 12 is configured for attachment along the top edge 6 of the sign box 5 . The hinge adapter 10 has a fulcrum that extends from the body section 12 for supporting a number of commercially available components so as to form a hinge-like connection for a sign face assembly 9 .
In the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the fulcrum comprises an extension arm 32 that extends from the body section 12 and connects with a side wall 37 that in turn supports an upper pivot arm or wall 38 having a face end 42 spaced away from the body section 12 to form a slotted receptacle 17 which serves as a hinge receptacle. The pivot arm 38 has a rounded terminal end 42 disposed at the mouth of a receptacle structure 39 that is configured to slidably engage and support a number of commercially available components so as to form a hinge-like connection for a sign face assembly 9 .
Referring now to FIGS. 1–3 , the hinge adapter 10 will be described in more detail. The adapter 10 is an elongated member that may be formed, for example, by extrusion, out of aluminum or other suitable material. Alternatively, the adapter 10 may be formed from molded plastics. The body section 12 of the adapter 10 forms a generally rectangular shaped tube that is mountable on the top face of a standard sign box 5 . The body 12 has a substantially flat top wall 14 having a first end 16 and a second end 18 . The body 12 also has a substantially flat bottom wall 20 generally parallel to the top wall 14 . The bottom wall 20 has a first end 22 and a second end 24 . A first side wall 28 is connected to the first end 16 of the top wall 14 and extends toward the bottom wall 20 where it connects with the first end 22 of the bottom wall. A second side wall 30 is connected to the second end 18 of the top wall 14 and extends toward the bottom wall 20 where it connects with the second end 24 of the bottom wall. The top wall 14 , bottom wall 20 , first side wall 28 and second side wall 30 combine to generally form a hollow rectangular shaped body section 12 .
The body section 12 may be connected to the sign box 5 using any appropriate mounting method. In FIG. 1 , the body section 12 is shown mounted to a sign box 5 using a screw 44 . A pair of aligned bores 46 are formed in the body section 12 for enabling the adapter 10 to be mounted on the sign box 5 . More specifically, the top wall 14 and bottom wall 20 have bores 46 that are centrally located between the first and second sidewalls 28 , 30 and are axially aligned relative to one another. The bores 46 are configured to align axially with a threaded bore on the sign box 5 to allow the screw 44 to attach the body section 12 to the sign box. Preferably, the bores 46 have diameters that are slightly larger than the maximum outside diameter of the threading on the screw 44 . In this way, the bores 46 allow adequate clearance of the screw 44 while limiting the potential for movement of the adapter 10 on the sign box 5 if the screw becomes loose.
The receptacle 39 is attached to one side of the main body 12 to provide the hinge receptacle. The receptacle 39 may be integrally formed with the main body 12 , for example, as a single extrusion, or may be separately attached or secured to the main body 12 . The receptacle 39 includes an extension arm or wall 32 which is a generally flat wall having a first end 34 and second end 36 . The second end 36 of the extension arm 32 is connected to the first end 22 of the bottom wall 20 . As such, the extension arm 32 forms a generally continuous surface with the bottom wall 20 . The pivot arm 38 is also generally flat and extends generally parallel to the extension arm 32 . The pivot arm 38 has a first end 40 and a rounded second end 42 that extends toward the body section 12 , as shown in FIG. 1 . A gap 43 is formed between the rounded end 42 of the pivot arm 38 and the first side wall 28 on the body section 12 to provide an access slot to the slotted receptacle 17 . A third side wall 37 is connected to the first end 40 of the pivot arm 38 and extends toward the extension arm 32 where it connects with the first end 34 of the extension arm to form an elongated slotted box-like structure which serves as the slotted receptacle 17 . The third side wall 37 may be shorter than side walls 28 and 30 to account for the thickness of a mating hinge connector 51 of the sign face assembly 9 .
As stated earlier, the hinge adapter 10 is configured to attach a sign face assembly 9 to a sign box 5 . The rounded second end 42 of the pivot arm 38 is configured to pivotally support a sign face assembly 9 to permit the face to be opened and closed on the sign box 5 . More specifically, the rounded second end 42 is configured to slidably engage a curved hinge connector element 51 on a separate mounting assembly for the sign face 7 to permit the connector element 51 to pivot about the rounded second end 42 of the adapter. The hinge adapter 10 is compatible with a variety of mounting components having different geometries. Therefore, the hinge adaptor 10 is intended as a universal adapter for use in a variety of hinged sign face assemblies.
Referring to FIGS. 2–3 , the adapter 10 is shown as part of a hinge assembly generally designated as 8 . The adapter 10 pivotally engages with the hinge connector 51 of a sign support component 50 of the sign face assembly 9 in a hinge-like manner. The sign support component 50 serves as a mounting bracket for holding the sign face 7 in a hinged interrelationship with the sign box 5 . The sign face assembly 9 may be used to support either a flexible sign face material or a rigid sign face material. In FIGS. 2–3 , the sign face assembly 9 is shown pivotally supporting a flexible sign face 7 . The hinge connector 51 may, as shown in FIG. 2 , be provided as an integral part of the sign support 50 . The sign support 50 includes a first channel 66 in which the flexible sign face 7 is anchored using a staple 70 and a flexible insert 72 pressed into the channel over the sign face material. The sign support 50 also includes a second channel 74 configured to connect with a backset brace 76 to provide strength and rigidity in the sign box 5 . Details regarding the construction of the flexible sign face 7 and backset brace 76 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,444, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The sign support bracket 50 has a generally flat top wall 52 having a first end 54 , a second end 56 and a middle section 58 . A first sidewall 60 extends from the middle section 58 on the top wall 52 in a direction generally perpendicular to the orientation of the top wall. A short second sidewall or tongue 62 extends from the second end 56 of the top wall in a direction generally parallel to the first side wall 60 so as to form an “L” shaped projection which serves as the hinge connector element 51 . The top wall 52 connects with the second side wall 62 to form an interface hook 64 that engages the second end of the pivot arm 38 . The interface hook 64 may be rounded, as shown in FIG. 2 , to generally conform to the radius of curvature of the second end 42 of the pivot arm 38 . The inner curvature of the “L” shaped projection slidably pivots on the second end 42 of the pivot arm 38 . As such, the support bracket 50 is configured to pivot relative to the second end of the pivot arm.
The hinge connector 51 is configured for pivoting between a closed position and an open position. In the closed position, the top wall 52 of the support bracket 50 rests on top of the pivot arm 38 such that the top wall 52 is generally parallel to and supported by the pivot arm and such that the first side wall 60 of the support bracket 50 rests against and is supported by wall 37 of the adapter, as shown on FIG. 3 . In the open position, the top wall 52 of the support bracket 50 is rotated such that the top wall 52 is pivotally spaced away from and disposed at an acute angle relative to pivot arm 38 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The hinge connector 51 is operable to pivot the flexible sign face 7 and backset brace 76 such that the interior components of the sign box can be accessed. More specifically, the hinge connector 51 is operable to move the sign face 7 and backset brace 76 so that the fluorescent light bulbs and other interior components in the sign box are accessible for servicing. The flexible sign face 7 is pivoted about its top edge on the sign box. The bottom edge of the sign face 7 may be releasably connected to the sign box using a hasp or other latching device that releases to allow the sign face to be opened and then pivoted open about its top edge.
Thus far, the hinge assembly 8 has been described with reference to a single hinge adapter 10 mounted on a sign box. However, the hinge assembly 8 may utilize one or more hinge adapters 10 to attach a sign face assembly to a sign box. A single hinge adapter 10 may span the entire width of a sign box or span a portion of the sign box width. Alternatively, the hinge assembly 8 may utilize a plurality of short adapters that are mounted in series along the width of a sign box 5 . Where a plurality of adapters 10 are used, the adapters are mounted such that the rounded ends 42 of each pivot arm 38 are substantially aligned with one another.
As stated earlier, the hinge connector 51 is pivoted on the rounded second end of the pivot arm 38 to move the sign face assembly 9 to the open position. When the hinge connector 51 is pivoted beyond a certain threshold angle relative to the pivot arm 38 , the sign face assembly 9 may succumb to gravitational forces and disengage from the pivot arm. That is, the inner curvature of the “L” shaped projection of hinge connector 51 may slide out of engagement with the second end 42 of the pivot arm 38 under the weight of the sign face assembly 9 . At such time, the top wall 52 of the hinge connector 51 may slip through the gap 43 , rendering the hinge connection inoperable until the hinge connector is reset on the pivot arm. Such disengagement may be desirable in certain applications in order to permit the removal of the sign face assembly 9 from the adapter 10 . However, in applications where the sign face assembly 9 is not intended to be removed, it may be desirable to limit the angular rotation of the hinge connector 51 so that it cannot be pivoted beyond the threshold angle.
Referring now to FIG. 4 , the hinged sign face assembly is shown with a pivot stop 80 attached to the hinge adapter 10 . The pivot stop 80 is configured to limit the angular rotation of the hinge connector 51 relative to the adapter 10 and maintain the hinge connector 51 in pivotal engagement with the pivot arm 38 . The pivot stop 80 comprises a substantially flat base 82 and a cantilever arm 84 extending from the base. The base 82 is configured for mounting on top of the body 12 of the hinge adapter 10 . The cantilever arm 84 extends from the base and over the pivot arm 38 . More specifically, the cantilever arm 84 projects from the base 82 outwardly and upwardly relative to the base, extending at an acute angle relative to the pivot arm 38 . The cantilever arm 84 has a bottom surface 85 that is configured and positioned to contact the top wall 52 of the hinge connector 51 when the hinge connector is pivoted to the open position. When the top wall 52 of the hinge connector 51 bears against the bottom surface 85 of the cantilever arm 84 , further rotation of the hinge connector is substantially prevented. As such, the angle of orientation of the cantilever arm may be selected to limit the angular displacement of the hinge connector 51 . The selected angle of orientation of the cantilever arm may be a function of several variables and conditions, including but not limited to, the weight of the sign face assembly and the clearance space required when the sign face assembly is pivoted to the open position.
A pivot space 86 is formed between the pivot arm 38 and the cantilever arm 84 and is configured to permit limited angular rotation of the hinge connector 51 . Preferably, the hinge connector 51 is shaped such that the top wall 52 and second side wall 62 have the same thickness. In addition, the pivot space 86 preferably has a width generally equal to the width of the top wall 52 . In this way, the hinge connector 51 can pivot smoothly on the pivot arm 38 between the open and closed positions with minimal potential for sliding or disengagement from the pivot arm. The pivot stop 80 may be connected to the adapter 10 using any appropriate mounting method. In FIG. 5 , the pivot stop 80 is shown mounted with the same screw 44 used to secure the adapter 10 to the sign box 5 . The pivot stop 80 has a bore 88 that is configured to receive the screw 44 and align coaxially with the bores 46 in the adapter 10 .
The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation. There is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or any portions thereof. It is recognized, therefore, that various modifications are possible within the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, it may be desirable to have a sign face that is easily removable from the hinge adapter 10 . In such case, the pivot stop 80 may be omitted, and/or the gap 43 may be widened to facilitate lifting and removal of the sign face assembly out of the hinge adapter. Accordingly, the invention incorporates variations that fall within the scope of the following claims.
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A hinged sign face assembly is provided for use on a standard sign box. The assembly may be retrofitted on an existing sign box to facilitate access to fluorescent light tubes and other components inside the sign box. The assembly pivots the face of a sign box to an open position to allow interior components to be accessed without the need for disassembling the sign box frame. The assembly includes a hinge adapter that mounts to a standard sign box. The hinge adapter is operable with commercially available components to convert a rigid standard sign box to a hinged sign box. The assembly may also include a hinge connector secured with the sign face that may be connected to the adapter in a hinged manner without fasteners. The hinge connector supports the sign face and cooperates with the adapter to allow the sign face to pivot on the sign box.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present patent application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/012,291 filed Jan. 24, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/901,196 filed Sep. 14, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/483,128 filed Jul. 7, 2006, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/032,699 filed on Jan. 10, 2005, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/583,782 filed Jun. 29, 2004, the entire contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Residential and commercial construction projects require several organizations to communicate with one another in order to distribute payments. A conventional construction payment management process begins with a verbal notification that a draw from the construction loan or the property owner's account will take place. The general contractor (GC) of the construction project notifies subcontractors (or any other person, firm, or corporation engaged by the GC, such as material suppliers) of the draw by telephone, fax, or at a meeting. The subcontractors prepare invoices and send them to the GC by mail, fax, hand delivery, or at a meeting with the GC. The GC and the subcontractors often must negotiate the final invoice dollar amount by telephone or at meetings. The GC confirms the invoices, enters the details into a GC project accounting system, and prepares its own invoice.
Once the invoices are complete, the GC also manually prepares a sworn statement. In the sworn statement, the GC confirms that the subcontractors engaged by the GC have performed particular services in the construction or repair of the property. In the sworn statement, the GC also confirms the dollar amount entitled to each subcontractor.
The GC forwards the executed sworn statement to the title company and the construction loan lender and/or the property owner. The lender, the property owner, or the title company notifies an inspector that an inspection of the property must be performed and sends the sworn statement to the inspector. The inspector assembles the previous inspection reports for the property. The inspector performs the new inspection and manually prepares an inspection report. The inspector distributes the inspection report to the lender, the property owner, and/or the title company by fax, mail, or hand delivery.
The lender, the property owner, and/or the title company receives the sworn statement and the inspection report by mail, fax, hand delivery, or at a meeting with the GC and/or the inspector. The lender, the property owner, and/or the title company must retrieve the previous draw and project documentation. The lender, the property owner, and/or the title company often must negotiate the payment amounts and project details with the GC by telephone, fax, or at a meeting. The lender, the property owner, and/or the title company approves the sworn statement and communicates the approval by telephone, fax, or at a meeting. The lender or the property owner then approves the disbursement of the dollar amount specified in the sworn statement.
The construction loan lender or the property owner's bank generally transfers the funds necessary to pay all of the subcontractors to an escrow account. Often the title company then disburses the funds from the escrow account to the GC. The GC and/or the title company prepares checks for the subcontractors. At this time, the subcontractors generally complete lien waivers for the previous draw of funds from the construction loan or for the work completed during the previous month. As a result, the lien waivers for the current draw or the current month are not actually released until a subsequent draw is made from the construction loan or until the next month. In addition, subcontractors may have their own subcontractors that they must pay after receiving payment from the GC.
The conventional construction payment process can take 90 days or longer from the date of the verbal draw notification to the date the subcontractors actually receive payment. The conventional construction payment process generally involves unreliable verbal notification of events upon which movement of the process is contingent. For example, if one subcontractor is unavailable to prepare an invoice or submit a lien waiver, the payment process for all of the other subcontractors can be delayed.
The conventional construction payment process also involves enormous amounts of data entry. For example, for a single large construction project, a GC often must enter hundreds of invoices into its accounting system each month. Also, a GC must gather hundreds of lien waivers each month. In addition, a GC must prepare, approve, sign, and distribute hundreds of checks to subcontractors each month. Further, a GC must store all of the paper documents collected during each draw process. The timing of the draw notifications, the approvals, and the exchanges of lien waivers for payment requires hundreds of faxes, phone calls, and meetings each month.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the invention provide a system and method for managing a construction payment process. One method embodying the invention can include generating a budget for a construction project, receiving an invoice amount from at least one participant in the construction project, generating at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement based on the invoice amount and the budget, generating at least one automated lien waiver based on at least one of the automated invoice and the automated sworn statement, and electronically executing at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one automated lien waiver to create at least one of a legally-binding invoice, a legally-binding sworn statement, and a legally-binding lien waiver.
One construction payment management system embodying the invention can include an electronic signature service and an application server that stores a budget module and a draw module. The budget module generates a budget for a construction project. The draw module receives an invoice amount from a participant of the construction project, generates at least one of an automated invoice and an automated sworn statement based on the invoice amount and the budget, and generates at least one automated lien waiver based on at least one of the automated invoice and the automated sworn statement. The electronic signature service electronically executes at least one of the automated invoice, the automated sworn statement, and the at least one automated lien waiver to create at least one of a legally-binding invoice, legally-binding sworn statement, and legally-binding lien waiver.
Additional embodiments of the invention provide a method of managing a construction payment process. The method includes electronically receiving a lien waiver from a participant in a construction project, electronically transmitting payment to the participant in response to receipt of the lien waiver, and releasing the lien waiver in response to the payment.
Other embodiments provide a method for managing a construction payment process that includes storing a signed lien waiver document, executed by a payee in a construction project, to a computer-readable memory. A payment to the payee from a payor in the construction project is facilitated after the lien waiver document has been executed. The payor is then provided electronic access to the signed lien waiver document.
Further embodiments provide a construction payment management system including an application server that stores an electronic holding bin and a draw module. The electronic holding bin receives a lien waiver from a participant in a construction project and the draw module transmits payment to the participant in response to receipt of the lien waiver and releases the lien waiver in response to the payment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a construction payment management system according to one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of construction payment management processes that can be performed using the system of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a manage project process.
FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a manage organization process.
FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a manage draw process.
FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a manage change order process.
FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of manage system environment tasks.
FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a create organization process.
FIG. 9 is an illustration of a create organization form.
FIG. 10 is an illustration of an update user system notification.
FIG. 11 is an illustration of a system notification.
FIG. 12 is an illustration of an edit organization form.
FIG. 13 is an illustration of an activate organization notification.
FIG. 14 is an illustration of an activate organization form.
FIG. 15 is an illustration of an organization activated notification.
FIG. 16 is an illustration of an organization deactivation notification.
FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a maintain organization process.
FIG. 18 is an illustration of a view organization screen.
FIG. 19 is an illustration of a browse organization screen.
FIG. 20 is an illustration of an edit organization form.
FIG. 21 is an illustration of an organization profile updated notification.
FIG. 22 is a schematic illustration of a create user process.
FIG. 23 is an illustration of a create user form.
FIG. 24 is an illustration of an update user profile notification.
FIG. 25 is a schematic illustration of a maintain user process.
FIG. 26 is an illustration of a view user screen.
FIG. 27 is an illustration of a browse users screen.
FIG. 28 is an illustration of an edit user form.
FIG. 29 is an illustration of a user profile updated notification.
FIG. 30 is a schematic illustration of a create project process.
FIGS. 31 and 32 are illustrations of a create project form.
FIG. 33 is an illustration of a project created notification.
FIG. 34 is an illustration of a project user access screen.
FIG. 35 is an illustration of a project responsibilities notification.
FIG. 36 is a schematic illustration of a maintain budget process.
FIG. 37 is an illustration of an enter top level budget form.
FIG. 38 is an illustration of an enter draw dates form.
FIG. 39 is an illustration of an invoice code setup form.
FIG. 40 is an illustration of an assign invoice codes form.
FIG. 41 is an illustration of an accept project notification.
FIG. 42 is an illustration of an accept project form.
FIG. 43 is an illustration of a project declined notification.
FIG. 44 is an illustration of a project accepted notification.
FIG. 45 is an illustration of a project home page.
FIG. 46 is an illustration of an add users notification.
FIG. 47 is an illustration of a project user access form.
FIG. 48 is an illustration of a project responsibilities notification.
FIG. 49 is an illustration of a project budget view screen.
FIG. 50 is an illustration of an enter budget form.
FIG. 51 is a schematic illustration of a terminate budget item process.
FIG. 52 is an illustration of an enter top level budget form.
FIG. 53 is an illustration of a terminate budget screen.
FIG. 54 is a schematic illustration of a draw process.
FIG. 55 is an illustration of a create scheduled draw notification.
FIG. 56 is an illustration of an initiate draw form.
FIG. 57 is an illustration of an enter invoice notification.
FIG. 58 is an illustration of an enter invoice form.
FIG. 59 is an illustration of a sign invoice notification.
FIG. 60 is an illustration of a sign invoice form.
FIG. 61 is an illustration of an invoice details updated notification.
FIG. 62 is an illustration of a view pending draw request screen.
FIG. 63 is an illustration of an invoice details rejected notification.
FIG. 64 is an illustration of an invoice not included in the draw notification.
FIG. 65 is an illustration of an automatically-generated invoice form.
FIG. 66 is an illustration of a sworn statement form.
FIG. 67 is an illustration of a make funds available notification.
FIG. 68 is an illustration of a view draw request screen.
FIG. 69 is an illustration of a sign lien waiver notification.
FIG. 70 is an illustration of a lien waiver form.
FIG. 71 is an illustration of a lien waiver signed notification.
FIG. 72 is an illustration of a view draw request screen.
FIG. 73 is an illustration of an all lien waivers signed notification.
FIG. 74 is an illustration of a view draw request form.
FIG. 75 is an illustration of a payment disbursed notification.
FIG. 76 is a schematic illustration of maintain system screens tasks.
FIG. 77 is an illustration of a maintain phase codes form.
FIG. 78 is an illustration of an administration user login screen.
FIG. 79 is an illustration of an add/edit picklist form.
FIG. 80 is an illustration of an add/edit organization role form.
FIG. 81 is an illustration of a default/configure settings form.
FIG. 82 is an illustration of an edit notification form.
FIG. 83 is an illustration of a default/configure process form.
FIG. 84 is an illustration of an add/edit user role form.
FIG. 85 is a schematic illustration of perform inspections processes and related tasks.
FIG. 86 is an illustration of a prepare to conduct inspection notification.
FIG. 87 is an illustration of an inspection required notification.
FIG. 88 is an illustration of an inspection required screen.
FIG. 89 is an illustration of an enter inspection report notification.
FIG. 90 is an illustration of an enter inspection report form.
FIG. 91 is an illustration of an inspection report form screen.
FIG. 92 is an illustration of an inspection report failed notification.
FIG. 93 is an illustration of a view previous inspections screen.
FIG. 94 is a schematic illustration of an approve draw request process.
FIG. 95 is an illustration of an Authorize Draw Request One form.
FIG. 96 is an illustration of an Authorize Draw Request One declined notification.
FIG. 97 is an illustration of an inspection confirmed notification.
FIG. 98 is an illustration of a payment details modified notification.
FIG. 99 is an illustration of an inspection authorized notification.
FIG. 100 is an illustration of an Authorize Draw Request Two notification.
FIG. 101 is an illustration of an Authorize Draw Request Two form.
FIG. 102 is an illustration of an Authorize Draw Request Two declined notification.
FIG. 103 is an illustration of an Authorize Draw Request Two approved notification.
FIG. 104 is an illustration of an issue lien waiver notification.
FIG. 105 is a schematic illustration of a change request process.
FIG. 106 is an illustration of a change request form.
FIG. 107 is an illustration of a change request issued notification.
FIG. 108 is an illustration of an authorize change request notification.
FIG. 109 is a schematic illustration of a process change request process.
FIG. 110 is an illustration of a view pending change request screen.
FIG. 111 is an illustration of an authorize change request form.
FIG. 112 is an illustration of a change request declined notification.
FIG. 113 is an illustration of a change request approved notification.
FIG. 114 is a schematic illustration of a change project participant process.
FIG. 115 is an illustration of a change participant screen.
FIG. 116 is an illustration of a check participant delete screen.
FIG. 117 is an illustration of a change affidavit screen.
FIG. 118 is a schematic illustration of maintain project screen tasks.
FIG. 119 is an illustration of a project profile form.
FIG. 120 is an illustration of a project contact information screen.
FIG. 121 is an illustration of a project information screen.
FIG. 122 is an illustration of a close project screen.
FIG. 123 is a schematic illustration of manage access screen tasks.
FIG. 124 is an illustration of a log in screen.
FIG. 125 is an illustration of a log out screen.
FIG. 126 is an illustration of a project home page screen.
FIG. 127 is an illustration of a reset password screen.
FIG. 128 is an illustration of a main screen for a particular user.
FIG. 129 is an illustration of a browse projects screen.
FIG. 130 is an illustration of a forgot password screen.
FIG. 131 is an illustration of a your password notification.
FIG. 132 is a schematic illustration of a manage message screens process.
FIG. 133 is an illustration of a view messages screen.
FIG. 134 is an illustration of a specific message being viewed by a user.
FIG. 135 is an illustration of a create/send messages screen.
FIG. 136 is an illustration of a status message screen.
FIGS. 137-153 are flow charts illustrating a method of managing a construction payment process according to another embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 154-179 are input/output diagrams illustrating a method of managing a construction payment process according to still another embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limited. 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, and can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect. Also, electronic communications and notifications may be performed using any known means including direct connections, wireless connections, etc.
It should be noted that a plurality of hardware and software based devices, as well as a plurality of different structural components may be utilized to implement the invention. Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention and that other alternative configurations are possible.
FIG. 1 illustrates a construction payment management system (CPMS) 10 according to one embodiment of the invention. The CPMS 10 can include an application server 12 , a database server 14 , an application logic module 16 , a web server 18 , a network 20 (such as the Internet or other networks individually or in combination with the Internet), a verification service 22 , participating organizations or individuals 24 (hereinafter “participant” or “organization”), and a payment system 26 . The payment system 26 can include an automated clearing house (ACH) system, a wire transfer system, a debit card system, a credit card system, or any other suitable electronic funds transfer (EFT) system.
The application server 12 can store and provide access to a project module 28 , a form-handling module 30 , a permissions and authorizations engine 32 , a database management system 34 , a budget module 36 , an access manager 38 , a notifications manager 40 , an organization module 42 , a draw module 44 , a contracting module 46 , a change order module 48 , a user module 50 , a system environment manager 52 , and an electronic holding bin/escrow 54 . The draw module 44 can include a core module 56 , an inspection module 58 , and a draw approval module 60 . The system environment manager 52 can include a report generator 62 , a help module 64 , and a system maintenance module 66 . The electronic holding bin/escrow 54 can store one or more lien waivers 68 . It should be understood that the components of the application server 12 could be combined in a different manner than as shown and described with respect to FIG. 1 . The software used to code the various modules, managers, and engines of the application server 12 can be combined or separated in any suitable manner and can be stored and accessed in any suitable manner.
The application server 12 can be connected to the database server 14 , the application logic module 16 , and the verification service 22 . However, in some embodiments, the verification service 22 may only be connected to the network 20 . The application logic module 16 can be connected to the web server 18 or, in some embodiments, directly to the network 20 . The web server 18 can be connected to the network 20 .
The participants 24 can include a property owner 70 (and/or the owner's representative 72 ), a general contractor (GC) 74 , an inspector 76 , one or more subcontractors (Subcontractor A 78 , Subcontractor B 80 , etc.), one or more material suppliers 82 , one or more lenders 84 (and/or one or more loan officers 86 ), one or more title companies 86 , and one or more architects 88 . The participants 24 can also include one or more interior designers (and/or furniture manufacturers) and one or more real estate owners (i.e., the land owner who sells the construction site to the property owner 70 ). The participants 24 can include organizations and/or individuals that are either considered “above the line” (i.e., higher in the construction process than the GC) or “below the line” (i.e., employed by the GC). Participants 24 above the line can include lenders, architects, interior designers, property owners, property owners' representatives, title companies, and real estate owners. Participants 24 below the line can include subcontractors and material suppliers. The CPMS 10 can be used to facilitate the construction payment process between any of these types of participants 24 , whether above or below the line of the GC. The CPMS 10 is often described herein as being used to facilitate payment between a GC and subcontractors. However, it should be understood that the CPMS 10 can be used to facilitate payment between any type of participant, not only between a GC and subcontractors.
In addition to classifying participants as being above or below the line of the GC, costs associated with the construction process can be classified as “soft” costs or “hard” costs. Soft costs can include inspector fees, architect fees, interior design fees, title company fees, permit fees, utility bills for the property during the construction process, furniture costs, audio/visual equipment, computers, etc. Hard costs can include all the costs incurred by the organizations or individuals employed by the GC, including all costs for subcontractors and material suppliers employed by the GC. Each construction project can include an overall budget (from the owner's perspective) that includes all of the soft and hard costs. Each construction project can also include a GC budget. The CPMS 10 can be used to facilitate all the payments made within the overall budget and the GC budget. However, in some embodiments of the invention, the CPMS 10 can be used only to facilitate payment of the hard costs managed by the GC (i.e., only the GC budget). It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the CPMS 10 can be used to facilitate payment for only hard costs by the GC, only soft costs by participants above the line of the GC, or a combination of hard and soft costs by participants above and below the line of the GC. The CPMS 10 is often described herein with respect to hard costs, but can also be used for soft costs or a combination of hard and soft costs.
Each one of the participants 24 can be connected to the payment system 26 ; however, some of the participants 24 may not be connected to the payment system 26 in some embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments, the payment system 26 can include an ACH system with one or more originating depository financial institutions (ODFI) and one or more receiving depository financial institutions (RDFI).
The participants 24 can access the application server 12 in order to use the various modules, managers, and engines to perform construction payment management methods according to several embodiments of the invention.
In some embodiments, the CPMS 10 can connect all project participants to a substantially uniform, web-based, real-time system; can organize the budgeting for the construction project; can facilitate the electronic submission and approval of invoices; and can automate and streamline the payment and lien waiver release process through the use of electronic payments and production of the matching electronic lien waiver releases.
While there can be variations in details (for instance, in a publicly financed project, initiation and oversight of the project might be done by a surety bond issuer, rather than a bank), one embodiment of the CPMS 10 can be used as follows. A loan officer can sign on to the Internet and enter the CPMS web site. After a security clearance, the loan officer can enter the lender's portfolio and access a series of screens to create a new project by entering all of the project details. The project details can include details of the participants for each project, for example, the owner, architect, general contractor and title insurance company. Each participant can receive email notification of their involvement in the project and can verify their profile details. The GC can add subcontractors and material suppliers. The subcontractors and material suppliers can receive notification that they have been added to the project and can go through the security and verification process. The GC can select the number of draws and the draw dates for the project. The CPMS 10 can notify participants of a pending draw date in real-time. Each participant can complete their draw request form by entering their material and labor invoice details. The GC can review the draw requests and authorize them, and the CPMS 10 can generate the sworn statement. A series of project site inspections, approvals, completion of lien waivers, generation of statements, etc. can follow, all of which can be prompted by the CPMS 10 through email notifications in real-time. Once all forms have been completed and verified, the CPMS 10 can facilitate payments. The payments can be deposited directly into a participant's banking account via an electronic payment system. This process can be repeated for all draws. The project budget can be kept in balance through the completion of pay outs, collection of lien waivers, and approved inspections. Project progress can be tracked through the CPMS 10 via graphical progress indicators.
The CPMS 10 can include the following features: one-time registration of participating organizations into the CPMS 10 ; real-time notification of a draw; automated invoice generation; automated sworn statement generation; automated lien waiver generation; coordinated payment/lien waiver release; and direct distribution of funds to participating organizations.
The one-time registration of participating organizations into the CPMS 10 can lower the cost of participating in the service because a participant has to register only once. The one-time registration also lowers the number of potential errors because the entry of registration information only has to be done once. This makes it more likely that potential participants will in fact participate and, when participants do participate, that they will have a good (error free) outcome. The one-time registration helps ensure that a party wishing to be a participant in the process and the online community using the process, only needs to register once to be able to participate in any of the projects whose payments are executed through the CPMS 10 . The CPMS 10 can improve the efficiency of the registration of participating organizations into the construction payment process by creating a durable community that facilitates the process of participating on multiple projects over time by capturing organization and individual information once. The method allows organizations to be registered as a potential participant in any project that is being initiated by a member of the community of businesses using the CPMS 10 . In addition to its value in participating in multiple projects, the one-time registration is also valuable for participants to access information regarding multiple GC's, owners, lenders, subcontractors, etc. For example, the one-time registration gives owners, lender, and GC's the opportunity to learn about new subcontractors through the CPMS 10 . Also, an owner that has several projects pending each with different GC's can access information about each individual GC.
The real-time notification of the draw helps ensure that all participants in a draw are: 1) notified in a timely and uniform way; and 2) provided with a template to provide the information necessary to be paid. The CPMS 10 helps to eliminate the errors (not getting notified or mistaking which project the request is coming from) that delay the payment process. The CPMS 10 improves the efficiency of the real-time notification of the draw process by giving the GC the option of maintaining the schedule of draws on the CPMS 10 , by reducing the effort of notifying the participants in the draw, by automating the process of building the list of participants for a draw, by automatically notifying draw participants of the draw once it has been declared, and by providing readily accessible links so that subcontractors can access the CPMS 10 to submit the documentation that is required by the draw.
The CPMS 10 can be used by an owner, owner's representative, lender, GC, or title company to create and maintain a project budget. As noted above, the project budget can include soft costs above the line of the GC, hard costs below the line of the GC, or a combination of hard and soft costs. Some embodiments of the CPMS 10 can also be used to create and manage change orders in which the budget is modified (generally by expanding the budget) and the modified budget is approved by the appropriate participants. The budget can include a total cost for the construction project, along with line item costs for each phase or job that must performed to complete the construction project. The CPMS 10 can structure the budget to facilitate the payment of subcontractors, to allow efficient progress tracking, and to allow automated invoicing.
The CPMS 10 can create automated invoices that correspond precisely to the overall project budget and that also correspond precisely to the lien waivers and sworn statements. The CPMS 10 creates automated invoices that are a snap-shot in time of the activity that has already occurred against the overall project budget. The CPMS 10 can be used to create automated invoices that correspond precisely to the line items in the overall budget. This results in invoices and reports that are consistent with the way in which the construction project is broken down for financial purposes, tracking purposes, etc. Using the CPMS 10 , an invoice screen can be used to capture information necessary to create the invoice; however, not all of the information necessary to create the invoice must be re-entered, because the information can be gathered by referring to the overall project budget. This also guarantees that the invoices (and the G702/703 documents) will be consistent with the overall project budget and will be consistent between draws or between any other time periods (unless a participant such as the owner wants the invoices to change). The CPMS 10 can also be used to customize the automated invoices (or the G702/703 documents) according to the requirements of the lender, the owner, the owner's representative, the GC, etc.
The budget and the automated invoices can be used to uniformly collect and continually reference information that will be used throughout the construction payment management process. The information collected does not have to be re-entered again in the payment process helping to ensure that errors (either key-stroke or due to a misinterpretation of the data) are not introduced. In general, participants have visibility into the payment process conducted using the CPMS 10 . This helps to lower the effort necessary to determine the project status and to understand what work each participant must to do to facilitate the payment process. It also helps to highlight organizations or individuals who may habitually cause delays or errors in the process, making it easier to correct the behavior or eliminate the participant. Accurate invoicing minimizes invoice review and issue resolution effort, promotes complete and accurate sworn statements, minimizes discrepancies between sworn statements and inspections, and enables timely payment. The CPMS 10 can improve the efficiency of several activities later in the construction payment process by capturing complete and consistent invoice information in a timely manner.
The CPMS 10 can be used to generate automated sworn statements and automated lien waivers. Using the CPMS 10 , the GC knows who was notified of the draw and who has responded by providing an invoice. Once the invoices are approved by the GC (and any other participant above the line of the GC, such as the owner, the owner's representative, the lender, the title company, etc., that must approve the invoices), the CPMS 10 can use the approved invoices to automatically generate the sworn statement and the lien waivers, and other documents by other names that provide the same functionality (e.g., statutory declarations). The CPMS 10 can automatically generate the sworn statement and the lien waivers from the invoices submitted by subcontractors and material suppliers, helping to ensure that no typographical errors will be introduced and that the sworn statement and lien waivers will only include line items that have been submitted by the subcontractors and material suppliers. The CPMS 10 can help reduce the risk of inaccuracies in the sworn statement and the lien waivers by drawing on the invoice details already stored in the system to automatically create the content of the sworn statement and the lien waivers. This processing helps eliminate errors that are possible due to nonstandard, inconsistent, and untimely invoices and typographical errors that can occur during transcription. Overall, this lowers the risk profile of the construction payment process by increasing the accuracy and timeliness of critical construction project information. The CPMS 10 can create the automated lien waivers according to the legal standards of the state in which the construction site is located.
The CPMS 10 can generate sworn statements that correspond precisely to the invoices. Invoices are often broken down by the type of work being performed (e.g., electrical, plumbing, etc.), while sworn statements are often broken down by the participant performing the work (e.g., GC, subcontractors, and material suppliers). The CPMS 10 can be used to ensure that the sum of the invoice amounts equals the total amount on the sworn statement. Also, the CPMS 10 can also be used to ensure that the amounts on the lien waivers equal the amounts on the invoices, because the information for the automated lien waivers is gathered from the approved invoices that have been stored in the CPMS 10 . In addition, the lien waivers will be consistent with the sworn statement because the sworn statement was also generated by the CPMS 10 using the information from the approved invoices. This is particularly valuable when GC's and subcontractors (or owners, lender, and GC's) have disputed the invoice amount and have negotiated a final amount over a period of time. The final amount will be reflected in the automated and approved invoice that is stored in the CPMS 10 and used to generate the lien waivers and sworn statement. The CPMS 10 assures that only the approved invoice amount will be reflected in the lien waiver and sworn statement documents. By also using the stored budget as a framework for all automated documents, the CPMS 10 further assures that the invoices, lien waivers, and sworn statements will be precise and consistent. The CPMS 10 can also be used to customize the sworn statements and lien waivers based on the requirements of the lender, the owner, the owner's representative, the GC, etc.
The CPMS 10 also helps improve the efficiency of generating sworn statements and lien waivers by migrating storage of the invoice, sworn statement, and lien waiver documents to an electronic medium, reducing the time and effort necessary to store and access them. This improves the overall efficiency of the construction payment process by making these documents available to authorized parties needing them to carry out their responsibilities. The database of the CPMS 10 can store a library of electronically signed invoices, sworn statements, and lien waivers. If necessary, participants can use the CPMS 10 to generate hard copies of any of the electronically signed documents.
In one embodiment, the CPMS 10 can create the automated invoices, sworn statement, and lien waivers once all information has been entered and all issues have been resolved. In other embodiments, the CPMS 10 can create the automated invoices first, ensure the invoices are approved, create the automated sworn statement second, ensure the sworn statement is signed, and create the automated lien waivers third.
Once all of the information (invoices, inspection reports, banking information, etc.) has been entered and all issues have been resolved, the owner, the owner's representative, the lender, the title company, or the GC can pay the participants in the draw. The sub-contractors, material suppliers, or any other participants can provide their lien waivers in exchange for payment. The CPMS 10 can organize this process and can automatically execute the exchange without risk that either party will do their part without the other doing theirs. The CPMS 10 also helps eliminate the need for expensive and time consuming in-person meetings to affect the exchange of lien waivers for payment. The CPMS 10 (which rigorously tracks the documents) also helps to ensure that all of the lien waivers are collected. This reduces the risk that bad record keeping will result in lien waivers that have not been released at the conclusion of the construction project. The CPMS 10 can improve the efficiency of the payment/lien waiver release process by implementing the method in a network-enabled computer system. This allows all parties to securely prepare both payment and lien waiver release in a trusted environment. The CPMS 10 facilitates an efficient exchange of payment for lien waiver, because the CPMS 10 allows both the payment and lien waiver to be staged in preparation for an automated exchange thereby reducing the risk associated with the project. The GC can be assured that it will receive the appropriate lien waivers coincident with payment, and the subcontractors do not bear the risk associated with lengthy delays in payment.
The CPMS 10 can facilitate an exchange of lien waivers and payment instructions. In some embodiments, the CPMS 10 can release the lien waiver(s) substantially simultaneously with an acknowledgement from the payment system 26 that the participant(s) have received payment. The term “substantially simultaneously” as used herein and in the appended claims includes any time period less than the time necessary to request, process, and transfer funds with an automated clearing house (ACH) payment (which can take up to about 72 hours). For example, the “substantially simultaneously” release of lien waivers can include an immediate release of lien waivers, a release of a batch of lien waivers at the end of a business day, or a release of lien waivers after the typical time period that it takes to transfer funds via an ACH system. In one embodiment, the CPMS 10 can receive and store the lien waivers in the electronic holding bin/escrow 54 until all lien waivers from the participants in the draw have been received. Once all the lien waivers have been received, the CPMS 10 can send instructions for the payment system 26 to transfer funds to each participant in the draw. For example, once all the subcontractors electronically sign and submit their lien waivers to the CPMS 10 , the CPMS 10 can instruct the payment system 26 to pay each subcontractor. The CPMS 10 can release the lien waivers either when the payment instruction is transmitted to the payment system 26 or only after receiving an acknowledgement that the participants have actually received funds.
If the payment system 26 includes an ACH system, the payment instructions are generally processed in batches so that the participants will not receive the funds immediately. In an ACH system, the payment instruction can generally be returned by the RDFI during a 48 hour period. During this 48 hour period, the RDFI can notify the CPMS 10 and the ODFI that the funds cannot be transferred (e.g., due to insufficient funds, an invalid account number, etc.). After this 48 hour period, the CPMS 10 can assume that the RDFI has processed the payment instruction if the CPMS 10 has not been notified otherwise. The ODFI generally has a 24 hour front window to collect the payment instructions from the RDFI and to release payment to the accounts of the participants in the draw. As a result, it can take about 72 hours from the time the CPMS 10 transmits the payment instructions until the ODFI transfers funds into the accounts of the participants.
In some embodiments, the CPMS 10 can hold the lien waivers even after receiving an acknowledgement from the payment system 26 that the participant(s) have received payment. For example, the CPMS 10 can hold the lien waivers up to 31 days or until the next draw is initiated.
In some embodiments, the CPMS 10 can flag certain participants to remove those participants from the batch processing of the ACH system and can pay those participants separately by another method, such as by a direct wire transfer of funds or another immediate type of electronic funds transfer. In other embodiments, most participants can be paid by an immediate type of electronic funds transfer (such as a direct wire transfer), but some participants can be combined for one or more ACH batch transfers. In still other embodiments, the CPMS 10 can transmit each payment instruction to the payment system 26 as the CPMS 10 receives each lien waiver from each participant and funds can be transferred immediately to the participant from which the lien waiver was received. In general, the CPMS 10 can group the payment instructions in any suitable manner and can use any suitable type of payment method.
In each embodiment of the invention, the CPMS 10 can establish a connection between the current lien waiver and the current payment corresponding to the current draw, rather than exchanging the previous lien waiver for the current payment of the current draw. For example, the CPMS 10 can release the lien waiver for the current month for the current draw, rather than releasing the lien waiver for the previous month for the current draw. In this manner, the subcontractor is not exposed to liability if the CPMS 10 releases its lien waiver before payment is made, and the owner (or GC, title company, lender, etc.) is not exposed to liability if the CPMS 10 makes payment before the lien waivers are released.
Rather than paying the GC who pays its subcontractors who then pay their subcontractors, participants in the CPMS 10 can be paid directly using an electronic distribution of funds (e.g., any suitable type of EFT, ACH, or wire transfer of funds). This speeds up the payment process (lowering costs) and reduces the risk that parties (in the hierarchy) will not be paid. The direct distribution of funds is made possible by the CPMS 10 being used to collect all of the information that is necessary to make payments. The information collected using the CPMS 10 can be trusted, because of the rigor with which the methods can be implemented with software. As a result, the direct distribution of funds can be efficient (no reworking or reentry of information necessary) and error free. The CPMS 10 can improve the efficiency of the subcontractor/material supplier payment process by reducing the elapsed time necessary to complete the payment process. The CPMS 10 can reduce transaction costs by replacing a hierarchical payment process with direct payments, while improving fiscal and management control. The CPMS 10 can replace the use of checks by an electronic transfer of funds, reducing communications costs and improving visibility into the status of payments and reducing the risk of untimely or incomplete payment to all parties involved in the construction process (especially those lower on the supply chain).
FIGS. 2-7 illustrate an overview of the construction payment management processes that can be performed by the participants 24 using the various modules, managers, and engines stored in the application server 12 . FIG. 2 illustrates a manage project process 94 (which can be performed by the project module 28 and/or the budget module 36 ), a manage draw process 96 (which can be performed by the draw module 44 ), a manage change order process 98 (which can be performed by the manage change order module 48 ), a manage organization process 100 (which can be performed by the organization module 42 and/or the user module 50 ), and a manage system environment process 102 (which can be performed by the access manager 38 , the notifications manager 40 , and/or the system environment manager 52 ).
FIG. 3 illustrates the manage project process 94 , which can include a create project task 104 , a maintain project task 106 , and a create budget task 108 . FIG. 4 illustrates the manage organization process 100 , which can include a create organization task 112 , a maintain organization task 114 , a create user task 116 , and a maintain user task 118 . FIG. 5 illustrates the manage draw process 96 , which can include an initiate draw task 120 , a create draw request task 122 , a disburse funds task 124 , a perform inspection task 126 , and an approve draw request task 128 . FIG. 6 illustrates the manage change order process 98 , which can include a create change request task 130 , a process change request task 132 , and a change participant task 134 . FIG. 7 illustrates manage system environment tasks 102 , which can include a manage access task 136 , a manage messages task 138 , a create reports task 140 , a provide help task 142 , and a maintain system task 144 . The create reports task 140 can be performed by any participant above or below the line of the GC in order to create customized reports regarding the progress of the construction project, including the ability to monitor portions of the construction project, particular participants, the overall project, etc.
FIGS. 8-136 illustrate construction payment management methods according to several embodiments of the invention. FIG. 8 illustrates a create organization process 146 , which can be included in the manage organization process 100 . The create organization process 146 can be performed by any of the participants 24 using the organization module 42 . The create organization process 146 can include a create organization task 148 , an update organization profile task 150 , an edit organization task 152 , an activate organization notification task 154 , an activate organization task 156 , and either an organization declined task 158 or an organization activated task 160 . An update user profile task 162 can also be performed, as further described with respect to FIG. 22 .
FIG. 9 illustrates a create organization form that can be associated with the create organization task 148 . Each participant 24 can access the create organization form through the organization module 42 . The participant 24 can enter the requested information, such as business information, primary contact information, tax information, and banking information. In some embodiments, the first user of the participating organization 24 that enters his or her information as the primary contact information can be deemed an administrator for that participant 24 and can be given more access to the information for the participant than subsequent users. The CPMS 10 can use comprehensive role-based security so that project participants only see information tailored to their specific needs in the project. Once an organization is registered in the CPMS 10 , the organization can receive payments for any projects managed by the CPMS 10 .
FIG. 10 illustrates a notification that can be transmitted during the update user profile task 162 . The terms “system notification,” “notification,” or “system message” as used herein and in the appended claims refer to any form of communication with a participant 24 , such as an email message, a screen notice, a text message, a voice message, etc. The system notification of FIG. 10 can include a username and a temporary password for the first user of the participant 24 .
FIG. 11 illustrates a notification that can be transmitted during the update organization profile task 150 . The notification of FIG. 11 can be sent to the administrator for the participant 24 . The notification can include a statement requesting the recipient to update the organization profile, add users before participating in a project, and provide bank details.
FIG. 12 illustrates an edit organization form that can be associated with the edit organization task 152 . Each participant 24 can access the edit organization form through the organization module 42 . The participant 24 can modify the existing information, such as business information, primary contact information, tax information, and banking information. In some embodiments, the first user of the participating organization 24 that entered his or her information as the primary contact information is the only user given access to the edit organization form.
FIG. 13 illustrates an activate organization notification that can be transmitted during the activate organization notification task 156 . The notification of FIG. 13 can include a statement that the details of the organization have been updated and a request that the organization be validated and activated.
FIG. 14 illustrates an activate organization form that can be associated with the activate organization task 156 . The form of FIG. 14 can include a listing of participants 24 (e.g., including the organization name, its role in the construction process, the ability to select participants 24 , and the ability to view information for the participants 24 ). The form of FIG. 14 can also include a “Find” feature, the ability to specify the type of participant 24 , and the ability to decline/deactivate selected organizations and to provide a reason for the decline/deactivation.
FIG. 15 illustrates an organization activated notification that can be transmitted during the organization activated task 160 . Similarly, FIG. 16 illustrates an organization declined notification that can be transmitted during the organization declined task 158 .
FIG. 17 illustrates a maintain organization process 162 , which can be included in the manage organization process 100 . The maintain organization process 162 can be used by the organizations themselves or by other participants to maintain the accuracy of the contact information, bank account information, or any other type of information necessary for the construction payment process. The maintain organization process 162 can be performed by any of the participants using the organization module 42 . The maintain organization process 162 can include a browse organization task 164 , an edit organization task 166 , an organization updated task 168 , and a view organization task 170 .
FIG. 18 illustrates a view organization screen that can be associated with the view organization task 170 . The view organization screen can include business information and primary contact information for an organization.
FIG. 19 illustrates a browse organization screen that can be associated with the browse organization task 164 . The browse organization screen can include a list of participants, including the organization name, the organization role in the construction process, the primary contact, and the phone number. The browse organization screen can include a “Find” feature and links for viewing additional information about each participant. In one embodiment, the browse organization screen can be used by a GC to view its preferred subcontractors or material suppliers.
FIG. 20 illustrates an edit organization form that can be associated with the edit organization task 166 . The participant can edit the existing information, such as business information, primary contact information, tax information, and banking information. In some embodiments, the first user of the organization that entered his or her information as the primary contact information is the only user given access to the edit organization form.
FIG. 21 illustrates an organization profile updated notification that can be transmitted during the organization updated task 168 . The notification of FIG. 21 can include information regarding the updated profile for the participant along with a name of the primary user or administrator for the participant.
FIG. 22 illustrates a create user process 172 , which can be included in the manage organization process 100 . The create user process 172 can be used each time a new user at an existing organization is created in order to give the new user the appropriate access to the CPMS 10 (e.g., the appropriate security levels with a user identification and password). The create user process 172 can also be used to update user profiles. The create user process 172 can be performed by any of the participants 24 using the organization module 42 . The create user process 172 can include a create user task 174 and an update user profile task 176 .
FIG. 23 illustrates a create user form that can be associated with the create user task 174 . In some embodiments, the create user form can be used to add users after the primary user or administrator has already been created for the participant. The new user can enter personal information, security information (e.g., user name and password), email notification preferences, and security clearance levels (e.g., whether the user can manage projects and/or sign documents).
FIG. 24 illustrates an update user profile notification that can be transmitted during the update user profile task 176 . The notification of FIG. 24 can include a statement that the user has been added as a member of the organization, along with the user's security information (e.g., user name and a temporary password).
FIG. 25 illustrates a maintain user process 178 , which can be included in the manage organization process 100 and can continue from FIG. 22 . The maintain user process 178 can be used to browse the users in each organization and to view, edit, and update the users in each organization. The maintain user process 178 can be performed by any of the participants using the organization module 42 . The maintain user process 178 can include a browse users task 180 , and edit user task 182 , a user profile updated task 184 , and a view user task 186 .
FIG. 26 illustrates a view user screen that can be associated with the view user task 186 . The view user screen of FIG. 26 can include the user's personal information, email notification preference, and security clearance level.
FIG. 27 illustrates a browse users screen that can be associated with the browse users task 180 . The browse users screen of FIG. 27 can include a list of one or more users for each participant, and can include the users' names, email addresses, and phone numbers. The browse users screen can also include links to edit the information for each user.
FIG. 28 illustrates an edit user form that can be associated with the edit user task 182 . A user can provide personal information, email notification preferences, and security clearance levels.
FIG. 29 illustrates a user profile updated notification that can be transmitted during the user profile updated task 184 .
FIG. 30 illustrates a create project process 188 , which can be included in the manage project process 94 . The create project process 188 can be performed by a GC, a lender, an owner, or an owner's representative using the project module 28 to initiate a new project in the CPMS 10 . The create project process 188 can include a create project task 190 , a project creation task 192 , a project user access task 194 , and a project responsibilities task 196 .
FIGS. 31 and 32 illustrate a create project form that can be associated with the create project task 190 . A GC, a lender, an owner, or an owner's representative can provide project identification information, project funding information, project owner information, project architect information, and site information.
FIG. 33 illustrates a project created notification that can be transmitted during the project creation task 192 . The notification of FIG. 33 can include a statement that the GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative has created a new project, along with a link to a screen that allows users from the participants to be assigned to the project.
FIG. 34 illustrates a project user access screen that can be associated with the project user access task 194 . The project user access screen can include the project name, the project number, the GC name, and a list of users for a particular project and/or a particular organization. The users can be identified by name and username, and can be deemed a project manager or a signer.
FIG. 35 illustrates a project responsibilities notification that can be transmitted during the project responsibilities task 196 . The notification of FIG. 35 can include a statement that a user's responsibilities with respect to a project have been modified.
FIG. 36 illustrates a maintain budget process 198 , which can be included in the manage project process 94 . The maintain budget process 198 can be used to create and view a top level budget for the construction project, to assign line items to participants, and to assign responsibilities to participants. Using the budget module 36 , the maintain budget process 198 can be performed by a GC for subcontractors or by a subcontractor for a second-level subcontractor or a material supplier. The maintain budget process 198 can include an enter top level budget task 200 , an accept project task 202 , an accept project form task 204 , a project declined task 206 , an add users task 208 , a project accepted task 210 , a project home page task 211 , a project user access task 212 , a project responsibilities task 214 , and a project budget view task 216 . If the project is declined, the maintain budget process 198 can include an enter budget task 218 and can return to the accept project task 202 . After the enter top level budget task 200 , the maintain budget process 198 can include an invoice code setup task 220 , an enter draw dates task 222 , and an assign invoice code task 224 .
FIG. 37 illustrates an enter top level budget form that can be associated with the enter top level budget task 200 . The enter top level budget form can include the project name, the project number, and the contract value. A GC or a subcontractor can provide a retention percentage value, phase codes, phase code descriptions, organization names, budget amounts, and account codes. A GC or subcontractor can specify whether the organization is only providing materials. The enter top level budget form can also include links to setup draw dates and setup invoice code screens/forms. The phase codes and phase code descriptions can be used to define the contracting requirements of each particular job that must be completed in order to complete the project. The phase codes and phase descriptions can be provided, for example, by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), or by customizing the AIA or CSI phase codes and phase descriptions. In some embodiments, the phase codes and phase descriptions can be completely customized by the participants. The top level budget can also be referred to as the schedule of values, the committed costs (after the GC has received bids from subcontractors), or the project estimate. In some embodiments, the phase codes included in the top level budget provide the basis for the draw requests, in that each draw request includes specific line items associated with specific phase codes. In some embodiments, the GC can use an external software program to generate a budget and the budget module 36 can interface with the external software program to import the budget into the application server 12 or the database server 14 .
FIG. 38 illustrates an enter draw dates form that can be associated with the enter draw dates task 222 . A GC or subcontractor can enter the day of the month on which draws are to take place, along with the specific dates for the draws (e.g., each month on a particular day). The enter draw dates form can also include a Calculate Draw Dates button for automatic calculation of the draw dates and/or an Add Draw Date button for manual entering of the draw dates.
FIG. 39 illustrates an invoice code setup form that can be associated with the invoice code setup task 220 . A GC or subcontractor can select an invoice code (e.g., codes by building—Building 1, 2, or 3), enter a new invoice code, create an invoice code, enter a preference for the display of budget lines (e.g., by phase code), and enter a preference for printing options. The invoice code setup form can facilitate the automated generation of invoices and sworn statements by the CPMS 10 . The invoice codes can be used for customized reports or for interfacing with other types of existing software. The invoice codes can allow participants to sort budget line items based on the requirements of the architect, the owner, etc. The CPMS 10 can also use account codes in the budget to interface with existing accounting systems. The account codes can be used to maintain the budget, to record results of the draw, and to facilitate invoicing and payment.
FIG. 40 illustrates an assign invoice codes form that can be associated with the assign invoice code task 224 . A GC or subcontractor can provide the invoice code (e.g., Building 1, 2, or 3) and can use links to access sub-budgets for each phase code. The assign invoice codes form can include the project name, the project address, the phase codes, the phase code descriptions, the organization to which the job is contracted to, and the budget amount. The assign invoice codes form can also facilitate the automated generation of invoices and sworn statements by the CPMS 10 .
FIG. 41 illustrates an accept project notification that can be associated with the accept project task 202 . The notification of FIG. 41 can include a statement that the subcontractor or material supplier has been added as a participant on a project, a project description, and the subcontractor's or material supplier's participation details. The subcontractor or material supplier can use a link to access an accept project form as shown in FIG. 42 to accept or decline the project.
FIG. 42 illustrates an accept project form that can be associated with the accept project form task 204 . The accept project form can include the GC project number, the system project number, the GC name, the project name, the project address, and a budget line item. The accept project form can provide the subcontractor or the material supplier with project information and a budget line item. The subcontractor or the material supplier can use the Accept or Decline buttons to accept or decline the project associated with the budget line item. The subcontractor or the material supplier can also provide a reason for declining the project. The line items from the accept project forms can also be used to facilitate automated generation of invoices and sworn statements by the CPMS 10 .
FIG. 43 illustrates a project declined notification that can be transmitted during the project declined task 206 . The notification of FIG. 43 can include the name of the subcontractor or material supplier that has declined the project, the budget item declined, and the reason for the decline. The notification of FIG. 43 can provide the ability to assign the organizational role to another participant.
FIG. 44 illustrates a project accepted notification that can be transmitted during the project accepted task 210 . The notification of FIG. 44 can include the name of the subcontractor or material supplier that has accepted the project and the budget item accepted. The notification of FIG. 43 can provide the ability to access the project details.
FIG. 45 illustrates a project home page that can be associated with the project home page task 211 . The project home page can include the project name, completed draws information, and pending draws information. The project home page can include a project overview with a project schedule progress bar, a funds disbursed progress bar, and a percent complete progress bar. The project home page can include one or more links to particular actions that can be performed with respect to the project (e.g., project profile, project budget, view project participants, setup invoice codes, manage project users, initiate unscheduled draws, etc.).
FIG. 46 illustrates an add users notification that can be transmitted during the add users task 208 . The notification of FIG. 46 can include a statement confirming that the subcontractor or material supplier has joined the project. The notification of FIG. 46 can include a request for the subcontractor or material supplier to add users (e.g., members of the organization) to the system.
FIG. 47 illustrates a project user access form that can be associated with the project user access task 212 . The subcontractor or material supplier can select each user's security clearance (e.g., a project manager or a signer). The project user access form can include the project name, the GC name, and a list of users at the subcontractor or material supplier organization.
FIG. 48 illustrates a project responsibilities notification that can be associated with the project responsibilities task 214 . The notification of FIG. 48 can include a statement that the user's responsibilities have been modified, along with the new security clearances. The notification of FIG. 48 can include a link to access the project budget.
FIG. 49 illustrates a project budget view screen that can be associated with the project budget view task 216 . A GC or subcontractor can access the project budget view screen through the budget module 36 . The project budget view screen can include the project name, the GC name, the project address, and a list of the budget items. The list of budget items can include the phase codes, the phase code descriptions, the subcontractor or material supplier to which the budget item is contracted, the budget amount, the payments, the retention, the balance, and a link to any sub-budgets.
FIG. 50 illustrates an enter budget form that can be associated with the enter budget task 218 . A GC or subcontractor can access the enter budget form through the budget module 36 . The GC or subcontractor can enter the requested information, such as the phase codes, the phase code descriptions, and the budget amount. The GC or subcontractor can change the organization associated with a particular budget line item. The GC or subcontractor can select whether the organization is providing materials only.
FIG. 51 illustrates a terminate budget item process 226 , which can be included in the manage project process 94 . The terminate budget item process 226 can be performed by a GC or subcontractor. The terminate budget item process 226 can include an enter top level budget task 228 and a terminate budget task 230 .
FIG. 52 illustrates an enter top level budget form that can be associated with the enter top level budget task 228 . A GC or subcontractor can access the enter top level budget form through the budget module 36 . The enter top level budget form can include the project name, the project number, the contract value, and a list of organizations. The GC or subcontractor can enter the requested information, such as a retention percentage, phase codes, phase code descriptions, an account code, and whether the organization is only supplying materials. The GC or subcontractor can also choose to add new line items or to terminate a particular line item. The enter top level budget form can include links to a setup draw dates form and/or a setup invoice codes form.
FIG. 53 illustrates a terminate budget screen that can be associated with the terminate budget task 226 . After a GC or subcontractor selects a line item to terminate, the terminate budget screen provides a confirmation and a statement that any un-paid balance can be made available for re-assignment.
FIG. 54 illustrates a draw process 232 , which can be included in the manage draw process 96 . The draw process 232 can be used to create a schedule for the project's draws; to initiate each draw; to enter and sign invoices; to view pending draws; to generate invoices, sworn statements, and lien waivers; to determine if funds are available; and to disburse funds. The draw process 232 can be performed by several of the participants using the draw module 44 . The draw process 232 can include a create draw schedule task 234 , an initiate draw task 236 , an enter invoice task 238 , an enter invoice form task 240 , a sign invoice task 242 , an invoice details updated task 244 , a view pending draw requests task 246 , a generate invoice task 248 , a sworn statement form task 250 , a funds available task 252 , a view draw request task 254 , a sign lien waiver task 256 , a lien waiver form task 258 , an all lien waivers signed task 260 , a view draw request with disburse funds button task 262 , a payments disbursed task 264 , a lien waiver signed task 266 , and a view draw request task 268 . The draw process 232 can also include a payments details accepted task 270 , an invoice not included in draw task 272 , and a payment details not accepted task 274 . The draw process 232 can be performed so that the lien waivers will be released for the current draw, not for the previous draw.
FIG. 55 illustrates a create scheduled draw notification that can be transmitted during the create draw schedule task 234 . The notification of FIG. 55 can be transmitted in real-time to all draw participants and can include a statement that a scheduled draw is pending and that participants for the draw have not yet been selected.
FIG. 56 illustrates an initiate draw form that can be associated with the initiate draw task 236 . A GC can access the initiate draw form through the draw module 44 . The initiate draw form can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the draw number, the draw date, and a list of the potential participants for the draw. The list of potential participants can include the phase codes, the phase code descriptions, the organization name, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The GC can select each of the participants for the draw.
FIG. 57 illustrates an enter invoice notification that can be transmitted during the enter invoice task 238 . The notification of FIG. 57 can include a statement that a draw has been scheduled for a project and that the subcontractor or material supplier can enter the details of the payments due. The notification can also include the organization role and the particular budget item for the subcontractor or material supplier. The notification can be transmitted in real-time to all draw participants.
FIG. 58 illustrates an enter invoice form that can be associated with the enter invoice form task 240 . The subcontractor or material supplier can use the enter invoice form to provide the invoice amount for the draw. The enter invoice form can also include the project name, the project number, the project address, the draw number, the draw date, and the particular line item for that subcontractor or material supplier.
FIG. 59 illustrates a sign invoice notification that can be transmitted to the GC during the sign invoice task 242 . The notification of FIG. 59 can include a statement that the subcontractor or material supplier has approved the invoice for a particular draw and that a sworn statement must be signed. The CPMS 10 can be used to assign security/authority roles to each user, such as management, accounting, or authorized to sign. The CPMS 10 can notify a user with the authority to sign the sworn statement so that an officer of the organization signs the sworn statement, if necessary. The CPMS 10 can be used to change the security/authority roles that are necessary to sign a sworn statement (e.g., a lender can require that an officer signs the sworn statement, rather than an administrator for the organization).
FIG. 60 illustrates a sign invoice form that can be associated with the sign invoice task 242 . The GC can access the sign invoice form through the draw module 44 . The GC can review the details of the invoice, such as the particular organization, the request amount, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The GC can then choose to sign the invoice statement. The sign invoice form can include a link to an automated sworn statement form.
FIG. 61 illustrates an invoice details updated notification that can be transmitted to the GC during the invoice details updated task 244 . The notification of FIG. 61 can include a statement that a subcontractor or material supplier has updated the payment details for a draw on a particular date for a particular project. The notification can provide a link in order to view the invoice details.
FIG. 62 illustrates a view pending draw request screen that can be associated with the view pending draw request task 246 . A GC can access the view pending draw request screen through the draw module 44 . The GC can select each participant to include in the draw, confirm the draw, and send a notification in real-time to the signer of each organization. However, the GC can also reject the pending draw request, notify selected participants to re-enter an invoice, and provide a reason for rejecting the draw request. The view pending draw request screen can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the draw number, the draw date, a list of participants who have submitted invoices, and a list of participants who have not submitted invoices. The participants can be organized by phase codes. For each phase code, the view pending draw requests screen can include the requested amount, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance.
FIG. 63 illustrates an invoice details rejected notification that can be transmitted during the payment details not accepted task 274 . The notification of FIG. 63 can include a statement that the payment and invoice details entered by a particular user for a draw to be conducted on a date for a particular project have not been accepted and the reasons for the rejection. The notification can include a request for the subcontractor or the material supplier to re-enter the payment details before the draw closes.
FIG. 64 illustrates an invoice not included in the draw notification that can be transmitted during the invoice not included in draw task 272 . The notification of FIG. 64 can include a statement that the participant did not submit an approved sworn statement for a draw for a project and that the participant and all of their subcontractors will not be included in the draw. The notification can state that all sworn statements and invoices that were submitted have been destroyed.
FIG. 65 illustrates an automatically-generated invoice form (e.g., a form that is consistent with industry practices, such as a G702/703 form) that can be associated with the generate invoice task 248 (labeled G702/703 in FIG. 54 ). A GC, subcontractors, and material suppliers can access the invoice forms through the draw module 44 . The subcontractors, material suppliers, and/or architect can sign the invoice form electronically (e.g., using an electronic signature software provider, such as AlphaTrust Corporation).
FIG. 66 illustrates an automatically-generated sworn statement form that can be associated with the sworn statement form task 250 . A GC can access the sworn statement form through the draw module 44 . The GC can sign the sworn statement form electronically (e.g., using an electronic signature software provider, such as AlphaTrust Corporation).
FIG. 67 illustrates a make funds available notification that can be transmitted during the funds available task 252 . The notification of FIG. 67 can include instructions to follow a link to request lien waivers and release funds when funds are available to be released for a draw on a project.
FIG. 68 illustrates a view draw request screen that can be associated with the view draw request task 254 . A GC can access the view draw request screen through the draw module 44 . The GC can review the details of the draw, authorize funds, and request lien waivers. The view draw request screen can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the draw number, the draw date, and a list of participants in the draw. The list of participants can include the participant name, phase code, whether a lien waiver has been received, the requested amount, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The list of participants can also include any subcontractor and their lien waivers.
FIG. 69 illustrates a sign lien waiver notification that can be transmitted during the sign lien waiver task 256 . The notification of FIG. 69 can be transmitted in real-time to all draw participants and can include a statement that the draw scheduled for a project has been authorized and that the subcontractor or material supplier is requested to sign its lien waiver to receive payments for the draw.
FIG. 70 illustrates an automatically-generated lien waiver form that can be associated with the lien waiver form task 258 . Subcontractors and material suppliers can access the lien waiver form through the draw module 44 . The lien waiver form can be automatically generated based on the budget, including the line items for each subcontractor or material supplier. The subcontractors and material suppliers can sign the lien waiver forms electronically (e.g., using the AlphaTrust Corporation electronic signature products). Once signed, the lien waivers 68 can be stored in the electronic holding bin/escrow 54 .
FIG. 71 illustrates a lien waiver signed notification that can be transmitted during the lien waiver signed task 266 . The notification of FIG. 71 can include a statement that a subcontractor or material supplier has signed their lien waiver for a draw for a project. The notification can include access to details of the draw and the lien waivers received so far.
FIG. 72 illustrates a view draw request screen that can be associated with the view draw request task 268 . A GC, subcontractor, or material supplier can access the view draw request screen through the draw module 44 . The view draw request screen can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the draw number, the draw date, and a list of participants in the draw. The list of participants can include the participant name, phase code, whether a lien waiver has been received, the requested amount, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The list of participants can also include any subcontractor and their lien waivers.
FIG. 73 illustrates an all lien waivers signed notification that can be transmitted during the all lien waivers signed 260 . The notification of FIG. 73 can include a statement that all the lien waivers for the draw for a project have been signed. The notification can include a link to view the details of the draw and to disburse funds.
FIG. 74 illustrates a view draw request form that can be associated with the view draw request with disburse funds button task 262 . A GC (or architect, owner, owner's representative, lender, or title company) can access the view draw request form and approve the draw through the draw module 44 and/or the draw approval module 60 . The view draw request screen can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the draw number, the draw date, and a list of participants in the draw. The list of participants can include the participant name, phase code, whether a lien waiver has been received, the requested amount, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The list of participants can also include any subcontractor and their lien waivers. When the GC disburses the funds, the lien waivers are substantially simultaneously released and the payment instruction is sent to the ACH system 26 .
FIG. 75 illustrates a payment disbursed notification that can be transmitted during the payments disbursed task 264 . The notification of FIG. 75 can be transmitted in real-time to all draw participants and can include a statement that the payments have been disbursed for the draw scheduled on a particular date on the project.
FIG. 76 illustrates maintain system screens tasks 276 , which can be included in the manage system environment process 102 . The maintain system screens tasks 276 can be used by each user or each organization to customize the software environment according to particular needs. For example, an organization can customize phase codes for their projects. The maintain system screens tasks 276 can be performed by any of the participants using the system environment manager 52 . The maintain system screens tasks 276 can include a maintain phase codes task 278 , an administrator user login task 280 , an add/edit picklist task 282 , an add/edit organization role task 284 , a default settings task 286 , an edit notifications task 288 , a default configuration task 290 , and an add/edit user role task 292 .
FIG. 77 illustrates a maintain phase codes form that can be associated with the maintain phase codes task 278 . Each participant can access the maintain phase codes form through the system environment manager 52 . The participant can add new or delete selected budget items.
FIG. 78 illustrates an administration user login screen that can be associated with the administrator user login task 280 . Each participant can access the administrator user login screen through the system environment manager 52 . The user at the organization can enter a user name and use the screen to log onto the system as any user in the system.
FIG. 79 illustrates an add/edit picklist form that can be associated with the add/edit picklist task 282 . An administrator of the CPMS 10 can add new or delete selected picklist entries (e.g., lists of states, types of projects, etc.) for various drop-down menus provided by the CPMS 10 .
FIG. 80 illustrates an add/edit organization role form that can be associated with the add/edit organization role task 284 . A GC can access the add/edit organization role form through the system environment manager 52 . The GC can select the security clearance for each type of organization (e.g., bank, title company, GC, subcontractor, or architect).
FIG. 81 illustrates a default/configure settings form that can be associated with the default settings task 286 . A GC can access the default/configure settings form through the system environment manager 52 . The GC can enter its preferred settings, such as the draw close reminder days, the draw start reminder days, the draw request minimum lead time, the security identification, whether the inspector is to be paid via the ACH system, whether to wait for all lien waivers, and who pays the inspector (e.g., the bank, the title company, the owner, the owner's representative, or the GC).
FIG. 82 illustrates an edit notification form that can be associated with the edit notifications task 288 . A GC can access the edit notification form through the system environment manager 52 . The GC can modify the notifications that are transmitted during the various processes. The GC can select a particular notification and edit the default notification as necessary. The GC can also specify whether particular authorizations are necessary, such as an authorization by the bank to change the notification.
FIG. 83 illustrates a default/configure process form that can be associated with the default configurations task 290 . A GC, owner, owner's representative, lender, etc. can access the default/configure process form through the system environment manager 52 in order to customize portions of the construction payment process or to change the rules for portions of the construction payment process. For example, a GC can define and store its own phase codes. The GC, owner, owner's representative, lender, etc. can choose whether to activate particular tasks in each process and can access a link to edit each one of the notifications associated with the tasks.
FIG. 84 illustrates an add/edit user role form that can be associated with the add/edit user role task 292 . A GC can access the add/edit user role form through the system environment manager 52 . The GC can select roles for a particular user, such as a system administrator, a system helpdesk user, a local administrator, a regular user, and view only access. The GC can add new roles or delete selected roles.
FIG. 85 illustrates perform inspections tasks 294 , which can be included in the manage draw process 96 . The perform inspection tasks 294 can be used to schedule and facilitate inspections of the construction project, if necessary before each draw. The perform inspections tasks 294 can be performed by the GC and the inspector using the inspection module 58 of the draw module 94 . The perform inspections tasks 294 can include an inspection required task 296 , an inspection required form task 298 , a prepare to conduct inspection task 300 , a view previous inspections task 302 , an enter inspection task 304 , an enter inspection report task 306 , an inspection report form task 308 , and an inspection report failed task 310 .
FIG. 86 illustrates a prepare to conduct inspection notification that can be transmitted during the prepare to conduct inspection notification task 300 . The notification of FIG. 86 can include a statement that a draw has been scheduled for a project on a date and that the inspector is requested to prepare to conduct an inspection for the draw. The notification can state that the inspection should be conducted only after receiving confirmation.
FIG. 87 illustrates an inspection required notification that can be transmitted during the inspection required notification task 296 . The notification of FIG. 87 can include a statement a scheduled draw is pending for a project and a link to specify if an inspection is required for the draw.
FIG. 88 illustrates an inspection required screen that can be associated with the inspection required task 298 . A GC (or owner, owner's representative, lender, or title company) can access the inspection required screen through the inspection module 58 of the draw module 44 . The inspection required screen can include the project name, the project number, the draw number, the owner name, the draw date, the project address, and a list of participants. The list of participants can include the request amount, the organization name, the organization role, the budget item, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The inspection required screen can also include general comments, comments to the inspector, and whether an inspection should be scheduled.
FIG. 89 illustrates an enter inspection report notification that can be transmitted during the enter inspection task 304 . The notification of FIG. 89 can include a statement that the draw schedule on a date for a project has been authorized and that the recipient should proceed with the inspection. The notification can include a link to view the details of the project and to generate an inspection checklist.
FIG. 90 illustrates an enter inspection report form that can be associated with the enter inspection report task 306 . The inspector can enter the details of the inspection on the inspection report form. The inspection report form can include the project name, the project number, the draw number, the draw date, the owner name, the project address, the inspection date, and general inspection comments.
FIG. 91 illustrates an inspection report form screen that can be associated with the inspection report form task 308 . A GC, owner, owner's representative, title company, or inspector can access the inspection report form screen through the inspection module 58 of the draw module 44 .
FIG. 92 illustrates an inspection report failed notification that can be transmitted during the inspection report failed task 310 . The notification of FIG. 92 can include a statement that there is a high concern level for the project following the inspection conducted on a particular date. The notification can include a link to access the inspection report form.
FIG. 93 illustrates a view previous inspections screen that can be associated with the view previous inspections task 302 . A GC, owner, owner's representative, title company, or inspector can access the view previous inspections screen through the inspection module 58 of the draw module 44 and can select an inspection performed on a particular date.
FIG. 94 illustrates an approve draw request process 312 , which can be included in the manage draw process 96 . The approve draw request process 312 can be used to confirm that the necessary inspections have been performed, to approve each draw in the construction payment process, and to issue lien waivers. The approve draw request process 312 can be performed by a GC and/or any participant above the line of the GC (such as the owner, the owner's representative, the title company, the architect, etc.) using the draw approval module 60 of the draw module 44 . Once the project has been initiated, the CPMS 10 can be used to approve any type of payment associated with the construction process. The CPMS 10 can facilitate parallel approvals (e.g., both the GC and the owner must approve the draw) or a sequence of approvals (e.g., the architect must approve the draw, then the owner, then the lender). The CPMS 10 can be used to configure the approval process for each project. The CPMS 10 can be used to approve change orders for the budget or particular amounts contracted between parties. For example, the CPMS 10 can be used to obtain approval from a GC and/or any participant above the line of the GC for a change order that exceeds a certain amount or to approve all change orders after a limit has been exceeded. The approve draw request process 312 can include an Authorize Draw Request One task 314 , an Authorize Draw Request One—declined task 316 , an inspections confirmed task 318 , an inspection authorized task 320 , a payment details modified task 322 , an Authorize Draw Request Two—notification task 324 , an Authorize Draw Request Two task 326 , an Authorize Draw Request Two declined task 328 , an Authorize Draw Request Two approved task 330 , and an issue lien waiver task 332 .
FIG. 95 illustrates an Authorize Draw Request One form or authorize sworn statement form that can be associated with the Authorize Draw Request One task 314 . A GC, owner, owner's representative, or title company can access the Authorize Draw Request One form through the draw module 44 . The Authorize Draw Request One form can include the project name, the project number, the owner, the project address, the draw number, and the draw date. The Authorize Draw Request One form can include any entry for each organization including the request amount, the organization name, the organization role, the budget item, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The Authorize Draw Request One form can include the authorizations received, the authorizations outstanding, whether an inspection is required, the ability to enter a password for authorization, and the ability to deny authorization and specify a reason.
FIG. 96 illustrates an authorize first draw declined notification that can be transmitted during the Authorize Draw Request One—declined task 316 . The notification of FIG. 96 can include a statement that the draw for a project has been denied authorization and a link to view and/or modify the draw details.
FIG. 97 illustrates an inspection confirmed notification that can be transmitted during the inspections confirmed task 318 . The notification of FIG. 97 can include a statement that the draw scheduled for a project has been authorized and instructions to proceed with inspection of the site, along with a link to view the details of the project and to generate an inspection checklist.
FIG. 98 illustrates a payment details modified notification that can be transmitted during the payment details modified task 322 . The notification of FIG. 98 can include a statement that the payment details for a project for a draw have not been accepted. The notification can list details of project participation and payments due for the draw, organization role, budget item, and payment amount.
FIG. 99 illustrates an inspection authorized notification that can be transmitted during the inspection authorized task 320 . The notification of FIG. 99 can include a statement that an on-site inspection for a project has been authorized.
FIG. 100 illustrates an Authorize Draw Request Two notification that can be transmitted during the Authorize Draw Request Two—notification task 324 . The notification of FIG. 100 can include a statement that the recipient is requested to check the inspection report entered for a project, that the recipient's authorization is required before the draw can proceed to the next phase (e.g., asking draw recipients for lien waivers), and a link to view the inspection report and to grant or deny authorization for the draw.
FIG. 101 illustrates an Authorize Draw Request Two form that can be associated with the Authorize Draw Request Two task 326 . A GC, owner, owner's representative, or title company can access the Authorize Draw Request Two form through the draw approval module 60 of the draw module 44 . The Authorize Draw Request Two form can include the project name, the project number, the owner, the project address, the draw number, and the draw date. The Authorize Draw Request Two form can include any entry for each organization including the request amount, the organization name, the organization role, the budget item, the budget amount, the payment amount, the holdback accrued, and the remaining balance. The Authorize Draw Request Two form can include the authorizations received, the authorizations outstanding, whether an inspection is required, the ability to enter a password for authorization, and the ability to deny authorization and specify a reason.
FIG. 102 illustrates an Authorize Draw Request Two declined notification that can be transmitted during the Authorize Draw Request Two declined task 328 . The notification of FIG. 102 can include a statement that the draw scheduled for a project has been denied authorization by a participant and that the draw cannot proceed without this authorization.
FIG. 103 illustrates an Authorize Draw Request Two approved notification that can be transmitted during the Authorize Draw Request Two task 330 . The notification of FIG. 103 can include a statement that a draw for a project has been authorized by a participant.
FIG. 104 illustrates an issue lien waiver notification that can be transmitted during the issue lien waiver task 332 . The notification of FIG. 104 can include a statement that a draw scheduled for a project has been authorized by a participant and that the recipient is requested to issue a lien waiver to receive payments for the draw, along with a link allowing the recipient to issue a lien waiver.
FIG. 105 illustrates a change request process 334 , which can be included in the manage change order process 98 . The change request process 334 can be used to modify the overall project budget (generally to expand the budget) by adding new line items, by changing existing line items, or by terminating subcontractors and making the remaining funds available to other participants. The change request process 334 can be performed by a GC, architect, owner, owner's representative, lender, or subcontractor using the change order module 48 . The change request process 334 can include a change request task 336 , a change request issued task 338 , and an authorize change request task 340 .
FIG. 106 illustrates a change request form that can be associated with the change request task 336 . A GC or subcontractor can access the change request form through the change order module 48 . The change request form can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the owner name, and a list of the amounts to change. The list of amounts to change can include the change amount, the organization name, the organization role, the budget item, the budget amount, the payment amount, and the remaining balance. The change request form can include a change description field. The change request form can include whether the payment form is loan or owner payment, and whether the payment method is loan, owner check, or credit card. The change request form can include the currently estimated completion date and a new estimated completion date.
FIG. 107 illustrates a change request issued notification that can be transmitted during the change request issued task 338 . The notification of FIG. 107 can include a statement that a change request has been issued on a project and is pending authorization. The notification can include the details of the change request, the organization name, the budget item, the current budget amount, and the change amount.
FIG. 108 illustrates an authorize change request notification that can be transmitted during the authorize change request task 340 . The notification of FIG. 108 can include a statement that a change request has been issued on a project and that the recipient's approval is required for the change request. The notification can include a link to view the details of the change request, as well as to approve or decline the change request.
FIG. 109 illustrates a process change request process 342 , which can be included in the manage change order process 98 . The process change request process 342 can be used to ensure that changes being made to the budget are authorized by the appropriate participant, such as the architect, the lender, the title company, the owner, the owner's representative, or the GC. The process change request process 342 can be performed by a GC, architect, owner, owner's representative, lender, or subcontractor using the change order module 48 . The process change request process 342 can include a view pending change requests task 344 , an authorize change request task 346 , a change request declined task 348 , and a change request approved task 350 .
FIG. 110 illustrates a view pending change request screen that can be associated with the view pending change requests task 344 . A GC, subcontractor, owner, owner's representative, lender, or architect can access the view pending change request screen through the change order module 48 . The view pending change request screen can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the owner name, and a list of the amounts to change. The list of amounts to change can include the change amount, the organization name, the organization role, the budget item, the budget amount, the payment amount, and the remaining balance. The view pending change request screen can include a change description field. The view pending change request screen can include whether the payment method is loan, owner check, or credit card. The view pending change request screen can include the new estimated completion date, the authorizations received, and the authorizations outstanding.
FIG. 111 illustrates an authorize change request form that can be associated with the authorize change request task 346 . A GC, subcontractor, owner, owner's representative, lender, or architect can access the authorize change request form through the change order module 48 . The authorize change request form can include the project name, the project number, the project address, the owner name, and a list of the amounts to change. The list of amounts to change can include the change amount, the organization name, the organization role, the budget item, the budget amount, the payment amount, and the remaining balance. The authorize change request form can include a change description field. The authorize change request form can include whether the payment method is loan, owner check, or credit card. The authorize change request form can include the new estimated completion date, the authorizations received, and the authorizations outstanding. The authorize change request form can include the ability to enter a password and to authorize the change request, and the ability to refuse the change request and enter a reason for the refusal.
FIG. 112 illustrates a change request declined notification that can be transmitted during the change request declined task 348 . The notification of FIG. 112 can include a statement that a change request issued on a date for a project has been declined by a participant.
FIG. 113 illustrates a change request approved notification that can be transmitted during the change request approval task 350 . The notification of FIG. 113 can include a statement that a change request issued on a date for a project has been approved by a participant (e.g., a lender). Only a change request can be used to modify the overall project budget (generally to expand the budget) by adding new line items, by changing existing line items, or by terminating subcontractors and making the remaining funds available to other participants. The CPMS 10 can be used to ensure that changes being made to the budget are authorized by the appropriate participant, such as the architect, the lender, the title company, the owner, the owner's representative, or the GC. The notification of FIG. 113 can be transmitted when the appropriate participant has approved the change request.
FIG. 114 illustrates a change project participant process 352 , which can be included in the manage change order process 98 . The change project participant process 352 can be used, for example, to terminate one subcontractor and to make the remaining funds available to another participant (such as a replacement subcontractor). The change project participant process 352 can be performed by a GC or a subcontractor using the change order module 48 . The change project participant process 352 can include a change participant task 354 , a check participant delete task 356 , and a change affidavit task 358 .
FIG. 115 illustrates a change participant screen that can be associated with the change participant task 354 . A GC or subcontractor can access the change participant screen through the change order module 48 . The change participant screen can include the project name, the project number, the owner name, the project address, and the current status of the project. The change participant screen can include a list of the organizations that can be changed. The list of organizations can include organization name, organization role, budget item, budget amount, payment amount, holdback accrued, remaining balance, and a link to delete each participant.
FIG. 116 illustrates a check participant delete screen that can be associated with the check participant delete task 356 . A GC or subcontractor can access the check participant delete screen through the change order module 48 . The check participant delete screen can include the project name, the project number, the owner name, the project address, and information about the participant to be deleted (e.g., organization name, organization role, budget item, budget amount, payment amount, holdback accrued, and remaining balance). The check participant delete screen can include the ability to specify whether the participant has materially participated in the project.
FIG. 117 illustrates a change affidavit screen that can be associated with the change affidavit task 358 . A GC or subcontractor can access the change affidavit screen through the change order module 48 . The change affidavit screen can include the project name, the project number, the owner name, the project address, the current status of the project, the budget amount, the previously paid to date amount, the hold back to date amount, and the remaining budget. The change affidavit screen can include a field to enter comments and the ability to enter a password and authorize the change in the affidavit.
FIG. 118 illustrates maintain project screens tasks 360 , which can be included in the manage project process 94 . The maintain project screens tasks 360 can be used to edit the project's profile, the contact information, and to close out a project. The maintain project screens tasks 360 can be performed by a GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative using the project module 28 . The maintain project screens tasks 360 can include a project profile task 362 , a project contact information task 364 , a project information task 366 , and a close project task 368 .
FIG. 119 illustrates a project profile form that can be associated with the project profile task 362 . A GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative can access the project profile form through the project module 28 . The GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative can enter the requested information, such as project information, project funding information, project owner information, site information, and GC information.
FIG. 120 illustrates a project contact information screen that can be associated with the project contact information task 364 . A GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative can access the project contact information screen through the project module 28 . The project contact information screen can include the project name, the project identification, the project address, and a list of contact information for the participants in the project. The list of contact information can include participant identification number, organization name, organization role, project manager name, contact email address, and contact phone number.
FIG. 121 illustrates a project information screen that can be associated with the create project information task 366 . A GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative can access the project information screen through the project module 28 . The project information screen can include project information, site information, project owner information, and GC information.
FIG. 122 illustrates a close project screen that can be associated with the close project task 368 . A GC, lender, owner, or owner's representative can access the close project screen through the project module 28 . The close project screen can include the project name, the loan account number, the owner name, and the ability to close the project.
FIG. 123 illustrates manage access screens tasks 370 , which can be included in the manage system environment process 102 . The manage access screens tasks 370 can be used to customize the various screens displayed to particular users or organizations during the construction payment process. For example, the manage access screens tasks 370 can be used to include an organization's trademark or logo on one or more of the screens displayed during the construction payment process (e.g., a lender's trademark can be included in the upper right corner of each screen). In addition, the manage access screens tasks 370 can be used to change the layout of particular forms or screens according to the preferences or requirements of particular users or organizations. The manage access screens tasks 370 can be performed by any of the participants using the system environment manager 52 . The manage access screens tasks 370 can include a log in task 372 , a log out task 374 , a project home page task 376 , a reset password task 378 , a main screen task 380 , a browse projects task 382 , a forgot password task 384 , and a your password task 386 .
FIG. 124 illustrates a log in screen that can be associated with the log in task 372 . Each participant can access the log in screen through the access manager 38 . The participant can enter a user name and password to log in. The log in screen can provide a link if a user forgets his or her password.
FIG. 125 illustrates a log out screen that can be associated with the log out task 374 . Each participant can access the log out screen through the access manager 38 . The log out screen can confirm that the user has been logged out.
FIG. 126 illustrates a project home page screen that can be associated with the project home page task 376 . Each participant can access the project home page screen through the access manager 38 . The project home page screen can include the project name, the number of new messages, and a link to read the new messages. The project home page can include project overview information (including a project schedule progress bar and a funds disbursed progress bar), completed draws information (including draw number, draw date, and links to draw information), pending draw information (including draw number and started date). The project home page can include links to several actions, forms, or screens (e.g., project profile, project budget, view project participants, setup invoice codes, manage project users, title company approval tracking, initiate unscheduled draw, etc.).
FIG. 127 illustrates a reset password screen that can be associated with the reset password task 378 . Each participant can access the reset password screen through the access manager 38 . The participant can enter the new password twice in order to change the password associated with a particular user name.
FIG. 128 illustrates a main screen for a particular user that can be associated with the main screen task 380 . Each participant can access the main screen through the access manager 38 . The main screen can list the projects that the participant is involved with, along with the number of new messages associated with each project and a link to read the new messages.
FIG. 129 illustrates a browse projects screen that can be associated with the browse projects task 382 . Each participant can access the browse projects screen through the access manager 38 . The browse projects screen can include a project search feature and a list of projects. The list of projects can include the project name, the GC name, a link to edit the project, and the ability to select one or more projects to browse.
FIG. 130 illustrates a forgot password screen that can be associated with the forgot password task 384 . Each participant can access the forgot password screen through the access manager 38 . A user can enter his or her user name and email address, and the system can email the password to the user.
FIG. 131 illustrates a your password notification that can be transmitted during the your password task 386 . The notification of FIG. 131 can include a statement that you requested your password be emailed to you, the password, and a request to use the password the next time you log in.
FIG. 132 illustrates a manage message screens process 388 , which can be included in the manage system environment process 102 . The manage message screens process 388 can be used to view messages, to create messages, or to view a system status message. The manage message screens process 388 can be performed by any of the participants using the system environment manager 52 . The manager message screens process 388 can include a view message task 390 , a view specific message task 392 , a create message task 394 , and a status message task 396 .
FIG. 133 illustrates a view messages screen that can be associated with the view message task 390 . Each participant can access the view message task 390 through the system environment manager 52 . The view message screen can include the user's name, the ability to specify the type of messages that are displayed (e.g., unread, recent, all, sent messages, or archived), and a list of the type of messages specified. The list of messages can include the ability to select particular messages, the message date, the project name, the message subject, and whether an action is required. The view message screen can also provide the ability to archive selected messages and move to another screen of messages.
FIG. 134 illustrates a specific message being viewed by a user. The specific message can include any one of the notifications shown and described herein.
FIG. 135 illustrates a create/send messages screen that can be associated with the create message task 394 . Each participant can access the create/send message screen through the system environment manager 52 . A user can enter a project name, whether to send the message to an organization or a user, the organization names, the user names, a message subject, and a message.
FIG. 136 illustrates a status message screen that can be associated with the status message task 396 . Each participant can access the status message screen through the system environment manager 52 . The status message screen can post messages, such as a statement that a draw has been initiated for a project and that all participants have been notified. The status message screen can include a link to an organization or user home page.
FIGS. 137-153 illustrate a method of managing a construction payment process according to another embodiment of the invention. Aspects of the method of FIGS. 137-153 can be used in conjunction with the embodiment of the invention shown and described with respect to FIGS. 1-136 and FIGS. 154-179 .
FIGS. 154-179 are input/output diagrams for a method of managing a construction payment process according to still another embodiment of the invention. Aspects of the method of FIGS. 154-179 can be used in conjunction with the embodiments of the invention shown and described with respect to FIGS. 1-136 and FIGS. 137-153 .
FIG. 155 includes an open project task, a create draw schedule task, and an identify and assign project roles task, each of which can be performed by a GC. An enter budget task can be performed by an owner, owner's representative, GC, lender, or title company. An update details task can be performed by a GC for subcontractors and/or material suppliers or by an owner, lender, or title company for any type of participant. A close project task can be performed by a title company, GC, or lender.
FIG. 156 includes an enter project details task in which the system can assume that the project has full approval from all necessary agencies and participating organizations before opening a project. FIG. 156 includes an enter loan details in which the lender may choose to input only select information for legal or business reasons. If there is no loan for the project, no information is entered.
FIG. 157 includes a review proposed draw schedule task in which the system can generate a proposed draw schedule by equally spacing the number of draws across the estimated project schedule. FIG. 157 includes an accept or reject proposed draw schedule task in which a GC can manually declare draws according to a schedule established by the owner, the owner's representative, the lender, or the GC. An automated schedule can be rejected and the schedule can be manually maintained.
FIG. 159 includes an enter project budget for a participating organization in which a hierarchical process can be used. At each level, the participating organization can perform the process for the organizations that they use to support them.
FIG. 160 includes an authorize change order task in which an issue resolution process may require rejection of an initial change order and creation of a second change order that is mutually agreeable to all parties. Only a final change order in the resolution process must be approved.
FIG. 162 includes an add organization task in which an organization must be added before it can participate in a project. The system, the title company, the lender, or the GC can add organizations to the system. While organizations can be added during the identify and assign project roles task of the maintain project payment plan process, organizations can be added independently of that process. FIG. 162 includes an enter organization details task in which the initial contact at an organization can be responsible for entering their organization's details and additional contact information. Each organization can identify an internal system administrator who can be responsible for updating their organization details and contact information. FIG. 162 includes a maintain organization details task in which security can be particularly stringent due to sensitive financial information.
FIG. 164 includes a verify organization task which can be provided by a third party based on the requirements of the participants. The system can facilitate the verification of organizations and charge a service fee.
FIG. 166 includes a declare draw task that can be performed by a GC. The draw is the mechanism by which project participants can submit invoices, the owner (generally through the GC) can pay for work completed, and participating parties receive payment and release their associated lien waivers. FIG. 166 includes a generate sworn statement task in which the GC can review the submissions on-line (referring to backup paper documentation when necessary) and once the submission is correct, the system can generate a sworn statement based on the information that has been electronically submitted by the parties participating in the draw. The GC can reject submissions and they can be revised and resubmitted for approval. This mechanism can be used to resolve any issues with the invoice. FIG. 166 includes a request inspection task that can generally be performed by the lender or the title company. FIG. 166 includes an authorize draw task that can generally be performed by the lender, but may require involvement of the owner, the owner's representative, or another designated project participant. A configurable authorization mechanism can include any project participant in the authorization process. FIG. 166 includes an enter and stage lien waivers task which can be required to complete the draw. Funds are not transmitted to the invoicing parties until their lien waivers are entered and staged. This requirement ensures the substantially simultaneous execution of payment and lien waiver release. FIG. 166 includes an execute simultaneous payment/lien waiver release task in which the substantially simultaneous exchange of lien waiver for payment is automated. This automated exchange can eliminate the need for meetings and can eliminate time lags between payment and lien waiver release. This automated exchange can reduce the change that a lien waiver will be lost and can speed payment to all draw participants by eliminating intermediate organizations from the payment process.
FIG. 167 includes an announce draw task in which an electronic message can be sent substantially simultaneously to all participating and/or interested organizations.
FIG. 168 includes an enter invoice details task which can be executed by any party wishing to be paid through the draw process. The electronic submission can be followed by paperwork that supports the submission. A service can be provided that allows the parties to submit the supporting information via scanning.
FIG. 169 includes an authorize invoice task in which an issue resolution process may require rejection of the initial invoice and creation of a second invoice that is mutually agreeable to all parties. Only the final invoice in the resolution process will be approved.
FIG. 170 includes a select inspector task in which there may be more than one inspector associated with a project. In this case, the correct inspector must be selected to perform the inspection.
FIG. 171 includes a confirm scope of inspection task in which the organization requesting the inspection can define the scope of the inspection, either for the entire sworn statement or for a subset of the sworn statement. FIG. 171 includes an enter inspection results task in which supporting documentation may be necessary depending upon the scope and nature of the inspection. FIG. 171 includes a forward supporting documentation task in which the system can allow files with digital photographs or other electronic material to be attached to the electronic inspection reports.
FIG. 173 includes a stage lien waiver task in which the electronic signed lien waiver can be staged in the system, secured from any alterations. In one embodiment of the invention, the lien waiver is not released to the title company until the substantially simultaneous exchange of payments and lien waivers occurs.
FIG. 174 includes a confirm draw authorization and staged lien waivers task which can include a review of all lien waivers to ensure they are complete and correct.
FIG. 178 includes a provide customer support task that can include support for adding or modifying organizations or projects, fixing password problems, fixing projects and transactions. FIG. 178 includes a system administration task that can include security administration, financial auditing, and contingency support. FIG. 178 includes a maintain activity history for system participants task that can include a vendor directory with history about the vendors and/or ratings of vendors.
It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments of the invention can be implemented using various computer devices, such as personal computers, servers, and other devices that have processors or that are capable of executing programs or sets of instructions. In general, the invention can be implemented using existing hardware or hardware that could be readily created by those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the architecture of exemplary devices has not always been explained in detail, except to note that the devices will generally have a processor, memory (of some kind), and input and output applications. The processor can be a microprocessor, a programmable logic control, an application specific integrated circuit, or a computing device configured to fetch and execute instructions. In some cases, the devices can also have operating systems and application programs that are managed by the operating systems. It should also be noted that although components of the CPMS 10 are shown connected in a network, no specific network configuration is implied. One or more networks or communication systems, such as the Internet, telephone systems, wireless networks, satellite networks, cable TV networks, and various other private and public networks, could be used in various combinations to provide the communication links desired or needed to create embodiments or implementations of the invention, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the invention is not limited to any specific network or combinations of networks.
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
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A construction project document system and method for managing a construction project including storing a signed lien waiver document, executed by a payee in a construction project, to a computer-readable memory. A payment to the payee from a payor in the construction project is facilitated after the lien waiver document has been executed. The payor is provided electronic access to the signed lien waiver document.
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This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 572,709, filed Apr. 29, 1975, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,420.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a novel process for improving the flame resistance of upholstered furniture, and especially of upholstery fabrics, and to upholstered furniture, upholstery fabrics, furniture padding, mattresses, and box springs, having improved flame resistance.
Upholstered furniture, while providing comfort to the user and esthetic appeal to the viewer, often is a major fire hazard in the home or in a public place. A careless cigarette smoker, for example, may set an upholstered chair or sofa aflame by allowing a burning cigarette to rest on the cover fabric. Furthermore, in case of fire on the premises, upholstered furniture burns easily and contributes to the spreading of the fire. It is expected that the U.S. government through its Consumer Safety Protection Agency will shortly promulgate certain minimum safety requirements, which upholstered furniture will have to satisfy in order to qualify for sales in interstate commerce.
Upholstered furniture usually contains the following structural components: (1) a frame, which may be open or closed; if open, it also contains a webbing; (2) springs; (3) padding or stuffing; and (4) covering. The frame is most often made of wood but may also be made of metal or plastic or any combination of those materials. The springs usually are made of metal but may be made of rubber straps. In certain types of furniture the springs are omitted.
For the purpose of the present invention, the term "upholstered furniture" also includes beds and bed components, such as mattresses and box springs. A mattress usually consists of a cover fabric, a padding, and springs or a cover fabric and an elastomeric padding without springs. A box spring contains a frame and springs and usually is covered with a fabric, which normally is protected from contact with the springs by a padding. The padding is the main cause of high furniture flammability because of the nature of the materials used therein. Most upholstered furniture manufactured today uses polyurethane foam cushions for the seats and often also for the backs. Polyurethane foam also is often used as padding in mattresses. However, such foam is highly flammable. Other types of padding include pillows filled with polyester fiber, cellulosic fiber, and rubberized hair. Those materials are flammable not only because of their chemical compositions but also because of their loose, fibrous structure. The covering fabric may be made of just about any fiber or fiber blend, including polypropylene, nylon, polyester, rayon, cotton, and wool. The fabric may be coated with a plastic or elastomeric coating such as, for example, polyvinyl chloride or polyurethane. Some of those fabrics are less flammable than others, but even those that are not readily ignited on contact with a source of fire (such as, for example, a burning cigarette) melt at the high temperature of that source and thus expose the more flammable padding material underneath.
It is apparent from the above brief discussion that the fire hazard could be reduced most effectively if the total construction were made less hazardous. Making either fabric or padding more flame resistant does not necessarily improve the safety of the complete upholstered structure, for example, a piece of furniture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, it has now been discovered that the flame resistance of upholstered furniture is considerably improved by interposing between the cover fabric and the padding or applying to the top side of the cover fabric a layer of a chloroprene polymer (neoprene) foam capable of evolving at combustion temperature sufficient amount of water to efficiently cool the affected area and capable of forming, when exposed to a burning cigarette or subjected to the Radiant Panel Test, a thermally insulating char which does not smolder and which maintains its structural integrity. Under standard test conditions, such as the California test of flame retardance of upholstered furniture, an upholstery fabric maintained in intimate contact with the neoprene foam should not ignite when a burning cigarette is placed on the fabric, and the extent of fabric degradation should not exceed 2 inches (5.1 cm.) in any direction from the fire source. The Radiant Panel Test is a standard flame spread index. It will be described below.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The commercially most attractive embodiment of the present invention would be applying to the underside of an upholstery fabric the required thickness of a suitable neoprene foam. As an alternative, the neoprene foam can be applied to the outside of the padding. This could be, for example, a polyurethane cushion to which would be attached integrally an outer layer of neoprene foam. It also is possible to achieve good flame resistance by simply placing a neoprene foam interliner between the covering and the padding.
Upholstery fabric often is coated at least on one side with a continuous layer of a plastic or elastomeric material, which gives it a leathery appearance. The individual fibers cannot be seen through the coating. In such a case, the neoprene foam of the present invention may be applied to the top side of the fabric, rather than to the underside, between the fabric and the plastic or elastomeric coating.
In all these applications, the thickness of the neoprene foam layer can be as little as 1/16 inch (about 1.6 mm.) and usually does not exceed 1 inch (2.54 cm.). The preferred thickness is about 1/8-1/4 inch (about 3.18-6.3 mm.). It has been found that when the neoprene foam is applied directly to the underside of an upholstery fabric, to give a layer within the preferred thickness range, all the fabrics tested irrespective of the type of fiber and type of weave (e.g., "loose" vs. "tight") passed the burning cigarette test. In fact, most of the fabrics tested qualified for the top rating, that is, exhibited a degradation area smaller than 1.5 inches (3.8 cm.) from the fire source in any direction. The precise testing technique will be described in the Experimental Part, below. In addition to woven upholstery fabrics, nonwoven fabrics made of a variety of fibers, natural or synthetic, can be used.
The neoprene foam must be specifically formulated to form on exposure to a burning cigarette or under the conditions of the Radiant Panel Test a nonsmoldering char having structural integrity. Usually, the following two ingredients will be present in the formulation: a char promoter and an inorganic, hydrated compound which retains most or all of its hydration water at the foam drying and curing temperature, but loses is below about 500° C.
The char promoter may be any chemical compound or composition which is not volatile at the ignition temperature, is itself nonflammable or has low flammability, and forms at the ignition temperature a char-protecting structure, for example, by crosslinking, fusing or fluxing, increasing its bulk or by some other chemical reaction or physical change. Suitable char promoters include, for example, urea/formaldehyde resins, melamine formaldehyde resins, melamine phosphate, phthalic anhydride, pyromellitic anhydride, sodium borate, calcium borate, zinc borate, and boric acid. Phosphorous and boron compounds are known to promote char formation. All such compounds are commercially available under a variety of trade names. The char promoter can be added to the neoprene latex in dry form prior to frothing. If a resin, such as a melamine/formaldehyde resin, is used as the char promoter, it preferably should be added to the neoprene latex before the neoprene itself is isolated therefrom. Dipping a formed neoprene foam in a resin solution or dispersion does not usually produce the desired effects. The inorganic, hydrated compound also is preferably added to the latex. The effective proportion of the char promoter will be about 5-15 parts per 100 parts by weight of neoprene (phr). The inorganic, hydrated compound can be, for example, hydrated alumina, hydrated magnesia, magnesium oxychloride, hydrated zinc borate, and hydrated calcium borate. The amount of the inorganic compound can vary. In the case of hydrated alumina, the effective proportion is about 10-180 parts per 100 phr, or even higher. When the amount of hydrated alumina decreases below the lower limit of this range, little protection, if any, is provided by this ingredient. Above the upper limit, good fire protection is obtained, but the structural integrity of the foam sometimes is adversely affected at such high loading levels. However, there is no theoretical reason to limit the upper range of the hydrated alumina proportion. The proportion of other inorganic compounds should be based on equivalent amounts of available hydration water. It is to be noted that, while non-hydrated zinc borate and calcium borate can function as char promoters, hydrated zinc borate and hydrated calcium borate can function as both char promoters and hydration water sources.
The neoprene itself can be a homopolymer of chloroprene or a copolymer or chloroprene with another organic monomer. Usual monomers are vinyl compounds or olefinic compounds, such as, for example, styrene, a vinyltoluene, a vinylnaphthalene, 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, 2,3-dichloro-1,3-butadiene, methyl vinyl ether, vinyl acetate, methyl vinyl ketone, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, methacrylamide, and acrylonitrile. The proportion of the organic monomer other than chloroprene can be up to about 60% of the total polymer but usually less than 20%. The preferred monomer is acrylonitrile or an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid, for example, acrylic acid or methacrylic acid. The preferred proportion of acrylonitrile or the carboxylic acid monomer is such that that proportion of the copolymer weight which is contributed by the nitrile or carboxyl groups (--COOH) is about 2-20%. In the case of carboxyl groups, the usual proportion would be about 5% or less.
It has been surprisingly found that copolymers of chloroprene and acrylonitrile or an α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid form under cigarette test conditions a char having good structural integrity, so that other char promoters either are not required or can be used in small amounts only.
The neoprene polymer is prepared by any well-known technique, but usually by emulsion polymerization in the presence of a free radical initiator, such as an organic peroxide or hydroperoxide. A chain transfer agent, such as an alkyl mercaptan or a dialkyl xanthogen disulfide, also is present. Chloroprene polymerization techniques are described in detail in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,037 (Snow); U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,241 (Harrell), particularly Example 3; U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,837 (Smith) and Belgian Pat. No. 815,662 (Du Pont Company). Polymerization in aqueous emulsion results in a neoprene latex.
Neoprene foam is produced from a neoprene latex using a method similar to those used to produce natural or other synthetic latex foams. In this method, a neoprene latex is mixed with compounding ingredients, such as a char promoter, a hydrated inorganic compound, vulcanizing agents, antioxidants, fillers, fire retardants, plasticizers, and frothing aids. The latex compound is frothed, for example, by beating, whipping, or mixing air or a gas into the compound or by causing a gas to be formed in the latex in situ. A gelling agent may be added to the comonomer to cause the froth to set, or a heat-sensitizing agent can be added to cause the froth to gel when heated, or the froth may be gelled by drying in such a manner that the bubbles do not collapse as the froth dries.
The froth is spread onto a fabric, release paper, or other suitable substrate and allowed to set to an irreversible gelled foam either through the use of a chemical gelling agent, by freezing, or by heating. The gelled foam is then dried at about 100°-120° C., and vulcanized.
Any of the various vulcanizing agents are suitable, such as zinc oxide or magnesium oxide. Suitable gelling agents include alkali metal silicofluorides, ammonium nitrate, or polyvinyl methyl ether. Suitable plasticizers include petrolatum and other waxes. Suitable frothing aids include ordinary soaps, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocoanut oil alkanolamides, ammonium stearate, and the like. Typical fillers include aluminum silicates, aluminum oxides, titanium dioxide, and the like. Flame retardant agents include those which have a known synergistic effect with halogenated compounds, such as antimony trioxide.
A neoprene foam of this invention is unexpectedly effective even in a thin layer in protecting both the covering and the padding from fire damage. This is due to a localized neoprene foam char formation in the fire source area. This char itself is not consumed by fire under test conditions (the fire does not propagate). Furthermore, by evolving water at higher temperatures, it provides a cooling effect, which prevents the fabric itself from igniting. The char is a good thermal insulator and thus prevents the padding under it from reaching a temperature at which it would volatilize. Thus, for a temperature of about 500° C. at the point of contact with a source of fire, the temperature under the layer of neoprene char normally would not exceed about 300° C. In order to perform its function, the char must have sufficient structural integrity, that is, it must be able to support its own weight as well as the weight of the melting fabric which is being absorbed therein.
In addition to the cigarette test, such as the abovementioned California upholstered furniture test, neoprene foam-containing structures of the present invention have performed remarkably well in the "Radiant Panel Test", ASTM E 162-67, which is designed to show flame resistance in a large scale fire environment. These results are remarkable because prior art "flameproof" structures were able to pass the cigarette test but performed poorly in the Radiant Panel Test, or performed well in the Radiant Panel Test but failed the cigarette test. Furthermore, the excellent results in the present case were obtained for structures in which highly flammable fabrics (such as cotton or rayon) were used, without any "fireproofing" treatment of the fabrics themselves.
This invention is now illustrated by the following examples, wherein all parts, proportions, and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.
TESTING
1. Modified California Test of Flame Retardance of Upholstered Furniture
This test is described in Technical Information Bulletin No. 116, State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Home Furnishings, Sacramento, Calif., May, 1974. It requires placing burning cigarettes on a smooth surface of test furniture and in various other locations, including the crevice between the seat cushion and the upholstered back panel. While the test requires testing on actual finished furniture, the tests in the following examples were run on furniture mockups. Horizontal test panels consisted of a nominal 5 cm. (2.0 inch) thick layer of cotton batting covered with a 20×20 cm (8×8 in.) piece of fabric material. The vertical panels consisted of plywood support panels with a nominal 5 cm. (2.0 in.) thick layer of cotton batting, followed by a piece of 30×30 cm. (12×12 in.) test fabric stretched tightly over the surface, wrapped around the edges, and stapled to the backside.
An article of upholstered furniture fails the text if
(1) obvious flaming combustion occurs;
(2) a char develops more than two inches from the cigarette, measured from its nearest point.
2. ASTM E 162-67 Surface Flammability Test Using a Radiant Heat Energy Source
This test (sometimes referred to in this disclosure as the Radiant Panel Test) employs a radiant heat source consisting of a 305×457 mm. (12×18 in.) panel in front of which an inclined 152×457 mm (6×18 in.) specimen of the material is placed. The orientation of the specimen is such that ignition is forced near the upper edge and the flame propagates downward. A factor derived from the rate of progression of the flame front is multiplied by another relating to the rate of heat liberation by the material under test to provide a flame spread index. The lower the numerical value of the flame spread index, the better is the flame resistance of the specimen.
FORMULATION
A typical recipe for preparing a neoprene latex foam is given in Table I.
TABLE I______________________________________ Dry Weight______________________________________Neoprene Latex 100Zinc Oxide 4Antimony Trioxide 4Petrolatum 2Foamole® AR.sup.(1) 6DUPONOL® WAQ.sup.(2) 2Hydrated Inorganic Compound 0 to 150Char Promoter 0 to 20______________________________________ .sup.(1) Foamole® AR cocoanut oil alkanolamide, VanDyke Chemical Co. .sup.(2) DUPONOL® WAQ sodium lauryl sulfate, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
In Examples 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which follow, it is shown that it is necessary to incorporate both a char promoter and a hydrated inorganic compound in the latex to protect a fabric and cotton batting sufficiently to pass a cigarette test. In Examples 5 and 6, no char promoter other than the comonomer methacrylic acid is used.
EXAMPLE 1
Neoprene Latex Type A was compounded as in Table I without filler or char promoter. (Type A Latex is prepared as described in Example 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,241.) The latex was frothed in a Hobart mixer with a wire whip to a wet froth density of 12 pounds per cubic foot (0.19 g/cm. 3 ). The froth was spread onto a rayon pile, cotton-backed fabric at a thickness of 0.25 in. The froth was dried and cured for two hours at 121° C. The coated fabric was tested by placing it over 1-in. thick cotton batting in a seat/back chair configuration and placing the lighted cigarette in the crevice formed by the intersection of the seat and back. The heat from the cigarette charred the fabric and the neoprene foam. The char spread to a distance of more than two inches away from the cigarette and the cotton batting ignited. Thus, the composite failed the cigarette test.
EXAMPLE 2
The procedure outlined in Example 1 was followed, except that 25 parts per hundred parts of neoprene (phr) of alumina trihydrate (Hydral® RH31F, Alcoa) was added to the compound as the hydrated inorganic compound. When the cigarette test was repeated as above, the char area spread to more than two inches away from the cigarette and the cotton batting ignited. Thus, the composite failed the text.
EXAMPLE 3
The procedure outlined in Example 1 was followed, except that 15 phr Cyrez® 933 (melamine formaldehyde resin, American Cyanamid) was added to the latex compound as a char promoter. When the cigarette test was repeated as above, the char area spread to more than two inches away from the cigarette, and the cotton batting ignited. Thus, the composite failed the cigarette test.
EXAMPLE 4
The procedure outlined in Example 1 was followed, except that 10 phr Cyrez® 933 and 25 phr alumina trihydrate were added as a char promoter and hydrated inorganic compound, respectively. When the cigarette test was repeated as above, the char area of the fabric spread to less than 0.5 inch away from the cigarette and the cotton batting did not ignite. Thus, the composite passed the cigarette test.
EXAMPLE 5
Neoprene Latex Type B was compounded as in Table I without filler or additional char promoter. (Latex Type B is prepared with 3 phr methacrylic acid comonomer which acts as an effective char promoter.) The latex was frothed in a Hobart mixer to a wet froth density of 14 pounds per cubic foot (0.22 g./cm. 3 ). The froth was spread onto a rayon pile, cotton-backed fabric at a thickness of 0.25 inch. The froth was dried and cured for two hours at 121° C. When the cigarette test was performed as above over 1-in. cotton batting, the char area of the fabric spread to more than 2 inches away from the cigarette and the cotton batting ignited. Thus, the composite failed the cigarette test.
EXAMPLE 6
The procedure outlined in Example 5 was followed, except that 25 phr alumina trihydrate was added to the latex compound as the hydrated inorganic compound. When the cigarette test was repeated as above, the char area spread to less than 0.5 inch away from the cigarette and the cotton batting did not ignite. Thus, the composite passed the cigarette test.
EXAMPLE 7
The procedures outlined in Examples 1 through 6 were repeated, except that a woven polypropylene fabric was used to replace the rayon pile fabric. When cigarette tests were performed over 1-in. cotton batting, it was found that foams prepared from Latex Type A failed unless 10 phr melamine formaldehyde resin and 25 phr hydrated alumina were both added. When foams prepared from Latex Type B were tested in the cigarette test, it was found that the composites failed unless 25 phr alumina trihydrate was added to the latex compound.
The improvement in flame resistance caused by a neoprene foam interliner in the Radiant Panel Test, ASTM E 162-67, is shown in Examples 8 through 14.
EXAMPLE 8
A rayon pile cotton-backed fabric was placed over a 1-in. thick fiber glass batting, then the composite was tested in the Radiant Panel Test. The flame spread index of the composite was 204. This gave the base figure for this type of fabric in this test.
EXAMPLE 9
The same rayon pile cotton-backed fabric was placed over a 1-in. thick commercial "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam and the composite was tested in the Radiant Panel Test. The flame spread index of the composite was 618. This gave the base figure for this type of fabric over a polyurethane foam.
EXAMPLE 10
Neoprene Latex Type B was compounded as in Table I with 10 phr Cyrez® 933 and 25 phr alumina trihydrate as char promoter and hydrated inorganic compound, respectively. The latex was frothed to a wet froth density of 14 lbs./ft. 3 (0.22 g./cm. 3 ), and was spread onto the rayon pile cotton-backed fabric of Example 9 at a thickness of 0.25 inch. The froth was dried and cured for two hours at 121° C. The coated fabric was placed over the 1-in. thick "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam, as in Example 9, and the composite was tested in the Radiant Panel Test. The flame spread index of the composite was 235.
EXAMPLE 11
The procedure outlined in Example 10 was repeated, except that 5 phr melamine formaldehyde resin and 150 phr hydrated alumina were used. When the coated rayon pile cotton-backed fabric was placed over a 1-in. thick "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam, and this composite was tested in the Radiant Panel Test, the flame spread index of the composite was 156. This value for the flame spread index was lower than that obtained in Example 8, where the uncoated fabric was tested over fiber glass.
EXAMPLE 12
The procedure outlined in Example 8 was repeated, except that the fabric used was a woven polypropylene fabric. When tested in the Radiant Panel Test, the flame spread index of the composite was 303.
EXAMPLE 13
The procedure outlined in Example 9 was repeated, except that the fabric used was a woven polypropylene fabric. When tested in the Radiant Panel Test, the flame spread index of the composite was 996.
EXAMPLE 14
The procedure outlined in Example 10 was repeated, except that the fabric used was a woven polypropylene fabric. When tested in the Radiant Panel Test, the flame spread index of the composite was 278. This value for the flame spread index was lower than that obtained in Example 12, where the uncoated polypropylene fabric was tested over fiber glass.
Examples 15, 16, and 17, below, show that other latex foams can be applied to a fabric which will pass the cigarette test; however, such coated fabrics do not perform comparably well in larger scale tests.
EXAMPLE 15
A latex compound was prepared from a Hycar® (B. F. Goodrich) acrylic latex Type 2679, using the formulation in Table II.
TABLE II______________________________________ Dry Weight______________________________________Hycar® Type 2679 100Zinc Oxide 4Antimony Trioxide 4Petrolatum 2Foamole® AR 6DUPONOL® WAQ 2Alumina Trihydrate 150Cyrez® 933 5______________________________________
The compound was frothed in a Hobart mixer to a wet froth density of 14 lbs./ft. 3 (0.22 g./cm. 3 ). The froth was spread onto a rayon pile, cotton-backed fabric at a thickness of 0.25 in. The froth was dried and cured for one hour at 280° F. When a portion of the coated fabric was tested in the cigarette test over cotton batting, the char area spread to less than 1.5 inches away from the cigarette and the cotton batting did not ignite. When a portion of the coated fabric was placed over a "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam and the composite was tested in the Radiant Panel Test, the composite had a flame spread index of 749. This value was higher than that obtained for the uncoated fabric tested over polyurethane (Example 9). Thus, this composition did not provide protection to the composite structure in the Radiant Panel Test.
EXAMPLE 16
A latex compound was prepared from a Geon® (B. F. Goodrich) polyvinylchloride latex Type 460X9, using the formulation in Table III. (See B. F. Goodrich Bulletin L-15, Table 13).
TABLE III______________________________________ Dry Weight______________________________________Geon® Type 460X9 100DUPONOL® WAQ 1.7Monoplex® S-73.sup.(1) 8.2Ammonium Stearate 6Tricresyl Phosphate 60Alumina Trihydrate 150Cyrez® 933 24______________________________________ .sup.(1) Rohm & Haas Co.
This compound was frothed in a Hobart mixer to a wet froth density of 14 lbs./ft. 3 (0.22 g./cm. 3 ). The froth was spread onto a rayon pile, cotton-backed fabric at a thickness of 0.25 in. The froth was dried at 200° F. for 30 min. and was cured at 270° F. for one hour. When a portion of the coated fabric was tested in the cigarette test over cotton batting, the char area spread to less than 1.5 inches away from the cigarette and the cotton batting did not ignite. When a portion of the coated fabric was placed over a "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam and the composite was tested in the Radiant Panel Test, the composite had a flame spread index of 507. Thus, this composition gives only a minor degree of protection to the tested structure.
EXAMPLE 17
An 0.25 in.-thick section of Pyrel® "fire-retardant" polyurethane foam (Scott Foam) was placed over 1-in. thick cotton batting and a woven polypropylene fabric was placed over this combination (as described in Belgian Pat. No. 817,571). When the composite was tested in the cigarette test, the char area spread to less than 1.5 in. away from the cigarette and so the combination passed the test.
An 0.25-in. thick section of Pyrel® was placed over a 1-in. thick "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam, and a woven polypropylene fabric was placed over this combination. When the composite was tested in the Radiant Panel test, the flame spread index was 1514.
This value was higher than when the fabric was tested over the polyurethane foam without the Pyrel® interliner (Example 13). Thus, the Pyrel® does not improve the protection of the fabric on the "non-fire retardant" polyurethane foam structure.
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Flame resistance of upholstered furniture is significantly improved by interposing between the cover fabric and the padding or applying to the top side of the cover fabric a layer of neoprene foam capable of forming when exposed to a burning cigarette or under the conditions of a standard flame spread test, a thermally insulating char which does not smolder, and which maintains its structural integrity. The neoprene foam must be so formulated that it also is capable of evolving at combustion temperature sufficient amount of water to efficiently cool the affected area. Normally, the latex from which the foam is prepared is formulated with a char promoter and a hydrated inorganic compound. Upholstered furniture of this invention passes a burning cigarette test and performs extremely well in the flame spread test.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method for generating images by using a ray-tracing method.
First, overview is described for the ray-tracing method, for example, stated by Turner Whitted in "An Improved Illumination Model for Shaded Display", Com. of the ACM, June 1980, Vol. 23, No. 6. In the ray-tracing method, as shown in FIG. 2, ray L (line of sight) emitted from viewpoint 12 is supposed for each pel (i, j) on screen 10 (matched with a plane of projection for convenience of the description), and the surfaces of objects intersecting the ray are searched. Of objects 14 and 16 intersecting ray L, the first seen is object 14, whose surface is closer to the viewpoint.
Now, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that, based on optical properties of an area of the outer surface of object 14 which ray L encounters, a reflected ray S 1 and refracted ray T 1 originates from intersection point 18. In this case, a search is made for each of ray S 1 and T 1 to determine whether it intersects any surface of any object or not. In the example of FIG. 3, ray S 1 intersects object 20 at intersection point 22. If reflected ray S 2 and refracted ray T 2 originating from intersection point 22 exist, a search is made for each of them to determine whether it intersects an object surface or not. On the other hand, ray T 1 intersects object 14 again at intersection point 24. If, owing to optical properties of an area of the internal surface of object 14 where intersection point 24 exists, a reflected ray originating from intersection point 24 cannot exist, or if the reflected ray is too weak for consideration, a search is made only for refracted ray T 3 to determine whether it intersects an object surface or not. Thus, once an intersection point between a line of sight and a surface of an object to be displayed is found, tracing of a ray originating from the intersection point is sequentially performed. In FIG. 3, N 1 , N 2 and N 3 represent normal vectors at intersection points 18, 22 and 24, respectively.
Now, although the above-mentioned tracing of a ray may be almost infinitely repeated, it is usually discontinued appropriately, taking into consideration the time required for generating an image. For convenience of description, in the example of FIG. 2, a search is not performed for rays S 2 , T 2 and T 3 to determine whether there are intersection points between them and the surfaces of the object to be displayed.
Now, color, brightness, etc., of intersection point 18, of course, reflect attributes of the external surfaces of object 20 at intersection point 22 and those of the internal surfaces of object 14 at intersection point 24 as well as attributes of the external surfaces of object 14 at intersection point 18. Examples of attributes of an object are color specific thereto, its reflection coefficient, its unevenness, etc. Therefore, very real images can be generated by determining optical information such as color and brightness to be assigned to pel (i, j) on screen 10 (FIG. 2).
Methods for calculating intersection points of rays and each object surface are classified into an algebraic method and a method of numerical analysis on the basis of the figure of an object to be displayed.
The algebraic method is the one used to directly find an intersection point as the solution of an equation, according to a formula for solution.
The method of numerical analysis is one for searching a region where an intersection point exists first by sampling points on ray L as shown in FIG. 4. If an equation for an equi-valued surface is represented by F(X, Y, Z)=C, check is made for sign of [F(X, Y, Z)-C] on each sampled point to find a region where an intersection point exists, or a region where the sign changes (between sampled points 30 and 32 for the example of FIG. 4). Then, the intersection point is calculated for the region using the bisection method or the Newton method. In a case where the surface of the object to be displayed can be represented by a function of F(X, Y, Z)=C of the fifth degree or higher, the method of numerical analysis using the sampling becomes essential.
Although the ray-tracing method can generally generate a high quality image, the amount of calculation becomes enormous because an intersection point with the surfaces of the objects needs to be found for each pel, respectively. Therefore, the following method for increasing speed is disclosed by, for example, Akira Fujimoto et. al. in "Accelerated Ray-Tracing System", IEEE CG & A, April 1986 or Japanese PUPA 61-139890.
(I) Grid space 33 as shown in FIG. 5 is considered. Information about which object exists in rectangular parallelepiped (cell) 34 obtained by dividing grid space 33 is stored into storage means in the form of table 35.
(II) For each ray it is judged whether or not it intersects the grid space. Then for a ray intersecting the grid space, it is determined which rectangular parallelepiped the ray intersects, and finally whether or not it intersects the surface of the object contained in the rectangular parallelepiped.
Description is made by referring to the example shown in FIG. 6. Ray A intersects a rectangular parallelepiped where an object exists (for example, rectangular parallelepiped 38 where object 36 exists), but ray B does not intersect a rectangular parallelepiped where an object exists, and no calculation is required for the intersection point with an object surface. Because it is not necessary to calculate the intersection point with an object surface for a rectangular parallelepiped which contains no object, it is possible to reduce the number of calculations of the intersection point. 40 in FIG. 6 is a plane of projection.
Here, it is noticed that the invention and the prior art are described by using a drawing represented two-dimensionally for convenience of description as in FIGS. 3 through 6.
Whether a ray intersects a grid space or not is determined by finding intersection points with six planes forming the surfaces of the grid space which is in a form of a rectangular parallelepiped, and by checking whether the intersection points are contained in the grid space or not. If there is an intersection point contained in the grid space, a rectangular parallelepiped which the ray first enters is determined from the intersection point nearest to the viewpoint.
A rectangular parallelepiped which the ray next enters can be determined only by incremental calculation based on the first rectangular parallelepiped and inclination of the ray. Now, description is made by referring to FIG. 7. The equation for the ray is expressed by vt+s wherein inclination of ray is v, an intercept of the ray is s, and line parameter is t. In addition, it is assumed that the distance between X, Y and Z grids along the ray is dtx, dty and dtz, respectively, and that t parameter on X, Y and Z grid which the ray traverses next is tx, ty, tz, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7 that is represented two-dimensionally for convenience of the description, rectangular parallelepiped (i', j', k') which the ray enters next can be determined only by incrementing axis 1 (1=x, y, z), which has a minimum value among current tx, ty and tz, by 1 (+1 if the inclination is positive, -1 if it is negative). Once transfer to the next rectangular parallelepiped is made, dt1 (1=x, y, z) is added to t parameter t1 (1=x, y, z) for the axis. Then, rectangular parallelepipeds can be sequentially traversed by applying similar processing.
Now, in the case of the conventional method consisting of the above-mentioned (I) and (II), a rectangular parallelepiped completely included in an object to be displayed is registered and subject to sampling although an intersection point between the ray and the object surface cannot exist there. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in a case where a ray passes through a transparent object having a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in grid space 42, sampling is performed for rectangular parallelepipeds 46 and 48 that do not require processing for searching the intersection point, which wastes time for that. This problem becomes serious particularly when it is necessary to generate images of a number of transparent objects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to reduce the time for displaying an object in grid space by ray-tracing method.
The method for generating images according to the invention registers only a cell containing surface 50 of object 44 among cells that are obtained by dividing region 42 containing object 44 to be displayed, as shown in FIG. 1. The calculation of intersection points is performed only for rectangular parallelepipeds in which the surface exists. Thus, it is possible to reduce the time required for displaying object 44.
In the present invention, the region containing the object to be displayed or the cells obtained by dividing it may be a non-rectangular parallelepiped, but it is advantageous for them to be in the form of rectangular parallelepiped when implementation is considered. In the following, the former is simply called a grid space, the latter a rectangular parallelepiped.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating how to have information about an object for a grid space according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the concept of the ray-tracing method.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the tracing of rays reflected and refracted on the surface of an object.
FIG. 4 is a diagram represented two-dimensionally, illustrating sampling according to a method of numerical value analysis.
FIG. 5 is a diagram represented two-dimensionally, illustrating how to have information about an object for the divided grid space.
FIG. 6 is a diagram represented two-dimensionally, illustrating judgment of intersection with an object in the grid space.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the judgment of intersection between a ray and a rectangular parallelepiped.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating how to have information about an object for a grid space in a conventional way.
FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram illustrating a case where a rectangular parallelepiped is divided into eight pieces.
FIG. 10 is a perspective diagram illustrating a case where a rectangular parallelepiped is divided into twenty-seven pieces.
FIG. 11 is a two-dimensional diagram illustrating a case where the locality of the equi-valued surface is significant.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an entire flow of the technique according to the invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram representing the sectioned grid space where the equi-valued surface exists.
FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating the processing time according to the invention, varying the number of divisions of the grid space.
FIG. 15 is a diagram represented two-dimensionally, illustrating a case where the grid space is unevenly divided.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Description is made by taking as an example a case where the surface of an object is represented as one equi-valued surface. The equi-valued surface is a set of points satisfying F (X, Y, Z)=C for a function F (X, Y, Z) on a given space. First, it is necessary to find for each pel an intersection point between the ray and the equi-valued surface nearest to the viewpoint. This means to find smallest parameter t satisfying
F (vxt+sx, vyt+sy, vzt+sz)=C (1)
based on the ray equation vt+s and the equi-valued surface F (X, Y, Z)=C. Equation (1) has t as a variable. If equation (1) is a unitary quadratic equation, its root can be easily obtained from a formula. However, if the equation is of fifth degree or higher, its solution is generally impossible to obtain by an algebraic method, but is obtained by the technique of numerical value analysis. The invention covers a ray-tracing method that performs the calculation of the intersection point by the technique of numerical value analysis.
In the technique described below it is assumed that the equi-valued surface is given in a form of F (x, y, z)=C, and that the user provides a region where the equi-valued surface exists (Xmin, Ymin, Zmin -- X, Y, Z -- Xmax, Ymax, Zmax).
In the preprocessing, a space region containing the object is divided into rectangular parallelepipeds The reason why the parallelepiped division is used is that it reduces calculation on traversing the grid space compared with an octree structure. Here, the grid points are represented by (i, j, k) (i=1, Ni, j =1, Nj, K=1, Nk where Ni, Nj and Nk are the number of grids in x, y and z directions, respectively). A rectangular parallelepiped (i, j, k) means the one of which apexes are (i, j, k), (i+1, j, k) (i, j+1, k), (i, j, k+1), (i+1, j+1, k), (i+1, j, k+1), (i, j+1, k+1), (i+1, j+1, k+1). First, the region provided by the user where the object exists (Xmin, Ymin, Zmin≦X, Y, Z≦Xmax, Ymax, Zmax) is divided into Ni×Nj×Nk.
Then, each rectangular parallelepiped is classified into two spaces:
Space where the equi-valued surface exists
Space where the equi-valued surface does not exist
This is judged by the following method.
By obtaining the function value F (x, y, z) on each grid point (i, j, k), it is checked whether or not equi-valued surface exists in a rectangular parallelepiped (i, j, k) with grid points as the apexes. This is determined by relations of size between each function value in a rectangular parallelepiped and the constant C. That is, when F-C is calculated for eight apexes of the rectangular parallelepiped (i, j, k), and if at least one sign differs from others, the rectangular parallelepiped (i, j, k) is determined to be a space where the equi-valued surface exists. If the rectangular parallelepiped contains the surface, the rectangular parallelepiped is again divided into Mi ×Mj×Mk, and then F-C is calculated for each apex after re-division. At a stage when it is found that for at least one apex a calculated sign differs, the rectangular parallelepiped (i, j, k) is registered as the space where the equi-valued surface exists. If each apex after the re-division has the same sign, it is determined that it is the space where the equi-valued surface does not exist.
How many pieces each rectangular parallelepiped (i, j, k) is divided into also depends on the locality of the equi-valued surface, but it is generally sufficient that rectangular parallelepiped 52 is divided into eight pieces (Mi=Mj=Mk=2) as shown in FIG. 9 if the values of Ni, Nj and Nk are large (Ni, Nj, Nk>20) and the region is properly specified, and that it is divided into as many as twenty-seven pieces (Mi =Mj=Mk=3) if the values of Ni, Nj and Nk are small. If equi-valued surface 54 as shown in FIG. 11 has a significant locality, the values of Mi, Mj and Mk are made larger.
Because the grid space is surrounded by six planes represented as equation, X=Xmin, Y=Ymin, Z=Zmin, X=Xmax, Y=Ymax, Z=Zmax, it is sufficient to search the intersection point between the ray and each plane algebraically, and to check that the value is contained in the grid space. The rectangular parallelepiped which the ray first enters is determined from the intersection point nearest to the viewpoint among those contained in the grid space.
The rectangular parallelepiped which the ray intersects can be determined only by calculation of increment based on the first rectangular parallelepiped and the inclination of the ray. Description of this is omitted because it is already described in a section of the prior art. For the rectangular parallelepiped where the equi-valued surface exists, sampling is performed for points on the ray contained in the rectangular parallelepiped, for each of which function value F is calculated. A sampling width of about 1/20 or less of the maximum width of the rectangular parallelepiped has been judged to be sufficient from experience.
FIG. 12 shows an entire flow. In the following, the image generation algorithm is described in detail by referring to FIG. 13. By the preprocessing, the rectangular parallelepipeds contained in the grid space are classified into those where the equi-valued surface exists and those where the equi-valued surface does not exist. The flow of the algorithm is described by exemplifying rays I, II, III and IV from viewpoint Q. In this example, only color is assumed as the optical information assigned to pels on screen 56 (FIG. 13).
(Case 1: Ray I)
Because ray I does not intersect the grid space, it is processed by the flow of blocks 70 ->71 ->72 ->73 ->84. It terminates after the color is calculated from the information stacked in block 84. The color is background one because it does not intersect the grid space. Then, the process for next ray is performed.
(Case 2: Ray II)
Because ray II intersects the grid space but does not intersect a rectangular parallelepiped where the equi-valued surface exists, the processing is performed in a flow of blocks 70 ->71 ->72 ->74 (taking out of rectangular parallelepiped 106 ->75 ->76 -<74 (taking out of rectangular parallelepiped 107), and then by repeating a flow of blocks 75 ->76 ->74 . . . . When rectangular parallelepipeds to be taken out in block 75 are exhausted, the flow enters block 73 to stack a background color, and then enters block 84. Then, the process for the next ray is performed.
(Case 3: Ray III)
For ray III, rectangular parallelepiped 116 is taken out by a flow of blocks 70 ->71 ->72 ->74 ->75 ->76, and checked for whether there is the equi-valued surface or not. Because the equi-valued surface does not exist in rectangular parallelepiped 116, the next rectangular parallelepiped 117 is taken out by a flow of blocks 74 ->75 ->76. Because the equi-valued surface exists in rectangular parallelepiped 117, the flow enters block 77 to perform the sampling. In this case, since ray III and the equi-valued surface in rectangular parallelepiped do not intersect with each other and there is no change of sign, rectangular parallelepiped 118 is taken out by a flow from block 78 to blocks 74 ->75 ->76. Because rectangular parallelepiped 118 also has the equi-valued surface, the flow enters block 77 to perform the sampling. However, because the sign changes during the sampling, it enters block 79. Because a solution exists in this region on the basis of the intermediate-value theorem, intersection point X is found by a method such as the bisection method or the Newton method.
In a case where the object does not cause reflection or transmission, the flow enters block 81 to stack the information on intersection point, and then enters block 84.
In a case where the object causes reflection or transmission, ray III' is supposed in the direction of the reflection or transmission from intersection point X. The ray is processed in a manner similar to that described for ray III. The process of the calculation for the intersection point according to the invention is described by exemplifying a case where the object in FIG. 13 is transparent. Transmitted ray III' starts from intersection point X and traverses rectangular parallelepipeds 118, 124 and 125. Therefore, the flow from block 80 passes through blocks 82 ->83 (taking out of refracted ray III' with orientation slightly different from III) ->77 ->78, and enters block 74 to take out rectangular parallelepiped 124. However, because rectangular parallelepiped 124 is not a space where the equi-valued surface exists, useless sampling is not performed, and rectangular parallelepiped 125 is taken out by a flow of blocks 75 ->76 ->74. Because rectangular parallelepiped 125 is a space where the equi-valued surface exists, the flow passes through blocks 76 ->77 ->78 ->79, and a new intersection point Y is obtained. Because further calculation is performed for the transmitted ray in the block, the flow enters block 82 to stack the information of intersection point Y, and passes through blocks 83 ->77 ->78 ->74 ->75. In block 75, there is no next rectangular parallelepiped. Then the flow enters block 73, and finally the color calculation is performed in block 84 from the stacked information on intersection points (here, information about intersection points X and Y, and background). Then, the process for next ray IV is performed.
The invention applied to the following equi-valued surface, and measurement was made for the number of division vs. the CPU time required until image data is generated on the main memory after reading data. The function used was:
F (X, Y, Z)=(X.sup.2 +Y.sup.2 -1).sup.2 +4*Z.sup.2 +0.5*X=C
FIG. 14 shows measured processing time. The number of pels on the screen was 512×512. The measurement was made for the number of division Ni=Nj=Nk=0, 4, 8, 15, 30, 45 and 60. The number of division 0 means a case where the ray-tracing method is directly used without the technique of the invention. It is realized that high quality images can be displayed more quickly by way of the present technique. In addition, this technique is so simple that hardware can be easily configured.
Although, in the above, the description is made for a case where the surface of the object is represented as one equi-valued surface, the present invention can also apply to a case where the surface of the object is comprised of a plurality of equi-valued surfaces that differ in dependence on position. In addition, information about the surface of the object may be acquired in an unequal division technique, that is, in a manner where a rectangular parallelepiped with the surface of the object is divided more finely than that without it for checking existence of the surface.
According to the invention, it becomes possible to perform the ray-tracing at higher speed than with the conventional technique. The invention is particularly effective in performing analysis of a simulation by displaying an object with a transparent equi-valued surface.
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This invention relates to a method for generating images by using a ray-tracing method. The method for generating images according to the invention registers only a cell containing the surface of an object among cells that are obtained by dividing the region containing the object to be displayed. The calculation of intersection points is performed only for rectangular parallelepipeds in which the surface exists. Thus it is possible to reduce the time required for displaying the object.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/625,960, filed on Apr. 18, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to robotic manipulators, in particular, remote center-of-motion (RCM) robots that can be used in medical applications to manipulate the orientation of end effectors such as surgical tools, which are commonly used for image guided, and/or robot assisted interventions. The RCM robot provides means for manipulating the tool about a desired pivot point, typically the tool's point of entry to the patient's body, hence enables both precise localized treatment delivery and convenient use of different tools for minimally invasive surgery tools.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In recent years, robot-assisted procedures for surgery and therapy have received considerable attention and are often preferred over conventional, manually performed procedures because of a robot's ability to perform consistent precise movements free of fatigue and tremor, and carry out surgical procedures with high dexterity and accuracy beyond those of a surgeon.
[0004] However, many surgical applications require the ability to accurately and conveniently manipulate and re-orient a special purpose surgical tool, e.g. manipulation of laparoscopic cameras and external beam radiation, biopsy sampling, precise tissue removal, precise radioactive seed implantation for prostate and lung brachytherapies, localized drug delivery using needles, catheter insertion and the like. These applications require accurately controlled motion, e.g. re-orientation of a tool, under computer control, while strictly limiting undesired motions. Moreover, many of these applications require relatively slow computer-controlled precise motions. While it is difficult for a human surgeon to perform such motions, it can be easily accomplished consistently by utilizing a special purpose robotic mechanism to perform it.
[0005] It is worth noting that such procedures need the ability to manipulate and re-orient the tool (needle, surgical tool, saw. etc.) about a pivot point, also called Remote Center-of-Motion (RCM), typically it is the point of entry of a surgical tool into the patient's internal organs. In a conventional robot (e.g. industrial robots), motions about an RCM are achieved by coordinated motions of multiple joints, many of which may be required to move rapidly through a large workspace in order to achieve relatively small tool reorientations. Thus, relatively fast joint motions may be needed to cause quite rapid end effector re-orientation. This increases the potential to injuries and may cause collisions, i.e. robot-patient or robot-equipment collisions. Also when small joint actuators are used or joint velocities are limited for safety considerations, many desired tool motions may become extremely slow.
[0006] Also, because of the limited and constrained workspace of surgical environments, surgical mechanisms need to be designed with special configuration that allows for miniaturization and to have compact sizes in order to interact easily with the patient and other existing equipment. Again this enhances the robot's maneuverability but presents another challenge to the design and implementation of the mechanism kinematics, given the working volume restrictions.
[0007] Some robotic systems for needle insertion or tool re-orientation have been reported in the literature. The most notable being a system for the augmentation of surgery with a remote center-of-motion manipulator reported in [R. Taylor, J. Fonda, D. Grossman, J. Karidis and D. LaRose, “Remote Ceter-of-Motion Robot for Surgery”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,323, 1995.]. It adopts a double parallelogram structure. However, its working radius forms a main trade off. If a large working radius for the tool is desired, the resulting robot structure can become somewhat clumsy and obstructive in the operating room and can impede access to the patient. Also, if the working radius is small, then the mechanism may get in the way of the surgeon's hands, instruments or direct vision.
[0008] A related consideration is that high quality mechanism can be expensive and difficult to fabricate. Another mechanism presented in [H. Bassan, R. V. Patel and M. Moallem, “A novel manipulator for prostate brachytherapy: Design and preliminary results”, Proc. of the 4th IFAC Symposium on Mechatronics Systems, 2006, pp. 30-35.] was designed to perform an RCM. Since the main structure was based on the mechanism introduced by R. Taylor et. al., it demonstrated the same drawbacks mentioned above. Also, the PAKY/RCM was developed at Johns Hopkins University and reported in several publications [G. Fichtinger, T. L. DeWeese, A. Patriciu, A. Tanacs, D. Mazilu, J. A. Anderson, K. Masamune, R. H. Taylor, and D. Stoianovici, “System for robotically assisted prostate biopsy and therapy with intraoperative CT guidance”, Journal of Academic Radiology, volume 9, 2002], [D. Stoianovici, K. Cleary, A. Patriciu, D. Mazilu, A. Stanimir, N. Craciunoiu, V. Watson, and L. Kavoussi, “Acubot: A robot for radiological interventions”, IEEE Trans. on Robotics and Automation, volume 19, 2003]. The robot consists of three independent stages for needle positioning, orientation and insertion.
[0009] Another mechanism for needle insertion/reorientation is described in [K. Chinzei and K. Miller, “Towards MRI guided surgical manipulator”, Int. Medical Journal for Experimental and Clinical Research, volume 7, 2001]. The design utilizes planar drives similar to that of Kronreif [G. Kronreif, M. F{umlaut over ( )}urst, J. Kettenbach, M. Figl, and R. Hanel. Robotic guidance for percutaneous interventions. In Journal of Advanced Robotics, volume 17, 2003] to create an RCM. Again, the sizes of these manipulators are quite large and they are unsuitable for use in surgical applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] There is provided a surgical manipulator (also called robot) with a special configuration that supports a remote center-of-motion attribute, so it can be used to reorient different kinds of surgical tools that need accurate manipulation about a pivot point, typically the point of entry to the internal organs of a patient, and that are commonly used in minimally invasive surgeries. Also, the robot's special configuration will allow for miniaturization.
[0011] The surgical manipulator has a special configuration that supports a remote center-of-motion attribute, that enables to accurately and conveniently manipulate and re-orient in 1 or 2 degrees of freedom, and to firmly “lock” in place, special purpose surgical tools necessary for minimally invasive therapy. The manipulator comprises a joint-link structure comprising arcuate joints (links) that enables comfortable manoeuvrability (manipulation) of the end effector or the surgical tool about a pivot point, typically the port of entry of the tool to the patient's body, while preventing the enlargement of the key hole, in the constrained and limited workspace of surgical environments. Also the configuration of the joint-link structure provides an open structure that keeps the robots' main parts out of the surgeon's field of view and out of the work area, providing sufficient space in the vicinity of the operative field, or the entry port of the tool to the patient's internal organs. The surgical manipulator can be used in manual, autonomous or remote-control modes.
[0012] The surgical manipulator (also called robot) is also adapted to overcome the size-related difficulties and problems associated with the limited workspace inherent in therapy since its configuration avoids the structural complexity associated with the existing robots, hence it is easy to be miniaturized. It is also adapted to achieve small-scale movement control for high precision manipulation of a surgical tool. The surgical manipulator operates with 2 degrees of freedom that enables controlling the motion of the joints either independently or simultaneously, hence acting as a 2 DoF or 1 DoF robot, as needed.
[0013] The surgical manipulator is also adapted to have an appropriate architecture that can be operated either manually, or autonomously with a simple and intuitive manipulation protocol to obviate the need for long training hours, hence providing the surgeon the ability to fully and easily exploit the dexterity of the robot. This also permits manipulation of different kinds of surgical tools necessary for minimally invasive therapy making it usable for simple or advanced surgical procedures.
[0014] The manipulator is also adapted to have a relatively light-weight and be cost effective to manufacture.
[0015] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a manipulator apparatus for assisting surgery comprising
[0016] a first arcuate link having a first center and a first degree of curvature and extending from a first extremity to a second extremity within a first plane of curvature containing the first arcuate link and the first center of curvature; and
[0017] a hub having a vertical axis and adapted to receive a surgical tool having a pivot point along the vertical axis, the hub being adapted to be mounted to and engage with the first actuate link to move between the first and second extremities in a first movement route within the first plane of curvature such that the first center of curvature coincides with the pivot point of the surgical tool at any point within the first movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool about the pivot point in a first degree of freedom within the first plane of curvature.
[0018] Preferably, the manipulator apparatus further comprises a second arcuate link having a second center and a second degree of curvature and extending from a first extremity to a second extremity within a second plane of curvature containing the second arcuate link and the second center of curvature; wherein the hub is further adapted to be mounted to and engage with the second arcuate link between the first and second extremities in a second movement route within the second plane of curvature perpendicularly to the first plane of curvature such that the second center of curvature coincides with the pivot point of the surgical tool at any point within the second movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool about the pivot point in a second degree of freedom within the second plane of curvature, the second degree of freedom being perpendicular to the first degree of freedom.
[0019] Preferably, the manipulator apparatus further comprises a frame having a lateral wall for supporting the extremities of the arcuate links; and guiding means for enabling simultaneous lateral movement of both the first and second arcuate links along the lateral wall of the frame; wherein the guiding means and the arcuate links are adapted for enabling movement of the hub along a third movement route within a spherical plane surface having a center of sphere coinciding with the pivot point at any point within the third movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool about the pivot point in two degrees of freedom defined by the first and second degrees of freedom.
[0020] Preferably, the guiding means comprise guiding slots comprising: a first pair of guiding slots having a first degree of curvature equivalent to the degree of curvature of the second arcuate link, the first pair of guiding slots being adapted to guide the first arcuate link; and a second pair of guiding slots having a second degree of curvature equivalent to the degree of curvature of the first arcuate link, the second pair of guiding slots being adapted to guide the second arcuate link.
[0021] Preferably, the guiding means further comprise vertical rollers and shoulders adapted to engage together for preventing vertical motion of the arcuate links during movement of the hub for preventing or minimising deviation of the center of the sphere from the pivot point of the medical tool during the lateral movement of the arcuate links. Preferably, the guiding means also further comprise lateral rollers adapted to engage with the lateral wall of the frame for preventing radial motion of the arcuate links during movement of the hub for preventing or minimising deviation of the center of the sphere from the pivot point of the medical tool during the lateral movement of the arcuate links.
[0022] Preferably, each one of the arcuate links comprise a pair of curved rods defining an opening therebetween adapted to allow passage of the medical tool. Though, the arcuate links can also comprise a single arcuate rod instead of a pair of rods. Preferably, the hub has a lateral wall having openings adapted to receive the arcuate links in a concentric configuration with respect to the hub vertical axis for allowing the hub to slide along the curved rods in the first and second movement routes.
[0023] Preferably, the hub has substantially a rectangular shape having top and bottom walls and a first and second pairs of opposite side walls forming the lateral wall, wherein the top and bottom walls have openings aligned along the vertical axis for receiving the medical tool, and each opposite side walls of the hub has aligned openings adapted to receive each one of the arcuate links respectively.
[0024] Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a tool adapter adapted to be adjusted to different types and dimensions of medical tools, the hub being adapted to receive the medical tool through the medical adapter.
[0025] Preferably, the manipulator apparatus further comprises: a motor having a gear and a shaft, a rotary encoder and a cable for each one of the arcuate links; wherein the hub, the motor and the encoder are connected therebteween using the cable such that the motor actuates movement of the hub using the cable and the encoder measures the angular rotation of the cable for enabling determination of the position of the hub within the arcuate links.
[0026] Preferably, the motors are located at the first extremities of the arcuate links and the rotary encoders are located at the second extremities of the arcuate links.
[0027] Further advantages of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] The invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0029] FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing a preferred embodiment of the surgical manipulator apparatus of the present invention employing a surgical tool that can be used for suturing and/or knot tying according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention (cable routing is only shown for one joint).
[0030] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the arcuate links (joints) employing a surgical tool that can be used for suturing and/or knot tying showing the pivot point coinciding with the centers of the arcuate links (joints) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention (no frame and cable routing shown).
[0031] FIG. 3 is a perspective bottom view showing a manipulator apparatus of the present invention (no cable routing shown) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 4 is a perspective top view showing a manipulator apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 5 is a geometrical illustration showing mathematical dimensions of the arcuate links with their respective heights coinciding the centers of curvature of the arcs with the pivot point.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , there is provided a surgical manipulator apparatus 10 comprising a joint-link structure 12 and/or 14 and a hub 16 adapted to receive a surgical tool 50 and to be mounted to and engage with the joint-link structure 12 / 14 such that it can move along the routes defined by the joint-link structure 12 and/or 14 for the manipulation of the surgical tool 50 . The joint-link structure 12 / 14 comprises at least one arcuate links 12 and/or 14 . Each arcuate link 12 or 14 will give an additional degree of freedom for the operation of the surgical tool manipulator apparatus. Using a single arcuate link will allow use of the surgical tool manipulator 10 for the manipulation of the surgical tool 50 according to one degree of freedom. Using the second arcuate link 14 along with the first arcuate link 12 will allow use of the surgical tool manipulator 10 for the manipulation of the surgical tool 50 in a second degree of freedom. It is also possible to use more than 2 arcuate links 12 / 14 to allow manipulation of the surgical tool according to additional degrees of freedom, however this will not be necessary since the simultaneous movements of the first and second arcuate links 12 and 14 as suggested in the present invention will allow to provide a 2 DoF manipulator 10 for the manipulation of the surgical tool 50 .
[0035] The hub 16 is preferably in the form of a rectangular block having top and bottom surfaces and lateral surfaces (a pair of opposite side surfaces). The hub 16 is at least partially hollow. The hub 16 has an opening at the top surface and an opening at the bottom surface aligned along a vertical axis. These openings are adapted to receive and securely hold a surgical tool adaptor 18 which is adapted to receive surgical tools of different dimensions. FIG. 2 shows a surgical tool 50 that can be used for suturing and/or knot tying inserted inside the tool adapter 18 . The surgical tool 18 is inserted inside the tool adapter 16 and extends vertically along the vertical axis. The surgical tool 50 has an upper portion extending upwardly away from the top surface of the hub 16 and a lower portion extending downwardly below the bottom surface of the hub 16 . The bottom portion of the surgical tool 50 has a pivot point 40 which corresponds to the entry point of the patient's body when the surgical manipulator 10 is used. When the surgical manipulator 10 is used in a manual mode, the upper portion of the surgical tool is used by the medical professionals to manipulate the surgical tool 50 to rotate the surgical tool around the pivot point. When the surgical manipulator operates in an autonomous mode, there is no need to have a portion of the medical tool extending upwardly above the top surface of the hub. The hub 16 can be of other forms, such as cylindrical for example.
[0036] The hub 16 is adapted to be mounted to and engage with the arcuate links 12 and 14 such that it can move along the tracks defined by the arcuate links 12 and 14 without deviating from the tracks (routes) defined by these arcuate links 12 and 14 . When two arcuate links 12 / 14 are used by the manipulator 10 , and even when the robot i 10 s to be used as 1 DoF robot only, there is an advantage of being able to move the hub 16 along any one of the arcuate links 12 / 14 without being required to demount the hub 16 from one arcuate link to mount it on the other arcuate link. Accordingly, the hub 16 according to the preferred embodiment is adapted to engage both arcuate links 12 / 14 simultaneously such that moving the hub 16 along one arcuate link will result in dragging the other arcuate link along the same direction of the movement of the hub 16 .
[0037] As one implementation for this solution, the hub is adapted to receive both arcuate links 12 / 14 through the hub's 16 lateral surface in such a manner that the arcuate links 12 and 14 are concentric to each other with respect to the vertical axis of the hub and located at two different levels along the vertical axis such that one of the arcuate links (the first arcuate link) is more distanced with respect to the pivot point 40 than the other one.
[0038] The first arcuate link 12 has a first center of curvature and extends from a first extremity to a second extremity within a first plane of curvature containing said first arcuate link 12 and the first center of curvature. The second arcuate link 14 has a second center of curvature extending from a first extremity to a second extremity within a second plane of curvature containing the second arcuate link and the second center of curvature.
[0039] One mounted to only one arcuate link 12 , the hub 16 is adapted to receive the surgical tool 50 having the pivot point 40 and to engage and slide along the first actuate link 12 between the first and second extremities in a first movement route within the first plane of curvature such that the first center of curvature of the first arcuate link coincides with the pivot point 40 of the surgical tool 50 at any point within the first movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool 50 about the pivot point 40 in a first degree of freedom within the first plane of curvature.
[0040] One mounted to both the first and the second arcuate links 12 and 14 , the hub 16 is further adapted receive and slide along the second arcuate link 14 between the first and second extremities in a second movement route within the second plane of curvature perpendicularly to the first plane of curvature such that the second center of curvature coincides with the pivot point 40 of the surgical tool 50 at any point within the second movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool 50 about the pivot point in a second degree of freedom within the second plane of curvature, where the second degree of freedom is perpendicular to the first degree of freedom.
[0041] This allows the hub 16 to move along tow different degrees of freedom perpendicular to each other. Therefore, this allows for the manipulation of the surgical tool according to the first degree of freedom and to the second degree of freedom.
[0042] Each one of the arcuate links 12 and 14 preferably comprises a double-curved guidance links parallel to each other. The hub 16 preferably comprises curved guidance holes to allow the arcuate links 12 / 14 to pass through it. This allows the hub 16 to slide along the guidance links, and will prevent the hub 16 from spinning about the guidance links 12 and 14 .
[0043] The structure of the double-curved rods 12 and 14 also allow for the tool adaptor 18 to pass between the double-curved rods 12 and 14 . When the hub 16 slides along an arcuate link, the surgical tool 18 rotates about the pivot point 40 which is located at the center of the curvature of that arcuate link 12 / 14 ( FIG. 2 ). This allows manipulating and reorienting the medical tool 50 in one DoF about the pivot point 40 where the rotation takes place in the plane that contains the arc of the link 12 / 14 on which the hub 16 movement takes place. A person skilled in the art would appreciate that the double-curved links 12 and 14 structure is not an absolute requirement in the sense that each one of the arcuate links can consist of a single rod/shaft, however certain measures have to be taken to prevent the hub 16 from spinning while in movement along the rod/shaft.
[0044] The arcuate links 12 and 14 are adapted such that their center of curvature corresponds with the pivot point 40 of the surgical tool 50 . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the second arcuate link 14 is similar in structure to the first arcuate link 12 and is chosen to have a smaller radius (R 1 ) than that of the first link (R 2 ), with the plane of its curvature perpendicular to plane of curvature of the first link. As shown in FIG. 5 , this is because the second arcuate link 14 is located below the first arcuate link 12 such that the height distance between the first arcuate link 12 and the desired pivot point (H 2 ) is bigger than the height distance between the second arcuate 14 link and the desired pivot point (H 1 ). Therefore, in order for the respective centers of curvatures of the first and second arcuate links 12 and 14 to coincide at the pivot point 40 , the second arcuate link 14 must necessarily have a smaller radius (R 1 ) than the raidus (R 2 ) of the first arcuate link 12 . The radius of the arcuate links can be modified to adjust their desired distance with respect to the pivot point 40 .
[0045] When the hub 16 moves (slides) along the second link 14 , it will manipulate the tool's orientation in one DoF perpendicular to the first link's 12 DoF. In this architecture, the two arcuate links 12 and 14 will enforce the hub 16 , that hosts the surgical tool 50 to move only on the surface of a hemisphere that has it's center kept at the required pivot point 40 . The center is defined by the concentric links radii. For each arcuate link 12 / 14 , the separation distance d s between the parallel curved shafts will define the max dimension of the tool's cross section or thickness.
[0046] In order to provide for a 2 DoF manipulator, the manipulator apparatus 10 further comprise a frame 26 having a lateral wall for supporting the extremities of the arcuate links 12 and 14 . The manipulator apparatus 10 further comprises guiding means for guiding the extremities of the arcuate links 12 and 14 for enabling simultaneous lateral movement of both the first and second arcuate links 12 / 14 along the lateral wall of the frame 26 . According to one embodiment, the frame comprises a pair of removeably mountable plates 27 defining the lateral wall of the frame.
[0047] The frame 26 , the guiding means and the arcuate links 12 and 14 are adapted for enabling the hub 16 to be moveable along a movement route within a spherical plane surface having a center of sphere coinciding with the pivot point at any point within the movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool about the pivot point in two degrees of freedom defined by the first and second degrees of freedom.
[0048] The guiding means can comprise any means for guiding the arcuate links 12 and 14 through the lateral movement supported by the lateral wall of the frame 26 in order to allow the hub to be moveable along a movement route within a spherical plane surface having a center of sphere coinciding with the pivot point at any point within the movement route for enabling rotation of the surgical tool about the pivot point in two degrees of freedom defined by the first and second degrees of freedom.
[0049] According to the preferred embodiment, the guiding means comprises two pairs of curved guiding slots 28 and 29 , the curved guiding slots 28 and 29 being adapted to engage the extremities of the arcuate links 12 and 14 and to guide them to move (slide) laterally along the route defined by the curved guiding slots 28 and 29 . Accordingly, the guiding slots corresponding to each one of the pair of guiding slots 28 and 29 are located opposite to each other symmetrically with respect to the center of the frame. The first pair of guiding slots 28 have a curvature equivalent to the curvature of the second arcuate link 14 and is adapted to guide the first arcuate link 14 through a lateral movement along these slots 28 . The second pair of guiding slots 29 have a curvature equivalent to the curvature of the first arcuate link 12 and is adapted to guide the second arcuate link 14 through a lateral movement along these slots 29 .
[0050] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , these slots are preferably curved openings adapted to the form of the extremities of the arcuate links 12 and 14 and located at the lateral wall of the frame 26 . A person skilled in the art however should appreciate the guiding slots can have other forms such as curved rails defined by the internal side of the lateral wall of the frame 26 .
[0051] The guiding means further comprise vertical rollers 34 and 35 , and lateral rollers 36 and 37 . The guiding means also comprise internal shoulders 30 and external shoulders 32 . The rollers ( 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ) are coupled to the extremities of the arcuate links 12 and 14 . The rollers 34 , 3 , 36 , 37 can be any suitable type of rollers such as bearings. The vertical rollers 34 and 35 comprise internal vertical rollers 34 located within the frame 26 and external vertical rollers 35 located outside the frame 26 . The internal vertical rollers 34 are adapted to engage (roll over) with the internal shoulders 30 in order to enhance the lateral movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 and prevent down movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 particularly while these are in operation (lateral movement). The external vertical rollers 35 are adapted to engage (roll underneath) with the external shoulders 32 to enhance the lateral movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 and prevent up movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 particularly while these are in operation. The cooperation of the vertical rollers 34 and 35 and the shoulders 36 and 37 allow to prevent any vertical motion of the arcuate links 12 and 14 therefore assisting in keeping the centers of curvature of the arcuate links 12 and 14 stable and fixed during operation.
[0052] The lateral rollers 36 and 37 comprise internal lateral rollers 36 are located within the frame 26 and are adapted to roll over the internal side of the lateral wall of the frame 26 while the arcuate links 12 and 14 are in lateral movement. This enhances the lateral movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 and prevents external side movement (radially outside the center of the frame) of the arcuate links 12 and 14 particularly while these are in operation (lateral movement). The lateral rollers 36 and 37 comprise external lateral rollers 37 located outside the frame 26 and are adapted to roll over the externall side of the lateral wall of the frame 26 while the arcuate links 12 and 14 are in lateral movement. This enhances the lateral movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 and prevents internal side movement (radially inside the center of the frame) of the arcuate links 12 and 14 particularly while these are in operation (lateral movement).
[0053] Depending on the surgical procedure and the used tool 50 , the mechanism can be used in three modes: manual, remotely controlled and autonomous modes.
[0054] In manual mode, the mechanism is used to provide free rotation of the tool 50 about the entry point in 2 DoF, while preventing any lateral motion of the tool at the point, hence, preventing any enlargement of the port. Example of such tools are the ones used for suturing and knot tying with scissor handles and clippers end effector as shown in FIG. 2 .
[0055] Also the robot can be used autonomously for precise radioactive seed implantation for prostate and lung brachytherapies, localized drug delivery using needles, catheter insertion, external beam radiation, biopsy sampling, and the like.
[0056] The third mode, i.e., remote control mode of the surgical tool can be used for manipulation of laparoscopic cameras and precise tissue removal and other applications.
[0057] For the last two modes, the robot can move the tool 50 in precisely controlled motion using 2 micro motors 20 each located at the end of one of the curved links 12 / 14 . Each motor 20 is tied by a cable 21 to the tool adapter block (hub) 16 so it can pull it and drag it to slide along the link 12 / 14 , hence change the orientation of the tool 50 . An encoder 22 is placed on the other end of the arcuate link 12 / 14 to read the motor's angular rotation, which can be utilized to calculate the angular displacement of the tool 50 . Actuating the links enables to move the tool autonomously or remotely by means of a joy stick or a graphical user interface (GUI). After it is placed with desired orientation/pose, the tool can be firmly locked in place by 1) connecting the motor to an H-Bridge circuit board and 2) by using a micro motor with a high gearhead ratio (1:1000) to increase the locking/braking force. It is worth mentioning that the link architecture of the robot allows for independent control of the joints so the tool can be manipulated in 1-DoF easily. This is made possible by mounting the motor 20 and the encoder 22 directly on the arcuate link 12 / 14 hence keeping their locations fixed with respect to the arcuate link 12 / 14 and its plane. Also, this will obviate the need for any complicated couplings between the driving motor 20 and the driven slide block 16 (hub) other than a simple belt. The robot can be used either in manual, autonomous or remote-control modes to manipulate different kinds of surgical tools necessary for minimally invasive therapy, about a pivot point typically the point of entry of the tool to the patient's internal organs, while preventing lateral enlargement of the pivot point.
[0058] Other type of mechanical/electronic mechanisms can be used to automate movement of the arcuate links 12 and 14 . For example, mechanical members such as telescopic pistons (not shown) can be provided to apply a force on the hub 16 to force movement along the arcuate links 12 / 14 .
[0059] As used herein, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed as being inclusive and opened rather than exclusive. Specifically, when used in this specification including the claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or components are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.
[0060] It will be appreciated that the above description related to the invention by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and such obvious variations are within the scope of the invention as described herein whether or not expressly or explicitly described.
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The invention is a novel compact robotic manipulator with a special configuration that supports a remote center-of-motion attribute, so it has the ability to accurately and conveniently manipulate and re-orient in 2 degrees of freedom, and to firmly “lock” in place, special purpose surgical tools necessary for minimally invasive therapy. The new features include a sophisticated joint-link structure and configuration that comprises two arcuate links that enable comfortable maneuverability of the end effector or the tool about a pivot point, typically the port of entry of the tool to the patient's body, while preventing the enlargement of the key hole, in the constrained and limited workspace of surgical environments. Also the configuration of the joints provides an open structure that keeps the robots' main parts out of the surgeon's field of view and out of the work area, providing sufficient space in the vicinity of the operative field, or the entry port of the tool to the patient's internal organs. The manipulator can be used in manual, autonomous or remote-control modes.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present application is the procedure for the magnetization of different inorganic surfaces, whether natural or synthetic, such as synthetic and natural aluminosilicates (natural zeolites, synthetic zeolites, alumina, allophane, among others), which confers magnetic properties to those surfaces. Also an objective of the present application is the aforementioned magnetized surfaces and their corresponding uses.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Over the last decades numerous investigations in various areas have devoted special attention to a group of crystalline aluminosilicates known as zeolites, which have a negative surface charge that allows the exchange of cations, whose basic structure is formed by a three-dimensional regular arrangement of AlO 4 − and SiO 4 − belonging to the tectosilicates group, which give rise to a system of intercommunicated polyhedral cavities that determine the micro porosity of these materials. This derives into diverse applications of this mineral used commercially as ion exchanger, selective adsorbent, dehydrator, molecular sieve, and catalyst.
Because the zeolites do not contaminate nor cause adverse effects to human or animal health, they are so harmless that they are added to various environmental processes for the elimination, adsorption and immobilization of heavy metals, inorganic as well as organic compounds, in addition to the removal of radioactive elements, purification and treatment of water and treatment of sludge, in the petrochemical and mining industry to treat liquid industrial residues, as well as to control spills and extraction of mining acid spills, as supports for catalysts, in industry and agronomy, animal nutrition and health, agriculture, etc.
Considering the adsorption characteristics presented by these materials, they have been reported as selective containers for various substances.
However, if magnetic properties are incorporated in the zeolites by means of a coating, increasing their magnetic susceptibility, their use for the elimination of contaminants would be expanded, as well as a means for controlled delivery of drugs, genes, proteins, antigens, and other molecules.
All this leads us to propose that the characteristics of the zeolites when coated with magnetic iron particles would enhance their use in many areas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Inorganic surfaces are largely varied and this patent will emphasize aluminosilicates, consisting of aluminum and silicon. Different concentrations of aluminum and silicon give rise to a great variation of structures and properties, among them the type of cation coordination. That is why we will exemplify the magnetization process of a surface with a known aluminosilicate like zeolite, which has a negative surface charge that allows cation exchange. Its basic structure is made of a three-dimensional arrangement of silicon tetrahedral with substitution of silicon by aluminum in the structure, generating a negative structural charge whose magnitude depends on the degree of substitution. The zeolites belong to the tectosilicates group. These structures are connected, giving rise to a system of interconnected polyhedral cavities that determine the material's porosity, with the pores being of microscopic or macroscopic size.
Zeolites, of low cost, are widely used to adsorb and absorb different organic and inorganic contaminants. The high specific surface area, associated with a negative structural charge, gives them an excellent ion exchange capacity.
Over the last years zeolite particles have attracted increasing attention due to their applications in electronics and biotechnology. Coating these materials with magnetic materials allows a huge range of applications to be foreseen.
Getting a magnetic zeolite is possible by means of a magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) coating which is achieved by in situ precipitation of the iron oxide. The zeolite coated with magnetite provides easy recovery and separation by the application of an external magnetic field. However, the use of these particles is conditioned by size control, associated mechanisms, and the chemical characteristics of the species that it is desired to adsorb (adsorbates).
Usually, the surfaces are coated with magnetic materials by the co precipitation of two types of iron (II and III). However, in the procedure reported here the surface is wet-impregnated with excess solvent, in which only one type of iron is used. This process is applicable to different aluminosilicates, always yielding a magnetic surface.
The incorporation of magnetic properties to the surface of aluminosilicates increases significantly their potential uses by bringing together the diversity of applications of aluminosilicate with the ease of recovery achieved by the incorporation of magnetic material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 : An experimental scheme for getting magnetic products.
FIG. 2 : Response of magnetic zeolite to the presence of a magnet.
FIG. 3 : Image of magnetic zeolite obtained by scanning electron microscopy.
FIG. 4 : X-ray diffraction parameters of magnetic zeolite. Assignment of the most important signals corresponds to calcium sulfate (Gy), mordenite (Mo), and magnetite (M).
FIG. 5 : Elemental analysis of magnetic zeolite.
FIG. 6 : Hysteresis curve of synthetic iron oxide and magnetic zeolite.
FIG. 7 : (a) Petroleum on water. (b) Magnetic zeolite on the petroleum spot. (c) Application of the magnetic field. (d) Clean surface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Procedure for Obtaining Magnetic Coatings
The procedure for the incorporation of Fe magnetic coating on a surface uses an FeSO 4 solution with an Fe concentration of 0.1 to 2 M, depending on the surface that it is desired to coat. The process is carried out in an inert atmosphere to avoid decomposition of the product, and at a temperature of 363±5° K. The surface to be coated is then added and a 0.001 M solution of KNO 3 prepared in an 8 M solution of NH 4 OH solution is added. All these solutions must be made according to the surface area that it is desired to coat. After the addition, the mixture is kept for 60 minutes in the container in which it was prepared, keeping the temperature constant and always in an inert atmosphere. The product is then removed from the container and it is dried at ambient temperature. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the procedure used, where (a) represents the inlet through which the solutions are added; (b) represents the inlet for the inert gas required to keep an inert atmosphere; and (c) denotes the surface used to keep the temperature constant. This procedure requires constant stirring.
After carrying out this procedure, which we will exemplify with zeolite, a first experimental test was ran which consisted in placing the magnetized surface near a magnet, whose response is shown in FIG. 2 . Then other characterization tests were ran for the magnetized product, using as reference the demagnetized product. For this purpose different techniques were applied, such as:
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
The samples obtained were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Preparation of the samples for microscopy consisted in drying them in an oven (50° C.), depositing them on carbon reticles, covering them with a thin carbon coat. Observation was made on a Zeiss DSM 960 microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDAX). The microscopy was made at a 35° angle, 15 kV acceleration voltages, a distance of 25 mm, and a current of 1-5 nA.
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
The samples were identified by powder X-ray diffraction on a Philips X'Pert diffractometer with Kα Cu radiation and a graphite monochromator. The XRD patterns were obtained from random films of the powder.
Vibrating Sample Magnetometry
The magnetic properties of the different species were measured in a controlled temperature room on a vibrating sample magnetometer, whose results are given in the hysteresis curves.
Experimental Results
The results of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are presented in FIG. 3 , showing a homogeneous species of magnetic zeolite, where a coating of sphere-type particles characteristic of magnetite is seen on the zeolite. By XRD characterization ( FIG. 4 ) it is seen that the product corresponds to zeolite with a magnetite coating. The XRD shows that after the coating process a zeolite called mordenite (ICDD-PDF card n° 00-006-0239) is obtained, with its characteristic signals at 0.400, 0.388, 0348 and 0.320 nm. The signals corresponding to magnetite at 0.484, 0.297, 0.253, 0.210, 0.162 and 0.148 nm are also seen.
Electron scanning microscopy and X-ray diffraction deliver complementary results. During the magnetization process there is a displacement of calcium ions from natural zeolite which, together with the SO 4 − incorporated with the Fe salt, precipitate forming CaSO 4 , whose presence is confirmed by the analysis made with the analytical probe (EDAX) during the scanning electron microscopy ( FIG. 5 ). From the SEM and XRD results it is seen that the Fe deposit on natural zeolite is homogeneous and is constituted only by magnetite.
Magnetization tests were made on natural zeolite and magnetic zeolite by means of so-called hysteresis curves. The magnetization curve of natural zeolite indicates that it has no magnetic components before the synthesis. However the magnetic zeolite ( FIG. 6 ) presents a magnetization of 80 emu/g. The value found for magnetic zeolite indicates that the sample is constituted by a mixture of the two species (zeolite and magnetite), of which only one is magnetic and it is found in a smaller proportion. A consequence is that the magnetic saturation of the magnetic zeolite is 13 emu/g.
The preparation of aluminosilicates with magnetic surface coatings was made with different ranges of (surface to be covered):(amount of iron deposited) ratios.
For the magnetic zeolite (used to exemplify the process) the magnetic saturation is affected by the proportion of iron oxides used in the synthesis. It is possible to get higher magnetization saturation values by increasing the proportion of iron during the synthesis stage. An excessive increase of the magnitude of the coating would have as a consequence a reduction of the pores available to allow access to the active sites located in the internal surface of the zeolite, reducing its adsorption capacity and altering its absorption potential.
The magnetic measurements of both the iron oxides and the magnetic zeolite have been made over time for weeks, with the magnetic saturation remaining constant, indicating good magnetic stability of the material prepared with the proposed methodology under normal storage conditions (25° C.).
From the tests made it is possible to establish that the magnetization process can be carried out on different types of inorganic surfaces with different degrees of magnetization, depending on the use that will be given to the surfaces.
The use of magnetized aluminosilicates can be quite varied because they do not contaminate, they do not have any adverse effects on the environment, and since they are harmless to human and animal health, to name just a few, they can be used for the elimination of organic as well as inorganic contaminants and radioactive elements in solution through sorption and immobilization, and they can also be used for the controlled release of medicines, as well as in catalysts and catalyst supports; in industrial processes, in agronomic applications, in animal nutrition and health, etc.
As a specific example, magnetic zeolite can be used to remove oil spills on water ( FIG. 7( a ), ( b ) ); this application has been shown in tests made at the laboratory level, where the recovery of the spilled product is seen with magnetic zeolite ( FIG. 7( c ) ), to obtain as final product water free of that pollutant ( FIG. 7( d ) ). For that purpose a test was made in which 10 mL of water were placed in a container and 1 mL of petroleum was placed on the water, where it was dispersed on the surface in the form of droplets, as shown in FIG. 7( a ) . A 250 mg sample of coated (magnetized) zeolite was placed over the liquid surface ( FIG. 7( b ) ). Then a magnet passed over the surface extracted both the magnetized zeolite and the oil absorbed by it ( FIG. 7( c ) ), recovering 244 mg of the zeolite used in the procedure. In this way a surface free of oil is obtained as shown in FIG. 7( d ) .
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Procedure for the magnetization of different inorganic surfaces, whether natural or synthetic, such as aluminosilicates, both synthetic and natural (natural zeolites, synthetic zeolites, alumina, allophane, among others) that give magnetic properties to those surfaces. Objectives of the present application are also the above mentioned surfaces, magnetized, and their different uses.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This present invention relates to lossless digital data compression, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for re-indexing digital data to a new symbol mapping as an aid to data compression.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Color digital images can be represented in a number of digital formats. FIG. 1 depicts two common formats, a color plane format (planes 24 , 26 , 28 ) and a palette-indexed format (table 30 and index image 32 ). In either format, digital image 20 is represented by an array of pixel values. In a color plane format, each pixel is represented in multiple color planes, for instance, red, green, and blue color planes. In the example of FIG. 1, representative color plane values are shown for a subimage 22 of image 20 . Red color plane 24 , green color plane 26 , and blue color plane 28 represent the intensity of their respective colors, at each pixel position, as a number between 0 and 255. This format allows over sixteen million unique colors to be represented accurately. The downside of this format is that it requires twenty-four bits to represent each pixel in the image.
In many images (particularly computer-generated images and icons) relatively few colors are used. In most other images, a number of intelligently-selected colors much smaller than sixteen million, e.g., 256 colors, may be entirely adequate to represent the image data to a viewer. Such images are ideally suited for a palette-indexed image.
A typical palette-indexed image has two elements: a palette table, which provides for translation between an index value and its associated red, green, and blue intensity values, and an index image, which contains an index value for each pixel in the image. In FIG. 1, palette table 30 contains eight indices, one for each unique combination of red, green, and blue pixel values that is found in subimage 22 . For instance, index 0 represents a light gray, index 1 represents white, and index 2 represents a dark brown. Index image 32 contains one index value for each pixel.
The size of a palette-indexed image is the sum of the sizes of the index image and the palette table. For images of any significant size, the palette table typically requires a relatively negligible amount of space, such that the size of the image is dominated by the size of the index image.
A viewable image is created from a palette-indexed image by replacing each index with its palette table entry. Thus, the index “0” for the top left-hand pixel of index image 32 would be used to retrieve the red, green, blue values ( 192 , 192 , 192 ) from palette table 30 for use during display of that pixel.
Many applications for palette-indexed images can greatly benefit if the palette-indexed image data can be compressed, e.g., for efficient storage and/or transmittal. Accordingly, several lossless compression schemes are currently employed with palette-indexed images. It has been recognized that for some lossless compression schemes, compression efficiency can vary with palette selection. In other words, by merely “shuffling” the entries in palette table 30 (and re-indexing the index image to conform to the new palette table), different compression values may result for subsequent compression of the index image.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,207, issued to Zandi et al., is entitled “Compression of Palettized Images and Binarization for Bitwise Coding of M-ary Alphabets Therefore”. Zandi et al. describe a reindexing scheme that uses a context model of the input data to select a particular binarization of the input data to provide good compression with a binary entropy coder. This reindexing scheme accepts a dataset that uses a series of M symbols, S 0 , . . . , S M−1 , which can be arranged randomly, or in decreasing order of occurrence in the dataset. Symbol S 0 is binarized to a first reindex value. Symbol S 1 is then binarized to a second reindex value, selected from all unassigned reindex values, that minimizes the bitwise entropy for the reindexed S 0 and S 1 . The process recurses through the remaining symbols S i , each time selecting a reindex value from the unassigned reindex values.
The Zandi et al. approach is limited to systems that use a binary entropy coder, and the performance of their approach is also limited by the particular order in which symbols are considered for re-indexing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is recognized herein that a general approach for reindexing symbols is needed. The embodiments presented herein illustrate such an approach, based on the general observation that many encoders perform better when the data presented to them contains small, rather than large, variations between adjacent data. Thus, for instance, a palettized image may be more easily compressed if symbols that frequently occur adjacent to each other in the index image are assigned symbol values that are close in symbol space.
The embodiments disclosed herein also overcome prior art limitations regarding symbol selection order. For instance, Zandi et al.'s reindexer considers symbols in a fixed order, essentially answering the question, for each symbol in order, “where should this symbol go?” In contrast, the disclosed embodiments consider a limited number of reassignment positions at each iteration, considering many (or all) unassigned symbols for these positions. In essence, these embodiments answer the question “which symbol best belongs in this position?” This approach avoids situations where a critical symbol (from a compressibility standpoint) receives a suboptimal reassignment, merely because more optimal positions were first filled by less critical symbols.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method for reindexing a digital array of symbol values is disclosed. The symbols are drawn from an M-ary alphabet of symbols. An array of cross-counts is calculated, the array comprising individual cross-counts that each indicate the degree of occurrence, within the digital array, of two symbols drawn from the M-ary alphabet appearing in a predefined contextual relationship. A symbol reassignment pool is initialized, and a symbol from the M-ary alphabet is assigned to a seed position in the pool. Unassigned symbols are then considered for assignment to positions adjacent to the symbols already assigned to the pool. To select the appropriate symbol or symbols for assignment, potential functions are calculated for unassigned symbols. A potential function for a particular unassigned symbol and pool position is based on weighted cross-counts between that symbol and those symbols already in the pool. The unassigned symbol with the largest potential function is assigned to the symbol reassignment pool at the position for which that potential function was calculated.
Preferably, each time a symbol is assigned to a position in the symbol reassignment pool, potential functions are recalculated, and then another symbol is assigned to a position in the symbol reassignment pool, this process continuing until all symbols from the M-ary alphabet have been assigned to the symbol reassignment pool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The invention may be best understood by reading the disclosure with reference to the drawing, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates two prior art image storage techniques, color plane and palette-indexed;
FIG. 2 contains a block diagram for a digital data compressor according to on embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary symbol manipulation according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 contains a flowchart illustrating a process of reassigning symbols according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 shows a pixel context that can be used in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 represents the index values for the pixels of a partial icon image;
FIG. 7 shows a cross-count array generated for the icon image of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 shows a rearrangement of the cross-count array of FIG. 7 according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 9A-9J show the steps in a pool selection process using the cross-count array of FIG. 7; and
FIG. 10 illustrates a two-dimensional symbol reassignment pool.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiments described below are exemplary, and those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that they may be tailored in a variety of ways to fit the needs of a specific application. For example, symbols need not be binary symbols, the size of the symbol alphabet need not be a power of two, and the pool need not be one-dimensional. Although the embodiments focus on palette-indexed images, these techniques could be applied equally to reindexing a segmentation mask, or to indexing of a color plane in a full-color image, or to reindexing almost any other type of discrete data.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a digital data compressor 60 . The input to compressor 60 is an image index I and its corresponding palette table T. Symbol mapper 62 remaps the symbols in palette table T according to one of the methods described below, producing a new palette table T′. Symbol mapper 62 also produces a reassignment table R that indicates which symbol in T corresponds to a given symbol in R. Using reassignment table R, reindexer 64 converts the index values in index image I to correspond to new palette table T′, thereby producing new index image I′. Palette table T′ and index image I′ are input to encoder 66 , which encodes the table and image, according to known methods, for transmission or storage. Generally, this will involve compressing the index image, and may also involve compressing the palette table.
The desired function of symbol mapper 62 is to produce a symbol mapping that re-indexes image I to provide optimal compression. In general, finding an optimal re-indexing solution by an exhaustive technique is impractical. Given a defined re-indexing criterion, the optimal solution can be obtained by looking at every possible re-indexing map. For example, one potential objective could be to minimize the average difference of the index values of neighboring pixels, i.e., Σu,v Dif(u,v), where Dif(u,v) is the sum of the differences of index values between the pixel at location (u,v) and its eight neighboring pixels. Suppose that there are M different colors in a palette-indexed image. An exhaustive search will then require M! re-indexing trials. For example, if M is 16, then the number of trials is 2.09E13. As M increases, it quickly becomes impractical to do such a search. To avoid this computational difficulty, the disclosed embodiments present greedy sub-optimal solutions that are simple to implement.
As mentioned above, one good re-indexing criterion is to minimize the average difference of the index values of neighboring pixels. For palettized images, the relative index values for neighboring pixels generally matter most. In general, the larger the difference between neighboring index values, the more bits it takes to code the transition from one pixel to its neighbor. The disclosed embodiments are designed to re-index the image such that the average difference of the index values of pixels around transitions between differently indexed regions is minimized.
Suppose that in the original index image, the index values 0,1, . . . , M−1 represent color symbols S 0 , S 1 , . . . , S M−1 , respectively. In a first embodiment, a one-to-one symbol reassignment table maps each symbol S i to a new index value that also takes one integer value in the range [0, M−1]. In this first embodiment, one symbol at a time is reassigned in a greedy fashion. Each reassignment is optimized based on the statistics collected from the original index image and previously executed reassignments.
FIG. 3 illustrates one method of arriving at a symbol reassignment table. An alphabet 100 of symbols S 0 , S 1 , . . . , S 7 is considered for reassignment to positions in a symbol reassignment pool 102 , which in this instance is initialized to have fifteen unassigned locations. A first symbol (in this case S 2 ) is selected as a seed symbol according to some criterion, and assigned to a seed position 104 in symbol reassignment pool 102 . According to another criterion, another symbol is selected for assignment to either the immediate left or the immediate right of seed position 104 . The remaining unassigned symbols are then considered for assignment to either the immediate left or the immediate right of these two symbols in the pool, and one symbol is selected for one of these locations. This process continues until all symbols are assigned to reassignment pool 102 . In one practical implementation, the seed position 104 is located in the middle of pool 102 , and the size of pool 102 is chosen as 2M−1. This allows enough space for all symbols to be assigned either to the left or to the right of the seed, in the unlikely event that this should occur.
Once all symbols have been assigned to symbol reassignment pool 102 , the symbols are mapped in pool-order to symbol reassignment table 106 . One simple approach is to shift the pool-assigned symbols down to the low end of pool 102 . This approach is illustrated in FIG. 3, where S 0 maps to R 0 , S 4 maps to R 1 , etc. Reassignment table 106 can then be used as a lookup table to re-index the symbols in the original index image.
The detailed steps of this embodiment are depicted in FIG. 4 . At block 110 , an original index image with M symbols is input. At block 112 , statistics are gathered from the original index image and stored into a cross-count array. Each element of the cross-count array indicates the degree of occurrence of cross-counts C(S i , S j ) between two different symbols S i and S j . In this embodiment, the cross-count C(S i , S j ) is defined as the number of times that a pixel with symbol S i is spatially adjacent to a pixel with symbol S j in the original index image. The symbols are characterized at this point as unassigned symbols U i =S i .
Next, a seed symbol is selected at block 114 . The seed is selected by first calculating the cumulative cross-counts C i = ∑ j = 0 , j ≠ i M - 1 C ( U i , U j )
for each unassigned symbol U i . Then, the symbol that has the largest cumulative cross-counts C i is located, designated as assigned symbol A 0 , and assigned to a seed position in a pool P. The size of pool P is defined as N, and N is set to 1 at block 116 .
Subsequent new pool entries can enter P only at either its left or right end. At block 118 , potential functions are calculated for the unassigned symbols. First, the left end position of the pool P is considered. The potential function L i =Σ j=0 N−1 w (N,j) C(U i , A j ) is calculated for each unassigned symbol U i , where w (N,j) is a weighting function controlling the impact of cross-count C(U i , A j ) on the overall potential function L i . In general, w (N,j) will depend on the physical distance between the currently open left end position of the pool P and the position of an assigned symbol A j . The parameter N indicates that the weight w (N,j) , in general, may change after each iteration. A similar potential function R i is calculated for the right end position and each unassigned symbol U i .
At block 120 , an unassigned symbol is selected for assignment to the pool based on the potential functions L i and R i . The selector identifies the unassigned symbol having the largest potential function. When this largest potential function is a left potential function, this symbol is assigned to the left end position. Otherwise, this symbol is assigned to the right end position. The pool size N is incremented at block 122 .
At block 124 , N is compared to M. If N is less than M, unassigned symbols remain, and the process branches to block 118 and iterates. Once a symbol enters the pool P, it will be indicated as assigned, and will no longer be considered for reassignment. The pool-assignment order reflects whether a left or a right potential function was chosen at each iteration. For example, after three iterations (N=4), the pool could be P={A 3 A 0 A 1 A 2 }.
After all symbols have been assigned to pool P, a symbol reassignment table is created at block 126 . This table assigns symbols R i , e.g., integers 0, 1, . . . , M−1, to the spatially-ordered symbols in the pool P in left-to-right or right-to-left order. A re-indexed index image is generated by replacing the original index value I(x,y) of each pixel in the index image with the new index value R i that is assigned to that index value.
In the above embodiment, at each iteration a new symbol is assigned immediately to the left or right of the assigned symbols already in the pool. The method is greedy in this sense—no new symbol is allowed to be inserted between any two already assigned symbols. Within this constraint, the goal is to optimize each new assignment. From a compression performance standpoint, a critical issue is the appropriate assignment criterion. The potential function L i =Σ j=0 N−1 w (N,j) C(U i , A j ), represents, in some sense, how often pixels marked with the candidate symbol U i are located adjacent to pixels marked with already assigned symbols A j . The system will favor those symbols that are more frequently located adjacent to the already assigned symbols. Again, this criterion aims to minimize the overall index value difference of neighboring pixels.
The weight w (N,j) will generally depend on the position of an assigned symbol A j with respect to the pool end position under consideration. One particular choice of the weight w (N,j) may be better for a specific subsequent lossless coding scheme than for others. For example, one reasonable choice of w (N,j) is 1/d (N,j) , where d (N,j) is the physical distance between the position of A j and the end position. It will be shown in the following that this is a justifiable, perhaps near optimal choice if LOCO-I/JPEG-LS, the new ISO standard for lossless and near-lossless compression, is to be used to code the index image losslessly.
LOCO-I (low complexity lossless compression for images) is a lossless compression algorithm for continuous-tone images, which combines the simplicity of Huffman coding with the compression potential of context models. The algorithm is based on a simple fixed-context model that is tuned for efficient performance in conjunction with a collection of context-conditioned Huffman codes, which is realized with an adaptive symbol-wise, Golomb-Rice code. It follows a traditional predictor-modeler-coder structure. The prediction and modeling in LOCO-I are based on the causal template depicted in FIG. 5, where x denotes the current pixel, and a, b, c are neighboring pixels in the relative positions shown in the figure. The LOCO-I predictor predicts x to be χ: χ = min ( a , b ) if c ≥ max ( a , b ) max ( a , b ) if c ≤ min ( a , b ) a + b - c otherwise
For palletized images, the prediction error is, in general, the difference between the current pixel index value and one of its neighbors.
A Golomb-Rice code G m is used in LOCO-I to encode the residue error within each context. Given a positive integer parameter m, the Golomb-Rice code G m encodes an integer n in two parts: a binary representation of n mod m, and a unary representation of └n/m┘. The parameter m is often chosen to be 2 k , for the purpose of simple encoding/decoding procedures. In this case, the length of encoding each symbol is k+1+└n/2 k ┘. There is an optimal value of k that yields the shortest possible average code length for an input distribution. For an infinite alphabet, it can be shown that a good estimate for the optimal value of k is k=log 2 E{|ε|}, where E{|ε|} is the expected prediction residue magnitude. It can be seen that the number of bits that it takes to code a residue error has an approximate log 2 relationship with the magnitude of that residue error.
Applying this compression model to the first embodiment above, for a particular end position of the pool P, one of the remaining unassigned symbols U i will be chosen to fill in this position at each iteration. If symbol U i is to be assigned to the current pool position, then the total bits needed to code those transition pixels between U i and each of the already assigned symbols in the pool is on the order of Σ j=0 N−1 log 2 d (N,j) C(U i ,A j ). If, instead, U i is not assigned at this iteration, then the total bits needed to code those transition pixels between U i and each of the already assigned symbols will generally increase. Assuming U i will be assigned in the subsequent iteration to the immediately adjacent pool position, then the extra amount of bits needed ΔB i will be:
Δ B i =Σ j=0 N−1 log 2 ( d (N,j) +1) C ( U i ,A j )−Σ j=0 N−1 log 2 ( d (N,j) ) C ( U i ,A j )
=Σ j=0 N−1 log 2 (1+1 /d (N,j) ) C ( U i ,A j ) ≈1/ln2 Σj=0 N−1 1 /d (N,j) C ( U i ,A j )
when d (N,j) >>1.
Therefore, with the weight w (N,j) chosen to be 1/d (N,j) , the re-indexing procedure tends to, for each iteration, choose, for assignment to the end position, the symbol that will result in the largest saving of coding bits. It should be noted that the above discussion does not intend to provide a rigorous proof. Instead, it aims to offer some insight into why the suggested weighting makes sense. Obviously, an alternative candidate for w (N,j) is log 2 (1+1/d (N,j) ). Experiments show that these two choices gave similar performance.
A simple example of the method in operation is appropriate at this point. FIG. 6 represents the index values for an index image 34 taken from a small section of a computer desktop icon. Image 34 contains twelve different indices 0-11, which were assigned left-to-right, top-to-bottom as new colors were encountered in a scan of the icon.
FIG. 7 shows a cross-count array 36 for index image 34 . The twelve indices appear across the top and down the left side of the array. Index image 34 is scanned, and the array position corresponding to two indices is incremented each time the two indices appear horizontally adjacent each other. The blank locations in array 36 indicate that the two symbols corresponding to that array element never appeared next to each other in the defined context. This indicates that compression performance would probably not be affected by placing those two symbols far apart in symbol space. Although not calculated for this example, vertically-adjacent, diagonally-adjacent, or other pixel relationships could also be represented in cross-count array 36 .
An alternate way of visualizing the reordering problem at a high level is: how can the symbol order be rearranged to move the non-zero cross-count values of array 36 as close to the diagonal of the array as possible, placing the largest non-zero values closest to the diagonal? Rearranged cross-count array 38 of FIG. 8 illustrates one solution obtained with an embodiment of the invention. In cross-count array 36 , the average symbol distance of a horizontal pixel transition is 3.04, with a maximum symbol distance of 10. In re-indexed cross-count array 38 , the average symbol distance has been decreased to 1.71, with a maximum symbol distance of 5.
FIGS. 9A through 9J illustrate, step-by-step, how each symbol appearing in index image 34 was assigned to a pool 50 in order to produce (for illustration purposes) the rearranged cross-count array 38 of FIG. 7 . As first and second (unillustrated) steps, the following happens: The cumulative cross-counts for each symbol are tallied, resulting in symbol 5 being selected as a seed symbol. A first iteration of the selection procedure selects symbol 1 for assignment adjacent symbol 5 , as symbol 1 has the highest number of cross-counts with symbol 5 . Symbol 1 is arbitrarily assigned to the right of symbol 5 in pool 50 .
FIG. 9A illustrates the second iteration of the procedure, after symbols 1 and 5 are assigned to pool 50 . The values under the entries of pool 50 illustrate the cross-counts between each assigned and each unassigned symbol. From these, distance-weighted left and right scores are calculated for each unassigned symbol. Because the weighting function is inversely proportional to pool distance, the scoring is relatively simple for this iteration—a left score for an unassigned symbol is its cross-count with symbol 5 , added to half its cross-count for symbol 1 . Using this function, the right score for unassigned symbol 6 is the largest score overall, and thus symbol 6 is assigned to the right end of pool 50 , as shown in FIG. 9 B.
The process continues in similar fashion until the position of the final unassigned symbol is determined in FIG. 9 J. Note that at each iteration, the left and right scores (potential functions) become more complex, but the number of unassigned symbols decreases. Computation complexity per iteration reaches a maximum halfway through the reassignment procedure. Several methods are available to reduce the computational complexity, as will be detailed later.
An extension of the method described above is to re-index K symbols at one time. At each iteration, given the already re-indexed symbols in the pool, the K unassigned symbols that maximize some appropriate potential function will be chosen for assignment to the right and/or left hand sides of the pool. This extension is illustrated below for the case K= 2 .
In this embodiment, a seed symbol can be chosen as in the first embodiment. Now suppose that a new ordered pair (U i , U k ) (i≠k) of unassigned symbols is to be assigned to the left and/or right hand sides of the current pool P. There are three possible scenarios as illustrated here: Case 1 : {P}U i U k ; Case 2 : U i U k {P}; Case 3 : U i {P}U k . The potential functions for these three cases are:
D 1 i,k =Σ j=0 N−1 w R(N,j) C ( U i ,A j )+Σ j=0 N w R(N+1,j) C ( U k ,A j )
D 2 i,k =Σ j=0 N−1 w L(N,j) C ( U k ,A j )+Σ j=0 N w L(N+1,j) C ( U i ,A j )
D 3 i,k =Σ j=0 N−1 w L(N,j) C ( U i ,A j )+Σ j=0 N w R(N+1,j) C ( U k ,A j )
where w R(N,j) and w L(N,j) represent the weights corresponding to the cases where the symbol is assigned to the right hand or the left hand sides of the pool, respectively. Note that for the second half of each potential function, A N is assumed to be either U i or U k , whichever was used to compute the first half of that potential function.
For each candidate ordered pair (U i , U k ), the case with the largest potential function value is chosen. The corresponding largest potential function value is recorded as the potential value for that pair. Then the ordered pair that has the largest potential value is selected for reassignment at this iteration, and is assigned according to the best scenario among the three cases.
In an actual implementation, there are several ways to reduce the computational cost of the disclosed embodiments by storing some intermediate results. For example, for a fixed i, the first half of potential function D 1 is the same for different k values. This intermediate result can be calculated once for each i and stored for later usage. It can also be used for similar terms calculated for the ordered pair (U k , U i ), and will differ by only one added element for the second half of D 3 .
Some intermediate results generated in previous iterations can also be stored and used in later iterations. For example, if for the current iteration a pair of symbols are chosen to join the pool from the right hand side (Case 1 ), then some intermediate results obtained for Case 2 in the current iteration can be reused for the next iteration, since the pool configuration does not change except that there are two more symbols at the right hand side of the pool. The same idea is also applicable to the basic scheme where only one symbol is assigned at one time.
Computational cost can also be reduced by use of an exponentially-decreasing weighting function, e.g., w (N,j) =α d (N,j) , that approximates a desired weighting function. This allows updates to be made to each potential function by updating for only the last element added to the pool. For instance, if L i,N is the current left potential function for unassigned symbol U i when N symbols are in the pool, the following holds: L i , N = ∑ j = 0 N - 1 α d ( N , j ) C ( U i , A j ) L i , N + 1 = ∑ j = 0 N - 1 α d ( N , j ) + 1 C ( U i , A j ) + α C ( U i , A N ) = α ( L i , N + C ( U i , A N ) )
Even when the weighting function cannot be expressed exponentially, it is usually possible to avoid most of the exact weighting function calculations at each iteration. This can be accomplished by use of a simple but approximate potential function that is strictly greater than or equal to the actual potential weighting function. Generally, one candidate function is
┌L i,N ┐=β N ┌L i,N−1 ┐+C ( U i ,A N−1 ),
where β N = max j = 0 N - 2 ( w ( N , j ) w ( N - 1 , j ) ) .
For a weighting function that is based inversely on distance, it can be verified that β N = N - 1 N .
The approximate potential function can be used as follows. Suppose that the last iteration resulted in the assignment of a symbol to the left side of the pool. The right potential functions for the remaining unassigned symbols can be updated by adding a single cross-count to each for the newly assigned symbol, as has been previously described. The left potential functions are updated using the approximate potential weighting function above. During this updating process, the largest potential function found, actual or approximate, is noted. If the largest is an actual potential function, its symbol can be assigned immediately to the appropriate pool position with no further calculation. If the largest is approximate, the corresponding actual potential weighting function is calculated for that symbol. This actual function is compared to the other potential functions—actual or approximate—and if one is found that is greater, its corresponding actual potential weighting function is calculated if required. If the actual function for this symbol is still greater than the current maximum, it becomes the new comparison for the remainder of the search.
It can be appreciated that with this process, computation of actual potential functions can be avoided for many symbols that are not in serious contention at that time for a pool position. Some symbols may go through many iterations without requiring computation of an actual potential function. And yet the symbol with the largest actual potential function will still be located during each iteration.
It is not necessary that the pool be one-dimensional. FIG. 10 shows a pool 52 with dimensions 2×N, where N=M+1. This 2D pool allows symbols to have greater adjacency in symbol space. The increased adjacency allows more symbols to be packed adjacent, and is thus useful when symbols occur in many different contexts in an image. The disadvantage of this approach is that it requires additional complexity. For instance, pool 52 requires twice as many potential functions, since they must be calculated for positions L 1 , L 2 , R 1 , and R 2 . Pool 52 may also require that one bit plane of the index image, e.g., the most significant bit plane, be coded separately from the other bit planes in order to achieve best results.
The re-indexing method of the first embodiment was tested on a set of icon-like graphics images. Each image has a limited number of colors. Each image was first palettized, resulting in a color palette table and an index image. The initial indices were generated using a luminance-intensity-based approach. In other words, the colors were sorted according to the intensity value of the luminance component. Then, the indices 0, . . . , M−1 were assigned to the colors in descending order of luminance intensity. This is a reasonable indexing scheme, because it assigns close index values to colors with close luminance intensity values.
The first embodiment re-indexing method was then applied to the initial index image. The context used to create the cross-count array was generated by adding one count for two horizontally-adjacent symbols, and one count for two vertically-adjacent symbols. The weighting function 1/d (N,Lj) was used for the results reported below.
The re-indexed index images were then subjected to lossless compression using two different compression techniques, JPEG-LS, (see FCD 14495, Lossless and near-lossless coding of continuous tone still images, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29 WG1 (JPEG/JBIG)), and JPEG-2000 Verification Model 3A, (see D. Taubman, Report on core experiment CodEff22: (EBCOT: Embedded Block Coding with Optimized Truncation), ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG1 N1020R, Oct. 21, 1998.) These two cases are referred to as palette-based JPEG-LS and palette-based JPEG 2000, respectively.
Table 1 shows the test results. The results for palette-based JPEG-2000 reported in Table 1 are the best results among those obtained using the set of wavelet filters provided in JPEG-2000 VM3A software. The number of coding bits for palette-based JPEG-LS and palette-based JPEG-2000 is written as a sum of two parts: the first one is the bits for coding the index image; the second one is the size of the color palette table, which is included uncompressed in the compressed bitstream. The results in Table 1, however, suggest that it may also be advantageous to compress the color palette table in some cases. It is seen from Table 1 that, for palette-based JPEG-LS and palette-based JPEG2000, the proposed re-indexing scheme, on the average, reduces the bit rate by 19.6% and 31.8% respectively, when compared to the intensity-based indexing scheme.
The palette-based JPEG2000 appears to be more sensitive to the indexing scheme. The palette-based JPEG-LS generally outperforms the palette-based JPEG2000. Note that for the palette-based JPEG2000 tested here, the mean removed before wavelet transform is 128 (the default value, good for natural images). Better performance is expected if the mean removed is the actual mean of the index image, since this will generally make the lowest band of the wavelet coefficients more symmetric with respect to zero. Palette-based JPEG-LS also outperforms GIF, with an average of about 25% bit rate savings. Note that the performance of GIF does not depend on the indexing scheme used.
TABLE 1
Losslessly compressed bitstream size (bytes)
Palette-based
Palette-based
JPEG-LS
JPEG-2000
Graphics
Intensity-
Re-
Saved
Intensity-
Re-
Saved
images
based
indexing
bits (%)
based
indexing
bits (%)
GIF
Af29
5336 ± 726
4461 ± 726
14.5
6699 ± 726
5181 ± 726
20.4
5600
Andrene
2290 ± 79
1552 ± 79
31.1
3160 ± 79
2117 ± 79
32.2
2034
Bod7
4959 ± 477
4414 ± 477
10.0
6541 ± 477
5154 ± 477
19.8
5642
Party8
7233 ± 113
5942 ± 113
17.6
12482 ± 113
6951 ± 113
43.9
17650
Pizza
11138 ± 74
8269 ± 74
25.6
16329 ± 74
8965 ± 74
44.9
10142
Rob
3313 ± 52
2416 ± 52
26.7
4828 ± 52
2894 ± 52
39.6
3595
Sam
1813 ± 76
1585 ± 76
12.1
2637 ± 76
2051 + 76
21.6
2071
The present invention can be applied to compression of other generalized images (1-dimensional, 2D, or more than 2D) that can be characterized as consisting of one index map and one table that specifies what properties each index corresponds to. An example is compression of the VQ (Vector quantization) index resulting from a vector quantization operation, where each of the VQ indices corresponds to a vector in a codebook. The invention can also be generalized for applications other than compression. In general, for any optimization application that involves a set of indices and a table that specifies what properties each index corresponds to, where it is possible to define an appropriate measure that depends on the index assignment, the disclosed invention is applicable. In this case, the potential function may be different. The basic idea, however, remains the same.
Many of the details of the preferred embodiments are just that, and many other design choices are available. For example, it is the difference between two neighboring pixel index values, rather than the absolute index values, that usually matters for compression efficiency. Therefore, the index value of the seed symbol A 0 is merely as a reference value. Other methods of choosing a seed symbol may also be appropriate. For example, one of the pair of symbols which have the largest cross-count C(S i , S j ) can be chosen as the starting symbol, and the other symbol of the pair assigned adjacent it in the pool.
One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the concepts taught herein can be tailored to a particular application in many other advantageous ways. Such minor modifications are encompassed within the invention, and are intended to fall within the scope of the claims.
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A method for re-indexing a palette-indexed image is disclosed. The method uses an array of symbol cross-counts that indicate the degree of occurrence, within the image, of symbols in one or more predefined contextual relationships, such as symbol adjacency. One objective of the method is to manipulate the palette index such that adjacent symbols in the image are assigned indices that are as close as possible in symbol space, thus enhancing the subsequent compressability of the image with many lossless compressors. As global minimization is generally computationally impracticable, the disclosed embodiments present a greedy suboptimal solution to this problem.
The basic method uses a one-dimensional reassignment pool and a seed symbol. A single symbol is selected for positioning either to the immediate right or left of the seed in the pool, according to a potential function that uses the cross-count array. This process is then iterated, considering the first and second pool symbols during the next selection, etc., placing symbols in the pool so as to minimize the average interpixel differences in the re-indexed image.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/481,996 to Hirte et al., filed on Feb. 2, 2004, entitled: “Front Loading Printer With Center Justified Print,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to printers, and more particularly to printers capable of printing on media that is center justified media.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Label printers have been adapted for extended operation via increased media capacity. Media may be supplied in roll form, for example 8-inch rolls, in a range of different roll widths depending upon the desired label dimensions. Prior printers adapted for roll media are typically side loaded by placing the media rolls upon side projecting media support arms. To accommodate different roll widths, the prior printers typically use left justified printing. That is, the printer processor assumes that the media is loaded against a far left fixed position, regardless of media width. One difficulty of left justified printing is that when narrow media is loaded, the print head may be unsupported on the right side—requiring additional structure and or latching of the print head into a fixed orientation with respect to the platen to ensure that the print head seats evenly upon the media, when narrow media is loaded.
[0006] To protect the media and print head from environmental fouling, the media and media delivery path across the print head and including a media liner take-up spindle, if used, are typically enclosed within the printer. Loading the printers with large and relatively heavy, for example, 8-inch diameter media rolls is difficult for operators. Side loading configurations allow the operator to directly load the media upon the side projecting media support arms and then route media through the media delivery path. Routing the media through a serpentine media delivery path, past and around the various spindles and media guide surfaces, during media exchange is time consuming, reducing overall printing throughput.
[0007] Printed labels are presented to the operator at the front of the printer. Side access and or side access door swing space requires that the user position each printer for use with additional free space/access alongside. In installations where desktop space is scarce and or where multiple printers are co-located to allow continuous printing availability during media exchange, the additional space required by side loading printers becomes significant.
[0008] Competition in the printer industry has focused attention upon improving overall print speed/quality, printer footprint and required service access space reduction, ease of use and reduction of manufacturing materials and operations costs.
[0009] Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a printer that overcomes deficiencies in such prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention provides systems and methods for facilitating center alignment of media in a printer. Specifically, the present invention provides guide rails located in the printer to support the spindle on which the media is located. The rails include depressions that mate with the spindle and resist rotation of the spindle as media is paid from the spindle. Further the guides may include top edges that slope toward the depressions to facilitate loading of the media and location of the media in the depressions.
[0011] Either alternatively or in addition to the guide rails, the systems and methods of the present invention may also provide a centering mechanism. The centering mechanism includes two centering guides located on opposite edges of the media. The centering mechanism may include racks connected to each of the centering guides and at least one pinion connecting the racks. In this embodiment, when one guide is moved, the other guide is also moved by the action of the racks and pinions. Specifically, the centering guides are moved a proportionate distance on either side of a center line from each other so as to ensure that the media is centered in the printer.
[0012] A detector may be connected to the centering mechanism to determine the spaced apart distance between the centering guides. From this distance, the invention can determine the width of the media.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0013] Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a label printer, access doors closed, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is an isometric right side view of the label printer of FIG. 1 , access doors open according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 is an isometric elevated left side view of the label printer of FIG. 1 , access doors open according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 4 is an elevated isometric view of the media loading area, media omitted, of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 5 is an elevated isometric view of the media loading area, media roll inserted, of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 6 is an isometric right side facing back to front view of the cavity, guide rails, and centering mechanism of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 7 is an isometric right side facing up view of the cavity, guide rails, and centering mechanism of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 8 is an isometric right side view of the guide rails of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 9 is an isometric right side facing up view of the centering mechanism of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 10 is an isometric right side facing up view of the cavity, guide rails, and centering mechanism of the label printer of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 11 is a front isometric view of the media loading and label liner rewind areas, media omitted, of the label printer of FIG. 1 .
[0025] FIG. 12 is an isometric, close-up view of the label liner rewind area, media omitted, of the label printer of FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] The present inventions now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
[0027] An exemplary embodiment of the invention, in the form of a label printer 1 , including optional label liner rewind capability, is shown in FIG. 1 . The label printer 1 has two media access doors, a top door 3 and a front door 5 . The top door 3 may include a media window 7 through which an operator may quickly visually verify the presence, type and remaining volume of loaded print ribbon and or media 9 .
[0028] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the top door 3 may be raised to access and or load the media 9 . The print head 11 , ribbon supply spindle 13 and ribbon take-up spindle 15 are attached to the top door 3 . When the top door 3 is opened, the print head 11 and ribbon spindles are raised up and away from the media supply path, allowing front-loading access of the media 9 . The media 9 , in the form of, for example, labels on liner material is supplied in bulk rolls of a desired roll width.
[0029] The top door 3 is pivotably coupled to the frame 17 of the label printer 1 at pivot points 19 on either side of a media cavity 21 . The pivot points 19 are selected to be at positions on either side of the media cavity 21 which allow the top door 3 to pivot open and allow insertion of the largest desired roll of media 9 usable with the label printer 1 . Additionally, the top door 3 may be configured to pivot upwards to a position short of extending behind the label printer 1 so that space behind, in addition to directly adjacent the perimeter of the label printer 1 need not be available to enable printer operation and or media exchange.
[0030] The media cavity 21 , shown in greater detail in FIG. 4 (top cover 3 removed for clarity) and FIGS. 5-8 , has a pair of parallel media guide rail(s) 23 positioned across from each other on either side. The rails have a first end 23 a located proximate to a front of the printer and opposed second ends 23 b distal from the front of the printer. Depression(s) 25 formed in the media guide rail(s) 23 at a rear position near the distal ends to locate a media spindle 27 into an operating position. While the top and bottom edges, 23 c and 23 d, respectively, of the rails may be parallel, in some embodiments, the top edges 23 c slope from the proximal end 23 a to the distal end 23 b, such that the edges are non-parallel. In some configurations, the top edge slopes toward said bottom edge from the proximal end to the distal end. In this configuration, the rails assist the user in directing the spindle 27 of the media to the depressions 25 in the rear position of the rails.
[0031] As illustrated, the depression is shaped to engage the spindle 27 so as to resist rotation of the spindle. In the illustrative embodiment, the depressions are square in shape to engage the square shape of the spindle. However, various other shapes are contemplated. Generally, however, the depressions include a surface for engaging and resisting rotation of the spindle.
[0032] To load media 9 , an operator inserts the media spindle 27 through a roll of media 9 , opens the top cover 3 and inserts the media 9 and media spindle 27 into the media cavity 21 from the front of the label printer 1 . As the media 9 and media spindle 27 are pushed farther back into the media cavity 21 , the media spindle 27 ends engage and move along the media guide rail(s) 23 . When the media spindle 27 ends encounter the depression(s) 25 , the media spindle 27 drops into place, securing the media spindle 27 at the operating position, and thereby the media 9 from further movement within the media cavity 21 .
[0033] Once located within the media cavity 21 , the media 9 is centered upon the media spindle 27 by a pair of movable centering guides 29 as shown in FIG. 5 . The centering guides 29 operate in unison towards and away from each other, the movement relative to a centerline of a media path through the media cavity 21 . The centering guide(s) 29 may be spring biased towards each other to automatically center the media 9 within the media cavity 21 as it is inserted, or include a manual mechanism such as a manual stop spring lever 31 that is depressed to allow centering guide 29 movement but otherwise fixes the centering guide(s) 29 at a selected media 9 loading and or label printer 1 operation position.
[0034] To complete media loading, the operator lays a leader portion of the media 9 from the media roll across the platen 33 and closes the top cover 3 , thereby sandwiching the media 9 between the print head 11 and the platen 33 , ready for print operations.
[0035] A liner, which carries each of the labels, may be torn off along with each printed label at a tear bar proximate the platen 33 or, as shown in FIG. 6 , a peel bar 35 adapted to separate the liner from the label may be used in place of the tear bar. The continuous liner, separated from each label by passage across the peel bar 35 may be routed to a liner take-up reel 37 for accumulation and eventual removal during media exchanges.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 12 , the liner take-up reel 37 is mounted to the front door 5 to facilitate label printer 1 front end access to the liner roll which accumulates upon the take-up reel 37 during label printer 1 operation. The liner take-up reel 37 incorporates a clip 39 adapted to receive and grasp an initial end portion of the liner. To allow the clip 39 to grasp a liner from media 9 of varying widths, the clip 39 extends the length of the take-up reel 37 and is biased towards a center of the take-up reel 37 . A ramp lever 41 is adapted for movement along a longitudinal axis of the take-up reel 37 . During movement away from the take-up reel 37 , the ramp lever 41 interacts with a ramp surface within the take-up reel 37 to also move radially inward with respect to the take-up reel 37 , thereby decreasing the effective diameter of the take-up reel 37 and allowing easy removal of the accumulated liner roll. A spring or the like is used to bias the ramp lever 41 into a steady state position of maximum take-up reel 37 diameter. The radial movement of the ramp lever 41 , when pulled along the longitudinal axis of the take-up reel 37 , is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,906 by Adams et al, issued Feb. 1, 2000 and hereby incorporated by reference in the entirety.
[0037] The take-up reel 37 mounting position upon the front door 5 is adapted whereby as the door is closed, a gear 43 of the take-up reel 37 engages a drive sprocket 45 (see FIG. 2 ) which drives the take-up reel during label printer 1 operation. Also, the arc which the take-up reel 37 moves through during front door 5 movement is adapted whereby an initial tension applied to the liner when attached to the clip 39 of the take-up reel 37 at the front door 5 open position is maintained at the front door 5 closed position. Thereby, the additional step during media loading where the liner take-up reel 37 is used is simply to pull the media across the platen 33 and peel bar 35 down to the take-up reel 37 where it is inserted into the clip 39 and the take-up reel 37 spun to wind up any slack in the media/liner. When the front door 5 is closed, the label printer 1 is ready for operation.
[0038] The simplified media path of a printer according to the invention reduces the opportunities for media jams. Should a media jam occur, ready access without pinch points upon opening of the top cover 3 and front cover 5 , if present, allows for quick recovery, reducing the chances that an operator attempting to clear the media path will damage the printer.
[0039] The media 9 centering action of the movable centering guides 29 ensures that media 9 of any desired width is centered within the label printer 1 . Thereby, the media 9 is also centered upon the print head 11 . Because the print head 11 is always centered upon the media 9 , the suspension of the print head 11 may be simplified to comprise a single spring biasing the print head 11 towards the media 9 and platen 33 . Further, the top cover 3 is not required to have an elaborate latch mechanism locking the forward end of the top cover 3 into a coplanar relationship with the media path and or platen 33 . The top cover 3 pivots into the operation position under the force of gravity from the weight of the top cover 3 , print head 11 and print ribbon structures.
[0040] With reference to FIGS. 4-10 , the centering guides 29 includes one or more sets of centering mechanism 49 respective upper and lower racks, 51 and 53 . The racks are connected to each other by one or more pinions 55 . Both the racks and pinions include gears that intermesh. In this configuration, when one of the centering guides 29 is moved laterally, the other centering guide is moved in an opposite direction by action of the one or more pinions. In some embodiments, a spring or other biasing means may be used to bias the centering guides toward each other. Other configurations of the centering guides are contemplated. Various such embodiments are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 60/630,647, filed Nov. 24, 2004, entitled: “Self-Centering Media Support Assembly and Method of Using the Same” to Amani et al.; the contents of which are enclosed herein by reference.
[0041] To allow automated printing upon the media 9 of varied widths, the label printer 1 employs a device for determining media width, such as center justified printing logic. The desired print image is located upon the loaded media 9 by sensing the position of one of the side edges of the media 9 and then calculating there from the extent and position of the media 9 (which is known to be centered within the media path). The individual print elements of the print head 11 can then be logically identified and energized as necessary to form the desired indicia. Center justified printing can also contribute to extended useful life of the print head 11 . Where prior left justified printers typically suffer degradation of the left side print elements first, due to their heavy use during printing of label borders independent of the media width used, center justified printing spreads the label border printing duty across the print head 11 , to different locations depending upon each different width of the media 9 that may be loaded.
[0042] One method of sensing the location of the media 9 side edge is to detect the position of the movable centering guides 29 once the media 9 is loaded. A detector may be employed to detect the location of one of the side edges. For example, an encoder 47 (see FIG. 11 ), for example a multiple turn precision rheostat, coupled by, for example, one or more gears to a pinion used to maintain the opposing movement of the movable guides 29 may be used to create a variable signal level output which is proportional to the loaded media 9 width. Because the linkage between the encoder 47 and the media edge position is mechanical, negative effects from media fibers, dust or other forms of environmental fouling typically encountered below the media path are reduced, relative to optical edge detection.
[0043] It is understood that other systems and methods may be used to determine the width of the media. For example, the racks, 51 and 53 , of the centering guides 29 and the pinion 55 may be conductive. In this instance, a current may applied such that current flows along one rack, through the pinion, and along the other rack for measuring resistance variations. The closer the centering guides are relative to each other, the lower the resistance along the racks. These measurements could be calculated for different centering guide separations.
[0044] In an alternative embodiment light sources and detector arrays may be positioned in the printer to detect the edges of the roll media and thus determine media width.
[0045] In another alternative embodiment, a light and detector may be placed on opposite sides of one of the racks so as to detect passage of gaps between the teeth of the gears located on the rack, as the rack is moved laterally. This lateral movement could then be used to determine the displacement of the centering guides from the center reference point, which again indicates media width.
[0046] As mentioned, the printer includes center justified printing logic to determine the width of the media installed in the printer. The logic includes a reference point identifying the center point of the centering guides 29 . The logic receives a location of one of the centering guides and subtracts this location from the center reference point. This calculated value represents half of the media width, from which the printer logic can determine the width of the media. The center justified printing logic can take any form such as a processing element in form of a series of logic gates, ASIC, microprocessor operating on computer software, etc.
[0047] The center justified printing logic and the centering guides are used in the printer to provide reference points for the printer controller when printing on the media. The centering guides ensure that the media is properly centered in the printer, while the center justified printing logic determines the media width. This information is used to properly format data so that it will fit on to the media when printed, as well as aid in determining locations on the media where data will be printed.
[0048] Furthermore, the media width information could also be transmitted remotely from the printer. For example, the information could be transmitted via cable, network, wireless, etc. to a host computer to indicate the width of the media loaded in the printer. The printer could also include an RFID tag located in the printer that could transmit media width data to an RFID reader.
[0049] The present invention provides a reliable and cost effective label printer with ease of use and reduced space requirements. In continuous printing applications, multiple printers may be located compactly side by side. Media loading is greatly simplified; the serpentine media path associated with prior side media loading printers is eliminated. Center justified printing simplifies many structures throughout the printer, improving reliability and reducing manufacturing costs.
Table of Parts 1 label printer 3 top door 5 front door 7 media window 9 media 11 print head 13 ribbon supply spindle 15 ribbon take-up spindle 17 frame 19 pivot point 21 media cavity 23 media guide rail(s) 25 depression(s) 27 media spindle 29 movable centering guides 31 spring lever 33 platen 35 peel bar 37 take-up reel 39 clip 41 ramp lever 43 gear 45 drive sprocket 47 encoder 49 centering mechanism 51 upper rack 53 lower rack 55 pinion
[0050] Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to ratios, integers or components having known equivalents then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.
[0051] While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept. Further, it is to be appreciated that improvements and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
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A printer for printing indicia upon media having a frame defining a media cavity, the media cavity accessible for front loading of the media via a pivotable top cover carrying the print head. During media loading, a spindle supporting the media engages a pair of media guide rails located on opposing sides of the media cavity whereby the media is supported pushable to the rear of the media cavity into an operating position. A pair of movable centering guides are operable to center the media between them and with respect to the print head. An encoder may be coupled to the movable centering guides, to identify the media width to the printer, enabling the printer to adapt to the loading of a range of different media widths automatically. A front door carrying a take-up reel for media liner may be further incorporated into the printer.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the flameproofing treatment for imparting a washing-resistant flame retardancy to cellulosic fibers or fibrous articles.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the flame retardant for cellulosic fibrous materials, there are known inorganic compounds such as ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfamate, ammonium bromide, ammonium sulfate, borax, boric acid, guanidine phosphate and guanidine carbonate, organic halogen compounds such as chlorinated paraffin, decabromodiphenyl oxide, tetrabromobisphenol A and tris-2,3-dibromopropyl isocyanurate, phosphorus compounds such as trisdichloropropyl phosphate, trischloroethyl phosphate, tricresyl phosphate, trisisopropylphenyl phosphate, bis-2-chloroethylvinyl phosphonate and diphenyl hydrogenphosphite, and reactive phosphorus compounds such as tetrakishydroxymethyl phosphonium chloride (THPC), tetrakishydroxymethyl phosphonium sulfate (THPS) and dialkylphosphonopropionamide-methylol compounds.
When these flame retardants are applied to surfaces of cellulosic fibrous materials, the surfaces become white or sticky or the materials become rigid and coarse, with the result that the hand is drastically degraded. When water-soluble inorganic compounds are used, the hand is degraded by absorption of moisture. Furthermore, when reactive flame retardants such as THPC, THPS and N-hydroxymethyldialkylphosphonopropionamide are used according to prescribed methods, the strength of cellulosic fibrous materials is reduced by 20 to 60% and discoloration is caused in dyes, and moreover, bad odors are generated at the treating step and corrosive substances such as hydrogen chloride, sulfuric acid and formaldehyde are formed causing corrosion of treating equipment. Accordingly, devices for coping with bad odors and corrosive substances must be provided. Furthermore, this method is defective in that treated articles reek of bad odors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a method for flameproofing cellulosic fibrous materials, which overcomes the above-mentioned defects of the conventional techniques.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for fireproofing cellulosic fibrous materials, which comprises treating a cellulosic fibrous material with a treating liquid comprising 100 parts by weight of an N-hydroxymethyldialkylphosphonopropionamide represented by the following general formula: ##STR2## wherein R stands for an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and 10 to 200 parts by weight (as solids) of an antimony oxide sol.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to the method of the present invention, at the treating step, corrosive substances are not formed nor bad odors generated, and there can be obtained a treated article which has excellent washing resistance and has no odor and no reduction in strength.
When a treated article is used in a field where the amount of formalin should be reduced or the hand should be maintained at a high level, for example, when clothing or bedding is treated, if the treated article is passed through an aqueous solution of an amino group-containing compound such as urea, melamine, dicyandiamide or guanidine carbonate after the flameproofing treatment, the amount of formalin is reduced, and if the treated article is processed with a cationic, nonionic, anionic or silicone softener, there can be obtained an article having excellent softness.
The cellulosic fibrous material used in the present invention may be a fiber or fibrous article mix-spun, mix-woven or mix knitted with other fiber or fibrous article, and this fiber or fibrous article may be one that has been subjected to dyeing, resin processing, mildewproofing treatment, insecticidal treatment, water-repellent treatment or oil-repellent treatment. The cellulosic fibrous material includes industrial materials such as yarns, sheets, woven fabrics, knitted fabrics and nonwoven fabrics, industrial and household fibrous articles, clothes, bedclothes, beddings, interior articles, exterior articles, sporting articles, and daily and miscellaneous goods. For example, there can be mentioned canvas, tents, sheets, ropes, curtains, carpets, wall covers, chair covers, bedclothes, mattress, blankets, sheeting, wadding, working clothes, pajamas, ribbons, braids and napped products.
The treating liquid used in the present invention comprises 100 parts by weight of a treating agent represented by the general formula (I) and 10 to 200 parts by weight (as solids), preferably 30 to 150 parts by weight, of an antimony oxide sol. If the amount of the antimony oxide sol is smaller than 10 parts by weight, a bad odor is generated at the treating step, and the treated article reeks of this bad odor and the tensile strength of the treated article is reduced. If the amount of the antimony oxide sol exceeds 200 parts by weight, the treated article becomes coarse and rigid and the hand is degraded.
A solvent, an activator, an emulsifier, a dispersant, a penetrant, a colorant such as a dye, a water repellant, an oil repellant, an anti-staining agent, a mildew-proofing agent, an insecticidal agent, a softener, a finishing agent, a resin processing agent, an ultraviolet absorber, an antioxidant, a redox agent, a thickener, a catalyst and a flame retardant may be added to the treating liquid according to need.
In carrying out the present invention, a cellulosic fibrous material is treated with the treating liquid to stick solids of the treating liquid to the fibrous material. As the treatment method, there may be adopted a method in which the fibrous material is dipped in the treating liquid and a method in which the fibrous material is coated with the treating liquid by using a spraying device, a brush, a roller or the like.
When the flameproofing treatment is carried out, it is preferred that the solids of the treating liquid be deposited on the fibrous material in an amount of 3 to 80% by weight based on the weight of the fibrous material. If the amount of the solids deposited is smaller than 3%, the flameproofing effect is insufficient, and if the amount of the solids deposited is larger than 80%, no particular improvement of the flameproofing effect can be attained but the touch is often degraded.
There may be adopted a method in which a treating liquid having a low concentration is coated on the fibrous material several times repeatedly, but it is preferred that the concentration of the treating liquid be adjusted so that a predetermined amount of solids can be deposited on the fibrous material by one treating operation.
When a fibrous material to be used in the field where the amount of formalin or the touch is important is subjected to the flameproofing treatment, if the fibrous material is passed through an aqueous solution of an amino group-containing compound such as urea, melamine, dicyandiamide or guanidine carbonate after the flameproofing treatment, the amount of formalin can be reduced, and if the fibrous material is processed with a cationic, nonionic, anionic or silicone softener, there can be obtained an article having excellent softness.
The present invention will now be further illustrated with reference to the following non-limitative examples.
EXAMPLE 1
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 75 parts of an antimony oxide sol (solids content=45%) and 43 parts of water to 25 parts of N-hydroxymethyldiethylphosphonopropionamide.
The antimony oxide sol used was one prepared by mixing 22.6 parts of antimony trioxide (supplied by Sumitomo Kagaku) with 15.0 parts of 35% hydrogen peroxide, 1.1 parts of triethanol amine and 61.3 parts of water, heating the mixture at 70° C. for 1 hour to effect reaction, removing water from the reaction mixture by distillation so that the solids content was 45% and adding 4% of triethanolamine to the residue. This antimony sol was characterized by a pH value of 9.0, a specific gravity of 1.521 (15° C.) and a viscosity of 13.7 cps (20° C.).
A side cotton broadcloth for a bedquilt (having a basis weight of 150 g/m 2 ) was dipped in this treating liquid under one-dip/one-nip condition and squeezed at a pick-up of 80% by using a mangle. Then, the bedcloth was dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and then cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes. A 5% solution of urea was prepared and heated to 50° C., and the treated bedcloth was immersed in the heated urea solution and washed with water for 5 minutes to remove free formalin. Then, the bedcloth was dipped in a 0.3% solution of an anionic softener at a goods to liquor ratio of 1/30 at a temperature of 40° C. for 5 minutes to effect softening processing, and the bedcloth was squeezed by a mangle and dried at 80° C. for 15 minutes to obtain a product. The flame retardancy, the amount of formalin, the tensile strength and the hand were evaluated.
The flame retardancy was evaluated by washing the treated sample according to the method of the Japanese Fire Defence Agency Notice No. 11 (June 1, 1973) and carrying out the test according to the 45-degree methenamine method for flameproof products specified in the Japanese Fire Defence Agency Notice No. 65 (June 25, 1974).
The amount of formalin was determined according to the method set forth the Japanese Official Gazette No. 14323 (Sept. 26, 1974).
The tensile strength was measured by using a tensile tester (Model UTM-4-100 supplied by Toyo Sokki).
The obtained results are as follows:
(a) Flame Retardancy (after repeated water washing 30 times)
Afterflaming time: 0 second
Afterglow time: 0 second
Char length: 3.0 cm.
(b) Amount of Formalin
30 ppm on the average (n=3).
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 25 Kg 12.8 KgTreated sample 25.8 Kg 12.3 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very good (softness and feel).
EXAMPLE 2
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 70 parts of an antimony oxide sol having a solids content of 50% (supplied by Nissan Kagaku) and 45 parts of water to 25 parts of N-hydroxymethyldiethylphosphonopropionamide. A bleached cotton canvas #10 (having a basis weight of 409 g/m 2 ) was dipped in the treating liquid under 2-dip/2-nip condition and squeezed at a squeeze ratio of 90% by using a mangle. The treated canvas was dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes. Then, the canvas was dipped in a 0.3% solution of a cationic softener at a goods to liquor ratio of 1/30 at 40° C. for 5 minutes to effect a softening treatment. Then, the canvas was squeezed by a mangle and dried at 80° C. for 15 minutes. The flame retardancy, the amount of formalin, the tensile strength and the hand were evaluated. The flame retardancy was evaluated according to the flameproof test method A for thick fiber fabrics specified in Ordinance No. 3 of the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs. Other tests were carried out in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are as follows:
(a) Flame Retardancy (45-degree Meker burner method)
Afterflaming time: 0 second
Afterglow time: 0 second
Char area: 28 cm 2 .
(b) Amount of Formalin
80 ppm.
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 64.8 Kg 76.6 KgTreated sample 61.5 Kg 61.0 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very good (softness and appearance).
EXAMPLE 3
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 60 parts of the same antimony oxide sol (having a solids content of 45%) as used in Example 1 and 40 parts of water to 25 parts of N-hydroxymethyldiethylphosphonopropionamide, and a mix-spun fabric (having a basis weight of 187 g/m 3 ) comprising 65% of cotton and 35% of polyester was dipped in the treating liquid under 2-dip/2-nip condition, squeezed at a squeeze ratio of 95% by using a mangle, dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes.
The flame retardancy of the obtained treated fabric was evaluated by washing the fabric according to the method of the Japanese Fire Defence Agency Notice No. 11 (June 1, 1973) and subjecting the fabric to the fireproof test for thin fabrics specified in Ordinance No. 3 of the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs. Other tests were carried out in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are as follows.
(a) Flame Retardancy (45-degree microburner method after repeated water washing 5 times)
Afterflaming time: 0 second
Afterglow time: 0 second
Char area: 18 cm 2 .
(b) Amount of Formalin
70 ppm.
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 87.7 Kg 66.6 KgTreat sample 85.0 Kg 64.0 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very good (softness and feel).
EXAMPLE 4
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 50 parts of the same antimony oxide sol (having a solids content of 45%) as used in Example 1 and 40 parts of water to 25 parts of N-hydroxymethyldimethylphosphonopropionamide. A cotton knitted fabric (having a basis weight of 170 g/m 2 ) was dipped in the treating liquid, squeezed at a squeeze ratio of 95% by using a mangle, dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes. Then, the fabric was dipped in a 0.3% solution of a nonionic softener at 40° C. for 5 minutes to effect a softening treatment, squeezed by a mangle and dried at 80° C. for 5 minutes. Then, the flame retardancy, the amount of formalin, the tensile strength and the touch were evaluated. The flame retardancy was evaluated by conducting washing 50 times according to AATCC 124-69 (Test 11-B) and subjecting the fabric to the combustion test for children's sleepers according to DOC FF-3-71. Other tests were carried out in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are as follows.
(a) Flame Retardancy (vertical method, flame contact time of 3 seconds)
Afterflaming: 0 second
Char length: 9 cm.
(b) Amount of Formalin
65 ppm.
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 22.7 Kg 8.4 KgTreated sample 20.0 Kg 8.0 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very good.
EXAMPLE 5
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 55 parts of the same antimony oxide sol (having a solids content of 45%) as used in Example 1, 40 parts of water and 0.1 part of 35% hydrogen peroxide to 25 parts of N-hydroxymethyldipropylphosphonopropionamide. A cotton fabric (having a basis weight of 255 g/m 2 ) was dipped in the treating liquid under 2-dip/2-nip condition, squeezed at a squeeze ratio of 85% by using a mangle, dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes. Then, the treated fabric was dipped in a 0.3% solution of a cationic softener at 40° C. for 5 minutes at a goods to liquor ratio of 1/30 to effect a softening treatment, and the fabric was squeezed by a mangle and dried at 80° C. for 15 minutes. The flame retardancy, the amount of formalin, the tensile strength and the hand were evaluated.
The flame retardancy was determined by carrying out washing according to the method of the Japanese Fire Defence Agency Notice No. 11 (June 1, 1973) and subjecting the fabric to the fireproof test for thin fabrics specified in Ordinance No. 3 of the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs. Other tests were carried out in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are as follows.
(a) Flame Retardancy (45-degree microburner method after repeated water washing 5 times)
Afterflaming time: 0 second
Afterglow time: 0 to 3 seconds
Char area: 25 cm 2 .
(b) Amount of Formalin
45 ppm.
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 49.8 Kg 36.8 KgTreated sample 44.9 Kg 37.0 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very good (also the drapeability was good).
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 70 parts of water to 30 parts of N-hydroxymethyldiethylphosphonopropionamide. A cotton fabric (having a basis weight of 255 g/m 2 ) was dipped in this treating liquid under 2-dip/2-nip condition, squeezed at a pick-up of 85% by using a mangle, dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes. Then, the treated fabric was dipped in a 0.3% solution of a cationic softener at a goods to liquor ratio of 1/30 at 40° C. for 5 minutes to effect a softening treatment, and the fabric was squeezed by a mangle and dried at 80° C. for 15 minutes. The flame retardancy, the amount of formalin, the tensile strength and the hand were evaluated.
The flame retardancy was evaluated by carrying out washing according to the method of the Japanese Fire Defence Agency Notice No. 11 (June 1, 1974) and subjecting the fabric to the fireproof test for thin fabrics specified in Ordinance No. 3 of the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs. Other tests were carried out in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are as follows.
(a) Flame Retardancy (45-degree microburner method).
Completely burnt at the test conducted after repeated water washing 5 times.
(b) Amount of Formalin
400 ppm.
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 49.8 Kg 36.8 KgTreated sample 24.0 Kg 18.7 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very hard and bad hand with formalin odor.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2
A treating liquid was prepared by adding 60 parts of water to 40 parts of the same antimony oxide sol as used in Example 1. A cotton fabric (having a basis weight of 255 g/m 2 ) was dipped in the treating liquid under 2-dip/2nip condition, squeezed at a pick-up of 85% by using a mangle, dried at 80° C. for 10 minutes and cured at 150° C. for 4 minutes. The treated fabric was dipped in a 0.3% solution of a cationic softener at a goods to liquor ratio of 1/30 at 40° C. for 5 minutes to effect a softening treatment. The fabric was squeezed by a mangle and dried at 80° C. for 15 minutes. The flame retardancy, the amount of formalin, the tensile strength and the hand were evaluated. The flame retardancy was determined by carrying out washing according to the method of the Japanese Fire Defence Agency Notice No. 11 (June 1, 1973 ) and subjecting the fabric to the fireproof test for thin fabrics specified in Ordinance No. 3 of the Japanese Ministry of Home Affairs. Other tests were carried out in the same manner as described in Example 1. The obtained results are as follows.
(a) Flame Retardancy (45-degree microburner method)
Completely burnt at the test conducted after repeating washing 5 times.
(b) Amount of Formalin
0 ppm.
(c) Tensile Strength
______________________________________ Longitudinal Lateral Direction Direction______________________________________Untreated sample 49.8 Kg 36.8 KgTreated sample 35.3 Kg 24.5 Kg______________________________________
(d) Hand
Very hard and bad.
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A method for flameproofing cellulosic fibrous materials, which comprises treating a cellulosic fibrous material with a treating liquid comprising 100 parts by weight of an N-hydroxymethyldialkylphosphonopropionamide represented by the following formula: ##STR1## wherein R stands for an alkyl gorup having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and 10 to 200 parts by weight (as solids) of an antimony oxide sol.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to teleconferencing systems and particularly to speaker identification in teleconferencing systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Teleconferencing systems are in widespread use around the world. In such systems, audio streams are provided to the various endpoints to the conference call. The streams may be mixed or combined at one or more of the endpoints and/or at a switch. Although some teleconferencing is done with video images of the various participants, most teleconferencing is still performed using audio alone.
Because most conference calls do not have real time video feed of each of the participants during the call, it is often difficult for a participant to discriminate between remotely located speakers. The participant having difficulty discriminating between the voices of two or more conference participants is hereinafter referred to as the “disadvantaged participant”.
Different speakers can sound alike to a participant for a variety of reasons. For example, it is not unusual for individuals to have similar sounding voices. Poor quality links can cause two otherwise dissimilar sounding speakers to sound similar. Interference can be so pronounced that a remote caller cannot distinguish between several similar sounding people on a call even though the other participants can. Finally, the individual himself may be hard-of-hearing or have some other type of hearing impairment that causes speakers to sound very similar.
Being unable to discriminate between speakers can cause a disadvantaged conference participant to make incorrect assumptions about who is actually speaking at any point in time. As a result, the disadvantaged participant can address the wrong individual in their remarks, which is embarrassing at the least, or be confused about who said what, which can lead to problems after the call is over.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other needs are addressed by the various embodiments and configurations of the present invention. The present invention is directed generally to speech modification and particularly to speech modification in voice calls.
In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method including the steps of:
(a) generating a speech profile (e.g., a pitch or prosodic profile) of a first party to a voice call;
(b) adjusting, based on the speech profile, a spectral characteristic (e.g., pitch, frequency, f0/Hz) of a voice stream from the first party to form a modified voice stream; and
(c) audibly providing the modified voice stream to a second party to the voice call.
As will be appreciated, the voice call may be in real-time or delayed. An example of a delayed voice call is the replaying of a voice mail message received earlier from another caller and a pre-recorded conference call. The retrieving party calls into the voice mail server and, after authentication is completed successfully, audibly receives playback of the recorded message.
In a particular application, the invention is applied to conference calls and assists disadvantaged callers (i.e., the second party), such as remote callers using poor quality links, to discern between two or more similar sounding call participants. Poor quality links can result for example from Internet congestion in a Voice Over IP or VoIP call (leading to a low Quality of Service (QoS)), from a poor wireless connection in a wireless call, or from a poor connection in a traditional phone line.
The conferencing system builds a profile of each of the speakers on the call. This is typically done during the first few minutes of the call. The profile is preferably a pitch profile, though other types of profiles may be employed.
When the disadvantaged party requires assistance in discriminating between speakers, he activates a feature on the conferencing unit, such as a by entering a feature code.
The conferencing unit then compares all of the speech profiles of the other participants and identifies pairs of profiles that are very similar (within specified thresholds which are preset or configured, such as remotely, by the disadvantaged party.
The conferencing unit then starts mixing the modified voice stream that will be output solely to the disadvantaged party and/or to other callers who have requested the new feature. As the conferencing unit mixes the new voice (media) stream, it applies an algorithm that modifies the speech of the similar sounding speakers in a way that accentuates the differences between them. The disadvantaged party thus hears the conference participants with a much greater ability to distinguish between similar sounding speakers.
In one configuration, at least two parties to the same conference call receive, substantially simultaneously, different voice streams from a common participant. In other words, one party receives the unmodified (original) voice stream of the participant while the other party receives the modified voice stream derived from the original voice stream.
These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure of the invention(s) contained herein.
As used herein, “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.
The above-described embodiments and configurations are neither complete nor exhaustive. As will be appreciated, other embodiments of the invention are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an enterprise network according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plot of fo/Hz (horizontal axis) and pitch (vertical axis) depicting a pitch profile of a first speaker;
FIG. 3 is a plot of fo/Hz (horizontal axis) and pitch (vertical axis) depicting a pitch profile of a second speaker;
FIG. 4 is a plot of fo/Hz (horizontal axis) and pitch (vertical axis) depicting a pitch profile of a third speaker;
FIG. 5 is a plot of fo/Hz (horizontal axis) and pitch (vertical axis) depicting a pitch profile of a fourth speaker;
FIG. 6 is a plot of fo/Hz (horizontal axis) and pitch (vertical axis) depicting a pitch profile of a fifth speaker;
FIG. 7 is a plot of fo/Hz (horizontal axis) and pitch (vertical axis) depicting a pitch profile of a sixth speaker;
FIG. 8 is a flowchart depicting an operational embodiment of a speech discrimination agent; and
FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting an operational embodiment of a speech modification agent.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention will be illustrated below in conjunction with an exemplary communication system. Although well suited for use with, e.g., an enterprise network switch, the invention is not limited to use with any particular type of communication system switch or configuration of system elements. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed techniques may be used in any communication application in which it is desirable to provide improved communications.
With reference to FIG. 1 , a telecommunications architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted. The architecture 100 includes first and second external communication devices 104 a,b , a Wide Area Network or WAN 108 , and an enterprise network 112 . The enterprise network 112 includes a switch 116 , a speech profile database 120 , a database 124 containing other subscriber information, and a plurality of communication devices 128 a - n administered by the switch 116 .
The first and second external communication devices 104 a,b are not administered by the switch 116 and are therefore considered by the enterprise network 112 to be external endpoints. The devices 104 a,b may be packet- or circuit-switched. Exemplary external communication devices include packet-switched voice communication devices (such as IP hardphones (e.g., Avaya Inc.'s 4600 Series IP Phones™) and IP softphones such as Avaya Inc.'s IP Softphone™), circuit-switched voice communication devices (such as wired and wireless analog and digital telephones), Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs, Personal Computers or PCs, laptops, H.320 video phones and conferencing units, voice messaging and response units, and traditional computer telephony adjuncts.
WAN 108 may be packet- or circuit-switched. For example, WAN 108 can be the Internet or the Public Switched Telephone Network.
The switch 116 can be any suitable voice communication switching device, such as Private Branch eXchange or PBX, an Automatic Call Distributor or ACD, an enterprise switch, an enterprise server, or other type of telecommunications system switch or server, as well as other types of processor-based communication control devices such as media servers, computers, adjuncts, etc. The switch 116 directs contacts to one or more telecommunication devices and is preferably a modified form of Avaya Inc.'s Definity™ Private-Branch Exchange (PBX)-based ACD system; MultiVantage™ PBX, CRM Central 2000 Server™, Communication Manager™, and/or S8300™ media server. Typically, the switch is a stored-program-controlled system that conventionally includes interfaces to external communication links, a communications switching fabric, service circuits (e.g., tone generators, announcement circuits, etc.), memory for storing control programs and data, and a processor (i.e., a computer) for executing the stored control programs to control the interfaces and the fabric and to provide automatic contact-distribution functionality. The switch typically includes a network interface card (not shown) to provide services to the serviced telecommunication devices and a conferencing function within the switch and/or in an adjunct. As will be appreciated, the conferencing functionality may be in a multi-party conference unit located remotely from the switch or in one or more endpoints such as a communication device. Other types of known switches and servers are well known in the art and therefore not described in detail herein.
The speech profile database 120 contains a speech profile for each subscriber and optionally nonsubscribers indexed by a suitable identifier. In one configuration, the speech profile is a pitch profile of the type shown in FIGS. 2-7 . The identifier can be a party name, employee identification number, an electronic address of a communication device associated with a subscriber (such as a telephone number), and the like.
The database 124 contains subscriber information for each subscriber of the enterprise network. Subscriber information includes, for example, subscriber name, employee identification number, and an electronic address associated with each of the subscriber's internal and external communication devices.
The subscriber communication devices 128 can be any of the communication devices described above. In a preferred configuration, each of the telecommunication devices 128 , . . . 128 n corresponds to one of a set of internal extensions Ext 1 , . . . ExtN, respectively. These extensions are referred to herein as “internal” in that they are extensions within the premises that are directly serviced by the switch 116 . More particularly, these extensions correspond to conventional telecommunication device endpoints serviced by the switch, and the switch can direct incoming contacts to and receive outgoing contacts from these extensions in a conventional manner.
Included in the memory 132 of the switch 116 are a speech discrimination agent 136 and a speech modification agent 140 . The speech discrimination agent 136 maintains (e.g., generates and updates) speech profiles for each subscriber and other conference participants and creates speech modifier(s) to distinguish or disambiguate speech from similar sounding speakers in calls between subscribers on internal endpoints and/or between a subscriber on an internal endpoint and one or more other parties on external endpoints. The speech modification agent 140 , when invoked by a subscriber (the disadvantaged participant) during a multi-party conference call, applies the speech modifier(s) to one or both of similar sounding speakers to provide an altered or modified voice stream, mixes or combines the original or unaltered voice streams of the other participants with the altered voice stream(s) of the similar sounding speaker(s), and provides the combined stream to the disadvantaged participant. As will be appreciated, the agents 136 and 140 may alternatively be included in a multi-party conferencing unit, such as a modified form of Avaya Inc.'s Avaya Meeting Exchange™, that is an adjunct to the switch 116 and/or included within one or more of the voice communication devices 104 a,b and 128 a - n.
Speech profiling may be done by the agent 136 by a number of differing techniques.
In one technique, speech profiling is done by pitch-based techniques in which cues, namely speaker-normalized pitch, are isolated and extracted. In one approach, a pitch estimator, such as a Yin pitch estimator, is run over the individual participants speech streams to extract pitch versus time for each of the participants. Two parameters are provided by this technique, namely an actual pitch estimate (which is given as a deviation in octaves from A440 (440 Hz)) over a selected number of samples) and the “a periodicity” (which is a measure of just how aperiodic the signal is during a given sample). The more aperiodic the signal is, the less reliable the pitch estimate is. This approach is discussed in detail in Kennedy, et al., Pitch - Based Emphasis Detection for Characterization of Meeting Recordings , LabROSA, Dep't of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, which is incorporated herein by this reference. In another approach, a pitch period detector, such as an AUTOC, SIFT, or AMDF pitch period detector, and pitch-synchronous overlap/add algorithm, are run over the individual participants speech streams to extract pitch versus time for each of the participants. This approach is discussed in detail in Geyer, et al., Time - and Pitch - Scale Modification of Speech , Holmdel, N.J., Diploma Thesis at the Bell Labs, which is incorporated herein by this reference. Under either approach, the profile of each speaker is preferably of the form shown in FIGS. 2-7 .
In another technique, the agent 136 performs prosodic analysis of each participants voice stream. The agent 136 identifies the temporal locations of probable prosodic boundaries in the voice stream, typically using speech rhythms. The agent 136 preferably performs a syntactic parse of the voice stream and then manipulates the structure to produce a prosodic parse. Parse strategies include without limitation triagram probabilities (in which every triagram in a sentence is considered and a boundary is placed when the probability is over a certain threshold). Other techniques may be employed, such as the annotation of text with part-of-speech via supertags, parse trees and prosodic boundaries and the consideration not only of triagram probabilities but also distance probability as discussed in Using Statistical Models to Predict Phrase Boundaries for Speech Synthesis by Sanders, et al., Nijmegan University and Centre for Speech Technology Research, University of Edinburgh, and syntactic chunks to link grammar, dependency trees, and syntactic constituents as discussed in Influence of Syntax on Prosodic Boundary Prediction , to Ingulfsen, University of Cambridge, Technical Report No. 610 (December 2004), each of which is incorporated herein by this reference. In this configuration, the profile of each participant is derived from the prosodic parse of the voice stream.
The profile of each conference participant may be discarded after the conference call is over or retained in permanent memory for future conference calls involving one or more of the parties. In one configuration, the enterprise network maintains, in the database 120 , a speech profile for each subscriber.
Comparisons of the speech profiles of the various conference participants to identify “similar” sounding speakers can be done by a variety of techniques. In one technique, speaker verification techniques are employed, where a degree of similarity between the two selected speech profiles of differing participants is determined. This may be done using Markov Models, such as continuous, semi-continuous, or discrete hidden Markov Models, or other standard techniques. In one configuration, the speaker profile of one participant is compared against the speaker profile of another participant, and an algorithm, such as the Viterbi algorithm, determines the probability of the speech having come from the same speaker. This is effectively equivalent to a degree of similarity of the two speech profiles. If the probability is above a certain threshold, the profiles are determined to be similar. If the probability is below the threshold, the profiles are determined to be dissimilar. Normalization may be used to increase the accuracy of the “degree of similarity” conclusion. Another technique, is discriminative observation probabilities in which the difference between the profiles is normalized into probabilities in the range of 0 to 1. These approaches are discussed in Forsyth, ESCA Workshop on Automatic Speaker Recognition, Identification, and Verification Incorporating Discriminating Observation Probabilities ( DOP ) into Semi - Continuous HMM, Hoffman, An F 0- Contour Based Speaker Recognizer , and Forsyth et al., Discriminating Semi - Continuous HMM for Speaker Verification , Centre for Speech Technology Research, Edinburgh, Scotland, each of which is incorporated herein by this reference. Another technique is to compare parameters describing the profile. Exemplary parameters include median or mean, peak value, maximum and minimum values in the profile distribution, and standard deviation. For example, if a first speaker's profile has a first mean and a first standard deviation and a second speaker's profile has a second mean and a second standard deviation the first and second profiles are deemed to be similar when the difference between the first and second means is less than a specified first threshold, and the difference between the first and second standard deviation is less than a specified second threshold. Otherwise, the profiles are deemed to be dissimilar.
Examples of similar and dissimilar profiles are shown in FIGS. 2-7 . The profile in FIG. 2 is from a first speaker, that in FIG. 3 is from a second speaker, that in FIG. 4 is from a third speaker, that in FIG. 5 is from a fourth speaker, that in FIG. 6 is from a fifth speaker, and that in FIG. 7 is from a sixth speaker. As can be seen from the Figs., the profiles of the second, third, and fourth speakers are similar while those of the first, fifth, and sixth speakers are dissimilar to any of the other profiles. The second, third and fourth profiles are similar in that they each have similar peaks (around 110 f0/Hz) and similar distribution ranges (from 75 to 275 f0/Hz) but are also different in a number of respects. Differences include for the second speaker the spike 300 around 400 f0/Hz, for the third speaker the dip 400 at 225 f0/Hz and supplemental distribution 404 between 225 and 300 f0/Hz, and for the fourth speaker the extremely low pitches from 225 to 440 f0/Hz.
The agent 136 further creates speech modifier(s) to distinguish the similar speech profiles from one another. The modifier(s) can modify or alter the magnitude of the pitch or the shape and location of the distribution (e.g., make the distribution narrower or broader by adjusting the standard deviation, minimum and/or maximum f0/Hz values, mean, median, and/or mode value, peak value, and the like and/or by frequency shifting). In one configuration, the voice stream of a targeted user is spectrally decomposed, the pitch values over a selected series of f0/Hz segments adjusted, and the resulting decomposed pitch segments combined to form the adjusted or modified voice stream having a different pitch distribution than the original (unmodified) signal.
An example of voice stream modification will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 2-7 . One approach to distinguishing the second speaker from the third and fourth speakers is to amplify the magnitude of the spike 300 at approximately 400 f0/Hz by multiplying the pitch value in the voice stream received from the second speaker by a value greater than 1 or by offsetting the spike to a different f0/Hz value, such as 440 Hz. An approach to distinguish the third speaker from the second and fourth speakers is to reduce (by multiplying by a value less than 1) the pitch value at 225 f0/H to emphasize the dip 400 and/or amplify (by multiplying by a value greater than 1) the pitch values between 225 and 300 f0/Hz to amplify the supplemental distribution 404 . An approach to distinguish the fourth speaker from the second and third speakers is to reduce the pitch values from 225 to 440 f0/Hz.
Where more than one conference call participant is in a common room, the various voice streams from the various participants must be isolated, individually profiled, and, if needed, adjusted by suitable speech modifiers. In one configuration, a plurality of microphones are positioned around the room. Triangulation is performed using the plurality of voice stream signals received from the various microphones to locate physically each participant. Directional microphone techniques can then be used to isolate each participants voice stream. Alternatively, blind source separation techniques can be employed. In either technique, the various voice streams are maintained separate from each other and combined at the switch, or an endpoint to the conference call.
The operation of the speech discrimination agent 136 will now be discussed with reference to FIG. 8 .
In step 800 , the agent 136 is notified that a multi-party conference call involving one or more subscribers is about to commence or is already in progress.
In decision diamond 804 , the agent 136 determines whether there are at least three parties to the conference call. If only two parties are on the call, there can be no disadvantaged participant as only one party is on the other line. If there are three or more parties, the agent 136 proceeds to step 808 . In one configuration, this decision diamond 804 is omitted.
In step 808 , the agent 136 generates and/or updates speech profiles for each conference participant, both subscribers and nonsubscribers. The profiles are generated and/or updated as the various participants converse during the call. The profiles may be stored in temporary or permanent storage. During the course of the call, the profiles are continually refined as more speech becomes available from each participant for analysis.
In step 812 , the agent 136 compares selected pairs of profiles of differing conference call participants to identify callers with similar profiles. This step is typically performed as the voice profiles are built in step 808 .
In decision diamond 816 , it is determined whether any voice profiles are sufficiently similar to require modification. If not, the agent 136 proceeds to decision diamond 824 and determines if there is a next profile that has not yet been compared with each of the profiles of the other participants. If not, the agent 136 proceeds to step 800 . If so, the agent gets the next profile in step 828 and returns to and repeats step 812 .
If two or more voice profiles are sufficiently similar, the agent 136 , in step 820 , creates one or more speech modifiers for one or more of the similar profiles. The speech modifiers accentuate the differences enough for the different callers to be discernible to other parties on the call. If pitch modification is the technique used, the modifiers may be thought of as similar to “graphic equalizers” used in audio music systems. In graphic equalizers, individual frequency ranges can be boosted or decreased at the discretion of the user. In the present invention, different settings are applied to each of the similar sounding callers.
After step 820 is completed as to a selected pair of profiles, the agent 136 proceeds to decision diamond 824 .
The operation of the speech modification agent 140 will now be discussed with reference to FIG. 9 .
In step 900 , the agent 140 receives a feature invocation command from a disadvantaged participant. The feature invoked is the “assisted discrimination” feature, which distinguishes similar sounding speakers as noted above. A participant may invoke the feature by any user command, such as a one or more DTMF signals, a key press, clicking on a graphical icon, and the like.
In step 904 , the agent 140 applies speech modifier(s) to similar sounding speakers. In the configuration noted above, the agent 136 automatically determines which of the speakers are similar sounding. In another configuration, the user indicates which participants he considers to be similar sounding by pressing a key or clicking on an icon when the similar sounding speakers are speaking and/or selecting the similar sounding person from a list. In response, the speaker is tagged and the tagged speaker identifiers provided to the agent 136 . The agent generates suitable speech modifiers and provides them to the agent 140 .
In step 908 , the audio streams, both the modified stream(s) from a similar sounding speaker and the unmodified stream(s) from dissimilar sounding speakers, are combined and provided to the disadvantaged participant.
A number of variations and modifications of the invention can be used. It would be possible to provide for some features of the invention without providing others.
For example in other alternative embodiments, the agents 136 and 140 are embodied in hardware (such as a logic circuit or Application Specific Integrated Circuit or ASIC), software, or a combination thereof.
In another embodiment, the present invention is used in a voice call involving two or more parties to discriminate voice streams from interference. Interference can have spectral components similar to spectral components of a voice stream. For example, at a set of frequencies, interference can produce pitch values similar to those produced by the voice stream over the same set of frequencies. Where such “similarities” are identified, the speech modification agent can alter the overlapping spectral components either of the interference or of the voice stream to discriminate between them. For example, the overlapping spectral components of the voice stream can be moved to a different set of frequency values so that the spectral components of the interference and modified voice stream are no longer overlapping. Conversely, the overlapping spectral components of the interference can be moved to a different set of frequency values so that the spectral components of the interference and modified voice stream are no longer overlapping. Alternatively, the overlapping spectral components of the voice stream can be positively amplified (using an amplification factor of greater than one) and/or of the interference can be negatively amplified (using an amplification factor of less than one). Interference may be identified and isolated using known techniques, such as call classifiers, echo cancellers, and the like.
The present invention, in various embodiments, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the present invention after understanding the present disclosure. The present invention, in various embodiments, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various embodiments hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost of implementation.
The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the invention to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the invention are grouped together in one or more embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the invention.
Moreover, though the description of the invention has included description of one or more embodiments and certain variations and modifications, other variations and modifications are within the scope of the invention, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.
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A communications system is provided that includes:
(a) a speech discrimination agent 136 operable to generate a speech profile of a first party to a voice call; and (b) a speech modification agent 140 operable to adjust, based on the speech profile, a spectral characteristic of a voice stream from the first party to form a modified voice stream, the modified voice stream being provided to the second party.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority rights from U.S. Provisional Application 60/881,846 filed Jan. 23, 2007 and U.S. Provisional Application 60/960,634 filed Oct. 9, 2007.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a liquid testing assembly for use in identifying constituents of liquids.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Culturing microorganisms found in bodily fluids, including urine, to determine an illness is known in the art. Originally, such culturing was carried out in laboratories by collecting urine from a patient in a collection container, dipping a transfer utensil into the urine in the cup, streaking a culture medium in a Petri dish with the dipped transfer utensil, and then incubating the dish for a predetermined amount of time. After incubation, microbial colonies appeared on the medium and qualitative and quantitative results were determined.
[0004] Currently, dipslides are used for culturing urine samples in laboratory and non-laboratory settings, the latter including doctors' offices or medical clinics. Dipslides are culture (growth) medium coated, generally paddle-like, supports which are dipped directly into the urine collected in a collection container. Typically the paddle is coated with a different culture medium on each of its two sides; it comes with a container and stopper into which it fits during incubation after it has been dipped into the urine. The dipslides are typically incubated at the sample collection site, typically at about body temperature 37° C. Culturing generally requires that the stopper not be tightly sealed so that air can enter allowing for the growth of aerobic microorganisms. After initial incubation at the sample collection site, the dipslides are sent to a clinical laboratory for further incubation. If the results of culturing are negative, nothing further is done. If the results are positive, the dipslide is touched by a transfer utensil which in turn is used to streak agar in a Petri dish. The dish is then incubated at the laboratory, and, after a sufficient incubation period, examined to verify the previous positive results.
[0005] Dipslides are produced by many producers such as Oxoid Ltd., Basingstoke UK and Accepta Ltd., Manchester, UK. Several variants of dipslides are available, such as the Diaslide™ and Dipstreak™ produced by NovaMed Ltd. of Jerusalem Israel. These operate essentially in the same way as the simpler dipslides but with slight variations. In all cases, a urine collection container containing urine must be opened and the culture (growth) medium coated paddle must be dipped directly into the open container. After withdrawing the paddle, it is placed in a test tube and incubation is begun on-site. The whole process is performed by personnel not necessarily trained in handling potentially bio-hazardous materials, such as may be present in the urine.
[0006] Urinalysis today is done in a manner very similar to microbial culturing of urine discussed above. Urine is collected from the patient in a sample collection vessel. A test strip impregnated or coated with one or more reagents that react with one or more components often found in urine is dipped into the collection vessel. Changes in the reagent coated strip are then noted either visually or instrumentally. Typical urine test strips for use in urinalysis are manufactured by Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland, Bayer Corporation, Tarrytown, N.Y., (Multistix®) and Dialab GmbH, Vienna, Austria. Typical instrumental analyzers for reading dipped urine test strips are manufactured, for example, by Greiner Bio-One GmbH, Kremsmunster, Austria and Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland.
[0007] The problems with this type of urinalysis are similar to those encountered when culturing uropathogens as described above. A collection cup containing a potentially bio-hazardous liquid, urine, must be opened and a urine test strip must be dipped by a member of the medical staff or a laboratory technician into the liquid. In the case of urinalysis, instruments used for reading the urine test strip must be cleaned often since there is direct contact between the dipped test strip and the electronic reader and other parts of the instrument. When visually reading a urine test strip, the strip is compared to a chart provided by the manufacturer typically positioned on the bottle in which the strips are sold. Often, when comparing the color of the strips to the colors on the chart, the strip is brought near to the chart actually touching it. This allows for the spread of pathogenic organisms.
[0008] In view of the above, it would be advantageous to develop a closed system for microbial culturing and/or analysis of bodily fluids which reduces the dangers of contamination. Additionally, it would be advantageous to develop a closed system, which persons not necessarily trained in microbiological procedures could use without increasing the attendant health risks to them. There is also a need for a product that would allow dipslides to be sent for further testing in laboratory settings without escape of the liquid from the container and without it rewetting the medium coated paddle. It would also be advantageous to develop a system that is disposable and low cost.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid test assembly which reduces sample contamination while also reducing potential health hazards to health care workers.
[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid testing assembly which does not expose a urine sample to the ambient when the sample is transferred from a collection container to a urine test strip assembly used for urinalysis or to a microbial culturing liquid testing assembly (dipslide) used for uropathogen culturing.
[0011] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a low cost liquid testing assembly for use in microbial culturing which requires less attention and training on the part of the personnel carrying out the culturing procedures.
[0012] It is a further object of the invention to provide an assembly for liquid testing usable at the site of sample collection and not necessarily in a laboratory setting.
[0013] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a liquid testing assembly kit which includes a liquid testing assembly together with a sample collection container and a means for transferring the sample liquid from the collection container to the test vessel of the liquid testing assembly.
[0014] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a liquid testing assembly wherein the results of testing can be measured by an instrumental reader without removing the identifying material coated support of the assembly from its test vessel.
[0015] While what is discussed herein is described in terms of microbial culturing or chemical identification of urine samples, the liquid testing assemblies taught herein can be used for testing constituents of other bodily fluids or even liquids in other environments. If appropriately modified with the proper identifying materials, the assemblies can be used to identify constituents of other bodily fluids, such as blood or saliva. These constituents inter cilia may include drugs, alcohol, and pregnancy markers. Similarly, the identifying materials can be modified to be used in industrial environments, such as food processing or waste management. Also similarly, the assemblies of the present invention may be used for testing biological fluids of species other than humans.
[0016] In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a liquid testing assembly for testing a liquid. The assembly comprises a test vessel having a free end and a closed end and a stopper having first and second ends and adapted to fit into a free end of the test vessel. The first end faces into the interior of the test vessel, and substantially hermetically seals the interior of the test vessel from the ambient. The assembly also includes a support coated with one or more identifying materials for identifying one or more constituents of the liquid. The support is fixed to one or more of the stopper and the test vessel and extends into the interior of the test vessel by a predetermined distance when the stopper is positioned in the free end of the vessel. The liquid testing assembly when assembled is pre-evacuated to a predetermined vacuum sufficient to draw a predetermined volume of a liquid to be sampled into the test vessel from a liquid collection container. The predetermined volume is of such an amount that it wets the one or more identifying materials to ensure identification of one or more predetermined constituents present in the liquid.
[0017] In one embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the liquid testing assembly also includes one or more liquid traps positioned proximate to the closed end of the test vessel and distal from its free end. The liquid trap is configured, sized and operative to prevent the liquid from flowing in the direction of the stopper.
[0018] In another embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the one or more identifying materials is one or more culture media for culturing and determining the presence and nature of microbes present in the liquid. In some embodiments, the pre-evacuated test vessel includes a pre-selected gas composition artificially introduced into the test vessel to control the rate of microbial growth. In some embodiments, the trap is positioned at a distance from the stopper greater than the distance that the culture media coated support extends into the interior of the test vessel when the stopper is positioned in the free end of the test vessel.
[0019] In a further embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the one or more traps are at least two traps. In some cases, the two or more traps are each a different type of trap.
[0020] In embodiments using traps, the traps are selected from one or more of the group of traps consisting of: conical plastic traps, floating plastic traps, liquid absorbing traps, and hydro-gel traps. In some cases, the liquid absorbing traps are formed of hydrophilic sponge foam.
[0021] In a further embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, one of the one or more traps is a slow release trap and is positioned proximate to the free end of the test vessel and distal from the closed end of the test vessel. Liquid drawn from the liquid collection container forms a reservoir on a side of the slow release trap proximal to the stopper, the liquid slowly percolating from the reservoir through the slow release trap onto the assembly's support.
[0022] In another embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the test vessel is a test tube and the stopper is a tube stopper.
[0023] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the one or more identifying materials are one or more chemical reagents for determining the presence of a chemical constituent of the liquid. In some embodiments, the identifying material is a plurality of chemical reagents positioned on a urine test strip.
[0024] In a further embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the test vessel includes a bar code identification label which contains patient identifying information.
[0025] In yet another embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the assembly further includes a means for distributing the drawn liquid. The means aids in the distribution of the drawn liquid as it passes over the identifying material coated support.
[0026] In another embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the support is affixed in the stopper so that it is eccentrically positioned at its point of attachment with relation to the center of the stopper. The support therefore does not interfere with the insertion of a cannula which transfers liquid from the collection container to the test vessel.
[0027] In other embodiments of the assembly of the present invention, the test vessel further includes a permanently affixed identification tag.
[0028] In still another embodiment of the assembly of the present invention, the one or more identifying materials are culture media and the support has a first side and a second side. The support is formed to include a divider having an aperture therein and further constructed so that the liquid flushes only the first side of the support. The assembly further includes: 1. one or more liquid traps which are fixedly attached to a side of the divider proximate to the one or more culture media; 2. one or more liquid traps positioned proximate to the closed end of the test vessel and distal from the free end, the one or more liquid traps configured, sized and operative to receive liquid and prevent the liquid from flowing in the direction of the stopper; and 3. one or more inoculating elements which after they are in contact with, and wetted by, the one or more liquid traps attached to the divider are operative to inoculate the one or more culture media coating the second side of the support. In some versions of this embodiment, the side of the support that includes the culture medium that is inoculated contains a track on which the one or more inoculating elements travel when inoculation is effected. In other versions of this embodiment, the support is coated with one or more culture media only on the second side of the support. In such cases, the side of the support that lacks a culture medium is constructed as a channel to bring the liquid to the one or more traps positioned proximate to the closed end of the test vessel.
[0029] In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a disposable liquid testing kit. The kit comprises a liquid testing assembly for testing a liquid. The assembly comprises a test vessel having a free end and a closed end and a stopper having first and second ends and adapted to fit into the free end of the test vessel such that the first end faces into the interior of the test vessel. The stopper substantially hermetically seals the interior of the test vessel from the ambient. The assembly also includes a support coated with one or more identifying materials for identifying one or more constituents of the liquid. The support is fixed to one or more of the stopper and the test vessel. The support extends into the interior of the test vessel by a predetermined distance when the stopper is positioned in the free end of the test vessel. The kit also includes a liquid collection container for collecting a liquid and a cannula having one or more sharpened ends for piercing the stopper and transferring liquid from the container to the test vessel of the assembly. The liquid testing assembly of the kit when assembled is sterilized and pre-evacuated to a predetermined vacuum sufficient to draw a predetermined volume of a liquid to be sampled into the test vessel from the liquid collection container via the cannula. The predetermined volume is of such an amount so that it wets the one or more identifying materials to ensure identification thereby of one or more predetermined constituents present in the liquid.
[0030] In yet another aspect of the present invention there is presented a liquid testing system. The system comprises a liquid testing assembly defined as above and a reader for measuring and analyzing the results of a test done on a liquid by the assembly. The reader reads and analyzes the test results by optical measurement of the identifying material coated support; while the support is positioned in the test vessel. The reader comprises one or more spectroscopic detectors and a bar code reader for detecting electromagnetic radiation. The reader further includes a test vessel holder where the holder is configured to receive one or more test vessels and the holder is positioned to allow the spectroscopic detector and bar code reader to measure electromagnetic radiation. The reader also includes a microprocessor in electronic communication with the one or more spectroscopic detectors and the bar code reader to analyze the detected radiation. The microprocessor is also in electronic communication with one or more output means operative to present the test results and patient identifying data.
[0031] In an embodiment of the liquid testing system of the present invention the output means is selected from one or more of the following group of output means: a display, a printer, a patient file and a communications network.
[0032] In another embodiment of the liquid testing system, the test vessel holder is configured to hold a plurality of test vessels when reading and analyzing test results. The test vessel holder is rotatable bringing each test vessel into position for reading and analyzing by the one or more spectroscopic detectors and the bar code reader.
[0033] In yet another embodiment of the liquid testing system, the reader is a digital reader.
Definitions and Terminology Usage
[0034] Proximal—The direction closest to the stopper of the test vessel, the vessel typically, but without being limiting, being a test tube.
[0035] Distal—The direction furthest from the stopper of the test vessel, the vessel typically, but without being limiting, being a test tube.
[0036] Top—The direction or end of the test vessel that is closest to its stopper.
[0037] Bottom—The direction or end of the test vessel that is furthest from the stopper.
[0038] Constituent of a liquid—As used herein, the term can refer either to a chemical constituent or to a microbial constituent or to both as the context of the discussion requires.
[0039] Culture media—Media, and not medium, will generally be used herein. Typically, there is a plurality of such growth substances coating the liquid testing assembly supports discussed. This, however, is not to be understood as precluding the use of a single microbial growth substance should the user desire to use a single such substance.
[0040] Liquid testing assembly—The present invention contemplates two closely related assemblies, a microbial culturing liquid testing assembly and a chemical analysis liquid testing assembly. The former is for qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of microbes in a liquid while the latter is for qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of chemical species in a liquid. When not specifically indicated, the term liquid testing assembly applies to both types of assemblies. In view of the fact that urine testing is usually being discussed, urine strip liquid testing assembly is often used instead of chemical analysis liquid testing assembly.
[0041] Identifying material—The term refers either to a reagent to react with a chemical in the liquid being tested or to a culture medium for growing microbes in the liquid being tested. Whether a chemical reagent(s) or growth medium (media) is being referred to will be obvious from the context of the discussions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0042] The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in greater detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention. The description taken with the drawings make apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
[0043] In the drawings:
[0044] FIGS. 1A-1C are schematic side views of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to various embodiments of the present invention, the assembly shown herein including a collecting trap;
[0045] FIGS. 1D and 1E are schematic side views of the liquid testing assembly constructed according to the embodiments in FIGS. 1A-1C drawing off a liquid from a collection container;
[0046] FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic side views of the liquid testing assembly constructed according to a first embodiment of the present invention using a slow release trap and a top view of the slow release trap, respectively;
[0047] FIGS. 2C and 2D are schematic side views of the slow release trap constructed according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B ;
[0048] FIGS. 2E and 2F are two schematic views of the slow release trap constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B ;
[0049] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to a second embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment without using the slow release trap;
[0050] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to a third embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment employing a double collecting trap;
[0051] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment also including a hydrophilic foam trap;
[0052] FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic side views of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to fifth and sixth embodiments of the present invention;
[0053] FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;
[0054] FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic side views of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention and a stand for its use, respectively;
[0055] FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic side views of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention;
[0056] FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic front and side views of liquid testing assemblies constructed according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention;
[0057] FIGS. 10C-10H are schematic views of elements in the liquid testing assemblies constructed according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10A-10B ;
[0058] FIGS. 11A-11E are schematic front and side views of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention;
[0059] FIG. 11F shows another version of the liquid testing assembly constructed according to the embodiment of the invention in FIGS. 11A-11E ;
[0060] FIGS. 12A-12B are schematic front and side views, respectively, of an embodiment of a liquid testing assembly of the present invention wherein the identifying materials are contained on a urine test strip;
[0061] FIGS. 12C-12D are two additional schematic views of the urine test strip support used in the embodiment of FIGS. 12A and 12B ;
[0062] FIGS. 12E-12F are schematic front and side views, respectively, of a second embodiment of a liquid testing assembly of the present invention wherein the identifying materials are contained on a urine test strip;
[0063] FIGS. 12G-12H are two additional schematic views of the urine test strip support used in the embodiment of FIGS. 12E and 12F ;
[0064] FIGS. 13A-13C are three schematic views of a third embodiment of a liquid testing assembly of the present invention using urine test strips as the source of the identifying materials;
[0065] FIGS. 14A and 14B schematically show an analyzer reader which can be used with the urine strip and culture media embodiments of the present invention; and
[0066] FIG. 14C shows a schematic block overview of the analyzer shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B .
[0067] Similar elements in the Figures are numbered with similar reference numerals.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0068] The present invention provides a disposable closed sterile liquid testing assembly. Urine for testing is collected in a urine collection container and transferred to the liquid testing assembly for urine chemical testing or urine microbial culturing. The liquid testing assembly is comprised of a test vessel and a stopper/cap for substantially hermetically sealing the test vessel which has been pre-evacuated to a pre-selected vacuum. A support coated with one or more identifying materials is affixed to either the stopper/cap or the walls of the test vessel or both. The transfer of the liquid is effected by the vacuum of the pre-evacuated test vessel without directly exposing the liquid to the ambient.
[0069] Transfer is effected in a single step by using a needle cannula which pierces the stopper of the evacuated test vessel, typically an evacuated test tube, drawing a pre-selected volume of liquid from a urine collection container to the test vessel. Opening the closed collection container or liquid testing assembly is not required. Exposure to the ambient is obviated because the evacuated test vessel has fixed within it a urine strip or a culture (growth) media coated support, the latter also sometimes referred to herein as a dipslide.
[0070] The transfer procedure described above obviates the need for opening the urine collection container. Additionally, it does not require medical personnel to dip a urine test strip or a culture media coated support directly into a urine sample. As a result, the exposure of health care personnel untrained in stringent microbiological procedures to possible bio-hazardous materials is reduced. The transfer procedure also reduces the chance of sample contamination providing false positive readings.
[0071] The liquid testing assembly may also include one or more traps or other elements for preventing spillage of the liquid when the assemblies are handled or shipped. Furthermore, the one or more traps prevent rewetting of the dipslide or urine test strips after incubation has begun, regardless of the position of the liquid test assembly.
[0072] The liquid testing assembly may also include means for distributing the vacuum drawn urine over the culture (growth) medium or over the urine test strip. These means include slow release traps.
[0073] It is contemplated that the liquid testing assemblies of the present invention can be used for preliminary urinalysis or uropathogen culturing which can be carried out in a doctor's office or medical center. Initial microbial incubation at the site of urine collection is effected at 35-37° C. and then the culture is sent to a clinical laboratory for further incubation. The results can be determined visually or instrumentally at the laboratory. If the results of the microbial culturing are negative, the test tube is discarded. If the results are positive the stopper/cap of the liquid testing assembly is opened and a transfer tool, typically an inoculation loop, gathers material from the culture media coated support for streaking agar in a Petri dish. The dish is incubated and the results are again determined. Similarly, a positive result for the on-site urinalysis often requires that the urine sample in the urine collection container, or the urine sample in the liquid testing assembly, be sent to a laboratory for further analysis.
[0074] As noted above, the stoppered test tube is prepared so that it is under a predetermined vacuum. The vulnerability of the liquid testing assembly to contamination is reduced since the test tube is opened only immediately before gathering a sample for streaking of an agar filled Petri dish with a transfer utensil, such as an inoculation loop.
[0075] The present invention also teaches a kit including the above described liquid testing assembly, a urine collection container and a cannula for transferring a liquid from the collection container to the liquid testing assembly. The pre-determined, pre-calibrated vacuum in the substantially hermetically sealed test vessel allows for drawing off of a liquid sample from the sample collection container. The amount drawn off is approximately the smallest amount of sample required to sufficiently wet the culture media, or in the case of urinalysis, wet the reagent components coated, impregnated, or embedded in or on a urine strip.
[0076] While what is described herein is described with regard to bacteriological or other microbial culturing of urine samples, typically carried out to diagnosis urinary tract infections (UTIs), it should be evident to one skilled in the art that the assembly and kit of the present invention may be used with other bodily fluids such as blood and saliva. Constituents such as drugs and alcohol, in addition to bacteria or other microbes, can be detected in these bodily fluids. It should also be understood that the assembly of the present invention may be used with liquids other than bodily liquids. Wherever the culturing of microorganisms is required, such as with liquid food stuffs, water supply systems or liquid waste deposits, the assembly of the present invention may be used. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
[0077] It is to be appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
[0078] Reference is now made to FIGS. 1A-1C which show schematic side views of a liquid testing assembly 10 which includes a urine culturing test tube 14 constructed according to any one of several embodiments of the present invention. In all of the Figures, test tube 14 is pre-evacuated to a pre-selected pressure. Test tube 14 may be made of any of many transparent plastics known in the art, such as polystyrene (PS) or polyethylene terephtalate (PET), or even of glass.
[0079] Test tube 14 is covered by a stopper fitted to contain the vacuum for a pre-determined period, typically a period in excess of the shelf life of the culture media discussed below. Tube stopper 12 can typically be made of an elastomer such as moldable rubber, a soft polymeric resin, silicone or any other material that is flexible, liquid impermeable, and pierceable by a needle. The material should preferably be a material that may be self-sealing to liquids after being pierced. The exact shape of the stopper is easily producible by any of many techniques known in the art, such as, but without intending to be limiting, by injection molding. Vacutainers® manufactured by Becton Dickinson & Co. of Franklin Lakes, N.J. may be used as a source of test tubes 14 .
[0080] Test tube 14 contains a support 16 typically coated on both sides with a culture medium. Typically, the medium on each of the sides is a different medium. In some embodiments, the medium on each side of support 16 is the same. In other embodiments, the support may have more than two sides, often four sides, each covered with a different culture medium to encourage growth of different microorganisms. In yet other embodiments, each face of support 16 may be coated with more than one medium and the various media on the individual faces are separated by dividers. Many different culture media are known in the art and are commercially available. Therefore, these media will not be discussed herein.
[0081] Liquid testing assembly 10 , here a microbial culturing assembly, also contains a trap 18 shown here as a conical trap, typically made of plastic. Trap 18 contains a small aperture, typically of the order of 2-3 mm in diameter, and is intended to trap excess liquid and prevent return of the trapped liquid to culture media coated support 16 . This is true regardless of the position of the test tube. Test tube 14 need only be standing vertically when the urine sample is dripping onto and percolating down culture media coated support 16 . After wetting the media, test tube 14 can be held in any position, for example horizontal, vertical or diagonal, because of trap 18 .
[0082] FIGS. 1A and 1B show two views of the same microbial culturing liquid test assembly 10 in which the culture media coatings on the two sides of the media support 16 are parallel to each other. FIG. 1C shows a schematic side view of an embodiment of microbial culturing liquid test assembly 10 where the two faces of support 16 coated with culture media are not parallel to each other. In FIGS. 1A-1C (and FIGS. 1D-1E discussed below) the connection of media support 16 to test tube 14 or stopper/cap 12 is not shown as these can be any of many different types. These connections, however, will be shown in all of the following Figures. There, it will become apparent that culture media coated support 16 may be supported and connected directly to stopper/cap 12 in any manner known to those skilled in the art. Alternatively, or additionally, support 16 may be attached to and/or supported by the walls of test tube 14 .
[0083] FIGS. 1D and 1E show the transfer of urine or other liquid from collection container 22 to microbial culturing liquid assembly 10 . The only difference between FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E is that the vacuum in the test tube of FIG. 1D allows for entry of a volume of urine only up to culture medium support 16 while in FIG. 1E the vacuum allows for entry of a volume of urine that reaches and covers part of culture medium support 16 . Cannula 24 is actually attached to, and part of, closed urine collection container 22 having top 21 . Cannula 24 can be used to pierce stopper 12 and transfer a predetermined volume of sample from collection container 22 to partially evacuated test tube 14 . Collection containers with cannula are known in the art and sold commercially, for example, by Becton Dickinson and Co. of Franklin Lakes, N.J.
[0084] Test tube 14 with stopper 12 and with culture media coated support 16 attached therein is prepared so as to be under a pre-determined vacuum. The pre-determined vacuum is empirically determined and is intended to draw off a pre-determined volume of sample from urine sample collection container 22 through cannula 24 .
[0085] The predetermined vacuum obviates the need for the technician to open the urine collection container 22 and to dip the identifying material coated support 16 into collected urine 28 .
[0086] It is expected that a vacuum of 1-3 inches of Hg (approximately 25-76 Torr or about 0.033-0.100 bar) in a 10 ml tube will be sufficient to draw about 1 ml of sample into the pre-evacuated test tube 14 which forms part of liquid testing assembly 10 . This is expected to be sufficient to wet culture media coated support 16 .
[0087] Becton-Dickenson's 10 ml Vacutainers® are typically produced so as to have a vacuum of about 18-20 inches Hg (about 500 Torr or about 0.66 bar) when about 9 ml of urine is to be drawn from a urine collection cup into a 10 ml test tube. Such volumes are far in excess of what is required for microbial culturing of urine samples with the liquid testing assemblies of the present invention. In the present cases, typically, approximately 0.7-1.5 ml of urine is required. This can be obtained with a vacuum of 2-5 inches of Hg, a vacuum the magnitude of which still leaves a significant amount of air in the test tube.
[0088] Liquid testing assembly 10 ( FIGS. 1A-1C ), with their pre-calibrated vacuums, draw off sample liquid in a manner similar to that shown and discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,395 to Carano et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,605 to Dorn et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,066 to Mehl et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,404 to Mehl et al, all herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. In these patents, an evacuated test tube is mated with a sample collection vessel. Sample liquid moves under vacuum from the collection vessel to the test tube via a needle cannula which pierces a stopper of the test tube. The covered sample collection container typically possesses a recess in its cover which contains the cannula used in the liquid transfer. The recess functions as a female structure to receive the evacuated test tube, the male structure, during sample transfer.
[0089] In some embodiments, the pre-vacuum includes other gases that are artificially introduced to accelerate or decelerate microbial growth on culture media coated support 16 . These gases could be oxygen, nitrogen, etc. as the case dictates. This results in a gas mixture with component percentages different from ambient atmospheric percentages.
[0090] It should be noted that when microbial culturing is being effected using the liquid testing assemblies of the present invention, the stopper or cap must be partially opened. This enables aerobic or aerophilic microbes to be cultured.
[0091] It should be noted that the liquid testing assemblies of the present invention allow for gentle shaking of the assemblies to ensure full wetting of the growth medium by the liquid.
[0092] Because culture media coated support 16 is not exposed to the air until, and if, the initial testing is positive, air borne microorganisms only minimally, if at all, contaminate the specimens. If the test is positive, as noted above, a transfer utensil, typically an inoculation loop, is used to gather material from support 16 to streak a culture medium filled Petri dish. The dish is then incubated entirely in a clinical laboratory. Additionally, because the fluid is pulled off by vacuum directly from a closed sample collection vessel to a closed test tube, the risk of infection to the health care personnel is reduced.
[0093] In FIG. 2A , to which reference is now made, there is presented another embodiment of the present invention. Since the embodiment is similar in structure and operation to the microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 10 shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 1A-1E , only novel features of the structure in FIG. 2A will be discussed. Connectors 15 join culture media coated support 16 to stopper (or cap) 12 by being fixed or implanted in the latter. Alternatively, culture media coated support 16 could be connected to the side walls of test tube 14 . There is a slow release trap 30 positioned near stopper (or cap) 12 .
[0094] Reference is now made to FIG. 2B where a top schematic view of a slow release trap is shown. Trap 30 contains slots 32 which allow for slow entry of urine transferred from a collection container as shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E into the body of test tube 14 . Slow release trap 30 allows for better wetting of culture media coated support 16 .
[0095] FIGS. 2C and 2D and FIGS. 2E and 2F show additional views of two versions of slow release trap 30 and its slots 32 . Liquid held in reservoir 34 percolates through slots 32 over culture media coated support 16 . Cannula 24 is shown in FIG. 2D and is similar to cannula 24 shown and discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 1D and 1E .
[0096] FIG. 3 is a view of the same embodiment as FIG. 2A but without the slow release trap 30 .
[0097] FIG. 4 , to which reference is now made, shows a third embodiment of the present invention, one very similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A . Structural features which are the same as in previous Figures are labeled with the same numbers and are not discussed again. The novel feature in this third embodiment is the double lower conical trap 18 . Both conical traps 18 are constructed and operative as discussed above in conjunction with FIGS. 1A-1C .
[0098] Reference is now made to FIG. 5 where a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown, one similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A . The novel feature here is an expanding medical grade hydrophilic cellular foam 40 positioned at the bottom of test tube 14 . The foam expands when absorbing liquids and prevents the flow of liquid toward the top of test tube 14 . The foam acts as a second liquid trap at the bottom of test tube 14 .
[0099] In yet another embodiment, a trap made from a hydro-gel material can be used instead of a foam trap.
[0100] In turning to FIG. 6A , a fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 2A and is similarly numbered. The additional feature here is a floating disc 42 , typically made from an elastomeric rubber, silicone or plastic material that serves as an additional trap at the bottom of test tube 14 . It acts in conjunction with conical trap 18 to prevent the backward flow of urine by blocking the small aperture of conical trap 18 .
[0101] FIG. 6B shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. There is a double conical trap 18 , each conical trap 18 being covered by a floating disc trap 42 . Typically, both the conical traps and the floating disc traps may be formed of light weight plastic. It can readily be understood by one skilled in the art that in some embodiments the two floating discs 42 by themselves can serve as the trap and the conical collection traps 18 need not be present.
[0102] Reference is now made to FIG. 7 where another embodiment of microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 10 is shown. The assembly is similar in construction and operation to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 . The additional feature here is a hydrogel or solution reservoir 44 which contains material that “captures” liquid not absorbed by foam 40 .
[0103] In turning to FIG. 8A , another embodiment of the invention very similar to the one shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated. The additional feature here is a stand element 50 affixed permanently to the bottom of microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 10 allowing for better stability on a level surface. Stand element 50 is shown separately in FIG. 8B . In other embodiments, stand element 50 may be a separate element into which test tube 14 may be inserted and then withdrawn as needed.
[0104] FIGS. 9A-9B show yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 9A-9B both show test tube 110 which is very similar to the test tubes of the embodiments shown in previous Figures, for example, in FIG. 5 . Many of the elements shown in FIGS. 9A-9B have been discussed previously and will not be discussed again as their structure and operation is similar. These elements have been numbered as with similar elements in previous Figures but with the addition of an introductory digit “ 1 ”.
[0105] The novel feature in this embodiment is a lateral opening and stopper 119 . This lateral opening allows for inserting an inoculating instrument for touching the culture medium on support 116 and then removing the instrument for streaking on a culture medium in a Petri dish. The difference between FIGS. 9A and 9B is the point and method of attaching culture media coated support 116 within test tube 114 . In both FIGS. 9A and 9B , urine slowly passes attachment elements 117 and 111 , respectively, onto and along culture medium coated support 116 . The liquid then moves through aperture 113 in conical trap 118 and is absorbed by hydrophilic foam 140 .
[0106] Reference is now made to FIGS. 10A and 10B which show front and side views, respectively, of yet another embodiment of the present invention. Many of the elements shown in FIGS. 10A-10B have been discussed previously and will not be discussed again as their structure and operation is similar. These elements have been numbered as with similar elements in previous Figures but with the addition of an introductory digit “ 2 ”. Microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 210 includes two conical traps 218 and a hydrophilic foam 240 . Culture medium coated support 216 is sloped for better dispersal of the liquid over culture media coated support 216 . There are also liquid dispersing elements 255 to assist in better dispersing the entering liquid over support 216 . Microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 210 has a tightly fitting cover 252 on its side. The embodiment also includes a slow release trap 230 through which the urine passes slowly when leaving reservoir 234 .
[0107] FIG. 10D shows the housing 260 of microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 210 shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B . Housing 260 has an opening 268 in its bottom ( FIG. 10D ) into which bottom cover 262 ( FIG. 10E ) fits tightly. Housing 260 also has a lateral opening 266 on which cover 252 ( FIG. 10F ) fits. FIG. 10H shows the foam positioned at the closed end of testing assembly 210 .
[0108] Insert 264 , shown in FIG. 10C , is inserted through bottom opening 268 ( FIG. 10D ) of housing 260 . FIG. 10C shows that insert 264 may be, but without intending to be limiting, of a unitary construction. Insert 264 includes dispersing elements 255 for better dispersing the liquid over culture media coated support 216 . Insert 264 also includes double conical traps 218 including small apertures 213 .
[0109] As noted above, the stopper (or cap) 212 of microbial culturing liquid testing assembly 210 must be kept partially open during incubation to allow culturing of the microbes. As a result, volatile substances can escape. In some embodiments, therefore, there is added at the bottom of the liquid testing assembly one or more materials that prevent the escape of volatile gases outside the test tube of the assembly when the test tube is opened.
[0110] Reference is now made to FIGS. 11A-11E where front and side views of another embodiment of a microbial culturing liquid testing assembly of the present invention is shown. This embodiment is similar to the ones shown in FIGS. 5 and 2A . Many of the elements shown in FIGS. 11A-11E have been discussed previously and will not be discussed again as their structure and operation is similar. These elements have been numbered as with similar elements in previous Figures but with the addition of an introductory digit “ 5 ”.
[0111] Tube stopper 512 , constructed as described in conjunction with FIGS. 1A-1C , essentially hermetically seals test tube 514 . A culture medium support 516 is coated with one agar culturing medium 590 on its first side and with a second agar culturing medium 592 on its second side. It should be understood that in some instances, media 590 and 592 may be identical.
[0112] Support 516 is fixedly attached to tube stopper 512 . Support 516 is constructed and positioned so that when the liquid to be tested, typically, but without being limiting, urine, enters test tube 514 , the liquid descends to the bottom of test tube 514 via flushing channel 596 and not through inoculating channel 598 as discussed below. An arrow in FIGS. 11A and 11E indicates the direction of liquid flow.
[0113] In all of FIGS. 11A-11E (and FIG. 11F ), support 516 is formed to include a divider 582 which prevents liquid from directly entering inoculating channel 598 . Divider 582 includes an aperture 583 which facilitates the wetting of a hydrophilic cellular foam 541 by liquid which becomes trapped therein, as discussed further below, during the liquid transfer step best seen in FIG. 11B . Foam 541 is attached to the side of divider 582 proximate to the agar coatings. While divider 582 is generally positioned transverse to the long axis of test tube 514 , divider 582 , in some instances, may be slightly sloped toward flushing channel 596 .
[0114] An expanding medical grade hydrophilic cellular foam 540 is positioned at the bottom of test tube 514 . The foam expands when absorbing liquids and prevents the flow of liquid in the direction of stopper 512 should test tube 514 become inadvertently inverted. Foam 540 acts as a liquid trap at the bottom of test tube 514 .
[0115] The liquid testing assembly of this embodiment also contains an inoculating element 594 , typically, but without being limiting, a bead-like element, that is in contact with foam 540 when test tube 514 is in its orientation as shown in FIGS. 11 A and 11 C- 11 E (and FIG. 11F ).
[0116] Inoculating element 594 may have many different shapes, for example spherical, cylindrical, and ellipsoidal. These shapes are exemplary only and are not intended to be limiting. Element 594 may be made from glass, substantially inert polymeric materials, or metals. These materials are also not intended to be limiting.
[0117] In some variations of the embodiment in FIGS. 11A-11E , there may be more than a single inoculating element 594 , that is, for example, more than a single bead or cylinder. Similarly, inoculating element 594 may be constructed so that it has finger-like projections with which to streak culturing medium 592 .
[0118] Inoculating element 594 may move freely in the direction of stopper 512 as in FIGS. 11A-11E ; alternatively, support element 516 may be constructed with a track (not shown) which guides inoculating element 594 as it moves towards stopper 512 .
[0119] As can be seen in FIG. 11B , divider 582 and attached foam 541 act as a stop for inoculating element 594 when it moves in the direction of stopper 512 .
[0120] While hydrophilic foam traps 540 and 541 have been shown in FIGS. 11A-11E (and FIG. 11F ), other types of traps such as those described hereinabove may also be used.
[0121] Liquid may be brought to the liquid testing assembly using a collection container 522 and cannula 524 similar to the ones shown in FIG. 1D , for example, and described in conjunction therewith. FIG. 11B shows this transfer of liquid 599 through cannula 524 ; the collection cup is not shown in the Figure.
[0122] Inoculating element 594 , typically a rollable bead-like element, rolls from the foam 540 end of test tube 514 towards the stopper 512 end of test tube 514 when the assembly is inverted as in FIG. 11B from its usual orientation as in FIG. 11A . It is wetted by foam 541 , which has been wetted during the liquid transfer phase as shown in FIG. 11B , by some of the liquid 599 that has reached foam 541 via aperture 583 . When closed test tube 514 is returned to its original orientation wetted inoculating element 594 moves toward, and then rests on, foam 540 . During its return to foam 540 , inoculating element 594 intermittently streaks culture medium 592 generally at distances more or less equal to the circumference of the bead. These streaks are indicated by crosses 588 in FIG. 11D .
[0123] The liquid 599 that has wetted foam 541 does not descend via inoculating channel 598 towards foam 540 . When test tube 514 is inverted from its orientation in FIG. 11B back to its orientation shown in FIGS. 11 A and 11 C- 11 E (and FIG. 11F ), liquid 599 enters flushing channel 596 and is absorbed by, and trapped in, foam 540 .
[0124] Typically, but without being limiting, inoculating element 594 deposits less than about 25 microliters on agar culture medium 592 while medium 590 may typically be flushed by about 1-1.5 ml of fluid.
[0125] In yet other variations of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11A-11E , and as shown in FIG. 11F , there may be only one agar medium present, agar medium 592 (not visible) required for streaking. The second side of support 516 may be devoid of any culture medium 590 .
[0126] Flushing of the assembly in FIGS. 11A-11F allows for the growth of a large microbial culture and a quick positive/negative determination. If the results obtained in the doctor's office or the medical center are positive, a more precise culturing is repeated in a professional clinical laboratory.
[0127] When using the microbial culturing liquid testing assembly shown in FIGS. 11A-11F , the inoculation process may begin in the doctor's office or in a medical center. Typically, the direct flushing of medium 590 is done with about 1-1.5 ml of liquid and medium 592 is inoculated with about 25 microliters of liquid.
[0128] After a first period of incubation at 35-37° C. in the doctor's office or medical center, the microbial growth on medium 590 allows for a quick visual determination of whether the results are positive or negative. This can be done using commercially available colony density charts which show colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml). Typically, 70 to 80% of the samples are negative and there is no need to open the samples or send them on to a professional clinical laboratory for further testing.
[0129] If the results of the sample in the doctor's office or medical center are positive, the sealed testing assembly is sent to a professional microbiological laboratory for final incubation and more precise testing. More precise colony counts are made using instrumental methods based on measurements of color and colony density. At the professional laboratory, additional testing is also done on medium 592 . This testing includes the steps of isolation, identification, detection and enumeration of microorganisms and pathogens.
[0130] The worker at the professional laboratory may open the liquid testing assembly, remove the support with its media coatings and test for sensitivity to antibiotics of one or several microorganisms and/or perform dilution studies on these microorganism(s). For these tests, the lab worker may remove a tiny sample of the microorganism(s) on the media coated support and grow them in a controlled manner in a Petri dish. The support may then be returned to the test tube which is then recapped.
[0131] In the following embodiments, a chemical analysis liquid testing assembly for testing chemical constituents of urine using urine test strips will be discussed. As with liquid testing assemblies employing culture media coated supports suitable for microbial culturing discussed above, the test tube used for urine strip liquid testing assemblies need not be opened during urine transfer and testing. Similarly, the cover of a urine collection container need not be opened. Urine can be transferred from the collection container to the test tube using the test tube's predetermined vacuum. As a result, health care personnel are spared exposure to possibly bio-hazardous urine constituents and the hazards of a wetted urine strip. As with the assembly containing a culture media coated support, the same collection container can be used to supply samples for additional urinalysis testing if the initial on-site reading of the wetted strip is positive.
[0132] In chemical analysis liquid testing assemblies, more specifically, urine test strip liquid testing assemblies, the support can be a support to which a paper urine test strip has been affixed. In other embodiments, the paper of the urine strip is deemed to be the support and the chemical reagent or reagents are coated on or impregnated in the paper. The urine strip or the separate support to which the strip is affixed can be attached in any of many ways known in the art. Attachment may be effected to the stopper or to the walls of the test tube or to both the stopper and walls of the liquid testing assembly. If attached and supported by the walls, the urine strip should be spaced apart from the walls.
[0133] Chemical analysis liquid testing assemblies can be designed to use the full range of traps described above in conjunction with microbial culturing liquid testing assemblies. These include slow release traps positioned proximal to the stopper of the assembly.
[0134] Typically, the urine strip is fixed to, or implanted in, the stopper or walls of the test vessel eccentrically so as not to interfere with the needle cannula when it pierces the stopper during the liquid transfer process. The strip should be spaced apart from the wall of the test tube so as not to be continuously wetted by the urine because of capillary action and to prevent air or liquid bubbles from becoming entrapped between the strip and the walls of the test tube. A support element can be affixed to the strip inside the test tube to keep the strip spaced apart from, and essentially parallel to, the wall of the test tube. In general, the liquid should wet the strip and then fall to the bottom of the test tube.
[0135] The volume of urine transferred to the test tube is governed by the pre-determined vacuum in the test tube. The volume of urine transferred via the needle cannula to the liquid testing assembly which contains the urine strip is less than the volume of the entire test tube. For a 10 cc test tube about 3 cc are drawn into the test tube. It is estimated that about three cc of liquid can be drawn off by a vacuum of about 4 inches of Hg. For a 3 cc test tube, about 0.7-1.2 cc of urine is needed.
[0136] The height of the liquid in the test tube should typically extend to just above the bottom of the urine strip.
[0137] As long as the urine strip is not immersed in liquid, the results of the urine test strip can be read visually while the strip remains in the test tube. The visual reading is typically compared against reagent color charts provided by the manufacturer of the strips. Visual readings can be made regardless of whether the test tube is in its vertical or its horizontal position.
[0138] Excess liquid accumulates at the bottom of the test tube when the test tube is held vertically during and after the urine has wet the urine test strip. After being out of the urine for 60 seconds, the test strip can be visually read. It should be noted that the urine test strip can also be read when the test tube is held horizontally. When the test tube is lying horizontally and a reading is to be made, the liquid should lie between the strip and the wall of the test tube without actually touching the strip.
[0139] In addition to visually reading the urine strip, the results of the test may be obtained by using an instrumental analyzer/reader. In both cases, the reading is made while the identifying material coated support is still inside the test vessel. Typically, the instrumental analyzer/reader, hereinafter “reader”, analyzes the strip optically. The reader typically will contain a receiving inlet into which the entire test tube, except for the stopper, is inserted. The reader reads the results through the transparent walls of the test tube, along the entire length of the test tube.
[0140] FIGS. 12A and 12B , to which reference is now made, illustrate a urine strip liquid testing assembly constructed according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 12A and 12B show front and side, respectively, schematic views of this first embodiment.
[0141] Liquid testing assembly 310 includes a test tube 314 pre-evacuated to a pre-selected pressure. Test tube 314 is typically made of any one of many transparent plastics known in the art, such as polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephtalate (PET), or even of glass. Vacutainers® manufactured by Becton Dickinson & Co. of Franklin Lakes, N.J. may be used as a source of test tubes 314 .
[0142] Test tube 314 is covered by a stopper 312 fitted to contain the vacuum for a pre-determined period, typically a period in excess of the shelf life of the urine test strip. Tube stopper 312 can typically be made of an elastomer such as moldable rubber, a soft polymeric resin, silicone or any other material that is flexible, liquid impermeable, and pierceable by a needle, preferably a material that may be self-sealing to liquids after being pierced. The exact shape of the stopper is easily producible by any of many techniques known in the art, such as, but without intending to be limiting, by injection molding.
[0143] Test tube 314 contains a support 316 to which is affixed a paper urine test strip, coated or impregnated with one or more chemical reagents, here a plurality of reagents. Each reagent is reactive and identifies a different possible constituent of urine, such as glucose, bilirubin, urobilirubin, ketones, nitrites or proteins. This list is typical and not intended to be limiting. Urine test strips suitable for the assemblies of the present invention may be obtained from many commercial sources, such as Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland, and Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, N.J.
[0144] Urine test strip assembly 310 , also contains a trap 318 , shown here as a conical trap, typically made of plastic. Trap 318 contains a small aperture typically on the order of 2-3 mm in diameter. FIG. 12C , to which reference is now made, shows a schematic isometric view of an embodiment of a urine strip containing a plurality of chemical reagents 319 affixed to a test strip support 316 . The strip is somewhat recessed in support 316 . Traps, other than conical traps, such as those discussed above in conjunction with microbial culturing liquid testing assemblies can also be used in conjunction with urine strip liquid testing assemblies. This includes the slow release traps discussed above.
[0145] In FIGS. 12A-12B support 316 is affixed to, or wedged against, the walls of test tube 314 using the ends 323 of support 316 . Other means of joining the test strip support 316 are possible and these should be evident to one skilled in the art. The method shown in FIGS. 12A-12C is not intended to be limiting.
[0146] FIG. 12D (and FIG. 12C ) shows that reagents 319 on the reagent strip are positioned in a recess on support 316 . In FIG. 12D , a passageway 332 is shown running from the top of test tube 314 to its bottom, allowing drawn off urine to percolate down past reagents 319 . Passage 332 is positioned between the wall of test tube 314 and support 316 . The liquid then falls on and passes through trap 318 and remains at the bottom of tube 314 . In order for the liquid to percolate down passageway 332 air must be displaced. Displaced air moves through apertures 325 in support ends 323 from the bottom of test tube 314 to its top.
[0147] Transfer of urine or other liquid from a collection container to urine test strip assembly 310 as in FIGS. 12A-12D is effected using a system similar to the system shown in FIGS. 1D and 1E and the discussion in conjunction therewith and therefore will not be repeated here.
[0148] Test tube 314 with stopper 312 and with urine strip support 316 affixed therein is prepared so as to be under a pre-selected vacuum. The pre-selected vacuum is empirically determined and is intended to draw off a pre-determined volume of sample from a urine sample collection container ( FIGS. 1D and 1E ) through a cannula 24 ( FIGS. 1D and 1E ). The pre-selected vacuum, and therefore the pre-selected sample volume to be drawn off, is intended to draw off a volume significantly less then the volume of tube 314 .
[0149] FIGS. 12E-12H show schematic views of another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 12E-12H map into FIGS. 12A-12D of the previous embodiments. The difference between the embodiments is that the plurality of chemical reagents 319 positioned on a urine strip affixed to strip support 316 of FIGS. 12C and 12D are recessed on support 316 ; in FIGS. 12G and 12H the chemical reagents 319 are coated or embedded on a urine test strip affixed to strip support 316 and project forward from support 316 . Again, there is a passageway 332 that runs the length of support 316 allowing the liquid to percolate past bottom support end 323 and down past trap 318 . As above, in order for the liquid to percolate down passageway 332 air must be displaced. Displaced air moves through apertures 325 in support ends 323 from the bottom of test tube 314 to its top.
[0150] Reference is now made to the embodiments of FIGS. 13A to 13C . The embodiment of the urine strip assembly shown in these Figures is very similar to that shown in FIGS. 12A-12H . Similar elements are similarly numbered with the introductory digit of “ 3 ” being replaced by the introductory digit of “ 4 ”.
[0151] The main difference between the embodiment in FIGS. 13A-13C and 12 A- 12 H is that there is a foam trap 440 below conical trap 418 . Conical trap 418 is similar in form and construction to the conical trap discussed previously in conjunction with FIGS. 12A , 12 B, 12 E and 12 F. As in previous embodiments, aperture 413 is formed in trap 418 and restricts liquid back flow.
[0152] Shown on the test tube of FIG. 13A is a permanently affixed printed bar code 429 which serves as a sample identification tag. It should readily be understood that while a bar code has not been shown in previous embodiments of the liquid testing assemblies discussed herein, such a bar code can be a part of any of the test tubes used in previous embodiments.
[0153] Reference is now made to FIGS. 14A-14C . FIGS. 14A and 14B show embodiments of digital readers 800 that can be used to read and analyze the urine strips and/or culture media coated supports while both are still in the test tube of a liquid testing assembly constructed according to the embodiments of the present invention. Reader 800 discussed in conjunction with these Figures allows for a completely closed system after the point of urine collection from a patient into a collection cup.
[0154] In FIG. 14A , a test tube cassette 806 is shown which can rotate so that all the test tubes positioned in the plurality of tube receiving inlets 805 of cassette 806 can be brought opposite a spectroscopic detector and an optical bar code scanner (both not shown) for readings. The spectroscopic detector determines color changes in closed test tube 710 which contains a urine strip having a plurality of reagents coated or impregnated thereon. It also determines the color changes and microbial colony density on test tube 610 which contains a culture media coated support. The support has been incubated at the site of urine collection with the possibility of continued incubation at a clinical laboratory. Both test tubes 710 and 610 contain bar codes which contain patient related information and are read by the optical bar code scanner.
[0155] The receiving inlet 805 may be formed so as to have a protrusion or a slot along its side. This protrusion or slot is complementary to and mateable with test tubes constructed to include a slot or protrusion, respectively, in the test tubes side. This feature allows for the test tubes inserted into the reader's (or analyzer's) receiving inlets to be positioned in one well-defined orientation with respect to the detector of the reader or analyzer. This reduces poor readings resulting from the urine strip or culture medium being improperly aligned against the digital detector.
[0156] It should be evident to one skilled in the art that the sources of radiation and the detectors used in readers employed for urine test strip analysis may be, and typically are, different from the sources and detectors required to read color changes in culture media coated supports. Therefore, it should be evident that separate readers may be required for urine test strip analysis and analysis of culture media coated supports.
[0157] Reader 800 includes an input means 804 , here a key pad, and an LCD display 802 . It also contains a printer which prints the results 808 of the reading and also the bar code information. Reader 800 is activated by on/off switch 878 and is connected to a power source by connection 870 . Reader 800 may also be in electronic communication with at least one of the following elements: a PC or PC network 872 , a remote display 874 , and a remote printer 876 . While the connections here indicate wire connections to these elements, these connections may also be wireless connections.
[0158] FIG. 14B presents the same reader as in FIG. 14A , but the reader in FIG. 14B has a single test tube receiving inlet 805 instead of a rotating cassette 806 with a plurality of tube receiving inlets 805 . Reader 800 in FIG. 14B operates in a manner similar to reader 800 shown in FIG. 14A .
[0159] FIG. 14C , to which reference is now made, schematically shows a description of the electronics of reader 800 and its associated system in FIGS. 14A and 14B . Detectors 912 represent: 1. an optical bar code reader and 2. at least one spectroscopic detector for determining color changes of the color bars on the urine strip and color changes in the culture media coated support on which microbial colonies have grown. Detectors 912 are well known to those skilled in the art and are readily available commercially. Measuring by the optical bar code reader and the at least one spectroscopic reader may be done concurrently or done in an alternating fashion. All readings are done directly through the walls of the test tube of the liquid testing assembly.
[0160] Spectroscopy on the culture media may be carried out using chromogenic substances added by some manufacturers to commercially available media. These chromogenic agents react with known specific microbial enzymes producing well-defined detectable color changes. From the detected color changes, qualitative and semi-quantitative determination of microbial cfus can be determined.
[0161] Not all culture media contain chromogenic substances or other agents that generate color changes detectable by visible spectrometry. In many cases with culture media, just cfu counts are made and this is often done using black-gray-white photometric readings. Appropriate photodetectors are readily available commercially for this purpose.
[0162] FIG. 14C shows a schematic block diagram of the electronics of reader 800 in FIGS. 14A and 14B . Electromagnetic radiation is received by detectors 912 which, in turn, send signals to microprocessor 914 for processing. After processing, microprocessor 914 sends information related to the detected results to at least one of the following elements: a display 916 , a printer 918 , a communications network or PC 920 and a patient file 922 . Microprocessor 914 may analyze the data in many different ways and integrate it with previously obtained patient test results.
[0163] Since reading is done directly through the walls of the test tube of the liquid testing assembly, there is no contact with a possibly bio-hazardous liquid or wetted urine strip. Since the urine strip and/or culture media coated support does not come in direct contact with the reader when the reading is made, cleaning the reader cassette or tube receiving inlet or other parts of the reader is not required as frequently as with prior art, commercially available, readers. Generally, in prior art readers, wetted urine strips are passed directly through the reader requiring frequent cleaning to prevent contamination. Similarly, in prior art readers bar code readers are absent as identification data is not permanently affixed to the urine strips or culture media dipslides being analyzed.
[0164] The present invention also contemplates a disposable liquid testing kit. The kit comprises a liquid testing assembly as described above, a sample collection container for collecting urine from a patient, and a cannula for transferring a portion of the urine collected in the collection container to the pre-evacuated test tube or vessel of the liquid testing assembly. The liquid testing assembly may be a microbial culturing liquid testing assembly or a chemical analysis liquid testing assembly.
[0165] Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. In addition, citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein above. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the claims that follow.
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A liquid testing assembly for testing a liquid, the assembly comprising a test vessel and a stopper adapted to fit into a free end of the vessel. The stopper substantially hermetically seals the test vessel from the ambient. Further, the assembly includes a support coated with one or more identifying materials for identifying one or more constituents of the liquid. The support is fixed in the stopper and/or the vessel and extends into its interior for a predetermined distance. The liquid testing assembly when assembled is pre-evacuated to a predetermined vacuum sufficient to draw a predetermined volume of liquid to be sampled into the test vessel. The predetermined volume is of such an amount that it wets the one or more identifying materials ensuring identification of one or more constituents present in the liquid. A kit employing the liquid testing assembly is also discussed.
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BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
In view of the fact that earthquakes occur suddenly and generally without much warning, it is necessary for recorders designed to record the occurrence of sesimic events to be continuously operational and fully prepared to record even the beginnings of the seismic signatures. For this reason mechanical recorders have proven impractical. Not only do such machines tend to fail to function properly after many months of non-operation, but in every case their response time to the sudden discontinuity between a long period of dormancy and the requirement of immediate precise recording of an event is so slow that the elapsed time required to bring up to speed a recording medium, such as a photographic film or magnetic tape, usually results in the loss of the beginning of the seismic signature of interest. Conversely, the storage of digitized data in active electronic memory chips involves no moving parts and therefore results in no start-up loss of the initial portions of an event of interest. This type of storage can be done in such a way that all seismic events are continuously recorded, with events of no interest being written-over by newly occurring events until an event of real interest occurs, at which time the record of such an event is transferred to an electronic memory where it is retained rather than being written-over by subsequent events. There are no moving parts except within the three orthogonal seismometers themselves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,670 to Herndon shows a digital flight-data recorder which receives and temporarily stores multiple diverse digitized flight parameters, the system compressing and more permanently storing those data frames which contain flight parameters which are of significant interest, the data being compressed and formatted to achieve a smaller recorded data base. This patent uses a compression scheme differing fundamentally from that of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,036 to Savit shows seismic data being collected and held in digital storage registers at each of a number of remote sensor stations and then collected by polling the stations from a central processor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,925 to Ahrens shows a digital store used in an echo sounder and subsequently read out when required.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,990 to Goode et al, seismometer signals are digitized by an A/D converter and specially formatted for recording, but the recording is on magnetic tape, even for short-term storage, and thus would suffer from most of the mechanical disadvantages related above when used in a system that continously monitors for earthquakes, month after month.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,135, to Korn et al, shows an earthquake monitoring system using a microprocessor, but this circuit triggers an alarm rather than recording the signature of the quake.
THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a digital recorder for digitizing and recording seismic events, the recorder being capable of lengthy stand-by periods during which it filters and formats and enters into a static buffer all events as they occur, most of which are of little interest, and which events are temporarily retained in the static buffer. These buffer-retained signals are displaced by more recent events when the static buffer is full, the recorder being self powered and controlled by a programmed microprocessor to transfer buffer-retained high amplitude signatures representing important seismic events from the static buffer into a static memory which is kept alive by suitable back-up batteries and in one embodiment comprises a cartridge separable and retrievable from the recorder after a major seismic event. The data is compressed before storage by a unique compression and formatting technique. The information recorded in the memory is accessible upon interrogation through a serial port for reading out to a central data processor or to a portable data retrieval unit. The recorder includes calibrating means for displacing the seismometers to generate calibrating signals which will test the entire system, and includes manual switch means for entering for recording purposes along with the seismic data information such as unit identification, and for entering numerical parameters serving as system standards, i.e. sensitivity, trigger level, buffer recording time, reference voltage, and sampling rate. A temperature controlled crystal oscillator, which is periodically synchronized to an outside time standard, provides accurate time codes which are stored along with the seismic signatures to show their times of occurrence. The recorder is packaged within a sealed compartment to protect the electronic circuitry and three associated orthogonally arranged seismometers, and the recorder also includes a separate vented compartment to house the various components of the power supply including rechargeable batteries.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved recorder of seismic vibrations caused by near-by earthquakes for the purpose of monitoring the structural excursions of buildings, dams, bridges, etc. in response to such quakes, the information being especially useful to seismologists and engineers for assessing damage and for preparing design codes and rules for new construction. It is a major object to provide a microprocessor-controlled recorder for attachment to a component of a structure which will move with the earth, the recorder having the capability of multiplexing and recording in three channels components of motion in three orthogonal directions, and being responsive within a passband of about 0.016 to 65 Hz with amplitudes from 0.00125 g peak to about 5 g peak.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide a strong-motion recorder for recording vibrations measured by analog transducers to produce three orthogonal channel signals which are then digitized and formatted and recorded as digital sequences in microprocessor-controlled active semiconductor devices, or other equivalent memory devices. The recorder has no moving parts whereby to achieve very fast response time to the data, very low power consumption, and the ability to store pre-event data in a buffer which can be written-over until an event of interest having an amplitude exceeding a preset level occurs, whereupon the recorder is triggered to transfer the signature of interest from the buffer to a larger electronic memory where it is stored for later access. The advantage of the digital semiconductor memory is that it is capable of remaining dormant for long periods of time and then responding instantly to achieve the immediate and precise recording of a seismic event of interest. Maintenance is virtually eliminated by the elimination of moving parts, such as motors, potentiometers, etc, and the present recorder does not require leveling because the seismometers used have no DC output component and therefore have no gravity-initiated constant output components.
It is another object of the invention to filter the seismometer signals for the three channels before digitizing thereof, the signal filters having notches in their characteristics at the digital sampling rate frequency to discourage aliasing and comprising low-pass active filters with about 24 dB per octave rejection at the upper end of the pass characteristic.
A major object of the invention is to provide two static electronic memory devices including a pre-event buffer which receives and stores all events but is continuously written-over by newly occurring events, and including a static memory which has a much larger storage capability and is never written-over. All events, after filtering, digitizing and formatting by the microprocessor program, are stored in the twelve-bit pre-event buffer which has an eight-second storage capability. As new events arrive, they displace previously stored events in the pre-event buffer. When an event of importance arrives, i.e. an event having sufficient amplitude to exceed a trigger threshold, its signature is compressed and transferred from the pre-event buffer into the static memory for permanent storage. This memory has about a 20 minute storage capacity and will store events having sufficient amplitude to operate the trigger until it is full. When the trigger threshold is exceeded, the contents of the pre-event buffer are transferred to the memory and the in-coming event signature continues to be inserted in the pre-event buffer and transferred to the memory until its level has failed to exceed the threshold for a certain number of seconds as determined by the setting of one of the aforementioned manual switch means. A principal virtue of the pre-event buffer is that the usual seismic signature does not reach its full amplitude immediately and therefore in the usual case would not exceed the trigger threshold until part of the event has passed. However, since the early portion of the signature is already retained in the pre-event buffer, and since all transfer to the main memory is from the buffer, the early portion of the signature of interest which is in the pre-event buffer at the time that transfer is initiated will not be lost, but will be transferred to the main memory along with the remainder of the signature.
Another major object of the invention is to provide a data compression system for reducing the size of the stored data base by eliminating from recording those data points which are redundant. The present system achieves such compression by monitoring the present slope of the signature being digitized and by "predicting" the slope of the next adjacent portion of the signature. When a subsequent data point falls outside the "predicted" slope by exceeding a predetermined acceptable plus-or-minus tolerance, the last data point still falling within that tolerance is recorded along with a redundancy count of how many points were eliminated as being within that tolerance, and a new slope is established using the last recorded point and the latest point which fell outside the tolerance established for the previous slope.
Still another major object of the invention is to provide the main memory in the form of a cartridge which is removable from the recorder as a separable module. This memory cartridge has its own keep-alive battery within it to keep the memory active while the cartridge is detached or in the event that the power supply in the recorder should become inoperative.
A further object of the invention is to provide multiple switches on the recorder which can be manually adjusted to enter into storage such codes as recorder unit identification, trigger threshold, sensitivity, recording time after the signal falls below the threshold, a reference voltage, and digital sampling rate, all of these settings being recorded along with the seismic data.
Another primary object of the invention is to provide very accurate time encodements which are formatted and stored along with the seismic signals so that the exact time the signals occurred can be determined from the stored signatures. For this purpose a temperature controlled crystal oscillator is provided which can be periodically connected to a source of standard time signals to be automatically synchronized thereby. In addition, a precision voltage source is provided for delivering a coded reference signal for storage with the seismic signatures for use as an amplitude reference to permit the removal of any amplifier offsets introduced by the active filters. Like the time codes, the amplitude references are part of the seismic signal format stored in the main memory cartridge, and can be associated with the signature when it is analyzed.
A further object of the invention is to provide a calibration system which can generate a sine wave and deliver it to the feed-back coils of the three seismometers so as to artificially generate a displacement thereof for the purpose of simulating a seismic event. As a result of such artificial actuation of the seismometers the entire filtering, digitizing, formatting and storage system of the recorder is effectively put through its functions and the response of the whole system to an event of accurately pre-determined character is monitored, whereby the entire system can be tested.
Another very important feature of the invention is to provide a serial port for accessing the recorder, the port being connectible with a central processing system which can interrogate the recorder, and others like it in an associated network. Upon interrogation the recorder will read out from memory its recorded signatures, time codes, reference signal codes, and its own identification through the serial port for remote collection and processing. Alternatively a portable data retrieval unit can be coupled to the recorder for receiving its data and/or monitoring its internal condition including its power supplies. Either system provides a convenient method of collecting data from plural recorders in the network. Usually, serial-port accessing is more easily done than collecting the stored data by physically removing the memory cartridges from each of the recorders in a network thereof. However, in the event of a major disaster, physical retrieval of the memory cartridges might be the only way of recovering data.
The power supply for the recorder comprises a main battery which is normally maintained in a state of full charge by power from an outside source, such as city power mains or solar panels or some other suitable source, so that upon failure of the outside source the system will keep going on its internal main battery for a long period of time, the keep-alive battery in the memory cartridge being separate from the main battery and operating only when the cartridge is disconnected from the recorder or when all other power sources fail. A transistor switching circuit controlled by the microprocessor operates on an emergency basis to connect all remaining power in the recorder to the cartridge memory exclusively, in the event that the main battery begins to fail, for example, due to failure of its external recharging source. In this way, the ultra-low-drain main memory can be kept alive for a long period of time, such as one year.
Another important object of the invention is to provide an improved housing for the recorder wherein the seismometers, microprocessor, electronic circuitry, and pre-event buffer are contained within a sealed compartment which protects them from damage and ambient atmospheric conditions, and wherein the power supply system including the rechargeable battery and its charging circuit are contained within a vented compartment which can be locked to prevent tampering. The main memory module is also contained within the locked vented compartment so that it can be easily removed and/or replaced without having to open the sealed compartment. The keep-alive battery for the cartridge is mounted within the separable module. To facilitate access to the power supply and the main battery and the cartridge, the locked vented compartment is located on top of the sealed compartment which normally requires no access since there is no maintenance required for the components contained therein.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the discussion of the drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention.
THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a sectional view through the strong-motion recorder housing showing the positioning of the various components in different compartments;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the recording system;
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing one of the three orthogonally disposed seismometers, and the filter and amplifier and feedback circuitry associated with that seismometer, the other two seismometers being similar and having similar circuitry attached thereto;
FIG. 4 is a diagram of a system calibration generator;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing three waveforms relating to the calibration generator;
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the recorder power supply;
FIG. 7 shows two waveforms relating to data compression; and
FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of the steps involved in the data compression process of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, the recorder is housed within a housing which comprises a lower housing member in the form of a casting 10 having a bottom 12, sides 14, and an upright separator 16. A partition plate 18 closes the lower casting 10 and seals it against an O-ring 20 supported in a groove around the upper periphery of the sides 14, thereby forming an hermetically sealed lower compartment 22. An upper housing member 26 provides a compartment 24 located above the partition plate 18 and takes the form of a vented cover casting comprising a top 28 having downwardly extending sides 30. The cover casting 26 is readily removable from the partition plate 18 so as to permit easy access to the main battery 32 and power supply 34 and memory cartridge 36 contained therein. The upper compartment 24 is vented at 31 to permit the escape of gases given off as a result of charging of the battery 32. The partition plate 18 can be screwed to the lower casting to maintain the hermetic seal therewithin by avoiding accidental separation of the plate 18 from the O-ring seal 20 when the cover casting 26 is opened. It is usually undesirable to open the lower compartment, because the electronic circuitry and seismometers within the sealed compartment 22 do not normally require any servicing and should be protected against unnecessary handling. Closure devices such as the hasp assembly 38 are provided to receive a lock and prevent unauthorized removal of the cover and tampering with the contents of the housing. The lower casting has feet 40 attached thereto to facilitate bolting of the housing to a structure whose motions it is intended to monitor.
Within the lower sealed compartment 22 there are four circuit boards 41, 42, 43, and 44 which mount various electronic components such as a microprocessor, a pre-event buffer, a PROM program, timing and clock circuitry and interface circuits as will be discussed hereinafter in connection with FIG. 2. The sealed compartment 22 also includes orthogonally mounted seismometers 45, 46 and 47 and a circuit board 48 mounting the components of the seismometer filters, amplifiers and calibration generator as will be discussed in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3 below.
Referring now to FIG. 2, three seismometers 45, 46 and 47, which are mounted orthogonally as shown in FIG. 1, respectively have outputs 45a, 46a, and 47a which are connected into three identical amplifier and filter circuits represented by the block 50. Some of the output from each of these three amplifier circuits in block 50 is fed back through three identical feedback circuits respresented by the block 52 and delivered to windings in the seismometers through wires 45b, 46b and 47b. Each of these seismometer filter, amplifier and feedback circuits is the same as the others and a typical specific circuitry for one seismometer is shown in more detail in FIG. 3. Much of the circuitry of FIG. 3 is very similar to the seismometer and circuitry disclosed and claimed in our co-pending application for patent entitled "Force-Balance Accelerometer System", U.S. Ser. No. 06/537,756, filed Sept. 30, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,768.
The filtered and amplified outputs, comprising three separate seismometer signal channels, are fed through wires 54, 55 and 56 to a multiplexer and sample-and-hold circuit 58 which delivers a data-ready signal on wire 57 to the microprocessor which then actuates the multiplexer by its input select wire 59 to deliver seismic signals from the seismometer channels sequentially to an analog/digital converter 60 whose output is delivered on wires 62 to the main data bus 64 of a microprocessor 68 which is programmed by an EPROM system program 70. The sampling rate of the track-and-hold circuit 58 is clocked by pulses on wire 90 from a clock pulse generator 91 which is enabled by the microprocessor 68 through wire 69. The microprocessor and EPROM are also coupled to an address bus 66 in a manner well known in the microprocessor art.
The data appearing on the data bus 64 as digitized by the A/D converter 60, is formatted by the microprocessor 68 in a manner to be described hereinafter, and is initially stored under control of the microprocessor and EPROM in a pre-event buffer 72 which has three channels of storage for the data derived from the three seismometers 45, 46 and 47. Storage in the three channels of the pre-event buffer is synchronized with the multiplexer 58. The pre-event buffer comprises active CMOS RAM memory chips capable of storing data and addresses for eight seconds worth of digitized seismometer events in its three separate channels. When it is full, subsequent incoming events write-over pre-stored events which are then lost. The sampling rate in each channel for digitizing purposes is 200 Hz.
The pre-event buffer stores more than signal data and addresses. It also stores in association with such data certain other information, most of which comes from a series of manual switches represented by the box 74 which switches insert entries into the switch buffers 76. This information includes an identification code for this particular Strong-Motion Recorder unit, a selectible seismometer signal sampling rate, the sensitivity of the amplifiers, a trigger threshold level of the seismometer signal which when exceeded will initiate the transfer of data from the pre-event buffer 72 into the memory cartridge 36, a buffer recording time duration, and a signal amplitude calibration reference voltage. Accurate time signal codes showing the exact time that a seismometer event was stored in the pre-event buffer are also recorded as hereinafter described.
The latter coded time signals are provided by an accurate temperature compensated crystal oscillator timing unit 78 which has an input 79 that can be coupled to receive standard time signals from a standard time receiver 80, the crystal oscillator then synchronizing itself to the received time signals. The crystal oscillator timing unit 78 generates time code signals which it delivers on cable 82 connected to cable 84 coming from the serial communications port for the microprocessor 68. These coded time signals are stored along with the data from the seismometers in the pre-event buffer. When the amplitude of the seismometer signal exceeds the trigger level set by the manual switches 74, the microprocessor transfers the contents of the pre-event buffer 72 to the memory cartridge 36 for more permanent storage.
The serial communications cable 84 can be connected either to a central data acquisition and processing center which can interrogate each recorder in a network by its identification code to recover from the various recorders the stored data in the memory cartridges, or alternatively the communications cable 84 can be connected to a portable data retrieval unit (not shown) which can be carried from one recorder unit to the next to retrieve data from each without removal of the memory modules therefrom. However, it is also contemplated to recover data from the cartridge 36 by removing it from the recorder and taking it to a processing center for insertion into the data bank, and then replacing the removed cartridge with a fresh one. Since the memory cartridge 36 is also an active electronic memory, the cartridge contains its own keep-alive battery 36a which permits its separation from the main power supply in the recorder without loss of data. When the contents of the cartridge have been transferred to the data bank, the cartridge can be reset by interruption of power to its active chips.
Referring now to FIG. 3 which shows a typical seismometer having associated filter and amplifier circuits, a force-balance feedback path to the seismometer winding, and connection to a calibration circuit, this figure includes a typical one of the seismometers, referenced 45 and having a proof-mass supporting a piezoelectric transducer 45c and a feedback winding 45d cooperating with a fixed magnetic field and serving to damp the proof-mass deflections and to restore centering. The output of the transducer 45c is coupled through wire 45a to a filter circuit 86 and also to a charge amplifier 88, the resistor 92 and capacitor 89 being part of the conventional charge amplifier. The filter 86 is a low-pass filter having an upper cut-off at about 65 Hz, and also has a deep notch at 200 Hz, the digital sampling frequency, to suppress aliasing. The output 54 of the filter 86 is connected to the multiplexer 58.
The output of the charge amplifier at 87 goes to the input of a feedback amplifier 93, the output of which drives the feedback winding 45d of the seismometer through the wire 45b. The input of the feedback amplifier 93 is connected to the output 87 of the charge amplifier 88 by a coupling capacitor 94 and a resistor 95, and the gain of the feedback amplifier 93 is fixed by a resistor 96. The feedback amplifier 93 is therefore driven by two components of the output signal at 87. The component coupled by the resistor 95 is proportional to the displacement of the proof-mass and therefore produces a component of current in the feedback amplifier which serves to produce in the winding a proof-mass restoring force. The other component driving the feedback amplifier 93 through the capacitor 94 is proportional to velocity of displacement of the proof-mass and therefore produces a feedback component of current in the winding 45d which exerts a damping force on the the proof-mass opposing oscillation thereof at its closed-loop resonant frequency. The feedback operation is explained in greater detail in our above-mentioned copending application for patent entitled "Force-Balance Accelerometer System".
A calibration generator 120 is shown schematically in FIG. 4 and is shown in block diagram form in FIGS. 2 and 3. The purpose of this calibration generator is to generate a substantially sinusoidal waveform as shown in FIG. 5 to artificially displace all three seismometers through an accurately predetermined displacement, whereby the response thereof and the response of all of the electronic circuitry in the recorder can be checked. It is, therefore, important that the calibration waveform be highly repeatable. For this purpose an eight-bit shift register 122 is driven by two square-wave clock pulse inputs including data clock pulses 124 and shift clock pulses 126 as shown in FIG. 5. These clock inputs are delivered to the calibrator circuit 120 through a cable 121 coming from the microprocessor 68, FIG. 2. Series of signals are stepped through the shift register 122 in response to the clock pulses 124 applied to its clock terminal. The Q outputs of the register 122 are ganged together at wire 123 which therefore carries a stepped substantially sinusoidal waveform 128 as shown in FIG. 5. This waveform is delivered from the eight stages Q1-Q8 through resistances having ratios as shown in FIG. 4 so that the stepped waveform 128 results. The other square wave 126 is inserted at the shift register D terminal and reverses every eight pulses of the waveform 124 so as to determine alternate half cycles of the stepped waveform 128. In addition, a steady state reference voltage V R is applied through the cable 121 from the microprocessor to the V ss terminal of the shift register 122. This reference voltage V R determines by its amplitude the magnitude of the waveform 128, so that the magnitude of the calibrating displacement of the seismometers can be set by adjusting the level of the reference voltage using the manual switches 74, FIG. 2. The output from the shift register 122 on wire 123 is coupled to the negative input of an operational amplifier 130 whose positive input is returned to one-half the reference voltage V R so that the waveform 128 appearing at wire 132 lies tangent to the zero axis at its lowermost points. A resistor 134 sets the gain of the amplifier 130. The clock rate of the waveform 124 is chosen with respect to the natural closed-loop resonant frequency of the seismometers such that the stepped nature of the waveform 128 is not followed by the seismometers, which instead respond as though a true sinusiod 128a were being introduced to deflect them. The output on wire 132 is coupled to drive the feedback amplifiers 114 of all three of the seismometers simultaneously in the manner shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 shows the main power supply to the recorder. It includes a six-volt main battery 32 with a charging network 100 which normally connects a power supply 34, powered from commercial power mains, to the battery 32 so that the battery can be kept fully charged. However, other power sources can also be used where commercial power is unavailable. For example, the network 100 can be used to couple the battery 32 to some external local source 101 which light comprise a larger battery, a windmill generator, solar cells, etc. The main power for the recorder system is taken from the battery 32 through a main power switch 102 and an isolation diode 103. When the switch 102 is closed power from the battery can pass through a transistor switch 104, when conductive, and be connected via the wire 108 to almost the entire recorder system represented by the box 109, which however does not include the memory cartridge 36. The transistor switch 104 receives power from the battery at its source S via the switch 102 and delivers the power through its drain D to the wire 108 when its gate G is enabled by a low signal thereon. This low signal persists as long as a high is applied to the wire 106 from the microprocessor 68, which occurs whenever the supply voltage from the battery 32 exceeds 4.5 volts. However, if the battery voltage should drop off and go below 4.5, the microprocessor control signal on wire 106 will go low, thereby putting a high on the gate G of the transistor switch 104 to render it non-conductive to break the flow of current from source S to drain D and wire 108. As a result, the power drained by most of the recorder components from the battery is interrupted, leaving only the memory cartridge 36 connected to the battery 32 through the wire 110 and the main switch 102, whereby the energy remaining in the battery 32 is reserved exclusively for the memory cartridge 36. This energy and the energy in the cartridge's keep-alive battery 36a will keep the cartridge data intact for an estimated year during which no further charging of the recorder battery occurs from outside sources. The keep-alive battery 36a is coupled to the power line 110 by an isolation diode 112 contained in the cartridge 36 and will keep the memory 36 alive if the main battery voltage drops below 3 volts.
Recalling that the function of the transistor switch 104 is to disconnect from the battery 32 all components of the recorder system except the memory cartridge 36 if the battery weakens to the point where its voltage drops below 4.5 volts, interruption of current flow through the transistor switch 104 will be initiated by the microprocessor 68 through its control line 106, which goes low when the battery voltage drops below a level of 4.5 volts at which the microprocessor no longer functions correctly. The actual control of the transistor switch is through a Schmitt trigger inverter 114, whose output on wire 116 to the gate G must go low to enable the transistor switch. Therefore, to enable the transistor switch 104, the two inputs to the Schmitt trigger inverter 114 on wires 118 and 119 must go high. If one or both inputs should go low, the wire 116 to the gate G will go high and disable the transistor switch 104, thereby interrupting further passage of current from the battery to the main recorder components 109, leaving only the memory cartridge 36 connected to the battery 32 through the wire 110.
At startup of the recorder, as the main switch 102 is closed, the wire 119 will go high at the left input to the Schmitt trigger inverter 114. The other input on wire 118 will be pulsed high through the capacitor 122 upon closing of the switch 102 even though the control wire 106 from the microprocessor, isolated by the resistor 124, is still low. The microprocessor will thus be supplied with power through the transistor switch 104, causing the wire 106 to go high and keep the transistor switch conductive. Now, if the battery 32 begins failing, for instance because of not being charged sufficiently, then the voltage on the microprocessor will start falling in the wire 108 and in the control wire 106. When it reaches about 4.5 volts, the microprocessor will remove the high from the control wire 106, and the transistor switch 104 will be disabled. Accordingly, with the transistor switch 104 open, all remaining power in the battery will be reserved for keeping alive the memory cartridge 36. The main battery 32 will continue to sustain the memory cartridge 36 until its voltage falls to 3 volts, the voltage of the keep-alive battery 36a. Thereafter the cartridge will be sustained solely by the keep-alive battery 36a through its isolation diode 112. Conversely, if the battery 32 should again be recharged through the network 100, the microprocessor and the other components of the recorder will not be automatically enabled again. Enabling can occur only when the wire 118 is pulsed high again, for instance by pushing a button 126 to re-enable the right hand input to the Schmitt trigger inverter 114 through the isolation diode 128.
COMPRESSING DATA FOR RECORDING
FIG. 7 shows as a dashed line a portion of a seismic curve K taken from the pre-event buffer which is then digitized in the analog-to-digital converter 60 prior to being compressed before formatting. Because of the fact that three different channels of seismic data are being multiplexed, the data from the three channels of the pre-event buffer are sequentially treated in blocks of four seconds duration, i.e. 800 samples which are sampled at a 200 Hz sampling rate. The data is digitized at equal sampling intervals T into data points which are initially of 12 bit resolution, having amplitudes represented vertically in the figure. Each block of data points is then gain-ranged, i.e. scaled, so that the largest data sample in the block is greater than half of a pre-defined full-scale range as shown in FIG. 7, but less than full range. After gain-ranging, the most significant 8 bits of each sample are retained in preparation for compressing and recording.
The compression concept is based upon the idea that many of the data points can be considered redundant, and therefore need not be recorded, while the reduced number of points recorded will still permit the signature of curve K of the signal to be reproduced within acceptable limits as shown by the curve K' in FIG. 7. The technique for determining and eliminating redundant data points uses an approach wherein the slope L of a segment of the signature curve K between two retained points is defined as the amplitude change between the bytes of the two retained points divided by the number of intervening sampling intervals. This slope is determined beginning at an initial starting point 1A on the curve K. The curve is then approximated by projecting it along a linear slope extending to a third point 3A, and by dividing the difference in amplitude 3A-1A by two sampling intervals. The determination as to whether a second data point 2A is or is not redundant is done by making a comparison of the amplitude of the byte at the the second data point 2A with the amplitude of corresponding projected slope point 2S to determine whether its amplitudes falls within the plus-or-minus increment "delta". As long as each compared data point is within delta the point is considered redundant and its data is not recorded, but the redundancy count is incremented. When, finally, a point 5A exceeds delta, it is deemed non-redundant and the redundancy count is decremented because in order to record the last point 4A falling on the slope L the system must be backed up from point 5A to point 4A. The redundancy count of three comprising the number of intervening sampling intervals is therefore recorded. The most recently recorded point, 4A in this case, becomes the first starting point for purposes of determining a new slope L' using points 4A and 3B. This process continues until the block of 800 points has been fully processed for compression, and then a new 800 point block representing a different (multiplexed) seismometer channel is input for purposes of compression, followed after that by another block representing the third seismometer channel, and so on.
FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram for the data compression steps. The first step 130 is to input data points of the next block representing amplitudes on the curve K. Assuming that a last byte has previously been recorded, either from the same block or from the preceeding block representing the same seismometer channel, this point is selected in step 132 for purposes of establishing a first byte to determine a first slope L for the present block. In the next step 134 the redundancy count is set to zero, a second point byte 2A is selected, and a third point byte 3A is selected. A slope for a line L to be projected is determined by differencing the amplitude of the first point byte 1A and the amplitude of the third point byte 3A and dividing by two intervening sampling intervals. An artifical slope point 2S then becomes equal to the last byte 1A plus the slope. Slope point 2S projected from point 1A lies on slope line L. Then the point byte 2A has its amplitude compared in step 138 with the amplitude limits about point 2S, i.e. plus and minus delta along the corresponding sampling interval T to determine the value of the numerical difference. This difference is then compared with delta in step 140 to determine whether its absolute value is greater than delta.
If the response is NO, then in step 144 a determination is made as to whether the next byte 3A will be the last byte in the block. If YES, then the last byte is always recorded as a compressed data point, step 168, and the system begins the next block in step 170. If NO, i.e. not the last byte in the block, step 162 increments the program to compare the next byte 3A and to increment the count of the intervening sampling steps, i.e. to a count of one in the case of point 2A. If this count is 16, then in step 164, the program goes to C, step 148, and the point byte corresponding with the count of 16 will be recorded as hereinafter more fully discussed beginning at C, step 148, since counts greater than 16 are arbitrarily prevented. However, in step 164 if the count is not 16, another slope point 3S is projected by adding the slope to the last slope point 2A, as indicated in step 166, and the program returns to B, step 136, to test the next input byte 3A, which will be within delta since it established the slope L. The steps then proceed through testing of the point 4A until a point 5A fails to fall within delta.
For point 5A, at step 140, the difference in amplitudes between data at point 5A and L will exceed delta, and the program will go to step 142. At step 142 a determination will be made as to whether the count is equal to zero. In this example it is not. The count at point 5A is four. Moreover, since point 5A is outside delta, it will be necessary to go back and record point 4A since this is the last point that is within delta on the slope L. Therefore, going through C at step 148, the count of four will be decremented at step 150 so that it becomes three, i.e. the number of intervening sampling intervals between points 1A and 4A. Then at step 154 the last byte 4A before 5A will be recorded as compressed data and its redundancy count of three will be recorded. Conversely, if YES, i.e. the count equals zero in step 142, the count would have been incremented at step 146 to the count of four corresponding with point 5A. However, since at step 140 it was determined that the difference exceeded delta, at step 154 the last byte 4A was recorded along with the corresponding redundancy count of three. At step 156 determination is then made as to whether the next byte would be the last byte in the block. If YES, the redundancy count is then set to zero and the last byte in the block would also be recorded at step 168 via step E at 160, since no further compression is possible in that block. However, if in step 156 it is determined that the next byte will not be the last byte in that block, then the program returns to point A, step 133, and beings again by establishing a new slope using point 3B and 4A (which is also point 1B), and by projecting a new slope point and comparing the next data point byte with the new slope point in step 138, etc.
When the data has been thus recorded, it can be restored to produce the curve K' as shown below in FIG. 7 wherein it is assumed that all the non-recorded data points which were found to be redundant lie near the slopes between those points that were recorded. For instance points 2A and 3A lie on the slope L between the recorded data points 1A and 4A, etc.
The selected value of delta will determine the fidelity with which the curve K' when restored will match the curve K of the original waveform. If delta is selected too small, then little saving will be had in the number of data bytes that are required to be stored. On the other hand, if delta is selected too large, the data can not be adequately restored. Whatever delta is selected, the amount of data reduction possible is least at high amplitudes and at higher frequencies, and is maximum for curves having low amplitudes and having only lower frequency components that must be restored. The spacing between points on the curve is of course determined by the sampling rate during digitizing of the analog data.
The compressed data and the redundancy counts are formatted for recording in the memory cartridge 36 in eight-bit bytes. Three bytes are required for two eight-bit recorded data samples. Each eight-bit redundancy count byte includes two redundancy counts of four bits each, i.e. 0-15 (HEX F), and this is of course the reason why the redundancy count is not allowed to exceed the pre-established number 16. The most significant four bits of a redundancy count byte represents the number of sampling intervals between the first recorded eight-bit data sample and the second recorded sample. The least significant four bits of a redundancy count byte represent the number of sampling intervals between the second recorded eight-bit data byte and the next non-redundant sample to be recorded, and so on.
This invention is not to be limited to the exact embodiments illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, for changes may be made therein within the scope of the following claims.
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A digital recorder and method for digitizing and recording seismic events, the recorder being capable of lengthy stand-by periods during which it records lesser events of little interest in a static buffer and then displaces these events with more recent events when the static buffer is full. The recorder is self powered and controlled by a microprocessor to transfer strong-motion signals representing important seismic events from the static buffer into a static memory which is kept alive by suitable back-up batteries and comprises a cartridge separable and retrievable from the recorder after a major seismic event. The information in the recorder also is accessible through a serial port for reading out to a central data processor. The seismic information is specially compressed and formatted to increase the amount of data recorded by eliminating data that is essentially redundant. The recorder comprises a package designed to protect the electronic circuitry and three orthogonally arranged seismometers in a sealed compartment, and to house the power supply including rechargeable batteries in an easily accessible vented compartment.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns an apparatus for inductively transmitting electrical energy. Such apparatuses are especially used for inductively charging a rechargeable battery incorporated into an electric vehicle. To attain a high degree of efficiency, the magnetic coupling between the primary and secondary coils must be optimized, wherein an air gap between the two sides is unavoidable. Therefore, a guidance of the magnetic flux by bodies made of ferromagnetic material is advantageous, so as to minimize as much as possible losses due to a dispersion of the magnetic field.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,328, a battery charging apparatus for an electric vehicle is known, in which the primary coil and the secondary coil are wound around a core made of ferromagnetic material, which with transformers is usually composed of a multiplicity of individual plates. This construction has a large weight and a great overall height, both of which are disadvantageous and, in particular, for the vehicle, extremely undesirable according to modern-day standards.
From DE 10 2006 048 829 A1, a system for inductively transmitting electrical energy to a magnetic levitation vehicle along its route is known, whose secondary coil is equipped with a grid-shaped unit for the guidance of the magnetic flux. This flux guide unit is produced from plastic by the pouring of a mixture of casting resin and ferrite powder into a casting mold. In the finished state of the flux guide unit, the casting mold functions as its basic body.
From WO 2010/090538 A1, a coil of a system for inductively transmitting electrical energy is known, which is wound around a flat ferrite core. This ferrite core significantly extends in the longitudinal direction beyond the ends of the coil and has two pole surfaces there, on which the magnetic flux is supposed to leave the core, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coil, in order to extend from there into an area in which its second coil is found in the operation of the inductive transmission system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the invention relates to a novel solution for magnetic flux guidance in an apparatus for inductively transmitting energy, which is characterized by a low overall height and a small weight as well as by robustness in processing and in operation.
For guiding a magnetic flux in an apparatus for inductively transmitting energy, the invention provides for a unit with the basic form of a plate, which is located on a side of the coil, perpendicular to its winding axis, in such a way that it covers at least in part the cross-sectional area of the coil, and which has at least one ferromagnetic body, which is composed of a multiplicity of individual elements with anisotropic magnetic permeability and which has as a result an anisotropic magnetic permeability. In a viewing plane perpendicular to the winding axis of the coil, the individual elements of the ferromagnetic body with anisotropic permeability are aligned relative to the coil in such a way that the preferred direction of magnetic permeability in which this has the greatest amount in the viewing plane is at least approximately perpendicular to the windings of the coil.
Thus, instead of the brittle and high-grade, fracture-susceptible ferrite, it is possible to use, at least in part, a nanocrystalline, soft-magnetic material with better mechanical characteristics with a comparable permeability and a comparable, or even somewhat lower, weight for the guiding of the flux, without the anisotropy of the permeability, which is a characteristic of this material, impairing the effectiveness of the guiding of the flux and thus, the efficiency of the entire inductive transmission of energy. As a result of the better mechanical stability of the nanocrystalline, soft-magnetic material, it is possible to use plate-shaped bodies of a lower thickness than would be possible with ferrite, so as to construct a flux guide unit that is as a whole essentially plate-shaped. Thus, both the overall height as well as the weight of the entire flux guide unit can be reduced.
As a result of the anisotropy of its magnetic permeability, this material, however, is not suitable for very inhomogeneous field areas in which the field direction clearly changes within small distances, since in such areas, either the maximum permeability of the material could not be used, and thus, effective field guidance would not exist there, or the material would have to be aligned there in small pieces like a mosaic according to the pattern of the field, which would involve a manufacturing technology expense that is not justifiable. In such areas, therefore, with the acceptance of poorer mechanical characteristics, material with isotropic permeability, preferably soft-magnetic ferrite, is used, if the existing requirements for the effectiveness of the flux guidance make it necessary. Given the fact that in this case, fewer and smaller ferrite plates are needed than with the sole use of ferrite, it is possible, nevertheless, to reduce the overall height and the weight of the flux guide unit as a whole.
An expedient manufacturing of the bodies from anisotropic ferromagnetic material exists in the adaptation to the material characteristics of soft-magnetic, nanocrystalline material available on the market, which can be obtained only in bands of relatively small thickness, in a lamination of individual, strip-shaped elements to form packets with nonconducting adhesive between the elements. The strip shape of the individual elements and the insulating effect of the nonconducting adhesive layer, which is found between two adjacent elements, has an additional advantageous effect with the permeability-caused alignment relative to the windings of the coil, namely, in that the formation of eddy currents is largely avoided and this improves the efficiency of the inductive energy transmission.
Furthermore, in this way, both bodies with a uniform preferred direction of the permeability and also those with a purposefully varying preferred direction are implemented. The latter can be attained in a simple manner by a fan-shaped arrangement of the individual elements, in which the thickness of the insulating adhesive layers changes in the longitudinal direction of the strips.
An advantageous geometric design is to be found in that the windings of the coil are arranged in a planar manner on the flux guide unit and run in the shape of a spiral. The result is a flat construction form of the entire arrangement with an effective flux guidance in a lateral direction through the ferromagnetic flux guide unit, which, in this case, can have the simple form of a plate.
For the placing of ferromagnetic bodies with an anisotropic permeability, especially suitable are those sections of the coil winding in which the windings run in a straight line and parallel to one another, wherein the preferred direction of the permeability in this case is perpendicular to the windings. With a rectangular form of the coil, one can also take into consideration, moreover, the diagonals for the arrangement of such ferromagnetic bodies.
If the coil consists of two similar windings connected serially to one another with winding axes parallel to one another and an opposed winding direction, which are arranged in a viewing plane perpendicular to the winding axes adjacent to one another, and at least in those areas in which they are facing one another, both windings have straight-line winding sections parallel to one another, then for the flux guidance, a single ferromagnetic body with anisotropic permeability, which covers these winding sections of both windings and at least one part of the areas of their individual cross-sectional areas surrounded by the windings, is sufficient. The structure of the flux guide unit is greatly simplified in this way.
In order to further improve the flux guidance with this coil shape, two bodies with an isotropic permeability, of which each covers additional parts of the cross-sectional areas of the two windings, can be arranged staggered on both sides and adjacent to the ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability and opposite it, perpendicular to the connecting line of the two winding axes. In this case, the structure of the flux guide unit is still very simple and has only a minimal number of ferromagnetic bodies, which greatly simplifies the assembly.
The coil can be either a primary coil connected to a power supply or a secondary coil connected to a charging electronic unit of an energy storage device of a mobile unit, such as, in particular, a battery of an electrically driven vehicle, that is, the invention can be equally used on both sides of an inductive energy transmission system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiment examples of the invention are described below with the aid of the drawings. The figures in these drawings show:
FIG. 1 , a schematic representation of an embodiment of a primary coil unit in accordance with the invention in a top view with a partially cut-out housing;
FIG. 2 , the primary coil unit of FIG. 1 in a top view without a housing cover;
FIG. 3 , a part of a longitudinal sectional view of the primary coil unit of FIG. 1 along line A-A line in FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 4 , a first embodiment of a flux guide unit in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 5 , a second embodiment of a flux guide unit in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 6 , a part of a third embodiment of an arrangement in accordance with the invention, a flux guide unit;
FIG. 7 , an embodiment of a ferromagnetic body with an anisotropic permeability for the flux guidance in inhomogeneous field areas; and
FIG. 8 , a fourth embodiment of a flux guide unit in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an apparatus in accordance with the invention for inductively charging an electric vehicle, as an example, a primary coil unit 1 in a top view with a partially, that is, in the right lower quadrant, cut-out housing cover 2 . The housing also comprises in addition to the cover 2 a base plate 3 , which together form a cavity in which a ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , which as a whole is shaped like a plate, is situated on the base plate 3 and on the unit, a planar primary coil 5 . The housing cover 2 consists of a material that is permeable for a magnetic field, such as plastic. The primary coil unit 1 is situated on or in the bottom of a storage space for an electric vehicle.
For the charging of the battery of an electric vehicle, which is equipped on its underside with a similar secondary coil unit, the vehicle is placed in such a way that the secondary coil unit coincides as much as possible over the primary coil unit, so as to make possible an efficient inductive energy transmission between the two units. On the secondary coil element, a corresponding ferromagnetic flux guide unit is situated, which is turned away from the primary coil unit 1 , so that the two coil units lie as mirror images to one another during operation with respect to the sequence of the previously mentioned components, wherein, however, they need not be the same size.
FIG. 2 shows the same view as FIG. 1 , but without the housing cover 2 . As can be seen there, the base plate 3 , which, for example, can be made of aluminum, in order to carry out the function of a shielding of the magnetic field, has an essentially square shape with rounded-off corners. The plate-shaped, ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , whose task is the guidance in a lateral direction of the magnetic flux produced in operation by the primary coil 5 , has a square outer contour, a likewise square inner section 6 and thus, as a whole, the shape of a square frame. The outer side length of the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 is smaller here than that of the base plate 3 , so that the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 is as a whole on the base plate 3 . It can be connected to it by cementing. In addition, a layer of electrically insulating material can be found between the flux guide unit 4 and the base plate 3 . How the base plate 3 has to be dimensioned, in proportion to the flux guide unit 4 in the individual application case, and whether a base plate 3 is needed at all, depends on the pertinent surroundings (installation site, shielding requirement, assembly possibilities).
The planar primary coil 5 lying on the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 has, like the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , essentially the shape of a square frame. It is guided in the shape of a spiral, wherein straight-line sections, which run parallel to the four sides of the square ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , are connected to one another in the corners by arms. From the ends of the primary coil 5 , nondepicted lines lead to a likewise nondepicted power supply, which supplies the primary current during operation.
A current supply of the primary coil 5 produces a magnetic field, whose pattern in the plane of the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 is shown by the arrows that are intended to depict field lines, drawn in FIG. 2 and pointing to the center. The plate-shaped, ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 leads the magnetic flux below the primary coil 5 in the horizontal direction, and thus hinders the spreading of a magnetic dissemination field below the primary coil 5 perpendicular to the viewing plane of FIG. 2 . It is to be understood that the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 is made of a soft-magnetic material, so as to avoid hysteresis losses during the transmitting of energy.
As FIG. 2 shows, with the square shape of the primary coil 5 assumed in the example shown, the magnetic field in the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 below the primary coil 5 , more precisely, the component of the field lying parallel to the plate plane of the flux guide unit 4 , in those areas in which adjacent windings of the conductor forming the primary coil 5 run in a straight line and parallel to one another, is approximately homogeneous, whereas in those areas in which this is not the case, that is, toward the corners of the square frame covered by it, it is increasingly inhomogeneous. Analogously, this would also be valid with a rectangular shape of the primary coil 5 with two longer and two shorter sides, whereas the field below the primary coil 5 with a round shape of the primary coil 5 would be inhomogeneous everywhere. To the extent that the discussion is about field directions here, these always refer to the viewing direction of FIG. 2 , that is, to the component lying in the viewing plane of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 3 shows a cutout of a longitudinal section of the primary coil unit 1 along line A-A in FIG. 1 , in the area of the right edge. The vertical layering of the components, namely from below, upwards, relative to the base plate 3 , the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , the primary coil 5 , and the cover 2 , can be clearly seen in it. The black circles within the primary coil 5 characterize windings that are cut perpendicularly from the viewing plane of FIG. 3 . The cover 2 is inclined toward the outside on its edge.
A first embodiment example of the structure of the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 is shown schematically in FIG. 4 in a top view. The flux guide unit 4 consists of two different types of ferromagnetic bodies, which are made of different materials. Four square bodies 7 to 10 made of a first material touch each other in pairs, cyclically, on a corner and together form a surface in the shape of a solid cross with a recessed square center 6 . Four bodies 11 to 14 , which are likewise square and are made of a second material, cover the surfaces between the solid cross formed by the bodies 7 to 10 and the corners of the square, which circumscribes this solid cross. Together, the bodies 7 to 10 and 11 to 14 form a frame with a square outer circumference and a square inner circumference, in which square bodies made of different materials cyclically alternate.
As a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 4 shows, the bodies 7 to 10 made of the first material cover areas with an approximately homogeneous field pattern, in which all windings of the primary coil 5 run in at least approximately a straight line and parallel to one another. In contrast to this, the bodies 11 to 14 , made of the second material, are found in areas with an inhomogeneous field pattern. Curvatures of the windings of the primary coil 5 are found there, or at least not all windings there run parallel to one another over the entire area. Since the homogeneous and inhomogeneous areas of the field, however, are continuously converted into one another, the bodies 7 to 10 made of the first material extend partially also into spatial areas with a somewhat inhomogeneous field pattern.
As is indicated in FIG. 4 , the first material of the ferromagnetic body 4 for the bodies 7 to 10 consists of a large number of individual strips, which are situated parallel to one another and are joined with one another by cementing, that is, they are laminated to form a packet. This material is a nanocrystalline, soft-magnetic material on the basis of iron, silicon, and boron, with additives like, in particular, niobium and copper. At present, for example, such a material can be obtained on the market under the designation Vitroperm®, in a composition of 73.5% Fe, 1% Cu, 3% Nb, 15.5% Si, and 7% B. Other designations under which such materials are known are Finemet®, Nanoperm®, and Hitperm. The latter can, for example, have a composition of, together, 88% Fe and Co, 7% Nb, Zr, or Hf, 4% B and 1% Cu.
This type of material has an anisotropic permeability and in comparison to soft-magnetic ferrite with comparable magnetic characteristics, is less brittle and therefore, in case of mechanical stress in processing and when in operation, is less susceptible to fractures. This is true particularly for plate-shaped bodies with a small thickness, as they are needed for reasons having to do with a savings in installation space and weight for the use of interest here. Furthermore, this material is slightly lighter than ferrite.
In the arrangement in accordance with the invention, the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability of the first material, that is, the direction of greatest permeability, is the longitudinal direction of the strips. This runs perpendicular to the outer circumference of the frame-shaped ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 and thus, also perpendicular to the windings of the coil 5 . In the area of the bodies 7 to 10 of the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , which are made of the first material, therefore, the magnetic field direction essentially coincides with the preferred direction of the permeability, wherein the maximum permeability of the first material can be used.
In the area of the corners of the frame-shaped, ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 , there is a clear inhomogeneity of the magnetic field. There, that is, in the gaps between the bodies 7 to 10 made of the first material, bodies 11 to 14 made of the second material, which has an isotropic, magnetic permeability, are situated so that the effectiveness of the flux guidance is not impaired by the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field. The magnetic field is also inhomogeneous in the area of the square center 6 . This need not, therefore, be absolutely recessed, but rather a plate made of the second material could likewise be situated there. For example, this second material can be ferrite.
Although it would be desirable for the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 as a whole to be able to use a nanocrystalline, soft-magnetic material of the previously mentioned type, which is less brittle than ferrite, nevertheless this material would not be suitable for areas with a greatly inhomogeneous field pattern because of the anisotropy of its permeability, or because the production of a body with a preferred direction of the permeability precisely adapted to an inhomogeneous field pattern would be too expensive. The hybrid solution made of two different materials, shown in FIG. 4 , reaches a balanced compromise between manufacturing technology expense and magnetic effectiveness. With the two materials, the individual bodies 7 to 14 of the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 4 have simple rectangular shapes, which can be produced from larger pieces without any problem by sawing. Also, the joining of the bodies 7 to 14 does not cause any difficulties because of the simple shape of the individual bodies 7 to 14 .
Depending on the requirements of the effectiveness of the inductive energy transmission, on the one hand, and of the weight and the costs of the entire apparatus, on the other hand, it may also be sensible to omit the bodies 11 to 14 made of the second material in the corners of the frame and to leave the gaps there empty between the bodies 7 to 10 made of the first material. This results in a greater dissemination of the magnetic flux in the area of the corners, but in return, material, weight, and labor are saved and the use of brittle ferrite is avoided. The advantages and disadvantages of the two embodiments with and without ferrite plates in the corners have to be weighed in the individual application case.
A second embodiment example for a possible structure of a ferromagnetic flux guide unit 104 is shown schematically in FIG. 5 in a top view. Here, four plate-shaped, ferromagnetic bodies 107 to 110 , which are rectangular in the view from FIG. 5 and are made of a first material, are arranged in the shape of a cross as in the first embodiment, around a recessed center 106 , and in this way, approximately define a square frame.
In contrast to the first embodiment, the plate-shaped bodies 107 to 110 , however, are narrower and do not touch each other on the inner circumference of the frame, wherein there is room for four additional plate-shaped, ferromagnetic bodies 111 to 114 made of the same material, which are arranged diagonally between the inner and the outer corners of the square frame and thus, also lie in the shape of a cross around the recessed center. The corners of the diagonal bodies 111 to 114 touch the corners of the bodies 107 to 110 on the inside of the frame, so that the recessed center receives an octagonal shape. The rectangular shape of the diagonal bodies 111 to 114 also produces an octagonal shape of the outer circumference of the frame-shaped flux guide unit 104 .
As a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 5 shows, the ferromagnetic bodies 107 to 110 made of the first material also cover areas with an approximately homogeneous field pattern here, in which all windings of the primary coil 105 run in a straight line and parallel to one another, and this is done in such a way that the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability is perpendicular to the windings of the coil 105 . This is approximately true also for the diagonal ferromagnetic bodies 111 to 114 , although they are in the curvature areas of the coil 105 since the bodies 111 to 114 are so narrow that they do not extend laterally beyond the curvature areas of the coil 5 and their curvature radii are so large that the windings lie beyond the width of the bodies 111 to 114 approximately perpendicular to the diagonal direction, which is the preferred direction of the permeability here. At least beyond the width of the bodies 111 to 114 , there is no significant deviation from such a position.
Alternative to the square or rectangular shape with rounded-off corners with a large curvature radius shown in FIG. 5 , the coil 105 could also have an octagonal shape with four long and four short sides in alternating sequence, wherein the short sides of the octagon would replace the rounded-off corners of the shape of FIG. 5 . In this case, the windings in those sections in which they are covered by the diagonal bodies 111 to 114 would lie not only approximately, but rather precisely perpendicular to the preferred direction of the permeability.
As is indicated in FIG. 5 , the first ferromagnetic material of the flux guide unit 104 used for the bodies 107 to 110 and also 111 to 114 also consists here of a multiplicity of individual strips that are arranged parallel to one another and are joined with one another by cementing, that is, they are laminated to form a packet. The preferred direction of the magnetic permeability of the first material, that is, the direction of greatest permeability, is also the longitudinal direction of the strips here, which lies perpendicular to the inner and outer circumference of the frame, which is octagonal in this case and is defined by the ferromagnetic flux guide unit 104 . The first ferromagnetic material is the same as in the previously described first embodiment.
The nonconducting bonding layer, which holds the individual strips made of the first ferromagnetic material together, simultaneously electrically insulates the individual strips from one another. With the previously described orientation of the strips perpendicular to the windings of the coil 5 or 105 , the effect of this is that the eddy current losses in the material are minimized and the effectiveness of an inductive energy transmission apparatus whose primary and secondary coils are equipped with a flux guide unit 4 or 104 is improved.
The gaps existing between the ferromagnetic bodies 107 to 114 have in this case the shape of rectangular triangles. In these gaps, the magnetic field pattern is clearly inhomogeneous. Analogous to the first embodiment, these gaps are filled with plate-shaped bodies 115 to 122 made of a second ferromagnetic material with isotropic magnetic permeability. This second ferromagnetic material is the same as in the previously described first embodiment. The triangular bodies 115 to 122 all have the same dimensions and can in a simple manner be produced from a square plate by a diagonal cut. The different plate-shaped bodies 107 to 110 , 111 to 114 and 115 to 122 can here also be readily joined to form the flux guide unit 104 . Alternatively, the gaps can also be left free as in the first embodiment.
The first and second embodiments can also be advantageously combined with one another, which leads to a third embodiment of which only the right upper quadrant of a flux guide unit 204 is shown in FIG. 6 since the other quadrants are mirror-symmetrical relative to it. Rectangular, anisotropic ferromagnetic bodies 207 and 210 with the same preferred direction of permeability as in the first embodiment are used here, which, however, touch each other on the corners, from which again a square but smaller recess 206 is produced in the center of the frame. The diagonal, anisotropic ferromagnetic body 211 has in this case a tip with a right angle, so that it can be completely inserted into the corner of the gap between the bodies 207 and 210 .
The isotropic ferromagnetic bodies 218 and 219 , which are visible in FIG. 6 , and the coil 205 , of which only a part is visible in FIG. 6 , are the same as in the second embodiment of FIG. 5 . The advantage of the third embodiment according to FIG. 6 in comparison to the first and second embodiments is to be found in that, as a whole, a larger fraction of the flux guide unit 204 is formed by ferromagnetic bodies made of the first material with anisotropic magnetic permeability. In return, the shaping of the body 211 with the rectangular tip is somewhat more complicated and requires a somewhat more time-consuming processing of the raw material.
In order to also be able to use the first material with anisotropic magnetic permeability in spatial areas with a clear inhomogeneity of the magnetic field strength in an efficient manner for the flux guidance, the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability must vary within a body made of such a material. FIG. 7 shows one possibility of attainment of this. The ferromagnetic body 311 shown there has as a whole a trapezoidal form and has a multiplicity of individual strips 311 A made of the first material with an anisotropic magnetic permeability, which are joined with one another with adhesive-containing bonding layers 311 B. Whereas the strips 311 A have a constant width, the thickness of the bonding layers 311 B varies continuously along the strips 311 A. With a linear rise in this thickness between the ends of the strips 311 A, the trapezoidal shape of the body 311 shown in FIG. 7 is produced, within which the individual strips 311 A are arranged in the shape of a fan. Here also, the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability is again the longitudinal direction of the strips 311 A.
A ferromagnetic body 311 of the type shown in FIG. 7 could, for example, replace the bodies 111 to 114 in the second embodiment in accordance with FIG. 5 , so as to more accurately comply with the requirement of a pattern of the windings of the coil 5 perpendicular to one another, and of the preferred direction of the magnetic permeability in the area of the diagonals. The ferromagnetic body 311 can also be produced with a rectangular tip in order to replace, with the same goal, the body 211 found in the third embodiment example. It could, however, also be used in those areas in which only ferromagnetic bodies with an isotropic permeability are used in the three previously described embodiment examples, because of the strong inhomogeneity of the magnetic field. Also for use in the centers 6 , 106 , or 206 of the coils 5 , 105 , or 205 , the trapezoidal body 311 can be taken into consideration, wherein to cover a greater angular area, several such bodies 311 can also be arranged laterally next to one another.
The production of a trapezoidal ferromagnetic body 311 with an anisotropic permeability of a direction that varies in the shape of a fan in accordance with FIG. 7 can take place in that upon cementing strips 311 A of the first ferromagnetic material together, after the application of the adhesive-containing bonding layers 311 B and the joining of the strips 311 A onto the strip packet thus formed, in which the thickness of the bonding layers 311 B is initially and approximately the same everywhere, a pressure that varies in the longitudinal direction of the strips 311 A is exerted with a mold, by means of which the bonding layers 311 B are partially pressed out on one end of the strip packet. This presupposes that the bonding layers have not yet hardened and have a flow capacity that is sufficient for this type of processing but is also not yet excessively high.
The basic structure of the ferromagnetic body 311 , consisting of individual strips 311 A of constant thickness of the first ferromagnetic material and the adhesive-containing, bonding layers 311 B that lie in between, is also valid for the bodies made of this material used in the other embodiment examples, but in these also, the bonding layers have a constant thickness, so that the strips lie parallel to one another. The thickness of the bonding layer is maintained as low as possible there, so as to fill as large as possible a fraction of the frame with ferromagnetic material.
A fourth embodiment example for a possible structure of a ferromagnetic flux guide unit 404 is shown schematically in FIG. 8 in a top view. Here, the coil 405 consists of two windings 405 A and 405 B connected to one another in series with winding axes parallel to one another. As in the other embodiments, they are planar windings. Only the line that connects the windings 405 A and 405 B necessarily crosses over their windings. The two windings 405 A and 405 B run in opposite directions to one another, so that the main direction of the magnetic field formed when the coil 405 is supplied with energy, in the interior of one of the two windings 405 A or 405 B, points out of the viewing plane of FIG. 8 , lying perpendicular to the winding axes of the two windings 405 A and 405 B, and in the interior of the other winding 405 B or 405 A, points into the viewing plane, whereas in the previously described embodiment in the interior of the coils 5 , 105 , or 205 , there is only one single main direction of the magnetic field, which, depending on the direction of the current from the viewing plane of FIGS. 4 to 6 , points out of or into this plane.
The two windings 405 A and 405 B have a rectangular cross-sectional shape and are conducted in a mirror-image symmetrical manner relative to a symmetry line S in the viewing plane of FIG. 8 , regardless of the line connecting them and their supply lines, wherein a side of the rectangle lies parallel to the symmetry line S. The opposing distance between the windings on that side of the two windings 405 A and 405 B, which is turned away from the other winding 405 B or 405 A, is substantially smaller than on the other three sides, so as to bring about a concentration of the magnetic field at this point.
In accordance with another shape of the coil 405 , the magnetic field in this embodiment must be conducted differently from the other embodiments, adjacent to the coil in a lateral direction, and not from the outer circumference to the center of a winding, but rather from the interior of a winding 405 A or 405 B to the interior of the other winding 405 B or 405 A. To this end, only one single plane-shaped body 407 made of the first material is needed, whose preferred direction of permeability runs parallel to the connecting line of the winding axes of the two windings 405 A and 405 B. This preferred direction then lies on the sides of the two windings 405 A and 405 B, facing one another, perpendicular to the winding sections of the two windings 405 A and 405 B that are found there and are covered by the body 407 . In the longitudinal direction of the covered winding sections, the plate-shaped body 407 made of the first material extends to such a degree that they all run in a straight line and are parallel to one another.
In order to conduct the magnetic field to the interior of the cross-sectional areas of the two windings 405 A and 405 B, the plate-shaped body 407 made of the first material extends in the direction of the connecting line between the winding axes of two windings 405 A and 405 B up to the innermost winding on the side of each winding 405 B or 405 A, facing away from the other winding 405 A and 405 B, that is, it no longer covers the winding sections turned away from the respective other winding 405 A and 405 B, because this would be detrimental here to an effective flux guidance.
Adjacent on both sides of the plate-shaped body 407 made of the first material and opposite to it perpendicular to the connecting line of the two winding axes, there is a staggered arrangement of two plate-shaped bodies 411 and 412 made of the second material. Each of these two bodies 411 and 412 covers other parts of the cross-sectional areas of the two windings 405 A and 405 B, and they are those areas in which, because of the pattern of the windings, the magnetic field formed when the coil 405 is supplied with energy is inhomogeneous, and the first material with an anisotropic permeability would not be effective for the field guidance. In the direction of the connecting line of the two winding axes, the two plate-shaped bodies 411 and 412 made of the second material are approximately as long as the plate-shaped body 407 made of the first material.
From the preceding description, various variation possibilities of the invention can be deduced by the specialist. Thus, the coil need not be square, but rather it could be rectangular or oval; it could have the shape of a polygon with more than four sides; or it could be circular, although this would result in an expansion of the inhomogeneous field areas to the detriment of the homogeneous areas. The more inhomogeneous the field pattern, the more narrow the design of the rectangular ferromagnetic bodies with an anisotropic permeability of a uniform direction would have to be, so as to still be able to comply with the requirement of an approximately perpendicular position of the preferred direction to the permeability relative to the coil, or bodies with a preferred direction that varies in the shape of a fan in accordance with FIG. 7 would have to be used.
Although the described embodiment examples refer to the primary side of an apparatus for inductively transmitting energy, the invention is also just as suitable for the secondary side, whose coil unit can have the same structure as the coil unit of the primary side. To the extent that the discussion here is about homogeneous and inhomogeneous field areas, this is analogously true also for a secondary coil, since such a coil could also basically be supplied with energy and would then produce a magnetic field, although this is not its purpose. Moreover, the invention is independent of the spatial arrangement of the two coil units. This could also be, for example, vertical, instead of a horizontal arrangement on the bottom or on the underside of a vehicle.
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An apparatus for inductively transmitting electrical energy from a stationary unit to a mobile unit which is located adjacent to the stationary unit. The apparatus has a coil and a flux guide unit for guiding a magnetic flux occurring during operation of the apparatus with at least one ferromagnetic body, which consists of a multiplicity of individual elements. The flux guide unit has the basic shape of a plate and is arranged on one side of the coil perpendicular to the winding axis thereof in such a way that it covers the cross-sectional area of the coil at least partially. The ferromagnetic body includes individual elements with anisotropic magnetic permeability and has, overall, anisotropic magnetic permeability. In a viewing plane perpendicular to the winding axis of the coil, the individual elements of the ferromagnetic body are aligned with respect to the coil in those regions in which a ferromagnetic body with anisotropic permeability covers winding sections of the coil, in such a way that the preferred direction of magnetic permeability, in which the magnetic permeability has its greatest magnitude in the viewing plane, is at least approximately perpendicular to the winding sections of the coil.
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This application is a DIV of Ser. No. 13/226,985 filed on Sep. 7, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,785,592.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method for preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate) through alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate) having cross-linked high molecular weight chains by introducing a diepoxide compound to alternating copolymerization of an epoxide compound and carbon dioxide using a metal(III) complex prepared with a salen-type ligand containing quaternary ammonium salts as a catalyst.
BACKGROUND ART
Poly (alkylene carbonate) is an easily biodegradable polymer and is useful for packaging or coating materials, etc. A process for preparing poly(alkylene carbonate) from an epoxide compound and carbon dioxide is highly eco-friendly because there is no involvement of harmful compounds like phosgene and adopt easily available and inexpensive carbon dioxide.
Since 1960's, many researchers have developed various types of catalysts to prepare poly(alkylene carbonate) from an epoxide compound and carbon dioxide. Recently, we have developed a highly active and highly selective catalyst synthesized from the salen [Salen: ([H 2 Salen=N,N′-bis(3,5-dialkylsalicylidene)-1,2-ethylenediamine]-type ligand with quaternary ammonium salts [Bun Yeoul Lee, KR Patent No. 10-0853358 (Registration date: 2008 Aug. 13); Bun Yeoul Lee, Sujith S, Eun Kyung Noh, Jae Ki Min, KR Patent Application No. 10-2008-0015454 (Application date: 2008 Feb. 20); Bun Yeoul Lee, Sujith S, Eun Kyung Noh, Jae Ki Min, PCT/KR2008/002453 (Application date: 2008 Apr. 30); Eun Kyung Noh, Sung Jae Na, Sujith S, Sang-Wook Kim, and Bun Yeoul Lee* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 8082-8083 (2007 Jul. 4); Sujith S, Jae Ki Min, Jong Eon Seong, Sung Jae Na, and Bun Yeoul Lee, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 7306-7309 (2008 Sep. 8)]. The catalyst developed by the present inventors shows high activity and high selectivity, and provides copolymers with a high molecular weight. Moreover, since the catalyst realizes polymerization activity even at high temperature, it is easily applicable to commercial processes. In addition, since the catalyst includes quaternary ammonium salts in the ligand, there is an advantage that it is possible to easily separate catalyst from copolymers after copolymerization of carbon dioxide/epoxide.
The present inventors closely analyzed the catalyst specially showing high activity and high selectivity compared to the others in the catalyst group of the above-mentioned patent application and found that the catalyst has an unusual and unique structure that nitrogen atoms of the salen-ligand are not coordinated with a metal but only oxygen atoms are coordinated with the metal. (see the following Structure 1, Sung Jae Na, Sujith S, Anish Cyriac, Bo Eun Kim, Jina Yoo, Youn K. Kang, Su Jung Han, Chongmok Lee, and Bun Yeoul Lee* “Elucidation of the Structure of A Highly Active Catalytic System for CO 2 /Epoxide Copolymerization: A Salen-Cobaltate Complex of An Unusual Binding Mode” Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 10455-10465).
Also, a method of easily synthesizing the ligand of the compound of the Structure 1 has been developed (Min, J.; Seong, J. E.; Na, S. J.; Cyriac, A.; Lee, B. Y. Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 2009, 30, 745-748).
The high-molecular weight poly(alkylene carbonate) can be economically prepared by using the compound of the Structure 1 as the highly active catalyst. However, the poly(alkylene carbonate) itself has a limitation in application field. In order to overcome such limitations, technologies for manufacturing a block copolymer of poly(alkylene carbonate) and any other polymer commercially available in the art and/or precise control of molecular weights are required. In particular, physical properties and processability of a resin may be enhanced by forming cross-linked higher molecular weight polymer chains, thereby application field can be expanded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Provided is a method for preparing poly(alkylene carbonate) by additionally introducing a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups to alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide/epoxide using a pre-developed catalyst showing high activity. The poly(alkylene carbonate) prepared by the preparation method of the present invention has cross-linked chains having higher molecular weight, thus enabling enhancement in physical properties and workability of the acquired resin.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a method for preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate), comprising: carrying out alternating copolymerization of an epoxide compound and carbon dioxide, in the presence of a metal catalyst and a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups as a chain linker. Other than the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups, a J(LH) c compound or a polymer compound having a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group at an end group or a side chain of the polymer compound, as a chain transfer agent, may be further contained in the alternating copolymerization, to thereby alternately copolymerize the epoxide compound and carbon dioxide.
The epoxide compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of (C2-C20)alkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); (C4-C20)cycloalkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); and (C8-C20)styreneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy, (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy or (C1-C20)alkyl substituent(s).
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.
The present invention provides a method for preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate),
comprising carrying out alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and one or more epoxide compounds selected from the group consisting of (C2-C20)alkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); (C4-C20)cycloalkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); and (C8-C20)styreneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy, (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy or (C1-C20)alkyl substituent(s),
in the presence of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups,
by using a complex of Chemical Formula 1 as a catalyst:
wherein
M represents trivalent cobalt or trivalent chromium;
A represents an oxygen or sulfur atom;
Q represents a diradical for linking two nitrogen atoms;
R 1 through Rz 10 independently represent hydrogen; halogen; (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkoxy; (C6-C30)aryloxy; formyl; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonyl; (C6-C20)arylcarbonyl; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal;
two of the R 1 through R 10 may be linked to each other to form a ring;
at least one of the hydrogen contained in the R 1 through R 10 and Q is substituted with a cationic group selected from the group consisting of Chemical Formula a, Chemical Formula b and Chemical Formula c;
X − independently represents a halogen anion; HCO 3 − ; BF 4 − ; ClO 4 − ; NO 3 − ; PF 6 − ; (C6-C20)aryloxy anion; (C6-C20)aryloxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylcarboxy anion; (C1-C20)alkylcarboxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylcarboxy anion; (C6-C20)arylcarboxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkoxy anion; (C1-C20)alkoxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonate anion; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylcarbonate anion; (C6-C20)arylcarbonate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylsulfonate anion; (C1-C20)alkylsulfonate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylamido anion; (C1-C20)alkylamido anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylamido anion; (C6-C20)arylamido anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylcarbamate anion; (C1-C20)alkylcarbamate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylcarbamate anion; or (C6-C20)arylcarbamate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms;
Z represents a nitrogen or phosphorus atom;
R 21 , R 22 , R 23 , R 31 , R 32 , R 33 , R 34 and R 35 independently represent (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal; two of R 21 , R 22 and R 23 , or two of R 31 , R 32 , R 33 , R 34 and R 35 may be linked to each other to form a ring;
R 41 , R 42 and R 43 independently represent hydrogen; (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal; two of R 41 , R 42 and R 43 may be linked to each other to form a ring;
X′ represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or N—R (wherein R represents (C1-C20)alkyl);
n represents an integer of adding 1 to the total number of cationic groups contained in R 1 through R 10 and Q;
X − may be coordinated with M;
Nitrogen atom of imine may be de-coordinated from M.
The patent related to copolymerization of carbon dioxide/epoxide using the compound of Chemical Formula 1 as a catalyst, which is filed by the present inventor, has been registered and published in journals (KR Patent No. 10-0853358 ; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 8082-8083 ; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 7306-7309). However, copolymerization carried out in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups has not been published.
More preferably in Chemical Formula 1, a complex satisfying that the M represents a trivalent cobalt; A represents oxygen; Q represents trans-1,2-cyclohexylene, phenylene or ethylene; R 1 and R 2 are the same as or different from primary (C1-C20)alkyl; R 3 through R 10 independently represent hydrogen or —[YR 51 3-a {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } a ]; Y represents C or Si; R 51 , R 52 , R 53 , R 54 , R 55 and R 56 independently represent hydrogen; halogen; (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkoxy; (C6-C30)aryloxy; formyl; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonyl; (C6-C20)arylcarbonyl; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal, two of R 54 , R 55 and R 56 may be linked to each other to form a ring; a represents an integer of 1 to 3, and b represents an integer of 1 to 20; n represents an integer of 4 or more as a value of adding 1 to a total number of quaternary ammonium salts contained in R 3 through R 10 ; provided that when a represents 1, at least three of R 3 through R 10 represent —[YR 51 2 {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 }], when a represents 2, at least two of R 3 through R 10 represent —[YR 51 {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } 2 ], when a represents 3, at least one of R 3 through R 10 represent —[Y{(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } 3 ] is used as a catalyst.
That is, as the catalyst, the complex of Chemical Formula 2 below is used.
wherein
Q represents trans-1,2-cyclohexylene, phenylene or ethylene;
R 1 and R 2 are the same as or different from primary (C1-C20)alkyl;
R 3 through R 10 independently represent hydrogen or —[YR 51 3-a {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } a ];
Y represents C or Si;
R 51 , R 52 , R 53 , R 54 , R 55 and R 56 independently represent, hydrogen; halogen; (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkoxy; (C6-C30)aryloxy; formyl; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonyl; (C6-C20)arylcarbonyl; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal, two of R 54 , R 55 and R 56 may be linked to each other to form a ring;
a represents an integer of 1 to 3, and b represents an integer of 1 to 20;
X − independently represents a halogen anion; HCO 3 − ; BF 4 − ; ClO 4 − ; NO 3 − ; PF 6 − ; (C6-C20)aryloxy anion; (C6-C20)aryloxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylcarboxy anion; (C1-C20)alkylcarboxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylcarboxy anion; (C6-C20)arylcarboxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkoxy anion; (C1-C20)alkoxy anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonate anion; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylcarbonate anion; (C6-C20)arylcarbonate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylsulfonate anion; (C1-C20)alkylsulfonate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylamido anion; (C1-C20)alkylamido anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylamido anion; (C6-C20)arylamido anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C1-C20)alkylcarbamate anion; (C1-C20)alkylcarbamate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms; (C6-C20)arylcarbamate anion; or (C6-C20)arylcarbamate anion with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus atoms;
the total number of quaternary ammonium salts contained in R 3 through R 10 represents an integer of 3 or more; and
n represents an integer of 4 or more as a value of adding 1 to the total number of quaternary ammonium salts contained in R 3 through R 1-3 .
As represented by Chemical Formula 2, when R 1 and R 2 represent primary alkyl and the number of quaternary ammonium salts contained in the compound is 3 or more, a unique coordination structure that nitrogens of imine of the structure 1 are not coordinated is formed in the polymerization process. Accordingly, it is revealed that this unique coordination structure shows especially high activity in the carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization ( Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 10455-10465; Bulletin of Korean Chemical Society 2010, 31, 829; KR Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0074435 (2008 Jul. 30)). However, carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization carried out by using the above-mentioned type of catalyst in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups has not been published.
More preferably, a complex of Chemical Formula 3 is used as the catalyst.
wherein
R 61 and R 62 independently represent methyl or ethyl; X − independently represents a nitrate or acetate anion; nitrogen of imine may be coordinated or de-coordinated with cobalt, and each X − may be coordinated with cobalt.
The complex of Chemical Formula 3 as the most preferred compound to be commercialized as a catalyst that can be easily synthesized in bulk has been published by the present inventors ( Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 2009, 30, 745-748). However, carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization carried out by using the above-mentioned type of catalyst in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups has not been published.
In the preparation method, particular examples of the epoxide compound that may be used herein include ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butene oxide, pentene oxide, hexene oxide, octene oxide, decene oxide, dodecene oxide, tetradecene oxide, hexadecene oxide, octadecene oxide, butadiene monoxide, 1,2-epoxy-7-octene, epifluorohydrin, epichlorohydrin, epibromohydrin, isopropyl glycidyl ether, butyl glycidyl ether, t-butyl glycidyl ether, 2-ethylhexyl glycidyl ether, allyl glycidyl ether, cyclopentene oxide, cyclohexene oxide, cyclooctene oxide, cyclododecene oxide, alpha-pinene oxide, 2,3-epoxynorbornene, limonene oxide, dieldrin, 2,3-epoxypropylbenzene, styrene oxide, phenylpropylene oxide, stilbene oxide, chlorostilbene oxide, dichlorostilbene oxide, 1,2-epoxy-3-phenoxypropane, benzyloxymethyl oxirane, glycidyl-methylphenyl ether, chlorophenyl-2,3-epoxypropyl ether, epoxypropyl methoxyphenyl ether, biphenyl glycidyl ether, glycidyl naphthyl ether, or the like.
The epoxide compound may be used in the polymerization using an organic solvent as a reaction medium. Particular examples of the solvent that may be used herein include aliphatic hydrocarbons such as pentane, octane, decane and cyclohexane, aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, toluene and xylene, and halogenated hydrocarbons such as chloromethane, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, ethyl chloride, trichloroethane, 1-chloropropane, 2-chloropropane, 1-chlorobutane, 2-chlorobutane, 1-chloro-2-methylpropane, chlorobenzene and bromobenzene. Such solvents may be used alone or in combination. More preferably, bulk polymerization using the monomer itself as a solvent may be performed.
The molar ratio of the epoxide compound to the catalyst, i.e., epoxide compound: catalyst molar ratio may be 1,000-1,000,000, preferably 50,000-200,000. In the process of the copolymerization, carbon dioxide may be used at a pressure ranging from ambient pressure to 100 atm, preferably from 5 atm to 30 atm. The polymerization temperature may be 20° C. to 120° C., preferably 50° C. to 90° C.
To perform polymerization of poly(alkylene carbonate), batch polymerization, semi-batch polymerization, or continuous polymerization may be used. When using a batch or semi-batch polymerization process, polymerization may be performed for 0.5 to 24 hours, preferably 0.5 to 4 hours. A continuous polymerization process may also be performed for an average catalyst retention time of 0.5 to 4 hours.
An amount of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups introduced for copolymerization should be less than an amount consumed under a condition causing gelation. The amount of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups used under the condition causing gelation substantially depends on a structure of the catalyst, activity resulting from the catalyst (TON), a length of polymer chains grown in association with the same, etc., thus not being commonly determined.
The compound having at least two epoxide functional groups as a chain linker may be selected from the following Chemical Formulas 4 to 6:
wherein
F, G and G′ independently represent a chemical bond, —(CH 2 ) m —, —(CH 2 OCH 2 ) m — or —(CH 2 OCH 2 ) m —F′—(CH 2 OCH 2 ) m —; F′ represents —(CR a R b ) k —; m and k independently represent an integer of 1 to 5; R a and R b independently represent hydrogen or (C1-C10)alkyl.
The compound having at least two epoxide functional groups as the chain linker may include, for example, compounds illustrated below and such compounds may be commercially available on the market (Aldrich Chemical Co.).
Reaction Scheme 1 demonstrates a morphology of poly(propylene carbonate) polymer chain formed using the compound (3) represented by Chemical Formula 3 as the catalyst, in the presence of a diepoxide compound, i.e., vinylcyclohexene dioxide. Copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide starts when X − contained in the catalyst of the type of Chemical Formula 1 above undergoes nucleophilic attack on epoxide coordinated to the metal which acts as a Lewis acid. After starting polymerization, carbon dioxide and epoxide are alternately incorporated to grow the polymer chain. For polymerization under diepoxide (chain linker), one among two epoxide groups contained in the diepoxide may react and be incorporated into the chain. In this regard, the polymer chain has an epoxide group un-reacted in a side chain. This epoxide group reacts again with another polymer chain and then is incorporated into the chain, resulting in a polymer chain formed by cross-linkage of two chains. Such a cross-linking process continuously occurs, thus producing a chain composed of at least three cross-linked chains. Because of the cross-linking process, a length of the chain is elongated, an average molecular weight increases, and a distribution of molecular weight may be increased. However, if cross-linkage of chains has actively progressed to make almost all of polymer chains linked together in a reactor, it causes gelation. Gelation causes difficulties in agitation and poor fluidity of a polymer solution, leading to problems in the polymerization process.
The catalyst represented by Chemical Formula 3 has advantages for easy cross-linking reaction of chains. After starting polymerization, a structure of the catalyst at a point when a polymer chain is growing, is shown in the bottom of Reaction Scheme 1. Five (5) growing chains which have alkoxide or carbonate anions at end groups of the chains may always be present around one cobalt center in order to keep ionic balance with quaternary ammonium cations bonded to ligands. In this case, the five growing chains are located near to one another, thus being inter-linked at higher probability than that of cross-linkage of the chain to growing chains belonging to any other cobalt center. Consequently, using the catalyst represented by Chemical Formula 3, the probability of cross-linking two to five polymer chains belonging to one cobalt is increased, which in turn, increases possibility of cross-linkage formation before the occurrence of gelation, to thereby extend the range of manufacture and operation conditions. In general, due to economical reasons, preparation of a copolymer is performed while embodying maximum activity, i.e., turnover number (TON), of a catalyst. In order to increase the TON, polymerization must be executed at a relatively high ratio of [propylene oxide]/[catalyst]. For the catalyst represented by Chemical Formula 3, polymerization may be conducted under the condition of the ratio of [propylene oxide]/[catalyst] of 100,000, so as to attain the TON of 10000 to 15000. If the polymerization is conducted under the foregoing condition in the presence of vinylcyclohexene dioxide, it may be observed formation of the cross-linked chains that are in a wide range of the ratio of [diepoxide]/[catalyst] from 10 to 60. When the ratio of [diepoxide]/[catalyst] is increased, a quantity of cross-linked chains increases. If the ratio exceeds 60, gelation is observed. If using a catalyst having a growing polymer chain per cobalt, the probability (or possibility) of occurrence of gelation may be increased, slightly after the point in time at which cross-linked chains are observed or, otherwise, slightly higher than the ratio of [diepoxide]/[catalyst] at which the cross-linked chains are observed. Consequently, this encounters significant difficulties in applying in production fields.
Since the catalyst represented by Chemical Formula 3 has five growing chains per cobalt, the incorporated diepoxide may have high probability of subsequently participating in further incorporation. In addition, since the catalyst has increased length of the growing polymer chains due to high activity, cross-linked chains may be observed even when introducing a relatively small amount of diepoxide. Under polymerization conditions wherein the cross-linked chains are observed, and/or the condition where the ratio of [propylene oxide]/[diepoxide]/[catalyst] ranges from 100,000:10 to 60:1, a ratio of propylene oxide to vinylcyclohexene dioxide is considerably low, that is, from 0.025 to 0.15% (in percentages by mass). In consideration of the cost of diepoxide considerably higher than the cost of propylene oxide, formation of cross-linked chains achieved by introducing a small amount of diepoxide, as observed above, may have remarkably economical advantages. If a catalyst having one growing polymer chain per cobalt is used and the grown polymer chain does not have a sufficient chain length due to low TON of the catalyst, more increased amount of diepoxide should be introduced in order to obtain the same quantity of cross-linked chains as observed above.
As another aspect of the present invention, provided is a method for preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate), comprising carrying out alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and one or more epoxide compounds selected from the group consisting of (C2-C20)alkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); (C4-C20)cycloalkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); and (C8-C20)styreneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy, (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy or (C1-C20)alkyl substituent(s),
in the presence of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups and compound of Chemical Formula 7 below,
by using a complex of Chemical Formula 1 above as a catalyst:
J(LH) c [Chemical Formula 7]
wherein
J represents a (C1-C60)hydrocarbyl c-valent radical with or without ether, ester or amine groups; LH represents —OH or —CO 2 H; c represents an integer of 1 to 10; and, when c is 2 or more, LH may be the same or different from each other.
More preferably in Chemical Formula 1, a complex satisfying that the M represents a trivalent cobalt; A represents oxygen; Q represents trans-1,2-cyclohexylene, phenylene or ethylene; R 1 and R 2 are the same as or different from primary (C1-C20)alkyl; R 3 through R 10 independently represent hydrogen or —[YR 51 3-a {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } a ]; Y represents C or Si; R 51 , R 52 , R 53 , R 54 , R 55 and R 56 independently represent hydrogen; halogen; (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkoxy; (C6-C30)aryloxy; formyl; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonyl; (C6-C20)arylcarbonyl; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal, two of R 54 , R 55 and R 56 may be linked to each other to form a ring; a represents an integer of 1 to 3, and b represents an integer of 1 to 20; n represents an integer of 4 or more as a value of adding 1 to a total number of quaternary ammonium salts contained in R 3 through R 10 ; provided that when a represents 1, at least three of R 3 through R 10 represent —[YR 51 2 {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 }], when a represents 2, at least two of R 3 through R 10 represent —[YR 51 {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } 2 ], when a represents 3, at least one of R 3 through R 10 represent —[Y{(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } 3 ] is used as a catalyst.
In other words, the complex represented by Chemical Formula 2 is used as the catalyst. Carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization carried out by using the above-mentioned type of catalyst in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups and the compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 above has not been published.
More preferably, the complex represented by Chemical Formula 3 is used as the catalyst. Carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization carried out by using the complex represented by Chemical Formula 3 as the catalyst in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups and the compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 above has not been published.
The compound having at least two epoxide functional groups is selected from Chemical Formulas 4 to 6 above.
The J(LH) c compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 is preferably selected from, but not being particularly limited to, adipic acid (HO 2 C—(CH 2 ) 4 —CO 2 H), tricarballyic acid (C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3 ) or 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid (C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4 ).
The J(LH) c compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 may serve as a chain transfer agent. Copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide starts when X − contained in the catalyst of the type of Chemical Formula 1 above undergoes nucleophilic attack on epoxide coordinated to the metal which acts as a Lewis acid. When polymerization begins, polymer chains start growing from X − contained in the catalyst, and in the end, X − becomes a polymer chain having a carbonate or alkoxy anion at an end thereof. The carbonate or alkoxy anion becomes a compound in a form of an alcohol or carbonic acid by taking protons of the J(LH) c compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 which was introduced as a chain transfer agent. The J(LH) c compound becomes a carboxyl or alkoxy anion. A polymer chain may grow through the carboxyl or alkoxy anion obtained from the J(LH) c compound. Proton exchange reaction may occur very quickly and polymer materials obtained by the proton exchange reaction and chain growth reaction have the polymer chain grown from X − contained in the initial catalyst and the polymer chain grown from the J(LH) c compound additionally introduced as a chain transfer agent. Both the polymer chains may have substantially the same chain length. Accordingly, depending upon an introduction amount of the chain transfer agent and a structure thereof, a chain length and shape of the polymer chain obtained may be precisely and finely controlled.
Reaction Scheme 2 illustrated below demonstrates a morphology of poly(propylene carbonate) polymer chain formed using the compound (3) represented by Chemical Formula 3 as a catalyst, under the conditions wherein the J(LH) c compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 is adipic acid (HO 2 C—(CH 2 ) 4 —CO 2 H) and the diepoxide compound is vinylcyclohexene dioxide. A polymer chain having a polymer chain length precisely controlled depending upon an amount of the adipic acid and, in addition, —OH groups at both ends thereof, may be obtained. Additionally introducing the vinylcyclohexene dioxide may further produce a chain having a large molecular weight, which is obtained by cross-linking a part of the foregoing polymer chain. Consequently, additional introduction of vinylcyclohexene dioxide may increase an average molecular weight and extend a distribution of molecular weight. Moreover, since the number of [OH] per chain in some polymer chains is increased, the above polymer may be effectively used in manufacturing polyurethane.
Reaction Scheme 3 illustrated below demonstrates a morphology of poly(propylene carbonate) polymer chain formed using the compound (3) represented by Chemical Formula 3 as a catalyst, under the conditions wherein the J(LH) c compound represented by Chemical Formula 7 is tricarballylic acid (C 3 H 5 —(CO 2 H) 3 ) and the diepoxide compound is vinylcyclohexene dioxide. Compared to introduction of adipic acid as a chain transfer agent, as described above, a polymer chain obtained herein is found to have a greater number of branches. Accordingly, the number of [OH] per chain may also be increased. A polymer chain with more increased (or overgrown) branches may be obtained by introducing 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid (C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4 ), instead of tricarballylic acid (C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3 ).
A molar ratio of epoxide compound to catalyst, that is, x in Reaction Schemes 2 and 3 may range from 1,000 to 1,000,000, and preferably, 50,000 to 200,000. An amount of the introduced chain transfer agent, that is, z in Reaction Schemes 2 and 3 may be determined depending upon a polymer chain length to be grown. In general, the z may be an integer ranging from 10 to 1,000. An amount of the introduced compound having at least two epoxide functional groups, that is, y in Reaction Schemes 2 and 3 should be less than an amount under the conditions for occurrence of gelation. The amount of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups, under the conditions for occurrence of gelation, cannot be constantly determined, since this is associated with the structure of a catalyst, TON attained by the catalyst, the amount of the chain transfer agent and/or the polymer chain length depending upon the same, or the like.
Each of the carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymers prepared according to the foregoing two classified embodiments, contains some among cross-linked chains formed of at least two polymer chains. From GPC analysis data, it can be seen that the resultant copolymer is poly(propylene carbonate) including a GPC curve shown by a polymer chain without cross-linkage, as well as another curve in a tail or modal shape at a site which has a larger molecular weight than the above polymer chain, thereby exhibiting a distribution of molecular weight (M w /M n ) of 1.7 or more. Accordingly, the present invention provides poly(propylene carbonate) with characteristics described above. Such a poly(propylene carbonate) having the foregoing chain and a wide range of molecular weight distribution is still unknown. In other words, according to a review article prepared and reported by Prof. Coates (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 6618), the distribution of molecular weight M w /M n obtained by carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymerization is relatively low and ranges from 1.13 to 1.38. In the case where some among heterogeneous zinc type catalysts are used to copolymerize carbon dioxide and cyclohexene oxide, it was reported that the molecular weight distribution M w /M n is relatively high, up to about 6. However, the above report disclosed only unimodal curve and a wide distribution of molecular weight, which are different from characteristics of the present invention wherein it has a main curve and, in addition, another curve in a tail or modal form is present at a site having a larger molecular weight.
As another aspect of the present invention, provided is a method for preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate), comprising carrying out alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and one or more epoxide compounds selected from the group consisting of (C2-C20)alkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); (C4-C20)cycloalkyleneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy or (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy substituent(s); and (C8-C20)styreneoxide with or without halogen, (C1-C20)alkyloxy, (C6-C20)aryloxy, (C6-C20)ar(C1-C20)alkyloxy or (C1-C20)alkyl substituent(s),
in the presence of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups and a polymer compound having a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group at an end group or a side chain of the polymer compound,
by using a complex of Chemical Formula 1 above as a catalyst.
More preferably in Chemical Formula 1, a complex satisfying that the M represents a trivalent cobalt; A represents oxygen; Q represents trans-1,2-cyclohexylene, phenylene or ethylene; R 1 and R 2 are the same as or different from primary (C1-C20)alkyl; R 3 through R 10 independently represent hydrogen or —[YR 51 3-a {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } a ]; Y represents C or Si; R 51 , R 52 , R 53 , R 54 , R 55 and R 56 independently represent hydrogen; halogen; (C1-C20)alkyl; (C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C2-C20)alkenyl; (C2-C20)alkenyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl; (C1-C20)alkyl(C6-C20)aryl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl; (C6-C20)aryl(C1-C20)alkyl with at least one of halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus; (C1-C20)alkoxy; (C6-C30)aryloxy; formyl; (C1-C20)alkylcarbonyl; (C6-C20)arylcarbonyl; or a hydrocarbyl-substituted metalloid radical of a Group 14 metal, two of R 54 , R 55 and R 56 may be linked to each other to form a ring; a represents an integer of 1 to 3, and b represents an integer of 1 to 20; n represents an integer of 4 or more as a value of adding 1 to a total number of quaternary ammonium salts contained in R 3 through R 10 ; provided that when a represents 1, at least three of R 3 through R 10 represent —[YR 51 2 {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 }], when a represents 2, at least two of R 3 through R 10 represent —[YR 51 {(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } 2 ], when a represents 3, at least one of R 3 through R 10 represent —[Y{(CR 52 R 53 ) b N + R 54 R 55 R 56 } 3 ] is used as a catalyst.
In other words, the complex represented by Chemical Formula 2 is used as the catalyst. Carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization carried out by using the above-mentioned type of catalyst in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups and the polymer compound having a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group at an end group or a side chain of the polymer compound has not been published.
More preferably, the complex represented by Chemical Formula 3 is used as the catalyst. Carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymerization carried out by using the complex represented by Chemical Formula 3 as the catalyst in the presence of a compound having at least two epoxide functional groups and the polymer compound having a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group at an end group or a side chain of the polymer compound has not been published.
The compound having at least two epoxide functional groups is selected from Chemical Formulas 4 to 6 above.
The polymer compound having a hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group at an end group or a side chain thereof is not particularly limited. However, it is preferably selected from poly(ethyleneglycol)-mono-ol, poly(ethyleneglycol)-diol, poly(propyleneglycol)-mono-ol, poly(propyleneglycol)-diol, and a mixture thereof.
Reaction Scheme 4 illustrated below demonstrates a morphology of a polymer chain formed using the compound (3) represented by Chemical Formula 3 as a catalyst, in the presence of poly(ethyleneglycol)-mono-ol and vinylcyclohexene dioxide. In this regard, a polymer chain grown from poly(ethyleneglycol)mono-ol and another polymer chain grown from X − contained in the compound (3) represented by Chemical Formula 3 may coexist together and be cross-linked by vinylcyclohexene dioxide additionally introduced thereto, resulting in a polymer chain having increased molecular weight. Therefore, such additional introduction of vinylcylcohexene dioxide may increase an average molecular weight and extend a range of molecular weight distribution. If the average molecular weight is increased by a polymer chain with a high molecular weight contained in a polymer, a mechanical strength of the polymer may be increased. If a branch-type polymer chain having a long chain is contained and/or a molecular weight distribution is increased, rheological properties with high melt-strength may be created, thus enabling blow molding or blown film formation (Shroff, R. N.; Mavridis, H. Macromolecules 2001, 34, 7362; Shida, M.; Cancio, L. V. Polymer Engineering and Science 1971, 11, 124; Nakajima, N.; Wong, P. S. L. Transactions of the Society of Rheology 1965, 9, 3).
A molar ratio of epoxide compound to catalyst, that is, x in Reaction Scheme 4 may range from 1,000 to 1,000,000, and preferably, 50,000 to 200,000.
A molecular weight of the introduced polymer compound having hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group at an end group or a side chain thereof is not particularly limited. However, the number average molecular weight (Mn) of the introduced polymer may be 500 or more, in order to attain desired physical properties of the resultant block copolymer. In the case where a polymer having extremely high molecular weight (Mn) is introduced, a molar fraction of the hydroxyl or carboxylic acid group contained in the introduced polymer is relatively low, compared to a molar fraction of anion X − in the catalyst, even if a great amount of polymer is introduced. As a result, the polymer chains are mostly obtained by growth of the polymer chain in X. Accordingly, the molecular weight (Mn) of the polymer compound is preferably 100,000 or less. An introduction amount of the polymer, that is, z in Reaction Scheme 4 may be determined in such a way that a ratio of the introduced polymer to a total amount of the polymer obtained after polymerization, in percentages by mass (weight), ranges from 5 to 50%.
An amount of the introduced compound having at least two epoxide functional groups, that is, y in Reaction Scheme 4 should be less than an amount under the conditions for occurrence of gelation. The amount of the compound having at least two epoxide functional groups, under the conditions for occurrence of gelation, cannot be constantly determined, since this is associated with the structure of a catalyst, TON attained by the catalyst, the amount of the introduced polymer and/or the polymer chain length depending upon the same, or the like.
The copolymer prepared according to the third embodiment contains some among cross-linked chains formed of at least two polymer chains. From GPC analysis data, it can be seen that the resultant copolymer is a block copolymer of poly(propylene carbonate) and poly(propyleneglycol), including a GPC curve shown by a polymer chain without cross-linkage as well as another curve in a tail or modal shape at a site which has a larger molecular weight than the above polymer chain, thereby exhibiting a distribution of molecular weight (M w /M n ) of 1.7 or more. Accordingly, the present invention provides poly(propylene carbonate) having characteristics described above, and the foregoing block copolymer is still unknown.
As set forth above, by introducing a diepoxide compound to alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide, some of the polymer chains may be cross-linked to thus increase a molecular weight of the copolymer and extend a distribution of molecular weight. Also, additional introduction of a chain transfer agent may enable polymer chains in various forms and shapes to be cross-linked, thereby increasing the molecular weight while controlling the same. In addition, when a polymer having —OH group is further added to prepare a block copolymer of the foregoing polymer and poly(alkylene carbonate), it may derive cross-linking reaction of polymer chains, to thus increase the molecular weight and extend the molecular weight distribution.
With regard to the development of uses of polyolefin, it is an important issue to produce resins having high M w /M n with a bimodal distribution of molecular weight ( Macromolecules 2008, 41, 1693-1704). A higher molecular weight chain is effective for increasing a mechanical strength of a product while a lower molecular weight chain is helpful for workability of resin. Further, introduction of long chain branches is another major issue ( Macromolecules 2001, 34, 7362). By introducing the long chain branch, it may occur a ‘shear thinning’ phenomenon, wherein viscosity increases in a low fluidity state while the viscosity is reduced in a high fluidity condition from the viewpoint of rheological properties of resin, thus enabling implementation of processing such as blow film or blow molding. A polymer chain cross-linked using diepoxide is first disclosed in the present invention and may have a large molecular weight and a long chain branch. Consequently, the present invention provides a method for preparation of carbon dioxide/epoxide copolymer resin having the forgoing polymer chains to achieve purposes and/or tasks of polyolefin resin. Moreover, the polymer chain obtained in the presence of the chain transfer agent, has increased number of —OH groups, thereby be advantageously applied in manufacturing polyurethane.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows GPC curves of a copolymer obtained by carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymerization in the presence of diepoxide, wherein reference numeral in each curve denotes an entry number in TABLE 1;
FIG. 2 shows GPC curves of a copolymer obtained by carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymerization in the presence of tricarballylic acid (C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3 ) and diepoxide, wherein reference numeral in each curve denotes an entry number in TABLE 2; and
FIG. 3 shows data A of tensile test and data B of rheological physical properties, of a poly(propylene carbonate)-polyethyleneglycol) copolymer prepared in the presence diepoxide or without diepoxide, wherein ‘a’ is data of Entry 1 in TABLE 4 and obtained from a sample prepared without diepoxide and having M w of 81,000 and M w /M n of 1.20, while ‘b’ is data of Entry 4 in TABLE 4 and obtained from another sample prepared in the presence of diepoxide and having M w of 225,000 and M w /M n of 2.33.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, functional effects of the present invention will be described in detail with reference the following examples and comparative examples. However, such examples are proposed for illustrative purposes only and the scope of the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.
Preparation Example 1
Synthesis of Catalyst
The catalyst used in the present invention was prepared as shown below. A compound as a starting material was synthesized according to the known method. ( Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 2009, 30, 745-748).
Synthesis of Compound B
The compound A (100 mg, 0.054 mmol) and AgNO 3 (37.3 mg, 0.219 mmol) were dissolved in ethanol (3 mL) and stirred overnight. The resultant AgI was removed by filteration over a pad of celite. A solvent was removed by applying vacuum to obtain a yellow compound B as powder (0.80 g, 94%). 1 H NMR (CDCl 3 ): δ 3.51 (s, 2H, OH), 8.48 (s, 2H, CH═N), 7.15 (s, 4H, m-H), 3.44 (br, 2H, cyclohexyl-CH), 3.19 (br, 32H, NCH 2 ), 2.24 (s, 6H, CH 3 ), 1.57-1.52 (br, 4H, cyclohexyl-CH 2 ), 1.43-1.26 (br, 74H), 0.90-0.70 (br, 36H, CH 3 ) ppm.
Synthesis of Compound C
The compound B (95 mg, 0.061 mmol) and Co(OAc) 2 (10.7 mg, 0.061 mmol) were added to a flask and dissolved in methylene chloride (3 mL). After stirring the mixture for 3 hours at room temperature under oxygen gas, solvent was removed by applying reduced pressure to obtain a brown compound C as powder (85 mg, 83%). 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 38° C.): major signal set, δ 7.83 (s, 2H, CH═N) 7.27 (br s, 2H, m-H), 7.22, 7.19 (brs, 2H, m-H), 3.88 (br, 1H, cyclohexyl-CH), 3.55 (br, 1H, cyclohexyl-CH), 3.30-2.90 (br, 32H, NCH 2 ), 2.58 (s, 3H, CH 3 ), 2.55 (s, 3H, CH 3 ), 2.10-1.80 (br, 4H, cyclohexyl-CH 2 ), 1.70-1.15 (br m, 74H), 1.0-0.80 (br, 36H, CH 3 ) ppm; minor signal set, δ 7.65 (s, 2H, CH═N) 7.45 (s, 2H, m-H), 7.35 (s, 2H, m-H), 3.60 (br, 2H, cyclohexyl-CH), 3.30-2.90 (br, 32H, NCH 2 ), 2.66 (s, 6H, CH 3 ), 2.10-1.80 (br, 4H, cyclohexyl-CH 2 ), 1.70-1.15 (br m, 74H), 1.0-0.80 (br, 36H, CH 3 ) ppm. 1 H NMR (CD 2 Cl 2 ): δ 7.65 (br, 2H, CH═N) 7.34 (br, 2H, m-H), 7.16 (br, 2H, m-H), 3.40-2.00 (br, 32H, NCH 2 ), 2.93 (br s, 6H, CH 3 ), 2.10-1.80 (br m, 4H, cyclohexyl-CH 2 ), 1.70-1.15 (br m, 74H), 1.1-0.80 (br, 36H, CH 3 ) ppm.
Two sets of signals appeared at a ratio of 6:4 in the 1 H NMR in DMSO-d 6 . The major signal set showed that two phenoxy ligands of a Salen-unit were different. The minor signal set showed that two phenoxy ligands were the same. It may be understood that the compound C was in an equilibrium state described below in a DMSO solvent. It had been demonstrated that the compound C had a imine nitrogen non-coordinated structure in a polar solvent such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) when there was a small substituent having a small three-dimensional obstacle such as methyl at an ortho-position of two phenoxy ligands of the Salen-unit ( Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 10455-10465). A set of generally broad signal appeared in non-polar solvents such as methylene chloride. When it was considered that an NO 3 − anion was not well coordinated, it was estimated that a coordinated or non-coordinated structure may be obtained while imine nitrogen was coordinated and a nitrate anion was exchanged with an acetate anion at two axial coordinated surfaces.
Example 1
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide in the Presence of Vinylcyclohexene Dioxide
Compound C prepared in Preparation Example 1 (3.0 mg, monomer/catalyst=100,000) and propylene oxide (10.0 g, 172 mmol) were weighed and introduced into a 50 mL bomb reactor.
Then, vinylcyclohexene dioxide
was weighed in a ratio of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70, respectively, in relation to a molar fraction of catalyst, as listed in TABLE 1, and then, introduced into the reactor, followed by fabrication of the reactor. During reaction, after applying a carbon dioxide gas pressure of 15 bar, the reactor was dipped in an oil bath preliminarily controlled to a temperature of 73° C., followed by starting agitation. After 50 minutes, the reactor temperature reached 73° C. and, at this point in time, it was observed that the reaction pressure started to decrease. From the point in time at which the reactor temperature reached 73° C. and the reaction was initiated, polymerization was executed for 1 hour. Subsequently, the reactor was dipped and cooled in a cold bath and carbon dioxide gas was removed therefrom, thus completing the reaction. As a result, a pale yellow viscous solution was obtained. After additionally introducing 10 g of propylene oxide to the prepared viscous solution to decrease the viscosity of the solution, the solution was passed through a silica gel pad (400 mg, manufactured by Merck Co., a particle diameter of 0.040 to 0.063 mm (230 to 400 mesh)) to obtain a colorless solution. Monomers were removed through vacuum pressing. Optionally, about less than 5% of propylene carbonate side product was created. The side product, that is, propylene carbonate, was removed from poly(propylene carbonate) when stored in a vacuum oven at 150° C. for several hours. About 2 to 3 g of pure polymer was yielded. Results of the polymerization are summarized in Entries 2 to 9 of TABLE 1.
Comparative Example 1
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide without Diepoxide
Without introduction of vinylcyclohexene dioxide, polymerization was executed by the same procedures as described in Example 1, followed by removal of catalyst, resulting in pure poly(propylene carbonate). Results of the polymerization are summarized in Entry 1 of TABLE 1.
TABLE 1
Results of carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymerization in
the presence of vinylcyclohexene dioxide or without the same
[diepoxide]/
M w [b]
T g [c]
Entry
[catalyst C]
TON [a]
(×10 −3 )
M w /M n
(° C.)
1
0
15000
257
1.37
42.0
2
10
15900
250
1.68
42.2
3
20
15300
298
1.73
42.5
4
30
12200
325
1.96
42.3
5
40
13200
374
2.05
42.6
6
50
12400
561
2.06
42.0
7
60
11300
606
2.11
42.2
8 [d]
60
—
Gel
—
—
9
70
—
Gel
—
—
[a] Turnover number calculated on the basis of obtained polymer mass (weight)
[b] Weight average molecular weight determined in GPC using polystyrene as standard
[c] Glass transition temperature measured in DSC
[d] Polymerizations were carried out over 90 minutes
FIG. 1 shows a distribution of molecular weight of each polymer obtained in Entries 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 of TABLE 1. As shown in TABLE 1 and FIG. 1 , even if introducing a very small amount of vinylcyclohexene dioxide, for example, in 0.01 to 0.06% relative to a molar fraction (0.025 to 0.15% relative to a mass) of propylene oxide, a higher molecular weight polymer chain comprising at least two or more polymer chains cross-linked together, may be observed. By increasing an amount of diepoxide, it can be seen that the amount of the higher molecular weight cross-linked polymer chain, an average molecular weight, as well as a distribution of molecular weight (M w /M n ) are increased. The maximum molecular weight was obtained at the molar ratio of diepoxide to catalyst of 60 and, in this case, the weight average molecular weight almost reached 606,000 and the distribution of molecular weight M w /M n was increased to 2.11. Here, referring to GPC curves in FIG. 1 , non-crosslinked polymer chains were observed near the molecular weight of 200,000. On the other hand, cross-linked chains using two chains have formed another modal near the molecular weight of 400,000 while higher molecular weight chains having at least two or more or several chains cross-linked to one another was observed as a tail. In the case where a molar ratio of diepoxide relative to a molar fraction of catalyst is 60, if a reaction time is extended from 1 to 1.5 hours or the molar ratio is increased to 70, gelation was detected. When a gel is formed, the polymer solution losses fluidity, to thus cause failure to remove the catalyst through silica gel filtration.
Example 2
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide in the Presence of 1,2,7,8-Diepoxyoctane
Instead of vinylcyclohexene dioxide, 1,2,7,8-diepoxycotane
was weighed in a ratio of 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100, respectively, in relation to a molar fraction of catalyst, and then, introduced into the reactor. Thereafter, polymerization was executed according to the same procedures as described in Example 1. As a catalyst, compound C in Example 1 was replaced by a compound of the Structure 1 described in the Background of Art. TABLE 2 shows results of polymerization.
TABLE 2
Results of carbon dioxide/propylene oxide in the presence
of 1,2,7,8-diepoxyoctane and without the same
Entry
[Diepoxide]/[1]
TON
M w (×10 −3 )
M w /M n
1
0
15000
257
1.37
2
20
12500
411
1.51
3
40
14000
601
1.72
4
60
13000
689
1.86
5
80
12000
524
2.09
6
100
Gel
—
—
Results of the polymerization and data results of GPC analysis demonstrated that the present example shows similar conditions to those acquired by using the catalyst represented by compound C in Preparation Example 1 and introducing vinylcyclohexene dioxide. More particularly, non-crosslinked polymer chains were observed as a major modal, cross-linked chains formed of two chains were observed as a minor modal, and higher molecular weight chains comprising at least two or more or several chains cross-linked to one another were confirmed as a tail. A molar fraction of diepoxide relative to a catalyst to form a gel was observed at a high level, and this may be presumed that, when the compound of the Structure 1 is used as the catalyst, the number of growing chains per cobalt center is 3 smaller than the number of chains (‘5’) in compound C and, as a result, the frequency of formation of cross-points by intermolecular interaction in one molecule as illustrated in Reaction Scheme 1 is relatively reduced.
Example 3
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide in the Presence of Vinylcyclohexene Dioxide and a Chain Transfer Agent
After fixing a chain transfer agent to control a molar fraction of —COOH group to 45 relative to a molar fraction of the catalyst and then introducing adipic acid, 5.9 mg (Entries 1 to 5); tricarballylic acid, 5.1 mg (Entries 6 to 10); 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid, 4.7 mg (Entries 11 to 15)) into a reactor, vinylcyclohexene dioxide was weighed to numeral values listed in TABLE 3, relative to the molar fraction of the catalyst and then introduced (into the reactor). Then, polymerization was executed and the catalyst was removed according to the same procedures as described in Example 1, resulting in pure copolymer. TABLE 3 summarizes results of the polymerization. FIG. 2 shows GPC curves of a copolymer obtained by carbon dioxide/propylene oxide copolymerization in the presence of tricarballylic acid (C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3 ) and diepoxide, wherein reference numeral in each curve denotes an entry number in TABLE 2.
Comparative Example 2
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide in the Presence of a Chain Transfer Agent and without Diepoxide
Polymerization was executed according to the same procedures as described in Example 3 without introduction of vinylcyclohexene dioxide, followed by removal of the catalyst, resulting in pure poly(propylene carbonate). Results of the polymerization are shown in Entries 1, 6 and 11 of TABLE 3.
TABLE 3
Results of carbon dioxide/propylene oxide in the presence
of vinylcyclohexene dioxide and a chain transfer agent
Chain
[Dioxide]/
M w
Entry
transfer agent
[catalyst C]
TON
(×10 −3 )
M w /M n
1
C 4 H 8 (CO 2 H) 2
0
16000
76
1.14
2
C 4 H 8 (CO 2 H) 2
200
14800
165
2.27
3
C 4 H 8 (CO 2 H) 2
220
16000
286
2.38
4
C 4 H 8 (CO 2 H) 2
240
16700
361
2.49
5
C 4 H 8 (CO 2 H) 2
260
—
Gel
—
6
C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3
0
13000
73
1.14
7
C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3
140
14500
195
2.27
8
C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3
160
14000
252
2.38
9
C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3
180
13000
361
2.49
10
C 3 H 5 (CO 2 H) 3
200
—
Gel
—
11
C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4
0
15500
110
1.26
12
C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4
120
12000
225
2.26
13
C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4
140
14400
355
2.78
14
C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4
160
13400
440
2.74
15
C 4 H 6 (CO 2 H) 4
180
—
Gel
—
Copolymerization in the presence of the chain transfer agent may lead to a decrease in length of a growing polymer chain and, for this reason, a greater amount of diepxoide should be introduced to form frequent quantities of cross-linked polymer chains. That is, although TABLE 1 demonstrated that the gel is formed at a ratio of [diepoxide]/[catalyst] of 70, it was confirmed in TABLE 3 for polymerization with introduction of the chain transfer agent that the gel does not occur until the ratio of [diepoxide]/[catalyst] reaches 180 or more. According to the molecular weight distribution of the copolymer prepared in the presence of tricarballyic acid shown in GPC ( FIG. 2 ), non-crosslinked chains were observed as a major modal near to the molecular weight of 80,000; chains comprising two chains cross-linked to each other were observed to form another modal near to the molecular weight of 160,000; and, a specific chain comprising about eight (8) chains cross-linked to one another was found to form a further modal near to the molecular weight of 640,000. When 1,2,3,4-butane tetracarboxylic acid was introduced as the chain transfer agent, gel is formed at a relatively low ratio of [diepoxide]/[catalyst]. The observed GPC data shows behavior substantially similar to that of the copolymer obtained in the presence of tricarballylic acid. The polymer chain grown through such a molecular weight modifier has —OH groups at all end groups thereof, thereby being easily used for manufacture of polyurethane, etc. In any case, as the introduction amount of diepoxide increases, the quantity of cross-linked polymer chains also increases to thereby increase an average molecular weight and enlarge (or extend) a molecular weight distribution.
Example 4
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide in the Presence of Vinylcyclohexene Dioxide and Poly(Ethyleneglycol)-Mono-Ol
After introducing poly(ethyleneglycol)-mono-ol (250 mg) having a number average molecular weight 35,000 ([—OH]/[catalyst]=4), vinylcyclohexene dioxide was weighed to reach values listed in TABLE 4, relative to a molar fraction of the catalyst, and then introduced (into the reactor). Then, polymerization was executed and the catalyst was removed according to the same procedures as described in Example 1, resulting in pure copolymer. TABLE 4 summarizes results of the polymerization. FIG. 3 shows data A of tensile test and data B of rheological physical properties, of a poly(propylene carbonate)-polyethyleneglycol) copolymer prepared in the presence of diepoxide or without diepoxide. Here, ‘a’ is data of Entry 1 in TABLE 4 while ‘b’ is data of Entry 4 in TABLE 4.
Comparative Example 3
Copolymerization of Carbon Dioxide/Propylene Oxide in the Presence of Poly(Ethyleneglycol)-Mono-Ol and without Diepoxide
Polymerization was executed according to the same procedures as described in Example 4 without introduction of vinylcylochlorohexene dioxide, followed by the removal of the catalyst, resulting in a block copolymer. Results of the polymerization are shown in Entry 1 of TABLE 4.
TABLE 4
Results of carbon dioxide/propylene oxide in the presence of
vinylcyclohexene dioxide and poly(ethyleneglycol)-mono-ol
[diepoxide]/
M w
T g
T m
Entry
[catalyst C]
TON
(×10 −3 )
M w /M n
(° C.)
(° C.)
1
0
10300
81
1.20
27
53
2
100
10800
172
1.90
30
53
3
150
10800
195
2.29
30
53
4
180
11000
225
2.33
31
54
5
200
—
Gel
—
—
—
From TABLE 4, it can be seen that introduction of diepoxide enables formation of cross-linked polymer chains, an increase in an average molecular weight and enlargement in a distribution of molecular weight, similar to Examples 1 to 3. As such, FIG. 3 demonstrates that the formation of cross-linked polymer chains leads to an increase in the average molecular weight and enlargement in the distribution of molecular weight, to thereby reinforce a mechanical strength of the prepared resin and exhibit ‘shear thinning’ on the basis of rheological properties. ‘Shear thinning’ means a phenomenon wherein viscosity increases at a low fluidity condition while the viscosity is reduced at a high fluidity condition. Occurrence of such phenomenon is absolutely advantageous for processing, for example, blown film or blow molding.
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Provided is preparation of poly(alkylene carbonate) through alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide. According to the disclosure, by introducing a diepoxide compound to alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide compound using a metal(III) prepared with salen-type ligands containing quaternary ammonium salt as a catalyst, some of the polymer chains may be cross-linked to thus increase an average molecular weight of the copolymer and extend a distribution of molecular weight. A resin prepared according to this method may have high mechanical strength and rheological advantages.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a snowmobile traction assisting assembly, which utilizes a threaded shank extending through a snowmobile track and a pointed, combined nut and traction point that threads onto the shank. The traction point protrudes from the track for engagement with support surfaces such as ice, hard packed snow, or powder snow, ground etc.
Many types of snowmobile track studs have been advanced in the past. Generally they are of the type which has a pointed end shank of a bolt like stud that protrudes through the track, with some type of a nut for securing the stud to the track. Various backing plates and similar additional members had been used for increasing the life of the track when the studs are installed and also for supporting the stud when it is in use.
The studs are usually hardened for increased wear, and are positioned along the surface of the track in a predetermined or random pattern for increasing the traction of a snowmobile.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a snowmobile track traction increasing point that is threaded on a shank of a bolt having a head on the opposite side of the track. The traction point will penetrate ice, packed snow and powder snow to increase traction of the snowmobile drive belt for better control, braking and acceleration.
The head of the bolt is supported by a washer to increase the surface area for loads from the stud on the track. The traction point has a flange which tightens down onto the track surface. The flange may include ribs on the underside of the flange which will engage the surface of the track and reduce the likelihood of the traction point rotating to loosen during use.
The traction points are threaded much like nuts and are preferably made with a base flange with a hub or housing having a bore with threads in the center portion secured to the flange. The flange is perpendicular to the thread axis and engages the surface of the track. Flat blade gusset members or flutes are supported on the flange and formed into a pyramidal shape to support the flange and threaded housing, and to form an outer end that is pointed. The base ends of the gussets support the flange and hub to reinforce the traction point. The gussets provide for an increase in surface area that will react loads from the track, much like a "paddle", to enhance braking, cornering and straight drive.
The traction points may be hardened, and may be made out of a number of different materials suitable for the application, including various metals such as steel, stainless steel, high strength aluminum, or titanium. The traction points also may be made of any synthetic material which has a high modulus of elasticity, such as reinforced plastics and composites used for applications such as aircraft skin.
The traction points may have carbide pins forming the outer end points inserted in the center of the traction points, and supported by the gusset like supports or flutes. Thermospray carbide can be also applied to the traction points for increased wear resistance. Casting is a preferred method of manufacture.
As shown, the number of support gussets or flutes on each traction point can be varied to suit the desired applications. The different styles of gusset members will not substantially affect the performance of the traction points. It is desirable to have an adequately supported center point for engaging a surface such as ice, and to provide an adequate length for insuring that the stud will penetrate sufficiently to control traction and aid in controlling, braking, cornering, and propelling snowmobiles or other vehicles utilizing a belt-type drive. The flat sides of the gussets or flutes provide a reaction surface area for traction enhancement.
The snowmobile track traction point of the present invention is easy to manufacture, and is convenient for replacement as wear occurs. Further, the traction points are lightweight, strong, easy to install and provide a wide base support for the loads exerted on the traction points when driven by a snowmobile track.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic perspective view of the typical snowmobile drive track having traction control devices or traction points made according to the present invention installed thereon;
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a typical snowmobile stud or traction point made according to the present invention shown installed on a snowmobile track;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a traction point showing a typical arrangement of pyramid like gussets or flutes supporting a central shank and flange;
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a modified form of the invention showing a central pin supported on the traction point;
FIG. 7 is a side view of the traction point of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a modified form of the device of the present invention showing three gussets or flutes formed into a pyramid shape;
FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a further modified form of the traction point showing the use of five gussets or flutes;
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the traction point of claim 10;
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a further modified form of the present invention showing a support flange that has a raised tab for clearance and support on a rib of a track.
FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the traction point of FIG. 12.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical snowmobile track 10 in a fragmentary, schematic perspective view. As shown, the track 10 can be made of a suitable synthetic material, such as a synthetic rubber, and includes drive cleats 12 on the drive surface the track (the surface which would face the ground). The track includes sections 14 on which drive sprockets would operate in a normal manner to drive the track.
The track has planar surfaces 16 between the cleats 12 on both outer edge sections 18 of the track and in a center section 20.
As shown, a plurality of traction control and enhancement point assemblies 22 are installed on the track 10 include a bolt like fastener 24 and a traction point 26 that comprises a nut that is threaded on a fastener and supported to protrude from the track surfaces 16 between the cleats 12 of the snowmobile track. The traction points 26 (26 is used as a general number) are of a length so their outer ends protrude beyond the ends of the lugs 12, to provide additional traction on ice, packed snow and the like.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of traction point assemblies 22 are arranged in a generally "V" pattern that repeats itself along the length of the track. As shown, two of the traction point assemblies 22 are positioned adjacent each other at a leading end of the "V" and in the next track section, two additional traction point assemblies are spaced farther apart, and in the third section they are spaced still farther apart as illustrated at 28. The last traction points of that "V" are positioned on the outer track sections 18 as shown.
Referring to FIG. 2, the snowmobile belt 10 is shown in cross section, and a traction point assembly 22 is illustrated as a typical arrangement for the various traction points that are illustrated in the Figures that follow. In this instance, a fastener 24 which comprises a threaded cylindrical shank 30 having a countersunk head 32 form a support. A reinforcing washer or support flange 34 is formed to have a center recessed portion 36 into which the countersunk head 32 will fit. The traction point illustrated in this form of the invention is indicated at 40, and as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 as well, the traction point 40 is provided with a central hub or sleeve 42, which has a bore that is threaded on the interior to receive the threaded shank 30. A base or flange 44 extends from this central hub or sleeve 42 a desired distance. The base or flange 44 has a recess 46 on the underside thereof, as shown in FIG. 2, to permit the portion of the track 10 immediately underneath the flange 44 and in the center portions thereof, to be drawn into the recess by the head 32 and the support flange 34 as the traction point 40 is threaded onto the fastener. Additionally, and optionally, the underside of the base or flange 44 can have a plurality of small lock ribs 48 formed thereon (see FIG. 5) at desired locations radially around the bore in the hub or sleeve 42.
In the form shown in FIG. 3, the base 44 has a square outer periphery, but the shape can be varied as desired, to be circular, or some other configuration such as a hexagon, or other polygon.
The central hub or sleeve 42 is supported relative to the base 44 for reacting loads, using a plurality of gusset like flanges or flutes 52, that are supported on the base 44 and extend upwardly to form a pyramidal shape outer edge configuration having outer edges 54. The gussets or flutes 52 meet at the top and are formed into a point 56 for traction enhancement. The traction point 40 can be cast as a unit and thermosprayed with carbide for hardness.
A modified form of the traction point is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The traction point 40A has a base 44A and a central hub or sleeve 42A. Gussets or flutes 52A are fixed to base 44A and extend up to support hub 42A. In this form, a pin 60, preferably of carbide is supported on the hub 42A at 42B. The pin 60 is braced with the individual gussets or flutes 52A at their outer ends. In this form of the invention, the gussets or flutes 52A are welded or otherwise suitably supported to the central pin 60 as indicated at 56, so that a point member 62 of the pin 60 protrudes outwardly from the gussets or flutes 52A to form the ground engaging point. It is to be understood that the gussets or flutes can be formed to be integral with the central hub 42. The gussets or flutes 52A have sharpened edges 54A, as well.
Other modifications that are made involve the arrangement of the traction increasing gussets or flutes around the traction point. They can be arranged such as that shown in FIG. 8, where a traction point 70 has a base 72 with a raised center portion 74 that forms a recess on the bottom side as shown in FIG. 2. In this form a central hub 76 is provided and it has an internal bore threaded for receiving the threaded shank of a fastener. The flange 72 is also shown as being square in plan view, and has rounded edges 78, which tend to reduce the likelihood of the flanges cutting the track if the traction point tilts under load. All of the flanges for the traction points have rounded edges to protect the track. In this form of the invention, the central hub 76 is supported with three gussets or flutes 80 that form a pyramid shape, as shown in FIG. 9, and the gussets form a sharpened point 82 where they meet in the center or apex of the unit. In this form of the invention, the traction point also is preferably cast and then coated with a hard coating. As shown, the flanges 80 also have sharpened edges 81 for increasing the "bite". Ribs 83 for resisting rotation when the traction point is tightened are provided on the undersurface of the base.
FIGS. 8 and 11 show a further modified form of the invention comprising a traction point 86 that has a base 88, again with a center portion 90 that forms a recess to permit the track to move into the recess when the fastener is put into place as shown in FIG. 2. The base flange 88 supports a center hub 92 that has a bore that is threaded on the interior for receiving the fastener as shown in FIG. 2. The center hub 92 is supported with five blade like gussets or flutes 94 that are attached to the base 88 adjacent the outer edges of the center portion 90, and which are joined together at an apex 96 so that they form a pyramidal shape. The traction point 86 may be cast. The flutes are sharpened into a point 98 for increasing the traction of a snowmobile belt when they are attached to the track.
FIGS. 12 and 13 show a modified form of the invention wherein a traction point 100 is shown with a base 102 that includes a tab 104 along one edge. The base 102 is generally square, up to a bend line 106 for the tab 104. In this form of the invention, the base 102 has a raised center portion 108 that forms a recess on the underside as explained, together with a sleeve or hub 110 that has a central bore threaded for receiving a fastener.
In this form of the invention, a plurality of gussets or flutes 112 are provided and they are secured to the base 102. The gussets or flutes joined together adjacent the outer ends 114 to form a point 116. The tab 104 can be used adjacent a cleat on the track for clearance and support. The tab 104 would be oriented in the appropriate direction.
The gussets or flutes in all forms of the invention provide a paddle effect with the side surfaces to increase the traction enhancing effect over a conventional cylindrical snowmobile stud.
While the head of the fastener is not shown in detail, it can be a socket head fastener, which will receive an Allen wrench, or a TORX wrench to permit rotating the fastener to tighten it onto the threaded portion or bore of the center hub of the traction point. The head is tightened into position so that it is recessed from the plane of the track member 10 when fully tightened.
The traction points are easily tightened in place. They can be held easily while the fastener is turned for tightening the ribs on the bottom side of the base of the traction points hold the traction point from turning during final tightening and resist reverse rotation to prevent loosening.
It should be noted that the traction point can be fabricated by punching out a metal part and folding up side members from the base to form a pyramid shape traction point.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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A traction point for a snowmobile track includes a fastener that extends through the track with a head on one side of the track, and a pointed nut that has a pointed end and which is threaded onto the fastener on the opposite side of the track from the fastener head. The traction point includes a base for support on the track, and pyramidal shaped reinforcement gussets that merge at a point to provide for increased traction for the snowmobile. Small ribs can be provided on the traction point for engaging the track to reduce the likelihood of the traction point unthreading and coming off during use. The pyramid shaped flanges give a paddle effect as they engage ice or snow to provide increased surface area for reaction of the driving forces from a snowmobile transmitted through the track, and also increased corner traction and braking effect.
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This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 291,587, filed on Dec. 29, 1988, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a polymeric alumina sol in a non-aqueous solution and a process for manufacturing a polycrystalline alumina fiber from the polymeric alumina sol. The alumina sol has a high viscosity and an excellent spinning properties for manufacturing an inorganic alumina fiber and use for coating and binder materials when compared to a colloidal sol in a aqueous solution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many types of known polymeric alumina sols. Such polymeric alumina sols have a low viscosity colloidal state so that such polymeric alumina sols do not exhibit an optimum viscosity and workability for spinning. Therefore, such alumina sols require the addition of soluble high polymers such as a polyethylene oxide for spinning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for manufacturing a polymeric alumina sol in a non-aqueous solution.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved process for manufacturing a polycrystalline alumina fiber from a polymeric alumina sol.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a polymeric alumina sol having a chain structure with a high viscosity so as to allow for the manufacture of polycrystalline alumina fiber without requiring the addition of soluble high polymers such as polyethylene oxide.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, 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.
Briefly described, the present invention relates to an improved process for manufacturing a polymeric alumina sol comprising dissolving aluminum alkoxide in alcohol, adding acetylacetone, hydrolyzing with water, and polymerizing with a strong acid, and a process for manufacturing a polycrystalline alumina fiber comprising spinning the polymeric alumina sol by using a spinning apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 shows the change of viscosity of the polymeric alumina sol over time varying with the time varying the amount of acetylacetone (0.1 mol-1.5 mol) according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows the FT-IR analysis of the alumina sol (Example 1) according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows the FT-IR analysis of the alumina sol (aqueous method);
FIG. 4 diagrammatically shows a spinning apparatus for manufacturing a polycrystalline alumina fiber according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows the X-ray analysis of the polycrystalline alumina fiber according to the present invention;
FIG. 6(A) shows the electron micrograph (524×) of the fiber according to the present invention; and
FIG. 6(B) shows the electron micrograph (1350×) of the fiber according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a process for making a polymeric alumina sol in a non-aqueous solution a described below.
In the present invention, an aluminum alkoxide as a starting material are dissolved in alcohol and reacted with acetylacetone for making a stable bond. The reacted product is hydrolyzed with water and then polymerized with a strong acid for making a stable polymeric alumina sol.
The first acetylacetone reaction scheme according to the present invention is as follows: ##STR1## wherein A.A is acetylacetone, and R is sec-butyl or iso-propyl ligand.
The aluminum sec-butoxide or aluminum iso-propoxide used as an aluminum alkoxide in the present invention is to be made into a transparent sol. The kinds of alcohol used in the present invention are iso-propanol or sec-butanol which may be used suitably to make the transparent sol with of the alkoxides. The amount of alcohol used does not affect the reaction greatly, but if it is too much, the separation of alcohol from the end product of the reaction is difficult. If it is too small, precipitation occurs. Therefore, 3-6 moles of iso-propanol is optimum amount of alcohol for about 1 mole of aluminum sec-butoxide, and 7-10 moles of iso-propanol is an optimum amount of alcohol for about 1 mole of aluminum iso-propoxide. The amount of acetylacetone is an important factor for the reaction and the maximum amount is about 1 mole of the alkoxide is about 0.4 to 1.5 mole of acetylacetone. More than this amount causes aluminum acetyl acetonate precipitation according to the following reaction: ##STR2##
The second hydrolysis reaction scheme according to the present invention is as follows: ##STR3##
In this equation, the --OR substituent is converted with H 2 O to --OH, and a by-product alcohol ROH is also produced.
The reaction also varies with the amount of water and if the water is in excess, it is difficult to make a transparent sol because of rapid gellation. Even if the water is deficient, rapid gellation occurs. Therefore, 0.25-1.25 moles is an optimum amount for about 1 mole of the alkoxide.
The third polymerization reaction scheme according to the present invention is as follows: ##STR4## In the third reaction, the polymeric alumina sol is manufactured by adding a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or nitric acid.
The above equation (1) is an ideal polymerization reaction and equation (2) is a polymerization reaction from a unhydrolyzed sol. In equation (1), OR with water converts to OH and forms ROH. In a reaction, the strong acid is suitable for catalysis. If it is too much, rapid gellation occurs. If it is too small, the reaction time increases even though the polymeric reaction occurs. The strong acid catalyzes and accelerates the reaction. The amount of acid for about the 1 mole of alkoxide is about 0.0005 to 1.5 mole in the case of hydrochloric acid. After polymerization, alumina polymeric sol can be formed as follows: ##STR5## After drying the above polymeric sol for 100 hours at 80°-90° C., pH changes from 7.8 to 13.3 and the viscosity changes from 10 cps to 10 8 cps. Therefore, an inorganic fiber is to be spun by using a spinning apparatus illustrated FIG. 4. The optimum viscosity for fiber spinning is about 10 5 -10 7 cps.
Referring now in detail to the drawings for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention, a centrifugal spinning apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 comprises a main body 1, a press member 2 disposed in the main body 2, a cylinder 3 disposed in the inside of the main body 3, a spinning member 4 for rotating the cylinder 3, a heater 5 for heating the cylinder 3, and a sol reservoir tank 14. The main body 1 has a hollow sphere configuration. The pressure member 2 is operated by an outside pressure manner (not shown). The polymeric alumina sol 6 disposed in the sol reservoir tank 14 is constantly dropped into the cylinder 3. The cylinder 3 covered with a sieve 7 disposed at the outside thereof is installed in a rotating axis 11. A motor 9 and a speed controller 10 control the speed of the cylinder 3 through a rotating belt 8. The heater 5 adjacent to the cylinder 3 controls the temperature of the cylinder 3. The cylinder 3 disposed in the inside of the main body 1 rotates with constant speed through the speed controller 10 and a certain temperature is maintained with the heater 5. The sol 6 is dropped into the cylinder 3 with a constant viscosity by using the pressure member 2 which is operated by the outside pressure manner. The dropped sol 6 is spun through the sieve and short fiber 13 are continuously manufactured.
The present invention will now be described in more detail in connection with the following examples which should be considered as being exemplary and not limiting the present invention.
EXAMPLE (1)
After introducing 4 mole of iso-propanol in a 3 neck flask at the room temperature, 1 mole of aluminum sec-butoxide is dropped slowly. During 6-7 minutes, the solution becomes an opaque sol and 0.5 mole of acetylacetone is added by using a pipet to make a clear sol in a stirrer. It takes about two hours to complete the acetylacetone reaction and then 1 mole of water is added. At this time, the color of the sol changes colorless or still the transparent color remains. For complete hydrolysis, the sol is agitated for 1 hour, and then 0.0015 mole of hydrochloric acid is added.
The following Tables 1 and 2 show the pH and viscosity of the sol about the time period at the temperature of 80° C. in a dryer, respectively.
TABLE 1______________________________________Hour 0 2 4 6 14 15 100______________________________________pH 7.8 9.5 12.2 12 13.1 13.2 13.3______________________________________
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________Hour 0 60 80 90 95 100__________________________________________________________________________Viscosity (cps) 2 × 10.sup.0 2 × 10.sup.0 1 × 10.sup.1 1 × 10.sup.2 1 × 10.sup.3 1 × 10.sup.8__________________________________________________________________________
It is confirmed that the product produced by sintering the sol at the temperature of about 1100° C. is substantially α--Al 2 O 3 .
EXAMPLE OF EXPERIMENT
FIG. 1 shows a change of the viscosity of the alumina sol with time varying the amount of acetylacetone from 0.1 mole to 1.5 mole. As shown in FIG. 1, the viscosity does not exceed 10 2 cps when 0.1 mole and 1.5 mole of acetylacetone is added. However, addition of 0.5 mole of acetylacetone as shown in Example 1 shows excellent spinnerbility with more than 10 8 cps of viscosity. FIG. 2 shows a FT-IR analysis of the alumina sol using experiment 1. FIG. 3 shows a FT-IR analysis of the alumina sol using aqueous method FIGS. 2 and 3 show the difference in structure of the alumina sol between the conventional aluminal sol and the aluminal sol in the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the polymeric aluminal sol in the present invention and illustrates to vary the viscosity without adding any additives. Therefore, the polymeric alumina sol can be used to make a high purity alumina fiber and to apply composite and coating materials.
EXAMPLE 2
The alumina sol in Example 1, dried for 97 hour at 80° C. so as to obtain 10 6 cps of viscosity, is introduced in the sol reservoir 14 as shown in FIG. 4. The cylinder 3 disposed in the main body 1 is rotated to 3000 rpm by using the spinning member 4 and is heated to 450° C. by using the heater 5.
The alumina sol 6 in the sol reservoir tank 14 is dropped into the cylinder 3 with 5 ml/sec using the pressure member 2, then the alumina sol in the cylinder 3 is spun through the sieve 8 having 495 μof its diameter for manufacturing the short fiber.
FIG. 5 shows a X-ray analysis of the fiber with the heat treatment. Below 900° C., an amporphous state is a main phase. At 900° C., γ-Al 2 O 3 appears. At 950° C., σ-Al 2 O 3 partially appears. At 1000° C., α-Al 2 O 3 and θ-Al 2 O 3 appears. Above 1050° C., α-Al 2 O 3 is a main phase of the alumina sol. FIG. 6 shows an electron micrograph of the polycrystalline alumina fiber. The diameter of the fiber is about 70 μm.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included in the scope of the following claims.
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An improved process for manufacturing a polycrystalline alumina fiber comprising dissolving aluminum alkoxide in alcohol, adding acetylacetone, hydrolyzing with water, and polymerizing to form a polymeric alumina sol and spinning the polymeric alumina sol by using a spinning apparatus.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to bulkheads and methods of fabricating a panel with a mitered corner. More specifically, this invention relates to bulkheads and methods of fabricating a panel with a mitered corner from a precast material in order to fabricate a cured panel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Many residential and commercial construction methods involve the use of pre-cast tilt-up panels to construct structural walls. In order to fabricate the pre-cast tilt-up panels, concrete forms, such as bulkheads, are arranged on a flat casting surface to provide a casting area in the shape and dimension of the desired tilt-up panel. The casting area is then typically filled with concrete and thereafter allowed to cure in the shape of the casting area. Once the concrete cures, the tilt-up panel and the form are separated and the panel is tilted up into a typically vertical orientation where it can be joined to structural frames or other tilt-up panels to provide the desired structural wall configuration.
[0003] There is a need for bulkheads, including bulkhead components, configured to facilitate assembly and maintenance of the bulkhead components with respect to on another and to provide methods of fabricating a panel with a mitered corner with desired characteristics.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] This need is met by the present invention wherein improvements in bulkhead, various components of bulkheads, and methods of fabricating a panel with a mitered corner are introduced. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a bulkhead for fabricating a panel with a mitered corner is provided. The bulkhead includes an upstanding portion including a bracket-mounting end, a mitering portion including a bracket-engaging end, and a bracket including a seat cavity adapted to receive the bracket-engaging end of the mitering portion. The bracket is configured to orient the mitering portion at an acute angle with respect to the upstanding portion with the bracket-engaging end of the mitering portion adjacent the bracket-mounting end of the upstanding portion.
[0005] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a bracket is provided that is adapted to orient a mitering portion and an upstanding portion of a bulkhead at an acute angle with respect to one another. The bracket includes a first portion with a first surface adapted to engage an upstanding portion of a bulkhead, and a second portion offset from the first portion to at least partially define a seat cavity. The seat cavity is adapted to receive an end of a mitering portion of a bulkhead and orient a mitering portion and upstanding portion of a bulkhead at an acute angle with respect to one another.
[0006] In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method of fabricating a panel with a mitered corner is provided. The method comprises the steps of arranging a plurality of upstanding portions to define a casting area, engaging a bracket with a selected one of the upstanding portions. The method further includes the steps of inserting a bracket-engaging end of a mitering portion in a seat cavity of the bracket to facilitate maintenance of an acute angular orientation between the mitering portion and the selected upstanding portion and to further define the casting area. The method also comprises the steps of pouring uncured precast material into the casting area, and curing the precast material to provide a panel with a mitered corner.
[0007] Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide improvements to bulkheads, various components of bulkheads, and methods of fabricating a panel with a mitered corner. Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent in light of the description of the invention embodied herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention can be best understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a bulkhead in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of portions of the bulkhead taken at view 2 of FIG. 1 ;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of a panel structure including panels fabricated with the bulkhead of FIG. 1 ;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a bulkhead in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of portions of the bulkhead taken at view 5 of FIG. 4 ;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of a panel structure including panels fabricated with the bulkhead of FIG. 4 ; and
[0015] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary casting structure with portions of an upstanding portion being removed to reveal the profile of the bulkhead of FIG. 4 with respect to the remaining casting structure.
[0016] The embodiments set forth in the drawing are illustrative in nature and are not intended to be limiting of the invention defined by the claims. Moreover, individual features of the drawing and the invention will be more fully apparent and understood in view of the detailed description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] FIGS. 1 and 2 depict an exemplary bulkhead 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The bulkhead 10 includes an upstanding portion 12 including a bracket-mounting end 14 and may include another end 16 disposed on an opposite end of the upstanding portion 12 . The upstanding portion 12 further includes an upstanding face 18 and might further include another face 20 on an opposite side of the upstanding portion 12 . As shown in FIG. 1 , one exemplary upstanding portion 12 might comprise a rectangular cross section. However, the upstanding portion 12 might have a wide variety of configurations and/or cross sectional shapes. For example, the upstanding portion 12 might comprise any polygonal cross sectional shape with three or more sides. Still further, the upstanding portion 12 might include a circular or other cross sectional shape. The upstanding face 18 of the upstanding portion 12 can also include numerous shapes and sizes and can be oriented a wide range of angles with respect to a support surface 80 . In one embodiment, the upstanding face 18 comprises a substantially planar face that is oriented at approximately 90° with respect to the support surface 80 . The upstanding portion 12 may also be formed from varous materials that are sufficient to provide structural integrity to the bulkhead 10 . The upstanding portion might comprise wood, metal, plastic, paper products, composites or the like.
[0018] The bulkhead 10 further comprises a mitering portion 30 including a bracket-engaging end 32 and might include another end 34 disposed on an opposite end of the mitering portion 30 . The mitering portion further includes a first face 36 and might further include another face 38 on an opposite side of the mitering portion 30 . As shown, the mitering portion 30 can comprise a panel with a substantially rectangular-shaped cross section. However, the mitering portion 30 might have a wide variety of configurations and/or cross sectional shapes. For example, the mitering portion 30 might comprise any polygonal cross sectional shape with three or more sides. Still further, the mitering portion 30 might include a circular or other cross sectional shape. The first face 36 of the mitering portion 30 can also include a wide variety of shapes, sizes and/or surface textures. In one embodiment, the first face 36 comprises a substantially planar face that might include a substantially smooth planar face. The mitering portion 30 may also be formed from a wide range of materials that are sufficient to resist deformation during lateral loading of the mitering portion in use. For example, the mitering portion 30 might comprise wood, metal, plastic, paper products, composites or the like.
[0019] The bulkhead 10 further includes a bracket 40 including a seat cavity 42 adapted to receive the bracket-engaging end 32 of the mitering portion 30 . The bracket 40 might be configured to orient the mitering portion 30 at an acute angle with respect to the upstanding portion 12 , with the bracket-engaging end 32 of the mitering portion 30 being adjacent the bracket-mounting end 14 of the upstanding portion 12 . As shown, the bracket 40 can be configured to orient the mitering portion 30 at a 45° angle with respect to the upstanding portion 12 . In alternative embodiments the bracket 40 may be configured to provide any range of acute angles. Still further, as shown, the bracket 40 might be configured with a fixed seat 42 to provide a predetermined angular relationship between the mitering portion 30 and the upstanding portion 12 . Although not illustrated, the seat may be adjustable to allow the bracket 40 to provide alternative configurations to facilitate a wide range of predetermined angular relationships between the mitering portion 30 and the upstanding portion 12 .
[0020] FIG. 2 depicts an enlarged view of portions of FIG. 1 , taken at view 2 of FIG. 1 . As shown, the bracket 40 can include a first portion 44 including a face 78 , such as an upstanding face, for mounting with respect to the bracket-mounting end 14 of the upstanding portion 12 . The bracket 40 can also include a second portion 60 that can be offset from the first portion 44 to at least partially define the seat cavity 42 . As described above, the seat cavity 42 is adapted to receive the bracket-engaging end 32 of the mitering portion 30 . For example, the first portion 44 can include a first seat surface 42 a adapted to engage the face 38 of the mitering portion 30 while the second portion 60 can include a second seat surface 42 b adapted to engage the first face 36 of the mitering portion 30 . In particular embodiments, the first seat surface 42 a and the second seat surface 42 b are substantially planar seat surfaces that are substantially parallel with respect to one another. In addition, the first face 36 and the second face 38 of the mitering portion 30 might each comprise a substantially planar face that are substantially parallel with respect to one another. Providing the bracket 40 with first and second seat surfaces 42 a , 42 b that are substantially parallel planar seat surfaces and providing a mitering portion 30 with first and second faces 36 , 38 as substantially parallel planar faces may allow quick assembly and breakdown of the bulkhead components. Moreover, providing substantially planar surfaces/faces permits accurate and precise orientation between the mitering portion 30 and the upstanding portion 12 . Although not shown, the first and second seat surfaces 42 a , 42 b might include nonplanar seat surfaces and/or the first and second seat surfaces 42 a , 42 b might comprise a wide range of shapes, sizes, surface conditions, etc. that facilitate function of the bracket 40 . For example, the first and/or second seat surfaces 42 a , 42 b might include a cleating arrangement, friction surface, scored surface or other arrangement that is adapted to facilitate reception of the bracket-engaging end 32 in the seat cavity 42 and/or that is adapted to maintain the desired acute angle between the upstanding portion 12 and the mitering portion 30 .
[0021] Brackets in accordance with the present invention are adapted to simultaneously engage the support surface 80 and the upstanding portion. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the first portion 44 includes a first abutment surface 78 (e.g., upstanding face) adapted to engage the upstanding portion 12 while the second portion 60 includes a second abutment surface 79 (e.g., support surface face) adapted to engage the support surface 80 . In further examples, the first abutment surface 78 and second abutment surface 79 are perpendicular with respect to one another. In still further embodiments, the first and second abutment surfaces 78 , 79 comprise substantially planar surfaces that are substantially perpendicular with respect to one another.
[0022] As shown, the bracket can further include a third portion 70 that can connect the first portion 44 to the second portion 60 and can provide a third seat surface 42 c adapted to provide a registration stop for the mitering portion 30 to thereby limit insertion of the bracket-engaging end 32 within the seat cavity 42 . In one example, the third seat surface 42 c comprises a planar surface that engages a planar end surface 32 a of the bracket-engaging end 32 of the mitering portion 30 .
[0023] Brackets throughout this application might comprise a wide variety of structural shapes and may be formed by a wide variety of methods. In one example, the bracket might include one or more chambers to reduce material costs and the weight of the bracket. As shown in FIG. 2 , for example, each of the first, second and third portions 44 , 60 , 70 comprise a chamber defined by a plurality of walls. As shown in FIG. 2 , the chamber of the first portion 44 is defined by a first wall 46 , a second wall 48 and a third wall 50 wherein the first wall 46 provides the first seat surface 42 a , the second wall 48 provides the first abutment surface 78 and the third wall 50 acts as a reinforcement structure extending between the first and second walls.
[0024] Still further, the chamber of the second portion 60 is defined by a first wall 62 , a second wall 64 and a third wall 66 wherein the first wall 62 provides the concave surface 63 , the second wall 64 provides the second seat surface 42 b and the third wall 66 provides the second abutment surface 79 . The chamber of the third portion 70 is defined by a first wall 72 , a second wall 74 and a third wall 76 wherein the first wall 72 provides the third seat surface 42 c , the second wall 74 provides another abutment surface to engage with the upstanding portion and the third wall 76 provides yet another abutment surface adapted to engage the support surface 80 .
[0025] The brackets illustrated throughout this application can have an elongated length and a substantially uniform cross section along substantially the entire elongated length. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , the illustrated bracket includes an elongated length “L” and a substantially uniform cross section along substantially the entire elongated length “L” of the bracket. While a wide variety of methods of fabricating a bracket with a substantially uniform cross section might be used, the embodiments of the present invention might include a bracket formed with an extrusion process to provide a substantially uniform cross section along substantially the entire elongated length of the bracket. Insignificant variations in the uniformity of the cross section due to fabrication process errors or post fabrication process steps are contemplated. For example, holes may be drilled in an extruded member in specific locations after the member is extruded. Similarly, cuts or cutouts may be formed in the extruded member after it is extruded.
[0026] As shown throughout the figures, structures may also be provided to assist in maintaining the bracket-engaging end of the mitering portion within the seat cavity of the bracket. For example, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , a bolt 54 or other fastener might be used to arrest the bracket-engaging end 32 of the mitering portion 30 within the seat cavity 42 of the bracket 40 . A screw 52 or other fastener might also be used to mount the bracket with respect to the upstanding portion 12 . It is contemplated that other fasteners or fastening arrangements might be provided. For example, staples, set screws, or the like might be used in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Still further, double sided tape, adhesives (e.g., epoxy adhesives) or other fastening arrangements might be used to attach the components relative to one another.
[0027] As further shown throughout the figures, structures may also be provided to assist in maintaining the mitering portion in an appropriate orientation with respect to the upstanding portion. As shown in FIG. 1 , for example, a cross brace 224 may be provided between the mitering portion 30 and the upstanding portion 12 to assist in providing a rigid bulkhead structure and also assist in maintaining the orientation of the mitering portion with respect to the upstanding portion when pouring uncured precast material into a casting area of a casting structure.
[0028] A method of using the bulkhead of FIGS. 1-2 to fabricate a panel with a mitered corner will now be discussed. With reference to FIG. 7 , a casting structure 400 can be formed with a pair of apposed bulkheads 10 . A first lateral upstanding portion 402 and second lateral upstanding portion 404 may be attached with fasteners 406 to upstanding portions 12 located on opposite sides of the casting structure 400 . The bracket 40 is then engaged with a selected one of the upstanding portions. For example, the bracket 40 can be placed adjacent the bracket-mounting end 14 of the upstanding portion 12 and then fastened into place. A bracket-engaging end of the mitering portion 30 is then inserted into the seat cavity 42 of the bracket 40 to facilitate maintenance of an acute angular orientation between the mitering portion and the upstanding portion 12 . As shown in FIG. 7 , a pair of opposed bulkheads might be provided for applications where the panel includes two mitered corners.
[0029] Once the casting structure 400 is formed, the uncured precast material is poured into the casting area. As shown in FIG. 1 , the material flows laterally to engage the first face 36 of the mitering portion 30 and the curved surface 63 of the second portion 60 . As shown in FIG. 3 , a panel is therefore formed with a mitered corner 207 including a mitered surface portion 208 and a curved surface 210 extending from the mitered surface portion. As further illustrated in FIG. 3 , a plurality of panels 202 might be coupled together at each panels respective mitered corners 207 to form a panel structure 200 . In one particular embodiment, one or more gaskets 212 are placed between the mitered surface portions 208 and a sealing layer 214 might be used to inhibit liquid from entering into the mitered joint of the panel structure 200 .
[0030] FIGS. 4 and 5 depict an alternative bulkhead 110 in accordance with the present invention wherein like reference numbers designate similar elements throughout the views. As shown in FIG. 4 , the bulkhead 110 can be constructed similar to the bulkhead 10 as described above. However, a modified bracket 140 can be used to create different mitered corner surface characteristics. As shown in FIG. 5 , the bracket 140 includes a first portion 144 that is similar to the first portion 44 of bracket 40 . Likewise, bracket 140 includes a third portion 170 that is similar to the third portion 70 of bracket 40 .
[0031] However, the second portion 160 of the bracket 140 has been modified to provide different mitered corner characteristics. As shown, the second wall 164 of the second bracket portion 164 has been elongated and provided with a modified first wall 162 . The first wall 162 includes a linear portion 162 a defining an upstanding planar surface 163 a extending from the seat cavity 142 to a concave surface 163 b defined by a curved portion 162 b of the first wall 162 . The second portion 160 further includes first and second support surface faces 179 a , 179 b adapted to engage the support surface 80 .
[0032] A method of making a panel structure with the bulkhead 110 includes using the bulkhead 110 to form a casting structure 400 . Next uncured precast material is poured into the casting area such that the material engages the face 36 of the mitering portion 30 , the upstanding planar surface 163 a of the bracket 140 and the concave surface 163 b of the bracket 140 to provide the mitered corner 307 with a mitered surface portion 308 , a planar surface 311 extending from the mitered surface portion 308 and a curved surface 310 extending from the planar surface 311 of the mitered corner 307 .
[0033] It is noted that terms like “preferably,” “commonly,” and “typically” are not utilized herein to limit the scope of the claimed invention or to imply that certain features are critical, essential, or even important to the structure or function of the claimed invention. Rather, these terms are merely intended to highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not be utilized in a particular embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] For the purposes of describing and defining the present invention it is noted that the term “substantially” is utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. The term “substantially” is also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.
[0035] Having described the invention in detail and by reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims. More specifically, although some aspects of the present invention are identified herein as preferred or particularly advantageous, it is contemplated that the present invention is not necessarily limited to these preferred aspects of the invention.
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The present invention relates to bulkheads and brackets for use a part of a bulkhead. The bulkhead includes an upstanding portion including a bracket-mounting end, a mitering portion including a bracket-engaging end, and a bracket including a seat cavity adapted to receive the bracket-engaging end of the mitering portion. The bracket is configured to orient the mitering portion at an acute angle with respect to the upstanding portion with the bracket-engaging end of the mitering portion adjacent the bracket-mounting end of the upstanding portion. Methods are also provided that comprise the steps of arranging a plurality of upstanding portions to define a casting area, pouring uncured precast material into the casting area, and curing the precast material to provide a panel with a mitered corner. In accordance with 37 CFR 1.72(b), the purpose of this abstract is to enable the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly, from a cursory inspection, the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract will not be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.
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CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2008-235757 and 2009-180959, which were filed on Sep. 12, 2008 and Aug. 3, 2009, respectively, are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an imaging system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an imaging apparatus for selecting an arbitrary area from an image based on an image signal outputted from the imaging apparatus and outputting an image in the selected area to an external apparatus, and relates also to an imaging system.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Conventionally, there is appreciatedly used a surveillance camera system for monitoring a plurality of monitored sites by using a plurality of surveillance cameras.
[0006] One example of this type of a surveillance camera system is configured to use a plurality of surveillance cameras including a surveillance camera having an orbiting function so as to select and display a monitored video about a plurality of monitored sites of the plurality of surveillance cameras. Specifically, there is disclosed a technology capable of promptly displaying a desired monitored site or monitored position by displaying data about the monitored site or monitored position on a manipulation screen on which the monitored video is selected and displayed and allowing a user to select the desired monitored site or monitored position based on the data,
[0007] However, the surveillance camera of the conventional technology is disadvantageous for the user due to the following points:
[0000] (1) In order to monitor a plurality of sites at one time, it is necessary to provide a plurality of cameras and a video switching apparatus;
(2) When an image pickup element having a large total number of pixels is adopted as the surveillance camera, it is certain that when an imaging signal obtained by imaging a subject is displayed on a monitor capable of displaying a high-resolution image, it is possible to view a high-resolution image. However, in order to display the image based on the imaging signal, on a monitor not capable of displaying the high-resolution image, a scaler process for degrading a resolution is performed. In the scaler process, an unnecessary process is performed on the original imaging signal, and thus, an image quality of the image based on the processed imaging signal is lowered. Also, an image of an overall angle of field is displayed on the monitor, it is therefore probable that a site intended to monitor cannot be monitored; and
(3) Furthermore, when a surveillance camera mounted thereon with an optical zoom is adopted so as to perform an optical zoom process, center of a subject is enlarged as a point of center in the optical zoom process, and thus, it is probable for the user not to be able to view an image in which a desired location is enlarged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] An imaging apparatus according to the present invention, comprises: an imager for imaging an object scene image so as to produce imaging data; a cutout processor for cutting out one portion of the imaging data so as to create a plurality of cutout image data; and an outputter for sequentially outputting the plurality of cutout image data to an external apparatus at predetermined output intervals.
[0009] Preferably, there is further provided an assigner for assigning to each of the plurality of cutout image data an order for outputting to the external apparatus, in which the outputter sequentially outputs the plurality of cutout image data to the external apparatus at predetermined output intervals, based on the order assigned by the assigner.
[0010] Further preferably, there is further provided a setter for setting a zoom factor to each of the plurality of cutout image data, in which the cutout processor cuts out one portion of the imaging data based on each zoom factor set by the setter so as to create the plurality of cutout image data.
[0011] According to the present invention, an imaging system configured by: an imaging apparatus for imaging an object scene image so as to produce imaging data and outputting the imaging data an image processing apparatus for accepting the imaging data outputted from the imaging apparatus; and an external apparatus for displaying an image based on the imaging data outputted from the imaging apparatus on a first displayer, in which the image processing apparatus comprises: a display processor for displaying an image based on the imaging data on a second displayer; and an area designator for designating a plurality of arbitrary areas from the image displayed by the second displayer, and the imaging apparatus comprises: a cutout processor for creating a plurality of cutout image data by cutting out one portion of the imaging data, based on the plurality of arbitrary areas designated by the area designator provided in the image processing apparatus; and an outputter for sequentially outputting the plurality of cutout image data to the first displayer at predetermined output intervals.
[0012] Preferably, the imaging apparatus further comprises an assigner for assigning an order for outputting to the first displayer, to each of the plurality of cutout image data, and the outputter sequentially outputs the plurality of cutout image data to the first displayer at predetermined output intervals, based on the order assigned by the assigner.
[0013] Further preferably, there is further provided a setter for setting a zoom factor to each of the plurality of cutout image data, in which the cutout processor cuts out one portion of the imaging data based on each zoom factor set by the setter so as to create the plurality of cutout image data.
[0014] Preferably, the external apparatus is a monitor connected by a cable to the imaging apparatus.
[0015] Preferably, the external apparatus is an information processing apparatus connected to the imaging apparatus via a network.
[0016] Preferably, the external apparatus is a monitor connected by a cable to the imaging apparatus.
[0017] Preferably, the external apparatus is an information processing apparatus connected to the imaging apparatus via a network.
[0018] The above described features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a connection example among an image processing apparatus, a surveillance camera, and a monitoring monitor, which is a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the surveillance camera, which is the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image processing apparatus, which is the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing a setting screen of an interval display mode displayed on an LCD monitor 14 a , which is the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a transition diagram of an image display in the interval display mode displayed on the monitoring monitor, which is the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing one portion of an operation of the surveillance camera, which is the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a connection example among an image processing apparatus, a surveillance camera, and a monitoring monitor, which is a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the surveillance camera, which is the second embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image processing apparatus, which is the second embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing a setting screen of an interval display mode displayed on an LCD monitor 14 a , which is the second embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 11 is an illustrative view of an image display in the interval display mode displayed on a monitor provided in an information processing apparatus, which is the second embodiment of the present invention; and
[0030] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing one portion of an operation of the surveillance camera, which is the second embodiment of the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
First Embodiment
[0031] A first embodiment will be described by using, as one example of an imaging apparatus and an imaging processing system of the present invention, a mode of a surveillance camera system 2 configured by: a surveillance camera 10 ; an image processing apparatus 14 that is connected via a LAN cable to the surveillance camera 10 and that is inputted an image signal outputted from the surveillance camera 10 ; and a monitoring monitor 12 connected via a composite cable to the surveillance camera 10 .
[0032] FIG. 1 shows a connection example of the surveillance camera 10 , the monitoring monitor 12 , and the image processing apparatus 14 , of the first embodiment. The image processing apparatus 14 is connected via the LAN cable to the surveillance camera 10 , and the monitoring monitor 12 is connected via the composite cable to the surveillance camera 10 . The image processing apparatus 14 is configured to include an LCD monitor 14 a , a signal processing apparatus 14 b , and a pointing device 14 c . Compressed image data obtained by performing a signal process on an image signal that is produced by being imaged by the surveillance camera 10 is inputted via the LAN cable in the signal processing apparatus 14 b . Also, the image signal produced by the surveillance camera 10 is converted to a video signal, which is inputted via the composite cable in the monitoring monitor 12 .
[0033] In the monitoring monitor 12 , monitoring by the user is done, and the compressed image data inputted in the signal processing apparatus 14 b is set based on the compressed image data within the signal processing apparatus 14 b , for a recording process of the compressed image data and the monitoring by the user in the monitoring monitor 12 .
[0034] Next, by using FIG. 2 which is a block diagram of inside the surveillance camera 10 shown in FIG. 1 , the surveillance camera 10 will be described in detail.
[0035] The surveillance camera 10 is configured to include: an imaging lens 16 , a CMOS imager 18 a , an imaging processing portion 18 b , an SDRAM 20 , a CPU 22 , a compression processing portion 24 , a flash ROM 26 , a D/A converting portion 27 , a communication interface 28 , a video encoder 29 , a bus 23 , and a video-signal output interface 31 .
[0036] The imaging lens 16 forms an optical image of a subject on an imaging surface of the CMOS imager 18 a , which is an imaging device. Herein, in the first embodiment, the CMOS imager 18 a having a large total number of pixels, for example, a CMOS imager having, as an effective image area, 2528×1788 (vertical×horizontal) pixels, is adopted.
[0037] Furthermore, the imaging lens 16 , based on an output signal of the CMOS imager 18 a , is regulated in movement in an optical-axis direction by a lens motor (not shown) controlled by the CPU 22 . An analog imaging signal outputted from the CMOS imager 18 a is inputted in the imaging processing portion 18 b , and the inputted analog imaging signal is subjected to various processes such as an A/D converting process, a CDS process, a signal amplifying process, and a clamping process. The processed digital imaging signal is temporarily accommodated in an SDRAM 20 .
[0038] The digital imaging signal accommodated in the SDRAM 20 is inputted in the imaging processing portion 18 b , and by the imaging processing portion 18 b , the resultant signal is subjected to various signal processes such as a color separating process, an AWB process, and a YUV converting process. As a result, a Y signal that is a luminance signal and U and V signals that are color difference signals are produced, and these signals are again accommodated in the SDRAM 20 as digital image data. Herein, the digital imaging signal based on output of the CMOS imager 18 a is thinned out when undergoing the color separating process, the YUV converting process, etc., and thus, a size of the digital image data accommodated again in the SDRAM 20 becomes smaller.
[0039] The imaging lens 16 , the imaging processing portion 18 b , the SDRAM 20 , the compression processing portion 24 , the D/A converting portion 27 , and the communication interface 28 are controlled via the bus 23 by the CPU 22 .
[0040] The CPU 22 uses the communication interface 28 so as to accommodate instructing/setting data outputted from the image processing apparatus 14 in an SDRAM 20 or a register (not shown) within the CPU 22 . For example, when an imaging start instruction is outputted from the image processing apparatus 14 , for example, the CPU 22 executes an imaging process. Moreover, the instructing/setting data may be pan/tilt control data for controlling a motor for panning/tilting a lens unit (not shown) including the imaging lens 16 of the surveillance camera 10 .
[0041] Next, with respect to the imaging process of the surveillance camera 10 of the first embodiment, control of the CPU 22 will be mainly described. When accepting the imaging start instruction from the image processing apparatus 14 , the CPU 22 repeatedly produces the Y, U, and V signals according to a predetermined frame rate by controlling the imaging lens 16 , the CMOS imager 18 a , the imaging processing portion 18 b , and the SDRAM 20 . Herein, the predetermined frame rate is an arbitrary frame rate set to the register (not shown) of the CPU 22 before the surveillance camera 10 starts imaging or after starting imaging.
[0042] The Y, U, and V signals are again accommodated in the SDRAM 20 via the bus 23 , and are repeatedly inputted in the compression processing portion 24 . Then, the compression processing portion 24 performs a compressing process on the Y, U, and V signals according to an H264 system or a JPEG system as a compressing process, and image compression data produced by the compressing process is again accommodated via the bus 23 in the SDRAM 20 .
[0043] Subsequently, the image compression data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 is outputted from the communication interface 28 to the image processing apparatus 14 .
[0044] Now, the surveillance camera 10 is provided with an interval display mode in which an image (video signal) is outputted at a predetermined updating interval (interval) to the monitoring monitor 12 so that the image is displayed thereon. The interval display mode is arranged in order to monitor a plurality of monitored sites in a switching manner with the single surveillance camera 10 . As described above, as a result of being thinned out in the color separating process, etc., based on the output of the CMOS imager 18 a , the digital image data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 is configured by a size of which one frame is 1920×1080 (vertical×horizontal) pixels (aspect ratio of 16:9), for example. However, in terms of an image size displayed on the monitoring monitor 12 , an image having an SD size of 720×480 (vertical×horizontal) pixels (aspect ratio of 4:3) may suffice. The size is so determined due to the fact, conversely speaking, that it is probable that an image quality is degraded when a scaling process is performed on a high-resolution image in order to lower the resolution.
[0045] In the interval display mode, firstly, the digital image data based on the output of the CMOS imager 18 a is accommodated in the SDRAM 20 . Herein, as described above, one frame of the digital image data is configured by a Full-HD size having 1920×1080 (vertical×horizontal) pixels (aspect ratio of 16:9), the image displayed on the monitoring monitor 12 , however, is an image of an SD size having 720×480 (vertical×horizontal) pixels (aspect ratio of 4:3).
[0046] The digital image data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 is executed in an image processing apparatus 14 (this is described later). In order to correspond to an SD-sized arbitrary area—set in a display setting process for performing a setting of the interval display mode—that the users intends to monitor by giving a special attention, the CPU 22 performs a cutout process. Specifically, setting data including a plurality of arbitrary areas, an arbitrary interval speed, and a display order, set in the image processing apparatus 14 is inputted from the image processing apparatus 14 in the surveillance camera 10 via the communication interface 28 .
[0047] The CPU 22 accommodates the setting data in the SDRAM 20 , and also accommodates the same in the flash ROM 26 . This accommodating process of the setting data in the flash ROM 26 is a process performed for the purposes of data back up in the event where an electric power supply to the surveillance camera 10 is cut off due to a power failure, etc., and thus, the setting data accommodated in the register within the CPU 22 is erased.
[0048] The CPU 22 recognizes the plurality of arbitrary areas, the arbitrary interval speed, and the display order based on the setting data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 , performs the cutout process on the Full HD-sized digital image data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 so as to change to the SD-sized image data. The resultant data is converted to an analog video signal in the D/A converting portion 27 , and outputted to the video encoder 29 . In the video encoder 29 , the outputted data is converted to a video signal of an NTSC system, and outputted to the monitoring monitor 12 via a video-signal output interface 31 .
[0049] Next, by using FIG. 3 which is a block diagram of inside the image processing apparatus 14 shown in FIG. 1 , the image processing apparatus 14 will be described in detail. As described previously, the image processing apparatus 14 is configured by the LCD monitor 14 a , the signal processing apparatus 14 b , and the pointing device 14 c.
[0050] The signal processing apparatus 14 b is configured by: a communication interface 30 , a CPU 32 , a decompression processing portion 34 , an SDRAM 36 , an LCD monitor driver 42 , a hard disk driver 44 , a hard disk 46 , a pointing device driver 48 , and a bus 50 .
[0051] The CPU 32 controls the communication interface 30 , the decompression processing portion 34 , the SDRAM 36 , the LCD monitor driver 42 , and the hard disk driver 44 , via the bus 50 . Furthermore, the CPU 32 is connected also to the pointing device driver 48 . When the pointing device 14 c is manipulated, position information, outputted from the pointing device 14 c , of a cursor on the LCD monitor 14 a is inputted in the CPU 32 via the pointing device driver 48 .
[0052] Moreover, the LCD monitor driver 42 is connected to the LCD monitor 14 a , and decompressed image data is displayed, as an image, on the LCD monitor 14 a . The hard disk driver 44 is connected to the hard disk 46 , and the compressed image data compressed by an H264 system or a JPEG system is recorded in the hard disk 46 .
[0053] Next, a process performed in the image processing apparatus 14 of the compressed image data outputted from the surveillance camera 10 will be described. The image processing apparatus 14 in the first embodiment executes the recording process for recording the compressed image data in the hard disk 46 and the display setting process for performing setting of the interval display mode in which the SD-sized image obtained by performing the cutout process on the Full HD-sized image is displayed on the monitoring monitor 12 at the predetermined updating interval (interval).
[0054] The display setting process of the interval display mode in the surveillance camera 10 will be described with reference to a display setting screen shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 .
[0055] Firstly, the recording process will be described. The compressed image data (from the surveillance camera 10 ) compressed by the H264 system is inputted via the LAN cable in the communication interface 30 , and is temporarily inputted in the SDRAM 36 via the bus 50 . Then, the CPU 32 controls the SDRAM 36 and the hard disk driver 44 so as to record the compressed image data in the hard disk 46 .
[0056] Next, the display setting process for performing setting of the interval display mode will be described by using FIG. 4 . In this display setting process, mainly, a plurality of arbitrary areas that the user intends to monitor by giving a special attention are set, and an arbitrary interval speed is set.
[0057] FIG. 4 shows a setting screen for performing setting of the interval display mode. As shown in FIG. 4 , on the left side of the setting screen, three marks—three buttons in the first embodiment—are displayed in a mark area Yin a superimposed manner. The three buttons are displayed by the CPU 32 in a manner to be superimposed in the mark area Y based on a program accommodated in a flash memory not shown. Specifically, the three buttons are “option”, “cutout area setting”, and “help” buttons. Then, in order that the buttons are selected by the manipulation from the pointing device 14 c , a graphical user interface (GUI) function is mounted in the image processing apparatus 14 in the first embodiment.
[0058] On an upper right side of the setting screen, an image based on the compression image signal, which is a JPEG image compressed by a JPEG system, is displayed in a cutout setting area Z. On a lower right side of the setting screen, setting items and setting values are displayed by using marks in a setting modifying area U. Then, selecting/setting based on this setting screen also adopts the GUI function, and thus, when the pointing device 14 c is manipulated, it becomes possible to perform the selecting/setting.
[0059] In the cutout setting area Z, a thinning-out process is so performed that an image of compressed image data having an aspect ratio of 16:9 and having 1920×1080 (horizontal×vertical) pixels is changed to an image of the same aspect ratio of 16:9, and the resultant image is displayed. Also, on the setting modifying area U, a cursor corresponding to a motion of the pointing device 14 c is displayed. The pointing device 14 c , which is like a mouse, for example, moves its main body in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction, senses the movement by using a sensor that utilizing a ball, infrared, a laser, etc., and outputs 2-dimensional moving distance information to the CPU 32 , or when a left-click manipulation is performed, the pointing device 14 c outputs left click information to the CPU 32 . Based on the moving distance information, the CPU 32 displays the movement of the cursor on the cutout setting area Z, or recognizes the selecting/setting based on the left-click information.
[0060] Next, a method of setting an arbitrary area in the cutout setting area Z will be described. When the left-click manipulation is performed on the pointing device 14 c by the user, a rectangular framework corresponding to the SD-sized area is displayed in the cutout setting area Z. Then, when the user manipulates the pointing device 14 c in the horizontal and vertical directions, the cursor is moved within the framework, and when the left-click manipulation is performed at a point at which the cursor is moved within the framework and the pointing device 14 c is manipulated in the horizontal and vertical directions while continuing the left-click manipulation by the user, the framework is moved on the cutout setting area Z. When the left-click manipulation is canceled at a user's arbitrary position, the movement of the framework is interrupted. When the left-click manipulation by the pointing device 14 c is performed by the user on a mark, i.e., a set button S in the first embodiment, displayed below the setting modifying area U, the arbitrary area is finalized, and the finalized arbitrary area is set as the cutout area.
[0061] Specifically, the CPU 32 calculates a position address based on a coordinate (V1, W1)(at an upper left corner of the framework forming a rectangle) of an image having an aspect ratio of 16:9 currently displayed in the cutout setting area Z, and records the calculated position address as the cutting-out area in the SDRAM 36 and also records a corresponding number “1” in association with the cutout area. At this time, the CPU 32 displays a framework corresponding to the set cutout area on the cutout setting area Z, and the number “1” at the upper left within the framework. This framework and number correspond to a “cutout area 1 ” in a setting item column in the setting modifying area U. Also, in order to allow the user to view easily, it is so displayed that a color of the framework corresponding to “cutout area 1 ” is rendered blue, a color of the framework corresponding to “cutout area 2 ” is rendered pink, and a color of the framework corresponding to “cutout area 3 ” is rendered green.
[0062] By using a manipulation similar to that described above, the user is able to set the “cutout area 2 ” and the “cutout area 3 ”.
[0063] Then, it is assumed that as shown in FIG. 4 , the “cutout area 1 ”, the “cutout area 2 ”, and the “cutout area 3 ” are currently set. Herein, “DELETE” in the setting value corresponding to the “cutout area 1 ” in the setting item column is also displayed by a button or mark. The “DELETE” button changes in color depending on a setting state. As described above, when the cutout area is set by the user, the “DELETE” button is modified. Specifically, the color of a button before being set is displayed in a color that is not prominent relative to a background color, for example, grey. Then, when the setting is performed, the color of a button is modified to a color that is prominent relative to the background color, for example, white. Herein, the “cutout area 4 ” is not set. Thus, the “DELETE” button in the setting value corresponding to the “cutout area 4 ” or setting item is expressed in grey.
[0064] To be specifically described by using FIG. 4 , the “cutout area 1 ”, the “cutout area 2 ”, and the “cutout area 3 ” are set, and for the sake of illustration, the “DELETE” buttons corresponding to the respective areas are expressed in a manner to be surrounded by a solid line. However, in reality, characters of this button, i.e., “DELETE”, are expressed in black, and portions other than the characters surrounded by the solid line are expressed in white.
[0065] Moreover, in FIG. 4 , for the sake of illustration, the “DELETE” button corresponding to the “cutout area 4 ” is expressed in a manner to be surrounded by a dotted line. However, in reality, characters of this button, i.e., “DELETE”, are expressed in black, and portions other than the characters surrounded by the dotted line are expressed in grey. The CPU 32 also records color information about each of the “DELETE” buttons, in the SDRAM 36 .
[0066] In the setting modifying area U, there are displayed “image updating interval” as a setting item, and a pull-down button (which is a mark) as a setting value corresponding to that setting item. Herein, the “image updating interval” is an interval speed in the above-described interval display mode. The user performs the left-click manipulation on “▾” in the pull down button by using the pointing device 14 c , and when the user performs the left-click manipulation on a desired interval speed from among a plurality of interval speeds such as “3 seconds”, “5 seconds”, “1 minute”, and “3 minutes”, each of which is displayed in a vertical direction, the interval speed is selected.
[0067] Then, when the user performs the left-click manipulation on a set button S, the interval speed is set. In FIG. 4 , “5 seconds” is set as the interval speed.
[0068] Moreover, in the setting item column within the setting modifying area U, check boxes P are arranged, to the left of and adjacent to, character strings of “cutout area 1 ” to “cutout area 4 ”, which are the setting items. When the user performs the left-click manipulation on each check box P by using the pointing device 14 c , the check marks are entered. As a result of such a manipulation being performed, the cutout area in which the check mark is entered is set as a cutout area to be displayed in the interval display mode.
[0069] On the setting screen in the interval display mode, when the pointing device 14 c is manipulated by the user, the setting data relating to the set cutout area, the interval speed, the number, etc., are outputted to the surveillance camera 10 . The CPU 22 of the surveillance camera 10 performs an interval display process in the interval display mode based on the setting data inputted from the image processing apparatus 14 .
[0070] The interval display process will be described with reference to FIGS. 5( a ) to 5 ( c ). FIGS. 5( a ) to 5 ( c ) show diagrams in which the images corresponding to the set cutout areas 1 to 3 are displayed on the monitoring monitor 12 in setting the above-described interval display mode.
[0071] Firstly, an image A corresponding to the cutout area 1 shown in FIG. 5( a ) is displayed. After five seconds, an image B corresponding to the cutout area 2 shown in FIG. 5( b ) is displayed. After another five seconds, an image C corresponding to the cutout area 3 shown in FIG. 5( c ) is displayed. Then, after yet another five seconds, the image A corresponding to the cutout area 1 shown in FIG. 5( a ) is displayed. Thereafter, the images A, B, and C are repeatedly displayed in order at the interval speed of five seconds. An order of displaying the images corresponding to the cutout areas in the first embodiment is as follows: the images are repeatedly displayed in order from a smaller numerical number within each framework displayed in the cutout setting area Z (1→2→3→1→ . . . ).
[0072] Next, with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 6 , a procedure of the CPU 22 , applied to the surveillance camera 10 in the first embodiment, in the interval display process of the interval display mode will be described. The CPU 22 executes the following procedure, based on the program accommodated in the flash memory not shown.
[0073] The CPU 22 is provided with a timer and a counter L not shown. The timer counts a predetermined time period, and times-up when the predetermined time period arrives. When the interval display mode is set, the interval display process is started. At this time, it is determined in a step S 1 whether or not the cutout area is set. When NO is determined in the step S 1 , the interval display process is ended, and when Yes is determined, the process advances to a step S 2 . In the step 2 , the interval speed is set to the timer, i.e., a time-up time period is set. In the above-described first embodiment, five seconds is set as the interval speed, and thus, when a time-up value of five seconds is set to the timer, the timer times-up after an elapse of five seconds from a start. Then, the process advances to a step S 3 .
[0074] In the step S 3 , a value of the counter L is set to 1. The value of the counter L is equivalent to a cutout area number. Next, the process advances to a step S 5 in which it is determined whether or not the cutout area of which the number corresponds to the value of the counter L is set as the cutout area displayed in the interval display mode. In this step, that is, it is determined whether or not the check mark is set to the check box P of the cutout area of which the number corresponds to the value of the counter L.
[0075] When NO is determined in the step S 5 , the process advances to a step S 13 so as to increment the value of the counter L by one (L=L+1). Next, the process advances to a step S 15 so as to determine whether or not a current value of the counter L is larger than a maximum numeral set. Herein, in the first embodiment, the numeral set as the cutout area framework number is “3”, and it is therefore determined whether or not L is larger than 3. When YES is determined in the step S 15 , the process returns to the step S 3 , and when NO is determined, the process returns to the step S 5 .
[0076] Moreover, when YES is determined in the step S 5 , an area to be cut out is set to a cutout area L, and the timer is reset and started (in a step S 7 ). Then, the process advances to a step S 9 so as to perform a cutout process for cutting out from the digital image data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 , based on the cutout area corresponding to the value of the counter L. Then, the process furthermore performs a D/A converting process and a video-signal converting process, on the digital image data on which the cutout process is performed, so as to output the cutout image (video signal) to the monitoring monitor 12 .
[0077] Next, the process advances to a step S 11 so as to determine whether or not the timer is timed up. In the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not five seconds has been elapsed from the start of the timer. When NO is determined in the step S 11 , the process returns to the step S 9 , and when YES is determined, the process advances to the step S 13 .
[0078] In the above-described procedure, when the setting data is inputted from the image processing apparatus 14 to the surveillance camera 10 , the CPU 22 accommodates the setting data in the SDRAM 22 and also performs an interrupting process for accommodating the setting data in the flash ROM 26 . Thereafter, the procedure is reset, and the process returns to the step S 1 .
[0079] In this way, in the first embodiment, it is possible to output in order a plurality of cutout areas set by the user to the monitoring monitor 12 , at the interval speed set by the user, and thus, it becomes possible to monitor a plurality of areas by the single surveillance camera 10 .
Second Embodiment
[0080] A second embodiment will be described by using, as another example of the imaging apparatus and the imaging processing system of the present invention, a mode of a surveillance camera system 102 configured by: a surveillance camera 110 ; an image processing apparatus 14 , connected via a LAN cable to the surveillance camera 110 , for inputting an image signal outputted from the surveillance camera 110 ; and an information processing apparatus 120 including a monitor connected via a network to the surveillance camera 110 , as shown in FIG. 7 .
[0081] The second embodiment is characterized by being configured as follows: firstly, a point in which the cutout process is performed on the set cutout area based on an arbitrary zoom factor is added to the cutout process of the interval display mode shown in the first embodiment. Secondly, instead of the process, shown in the first embodiment, in which the image data on which the cutout process is performed is outputted to the monitoring monitor 12 , a zoom process (the cutout process and the zoom process herein are combined and these are referred to as a cutout zoom process) is performed on the image data on which the cutout process is performed based on the zoom factor so that the SD size is achieved when being displayed, and in this state, a compressing process is performed, and the compressed image data is outputted to the information processing apparatus 120 via a network. Hereinafter, the surveillance camera system 102 of the second embodiment will be described in detail. However, there are a plurality of points common to those of the first embodiment, and thus, the common points will not be described. Also, regarding FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 , it is regarded that blocks to which the same numerals as those in the first embodiment are allotted have common roles/functions/operations, etc., and thus, its description will be omitted.
[0082] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the surveillance camera 110 . The surveillance camera 110 differs from the surveillance camera 10 in the first embodiment in that an electronic zoom processing portion 140 and a network interface 150 are arranged whereas the D/A converting portion 27 , the video encoder 29 , and the video-signal output interface 31 in the first embodiment are deleted.
[0083] In terms of operation, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that when performing the cutout process by the CPU 22 , the cutout area that has been set is modified depending on the zoom factor set in the image processing apparatus 14 , and the electronic zoom processing portion 140 is controlled to perform an electronic zoom process on the modified cutout area so that the SD-sized image data is obtained. The image data which is obtained by performing the electronic zoom process and on which the cutout zoom process has been performed is subjected to a compressing process according to an H264 system in the compression processing portion 24 , an MPEG system, or a JPEG system, and the zoom-image compressed data produced by the compressing process is accommodated again in the SDRAM 20 via the bus 23 . The zoom-image compressed data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 is inputted to the network interface 150 , and outputted to the information processing apparatus 120 via the network.
[0084] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the image processing apparatus 14 b . The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a device for transmitting and receiving the data in the communication interface 30 is the surveillance camera 110 . However, the function, the operation, etc., are similar to those in the first embodiment. Thus, the description therefor will be omitted.
[0085] Next, the display setting process for setting the interval display mode in the second embodiment will be described by using FIG. 10 . The display setting process in the second embodiment is substantially similar to the display setting process in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. However, a difference is that in the setting modifying area U, a pull-down button or mark is arranged, adjacently to “DELETE”, as the setting value corresponding to “cutout area ∘” such as “cutout area 1 ”. The user performs the left-click manipulation on “▾” in the pull down button by using the pointing device 14 c . Then, when the left-click manipulation is performed on the zoom factor desired by the user, out of a plurality of zoom factors such as “0.5 times”, “1 time”, “1.5 times”, “2 times”, and “3 times”, each of which is displayed in a vertical direction, the zoom factor is selected.
[0086] Similarly to the first embodiment, when the pointing device 14 c is manipulated by the user, the setting data relating to the set cutout area, the interval speed, the zoom factor, the number, etc., are outputted to the surveillance camera 110 . The CPU 22 of the surveillance camera 110 performs the interval display process in the interval display mode based on the setting data inputted from the image processing apparatus 14 .
[0087] The interval display process in the second embodiment is substantially similar to the operation shown in FIG. 5 in the first embodiment. However, instead of the cutout process in the first embodiment, the cutout zoom process in which the cut out and the zoom process are performed according to the set zoom factor is executed in the second embodiment.
[0088] The cutout zoom process will be described with reference to FIGS. 11( a ) and 11 ( b ). FIG. 11( a ) expresses an image A corresponding to the set cutout area 1 . Herein, when the pointing device 14 c is manipulated, the zoom factor is modified. Then, the cutout zoom process is executed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10 , the cutout zoom process will be described in detail by using an example in which the zoom factor of “2 times” is set to the “cutout area 1 ”.
[0089] The CPU 22 firstly calculates a center point C of the image A corresponding to the set cutout area 1 . Based on the calculated center point C, the set zoom factor (2 times) is applied so as to newly set a cutout area that should be cut out. Then, the electronic-zoom processing portion 140 is controlled to perform the electronic zoom process for electronically enlarging the newly set cutout area in order to obtain the SD-sized image. FIG. 11( b ) shows an image A′ on which the electronic zoom process is performed.
[0090] Therefore, in the interval display process in the second embodiment, the image that has complied with the zoom factor set to each of the set cutout areas is subjected to a predetermined process such as a compressing process at the set interval speed and in set sequence, and in this state, the resultant image is outputted to the information processing apparatus 120 .
[0091] Next, with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 12 , a procedure of the CPU 22 in the interval display process in the interval display mode applied to the surveillance camera 110 in the second embodiment will be described. The CPU 22 executes the following procedure, based on the program accommodated in the flash memory not shown.
[0092] Processes from a step S 21 to a step S 27 are similar to the step S 1 to the step S 5 , which is the procedure of the CPU 22 in the interval display process in the interval display mode applied to the surveillance camera 10 in the first embodiment, and thus, its description will be omitted.
[0093] When YES is determined in a step S 27 , the process advances to a step S 29 to reset and start the timer. Then, the process advances to a step S 31 , and based on the cutout area and zoom factor corresponding to the value of the counter L, the cutout process for cutting out from the digital image data accommodated in the SDRAM 20 is performed, and the electronic-zoom processing portion 140 is controlled to perform the electronic zoom process (cutout zoom process) so as to obtain the SD-sized image. Thereafter, the process advances to a step S 33 in which the compression processing portion 24 is controlled to perform the compressing process on the image data on which the cutout zoom process is performed, and the resultant image data is outputted to the information processing apparatus 120 .
[0094] Then, the process advances to a step S 35 so as to determine whether or not the timer is timed up. When NO is determined in the step S 35 , the process returns to the step S 31 , and when YES is determined, the process advances to a step S 37 .
[0095] Processes from the step S 37 to a step S 39 are similar to the step S 13 to the step S 15 , which is the procedure of the CPU 22 in the first embodiment, and thus, its description will be omitted.
[0096] In this way, in the second embodiment, it is possible to output in order a plurality of cutout areas set by the user to the information processing apparatus 120 , at the interval speed and the zoom factor set by the user, and thus, it becomes possible to monitor in a greater detail a plurality of areas by the single surveillance camera 110 . At this time, the zoom process according to the zoom factor is the electronic zoom process, and different from an optical zoom process for performing a zoom process by mainly concentrating on an optical image of a subject, it is possible to zoom the cutout area set by the user, and thus, it is possible for the user to monitor an enlarged/reduced image of a desired cutout area.
[0097] It is noted that the image processing apparatus 14 in the second embodiment is configured by the LCD monitor 14 a , the signal processing apparatus 14 b , and the pointing device 14 c . However, the signal processing apparatus 14 b may be a so-called personal computer. In this case, the program for executing various types of setting screen displays in this embodiment is accommodated in a recording medium, and when the program is installed by the user, the personal computer executes various processes. The decompressing process in the decompression processing portion 34 is executed by the CPU 32 .
[0098] Also, the surveillance camera system 2 or 102 in the first or second embodiment is configured by the surveillance camera 10 or 110 , the image processing apparatus 14 , and the monitoring monitor 12 or the information processing apparatus 120 , and the image corresponding to the cutout area is outputted to the monitoring monitor 12 or the information processing apparatus 120 . However, the image corresponding to the cutout area may be displayed on the LCD monitor 14 a of the image processing apparatus 14 without connecting the monitoring monitor 12 or the information processing apparatus 120 . In that case, the CPU 32 decompresses the compressed image data outputted from the surveillance camera 10 or 110 , in the decompression processing portion 34 , accommodates the decompressed digital image data in the SDRAM 36 , cuts out the image corresponding to the cutout area that should be outputted, and accommodates the resultant image again in the SDRAM 36 . Then, the digital image data is outputted to the LCD monitor driver 42 so as to display the image on the LCD monitor 14 a.
[0099] Moreover, in the surveillance camera 10 in the first embodiment, the order of outputting the images corresponding to the set cutout area 1 , cutout area 2 , and cutout area 3 to the monitoring monitor 12 or the information processing apparatus 120 is the order of outputting the image corresponding to the area as follows: the cutout area 1 →the cutout area 2 →the cutout area 3 →the cutout area 1 , . . . . However, this order may be modified by the manipulation of the user. It may be also possible to so set that the image corresponding to the cutout area 2 is not outputted. In that case, the images corresponding to the area may be outputted in the order of the cutout area 1 →the cutout area 3 →the cutout area 1 , . . . .
[0100] Furthermore, in the surveillance camera 10 or 110 in the first or second embodiment, the CPU 22 controls the imaging processing portion 18 b , the compression processing portion 24 , and the D/A converting portion 27 to execute each process in the respective blocks. However, these may be configured by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). In this case, each process is executed as a result of the CPU 22 being setting a predetermined value to a register not shown.
[0101] In the first or second embodiment, the size of one frame of digital imaging data, which is a cutout source of each cutout area is configured by the size of 1920×1080 (vertical×horizontal) pixels (aspect ratio of 16:9). However, the size may be 1600×1200 pixels (aspect ratio of 4:3).
[0102] In the surveillance camera system 102 in the second embodiment, the setting values within the setting modifying area U of which the zoom factors are displayed on the monitor of the image processing apparatus 14 are modified/set as a result of the user being selecting from the pull-down button. However, the following may also be possible: the pointing device 14 c is manipulated to set the cursor within a rectangular framework corresponding to the cutout area displayed in the cutout setting area Z, and in this state, a left double-click is performed to increase the zoom factor and a right double-click is performed to decrease the zoom factor.
[0103] Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.
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The present invention provides an imaging apparatus capable of monitoring a plurality of monitored sites in a switching manner by a single surveillance camera and an imaging system. Provided are: an imager for imaging an object scene image so as to produce imaging data; a cutout processor for cutting out one portion of the imaging data so as to create a plurality of cutout image data; and an outputter for sequentially outputting the plurality of cutout image data to the external apparatus at a predetermined output interval.
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This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 823,107, filed Aug. 9, 1977, and now abandoned, which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 660,398, filed Feb. 23, 1976, and now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for continuously measuring and monitoring the characteristics of a moving filament, such as the denier of a synthetic yarn, by passing the filament through a capacitive sensor to develop an electrical signal representing an absolute measurement of the filament, with reference to a prescribed datum or zero point. For example, denier is a unit of fineness for yarn equivalent to 1 gram per 9,000 meters of length, referred to zero. Thus a 15-denier weighs 15 grams per 9,000 meters. More particularly, this invention relates to a means and method for abrogating errors arising from slowly occurring variations in the capacitive sensor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices and methods for capacitively monitoring the characteristics of a continuously moving filament are known. In one advantageous device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,660 to Piso, a filament is passed through a capacitive sensor to develop an absolute measurement of the filament with reference to a prescribed datum or zero point, thus permitting the monitoring of characteristics such as the denier of synthetic yarn filaments, with the absolute measurement of denier being made available for utilization, e.g., to give an alarm if the denier measurement is outside a prescribed range of acceptable deniers.
An example of the use of such a filament monitoring device is shown schematically in FIG. 1, wherein a filament F is extruded from an extruding head E and is to be wound upon a bobbin B. The filament F passes through a slot S in a capacitive sensor head H, which is arranged to supply, on output line L, an electrical signal which varies with the capacitance of filament F, and thereby provides a measurement of the filament's denier. It has been learned that as filaments are monitored in sensor heads H, contaminants from various sources build up between the capacitor plates in sensing head H, causing the signal on line L to drift and no longer provide an accurate absolute measurement of the capacitance of filament F.
Heretofore errors due to the buildup of contaminants in sensor heads H has been counteracted by periodic cleaning of the sensor heads. However, relatively common-place filaments F promote a rapid contaminant buildup and necessitate frequent cleaning. For example, low denier filaments may contain agents which contaminate the sensor head and require it to be examined and cleaned as much as twice a week. High denier filaments, such as those used for tire cords, are subject to flaking, and sometimes have an oil finish, which lead to rapid contaminant buildup and require more frequent cleaning.
Cleaning of sensor heads necessarily requires substantial interruption of monitoring, and prevents full utilization of capacitive measurement systems in filament monitoring if accurate absolute measurements are to be maintained.
SUMMARY
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved capacitive measurement and monitoring system able to efficiently maintain accurate absolute measurements. Specific objects of the invention are to provide a capacitive measurement and monitoring system in which drift arising from variations in the capacitive sensor can be easily and automatically counteracted, in which cleaning of sensor heads is postponed or eliminated entirely, and in which no new measurement inaccuracies are introduced. It is a further object of the invention to provide a capacitive measurement and monitoring system more suitable for commercial use.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, to be described hereinbelow in detail, a moving filament is continuously monitored by passing the filament through a capacitive sensor to develop an electrical signal to represent an absolute measurement of the filament with reference to a prescribed datum or zero point. Means are provided for developing zero and gain compensating signals which are to be combined with the filament measurement signal to compensate for measurement signal drift arising from variations in the capacitive sensor.
The zero compensating signal is developed by digitally forming and storing a signal to be converted into the compensating signal, thereby minimizing errors arising from drift in the zero compensating signal itself. The means developing the zero compensating signal is arranged to produce a clock train, to digitally count the clock pulses and to generate an analog output signal varying with the digital count, to detect a prescribed comparison between the analog signal and the input measurement signal absent the filament, and to stop the clock pulse count when the prescribed comparison is detected. The digital count and associated analog output signal thus become fixed at a level related to the amount of accumulated signal drift in the capacitive sensor.
The gain compensating signal is also digitally formed and stored, thereby minimizing errors arising from drift in the gain compensating signal itself. The circuit for developing the gain compensating signal is arranged to apply an unbalanced drive to the bridge, to produce a clock pulse train, to digitally count the clock pulses and to adjust the gain of the measurement signal. The circuit detects a predetermined comparison between the gain-adjusted measurement signal and a standardized signal, and stops the clock pulse count when the comparison is detected. The digital count thus becomes fixed at a level related to the amount of accumulated drift in gain of the capacitive sensor and, along with the zero compensating signal, provides subsequent accurate absolute measurements.
In a further aspect of the invention, the means developing the compensating signals continuously receives the filament measurement signal and has means for detecting variations in the measurement signal corresponding to removal of the filament from the capacitive sensor, so that each time the filament is removed a new compensating signal will be developed automatically. The foregoing arrangement thus permits signal drifts arising from contaminants in the sensor head to be compensated very rapidly, automatically, and without requiring the sensor head to be removed from service for a significant time or to be cleaned except at considerably extended intervals, if at all.
Other objects, aspects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in, or apparent from, the detailed description hereinbelow, considered together with the following drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing portions of a capacitive filament monitoring system in operation;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a capacitive filament monitoring system in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a circuit for developing a zero compensating signal to compensate for measurement signal drift in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a graph of wave forms at selected points in the circuit of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating details of the embodiment of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit for developing both a zero compensating signal and a gain compensating signal for compensating for measurement signal drift in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a graph of wave forms at selected points in the circuit of FIG. 6; and
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating details of the embodiment of FIG. 6.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A capacitive measurement and monitoring system 10 arranged in accordance with the present invention to compensate for measurement signal drift arising from variations in the capacitive sensor is shown in FIG. 2. As diagrammatically illustrated, system 10 utilizes a sensor head forming a capacitance bridge 12 which is driven by a signal generator 14 to provide signals first to a differential amplifier 16 and then to a demodulator 18 in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,660. Briefly, in such an arrangement the filament F passes between opposed capacitors C1 and C3 of the capacitance bridge 12. Signal generator 14 applies sinosoidal signals φ1 and φ2, which are 180° out of phase, to bridge input terminals 12a and 12b. At bridge output terminals 12c and 12d there appear signals 180° out of phase with amplitudes proportional to the difference between the capacitance associated with capacitors C1 and C3 and the capacitance associated with capacitors C2 and C4. The signals at terminals 12c and 12d are applied to the plus and minus inputs of the differential amplifier 16, to produce an output with an amplitude proportional to the difference in the capacitance associated with the two sets of capacitors C1, C3 and C2, C4 (i.e., a signal modulated by the capacitive characteristics of filament F). The output from differential amplifier 16 is applied to demodulator 18 together with signal φ2 from generator 14, to yield a demodulated dc signal at terminal 18a which is proportional to the difference in capacitance associated with the capacitor pairs C1, C3 and C2, C4. Since capacitors C1 through C4 are physically identical, the signal at terminal 18a is an absolute measurement of a capacitance of filament F. However, as contaminants build up in capacitors C1 through C4, the filament measurement signal at the demodulator output 18a will drift and no longer accurately represent the characteristic, such as denier, of filament F that is to be monitored.
In accordance with the present invention, the filament measurement signal from demodulator 18 is applied to an auto-calibration circuit 20 which, as described below, develops at least one compensating signal which is combined with the filament measurement signal to compensate for the measurement signal drift which arises from contaminant accumulation in the capacitive sensor. The compensated filament measurement signal at the output terminal 20a of auto-calibration circuit 20, which is an accurate absolute measurement, then may be applied through a low pass filter 22 to a utilization circuit 24 such as the illustrated reference comparator, which is arranged with comparators 26, 28 and flip-slops 30, 32 to generate outputs whenever the compensated filament measurement signal goes below a predetermined low limit, or above a predetermined high limit applied respectively to comparators 26, 28. Other typical utilization circuits include meters, strip charts, recorders or process control devices.
The auto-calibration circuit 20 of FIG. 2 for providing auto-zero compensation is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 3 through 5. The circuit receives an input signal at terminal 18a from demodulator 18, which signal is a dc measurement signal varying with sensed capacitance and subject to drift arising from contamination of the capacitive elements. The input filament measurement signal is combined in an adder 40 with a compensating signal V c , developed as described below, to yield a measurement signal at output terminal 20a providing an absolute measurement of the filament which is accurately referred to a prescribed datum notwithstanding variations in the capacitive sensor.
The auto-zero circuit 20 is arranged to develop a new compensating signal V c whenever filament F is lifted out of slot S in sensor head H, either manually or mechanically as with a solenoid J. As will be evident from the following explanation, the compensating signal is developed rapidly as thus it is unnecessary for the filament extruding process to be interrupted in order for compensation to take place.
The input measurement signal at terminal 18a is applied to a pulse detector 42 which detects the large scale variation in the measurement signal at terminal 18a which corresponds to removal of the filament from the capacitive sensor. The recognition of the existence of such a pulse triggers a one-shot multivibrator 44 to generate an output gate pulse which simultaneously turns on a clock pulse oscillator 46 and resets a digital counter 48. The output of the clock pulse oscillator, which is a train of clock pulses beginning at the leading edge of the gate pulse from multivibrator 44, drives digital counter 48 to generate, on output lines 48a, a digital zero-compensating output signal representing the accumulated increasing count of the clock pulses. The digital count on output lines 48a is supplied to a digital-to-analog converter 50 which is arranged to provide an analog output at terminals 50a, 50b which varies with the digital count in counter 48. The output of the illustrated digital-to-analog converter 50 is a resistance R DAC whose value decreases as the clock pulse train continues. The decreasing resistance R DAC is placed in series with resistors R A and R B connected respectively to positive and negative voltages of, e.g., +15 volts and -15 volts. These resistances and voltage sources form a voltage divider which develops, at terminal 50a, the compensating signal Vc which is applied as one input to adder 40. As resistance R DAC decreases, the compensating signal Vc, which is an analog signal, also decreases.
The measurement signal at input 18a, developed in sensor head H absent the filament F, is combined with the decreasing compensating signal Vc in adder 40. The decreasing adder output is applied to one input of comparator 52. The other input of comparator 52 is connected to a zero reference circuit 54 which defines the datum or zero point to which the output signal at terminals 20a is to be referred. When the output of the adder 40 matches the datum signal defined by zero reference circuit 54, the comparator 52 generates an output to stop the clock pulse oscillator 46 from generating any further clock pulses. The counter 48 maintains its digital count, and the digital-to-analog converter maintains its output resistance R DAC , so that the appropriate zero compensating signal V c continues to be applied to adder 40. When the filament F is reintroduced in the slot S in capacitive sensor head H, the filament measurement signal at input 18a will be offset by the fixed compensation signal V c corresponding to the amount of accumulated signal drift arising from contaminants in the capacitive sensor. The output at terminal 20a then will be a measurement signal which is appropriately zeroed.
The operation of auto-zero circuit 20 is shown graphically in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a compensating signal V c1 exists prior to time t 0 , filament F is removed from sensor head H. The measurement voltage applied to input terminal 18a then measures accumulated drift and has a value V drift . As the filament is removed at time t 0 , multivibrator 44 generates a gate pulse G whose leading edge causes clock pulse oscillator 46 to begin generating pulses, and causes counter 48 to begin counting the pulses from a reset condition. The compensating signal V c jumps to a value +V and begins steadily to decrease. The output of the adder is V c -V drift , which decreases until time t 1 when the compensating signal reaches a value V c2 which, when combined with V drift , matches the zero reference signal from circuit 54 and comparator 52 stops clock pulse oscillator 46. The compensating signal thereafter stays fixed to value V c2 and, at a time t 2 when the filament is returned to sensor head H, the output voltage at terminal 20a is the input measurement signal (containing drift) minus V c2 , which is an appropriately zeroed measurement signal.
The auto-zero circuit 20, as described above, provides a compensating signal V c which can be generated quickly, for example within a fraction of a second. The compensating signal itself relatively free from drift effects since its value is digitally stored in counter 48, and is converted in a digital-to-analog converter, a device relatively free from drift. The pulse detector 42 permits automatic operation to be initiated simply by lifting the filament from sensor head H. Alternatively, if the filament is to be removed from slot S with a solenoid or like device, a separate starting signal can be provided, using gate pulse G to time the duration of filament absence from slot S. It should be noted further that auto-zero circuit 20 effects a comparison of the prescribed datum with the output of the adder circuit which combines the filament measurement signal with the compensating signal V c , and thereby automatically compensates for any drift which may arise in adder 40.
FIG. 5 illustrates in detail the construction of an auto-zero circuit 20A of the type described above. Pulse detector 42 has an input high pass filter formed with capacitor C2 and diode CR2 at the input to amplifier A1-A which responds to gross changes in the input signal to trigger multivibrator 44. As shown, a terminal ZRO at the input to multivibrator 44 is provided to manually apply a trigger signal. The multivibrator 44 is formed with an oscillator section U1-A arranged to function in a monostable mode, and to have a gate pulse output to start clock pulse oscillator 46. Clock pulse oscillator 46 is formed with an oscillator section U1-B connected for free running operation at, e.g., 1 K Hertz. The counter 48 is formed with two four bit counters U3 and U4, and has eight output lines 48a connected to digital-to-analog converter 50. The output voltage at pin 1 of converter 50, which corresponds to terminal 50a in the converter shown in FIG. 3, is fed to the input of adder 40, which is formed with an operational amplifier A1-B. Comparator 52 is formed with an amplifier section A1-C, with a zero reference circuit 54 connected to its positive input terminal. The zero reference circuit 54 comprises a potentiometer R26 connected between positive and negative voltage sources of +15 volts and -15 volts with the intermediate potentiometer contact connected through a resistor R22 to the positive terminal of comparator 52. Accordingly, the zero reference can be adjusted or trimmed to provide accurate calibration.
In FIG. 5, the numbers adjacent the various amplifiers, oscillators, counters and converter represent the pin numbers of exemplary devices as applied by the manufacturers thereof. As illustrated, the amplifier sections A1-A through A1-C are sections of a National Semiconductor model 324 component, the oscillator sections U1-A and U1-B are National Semiconductor model 556 components, the counter sections U3 and U4 are Texas Instruments model 74L93 components, and the digital-to-analog converter U2 is an Analog Devices, Inc. model AD 7520KN component. The ground connections indicated as A and D are developed as shown in the lower lefthand corner of FIG. 5.
The values of the resistors and capacitors in auto-zero circuit 20A in FIG. 5 may take the values indicated below:
R1, R2: 30.9K
R6: 100K
R7: 10K
R8: 56K
R9: 4.7K
R10: 10K
R11: 1M
R15, R16: 22K
R17: 47K
R18: 150
RA: 180K
RB: 80.6K
R22: 1M
R23: 4.99K
R26: 5M
C2: 3.3 microfarads
C6: 4.7 microfarads
C7: 0.1 microfarads
C8: 0.22 microfarads
FIGS. 6 through 7 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the auto-calibration circuit 20 in which both auto-zero and auto-gain functions are provided. FIG. 6 is a generalized schematic while FIG. 8 is the more detailed illustration of the circuit. In this embodiment, the capacitive bridge circuit 12b is modified to include identical resistors RD and RE in series with respective capacitors C1 and C4. In normal use of the capacitive sensor, the added resistors have an acceptable constant effect on the gain of the bridge. As before, signals φ 1 and φ 2 are applied to terminals 12a and 12b and the bridge output on lines 12c and 12d are applied to respective inputs to the differential amplifier 16. The amplifier output 16a is applied to the demodulator 18 which also receives the signal φ 2. The demodulator output on line 18a is applied to the auto-calibration circuit 20B.
As in the circuit 20A, removal of the filament from the capacitor sensor is detected by a pulse detector 42B and a one-shot multivibrator 44B. The detected pulse initiates an auto-calibraton sequence which includes an auto-zero sequence followed by an auto-gain sequence. The sequence is controlled by a shift register 72.
The pulse from the one-shot multivibrator 44B is applied as the clock input to a D flip-flop 70 which at all times has a high signal input applied to its D input 70a. Thus, with the flip-flop previously cleared, the output on line 70b goes from low to high with the clock signal from the one-shot multivibrator 44B. The output 70b remains high until a clear signal is received at the end of a sequence.
The high output from the D flip-flop 70 enables a previously cleared eight bit shift register 72. This shift register 72 controls the respective auto-zero and auto-gain sequences to be described. A clock 74 generates a low frequency clock signal which is applied to the clock input of the shift register 72. This low frequency signal may, for example, have a period of about one second. With a one-second clock period, the output QC from the shift register 72 goes high after an approximate two-second delay after removal of the filament from the capacitive sensor bridge. This two-second delay allows the bridge output to stabilize after removal of the filament from the bridge.
A high input is at all times applied to the shift register in order that each output of the register remains high once the initial input has shifted to that stage. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, the third stage output QC of the register goes high approximately two seconds after the enable signal from the D flip-flop 70. The output remains high until a clear signal is received through the D flip-flop 70 from the final stage output QH. Similarly, the output QD goes high approximately three seconds after the enable signal and remains high until the clear signal is received.
When the QC output goes high and the QD output remains low, a high output is generated by the AND gate 76 and a reset signal 76a is applied to the zero counter 78. At that time the several outputs 78a from the zero counter 78 are reset to zero and the zero digital-to-analog converter 80 has an output 80a of zero.
The demodulated measurement signal, which may be subject to drift from zero even with no filament in the sensor, is applied through resistor RF to the inverting input 82a of the operational amplifier 82. The voltage provided by the voltage drop from the fifteen volt reference supply across resistors RG and RH at the converter 80 output is also connected to the op amp input 82a and is thus summed with the measurement signal. The circuit parameters are selected such that, with the converter 80 output at zero, an approximately one volt positive zero-compensating offset is applied to the op amp 82 by the voltage divider RG, RH. This offset can correct for up to -1 volt of zero error from the sensor.
For purposes of further discussion, it will be assumed that the zero error of the sensor is less than the -1 volt offset corrected by the zero compensating signal. With such a sensor signal at the op amp input, the output on line 82b is negative. This signal is applied to the inverting input of a comparator 84 which has a zero reference signal from zero reference source 86 applied to its noninverting input. With the negative input to the inverting input of comparator 84, the counter is permitted to enter into a count cycle when a start signal is applied at input 78b.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the start signal for the zero counter is received approximately one second after the reset signal. When register output QD goes high and output QE remains low, AND gate 88 provides the start signal. The zero counter 78 then begins counting high frequency clock pulses generated by clock oscillator 90. The frequency of these clock pulses is sufficiently high that the counter 78 may count through an entire cycle within the one second interval provided by the register 72.
As zero counter 78 counts up from zero, the output 80a from zero converter 80 steps through negative increments to provide an increasingly negative output 80a. As the output 80a becomes more negative, the voltage applied to the operational amplifier 82 from the voltage divider RG, RH decreases in a fashion similar to that for V c in FIG. 4. At some point in the continued count of counter 78, the analog compensating signal from the voltage divider directly offsets the measurement signal input to the operational amplifier 82 and the output 82b becomes zero. This point of the counter sequence is detected by the comparator 84 which applied a signal to the counter 78 to stop the count. This signal overrides the start signal on line 78b and the counter holds its last count and thus stores a digital zero compensating signal on lines 78a. This digital compensating signal holds the analog compensating signal summed on line 82a constant throughout subsequent utilization of the capacitive sensor until some later calibration sequence is initiated.
In the remaining portion of the calibration sequence, a signal from the register output QE closes an analog switch 92. By closing this switch, a variable resistor 94 is connected to one leg of the bridge 12b to unbalance the bridge. Thus, even though the filament is still removed from the sensor, a predetermined filament characteristic is simulated in the capacitive sensor bridge. The auto-zero sequence having been completed, the demodulator output on line 18a will then be dependent solely on the simulated characteristic and the gain of the circuit from the bridge through the demodulator, this gain being subject to drift.
Once the resistor 94 is switched into the bridge circuit, a one-second interval is provided by the shift register 72 in order for the measurement signal to stabilize. Then, a reset signal is applied to the gain counter 98 through AND gate 96 when output QF goes high and output QG remains low. With this reset signal, the digital gain compensating signal on line 98a goes to zero.
The gain counter output 98a is applied to a multiplier-type digital-to-analog converter 100. This converter provides an analog output on line 100a proportional to the product of the analog input on line 100b and the digital input on lines 98a. The analog input on line 100b is taken from the measurement signal on line 18a and the analog output 100a is applied to the noninverting input of the operational amplifier 82.
Feedback from the operational amplifier output 82b is applied only through resistor RI to the inverting input 82a. With this circuit configuration, and with the digital input to the multiplying converter 100 set at zero, the gain applied to the measurement signal between line 18a and line 20a is determined solely by the resistances RF and RI. These resistors are selected to set a gain of approximately -0.8.
Approximately one second after the counter 98 is reset to zero, a signal is received from register output QG to start the count of high frequency pulses from clock 90. As the digital gain compensating signal on lines 98a increases, the converter 100 multiplies the measurement signal on line 100b by an increasingly negative amount. The circuit elements are selected such that, as the counter 98 continues to count up, the overall gain on the measurement signal between line 18a and line 20a becomes increasingly negative toward, for example, -1.2. The output on line 20a becomes increasingly negative with the increasingly negative gain applied to the signal on line 18a. When this output on line 20a reaches a predetermined level determined by a standardized gain reference 102, a comparator 104 stops the counting of clock pulses by counter 98. The counter output on line 98a is then held in the counter to store the thus determined digital gain compensating signal which is combined with future measurement signals to compensate for gain drift in the capacitive sensor.
Subsequently, about seven seconds after the shift register 72 is enabled, the output on line QH goes high and a clear signal is applied to D flip-flop 70. The signal on line 70b then clears the shift register and the register remains cleared until some later calibration sequence is initiated through the pulse detector 42B, the one-shot multivibrator 44B, and the D flip-flop 70. With the register cleared the zero counter 78 and gain counter 98 retain their digital compensating signal outputs and the switch 92 is returned to its open position so that the capacitive sensor bridge 12b is returned to its balanced condition.
Although a pulse detector and one-shot multivibrator are shown as the means for initiating the auto-calibration sequence, this need not be the case. For example, the filament may be removed from the capacitive sensor by a solenoid which responds to a control signal from a central control processor, and the D flip-flop 70 might respond to that same control signal. The register output QH could then also provide an end sequence signal to the control processor which would then disable the solenoid and return the filament to its position within the capacitive bridge.
A more detailed circuit for implementing the embodiment of FIG. 6 is shown in FIG. 8. In this circuit, a high signal is applied to the D input of flip-flop 70 through resistor R30. When a signal is received at the clock input on line 70c the Q output of the flip-flop 70 goes high thus removing the clear signal at the inverted clear input of the register. With the clear signal removed, the high input at terminals A and B of the shift register is clocked through the register by the low frequency clock 74. After approximately two seconds, both inputs to the NAND gate G2 (AND gate 76) are high and the inverted clear inputs to the counter 78 go low. Thus the zero counter 78, including three four bit counters U6, U7 and U8, is cleared to a zero output. The several counter outputs leads are connected to the inputs of a multiplying digital-to-analog converter U9.
After approximately three seconds, the QD output of the register and the inverted QE output are applied to a NAND gate G4. The NAND gate G4 has a third input from the zero comparator 84 so that its output serves as both the counter start signal and the counter stop signal. At this point, the third input to the NAND gate G4 is high and with the first two inputs from the register 72 going high the output goes low. This low output is clocked through a D flip-flop U10 to provide a high output at the Q flip-flop output. With the Q output of the flip-flop U10 high, each counter U6, U7 and U8 is enabled through its P input and the first counter U6 is triggered at its T input to initiate a count signal. The clock 78 thus begins to increment with clock signals applied from the high frequency clock 90.
With the counter 78 incrementing and its output applied to digital-to-analog converter U9, the analog output from the converter U9 also increments and this positive signal is applied to the inverting input of amplifier A2. The output of the amplifier A2, which is fed back through a feedback resistor in the converter U9, is a negatively incrementing signal applied to one end of the voltage divider circuit RG, RH. The opposite end of the voltage divider is connected to zener diode circuit including diode Z2 which provides a constant positive voltage reference. The output of the voltage divider is summed with the measurement signal at the input to the operational amplifier 82 is compared with a zero reference in comparator 84, the output of which control the NAND gate G4 to provide a stop count signal through flip-flop U10. This signal is applied to the P inputs of the zero counter 78. Due to the difference in clock rates, this stop count signal is received by the counter 78 sometimes before the QE output of control resister 72 goes high.
When the output QE of control register 72 does go high, the counter 78 retains its digital zero compensating signal output and the analog switch 92 is closed to connect registers R56 and R58 into the capacitive bridge circuit through lead 92a. Subsequently, the QF register output goes high. This output is applied along with the inverted QG output through a NAND gate G6 and causes the inverted clear input of each of the four bit counters U11, U12 and U13 of the gain counter 98 to go low. This clears the digital gain compensating signal on the output leads of the counter 98 to go to zero. These output leads are connected to the inputs of multiplying digital-to-analog converter U15 of the gain converter 100.
When output QG of the control shift register finally goes high, it causes the output of NAND gate G8 to go low, thereby providing a high Q output from D flip-flop U14. The high output from the D flip-flop enables each stage of the gain counter 98 and initiates a count sequence through input T of counter U11.
The incrementing output from counter 98 is multiplied with the analog measurement signal in the multiplying digital-to-analog converter U15 and provides an incrementing output. This output is applied to the inverting input of an amplifier A4, the output of which is applied across voltage dividing resistors R66 and R68. The divided voltage, which is the product of the measurement signal and some predetermined constant is applied to the noninverting input of the operational amplifier 82. As the output of the gain counter 98 increments, the negative gain applied to the negative measurement signal on line 18a increases. Finally, the positive output on line 20a matches the positive signal applied to the non-inverting input of comparator 104 from zener diode Z2. The output of comparator 104 then goes low causing the D input of flip-flop U14 to go high and the count enabling signal from the flip-flop U14 to the counter 98 to go low thereby terminating the count. At this point, the gain applied to the measurement signal on line 18a due to the digital gain compensating signal at the output of counter 98 is such that the known bridge unbalance results in a standardized output on line 20a.
In FIG. 8, the multiplying digital-to-analog converters U9 and U15 are Analog Devices, Inc. model AD7521 components. The values of the resistors and capacitors in auto-calibration circuit 20b in FIG. 8 may take the values indicated below:
R30: 1K
R32, R34: 470K
R36, R38: 1K
R40, R42: 4.7K
R44: 1K
R46: 1M
R48: 10K, Trim Pot
R50: 1M
R52: 1K
R54: 1K
R56: 4.99K
R58: 10K, Trim Pot
R60: 1K
R62: 1M
R64: 1K
R66: 8.06K
R68: 3.01K
R70, R72, R74: 1K
RF: 10K
RG: 60.4K
RH: 30.1K
RI: 8.06K
C12: 1 μF
C14: 0.01 μF
The resistors RD and RE in the bridge circuit are each 499 ohms.
From the foregoing it is apparent that a capacitive measuring and monitoring system may be provided in accordance with the present invention with means to counteract measurement signal drift arising from contamination of the capacitive sensor, using standard components and devices in a circuit that can be constructed easily and at a cost which compares quite favorably with the cost of removing contaminants by frequent cleansing of a sensor head.
While particular preferred examples of auto-calibration circuits accomplishing these goals has been described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 8, it will be understood that other circuit configurations, components, and element values and models can be designed by those skilled in the art to realize the present invention.
Accordingly, although specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed herein in detail, it is to be understood that this is for the purpose of illustrating the invention, and should not be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention, since it is apparent that many changes can be made to the disclosed structures by those skilled in the art that suit particular applications.
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In a device for continuously monitoring the characteristics of a moving filament, such as the denier of an extended synthetic yarn, by passing the filament through a capacitive sensor to develop an electrical signal representing an absolute measurement of the filament with reference to a prescribed datum, the problem of measurement signal drift arising from contamination of the capacitive sensor is obviated by developing compensating signals to be combined with the filament measurement signal. The compensating signals are digitally formed and stored, thereby eliminating drift in the compensating signals themselves. The compensating signals are developed in an auto-calibration circuit, including an auto-zero circuit and an auto-gain circuit, which receives the measurement signal from the capacitive sensor. While the sensor is vacant, the auto-zero circuit digitally counts clock pulses to generate a digital output, converts the digital output into an analog signal varying with the digital count, detects a prescribed comparison between the analog signal and the input measurement signal, and stops the clock pulse count at a zero compensating value when the comparison is detected. Then, the auto-gain circuit applies an unbalanced drive to the sensor, digitally counts clock pulses to generate a digital output, and varies the measurement signal gain with the digital output. The circuit detects a prescribed comparison between the gain-adjusted measurement signal and a standardized output signal, and stops the clock pulse count at a gain compensating value when the prescribed comparison is detected.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in apparatus and methods for stacking flexible material such as neckties and the like.
In the manufacture of neckties, cloth having the desired appearance is cut into patterns which are wider than the finished necktie. The extra width allows the two sides to be folded back and connected with a longitudinal seam.
Prior to seaming, the ends of the necktie material are provided with what is known as "tipping", which serves as a lining for both the wide and narrow tips of the necktie. The tipping additionally aids in the formation of the desired points on the ends of the necktie.
It is known for tipping to be applied by automatic sewing apparatus. For instance sewing apparatus as manufactured by Kochs Adler A. G. of Bielefeld, West Germany, Adler's Models Nos. 971 and 972.
In the Adler apparatus, a central carousel unit has six outwardly radiating templates. An operator sits at the Adler machine with a supply of tipping fabric and tie fabric close at hand. The carousel rotates in stages of 60°, so that each rotation presents a new template directly in front of the operator. The operator positions the end of the tie fabric and the tipping material in the template. Alternate ones of the templates are sized for wide ends of ties and narrow ends of ties.
Thus an operator may start with a wide end tipping material and wide end tie fabric, which he or she positions in the wide end template. The central portion of the tie fabric extending from the wide end is allowed to drape loosely around the central portion of the carousel. Then the operator causes the carousel to rotate by 60° and the narrow end of the tie fabric and its tipping material are inserted in the narrow end template. As the carousel continues to rotate, a sewing machine sews the tie fabric and tipping material which protrude from the outer periphery of the templates and a trimming machine cuts off excess material and severs the sewing thread. Upon further rotation of the carousel, the templates open and the tie is available for removal. Heretofore this removal has been performed manually.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus by which the ties can be removed from the Adler tie tipping machine without requiring human intervention.
It is known to provide automatic machinery for removing sewn goods from sewing machines. For instance, such apparatus is disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.
3,537,702, Kosrow et al.
3,675,604, Frost
3,695,195, Frost
3,701,328, Frost
4,102,284, Rohr
None of the prior U.S. patents disclose a method or apparatus suggestive of the present invention.
In particular, none of the above cited patents provide for gripping the sewn material in two locations to remove it from the sewing machine and stack it neatly.
The orderly stacking of the sewn goods is particularly important because further operations must be carried out to complete the necktie manufacturing process and a neat and orderly presentation of the workpieces to later operators in the manufacturing process increases the speed with which they can function.
Thus it has been found that the use of the apparatus of the present invention increases production rates surprisingly. Not only is the need for manual removal of ties from the Adler machine eliminated, but also the speed with which later production steps can be carried out is increased. Furthermore, it has been found that operators of the Adler tie tipping machines tend to increase their production rates when the present invention is employed to remove and stack the tipped ties, even though the invention is used downstream of their operations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention includes an apparatus for handling flexible material positioned with two distal portions thereof accessible to the apparatus. The apparatus has a frame, first and second arms each having first and second ends, with the first ends having pivotal mountings on the frame and the second ends having gripping means adapted for gripping and subsequently releasing one of the distal portions of flexible material. The apparatus has a means for rotating the arms about the pivotal mountings from first positions in which the gripping means can grip their respective distal portions of flexible material to second positions in which gripped material is extended to substantially its full length, and a means for receiving the material from the gripping means upon release of the material by the gripping means when the arms are in their second position.
A control means is provided for causing the gripping means to grip their respective distal portions of the material when the arms are in the first position, then for causing the rotating means to pivot the arms to their second position, and then for causing the gripping means to release the distal portions, whereby the material is received by the receiving means. The control means then causes the rotating means to pivot the arms back to their first position.
Preferably the apparatus includes means for moving the gripping means with respect to the arms and wherein the control means includes means for causing a movement of each of the gripping means elongatingly axially of said arms when the arms are in the first position prior to the gripping means gripping their respective distal portions and for causing a foreshortening axial movement after the gripping and prior to causing the rotation of the arms from the first position to the second position.
Preferably the gripping means are pivotally mounted on the arms and a parallel linkage from the gripping means to the frame rotates the gripping means with respect to the arms as the arms rotate between the first and second positions.
Desirably, the means for receiving the material from the gripping means includes a rack mounted on the frame, located at a lower level than but in substantially the same plane as the gripping means when the arms are in the second position. The receiving means can also include an auxiliary rack pivotable about a horizontal axis between a horizontal rack position and a vertical rack position and vertically movable such that the horizontal rack position is between the first mentioned rack and the material when the material is gripped by the gripping means and when the arms are in their second position, means for vertically moving the auxiliary rack and means for pivoting the auxiliary rack, wherein the control means includes means for causing the auxiliary rack to move upwardly and to pivot to the horizontal rack position prior to the release of the material when the arms are in the second position so that upon its release, the material will be received on the auxiliary rack. The control means can also include means for causing the auxiliary rack to move downwardly after the release and then to pivot to the vertical rack position thereby depositing the material on the first mentioned rack.
Preferably the control means includes an initiating switch operable to generate a signal to initiate operation of the control means and means connected to the initiating switch for receiving the signal and for delaying the signal prior to proceeding with later steps controlled by the control means.
The invention includes the combination of the aboveitemized apparatus and an apparatus for sewing lining fabric on the flexible material in which the sewing apparatus includes means for providing access to the two distal portions of the flexible material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, as taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus according to a preferred embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along lines 3--3 of FIGS. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the tie tip gripping fingers used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the pneumatic circuit employed in the operation of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 9;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the remainder of the pneumatic circuit employed in the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a timing circuit diagram showing the condition of the various components of the system during one complete cycle of operation of the apparatus of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of the apparatus of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in the ready position in combination with the Adler sewing machine;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the apparatus;
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the remainder of the pneumatic circuit employed in the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
As can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a frame 12, an arm assembly 14, an arm assembly rotator 16, a tie receiving rack assembly 18 and an auxiliary rack assembly 20.
The frame 12 includes a rectangular base 22 and two vertical support elements 24 interconnected to and at opposite sides of base 22. Vertical support elements 24 are connected by horizontal beam 26 near their tops. Vertical support elements 24 support U-shaped plate 28, used for mounting the control components, to be described hereinafter in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6.
Vertical support elements 24 are reinforced by braces 30.
Ear bracket 180 is mounted on base 22 of frame 12 as a portion of the tie receiving rack assembly 18. Bracket 180 has pivoted thereto support arm 182. Support arm 182 is pivotable between the position shown in FIG. 1 and a position about 80° counter clockwise thereof. A handle 184 is provided to facilitate the pivoting by an operator standing to the left of the apparatus from the view of FIG. 1.
Drop bar 186 is pivoted as at 188 to the other end of arm 182, and hangs vertically downward, regardless of the position of arm 182. Member 190 extends horizontally from the bottom of drop bar 186 and has transverse racks 192 substantially perpendicular thereto, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 8.
As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 8, horizontal beam 26 has cantilevered therefrom support beam 32 by way of a pair of connecting links 33. As best seen in FIG. 1, support beam 32 has widened end portions 34.
A storage area can conveniently be provided by mounting a bracket on support beam 32 perpendicular thereto. Such a support beam is not shown in the drawings, but it can, together with the tops of vertical support elements 24, support a flat surface providing storage area for the machine operator's supplies.
Arm assemblies 14 and the arm assembly rotator 16 are mounted on support beam 32.
Arm assembly 14 includes arm 36 which has a first end 38 pivotally mounted on widened end portion 34 by axle 40. Sprocket 42 is also mounted on axle 40. Arm 36 is rotatable with respect to axle 40, but sprocket 42 is not. Furthermore, rotation between arm 36 and sprocket 42 is prevented by eccentric link 45.
Sprocket 42 has chain 44 trained around it. The forward end 46 of chain 44 is connected to forward cable 48. As will be apparent from FIG. 1, the hereinabove referenced assembly of an arm 36, axle 40, sprocket 42 and chain is provided in duplicate. Thus there are two chains, each having a forward end 46 connected to an end of cable 48. Towards the center of support beam 32 are two forward pulleys 50 mounted on support blocks 52. The portion of cable 48 extending from each forward end 46 of chains 44 is trained over one of the pulleys and the midportion of the cable is connected at its lower extent through eye 54 to traveling beam 56.
Referring to FIG. 2, each chain 44 extending around the rear of a sprocket 42 is connected at its rear end 58 to rear cable 60. Rear cable 60 is trained over rear pulleys 62, also mounted on blocks 52.
Suspended from support beam 32 are a pair of vertical rods 64, which have cross bar 66 mounted on their lower extremities. Pulley 70 is mounted by way of bracket 68 on cross bar 66. Lower loop 72 of rear cable 60 is connected by way of spring 74 and connector 76 to lower cable 78. Lower cable 78 is trained around pulley 70 up to clamp 80 which affixes it to traveling beam 56.
As best seen in FIG. 3, bumper plates 101 extend between support beam 32 and cross bar 66, and provide backing surfaces beyond the ends of racks 192.
Traveling beam 56 is provided with openings which slidingly receive vertical rods 64 so that traveling beam 56 can move vertically, guided by vertical rods 64.
Mounted on cross bar 66 is cylinder 82 of pneumatic ram C6. Piston rod 84 of ram C6 passes through an opening in cross bar 66 and is rigidly engaged at 86 with traveling beam 56. Vertical rods 64 have rigidly mounted thereon stops 88, one of which is provided with pneumatic cam operated valve V1 in such a position as to be opened by traveling beam 56 when beam 56 is at its uppermost elevation. Pneumatic cam operated valve V2 is mounted on the top of cross bar 66 in such a position that when traveling beam 56 is at its lowermost elevation, valve V2 is opened.
Auxiliary rack assembly 20 is mounted on traveling beam 56. The ends of traveling beam 56 each have a post 90 mounted thereon. Posts 90 have journaled therein shaft 92, which has auxiliary rack support plates 94 on the ends thereof. Plates 94 have a rack edge 95 of a length sufficient to extend (in FIG. 3) to the right sufficiently past bumper plates 101 to receive the tie, as will be more apparent hereinafter. Crank lever 96 is rigidly mounted on shaft 92 between posts 90. The end 98 of piston rod 100 of pneumatic ram C5 is rotatably connected to crank lever 96. Bracket 105 is rigidly mounted on traveling beam 56 and cylinder 102 of ram C5 is pivotally mounted as at 104 to bracket 105.
By this arrangement, the extension of piston rod 100 causes crank lever 96 to rotate so that auxiliary rack support plates 94 are in a vertical position, as seen in FIG. 3. The retraction of piston rod 10 rotates them out to a horizontal position extending to the right of bumper plates 101 of FIG. 3.
As was previously stated, arms 36 are journaled on axles 40. Arms 36 are made telescoping as at 104 to provide for variable length arms. Pivotally mounted on the second end of arm 36 is hand bracket 106.
Widened end portion 34 of support beam 32 has an ear 108 provided with post 110 on which is journaled parallel arm 112. Parallel arm 112 is also adjustably variable in length as at 114 so as to correspond with adjustments in the length of arm 36. Parallel arm 112 is also pivotally connected to hand bracket 106 as at 116, thereby providing a parallel linkage between hand bracket 106 and widened end portion 34 on frame 12.
The details of the gripping member mounted on the end of arm 36 can be seen with reference to FIG. 4. As noted previously, both arm 36 and parallel arm 112 are rotatably connected to hand bracket 106. This can conveniently be accomplished by providing a transverse lever 118 rigidly mounted on hand bracket 106. Parallel arm 112 is pivotally mounted to traverse lever 118 as by journalling on post 116. Arm 36 is, of course, rotatably mounted within hand bracket 106. The result is the parallel linkage arrangement of arm 36 and parallel arm 112 between support beam 32 and hand bracket 106. Thus as arm 36 rotates with respect to frame 12, hand bracket 106 rotates with respect to arm 36.
Rigidly mounted on the base of hand bracket 106 is plate 120. Plate 120 has a rearwardly depending portion 122 to which cylinder 124 of pneumatic ram C2 is rigidly engaged. The distal end of piston rod 126 (see FIG. 1) is attached to L-shaped plate 128. Also attached to L-shaped plate 128 are aligning rods 130 which are slidably received in portion 122 of plate 120.
Rigidly mounted on L-shaped plate 128 is cylinder 132 of pneumatic ram C4. Piston rod 134 of pneumatic ram C4 extends slidably through an opening 133 in L-shaped plate 128 and has its terminal point attached to pivot pin bracket 136. Pivot pin 138 passes through openings in bracket 136 and links 140.
Upstanding from L-shaped plate 128 are a pair of posts 142 which have blocks 144 journaled thereon. Secured to one face of each block 144 is the outer portion of plate-like finger 146. Two such fingers are provided, each of a sheet material and each having a transverse bend therein, adjacent the blocks 144. Brackets 148 attached to the inside of the shorter portions of fingers 146 are pivotally mounted to links 140. The inside of the longer portion 147 of the fingers is provided with a layer of resilient material such as fabric or foam rubber 150.
Thus when piston rod 134 of cylinder C4 is extended, pivot pin bracket 136 is moved nearer to fingers 146 and links 140 exert force against the shorter portions of the fingers forcing the shorter portions outward, closing the fingers. When piston rod 134 is retracted, the shorter portion of fingers 146 are pulled together causing the longer portion 147 to separate, opening the fingers.
As was stated previously, the control equipment can can conveniently be mounted on U-shaped plate 28, or elsewhere, as may be desired. In the preferred embodiment the apparatus is a pneumatic system, and reference has been made hereinabove to pneumatic rams. It is understood, however, that those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to modify the specific disclosure herein provided to operate the apparatus with electrical, electronic, or hydraulic circuitry without departing from the inventive concept hereof.
Pneumatic operation has been preferred because the Adler tie tipping machine uses pneumatic components and, therefore, pressurized air supplies are conveniently available.
Referring to FIG. 5, there is schematically shown a typical air supply for use in the invention. Air from air supply source 162 is filtered in unit 164, regulated at 165 as read by meter 166, and lubricated at 168. The resulting air supply is available for application to various components in the system from a manifold 170. In FIG. 6, valve V4 serves as a manual toggle-operated on-off switch for the system. Manifold 170 provides its input, and its output is tied to the input of cam-operated valve V3. Preferably valve V3 is mounted on the Adler sewing machine adjacent the rotatable carousel thereof, so that cams on the carousel can open valve V3 to start one cycle of operation. The output of valve V3 is applied to the input of time delay valve TDV1.
This circuit employs various time delay valves which operate to receive a signal at their inputs and at some specified period later open to provide an output signal at their outputs. The delay periods of the time delay valves are individually selected and are characteristic of the valves. Preferably valve TDV1 has a delay period such that it produces its output signal when the two templates for a single tie are in position for tie removal and are open.
The output of valve TDV1 is applied as input to flip flop FF-1. The flip flops used in this circuit receive input signals which change the state of the flip flop so as to transfer an input from manifold 170 from one output to another. In its quiescent state, FF-1 has no output. When the output of TDV1 is input to FF-1, the pressure from manifold 170 to FF-1 is applied as an output on line 171. This pressure is applied by line 171 to time delay valve TDV2, impulse valve IMP1, toggle switch valve V5 and time delay valve TDV3. The inputs to TDV2 and TDV3 begin the running of their preselected time delays. The input to V5 will be discussed hereinafter.
Impulse valve IMP1 converts the substantially constant pressure from manifold 170 to an impulse which is transmitted past shuttle valve SV1 to flip flop FF2. This causes the input from manifold 170 to FF2 to be applied to the cylinders 124 of pneumatic rams C1 and C2, thereby extending their piston rods. In FIG. 4, this action is seen as the movement of L-shaped plate 128 away from portions 122 of plate 120.
The time delay of TDV2 is selected to expire upon completion of the extension of C1 and C2. The ouput of TDV2 transfers flip flop FF3 to the right. The input from manifold 170 to flip flop 3 is regulated as by pressure regulator 172 so as to provide an extra control of the finger pressure generated by rams C3 and C4. Upon expiration of TDV2, the regulated pressure signal is applied to the cylinders C3 and C4 in such a manner as to extend the piston rods 134, thereby closing fingers 146.
The time delay of valve TDV3 expires upon the completion of the extension of rams C3 and C4. Upon its expiration, the substantially constant pressure output of TDV3 is converted by impulse valve IMP2 to a momentary impulse which passes shuttle valve SV2 and is applied as an input the right hand side of flip flop FF2 to transfer it to the left, thereby applying pressure to rams C1 and C2 to retract their piston rods. In FIG. 4, the action is seen as the movement of L-shaped plate 128 toward portion 122 of plate 120. The expiration of TDV3 also causes an input to the bottom of flip flop FF 4 so that the pressure from manifold 170 is applied to the cylinder of ram C6, thereby causing it to extend its piston rod. As the piston rod 84 of cylinder C6 extends, it elevates traveling beam 56, applying tension to cable 60, thereby rotating sprocket 42 and arms 36. This action can be seen in FIG. 1 as the movement of traveling beam 50 upward. By virtue of the linkage of arm assembly rotator 16 to beam 56, arms 36 are rotated in the direction of arrows 179, seen in FIG. 8.
When traveling beam 56 reaches stops 88 it opens valve V1. This applies the pressure from manifold 170 to time delay valve TDV4 and the left side flip flop FF5, transferring flip flop FF5 to the right and causing the application of pressure from manifold 170 to the cylinder 102 of ram C5 so as to retract its piston rod 100. This action can be seen in FIG. 3 as the pivoting of plates 94 to a horizontal position extending to the right, past bumper plates 101.
Upon the expiration of the delay of valve TDV4, a signal is applied to the right side of flip flop FF3, transferring it to the left and causing the application of pressure to the cylinders of rams C3 and C4 to retract their piston rods, thereby opening fingers 146. The signal from TDV4 is also applied to the top of flip flop FF4 to cause the pressure from manifold 170 to be applied to ram C6 to cause its piston rod 84 to retract.
The retraction of piston rod 84 eventually results in traveling beam 56 actuating valve V2, thereby applying pressure from manifold 170 to the right hand side of flip flop FF5. This pressure shifts FF5 to the left and causes the pressure from manifold 170 to extend the piston rod 100 of ram C5. This action causes the clockwise rotation of plates 94 to their vertical position seen in FIG. 3.
Valve V2 also applies a signal to the bottom of flip flop FF1 to return it to its original state, ready for the next cycle to be initiated by valve V3.
Valve V5 and valve TDV5 provide an optional extra step when short ties are being sewn on the Adler tipping machine. The toggle switch valve V5 is manually operable. In the short tie mode, valve V5 is open. Upon the expiration of TDV1, the initial signal from flip flop FF1 is applied to time delay valve TDV5 simultaneously with the signals applied to time delay valves TDV2 and TDV3 and impulse valve IMP1. The delay of time delay valve TDV5 is selected to expire shortly before the piston rod 84 of ram C6 is fully extended. Upon its expiration TDV5 applies a signal to the left side of flip flop FF2 to shift FF2 to the right. This results in the application of pressure from manifold 170 to cause rams C1 and C2 to extend their piston rods. These extensions decrease the distance between the fingers 146 of the two arms as they rotate outwardly to their furthest extension from one another. This prevents the stretching of the tie when the short tie mode has been in operation. The expiration of time delay valve TDV4 applies a signal to the right hand side of flip flop FF2 to cause the retraction of the piston rods of cylinders C1 and C2 as the tie ends are released by the fingers 146.
The operation of the system will be discussed with reference to the timing diagram of FIG. 7, as well as FIGS. 1-6 and 8.
At the initial "ready" condition as shown in FIG. 8, the arms 34 have been rotated toward one another. The condition of the components is seen at the left in FIG. 7, or is derivable therefrom.
Upon the actuation of valve V3 by the Adler machine, TDV1 begins its delay period. At the expiration of this delay TDV1 has an output which is input to FF1, shifting FF1 from UP to DOWN. This shift causes a signal to be applied to TDV2, TDV3, and, via IMP1, to FF2. Additionally, if V5 is open for the short tie mode, TDV5 begins its delay period.
The signal to FF2 shifts FF2 from LEFT to RIGHT and causes the extension of the piston rods of rams C1 and C2 to extend the fingers 146 closer to the templates of the Adler machine.
The expiration of TDV2 sends a signal to FF3, shifting it from LEFT to RIGHT and causing the extension of the piston rods of rams C3 and C4, closing the fingers 146 to grip the exposed tie ends in the open templates.
The expiration of TDV3 sends an impulse which shifts FF2 from RIGHT to LEFT and shifts FF4 from DOWN to UP. The transfer of FF2, withdraws the fingers from the templates of the Adler machine. The transfer of FF4 begins the elevation via C6 of traveling beam 56. The linkage of beam 56 via rear cables 60, rear pulleys 62, sprocket 42 and chains 44 to arms 36 causes the arms to rotate outwardly in the direction of arrows 179 in FIG. 8. This results in an increase in the distance from the fingers 146 of one arm 36 to the fingers 146 of the other arm, thus extending the tie to substantially its full length. Furthermore, this movement causes the extended tie to be located substantially parallel to the beam 32, and over the racks 192 and the receiving rack assembly 18. If valve V5 is open, TDV5 expires shortly before the arms are fully rotated, so that rams C1 and C2 extend their piston rods, shortening the extension distance to prevent the stretching of the tie.
The parallel linkage of arms 36 and parallel arm 112 causes the fingers 146 to rotate as the arms 36 rotate, so that the longer portions 142 of fingers 146 are substantially parallel to the extended tie.
When cam C6 has been fully extended, traveling beam 56 opens valve V1 mounted on stops 88, thereby transferring FF5 from LEFT to RIGHT and beginning the delay of TDV4. The transfer of FF5 retracts the piston rod of cam C5, causing auxiliary rack plates 94 to be rotated to their horizontal rack position directly under the extended tie.
Then valve TDV4 expires shifting FF3 from RIGHT to LEFT, which opens the fingers to release the tie onto auxiliary rack plates 94.
The expiration of TDV4 also shifts FF2 from UP to DOWN, so that traveling beam 56 is lowered. Since the auxiliary rack plates 94 are supported on traveling beam 56, the lowering also results in the tie being lowered to the rack 192 of receiving rack assembly 18.
When traveling beam 56 reaches its lowermost position, valve V2 is opened, shifting FF5 from RIGHT to LEFT, and pivoting the rack plates 94 from their horizontal rack position down to a vertical rack position, depositing the tie on rack 192 of receiving rack assembly 18.
The descent of traveling beam 56, of course, also causes a tension to be applied to forward cable 48, so that arms 36 are rotated back to the ready position. The opening of valve V2 also shifts FF1 from DOWN to UP, resetting it for the next cycle. After a number of cycles of operation, a plurality of ties are neatly stacked on racks 192 and can be easily removed as a bundled stack for transfer to the next operation to be performed.
An operator can remove the stack by pivoting tie receiving rack assembly 18 outwardly by pulling on handle 184. The stack of ties on rack 192 will remain horizontal throughout this movement, due to the pivoted linkage of drop bar 186 to support arm 182.
The embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 is a simpler apparatus than that of FIGS. 1 through 8, however, the apparatus does not provide the same degree of control over the handling of the ties. As can be seen from FIG. 9, the apparatus includes a frame 200 having a rack 202 which is pivotally mounted at hinge 204 to the base of frame 200. The frame 200 also includes upright members 206, crossbar 208, and stationary arms 210 extending from the top of upright members 206 in the direction of rack 202. Stationary arms 210 have inward extensions 212 converging toward one another.
Rotatably mounted on the end of inward extensions 212 are two pivotable arms 214, which hang vertically, as shown in FIG. 9. The lower end of each pivotable arm 214 is provided with a transverse bracket 216 on which are mounted fingers 218 and 220, linked to pneumatic ram C12. The structure and operation of the fingers for this embodiment is substantially the same as for the first embodiment, described in connection with FIG. 4.
Each pivotable arm 214 is rigidly mounted on an axle 222, as is pulley 224. First cable 226 has one end tied to the periphery of pulley 224 as at 228. First cable 226 is then trained under pulley 224 and around pulley 230, pulley 232, pulley 234, pulley 236, and has its other end secured to plate 238. A second cable 240 provides a similar linkage to plate 238 for the other pivotable arm 214. The two cables are slightly longer than the path they traverse so that a slight downward displacement of plate 238 from its top position does not result in movement of arms 214, but a greater displacement does.
Between upright members 206 are provided additional crossbars 242, 244, and 245. Between crossbars 242 and 244 is mounted the cylinder of pneumatic ram C11. The piston rod 246 of pneumatic ram C11 passes through an opening in crossbar 242 and is rigidly secured to plate 238.
A vertical member 248 extends between crossbar 242 and crossbar 245. Valve V11 is mounted on member 248 near its connection to crossbar 242 and valve V12 is mounted on member 248 near its connection to crossbar 245.
Additional pneumatic components to operate the system, as will be described hereinafter can be mounted on frame 200 where convenient. As with the first embodiment, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill that the apparatus can be assembled using electrical, electronic or hydraulic components, without departing from the scope of the inventive concept hereof. The air supply for the pneumatic system is preferably of the type shown in FIG. 5, providing a regulated output from a manifold 170.
The remaining pneumatic components for this second embodiment will be described in connection with FIG. 10. The valve V13 serves as a manually operable on-off switch to apply pressure from manifold 170 as an input to cam-operated valve V14. In this case the cam operated valve V14 is oriented on the carousel of the Adler tie tipping machine at such a position that the carousel templates will be in position for the removal of the tie ends at the appropriate time. Prior to the opening of valve V14, the apparatus is in a ready position, with the piston of ram C11 withdrawn and the piston of rams C12 retracted, so the fingers are open.
The opening of valve V14 causes flip flop FF10 to shift downwardly. Flip flop FF10 then causes the air pressure from manifold 170 to be applied to the cylinder of pneumatic ram C11 to cause it to rise, thereby lowering the arms 214. When ram C11 has traveled to its topmost position, it trips the valve V12, causing the pressure from manifold 170 to be applied to transfer flip flop FF10 upwardly and to transfer flip flop FF11 to the left.
The transfer of flip flop FF11 to the left causes rams C12 to extend their piston rods, closing the fingers. The transfer of flip flop FF10 upwardly causes ram C11 to retract its piston rod, thereby lowering plate 238. However, as noted above, first and second cables 226 and 240 are slightly longer than the path they traverse, so that the withdrawal of the piston rod of ram C11 does not begin the elevation of arms 214 until this excess length has been used up in the path lengthening caused by the piston rod retraction. This mechanically induced time delay allows the fingers 218, 220 to close before the arms 214 move.
At the bottom travel of ram C11 plate 238 trips valve V11. This tripping has the effect of applying a pulse from manifold 170 through time delay valve TDV11. As will be apparent the descent of plate 238 causes the elevation of arms 214 to a position such that the fingers rotate in the direction of arrows 270. Time delay valve TDV11 is selected to provide a sufficient period of time for the tie to come to rest once the two arms have stopped moving. Upon the expiration of TDV11, flip flop FF11 is shifted to the right, thereby causing rams C12 to retract their piston rods, opening the fingers and releasing the tie onto rack 202.
At this point the system has been returned to the ready position available for use with the next tie to be removed from the Adler tie tipping machine.
Thus it can be seen that the present invention provides a reliable, inexpensive and simple to use tie stacking apparatus.
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An apparatus for handling flexible material positioned with two distal portions thereof accessible to the apparatus has a frame, first and second arms each having first and second ends, with the first ends having pivotal mountings on the frame and the second ends having gripping fingers adapted for gripping and subsequently releasing one of the distal portions of flexible material. The arms can be rotated about the pivotal mountings from first positions in which the fingers can grip their respective distal portions of flexible material to second positions in which gripped material is extended to substantially its full length. The material is received in a rack upon release by the fingers when the arms are in their second position. The apparatus operates according to an automatic control.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fuel injection system for mixture compressing, externally ignited internal combustion engines, and more particularly to such a system including fuel injection valves, and a fuel distribution unit with fuel metering valves which determine the fuel quantity flowing into the injection valves by jointly changing their flow cross section. The metering process in such a system occurs at a constant pressure difference. Disposed in each fuel flow path downstream of the fuel-metering valves is a valve, whose flow cross section can be changed by a flexible member. The flexible member for each valve separates two chambers in the valve with the pressure in the first chamber of each valve being the fuel pressure prevailing downstream of the metering valve. This pressure acts on the flexible member in the opening direction of the valves.
Such fuel injection systems are designed for the purpose of using the magnitude of a setting parameter which acts on the fuel metering valve and which corresponds to the operational conditions of the internal combustion engine in order to achieve an appropriate change in the flow cross section of the downstream valves and also, with the aid of as constant a pressure gradient as possible across this flow cross section, to achieve a constantly precise metering of fuel corresponding to the particular open cross section of the downstream valves and one which is independent of the pressures prevailing before and behind this metering location.
In a known fuel injection system of this kind, the fuel for the individual cylinders of the internal combustion engine is metered out in common by a fuel metering valve. The fuel metering valve has a different control slit for each engine cylinder and a control slide having a control edge operatively associated with the different control slits. In this system, the fuel metering takes place at a pressure difference which is held constant by equal pressure valves. The pressure difference can, however, be changed in dependence on engine parameters, and the control pressure acting on the equal pressure valves is adjustable by means of a control pressure valve.
A fuel injection system so designed requires both a supply circuit and a control pressure circuit. Furthermore, a supplementary control pressure valve is required for each cylinder of the internal combustion engine in addition to the equal pressure valves.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide the existing state-of-the-art with an improved fuel injection system of the type discussed above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the existing state-of-the-art with a fuel injection system of the type discussed above which requires a low constructional expenditure.
These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by the provision of a fuel injection system having a fuel metering valve, at least one valve embodied as an equal pressure valve and at least one valve embodied as a differential pressure control valve, wherein both the equal pressure valve and the differential pressure control valve have two chambers each, with the fuel pressure upstream of the metering valve prevailing in the second chamber of the differential pressure control valve, and with the first chamber of the differential pressure control valve being in communication with the second chamber of each of the equal pressure valves.
An advantageous embodiment of the present invention provides that the pressure difference prevailing at the metering valve is changeable in dependence on engine parameters by means of the differential pressure control valve.
Another advantageous embodiment of the present invention provides that the equal pressure valve is embodied as a flat seat valve with a diaphragm as its flexible member.
A further advantageous design of the present invention consists in that the differential pressure control valve is a flat seat valve with a diaphragm as its flexible member which is loaded in its opening direction by a spring having a low spring constant.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Two exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in simplified form in the drawing and are described in detail below. In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view of a first exemplary embodiment of the fuel injection system according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross section along the line II--II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the first exemplary embodiment of the fuel injection system according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a second exemplary embodiment of the fuel injection system according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The exemplary embodiment of the fuel injection system according to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is for a four cylinder internal combustion engine. The system has a housing 1, an intermediate plate 2, and a bottom cover 3 all axially compressed and joined into an assembly by screws 4. Clamped between the housing 1 and the intermediate plate 2 is a diaphragm 5. The diaphragm 5 serves to divide axial bores 14, 15 and 16, 17, uniformly distributed about the longitudinal axis of the housing, into chambers 14, 15 and 16, 17. The diaphragm 5 also serves as the diaphragm for diaphragm valves 6 and 7. Because this exemplary embodiment relates to a fuel distributing system for a four-cylinder internal combustion engine, there are four diaphragm valves of which one is a differential pressure control valve 6 and the other three valves are equal pressure valves 7. Each of these valves includes a valve seat carrier 9 which has a valve seat 8 connected thereto. The diaphragm 5, together with the fixed valve seat 8, forms a flat seat valve. The valve seat carrier 9, which is screwed into the housing 1, also serves as a connecting member for fuel lines 10 which lead to fuel injection valves 11. Supported on the valve seat carrier 9 of the differential pressure control valve 6 is a helical spring 12 which has as low a spring constant as possible. This helical spring 12 loads the diaphragm 5 in the opening direction of the valve 6 via a spring support 13, so that, when not in operation, the differential pressure control valve 6 is opened. The diaphragm 5 serves, firstly as stated above, to separate a first chamber 14 from a second chamber 15 in the differential pressure control valve 6 and, secondly, to separate the first chambers 16 from the second chambers 17 within the equal pressure valves 7. A channel 18 leads from the first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6 to the second chamber 17 of an equal pressure valve 7. The second chambers 17 of the equal pressure valve 7 are all mutually connected by an annular channel 19 (FIG. 2).
Fuel is supplied from a fuel tank 24 by a fuel pump 23 through a line 25 and a connecting member 26 into the second chamber 15 of the differential pressure control valve 6. The fuel pump 23 is driven by an electric motor 22. Branching off from the line 25 is a line 27 containing a pressure limiting valve 28 which permits fuel to flow back into the fuel tank 24 when the fuel system pressure becomes too high.
An axial bore 30 formed in the housing 1, the intermediate plate 2 and the bottom cover 3 of the fuel distributing system has a guide bushing 31 mounted therein. An elsatic sealing sleeve or liner 32, which may consist of rubber, is also mounted within the bore 30. The sleeve 32 secures the guide bushing 31 against axial and rotational displacement and, for this purpose, the sealing sleeve or liner 32 is axially compressed by a plug 33 against a disc 34. The plug 33 is threadedly engaged within the bore 30 formed by the upper portion of the housing 1, while the disc 34 is located in the bore 30 between the bottom cover 3 and the intermediate plate 2. A further result of this is that no fuel can leak either between the guide bushing 34 and the housing 1 or between the housing 1 and the intermediate plate 2.
A control slide 36 is provided which is axially displaceable within the guide bushing 31 against the force of a spring 35, the control slide 36 has formed therein an annular groove 37. The restoring force acting on the control slide 36 could be provided by pressurized fluid instead of by the spring 35. This pressurized fluid would act upon the control slide under the control of a hydraulic control pressure system (not shown). The guide bushing 31 has longitudinal grooves 38 which communicate with the interior bore of the guide bushing 31 through exactly identical, axially parallel, longitudinal slits 39 (control slits) or control bores. The control slide 36 along with the annular groove 37 form a plurality of fuel metering valves with the control slits 39. Thus, depending on the position of the control slide 36, the annular groove 37 opens up or uncovers a section of the control slits 39 of greater or lesser length. The guide bushing 31 also contains radial bores 40 which constitute a constant communication between the annular groove 37 and an annular channel 41 disposed in the bottom cover 3. The annular channel 41 is connected to the second chamber 15 of the differential pressure control valve 6 by a channel 42. Each of the longitudinal grooves 38 in the guide bushing 31 is connected through one of the channels 43 with the first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6 or with the first chambers 16 of the equal pressure valve 7. Associated with each valve 6, 7, therefore, is a longitudinal groove 38 and its control slit 39. The first chambers 14 or 16 are thereby separated from one another.
The method of operation of the fuel injection system described is as follows:
The fuel delivered by the fuel pump 23 flows through the line 25 and the connecting member 26 into the second chamber 15 of the differential pressure control valve 6 and thence through a channel 42, an annular channel 41 and radial bores 40 into the annular groove 37 of the control slide 36. The control slide 36 may be displaced in the axial direction, for example, by an air-measuring member (not shown) disposed in the induction tube of the internal combustion engine, so that the annular groove 37 opens the control slits 39 to a greater or lesser degree. From the annular groove 37, fuel metered through the control slits 39 flows into the longitudinal grooves 38 and thence through channels 43 into the first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6 or the first chambers 16 of the equal pressure valves 7. The first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6 communicates through the channel 18 with the second chambers 17 of the equal pressure valves 7 which are in mutual connection through the annular channel 19.
The rigidity of the diaphragm 5 and the force of the spring 12 of the differential pressure control valve 6 are so chosen that when the intended pressure gradient between the first chamber 14 and the second chamber 15 changes, then the flow cross section existing between the diaphragm 5 and the valve seat 8 is changed until the intended pressure gradient is again reached. In the flat seat valves shown, this can be done in an extraordinarily short period of time, because, even with a very small stroke of the diaphragm 5, the flow cross section is greatly changed. The force of the spring 12, on the other hand, is only slightly changed, due to the small stroke, so that the regulating mechanism may operate very precisely, i.e., the pressure gradient is nearly constant independently of the fuel flow rate.
Throttling of the fuel at the control slits 39 is very nearly equal, so that an approximately equal fuel pressure prevails in the first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6 and the first chambers 16 of the equal pressure valves 7. Moreover, due to the connection of the first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6 with the second chambers 17 of the equal pressure valves 7, approximately the same fuel pressure prevails in the second chambers during regulation as prevails in the first chambers 16. The use of equal pressure valves 7 provides an advanatage in that, for the desired pressure difference to prevail at the metering valve 36, 37, 39, it is only necessary to properly choose the spring 12 of the differential pressure control valve 6, whereas such a tuning is unnecessary at the individual equal pressure valves 7. Thus, in contrast to known fuel injection systems of this kind, an advantage is achieved in that a separate control pressure circuit including the control pressure valve is unnecessary.
In FIGS. 3 and 4, identical parts have retained the same reference numerals used in the previously described first exemplary embodiment. The second exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is different from the first exemplary embodiment in that the fuel flowing through the differential pressure control valve 6 to the injection valve 11 constantly flows through the second chambers 17 of the equal pressure valves 7. This is done by first passing the corresponding metered out fuel quantity through the second chambers 17 of the equal pressure valves 7 and only then into the first chamber 14 of the differential pressure control valve 6. Such a design offers the advantage that the air bubbles which might accumulate underneath the diaphragm 5 are flushed away.
Furthermore, according to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the possibility of changing the differential pressure prevailing at the metering valve 36, 37, 39 by changing the force of the spring 12 in the differential pressure control valve 6 exists. Such a change of the pressure difference at the metering valve may be necessary to adapt the fuel-air mixture to the operational conditions of the internal combustion engine. Thus, it is suitable to make such a change in the differential pressure in dependence on engine parameters. This does not mean, however, that the differential pressure prevailing at the metering valve is to be constantly changing, but only that the differential pressure is to be altered to a different value and then to be held constant again at that new value. A change in the force of the spring 12 in the differential pressure control valve 6 can take place for example, in that an electromagnetic assembly, including a moving coil armature 46, a coil 47, a soft iron core 48, a permanent magnet 49, and a soft iron plate 50, is disposed within the second chamber 15. The soft iron plate 50 has a core 51 which extends into the moving coil armature 46 suspended from a leaf spring 52. The connection between the leaf spring 52 and the diaphragm 5 is made by an intermediate member 53. The pressure difference prevailing at the metering valve can be regulated, for example, based on the oxygen content of the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine. For this purpose, a socalled oxygen sensor (not shown) is suitably employed which may be disposed in the exhaust line of the internal combustion engine, and which, acting via an electric circuit, changes the strength of the current flowing through the coil 47 of the electromagnet assembly. As a result, the moving coil armature 46 is attracted magnetically, to a greater or lesser degree, toward the core 51, i.e., in the direction of unloading the spring 12. The change of the pressure difference prevailing at the differential pressure control valve 6 results in a change of the fuel pressure in the first and second chambers of the equal pressure valves 7, and hence in a modification of the pressure difference prevailing at the fuel-metering valve.
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A fuel injection system for mixture compressing, externally ignited internal combustion engines includes a fuel distributing unit having a plurality of fuel metering valves, and a plurality of pressure valves. The pressure valves are disposed in the fuel flow path between their respective fuel metering valve and their associated fuel injection valve. Each of the pressure valves includes a space which is divided into first and second chambers by a flexible member. At least one of the pressure valves is embodied as an equal pressure valve, and at least one of the pressure valves is embodied as a differential pressure control valve. The pressure in the second chamber of the differential pressure control valve is the pressure prevailing upstream of the fuel metering valves, and the first chamber of the differential pressure control valve communicates with the second chamber of each of the equal pressure valves so that the pressures therein are equal. Fuel metering occurs at a constant pressure difference.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a circular knitting machine creel.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Circular knitting machine creels are bobbin frames in which a number of bobbins are arranged in a circle and in tiers above one another. Threads drawn off from the bobbins are fed to knitting machines. When threads are drawn off, fuzz is produced which collects on parts of the frame and on the floor and makes it necessary to clean the frame and floor area periodically. Unavoidably, fuzz collects on parts of the frame, and an accumulation often comes loose from the frame and is carried along by a thread. This can result in a fuzz accumulation being embedded in the stitches of the knitwear and perhaps lead to substandard knitwear. Embeddings of this type can usually be easily seen since there are bobbins of different colours on the bobbin frame.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is the construction of a circular creel such that continuous cleaning of the frame and bobbins is assured.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a circular knitting machine creel for a plurality of bobbins which are supported in tiers by a circular cylindrical frame, is comprised of a carrier located inside the frame, at least one blower supported by the frame, having an air outlet connection directed somewhat radially outward, the blower moving on a circular path whose axis coincides essentially with the axis of the frame.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention are described in greater detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a vertical section through a circular creel according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the cleaning part of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the right part of a creel according to a second embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a vertical section through the right part of a creel according to a third embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a top view onto the floor group according to the second and third embodiment, and
FIG. 6 is a vertical section through the right part of a creel according to a fourth embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 1, a circular creel is comprised of a frame 1 which is hollow-cylindrical and supports a number of bobbins 2 which are arranged in a circle and in tiers above one another. Inside the frame, there is a socket-like carrier 3 which supports a blower 4. Carrier 3 is hollow and carries an electric motor 5 for driving a fan wheel 6. A spiral housing 7 of the blower 4 supports several impellers 8 on its underside which have horizontal swivel axes extending radially to one another. These impellers roll off of a blade rim 9 of the carrier 3.
A drive motor 10 is located on carrier 3 which is engaged with a drive rim on the blower housing 7. The blower housing 7 has an air outlet connection 11 which is directed radially outward and ends in and supports an air-blast hose 12. The air-blast hose 12 has a length which is slightly shorter than the height of the thread-guiding tubes extending above the frame 1. Air-blast hose 12 is provided with a number of blast nozzles 13 each of which is directed radially outward in direction of one of the circular rows of bobbins. Furthermore, a blast nozzle 13A is provided at the lower end of the blast hose and which points in the direction of the floor area of the frame, whereas another blast nozzle 13B is provided at the top and which points in the direction of the upper end of the frame.
Housing 7 has a counterweight 14 on its side opposite the blast hose 12.
A floor group 15 is provided which is divided into segments 16 separated from one another. Segments 16 protrude beyond the frame 1 on the outside and are provided with a filter or screen 27 on their protruding parts. The protruding parts of the segments 16 can also be omitted, so that the segments 16 close flush with the frame 1. In this case, each segment has a screen 17A on its front end. Segments 16 extend up to the carrier 3 and communicate with the inside of the carrier. A cover plate can be connected to the air-blast hose 12 which covers the inside orifice of individual segments 16.
When the drive motor 10 is actuated, it turns the spiral housing 7, as a result of which the blast hose 12 describes a circular path inside the frame 1. The air drawn in by the fan wheel 6 passes through screens 17 or 17A, flows through the segments 16 of the floor group 15 and reaches inside the carrier 3. The air conveyed by fan wheel 4 is supplied to the blast hose 12 via air outlet connections 11 and passes out via the blast nozzles 13, 13A and 13B. This causes a blowing on the bobbins 2 as well as the floor and top area of the frame 1 and the thread-guiding tubes. As a result, continuous cleaning of the frame 1 and the bobbins 2 take place. Flying fuzz in the inlet air is essentially caught by screens 17 or 17A and thus does not reach the blast air current. If a cover plate covering the segment openings and circulating with the air-blast hose 12 is provided, then the suction current is concentrated on the uncovered segments and thus the floor area is very intensively cleaned.
Instead of the counterweight 14, a further blast-air hose 12 can be provided in its place, whereby it is then advantageous to construct the housing 7 in the form of a double spiral housing with another air outlet connection which ends in and supports a further blast-air hose 12.
If the blower housing 7 is constructed so as to be relatively light, for example if it consists of plastic, then it is possible to provide one or more additional nozzles 13 on the blast-air hose 12, which are not, however, directed radially outward but are directed essentially tangentially. As a result, the blower housing 7 with the blast-air hose 12 is set rotating by recoil in these nozzles. In this case, the drive motor 10 can be omitted.
As shown in FIG. 3, the carrier 3A is constructed in the form of a column which is hollow on the inside. It carries the blower 4 on its upper side, as described above. Carrier 3A is supported by a filter box 18 which has a conical screen 19 on its inside, the tip of which points downward. The carrier 3A interior is connected to the interior of the filter box 18. The interior of the filter box 18 is, in turn, connected to the segments 16A of the floor group 15A. The interior of the segments 16A and the interior of the carrier 3A are separated from one another by the screen 19 in the filter box 18. Segments 16A are inclined from the outside inward.
A pipe 20, which opens in the air-blast hose 12, extends horizontally from the air outlet connection 11 of blower 4. The filter box 18 and the carrier 3A supported by it together have a height which corresponds to approximately half the height of the frame 1.
The embodiment of FIG. 4 essentially differs from that of FIG. 3 in that the columnar carrier 3B together with the filter box 18 occupies a height which is slightly less than the height of the frame 1. The blast-air hose 12 is suspended on pipe 20.
In the embodiment of FIG. 6, carrier 3C is constructed in the form of a rod and pivots a horizontal rotating arm 21 which, for its part, supports a vertical support arm 22. Several blowers 23 are placed below one another on this vertical support arm, the air outlet connections 11 of which are directed radially outward.
Common to the above-noted embodiments is that the air-blast hose or the blower 23 rotate about a vertical axis 24 which coincides with the vertical axis of the frame 1. Thus, all the bobbins 2 and the frame 1 are uniformly blown against with blast air on all sides.
In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a rail 25, on which a carriage 27 is supported on rollers and which has rollers 26 running on the floor, is provided on the outside, and alternatively or in addition, on the upper side of the frame 1. Carriage 27 is provided with a blower 28 which produces a suction air current away from the frame 1. The carriage 27 travels about the frame 1, driven by a drive which is not shown, and thereby draws off flying fuzz from the frame 1 and the bobbins 2.
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A circular knitting machine creel for a plurality of bobbins which are supported in tiers by a circular cylindrical frame, comprising a carrier located inside the frame, at least one blower supported by the frame, having an air outlet connection directed somewhat radially outward, the blower moving on a circular path whose axis coincides essentially with the axis of the frame.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to presses, more particularly, to toggle operated presses commonly used in injection molding machines. The invention is directed particularly to setting relative locations of fixed and thrust or “die height” platens in such presses.
II. Description of Related Art
In injection molding machines, material to be molded is forced into cavities defined by mating mold sections. To permit relative motion of the mold sections, typically, at least one mold section is mounted to a movable platen driven by a press mechanism. In addition to moving the press member for productive use of the machine, the press mechanism, in combination with a press structure, provides the force required to overcome the separation force produced by injection of material into the mold cavities. A commonly used press mechanism for reciprocation of the movable platen is a “toggle” mechanism, a combination of pivoting links which produces translation and substantial mechanical advantage. In addition to such mechanisms, the press mechanism typically includes devices for setting the relative locations of the press mechanism and a fixed platen, to accommodate tooling elements (mold sections and mold “bases”) having a combined thickness within a range determined by overall press size, such thickness referred to as “height” or “die height”.
Although it would be possible to overcome mold separation forces by consistently imposing a mechanism maximum “clamping” force, the attainment of such forces requires maximum energy consumption and increases wear of machine components. Consequently, it is preferred that the “clamping” force be matched to the expected mold separation force. Hence, it is known to provide press mechanisms which permit setting of desired clamp forces while also permitting adjustment of die height. Examples of such mechanisms are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,059,253 and 5,149,471. As described in these patents, desired “clamping” force is produced by elastic stretch of strain rods induced by a toggle mechanism after mating mold sections are brought into contact. Typically, force at initial contact of mold sections is controlled, by, for example, torque limit control of the toggle mechanism drive motor during press closure. Once the mold sections have made contact, greater forces are permitted for further operation of the toggle mechanism to achieve the desired clamping force.
As described in the referenced patents, desired clamping force is achieved by precise setting of relative position between the press mechanism and a fixed platen on which a mating mold section is mounted. It is known, for example, to use iterative procedures requiring operation of the press mechanism and press mechanism positioning devices. As devices for positioning the press mechanism typically change position at low rates, such iterative procedures may require substantial time to complete position setting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for setting die height in toggle operated press mechanisms.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for setting die height of a toggle operated press wherein the likelihood of repetition of setting steps is reduced.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of setting die height of a toggle operated press wherein the press mechanism is operated to locate a toggle crosshead at a predetermined position required to achieve a desired clamping force.
Further objects and advantages of the invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following description thereof.
In accordance with the aforesaid objects the present invention provides a method for setting die height of a toggle operated press. The toggle is operated to position the toggle crosshead at a position where the mold sections will make contact and from which further extension of the toggle mechanism will generate the desired clamping force, this position is referred to as “required crosshead position” or “RCP”. Thereafter, the entire press mechanism is advanced toward the fixed platen until minute motion of the toggle crosshead away from the fixed platen is detected. In the event the relative location of the press mechanism prevents initial positioning of the toggle crosshead to the RCP, the press mechanism is moved away from the fixed platen a predetermined distance and the press mechanism is again operated to position the toggle crosshead at the RCP.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an injection molding machine with a toggle operated press.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system for the injection molding machine of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a procedure used by the control system of FIG. 1 to set die height of the injection molding machine press.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, an injection molding machine 10 includes a clamp assembly 12 and an injection unit 14 . Typical of plastic injection molding machines, raw material in the form of pellets and/or powders is introduced to an extruder 16 through hopper 18 . Extruder 16 includes a barrel portion 60 , typically surrounded by external heating elements 20 , and an internal material working screw, not shown. As raw material is liquefied, i.e. plasticized, by a combination of heating and material working, the plasticized material advances toward the exit end of the extruder, displacing the interior screw away from clamp assembly 12 . Once a sufficient volume of material has been plasticized, the working screw is advanced within barrel portion 60 to force material through the exit end of barrel portion 60 into a cavity defined by mating mold sections 22 and 24 . Clamp assembly 12 holds mold sections 22 and 24 together during injection and thereafter until the injected material has sufficiently solidified to be removed without unacceptable deformation. Movable platen 26 is then retracted, separating mold section 22 from mold section 24 to permit release of the molded article.
Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, clamp assembly 12 comprises fixed platen 28 , movable platen 26 , thrust or “die height” platen 36 and toggle mechanism 38 . Fixed platen 28 supports mold section 24 and is rigidly mounted to machine base 30 . Strain rod pairs 32 and 34 are supported at opposite ends by fixed platen 28 and thrust or die height platen 36 . Movable platen 26 is slidably supported on strain rod pairs 32 and 34 for reciprocation between “open” and “closed” positions, “closed” referring to the advanced position as shown in FIG. 1. A toggle link mechanism 38 , interposed between movable platen 26 and thrust platen 36 , is operated by a rack and pinion combination comprising a rack (not shown) and pinion (not shown) within drive case 44 . The pinion is rotated by motor 40 to translate the rack horizontally toward and away from fixed platen 28 . A rack extension (not shown) connects the rack with a toggle link crosshead 56 . The rack extension is enclosed by bellows 42 to contain lubricant dislodged from the rack externally of drive case 44 and to prevent contaminants from entering drive case 44 at the opening through which the rack extension protrudes. Toggle link crosshead 56 includes guide sleeves, such as sleeve 46 , surrounding guide rods, such as rod 58 , supported between die height platen 36 and support plates, such as support plate 62 . In response to reciprocation of the rack, toggle link mechanism 38 produces reciprocation of moveable platen 26 and provides sufficient mechanical advantage to convert torque at motor 40 to the desired clamping force. Toggle link mechanism 38 is preferably operable to a “lock-over” configuration, as shown in FIG. 1 wherein serial pivoting links between thrust platen 36 and movable platen 26 are longitudinally aligned. On opening, reciprocation of crosshead 56 pivots these links to reduce the effective length and draw movable platen 26 away from fixed platen 28 .
Die height setting nut pairs 48 and 50 are threadably engaged with ends of strain rod pairs 32 and 34 outboard of thrust platen 36 . Die height setting nut pairs 48 and 50 are rotated by motor 52 through a drive such as drive chain 54 . Nut pairs 48 and 50 could as well be driven by, for example, a ring gear drive, or toothed belt drive. Rotation of nut pairs 48 and 50 positions the combination of die height platen 36 , toggle link mechanism 38 and movable platen 26 , that is, the press mechanism, along strain rod pairs 32 and 34 .
As is conventional, motor 40 is preferably a servo-motor and includes or works in combination with a position measuring transducer 120 which produces electrical signals representing position of the motor armature. Also, as is well known for control of servo motors, other transducers may be used with motor 40 to measure, for example, armature angular velocity or to detect armature locations for motor current commutation. Further, as is conventional, motor 52 is not operated as a servo-motor, and no position transducer is fitted to motor 52 or the die height adjusting drive. In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, position transducer 120 may be an encoder for measuring angular position of the motor armature. As shown in FIG. 1, motor 40 is a rotating machine, wherein an armature and stator are arranged for rotation of one relative to the other and position transducer 120 measures the relative angular position. Were motor 40 a linear motor, position transducer 120 could as well measure linear position of a translating motor armature. Alternatively, position transducer 120 may measure linear displacement and be mechanically coupled to crosshead 56 .
A control system for the injection molding machine shown in FIG. 1 shall be described with reference to FIG. 2 . Control system 80 includes a programmable control 82 , such as, for example, a programmable logic controller or personal computer based control system, and an operator terminal 84 including a display 100 and input devices 102 such as keys, push buttons, computer “mouse”, and the like and data reading and recording devices such as magnetic tape drives, diskette drives, and magnetic strip or stripe card reading drives. Programmable control 82 includes operator terminal interface circuits 94 , memory 86 , one or more processors indicated by processor 88 , output interface circuits 90 , and input interface circuits 92 . Operator terminal interface 94 includes circuits for controlling display of data on operator terminal 84 and for translating between signals used by processor 88 and signals used by input devices 102 . Memory 86 may include non-volatile memory such as semiconductor read only memory (ROM), volatile memory such as semiconductor random access memory (RAM), and mass storage devices such as disk memory. Processor 88 , typically, one or more digital processors, executes programs recorded in memory to process input signals, perform logical and arithmetic functions, and produce output signals to control the operation of machine devices. Input and output interface circuits 90 and 92 may include electrical and optical devices for translating between the digital electrical signals used by processor 88 and the digital and analogue electrical signals used by machine devices. Machine control 80 produces signals for controlling the operation of motors 40 and 52 . Output signals defining, for example, position, velocity, and/or acceleration are applied to motor drive 112 to control electrical current delivered to motor 40 from a suitable power source such as a conventional three-phase alternating current source. Output signals defining direction of rotation are applied to motor relay 114 to control application to motor 52 of a suitable power source, such as for example, three-phase voltage. As is conventional, motor drive 112 uses signals produced by position transducer 120 in connection with the control of current delivered to motor 40 . Conversely, motor drive 114 may include current limiting devices such as thermal overload devices or fuses to prevent excessive currents flowing through motor 52 .
As is conventional, functions performed by programmable control 82 are controlled by operating system programs 94 which may be recorded in ROM or otherwise stored in memory 86 . Operating system programs may be dedicated to particular programmable control hardware or may be commercially available operating systems for personal computers such as, for example, a WINDOWS operating system available from Microsoft Corp. Operating system programs 94 control the execution of machine control programs 96 by processor 88 . Machine control programs perform logical and arithmetic functions to monitor and control the operation of machine devices. Typically, such programs permit at least two modes of operation of the machine: (i) an automatic mode for normal production; and (ii) a set-up or manual mode, for preparing the machine and machine devices for production and for setting parameter values used by the machine control programs in production of particular articles from particular material. While the automatic mode of operation will cause motion of machine members in accordance with values established by the user during machine set-up, the set-up mode permits manually controlled motion of machine members. Hence, routines for control of machine actuators, known as axes control routines, may be used to effect controlled motion in both automatic and manual or set-up modes of operation.
The present invention is concerned with a particular aspect of machine setup, that is, establishment of die-height so as to achieve a desired clamp force. The operator selects a set-up mode of operation via operator terminal 84 . With set-up mode selected, the operator may invoke automated die height setting, causing execution of the die height setting programs 110 recorded in memory 86 .
Description of the functions of die height setting programs 110 shall be made with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 3 . At step 150 , the required clamp force value entered by the operator is read from memory 86 . At step 152 the position of toggle crosshead 56 required to produce the specified clamp force is calculated from the following relationship:
RCP=K 1 *CF+OFF 1 +K 2 *MPF+OFF 2 +K 3 *MH+OFF 3 Equation 1
Where:
CF=required clamp force
MPF=mold protect force
MH=actual mold height
RCP=required crosshead position
K 1 =clamp force constant
K 2 =mold protect constant
K 3 =mold height constant
OFF 1 =clamp force offset
OFF 2 =mold protect offset
OFF 3 =mold height offset
The first term of equation 1, “K 1 *CF+OFF 1 ” defines a nominal crosshead location according to the desired clamp force. The clamp force constant “K 1 ” and clamp force offset “OFF 1 ” are values determined from measurements made on machine 10 using blank mold elements of nominal thickness, referred to as “mold height”. The clamp force constant “K 1 ” and clamp force offset “OFF 1 ” are determined from measurements of cross head position to produce clamp forces equal to the maximum clamp force and at least one reduced clamp force.
As the clamp closes, it is desired that initial contact of the mold elements occur with reduced force. Hence, common practice is to define a mold protect force to limit further advance of the moveable platen during clamp closure. It will be appreciated that crosshead position from which desired clamp force is generated varies as a function of the mold protect force, since the mold protect force arises from contact of the mold sections as the toggle is operated toward lock-over. Hence, equation 1 includes a term to account for mold protect force, that is “K 2 *MPF+OFF 2 ”. In this term, the mold protect constant “K 2 ” and mold protect offset “OFF 2 ” are determined from measurements made on machine 10 wherein a selected clamp force is achieved with blank mold elements of nominal thickness. The mold protect constant “K 2 ” and mold protect offset “OFF 2 ” are determined from measurements of cross head position to achieve the selected clamp force for at least two values of mold protect force.
Equation 1 includes a mold height term “K 3 *MH+OFF 3 ” to account for actual mold element thickness which typically will differ significantly from the nominal mold thickness used to generate the constants and offsets associated with desired clamp force and mold protect force. In the mold height term, values for the mold height constant “K 3 ” and mold height offset “OFF 3 ” are determined by measurements made on machine 10 of cross head position to achieve a selected clamp force using blank mold elements equivalent to maximum and minimum mold heights.
At step 154 , a command is generated to drive motor 40 to move crosshead 56 to the required clamp force position. Steps 156 and 158 represent monitoring of the progress of crosshead to the required clamp force position. Position of the crosshead is conveniently measured using position transducer 120 , and arrival at the commanded position will result in generation of an “In Position” signal by the axes control routines 98 by comparison of measured position and commanded position. Occurrence of the “In Position” signal is detected at step 156 . It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that, depending on the capabilities of motor drive 112 , an “In Position” signal may be generated by motor drive 112 rather than by axes control routines 98 . In any case, the “In Position” signal represents coincidence between measured position and commanded position within an acceptable tolerance.
In the event the crosshead is prevented from reaching the commanded position, for example, in the event mold sections 22 and 24 come into contact before the crosshead 56 has reached an expected mold contact location, motor 40 will “stall”, that is, will cease to further advance crosshead 56 . This condition will be reflected in cessation of change of position of crosshead 56 while a position error, that is, difference between the commanded position and measured position, continues to exist. This condition may be detected within axes control routines 98 as a velocity error, that is a difference between expected velocity and actual velocity as determined from the rate of change of position. Alternatively, this condition may be detected within motor drive 112 by, for example, motor current reaching a current limit value. Step 158 represents detection of occurrence of stalled motion of crosshead 56 .
In the event step 158 detects that crosshead motion is stalled, commanded motion of crosshead 56 is terminated at step 160 where position command S(C) is set equal to the present crosshead position, eliminating position error. Thereafter, die height platen 36 is driven to be retracted away from fixed platen 28 a predetermined distance. As motor 52 effectively operates at constant velocity (within the tolerance of the applied power and allowing for inherent delays of acceleration and deceleration as the motor is energized and de-energized), motion through a predetermined distance can be accomplished by driving motor 52 in one direction for a predetermined period. Hence, at step 162 , a drive command is generated to retract die height platen 36 for a preset period Δt( 1 ). Step 164 detects expiration of the retract period. The die height setting procedure continues at step 154 where a position command is generated to position crosshead 56 at the required crosshead position previously calculated. It will be appreciated that steps 154 - 164 define an iterative loop to automate positioning of crosshead 56 at the required crosshead position.
Once crosshead 56 has been successfully positioned at the required crosshead position, die height platen 36 is driven to advance to the point of contact of mold sections 22 and 24 . At step 166 , a command is generated to advance die height platen 36 toward fixed platen 28 . On occurrence of contact of mold sections 22 and 24 , crosshead 56 will be forced away from fixed platen 28 by the forces acting on toggle mechanism 38 . Step 168 detects the occurrence of a minute change of position (ΔS(C)=MIN) of cross head 56 away from fixed platen 28 as reflected in position measured by position transducer 120 . Conveniently, the minute change of position is programmable to accommodate characteristics of the press mechanism established during commissioning of machine 10 . The minute change of position must be more than any expected fluctuation of measured position attributable to signal conversion and “holding” torque of motor 40 and must be less than would translate to an error in desired clamp force. This completes setting of die height and execution of the die height setting procedure ends at terminal 174 .
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, and while the preferred embodiment has illustrated and described with considerable detail, it is not the intention of the inventors that the invention be limited to the detail of the preferred embodiment. Rather, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the appended claims and all equivalents thereto.
|
Method and apparatus for control of a toggle operated press to effectively set relative position between a fixed platen and a die height platen. The toggle crosshead is placed at a position required to achieve a desired press clamp force. The die height platen is advanced toward the fixed platen until minute motion of the toggle crosshead away from the fixed platen is detected whereat advance of the die height platen is ceased. In the relative position of the die height platen and fixed platen results in contact of the mold sections prior to the crosshead being placed at the required position, the crosshead is retracted a predetermined distance and then advanced to the required position. Desired die height setting is achieved without repeated iterations of a die height setting procedure.
| 1
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of, and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. application Ser. No. 14/936,402, filed Nov. 9, 2015, and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/630,944, filed Sep. 28, 2012, which is continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/413,070, filed Mar. 27, 2009, which claims the benefit of 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from Provisional U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/040,492, filed Mar. 28, 2008. The entire contents of each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] The present invention was made in part with U.S. Government support under Contract #2005*N354200*000, Project #100905770351. The U.S. Government may have certain rights to this invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a mathematical procedure for enhancing a soft sound source in the presence of one or more loud sound sources and to a new iterative technique for enhancing noisy speech signals under low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) environments.
[0004] The present invention includes the use of various technologies referenced and described in the documents identified in the following LIST OF REFERENCES, which are cited throughout the specification by the corresponding reference number in brackets:
LIST OF REFERENCES
[0005] [1] S. F. Boll, “Suppression of acoustic noise in speech using spectral subtraction,” IEEE Transactions Acoustics Speech Signal Processing, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 113-120, 1979.
[0006] [2] M. Berouti, R. Schwartz, and J. Makhoul, “Enhancement of speech corrupted by acoustic noise,” in Proc. IEEE Intl. Conf., Acoustics Speech Signal Processing, vol. 4, April 1979, pp. 208-211.
[0007] [3] Y. Ephraim and D. Malah, “Speech enhancement using a minimum mean-square error short-time spectral amplitude estimator,” IEEE Transactions Acoustics Speech Signal Processing, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 1109-1121, 1984.
[0008] [4] ______, “Speech enhancement using a minimum mean-square error log-spectral amplitude estimator,” IEEE Transactions Acoustics Speech Signal Processing, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 443-445, 1985.
[0009] [5] Z. Goh, K. C. Tan, and B. T. G. Tan, “Postprocessing method for suppressing musical noise generated by spectral subtraction.” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 287-292, May 1998.
[0010] [6] N. Virag, “Single channel speech enhancement based on masking properties of the human auditory system,” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 126-137, March 1999.
[0011] [7] Y. Ephraim and H. L. Vantrees, “A signal subspace approach for speech enhancement,” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 251-266, July 1995.
[0012] [8] U. Mittal and N. Phamdo, “Signal/Noise KLT based approach for enhancing speech degraded by colored noise,” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 159-167, March 2000.
[0013] [9] Rezayee and S. Gazor, “All adaptive KLT approach for speech enhancement,” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 87-95, February 2001.
[0014] [10] Y. Hu and P. C. Loizou, “A generalized subspace approach for enhancing speech corrupted by colored noise,” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 334-341, July 2003.
[0015] [11] M. Brandstein and D. Ward. Eds., Microphone Arrays: Signal Processing Techniques and Applications. Springer, 2001.
[0016] [12] B. D. V. Veen and K. M. Buckley, “Beamforming: A versatile approach to spatial filtering,” IEEE ASSP. Mag., pp. 4-24, April 1988.
[0017] [13] S. Doclo and M. Moonen, “GSVD-based optimal filtering for single and multimicrophone speech enhancement,” IEEE Transactions Signal Processing, vol. 50, no. 9, pp. 2230-2244, September 2002.
[0018] [14] F. T. Luk, “A parallel method for computing the generalized singular value decomposition,” Journal Parallel Distributed Computing, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 250-260, August 1985.
[0019] [15] G. H. Golub and C. F. V. Loan, Matrix Computations, 3rd ed. The John Hopkins University Press, 1996.
[0020] [16] S. H. Jensen. P. C. Hansen, S. D. Hansen, and J. A. Sorensen, “Reduction of broad-band noise in speech by truncated QSVD,” IEEE Transactions Speech Audio Processing, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 439-448, November 1995.
[0021] [17] K. I. Diamantaras and S. Y. Kung, Principal Component Neural Networks: Theory and Applications. Wiley-Iiiterscience, 1996.
[0022] [18] S. C. Douglas and M. Gupta, “Scaled natural gradient algorithms for instantaneous and convolutive blind source separation,” IEEE Int. Conf. Acoust., Speech, Signal Processing, Honolulu, Hi, vol. II, pp. 637-640, April 2007.
[0023] [19] H. Lev-Ari and Y. Ephraim, “Extension of the signal subspace speech enhancement approach to colored noise,” IEEE Signal Processing Lett. vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 104-106, April 2003.
[0024] [20] M. Gupta and S. C. Douglas, “Signal deflation and paraunitary constraints in spatio-temporal fastica-based convolutive blind source separation of speech mixtures,” in 2007 IEEE Workshop Applications of Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics, New Paltz, N.Y., October 2007.
[0025] The entire contents of each of the above references are incorporated herein by reference. The techniques disclosed in the references can be utilized as part of the present invention.
Discussion of the Background
[0026] A speech enhancement system is a valuable device in many applications of practical interest such as hearing aids, cell phones, speech recognition systems, surveillance, and forensic applications. Early speech enhancement systems were based on a single channel operation due to their simplicity. Spectral subtraction [1] is a simple and popular single channel speech enhancement technique that achieved marked reduction in background noise. These systems operate in the discrete Fourier domain and process noisy data in frames. An estimate of the noise power spectrum is subtracted from the noisy speech in each frame and data is reconstructed in the time domain by using methods like the overlap-add or overlap-save methods. Although effective in high signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) scenarios, an annoying artifact of spectral subtraction is an automatic generation of musical tones in the enhanced speech. This effect is particularly prominent in low signal-to-noise-ratios (SNR) (<5 dB) and makes the enhanced speech less understandable to humans. Over the years, several solutions dealing with the problem of musical noise have been proposed in the speech enhancement literature [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. These techniques employ perceptually constrained criteria to trade-off background noise reduction with speech distortion. However, in low SNR regimes, the problem still persists.
[0027] In the early 1990s it was realized that the Karhunen-Loeve transform (KLT), instead of the popular DFT, could be effectively utilized in a speech enhancement system. This was motivated by the fact that KLT provides a signal-dependent basis as opposed to a fixed basis used by the DFT based system. This fact led researchers to propose subspace-based speech enhancement systems in [7] as an alternative to spectral subtraction algorithms. These methods require the eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) of the covariance of the noisy speech and are successful in eliminating musical noise to a large extent. The key idea in subspace-based techniques is to decompose the vector space of noisy speech into two mutually orthogonal subspaces corresponding to signal-plus-noise and noise-only subspaces. The subspaces are identified by performing an eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) of the correlation matrix of the noisy speech vector via the Karhunen-Loéve transform (KLT) in every frame. The components of the noisy speech corresponding to the noise-only subspace are nulled out, whereas components corresponding to the signal-plus-noise subspace are enhanced. Subspace-based algorithms perform better than the spectral-subtraction-based algorithms due to the better signal representation provided by the KLT and offer nearly musical-noise-free enhanced speech. However, the original subspace algorithm is optimal only under the assumption of stationary white noise. In other words, these EVD-based methods are designed for the uncorrelated noise case. For correlated noise scenarios, several extensions of the original subspace method have been proposed in the literature [8][9][10][16][19]. The technique in [8] first identifies whether the current frame is speech-dominated or noise-dominated, and then uses different processing strategies corresponding to each case. The technique in [9] uses a diagonal matrix instead of an identity matrix to approximate the noise power spectrum. The methods in [10][16] use generalized eigenvalue decomposition and quotient (generalized) singular value decomposition, respectively, to account for the correlated nature of the additive noise. Explicit solutions to the linear time-domain and frequency-domain estimators were developed in [19], where the solution matrix whitens the colored noise before the KLT is applied. All of the above methods claim better performance in colored noise scenarios over the original subspace algorithm [7], albeit with higher computational complexity.
[0028] Microphone arrays have recently attracted a lot of interest in the signal and speech processing communities [11] due to their ability to exploit both the spatial- and the temporal-domains simultaneously. These multimicrophone systems are capable of coupling a speech enhancement procedure with beamforming [12] to ensure effective nulling of the background noise. Subspace algorithms have recently been extended to the multimicrophone case in [13] via use of the generalized singular value decomposition (GSVD). Specialized algorithms [14], [15] were utilized to compute the GSVD of two matrices corresponding to noise-only data and signal-plus-noise data. An alternate formulation of the GSVD via the use of noise whitening was previously suggested in [16]. The results are promising, but the issue of complexity remains. In a similar vein, the GEVD-based method of [10] can also be extended to the multimicrophone case, however, the need for long filters per channel poses a serious challenge in the implementation of GEVD-based systems. For example, in an n microphone system with L-taps per channel, the direct subspace computations will involve an nL×nL correlation matrix. Specific values of n=4, and L=4 result in a 4096×4096 correlation matrix, which is computationally expensive to handle on most small-form systems. Hence, alternative methods are sought to reduce this computational burden.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0029] Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention is a speech enhancement method that includes steps of obtaining a speech signal using at least one input microphone, calculating a whitening filter using a silence interval in the obtained speech signal, applying the whitening filter to the obtained speech signal to generate a whitened speech signal in which noise components present in the obtained speech signal are whitened, estimating a clean speech signal by applying a multi-channel filter to the generated whitened speech signal and outputting the clean speech signal via an audio device.
[0030] An object of the present invention is the development of a new speech enhancement algorithm based on an iterative methodology to compute the generalized eigenvectors from the spatio-temporal correlation coefficient sequence of the noisy data. The multichannel impulse responses produced by the present procedure closely approximate the subspaces generated from select eigenvectors of the nL×nL)-dimensional sample autocorrelation matrix of the multichannel data. An advantage of the present technique is that a single filter can represent an entire nL-dimensional signal subspace by multichannel shifts of the corresponding filter impulse responses. In addition, the present technique does not involve dealing with large matrix vector multiplications, nor involve any matrix inversions. These facts make the present scheme very attractive and viable for implementation in real-time systems.
[0031] Another object of the present invention is related to a new methodology of processing the noisy speech data in the spatio-temporal domain. The present invention follows a technique that is closely related to the GEVD processing techniques. Similar to the GEVD processing, the first stage in the present method is the noise-whitening of the data, the second stage a spatio-temporal version of the well known power method [17] is used to extract the dominant speech component from the noisy data. A significant benefit of the present method is substantial reduction in the computational complexity. Because the whitening stage is separate in the present method, it is also possible to design invertible multichannel whitening filters whose effect from the output of the power method stage can be removed to nullify the whitening effects from the enhanced speech power spectrum.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:
[0033] FIG. 1 : illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 2 : illustrates a table providing an example of Pseudo Code for an Iterative Whitening process
[0035] FIG. 3 : illustrates a table providing an example of Pseudo Code for an Spatio-Temporal Power Method;
[0036] FIG. 4 : illustrates a table providing an example of Pseudo Code for an Algorithm Implementation of one embodiment of the claimed invention;
[0037] FIG. 5 : illustrates a flow diagram of a method of one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0038] FIG. 6 : illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0039] One embodiment of the present invention relates to a method of Spatio-Temporal Eigenfiltering using a signal model. For instance, letting s(l) denote a clean speech source signal which is measured at the output of an n-microphone array in the presence of colored noise v(l) at time instant l. The output of the j th microphone is given as
[0000]
y
j
(
l
)
=
v
j
(
l
)
+
∑
p
=
-
∞
∞
h
jp
s
(
l
-
p
)
=
v
j
(
l
)
+
x
j
(
l
)
(
1
)
[0000] where {h jp } are the coefficients of the acoustic impulse response between the speech source and the j th microphone, and x j (l) and v j (l) are the filtered speech and noise component received at the j th microphone, respectively. The additive noise v j (l) is assumed to be uncorrelated with the clean speech signal and possesses a certain autocorrelation structure. One of the goals of the speech enhancement system is to compute a set of filters w j , j=0, . . . , n−1 such that the speech component of x j (l) is enhanced while the noise component v j (l) is reduced. The filters w j are usually finite impulse response (FIR) filters due to the finite reverberation time of the environment. In fact, acoustic impulse responses decay with time such that only a finite number of tap values h jp in Eq. (1) are essentially non-zero. The vector model of signal corresponding to an n-element microphone array can be written as
[0000] y ( l ) =x ( l ) +v ( l ) (2)
[0000] where y(l)=[y 1 (l)y 2 (l) . . . y n (l)] T , x(l)=[x 1 (l)x 2 (l) . . . x n (l)] T , and v(l)=[v 1 (l)v 2 (l) . . . v n (l)] T are the observed signal, the clean speech signal and the noise signal respectively.
[0040] With regard to Spatio-Temporal Eigenfiltering, a goal is to transform the speech enhancement problem into an iterative multichannel filtering task in which the output of the multichannel filter {W p (k)} at time instant l and iteration k can be written as
[0000]
z
k
(
l
)
=
∑
p
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
y
(
l
-
p
)
,
(
3
)
[0000] where {W p (k)} is the n×n multichannel enhancement filter of length L at iteration k, and the n-dimensional signal z k (l) is the output of this multichannel filter. Upon filter convergence for sufficiently large k, one of the signals in z k (l) will contain a close approximation of the original signal x i (l). Equation (3) can further be written by substituting the value of y(l) as
[0000]
z
k
(
l
)
=
∑
p
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
(
v
(
l
-
p
)
+
x
(
l
-
p
)
)
.
(
4
)
[0000] One of the goals of the present invention is to adapt the matrix coefficient sequence {W p (k)} to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the system output. To achieve this goal, the power in z k (l) at the k th iteration is given by the following expression for P(k):
[0000]
P
(
k
)
=
tr
{
1
N
∑
i
=
N
(
k
-
1
)
+
1
Nk
z
k
(
l
)
z
k
T
(
l
)
}
=
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
tr
{
W
p
(
k
)
R
y
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
}
,
(
5
)
[0000] where N is the length of the data sequence, the notation tr{.} corresponds to the trace of a matrix, and {Ry p } denotes the multichannel autocorrelation sequence of y and is given by
[0000]
R
y
p
=
1
N
∑
i
=
N
(
k
-
1
)
+
1
Nk
y
(
l
)
y
T
(
l
-
p
)
,
-
L
2
≤
p
≤
L
2
.
(
6
)
[0041] Note that {W p (k)} is assumed to be zero outside the range 0≦p≦L, and {Ry p } is assumed to be zero outside the range |p|≦(L/2). Under the assumption of uncorrelated speech and noise, the total signal power can be written as P(k)=P x (k)+P v (k), where
[0000]
P
x
(
k
)
=
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
tr
{
W
p
(
k
)
R
x
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
}
(
7
)
P
v
(
k
)
=
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
tr
{
W
p
(
k
)
R
v
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
}
,
(
8
)
[0042] The problem of SNR maximization in the presence of colored noise is closely related to the problem of the generalized eigenvalue decomposition (GEVD). This problem has also been referred to as oriented principal component analysis (OPCA) [17]. The nomenclature is consistent with the fact that the generalized eigenvectors point in directions which maximize the signal variance and minimize the noise variance. However, since both {Rx p } and {Rv p } are not directly available, the values in {Rv p } are typically estimated during an appropriate silence period of the noisy speech in which there is no speech activity. Letting the number of samples of the noise sequence be denoted as n v (<<N) then the multichannel autocorrelation sequence corresponding to the noise process can be written as
[0000]
R
v
p
=
1
N
v
∑
i
=
N
v
(
k
-
1
)
+
1
N
v
k
v
(
l
)
v
T
(
l
-
p
)
,
-
L
2
≤
p
≤
L
2
.
(
9
)
[0043] As for the replacement of {Rx p }, the multichannel autocorrelation sequence {Ry p } is used to find the stationary points of the following spatio-temporal power ratio:
[0000]
J
(
{
W
p
(
k
)
}
)
=
tr
{
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
R
y
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
}
tr
{
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
R
v
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
}
.
(
10
)
[0044] The function J({W p (k)}) is the spatio-temporal extension of the generalized Rayleigh quotient, and the solution that maximizes equation (10) are the generalized eigenvectors (or eigenfilters) of the multichannel autocorrelation sequence pair ({Rx p }, {Ry p }). For sufficiently many iterations k, the multichannel FIR filter sequence {W p (k)} is designed to satisfy the following equations;
[0000]
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
R
v
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
=
{
Λ
if
q
-
p
=
0
0
otherwise
(
11
)
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
R
v
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
=
{
I
if
q
-
p
=
0
0
otherwise
.
(
12
)
[0000] where A and {W p } denote the generalized eigenvalues and eigenvectors of ({Rx p }, {Ry p }). This solution maximizes the energy of the speech component of the noisy mixture while minimizing the noise energy at the same time.
[0045] The present invention also addresses spatio-temporal generalized eigenvalue decomposition. The present method relies on multichannel correlation coefficient sequences of the noisy speech process and noise process defined in (6) and (9). Next, the multichannel convolution operations needed for the update of the filter sequence {W p } are defined as
[0000]
R
_
y
q
(
k
)
=
{
∑
p
=
0
L
ℋ
(
R
y
q
-
p
)
W
p
T
(
k
)
if
-
L
2
≤
q
≤
L
2
0
otherwise
.
G
y
p
(
k
)
=
{
∑
q
=
0
L
W
q
(
k
)
R
_
y
p
-
q
(
k
)
if
0
≤
p
≤
L
0
otherwise
.
R
_
v
q
(
k
)
=
{
∑
p
=
0
L
ℋ
(
R
v
q
-
p
)
W
p
T
(
k
)
if
-
L
2
≤
q
≤
L
2
0
otherwise
.
G
v
p
(
k
)
=
{
∑
q
=
0
L
W
q
(
k
)
R
_
v
p
-
q
(
k
)
if
0
≤
p
≤
L
0
otherwise
.
(
13
)
[0046] In the above set of equations, H(.) denotes a form of multichannel weighting on the autocorrelation sequences necessary to ensure the validity of the autocorrelation sequence for an FIR filtering operations needed in the algorithm update. Through numerical simulations it has been determined that this weighting is necessary both on the autocorrelation sequence itself as well as its filtered version at each iteration of the algorithm. This weighting amounts to multiplying each element of the resultant matrix sequence by a Bartlett window centered at p=q, although other windowing functions common in the digital signal processing literature can also be used. Next, we define the scalar terms
[0000]
f
2
(
k
)
=
1
n
∑
i
=
1
n
∑
j
=
1
n
∑
p
=
0
L
g
ijp
v
(
k
)
,
f
1
(
k
)
=
1
n
∑
i
=
1
n
∑
j
=
1
n
∑
p
=
0
L
g
ijp
v
(
k
)
,
(
17
)
[0000] where g ojp y (k) and g ijp v (k) are the elements of coefficient sequence G y p (k) and G v p (k) respectively. Following these definitions, define the scaled gradient [18] for the update of spatio-temporal eigenvectors as
[0000]
G
p
(
k
)
=
f
2
(
k
)
f
1
(
k
)
triu
_
[
G
y
p
(
k
)
]
+
tril
[
G
v
p
(
k
)
]
,
(
18
)
[0000] where triu[.] with its overline denotes the strictly upper triangular part of its matrix argument and tril[.] denotes the lower triangular part of its matrix argument. In the first instantiation of the invention, the correction term in the update process is defined as
[0000]
U
p
(
k
)
=
∑
q
=
0
L
ℋ
(
G
p
-
q
(
k
)
)
W
q
(
k
)
,
0
≤
p
≤
L
(
19
)
[0000] and the final update for the weights become
[0000]
W
p
(
k
+
1
)
=
(
1
+
μ
)
c
(
k
)
W
p
(
k
)
-
μ
c
(
k
)
d
(
k
)
U
p
(
k
)
,
(
20
)
[0000] where
[0000]
d
(
k
)
=
1
n
∑
i
=
1
n
∑
j
=
1
n
∑
p
=
0
L
g
ijp
(
k
)
,
and
c
(
k
)
=
1
d
(
k
)
.
[0000] Typically, step sizes in the range 0.35≦μ≦0.5 have been chosen and appear to work well. The enhanced signal can be obtained from the output of this system as the first element y 1 (l) of the vector y(l)=[y 1 (l)y 2 (l) . . . y n (l)] T at time instant l.
[0047] In Table 2 shown in FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a pseudo code for the algorithm implementation in MATLAB, a common technical computing environment well-known to those skilled in the art, in which the functions starting with the letter “m” represent the multichannel extensions of single channel standard functions on sequences.
[0048] In addition, in a further embodiment, the present invention addresses an alternate implementation of the previously-described procedure employing a spatio-temporal whitening system with an Iterative Multichannel Noise Whitening Algorithm.
[0049] In this embodiment, a two stage speech enhancement system is used, in which the first stage acts as a noise-whitening system and the second stage employs a spatio-temporal power method on the noise-whitened signal to produce the enhanced speech. A significant advantage of the present method is its computational simplicity which makes the algorithm viable for applications on many common computing devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, portable media players, and other computational devices. Since all the processing is performed on the spatio-temporal correlation coefficient sequences, the method avoids large matrix-vector manipulations.
[0050] The first step in the present technique is to whiten the noise component of the observed noisy data. As is common in speech enhancement systems, it is assumed that access to an interval in the noisy speech where the speech is signal is absent is available. Such an interval is often referred to as the silence interval and can be detected by using a speech/silence detector or a voice activity detector (VAD). For purposes of the present invention it is assumed that the speech source is silent for N v +L+1 sample times from l=N v (k−1)−(L/2) to l=N v (k−1)+(L/2). From this noise-only segment, it is possible to compute a whitening filter which is then applied to the rest of the noisy speech in order to whiten the noise component present in it. The present method involves designing a multichannel whitening filter of length L which iteratively whitens the spatio-temporal autocorrelation sequence corresponding to the noise process defined as
[0000]
R
V
p
=
1
N
v
∑
l
=
N
v
(
k
-
1
)
+
1
N
v
k
v
(
l
)
v
T
(
l
-
p
)
,
-
L
2
≤
p
≤
L
2
,
(
21
)
[0000] where N v is the number of noise samples used in the computation of the whitening filter. After sufficiently many iterations k, the multichannel FIR filter sequence {W p (k)} is designed to satisfy the following equation
[0000]
∑
p
=
0
L
∑
q
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
R
V
q
-
p
W
q
T
(
k
)
=
{
I
if
q
-
p
=
0
0
otherwise
.
(
22
)
[0000] where I is an n×n identity matrix. Note that {W p (k)} is assumed to be zero outside the range 0≦p≦L and {Rv p } is assumed to be zero outside the range
[0000]
-
L
2
≤
p
≤
L
2
.
[0000] The filter coefficient sequence {W p (k)} can be updated in terms of the following multichannel sequences of length L defined as
[0000]
R
V
_
q
(
k
)
=
{
∑
p
=
0
L
ℋ
(
R
V
q
-
p
)
W
p
T
(
k
)
if
-
L
2
≤
q
≤
L
2
0
otherwise
.
(
23
)
G
V
p
(
k
)
=
{
∑
q
=
0
L
W
q
(
k
)
R
V
_
p
-
q
(
k
)
if
0
≤
p
≤
L
0
otherwise
.
(
24
)
U
~
p
(
k
)
=
∑
q
=
0
L
ℋ
(
G
V
p
-
q
(
k
)
)
W
q
(
k
)
,
0
≤
p
≤
L
(
25
)
[0000] and the final update for {W p } becomes
[0000]
W
p
(
k
+
1
)
=
(
1
+
μ
)
c
(
k
)
W
p
(
k
)
-
μ
c
(
k
)
d
(
k
)
U
~
p
(
k
)
,
0
≤
p
≤
L
(
26
)
[0000] where
[0000]
d
(
k
)
=
1
n
∑
i
=
1
n
∑
j
=
1
n
∑
p
=
0
L
g
ijp
(
k
)
,
and
c
(
k
)
=
1
d
(
k
)
[0000] are the gradient scaling factors [18] chosen to stabilize the algorithm and reduce the sensitivity of the gradient based update on the step size. Typically, step sizes in the range 0.35≦μ≦0.5 have been chosen and appear to work well. In the above set of equations, H(.) denotes a form of multichannel weighting on the autocorrelation sequences as described previously. After the filter convergence we obtain the noise-whitened signal as
[0000]
y
~
k
(
l
)
=
∑
p
=
0
L
W
p
(
k
)
y
(
l
-
p
)
(
27
)
[0051] Once the noise-whitened vector signal {tilde over (y)} k (l) is obtained, the spatio-temporal power method is applied to this vector signal in order to obtain the enhanced speech.
[0052] The present embodiment also includes a spatio-temporal power method which is the second stage in the present technique and involves the design of a multichannel filter {b p (k)}, where {b p (k)} is a (l×n) vector sequence, which upon convergence yields a single channel signal {circumflex over (x)}(l) which closely resembles the clean speech signal s(l) with some delay D. The output of the multichannel filter {b p (k)} at time instant k is given as
[0000]
s
^
k
(
l
)
=
∑
p
=
0
L
b
p
(
k
)
y
~
(
l
-
p
)
(
28
)
[0053] As a design criterion for the filter sequence {b p (k)}, the power of the output signal ŝ k (l), is maximized, i.e.,
[0000]
maximize
(
{
b
p
}
)
=
1
2
∑
k
=
1
N
s
^
k
2
(
l
)
(
29
)
such
that
∑
p
=
0
L
b
p
b
p
+
q
T
=
δ
q
,
-
L
2
≤
q
≤
L
2
(
30
)
[0054] The constraints in (30) correspond to the paraunitary constraints on the filter {b p (k)}. Note that in the conventional power method, unit-norm constraints are often placed on the filter coefficients; however, as a recent simulation study [20] indicates, the paraunitary constraints have beneficial impact not only on the robustness of the algorithms but also on the quality of the output speech. Our method for solving (29)-(30) employs a gradient ascent procedure in which each matrix tap b p is replaced by the derivative of J(b p ) with respect to b p , after which the updated coefficient sequence is adjusted to maintain the paraunitary constraints in (30). It can be shown that
[0000]
∂
(
{
b
p
}
)
∂
b
p
=
∑
q
=
0
L
b
q
R
p
-
q
,
(
31
)
[0000] where the multichannel autocorrelation sequence R p is given by
[0000]
R
p
=
1
N
∑
l
=
1
N
y
~
k
(
l
)
y
~
k
T
(
l
-
p
)
,
-
L
2
≤
p
≤
L
2
.
(
32
)
[0055] Thus, the first step of our procedure at each iteration sets
[0000]
b
~
p
(
k
)
=
∑
q
=
0
L
b
q
(
k
)
R
p
-
q
,
0
≤
p
≤
L
.
(
33
)
[0056] At this point, the coefficient sequence {{tilde over (b)} p (k)} needs to be modified to enforce the paraunitary constraints in (30). We modify the coefficient sequence such that
[0000] { b p ( k+ 1)}= ( {tilde over (b)} 0 ( k ) {tilde over (b)} 1 ( k ), . . . , {tilde over (b)} L ( k )), 0≦p≦L (34)
[0000] where A is a mapping that forces {b p (k+1)} to satisfy (30) at each iteration. Such constraints can be enforced at each iteration by normalizing each complex Fourier-transformed filter weight in each filter channel by its magnitude. After sufficiently many iterations of (33)-(34), the signal ŝ k (l) closely resembles the clean speech signal at time instant l. A block diagram of the propose system is shown in FIG. 1 , and in Tables 1 a and 1 b in FIGS. 2 and 3 , respectively, pseudo code for the algorithm implementation in MATLAB have been provided. The functions starting with M represent the multichannel extensions of single channel standard functions.
[0057] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of one embodiment of the present invention. In steps 500 - 504 of FIG. 5 there is illustrated a speech enhancement method. Specifically, in 500 there is shown a step of obtaining a measured speech signal rising at least one input microphone. In 501 there is illustrated a step of calculating a whitening filter using a silence interval in the obtained measured speech signal. In 502 there is shown a step of applying the whitening filter to the measured speech signal to generate a whitened speech signal in which noise components present in the measured speech signal are whitened. In 503 there is shown a step of estimating a clean speech signal by applying a multi-channel filter to the generated whitened speech signal. Finally, in 504 there is shown a step of outputting the clean speech signal via an audio device.
[0058] In FIG. 6 there is shown an embodiment of the invention in which a device that performs speech enhancement is shown. In FIG. 6 there is illustrated a first circuit that obtains a measured speech signal using at least one input microphone 600 . The first circuit includes, for example, an input unit 610 that functions to convert the measured speech into a form usable by the second and third circuits. In addition, there is shown a second circuit which calculates a whitening filter using a silence interval in the obtained measured speech signal and applies the whitening filter to the measured speech signal to generate a whitened speech signal in which noise components present in the measured speech signal are whitened. The second circuit includes, for example, the iterative noise whitening unit 620 which calculates and uses the whitening filter using the method described above. The iterative noise whitening unit 620 also uses data from the speech/silence detector 650 , which determines when no speech is included in the signal. Also illustrated in FIG. 6 is a third circuit that estimates a clean speech signal by applying a multi-channel filter to the generated whitened speech signal, and outputs the clean speech signal to an audio output device 640 . The third circuit includes, for example, a Spatio-Temporal Power Unit 630 which applies a multi-channel filter to the speech signal using the method described above and outputs the clean speech signal to the output device 640 .
[0059] All embodiments of the present invention conveniently may be implemented using a conventional general-purpose computer, personal media device, cellular telephone, or micro-processor programmed according to the teachings of the present invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art. The present invention may also be implemented in an attachment that works with other computational devices, such as a personal headset or recording apparatus that transmits or otherwise makes its processed audio signal available to these other computational devices in its operation. Appropriate software may readily be prepared by programmers of ordinary skill based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art.
[0060] A computer or other computational device may implement the methods of the present invention, wherein the computer or computational devices housing houses a motherboard which contains a CPU, memory (e.g., DRAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, SRAM, SDRAM, and Flash RAM), and other optional special purpose logic devices (e.g., ASICs) or configurable logic devices (e.g., GAL and reprogrammable FPGA). The computer or computational device also includes plural input devices, (e.g., keyboard and mouse), and a display card for controlling a monitor or other visual display device. Additionally, the computer or computational device may include a floppy disk drive; other removable media devices (e.g. compact disc, tape, electronic flash memory, and removable magneto-optical media); and a hard disk or other fixed high density media drives, connected using an appropriate device bus (e.g., a SCSI bus, an Enhanced IDE bus, an Ultra DMA bus, or another standard communications bus). The computer or computational device may also include an optical disc reader, an optical disc reader/writer unit, or an optical disc jukebox, which may be connected to the same device bus or to another device bus. Computational devices of a similar nature to the above description include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones, personal media devices, or other devices enabled with computational capability using microprocessors or devices with similar numerical computing capability. In addition, devices that interface with such systems can embody the proposed invention through their interaction with the host device.
[0061] Examples of computer readable media associated with the present invention include optical discs, hard disks, floppy disks, tape, magneto-optical disks, PROMs (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, Flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, and so on. Stored on any one or on a combination of these computer readable media, the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the computational device and for enabling the computer to interact with a human user. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems and user applications, such as development tools. Computer readable medium may store computer program instructions (e.g., computer code devices) which when executed by a computer causes the computer to perform the method of the present invention. The computer code devices of the present invention may be any interpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to, scripts, interpreters, dynamic link libraries, Java classes, and complete executable programs. Moreover, parts of the processing of the present invention may be distributed (e.g., between (1) multiple CPUs or (2) at least one CPU and at least one configurable logic device) for better performance, reliability, and/or cost.
[0062] The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of application specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
[0063] Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Of course, the particular hardware or software implementation of the present invention may be varied while still remaining within the scope of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
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The present invention describes a speech enhancement method using microphone arrays and a new iterative technique for enhancing noisy speech signals under low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) environments. A first embodiment involves the processing of the observed noisy speech both in the spatial- and the temporal-domains to enhance the desired signal component speech and an iterative technique to compute the generalized eigenvectors of the multichannel data derived from the microphone array. The entire processing is done on the spatio-temporal correlation coefficient sequence of the observed data in order to avoid large matrix-vector multiplications. A further embodiment relates to a speech enhancement system that is composed of two stages. In the first stage, the noise component of the observed signal is whitened, and in the second stage a spatio-temporal power method is used to extract the most dominant speech component. In both the stages, the filters are adapted using the multichannel spatio-temporal correlation coefficients of the data and hence avoid large matrix vector multiplications.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a divisional application of Ser. No. 324,608 filed Mar. 17, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,857, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSTALLATION AND ALIGNMENT OF A SERIES OF POSTS".
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to apparatus utilized to install posts in the ground, and more particularly to apparatus which will align and plumb a series of posts in equidistant spaced-apart relationship.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is becoming a common occurrence to construct sound barrier walls alongside metropolitan interstate and highway systems in order to reduce the noise level attendant with such road systems. Sound barrier walls are typically constructed of a series of I-beam-shaped concrete posts, having concrete panels interposed therebetween. Because the concrete panels and posts are prefabricated and transported to the site, the location and alignment of the posts and panels is critical to form an effective sound barrier wall.
One of the most difficult problems encountered in constructing the sound barrier wall occurs after the first post has been located and mounted in the ground. Locating the next post and aligning it with the previously mounted post can be a tedious effort in trial and error. Once the additional post has been located, the next difficult task is in aligning the post with relation to the previous post such that the concrete panel fits exactly therebetween and in contact along the entire vertical edges of each end of the panel.
Once alignment has been accomplished, another problem is in providing a post hole of the exact depth necessary so that all posts are at the same height along the wall relative to ground level. In the prior art, this was accomplished by trial and error, removing the post so that the hole would be either partially filled or augered deeper.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for locating and aligning a series of posts for a sound barrier wall or the like.
Another object is to provide a method and apparatus for aligning posts which will locate a series of equidistant posts.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for aligning posts which quickly and easily plumbs a pair of spaced-apart posts in alignment to receive a panel therebetween.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for aligning the height of a series of posts without resorting to trial and error.
Yet another object is to provide a method for locating and aligning posts which is simple to accomplish and quickly performed.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for aligning and locating posts which is simple in operation.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus for locating and plumbing a series of posts is provided, which includes a generally vertical frame supported on three operable jacks. Two of the jacks are spaced transversely from one end of the frame and the third jack is connected to the opposite end of the frame, to form a three-point support for the frame. Each jack is operable to raise or lower that support and thereby align and plumb the frame.
The frame includes upper, intermediate and lower horizontal members, vertically spaced-apart and parallel, having ultra high molecular weight polyethylene pads attached at one end. The horizontal members are comprised of a pair of telescoping halves, so as to be selectively and adjustably extensible. A winch and strap is provided proximal to each end of each horizontal member, which is operable to hang a post against the ultra high molecular weight polyethylene pads on one end of the frame, and secure the post on the other end. A continuous series of alignment apparatus and posts may be continuously attached so as to form a completely aligned and plumbed series of posts.
The method for aligning a series of posts begins with providing a first alignment apparatus adjacent a first hole. A first post is attached to one end of the alignment apparatus and hung at the desired elevation in the post hole. A second alignment apparatus is then provided and one end is connected to the first post such that the alignment apparatus may be swung about the post like a door. Once the second alignment apparatus is positioned in the desired orientation, the support members are lowered to support the frame in that position. A second post is then provided and hung on the opposite end of the second alignment apparatus at the desired elevation within a second post hole. Subsequent alignment apparatus and posts may be attached in a similar fashion to create a series of aligned posts. Concrete or other material may then be inserted in the post holes to affixed the posts in their aligned positions. Once the posts are affixed, the alignment apparatus may be removed and the appropriate panels may be inserted between the aligned posts to form a wall.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the right end of the post alignment apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, showing a post being located along one side thereof;
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a second alignment apparatus connected to the first alignment apparatus and post, showing the location and alignment of a second post;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional post utilized with the invention;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken at lines 6--6 in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken at lines 7--7 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a series of the alignment apparatus utilized in constructing a sound barrier wall; and
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a completed sound barrier wall.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, in which identical or corresponding parts are identified by the same reference numeral, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the post alignment apparatus of this invention is designated generally at 10, and includes a generally vertically-oriented frame 12 affixed to a generally horizontally-oriented support frame 14.
Vertical frame 12 includes an upper 16, intermediate 18 and lower 20, horizontal member affixed in parallel relationship. Each horizontal member 16, 18 and 20 is comprised of a pair of telescoping right and left halves 16a and b, 18a and b, and 20a and b, respectively. Telescoping portions 22, 24 and 26 of upper 16, intermediate 18 and lower 20 horizontal members, respectively, are selectively secured together at the desired length using a pin and aperture combination 28, conventional in the art. A right vertical member 30 affixes right halves 16a, 18a and 20a in the appropriate vertically spaced-apart relationship, and a left vertical member 32 affixes left halves 16b, 18b and 20b in appropriate vertically spaced-apart position, as shown in the drawings.
A horizontally-oriented operable jack 34 includes a sleeve portion 36 and adjustable arm 38, sleeve portion 36 being mounted on intermediate member right half 18a. Adjustable arm 38 is extensible, and is pivotably connected at its free end to telescoping portion 18b of intermediate member 18. A rotatable pin 40 on jack 34, is operable by a handle 42, to selectively extend or retract telescoping portion 18b, for a purpose described in more detail hereinbelow.
Steel pads 44, 46 and 48 are affixed in a vertical plane on the ends of horizontal member right halves 16a, 18a and 20a, respectively, and will abut a vertical surface on a post as described in more detail hereinbelow. Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene pads 50, 52 and 54 are affixed in a vertical plane on the ends of horizontal member left halves 16b, 18b and 20b, respectively, and will abut a vertical surface on a post as described in more detail hereinbelow. A pair of buckle-type winches 56 are operably affixed at the upper end of right vertical member 30 (see FIG. 2), each winch 56 designed to receive and grip one end of a strap 58. Strap 58 is of a length which will reach around a vertical post, as shown in FIG. 6. A second and third pair of winches 60 and 62, respectively, are operably mounted on vertical member 30 in a similar fashion, adjacent horizontal members 18 and 20. Winch pairs 60 and 62 each have a strap 58 associated therewith.
Single winches 64, 66 and 68 are operably mounted along left vertical member 32, adjacent upper, intermediate and lower horizontal members 16, 18 and 20. Each winch 64, 66 and 68 has a strap 58 associated therewith, the straps 58 having one end thereof fastened opposite the winch 64, 66 or 68, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
Support frame 14 includes a pair of left and right transverse members 70 and 72, respectively, affixed to right half 20a of horizontal member 20, in parallel relationship. Transverse members 70 and 72 include telescoping portions 70a and 72a, respectively, with their free ends affixed to rearward leg member 74, as shown in the drawings. A forward leg member 76 is affixed to the opposite ends of transverse members 70 and 72.
A forward structural ladder frame 78 is mounted diagonally between the upper end of right vertical member 30 and adjacent the forward end of transverse member 72. A rearward ladder frame 80 is affixed between the upper end of right vertical member 30 and the rearward end of transverse member 72. Ladders 78 and 80 structurally stabilize vertical frame 12 with respect to horizontal support frame 14, and also assist the user in operating strap 58 and winch 56 at the upper end of vertical member 30.
A vertical jack 82 is mounted to the extending end of forward leg 76, and a second vertical jack 84 is similarly affixed to rearward leg 74. A third vertical jack 86 is affixed to the left end of the right half 20a of lower horizontal member 20. In this fashion, jacks 82, 84 and 86 form three support points for supporting the entire alignment apparatus 10. A rotatable pin 88 on each jack 82-86 may be operated by handle 42 so as to raise or lower the foot 90 of the desired jack.
In order to allow for lateral adjustment of legs 74 and 76, second horizontal jack 92 is mounted on the telescoping portion 72a of transverse member 72. The adjustable arm 94 of jack 92 has its free end mounted to vertical member 30. Operation of rotatable pin 96 on jack 92 will thereby extend leg 74, and vertical jack 84, with respect to vertical frame 12.
Referring now to FIG. 9, the alignment apparatus 10 of the present invention is utilized to set and align a series of concrete posts 98, 98', 98", etc., so as to receive generally rectangular concrete panels 100, 100', 100", etc., therebetween. Location and alignment of posts 98 is critical, since panels 100 are precast, and cannot be easily changed to fit non-aligned posts.
The first step in constructing a sound barrier wall, is to auger the first post hole 102 to the required depth. A post alignment apparatus 10 is then placed adjacent hole 102 with steel pads 44, 46 and 48 vertically thereover, as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 shows how horizontal jack 92 may be extended or retracted so as to align vertical member 30 and steel pads 44, 46 and 48 over post hole 102. Alignment apparatus 10 should then be plumbed vertically and horizontally utilizing jacks 82, 84 and 86.
Referring now to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, a post 98 is lowered into post hole 102. Each post 98 is generally in the shape of an I-beam, and includes a pair of opposing valleys 104 and 106. Rectangular panels 100 (see FIG. 9) will have its vertical ends abutting the valleys between a pair of posts 98, for a close fit. Post 98 is lowered with valley 104 slidably abutting steel pads 44, 46 and 48, such that the post will be centered within post hole 102. Once post 98 is lowered to the proper elevation, straps 58 are wrapped around the post and tightened by the pairs of winches 56, 60 and 62 on vertical member 30. By tightening more or less on one winch, it is possible to "roll" post 98 about a vertical axis at the end of horizontal members 16a, 18a and 20a, as shown by arrows 108 in FIG. 6.
Once straps 58 are winched snug, the hoist 110 may be removed and the post allowed to hang by straps 58 on winch pairs 56, 60 and 62 at the right end of alignment apparatus 10. A pair of alignment bolts 112 are operably threaded through a bracket 114 mounted on lower horizontal member right half 20a adjacent steel pad 48, as shown in FIG. 6. Bolts 112 may be rotated in one direction or the other in order to move the lower end of post 98 as shown by arrows 116, for minute alignment and adjustment.
Once the first post 98 has been properly positioned and aligned, a second alignment apparatus 10' should be hoisted into position, as shown in FIG. 4. A hoist bracket 118 may be mounted at any convenient location on frame 12, to serve this purpose.
Second alignment apparatus 10' is positioned with ultra high molecular weight polyethylene pads 50', 52' and 54' on the left ends of upper, immediate and lower horizontal members 16', 18' and 20', in slidable abutting contact with valley 106 of post 98. Alignment frame 10' is then secured to post 98 utilizing straps 58' and winches 64', 66' and 68' along left vertical member 32'. Once alignment frame 10' is secured to post 98 by straps 58, alignment apparatus 10' may be pivotally swung about post 98 as shown by arrows 120 in FIG. 7 until the apparatus 10' is centered in the appropriate alignment for the continuation of the wall. Once aligned, jacks 82', 84' (not shown) and 86' are lowered to support the frame in position. The hoist may then be removed from hoist bracket 118' and moved to retrieve a second post 98'. Second post 98' is lowered into second hole 102', and is aligned and affixed to the second alignment apparatus 10', in a fashion similar to that previously described for post 98.
Concrete may be poured around the base of posts 98 and 98', etc. once they have been aligned by frames 10, 10', etc., as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Because the posts 98, 98', etc. are hung at the appropriate height at each end of alignment apparatus 10, 10', etc., it is not necessary to constantly auger or fill the post holes to correct the elevation of the posts. Once the concrete has hardened, the frames 10, 10', etc. may be removed, and panels 100, 100', etc. may be inserted.
Whereas the invention has been shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that many modifications, substitutions and additions may be made which are within the intended broad scope of the claims. It can therefore be seen that the present invention fulfills at least all of the above-described objectives.
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A method for aligning a series of posts begins with providing a first alignment apparatus adjacent a first hole. A first post is attached to one end of the alignment apparatus and hung at the desired elevation in the post hole. A second alignment apparatus is then provided and one end is connected to the first post such that the alignment apparatus may be swung about the post like a door. Once the second alignment apparatus is positioned in the desired orientation, support members are lowered to support the frame. A second post is then provided and hung on the opposite end of the second alignment apparatus at the desired elevation within a second post hole. The second post is plumed and aligned with respect to the first post upon attachment to the second alignment apparatus. Subsequent alignment apparatus and posts may be attached in a similar fashion to form a series of aligned posts.
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BACKGROUND
[0001] In producing integrated circuits, it is often desirable to provide packaged integrated circuits having plastic or resin packages that encapsulate the die and a portion of the lead frame and leads. These packages have been produced a variety of ways.
[0002] Conventional molding techniques take advantage of the physical characteristics of the mold compounds. For integrated circuit package molding applications, these compounds are typically thermoset compounds that include an epoxy novolac resin or similar material combined with a filler, such as alumina, and other materials to make the compound suitable for molding, such as accelerators, curing agents, filters, and mold release agents.
[0003] The transfer molding process as known in the prior art takes advantage of the viscosity characteristics of the molding compound to fill cavity molds containing the die and leadframe assemblies with the mold compound, which then cures around the die and leadframe assemblies to form a hermetic package which is relatively inexpensive and durable, and a good protective package for the integrated circuit.
[0004] FIG. 1 depicts a conventional single plunger transfer mold press 11 . The press includes a plunger or ram 13 that is operated under hydraulic pressure, a top platen 15 , a top mold chase 17 , a bottom platen 19 , and a bottom mold chase 21 . A fixed head 23 supports the plunger and a movable head 18 support the top platen, and allows the top platen to be removed for loading and unloading the mold from the top. Mold heaters 25 provide heat to the mold in both the top and bottom platens. An automated mold controller, although not shown, is usually coupled to the press. The top and bottom platens are usually steel and receive the stresses of the pressing operation; both are heated to provide the temperature needed to perform the transfer molding operation.
[0005] FIG. 2 depicts a typical bottom mold chase. In FIG. 2 , a top view of bottom mold chase 21 is shown. There are six primary runners 31 , each will support a pair of leadframe strips holding wire bonded dies and lead assemblies over each cavity 33 . The cavities are formed along the runners 31 , which are cylindrical shaped paths that extend from the mold pot 32 and into the rows of cavities. Each cavity is coupled to the runners by a secondary runner 35 which ends in a gate 37 , a small opening that lets the mold compound into the cavity. The size and shape of the gate is critical to the speed and control of the transfer and filling stages of the molding process.
[0006] FIG. 3 is a detailed drawing of a single runner 31 with a single die cavity 33 shown. The secondary runner 35 is shown coupling the primary runner to the gate 37 and to the die cavity 33 . Runner 31 is coupled to the pot 32 .
[0007] FIG. 4 depicts a cross section BB from FIG. 3 . This cross section is taken across the primary runner 31 and along secondary runner 35 , and depicts the sloped shape of secondary runner 35 up to the gate 37 . The lead frame 51 of a typical bonded part is shown over the bottom mold chase cavity and under the top mold chase cavity 34 . Die 53 is shown with the bond wires 55 coupling it to leadframe 51 .
[0008] The operation of the conventional single pot transfer mold will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2-4 . To begin a new molding operation, the mold press is opened and the top and bottom mold chases 17 and 21 are separated. The leadframe and die assemblies are loaded into the bottom mold chases. The mold compound is preheated using an R/F heater or other heater before being placed into the heated mold.
[0009] The top and bottom platens are closed, bringing the top and bottom mold chases together. The top and bottom mold chases 17 and 21 are patterned to define a cavity around each die, with the lead frames extending outside the cavity and a space formed around each die. Several leadframe strips each having a row of dies 53 , which are bonded to their respective lead frames 51 , are placed over the cavities 33 in the bottom mold chase 21 . A pellet of resin or similar material mold compound is placed in the mold pot within the top mold chase 17 . After an initial heating stage to put the mold compound into its low viscosity state, the plunger or ram 13 is used to begin the transfer phase of the operation. The plunger 13 is brought down through the top mold chase 17 onto the mold compound pellet at a predetermined rate, forcing the mold compound into the primary runners 31 . As the runners fill with mold compound the compound will begin filling the secondary runners 35 , entering the gates 37 beneath the leadframe and die assemblies 51 and filling the cavities 33 .
[0010] At the end of the transfer stage the mold compound should fill each cavity 33 , preferably at the same time and before the mold compound begins to cure. The rate of the downward force brought by the plunger 13 is varied during the transfer phase to help control the transfer process. Experimental use of the press 11 with a particular mold and compound combination will provide the best combination of pressure and transfer speed which can then be programmed into the automatic press controls to uniformly repeat the process.
[0011] After the transfer stage, the packaged parts are cured. Curing the molded parts typically takes 1 to 3 minutes of sitting in the heated mold without disturbance. The compound cure is fairly rapid and may be enhanced by adding curing agents to the compound. At the end of the curing cycle the press is opened and the molded parts and the mold compound sprue or flash in the runners and pot are ejected. This is done by having ejection pins extending through the bottom mold chase 21 and bottom platen 19 push upward under pressure at the same instant, popping the molded parts and sprue out of the bottom mold chase 21 . The packaged parts are then removed to other areas where they are separated and trim and form operations performed on the parts.
[0012] FIGS. 1-4 depict a transfer mold operation in which each mold cavity is adapted to receive a lead frame 51 having a single die 53 mounted thereon and in which both sides of the lead frame are to be encapsulated with mold compound. In some transfer molding operations only a single side of a leadframe is encapsulated. In such single side encapsulation operations, multiple dies may be mounted on a portion of a lead frame that is positioned within a single cavity formed by a single chase. Such an operation is depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 .
[0013] FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic cross section views of a transfer mold press 78 in a first and second operating state, respectively. The press has a top mold chase 80 that has no cavity therein. The top mold chase 80 has a flat bottom surface 81 . A bottom mold chase 82 has a cavity 84 that is adapted to receive a leadframe 90 having a first side 91 and an opposite second side 93 , FIG. 5 . Multiple dies 100 are mounted on the first side 91 of the leadframe 90 . Each die 100 has bond wires 102 , 104 electrically connecting it to leadframe 90 . A release film 106 is positioned between the second side 91 of the leadframe 90 and the flat bottom surface 81 of the top mold chase 80 . The release film 106 is used to facilitate removal of the leadframe 90 from the mold 78 at the end of the molding operation.
[0014] A mold pot, shown schematically at 112 , is in fluid communication with the bottom mold cavity 84 through a gate 114 , FIGS. 5 and 6 . The mold pot 112 has a plunger 116 reciprocally mounted therein. Mold compound 120 may be placed in the mold pot, FIG. 5 . Plunger 116 may be moved in direction 118 , FIG. 5 , to cause molten mold compound to flow from the mold pot 112 through gate 114 into cavity 84 as illustrated in FIG. 6 . Vents (not shown) in fluid communication with cavity 84 enable air to escape from cavity 84 as the mold compound enters. The mold compound fills cavity 84 encapsulating the dies 100 . After the mold compound cools, an encapsulation block 130 , thus formed and attached to lead frame 90 , is removed from the mold 78 and singulated, i.e. cut into individual, typically rectangular packages, each containing a portion of the lead frame 90 and an attached, epoxy encapsulated die 82 .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional single plunger mold press;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of a bottom mold chase used with the conventional mold press of FIG. 1 ;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a detail view of a portion of the bottom mold chase of FIG. 2 ;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the bottom mold chase shown in FIG. 3 and a top mold chase;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross sectional view of a transfer mold press in a first operating state;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross sectional view of a transfer mold press in a second operating state;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic cross sectional view of a transfer mold press in a first operating state;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a schematic cross sectional view of a transfer mold press in a second operating state;
[0023] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a transfer mold lower chase with stacked first and second lead frames positioned over the lower mold cavity;
[0024] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of two mechanically joined encapsulation blocks and leadframes;
[0025] FIG. 11 is a top plan view of transfer mold lower chase with another embodiment of stacked first and second lead frames positioned over the lower mold cavity;
[0026] FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method of integrated circuit packaging.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] FIGS. 7-12 disclose a transfer mold press 278 , the construction and operation of one embodiment of the transfer mold press will now be described generally with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 . The transfer mold press has a bottom mold chase 280 and a top mold chase 286 . The bottom mold chase has a bottom mold cavity 284 and the top mold chase has a top mold cavity 288 . The bottom and top mold cavities 284 , 288 together define the mold cavity of the transfer mold press 278 . The bottom mold cavity 284 is adapted to receive a first substrate 290 . The first substrate 290 has a first side 291 and an opposite second side 293 . At least one first substrate die 300 is mounted on the first substrate first side 291 . The top mold cavity 288 is adapted to receive a second substrate 290 . The second substrate 290 has a first side 295 and an opposite second side 297 . At least one second substrate die 301 is mounted on the top substrate first side 295 .
[0028] The bottom and top mold chases are constructed and arranged such that the bottom mold cavity 284 is positioned directly opposite the top cavity 288 when the transfer mold press 278 is in a closed position as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . In this closed position, the first and second substrates 294 , 298 are positioned in the bottom and top mold cavities 284 , 288 , with the second sides 293 , 297 of the substrates positioned one below the other in adjacent relationship. Molten mold compound 320 from a mold pot 312 is forced into both the bottom and top mold cavities 284 , 288 . The mold compound forced into the bottom cavity 284 encapsulates the die(s) 300 mounted on the first substrate 290 forming a first encapsulate block 330 . The mold compound forced into the top cavity 288 encapsulates the die(s) 301 mounted on the second substrate 294 forming a second encapsulate block 332 . When the chases are separated the two encapsulate blocks are removed and separated. In embodiments where only one die 300 or 301 is mounted on each substrate 290 , 294 each encapsulate block forms a single integrated circuit (IC) package, i.e. an encapsulated die/substrate assembly. When multiple dies 300 or 301 are mounted on each substrate, the blocks 330 , 332 are singulated into multiple IC packages.
[0029] An advantage of this method of IC packaging is that twice as many IC packages can be produce in a single transfer mold press operation as compared to a conventional transfer mold press, without increasing the “footprint” of the transfer mold press. In other words, the output per mold press operating cycle is doubled without increasing the area occupied by the transfer mold press in the horizontal (x,y) plane.
[0030] Having thus described an embodiment of a transfer mold press 278 generally, various embodiments of a transfer mold press will now be described in further detail.
[0031] FIGS. 7 and 8 disclose a transfer mold press 278 . The press 278 includes a bottom mold chase 280 having a bottom mold cavity 284 and a top mold chase 286 having a top mold cavity 288 . The top and bottom mold cavities 284 , 288 collectively define a mold cavity. It is to be understood that this mold cavity may be the single mold cavity of the transferable press 278 or it may be one of many cavities such as described for the transfer mold press 78 of FIGS. 1-5 . The mold cavity defined by bottom and top mold cavities 284 , 288 is adapted to receive and support two substrates therein that are positioned in a stacked relationship. Substrate, as used herein, means an organic or other substrate including a leadframe. The two substrates that are stacked together within the mold cavity include a first substrate 290 and a second substrate 294 . The first substrate 290 has a first side 291 and a second side 295 . The second substrate 294 has a first side 295 and a second side 297 . At least one first substrate die 300 is mounted on the first side 291 of the first substrate and at least one second substrate die 301 is mounted on the first side 295 of the second substrate 294 . Each die 300 , 301 may comprise one or more bond wires 302 which are electrically connected to the associated substrate. Each substrate 290 , 294 has a generally flat plate shape and may support a single die, a single row of dies or multiple rows and columns of dies which would typically be arranged in a rectangular grid. The illustration of FIG. 7 has four dies, 300 , 301 visible on each substrate 290 , 294 , but it may include further columns of dies that are not visible in this cross sectional view.
[0032] The substrates 290 , 294 are mounted within the mold cavity 284 / 288 in a stacked relationship in which the first side 291 of the first substrate 290 is positioned adjacent to the first side 295 of the second substrate 294 . “Adjacent” or “abutting” as used herein to describe the relationship of first sides 291 , 295 means that the two sides 291 , 295 are positioned close to one another and may or may not be touching one another. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , a release film 306 is positioned between the two substrates 290 , 294 and thus the substrates each physically touch the release film 306 without touching the other substrate. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 , each substrate die assembly 290 / 300 , 294 / 301 may be identical to the other. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 , the bottom mold chase 280 includes two recessed portions 281 , 283 which are positioned at either end of the bottom mold cavity 284 . Similarly, the top mold chase 286 may have recessed portions 287 , 289 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 , end portions of the first substrate 290 are received and supported in recessed portions 281 , 283 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 , the end portions of the second substrate 294 are positioned within the recessed portions 287 , 289 when the mold is in the closed operating position. In some embodiments, recessed portions 281 , 283 may be made sufficiently deep to receive both substrates 290 , 294 in which case recesses 287 , 289 are eliminated.
[0033] Flow of molten mold compound 320 into the bottom mold cavity 284 and top mold cavity 288 will now be described. The transfer mold press 278 comprises a mold pot 312 which may be a conventional mold pot 312 having a plunger 316 therein which may be moved in direction 318 to move molten mold compound 320 from the mold pot 312 into the bottom and top mold cavities 284 , 288 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 , a fluid passageway 313 in fluid communication with the mold pot 312 is connected to lower cavity gate 314 and upper cavity gate 315 . Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 8 , molten mold compound 320 flows from the mold pot 312 through passageway 313 and lower cavity gate 314 into the bottom mold cavity 284 and through fluid passageway 313 and upper cavity gate 315 into top mold cavity 288 . As the molten mold compound 320 enters the mold cavities, there is discharge from the mold cavities through vents (not shown) in the cavities.
[0034] When the mold compound cools and solidifies, a first encapsulant block 330 is formed in the bottom mold cavity 284 and a second encapsulant block 332 is formed in the top mold cavity 288 . These encapsulant blocks 330 , 332 each encapsulate all of the dies located on the first side 291 , 295 of each substrate 290 , 294 . The bottom and top mold chases 280 , 286 are then separated and the two encapsulant blocks 330 , 332 are then removed from the bottom and top mold cavities and separated. In an embodiment in which a single die 300 , 301 are mounted on each of the first and second substrates 290 , 294 respectively, each block represents an integrated circuit package including a substrate, 290 or 294 , and a die, 300 or 301 , mounted thereon and covered with encapsulate. In embodiments in which multiple dies are mounted on each substrate, the encapsulate blocks 330 , 332 are singulated into multiple integrated circuit packages.
[0035] FIG. 9 represents one alternative structure for causing molten mold compound 320 to flow into both the bottom and top mold cavities 284 A, 286 A (not shown). FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a bottom mold chase 280 A having a bottom mold cavity 284 A with a rectangular periphery and having a fluid passageway 313 A extending from the mold pot (not shown) into the cavity. A pair of stacked substrates 290 A, 294 A is positioned over the bottom mold cavity 284 A. The second substrate 294 A is positioned below the first substrate 290 A. In this embodiment each substrate 290 A, 294 A may comprise a portion of a continuous substrate strip which is trimmed into individual substrates after the molding process is completed. In the embodiment of FIG. 9 , the second substrate 294 A has 12 dies 301 A mounted thereon in a three by four grid. In this embodiment, the first and second substrates 290 A, 294 A each have aligned peripheral edges including aligned lateral side portions 336 , 338 . These lateral side portions 336 , 338 are positioned inwardly of lateral side walls 340 , 342 of the bottom mold cavity 284 A. In this embodiment, there is no upper cavity gate 315 in the top mold chase (not shown) but fluid flow into the top mold cavity occurs because the molten mold compound 320 flows from the lower mold cavity 284 up into the top mold cavity 288 through the gaps between the lateral side walls 340 , 342 of the bottom mold cavity 284 A and the lateral side portions 336 , 338 of the substrates 290 , 294 . As a result of this flow around the lateral side portions of the substrates, the two blocks of encapsulant formed in the bottom and top mold cavities 284 A, 288 A are mechanically joined together at lateral sides portions 362 , 364 thereof to form a single encapsulate block 360 , as illustrated in FIG. 10 . The substrates 290 A, 294 A and a release film 306 A positioned therebetween are visible projecting from the ends of block 360 in FIG. 10 . In this embodiment the lateral outside portions 362 , 364 must be trimmed from block 360 , as with a conventional singulation saw, in order to allow separation of the block 360 into upper and lower blocks. The upper and lower blocks may then each be singulated into 12 integrated circuit packages.
[0036] Another structure for enabling flow of molten mold compound 320 into both the bottom and top mold cavities is illustrated in FIG. 11 in which the mold has a bottom mold chase 280 B with a bottom mold cavity 284 B. A first substrate 290 B and second substrate 294 B having dies 301 B are positioned over the bottom mold cavity 284 B. In this embodiment two columns of dies 301 B are provided on the second substrate 294 . In this embodiment both substrates and any intermediate release film that may be positioned therebetween, have circular holes 370 extending therethrough to provide at least one fluid passageway from the bottom mold cavity 284 B to the top mold cavity. In this embodiment, as in the embodiment described with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10 , the upper and lower encapsulant blocks formed in the upper and lower cavities will be mechanically joined. In this embodiment, such mechanical coupling will be caused by the mold compound that extends through holes 370 . Thus in this embodiment, a central portion 332 of the block will need to be trimmed away once the block is removed from the mold cavities. After removal of this section 372 , each lateral half of the block will then need to be split into upper and lower blocks and singulated if there is more than one die 301 b present. Thus in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11 , sixteen integrated circuit packages would be provided after the trimming and singulation operation. Although three different techniques for causing mold compound to flow into bottom and top mold cavities, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any single one or any combination of these techniques could be used for this purpose.
[0037] FIG. 12 is a flow chart that illustrates a method of integrated circuit packaging. The method includes, as shown in block 400 , providing a first substrate having a first side with at least one first substrate die mounted thereon and an opposite second side and a second substrate having a first side with at least one second substrate die mounted thereon and an opposite second side. The method also includes as shown at block 402 positioning the first and second substrates in stacked relationship in a transfer mold cavity.
[0038] Although embodiments of certain methods and devices are expressly described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure that the methods and devices disclosed herein may be otherwise embodied. The claims attached hereto are to be construed broadly to cover such alternative embodiments, except as limited by the prior art.
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A transfer mold assembly including a first mold chase; a second mold chase; a first lead frame; at least one first lead frame die mounted on the first lead frame; a second lead frame substantially identical to the first lead frame; at least one second lead frame die mounted on the second lead frame; and wherein the first and second mold chases define a transfer mold cavity and wherein the first and second lead frames are positioned in stacked relationship inside the transfer mold cavity. Also disclosed is a method of integrated circuit packaging.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an automobile light emitting device, not only reducing car accidents, but also providing a warning effect to improve the safety of drivers and passengers.
[0003] 2. Brief Description of the Related Art
[0004] A blinking signal light is provided for warning and reminding nearby passengers, bicycle riders or motorcycle riders while a car is making a turn, and preventing accidents when the car is getting too close. However, nearby passengers, bicycle riders or motorcycle riders have to pay attention to the conditions of the road ahead and may not be able to notice a car in another lane getting ready for a street parking or making a left or right turn under a poor visual condition or an over-speed condition, and people may be injured in all kinds of car accidents.
[0005] Furthermore, car owners may not be able to locate the position of their car in a large parking lot or a mall. Although beep sounds or lit signal lights are provided for reminding the car owners, the exact position of the car cannot be located easily if the owner's car is blocked by other cars.
[0006] In poor weather conditions such as heavy rain, a driver may enter into the car and open the locks of all car doors, but passengers have no way to find out from the outside that the doors are opened already, and the passenger has to ask the driver or the driver has to tell the passenger. As a result, the passenger has to stand in the rain for a while or get wet before entering the car.
[0007] Obviously, it is necessary to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by providing an automobile light emitting device to remind passengers about a car at the front is making a turn to improve the road safety and provide a way to inform passengers about the door lock is opened already and allow the passengers to enter into the car quickly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an automobile light emitting device, comprising a plurality of light emitting members, a control unit and an electric connection circuit, wherein each light emitting member is installed at a peripheral surface (such as a fender, a wheel arch panel or a wheel housing panel) outside an automobile wheel, a door handle or a door handle recess of a car door, or a car roof (such as a car antenna, a convertible top rack or an automobile shark fin).
[0009] The control unit with a signal light control circuit is provided for controlling a right-turn signal light to blink, such that when the right-turn signal light blinks, the light emitting members installed on corresponding fenders of at least two right wheels also blink, and when the signal light control circuit controls a left-turn signal light to blink, the light emitting members installed on the corresponding fenders of at least two left wheels also blink. Such arrangement can remind passengers, bicycle riders or motorcycle riders to watch out for any car which is ready to make a turn or a street parking, in order to avoid car accidents and improve the road safety of the passengers.
[0010] Alternatively, the control unit is linked to a central lock control unit of a car, and the control unit turns on the light emitting member to actively notice that the door lock is opened when the central lock control unit controls and opens the door lock, so that passengers can open the car door and enter into the car immediately, so as to save time and physical strength of the passengers, particularly in poor weather conditions such as a hot sunny day or a rainy day in an outdoor car park without any shelter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an automobile light emitting device in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an automobile light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an automobile light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an automobile light emitting device in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an automobile light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an automobile light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an automobile light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an automobile light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a control unit of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings.
[0021] With reference to FIG. 1 for a schematic block diagram of an automobile light emitting device in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the automobile light emitting device comprises a plurality of light emitting members 10 , a control unit 20 and an electric connection circuit 30 , wherein each light emitting member can be a light emitting diode or a light bulb, and the control unit 20 is electrically coupled to the light emitting members 10 through the electric connection circuit 30 , and the electric connection circuit 30 electrically couples a power supply 40 to the control unit 20 , so that the control unit 20 can turn on or off the light emitting members 10 .
[0022] The light emitting members are installed on a peripheral surface outside a wheel of a car, wherein the peripheral surface can be a surface of an automobile fender, a wheel arch panel or a wheel housing panel. With reference to FIG. 2 for a perspective view of each light emitting device installed in a car in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the light emitting member 10 is installed at a fender 52 outside a wheel 51 . In the second preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 3 , each light emitting member 10 is installed on a surface of an automobile fender 52 , a wheel arch panel 53 or a wheel housing panel 54 , wherein the light emitting member 10 emits light towards the wheel 51 and outside the wheel 51 . In general, the wheel arch panel 53 is made of plastic and generally called a mudguard, and the wheel housing panel 54 is made of metal and generally called an iron wheel cover. It is noteworthy to point out that the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned materials only.
[0023] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 for a detailed illustration of the technical characteristics of the aforementioned embodiments, the wheels 51 as shown in FIG. 2 include at least two right wheels and at least two left wheels. It is noteworthy to point out that the four wheels as shown in the figure are provided for the illustration purpose only, but the present invention is not limited to four wheels only. In other words, the car of the present invention may have four wheels or more.
[0024] In FIG. 1 , the control unit 20 is linked to the automobile signal light control circuit 61 , such that if the signal light control circuit 61 controls a right-turn signal light to blink, the control unit 20 will control the corresponding light emitting member 10 outside the right wheel 51 to blink, too. If the signal light control circuit 61 controls a left-turn signal light to blink, the control unit 20 will control the corresponding light emitting members 10 of the left wheel 51 to blink, too. Therefore, automobile light emitting device of the present invention can remind car drivers, motorcycle riders, bicycle riders and passengers about a car at the front or nearby which is ready to make a turn (or making a turn) to avoid car accidents and improve road safety.
[0025] Further, if the signal light control circuit 61 controls the right-turn signal light or turns off the left-turn signal light, the control unit 20 will turn off the light emitting members 10 outside all wheels 51 .
[0026] With reference to FIG. 4 for a schematic block diagram of an automobile light emitting device in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the automobile light emitting device also comprises a plurality of light emitting members 10 , a control unit 20 and an electric connection circuit 30 , wherein the control unit 20 is linked to the automobile central lock control unit 62 , and each light emitting member 10 is installed at a door handle 55 or a door handle recess 56 of a car door in accordance with a third preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5 , and the car door may be any car door of the car.
[0027] Each light emitting member can be installed at a car roof, such as a car antenna 57 installed at the car roof (as shown in FIG. 6 ), a convertible top rack 58 (as shown in FIG. 7 ) and an automobile shark fin 59 (as shown in FIG. 8 ).
[0028] In the automobile light emitting device of the second preferred embodiment, if the central lock control unit 62 controls and opens the door lock of the car door, the control unit 20 turns on the light emitting member 10 to actively notify people around about the automobile door lock being opened already, so that the passengers can open the car door and enter into the car immediately. If the passengers have entered into the car and closed the car door and the central lock control unit 62 controls and closes the door lock of the car door, the control unit 20 will turn off the light emitting member 10 . Therefore, the light emitting member is provided for informing the passengers that the door lock is opened without the need of waiting for the driver to tell them, so as to save the precious time and physical strength of the passengers, particularly in poor weather conditions, such as a hot sunny day or a rainy day in an outdoor car park without any shelter.
[0029] In FIG. 9 , the control unit 20 further comprises first, second and third relays 21 , 22 , 23 , and the central lock control unit 62 can issue an open signal 621 to control and open the door lock or a close signal 622 to control and close the door lock. If the central lock control unit 62 issues the open signal 621 , the first and third relays 21 , 23 are electrically connected to turn on the light emitting member 10 . If the close signal 622 is issued, the second relay 22 will not be electrically connected, and the light emitting member 10 will not be turned on.
[0030] It is noteworthy to point out that the automobile light emitting device of the present invention has the following advantages:
[0031] 1. Each light emitting member is linked to the automobile signal light control circuit through the control unit, such that when the left-turn or right-turn signal light is turned on, each light emitting member can be turned on simultaneously to remind pedestrians, passengers, motorcycle riders and bicycle riders to stay away from the moving car or a car ready to make a turn. The invention breaks through the conventional concept of the signal light and adopts an active way of providing the warning effect.
[0032] 2. Each light emitting member is linked to the automobile central lock control unit through the control unit to inform passengers about the central lock being unlocked and allow the passengers to enter into the car quickly and safely, particularly in poor weather conditions such as a hot sunny day or a rainy day in an outdoor car park without any shelter, so that the passengers need not wait for the driver to tell them, so as to save precious time and physical strength.
[0033] 3. Each light emitting member is linked to the automobile central lock control unit through the control unit to provide the function of locating a car, wherein the central lock control unit is provided for turning on the light emitting member at the car roof. Therefore, the light emitting device of the invention can be installed at the highest position of the car (such as a car antenna, a convertible rack, or an automobile shark fin) to provide a convenient identification to facilitate car owners to find their cars.
[0034] In summation of the description above, the present invention provides a more feasible automobile light emitting device to improve over the prior art and complies with the patent application requirements, and is thus duly file for patent application. While the invention 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.
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An automobile light emitting device includes a plurality of light emitting members, a control unit and an electric connection circuit. Each light emitting member is installed at an external peripheral surface (such as a fender, a wheel arch panel or a wheel housing panel) of an automobile wheel, a door handle or a door handle recess of a car door, or a car roof (such as a car antenna, a convertible top rack or an automobile shark fin), and the control unit is linked to an automobile signal light control circuit or a central lock control unit for controlling and turning on each light emitting member timely to achieve the goals of providing warnings, safety, and convenience to users, allowing the users to find their cars easily and reduce the occurrence of car accidents effectively.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/238,670, filed Sep. 21, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/621,991, filed Nov. 19, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,051,853, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,311, filed Mar. 8, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,644,713, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/801,259, filed Mar. 15, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,137,389, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/188,489, filed Jul. 3, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,876, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/549,197, filed on Apr. 13, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,719, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/935,785, filed on Sep. 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,957, which claims priority from Australian Patent Application Serial No. PO2474 filed Sep. 23, 1996 and International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/AU97/00517 filed Aug. 14, 1997, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to methods and apparatus for the provision of ventilatory assistance matched to a subject's respiratory need. The ventilatory assistance can be for a subject who is either spontaneously or non-spontaneously breathing, or moves between these breathing states. The invention is especially suitable for, but not limited to, spontaneously breathing human subjects requiring long-term ventilatory assistance, particularly during sleep.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Subjects with severe lung disease, chest wall disease, neuromuscular disease, or diseases of respiratory control may require in-hospital mechanical ventilatory assistance, followed by long-term home mechanical ventilatory assistance, particularly during sleep. The ventilator delivers air or air enriched with oxygen to the subject, via an interface such as a nosemask, at a pressure that is higher during inspiration and lower during expiration.
[0004] In the awake state, and while waiting to go to sleep, the subject's ventilatory pattern is variable in rate and depth. Most known ventilatory devices do not accurately match the amplitude and phase of mask pressure to the subject's spontaneous efforts, leading to discomfort or panic. Larger amounts of asynchrony also reduce the efficiency of the device. During sleep, there are changes in the neural control of breathing as well as the mechanics of the subject's airways, respiratory muscles and chest wall, leading to a need for substantially increased ventilatory support. Therefore, unless the device can automatically adjust the degree of support, the amplitude of delivered pressure will either be inadequate during sleep, or must be excessive in the awake state. This is particularly important in subjects with abnormalities of respiratory control, for example central hypoventilation syndromes, such as Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome, where there is inadequate chemoreceptor drive, or Cheyne Stokes breathing such as in patients with severe cardiac failure or after a stroke, where there is excessive or unstable chemoreceptor drive.
[0005] Furthermore, during sleep there are inevitably large leaks between mask and subject, or at the subject's mouth if this is left free. Such leaks worsen the error in matching the phase and magnitude of the machine's effort to the subject's needs, and, in the case of mouth leak, reduce the effectiveness of the ventilatory support.
[0006] Ideally a ventilatory assistance device should simultaneously address the following goals:
[0000] (i) While the subject is awake and making substantial ventilatory efforts, the delivered assistance should be closely matched in phase with the patient's efforts.
(ii) The machine should automatically adjust the degree of assistance to maintain at least a specified minimum ventilation, without relying on the integrity of the subject's chemoreflexes.
(iii) It should continue to work correctly in the presence of large leaks.
[0007] Most simple home ventilators either deliver a fixed volume, or cycle between two fixed pressures. They do so either at a fixed rate, or are triggered by the patient's spontaneous efforts, or both. All such simple devices fail to meet goal (ii) of adjusting the degree of assistance to maintain at least a given ventilation. They also largely fail to meet goal (i) of closely matching the subjects respiratory phase: timed devices make no attempt to synchronize with the subject's efforts; triggered devices attempt to synchronize the start and end of the breath with the subject's efforts, but make no attempt to tailor the instantaneous pressure during a breath to the subject's efforts. Furthermore, the triggering tends to fail in the presence of leaks, thus failing goal (iii).
[0008] The broad family of servo-ventilators known for at least 20 years measure ventilation and adjust the degree of assistance to maintain ventilation at or above a specified level, thus meeting goal (ii), but they still fail to meet goal (i) of closely matching the phase of the subject's spontaneous efforts, for the reasons given above. No attempt is made to meet goal (iii).
[0009] Proportional assistist ventilation (PAV), as taught by Dr Magdy Younes, for example in Principles and Practice of Mechanical Ventilation , chapter 15, aims to tailor the pressure vs. time profile within a breath to partially or completely unload the subject's resistive and elastic work, while minimizing the airway pressure required to achieve the desired ventilation. During the inspiratory half-cycle, the administered pressure takes the form:
[0000] P ( t )= P 0 +R·f RESP ( t )+ E·V ( t )
[0000] where R is a percentage of the resistance of the airway, f.sub.RESP(t) is the instantaneous respiratory airflow at time t, E is a percentage of the elastance of lung and chest wall, and V(t) is the volume inspired since the start of inspiration to the present moment. During the expiratory half-cycle, V(t) is taken as zero, to produce passive expiration.
[0010] An advantage of proportional assist ventilation during spontaneous breathing is that the degree of assistance is automatically adjusted to suit the subject's immediate needs and their pattern of breathing, and is therefore comfortable in the spontaneously breathing subject. However, there are at least two important disadvantages. Firstly, V(t) is calculated as the integral of flow with respect to time since the start of inspiration. A disadvantage of calculating V(t) in this way is that, in the presence of leaks, the integral of the flow through the leak will be included in V(t), resulting in an overestimation of V(t), in turn resulting in a runaway increase in the administered pressure. This can be distressing to the subject. Secondly, PAV relies on the subject's chemoreceptor reflexes to monitor the composition of the arterial blood, and thereby set the level of spontaneous effort. The PAV device then amplifies this spontaneous effort. In subjects with abnormal chemoreceptor reflexes, the spontaneous efforts may either cease entirely, or become unrelated to the composition of the arterial blood, and amplification of these efforts will yield inadequate ventilation. In patients with existing Cheyne Stokes breathing during sleep, PAV will by design amplify the subject's waxing and waning breathing efforts, and actually make matters worse by exaggerating the disturbance. Thus PAV substantially meets goal (i) of providing assistance in phase with the subject's spontaneous ventilation, but cannot meet goal (ii) of adjusting the depth of assistance if the subject has inadequate chemoreflexes, and does not satisfactorily meet goal (iii).
[0011] Thus there are known devices that meet each of the above goals, but there is no device that meets all the goals simultaneously. Additionally, it is desirable to provide improvements over the prior art directed to any one of the stated goals.
[0012] Therefore, the present invention seeks to achieve, at least partially, one or more of the following:
[0000] (i) to match the phase and degree of assistance to the subject's spontaneous efforts when ventilation is well above a target ventilation,
(ii) to automatically adjust the degree of assistance to maintain at least a specified minimum average ventilation without relying on the integrity of the subject's chemoreflexes and to damp out instabilities in the spontaneous ventilatory efforts, such as Cheyne Stokes breathing.
(iii) to provide some immunity to the effects of sudden leaks
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In what follows, a fuzzy membership function is taken as returning a value between zero and unity, fuzzy intersection A AND B is the smaller of A and B, fuzzy union A OR B is the larger of A and B, and fuzzy negation NOT A is 1−A.
[0014] The invention discloses the determination of the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable.
[0015] The invention further discloses a method for calculating the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle including at least the steps of determining that if the instantaneous airflow is small and increasing fast, then it is close to start of inspiration, if the instantaneous airflow is large and steady, then it is close to mid-inspiration, if the instantaneous airflow is small and decreasing fast, then it is close to mid-expiration, if the instantaneous airflow is zero and steady, then it is during an end-expiratory pause, and airflow conditions intermediate between the above are associated with correspondingly intermediate phases.
[0016] The invention further discloses a method for determining the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable from 0 to 1 revolution, the method comprising the steps of:
[0000] selecting at least two identifiable features F N of a prototype flow-vs.-time waveform f(t) similar to an expected respiratory flow-vs.-time waveform, and for each said feature:
determining by inspection the phase φ N in the respiratory cycle for said feature, assigning a weight W N to said phase,
defining a “magnitude” fuzzy set M N whose membership function is a function of respiratory airflow, and a “rate of change” fuzzy set C N , whose membership function is a function of the time derivative of respiratory airflow, chosen such that the fuzzy intersection M N AND C N will be larger for points on the generalized prototype respiratory waveform whose phase is closer to the said feature F N than for points closer to all other selected features,
setting the fuzzy inference rule R N for the selected feature F N to be: If flow is M N and rate of change of flow is C N then phase=φ N , with weight W N
measuring leak-corrected respiratory airflow,
for each feature F N calculating fuzzy membership in fuzzy sets M N and C N ,
for each feature F N applying fuzzy inference rule R N to determine the fuzzy extent Y N =M N AND C N to which the phase is φ N , and
applying a defuzzification procedure using Y N at phases φ N and weights W N to determine the instantaneous phase φ.
[0017] Preferably, the identifiable features include zero crossings, peaks, inflection points or plateaus of the prototype flow-vs.-time waveform. Furthermore, said weights can be unity, or chosen to reflect the anticipated reliability of deduction of the particular feature.
[0018] The invention further discloses a method for calculating instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable, as described above, in which the step of calculating respiratory airflow includes a low pass filtering step to reduce non-respiratory noise, in which the time constant of the low pass filter is an increasing function of an estimate of the length of the respiratory cycle.
[0019] The invention further discloses a method for calculating instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable, as described above, in which the step of calculating respiratory airflow includes a low pass filtering step to reduce non-respiratory noise, in which the time constant of the low pass filter is an increasing function of an estimate of the length of the respiratory cycle.
[0020] The invention further discloses a method for measuring the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable as described above, in which the defuzzification step includes a correction for any phase delay introduced in the step of low pass filtering respiratory airflow.
[0021] The invention further discloses a method for measuring the average respiratory rate, comprising the steps of:
[0000] measuring leak-corrected respiratory airflow,
from the respiratory airflow, calculating the instantaneous phase φ in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable from 0 to 1 revolution, calculating the instantaneous rate of change of phase dφ/dt and
[0022] calculating the average respiratory rate by low pass filtering said instantaneous rate of change of phase dφ/dt.
[0023] Preferably, the instantaneous phase is calculated by the methods described above.
[0024] The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, comprising the steps, performed at repeated sampling intervals, of:
[0000] ascribing a desired waveform template function π(φ), with domain 0 to 1 revolution and range 0 to 1,
calculating the instantaneous phase φ in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable from 0 to 1 revolution,
selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude A,
calculating a desired instantaneous delivery pressure as an end expiratory pressure plus the desired pressure modulation amplitude A multiplied by the value of the waveform template function π(φ) at the said calculated phase (φ), and
setting delivered pressure to subject to the desired delivery pressure.
[0025] The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject as described above, in which the step of selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude is a fixed amplitude.
[0026] The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject as described above, in which the step of selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude in which said amplitude is equal to an elastance multiplied by an estimate of the subject's tidal volume.
[0027] The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject as described above, in which the step of selecting a desired pressure modulation amplitude comprises the substeps of:
[0000] specifying a typical respiratory rate giving a typical cycle time,
specifying a preset pressure modulation amplitude to apply at said typical respiratory rate,
calculating the observed respiratory rate giving an observed cycle time, and
calculating the desired amplitude of pressure modulation as said preset pressure modulation amplitude multiplied by said observed cycle time divided by the said specified cycle time.
[0028] The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, including at least the step of determining the extent that the subject is adequately ventilated, to said extent the phase in the respiratory cycle is determined from the subject's respiratory airflow, but to the extent that the subject's ventilation is inadequate, the phase in the respiratory cycle is assumed to increase at a pre-set rate, and setting mask pressure as a function of said phase.
[0029] The invention further discloses a method for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, comprising the steps of: measuring respiratory airflow, determining the extent to which the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle can be determined from said airflow, to said extent determining said phase from said airflow but to the extent that the phase in the respiratory cycle cannot be accurately determined, the phase is assumed to increase at a preset rate, and delivering pressure as a function of said phase.
[0030] The invention further discloses a method for calculating the instantaneous inspired volume of a subject, operable substantially without run-away under conditions of suddenly changing leak, the method comprising the steps of:
[0000] determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which said corrected respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
identifying the start of inspiration, and
[0031] calculating the instantaneous inspired volume as the integral of said corrected respiratory airflow multiplied by the fuzzy negation of said index J with respect to time, from start of inspiration.
[0032] The invention further discloses a method “A” for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, the method comprising the steps, performed at repeated sampling intervals, of:
[0000] determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which said respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
calculating a modified airflow equal to said respiratory airflow multiplied by the fuzzy negation of said index J,
identifying the phase in the respiratory cycle,
calculating the instantaneous inspired volume as the integral of said modified airflow with respect to time, with the integral held at zero during the expiratory portion of the respiratory cycle,
calculating a desired instantaneous delivery pressure as a function at least of the said instantaneous inspired volume, and
setting delivered pressure to subject to the desired delivery pressure.
[0033] The invention further discloses a method “B” for providing ventilatory assistance in a spontaneously breathing subject, comprising the steps of:
[0000] determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which the respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
identifying the phase in the respiratory cycle,
calculating a modified respiratory airflow equal to the respiratory airflow multiplied by the fuzzy negation of said index J,
calculating the instantaneous inspired volume as the integral of the modified airflow with respect to time, with the integral held at zero during the expiratory portion of the respiratory cycle,
calculating the desired instantaneous delivery pressure as an expiratory pressure plus a resistance multiplied by the instantaneous respiratory airflow plus a nonlinear resistance multiplied by the respiratory airflow multiplied by the absolute value of the respiratory airflow plus an elastance multiplied by the said adjusted instantaneous inspired volume, and
setting delivered pressure to subject to the desired delivery pressure.
[0034] The invention yet further discloses a method “C” for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject's need, comprising the steps of:
[0000] describing a desired waveform template function π(φ), with domain 0 to 1 revolution and range 0 to 1,
determining respiratory airflow approximately corrected for leak,
calculating an index J varying from 0 to 1 equal to the fuzzy extent to which the respiratory airflow is large positive for longer than expected, or large negative for longer than expected,
calculating J PEAK equal to the recent peak of the index J,
calculating the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle, calculating a desired amplitude of pressure modulation, chosen to servo-control the degree of ventilation to at least exceed a specified ventilation,
calculating a desired delivery pressure as an end expiratory pressure plus the calculated pressure modulation amplitude A multiplied by the value of the waveform template function π(φ) at the said calculated phase (φ), and
setting delivered pressure to subject to said desired instantaneous delivered pressure.
[0035] The invention yet further discloses a method for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject's need, as described above, in which the step of calculating a desired amplitude of pressure modulation, chosen to servo-control the degree of ventilation to at least exceed a specified ventilation, comprises the steps of:
[0000] calculating a target airflow equal to twice the target ventilation divided by the target respiratory rate,
deriving an error term equal to the absolute value of the instantaneous low pass filtered respiratory airflow minus the target airflow, and
calculating the amplitude of pressure modulation as the integral of the error term multiplied by a gain, with the integral clipped to lie between zero and a maximum.
[0036] The invention yet further discloses a method for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject's need, as described above, in which the step of calculating a desired amplitude of pressure modulation, chosen to servo-control the degree of ventilation to at least exceed a specified ventilation, comprises the following steps:
[0000] calculating a target airflow equal to twice the target ventilation divided by the target respiratory rate,
deriving an error term equal to the absolute value of the instantaneous low pass filtered respiratory airflow minus the target airflow,
calculating an uncorrected amplitude of pressure modulation as the integral of the error term multiplied by a gain, with the integral clipped to lie between zero and a maximum,
calculating the recent average of said amplitude as the low pass filtered amplitude, with a time constant of several times the length of a respiratory cycle, and
setting the actual amplitude of pressure modulation to equal the said low pass filtered amplitude multiplied by the recent peak jamming index J PEAK plus the uncorrected amplitude multiplied by the fuzzy negation of J PEAK .
[0037] The invention yet further discloses a method for providing assisted ventilation to match the subject's need, and with particular application to subjects with varying respiratory mechanics, insufficient respiratory drive, abnormal chemoreceptor reflexes, hypoventilation syndromes, or Cheyne Stokes breathing, combined with the advantages of proportional assist ventilation adjusted for sudden changes in leak, comprising the steps, performed at repeated sampling intervals, of:
[0000] calculating the instantaneous mask pressure as described for methods “A” or “B” above,
calculating the instantaneous mask pressure as described for method “C” above,
calculating a weighted average of the above two pressures, and setting the mask pressure to the said weighted average.
[0038] The invention yet further discloses apparatus to give effect to each one of the methods defined, including one or more transducers to measure flow and/or pressure, processor means to perform calculations and procedures, flow generators for the supply of breathable gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure and gas delivery means to deliver the breathable gas to a subject's airways.
[0039] The apparatus can include ventilators, ventilatory assist devices, and CPAP devices including constant level, bilevel or autosetting level devices.
[0040] It is to be understood that while the algorithms embodying the invention are explained in terms of fuzzy logic, approximations to these algorithms can be constructed without the use of the fuzzy logic formalism.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] A number of embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0042] FIGS. 1 a and 1 b show apparatus for first and second embodiments of the invention respectively;
[0043] FIG. 2 is a pressure waveform function π(φ) used in the calculation of the desired instantaneous delivery pressure as a function of the instantaneous phase φ in the respiratory cycle for a first embodiment of the invention;
[0044] FIG. 3 shows fuzzy membership functions for calculating the degree of membership in each of five magnitude fuzzy sets (“large negative”, “small negative”, “zero”, “small positive”, and “large positive”) from the normalized respiratory airflow according to the first embodiment of the invention; and
[0045] FIG. 4 shows fuzzy membership functions for calculating the degree of membership in each of five rate of change fuzzy sets (“rising fast”, “rising slowly”, “steady”, “falling slowly”, and “falling fast”) from the normalized rate of change of airflow according to the first embodiment of the invention;
[0046] FIG. 5 is a pressure waveform function π(φ) used in the calculation of the desired instantaneous delivery pressure as a function of the instantaneous phase φ in the respiratory cycle for a second embodiment of the invention;
[0047] FIG. 6 shows calculation of a quantity “lead-in” as a function of time since the most recent mask off-on transition;
[0048] FIG. 7 shows a fuzzy membership function for fuzzy set A I as a function of time since the most recent expiratory-to-inspiratory (negative-to-positive) zero crossing of the respiratory airflow signal, such that the membership function measures the extent to which the respiratory airflow has been positive for longer than expected;
[0049] FIG. 8 shows a membership function for fuzzy set B I as a function of respiratory airflow, such that the membership function measures the extent to which respiratory airflow is large positive;
[0050] FIG. 9 shows an electrical analog of the calculation of a recent peak jamming index J PEAK from the instantaneous jamming index J;
[0051] FIG. 10 shows the calculation of the time constant used in low pass filtering steps in the calculation of the conductance of a leak, as a function of the recent peak jamming index J PEAK .
[0052] FIG. 11 shows a prototypical respiratory flow-time curve, with time on the x-axis, marking nine features;
[0053] FIG. 12 shows membership functions for fuzzy sets “large negative”, “small negative”, “zero”, “small positive”, and “large positive” as functions of normalized respiratory airflow according to a second embodiment of the invention;
[0054] FIG. 13 shows membership functions for fuzzy sets “falling”, “steady”, and “rising” as functions of normalized rate of change of respiratory airflow df/dt according to a second embodiment of the invention;
[0055] FIG. 14 shows the membership function for fuzzy set “hypopnea”;
[0056] FIG. 15 shows the calculation of the time constant .tau. for calculation of normalized recent ventilation, as a function of “servo gain” being the gain used for servo-control of minute ventilation to at least exceed a specified target ventilation;
[0057] FIG. 16 shows the membership function for fuzzy set “hyperpnea” as a function of normalized recent ventilation;
[0058] FIG. 17 shows the membership function for fuzzy set “big leak” as a function of leak;
[0059] FIG. 18 shows the membership functions for fuzzy sets “switch negative” and “switch positive” as a function of normalized respiratory airflow;
[0060] FIG. 19 shows the membership functions for fuzzy sets “insp_phase” and “exp_phase” as functions of the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle φ;
[0061] FIG. 20 shows schematically how function W(y), used in defuzzification, calculates the area (shaded) of an isosceles triangle of unit base and height cut off below height y;
[0062] FIGS. 21-26 show actual 60 second flow and pressure tracings from the second embodiment of the invention during operation; the vertical scale for flow (heavy trace) is ±1 L/sec, inspiration upwards and the vertical scale for the pressure (light trace) is 0-25 cmH 2 O; where:
[0063] FIG. 21 shows that a short central apnea (b) is permitted when effort ceases at point (c) after a preceding deep breath (a);
[0064] FIG. 22 shows that a central apnea is not permitted when effort ceases at arrow (a) without a preceeding deep breath;
[0065] FIG. 23 is recorded with servo gain set high, and shows that a central apnea is no longer permitted when effort ceases at arrow (a) despite preceding deep breathing;
[0066] FIG. 24 shows automatically increasing end-inspiratory pressure as the subject makes voluntarily deeper inspiratory efforts;
[0067] FIG. 25 is recorded with a somewhat more square waveform selected, and shows automatically increasing pressure support when the subject voluntarily attempts to resist by stiffening the chest wall at point (a);
[0068] FIG. 26 shows that with sudden onset of a sever 1.4 L/sec leak at (a), the flow signal returns to baseline (b) within the span of a single breath, and pressure continues to cycle correctly throughout; and
[0069] FIG. 27 shows an actual 60 second tracing showing respiratory airflow (heavy trace, ±1 L/sec full scale) and instantaneous phase (light trace, 0-1 revolution full scale).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0070] The two embodiments to be described are ventilators that operate in a manner that seeks to simultaneously achieve the three goals stated above.
First Embodiment
[0071] Apparatus to give effect to a first embodiment of the apparatus is shown in FIG. 1 a . A blower 10 supplies a breathable gas to mask 11 in communication with the subject's airway via a delivery tube 12 and exhausted via a exhaust diffuser 13 . Airflow to the mask 11 is measured using a pneumotachograph 14 and a differential pressure transducer 15 . The mask flow signal from the transducer 15 is then sampled by a microprocessor 16 . Mask pressure is measured at the port 17 using a pressure transducer 18 . The pressure signal from the transducer 18 is then sampled by the microprocessor 16 . The microprocessor 16 sends an instantaneous mask pressure request signal to the servo 19 , which compares said pressure request signal with actual pressure signal from the transducer 18 to the control fan motor 20 . The microprocessor settings can be adjusted via a serial port 21 .
[0072] It is to be understood that the mask could equally be replaced with a tracheotomy tube, endotracheal tube, nasal pillows, or other means of making a sealed connection between the air delivery means and the subject's airway.
[0073] The microprocessor 16 is programmed to perform the following steps, to be considered in conjunction with Tables 1 and 2.
[0000]
TABLE 1
Fuzzy Inference Rules for a first embodiment
N
Fuzzy Interference Rule
Fuzzy Phase
1
if size is
Zero
and rate of
Increasing
then phase is
Start Inspiration
2
if size is
Small Positive
and rate of
Increasing
then phase is
Early Inspiration
change is
Slowly
3
if size is
Large Positive
and rate of
Steady
then phase is
Peak Inspiration
change is
4
if size is
Small Positive
and rate of
Decreasing
then phase is
Late Inspiration
change is
Slowly
5
if size is
Zero
and rate of
Decreasing
then phase is
Start Expiration
change is
Fast
6
if size is
Small Negative
and rate of
Decreasing
then phase is
Early Expiration
change is
Slowly
7
if size is
Large Negative
and rate of
Steady
then phase is
Peaks Expiration
change is
8
if size is
Small Negative
and rate of
Increasing
then phase is
Late Expiration
change is
Slowly
9
if size is
Zero
and rate of
Steady
then phase is
Expiratory Pause
change is
10
always
phase is
Unchanged
[0000]
TABLE 2
Association of phases with fuzzy rules
for a first embodiment.
N
Phase
Φ N
1
Start Inspiration
0.0
2
Early Inspiration
values
3
Peak Inspiration
intermediate between
4
Late Inspiration
0.0 and 0.5
5
Start Expiration
0.50
6
Early Expiration
values
7
Peak Expiration
intermediate between
8
Late Expiration
0.5 and 1.0
9
Expiratory Pause
10
Unchanged
Φ
[0074] 1. Set desired target values for the duration of inspiration TI TGT , duration of expiration TE TGT , and minute ventilation V TGT . Choose suitable constants P 0 and A STD where P 0 is the desired end expiratory pressure, and A STD is the desired increase in pressure above P 0 at end inspiration for a breath of duration TT TGT =TI TGT +TE TGT .
[0075] 2. Choose a suitable pressure waveform function π(Φ), such as that shown in FIG. 2 , such that the desired delivery pressure at phase Φ will be given by:
[0000] P=P 0 +A π(Φ)
[0000] where the amplitude A equals the difference between the end inspiratory pressure and end expiratory pressure. However, other waveforms may be suitable for subjects with particular needs.
[0076] 3. Initialize the phase Φ in the respiratory cycle to zero, and initialize the current estimates of actual inspiratory and expiratory duration TI and TE to TI TGT and TE TGT respectively.
[0077] 4. Initialize the rate of change of phase during inspiration ΔΦ I between sampling intervals of length T to:
[0000] ΔΦ+=0.5 T/TI TGT
[0078] 5. Initialize the rate of change of phase during expiration ΔΦ E to:
[0000] ΔΦ E =0.5 T/TE TGT
[0079] 6. Measure the instantaneous respiratory airflow f RESP .
[0080] 7. Calculate the average total breath duration TT=TI+TE
[0081] 8. Low pass filter the respiratory airflow with an adjustable time constant τf, where τf is a fixed small fraction of TT.
[0082] 9. Calculate the instantaneous ventilation V, as half the absolute value of the respiratory airflow:
[0000] V= 0.5 |f RESP |
[0083] 10. From the target ventilation V TGT and the measured minute ventilation V, derive an error term V ERR , such that large values of V ERR indicate inadequate ventilation:
[0000] V ERR =∫( V TGT −V ) dt
[0084] 11. Take V BAR as the result of low pass filtering V with a time constant τV BAR which is long compared with TT.
[0085] 12. Calculate a normalized airflow fNORM, where
[0000] f NORM =f RESP /V BAR .
[0086] 13. From f NORM , calculate the degree of membership in each of the fuzzy sets whose membership functions are shown in FIG. 3 .
[0087] 14. Calculate a normalized rate of change df NORM /dΦ, equal to df NORM /dt divided by the current estimate of the average respiratory cycle time TT.
[0088] 15. From the normalized rate of change, calculate the degree of membership in each of the fuzzy sets shown in FIG. 4 .
[0089] 16. For each row N in Table 1, calculate the degree of membership g N in the fuzzy set shown in the column labelled Fuzzy Phase, by applying the fuzzy inference rules shown.
[0090] 17. Associate with the result of each of the N rules a phase Φ N as shown in Table 2, noting that Φ 10 is the current phase Φ.
[0091] 18. Increase each of the Φ N excepting Φ 10 by 0.89 τ/TT, to compensate for the previous low pass filtering step.
[0092] 19. Calculate a new instantaneous phase Φ INST as the angle to the center of gravity of N unit masses at polar coordinates of radius g N and angle Φ N revolutions.
[0093] 20. Calculate the smallest signed difference ΔΦ INST between the phase estimated in the previous step and the current phase.
[0000] ΔΦ INST =1−(ΔΦ INST −Φ)(Φ INST −Φ>0.5)
[0000] ΔΦ INST =Φ INST −Φ++1(Φ INST −Φ<−0.5)
[0000] ΔΦ INST =Φ INST −Φ(otherwise)
[0094] 21. Derive a revised estimate ΔΦ REV equal to a weighted mean of the value calculated in the previous step and the average value (ΔΦ I or ΔΦ E as appropriate).
[0000] ΔΦ=(1 −W )ΔΦ 1 +WΔΦ INST (0<Φ<0.5)
[0000] ΔΦ=(1 −W )ΔΦ 1 +WΔΦ INST (otherwise)
[0000] Smaller values of W will cause better tracking of phase if the subject is breathing regularly, and larger values will cause better tracking of phase if the subject is breathing irregularly.
[0095] 22. Derive a blending fraction B, such that the blending fraction is unity if the subject's ventilation is well above V TGT , zero if the subject is breathing near or below V TGT , and increasing proportionally from zero to unity as the subject's ventilation increases through an intermediate range.
[0096] 23. Calculate ΔΦ BLEND influenced chiefly by ΔΦ calculated in step 21 from the subject's respiratory activity if the subject's ventilation is well above V TGT ; influenced chiefly by the target respiratory duration if the subject is breathing near or below V TGT ; and proportionally between these two amounts if ventilation is in an intermediate range:
[0000] ΔΦ BLEND =BΔΦ+ 0.5(1 −B ) T/TI TGT (0<Φ<0.5)
[0000] ΔΦ BLEND =BΔΦ+ 0.5(1 −B ) T/TE TGT (otherwise)
[0097] 24. Increment Φ by ΔΦ BLEND
[0098] 25. Update the average rate of change of phase (ΔΦ I or ΔΦ E as appropriate).
[0000] ΔΦ I =T/τV BAR (ΔΦ BLEND −ΔΦ I )(0<Φ<0.5)
[0000] ΔΦ E =T/τ BAR (ΔΦ BLEND −ΔΦ E )(otherwise)
[0099] 26. Recalculate the approximate duration of inspiration TI and expiration TE:
[0000] TI= 0.5 T/ΔΦ I
[0000] TE= 0.5 T/ΔΦ E
[0100] 27. Calculate the desired mask pressure modulation amplitude A D :
[0000] A D =A STD /2( TT<TT STD /2)
[0000] A D =2 ·A STD ( TT< 2 ·TT STD )
[0000] A D =A STD ·TT/TT STD (otherwise)
[0101] 28. From the error term V ERR , calculate an additional mask pressure modulation amplitude A E :
[0000] A E =K·V ERR (for V ERR >0)
[0000] A E =0(otherwise)
[0000] where larger values of K will produce a faster but less stable control of the degree of assistance, and smaller values of K will produce slower but more stable control of the degree of assistance.
[0102] 29. Set the mask pressure P MASK to:
[0000] P MASK =P 0 +( A D +A E )π(Φ)
[0103] 30. Wait for a sampling interval T, short compared with the duration of a respiratory cycle, and then continue at the step of measuring respiratory airflow.
[0104] Measurement of Respiratory Airflow
[0105] As follows from above, it is necessary to respiratory airflow, which is a standard procedure to one skilled in the art. In the absence of leak, respiratory airflow can be measured directly with a pneumotachograph placed between the mask and the exhaust. In the presence of a possible leak, one method disclosed in European Publication No. 0 651 971 incorporated herein by cross-reference is to calculate the mean flow through the leak, and thence calculate the amount of modulation of the pneumotachograph flow signal due to modulation of the flow through the leak induced by changing mask pressure, using the following steps:
[0106] 1. Measure the airflow at the mask f MASK using a pneumotachograph
[0107] 2. Measure the pressure at the mask P MASK
[0108] 3. Calculate the mean leak as the low pass filtered airflow, with a time constant long compared with a breath.
[0109] 4. Calculate the mean mask pressure as the low pass filtered mask pressure, with a time constant long compared with a breath.
[0110] 5. Calculate the modulation of the flow through the leak as:
[0000] δ(leak)=0.5 times the mean leak times the inducing pressure, where the inducing pressure is P MASK −mean mask pressure.
[0111] Thence the instantaneous respiratory airflow can be calculated as:
[0000] f RESP =f MASK −mean leak−δ(leak)
[0112] A convenient extension as further disclosed in EP 0 651 971 (incorporated herein by cross-reference) is to measure airflow f TURBINE and pressure P TURBINE at the outlet of the turbine, and thence calculate P.sub.MASK and f.sub.MASK by allowing for the pressure drop down the air delivery hose, and the airflow lost via the exhaust:
[0000] Δ P HOS E=K 1 ( F TURBINE )− K 2 ( F TURBINE ) 2 1.
[0000] P MASK =P TURBINE −ΔP HOSE 2.
[0000] F EXHAUST =K 3 √P MASK 3.
[0000] F MASK =F TURBINE −F EXHAUST 4.
Alternative Embodiment
[0113] The following embodiment is particularly applicable to subjects with varying respiratory mechanics, insufficient respiratory drive, abnormal chemoreceptor reflexes, hypoventilation syndromes, or Cheyne Stokes breathing, or to subjects with abnormalities of the upper or lower airways, lungs, chest wall, or neuromuscular system.
[0114] Many patients with severe lung disease cannot easily be treated using a smooth physiological pressure waveform, because the peak pressure required is unacceptably high, or unachievable with for example a nose-mask. Such patients may prefer a square pressure waveform, in which pressure rises explosively fast at the moment of commencement of inspiratory effort. This may be particularly important in patients with high intrinsic PEEP, in which it is not practicable to overcome the intrinsic PEEP by the use of high levels of extrinsic PEEP or CPAP, due to the risk of hyperinflation. In such subjects, any delay in triggering is perceived as very distressing, because of the enormous mis-match between expected and observed support. Smooth waveforms exaggerate the perceived delay, because of the time taken for the administered pressure to exceed the intrinsic PEEP. This embodiment permits the use of waveforms varying continuously from square (suitable for patients with for example severe lung or chest wall disease or high intrinsic PEEP) to very smooth, suitable for patients with normal lungs and chest wall, but abnormal respiratory control, or neuromuscular abnormalities. This waveform is combined either with or without elements of proportional assist ventilation (corrected for sudden changes in leak), with servo-control of the minute ventilation to equal or exceed a target ventilation. The latter servo-control has an adjustable gain, so that subjects with for example Cheyne Stokes breathing can be treated using a very high servo gain to over-ride their own waxing and waning patterns; subjects with various central hypoventilation syndromes can be treated with a low servo gain, so that short central apneas are permitted, for example to cough, clear the throat, talk, or roll over in bed, but only if they follow a previous period of high ventilation; and normal subjects are treated with an intermediate gain.
[0115] Restating the above in other words:
[0116] The integral gain of the servo-control of the degree of assistance is adjustable from very fast (0.3 cmH 2 O/L/sec/sec) to very slow. Patients with Cheyne-Stokes breathing have a very high ventilatory control loop gain, but a long control loop delay, leading to hunting. By setting the loop gain even higher, the patient's controller is stabilized. This prevents the extreme breathlessness that normally occurs during each cycle of Cheyne-Stokes breathing, and this is very reassuring to the patient. It is impossible for them to have a central apnea. Conversely, subjects with obesity-hypoventilation syndrome have low or zero loop gain. They will not feel breathless during a central apnea. However, they have much mucus and need to cough, and are also often very fidgety, needing to roll about in bed. This requires that they have central apneas which the machine does not attempt to treat. By setting the loop gain very low, the patient is permitted to take a couple of deep breaths and then have a moderate-length central apnea while coughing, rolling to over, etc, but prolonged sustained apneas or hypopneas are prevented.
[0117] Sudden changes in leakage flow are detected and handled using a fuzzy logic algorithm. The principle of the algorithm is that the leak filter time constant is reduced dynamically to the fuzzy extent that the apparent respiratory airflow is a long way from zero for a long time compared with the patient's expected respiratory cycle length.
[0118] Rather than simply triggering between two states (IPAP, EPAP), the device uses a fuzzy logic algorithm to estimate the position in the respiratory cycle as a continuous variable. The algorithm permits the smooth pressure waveform to adjust it's rise time automatically to the patient's instantaneous respiratory pattern.
[0119] The fuzzy phase detection algorithm under normal conditions closely tracks the patient's breathing. To the extent that there is a high or suddenly changing leak, or the patient's ventilation is low, the rate of change of phase (respiratory rate) smoothly reverts to the specified target respiratory rate. Longer or deeper hypopneas are permitted to the extent that ventilation is on average adequate. To the extent that the servo gain is set high to prevent Cheyne Stokes breathing, shorter and shallower pauses are permitted.
[0120] Airflow filtering uses an adaptive filter, which shortens it's time constant if the subject is breathing rapidly, to give very fast response times, and lengthens if the subject is breathing slowly, to help eliminate cardiogenic artifact.
[0121] The fuzzy changing leak detection algorithm, the fuzzy phase detection algorithm with its differential handling of brief expiratory pauses, and handling of changing leak, together with the smooth waveform severally and cooperatively make the system relatively immune to the effects of sudden leaks.
[0122] By suitably setting various parameters, the system can operate in CPAP, bilevel spontaneous, bilevel timed, proportional assist ventilation, volume cycled ventilation, and volume cycled servo-ventilation, and therefore all these modes are subsets of the present embodiment. However, the present embodiment permits states of operation that can not be achieved by any of the above states, and is therefore distinct from them.
[0123] Notes
[0124] Note 1: in this second embodiment, the names and symbols used for various quantities may be different to those used in the first embodiment.
[0125] Note 2: The term “swing” is used to refer to the difference between desired instantaneous pressure at end inspiration and the desired instantaneous pressure at end expiration.
[0126] Note 3: A fuzzy membership function is taken as returning a value between zero for complete nonmembership and unity for complete membership. Fuzzy intersection A AND B is the lesser of A and B, fuzzy union A OR B is the larger of A and B, and fuzzy negation NOT A is 1−A.
[0127] Note 4: root(x) is the square root of x, abs(x) is the absolute value of x, sign (x) is −1 if x is negative, and +1 otherwise. An asterisk (*) is used to explicitly indicate multiplication where this might not be obvious from context.
[0128] Apparatus
[0129] The apparatus for the second embodiment is shown in FIG. 1 b . The blower 110 delivers air under pressure to the mask 111 via the air delivery hose 112 . Exhaled air is exhausted via the exhaust 113 in the mask 111 . The pneumotachograph 114 and a differential pressure transducer 115 measure the airflow in the nose 112 . The flow signal is delivered to the microprocessor 116 . Pressure at any convenient point 117 along the nose 112 is measured using a pressure transducer 118 . The output from the pressure transducer 118 is delivered to the microcontroller 116 and also to a motor servo 119 . The microprocessor 116 supplies the motor servo 119 with a pressure request signal, which is then compared with the signal from the pressure transducer 118 to control the blower motor 120 . User configurable parameters are loaded into the microprocessor 116 via a communications port 121 , and the computed mask pressure and flow can if desired be output via the communications port 121 .
[0130] Initialization
[0131] The following user adjustable parameters are specified and stored:
[0000]
max permissible
maximum permissible mask pressure
pressure
max swing
maximum permissible difference between end
inspiratory pressure and end expiratory pressure.
min swing
minimum permissible difference between end
inspiratory pressure and end expiratory pressure.
epap
end expiratory pressure
min permissible
minimum permissible mask pressure
pressure
target
minute ventilation is sevo-controlled to equal or
ventilation
exceed this quantity
target
Expected respiratory rate. If the patient is achieving no
frequency
respiratory airflow, the pressure will cycle at this
frequency.
target duty
Expected ratio of inspiratory time to cycle time. If the
cycle
patient is achieving no respiratory airflow, the
pressure will follow this duty cycle.
linear resistance
resistive unloading = linear resistance * f +
and quad
quad_resistance * f 2 sign(f), where f is the
resistance
respiratory airflow. where sign(x) = −1 for
x <0, +1 otherwise
elastance
Unload at least this much elastance
servo gain
gain for servo-contol of minute ventilation to at least
exceed target ventilation.
waveform
Elastic unloading waveform time constant as a fraction
time constant
of inspiratory duration. (0.0 = square wave)
hose
ΔP from pressure sensing port to inside mask = hose
resistance
resistance times the square of the flow in the
intervening tubing.
diffuser
Flow through the mask exhaust port = diffuser
conductance
conductance * root mask pressure
[0132] At initialization, the following are calculated from the above user-specified settings:
[0133] The expected duration of a respiratory cycle, of an inspiration, and of an expiration are set respectively to:
[0000] STD T TOT =60/target respiratory rate
[0000] STD T I STD T TOT *target duty cycle
[0000]
STD T
E
STD T
TOT
−STD T
I
[0134] The standard rates of change of phase (revolutions per sec) during inspiration and expiration are set respectively to:
[0000] STD dφ I =0.5 /STD T I
[0000] STD dφ E =0.5 /STD T E
[0135] The instantaneous elastic support at any phase .phi. in the respiratory cycle is given by:
[0000] PEL (φ)=swing*π(φ)
[0000] where swing is the pressure at end inspiration minus the pressure at end expiration,
[0000] π(φ)= e −2 r φ during inspiration,
[0000] e −4 t (φ−0.5)during expiration
[0000] and τ is the user-selectable waveform time constant.
[0136] If τ=0, then π(φ) is a square wave. The maximum implemented value for τ=0.3, producing a waveform approximately as shown in FIG. 5 .
[0137] The mean value of π(Φ) is calculated as follows:
[0000] π HAR =0.5∫ 0 0.05 π(φ) dφ
[0138] Operations Performed Every 20 Milliseconds
[0139] The following is an overview of routine processing done at 50 Hz:
[0000] measure flow at flow sensor and pressure at pressure sensing port
calculate mask pressure and flow from sensor pressure and flow
calculate conductance of mask leak
calculate instantaneous airflow through leak
calculate respiratory airflow and low pass filtered respiratory airflow
calculate mask on-off status and lead-in
calculate instantaneous and recent peak jamming
calculate time constant for leak conductance calculations
calculate phase in respiratory cycle
update mean rates of change of phase for inspiration and expiration, lengths of inspiratory and expiratory times, and respiratory rate
add hose pressure loss to EPAP pressure
add resistive unloading
calculate instantaneous elastic assistance required to servo-control ventilation
estimate instantaneous elastic recoil pressure using various assumptions
weight and combine estimates
add servo pressure to yield desired sensor pressure
servo-control motor speed to achieve desired sensor pressure
[0140] The details of each step will now be explained.
[0141] Measurement of Flow and Pressure
[0142] Flow is measured at the outlet of the blower using a pneumotachograph and differential pressure transducer. Pressure is measured at any convenient point between the blower outlet and the mask. A humidifier and/or anti-bacterial filter may be inserted between the pressure sensing port and the blower. Flow and pressure are digitized at 50 Hz using an A/D converter.
[0143] Calculation of Mask Flow and Pressure
[0144] The pressure loss from pressure measuring point to mask is calculated from the flow at the blower and the (quadratic) resistance from measuring point to mask.
[0000] Hose pressure loss=sign(flow)*hose resistance*flow 2
[0000] where sign(x)=−1 for x<0, +1 otherwise. The mask pressure is then calculated by subtracting the hose pressure loss from the measured sensor pressure:
[0000] Mask pressure=sensor pressure−hose pressure loss
[0145] The flow through the mask exhaust diffuser is calculated from the known parabolic resistance of the diffuser holes, and the square root of the mask pressure:
[0000] diffuser flow=exhaust resistance*sign(mask pressure)*root (abs(mask pressure))
[0146] Finally, the mask flow is calculated:
[0000] mask flow=sensor flow−diffuser flow
[0147] The foregoing describes calculation of mask pressure and flow in the various treatment modes. In diagnostic mode, the patient is wearing only nasal cannulae, not a mask. The cannula is plugged into the pressure sensing port. The nasal airflow is calculated from the pressure, after a linearization step, and the mask pressure is set to zero by definition.
[0148] Conductance of Leak
[0000] root mask pressure=sign( P MASK )√{right arrow over (abs( P MASK ))}
[0000] LP mask airflow=low pass filtered mask airflow
[0000] LP root mask pressure=low pass filtered root mask pressure
[0000] conductance of leak=LP mask airflow/LP root mask pressure
[0149] The time constant for the two low pass filtering steps is initialized to 10 seconds and adjusted dynamically thereafter (see below).
[0150] Instantaneous Flow Through Leak
[0151] The instantaneous flow through the leak is calculated from the instantaneous mask pressure and the conductance of the leak:
[0000] instantaneous leak=conductance of leak*root mask pressure
[0152] Respiratory Airflow
[0153] The respiratory airflow is the difference between the flow at the mask and the instantaneous leak:
[0000] respiratory airflow=mask flow−instantaneous leak
[0154] Low Pass Filtered Respiratory Airflow
[0155] Low pass filter the respiratory airflow to remove cardiogenic airflow and other noise. The time constant is dynamically adjusted to be 1/40 of the current estimated length of the respiratory cycle T TOT (initialized to STD_T TOT and updated below). This means that at high respiratory rates, there is only a short phase delay introduced by the filter, but at low respiratory rates, there is good rejection of cardiogenic airflow.
[0156] Mask On/Off Status
[0157] The mask is assumed to initially be off. An off-on transition is taken as occurring when the respiratory airflow first goes above 0.2 L/sec, and an on-off transition is taken as occurring if the mask pressure is less than 2 cmH 2 O for more than 1.5 seconds.
[0158] Lead-In
[0159] Lead-in is a quantity that runs from zero if the mask is off, or has just been donned, to 1.0 if the mask has been on for 20 seconds or more, as shown in FIG. 6 .
[0160] Calculation of Instantaneous Jamming Index, J
[0161] J is the fuzzy extent to which the impedance of the leak has suddenly changed. It is calculated as the fuzzy extent to which the absolute magnitude of the respiratory airflow is large for longer than expected.
[0162] The fuzzy extent A I to which the airflow has been positive for longer than expected is calculated from the time t ZI since the last positive-going zero crossing of the calculated respiratory airflow signal, and the expected duration STD T I of a normal inspiration for the particular subject, using the fuzzy membership function shown in FIG. 7 .
[0163] The fuzzy extent B I to which the airflow is large and positive is calculated from the instantaneous respiratory airflow using the fuzzy membership function shown in FIG. 8 .
[0164] The fuzzy extent I I to which the leak has suddenly increased is calculated by calculating the fuzzy intersection (lesser) of A I and B I .
[0165] Precisely symmetrical calculations are performed for expiration, deriving I E as the fuzzy extent to which the leak has suddenly decreased. A E is calculated from T ZE and T E , B E is calculated from minus f RESP , and I E is the fuzzy intersection of A E and B E . The instantaneous jamming index J is calculated as the fuzzy union (larger) of indices I I and I E .
[0166] Recent Peak Jamming
[0167] If the instantaneous jamming index is larger than the current value of the recent peak jamming index, then the recent peak jamming index is set to equal the instantaneous jamming index. Otherwise, the recent peak jamming index is set to equal the instantaneous jamming index low pass filtered with a time constant of 10 seconds. An electrical analogy of the calculation is shown in FIG. 9 .
[0168] Time Constant for Leak Conductance Calculations
[0169] If the conductance of the leak suddenly changes, then the calculated conductance will initially be incorrect, and will gradually approach the correct value at a rate which will be slow if the time constant of the low pass filters is long, and fast if the time constant is short. Conversely, if the impedance of the leak is steady, the longer the time constant the more accurate the calculation of the instantaneous leak. Therefore, it is desirable to lengthen the time constant to the extent that the leak is steady, reduce the time constant to the extent that the leak has suddenly changed, and to use intermediately longer or shorter time constants if it is intermediately the case that the leak is steady.
[0170] If there is a large and sudden increase in the conductance of the leak, then the calculated respiratory airflow will be incorrect. In particular, during apparent inspiration, the calculated respiratory airflow will be large positive for a time that is large compared with the expected duration of a normal inspiration. Conversely, if there is a sudden decrease in conductance of the leak, then during apparent expiration the calculated respiratory airflow will be large negative for a time that is large compared with the duration of normal expiration.
[0171] Therefore, the time constant for the calculation of the conductance of the leak is adjusted depending on J PEAK , which is a measure of the fuzzy extent that the leak has recently suddenly changed, as shown in FIG. 10 .
[0172] In operation, to the extent that there has recently been a sudden and large change in the leak, J PEAK will be large, and the time constant for the calculation of the conductance of the leak will be small, allowing rapid convergence on the new value of the leakage conductance. Conversely, if the leak is steady for a long time, J PEAK will be small, and the time constant for calculation of the leakage conductance will be large, enabling accurate calculation of the instantaneous respiratory airflow. In the spectrum of intermediate situations, where the calculated instantaneous respiratory airflow is larger and for longer periods, J PEAK will be progressively larger, and the time constant for the calculation of the leak will progressively reduce. For example, at a moment in time where it is uncertain whether the leak is in fact constant, and the subject has merely commenced a large sigh, or whether in fact there has been a sudden increase in the leak, the index will be of an intermediate value, and the time constant for calculation of the impedance of the leak will also be of an intermediate value. The advantage is that some corrective action will occur very early, but without momentary total loss of knowledge of the impedance of the leak.
[0173] Instantaneous Phase in Respiratory Cycle
[0174] The current phase φ runs from 0 for start of inspiration to 0.5 for start of expiration to 1.0 for end expiration=start of next inspiration. Nine separate features (peaks, zero crossings, plateaus, and some intermediate points) are identified on the waveform, as shown in FIG. 11 .
[0175] Calculation of Normalized Respiratory Airflow
[0176] The filtered respiratory airflow is normalized with respect to the user specified target ventilation as follows:
[0000] standard airflow=target ventilation/7.5 L/min
[0000] f =filtered respiratory airflow/standard airflow
[0177] Next, the fuzzy membership in fuzzy sets large negative, small negative, zero, small positive, and large positive, describing the instantaneous airflow is calculated using the membership functions shown in FIG. 12 . For example, if the normalized airflow is 0.25, then the airflow is large negative to extent 0.0, small negative to extent 0.0, zero to extent 0.5, small positive to extent 0.5, large positive to extent 0.00.
[0178] Calculation of Normalized Rate of Change of Airflow
[0179] The rate of change of filtered respiratory airflow is calculated and normalized to a target ventilation of 7.5 L/min at 15 breaths/min as follows:
[0000] standard df/dt =standard airflow*target frequency/15
[0000] calculate d (filtered airflow)/ dt
[0000] low pass filter with a time constant of 8/50 seconds
[0000] normalize by dividing by standard df/dt
[0180] Now evaluate the membership of normalized df/dt in the fuzzy sets falling, steady, and rising, whose membership functions are shown in FIG. 13 .
[0181] Calculation of Ventilation, Normalized Ventilation, and Hypopnea
[0000] ventilation=abs(respiratory airflow), low pass filtered with a time constant of STD T TOT
[0000] normalized ventilation=ventilation/standard airflow
[0182] Hypopnea is the fuzzy extent to which the normalized ventilation is zero. The membership function for hypopnea is shown in FIG. 14 .
[0183] Calculation of Recent Ventilation, Normalized Recent Ventilation, and Hyperpnea
[0184] Recent ventilation is also a low pass filtered abs(respiratory airflow), but filtered with an adjustable time constant, calculated from servo gain (specified by the user) as shown in FIG. 15 . For example, if the servo gain is set to the maximum value of 0.3, the time constant is zero, and recent ventilation equals instantaneous abs(respiratory airflow). Conversely, if servo gain is zero, the time constant is twice STD T TOT , the expected length of a typical breath.
[0000] Target absolute airflow=2*target ventilation normalized recent ventilation=recent ventilation/target absolute airflow
[0185] Hyperpnea is the fuzzy extent to which the recent ventilation is large. The membership function for hyperpnea is shown in FIG. 16 .
[0186] Big Leak
[0187] The fuzzy extent to which there is a big leak is calculated from the membership function shown in FIG. 17 .
[0188] Additional Fuzzy Sets Concerned with Fuzzy “Triggering”
[0189] Membership in fuzzy sets switch negative and switch positive are calculated from the normalized respiratory airflow using the membership functions shown in FIG. 18 , and membership in fuzzy sets insp_phase and exp_phase are calculated from the current phase f using the membership functions shown in FIG. 19 .
[0190] Fuzzy Inference Rules for Phase
[0191] Procedure W(y) calculates the area of an isosceles triangle of unit height and unit base, truncated at height y as shown in FIG. 20 . In the calculations that follow, recall that fuzzy intersection a AND b is the smaller of a and b, fuzzy union a OR b is the larger of a and b, and fuzzy negation NOT a is 1−a.
[0192] The first fuzzy rule indicates that lacking any other information the phase is to increase at a standard rate. This rule is unconditionally true, and has a very heavy weighting, especially if there is a large leak, or there has recently been a sudden change in the leak, or there is a hypopnea.
[0000] W STANDARD =8+16 *J PEAK +16*hyopopnea+16*big leak
[0193] The next batch of fuzzy rules correspond to the detection of various features of a typical flow-vs.-time curve.
[0000] These rules all have unit weighting, and are conditional upon the fuzzy membership in the indicated sets:
[0000] W EARLY INSP =W (rise and small positive)
[0000] W PEAK INSP =W (large positive AND steady AND NOT recent peak jamming)
[0000] W LATE INSP =W (fall AND small positive)
[0000] W EARLY EXP =W (fall AND small negative)
[0000] W PEAK EXP =W (large negative AND steady)
[0000] W LATE EXP =W (rise AND small negative)
[0194] The next rule indicates that there is a legitimate expiratory pause (as opposed to an apnea) if there has been a recent hyperpnea and the leak has not recently changed:
[0000] W PAUSE =(hyperpnea AND NOT J PEAK )* W (steady
[0000] AND zero)
[0195] Recalling that the time constant for hyperpnea gets shorter as servo gain increases, the permitted length of expiratory pause gets shorter and shorter as the servo gain increases, and becomes zero at maximum servo gain. The rationale for this is that (i) high servo gain plus long pauses in breathing will result in “hunting” of the servo-as controller, and (ii) in general high servo gain is used if the subject's chemoreceptor responses are very brisk, and suppression of long apneas or hypopneas will help prevent the subject's own internal servo-control from hunting, thereby helping prevent Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
[0196] Finally, there are two phase-switching rules. During regular quiet breathing at roughly the expected rate, these rules should not strongly activate, but they are there to handle irregular breathing or breathing at unusual rates. They have very heavy weightings.
[0000] W TRIG INSP =32 W (expiratory phase AND switch positive)
[0000] W TRIG EXP =32 W (inspiratory phase AND switch negative)
[0197] Defuzzification
[0198] For each of the ten fuzzy rules above, we attach phase angles fN, as shown in Table ZZZ. Note that φ N are in revolutions, not radians. We now place the ten masses W(N) calculated above at the appropriate phase angles φ N around the unit circle, and take the centroid.
[0000]
Rule
N
φ N
STANDARD
1
current φ
TRIG INSP
2
0.00
EARLY INSP
3
0.10
PEAK INSP
4
0.30
LATE INSP
5
0.50
TRIG EXP
6
0.5 + 0.05 k
EARLY EXP
7
0.5 + 0.10 k
PEAK EXP
8
0.5 + 0.20 k
LATE EXP
9
0.5 + 0.4 k
EXP PAUSE
10
0.5 + 0.5 k
where k = STD T I /STD T E .
[0199] Note that if the user has entered very short duty cycle, k will be small. For example a normal duty cycle is 40%, giving k=40/60=0.67. Thus the expiratory peak will be associated with a phase angle of 0.5+0.2*0.67=0.63, corresponding 26% of the way into expiratory time, and the expiratory pause would start at 0.5+0.5*0.67=0.83, corresponding to 67% of the way into expiratory time. Conversely, if the duty cycle is set to 20% in a patient with severe obstructive lung disease, features 6 through 10 will be skewed or compressed into early expiration, generating an appropriately longer expiratory pause.
[0200] The new estimate of the phase is the centroid, in polar coordinates, of the above ten rules:
[0000]
centroid
=
arc
tan
(
∑
W
N
sin
φ
N
∑
W
N
cos
φ
N
)
[0201] The change in phase dφ from the current phase φ to the centroid is calculated in polar coordinates. Thus if the centroid is 0.01 and the current phase is 0.99, the change in phase is dφ=0.02. Conversely, if the centroid is 0.99 and the current phase is 0.01, then dφ=−0.02. The new phase is then set to the centroid:
[0000] φ=centroid
[0202] This concludes the calculation of the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle φ.
[0203] Estimated Mean Duration of Inspiration, Expiration, Cycle Time, and Respiratory Rate
[0204] If the current phase is inspiratory (φ<0.5) the estimated duration of inspiration T I is updated:
[0000] LP( dφ I )=low pass filtered d φ with a time constant of: 4 *STD T tot
[0000] Clip LP( dφ I )to the range(0.5 /STD T I )/2 to 4(0.5 /STD T I )
[0000] T I =0.5/clipped LP( dφI )
[0205] Conversely, if the current phase is expiratory, (φ=0.5) the estimated duration of expiration T E is updated:
[0000] LP( dφ E )=low pass filtered d φ with a time constant of 4 *STD T TOT Clip LP( dφE )to the range(0.5 /STD T E )/2 to 4(0.5 /STD T E )
[0000] TE= 0.5/clipped LP( dφ E )
[0206] The purpose of the clipping is firstly to prevent division by zero, and also so that the calculated T I and T E are never more than a factor of 4 shorter or a factor of 2 longer than expected.
[0207] Finally, the observed mean duration of a breath T TOT and respiratory rate RR are:
[0000]
T
TOT
=T
I
+T
E
[0000] RR=60 /T TOT
[0208] Resistive Unloading
[0209] The resistive unloading is the pressure drop across the patient's upper and lower airways, calculated from the respiratory airflow and resistance values stored in SRAM
[0000] f =respiratory airflow truncated to +/−2 L/sec
[0000] resistive unloading=airway resistance* f+
[0000] upper airway resistance* f 2 *sign( f )
[0210] Instantaneous Elastic Assistance
[0211] The purpose of the instantaneous elastic assistance is to provide a pressure which balances some or all of the elastic deflating pressure supplied by the springiness of the lungs and chest wall (instantaneous elastic pressure), plus an additional component required to servo-control the minute ventilation to at least exceed on average a pre-set target ventilation. In addition, a minimum swing, always present, is added to the total. The user-specified parameter elastance is preset to say 50-75% of the known or estimated elastance of the patient's lung and chest wall. The various components are calculated as follows:
[0212] Instantaneous Assistance Based on Minimum Pressure Swing Set by Physician:
[0000] instantaneous minimum assistance=minimum swing*π(φ)
[0213] Elastic Assistance Required to Servo-Control Ventilation to Equal or Exceed Target
[0214] The quantity servo swing is the additional pressure modulation amplitude required to servo-control the minute ventilation to at least equal on average a pre-set target ventilation.
[0215] Minute ventilation is defined as the total number of litres inspired or expired per minute. However, we can't wait for a whole minute, or even several seconds, to calculate it, because we wish to be able to prevent apneas or hypopneas lasting even a few seconds, and a PI controller based on an average ventilation over a few seconds would be either sluggish or unstable.
[0216] The quantity actually servo-controlled is half the absolute value of the instantaneous respiratory airflow. A simple clipped integral controller with no damping works very satisfactorily. The controller gain and maximum output ramp up over the first few seconds after putting the mask on.
[0217] If we have had a sudden increase in mouth leak, airflow will be nonzero for a long time. A side effect is that the ventilation will be falsely measured as well above target, and the amount of servo assistance will be falsely reduced to zero. To prevent this, to the extent that the fuzzy recent peak jamming index is large, we hold the degree of servo assistance at its recent average value, prior to the jamming.
[0218] The algorithm for calculating servo swing is as follows:
[0000] error=target ventilation−abs(respiratory airflow)/2
[0000] servo swing= S error*servo gain*sample interval
[0000] clip servo swing to range 0 to 20 cmH 2 O*lead-in
[0000] set recent servo swing=servo swing low pass filtered with a time constant of 25 sec.
[0000] clip servo swing to be at most J PEAK *recent servo swing
[0219] The instantaneous servo assistance is calculated by multiplying servo swing by the previously calculated pressure waveform template:
[0000] instantaneous servo assistance=servo swing*π(φ)
[0220] Estimating Instantaneous Elastic Pressure
[0221] The instantaneous pressure required to unload the elastic work of inspiring against the user-specified elastance is the specified elastance times the instantaneous inspired volume. Unfortunately, calculating instantaneous inspired volume simply by integrating respiratory airflow with respect to time does not work in practice for three reasons: firstly leaks cause explosive run-away of the integration. Secondly, the integrator is reset at the start of each inspiration, and this point is difficult to detect reliably. Thirdly, and crucially, if the patient is making no efforts, nothing will happen.
[0222] Therefore, four separate estimates are made, and a weighted average taken.
[0223] Estimate 1: Exact Instantaneous Elastic Recoil Calculated from Instantaneous Tidal Volume, with a Correction for Sudden Change in Leak
[0224] The first estimate is the instantaneous elastic recoil of a specified elastance at the estimated instantaneous inspired volume, calculated by multiplying the specified elastance by the integral of a weighted respiratory airflow with respect to time, reset to zero if the respiratory phase is expiratory. The respiratory airflow is weighted by the fuzzy negation of the recent peak jamming index J PEAK , to partly ameliorate an explosive run-away of the integral during brief periods of sudden increase in leak, before the leak detector has had time to adapt to the changing leak. In the case where the leak is very steady, J PEAK will be zero, the weighting will be unity, and the inspired volume will be calculated normally and correctly. In the case where the leak increases suddenly, J PEAK will rapidly increase, the weighting will decrease, and although typically the calculated inspired volume will be incorrect, the over-estimation of inspired volume will be ameliorated. Calculations are as follows:
[0000] Instantaneous volume=integral of respiratory airflow*(1−J PEAK ) dt
[0000] if phase is expiratory(0.5<φ<1.0 revolutions)reset integral to zero
[0000] estimate 1=instantaneous volume*elastance
[0225] Estimate 2: Based on Assumption that the Tidal Volume Equals the Target Tidal Volume
[0226] The quantity standard swing is the additional pressure modulation amplitude that would unload the specified elastance for a breath of a preset target tidal volume.
[0000] target tidal volume=target ventilation/target frequency
[0000] standard swing=elastance*target tidal volume
[0000] estimate 2=standard swing*π(φ)
[0227] Estimate 3: Based on Assumption that the Tidal Volume Equals the Target Tidal Volume Divided by the Observed Mean Respiratory Rate RR Calculated Previously.
[0000] Estimate 3=elastance*target ventilation/RR*π(φ)
[0228] Estimate 4: Based on Assumption that this Breath is Much Like Recent Breaths
[0229] The instantaneous assistance based on the assumption that the elastic work for this breath is similar to that for recent breaths is calculated as follows:
[0000] LP elastic assistance=instantaneous elastic assistance low pass filtered with a time constant of 2 STD T TOT
[0000] estimate 4=LP elastic assistance*π(φ)/ P BAR
[0230] The above algorithm works correctly even if π(φ) is dynamically changed on-the-fly by the user, from square to a smooth or vice versa. For example, if an 8 cmH2O square wave (π BAR =1) adequately assists the patient, then a sawtooth wave (π BAR =0.5) will require 16 cmH 2 O swing to produce the same average assistance.
[0231] Best Estimate of Instantaneous Elastic Recoil Pressure
[0232] Next, calculate the pressure required to unload a best estimate of the actual elastic recoil pressure based on a weighted average of the above.
[0000] smoothness−waveform time constant/0.3
[0000] instantaneous recoil=(smoothness*estimate 1+estimate 2+estimate 3+estimate 4)/(smoothness+3)
[0233] Now add the estimates based on minimum and servo swing, truncate so as not to exceed a maximum swing set by the user. Reduce (lead in gradually) if the mask has only just been put on.
[0000] I =instantaneous minimum assistance+instantaneous servo assistance+instantaneous recoil
[0000] Truncate I to be less than preset maximum permissible swing instantaneous elastic assistance= I *lead-in
[0234] This completes the calculation of instantaneous elastic assistance.
[0235] Desired Pressure at Sensor
[0000] desired sensor pressure=epap+hose pressure loss+resistive unloading+instantaneous elastic assistance
[0236] Servo Control of Motor Speed
[0237] In the final step, the measured pressure at the sensor is servo-controlled to equal the desired sensor pressure, using for example a clipped pseudodifferential controller to adjust the motor current. Reference can be made to FIG. 1 in this regard.
[0238] Device Performance
[0239] FIGS. 21-27 each show an actual 60 second recording displaying an aspect of the second embodiment. All recordings are from a normal subject trained to perform the required maneuvers. Calculated respiratory airflow, mask pressure, and respiratory phase are calculated using the algorithms disclosed above, output via a serial port, and plotted digitally.
[0240] In FIGS. 21-26 respiratory airflow is shown as the darker tracing, the vertical scale for flow being ±L/sec, inspiration upwards. The vertical scale for the pressure (light trace) is 0.2 cmH 2 O.
[0241] FIG. 21 is recorded with the servo gain set to 0.1 cmH 2 O/L/sec/sec, which is suitable for subjects with normal chemoflexes. The subject is breathing well above the minimum ventilation, and a particularly deep breath (sigh) is taken at point (a). As is usual, respiratory effort ceases following the sigh, at point (c). The device correctly permits a short central apnea (b), as indicated by the device remaining at the end expiratory pressure during the period marked (b). Conversely FIG. 22 shows that if there is no preceding deep breath, when efforts cease at (a), the pressure correctly continues to cycle, thus preventing any hypoxia. FIG. 23 is recorded with servo gain set high, as would be appropriate for a subject with abnormally high chemoreflexes such as is typically the case with Cheyne-Stokes breathing. Now when effort ceases at arrow (a), pressure continues to cycle and a central apnea is no longer permitted, despite preceding deep breathing. This is advantageous for preventing the next cycle of Cheyne-Stokes breathing.
[0242] The above correct behaviour is also exhibited by a time mode device, but is very different to that of a spontaneous mode bilevel device, or equally of proportional assist ventilation, both of which would fail to cycle after all central apneas, regardless of appropriateness.
[0243] FIG. 24 shows automatically increasing end-inspiratory pressure as the subject makes voluntarily deeper inspiratory efforts. The desirable behaviour is in common with PAV, but is different to that of a simple bilevel device, which would maintain a constant level of support despite an increased patient requirement, or to a volume cycled device, which would actually decrease support at a time of increasing need.
[0244] FIG. 25 is recorded with a somewhat more square waveform selected. This figure shows automatically increasing pressure support when the subject voluntarily attempts to resist by stiffening the chest wall at point (a). This desirable behaviour is common with PAV and volume cycled devices, with the expectation that PAV cannot selectively deliver a squarer waveform. It is distinct from a simple bilevel device which would not augment the level of support with increasing need.
[0245] FIG. 26 shows that with sudden onset of a severe 1.4 L/sec leak at (a), the flow signal returns to baseline (b) within the span of a single breath, and pressure continues to cycle correctly throughout. Although timed mode devices can also continue to cycle correctly in the face of sudden changing leak, the are unable to follow the subject's respiratory rate when required (as shown in FIG. 27 ). Other known bilevel devices and PAV mis-trigger for longer or shorter periods following onset of a sudden sever leak, and PAV can deliver greatly excessive pressures under these conditions.
[0246] FIG. 27 shows an actual 60 second tracing showing respiratory airflow (heavy trace±1 L/sec full scale) and respiratory phase as a continuous variable (light trace, 0 to 1 revolution), with high respiratory rate in the left half of the trace and low respiratory rate in the right half of the trace. This trace demonstrates that the invention can determine phase as a continuous variable.
Advantageous Aspects of Embodiments of the Invention
[0247] Use of Phase as a Continuous Variable.
[0248] In the prior art, phase is taken as a categorical variable, with two values: inspiration and expiration. Errors in the detection of start of inspiration and start of expiration produce categorical errors in delivered pressure. Conversely, here, phase is treated as a continuous variable having values between zero and unity. Thus categorical errors in measurement of phase are avoided.
[0249] Adjustable Filter Frequency and Allowance for Phase Delay
[0250] By using a short time constant when the subject is breathing rapidly, and a long time constant when the subject is breathing slowly, the filter introduces a fixed phase delay which is always a small fraction of a respiratory cycle. Thus unnecessary phase delays can be avoided, but cardiogenic artifact can be rejected in subjects who are breathing slowly. Furthermore, because phase is treated as a continuous variable, it is possible to largely compensate for the delay in the low pass filter.
[0251] Within-Breath Pressure Regulation as a Continuous Function of Respiratory Phase
[0252] With all prior art there is an intrusive discontinuous change in pressure, either at the start of inspiration or at the start of expiration. Here, the pressure change is continuous, and therefore more comfortable.
[0253] With proportional assist ventilation, the instantaneous pressure is a function of instantaneous volume into the breath. This means that a sudden large leak can cause explosive pressure run-away. Here, where instantaneous pressure is a function of instantaneous phase rather than tidal volume, this is avoided.
[0254] Between-Breath Pressure-Regulation as a Function of Average Inspiratory Duration.
[0255] Average inspiratory duration is easier to calculate in the presence of leak than is tidal volume. By taking advantage of a correlation between average inspiratory duration and average tidal volume, it is possible to adjust the amplitude of modulation to suit the average tidal volume.
[0256] Provision of a Pressure Component for Unloading Turbulent Upper Airway Resistance, and Avoiding Cardiogenic Pressure Instabilities.
[0257] Although Younes describes the use of a component of pressure proportional to the square of respiratory airflow to unload the resistance of external apparatus, the resistance of the external apparatus in embodiments of the present invention is typically negligible. Conversely, embodiments of the present invention describes two uses for such a component proportional to the square of respiratory airflow that were not anticipated by Younes. Firstly, sleeping subjects, and subjects with a blocked nose, have a large resistance proportional to the square of airflow, and a pressure component proportional to the square of airflow can be used to unload the anatomical upper airway resistance. Secondly, small nonrespiratory airflow components due to heartbeat or other artifact, when squared, produces negligible pressure modulation, so that the use of such a component yields relative immunity to such nonrespiratory airflow.
[0258] Smooth Transition Between Spontaneous and Controlled Breathing
[0259] There is a smooth, seamless gradation from flexibly tracking the subject's respiratory pattern during spontaneous breathing well above the target ventilation, to fully controlling the duration, depth, and phase of breathing if the subject is making no efforts, via a transitional period in which the subject can make progressively smaller changes to the timing and depth of breathing. A smooth transition avoids categorization errors when ventilation is near but not at the desired threshold. The advantage is that the transition from spontaneous to controlled ventilation occurs unobtrusively to the subject. This can be especially important in a subject attempting to go to sleep. A similar smooth transition can occur in the reverse direction, as a subject awakens and resumes spontaneous respiratory efforts.
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The apparatus provides for the determination of the instantaneous phase in the respiratory cycle, subject's average respiration rate and the provision of ventilatory assistance. A microprocessor ( 16 ) receives an airflow signal from a pressure transducer ( 18 ) coupled to a port ( 17 ) at a mask ( 11 ). The microprocessor ( 16 ) controls a servo ( 19 ), that in turn controls the fan motor ( 20 ) and thus the pressure of air delivered by the blower ( 10 ). The blower ( 10 ) is coupled to a subject's mask (ii) by a conduit ( 12 ). The invention seeks to address the following goals: while the subject is awake and making substantial efforts the delivered assistance should be closely matched in phase with the subject's efforts; the machine should automatically adjust the degree of assistance to maintain at least a specified minimum ventilation without relying on the integrity of the subject's chemoreflexes; and it should continue to work correctly in the presence of large leaks.
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The invention relates to a refrigerator and/or freezer with an appliance body and a door for closing an opening of the appliance body, wherein a pivot bearing is provided which pivotably supports the door relative to the appliance body about a pivot axis.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Refrigerators and freezers generally have on their door an elastic gasket with an integrated magnet which has the function of pulling the door-side gasket bead against the sealing contact surface on the appliance body. Due to the geometric properties of such pivot doors, however, the desired optimal sealing interface is often not achieved, especially in the region of the door adjacent the pivot axis, despite obliquely positioned magnets present in the gasket profile. The magnet prematurely attracts the gasket against the appliance body such that the gasket does not seat in optimal fashion and may flex as the door continues to pivot closed. Both problems result in an unsatisfactory seal which may cause increased frost formation in the freezer space, and more generally, premature wear of the gasket.
FIG. 11 shows a refrigerator of the known type in the region of the sealing interface between pivotable door and appliance body, the door being shown in the closed position with the gasket optimally seated. The appliance body 1 has an essentially flat sealing contact surface 2 on which rests the gasket 3 attached to the door 6 . As FIG. 11 shows, gasket 3 is designed as an elastic sealing bead in which a magnet 4 is integrated. This magnet pulls gasket 3 against the metal sealing contact surface 2 of appliance body 1 . The optimum sealing interface shown in FIG. 11 for gasket 3 is often not achieved, however:
When door 6 is pivoted in the closing direction around the essentially vertical pivot axis 5 from the pivoted-open position, the magnet 4 first contacts sealing contact surface 2 of appliance body 1 , as shown in FIG. 12 . This situation also occurs if magnet 4 is positioned at an oblique angle. When door 6 continues to be pivoted in the closing direction from the position of FIG. 12 , it may happen that door magnet 4 contacts appliance body 1 during the closing process due to the attractive force and cannot be moved into the optimum position during the continuing closing process by gasket 3 . This sealing interface is of variable size, depending on the tolerances present. Magnet 4 seemingly prematurely attaches itself in fixed position by suction—with the result the gasket 3 flexes. FIG. 13 shows an unreliably deformed gasket 3 of this type which can only create an insufficient seal. In addition, the above-mentioned flexure of gasket 3 results in premature wear of the gasket.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is therefore to create an improved refrigerator or freezer of the type mentioned in the introduction in which the disadvantages of prior-art technology may be avoided and in which this technology may be further modified in an advantageous manner. Specifically, the goal is to achieve an improved opening and closing of the door with the most optimum seal possible.
This object is achieved according to the invention by a refrigerator and/or freezer described herein. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are also described herein.
According to the invention, an additional axis of motion perpendicular to the pivot axis is thus provided for the door. The door may be movably mounted relative to the pivot axis, and/or the pivot axis may be movably mounted relative to the appliance body, in the direction perpendicular to the pivot axis. The pivot bearing is thus designed such that in addition to the rotational pivot motion of the door about the pivot axis, in the region of the pivot axis the door may be moved roughly perpendicular to the sealing interface of the appliance body away from or onto said body. This capability of translational motion transverse to the pivot axis prevents flexure of the gasket. This gasket may essentially be mounted vertically onto the opposite sealing contact surface such that it is always seated in the intended position and provides the optimum seal. Similarly, flexure is prevented when the door is opened since the additional pivot axis of the door perpendicular to the sealing contact surface allows the gasket to be pulled vertically away from the opposite sealing interface.
In a further modification of the invention, the motion of the door is controlled perpendicular to the pivot axis as a function of the pivot position of the door. A corresponding motion-control device may specifically be designed such that at the beginning of a pivot-opening process the door is initially moved essentially perpendicular to the pivot axis and thus vertically away from the appliance body; while conversely, toward the end of each pivot-closing process, the door is moved essentially perpendicular to the pivot axis, and thus perpendicular to the appliance body or its sealing contact surface and onto the latter. The translational motion superimposed on the pivot motion is thus provided in the pivot region adjoining the completely closed position of the door such that in this region the door is moved translationally essentially perpendicular to the appliance body. The conventional pure pivot motion may then be again provided in the subsequent open pivot region of the door.
Preferably, a cam device is provided perpendicular to the pivot axis, specifically in the region of the pivot axis between the appliance body and the door, to control the door motion, said cam device determining the door's distance from the appliance body as a function of the pivot position of the door. A cam may be provided with a first curve section which allows for a door position close to the appliance body, and with a second curve section adjoining the first curve section which results in a distant door position removed from the appliance body. When the door is opened, the cam presses the door in the region of the pivot axis away from the sealing interface of the appliance body. When closed, the door snaps in or falls vertically onto the sealing interface at the end of the pivot-closing process. In principle, the cam may be provided on the door or on the appliance body and rest against the opposite sliding surface. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cam is rigidly connected to the door so that it slides or rolls off, along with its curve control surface, on a support surface fixedly attached on the appliance body side when the door is pivoted open or closed.
Preferably, a pretensioning device, specifically a spring device, is provided to pretension the door relative to the pivot axis, or the pivot axis relative to the appliance body, in the direction of the additional axis of motion. The spring device presses the pivot axis relative to the door or relative to the appliance body into its initial position from which it is pressed out by the above-mentioned cam against the spring tension given the appropriate pivot position of the door. The pretensioning device is oriented such that when the door is closed the door is under tension toward the appliance body. The pretensioning device is appropriately dimensioned such that its pretensioning force is greater than the sealing forces in effect between door and appliance body, i.e., such that sealing forces already in effect between door and appliance body do not cause any displacement of the pivot axis, or the door to be pressed open.
The cam device and pretensioning device advantageously act together so as to effect an automatic closing of the door in the final section of the door's pivot motion. Cam device and pretensioning device together form a kind of automatic closing device. The last segment automatically swings the door shut in response to the pretensioning force and its translation by the cam device.
The additional axis of motion of the door perpendicular to the sealing contact surface of the appliance body is preferably achieved by movably mounting the door relative to the pivot axis fixed to the appliance body, and specifically in the direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the pivot axis. In principle, is also possible, based on an approach employing a kinematic reversal, to mount the door in the conventional fashion as nondisplaceable and only rotationally movable on the pivot axis and then to arrange the latter movably relative to the appliance body in the direction perpendicular to the sealing interface of the appliance body. The preferred approach is the previously mentioned design with the pivot axis rigidly fixed on appliance body. Specifically in this regard, elongated holes may be provided on the door side in the form of bearing slots for the pivot axis, in which holes the pivot axis runs or by which the door sits on the pivot axis. The elongated-hole-shaped bearing slots extend perpendicular to the front and rear sides of the door, thereby achieving the desired motion perpendicular to the sealing interface of the appliance body.
Preferably, door arresters may be provided which sit essentially free of play and rotationally on the pivot axis, and which are pretensioned by a spring relative to the door in the direction of the door side facing away from the appliance body. The above-mentioned door arresters cause the pivot axis to be pressed preferably toward one end of the elongated-hole-shaped bearing slots of the door such that a defined position of the door relative to the pivot axis is provided whenever the cam device does not press the axis in another direction.
Door arrester and cam device preferably form one assembly unit. In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, provision may be made that one cam each is rigidly fixed to the door along with a control curve surface facing the appliance body and has a guide for one door arrester each in which the respective door arrester located on the pivot axis is displaceably routed perpendicular to the front and rear sides of the door. The pretensioning device, preferably in the form of a spring, may also be integrated into the cam. The cam may have a spring slot to accommodate the pretensioning spring.
In an alternative preferred embodiment of the invention, the cam may be rigidly fixed on the door along with a control curve surface facing the appliance body and be of an integrated one-piece design with the door arrester sitting on the pivot axis, wherein a spring section is provided between the curve control surface and the door arrester—this being achieved, for example, by having the curve control surface section and the door arrester section together define an approximately U-shaped contour. The one leg defining the door arrester may be deflected by spring action relative to the other leg of the U-shaped body which forms the rigid cam or the rigid curve control surface.
In a further modification of the invention, the pivot axis or the hinge pins are rigidly fixed to hinge plates projecting from the appliance body. The hinge plates may be attached in the conventional fashion to the appliance body or housing. Supports, specifically support pins parallel to the hinge pins, may be provided on the hinge plates on which the door-side-attached cam rests. The cam is preferably of plastic. It is useful to employ a slidable lubricating material such as polyamide. The support pins interacting with the cams at the hinge plates may be steel pins.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following discussion explains the invention based on preferred embodiments and associated drawings. The drawings are as follows:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator and freezer with a refrigerator door and a freezer door which are each pivotably mounted on the appliance body about a vertical pivot axis.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a top bearing of the refrigerator door of FIG. 1 in a sectional view from above based on a preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a door bearing from FIG. 2 as seen obliquely from below.
FIG. 4 is an exploded plan view of a door bearing from the previous figures wherein first the door is shown with a movable guide for the pivot axis as well as a door-side-located cam, and secondly a hinge plate provided on the appliance body side is shown with the pivot axis and a support pin for the door-side cam.
FIG. 5 shows a horizontal section through the refrigerator and freezer of FIG. 1 in the region of the seal between appliance body and door wherein the door is shown in a completely closed position.
FIG. 6 . shows a section through the refrigerator and freezer similar to FIG. 5 wherein the door is shown in a position which is slightly pivoted open and raised vertically from the appliance body.
FIG. 7 shows a horizontal section through the refrigerator and freezer similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein the door is shown in a position pivoted further open.
FIG. 8 shows a longitudinal section through a top bearing of the door of the refrigerator and freezer of FIG. 1 based on another preferred embodiment of the invention, specifically along line A—A in FIG. 9 .
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the top bearing of FIG. 8 , specifically along line B—B of FIG. 8 .
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a top door bearing of the refrigerator and freezer of FIG. 1 based on another preferred embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 11 shows a horizontal section through a refrigerator in the region of the seal between door and appliance body based on prior art in which a fixed pivot axis is provided.
FIG. 12 shows a horizontal section through a refrigerator of prior art similar to FIG. 11 wherein the door is shown in a slightly opened position.
FIG. 13 shows a horizontal section through a refrigerator of prior art similar to FIGS. 11 and 12 wherein the gasket is shown in a flexed, displaced contact position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a standing refrigerator and freezer which has a cubic appliance body 1 , the front side of which has a refrigerator opening and a freezer compartment opening. The top-located smaller freezer compartment opening is closed by a freezer compartment door 7 , while the bottom large refrigerator opening is closed by the refrigerator door 6 .
Both doors 6 and 7 and are pivotable about a vertical pivot axis which is located on the right side of the refrigerator and freezer as shown in FIG. 1 .
Both doors here have a top bearing and a bottom bearing which together define the pivot axis 5 . The top and bottom bearing of each door 6 and 7 may be designed analogously, and consequently the following discussion describes only the top bearing of refrigerator door 6 .
FIGS. 2 and 3 provide a perspective view of the top bearing of refrigerator door 6 . A bearing bracket 8 in the form of a hinge plate 9 projects from the appliance housing or body 1 , the bracket overlapping door 6 on its top side. A hinge pin 10 projecting downward is rigidly fixed to hinge plate 9 , the hinge plate along with the corresponding hinge pin of the lower bearing of door 6 defining pivot axis 5 . Hinge pin 10 may be fastened by screws or welded on to hinge plate 9 , or attached by an analogous method.
An essentially plate-type door arrester 11 with an essentially U-shaped contour is fastened to the top side of door 6 . Specifically, door arrester 11 along with its one leg is rigidly connected to the top side of door 6 , specifically screwed to it, while the other leg of door arrester 11 does not have a fixed connection to the surface of the door. Door arrester 11 is composed of an elastic material, specifically a flexible plastic, so that the free door arrester leg 12 may move flexibly relative to the door. Door arrester 11 is arranged such that the recess between legs 12 and 13 runs parallel to the front and rear sides of the door. As a result, free door arrester 12 is able to move or function elastically essentially perpendicular to the front and rear side of door 6 .
As FIG. 2 shows, hinge pin 10 of bearing bracket 8 engages the elastic or movable leg of door arrester 11 . Door arrester 11 has a hinge pin slot 14 on door arrester leg 12 , which slot accepts hinge pin 10 (see FIG. 4 ). Hinge pin 10 passes through door arrester 11 and then passes within an elongated-hole-type bearing slot 15 provided on the top side of door 6 . The elongated hole 15 extends along its longitudinal axis essentially perpendicular to the front and rear sides of the door such that door 6 is able to move perpendicular to its front and rear sides relative to pivot axis 5 . To explain it from the reverse point of view, hinge pin 10 can be moved back and forth within elongated hole 15 , where each door arrester leg 12 moves elastically in tandem. Door arrester leg 12 is arranged such that hinge pin 10 is pressed into that end of elongated slot 15 which lies toward the outside of door 6 . The mobility of the door relative to the hinge pin, and visa versa, is indicated in FIG. 4 by the arrow 16 . Door arrester 11 thus simultaneously forms a pretensioning or spring-like device which pretensions pivot axis 5 and door 6 in a predefined position relative to each other.
In an alternative inventive design, not shown separately, it would also be possible to dispense with the elongated-hole design 15 and to guide hinge pin 10 exclusively with door arrester leg 12 . In this case, hinge pin slot 14 in door arrester 11 would sit essentially free of play and concentrically on hinge pin 10 . Mobility would then not be provided by elongated hole 15 but by the elastic motion of door arrester leg 12 . Stops may be used to limit the maximum deflection of door arrester leg 12 in the direction of arrow 16 .
As FIGS. 2 and 4 show, the door arrester section 13 rigidly fixed to the top side of the door forms a cam 17 projecting toward the door interior or appliance body 1 , which cam has a curve control surface 18 on its side facing appliance body 1 . Curve control surface 18 essentially consists of a first section in the form of a sink 19 and a second section contiguous with it in the form of a convex camber 20 projecting with the door closed toward appliance body 1 , which camber forms a door opening section or functions as a door opener.
Interacting with cam 17 is a support pin 21 which is rigidly fixed and projects parallel to hinge pin 10 on bearing bracket 8 (see FIG. 3 ). The peripheral surface of support pin 21 forms a sliding surface on which curve control surface 18 of cam 17 is able to slide.
Curve control surface 18 of cam 17 , and support pin 21 are arranged and dimensioned relative to one another such that with the door completely closed, support pin 21 contacts sink 19 of cam 17 with a snug fit. This configuration is shown in FIG. 5 , specifically in segment a). With door 6 in the completely closed position, a seal extending circumferentially around the interior side of the door in the form of an elastic gasket bead 3 contacts the sealing contact surface 2 facing the door of appliance body 1 . As FIG. 5 shows, gasket 3 may include a magnet 4 in the conventional manner which attracts the metallic appliance housing surface or exterior side of body 1 , thus effecting a secure tight contact between sealing contact surface 2 and gasket 3 .
When door 6 is pivoted open from the closed position, curve control surface 18 of cam 17 with its camber 20 projecting toward sealing contact surface 2 must move over support pin 21 . FIG. 6 shows this specifically in segment a). Since cam 17 is rigidly connected to door 6 , this bumping of cam 20 against support pin 21 presses door 6 essentially vertically away from sealing contact surface 2 . In the process, gasket 3 is lifted essentially deflection-free from sealing contact surface 2 . The hinge axis or hinge pin 14 then moves within elongated hole 15 , as FIG. 6 shows, against the spring resistance of the pretensioning device. Door arrester leg 12 here is flexed toward the fixed door arrester leg 13 .
As the door is opened further, curve control surface 18 moves further along support pin 21 . Camber 20 retracts so that the spring pretensioning device of elastic door arrester 11 is able to press door 6 back into its initial position relative to hinge pin 14 . This is shown in FIG. 7 . As soon as pivot axis 5 again assumes its initial position relative to the door, the superimposition of the translational motion of the door perpendicular to pivot axis 5 has ended. When the door is pivoted further open, the door again undergoes a purely rotary motion of the conventional type. When pivoted back to the closed position, the door undergoes a correspondingly reverse motion. Specifically, gasket 3 along with its magnet 4 does not remain prematurely caught on sealing contact surface 2 ; instead gasket 3 moves essentially vertically onto sealing contact surface 2 only toward the end of the closing motion, and specifically when cam 17 along with its sink 19 snaps onto support pin 21 . In the process, an automatic closing motion occurs effected by the spring pretensioning of elastic door arrester 11 , which motion pulls the door completely shut.
The spring pretensioning device attempts to press support pin 21 into sink 19 in order to obtain a lower energy level for the system.
Other embodiments are also possible in place of the integrated one-piece and elastic spring-action design of door arrester 11 .
FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment of this type. Here again the hinge pin 10 is routed within an elongated-hole-shaped bearing slot 15 in the top side of door 6 . Elongated-hole-shaped bearing slot 15 also extends perpendicular to the door interior and exterior sides, thereby achieving the corresponding motion already described. Here, however, door arrester 22 is of a multi-part design. A first door arrester section 23 , the side of which facing the appliance body is designed as cam 17 , is rigidly fixed on the top side of door 6 . First section 23 , essentially of a plate-like design, has on its side facing the door exterior a drawer-like slot 26 in which the second door arrester section 24 is displaceably mounted and is located. Slot 26 extends along its longitudinal axis parallel to elongated-hole-shaped slot 15 within the top side of door 6 such that second door arrester section 24 is reciprocally slidable within first door arrester section 23 transversely relative to hinge pin 10 , or with the door closed, essentially perpendicular to sealing contact surface 2 . A spring 25 presses second door arrester section 24 toward the outside of door 6 . Here a stop, which may be formed by a stage of slot 26 , defines an end position of second door arrester section 24 in which this section is pretensioned.
A circular hinge pin slot 14 is provided in second door arrester section 24 , with which slot second door arrester section 24 sits on hinge pin 10 ( FIG. 8 ).
In order to move the door perpendicular to pivot axis 5 , spring 25 is deformed accordingly, specifically compressed as in FIG. 9 . Here second door arrester section 24 moves deeper into drawer-like slot 26 within first door arrester section 23 . Pivot axis 5 moves toward the interior side of the door. In this design too, the motion between pivot axis 5 and door 6 is controlled transversely relative to the pivot axis as a function of the pivot position of the door. Cam 17 acts in analogous fashion, and so reference is made here to the previous description.
Another embodiment of the door arrester is shown in FIG. 10 which essentially corresponds to the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9 . The door arrester 27 here is also of a two-part design. The first door arrester section 28 is rigidly connected with door 6 , specifically as in the embodiments described previously on the top side of the door. Its side facing appliance body 1 with the door closed is designed analogously as cam 17 . In place of the previously described drawer-like slot 26 , door arrester 27 has a longitudinal groove 29 open on the top side in which the second door arrester section 30 sits longitudinally with precise fit and is arranged to be longitudinally displaceable ( FIG. 10 ). A spring 32 located in a first spring receptacle compartment 31 of door arrester section 28 pretensions second door arrester section 30 toward the exterior of the door. As in the embodiments described previously, hinge pin 10 is able to pass through door arrester 27 and engage elongated hole 15 within the top side of door 6 . Otherwise the function of door arrester 27 matches the previously described embodiment.
The additional axis of motion of the door perpendicular to pivot axis 5 and, with the door closed, perpendicular to sealing interface 2 in connection with the cam device prevents any flexure of gasket 3 . Gasket 3 always meets, and is lifted from, sealing contact surface 2 of body 1 essentially vertically. Defective sealing is prevented and the life considerably lengthened due to the flexure-free closing and opening processes.
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A refrigerator and/or freezer with an appliance body and a door for closing an opening of the appliance body, wherein a pivot bearing pivotably supports the door relative to the appliance body about a pivot axis. The door relative to the pivot axis and/or the pivot axis relative to the appliance body are movably mounted in the direction perpendicular to the pivot axis.
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This is a division of application Ser. No. 680,188 filed Apr. 26, 1976.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electroless metal plating and more particularly, to a method for operation of an electroless metal plating solution having evaporative losses of at least one percent per plating cycle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electroless metal deposition refers to the chemical plating of a metal such as nickel, cobalt and the like over an active surface by chemical reduction in the absence of external electric current. Processes and compositions useful therefor are described in numerous publications including, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,123,484; 3,148,072; 3,338,726; 3,719,508; 3,745,039; 3,754,939 and 3,915,717 (example 8) all included herein by reference.
Known electroless deposition solutions generally comprise at least four ingredients dissolved in a solvent, typically water. They are (1) a source of metal ions, (2) a reducing agent such as hypophosphite, an amine borane, or a borohydride, (3) an acid or hydroxide pH adjustor to provide required solution pH and (4) a complexing agent for the metal ions sufficient to prevent their precipitation from solution. Other minor additives include stabilizers, brighteners, alloying agents, surfactants and the like as is known in the art.
In general, metal deposition involves the reduction of metallic ions to metallic form by the action of a reducing agent, typically the borane, borohydride or the hypophosphite ion or the reaction product of the hypophosphite ion with water. Using hypophosphite as the reducing agent, a metal deposit is a phosphorus alloy.
The deposition or reduction reaction is initiated by contact with a catalytic surface such as a catalytic metal work-piece or a catalyzed non-conductor. Once initiated, deposition is autocatalyzed by the metal placed onto the surface of the work-piece. The deposition reaction, using a nickel-hypophosphite plating bath for illustration, can be represented by the following reaction: ##EQU1##
The above equation can be rewritten for specific reactants, using nickel sulphate and sodium hypophospite as exemplary reactants, as follows: ##EQU2##
The deposition reaction for an amine borane using dimethylamine borane and nickel chloride for purposes of illustration is set forth below: ##EQU3##
From the above equations, it should be evident that the composition of a plating solution changes continuously throughout a plating reaction. For example, in the above reaction, nickel is depleted by plate-out onto a work-piece, reducing agent is consumed by oxidation -- i.e., sodium hypophosphite is oxidized to sodium dihydrogen phosphite and possibly, some sodium hypophosphate and the anion of the nickel salt forms an acid with hydrogen liberated during the plating reaction. Thus, throughout the above plating process, nickel concentration decreases from its initial concentration, oxidation products and acid concentrations increase and pH changes as acid is formed. These compositional alterations eventually cause change in the quality and uniformity of a metal plate as well as in plating rate.
The art, well aware of the aforesaid compositional variation taking place during plating, has attempted to compensate for the same by frequent replenishment of bath constituents such as by replenishment with metal salts, reducing agents and pH adjusters. Other replenisher constituents may be added such as complexing agents, stabilizers, and the like, even though these materials are usually non-reactive. Replenishment of these materials is needed to compensate for losses due to drag-out, consumption and the like.
Replenishment is accomplished to periodic addition of either dry replenisher components or concentrated aqueous solutions thereof so that the concentration of each component is returned to substantially its initial concentration. The replenisher may be admixed prior to addition or added separately. Aqueous solutions are preferably used for replenishment as the addition of dry powders can trigger the plating bath if careful control is not exercised.
Notwithstanding the above replenishment practices, difficulties in the quality and uniformity of the metal plate, and changes in plating rate are encountered. The difficulties are, to a large extent, due to continual build-up of reaction by-products as plating proceeds. Thus, though initially zero, there is a gradual, but steady increase in the concentrations of by-products as well as salts formed by neutralizing acid formed during reaction. Though the prior art replaces depleted constituents through replenishment, no provision is made for removal of by-products continuously during use.
By-product content is not a serious problem through the first several cycles of plating (as defined hereinafter) because the concentration of by-products is initially low. However, dependent upon the substrate plated, the initial concentration of the metal ions in solution, and the pre-treatment of the substrate, by-products become troublesome as plating proceeds. For example, when plating an active substrate such as aluminum with a nickel plating solution containing about seven or more grams of nickel as metal, solution by-products are a serious problem of the third or fourth plating cycle. For less active substrates, such as catalyzed plastic or non-active metals such as mild steel, by-products are a serious problem by about the 6th to 8th cycle. As a consequence, an electroless solution is frequently dumped after from about 3 to 10 plating cycles thus requiring shutdown of the plating line for preparation of fresh solution resulting in lost time and costs known to be associated with shutdowns and disposal of used solutions.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following definitions will be of assistance in understanding the discussion of the invention.
"By-Products" are materials formed in the plating solution as a consequence of plating. They comprise, for example, the phosphite when hypophosphite is used as a reducing agent or amine and acid where amine boranes are used as a reducing agent and the salt formed by neutralization of acid generated during plating. By-products result both from the initial plating solution and from constituents added by replenishment.
"Reactants" are those constituents of the plating plating solution which are consumed during the reaction whereby the metal plate is formed. Such materials comprise, for example, the metal ions and reducing agent.
"Supplemental Components" are those components in the plating solution which do not directly produce by-products. Examples include complexing agents, stabilizers, brighteners, surfactants and the like.
"Replenishers" comprise any one or more of the reactants and supplemental components whether added to the plating solution in admixture or separately and whether added in liquid or dry form.
"Plating Cycle" means operation of a plating solution for a time sufficient to deposit all of the metal originally present in the plating solution.
"Equilibrium" for any given by-product is that point in the plating process where the concentration of the by-product in solution has reached 90% of a true equilibrium concentration. True equilibrium is not used for purposes set forth herein as the time necessary to reach true equilibrium is infinite.
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention, a metal plating solution experiencing evaporative losses of at least one percent per plating cycle is capable of infinite operation without requiring shut-down nor bulk disposal of the solution provided the same is not otherwise contaminated by extraneous materials. The process of the invention comprises operation of the plating solution such, that in each plating cycle, volume is maintained constant, a portion of the solution is continuously or periodically withdrawn, and the solution is replenished, the process preferably being operated in the sequence of steps given though it being understood that the sequence can be changed with less efficient operation. Operation of the solution in this manner results in withdrawal of a portion of solution by-products during each plating cycle thus preventing by-product concentration from reaching an intolerable level. Instead, by-product concentration reaches an equilibrium level which level may be predetermined by the volume of the solution withdrawn each plating cycle.
The invention also contemplates replenisher compositions which compositions differ from those of the prior art in that they are formulated to replenish solution constituents lost by reaction and drag-out and in addition, constituents lost by withdrawal of solution. Moreover, the replenishers can be formulated such that at some point in the plating of a part, an extraneous constituent may be added to the plating solution such as an alloying agent, for example, copper, to obtain a laminar depoist. For example, copper ions in a nickel plating solution can improve appearance and corrosion resistance. Hence, copper ions may be added by replenishment during the latter stages of plating a part to obtain an aesthetically pleasing surface or a corrosive resistant top or bottom layer. Because of withdrawal of solution in accordance with the invention, the copper content will be rapidly depleted and subsequent parts will not have an alloy deposit unless there is separate replenishment of an alloying constituent.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a plating solution is operated from start-up as if it were at equilibrium. In accordance with this embodiment, from the beginning of operation, the total volume of solution is maintained constant, preferably by addition of water, a portion of the solution is withdrawn, and the solution is replenished. The sequence of steps, in the order given, is most preferred for ease and economy of operation though the given sequence is not mandatory. For example, volume maintenance and replenishment may be done simultane usly with replenisher solution diluted sufficiently to provide the necessary volume. This is a lesser preferred embodiment because fresh replenisher will be withdrawn if solution is withdrawn immediately following replenishment. As a further alternative, the operation may be carried out on a continuous basis where volume is maintained by metering water into the tank, replenisher is metered into the tank on a continuous basis and solution is withdrawn continuously.
The total volume of liquid added to the plating solution is that amount lost by evaporation and that withdrawn less the volume added with the replenishers.
The solution withdrawn may be dumped, treated to remove by-products, treated to recover all constituents or preferably used as a second stand-by or replacement plating solution. The amount of solution withdrawn can vary within broad parameters dependent upon the concentration of the components in the bath and the tolerable concentration of by-product at equilibrium conditions. Preferably, the volume of solution withdrawn is from about 1% to 60% by volume of the total volume of plating solution per plating cycle and usually varies between 5 and 25% of the solution volume. Higher volumes of solution withdrawal assures safe operation of the plating solution, as larger quantities of by-products are withdrawn, and the solution comes to equilibrium rapidly and contains a relatively low concentration of by-products at equilibrium. However, removal of large volumes is uneconomical and hence, undesirable.
As earlier described, if by-products were permitted to increase in concentration without removal, their concentration would reach a level where the plating solution would no longer be suitable for use within about 3 to 10 plating cycles, dependent upon the work plated. As a guideline only, the volume of liquid withdrawn per cycle may be conveniently equated to the total volume of plating solution divided by the estimated number of cycles the solution could be used if by-products were not withdrawn. For example, using a typical electroless nickel solution to plate a mild steel substrate, dependent upon the pre-treatment employed, it is estimated that the solution could be used for about 7 cycles before disposal became necessary. Accordingly, while maintaining volume constant, approximatel: 14% of the volume of solution should be withdrawn per cycle with replenishers added to replace solution constituents removed. Following these procedures, the plating solution may be used indefinitely and plating quality will be uniform at any time during use of the solution.
By operation of the solution as if it were at equilibrium from start-up, it is not necessary to determine when the solution reaches equilibrium nor is it necessary to determine the concentration of by-products at equilibrium. Nonetheless, by material balance, it is possible to make these determinations. In this respect, following the analysis set forth by Cooke et al, Transactions of the Institute of Metal Finishing, 1975, volume 53, it is necessary to first consider pre-equilibrium conditions. To do so, let F equal the feed of a given constituent in the plating solution in grams per gram of metal plated, R the rate of consumption in grams per gram of metal plated and L the rate of liquid loss due to evaporation, withdrawal, drag-out and the like in liters per gram of metal plated. If W is the rate of metal plate-out in grams of metal plated and V the volume of the plating solution in liters, the rate of change in concentration C in grams at time t from start-up is expressed by the differential equation
(dC)/(dt) = W/V(F-R-LC) (1)
for supplemental components, for example complexing agents which do not take place in the reaction, R is O as there is no consumption build-up. For by-products, since by-products are not fed to the tank, F = O, but R is negative as by-products are not consumed, but formed. If the equation is integrated, the following relationship is obtained: ##EQU4## As time approaches infinity, the solution approaches equilibrium and the concentration of a component at equilibrium is thus given by the expression
C.sub.e = (F-R)/L (3)
substituting the expression for equilibrium concentration in equation (2), we have the following relationship: ##EQU5## If both sides of the equation are divided by C e , the expression ##EQU6## is obtained.
Taking the ratio, there is obtained the expression ##EQU7##
Equation (4 ) and (6) can be used to determine equilibrium conditions though it should be understood that the determination is a mathematical approximation, not a precise description of that which occurs in the plating tank.
The following formulation is set forth for purposes of illustration:
______________________________________Nickel sulphate hexahydrate 24 gmSodium hypophosphite monohydrate 15 gmSodium acetate 15 gmLead acetate 0.02 gmCitric acid 30 gmWater 1 literpH 4.5______________________________________
To determine equilibrium conditions, let the volume of an operating solution equal 1 liter and the withdrawal of solution constituents equal 14% per cycle (0.14 liters), the volume that would be removed if work-piece was being plated under conditions whereby the solution had an approximate life of 7 cycles absent the procedures for maintenance described herein. In actual practice, the solution would be withdrawn typically in four increments of 3.5% each over the course of a plating cycle, but for the purpose of the following calculations, withdrawal is treated as a single withdrawal during the plating cycle.
For determination of sulphate ion concentration at equilibrium using equation (3)
C.sub.e = F-R/L.
from nickel sulfate, there are 1.64 grams of SO 4 = per gram of Ni ++ . Thus, F in the above equation is 1.64. In one cycle, 5.36 grams of Ni ++ are plated and 14% of the liquid is removed for a liquid loss of 2.61% of the total solution volume per gram of nickel. Hence L equals 0.0261 liters. The sulfate is a supplemental component -- it does not react during plating. Therefore, R=O. Accordingly,
C.sub.e = 1.64-0/0.0261
and the SO 4 = concentration at equilibrium is 62.83 gm/l.
The number of cycles to reach equilibrium can be determined using equation (6) where C/C e is 0.9 in accordance with the definition for equilibrium. (If true equilibrium were sought, the number of cycles required to reach equilibrium would be infinite. Moreover, the change in the quality of the metal plate and solution performance between 90% of theoretical equilibrium and theoretical equilibrium is minimal.) In the original formulation, there were 8.77 gms of SO 4 = and hence C o is 8.77. C e has been earlier determined to be 0.0261. Hence, for a liter solution: ##EQU8## As above, 1 cycle equals 5.36 grams of nickel plated. Therefore, sulfate will reach equilibrium (90% of theoretical) within 82.46/5.36 cycles or 15.38 cycles.
The same procedure can be used for phosphite determination though phosphite is a reaction product whereas sulfate is a supplemental component. For purposes of illustration only, assume that 1 mole of hypophosphite is oxidized to 1 mole of phosphite with no other by-products. In equilibrium equation (3), F equals 0 because phosphite is not fed into solution. From 15 grams of sodium hypophosphite monohydrate initially in solution, 9.20 grams are H 2 PO 2 - . This forms 11.32 grams of HPO 3 - . Since there are 5.36 grams of nickel in a plating cycle, there are 2.11 grams of HPO 3 - formed per gram of nickel. Hence R=2.11. L, as before, is 0.0261. Thus,
C.sub.e = 0-(2.11)/0.0261
and the equilibrium concentration of HPO 3 - is 80.84 grams/liter.
To determine the number of cycles necessary to reach equilibrium, from equation (6), C/C e is 0.9, and the initial concentration of HPO 3 - is 0. Thus, Co/C e is 0. Therefore, ##EQU9## Again, 1 cycle equals 5.36 grams of nickel and equilibrium will be reached in 88.25/5.36 or 16.40 cycles.
A cobalt plating solution that can be treated in the same manner as the aforesaid nickel plating solution is as follows:
______________________________________Cobalt sulfate heptahydrate 32 gmSodium hypophosphite monohydrate 9 gmAmmonium sulfate 56 gmSodium citrate 90 gmWater to 1 literTemperature 70° C.______________________________________
Other exemplary plating solutions that can be operated in accordance with the procedures of this invention are as follows:
______________________________________Potassium gold cyanide 14 gmCitric acid 15 gmN,N-diethyl glycine sodium salt 4 gmPthalic acid monopotassium salt 25 gmWater to 1 literPalladium chloride 2 gmHydrochloric acid (38%) 4 mlAmmonium hydroxide (28%) 160 mlAmmonium chloride 27 gmSodium hypophosphite monohydrate 10 gmWater to 1 liter______________________________________
The following formulation is set forth for purposes of further illustration.
______________________________________Nickel chloride 20 gm/literDimethylamine borane 3.5 gm/literAcetic acid (sodium salt) 20 gm/literAmmonium hydroxide to pH 8.5Water to 1 literTemperature 130° F.______________________________________
To determine equilibrium conditions for this solution, as in the previous example, let the volume of solution equal 1 liter, and the withdrawal of solution equal 20% of total volume per cycle. For the determination of chloride ion concentration at equilibrium
C.sub.e = F-R/L
from nickel chloride, there are 1.2 grams of Cl - per gram of nickel ion and F in the equation is 1.2. In one cycle, 9.07 grams of nickel ion are plated and 20% or 2.2% of the total solution volume per gram of nickel withdrawn. L therefore equals 0.022 liters. The chloride is a supplemental component -- it does not react. Hence, R = O and
C.sub.e = 1.2-0/0.002
with chloride ion concentration at equilibrium equal to 54.5 gm/l.
The number of cycles to reach equilibrium is determined from equation (6) where again C/C e is 0.9 following the adopted definition of equilibrium. In the made-up formulation, there were 10.92 grams of chloride ion. Thus, C o is 10.92. C e is 54.5 and therefore, for a 1 liter solution, W·t is 94.52. Since 1 cycle equals 9.07 grams of nickel, chloride will reach equilibrium in about 10.4 cycles.
The above procedure is also used to determine equilibrium concentration for the dimethylamine reaction product. Making the assumption that 1 mole of dimethylamine borane yields 1 mole of dimethyl amine, in equilibrium equation (4), F=O. From 3.5 grams of dimethylamine borane, 2.7 grams of dimethylamine are formed or 0.29 grams per gram of nickel. Thus, R=-0.29. L, as before, is 0.022, hence,
C.sub.e = 0-(-0.29)/0.022
and the equilibrium concentration for the amine is 13.18 grams per liter.
To determine the number of cycles from equation (6), C/C e is 0.9, the initial concentration is O and C o /C e is accordingly O. Therefore, ##EQU10## and W·t = 104.7. Since 1 cycle equals 9.07 grams of nickel, equilibrium will be reached in 104.7/9.07 cycles or in 11.53 cycles.
It should be noted that for the above calculations, the plating solutions used were freshly made and were free of by-products at start-up.
However, there are alternatives to this procedure. For example, a plating solution could be used in conventional manner without withdrawing a portion of the solution to permit rapid growth of by-products. Thereafter, the solution can be operated in accordance with procedures of this invention to achieve equilibrium. In following this mode of operation, caution must be exercised to avoid the by-product concentration reaching an intolerable level.
Replenishment of plating solutions operated in accordance with this invention differs from replenishment procedures for solutions operated in accordance with the prior art. The difference is due to withdrawal of a portion of solution during each plating cycle which portion contains solution components. In the prior art, supplemental components are lost in small quantity by drag-out whereas reactants are lost both by drag-out and by reaction. In accordance with this invention, solution components are lost as a result of drag-out and reaction as in the prior art, but also by solution withdrawal. Hence the amount of each component in a replenisher composition per cycle is equal to the amount reacted (which is zero for supplemental components) plus an amount lost by drag-out plus an amount lost by withdrawal.
In a plating cycle, if replenishment were performed only at the termination of the cycle, the determination of a replenisher formulation would be simple following above guidelines. However, in practice, replenishment does not take place at the end of a plating cycle because, by definition, all of the nickel in solution would be depleted. As a consequence, no plating would occur and plating rate would decrease to an intolerably low level as the nickel concentration approached zero. Instead, in a plating cycle, replenishment occurs several times during the cycle, each addition of replenishment being made when the metal content is depleted to a predetermined level. This level can vary within relatively broad limits and typically, replenishment occurs when the nickel content is depleted by from 1 to 60% of its original content and more preferably, when the nickel is depleted by from 5 to 30 % of its original content. In accordance with this invention, there is also a withdrawal of plating solution prior to each replenishment. Thus, for example, if replenishment occurs 4 times per cycle, the withdrawal also occurs 4 times, each withdrawal conveniently, but not necessarily, being 1/4 of the total amount withdrawn per cycle.
The number of incremental replenishments per cycle is dependent upon the extent of depletion when replenishers are added. In practice, the replenisher required for a plating cycle is divided into that number of portions necessary to bring the plating solution to its original composition from its depleted level each time the concentration reaches a predetermined level. For example, if the solution is depleted by 25% so that the metal content is 75% of its original content, replenishment of 25% of the total metal content is required to return the plating solution to full strength. Hence the replenisher is conveniently divided into 4 portions.
To determine the amount of each component in a replenisher formulation, as above, the concentration of such component is that amount necessary to replace that lost by reaction, drag-out and withdrawal. This can be determined by the following relationship.
C.sub.R = R' + xC.sub.w + yC.sub.o (7)
where C R is the concentration of the replenisher component in grams per cycle, R' is the amount of the component consumed by reaction in grams per cycle, x is the fraction of the total liquid withdrawn per cycle, C w is the concentration of the component at the time of withdrawal in grams and if there is more than one withdrawal per cycle, the concentration at the time of each withdrawal, y is the fraction of the total concentration of the component lost by drag-out and C o is the total initial concentration of the component in grams per cycle.
The addition of water to the plating solution has been discussed above. The amount of water added should be sufficient to maintain the volume of the plating solution essentially constant. Thus, water is added to replace that lost by evaporation and that withdrawn. As described above, the preferred procedure involves replacing that water lost by evaporation followed by solution withdrawal and replenishment.
The following examples will further illustrate replenishment both in accordance with the prior art (Formulation A) and in accordance with this invention (Formulation B).
Replenisher 1
For 1 liter of nickel-hypophosphite solution (supra) with withdrawal equal to 10% of total solution per plating cycle and replenishment made when nickel is depleted by 25%.
To determine the nickel sulfate concentration from equation (7), all of the nickel sulfate is consumed and its concentration is reduced from its original concentration of 24 grams to 0 in accordance with the definition of a cycle. Hence, R' is 24 grams. The fraction of the solution withdrawn per cycle is 10% or 0.1 parts of the total solution. Hence x is 0.1. The concentration of nickel sulfate at the time of each withdrawal --Cw-- is 18 grams as the original concentration of 24 grams is reduced by 25% when replenishment occurs. Drag-out over a plating cycle comprises about 2% of the initial concentration and hence, y is 0.02. C o is 24 grams per cycle. From equation (7).
C.sub.R = 24 + 0.1(18) + 0.02(24)
and the amount of nickel sulfate in the replenisher is then 26..28 grams per cycle. In comparison, the amount required for replenishment in accordance with the prior art would be 24.48 grams.
The determination of sodium hypophosphite replenishment is quite similar to that for nickel sulfate. Assuming that the sodium hypophosphite is consumed at the same rate as the nickel sulfate in the reaction per cycle,
C.sub.R = 15 + 0.1(11.25) + 0.02(15)
and the replenisher should contain 16.5 grams of sodium hypophosphite monohydrate. This would compare to 15.3 grams following prior art procedure.
For a supplemental component, citric acid for example, R' of equation (7) would be 0 and the amount of acid in the replenisher would equal
C.sub.R = 0 + 0.1(30) + 0.02(30)
or 3.60 grams.
The total replenisher composition for this example is as set forth in the following table where Formulation A is a replenisher for a prior art operation and Formulation B is for the procedures set forth herein.
______________________________________ Formulation Formulation A B______________________________________Nickel sulfate 24.48 26.28hexahydrate gmSodium hypophosphite 15.30 16.60monohydrate gmSodium acetate gm 0.30 1.80Lead acetate gm 0.0004 0.0024Citric acid gm 0.60 3.60Ammonium hydroxide to pH 4.5 to 5.0______________________________________
The above Formulation B may be added in dry form but preferably is added as a solution. For convenience, the formulations may be dissolved in an amount of water equal to the volume of solution withdrawn. in this example, for 1 liter of solution, the total volume of liquid withdrawn per cycle is 100 ml withdrawn in 4 equal increments of 25 ml each at each point in the cycle where the nickel solution is depleted by 25%. For replenishment, the solution would be divided into 4 equal portions and added following each of withdrawals of solution.
Replenisher 2
For 1 liter of nickel/hypophosphite solution (supra) with withdrawal equal to 15% of solution per plating cycle and replenishment made where nickel is depleted by 33%.
______________________________________ Formulation A Formulation______________________________________Nickel sulfate 24.48 26.88hexahydrate gmSodium hypophosphite 15.30 16.80monohydrate gmSodium acetate gm 0.30 2.55Lead acetate gm 0.0004 0.0034Citric acid gm 0.60 5.1Ammonium hydroxide to pH 4.5 to 5.0______________________________________
As to addition of the replenisher formulation, the same considerations apply as set forth for replenisher 1. Note that the replenisher is subdivided into three portions.
Replenisher 3
For 1 liter of nickel/borane solution (supra) with withdrawal equal to 20% solution per plating cycle and replenishment made when nickel is depleted by 20%.
______________________________________ Formulation A Formulation B______________________________________Nickel chloride gm 30.60 35.40Dimethylamine borane gm 3.57 4.27Sodium acetate gm 0.60 3.80Ammonium hydroxide*______________________________________ *added separately to maintain bath pH of about 8.5
The above Formulation B is added in 200 ml of water divided into 5 equal portions of 40 ml each.
Replenisher 4
For 1 liter of the cobalt solution (supra) with withdrawal equal to 25% of solution per plating cycle and replenishment made when cobalt is depleted by 1/6 of its initial concentration.
______________________________________ Formulation A Formulation B______________________________________Cobalt sulfate heptahydrate gm 30.6 35.1Sodium hypophosphite 9.2 10.5monohydrate gmAmmonium sulfate gm 1.0 8.5Sodium citrate gm 1.8 15.3______________________________________
The above replenisher may, if desired, be dissolved in 250 ml of water or the various ingredients of the replenisher may be added as separate additions to the plating solution.
It should be understood that replenisher components need not be the same throughout operation of the bath. For example, it may be desired that the surface layer of a metal coat differ from the underneath portion of the coat, the reverse may be desired, or a multilayered, structure may be desired. For example, it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,168 (incorporated herein by reference) that the properties of nickel plated from a plating solution containing copper ions in an amount of about 1/2 percent of the total metal ions differs from properties obtained from a solution free of such ions as the copper ions, particularly cuprous ions, improve the appearance, corrosion resistance and ductility of the nickel plate. Thus, a source of copper ions can be added to the plating solution in the initial, intermediate, or final stages of plating for a more corrosion resistant base, intermediate layer, or an improved surface finish. Because of plate-out of the copper and frequent withdrawal of solution, the solution will contain sufficient copper to effect the desired properties, but will become rapidly depleted in copper so as not to effect subsequent deposit. A variety of laminar structures can thus be formed.
To illustrate the foregoing, using the nickel-hypophosphite solution supra, a part is plated in conventional manner, the solution being replenished with Formulation B of replenisher 1, there being 4 replenishments in the plating cycle. As aforesaid, Formulation B is subdivided into 4 equal parts. To obtain an alloy coat, the replenisher formulation for the fourth replenishment would have a composition as follows:
______________________________________Nickel sulfate hexahydrate gm 6.57Cuprous chloride gm .05Sodium hypophosphite monohydrate gm 4.12Sodium acetate gm .45Lead acetate gm 0.0006Citric acid gm 0.4Ammonium hydroxide to pH 4.5 to 5.0Water 25 ml______________________________________
The above will give a nickel-copper topcoat to the part if it is removed from solution at the end of the plating cycle.
A multilayered structure is particularly desirable in the plating of magnetic recording surfaces such as those taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,322 incorporated herein by reference. Thus combinations of non-magnetic and magnetic properties are obtained by varying the amount of cobalt is a nickel/cobalt alloy deposit (see Example 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,322). In the prior art, it was necessary to transfer the part to successive plating solutions to obtain the desired layered structure. In accordance with this invention, the layered structure may be obtained by adding cobalt to the replenisher formulation of parts within the plating sequence so as to obtain the alloy desired.
In the formation of a multilayered structure as above, there is an advantage in addition to elimination of more than one plating tank. When transferring a part from one tank to another, deactivation of the plated surface during transfer occurs. For example, with reference to the aforesaid nickel-copper alloy top layer, to achieve the same using prior art procedures, a nickel layer cannot be deposited with the part then transferred to a separate solution for the alloy top layer. Instead, upon exposure of the nickel-coaed part to air, it becomes deactivated and must be reactivated such as by a hydrochloric acid dip and water rinse prior to immersion in the second tank containing the alloy plating solution.
Other alloying constituents that can be added to the plating solutions that are the subject of this invention include tungsten, rhenium, berylium, rhodium, palladium platinum, tin, zinc, molybdenum and gold to provide alloys as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,597 which patent is incorporated herein by reference. In each case, to form the alloy desired, typically but not necessarily as the top surface of the plate, the alloying constituent is added in one or more of the replenishments at the desired point in the plating of a part.
Another major advantage of the invention described herein is in the plating of aluminum with a nickel hypophosphite plating bath. It is known that aluminum dissolves in the metal plating solution and when its concentration is sufficiently high, such as by the third plating cycle, the metal deposited over the aluminum blisters and peels from the substrate. It is also believed that the oxidation product of the hypophosphite is an inhibitor and prevents the dissolution of aluminum when it is present in sufficiently high concentration, but not so high a concentration as to contaminate the bath such that it is no longer functional. In the prior art, the aluminum build-up in solution was such that its concentration caused blistering before the hypophosphite reaction product concentration was sufficiently high to inhibit aluminum dissolution. In accordance with this invention, the dissolved aluminum concentration can be maintained relatively low as it is continuously withdrawn, and through equation (3) above, the concentration of the reaction product of the hypophosphite can be adjusted to a level whereby it is sufficiently high to inhibit aluminum dissolution but is not so high as to adversely affect the properties of the bath.
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This invention relates to electroless metal deposition and more specifically, to a process where a plating solution is brought to equilibrium and thereafter operated with the concentration of plating reactants and by-products maintained substantially constant. The plating solution treated in accordance with the invention is one having evaporative losses of at least one percent per plating cycle. Following the process, a plating solution can be operated indefinitely and yields a metal plate of uniform quality and predictable properties at any time during use of the solution. The invention avoids the known problems of by-product build-up and variable concentration of reactants typically associated with the use of such solutions.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a new and distinct plant of Paspalum vaginatum O. Swartz, which has been given the name ‘SEA ISLE 2000’. The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are the most pronounced characteristics of this new cultivar when grown in Georgia, and in combination, they distinguish it from Adalayd®, the most closely related variety:
1. High tolerance to salinity.
2. Dark green color and extremely fine blades (≦1.5 mm in width)
3. Can tolerate mowing to {fraction (5/32)} inch height.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows a typical specimen of ‘SEA ISLE 2000’ with the inflorescences (commonly referred to as spikes) highlighted against a white paper background.
FIG. 2 shows two rows, each containing examples of young inflorescences (commonly referred to as spikes) and sheaths (with leaf blades trimmed) of ‘SEA ISLE 2000’.
FIG. 3 shows SEA ISLE 2000 after planting and mowing. SEA ISLE 2000's dark green color, extremely fine blades and tolerance to close mowing are shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Background of the Invention
Paspalum vaginatum O. Swartz is a grass in the Panicoideae subfamily which inherently colonizes saline ecosystems, e.g. along sea coasts and on brackish sands. Commonly referred to as “seashore paspalum”, it is an ecologically aggressive, littoral warm-season perennial grass species. It is both rhizomatous and stoloniferous. Because it can tolerate waterlogged conditions and periodic, meso-saline flooding, it has been useful for erosion control on salinity-sensitive lands and areas subjected to tidal influences, e.g. for beach preservation. The grass occurs in the wild in both hemispheres. In the Americas, it is found naturally almost exclusively along the Atlantic coastline in marshy, brackish ecosystems. In Australia, it is found in tropical heaths, tropical and subtropical rainforests, semi-arid shrub woodlands, acacia shrublands, and mangrove swamps.
Generally, P. vaginatum is a self-incompatible, diploid species. The diploid chromosome number recognized for the species is 20, and the genome of this species is the “D” genome. It has a C 4 method of carbon fixation, using the NADP-ME pathway, which is characteristic for grasses that occur in moist ecosystems.
P. vaginatum has been introduced into salt-affected areas as the need for forages, land reclamation and turf have increased. The variety Adalayd® has been widely used in Australia as a lawngrass, although its use on bowling greens was curtailed when superdwarf bermuda grasses were introduced to the country. P. vaginatum was identified on a marsh golf course at the Sea Island Golf Club in the southeastern United States, where the grass was already established along the golf course fairways when the course was built. P. vaginatum was introduced sporadically throughout the 1970s and 1980s for golf course fairways and home lawn use, and one variety from Australia became reasonably well-known in the United States, Adalayd® (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,939). However, this variety was not managed effectively in the United States, and the lack of optimization of fertilization regimes and irrigation requirements led to disenchantment about its performance. With the introduction of the dwarf bermudagrasses and other warm season grasses, the use of a seashore paspalum variety as a turfgrass has been minimal. In the late 1980s a variety of seashore paspalum was introduced to the fairways of a golf course in Honolulu, Hi., and is now referred to as ‘Salam’ (an unpatented variety).
With increasing pressures on golf course developers to use coastal venues and reclaimed water sources (or brackish water), there is a need for a high-quality seashore paspalum turfgrass not only for use on the fairways, but one that is specifically adapted for use on golf course greens, where it is subjected to extreme mowing and foot traffic stress. Prior to the selection and cultivation of SEA ISLE 2000, no seashore paspalum has ever been developed specifically for use on golf course greens.
Origin of the Invention
SEA ISLE 2000 is a selection based on an observation of a darker green patch in a seashore paspalum green at a golf course in Florida. The golf course was sprigged with the seashore paspalum Adalayd® twelve years prior to the selection of SEA ISLE 2000. Thus, SEA ISLE 2000 is a mutation, or “sport”, derived from Adalayd®.
Propagation
SEA ISLE 2000 can be propagated asexually through sprigs or sod. To maintain purity and minimize cross-contamination in plots, single stolons of SEA ISLE 2000 are initially planted in soilless media, then continually increased in the greenhouse until ready for field planting on golf courses or sports fields. Foundation fields are planted from the greenhouse grown material. Asexual reproduction demonstrates that the unique features of ‘SEA ISLE 2000’ are stable and are reproduced true-to-type in subsequent generations. SEA ISLE 2000 was asexually propagated at the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Griffin, Ga. U.S.A.
SEA ISLE 2000 can also be propagated through in vitro tissue culturing (see Cordona and Duncan, 1997, Crop Science 37:1297-1302).
Botanical Description:
Culms .—The flowering culms are erect or basally decumbent, ranging in height from 8-10 cm (unmowed) with 5-6 glabrous nodes.
Leaves .—Medi-culm leaves are fine-textured, do not have sheath or blade auricles, and are distichous. The blades are 50 mm long, approximately 0.5-1.5 mm wide, linear and glabrous, tapering to a narrow apex. The prophyllum is 20 mm long. The 1 mm ligule is membraneous and truncate with a pubescent collar. The leaf color, based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, is 137A. The leaf edges are smooth and the leaf veins are obscure.
Stolons .—Nodes are pubescent, and the internode length is 5 mm.
Inflorescence .—The inflorescence is composed of two primary racemes, 20 mm in length, with 16-20 twin-rowed spikelets on each primary raceme, and is fully exserted at maturity. Each spikelet is solitary, plano-convex, subsessile, elliptic, 2.5 mm long, and 0.9-1.5 mm wide. Anthers are 1.2-1.3 mm long. The glumes are glaborous.
Seed .—Rarely produced, but are typically 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, narrowly obovate, subacute, and slightly concavo-convex. The seed is straw-colored when mature.
ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION
Salt Tolerance and Growth Rates
SEA ISLE 2000 was compared to the variety Adalayd® in a standard laboratory salinity stress study. As shown in Table 1, SEA ISLE 2000 was consistently more tolerant of salt, both in terms of its growth at a relatively high salt concentration ( 40 deciSiemens per meter, or dSm −1 ) as well as in the amount of salinity required (EC) to result in a 25% reduction in growth. In addition, SEA ISLE 2000 is more aggressive in its overall growth rate in the absence of salt.
TABLE 1
Growth (g/container a )
EC@25% growth
No Salt
40 dSm −1
reduction dSm −1
Shoot
Root
Shoot
Root
Shoot
Root
Adalayd ®
0.23
0.20
0.08
0.13
7.64
15.79
SEA ISLE 2000
0.61 +
0.40*
0.26*
0.36**
13.88
18.60
F test
***
***
***
***
0.38
0.38
Crown Total
Crown Total
Adalayd ®
0.57
1.00
0.37
0.59
SEA ISLE 2000
0.82
1.82*
0.75**
1.36*
F test
***
***
***
***
***, **, *, + = 0.001, 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 probability levels, respectively (Dunnett T Test, Steel & Torrie, 1960, Principles and Procedures of Statistics, McGraw-Hill, New York)
a 5 cm top diameter × 20 cm depth = container
Leaf Color
The color of turfgrasses can vary significantly depending on environmental conditions. When compared side-by-side, the following Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart values are obtained for SEA ISLE 2000 and Adalayd®:
SEA ISLE 2000: 137A.
Adalayd®: 138A.
Turf Quality, Color and Density Measurements for SEA ISLE 2000 mowed for golf greens.
No seashore paspalum variety has ever been mowed to the extremely short lengths demanded by golf course on ‘superintendents for acceptable greens. The following data were collected SEA ISLE 2000 ’,during a two year study in which the plots were kept mowed to {fraction (5/32)} inch twice a week and subjected to traffic, using machines to simulate excess wear or compaction. There were two independent studies; and each study had four replications. The scale for Table 1 is from 1-9, with 9 being the ideal quality, color and density. On this scale, a rating >6.5 is acceptable for golf green use. The turf quality rating is a visual rating based on cosmetic appearance, color, leaf texture, denseness of canopy and uniformity of stand. Adalayd®, which has been observed for many years on courses in the United States, does not perform nearly as well as SEA ISLE 2000 in terms of turf quality parameters, having an overall rating of only 5.0.
TABLE 2
Turf Quality, Color and Density of SEA ISLE 2000 during the
traffic studies and as a f(N:K) treatments
Treatment
Quality
Color
Density
(N:K kg ha −1 )
1
2
1
2
1
2
196:92
7.5
7.1
7.8
7.4
7.9
7.6
196:392
7.5
7.2
7.9
7.5
7.9
7.6
392:92
8.1
7.8
8.6
8.2
8.5
8.2
392:392
8.1
7.7
8.5
8.1
8.5
8.1
on a N basis
***
***
***
***
***
***
TABLE 2
Turf Quality, Color and Density of SEA ISLE 2000 during the
traffic studies and as a f(N:K) treatments
Treatment
Quality
Color
Density
(N:K kg ha −1 )
1
2
1
2
1
2
196:92
7.5
7.1
7.8
7.4
7.9
7.6
196:392
7.5
7.2
7.9
7.5
7.9
7.6
392:92
8.1
7.8
8.6
8.2
8.5
8.2
392:392
8.1
7.7
8.5
8.1
8.5
8.1
on a N basis
***
***
***
***
***
***
Disease Resistance
SEA ISLE 2000 has good resistance to dollar spot, and mole cricket resistance that is comparable to that of Adalayd®.
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A vegetatively reproduced seashore paspalum cultivar, selected as a mutation from the cultivar Adalayd®, is named ‘SEA ISLE 2000’. It is distinguished by high tolerance to salinity, dark green color, extremely fine leaf blades that are generally ≦1.5 mm in width, and the ability to tolerate mowing to {fraction (5/32)} inch height. These distinguishing characteristics make ‘SEA ISLE 2000’ particularly suitable as a turfgrass for lawns and golf courses, especially golf course greens.
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PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/205,263, filed Aug. 14, 2015 which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle seat, and particularly to a vehicle seat including a sensor. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a vehicle seat including one or more sensors coupled to an electronic controller for a vehicle seat.
SUMMARY
[0003] A vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure includes a seat bottom and a seat back. The seat back is coupled to the seat bottom and arranged to extend in an upward direction away from the seat bottom. In one illustrative embodiment, the vehicle seat further includes an electronics system.
[0004] In illustrative embodiments, the vehicle seat includes a plurality of pneumatic bladders, a plurality of pressure sensors, and a seat controller coupled to the plurality of pneumatic bladders and the plurality of pressure sensors. Each of the pressure sensors is coupled to a corresponding pneumatic bladder. The seat controller includes an entry/exit detection module configured to detect user entry into a vehicle, an inflation control module configured to inflate the plurality of pneumatic bladders to a measurement pressure in response to detection of the user entry, and a pressure measurement module configured to measure, in response to inflation of the plurality of pneumatic bladders to the measurement pressure, a pressure value in each of the plurality of pneumatic bladders using the plurality of pressure sensors to generate a pressure map.
[0005] In illustrative embodiments, the pressure map comprises a plurality of pressure map elements and each pressure map element includes the pressure value generated by a corresponding pressure sensor. The pressure measurement module is further configured to identify a current user based on the pressure map.
[0006] In illustrative embodiments, a seat controller for vehicle seat user recognition includes an entry/exit detection module, an inflation control module, and a pressure measurement module. The entry/exit detection module detects user entry into a vehicle. The inflation control module inflates a plurality of pneumatic bladders of a vehicle seat to a measurement pressure in response to detection of the user entry. The pressure measurement module measures, in response to inflation of the plurality of pneumatic bladders to the measurement pressure, a pressure value in each of the plurality of pneumatic bladders using a plurality of pressure sensors to generate a pressure map. Each of the pressure sensors is coupled to a corresponding pneumatic bladder and the pressure map comprises a plurality of pressure map elements. Each pressure map element includes the pressure value generated by a corresponding pressure sensor. The pressure measurement module is further configured to identify a current user based on the pressure map.
[0007] In illustrative embodiments, the seat controller further includes a user preferences module and a seat adjustment module. The user preferences module determines a vehicle seat setting associated with the current user in response to identification of the current user. The seat adjustment module adjusts the vehicle seat based on the vehicle seat setting. The vehicle seat setting may include an inflation setting, a position setting, or a comfort feature setting.
[0008] In illustrative embodiments, the seat controller further includes a user behavior module and a seat adjustment module. The user behavior module identifies a user behavior based on the pressure map. The seat adjustment module adjusts the vehicle seat based on the user behavior.
[0009] In illustrative embodiments, a method for vehicle seat user recognition includes detecting, by a seat controller, user entry into a vehicle. The method further includes inflating, by the seat controller, a plurality of pneumatic bladders of a vehicle seat to a measurement pressure in response to detecting the user entry. The method then proceeds to measuring, by the seat controller in response to inflating the plurality of pneumatic bladders to the measurement pressure, a pressure value in each of the plurality of pneumatic bladders using a plurality of pressure sensors to generate a pressure map. Each of the pressure sensors is coupled to a corresponding pneumatic bladder and the pressure map comprises a plurality of pressure map elements. Each pressure map element includes the pressure value generated by a corresponding pressure sensor. The method further includes identifying, by the seat controller, a current user based on the pressure map.
[0010] In illustrative embodiments, the method further includes determining, by the seat controller, a vehicle seat setting associated with the current user in response to identifying the current user. The method also includes adjusting, by the seat controller, the vehicle seat based on the vehicle seat setting. Adjusting the vehicle seat may include adjusting an inflation setting of the vehicle seat, adjusting a position setting of the vehicle seat, or activating a comfort feature of the vehicle seat.
[0011] In illustrative embodiments, the method further includes identifying, by the seat controller, a user behavior based on the pressure map and adjusting, by the seat controller, the vehicle seat based on the user behavior.
[0012] In illustrative embodiments, a computing device includes a processor and a memory having stored therein a plurality of instructions that when executed by the processor cause the computing device to perform the method described above.
[0013] In illustrative embodiments, one or more machine readable storage media include a plurality of instructions stored thereon that in response to being executed result in a computing device performing the method described above.
[0014] Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective and diagrammatic view of a vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure showing that the vehicle seat includes a seat controller and several inflatable pneumatic bladders coupled to pressure sensors included in the vehicle seat;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the vehicle seat of FIG. 1 showing that the seat controller interfaces with the pressure sensors, an inflation source, and a seat adjuster of the vehicle seat and that the seat controller interfaces with a vehicle network and one or more additional vehicle controllers;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating pressure maps that may be generated by the vehicle seat of FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing identification of various users based on the pressure maps;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of at least one embodiment of an environment that may be established by the seat controller of FIGS. 1 and 2 ;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating at least one embodiment of a method for user identification and seat adjustment that may be executed by the seat controller of FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 ; and
[0021] FIG. 6 is a perspective and diagrammatic view of another embodiment of a vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure showing that the vehicle seat includes a seat controller and several inflatable pneumatic bladders coupled to associated pressure sensors.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] A first embodiment of a vehicle seat 10 in accordance with the present disclosure is shown, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The illustrative vehicle seat 10 includes a head restraint 12 , a seat back 14 , and a seat bottom 16 . In some embodiments, the head restraint 12 , the seat back 14 , and/or the seat bottom 16 may be movable or otherwise adjustable, for example adjustable for seat bottom angle, seat back recline, and/or head restraint position. The vehicle seat 10 is coupled, for example, to a vehicle such as a car or truck (not shown) to provide seating for the vehicle's driver and/or other occupants. The vehicle seat 10 may also be attached to the vehicle via one or more frame rails to allow selective positioning of the vehicle seat 10 relative to the vehicle. A second embodiment of a vehicle seat 400 in accordance with the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 6 .
[0023] The vehicle seat 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . As described above, the vehicle seat 10 includes the head restraint 12 , the seat back 14 , and the seat bottom 16 . The vehicle seat 10 further includes several pneumatic bladders 18 . The pneumatic bladders 18 provide support and cushioning to a vehicle occupant and may be positioned throughout the vehicle seat 10 . The bladders 18 may include, for example, massage bladders, side bolster bladders, lumbar bladders, and any other pneumatic bladder included in the vehicle seat 10 . As shown in FIG. 1 , the illustrative vehicle seat 10 includes four bladders 18 a through 18 d in the head restraint 12 , ten bladders 18 e through 18 n in the seat back 14 , and two bladders 18 o and 18 p in the seat bottom 16 . The bladders 18 may be incorporated within the vehicle seat 10 along with other supportive materials, such as support cushions made of foam, springs, or other suitable material, structural components such as seat frames and seat pans, seat trim, fabric layers, and other seat components. In some embodiments, in addition to providing support and/or cushioning, the bladders 18 may provide additional comfort features such as massage. While vehicle seat 10 is shown with sixteen separate bladders 18 a - 18 p, a vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure may have any suitable number of bladders arranged in any suitable arrangement.
[0024] Each of the bladders 18 is coupled with a pressure sensor 20 . Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 , the illustrative vehicle seat 10 includes 16 pressure sensors 20 a through 20 p coupled to the bladders 18 a through 18 p, respectively. Each pressure sensor 20 may be embodied as any electronic sensor capable of measuring the air pressure within a bladder 18 , such as a piezoresistive pressure sensor, bend sensor, or other electronic pressure sensor. Although illustrated as including a single pressure sensor 20 for each bladder 18 , some embodiments of a vehicle seat in accordance with the present disclosure may include a different number and/or arrangement of pressure sensors 20 .
[0025] The vehicle seat 10 further includes an inflation source 22 configured to inflate the bladders 18 to a selected pressure. For example, the inflation source 22 may be embodied as one or more electric air pumps, electrically operable valves, or other pressurized air source. In some embodiments, the inflation source 22 may also include solid state motor control electronics used to control the pressurized air source. In some embodiments, the inflation source 22 may be configured to control the inflation pressure of each bladder 18 individually.
[0026] The vehicle seat 10 further includes a seat adjuster 24 configured to adjust the angle, position, or other settings of the vehicle seat 10 and/or the parts of the vehicle seat 10 (e.g., the head restraint 12 , the seat back 14 , and/or the seat bottom 16 ). The seat adjuster 24 may be embodied as or otherwise include one or more electric motors or other electric actuators, solid state motor control electronics, as well as any associated gearing, guide rails, and other components used to adjust the vehicle seat 10 .
[0027] The vehicle seat 10 further includes a seat controller 26 , which may be embodied as an electronic control unit or other controller configured to control the functions of the vehicle seat 10 . In particular, and as described further below, the seat controller 26 is configured to read pressure data generated by the pressure sensors 20 and identify a user (i.e., a driver, passenger, or other occupant) of the vehicle seat 10 based on that pressure data. The seat controller 26 is further configured to adjust the vehicle seat 10 (for example, by controlling the seat adjuster 24 and/or the inflation source 22 ) based on one or more user preferences associated with the user. By automatically identifying the user and applying customized user preferences, the vehicle seat 10 may improve the user experience provided by the vehicle seat 10 and thus may increase occupant comfort. By using pressure sensors 20 coupled to the bladders 18 , the seat controller 26 may identify the user using a relatively low-resolution pressure map. Additionally, the seat controller 26 may provide improved functionality using hardware already included in the vehicle seat 10 for other functions, such as pneumatic bladders 18 and/or pressure sensors 20 used for massage features and/or for adjustable lumbar support or side bolsters.
[0028] The inflation source 22 , the seat adjuster 24 , and/or the seat controller 26 may be positioned underneath or within the seat bottom 16 as best shown in FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, the seat controller 26 may include or be otherwise coupled with a side shield positioned on the outside of the vehicle seat 10 . The side shield may include one or more buttons, switches, or other user controls that allow the user to interact with and otherwise control the vehicle seat 10 .
[0029] The seat controller 26 may be embodied as any device capable of performing the functions described herein. For example, the seat controller 26 may be embodied as an electronic control unit, embedded controller, control circuit, microcontroller, computing device, on-board computer, and/or any other any other computing device capable of performing the functions described herein. As shown in FIG. 2 , the illustrative seat controller 26 includes a processor 28 , an I/O subsystem 30 , a memory 32 , a data storage device 34 , and communication circuitry 36 . The seat controller 26 may include other or additional components, such as those commonly found in an electronic control unit (e.g., various input/output devices), in other embodiments. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more of the illustrative components may be incorporated in, or otherwise form a portion of, another component. For example, the memory 32 , or portions thereof, may be incorporated in the processor 28 in some embodiments.
[0030] The processor 28 may be embodied as any type of processor capable of performing the functions described herein. For example, the processor 28 may be embodied as a microcontroller, digital signal processor, single or multi-core processor(s), or other processor or processing/controlling circuit. The memory 32 may be embodied as any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or data storage capable of performing the functions described herein. In operation, the memory 32 may store various data and software used during operation of the processor 28 such as operating systems, applications, programs, libraries, and drivers. The memory 32 is coupled to the processor 28 via the I/O subsystem 30 , which may be embodied as circuitry and/or components to facilitate input/output operations with the processor 28 , the memory 32 , and other components of the seat controller 26 . For example, the I/O subsystem 30 may be embodied as, or otherwise include, memory controller hubs, input/output control hubs, firmware devices, communication links (i.e., point-to-point links, bus links, wires, cables, light guides, printed circuit board traces, etc.) and/or other components and subsystems to facilitate the input/output operations. In some embodiments, the I/O subsystem 30 may form a portion of a system-on-a-chip (SoC) and be incorporated, along with the processor 28 , the memory 32 , and other components of the seat controller 26 , on a single integrated circuit chip.
[0031] The data storage device 34 may be embodied as any type of device or devices configured for short-term or long-term storage of data such as, for example, memory devices and circuits, memory cards, hard disk drives, solid-state drives, read-only memory, or other data storage devices. The communication circuitry 36 of the seat controller 26 may be embodied as any communication circuit, device, or collection thereof, capable of enabling communications between the seat controller 26 and other devices of the vehicle seat 10 and/or the vehicle. The communication circuitry 36 may be configured to use any one or more communication technology (e.g., wireless or wired communications) and associated protocols (e.g., Ethernet, controller area network (CAN), local interconnect network (LIN), Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, etc.) to effect such communication. In some embodiments, the communication circuitry 36 may include one or more general-purpose I/O pins, analog interfaces, solid state motor control electronics, and/or other circuitry that may be used to interface with or otherwise control the inflation source 22 and/or the seat adjuster 24 .
[0032] As shown in FIG. 2 , the seat controller 26 is configured, for example, to transmit and/or receive data over a vehicle network 38 with one or more additional vehicle controllers 40 . The vehicle network 38 may be embodied as any bus, network, or other communication facility used to communicate between devices in the vehicle. For example, the vehicle network 38 may be embodied as a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), controller area network (CAN), and/or local interconnect network (LIN). The vehicle controllers 40 may include one or more additional electronic control units, embedded controllers, engine computers, or other computing devices used to control various vehicle functions. In particular, the seat controller 26 may be configured to communicate with one or more additional vehicle controllers 40 via the vehicle network 38 to determine the state of the vehicle, for example to determine whether the vehicle is unlocked, to determine whether the ignition is on, or to determine other vehicle state.
[0033] Referring now to FIG. 3 , a schematic diagram 100 illustrates pressure maps that may be generated by the vehicle seat 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 . The diagram 100 shows a graphical representation of a pressure map 102 including several pressure map elements 104 . Each pressure map element 104 corresponds to a pressure value measured by a pressure sensor 20 of the vehicle seat 10 . For example, the illustrative pressure map 102 includes 16 pressure map elements 104 a through 104 p corresponding to the pressure sensors 20 a through 20 p, respectively. Each pressure map element 104 is associated with a pressure value. The pressure value of each pressure map element 104 is represented in the diagram 100 by its corresponding shading. The diagram 100 further includes another pressure map 106 having pressure map elements 108 a through 108 p. As shown, the pressure maps 102 , 106 each include differing pressure values of the pressure map elements 104 , 108 .
[0034] As shown in FIG. 3 , a set of user preferences 110 for a user A is associated with the pressure map 102 , and another set of user preferences 112 for a user B is associated with the pressure map 106 . The user preferences 110 , 112 may each include vehicle seat adjustment settings, comfort settings, and other individualized settings associated with the corresponding user. As described further below, the seat controller 26 identifies the occupant of the vehicle seat 10 based on the measured pressure map and then selects the associated user preferences 110 , 112 . For example, in the illustrative example, the seat controller 26 may generate the pressure map 102 based on data received from the pressure sensors 20 , identify the user A, and then select the associated user preferences 110 . As another example, the seat controller 26 may generate the pressure map 106 based on data received from the pressure sensors 20 , identify the user B, and then select the associated user preferences 112 . After selecting the matching user preferences 110 , 112 , the seat controller 26 applies the selected user preferences 110 , 112 , for example by adjusting the inflation settings, the position settings, and/or the comfort features of the vehicle seat 10 .
[0035] Referring now to FIG. 4 , in the illustrative embodiment, the seat controller 26 establishes an environment 200 during operation. The illustrative environment 200 includes an entry/exit detection module 202 , an inflation control module 204 , a pressure measurement module 206 , a user preferences module 210 , a seat adjustment module 214 , and a user behavior module 216 . The various modules of the environment 200 may be embodied as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example the various modules, logic, and other components of the environment 200 may form a portion of, or otherwise be established by, the processor 28 or other hardware components of the seat controller 26 . As such, in some embodiments, any one or more of the modules of the environment 200 may be embodied as a circuit or collection of electrical devices (e.g., entry/exit detection circuitry, inflation control circuitry, etc.).
[0036] The entry/exit detection module 202 is configured to detect user entry into a vehicle containing the vehicle seat 10 . The entry/exit detection module 202 is further configured to detect user exit from the vehicle. The entry/exit detection module 202 may use any technique to detect the user entry or exit, such as determining whether the vehicle's doors are unlocked.
[0037] The inflation control module 204 is configured to inflate the pneumatic bladders 18 of the vehicle seat 10 to a measurement pressure in response to detection of user entry. The measurement pressure may be a minimum pressure that allows the pressure sensors 20 to make relevant measurements of the pressure in the bladders 18 . The inflation control module 204 may be configured inflate the pneumatic bladders 18 by sending appropriate commands to the inflation source 22 .
[0038] The pressure measurement module 206 is configured to measure a pressure value in each of bladders 18 using the pressure sensors 20 after inflating the bladders 18 to the measurement pressure. The pressure measurement module 206 is further configured to generate a pressure map using the measured pressure values. The pressure map includes pressure map elements, and each pressure map element corresponds to a pressure value generated by a corresponding pressure sensor 20 . The pressure measurement module 206 is further configured to identify a current user of the vehicle seat 10 (e.g., a driver, a passenger, or other occupant of the vehicle seated in the vehicle seat 10 ) based on the pressure map. The pressure measurement module 206 may be configured to store or otherwise maintain pressure map data 208 . The pressure map data 208 may include pressure maps and information associating those pressure maps with users of the vehicle seat 10 . The pressure map data 208 may be embodied in any appropriate format, including as a binary array, bitmap, vector, database, or other data object. In some embodiments, the pressure map data 208 may be stored in the memory 32 and/or in the data storage device 34 of the seat controller 26 .
[0039] A pressure map in accordance with the present disclosure may be a relatively low-resolution pressure map. The relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises, for example, less than 100 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 80 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 60 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 50 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 40 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 30 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 25 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 24 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 22 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 20 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 18 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 16 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 14 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 12 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 10 pressure map elements. In another example, he relatively low-resolution pressure map comprises less than 8 pressure map elements.
[0040] The user preferences module 210 is configured to determine one or more vehicle seat settings associated with the current user in response to identification of the current user. The vehicle seat settings may include any vehicle seat settings, comfort settings, or other individualized or customized options selected by the user of the vehicle seat 10 . For example, a vehicle seat setting may be embodied as an inflation setting, a position setting, or a comfort feature setting. The user preferences module 210 may be configured to store or otherwise maintain user preferences data 212 , which may include the vehicle seat settings associated with the users of the vehicle seat 10 . In some embodiments, the user preferences data 212 may be stored in the memory 32 and/or in the data storage device 34 of the seat controller 26 .
[0041] The user behavior module 216 is configured to identify user behavior based on the current pressure map generated using the pressure sensors 20 . The user behavior may include the user shifting weight or pressure in the vehicle seat 10 or other movements made by the user in the vehicle seat 10 . As described below, the user behavior may be indicative of user discomfort, or in some embodiments may indicate a requested vehicle command. In some embodiments, the user behavior module 216 may be configured to continually measure pressure in the seat bladders 18 to detect user behavior while the vehicle seat 10 is occupied.
[0042] The seat adjustment module 214 is configured to adjust the vehicle seat 10 based on the vehicle seat settings associated with the identified user, and/or to adjust the vehicle seat 10 based on the detected user behavior. For example, the seat adjustment module 214 may adjust the inflation settings of the bladders 18 , adjust the position of the vehicle seat 10 and/or the position of parts of the vehicle seat 10 , activate comfort features of the vehicle seat 10 , or otherwise adjust the vehicle seat 10 . In some embodiments, the seat adjustment module 214 may be configured to activate a vehicle command based on the detected user behavior. For example, the seat adjustment module 214 may activate a particular feature of the vehicle seat 10 in response to detection of a predefined movement of the user.
[0043] Referring now to FIG. 5 , in use, the seat controller 26 may execute a method 300 for user identification and seat adjustment. The method 300 begins in block 302 , in which the seat controller 26 detects user entry to the vehicle. The seat controller 26 may use any appropriate technique to detect user entry. For example, the seat controller 26 may detect that the user unlocks one or more doors of the vehicle, opens one or more doors of the vehicle, starts the vehicle ignition, or otherwise begins to use the vehicle. As described above, to detect user entry the seat controller 26 may communicate with one or more additional vehicle controllers 40 via the vehicle network 38 . In block 304 , the seat controller 26 determines whether user entry has been detected. If not, the method 300 loops back to block 302 to continue detecting user entry. If user entry has been detected, the method 300 advances to block 306 .
[0044] In block 306 , the seat controller 26 inflates the seat bladders 18 to a measurement pressure. The measurement pressure may be reached by inflating the bladders 18 with a minimum amount of air that allows the pressure sensors 20 to make relevant measurements of the pressure in the bladders 18 . The measurement pressure for each seat bladder 18 may vary depending on the location of the bladder 18 in the vehicle seat 10 and/or the composition of the vehicle seat 10 (e.g., depending on the pressure exerted by other materials in the vehicle seat 10 on the bladder 18 ). The seat controller 26 may inflate the seat bladders 18 by sending and/or receiving appropriate control signals with the inflation source 22 and/or the pressure sensors 20 .
[0045] In block 308 , the seat controller 26 measures the pressure in the bladders 18 to generate a pressure map. As described above, the pressure map may include several pressure map elements, and each pressure map element corresponds to a pressure value measured by a pressure sensor 20 . The seat controller 26 may generate the pressure map by sending and/or receiving appropriate control signals with the pressure sensors 20 . The seat controller 26 may maintain the pressure map using any appropriate format, in-memory representation, storage format, or other digital representation. For example, the pressure map may be represented by an in-memory array, bitmap, vector, or any other suitable data.
[0046] In block 310 , the seat controller 26 identifies the current user of the vehicle seat 10 based on the current pressure map. The seat controller 26 may, for example, compare the measured pressure map with contents of the pressure map data 208 that have been previously stored by the seat controller 26 . The seat controller 26 may identify the current user by identifying pressure map data 208 that matches the current pressure map. In some embodiments, in block 312 , the seat controller 26 may create an association between the current pressure map and the current user. For example, when a new user occupies the vehicle seat 10 , the seat controller 26 may store pressure map data 208 that associates the current pressure map with the new user. In some embodiments, the seat controller 26 may also associate the current pressure map and/or the current user with user preferences stored in the user preferences data 212 .
[0047] In block 314 , the seat controller 26 retrieves user preferences associated with the current user. For example, the seat controller 26 may look up and retrieve user preferences from the user preferences data 212 that are associated with the current user. In some embodiments, the seat controller 26 may retrieve user preferences that are associated with the current pressure map, which is in turn associated with the current user as described above.
[0048] In block 316 , the seat controller 26 adjusts the vehicle seat 10 based on the user preferences associated with the current user of the vehicle seat 10 . As described above, the user preferences may include any vehicle seat settings or other customization options selected by the user. In some embodiments, in block 318 , the seat controller 26 may adjust the position and/or inflation settings of the vehicle seat 10 based on the user preferences. The seat controller 26 may, for example, adjust the inflation pressure of some or all of the bladders 18 based on the user preferences. As another example, the seat controller 26 may adjust the position, angle, or other physical arrangement of the vehicle seat 10 and/or the parts of the vehicle seat 10 (e.g., the head restraint 12 , the seat back 14 , and/or the seat bottom 16 ) based on the user preferences. To control the position and inflation settings of the vehicle seat 10 , the seat controller 26 may transmit and/or receive appropriate control messages with the inflation source 22 and the seat adjuster 24 .
[0049] In some embodiments, in block 320 , the seat controller 26 may adjust one or more comfort features of the vehicle seat 10 based on the user preferences. The seat controller 26 may adjust, for example, climate control features of the vehicle seat 10 such as heating or cooling, a massage feature, or other comfort features. In some embodiments, the seat controller 26 may perform more complex adjustments of the comfort features based on the user preferences. For example, the user preferences may indicate that the user has poor circulation. In that example, based on the user preferences, the seat controller 26 may activate a massage feature or otherwise adjust the comfort features of the vehicle seat 10 after detecting that the user has occupied the vehicle seat 10 for predefined time period (e.g., two hours).
[0050] In block 322 , after adjusting the vehicle seat 10 based on the user preferences, the seat controller 26 continues to measure the pressure in the seat bladders 18 using the pressure sensors 20 . As described above in connection with block 308 , the seat controller 26 generates a pressure map based on the pressure values determined using the pressure sensors 20 . In block 324 , the seat controller 26 identifies user behavior based on the current pressure map. The seat controller 26 may identify changes in the pressure values represented by the pressure map. For example, the seat controller 26 may identify the user shifting his or her weight in the vehicle seat 10 , the user fidgeting in the vehicle seat 10 , or other movement of the user in the vehicle seat 10 .
[0051] In block 326 , the seat controller 26 may adjust the vehicle seat 10 based on the detected user behavior. The seat controller 26 may adjust the inflation pressure and/or position of the vehicle seat 10 based on the values of the current pressure map. Of course, no adjustments to the vehicle seat 10 may be necessary, for example when the pressure map remains relatively unchanged. In some embodiments, in block 328 , the seat controller 26 may activate one or more comfort features based on detected discomfort. For example, the seat controller 26 may activate the massage function or a lumbar support function if the user is determined to be in discomfort based on the values of the pressure map.
[0052] In some embodiments, in block 330 the seat controller 26 may activate a vehicle command based on the detected user behavior. The vehicle command may include any control operation related to the vehicle and may not be limited to control of the vehicle seat 10 . For example, in additional to commands relating to control of the vehicle seat 10 , the vehicle command may include climate control commands, locking commands, driving assistance commands, in-vehicle infotainment system commands, navigation system commands, or other vehicle commands. The seat controller 26 may communicate with other vehicle controllers 40 to activate the vehicle command. In some embodiments, the user may purposefully move his or her body in the vehicle seat 10 to activate certain vehicle commands, allowing the user to control and otherwise communicate with the vehicle using body language. For example, the user may perform a predefined movement in the vehicle seat 10 to activate a particular vehicle command
[0053] In block 332 , the seat controller 26 detects whether the user has exited the vehicle. The seat controller 26 may use any appropriate technique to detect user exit. For example, the seat controller 26 may detect that the user stops the vehicle ignition, unlocks one or more doors of the vehicle, opens one or more doors of the vehicle, exits the vehicle seat 10 , or otherwise exits the vehicle. As described above, to detect the user exit, the seat controller 26 may communicate with one or more additional vehicle controllers 40 via the vehicle network 38 . If the user exit has not been detected, the method 300 loops back to block 322 to continue monitoring the pressure in the seat bladders 18 while the user occupies the vehicle. Referring back to block 332 , if the user exit is detected, the method 300 loops back to block 302 to monitor for user entry.
[0054] A second embodiment of a vehicle seat 400 in accordance with the present disclosure is shown, for example, in FIG. 6 . The illustrative vehicle seat 400 includes a head restraint 12 , a seat back 14 , a seat bottom 16 , an inflation source 22 , a seat adjuster 24 , and a seat controller 26 , which are all similar to the corresponding components of the vehicle seat 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 . However, as shown in FIG. 6 , the vehicle seat 400 includes pneumatic bladders 18 and associated pressure sensors 20 only in the seat bottom 16 and the lumbar portion of the seat back 14 . In particular, the illustrative vehicle seat 400 includes 12 bladders 18 a through 18 l and 12 corresponding pressure sensors 20 a through 20 l . Thus, the vehicle seat 400 may generate a pressure map having a different number and/or arrangement of pressure map elements compared to the vehicle seat 10 . In particular, the pressure map generated by the vehicle seat 400 may have a lower resolution than the pressure map generated by the vehicle seat 10 . Additionally, the pressure map generated by the vehicle seat 400 may cover less of the seating surface of the vehicle seat 400 as compared to the pressure map generated by the vehicle seat 10 . Even though the pressure map may have lower resolution and/or coverage, the vehicle seat 400 may use the measured pressure map to identify a user and associated user preferences, similar to the vehicle seat 10 .
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A vehicle seat includes a seat bottom and a seat back. The seat back is coupled to the seat bottom and arranged to extend in an upward direction away from the seat bottom. The vehicle seat further includes an electronics system.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to a pallet assembly.
[0002] Pallets are often used to store and transport goods. Pallets maintain the goods at a distance above the floor such that they can readily be lifted and moved by a forklift. Plastic pallets are lighter and more durable than wooden pallets.
[0003] Some pallets comprise upper and lower decks separated by a plurality of columns that maintain the space between the upper and lower decks. Other pallets include only an upper deck supported by a plurality of columns. In either case, forklift operators sometimes move the loaded and stacked pallets by pushing on one of columns with one of the fork tines of the forklift. This may eventually damage the outer wall of the column. The damage is usually cosmetic, not structural; however, the appearance of the damaged column may lead some to believe that the structure of the pallet has been compromised and that the pallet needs to be replaced prematurely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention provides a pallet assembly including an upper deck and a plurality of supports extending downward from the upper deck. A cap is secured in front of at least one of the supports to protect the support. The cap may be formed of a material different from the support, such as a higher density, tougher or harder material, without increasing the cost of the materials for the supports and deck. Optionally, whether or not made of tougher material, the cap can be replaceable if damaged.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of half of a pallet according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the half of the pallet of FIG. 1 .
[0008] FIG. 3 is a front view of the cap of FIG. 2 .
[0009] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the cap.
[0010] FIG. 5 is a top view of the cap.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a side view of the cap.
[0012] FIG. 7 is a top view of the center, end column portion of the bottom deck of FIG. 1 .
[0013] FIG. 8 is a top view of the center, end column portion of the bottom deck and the cap.
[0014] FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the center, end column portion of the top deck.
[0015] FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the center, end column portion of the top deck and the cap.
[0016] FIG. 11 is a top view of the pallet of FIG. 1 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] A half perspective view of an example pallet 10 constructed according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 . Although only half is shown for simplicity, it is understood that the other half would be similar. The pallet 10 includes an upper deck 12 spaced above a lower deck 14 by a plurality of supports or columns including corner columns 16 , side columns 18 , a center column 19 and end columns 20 . The upper deck 12 and the lower deck 14 in this example are each a single, integrally formed part, such as by injection molding polypropylene or other suitable material. Other methods such as rotomolding or thermoforming may also be used.
[0018] A column cap 22 is separately formed of a higher density material, such as a higher density polymer such as a high molecular weight high density polyethylene, such that it is stiffer and tougher than the end column 20 (i.e. than the upper deck 12 and lower deck 14 ), which may be polypropylene or polyethylene. The column cap 22 may be injection molded (if polymer) or formed according to any suitable process. In the example shown, the column cap 22 is fitted in front of only the end column 20 (and the opposite end column 20 , not shown), as this is the column most often impacted by the tines of the forklift; however, additional column caps 22 could be fitted over any or all of the remaining columns as well.
[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the pallet 10 of FIG. 1 . The upper deck 12 includes a plurality of integrally molded upper column portions 16 a , 18 a , 19 a , 20 a that together with integrally molded lower column portions 16 b , 18 b , 19 b 20 b , form the corner columns 16 , side columns 18 , center column 19 and end columns 20 , respectively. The lower deck 14 , as shown in this example, may include a plurality of runners 30 that interconnect the plurality of lower column portions 16 b , 18 b , 19 b , 20 b . The end column lower portion 20 b includes a front wall 50 having gaps 52 on either side of the front wall 50 between the front wall 50 and each of a pair of pillars 54 that protrude outward relative to the front wall 50 . The lower column portions 16 b , 18 b , 19 b , 20 b each include snap-fit connectors 34 for securing to complementary connectors on the corresponding upper column portions. Numerous other known ways of connecting the upper and lower decks 12 , 14 can be used, such as heat staking, vibration welding, etc.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a front view of the column cap 22 of FIG. 2 . The column cap 22 includes a generally flat front panel 38 and curved side walls 40 . A plurality of teeth or tabs 42 project from the upper edge and from the lower edge of the front panel 38 .
[0021] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the column cap 22 . A pair of integrally-molded hooks 44 project rearward and then inward from outer edges of the front panel 38 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the hooks 44 open inward toward one another. The curved side walls 40 project forward of the front panel 38 and open rearward.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 6 , the tabs 42 protrude upward and downward further than the curved side walls 40 . Also, the curved side walls 40 taper inward as they extend away from the front panel 38 .
[0023] FIG. 7 is a top view of the end lower column portion 20 b of the lower deck 14 (with the column cap 22 removed). The end lower column portion 20 b includes a plurality of apertures 56 b in front of the front wall 50 and between the pillars 54 .
[0024] As shown in FIG. 8 , to assemble the column cap 22 to the end lower column portion 20 b , the front panel 38 of the column cap 22 is slid down in front of the front wall 50 of the end lower column portion 20 b . The curved side walls 40 fit around the pillars 54 . The hooks 44 of the column cap 22 are slid down through the gaps 52 to interlock with the front wall 50 to retain the column cap 22 to the end lower column portion 20 b . The tabs 42 of the column cap 22 are received in the apertures 56 b in front of the front wall 50 in the end lower column portion 20 b to further interlock the column cap 22 with the end lower column portion 20 b.
[0025] FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the end upper column portion 20 a of the top deck 12 , with the column cap 22 removed. The upper column portion 20 a also includes a short rib forming a pair of spaced apart pillars 54 a (much shorter than the pillars 54 b on the lower column portion 20 b ) and a front portion 51 . A plurality of spaced-apart apertures 56 a are formed in front of the front portion 51 . As shown in FIG. 10 , the curved side walls 40 of the column cap 22 fit around the pillars 54 a and the tabs 42 interlock with the apertures 56 a to retain the column cap 22 . When the upper deck 12 is assembled to the lower deck 14 ( FIG. 8 ), the tabs 42 are so received in the apertures 56 a.
[0026] FIG. 11 is a top view of the entire assembled pallet 10 . As shown, the pallet 10 includes a similar opposite end column 20 , which would also have a column cap 22 .
[0027] In use, a forklift operator could push the pallet 10 across the floor by placing a tine of the fork against the column cap 22 of the end column 20 . The tougher higher-density material of the column cap 22 prevents damage to the end column 20 without unnecessarily increasing the cost of materials for the entire pallet 10 or column 20 . In the event that the column cap 22 does receive damage, it can easily be replaced.
[0028] In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope. Alphanumeric identifiers for steps in method claims are for ease of reference in dependent claims and do not signify a required sequence unless otherwise stated.
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A pallet assembly includes an upper deck and a plurality of supports extending downward from the upper deck. A cap is secured in front of at least one of the supports to protect the support. The cap may be formed of a material different from the support, such as a higher density, tougher or harder material without increasing the cost of the materials for the supports and deck.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a completion arrangement. More particularly, to a completion arrangement for a hydrocarbon and/or an injection well.
[0003] 2. Description of the Relevant Art
[0004] When an oil/gas well is drilled, extraction equipment is inserted into an oil/gas reservoir from which oil/gas will be produced to the surface. A bore is drilled into the oil/gas reservoir and production tubing is introduced into the bore. The oil/gas well has then to be “completed”, which entails running a completion section into the well to enable extraction of hydrocarbons from the reservoir for transfer to the surface via the production tubing. It is generally desired that the completion section is ideally located at, or extends into, the bottom (or total depth) of the well.
[0005] A number of “completion” devices exist, for example, “openhole completions”, i.e. where a packer is provided on tubing above an “openhole” (an openhole being an uncased portion of a wellbore), or “inflow control devices”, i.e. a tubing section provided with devices to control flow of fluid from the reservoir to the interior of the tubing section in a producing well and control flow of fluid from the tubing section to the reservoir in an injection well.
[0006] In current completion techniques, when the completion is “run-in” to the well, it is the weight of the completion string that urges the completion to the end of the well.
[0007] However, such techniques are problematic in that the completion may get stuck due to entrained rock and debris accumulated at the head of the completion. Additionally, there may be “burrs” in the openhole section of the well caused by the drilling process, and the completion may also become stuck when it encounters these “burrs”.
[0008] Under the current techniques, if the completion becomes stuck as described above, then remedial actions (such as “jarring” the completion string) are taken to free the completion in an attempt to insert the completion section further into the wellbore. Unfortunately, these remedial actions are not always successful, which leads to the well being completed as is or side-tracked. The problem of the completion becoming stuck is a particular problem in long horizontal wells.
[0009] WO 2008/043985 describes drilling a lower completion into a pre-drilled wellbore with casing liner. A casing liner is a tubular section that conventionally is ‘pushed’ into the pre-drilled hole to total depth. Once to total depth, the casing liner is cemented into place by pumping cement into the space between the reservoir rock and the casing liner (tubular section). The cement is required for structural integrity and to hold the casing liner in place. In order for hydrocarbons to reach the production tubing to flow to the surface, it is necessary that the casing liner be perforated using perforating charges to connect the production tubing space to the reservoir rock.
[0010] The present invention seeks to provide for a completion arrangement having advantages over known such completions.
SUMMARY
[0011] In one embodiment, there is provided a completion arrangement for a hydrocarbon wellbore including: a completion section arranged to be coupled to production tubing, and having means to allow hydrocarbons to pass therein from reservoir rock in which the wellbore is formed, the means also arranged to serve as flushing portals, whereby drilling fluid introduced into the production tubing is arranged to flow via the means into a space between the production tubing and the wellbore and circulate in the space; the arrangement further including impacting formations, drivingly moveable relative to the wellbore, wherein one, or both, of the drilling fluid circulating in the space and the impacting formations are arranged to remove obstructing material and formations from the wellbore, for return to surface by way of the space, during insertion of the completion arrangement into the wellbore.
[0012] An advantage of the present invention is that debris around the completion arrangement during an insertion process can be removed by: (i) flushing drilling fluid through the means which, during production, are arranged to allow hydrocarbons to pass into the production tubing from reservoir rock in which the wellbore is formed, but which, during the insertion process, allow drilling fluid to enter a space around the production tubing; and (ii) driving the impacting formations. Thus, with the above two features, the completion section is less likely to become stuck when being “run-in” to the well.
[0013] In one embodiment, the lower completion can be set into the openhole section without cementing. Once the well is put into production, the hydrocarbon from the reservoir rock is drawn into the space created by the openhole packers. The hydrocarbon then flows from the space, through nozzles in the flow restrictors into the production tubing and then on to the surface. If this particular arrangement was to be cemented, then connection between the production tubing and the reservoir will be required via perforating charges. However, in an embodiment, cementing is not required and the stability of the openhole section is maintained by the strength of the reservoir rock.
[0014] In an embodiment, cementing is not required since the type of lower completion serves a different purpose—this is an openhole completion with openhole packers and flow restrictors.
[0015] The invention is further advantageous in that it enhances completion deployment and allows longer completions to be run, thereby providing completion capabilities for extended reach applications.
[0016] The impacting formations are operable to crush, cut, abrade, scrape, pound or grind material and formations in the wellbore.
[0017] In an embodiment, the means to allow hydrocarbons to pass therein from reservoir rock in which the wellbore is formed may include flow restrictors having at least one nozzle.
[0018] In one embodiment, impacting formations include a drill bit or ream-in shoe.
[0019] Conveniently, the impacting formations are operable by rotating the production tubing, to which the impacting formations are coupled via the completion section.
[0020] In an embodiment, the completion arrangement includes a motor coupled between the completion section and the impacting formations and arranged to control operation of the impacting formations.
[0021] The motor includes a mud motor operable by means of drilling fluid supplied thereto through the production tubing and completion section.
[0022] In one embodiment, drilling fluid further serves to lubricate the impacting formations.
[0023] In one embodiment, there is provided production tubing for a hydrocarbon well that includes a completion arrangement as described above.
[0024] In one embodiment, method of completing a hydrocarbon wellbore, includes inserting a completion arrangement into the wellbore, the completion arrangement including a completion section having means for allowing hydrocarbons to pass therein from reservoir rock in which the wellbore is formed and impacting formations, and the means also arranged to serve as flushing portals whereby drilling fluid introduced into completion section via production tubing is arranged to flow via the means into a space between the completion arrangement and the wellbore and circulate in the space ; and introducing drilling fluid into the completion arrangement for flow via the means into the space and/or driving the impacting formations so as to move relative to the wellbore to remove obstructing material and formations from the wellbore during insertion of the completion arrangement into the wellbore.
[0025] In one embodiment, driving includes rotating the production tubing to drive the impacting formations.
[0026] In one embodiment, the method includes locating a motor between the completion section and the impacting formations, and driving includes activating the motor by means of fluid pumped to the motor via production tubing coupled to the completion section such that the motor can operate the impacting formations.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] The present invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of an oil/gas well or an injection well.
[0029] FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the well of FIG. 1 into which the present invention is being introduced.
[0030] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section side view of the well of FIG. 1 with the present invention located partially along the well length.
[0031] FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-section side view of the well of FIG. 1 with a particular arrangement of the present invention located partially along the well length.
[0032] FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-section side view of the well of FIG. 1 with the present invention located at total depth.
[0033] FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-section side view of the well of FIG. 1 with an alternative arrangement of the present invention being introduced to the well.
[0034] 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 drawing 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
[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates an oil/gas well or injection well 10 . The well 10 includes a wellbore 12 which extends from the surface 14 to oil/gas bearing rock 16 . Part of the wellbore 12 is lined with a production casing 18 to support the walls of the wellbore 12 and prevent collapse of the wellbore 12 . The part of the wellbore 12 which extends into the oil/gas bearing rock 16 includes a so-called openhole section 20 which is not lined with production casing.
[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates the same oil/gas well 10 , but with extraction equipment partially introduced into the well in a “running-in” process, i.e. the process whereby extraction equipment is delivered to the oil/gas producing region of the well. This equipment includes production tubing 22 which is located within the production casing 18 and which is formed of a series of tubing sections connected together by means of couplers 24 arranged to couple adjacent sections of tubing sections together. The extraction equipment further includes a completion section 26 coupled to an end of the production tubing 22 and which is arranged, upon well completion, to reside in the portion of the wellbore 18 (i.e. the openhole section 20 ) extending into the oil/gas bearing rock 16 . The completion section 26 is arranged such that fluid can permeate from the surrounding oil/gas bearing rock into an interior section of the completion section 26 such that the fluid can be transferred to the surface 14 via the production tubing 22 . Vice versa for an injection well: the injected fluid is pumped from surface into the production tubing 22 and permeates through the completion section 26 into the reservoir rock 16 .
[0037] In addition to the production tubing 22 and the completion section 26 , the illustrated embodiment of the completion arrangement of the invention includes a drill bit 28 coupled to an end of the completion section 26 remote from the end coupled to the production tubing 22 . The drill bit 28 is located at the “front” face of the completion section 26 , i.e. the face of the completion section 26 which is foremost with respect to its direction of travel into the openhole section 20 .
[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates the same oil/gas well 10 as FIGS. 1 and 2 . The features illustrated in FIG. 3 which correspond to features already described in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by like reference numerals.
[0039] The illustration of FIG. 3 differs from that of FIG. 2 in that the production tubing 22 extends further into the wellbore 12 . In FIG. 2 , the completion section 26 and drill bit 28 are located within the production casing 18 of the lined section of the wellbore 12 . However, in FIG. 3 , the completion section 26 and drill bit 28 have been inserted further so as to extend into the openhole section 20 of the wellbore 12 .
[0040] The completion section 26 preferably includes a number of different combinations of extraction devices, valves, sensors, measurements, mechanical and swellable packers etc. In a particular arrangement as illustrated in FIG. 4 , which shows a detailed view of the completion section 26 to illustrate the features thereof, the completion section 26 is made up of openhole swellable packers 200 (for openhole compartmentalisation) and Inflow Control devices (“flow restrictors” 202 ) which serve two purposes: (i) during the “running in” procedure, drilling fluid 204 is pumped from surface down to the drill bit 28 (or ream-in shoe) to circulate and lubricate the completion section 26 during deployment; and (ii) during a production phase, hydrocarbons can enter the completion section 26 from reservoir rock surrounding the completion section 26 , via the flow restrictors 202 and pass therefrom to the surface via production tubing 22 attached to the completion section 26 . Since the flow restrictor 202 is formed with a plurality of nozzles 206 arranged to allow drilling fluid 204 to be injected through the production tubing 22 into a space 208 (which may be annular) around production tubing 22 , this aids in a lubricating process to ease the passage of the completion section 26 into the wellbore. Should the lubrication process fail, or be inadequate to remove debris, etc. and the completion section 26 becomes stuck, the completion section 26 can be rotated by means of surface control (or by a downhole mud motor—see FIG. 5 and the description relating thereto). However the rotational capability is secondary to the fact that drilling fluid is being flushed across the entire completion section 26 , rather than merely at the drill bit 28 . By efficiently flushing and lubricating across the entire lower completion, this may reduce the need to rotate the drill bit 28 . Debris is carried along the space 208 to surface and since the flow restrictors 200 are passing fluid from the production tubing 22 into the space 208 , this aids in the flushing process.
[0041] The illustrations of FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4 are merely schematic “snapshots” of the process of introducing extraction equipment into the well, and the progress of the extraction equipment on its route to the position as illustrated in FIG. 5 .
[0042] Turning now to FIG. 5 in detail, there is illustrated the same oil/gas well 10 as in FIGS. 1 to 4 . Again, features corresponding to those already described are denoted by like reference numerals.
[0043] Here, the completion section 26 and drill bit 28 have reached total depth, i.e. the maximum extent to which the bore has previously been drilled. Once the completion section 26 and drill bit 28 have reached the total depth, the well 10 is effectively “complete” and an oil/gas extraction process can commence without limitation that might occur due to incomplete insertion of the production tubing and completion section.
[0044] The lubrication process has been described above. Now the operation of the drill bit 28 found in the illustrated embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail.
[0045] As described above, in conventional processes where an oil/gas well is “completed”, the extraction equipment (including a completion section) is introduced into the wellbore, and it is the weight of the completion section and production tubing that urges the completion towards the end of the well (i.e. total depth) and pulls the production tubing behind it. However, and as mentioned above, the presence of “burrs” on the walls of the openhole section of the well which were introduced by the drilling process, or the accumulation of debris in front of the completion section, may cause the completion section to become stuck. Remedial actions (e.g. “jarring”) are possible which can free the completion section for further insertion into the wellbore, but these are not always effective and the well may therefore have to be completed without the completion section reaching total depth.
[0046] By providing a drill bit 28 at the head of the completion section 26 , this allows the completion section 26 to be drilled, or rather reamed into position in the wellbore should the lubrication process fail at some point to ease passage of the completion section into the well. Thus, in the illustrations of FIGS. 3 to 5 where the completion section 26 and drill bit 28 are in the openhole section 20 of the wellbore 12 , the drill bit can be operated to, for example, remove “burrs” from the walls of the openhole section 20 and/or to remove debris from in front of the combined drill/completion section for transfer to, and removal at, the surface 14 . As noted above, such process is secondary to the main process of providing lubrication by way of drilling fluid 204 passing through nozzles 26 of the flow restrictors 200 . Thus, these features aid in the flushing process to carry debris to surface and to efficiently lubricate the space during deployment.
[0047] In a preferable arrangement, the drill bit 28 is rotated by rotating the production tubing 22 at the surface 14 when the drill bit 28 has reached a pre-detemined depth (e.g. when it has entered the openhole section 20 ). By activating the drill bit, the openhole section 20 is drilled/reamed and this allows the completion section 26 to reach total depth without becoming stuck.
[0048] Another arrangement of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 . The same well 10 as illustrated in the previous figures is shown and reference numerals for like features remain the same. However, in the arrangement of FIG. 6 , a motor (preferably a mud motor 30 as illustrated) is provided between the completion section 26 and drill bit 28 .
[0049] The mud motor 30 is arranged to drive and control operation of the drill bit 28 and eliminates the requirement to rotate the production tubing 22 at surface 14 to operate the drill bit 28 .
[0050] It should be appreciated that the drill bit 28 and/or the motor 30 is intended to remain in place once its final depth has been reached.
[0051] The mud motor 30 operates by means of fluid pumped from the surface through the production tubing 22 (denoted by arrows A). This fluid activates the mud motor 30 which, in turn, operates the drill bit 28 . The drill bit 28 preferably includes a number of nozzles 32 to allow the drilling fluid to exit a face of the drill bit 28 . After the drilling fluid has exited through the nozzles 32 , and through nozzles 206 in the flow restrictor 200 , it can lubricate the drill bit 28 and carry the debris from the face of the drill bit 28 back through the space between the production tubing 22 and the walls of the openhole section 20 and between the production tubing 22 and the production casing 28 to the surface 14 (this is indicated by arrows B).
[0052] Advantages of the present invention have been described above although the present invention is particularly advantageous when used in the completion of horizontal wells.
[0053] Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as examples of embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims.
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A completion arrangement and methods of using the completion arrangement are described herein. The completion section includes a completion section and impacting formations. The completion section is arranged to be coupled to production tubing, and has means to allow hydrocarbons to pass therein from reservoir rock in which the wellbore is formed. The impacting formations are drivingly moveable relative to the wellbore. The means being arranged to serve as flushing portals, whereby drilling fluid introduced into the production tubing is arranged to flow via the means into a space between the production tubing and the wellbore, and circulate in the space and the impacting formations. One, or both, of the drilling fluid circulating in the space and the impacting formations are arranged to remove obstructing material and formations from the wellbore for return to surface by way of the space, during insertion of the completion arrangement into the wellbore.
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RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part of Animal Carrier, Ser. No. 08/924,979, filed Sep. 8, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,195.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a portable animal carrier which permits the safe and humane traveling of an animal, such as a cat and dog, on a common carrier. When used on an airplane, the animal carrier is of a size which can safely accommodate a cat or dog, and may be safely stowed below an airplane seat. The animal carrier includes recessed wheels along its bottom surface, to permit smooth, quiet, and reliable movement, thereby relieving the user from carrying the weight of the animal carrier.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to provide a portable animal carrier which is of a suitable size, and securely constructed, to obtain airline approval for passage within the main carrier cabin. Such a portable animal carrier contains an enclosure including appropriately connected bottom, top, end, front, and rear walls, with at least one of the walls including an area formed of mesh material for providing appropriate ventilation to the interior of the enclosure. At least one of the walls includes a selectively openable closure means, such as a zippered panel, which provides a sufficiently large opening for the convenient insertion and removal of the animal from within the interior volume of the enclosure. In order to facilitate manual carrying of the portable animal carrier, a carrier strap means is typically secured to appropriate locations, and extends above the top wall. Such strap means may include both a hand tote strap and a shoulder strap, so as to provide a versatility of totable options. In the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,195, a supplemental strap is provided which is suitably placed and configured to secure the portable animal carrier on top of a wheeled article of luggage. However in those situations where the individual is not utilizing a wheeled article of luggage, the need also exists to safely and reliably transport the animal within the portable animal carrier without the need to actually carry the portable animal carrier, which movement must be achieved in a manner that is comfortable, and safe to the animal, and does not create animal anxiety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, externally projecting wheels are provided along the bottom surface of the portable animal carrier, with an appropriate pull strap means being attachable to one of the end walls of the portable animal carrier, such that the user may grasp the strap, and pull the portable animal carrier along the floor surface. The pull strap is preferably detachable, such that when it is desired to use the portable animal carrier in the conventional manner, with the user grasping another strap on the portable animal carrier to either hold the portable animal carrier in his or her hand or over the shoulder, the pull strap can either be removed, or placed within a compartment of the portable animal carrier.
Recognizing the need to avoid anxiety of the animal within the portable animal carrier while it is being wheeled, which could tend to frighten same, resulting in nausea or wetting, the wheels are selected and the portable animal carrier constructed to minimize vibration and noise. Sound and vibration cushioning material is preferably provided between the wheels and the interior of the portable animal carrier. Such sound cushioning material may be in the form of a soft absorbent pad, which is advantageously placed within a removable tray like member. Further, the tray may also be formed of cushioning material to provide an additional layer to muffle the sound and vibration of the wheels. According to a particularly advantageous feature of the present invention, the cushioning material and tray may be removed as a unit to provide a separate bed, when it is not necessary to keep the animal within the enclosed portable animal carrier. By providing the cushioning material as a removable pad, it may readily be replaced should it become soiled, thereby maintaining a hygienically clean condition.
As a further feature of the present invention, end frame members are provided to maintain rigidity of the portable animal carrier. However, during shipment of the empty portable animal carrier, particularly from its manufacturing source, it is highly advantageous that the portable animal carrier be reconfigured to a more compact size. To facilitate the compact reconfiguration of the portable animal carrier, one of the end frame members is flexible. The rigid frame member may typically be formed of steel, with the flexible frame member formed of bamboo or resilient plastic.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a portable animal carrier, having particular utilization within an airplane passenger compartment, which may be safely and readily wheeled along a floor surface.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a portable animal carrier which includes wheels along its bottom surface and a detachable pull strap which may be grasped by the user when it is desired to wheel the portable animal carrier along the floor surface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a portable animal carrier which includes sound cushioning material for muffling the wheel noise.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a portable animal carrier in which the sound cushioning material is provided within a removable tray like member which can be separated from the portable animal carrier and utilized as a pet bed.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide such a portable animal carrier which includes a rigid frame member to maintain its shape while there is an animal therein, but when the animal is removed, can be oriented into a generally flattened storage, or shipping, configuration.
The above as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following drawings and description with respect to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable animal carrier.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view, with the main body of the portable animal carrier shown diagrammatically, and the tray and cushioning material being shown removed therefrom.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view along lines 3--3 as shown in FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view along lines 4--4 as shown in FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view along lines 5--5 as shown in FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 6 is a bottom view.
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view along lines 7--7 as shown in FIG. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 8 shows the animal carrier in its generally flattened storage, or shipping, condition.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference is initially made to FIGS. 1-7. The portable animal carrier 10 includes bottom wall 12, top wall 14, opposed end walls 16, 18, front wall 20, and rear wall 22. These walls combinedly define a generally rectilinear interior volume, which is of a suitable size for the reception of a cat or small dog, and can be comfortably retained below an airline seat. Typically, the portable animal carrier may be between 18 to 20 inches long, 101/2 to 111/2 inches high, and 11 to 113/4 inches wide. It should be constructed of appropriate rugged materials utilized for luggage, such as quilted nylon, vinyl, other reinforced textile fabrics, or leather.
At least one, and preferably more than one, of the walls includes an area formed of mesh material for providing ventilation to the interior of the enclosure. Such mesh material inserts are shown as 26 along the front wall 20, and 28 along end wall 16. A mesh material insert, not shown, may also be provided along rear wall 22. To facilitate manual carrying of the portable animal carrier, two carrier strap means are preferably provided. These include straps 32, which are connected to the opposed front and rear walls (20, 22), extend over the top wall 14, and are connected together by a manual grasping member 34. A multi-function strap 36 is also provided. As shown in FIG. 1, strap 36 is connected to ring members 37, 39. Strap 36 includes a padded hand grip 39, which may preferably be formed of foam rubber. The length of strap 36 may be adjusted by buckles 41 in the well known manner. Advantageously, end wall 18 includes an end compartment which is accessible by closure zipper 43, which allows the storage therein of strap 36 when it is not in use. Ring members 37, 39 may also be connected inside the storage compartment, such that when strap 36 is inserted therein, and the zipper 43 moved to its closed condition, the complete assembly of strap 36 and its associated ring members 37, 39 will be within the compartment.
Strap 36 may also function as a shoulder strap when it is desired to utilize the portable animal carrier 10 in that mode of operation. In that event, strap 36 is removed from ring members 37, 39. One end of strap 36 is secured to ring member 45 along end wall 18. The opposite end wall 16 includes a similar ring member (not shown) for securing the other end of strap 36. Strap member 36 includes spring located connectors 40 at its opposed ends to readily permit the dual mode of operation. That is, when connected to ring members 37, 39 it will serve as a pull in conjunction with the wheels 70 provided along the bottom wall 12 of the portable animal carrier. Alternatively, the spring loaded connectors 40 may engage ring member 45 on end wall 18, and the complementary ring member (not shown) at the opposed wall 16, to serve as a shoulder strap. Alternatively, strap 36 can be completely removed from the portable animal carrier 10 and serve as a leash, with spring loaded connector 40 at one at its ends engaging the typical loop connector (not shown) of a conventional animal collar.
At least one of the wall includes a openable closure means, to provided sufficiently large opening for the insertion and removal of an animal from within the interior volume of enclosure 10. Advantageously, two such panels are shown as top panel 40 having a U-shaped perimeter zipper 42, and a panel 54 in end 16 which can be completely opened by its perimeter zipper 44. Thus, the animal may be inserted or removed from the enclosure through either the top or an end section. Further, while the animal is in the enclosure, the top panel 40 may be opened to permit the animal to lift its head out of the enclosure, while the rest of its body is still within the enclosure.
An exterior compartment is preferably provided to include travel essentials, such as veterinary papers, snacks or small toys for the animals. One such exterior compartment is shown as compartment 50 along the end wall 18 which may be accessed by zipper 52.
In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of wheels 70, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, are located at the corners of the bottom panel 12. Each of the wheels 70 is mounted to a yoke 72 via axle 76. Yoke 72 includes a base portion 77 which is rotationally mounted to generally horizontal extension 78 of the wheel assembly housing 75 with ball bearings (not shown). Thus, each wheel and yoke subassembly (70-72) is free to independently rotate about its vertical axis 80 when it is desired to change the direction of movement of the portable animal carrier 10. The wheel assembly housing 75 is mounted within a recess of the bottom panel by bolt and fastener members 73, 74 which mount the wheel housing assembly 75 to the bottom panel 12. The recessed wheel assembly 75 will have its wheel 70 ejecting outward from the bottom panel 12, so as to contact the floor surface when it is desired to move the portable animal carrier 10 by manually grasping grip portion 39 of strap 36. Wheels 70 are preferably formed of rubber which, in conjunction with the mounting of yoke 72, provides an easy-glide smooth and quiet movement. This is most advantageous since excessive wheel noise or vibration would tend to frighten the animal within the pet carrier, which, could result in nausea or incontinence.
As a further advantageous feature of the present invention, a cushioned sound absorbing liner 82 overlies the bottom wall 12. Liner 64 is preferably soft, washable, and removable and may typically be formed of faux lambskin for increased animal comfort. Liner 82 is preferably provided within a removable tray 84, which is formed of a fabric having internal padding, to provide increased muffling of the wheel sound and vibration. The liner 82 is removably attached to the tray 84 by a plurality of separable hook and eye Velcro elements 86. Although the Velcro elements 86 of the tray are shown in FIG. 2, complementary elements (not shown) are placed along the bottom of the liner 82. Advantageously the tray 84 and liner may be removed as a subassembly as best shown in FIG. 2, so that it may then function as an animal bed when the animal is taken out of the portable animal carrier 10.
To provide for appropriate reinforcement, and shape maintenance, while the portable animal carrier is in use, a rectangular rigidizing frame 90, which may be typically formed of steel, is provided about the perimeter of end 16. A flexible, but shape retaining, frame 92 is provided about the opposite end 18. Frames 90 and 92 are pivoted with respect to their bottom walls, about their respective corner junctions 91, 93 so that the portable animal carrier can be reoriented to a compact storage, or shipping, condition as shown in FIG. 8. Flexibility of end panel 18 when it is in its storage position is provided by its frame 92. Frame 92 may typically be formed of bamboo or plastic. This allows end panel 18 to be somewhat curved while in the storage condition of FIG. 8, thereby minimizing the volume of the compacted unit.
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, this embodiment is merely exemplary and is not intended to be limiting or to represent all aspects of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention shall be defined solely by the following claims.
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A portable animal carrier is disclosed which permits the transportation of a small animal, such as a cat or dog, in the passenger compartment of an airplane, by securely and safely containing the animal, but permitting placement below the airplane seat. In addition to providing manual carrying of the portable animal carrier, wheels are provided to permit smooth, quiet, and reliable movement, thereby relieving the user from carrying the weight of the animal carrier.
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TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present method and apparatus relate to the field of supports for pumps.
BACKGROUND
[0002] One method of treating waste water is by use of a septic system. The prior art septic system shown in FIG. 1 may include a tank 10 that may comprise a single chamber 11 . The tank may be capped with a lid 12 that has at least one access port 13 formed in it. The access port or ports 13 may be located proximate to an end of the lid 12 or may be centered in the lid 12 as desired. In FIG. 1 , the access port 13 is shown as located adjacent one end of the lid 12 . The vault 10 may be buried in the ground 14 .
[0003] Access to the septic tank 10 may be available through a septic tank cover 16 which may allow access to the septic tank through a conduit or septic tank riser 17 that may be mated to the access port 13 in the lid 12 of the septic tank 10 .
[0004] Two kinds of septic systems are currently in use: in one, the effluent flows out of the tank 10 under the influence of gravity. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1 , an electric pump 18 is used to pump the effluent up the discharge pipe 19 and out into the drain field (not shown).
[0005] As building codes and the like may require that the pump 18 be elevated above the bottom of the tank 10 , the current practice is to position a concrete paver or block 21 having a thickness, in some cases, of 4 inches (10 cm) or greater on the bottom of the tank 10 , and position the pump 18 on top of the block 21 . Unfortunately, the blocks 21 are frequently mispositioned in the tank 10 , and correcting the positioning of the block 21 from the surface through the septic tank riser 17 can be difficult or impossible. If one or more of the legs of the pump are not seated on the paver or block 21 , the torque of the pump 18 starting up and shutting down may apply a tortional force to the discharge pipe 19 that may ultimately lead to its structural failure.
[0006] In addition, particulate matter may settle in the tank to form a layer of sludge 22 , the upper surface of which slopes generally up and away from the location of the pump 18 . When excessive sludge has accumulated, it may be necessary to pump the tank 10 out.
SUMMARY
[0007] A pump riser may be used to elevate a pump 18 above the bottom of a septic tank 10 or other support surface. Such a riser may frictionally engage the legs of a pump 18 to facilitate installation and removal. Legs of varying lengths may be provided or fabricated for the pump riser to adjust the height of the pump 18 above the support surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a sectional schematic view of a prior art septic tank system buried in the ground.
[0009] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a pump mounted on a pump riser, with an outlet pipe shown in phantom.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a pump riser.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the pump riser of FIG. 3 .
[0012] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the pump riser of FIG. 3 .
[0013] FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the pump riser of FIG. 3 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] As shown in FIG. 2 many pumps 18 useable in septic systems may be formed with three generally-frustoconical legs 26 disposed about, and depending from, the housing 27 of the pump 18 . In one embodiment, the pump 18 may also include an inlet (not shown) at the bottom of the pump housing 27 through which effluent may be drawn, and an outlet 28 at one side of the pump that may be attached to an outlet pipe 29 (shown in phantom) such as the discharge pipe 19 shown in FIG. 1 .
[0015] In one embodiment, a pump 18 may be mounted on a pump riser 31 to support the inlet of the pump 18 above the bottom of a septic tank 10 , or paver or block 21 . The riser 31 may be made of any of a variety of materials, including polymeric materials such as PVC (polyvinylchloride) or ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) plastics. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a pump riser 31 may comprise a body 32 . Recesses 33 , such as the cylindrical recesses 33 in the upper surface 34 of the pump riser 31 , may be formed in the upper surface 34 of the body 32 of the riser 31 and may be spaced so that they are coaxial with the legs 26 of a pump 18 . The dimensions of the cylindrical recesses 33 may be chosen such that the legs 26 of the pump 18 are constrained from extending completely down into the recesses 33 , and so that the legs 26 of the pump 18 frictionally engage a wall or walls of the recess 33 . In one embodiment, the legs 26 of the pump may be frustoconical and the recesses 33 may be cylindrical. Other configurations of leg 26 and recess 33 shape and size may be chosen in other embodiments. Fasteners, clamps or the like might also be used to secure the pump 18 to the body 32 of the pump riser 31 , but this would add to the complexity of the riser 31 . The diameter of the recesses 33 may be such that the outer surfaces of the legs 26 engage the inner surface of the recesses 33 after a certain percentage, which may be 50%, of the length of each of the legs 26 has entered the recess 33 . In such an embodiment, the lower surface of the pump 18 may be supported above the level of the upper surface 34 of the pump riser 31 , providing a gap through which effluent may flow toward the inlet of the pump 18 .
[0016] In one embodiment, the engagement of the outer surface of the frustoconical legs 26 and the inner surface of the recesses 33 may be pushed into contact sufficient that the pump 18 and the pump riser 31 have a sufficient frictional engagement that lifting the pump 18 results in the riser 31 being lifted along with it.
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 2-6 , in an embodiment intended for use with a pump 18 that has three frustoconical legs, a pump riser 31 may be generally triangular in shape when viewed from above. Each of the sides 36 of the riser 31 may be generally planar and of equal height along its length. In one embodiment, a series of vents 37 may be provided. These vents 37 may be vertically oriented and spaced apart from one another along the length of the sides 37 . The upper ends 38 of the vents 37 may be located at a position below the upper surface 34 of the pump riser 31 , and may extend downward toward the lower edge 39 of the sides 36 . The riser 31 may be provided with a shelf 41 that extends horizontally inward of the body 32 of the riser 31 at its lower edge 39 . In such case, the vents 37 may extend around the lower edge 39 of the riser 31 and extend across a portion of the shelf 41 .
[0018] The vents 37 may have a width selected to restrict the flow of larger particulates into the pump 18 while still allowing the flow of effluent through them. In one embodiment, the width of the vents 37 may be selected as ¼ inches (0.64 cm). This may be varied according to the size of the particles intended to be blocked by the vents 37 . Such particles may comprise organic material such as clumps of tissue paper or inorganic material such as small pebbles. As is known in the art, such large particulates in effluent fed to a drain field may compromise the drain field. Such filtering may be particularly important as sludge builds up in a septic tank.
[0019] Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4 , in one embodiment the riser 31 may be provided with legs 42 extending downward below the lower edge 39 of the body 32 of the riser 31 . These may support the body 32 of the riser 31 at a level above a support surface, such as the bottom of a septic tank 10 or paver or block 21 positioned at the bottom of a septic tank 10 . In one embodiment, the legs 42 may be made of short sections of polymeric pipe, such as ABS or PVC pipe, and may fit snugly into cylindrical channels or bores 43 in the body 32 of the riser 31 .
[0020] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the diameter of the bore 43 may be chosen such that the legs 42 fit snugly in them. The bores 43 may extend upward into the body 32 of the riser 31 . The bores 43 may be formed to be coaxial with cylindrical recesses 33 in the upper surface 34 of the body 32 of the riser 31 . In such case, in one embodiment, the bores 43 may have a diameter greater than that of the recesses 33 and a shoulder 44 may thus be formed that may limit the depth to which the legs 42 may be inserted into the bore 43 . In one embodiment, 1 inch PVC Schedule 40 pipe may be used for the legs 42 . This material is easily cut with hand tools to a desired length, and is sufficiently strong and rigid for this purpose. The lengths of the legs 42 may be selected such that the pump 18 may be supported above a support surface such as the bottom of a septic tank 10 . As PVC pipe is readily cut, the length of the legs 42 may be selected and the legs 42 may be cut in the field. Of course, the bores 43 and recesses 33 do not have to be coaxial, and their shapes need not be cylindrical.
[0021] As mentioned above, the dimensions of the bores 43 and legs 42 may be chosen such that they form a frictional engagement when assembled together. This frictional engagement may be sufficiently strong so that an assembly of pump 18 and riser 31 may be lowered into a septic tank 10 without the pump 18 disengaging from the body 32 of the riser 31 and without the legs 42 disengaging from the bores 43 in the body 32 of the riser 31 . Of course, the legs 42 could be secured by adhesive in the body 32 of the riser 31 if desired.
[0022] The body 32 of the riser 31 may be made by any of a variety of known techniques, such as by machining, fastening together of various components using fasteners or adhesives, and the like, but molding provides an inexpensive and rapid method for such manufacture.
[0023] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to various embodiments, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit or scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
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A pump riser provided with recesses positioned and configured to receive and frictionally engage the legs of a septic system pump. The riser may support the pump above a support surface such as the bottom of the tank of a septic system. The riser body may include legs for supporting the riser body. The lower surface of a pump body may be supported above the upper surface of the riser body as the result of engagement between legs of a pump and the recesses.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/593,140, entitled “Voice Recognition Grammar Selection Based on Context,” filed Aug. 23, 2012 which claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/044,310, entitled “Voice Recognition Grammar Selection Based on Context,” filed Mar. 7, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This instant specification relates to voice recognition.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Multimodal applications can accept multiple types, or modes, of input. For example, a multimodal application can accept input from users such as typed commands and mouse clicks; however the multimodal application also can accept other forms of input such as voice input. Voice recognition systems can interpret the voice input using a grammar that includes a particular vocabulary.
[0004] Some multimodal applications implement a form-filling model where different input fields in an application are associated with different grammars. For example, the multimodal application can associate a “name” grammar that includes a vocabulary of names with a “name” field that accepts a person's name. When a person selects the “name” field with his or her mouse, the multimodal application can select the “name” grammar associated with the field.
SUMMARY
[0005] In general, this document describes selecting a grammar for use in voice recognition, where the grammar is selected based on implicit context information based on one or more user actions.
[0006] In a first general aspect, a computer-implemented method is described. The method includes receiving geographical information derived from a non-verbal user action associated with a first computing device. The non-verbal user action implies an interest of a user in a geographic location. The method also includes identifying a grammar associated with the geographic location using the derived geographical information and outputting a grammar indicator for use in selecting the identified grammar for voice recognition processing of vocal input from the user.
[0007] In a second general aspect, a computer-implemented method is described that includes receiving context information based on a user action associated with a computing device, where the user action is unprompted by a voice recognition processor. The method includes deriving a geographical location based on the context information, identifying a grammar associated with the geographical location, and outputting a grammar identifier for use in selecting the grammar to use in processing vocal input from the user.
[0008] In yet another general aspect, a system is described. The system includes an interface to receive context information based on a non-verbal user action associated with a first computing device. The non-verbal user action implies an interest of a user in a geography. The system also includes a means for identifying a grammar associated with a geographical location derived from the received context information and a voice recognition server configured to use the identified grammar to interpret vocal input received from the user.
[0009] The systems and techniques described here may provide one or more of the following advantages. First, a system can increase the speed at which vocal input is recognized by identifying an appropriate subset of grammars instead of using a larger general grammar. Additionally, selecting a subset of grammars may increase the accuracy of voice recognition for vocal commands given within a particular context associated with the subset. The system also can reduce the amount of user interaction in voice recognition processes. Furthermore, additional or new grammars can be selected in a way that is transparent to a user (e.g., based on user interaction with a software application instead of based on explicit user answers to prompts by a voice recognition system).
[0010] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system for selecting a grammar used in computer-implemented voice recognition.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary client and an exemplary audio processing system used in a selection of a grammar for voice recognition.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for selecting a grammar based on context information.
[0014] FIG. 4 shows exemplary screenshots of a user interface for a client that interacts with an audio processing system.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of computing devices that may be used to implement the described systems and methods.
[0016] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] This document describes systems and techniques for selecting a grammar to use in speech recognition. More specifically, an application can generate context information based on how a user interacts with a device running the application. The device can transmit the context information to a voice recognition system. The voice recognition system can identify a particular grammar that is associated with the context information and can subsequently use the identified grammar in audio recognition of vocal input received from the device (e.g., voice commands from a user of the device).
[0018] In some implementations, context information includes geographical information. If a user views a map using a mobile browser on a cell phone, the cell phone can transmit information about a geographical location displayed by the map to a voice recognition system. The voice recognition system can identify the geographic location based on the received information and can select a grammar that includes a vocabulary of words, syntax, etc. associated with the geographic location. The voice recognition system can interpret subsequently received vocal input from the cell phone using the selected grammar.
[0019] A user can opt in to permit devices associated with the user (e.g., through a unique identifier—such as a cookie—assigned to the user) to share context information with the voice recognition system. If a user opts out of sharing context information, the voice recognition system can use a default grammar or explicitly prompt a user for geographic or other context information for use in selecting a particular grammar to use in voice recognition processing.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system 100 for selecting a grammar used in computer-implemented voice recognition. In some implementations, the exemplary system 100 selects the grammar based on implicit context information that is generated as a result of user actions. The system 100 includes a client device 102 , a grammar selection server 104 , and a voice recognition server 106 .
[0021] In the implementation of FIG. 1 , the client 102 transmits context information to the grammar selection server 104 , which uses the context information to select a grammar. A grammar selection server sends information about the selected grammar to the voice recognition server 106 , which uses the selected grammar to interpret audio input received from the client 102 .
[0022] For example, the client 102 may be a cell phone that is running a mobile browser 108 . A user can enter a search into the mobile browser to identify businesses that sell “ice huts.” The browser can display a map that shows related businesses in Canada, North and South Dakota, and Minnesota. The user may have previously entered a location identifier, such as a zip code, that is used by the browser to identify a location to show on the map. The user can enter the location identifier in a previous session and the browser may store the identifier for use in subsequent sessions (e.g., the location identifier can be stored as a cookie on the client).
[0023] In other implementations, the cell phone runs a dedicated application 108 instead of the mobile browser 108 . For example, the dedicated application 108 may not enable browsing of web pages, but can be configured to interface with a particular remote application, such as an online mapping application.
[0024] The mobile browser or another application running on the cell phone 102 can transmit implicit geographical information 114 to the grammar selection server as indicated by an arrow labeled “1.” In some implementations, the context information includes implicit geographical information 114 that is based on the map displayed by the mobile browser 108 . For example, implicit geographical information 114 can include coordinates that identify a center of the displayed map. In this example, the center of the map coincides with a location in the middle of Minnesota.
[0025] A grammar selection server 104 can select 116 a grammar based on the received context information. In some implementations, if the context information includes geographical information 114 , a grammar selection server can access a data store 110 that identifies grammars 112 associated with geographical locations. Particular grammars can be associated with particular geographic locations.
[0026] Each of the grammars 112 can include vocabulary that corresponds to vocabulary associated with the corresponding geographical location. For example a grammar associated with Minneapolis, Minn. can include words or phrases that describe businesses, points of interest, events, news, etc. that are located or occur in association with Minneapolis.
[0027] In FIG. 1 , the implicit geographical information 114 includes coordinates for a location positioned in the middle of Minnesota. The grammar selection server identifies a grammar that is anchored, or has a center, at a location that is closest to the middle of Minnesota. The grammar selection server can generate information 118 that identifies the grammar as indicated by arrows labeled “2A” and “2B.”
[0028] Next, in some implementations, the grammar selection server 104 transmits the identified grammar information 118 to the voice recognition server 106 as indicated by an arrow labeled “3.”
[0029] The user can speak into the cell phone 102 , which transmits vocal input 120 to the voice recognition server 106 as indicated by an arrow “4.” The voice recognition server 106 can interpret the vocal input 120 using the grammar that was identified by the grammar selection server 104 .
[0030] The recognition server 106 can perform one or more actions based on the vocal input. In some implementations, the voice recognition server 106 can transmit a response based on the vocal input back to the cell phone 102 as indicated by an arrow labeled “5.” For example, a user of the cell phone 12 can audibly request a new search for “Paul Bunyan.” The cell phone 102 can transmit the vocal search request to the voice recognition server 106 . Because the map that the user is currently viewing (or has previously viewed) on the mobile browser 108 is centered on Minnesota, the voice recognition server 106 uses a grammar that is anchored, or centered, at a location near the center of Minnesota. The voice recognition server 106 uses this grammar to search sounds, words, phrases that correspond to the vocal input “Paul Bunyan.” In some implementations, a grammar anchored near or within Minnesota may include information used to interpret the name “Paul Bunyan” because this term is more frequently associated with information associated with Minnesota relative to other parts of the world.
[0031] The voice recognition server 106 can transmit text “Paul Bunyan,” which corresponds to the vocal input from the cell phone 102 . The cell phone 102 can display the received text on the mobile browser 108 . If a user approves the translation performed by the voice recognition server 106 , the browser can initiate a new search by submitting the text “Paul Bunyan” as a search term to a search engine. In other implementations, the voice recognition server 106 can initiate the search using the term “Paul Bunyan” without approval or from the user of the cell phone 102 . The voice recognition server 106 can transmit the results from the search to the cell phone 102 without previously transmitting text recognized from the vocal input.
[0032] The labeled arrows of FIG. 1 indicate an exemplary sequence of events that occur in the system 100 . However, the occurrence of events is not limited to the sequence shown. For example, one or more steps in the sequence can occur in parallel.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary client 200 and an exemplary audio processing system 202 used in a selection of a grammar for voice recognition. The client 200 and the audio processing system 202 can communicate using a network 204 that can include, in some implementations, the Internet and a cellular network. The client 200 can include a cell phone or other mobile device 206 that, in turn, includes an application environment 208 . The application environment 208 can include an Internet browser 210 , a microphone interface 212 , and a GPS transceiver interface 214 . The audio processing system 202 can include a multimodal server 216 that servers an interface for the audio processing system 202 with the client 200 , a grammar selection server 218 , and a voice recognition server 220 .
[0034] An application within the application environment 208 can generate or identifying geographical contact information 222 and transmit the information to the multimodal server 216 . For example, the GPS transceiver interface 214 can receive GPS coordinates from a GPS transceiver based on a location of the cell phone 206 . The GPS transceiver interface 214 can transmit the GPS coordinate information to the multimodal server 216 .
[0035] In some implementations, the GPS coordinate information can be appended as part of a uniform resource identifier (URI) that is included in a hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) POST command submitted by the browser 210 to the multimodal server 216 . In other implementations that use an application other than a browser, the application can generate an HTTP GET command, where a URI in the command includes the GPS coordinate information (or other context information). In another implementation, the GPS coordinate or other context information is not appended in the URI, but instead is included as binary information in the body of an HTTP request (e.g., GET or POST)
[0036] In another example, the browser 210 can transmit geographical context information about items displayed by the browser 210 . For example, if a user views a web page that includes multiple mentions of the Bermuda Islands, the browser 210 can transmit geographical context information that specifies the Bermuda Islands.
[0037] The multimodal server 216 can receive the geographical context information 222 and can forward the information to the grammar selection server 218 . A grammar selection server 218 can include a reverse geocoder 224 , which uses the geographical context information 222 to identify a location. For example, if the geographical context information 222 includes GPS coordinates, the reverse geocoder 224 can determine a location that corresponds to the GPS coordinates using stored mappings between coordinates and geographical locations.
[0038] In some implementations, the grammar selection server includes a grammar index 226 that associates particular locations with particular grammars. For example, the grammar index 226 associates the location “Bermuda Islands” with a Bermuda grammar that includes vocabulary, syntax, etc. that is associated with that location.
[0039] The grammar selection server 218 selects a grammar using the grammar index 226 by identifying a grammar that is associated with a location identified by the reverse geocoder 224 . The grammar index can identify each of the grammars in using a grammar ID.
[0040] The grammar selection server 218 can transmit a selected grammar ID 228 to the multimodal server 216 , which in turn can forward the grammar ID 228 to the voice recognition system. In other implementations not shown in FIG. 2 , the reverse geocoder 224 can identify and return the grammar that is associated with a location nearest the identified location and then transmits a selected grammar ID 228 for that grammar to the multimodal server 216 .
[0041] The voice recognition system can use the grammar ID to load identified grammar for use in subsequent audio processing. For example, the voice recognition server can transmits a request 232 to a data store 230 for a grammar, where the request 232 includes the grammar ID 228 . The data store can return a grammar 234 that is specified by the grammar ID 232 .
[0042] The voice recognition server can use the grammar 234 to interpret audio that is received subsequently from the cell phone 206 . For example, the user can speak a search term, which is received by a microphone within the cell phone 206 . The microphone interface 212 can transmit audio 236 from the microphone to the multimodal server 216 .
[0043] The multimodal server 216 can transmit the audio 236 to the voice recognition server 220 , which uses an audio decoder 238 to interpret the audio 236 . For example, the audio decoder 238 can load the grammar 234 to process the audio 236 into a textual representation. The voice recognition server 220 can use the textual representation to, for example, initiate a search with a search engine (not shown). In another example, the interpreted audio can be transmitted as text 240 the multimodal server 216 . The multimodal server 216 can transmit the text 240 back to the cell phone 206 . The cell phone 106 can display the text using the browser 210 or another application in the application environment 208 .
[0044] In some implementations, the client 200 submits new geographical context information based on new user interactions. For example, if the user changes location, the GPS transceiver within the cell phone 206 can transmit new GPS coordinates to the multimodal server 216 . In another example, the user may view a map that is associated with a different location. The browser 210 can transmit the new map location to the multimodal server 216 . The audio processing system can select a new grammar based on the new geographic context information and interpret received audio based on the new grammar.
[0045] Although the multimodal server 216 , the grammar selection server 218 , and the voice recognition server 220 are illustrated as separate devices, the servers can be combined into a single device or a single server can be implemented using multiple devices.
[0046] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 300 for selecting a grammar based on context information. The systems 200 and 202 are used in an example implementation of method 300 . However, other systems, including the system 100 , can implement the method 300 .
[0047] In step 302 , a session is created between the client 200 and the audio processing system 202 . For example, the cell phone 206 can establish a communication session (e.g., based on HTTP protocols) with the multimodal server 216 . The session can be established, for example, when a browser access a web interface for a search engine (e.g., a search web page, an interactive map, a social networking site that permits users to search for profiles hosted on the site, etc.). In another implementation, the session is established, when a particular application is started on the cell phone 206 . For example, a session may be initiated when a dedicated map program is started on the cell phone 206 .
[0048] In optional step 304 , a user ID is received. For example, the cell phone 206 may include a mobile browser that stores cookies within a memory of the cell phone. The cookies can include an identifier that identifies a user of the cell phone. The audio processing system 202 may have previously transmitted the user ID to the browser in response to an earlier interaction of the mobile browser with the audio processing system 202 or another server that the audio processing system 202 can access. For example, the user may visit a web page that includes an interface for a search engine. The search engine can issue a unique identifier to the user. The audio processing system 202 can access a list of identifiers that are stored by the search engine.
[0049] In step 306 , context information is received. For example, the multimodal server 216 receives geographical context information such as GPS coordinates that specify a current location of the mobile device 206 .
[0050] In some implementations, the multimodal server 216 can receive other context information such as application-specific context information. The client 202 can transmit information that specifies which application is accessed by a user. For example, the information can specify that the user is interacting with a browser application. Furthermore, the information can include a history of past navigation or other actions previously performed by a user of the application. For example, the context information can specify that a user has requested a map by specifying a zip code, zoomed out on the given map, navigated west on the map approximately 200 miles, requested a satellite view of the map, requested that points of interest be displayed on the map, etc.
[0051] In another implementation, the multimodal server 216 can receive context information about items that are displayed by an application running on the client 200 , which may be a desktop computer. For example, the user can view a portal web page that includes several types of content such as financial news content, entertainment news content, technology news content, etc. If the user's cursor hovers over the financial news content, the computing device can extract information from a region surrounding the cursor (e.g., text within a radius of the center of the cursor can be extracted). Some or all of the extracted information can be included in the context information transmitted to the multimodal server.
[0052] In step 308 , a grammar is selected based on the received context information. For example, the grammar selection server 218 can select a grammar that includes a financial vocabulary in the received context information indicates that the user's mouse is hovering over content describing financial information on a web page. More specifically, a classification module (not shown) within the grammar selection server 218 can classify the extracted content. The grammar selection server 218 can match one or more keywords resulting from the classification of the extracted content with keywords that are associated with grammars by the grammar index 226 .
[0053] In another example, the grammar selection server 218 can select a grammar associated with a particular geography, where the particular geography corresponds to the GPS coordinates, which indicate a current location of the cell phone 206 .
[0054] In yet another example, the grammar selection server 218 can select a grammar including an application-specific vocabulary if the received context information specifies that the user is interacting with a particular application. For example, if the user is interacting with a calendar application (e.g., resident on the client 200 or hosted and accessed via the browser 210 ), the grammar selection server 218 can select a grammar that includes a calendar-specific vocabulary and calendar-specific grammar rules.
[0055] The grammar selection server 218 can also use the received user ID to select a grammar. In some implementations, a grammar may be constructed based on a user's past Web search history. For example, if a user frequently performed past web search queries associated with archaeology, a grammar builder (not shown) can construct a personalized grammar for the user that includes vocabulary, syntax, etc. associated with archaeology.
[0056] In some implementations, more than one grammar can be selected using one or more types of context information. For example, context information derived from items viewed by a user may correlate to two more grammars. In this case, the grammar selection server can select multiple grammars for use in the voice recognition.
[0057] In step 310 , audio can be received. For example, the user of the device 206 can speak into a microphone of the device 206 . The microphone interface 212 can transmits the speech captured by the microphone to the voice recognition server 220 .
[0058] In step 312 , the received audio can be interpreted using the previously selected grammar. For example, the voice recognition server 220 can access a data structure that stores grammars to select a grammar that the grammar selection server 218 identified. The audio decoder 238 can use the selected grammar to interpret the received audio.
[0059] In step 314 , it is determined whether the session has timed out. For example, the session established between the client 200 and the audio processing system 220 in step 302 can have a time limit. If the time limit is exceeded, the method 300 can end. In another implementation, if the session times out, the audio processing system 202 prompts the client 200 to establish a new session. In some implementations, limiting the session time may prevent a client from monopolizing the audio processing system, especially if the client is inactive for a long period.
[0060] In step 316 , it is determined whether a context has changed. For example, a user may change locations. If the user moves to a new location, a GPS transceiver can update GPS coordinates in response to reflect the new location. The new context information can be received and processed as previously described in association with step 306 and subsequent steps. In another example, the user may access a different application, or view different at a data using the same application. The change in application or use of an application can initiate transmission of the new context information.
[0061] If the context information does not change, then the method 300 can repeat steps starting with step 310 . For example, the audio processing system 202 can continue to use the previously selected grammar to interpret any received audio.
[0062] FIG. 4 shows exemplary screenshots of a user interface for a client that interacts with an audio processing system that selects a grammar based on context information. The screenshot 400 includes a map 402 . A user can launch a browser for the client and log onto an online interactive map service such as GOOGLE Maps or YAHOO! Maps. The user can specify a location to map by entering a zip code, area code, city and state, or other location identifier. For example, the user can enter the zip code 95661. The map service can then transmit a corresponding map of Roseville, Calif. for display on the browser.
[0063] The browser (or web page displayed by the browser) can present a search option window 404 . A user can interact with the search option window 404 to initiate a search for businesses, points of interests, locations, etc., and can display the results on the map 402 . The search option window 404 can accept “entered” searches as indicated by the option 406 . For example, a user can select the option 406 using a keypad. Alternatively, the user can speak the selection “Enter a new search.” The user can then enter a search via the keypad.
[0064] The search option window can also accept spoken searches as indicated by the option 408 . For example, a user can selection the option 408 using the keypad or by speaking the selection.
[0065] The screenshot 410 shows an exemplary interface displayed after a user has selected the option 408 indicating the user desires to speak a new search. In this example, the client visually prompts the user to speak a type of business or business name. The diagram 412 illustrates a user speaking a search term “Fry's.”
[0066] In other implementations, the client can prompt a user to speak other terms such as points of interest, geographical locations, etc.
[0067] In yet other implementations, the user is not visually prompted to speak a search, but can initiate a search sua sponte. For example, a browser may display a web page that displays technology news. The user could say, “Search for AJAX.” In yet other implementations, the client may audibly prompt a user to enter or speak a search or other vocal input.
[0068] In another implementation, the user can press a key on the device—such as an “answer call” key on a cell phone—to indicate that the user would like to initiate a voice search. The user can hold the key when speaking or initiate the search by holding the key for a predetermined length of time. In the latter implementation, the voice search can terminate after a predetermined amount of time has passed where a voice signal was not detected.
[0069] Although not indicated in the previous screenshots, the client can transmit geographical information about the map 402 displayed by the client. An audio processing system can select a grammar that is associated with the geographical information for use in interpreting audio received in response to the prompt displayed in screenshot 410 .
[0070] Screenshot 416 shows interpreted audio based on the spoken search term “Fry's.” A user can select one of the possible interpretations using the keypad or by saying, for example, a number associated with each of the interpretations. Screenshot 418 shows the map 402 of Roseville, Calif. with a pushpin icon 420 identifying a location of a Fry's Electronics store.
[0071] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of computing devices 500 , 550 that may be used to implement the systems and methods described in this document, either as a client or as a server or plurality of servers. Computing device 500 is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, and other appropriate computers. Computing device 550 is intended to represent various forms of mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, and other similar computing devices. Additionally computing device 500 or 550 can include Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives. The USB flash drives may store operating systems and other applications. The USB flash drives can include input/output components, such as a wireless transmitter or USB connector that may be inserted into a USB port of another computing device. The components shown here, their connections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to limit implementations of the inventions described and/or claimed in this document.
[0072] Computing device 500 includes a processor 502 , memory 504 , a storage device 506 , a high-speed interface 508 connecting to memory 504 and high-speed expansion ports 510 , and a low speed interface 512 connecting to low speed bus 514 and storage device 506 . Each of the components 502 , 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , and 512 , are interconnected using various busses, and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners as appropriate. The processor 502 can process instructions for execution within the computing device 500 , including instructions stored in the memory 504 or on the storage device 506 to display graphical information for a GUI on an external input/output device, such as display 516 coupled to high speed interface 508 . In other implementations, multiple processors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along with multiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices 500 may be connected, with each device providing portions of the necessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers, or a multi-processor system).
[0073] The memory 504 stores information within the computing device 500 . In one implementation, the memory 504 is a volatile memory unit or units. In another implementation, the memory 504 is a non-volatile memory unit or units. The memory 504 may also be another form of computer-readable medium, such as a magnetic or optical disk.
[0074] The storage device 506 is capable of providing mass storage for the computing device 500 . In one implementation, the storage device 506 may be or contain a computer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similar solid-state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices in a storage area network or other configurations. A computer program product can be tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer program product may also contain instructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods, such as those described above. The information carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 504 , the storage device 506 , memory on processor 502 , or a propagated signal.
[0075] The high-speed controller 508 manages bandwidth-intensive operations for the computing device 500 , while the low speed controller 512 manages lower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of functions is exemplary only. In one implementation, the high-speed controller 508 is coupled to memory 504 , display 516 (e.g., through a graphics processor or accelerator), and to high-speed expansion ports 510 , which may accept various expansion cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speed controller 512 is coupled to storage device 506 and low-speed expansion port 514 . The low-speed expansion port, which may include various communication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet) may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as a switch or router, e.g., through a network adapter.
[0076] The computing device 500 may be implemented in a number of different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as a standard server 520 , or multiple times in a group of such servers. It may also be implemented as part of a rack server system 524 . In addition, it may be implemented in a personal computer such as a laptop computer 522 . Alternatively, components from computing device 500 may be combined with other components in a mobile device (not shown), such as device 550 . Each of such devices may contain one or more of computing device 500 , 550 , and an entire system may be made up of multiple computing devices 500 , 550 communicating with each other.
[0077] Computing device 550 includes a processor 552 , memory 564 , an input/output device such as a display 554 , a communication interface 566 , and a transceiver 568 , among other components. The device 550 may also be provided with a storage device, such as a microdrive or other device, to provide additional storage. Each of the components 550 , 552 , 564 , 554 , 566 , and 568 , are interconnected using various buses, and several of the components may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners as appropriate.
[0078] The processor 552 can execute instructions within the computing device 550 , including instructions stored in the memory 564 . The processor may be implemented as a chipset of chips that include separate and multiple analog and digital processors. Additionally, the processor may be implemented using any of a number of architectures. For example, the processor 410 may be a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computers) processor, a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor, or a MISC (Minimal Instruction Set Computer) processor. The processor may provide, for example, for coordination of the other components of the device 550 , such as control of user interfaces, applications run by device 550 , and wireless communication by device 550 .
[0079] Processor 552 may communicate with a user through control interface 558 and display interface 556 coupled to a display 554 . The display 554 may be, for example, a TFT (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) display or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, or other appropriate display technology. The display interface 556 may comprise appropriate circuitry for driving the display 554 to present graphical and other information to a user. The control interface 558 may receive commands from a user and convert them for submission to the processor 552 . In addition, an external interface 562 may be provide in communication with processor 552 , so as to enable near area communication of device 550 with other devices. External interface 562 may provide, for example, for wired communication in some implementations, or for wireless communication in other implementations, and multiple interfaces may also be used.
[0080] The memory 564 stores information within the computing device 550 . The memory 564 can be implemented as one or more of a computer-readable medium or media, a volatile memory unit or units, or a non-volatile memory unit or units. Expansion memory 574 may also be provided and connected to device 550 through expansion interface 572 , which may include, for example, a SIMM (Single In Line Memory Module) card interface. Such expansion memory 574 may provide extra storage space for device 550 , or may also store applications or other information for device 550 . Specifically, expansion memory 574 may include instructions to carry out or supplement the processes described above, and may include secure information also. Thus, for example, expansion memory 574 may be provide as a security module for device 550 , and may be programmed with instructions that permit secure use of device 550 . In addition, secure applications may be provided via the SIMM cards, along with additional information, such as placing identifying information on the SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.
[0081] The memory may include, for example, flash memory and/or NVRAM memory, as discussed below. In one implementation, a computer program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer program product contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods, such as those described above. The information carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 564 , expansion memory 574 , memory on processor 552 , or a propagated signal that may be received, for example, over transceiver 568 or external interface 562 .
[0082] Device 550 may communicate wirelessly through communication interface 566 , which may include digital signal processing circuitry where necessary. Communication interface 566 may provide for communications under various modes or protocols, such as GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others. Such communication may occur, for example, through radio-frequency transceiver 568 . In addition, short-range communication may occur, such as using a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver (not shown). In addition, GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver module 570 may provide additional navigation- and location-related wireless data to device 550 , which may be used as appropriate by applications running on device 550 .
[0083] Device 550 may also communicate audibly using audio codec 560 , which may receive spoken information from a user and convert it to usable digital information. Audio codec 560 may likewise generate audible sound for a user, such as through a speaker, e.g., in a handset of device 550 . Such sound may include sound from voice telephone calls, may include recorded sound (e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.) and may also include sound generated by applications operating on device 550 .
[0084] The computing device 550 may be implemented in a number of different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as a cellular telephone 580 . It may also be implemented as part of a smartphone 582 , personal digital assistant, or other similar mobile device.
[0085] Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. These various implementations can include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which may be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device.
[0086] These computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” “computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.
[0087] To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniques described here can be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.
[0088] The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the systems and techniques described here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, or front end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), peer-to-peer networks (having ad-hoc or static members), grid computing infrastructures, and the Internet.
[0089] The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.
[0090] Although a few implementations have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, geographic information used to select a geographic location can be derived based on text viewed by a user. For example, a user can visit a web site that describes the great state of Oklahoma. A web browser (or other application) can transmit geographic information indicating that the user is interested in Oklahoma. In some implementations, the web browser (or other application) only transmits the geographic information if a threshold number of words related to Oklahoma occur.
[0091] In another implementation, geographic information used to select a geographic location is based on text entered by the user. For example, the user may enter search terms such as “wild fires” and “California” into a search engine interface. The grammar selector can also correlate these to terms to identify a particular location within California. For instance, recent search results from an aggregated group of search engine users may indicate that the results often include mentions of San Diego, Calif. The grammar selector can identify a grammar anchored near San Diego based on recent search results.
[0092] Additionally, although locating a current position of a device has been described in reference to GPS capabilities within a cell phone or other portable device, other location-based detection system can be used. For example, the position of a mobile device can also be ascertained via cell of origin (COO) mobile positioning techniques, time difference of arrival (TDOA) signal detection techniques, time of arrival (TOA) techniques, angle of arrival (AoA) measurement techniques, enhanced observed time difference (EOTD) techniques, etc.
[0093] In other implementations, a grammar builder can compile a personalized grammar for a user based on emails sent or received by the user. The grammar selection server can select a personalized grammar to use based on a user ID received from the client.
[0094] In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
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The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a method that includes receiving geographical information derived from a non-verbal user action associated with a first computing device. The non-verbal user action implies an interest of a user in a geographic location. The method also includes identifying a grammar associated with the geographic location using the derived geographical information and outputting a grammar indicator for use in selecting the identified grammar for voice recognition processing of vocal input from the user.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an improved and versatile system that enables temporary fastening of objects to each other by pressed engagement of respective pluralities consisting solely of flexible loops or solely of flexible hooks on both objects. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved and versatile system that enables temporary fastening of objects each provided with a respective plurality consisting solely of flexible loops or solely of flexible hooks, to each other, via an intermediate element provided with corresponding pluralities consisting solely of flexible hooks or solely of flexible loops on opposite sides.
BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART
The well-known hook and loop fastening system, e.g., the commercial product widely marketed under the mark “VELCRO”™, basically consists of a large first plurality of flexible hooks provided on a first substrate and a matching large second plurality of flexible loops provided on a second substrate for pressed engagement between them. For convenience of use, the substrates customarily are sold together as sets, often in the form of strips of matching width and length or, alternatively, as similarly sized and shaped circular or square elements. The hooked and looped portions of such a system typically are separately secured to two objects that are temporarily fastened to each other by pressed simultaneous engagement of a substantial number of the hooks to a substantial number of the loops. The loops typically are more flexible than the hooks.
The substrates may each be provided with adherent on their sides opposite to the hooks or loops, the user thereby being enabled to adhere the respective cooperating substrate portions to the two objects that may then be pressed to each other to cause the intended engagement between the pluralities of hooks and loops. Such an embodiment is particularly suited for attachment of relatively stiff-sided objects, e.g., a soap dish to a shower wall in a bathroom.
In another embodiment of the system, particularly suited for applications involving soft-sided objects comprising fabrics or flexible sheets, the cooperating substrates are each sewn to respective portions of the same object, e.g., either the hook or the loop element to the outside of a pocket and the other cooperating element to a pocket flap to cover the pocket securely. This is a very popular usage of the existing hook and loop fastener system, particularly on garments, pillow covers, purses and wallets, diapers, open-weave bandages, soft luggage such as backpacks, and the like.
Yet another popular use for the hook and loop fastener system is to temporarily locate soft fabric items in selected relationship with other fabric items, e.g., headrest covers on upholstered furniture, aircraft, bus or train seats, sofa pillows on sofa frames, player identification numbers on sports uniforms, etc.
A serious problem arises, however, when items such as garments or headrest covers provided with hook fastener elements are washed with relatively soft and generally fluffy items such as towels and bathrobes, cottons sweaters, flannel bed linens, etc., because the hooks tend to engage and often rip off fibers from the materials of the soft fluffy items. While such undesirable engagement may often occur when the materials are dry, the problem is aggravated when the contacted fibers are wet and are repeatedly forced against the hooks, e.g., in a washing machine. The ripped-off fibers eventually clog the hooks and significantly deteriorate their capacity to engage thereafter with their loop counterparts for their intended use; and the items from which the fibers were ripped off tend to weaken and/or look damaged. The problem arises simply because in known hook and loop fastening systems employed with garments or the like there is always present a plurality of hooks provided to cooperate with every plurality of loops.
In the example of headrest covers, e.g., for use on upholstered furniture, or on aircraft, bus or train seats, the preference typically is to provide the hooks on the removable cover so that even if the cover is absent passengers will not find their hair entangled in hooks that otherwise would have to be located at about head level on the seat backs. The covers have to be cleaned frequently for hygienic reasons, and if the hooks provided on them become clogged with fibers snagged from cover material contacted during the washing process then their utility is eventually compromised.
Even with an embodiment in which either the hook and/or the loop element is provided on a relatively stiff surface, on an item not normally washed with soft fluffy items, there may be occasional problems, e.g., if the hook element is attached to a bathroom wall and a person with long wet hair happens to contact the hair to the hooks the hooks may rip off some of the wet hair.
A definite need therefore exists for a solution that will eliminate such problems arising from inadvertent engagement of the hooks in hook and loop fastener systems with ambient fibers, e.g., with a person's hair, and/or with sources of fibers like cloth upholstery, loosely woven curtains, dander from long-haired pets, or the like.
The present invention addresses this need, and provides a versatile and improved hook and loop fastening system with which users can easily avoid and/or minimize these and similar problems in a wide variety of applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved hook and loop fastening system that enables a user to connect a first object which is provided only with a plurality of flexible loops (or only with a plurality of flexible hooks) to another similarly provided object via an intervening connection element that is correspondingly provided only with pluralities of flexible hooks (or flexible loops) on opposite sides.
This object is realized by providing an improved hook and loop system for fastening a first plurality of flexible loops provided on a first substrate to a second plurality of flexible loops provided on a second substrate, the system comprising a third substrate having first and second faces with a first plurality of hooks provided on a first face and a second plurality of hooks provided on a second face on the opposite side.
It is another object of this invention to provide a hook and loop fastening system comprising a connection element that has first and second pluralities each consisting only of flexible hooks and respectively disposed on opposite sides of a shared substrate, whereby a first object provided only with a first plurality of flexible loops can be connected to a second object provided only with a second plurality of flexible loops, via the connection element, when the flexible hooks of the connection element are sandwiched between the flexible loops of the first and second objects.
This object is realized by providing an improved hook and loop fastening system in which a first plurality of flexible loops provided on a first object is fastened to a second plurality of flexible loops provided on a second object, via a connecting element provided with first and second pluralities of hooks on respective first and second faces opposite each other, when the connection element is sandwiched between the first and second objects so that the first plurality of hooks engages with the first plurality of flexible loops and the second plurality of hooks simultaneously engages with the second plurality of loops.
It is another object of this invention to provide a hook and loop fastening system comprising at least one connection element that has first and second pluralities each consisting only of flexible loops and respectively disposed on opposite sides of a shared substrate, whereby a first object provided only with a first plurality of flexible hooks can be connected to a second object provided only with a second plurality of flexible hooks, via the connection element, when the flexible loops of the connection element are sandwiched between the flexible hooks of the first and second objects.
In another aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of connecting a first object provided with a first plurality consisting only of loops to a second object provided with a second plurality also consisting only of loops, by sandwiching between the respective pluralities of loops of the first and second objects an intervening connection element that is provided with first and second pluralities each consisting only of hooks and disposed on opposite sides of the connection element.
This object is realized by providing an improved method of fastening a first object to a second object, wherein the objects have respective first and second pluralities each consisting solely of loops, comprising the step of sandwiching between the first and second objects a connection element having first and second faces with a first plurality of hooks provided on the first face and a second plurality of hooks provided on the second face, so that the first plurality of hooks engages with the first plurality of loops and the second plurality of hooks simultaneously engages with the second plurality of loops.
In another aspect of this invention, there is provided a method of connecting a first object provided with a first plurality consisting only of hooks to a second object provided with a second plurality also consisting only of hooks, by sandwiching between the respective pluralities of hooks of the first and second objects an intervening connection element that is provided with first and second pluralities each consisting only of loops and disposed on opposite sides of the connection element.
These and other related objects of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawing figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a known hook and loop fastener system in which a first element provided solely with a plurality of loops is shown in partial engagement with a second element provided solely with a plurality consisting solely of cooperating hooks.
FIG. 2A is a side view of a first embodiment of the claimed invention in which a substrate (shown curved in an exemplary unengaged disposition) is provided with respective unequal pluralities consisting solely of hooks on each of its two opposite sides.
FIG. 2B is a side elevation view of a second embodiment of the claimed invention in which a connection element is formed by adhering to each other two substrates of unequal length, each substrate being provided with a respective plurality consisting solely of hooks, the substrates being adhered to each other by an adherent layer that extends only over the area of the smaller of the two substrates.
FIG. 2C is an end elevation view of the connection element per FIG. 2B .
FIG. 3A is a top plan view of a third embodiment of the claimed invention, wherein the connection element has a nearly square shape and the area of the plurality consisting solely of hooks on one (the top) side is smaller in both width and length than is the counterpart area of the plurality consisting solely of hooks on the opposite (the bottom) side. The connection element comprises two substrates shown sewn to each other by peripheral and diagonal stitching.
FIG. 3B is a top perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the claimed invention, wherein the connection element has a circular shape for each of the unequal areas consisting solely of hooks provided on its opposite sides. This connection element is also shown as comprising two substrates sewn to each other by peripheral stitching.
FIG. 4A is a side elevation view of the basic improved hook and loop connection system disposed for use according to the claimed invention, wherein a connection element provided on its opposite sides with respective pluralities consisting solely of hooks is shown partially sandwiched in simultaneous engagement with corresponding pluralities of loops provided on each of two elements thereby fastened to each other.
FIG. 4B is a bottom plan view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 4A , with the partially engaged loop element shown bent back farther to more fully expose the connection element.
FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the interior of a vehicle equipped with a window curtain system utilizing the claimed invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As best seen in FIG. 1 , the known hook and loop fastening system 100 comprises two cooperating, usually similarly shaped and sized, elements 102 and 104 that typically are individually secured to two objects (not shown for simplicity) that may be temporarily fastened to each other when the plurality of loops 106 on element 102 are forcibly engaged with the plurality of hooks 108 on element 104 . This forcible engagement is obtained by the user applying moving pressure over the two elements toward each other, whereby the relatively more flexible loops 108 arbitrarily flex and become engaged by locally contacted hooks 106 . Not every loop or hook is necessarily so engaged, but the combined engagement of a substantial number (typically hundreds) of loops and hooks provides sufficient engagement force to serve most fastening purposes—especially in shear.
Disengagement of the fastened elements 102 and 104 from each other (and thus of the two objects to which they are respectively secured) is readily obtained simply by pulling them apart to cause their physical separation by disengagement of the flexible loops from the hooks that they had previously engaged. Both the hooks and the loops may temporarily and elastically distort in this process.
Elements 102 and 104 are most conveniently secured to their respective objects either by adhesion (preferred for relatively stiff-sided objects such as a soap-dish and a bathroom tile), or by sewing (via machine-stitching onto a manufactured product like a fabric garment or backpack). They are readily manufactured, using known processes, in a variety of geometric forms—most commonly as strips or ribbons typically half to three-quarters of an inch in width and in lengths of many feet. The loops or hooks are typically formed integrally with the supporting substrate, and may be made in a number of known ways from moldable, strong, and durable plastics materials in a variety of strengths and colors.
As noted above, when the hooks 108 of such a known hook and loop system inevitably contact fibers such as hair, pet dander, wet or dry soft cotton and the like in normal use, the hooks naturally tend to snag these ambient fibers. This, unfortunately, is a consequence of the functional property that causes hooks 108 to be used in the first place—that they can readily engage with the flexible loops 106 when desired. The hook-clogging problem is particularly aggravated when the inadvertently contacted fibers are wet, e.g., in a washing or drying machine, when the wet and/or heated snagged fibers may be softer, perhaps weaker, and more likely to break off from their parent material/object. The snagged broken fibers (not shown for simplicity) usually tend to accumulate and soon clog the spaces between adjacent closely spaced hooks, making it difficult for the somewhat more flexible loops 106 to subsequently establish adequate engagement with hooks 108 . This eventually compromises the utility of the known fastening system 100 , and it is practically impossible to remove the clogging fibers to restore the lost functionality of the hooks once this happens.
A very simple solution to this problem is provided by the disclosed invention. It allows the user to physically remove and thus totally isolate the hooks until and unless their presence is absolutely necessary, i.e., it allows a user to have them present only when they are to be actively employed for their intended purpose of engaging with the loops. This is done in a convenient, inexpensive and reliable manner without compromising the safe and easy fastening facility of the known hook and loop system. Numerous variations and enhancements of the original/basic hook and loop fastening mechanism have been developed over the years, and the improvements according to the present invention are readily adaptable to most of these applications. Furthermore, this invention requires virtually no modification of known technology for manufacturing the hook and loop elements in various useful forms, colors and materials.
According to the first preferred embodiment, as best understood with reference to FIG. 2A , a connection element 200 (for most established applications) may have a generally strip-like shape and size selected to closely match those of comparable known hook and loop system components. It may, in its easiest-to-manufacture form, comprise two conventional substrates, 202 and 204 , each of which is provided with a plurality consisting solely of hooks, namely 206 and 208 respectively. Depending on the substrate material and/or the versatility of the manufacturer, substrates 202 and 204 may be manufactured integral with each other. In another alternative, they may be thermally fused to each other if made from a suitable material. In yet another alternative, substrates 202 and 204 may be sewn to each other by stitching with a strong thread (not shown for simplicity, but similar to the stitching shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B for alternative geometries) around the periphery of the smaller element 204 . Such manufacturing specifics are considered well within the competency of persons of ordinary skill in the manufacturing arts.
Some known hook and/or loop elements are manufactured with a strong adhesive coating or layer on the sides free of hooks or loops. Connection element 222 , in a second preferred embodiment best understood with reference to FIGS. 2B and 2C , is generally similar to connection element 200 but is formed from two substrates 202 and 204 , each respectively provided with a plurality consisting solely of hooks 206 and 208 , respectively, adhered to each other by a layer 210 comprising suitable adherent material. As a practical matter, it would be convenient to use a length “l” of a known adherent-inclusive hooked element 204 and adhere it directly to a length “L” of an adherent-free hooked element 202 to form connection element 222 .
It is preferable to have the length “L” of substrate portion 202 longer than the length “l” of substrate portion 204 , and optionally to have the difference divided equally to form similar adherent/stitching free end portions 212 and 214 at either end, for ease of use as will be understood from details of the method of use as discussed below. This, while preferable, is not essential, and connection elements of any geometry may each be formed to have unequal areas of hooks on their opposite sides. Other geometries for the hooked and looped elements may be found preferable for particular applications.
Thus, for example, the connection element 300 per the third embodiment, as best seen in FIG. 3A , comprises approximately square substrate elements 302 and 304 sewn to each other by stitching 306 (which may include both peripheral and diagonal segments as indicated). Both elements 302 and 304 are provided with respective pluralities consisting solely of hooks such as 308 (the hooks on substrate 302 are not visible in FIG. 3A ). By appropriate choice of dimensions, such as “a”, “b”, “A” and “B”, a peripheral hook-free zone may be readily created in this embodiment to serve the same purpose as hook-free zones 212 and 214 in the second embodiment.
The fourth embodiment 324 , per FIG. 3B , comprises circular substrates 312 and 314 , respectively provided with pluralities each consisting solely of hooks 316 and 318 , symmetrically attached to each other by peripheral stitching 322 . By choice of their respective radii, “R” and “r”, a peripheral hook-free zone 320 may be created for the same purpose as in the other embodiments.
As will be readily understood, forming an integral structure, thermal fusion, adherence, and stitching are merely examples of techniques for manufacturing the claimed connection element from readily available and currently basic substrate element forms. Other known techniques may also be employed as desired, as may other geometries in addition to those described above.
FIG. 4A (in side elevation view) and FIG. 4B (in a plan view) each show a first element 402 that has a plurality consisting solely of loops 404 and a second element 406 that has a plurality consisting solely of loops 408 . A smaller connection element 200 disposed between them comprises a first substrate portion 410 provided with a first plurality consisting solely of hooks 412 and a second substrate portion 414 provided with a second plurality consisting solely of hooks 416 . When elements 402 and 406 are firmly pressed toward each other, with connection element 200 “sandwiched” between them, a substantial number of loops 404 will be forced into engagement with adjacent hooks 412 and, simultaneously, a substantial number of loops 408 will be forced into engagement with hooks 416 . Note that the objects that are thus to be fastened to each other, which would themselves be firmly attached to respective elements 402 and 406 in any known manner, are omitted from these figures for simplicity.
The strength of the fastening engagement thus obtained between elements 402 and 406 will be a function of the assorted physical dimensions, strength and number of actively engaged hooks and loops generally. More particularly, for a selected density of hook or loop distribution over a specific area, this engagement strength typically will be limited by the engaged area of the smaller of the two pluralities of hooks, i.e., 416 provided on connection element 200 . This factor must be taken into consideration by the user in any particular application, and a number of relatively small-area connection elements 200 may have to be used instead of a single large one so long as the desired fastening strength is realized.
Unfastening of objects thus fastened to each other, e.g., a pocket-flap from its position covering a pocket of a garment or backpack, is effected simply by pulling apart the elements 402 and 406 . As persons of ordinary skill in the mechanical arts will immediately appreciate, if substrate portions 410 and 412 of connection element 200 are of equal engaged area, and both have the same hook distribution density, then connection element 200 is equally likely to be end up engaged to either element 402 or element 406 . In many situations involving repeated or prolonged use this might not matter very much, as in the example of a pocket-flap over a pocket opening. In other situations, e.g., if the system is used to fasten a headrest cover to the back of a sofa, it may be important that when the cover is pulled off it does not leave connection element 200 on the seat back where its exposed hooks might snag a person's hair before a replacement cover has been put in place to cover them.
A simple solution is to make connection element 200 (or for the same reason differently shaped connection elements such as 300 , 324 ) such that there is at least one small hook-free zone such as 212 or 214 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B ), 310 (see FIG. 3A ) or 320 (see FIG. 3B ). Thus, when solely-looped elements such as 402 and 406 are pulled apart the intermediate connection element 200 joining them until then should remain engaged with solely looped element 402 because the more numerous hooks 412 on its larger hooked-area side exercise a larger grip there. Separation will therefore be initiated between connection element 200 and looped element 406 , as best understood with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B , at the edge where loops 408 are thus more easily pulled apart from hooks 416 . Furthermore, at least some users may find it easier to initiate the pulling-apart unfastening action by inserting a finger at the unhooked end portion of connection element 200 and then pulling away looped element 406 away from the more strongly engaged combination of connection element 200 and hooked element 402 .
When the user decides to wash and then dry the object to which either of hooked elements 402 or 406 is secured he or she can easily peel off each connection element 200 and wash/dry it separately if desired. Washing/drying of the objects secured to looped elements 402 and 406 can then be done safely, i.e., without concern about any hooks that might inadvertently snag ambient fibers and lose their hooking capability and/or damage snagged items. Note that washing/drying a number of hooked elements only with each other should not pose any problems as the hooks being relatively stiff and of equal strength cannot snag each other in a damaging way.
It should be appreciated that while known systems employ hooks and loops of comparable size and similar materials, the claimed invention enlarges their versatility because hooked connection elements as taught herein can engage functionally with loops of a relatively wide range of thickness, stiffness and size. This provides, for example, the advantage that two loosely woven objects each of which inherently contains fiber loops, e.g., soft curtains of loose and open weave, even if of different material or thickness, can be directly fastened to each other by sandwiching between them a connection element that has pluralities of hooks on opposite sides. Another example of such an application is where a fabric-covered support surface e.g., in a classroom or a product exhibition booth, can be used to display a variety of lightweight objects like cashmere sweaters, scarves, or decorative appliques made of relatively open-weave material in a variety of display dispositions simply by sandwiching one or more hooked connection elements like 200 between them and the support fabric. That the loops inherently present in the support material and in the items supported thereto are different in size and stiffness should be of little consequence so long as enough hooks of the connection element(s) can engage with each of the displayed objects strongly enough for the desired temporary and limited support. The objects can be subsequently dismounted from the display surface carefully, and may be redisplayed by being reengaged to the hooked connection elements over and over again. Any damage to the displayed objects would thus be well-contained and unlikely to affect repeated displays, and would be a part of the cost of doing business.
A novel application of this invention is in the provision of opaque curtains to obtain privacy and exclude annoying ambient light from powerful outside light sources, e.g., for occupants resting in vehicles parked in well-lit highway rest areas at night.
In such a system 500 , as best understood with reference to FIG. 5 , there is adhered a first strip portion 502 of the fastening system according to this invention, in segments sized as appropriate and consisting solely of loops, at or just below the ceiling line 504 of the vehicle, e.g., a station-wagon, SUV or van. A part 506 of this strip may have to be adhered width-wise transversely across the headliner 508 . Only relatively soft closed loops are thus in position to be contacted by passenger hair or soft fluffy garments when the curtains are not in use, so during vehicle operation for travel there should be no inconvenience arising from snagging of such ambient fibers. By suitable choice of color and quality, the looped strips 502 , 506 can be effectively blended into the interior décor of the vehicle so as to be almost non-noticeable. Lightweight but adequately opaque curtain material 510 , sized and shaped in segments disposable to match and block vision and light ingress through transparent glass windows 512 , 514 and 516 of the vehicle may be provided with respective parts of a second strip portion 518 (also consisting solely of loops) to be disposed below the windows. A suitable number of intermediate connection elements 520 , each having opposite sides provided solely with hooks, as previously described, may then be sandwiched between the curtain loops of strips 522 a and 522 b and the loops of strips such as 502 , 506 and 518 to hang the curtain segments so as to block persons outside from looking in and ambient light from likewise bothering the vehicle occupants.
At the user's option, neighboring segments of the curtain 510 may be fastened to each other adjacent their vertical edges, to ensure reliable overlap for improved light and vision-blocking function, by providing additional looped elements united by corresponding hooked connection elements thereat in obvious manner. This scheme will allow a user to selectively disconnect/reconnect one or more curtain segments to exit/reenter the vehicle without compromising privacy or disturbing other occupants.
The connection elements 520 are preferably used with their larger hooked sides engaged to the curtain's looped strips 522 a and 522 b , so that when the user pulls the curtain segments away from the looped elements such as 502 and 518 adhered to the vehicle interior, to disengage them from their useful/mounted disposition, the connection elements 520 will all remain engaged to the curtain segments 510 —leaving only the looped strips 502 , 506 and 518 exposed at the vehicle's inside surface where they will not snag any ambient hair or garment fibers. The hooked connection elements 520 can be readily peeled off from looped strips 522 a and 522 b of curtain segments 510 and washed separately from the curtain material if there is a likelihood that the hooks might destructively engage with the curtain material fibers. Use of smooth, tightly-woven, curtain material will reduce or totally eliminate the hook-clogging problem if the curtains are not washed or dried with soft fluffy materials. One obvious alternative of this application, using only the known hook and loop system, would be to apply solely looped elements to the vehicle and solely hooked cooperating elements to such tightly-woven and smooth curtains and not washing/drying the curtains with soft fluffy materials.
It might occur to one that merely applying a solely looped element over a solely hooked element during the washing and drying portions of a wash cycle to cover up the hooks, in principle, could obviate the likelihood of the hooks inadvertently engaging with ambient soft fibers and becoming clogged. This is fine in theory, but the hard fact is that even if a very few hooks are not so covered they will engage with ambient fibers; and over time this will cause even more hooks to become exposed and involved in this undesirable process. An even greater problem associated with this putative solution is that the solely looped cover-up elements required must be larger than the solely hooked elements that they are to keep covered up or, at the very least they must be of the exact same shape and size and must perfectly cover the entirety of the hooked area to perform as required. By contrast, the size of the connection element according to the present invention is not so limited. Accordingly, this problem is much better, more definitely, and very simply solved by the present invention which totally removes all the hooks and keeps them far away from the loops when not actually required for their useful function—especially during a wash-and-dry cycle.
The inherent versatility of this invention is characterized by the fact that a given connection element, e.g., 200 , can be safely and effectively employed to fasten objects that have their pluralities of loops disposed in areas of different shapes and sizes. Furthermore, by choice of hooks 206 , 208 of different sizes on opposite sides, connection elements like 200 may even be used to comfortably and securely fasten objects to each other that are provided with respectively differently sized loops. In addition, any connection elements that a user loses over time can be inexpensively replaced, and need not necessarily be exact replacements. This invention thus significantly increases the functional utility of the basic hook and loop fastening system.
Finally, it is also important to appreciate that in purely mechanical terms the invention will perform its engaging function effectively if elements (like elements 402 and 406 ) that are themselves secured to objects to be fastened are provided solely with hooks and the connection element such as 200 sandwiched between them during use is provided solely with loops on opposite sides. Such an arrangement will not afford the benefit of avoiding clogging of the hooks during the kinds of uses described above, but may have value in certain applications, e.g., with objects that are free of fibers themselves and are unlikely to be exposed to significant amounts of ambient fibers.
Persons of ordinary skill in the related arts will no doubt consider other obvious variations and/or modifications of the invention as disclosed herein. The claims appended below are intended to comprehend the same.
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An improved hook and loop fastener system enables fastening to each other of two objects each provided solely with respective pluralities of flexible loops via an intermediate connection element that has two faces each provided solely with flexible hooks and is sandwiched between the two objects. The intermediate connection element can be easily removed and washed separately as needed, for example when either or both of the objects are to be washed with other fibrous objects, to eliminate the likelihood of the hooks inadvertently engaging with and ripping off any ambient fibers that could then clog the hooks and diminish their future performance. Selective retention of the intermediate connection element in engagement with only one of the two objects leaves the other object free of hooks and thus safely contactable by ambient objects that contain frangible fibers.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cruise controller having a distance sensor for controlling the speed or acceleration of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
It is believed that cruise controllers, with which a desired driving speed is preselectable, are known, including cruise controllers that regulate the speed as a function of a vehicle driving ahead. For example, German Published Patent Application No. 196 46 104 describes a device for selecting and displaying speeds, including a first control unit for regulating the speed and/or acceleration of a vehicle. A second control unit controls the display of the instantaneous speed and the preselected desired speed. This cruise controller also operates as a function of a distance regulator (ACC, adaptive cruise control) and regulates the driving speed of the vehicle in accordance with a vehicle driving ahead. This system functions satisfactorily if the driving route is relatively free and it is possible to drive without interruption, e.g., on a rural road or a highway. However, if there are areas of traffic congestion or if the speed drops below a preselected limit, the cruise controller shuts down, thereby forcing the driver to manually regulate his driving speed according to the prevailing traffic situation. Drivers may not be able to use this cruise controller in a stop-and-go operation, for example, when starting and braking in a low speed range.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is believed that an exemplary cruise controller according to the present invention has the advantage over the related art in that it may also operate in stop-and-go operation, therefore eliminating the need for starting and braking, which may annoy the driver, e.g., when driving in a queue. For example, it is believed that this cruise controller may advantageously permit automatic starting of the vehicle from a standstill, for example, if the traffic situation allows, either automatically or after being enabled by the driver.
The status for stop-and-go mode may be displayed. Therefore, the driver may retain an overview over the instantaneous functionality of the cruise controller and may decide whether to intervene or whether to allow the cruise controller to respond to stationary objects, for example.
It is believed that the instantaneous status of the cruise controller in stop-and-go mode may be advantageously displayed by a simple display element or signal lamp. Thus, the driver need not concentrate on other lamps, while nevertheless advantageously retaining a full overview.
Since the driver should always retain the uppermost functional power over the performance of the vehicle in all driving situations, the command for automatic starting of the vehicle to the control may be delivered by operating a stop-and-go button. The driver may thus check again to determine whether the current traffic situation may permit automatic starting of the vehicle.
To prevent automatic starting of the vehicle due to accidental operation of the stop-and-go button, the readiness for automatic starting may be shut off after a preselected period of time.
The control may repeatedly deliver a new starting instruction for the driver, so that the driver will have enough time to respond to the prevailing traffic situation.
Another signal lamp may be provided for the status of the control in the ACC mode. The additional signal lamp, for example, may be equipped with three status messages for stop-and-go operation, like the signal lamp. Therefore, the driver retains a clear arrangement of signal lamps and may be able to familiarize himself rapidly with the operating status of the cruise controller without any great learning effort.
The driver should be able to cancel the instantaneous operating state of the cruise controller by operating the brake, so that control of the vehicle is retained.
The individual operating elements of the cruise controller are only actively operable if the respective signal lamp has previously been in the intermediate status. This may make it easier to avoid mistakes in operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic design of a cruise controller.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the speed range for which a speed v2 is greater than a speed v1.
FIG. 3 is a state diagram showing the function of a first exemplary embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a state diagram showing the function of a second exemplary embodiment according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The block diagram in FIG. 1 shows the basic design of a cruise controller 50 . The central unit is a control 40 , which is connected to a distance sensor 41 . Distance sensor 41 may be, for example, a radar sensor that works with microwaves or an optical sensor that monitors the driving range in front of the vehicle with respect to stationary obstacles, oncoming vehicles and vehicles driving ahead, and delivers the corresponding information to control 40 . Control 40 is connected by a corresponding interface to various vehicle components, such as engine control and transmission control, brakes, etc. These units are not shown in FIG. 1 for reasons of simplicity. In its individual components, control 40 may be regarded as a cruise controller like that referred to in German Published Patent Application No. 196 46 104, for example. As such, no further explanation is provided. Control 40 is also connected to operating elements, such as buttons or switches. A known cruise controller may have, for example, an on/off button 42 , one + button and one − button 43 for selecting the last speed set and a resume button 44 for restoring the set driving speed. An object of an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention is to provide an additional button, i.e., stop-and-go button 45 . The exact function of this button in conjunction with the other buttons is explained in detail below. It should be noted that suitable switches or operating elements may be used instead of the buttons.
For providing the driver with information, control 40 includes display elements 46 for the ACC mode and 47 for the status in stop-and-go mode. Additional displays for the operating function of control 40 may also be added, for example.
However, the number of display and operating elements should be kept as low as possible to prevent a complicated learning procedure for the driver, and the operation should be simple enough so that it does not constitute a safety risk. Signal lamps 46 and 47 therefore alternatively display three functions. In one exemplary embodiment, the three states are signal lamp on, signal lamp off and signal lamp having a weakened luminous power or a different color from the on state. Alternatively, three different colors, e.g., red, green and yellow or similar embodiments may also be selected.
To explain the functioning of the embodiments, the nature of the invention should first be explained again. A known cruise controller (FGR) may be active only above a first critical speed v1. Thus, the controller regulates the driving speed only when it has reached critical speed vi (active or activatable ACC mode). Also, in city traffic, for example, distance sensor 41 may not always know exactly which targets it must consider, e.g., when driving in a queue and with extremely short intervehicle distances, e.g., at streetlights and intersections. However, cruise control is much simpler on rural roads and highways, where speeds are higher but the distances and thus the vehicle density are lower, because it is easier to anticipate the driving behavior of the other drivers.
However, various exemplary embodiments according to the present invention may also regulate the speed range in effect from a standstill to a second critical speed v2 with an additional stop-and-go device at low speeds, such as occur in town traffic. This stop-and-go mode is below second critical speed v2 if the driver has not turned the system off, so that it automatically regulates its distance and driving speed.
For a better understanding, the essential features of the cruise controller are explained below.
1. In the ACC mode, i.e., in the speed range above critical speed v1, stationary targets are also detected, but the system does not respond to these targets. In stop-and-go mode, however, in the speed range less than v2, the cruise controller responds to both slow and stationary targets which are classified as relevant.
The speed range between speeds v1 and v2 may be important if v1 is less than v2. In this range, the driver may choose between the two active modes mentioned above, or alternatively may leave the choice to the cruise controller. This regulation advantageously provides a fluid transition between the two states, and the driver may determine the point in time for the change in state because the driver is informed regarding the prevailing status.
2. For stop-and-go mode, the following features are also provided. After reaching a standstill in regulated operation, automatic starting is possible up to a certain predetermined time limit t limit after stopping. Automatic starting is then possible only after being enabled by the driver.
3. In addition, at standstill, the cruise controller gives starting instructions when acquisition of the object data detects an end of the standstill situation. This may be the case, for example, when the distance from a vehicle driving ahead has increased or when a certain differential speed between the two vehicles has been determined. Only then is automatic starting possible within a certain period of time after being enabled by the driver.
4. In addition, in a first exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, if the starting instruction is disregarded, the cruise controller deactivates itself, and then the vehicle may be started only by the driver.
In a second embodiment according to the present invention, however, there is no automatic deactivation of the cruise controller. Instead, after a preselected period of time, the driver again receives starting instructions, if allowed by traffic conditions.
5. In addition, the driver should confirm a transition from a mode having a lower functionality, e.g., from a stop-and-go mode, for example, to the ACC mode. Supporting instructions by the cruise controller may also be possible.
6. In this exemplary embodiment, the operating elements and displays are arranged clearly and their functions are readily understandable for the driver. Therefore, the driver has a general overview of the system.
7. All the operating elements have the same functionality in each mode to simplify operation.
8. The same is also true of the display elements, which actively inform the driver regarding the prevailing operating status, e.g., stop-and-go mode, so that the driver retains an overview of which states are feasible.
9. It may be important that any active control mode may be overridden or turned off by the driver at any time.
FIG. 2 shows a diagram for the speed range for which speed v2 is greater than speed v1. The arrows show the two ranges in which the ACC mode or the stop-and-go mode is active or may be activated. Transition range v1<v<v2 is shown with hatching.
Two embodiments of the present invention are explained in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. These two embodiments are examples of cruise controllers that essentially fulfil features 1 through 9 mentioned above.
The first exemplary embodiment according to the flow chart in FIG. 3 is explained in greater detail first. It should be noted that FIG. 3 is based on the intensity of the driver's intervention (horizontal axis at the upper edge of the page): “active,” “overridden,” “activatable,” “not activatable.” Velocity “V=0,” “0<V<v1,”. “v1<V<v2” and “v2<V” are plotted on the vertical axis on the left side, from top to bottom. In addition, the different symbols for signal lamps 46 and 47 for the various ACC modes and stop-and-go modes are shown at the lower edge of FIG. 3 . In addition, operating elements 42 through 45 with their functions are also shown. Likewise, the state symbols are shown.
For reasons of simplicity, all transitions from the active state to an inactive state, which may always be triggered by operation of the off button or the brake pedal, are also shown in FIG. 3, but are not shown in their course. Only the condition to which such an operation leads is shown for each speed level. This exemplary embodiment uses operating and display elements of conventional cruise controllers, so that no excessive relearning effort is necessary for the driver.
The cruise controller has been expanded by adding signal lamps 46 and 47 and stop-and-go button 45 .
Signal lamp 46 for the distance regulator (ACC mode) may assume three operating modes:
The ACC lamp is off, i.e., the functionality of control 40 is neither active nor activatable here.
The ACC lamp is turned on: the system is in ACC mode, i.e., the ACC controller is active.
The ACC lamp is in an intermediate state (e.g., the lamp burns faintly, or in the case of a surface display element, only the border is shown or another color change is discernible): the ACC mode is not active, but it may be activated by the driver by operation of the ACC button.
Signal lamp 47 for stop-and-go mode has also been designed for three functions accordingly:
The stop-and-go lamp is off: the functionality of the stop-and-go regulator contained in control 40 is neither active nor activatable.
The stop-and-go lamp is on: the system is in stop-and-go mode, i.e., the stop-and-go regulator contained in control 40 is active.
The stop-and-go lamp is in an intermediate state (like signal lamp 46 ): the stop-and-go mode is not active, but it may be activated by the driver by operation of stop-and-go button 45 .
For example, an acoustic signal may be provided as the starting instruction if the system detects a situation in which the system functionality may be approached accordingly and preselected time limit t max for automatic starting has not yet elapsed. This occurs when the system has braked to a standstill. Simultaneously, the driver is visually instructed by signal lamp 47 , with its intermediate state, that cruise controller 50 is now activatable.
The function of the additional operating elements are explained below. ACC button 44 (known as a resume button) causes the ACC mode to be activated when the driver operates this button if signal lamp 46 is in the intermediate state.
The +/− buttons determine which actions will be implemented, depending on the status of the system. If the cruise controller is active, i.e., if one of signal lamps 46 and 47 lights up, then the set speed is incremented or decremented by a certain amount, e.g., 10 km/h. However, if the cruise controller is only activatable (signal lamp 46 and 47 is in an intermediate state), then the corresponding mode is activated. The set speed is set at the next higher or lower mark relative to the prevailing speed. However, if both modes are activatable (both signal lamps 46 and 47 are in an intermediate state), operation of the + button causes the ACC mode to be activated. However, operation of the − button causes the stop-and-go mode to be activated. Cruise controller 50 is deactivated by operating on/off button 42 .
Stop-and-go button 45 enables the driver to activate the stop-and-go mode if signal lamp 47 is in the intermediate state.
In another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, the buttons and the signal lamps are either mounted separately from one another or designed as modules.
With regard to the flow chart of FIG. 3, all the system states are represented either by rectangles or by ellipses.
Rectangles indicate that the vehicle is stationary and ellipses indicate that the vehicle is in motion. In addition, the status of two signal lamps 46 , 47 are indicated. The transitions between the states are characterized with the respective buttons if the buttons may trigger the transitions. The transition is triggered by operation of one of these buttons.
The features mentioned above may be implemented on the basis of the flow chart in FIG. 3 for the first exemplary embodiment. If the vehicle stops behind a stationary target object (a vehicle driving in front) in active stop-and-go mode, the control goes to position 1 in which the stop-and-go mode remains active. The vehicle driving in front (target object) approaches within time t limit . Then, automatic starting begins, with cruise controller being active in the stop-and-go mode (position 2 ) and the speed being regulated. Simultaneously, signal lamp 47 (position 33 ) lights up to display that the stop-and-go mode is active. If the speed is increased further until V>v1, then in position 3 , lamp 31 also lights up (intermediate state) to signal that ACC mode is activatable. The driver may then choose to activate ACC mode (position 4 ) by operating button 44 . Signal lamp 46 lights up and signal lamp 47 goes into the intermediate state (position 34 ). If the speed is increased further beyond critical speed v2, the ACC mode is active (position 5 ) and the system regulates the speed. Signal lamp 47 goes out.
If the driver, now in position 2 , desires to influence the acceleration by depressing the accelerator pedal, then the driver is overriding the function of the stop-and-go mode (position 6 ). The speed of the vehicle is then increased beyond critical speed v1. In position 7 , the driver further overrides the stop-and-go function, so that, with increasing speed, by selecting button 44 , the system again goes to position 8 , where the ACC mode is active and stop-and-go mode is activatable. Here again, the speed of the vehicle may be increased by pressing button 43 (position 9 ).
If the vehicle is stationary in position 1 for a period of time longer than preselected period of time t limit , the system does not go into the active state (position 11 ). If the prerequisites for safe starting are met, then in position 13 the stop-and-go mode is switched to activatable and a starting instruction is issued. Signal lamp 47 is in the intermediate mode. Within preselected time limit t max , the cruise controller may be activated and started by operating stop-and-go button 45 , so that the flow chart may be continued to position 2 . If there is no confirmation of the starting instruction by pressing the stop-and-go button within t max , the system goes to the inactive state (position 12 ), in which it is possible to start only by operating the accelerator pedal. In any case, cruise controller 50 may be deactivated by operating on/off button 42 . Depending on the driving speed, the system then goes to an inactive position 12 , 14 , 15 or 16 . The display elements do not show an active state. However, activatability of the stop-and-go mode is indicated by the intermediate state of signal lamp 47 in position 14 , activatability of the ACC mode is indicated by the intermediate state of signal lamp 46 in position 10 , and activatability of both states (stop-and-go mode and ACC mode) is indicated by the intermediate state of both signal lamps ( 46 and 47 ) in position 15 . By operation of the respective operating elements, it is then possible to switch back to an active state. Likewise, cruise controller 50 may be deactivated by operating the brake pedal at any time.
Depending on the driving speed, this leads to an inactive position 10 , 17 , 18 or 19 . Both display elements 46 , 47 indicate an inactive state and no activatability. Only after releasing the brake does the system return to position 14 , 15 or 16 , which indicate activatability and thus allow activation.
A second exemplary embodiment according to the present invention is described below with reference to FIG. 4 . The second exemplary embodiment operates similarly to the exemplary embodiment described above, except that this embodiment differs only in that position 11 is not provided.
The other positions are identical. Thus, in the active standing mode, a new starting instruction is delivered (position 13 ) when preselected time t max has been exceeded. The driver may then decide whether to switch to active stop-and-go mode by operating stop-and-go button 45 , to leave the system inactive or to drive forward by depressing the accelerator himself (position 14 ).
In summary, the essential features of these two embodiments are explained again below, based on features 1 through 9 described above.
1. The active ACC mode includes the states “ACC active, system regulating” (positions 4 and 5 ) and “ACC active, driver overriding” (positions 8 and 9 ) and it may be activated only above speed vl. Active stop-and-go mode includes the states “stop-and-go active, system regulating” (positions 2 and 3 ), “stop-and-go active, driver overriding” (positions 6 and 7 ) and “stop-and-go active, target object, v=0, t≦t limit ” (position 1 ). Stop-and-go mode may be used in the speed range below v2. These two embodiments differ in that, in the second embodiment, activation at a standstill is also possible if the driver has braked to a standstill. In contrast, activatability is possible at a standstill in the first embodiment only if the system was active when stopping the vehicle. FIGS. 3 and 4 indicate that a transition to the other mode may be initiated by the driver in the speed range between v1 and v2 by operating the ACC or stop-and-go buttons. Signal lamps 46 , 47 indicate the possibilities of a transition.
2. The mechanism described here includes the states “stop-and-go, system regulating” (position 2 ), “stop-and-go active, target object, V=0, T≦T limit ” (position 1 ), “active standing” (position 11 , 12 ) and “stop-and-go activatable, V=0, starting instruction” (position 13 ).
3. The mechanism described occurs in the state “stop-and-go active, V=0, starting instruction” (position 13 ).
4. In the first embodiment, with a given starting instruction and after a preselected time limit t max has elapsed, the system is deactivated if it has not yet been activated by the driver, and the system may be switched back on again by the driver only after starting. In the second exemplary embodiment, the system remains in readiness if the starting instruction is disregarded and preselected time limit t max has elapsed, and it may optionally issue a starting instruction again and may then change to the activatable mode.
5. A transition from stop-and-go mode to ACC mode may be accomplished only by explicit operation of ACC button 44 .
6. The states and the respective system functionalities are not dependent upon traffic situations.
7.+8. All the operating elements and display elements have the same function, regardless of the prevailing state.
9. FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate the possibilities of overriding by a higher acceleration request on the part of the driver when the vehicle is moving or by operation of the accelerator pedal at a standstill. When the vehicle is moving, operation of on/off button 42 leads to a state in which the system is inactive but it remains activatable at any time.
When the vehicle is stationary, on/off button 42 , in the second exemplary embodiment leads to a state in which the system is not directly activatable but may be activated only after a starting instruction. For the first exemplary embodiment, operation of on/off button 42 when the vehicle is standing still converts it to an inactive state in which activatability is no longer possible. On operation of the brake by the driver, the system is transferred at any time to the state in which it is not active and is not activatable as long as the brake remains operated.
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A cruise controller is provided, which regulates the driving speed of the vehicle not only beyond a certain minimum speed but also at speeds below a preselected critical speed down to standstill of the vehicle. Detecting the traffic situation using a distance sensor allows the vehicle to be automatically started once the driver has responded to a corresponding starting instruction. The starting instruction is effective until a preselected time limit, but, alternatively may also be repeated. However, in any traffic situation, the driver may override the cruise controller by operating the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an electromagnetic miniature relay comprising a flat core disposed within an excitation coil with the ends of the core merging from the ends of the coil to form pole pieces for an armature which is positioned next to the coil and presses against the pole pieces upon energizing of the coil so that a contact arrangement including contacts carried by the armature and stationary circuits which are mounted adjacent the core are interconnected by the movement of the armature. The invention is also directed to a method of making such a relay.
Magnetic relays having the fundamental structure of a flat core received in a coil and having an armature positioned and biased away from pole pieces by a spring arrangement so that electrical contact is made between stationary and movable contacts have been known for a long time. These traditional, so-called flat relays have an armature which is seated at one side and when actuated sets the contact springs attached laterally to the relay over an actuation slide. This traditional structure with separately applied sets of contact springs is not suitable however for miniaturization.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to providing a particularly simple miniature relay having the initially cited basic structure which can be manufactured with few and simple parts. In terms of structure or size and terminal configuration, the relay should be matchable to integrated circuit assemblies and should be able to be switched to handle relatively high currents despite its minimum overall size.
To accomplish these goals, the present invention is directed to an improvement in an electromagnetic miniature relay having a base body containing a flat core being disposed inside an excitation coil with ends of the core and the body extending from both ends of the coil to form a pole piece at each end of the coil for an armature which is disposed next to the coil and presses against both pole pieces when the coil is energized. The improvements are that at least one stationary contact with a terminal pin is anchored in the base body adjacent each end of the coil and in the area of the armature ends and a contact spring being connected to the central portion of the armature and having contact portions, the contact portions having a length along the length of the armature to extend beyond the ends of the armature to overlie the stationary contacts so that when the coil is energized, the armature moves against the spring portions and into contact with the pole pieces and the ends of the contact portion engage the two stationary contacts to form an electrical contact therebetween.
Since the core is stamped from a thin piece of sheet metal, the armature consists of a flat sheet and the contact arrangement can be a flat contact spring, the relay allows a very flat and respectively narrow profile because the total thickness of the relay includes the adding-up of the various thicknesses of the flat contact spring, the armature and the thickness of the sheet metal core disposed in a flat coil or winding. The stationary contact elements, which are positioned adjacent the ends and outside of the ends of the armature, do not increase the depth of the relay structure particularly when only two stationary contact elements for making contact or for breaking contact are provided. In such a case, it is also possible in a particularly simple fashion to allow the two terminal pins of the stationary contact elements to emerge from the relay to be aligned in one row with two coil terminal pins which are likewise anchored in the base body so that the relay can either be employed on an edge with a very narrow structure of a printed circuit board or flat with a very low structure and profile on a printed circuit board with the terminal pins extending in a row which has been bent at 90° on a common axis.
In one embodiment of the relay, the armature can be seated on one pole surface or piece and merely form a working air gap with a second pole surface or piece of the core. It is expedient in this case that the contact spring secured to the armature is also rigidly connected at one end to one of the stationary contact elements and enters into a switching condition with the other stationary contact element only at its other free end.
A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention consists when the armature forms respectively working air gaps with both pole pieces of the core and thus executes a translational switch motion in a direction perpendicular to the coil axis. Therefore, the contact springs secured to the armature execute a switch motion with each of the two ends relative to the cooperating contact elements and form a bridge contact spring. It is thereby possible to switch relatively strong currents even given a very small structure and relatively slight armature stroke due to the double contact breaking with the bridge contact spring and due to the disposition of the interrelated, stationary contact elements at opposite ends of the relay with the insulating path of the corresponding length. A neutral or open position for the armature is expediently produced by means of a reset spring designed as a leaf-spring which like the contact springs rests flat against the armature and has a free end pressing against a seating surface on the base body. It is also expedient in order to guarantee a symmetrical force distribution to have the respective reset springs be provided at both sides of the contact spring. It is a particularly simple development to have the reset spring and contact springs joined as one piece in their center section and thus be formed of a single sheet of metal which has longitudinally extending cuts or slots to form the various spring portions. In the neutral or open position, the armature is expediently supported or urged against the housing cap by the force of the reset springs.
The base body expediently and simultaneously serves both as a coil body as well as a carrier for the stationary contact elements and under given conditions for coil connection elements. The core and the stationary contact elements can thereby be embedded in the base body so that only the pole pieces and the contact surfaces of the stationary contact elements are exposed.
It is expedient in forming the relay to provide the flat core and stationary contacts, embed the core and stationary contacts in the base body, assemble a coil on the body, provide an armature provide a spring contact arrangement with spring portions and contact portions, assemble the contact arrangement on the armature, position the armature with the spring portions engaging the body to form an assembly and then assemble a protective cap on the assembly to maintain the armature in its position.
It is particularly advantageous when the core and the cooperating contact elements are first stamped from a single blank and are interconnected by a respective holding web or guide strip. After this blank has been embedded in the insulating material forming the base body, the stationary contacts and the core can be subsequently separated from the guide strip. The coil terminal pins can also be stamped from the common blank and be co-embedded at the same time as the core and stationary contact elements. Again, after the step of embedding, they can be separated from the common holding web. After the core has been wound onto the body and the leads attached to the coil terminal pins, they can be bent to the desired final position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a relay in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the relay of FIG. 1 with portions in elevation to show various lateral positions of the parts; and
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section taken at different levels of the relay of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The principles of the present invention are particularly useful when incorporated in a relay generally indicated at 100 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The relay 100 consists of a base body 1, which serves both as a coil carrier as well as a contact carrier. In the center part, the body 1 carries a winding or coil 2, which is limited at both ends by flanges 3 and 4 which, as best illustrated in FIG. 1, have recesses 3a and 4a which are chamber-like. A flat core 5 is embedded in the base body 1 and extends through the core winding with the ends of the flat core extending beyond the ends of the coil and forming respective pole surfaces or pieces 5a and 5b in the recesses or chambers 3a and 4a respectively. The flanges 3 and 4 which are formed in the base body 1 also carry cooperating contact elements 6 and 7, respectively, at the end faces and in front of the pole pieces 5a and 5b. The contact elements 6 and 7 are embedded in the base body and have downwardly projecting connection pins or splines 6a and 7a, respectively. The contact elements 6 and 7 are respectively provided with contact surfaces 8. Along the lower edge from which the connection terminals or splines 6a and 7a extend, the base body 1 also carries two coil connection elements 9 and 10 which have downwardly projecting connection splines or terminals 9a and 10a, respectively. As illustrated, the pins 6a, 7a, 9a and 10a all extend in a single row. The connecting elements 9 and 10 also have winding support points 9b and 10b on which ends 2a and 2b of the winding or coil 2 are wrapped.
An armature 11, which is formed of a flat plate or sheet just as the core 5, has a pair of ends 11a and 11b which are bent to be offset from the plane of the armature. Thus, the end 11a can engage the pole piece 5a while the end 11b engages the pole piece 5b when the armature is attracted by the magnetic force created by energizing the winding 2. On a surface of the armature facing away from the coil 2, the armature 11 carries a sheet 12, which forms combined contact and reset springs. The sheet 12 is secured to the central part of the armature 11 by welds 13 or in some other manner. The sheet 12 at each end has a pair of slots 30 to subdivide the end into a contact portion 14 and two spring portions 15. In addition, the contact portion 14 is provided with a slot 31 to subdivide it for the purpose of double contacting. Thus, when the armature is pulled into engagement with the pole pieces due to actuation of the winding 2, the contacts 14 engage the contact surfaces 8 of the stationary contacts 6 and 7 to form a bridging contact interconnected to the stationary contact elements. The outer spring ends or portions 15 serve as reset springs which are respectively supported against seating surfaces 16 which are formed in the base body 1 adjacent to the recesses 3a and 4a and adjacent the contact elements or surfaces 8.
To assemble the armature 11 on the body 1, it is moved in the direction of arrow 17 and the free ends of the reset springs 15 are received in the seating surfaces 16 to form an assembly. To prevent the armature from becoming removed from the assembly, a protective cap 18 is assembled on the assembly by moving the cap in the downward direction of the arrow. The cap 18 acts to hold the armature in the assembled position but allows movement between the neutral or disengaged position and the energized position with the ends 11a and 11b energizing the pole pieces. It should be noted that the restoring force of the recess springs 15 will urge the armature outwardly against the cap.
As a result of different biasing of the reset springs 15, it would be conceivable that in a neutral or natural position, the armature presses with one end 11a or 11b against the corresponding pole pieces 5a or 5b and executes a pivoted motion around the appertaining armature end when switching occurs. As a rule, however, all of the reset springs 15 will be identically prestressed so that the armature executes translational switch motion in the direction of the arrow 17 which is perpendicular to the coil axis when switching occurs.
The base body 1 also has a space 19 which is opposite the recess 4a for receiving a getter 20. The relay can be tightly enclosed by a film 21 (FIG. 2) which is slipped over the terminal pins of the contact such as 6 and is welded or bonded to on lower edge 18a of the protective cap 18. Subsequent to securing the film 21 on the edges 18a, a casting compound 23 can be introduced syphon-like through an opening 22 (FIG. 1) in a corner of the casing 18. The material 23 (FIG. 2) will seal or close the opening 22 when the compound hardens.
As mentioned, the terminal pins such as 6a, 7a, 9a and 10a project downwardly from the relay housing in a row. The relay can then be put in place on a printed circuit board as a narrow component. When needed, the terminal pins 6a, 7a, 9a and 10a, which extend in a row, can be bent 90° around the common axis so that the relay will lie flat on the printed circuit board.
The relay 100 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be made with various stages of manufacturing. In the first steps, a core 5, the contact elements 6 and 7 as well as with the core terminal pins 9 and 10 are stamped from a common blank with all of the parts remaining connected to the strip or temporary web portion 24 of the blank. As illustrated, the terminal pins 6a and 7a are either directly connected to the strip 24 as shown by the portion 7a' or when the pins 9 and 10 are present, the pin, such as 6a, is connected to pin 9a and the point 9b is connected to web 24. A holding web such as 25 extends to and holds the core 5 to the strip or web portion 24. All of these parts are then encapsulated to form the base body 1 by being placed in a mold and having the insulating material molded or extruded thereon. The terminal pins are subsequently cut free from the pins 9 and 10 or the strip 24 and the holding web 25 is severed adjacent the body 1. A coil or winding 2 is then applied to the base body 1 and the ends 2a and 2b of the winding are then wound or wrapped onto the respective winding support points 9b and 10b. After applying the ends 2a and 2b to the support portions 9b and 10b, the coil terminal pins can be bent into the coil as illustrated by the pin 10 so that the connecting pins 9a and 10a project from the underside of the relay parallel to and in the same plane on the connecting pins 6a and 7a of the contact elements.
An armature 11 with the sheet 12 cut to form the contact portion 14 and the reset spring portion 15 is subsequently inserted and then the relay can be closed with the protective cap 18. Subsequently, the film 21 is secured to the edges 18a of the cap 18 and the material 23 is inserted into the base as mentioned hereinbefore.
Although various minor modifications may be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that we wish to embody within the scope of the patent granted hereon, all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art.
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An electromagnetic miniature relay of a narrow structure characterized by a flat core being embedded in a body and extending outside of the ends of the coil to form pole pieces, a stationary contact element being embedded in the body adjacent each of the pole pieces, a flat armature extending parallel to the flat coil and having ends forming air gaps with the pole pieces, said armature carrying flat spring-like contact portions secured to the center of the armature and engaging the stationary contacts when the coil is energized to attract the armature into contact with the pole pieces.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/060,820 filed Apr. 1, 2008 now abandoned for Efficient Vehicle Power Systems, which application is incorporated in its entirety herein by this reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to motive power systems and more particularly to a method, system and process for improving efficiency by matching power to load requirements during motive vehicular use.
Background
For a typical moving vehicle at lower speed levels, rolling resistance is a predominant loss mechanism providing a nearly linear relationship between power increases and speed increases as shown in the typical power versus speed profile for a vehicle under an operating condition set forth in FIG. 1 . At higher speed levels, air drag becomes a factor as well and those losses show a non-linear relationship. A well-accepted measure of vehicle fuel efficiency for automobiles is and has traditionally been “miles per gallon” (MPG). Since the shape of the curve in FIG. 1 is dominated by external factors, improvements have translated into increased fuel efficiency. Examples include improved aerodynamics to reduce high-speed drag and less vehicle weight to reduce rolling resistance.
FIG. 2 illustrates typical engine efficiency versus engine output power under an operating condition. A level of output power is required to maintain engine operation, a portion of which is used internal to the engine. Fuel injection has improved combustion control and, together with improved materials and manufacturing capability, has allowed equivalent power production in physically smaller engines, often with fewer cylinders. Resulting fuel efficiency improvements have been somewhat offset by pollution control requirements that typically reduce overall fuel efficiency.
Traditional automobile power systems are functionally depicted in FIG. 3 , and have remained largely unchanged since the internal combustion engine (ICE) became the industry standard in the early 1900s. The inclusion of a fuel consuming auxiliary engine that (if operated in conjunction with a main engine) consumes fuel, in addition to the fuel consumed by a main engine, for selectively powering one or more devices or systems such as a pump, heater, generator or an air conditioner is known.
Traditional vehicle power systems similar to those depicted in FIG. 3 are a determinant to the fuel efficiency. FIG. 2 shows the typical efficiency of internal combustion engines as a function of said engine output power. Maximum efficiency is achieved as the engine approaches but at a point below maximum engine output power capability.
Definitions
Controller means a device that controls operation of a motor or other device by supplying the motor or other device with one or more control signals or electrical power forms. (Control signal or electrical power form characteristics that provide control can include but are not limited to voltage, current, frequency, phase, impedance, and duty factor).
Main Engine means the internal combustion engine that provided power for all loads of a conventional vehicle power system. A characteristic of a main engine is that its size and output is determined by the total peak power needs for a vehicle.
Motive Loads means a load directly related to providing power to vehicle wheels, propellers or props.
Non-Motive Loads means all loads that are not motive loads.
Engine Loads means a subset of non-motive loads internal to an engine.
Engine Support Non-Motive Loads means a subset of non-motive loads, which are external to the engine and support engine function.
Other Non-Motive Loads means a subset of non-motive leads which do not support engine function.
Auxiliary Subsystems means systems that produce other non-motive loads.
Engine Subsystems means systems that produce engine loads.
Engine Support Subsystems means systems that produce engine support non-motive loads.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The loads 104 affecting the efficient use of fuel in a vehicle (see FIG. 3 ) vary during use, topography, distance, time, weather, and speed in response to a variety of real world driving conditions. For purposes of this disclosure, the loads have been grouped in limited ways so as to simplify and illustrate a method and system of matching and balancing the load to power ratio for all loads, a subset of a group of loads and for both substantially fixed and substantially variable loads. The groupings are not intended to be limiting. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a plethora of possible grouping combinations may be developed without departing from the scope of the disclosure. One division is illustrated in FIG. 4 . Loads 104 are divided into motive loads 105 and non-motive auxiliary loads 106 (which are the non-motive loads that are not located internal to main engine 102 ). Non-motive auxiliary loads 106 may be further divided into Engine support non-motive loads 108 (such as water pump 306 ) and other non-motive loads 110 (such as A.C. compressor 310 ). Other non-motive loads may be grouped into variable RPM loads 112 and fixed RPM loads 114 .
In the past, only a few non-motive loads 106 were present, comprising engine loads and engine support loads 108 necessary to operate the engine. Today, in addition to the engine loads and engine support loads 108 , one will find a plethora of other non-motive loads 110 devoted to computers, imaging, telemetry, lighting, communications, navigation, individual occupant environmental control, entertainment systems, electric seat heaters, defoggers, plug-in charging for the gamut of electronic devices, power assisted windows, seats, steering, braking, and suspension stabilization, all of which are loads on the vehicle power system.
The explosion of non-motive auxiliary loads found in modern vehicles calls into question the very concept of whether MPG remains an accurate measure of fuel efficiency. These auxiliary loads have increased to a point where a significant amount of fuel is consumed providing power for these auxiliary loads 112 . As illustrated in FIG. 5 , activation of an auxiliary load such as the air conditioning compressor will both increase engine output power and reduce vehicle fuel economy. Additionally, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A & 6B , off-peak engine loads are far below that of peak power output. Yet, a conventional power system utilizes an engine with sufficient potential to individually deliver peak power. The fuel efficiency of such an engine is low when that engine is providing power for off-peak engine loads. Stated in a slightly different fashion, conventional vehicle power systems, operated under off-peak conditions, will require only a small fraction of their maximum power output but at a very reduced efficiency.
Total fuel consumption (gallons, pounds, etc.) should not be confused with engine efficiency or fuel efficiency. Fuel consumed is greatest at maximum power output, and is substantially greater than that consumed under typical loading, which in turn is substantially greater than that consumed at minimum loading (engine at idle with no vehicle motion and no auxiliary systems functioning other than those required for the engine to operate).
An efficient vehicle power system (EVPS) can be viewed as one which, under identical loading (operating and/or performance criteria), consumes significantly less fuel than a conventional power, system of high output power capability. Another characteristic of an EVPS is that larger reductions in fuel consumption coincide with the most frequently encountered loading conditions (typical or average loading). For example, based on the engine efficiency and fuel consumption characteristics described above, an EVPS could be configured such that under typical loading (operating and/or performance criteria), power was provided by a small engine (comparably sized to the typical load). This small engine should therefore have both high efficiency and low fuel consumption for typical vehicle loading). Output power from said small engine could be combined with other small engines to produce the required higher average power.
The present disclosure is an efficient vehicle power system for converting potential energy stored within any of a wide variety of chemical molecules (fuel) into useful work wherein said conversion occurs over a wide, dynamic range of system operating loads, and where typical (average) system load power is substantially below the peak output power capability of said conversion system. The present disclosure describes power conversion for a wide variety of portable and mobile applications which addresses matching between power source characteristics and load conditions.
Conventional vehicle power system efficiency characteristics are illustrated in FIG. 6A as they relate to the output power range of the system and the power required for vehicle operation under typical (average) conditions. The superior profile EVPS has a wider range of output power (at both maximum and minimum output power levels) and increased efficiency everywhere compared to the present art. At maximum power, the combined maximum power from the array of small engines is greater than or equal to that from a single large engine. Fuel efficiency is improved everywhere across the range of power outputs because the more fuel efficient small engine provides a portion of the load power ranging from a large portion at low, power system output to a smaller portion at high power system output. Furthermore, the greatest percentage improvement, represented by difference between the curves, is in the region representing typical vehicle operation.
The present disclosure is an EVPS for converting potential energy stored within any of a wide variety of chemical molecules (fuel) into useful work wherein said conversion occurs over a wide, dynamic range of system operating loads, and where typical (average) system load power is substantially below the peak output power capability of said conversion system. Exemplary implementations of the present disclosure provide low cost realization of efficiency profiles that conform to the superior profile of FIG. 6B . The present disclosure describes power conversion for a wide variety of portable and mobile applications and addresses matching between power source characteristics and load conditions.
In some exemplary implementations, two or more small, high efficiency engines are in a EVPS and comprise an array of engines.
In some exemplary implementations, the present disclosure matches the different loads or combinations of loads to an appropriate array of engines thereby utilizing the fuel more efficiently.
In some exemplary implementations, the present disclosure includes two or more engines whose combined output power equals or exceeds that of a conventional single engine using identical fuel and providing power to identical vehicle loads, and where at least one of the multiple engines has lower maximum output power capability than the common single engine configuration.
In some exemplary implementations, the present disclosure includes two or more engines whose combined output power equals or exceeds that of a single conventional engine system using identical fuel and providing power to identical vehicle loads.
In some exemplary implementations, vehicle fuel efficiency is improved by more closely matching the output power capability of one or more power array sources to individual load requirements at the point in time when the required load power is being delivered.
In some exemplary implementations, two or more small capacity engines provide substantially all vehicle mobility power under vehicle operating conditions substantially less than full power.
In some exemplary implementations, an EVPS uses mechanical means for combining output power from two or more engines. Typically, said mechanical means are the drive shaft of a multiple electric motor, common rotor assembly for vehicles wherein mobility power is delivered by multiple electric motors.
In some exemplary implementations, an EVPS uses electrical means for combining output power from two or more engines. Typically, said electrical means are electrical alternators, driven by individual small ICEs, which are designed to operate with their outputs connected in parallel, and configured to operate in a master-slave mode.
In some exemplary implementations, one or more small capacity engines provide a substantial portion of vehicle mobility power under vehicle operating conditions substantially less than full power.
In some exemplary implementations, no output power from any on-board fuel-consuming engine is coupled to the vehicle wheel drive system via direct mechanical connection.
In some exemplary implementations, output power from at least one small engine is converted to electrical power used, at least in part, to power electric motors for producing vehicle motion.
In one aspect of this disclosure, a vehicle has two or more electric motors providing mechanical drive power to the vehicle wheel drive system, the motors having a common rotor shaft assembly for mechanical power combining.
In some exemplary implementations of the present disclosure incorporating means for storing electrical energy sufficient to provide maximum power to vehicle loads, the required duration of maximum power delivery from said means of electrical energy storage is typically minimal, rarely more than a few minutes. The limited duration permits substantial reductions in the size; weight and cost of said means of electrical energy storage compared to present art AEVs and HEVs.
In some exemplary implementations, an array of small engines with combined output power capacity sufficient to provide maximum power required for vehicle operation, forms an EVPS. In some aspects, a controller turns-on and turns-off one or more of the small engines in the array responsive to anticipated power requirements calculated from data related to condition and status of said vehicle, route information, location, and external environmental data. In some aspects, one or more sensors for acquisition of data useful for an onboard controller (which may include a computer) to calculate or to use a pre-calculated look-up-table (LUT) to determine near term vehicle power needs and establish a vehicle power system operating configuration (VPSOC) to provide for that power need.
In some exemplary implementations, the present disclosure operates using a fuel selected from the group including all hydrocarbon containing fuels, gasoline, diesel, ethanol, E-85 propane, liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, and other synthetic, blended or bio-fuels.
In some exemplary implementations, the present disclosure is of a fuel efficient method for powering a vehicle, the method comprising identifying the total peak power requirements for a vehicle under a set of performance criteria.
In some aspects of the present disclosure, two or more small engines have superior fuel efficiency than a single main engine would have when operating over the same operating delivered power conditions.
In some exemplary implementations of the present disclosure, a load matching method for powering an automobile is disclosed. The method comprising identifying the total motive and non-motive loads for a vehicle under a set of performance criteria. Divide the total loads, which may require power within an automobile during powered movement, into at least two subgroups. Provide an engine array within the automobile, of a size and with a power output sufficient to provide for at least the motive loads; and, within the automobile, of a size and with power output sufficient, to provide for non-motive loads as well.
In some aspects of the present disclosure, during operation of the system the motive power demands of the automobile on the average are between about 1 and about 95 percent of the maximum capacity of the primary standard engine configuration.
In some aspects of the present disclosure, during operation of the system the non-motive power demands of the automobile on the average are between about 1 and about 95 percent of the capacity of the total engine array system capability.
In some aspects of the present disclosure, non-motive power demands of the automobile are up to about 90 percent of the capacity of the engine array system.
The features and aspects of the present disclosure will be better understood from the following detailed descriptions, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, all of which are given by illustration only, and are not limitative of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above-mentioned features and objects of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and in which:
FIG. 1 is a graphical illustration of engine output power versus vehicle speed for a typical vehicle, operating under steady state conditions.
FIG. 2 is a graphical illustration of engine efficiency versus engine output power for a typical vehicle ICE.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional vehicle power system.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing load details for the vehicle power system of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 5 is a graphical illustration of the change in vehicle MPG and engine output power as a result of operation or non-operation of an optional auxiliary load.
FIG. 6A a graphical illustration of the region of typical (average) output power superimposed upon the graphical illustration of FIG. 2 .
FIG. 6B is a graphical illustration of a superior profile for power system efficiency versus power system output power superimposed upon the graphical illustration of FIG. 6A .
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a specific, conventional automobile power system.
FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of typical belt and pulley means of power distribution to non-motive loads and other engine loads as implemented for the specific, conventional, automobile power system of FIG. 7 .
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of one exemplary implementation of the power system of a system having an array of small engines each operating individual alternators providing power to energy storage 960 . An array of electric motors directly delivers power for producing vehicle motion and a separate electrical motors provides power to other non-motive mechanical loads.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of one exemplary implementation of primary electric motor array and controllers function of FIG. 9 .
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of one exemplary implementation of a computer and sensor system for dynamically configuring and controlling power systems.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a typical car computer showing a multitude of sensors and controls.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The detailed description set forth below, or elsewhere herein, including any charts, tables, or figures, is intended as a description of presently-preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized, nor is it intended to limit the scope of any claims based thereon.
In the following description various exemplary implementations, aspects and characteristics are discussed as directed toward vehicular and particularly automotive applications. The focus on automotive applications is not intended to be, nor should it act as, a limitation to the scope of this disclosure, marine, and air vehicles may also benefit from the disclosure. Automotive also includes automobiles and light duty trucks (terrestrial vehicles), which at present most frequently use single, gasoline burning, ICE power systems to provide power to produce vehicle motion and to operate all vehicle auxiliary and support systems. The automotive focus does not imply that the present disclosure is not applicable for use on other types of vehicles including heavy diesel powered trucks and buses, diesel powered train locomotives, and aircraft.
A conventional vehicle power system, illustrated in FIG. 3 , shows a functional configuration. A single, large, gasoline main engine 102 provides all of the power required by various loads 104 , which are managed as a single loss. Main engine output power is split by a power splitter 103 (such as a pulley and belt system attached to the crankshaft of main engine 102 ), which diverts a limited portion of main engine 102 output power to auxiliary subsystems.
FIG. 4 provides a more detailed view of loads 104 . Power splitter 103 directs power to motive loads 105 (load A) for producing vehicle motion and to the non-motive loads 106 , which include both engine support non-motive loads 108 and other non-motive loads 110 . Subsystems creating engine support non-motive loads 106 can include a water pump (load C), a fuel pump (load J), and a radiator fan (load L). Subsystems creating other non-motive loads can include such items as the electrical system (load B) comprising an alternator, a battery, or other presently known means for electrical energy storage, such as a fuel cell, and the electrical power distribution subsystems; power steering pump (load D), air conditioning compressor (load E), and electrical heaters (load F). Engine loads are internal to main engine 102 and not illustrated. Engine loads can include an oil pump (load G), distributor (load H) and camshaft (load I).
Small gasoline engines have a higher efficiency (consume less fuel per horsepower-hour produced) than larger gasoline engines, particularly when the latter are operating at low output power levels (levels substantially less than the engine maximum). For example, a large engine might have a peak efficiency (a high but not maximum power condition per FIG. 2 ), but under typical load conditions, a large engine might have much less than ¼ its peak efficiency. A small engine might have a peak efficiency that is 5-10 times the efficiency of a large engine when that large engine is throttled down for operation in the common city uses (i.e., in the same operating power range). In general, the small engines will be operating much closer to optimum efficiency than the single Main Engine. Generally, for the same vehicle if one compares a larger engine and smaller engine, operating under performance criteria that include operation within the smaller engines nominal operating range, one will find that the smaller engine is more fuel efficient and normally has reduced pollution produced.
The typical measure of fuel efficiency for a vehicle is in the form of miles per gallon (MPG). U.S. government regulations require two measures in the form of city and highway MPG, measured under and in conformance with regulated test conditions. The result is effectively a figure-of-merit that allows consumers to effectively compare disparate vehicles from disparate manufacturers, even though the mileage they might actually realize is likely to vary (even considerably) from said published measures. Measurement of MPG is a relatively easy task to perform, requiring data input from only an odometer and a fuel flow sensor.
In an actual vehicle as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 , loads 104 can be separated into motive loads 105 , which is the cumulated engine loading associated with the production of actual vehicle movement, and non-motive loads 106 , which are the cumulated loading for other than direct motion producing systems. The non-motive loads include engine support loads 108 that are external to the engine itself and are not included as part of engine overhead operating power loss. The engine support loads 108 are necessary to engine operation and could have been included as part of overhead losses in an alternate system for load characterization.
Engine loads are associated with and include crankshaft drive, camshaft drive and valve operation, oil pump drive, distributor drive, air “breathing”, and exhaust gas backpressure. As such, engine loads are clearly not constant and primarily vary with engine RPM. As such, the change in overhead loss between operation at typical loading and full power is relatively small (by a factor of only 2 or 2.5). This largely explains the typical change in engine efficiency versus engine output power shown in FIG. 2 . To avoid obscuring the effects of the disclosure, examples in this disclosure will use an overhead loss of four horsepower (hp) unless otherwise indicated.
The impact of engine overhead can be seen in the following example. A vehicle requires 10 horsepower to travel on a level road at 60 miles per hour (MPH) with no wind and an engine overhead loss of 4 horsepower. (Note: air resistance or drag including any wind velocity contribution is a highly nonlinear function of relative air velocity that will be a dominate fuel use factor at high speeds yet be of little significance at low speeds. For even a standard size sport utility vehicle (SUV), 60 MPH typically falls into the top end of the low speed region such that drag can be ignored for this example in favor of linear rolling resistance). Overall engine efficiency (temporarily ignoring all non-motive loads) is power delivered to the wheel drive system divided by total power generated. For this example, engine efficiency is approximately 10/14 or 71.4%, this does not count thermal losses. Operating said vehicle for 1 hour would cover 60 miles. Operating the same vehicle in a lower gear at the same engine RPM could (for purposes of this example) produce a speed of 20 MPH. In this case, engine overhead would remain approximately 4 horsepower but with only 3.3 horsepower delivered to the wheel drive systems (a linear reduction in rolling resistance due to the lower speed) for a total of 7.3 horsepower and an engine efficiency of 45.4%. For a trip of 60 miles, travel at 60 MPH requires 14 horsepower-hours while travel at 20 MPH requires 3 hours and a total of 22 horsepower-hours. Thus vehicle MPG is significantly reduced as a direct result of engine overhead and vehicle MPG decreases with speed reduction to zero when the vehicle is not moving but the engine (and auxiliary loads) remain operating.
The above examples illustrate an important concept (i.e., that, non-motive loads can contribute significantly to overall power consumption even at highway speeds, and such loads may represent a large percentage of engine loading under typical or lower speed driving conditions).
Automobiles and trucks come in a wide variety of sizes, capabilities, and characteristics to satisfy a wide variety of consumer and business needs and desires. The present disclosure can be implemented in whole or in part, and in a wide variety of topologies to meet specified performance and fuel efficiency objectives for a given, specific application.
One exemplary implementation of a vehicle power system is shown in FIG. 10 . A fuel storage and distribution system 101 supplies fuel to more than one fuel-consuming engine. As illustrated, the engine/alternator array 1302 supplies power through a power combiner to the energy storage system 960 . Most typically the motive load is the power delivered to a wheel drive subsystem for producing vehicle movement. Motive load is the power actually transferred to the environment through the wheels plus internal power consumed within the wheel drive subsystem.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a conventional automotive power system, and is included for the purpose of comparison with exemplary implementations disclosed herein. The conventional engine, main engine 102 , provides power through crankshaft 300 to the transmission 302 for producing vehicle movement, and to a drive belt 304 to power auxiliary subsystems including water pump 306 , power steering 308 , A.C. compressor and alternator 312 , The alternator 312 charges the battery and supplies power to many of the other non-motive loads 110 described above which include, but are not limited to, all electricity consuming systems.
FIG. 8 shows the specific routing for drive belt 304 for the power system illustrated in FIG. 7 . The drive belt 304 transfers a portion of the power produced by main engine 102 and provided through crankshaft pulley 355 , to water pump pulley 353 , radiator fan pulley 354 , power steering pulley 356 , air conditioning compressor pulley 357 and alternator pulley 358 . Idler pulleys 351 and 351 are present to facilitate routing of drive belt 304 and do not transfer power to an auxiliary subsystem.
Table 1 is an illustration of the benefits of tapering engine size within arrays of small engines and indicates the relative potential benefits that could be achieved with different size small engines in an array. Table 1, discussed in greater detail below, shows that it is clear that: (1) almost any size small engine will improve fuel efficiency compared to a single large engine as is now typically implemented, and (2) optimum improvement is achieved when the small engine array size is configured to match the load. Since the “typical” loading can vary significantly with user and application characteristics, it will be very important for vehicle manufacturers to offer a selection of optional small engine array sizes and configurations, and for users to know both the impact of selected auxiliary systems as well as the manner in which they will typically use the vehicle.
TABLE 1
Impact of Engine Size on Efficiency
Total
Relative
Average
Relative
Total Average
Engine
motive
Engine
Number
motive power
Engine
Efficiency
power
Efficiency
of Engines
(Highway)
Power
(Highway)
(City)
(City)
1
10
200
1.0
5
1.0
1
10
50
1.45
5
1.6
1
10
25
1.65
5
3.5
1
10
15
2.35
5
6.38
2
10
10
2.5
5
7.5
3
10
5
3.22
5
9.6
7
10
2
4.16
5
12
Direct combining of power from two or more fuel-consuming internal combustion engines, which will be operating at different RPM values, is not a practical approach. By combining the electrical power produced by each individual alternator, one per engine in a master/slave arrangement for reliability purposes approach in as much as each different power engine will have its own peak efficiency point, RPM and torque. Thus, the need for combining the power generated by the individual engine/alternator pairs in a scaled master/slave arrangement is accomplished. This is accomplished on the output of each alternator by scaling the electrical current of the slave alternator to that of the master alternator. Without the scaling, there would be serious stability issues in the system with the lower power alternator trying to output more than it should and thereby moving the slave engine off its peak efficiency point as well.
First, small engines in the array sized below typical load power will not realize all of the benefits the present disclosure envisions. In this case, the undersized engine is likely to be operating continuously at its predetermined maximum power output under high load conditions. Reliability and derating are issues that need be addressed in a specific design application but are not necessary to this disclosure.
Second, it should be noted that for cases where the small engine array is sized to provide more output power than typical load power, the added capability reduces ideal fuel efficiency improvement for typical power output unless the added capability is turned off when not needed. This will be at least partially offset by the fact that the added capacity will provide improved reliability at nominal power level.
Regarding a direct electric motor crankshaft drive, bidirectional connections (shown in FIG. 11 ) indicate normal, bidirectional energy flow, or specifically, that the disclosure provides energy recovery during vehicle deceleration. Energy recovery can substantially increase fuel efficiency and is a common feature in AEVs and HEVs. Electric motor drive implementations of the present disclosure can be fully compatible with energy recovery. They only require that the electric motors, motor controllers, and energy storage subsystems be capable of returning power to the energy storage subsystem 960 for storage, such as regenerative braking.
Regarding a single electric motor drive implementation, a system such as is shown in FIG. 9 may utilize one or more primary electric motors 1304 to provide power to the motive loads identified as primary load 1240 from one or multiple small, fuel efficient ICEs comprising power source array for primary electric motor array 1302 , through energy storage 960 .
The sizes of the small ICEs comprising any power source array depend on the number of ICEs comprising the array, the maximum and minimum output power to be supplied by the array, and a selected distribution of power ratings for individual ICEs comprising the array. For example, a 200 hp primary engine 203 might be replaced in a SUV by: (1) four 50 hp engines, (2) unequal engine size distribution such as a binary taper of four engines of 13.5 hp, 27 hp, 54 hp, 108 hp; or (3) a mixed configuration of five engines of 13.5 hp, 27 hp, 54 hp, 54 hp and 54 hp, or some other combination. The reason for tapering is that under typical or average load conditions, power source array for primary electric motor array 1304 delivers only a small portion of its maximum capacity, just as with primary engine 203 in previous discussions. Tapering creates the opportunity to deliver required power from a comparably sized source. The potential fuel efficiency benefits of tapering are shown in Table 1 above.
Table 1 is not intended to define any preferred implementation nor specify actual fuel efficiency improvements associated with any particular application. The table is simply to indicate common characteristics and trends that should be taken into account when configuring a power system for any specific application. First, Table 1 shows that, in accordance with the present disclosure, there is substantial potential for fuel efficiency improvement at both light and heavy engine loads using ICE size tapering. Second, the greatest benefit is obtained by reducing the size of the largest engine actually delivering the output power. Finally, the table shows that inclusion of the smaller engines can have a very large impact on overall fuel efficiency and should not be overlooked. The presence of even one small engine that is actually delivering power can have a surprising and unexpected impact.
One potential technique to mitigate space limitations, which may be associated with the total available volume, the location of available volume, or other packaging limitations in vehicles, is to power individual auxiliary loads with individual electric motors. Said electric motors are effectively individual integrated elements of a power-generating array with individually dedicated outputs. One example of such an auxiliary load is A.C. compressor 310 . While typically powered mechanically via a pulley and drive belt 304 in conventional vehicles, an A.C. compressor 310 can alternatively receive power from motor, which are is integral to the A.C. Compressor.
When utilizing multiple electric motors and controller 1230 , the outputs of auxiliary alternators 1220 - 1222 must be electrically combined (at node N 1201 ) prior to delivery to energy storage 960 for storage or pass through to electric motor controller 1230 . Unlike some other implementation wherein power combining is “done mechanically, power combining in this configuration is done electrically. Regardless of method, the combining of power outputs from two or more sources is a characteristic of this disclosure, whether said power outputs are from multiple ICEs or other elements comprising an array of small power sources.
Combining the DC power outputs from multiple electrical power sources, such as auxiliary alternators 1220 - 1222 , is more complex than simply wiring the outputs together at a common node. In such a simplified connection scheme, normal variations in the regulated output voltage will cause one power source to load down others. The result is some sources turned on hard and others are virtually unloaded. This potential problem is common whenever distributed electrical power conditioning is employed. A common technique to avoid the problem is to designate one of an array of power sources to be a master unit and the others as slaves. The slave units are designed to track the output of the master in terms of voltage regulation and provide a proportionate percentage of the total load current. Proportionality is important since current outputs should not be equal if the small engine sizes (and their associated alternators) are tapered in size. If one of the slave devices fails, the other devices simply take up the slack. Failure of the master device does not render the array inoperable since a properly designed slave device can assume the master function. This approach is referred to as a multi-master/slave approach in which there is a prioritized sequence for slave devices to take over the master task. A major benefit of this approach is its inherent redundancy, and it is commonly used in applications where a single point failure of a power system is unacceptable. Examples include computer server systems with hot swap power supplies, certain medical systems, and a variety of space and oceanographic systems where repair is impractical.
Energy storage 960 is comprised of a combination of one or more batteries having the characteristics and energy storage capacity described above, and capacitors to provide for energy storage to satisfy short term transient load applications, filtering of noise and spurious transient signals, and impedance control for maintaining electronic circuit stability. Like most existing automobiles and unlike energy storage in AEVs and HEVs, energy storage is held primarily as a liquid fuel, which represents an exceptionally efficient means of storage. Energy storage in the batteries is limited to an amount sufficient to provide full performance vehicle operation for a short, predetermined maximum time period, which is related to the intended application. Battery power operation in the nature of minutes will be sufficient to provide several repetitions of high-energy usage such as rapid, uphill acceleration for passing another vehicle in the face of oncoming traffic. A typical automotive ICE can be turned on and provide substantially full output power within a short period, much less than a minute (even for implementations that provide for turn-on and turn-off of ICE array elements). Thus, electrical energy storage for operation of less than about 5-15 minutes results in substantial operating margin without requiring the use of additional large, heavy and/or expensive batteries or arrays of batteries. Lithium ion or nickel metal hydride type rapidly rechargeable batteries or a combination of capacitors and batteries may also be used.
Typically, battery recharging will be accomplished using the ICEs that charge the battery during normal operation. However, nothing in this disclosure prevents recharging from other power sources, for example, from the commercial power grid using an optional plug in capability. Nothing in this disclosure is intended to exclude the vehicle deploying a power system disclosed herein from operating for a significant time on battery power alone. Under these circumstances the vehicle would function in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) mode with one or more power source arrays either turned-off or powered down for substantial periods of time. This is a particularly useful mode with turn-on/turn-off capable implementations discussed below and allows significant operation even if the vehicle runs out of fuel.
Additionally a single large electric motor could be viewed as a more efficient electric analog to a comparably large ICE. For purposes of this analogy one could choose to view the large electric motor as having its own type of overhead losses associated with largeness thereof. Near rated power, a reasonably efficient electric motor might operate at 95% efficiency while at 10% of rated output power, electric motor efficiency might fall to approximately 60% (or even less).
Major electric motor overhead losses are associated with both the motor controller and the electric motor itself. Controller losses include power semiconductor on-state power dissipation, power semiconductor drive power, and controller internal bias power. Drive power for FET or IGBT type semiconductor devices is independent of the actual load, but depends on the input characteristics of the power semiconductors themselves, which are large so as to be capable of delivering maximum peak engine power. Motor losses typically result from internal wiring losses and the minimum magnetizing current at low power. Furthermore, many systems have an absolute minimum power level for stable operation. Those that can operate at loads down to zero typically must compensate by reducing other capabilities and efficiency is one common candidate. In practice, the capability to operate at zero loading is effectively the same as a synthetic load on the power supply.
To reduce electric motor inefficiencies, it is possible to replace the single large electric motor with an array of two or more smaller, more efficient electric motors. In one implementation, the electric motor with lowest power output in the array can be modulated in its output power.
Regarding an electric motor array drive exemplary implementation, in some implementations motive power may be generated by a power source array 1302 comprised of small, fuel efficient, ICEs driving high voltage alternators. The outputs from the alternators may be combined and used to both provide energy for storage in energy storage 960 and input electrical power for electric motor controller 1304 . The electrical output from energy storage 960 provides input power to the primary electric motor array and controllers 1304 which deploy a common rotor shaft assembly 1306 to deliver power to the primary load 1240 , which consists of the conventional wheel drive system. While it may also address an implementation where, for example, the rear wheels are independently driven, it is not recommended because of the issues of torque steer when a power drive cuts in or out. This is a potentially dangerous mode of operation.
Although primary electric motor array and controllers 1304 can directly power the wheel drive system, which may include fixed ratio step down gearing, it is typically advantageous to include a variable ratio transmission on the output of primary electric motor array and controllers 1304 . The variable ratio enables operation under conditions requiring high torque (such as standing start vehicle acceleration) without excessively high electric motor currents and at high speeds without excessively high electric motor RPM. A variable ratio transmission improves both performance and efficiency for many of the same reasons when used in a conventional vehicle power system.
The configuration of the electric motor sub-elements within the electric motor array may be “fine-tuned” by deploying a tapering of electric motor element sizes. One non-limiting example of a tapered configuration would be a binary progression such as 1 hp, 2 hp, 4 hp, 8 hp, 15 hp, 25 hp, 50 hp, which not only allows finer resolution load matching, but at lower output power levels, it provides much of said “typical” power from the smallest and most fuel efficient electric motors present. Other tapered configurations that allow for such “fine-tuning” are also possible. Furthermore, in an implementation involving an array of electric motors some or all having differing power outputs, it may be beneficial to vehicle performance to have the electric motor having the lowest power output in the array to be modulated in its output power.
In summary, the present invention involves the use of multiple small engines that combine their output power to obtain a specified average power capability. These small engines could all be the same size, but that may not be feasible in practice. The engines are not throttled up and down to achieve a needed total output power. Instead each of them is operated at its individual peak efficiency point and their different output powers are combined electrically to maintain the charge level in an energy storage system such as a battery. The energy storage system is then used to provide steady-state and surge power as required. For example, with a tapered array of small engines of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 hp, and each engine is either on at its peak efficiency point or it is off, energy output efficiency can be greatly increased relative to presently available mechanisms for powering vehicles. The present invention further comprises a digital control mechanism for the average power that is being made available to the energy storage system, and since an energy storage system is present, all of the power for acceleration comes from the battery and after one reaches a cruising speed in a vehicle, the load on the energy storage system decreases and the array turns on just enough of the small engines to return the battery to a specified charge level. Then, the array provides the steady state power and shuts down any engines not needed. The fundamental difference from what is presently available is a digital control operation rather than an analog throttling of an engine to achieve the desired power (regeneration is not excluded) for recharging of the energy storage system. Energy storage is an integral part of the systems presented herein. The prior art uses direct drive to the wheel drive system with no energy storage, and as a result, the various engines are required to be in operation all of the time or suffer disastrous transient performance degradation. Throttling of an engine causes a serious reduction in the efficiency of the engine at low power thereby losing the benefits of a multiple engine system by as much as 15:1. Throttling is deadly to efficient operation of an engine but it is easy to implement.
The foregoing descriptions of the preferred embodiments of the invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description only. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form(s) disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching and in keeping with the spirit of the invention described herein. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this specification, but only by the claims and the equivalents to the claims appended hereto.
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An improved gas-electric power delivery system is provided. The invention provides an array of internal combustion engine-powered electric generators and an array of electric drive motors wherein each electric drive motor connects to a common shaft. The common shaft of the electric drive motor array connects to a mechanical load of varying power demand. The electric drive motors draw power from a battery in response to demands on the motors by the varying power demands of the external load. The array of electric generators charges the battery and each such generator turns on and off, as needed, to maintain the battery charge in response to demands on the battery by the electric drive motor array. Each electric motor connected to a common shaft in the electric motor array also turns on and off, as needed, to meet the varying power demands of the external load.
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[0001] The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of an easy open device for “Flow Pack” or similar packages with longitudinal seams and transversal closures, an opening device obtained through said process, and the package using it.
[0002] More specifically, it relates to a process for placing a detaching or easy open strip in packages with longitudinal seams and transversal closures [in] which, because of their current manufacturing characteristics, said opening is made by tearing, with the risk of spillage of the packaged product and subsequent destruction of the package. It could be said that package manufacturing techniques are divided into packages with and without longitudinal seams and transversal closures. The first are the so-called “Flow Pack” packages and the second are the so-called “portfolio” and/or wrapper packages.
[0003] Portfolio-type packages are produced by the movement in the machine direction of the already-printed packaging film, said printing generally being readable in the direction perpendicular to the film's movement. The product to be packaged arrives at the film perpendicularly to its movement, supported by disks on both ends. At the same time, a detaching or easy open strip is incorporated longitudinally into said film by an applicator head. The detaching strip comes on a spool. While continuously unwinding, it is fixed with adhesive to the internal face of the packaging film in an area near one end of the product to be packaged. Said strip is not longer than the width of the package, generally not exceeding 15 cm, and one of its ends is exposed by lateral incisions to allow for manual detachment so the packaged product can be accessed.
[0004] These types of machines have cylinders that adjust the area where said detachable strip will be placed, but their degree of precision is relative, so there is generally displacement which affects the proper operation of said strip. Also, during the process of constructing the package, the free end for tearing said strip may not match up with the circumference it should describe. Consequently, when it does not close over itself, the tear is not clean. In some cases, said strip is not even where it should be. As indicated, once the package is constructed with its detachment strip incorporated, one frangible end is left free to open it. This free end, not attached to the rest of the package, is made with at least one cut in one side of the strip. If there are two cuts to both sides, they may not be symmetrical because of synchronization problems, which makes a neat opening even more difficult to achieve. If this occurs, more force must be applied than that required for opening, which distorts it and entails high risk for the product and package integrity.
[0005] This type of package uses heat activated adhesive to seal the ends, because of which the product to be consumed can also be damaged, due to the pressure of the disks and the temperature applied, as in the case of packets of crackers, in which the first and last are generally damaged.
[0006] The undesired effects that may accompany the wrapping or portfolio technique, plus their hermetic closure, motivated the appearance and the increasingly frequent use of “FlowPack” type packages which, because of their transversal packaging characteristic, could not, until now, have an easy open device. There are two types of Flow Pack packages, those generated horizontally and those generated vertically, also called sacks.
[0007] In horizontal packaging, the product is positioned on the printed film which will make up the package in [a] direction parallel to the readable printing, because of which it must enter parallel to the machine direction, which means perpendicular with respect to the aforementioned packages that are produced longitudinally (or “portfolio”). The film closes over itself on one face of the package, producing a longitudinal fold or seam which is heat sealed. The same occurs on the ends. Due to the manufacturing characteristics of this type of package, the application of a detaching strip which is continuous and in the machine direction, as in the case of longitudinally-manufactured packages, involves several difficulties, such as:
[0008] It would use a longer strip, with the consequent higher cost
[0009] It would interfere with the heat seal areas, making [the sealing] difficult, acting as a potential contamination factor.
[0010] It would expose the entire packaged product without the ability to be re-closed, with the consequent product deterioration.
[0011] In the case of vertical or sack type “Flow Pack” packages (filled gravimetrically or volumetrically), the process is different because it is not continuous. Its intermittent nature is due to the fact that one end of the package must be sealed and the longitudinal seam must be generated so that, when gravity causes the product to fall, it is confined in the package. Subsequently, the other end (where the product enters) is sealed, thus generating the base for the next package. The inclusion of a detaching strip has also not been used because of the problems previously set forth with respect to the conventional processes for inserting said strips.
[0012] Therefore, and in keeping with what has been set forth, at this time, there are no known processes for including detaching (also known as “easy open”) strips in packages with longitudinal seams and transversal closures, commonly known as “Flow Pack.”
[0013] Based on what has been set forth, the need to develop a process for the manufacture of an easy opening for these types of packages is clear, since at the current time they are opened only by tearing one of the ends or through the longitudinal seam (which can be located anywhere on the package). In the majority of cases, this causes spillage of the product because of the force needed to break the heat seal and, in some cases, destruction of the package.
[0014] Another as yet unresolved problem is reclosing the packages after opening. Generally, once the packages are opened, they are closed with a rubber band, a clasp, a clip, or any other prehensile implement. It is well known that in food products with a high fat content, rapid oxidation occurs, producing the so-called “sogginess” (and possible sticking in the package), destroying crispness and freshness. In the case of Flow Pack packages, this difficulty increases because, as in the majority of cases, the package is in very poor condition after being manually opened and it is very difficult to reconstruct it to close it by any of the means mentioned. So there is a need to open these packages in a non-traumatic manner and then close them so they keep the packaged products fresh.
[0015] Another difficulty arises in the case of promotions or economy packs of any kind that include more of a product at the same time. In the case of wanting to package, for example, three packets of crackers for a promotion, double packaging is necessary. First, each product individually, and then grouping them in a single package, either with a wrapping film of sealed polyethylene or in a closed box. This is so because the difficulties mentioned with respect to the destruction of the packages with longitudinal seams are aggravated even more in this case, since, if there were no individual packages inside the collective package, many products would be exposed, and, in the event of its destruction by tearing, significant spillage would result. Also, the cost of this double packaging is so high that, in the majority of cases, promotions do not achieve their expectations or objectives.
[0016] Therefore, the purpose of using the present invention is to provide a process for inserting a detaching or “easy open” strip in Flow Pack or similar packages with longitudinal seams and transversal closures, manufactured horizontally or vertically.
[0017] Another purpose is that said detaching strip be easy to detach.
[0018] Still another purpose is that the opening procedure not endanger the integrity of the package.
[0019] Yet another purpose is that the process for including a detaching strip not increase costs.
[0020] A further purpose is to provide an easy closure for packages with longitudinal seams and transversal closures.
[0021] The invention will be better understood with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0022] [0022]FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal packaging or wrapping machine.
[0023] [0023]FIG. 2 shows a horizontal Flow Pack packaging machine with the inclusion of the purpose of the present invention.
[0024] [0024]FIG. 3 shows a vertical or sack type Flow Pack packaging machine with the inclusion of the object of the present invention.
[0025] [0025]FIG. 4A to C show an easy open sequence with the free end of the detaching strip located on the longitudinal seam of the Flow Pack packages.
[0026] [0026]FIG. 5A to F show an easy open and closing sequence when the end of the detaching strip is not placed on the longitudinal seam of the Flow Pack packages.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] As can be seen in FIG. 1, referring to longitudinal (wrapping or portfolio) packaging machines, the packaging film ( 1 ) on which the product to be packaged is deposited ( 2 ) is moved, with printed face ( 3 ) down and readable perpendicularly to the machine direction. The product to be packaged enters through one side on a conveyor belt ( 4 ) perpendicularly to the machine direction, as indicated by the arrows. This process incorporates a detachable strip ( 5 ), which is attached to the internal (unprinted) face ( 6 ) of the packaging film ( 1 ). This detachable strip is continuously unwinding from the spool ( 8 ) so that, after the final cut, it will surround the entire perimeter of the package ( 7 ). Its final length is, in the majority of cases, not greater than 15 cm. This, of course, depends on the product to be packaged.
[0028] [0028]FIG. 2 shows how horizontal Flow Pack packages are produced. The packaging film ( 1 ) is moved, with printed face ( 3 ) up and generally readable, parallel to the machine direction, as indicated by the arrows. At a certain point, the product ( 2 ) to be packaged is incorporated in the machine direction. Then the packaging film ( 1 ) is folded, wrapping the product ( 2 ), and a longitudinal seam ( 12 ) is generated. This seam is preferably located in the center of the package, which is heat- or cold-sealed. The same occurs with the ends of the package ( 9 ), which are pressed, heat- or cold-sealed, and cut. In this way the process keeps mechanical elements from coming into contact with the product ( 2 ) to be consumed and jeopardizing its integrity. If the process included a spool ( 8 ) containing a strip ( 5 ), such as the one described in FIG. 1, which is unwound continuously and whose detaching strip ( 5 ) is attached to the internal face of the package ( 3 ), an undesired opening area that would expose all of the product would be generated; it would also have to span areas that are sealed, which could result in product ( 2 ) deterioration.
[0029] [0029]FIG. 2 shows a spool ( 8 ) with a rolled plastic siliconed carrier or liner ( 10 ) that has detaching strips ( 5 ) not longer than the width of the packaging film ( 1 ), which is the object of the present invention. Said strip ( 5 ) has adhesive on its printed face; this process is called “occluded printing.” The ink is occluded because of the requirement to not expose the printed face to the package contents ( 7 ).
[0030] The siliconed carrier ( 10 ) is punched and, using an applicator head (not shown in the figure), the detaching strips ( 5 ) are applied to the internal face of the packaging film ( 1 ) continuously, accurately aligned.
[0031] Said strips ( 5 ) must be thick and rigid enough so that, once the cut is initiated, the subsequent release of the material accompanies their detachment.
[0032] As indicated, these detaching strips ( 5 ) are placed along the width of the siliconed carrier ( 10 ) that supports them. This means that they will be deposited transversally with respect to the machine direction and perpendicular to the readable printing on the packaging film ( 1 ). The release area ( 17 FIGS. 5 and 6) can be generated on just one face of the package ( 7 ) or on all of them (with total detachment of the portion of the package above said strip). The fact that the release area ( 17 FIGS. 5 and 6) is not the total perimeter of the package ( 7 ) makes it possible to use an easy open/close element ( 11 FIGS. 3 and 5) that enables said package ( 7 ) to be closed for subsequent use, thus preserving the product to be consumed. This easy open/close element ( 11 FIGS. 3 and 5) can either be affixed to one face of said package ( 7 ) or inside said package ( 7 ) as a self-sticking label.
[0033] Said detachable strip ( 5 ) can be positioned on any part of the package ( 7 ). Everything will depend on the type of product to be consumed. In the case of disposable tissues, it could be inserted in the middle of the package ( 7 ), but in the case of crackers, a position near one of the ends ( 9 ) would be suitable. Application is made with a standard aligning applicator head known in the art which, through the optical reading of a reference element on the packaging film ( 1 ) (not provided in the figure), indicates where said detachable strip ( 5 ) should be affixed.
[0034] Optical alignment is much more accurate than mechanical devices in relation to the aforementioned problem of displacement, with which the associated problems regarding release are also solved. The place where said strip ( 5 ) is to be affixed is previously input manually in the production line control logic (PLC), which in turn transmits the information entered to the optical reader, which activates the applicator head when said strip ( 5 ) must be affixed to the packaging film ( 1 ).
[0035] [0035]FIG. 3 shows a packaging machine for vertical Flow Pack packages, also called sacks ( 7 ). Gravity plays an important role in this process. The film ( 1 ) moves vertically (see arrow), producing first a package ( 7 ) with a longitudinal seam ( 12 ) generated by means of longitudinal clamps ( 22 ), a sealed lower end ( 13 ) generated by means of transversal clamps ( 23 ), and an upper end ( 14 ) originally opened by means of a shaping shoulder ( 21 ). Through it enters the product to be packaged, which is gravimetrically or volumetrically measured out through the hopper ( 21 ). The subsequent heat sealing of said upper end ( 14 ) by action of the transversal clamps ( 23 ) shapes the lower end ( 13 ) of the next sack, and so on. This process is not continuous, since it is necessary to wait for the package ( 7 ) to be filled in order to move on to the next. The purpose of the present invention is to participate in the packaging process through the previously-described spool ( 8 ), which has a siliconed carrier or plastic liner ( 10 ) that supports the detaching strips ( 5 ), which, by means of an applicator head (not shown in the figure), are affixed transversally to the packaging sheet ( 1 ) and aligned with a through cut ( 18 ) generated by the first cutting machine ( 24 ). Then the easy open/close element ( 11 ) is attached, also aligned and on the area of said cut ( 18 ), by means of another applicator head (also not shown).
[0036] [0036]FIG. 4A to C show an example of [the] opening sequence for the Flow Pack packages from the longitudinal seam. There are two small incisions ( 15 ) in said seam ( 12 ) where one of the ends ( 16 ) of the detaching strip ( 5 ) is located for easy grasping and to generate the release area ( 17 ) since, as is well known, said longitudinal seam ( 12 ) is not attached to the package ( 7 ) and moves freely. It could be made a requirement that the detaching strip ( 5 ) be located on the face that is not affected by the seam ( 12 ) or it could be required that the desired length of the strip not touch the seam; this example will be described in the next Figure.
[0037] When one end of the detaching strip ( 5 ) is not positioned on the seam ( 12 ) and, therefore, cannot be easily grasped except after ripping, it becomes vital to include an element to facilitate that task (FIGS. 5A to F). Said element should be directly attached to that end of the detaching strip ( 5 ) and to the area of the through cut ( 18 ) to generate the release area ( 17 ). Part of this element's surface should be self-sticking to establish that connection, and the rest of this element's surface should be non-sticking so it can be easily grasped, as occurred in the case of the free end ( 16 ) of the detaching strip ( 5 ) described in FIG. 4A. This aforementioned easy open/close ( 11 ) element will be described below.
[0038] As can be seen in the sequence of FIGS. 5A to F, for the best preservation of the products which a package ( 7 ) contains, an easy open/close element ( 11 ) could be used on one of its faces ( 19 ) with the part of the surface that is attached blocking said through cut area (FIG. 5B reference 18 ) and one end of the detaching strip ( 5 ). The other part of the surface of said easy open/close element ( 11 ) does not contain adhesive, so it can be easily grasped by the end user (FIG. 5A) and can begin the release area ( 17 ). When said release area ( 17 ) (FIG. 5B) is begun, it extends to one side of the package 7 (FIG. 5C), in turn generating an upper flap ( 20 ). When the opening of the package ( 7 ) (FIG. 5D) is complete, said upper flap ( 20 ) folds over itself ( 5 E) and over the release area ( 17 ) and then adheres to one of the faces of the package ( 7 ) (FIG. 5F) using said easy open/close element ( 11 ) previously detached from the detaching strip ( 5 ).
[0039] Finally, the affixing of the detaching strips ( 5 ) to the internal face of the film ( 3 ) of the package ( 7 ) may be accomplished on line in real time via a spool ( 8 ) that is unrolled as the packages ( 7 ) are constructed, or off line, in which case the packaging film ( 1 ) is ready to be incorporated after the packaging process with the strips ( 5 ) included. This latter case involves unrolling the entire spool ( 8 ), affixing the strips ( 5 ) at intervals controlled by optical and/or mechanical reading, and ultimately rewinding said spool ( 8 ).
[0040] Although the present invention has been described according to a specific implementation method, all persons skilled in the art will understand that various changes can be made and that equivalents can be substituted without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, many modifications can be made to adapt a situation, a material, a combination of materials, one or more specific steps of the process, to the purpose, the spirit, or the scope of the present invention. The purpose of all these modifications is inclusion in the scope of the claims attached hereto.
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Process for the manufacture of an easy open device for “Flow Pack” or similar packages with longitudinal seams and transversal closings, structured horizontally or vertically, with a detachable strip, attached in alignment on the internal face of the packaging film by means of an applicator head, to be manually grasped and to result in the tearing of said packages, including the steps of:
attaching said strip transversally with respect to the machine direction and to the internal face of the packaging film, and
producing a cut on at least one end of said detachable strip to generate a tear area
An easy open device for packages produced with the process and packages produced with it are also being disclosed.
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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to transistors and more particularly to the fin type transistors known as FinFETs and to an improved manufacturing process and FinFET structure.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] As the need to decrease the size of transistors continues, new and smaller types of transistors are created. One recent advance in transistor technology is the introduction of fin type field effect transistors that are known as FinFETs. U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802 to Hu et al. (hereinafter “Hu”), which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a FinFET structure that includes a center fin that has a channel along its center and source and drains at the ends of the fin structure. A gate conductor covers the channel portion.
[0005] While FinFETs structures reduce the size of transistor-based devices, it is still important to continue to reduce the size of FinFETs transistors. The invention described below provides a method and structure which decreases the distance between adjacent FinFETs, thereby reducing the overall size of the transistor-based structure.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0006] The invention provides a method of manufacturing a fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET) that begins by patterning a rectangular sacrificial mandrel on a substrate. Next, the invention forms mask sidewalls along the vertical surfaces of the mandrel. Subsequently, the mandrel is removed and the portions of the semiconductor layer not protected by the mask sidewalls are etched to leave a freestanding rectangular loop of semiconductor material having two longer fins and two shorter sections. The process continues by patterning a rectangular gate conductor over central sections of the two longer fins, wherein the gate conductor intersects to the two longer fins. Next, the invention dopes portions of the semiconductor material not covered by the gate conductor to form source and drain regions in portions of the fins that extend beyond the gate. Following this, the invention forms insulating sidewalls along the gate conductor.
[0007] Then, the invention covers the gate conductor and the semiconductor material with a conductive contact material and forms a contact mask over a portion of the conductive contact material that is above source and drain regions of a first fin of the two longer fins. The invention follows this by selectively etching regions of the conductive contact material and the semiconductor material not protected by the contact mask. This leaves the conductive contact material on source and drain regions of the first fin and removes source and drain regions of a second fin of the two longer fins.
[0008] This process forms a unique FinFET that has a first fin with a central channel region and source and drain regions adjacent the channel region, a gate structure intersecting the first fin and covering the channel region, and a second fin having only a channel region. The second fin is parallel to the first fin and covered by the gate.
[0009] In this unique structure, the second fin has a length equal to the width of the gate structure and the first fin is longer than the second fin. The source and drain regions of the first fin extend beyond the gate structure; however, the second fin does not extend beyond the gate. The source and drain contacts only cover the source and drain regions of the first fin and no contacts are positioned adjacent the second fin.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0010] The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment(s) of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1A is a schematic top-view diagram of a partially completed FinFET structure according to the invention;
[0012] FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ in FIG. 1A ;
[0013] FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ in FIG. 1A ;
[0014] FIG. 2A is a schematic top-view diagram of a partially completed FinFET structure according to the invention;
[0015] FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ in FIG. 2A ;
[0016] FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ in FIG. 2A ;
[0017] FIG. 3A is a schematic top-view diagram of a partially completed FinFET structure according to the invention;
[0018] FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ in FIG. 3A ;
[0019] FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ in FIG. 3A ;
[0020] FIG. 4A is a schematic top-view diagram of a partially completed FinFET structure according to the invention;
[0021] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ in FIG. 4A ;
[0022] FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ in FIG. 4A ;
[0023] FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view along line C-C′ in FIG. 4A ;
[0024] FIG. 5A is a schematic perspective view illustrating the inventive fins intersecting the gate;
[0025] FIG. 5B is a schematic top-view diagram of the structure shown in FIG. 5A ;
[0026] FIG. 6A is a schematic top-view diagram illustrating the spacing that is required when a conventional trim mask is utilized;
[0027] FIG. 6B is a schematic top-view diagram illustrating the spacing that can be achieved with the invention when the use of a trim mask is avoided; and
[0028] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a preferred method of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] Since the silicon fins in FinFETs are significantly thinner than the gate length, non-conventional means of defining the fin thickness are useful. The invention uses a Sidewall Image Transfer (SIT) process for the purpose of forming the fins. Since all shapes left on the wafer from SIT processing are in the form of loops, a trim mask (TR) is necessary to remove unwanted fins shapes that are formed during sidewall image transfer processing. Trim masks break the loops into lines with ends. The trim mask requires critical image tolerance and placement. Therefore, the trim mask is costly and can decrease yield. Furthermore, the trim mask adds requirements to other overlays since the trimmed fins are second-order alignments to later masks. The invention described below eliminates the need to use such a trim mask.
[0030] As mentioned above, the invention forms fins for a FinFET device using sidewall image transfer processing, yet the invention eliminates the need for a separate trim mask. Instead, the invention trims the unwanted portions of the loop structure formed during the sidewall image transfer processing using the same mask that defines the source and drain contacts. The inventive methodology begins by patterning a rectangular sacrificial mandrel 10 on a hard-mask layer 16 that overlies a layer of semiconductor material 11 , as shown in FIG. 1A . Next, the invention forms sidewall spacers 12 along the vertical surfaces of the mandrel 10 . The sidewall spacers 12 are formed by depositing a masking material and then performing a selective anisotropic etching process that removes material from horizontal surfaces at substantially higher rates than it removes material from vertical surfaces. This process leaves the deposited mask material 12 only along the sides of the mandrel 10 , as shown in FIG. 1A . Subsequently, the mandrel 10 is removed, the hard-mask material 16 is etched using the spacers 12 as masks, and the spacers 12 are removed to leave a freestanding rectangular loop of mask material 16 having two longer sections 15 and two shorter sections 14 .
[0031] An etching process is used to remove portions of the underlying semiconductor material 11 not protected by the mask 16 . This leaves a freestanding rectangular loop of semiconductor material 11 covered by the mask material 16 as most clearly shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C . FIG. 1A is a top-view of the structure, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ in FIG. 1A , and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ in FIG. 1A . The longer fins 21 of semiconductor material 11 are perpendicular to the shorter sections 22 of the semiconductor material 11 .
[0032] The process continues by patterning a rectangular gate conductor 20 over central sections of the two longer fins 21 , wherein the gate conductor 20 intersects the two longer fins 21 , as shown in FIGS. 2A-2C . Next, the invention dopes portions of the semiconductor loop 11 not covered by the gate conductor 20 to form conductive source and drain regions in portions of the longer fins 21 that extend beyond the gate 20 . Following this, the invention forms insulating sidewalls 31 along the gate conductor 20 , as shown in FIG. 3C . The spacers 31 and gate 20 are sometimes referred to herein as a gate structure.
[0033] Then, the invention covers the gate conductor 20 and the semiconductor material 11 with a conductive contact material 30 (such as polysilicon) as shown in FIGS. 3A-3C . As most clearly shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C , the conductive material 30 completely covers the fin structures 11 , yet has a height less than that of the gate 20 and spacers 31 . The conductive material 30 should not cover the gate 20 , otherwise the gate 20 may be shorted to the source and drain contacts. The conductive material 30 can either be selectively deposited so as not to exceed the height of the gate 20 or can be subsequently recessed below the height of the gate 20 using well known etching or overpolishing processes.
[0034] Next, as shown FIG. 4A , the invention forms a contact mask 40 over a portion of the conductive contact material 30 that is above source and drain regions of a first fin 42 of the two longer fins 21 . The invention follows this by selectively etching regions of the conductive contact material 30 and the semiconductor material 11 that are not protected by the contact mask. Such an etch will not affect the gate 20 or spacers 31 . This leaves the conductive contact material 30 only on the source and drain regions of the first fin 42 and removes source and drain regions of a second fin 41 of the two longer fins 21 . Therefore, the contact mask 40 performs two functions by patterning the source and drain contacts and by trimming the unwanted portion of the semiconductor material 11 . By utilizing the contact mask 44 in this manner, the invention avoids the need for a separate trim mask.
[0035] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view along line A-A′ in FIG. 4A , FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view along line B-B′ in FIG. 4A , and FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view along line C-C′ in FIG. 4A . In addition, FIG. 5A is a schematic perspective view illustrating the inventive fins 41 , 42 intersecting the gate 20 , and FIG. 5B is a schematic top-view diagram of the structure shown in FIG. 5A . These additional views illustrate that the inventive structure produced is a unique FinFET that has a first fin 42 with a central channel region 55 and source and drain regions 56 adjacent the channel region 55 . The gate 20 intersects the first fin 42 and covers the channel region 55 . The second fin 41 only has a channel region. The second fin 41 is parallel to the first fin 42 and is covered by the gate structure.
[0036] In this unique structure, the second fin 41 has a length equal to the width of the gate structure and the first fin 42 is longer than the second fin 41 . The source and drain regions 56 of the first fin 42 extend beyond the gate structure; however, the second fin 41 does not extend beyond the gate structure because that portion of the second fin 41 was trimmed when the source and drain contacts 30 were patterned. The source and drain contacts 30 only cover the source and drain regions 56 of the first fin 42 and no contacts are positioned adjacent the second fin 41 .
[0037] FIG. 6A is a schematic top-view diagram illustrating the spacing that is required when a trim mask 53 is utilized and FIG. 6B is a schematic top-view diagram illustrating the spacing that can be achieved with the invention when the use of a trim mask is avoided. As shown in FIG. 6A , at least one unit of spacing “Z” is created to accommodate for the trim mask 53 . In this example half a unit (Z/2) is provided between the trim mask 53 and the adjacent silicon island mask RX ( 51 ) and the trim mask itself extends over half a unit (Z/2) beyond the edge of the silicon island mask RX ( 50 ) with which the trim mask 53 is associated. To the contrary, as shown in FIG. 6B , since no trim mask is used with the invention, the adjacent silicon island mask 51 can be placed within a half unit (Z/2) of the edge of the semiconductor loop 11 (or one unit of spacing (Z) from the adjacent silicon island mask 50 ). Since the RX size is decreased, a lower parasitic capacitance from the contact region is obtained. A denser layout with simpler layout rules and decreased process cost results.
[0038] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a preferred method of the invention. More specifically, the method patterns a rectangular sacrificial mandrel 700 on a semiconductor layer, forms mask sidewalls 702 along the vertical surfaces of the mandrel, removes the mandrel 704 , and etches portions of the hard-mask not protected by the sidewalls. After removal of the mask sidewalls, the invention etches portions of the semiconductor layer not protected by the hard-mask 706 to leave a freestanding rectangular loop of semiconductor material having two longer fins and two shorter sections. The invention patterns a rectangular gate conductor 708 over central sections of the two longer fins. The invention dopes portions 710 of the semiconductor material, not covered by the gate conductor, to form source and drain regions in portions of the fins that extend beyond the gate. Next the invention forms insulating sidewalls 712 along the gate conductor and covers the gate conductor and the semiconductor material with a conductive contact material. The conductive material is planarized or etched back until the gate conductor is exposed. Then, the invention forms a contact mask 714 over a portion of the conductive contact material that is above source and drain regions of a first fin of the two longer fins and selectively etches 716 regions of the conductive contact material and the semiconductor material not protected by the contact mask. The selective etching process 716 leaves the conductive contact material on the source and drain regions of the first fin and removes the source and drain regions of a second fin of the two longer fins.
[0039] Therefore, as shown above, only one mask is added to a conventional CMOS design, namely the “FN” level mask, which is used to define a mandrel 10 about which spacers are formed. The conventional silicon-island mask (RX) is used after the gate lithography and processing (PC) to both define source/drain regions outside the gate and to trim fins that are not desired for the circuit. This eliminates a “trim” mask (TR) and associated processing. This also eliminates some density loss due to the second-order alignment of RX to TR (both levels normally align to FN) and hence yields a denser design.
[0040] Since the RX size is decreased, a lower parasitic capacitance from the contact region is obtained. A denser layout follows with the small RX size, which in turn results in circuits that reside closer to one another. This translates to shorter interconnections and thus lower wire resistance and capacitance. The end result is lower cost, lower power and faster circuits.
[0041] While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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The invention provides a method of manufacturing a fin-type field effect transistor (FinFET) that forms a unique FinFET that has a first fin with a central channel region and source and drain regions adjacent the channel region, a gate intersecting the first fin and covering the channel region, and a second fin having only a channel region.
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REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application claims priority benefit of provisional application No. 60/054,471, filed Aug. 1, 1997, and is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/996,526 filed Dec. 23, 1997 entitled “Apparatus And Method For Program Level Parallelism In A VLIW Processor”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,051.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of microprocessor architecture. More specifically, the present invention relates to high performance processors such as digital signal processors that use very long instruction words (VLIW) or employ superscalar architectures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two types of parallelism are commonly employed in microprocessor systems. In program level parallelism, more than one program is executed at the same time, normally on multiple processors. This form of parallelism is common, for example, in servers employing four to eight processors, all of which are connected to a single bus. Instruction level parallelism is another form of parallelism, in which a single instruction stream is executed on a single processor, but the instructions are dispatched to multiple functional units in the same cycle. This latter type of parallelism is used by Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) and superscalar processors.
Program level parallelism includes task oriented parallelism and multithreading. In the simplest form of program level parallelism, different tasks are executed on different processors, so that the server handles more users, but no one user's program can finish faster than it would if it had executed on a single processor system. In multithreading, a single program forks execution onto more than one processor, so that the program runs faster than it would on just one processor. Both forms of program level parallelism increase the net amount of useful work done in a given time interval. Task oriented parallelism allows the processor to perform parallel processing even when the individual programs are not specifically developed for parallel execution. Unfortunately, current VLIW machines are not well suited to any of these forms of program level parallelism.
VLIW architectures are rapidly gaining popularity and acceptance. The concept of VLIW is to fetch a very long instruction word, and to dispatch subinstructions contained in this very long word to a set of parallel functional units. For example, the very long instruction word might contain 256 bits, so that eight functional units each concurrently receive one 32-bit sub-instruction. In prior art systems, if all the sub-instruction words are not needed, the dispatcher can take multiple cycles to dispatch the instructions of the 256-bit instruction word to the functional units. One difference between VLIW machines and superscalar machines is that in VLIW machines the compiler schedules the instructions for parallel execution, so that the dispatch unit of a VLIW machine is very simple. In superscalar machines, the dispatch unit handles the parallel instruction scheduling using hardware algorithms, so that the dispatch unit of a superscalar machine is usually more complex.
One significant problem with VLIW machines is that, while they are capable of very high peak instruction per second counts, their performances may be much lower when executing actual programs. For example, consider the execution of a hypothetical VLIW processor having sixteen functional units. If the functional units are grouped into four sets of four cooperating functional units, with each group of functional units having primary access to a specific register file, then the system has four processing groups or has four sub-processors. These sub-processors all receive their instructions from the same instruction stream and follow the same control flow. That is, a branch taken in the program affects all four of the sub-processors in the system In many processing situations, the separate sub-processors may need to take different branches. However, there is only one instruction stream, so the various sub-processors executing various data sets must all execute in lock-step. One way this is handled is to make extensive use of conditionally executed instructions. Using conditional execution, there can be a single execution flow and only the sub-processors that need to execute instructions in a particular path do so, whereas the sub-processors that do not need to execute instructions sit idle. For example, assume four data streams are being processed in parallel on this hypothetical VLIW machine, and further assume that the code involves an IF-THEN-ELSE construct. At the machine level, a condition must be checked, and then a branch must be taken to either the THEN or the ELSE portions of the code. Since there are four data paths, it is very likely that among the four sub-processors, both the THEN and the ELSE program paths must be traversed. In the prior art, the processor executes both paths using conditionally executed instructions. In this way, each sub-processor performs useful operations on one path while effectively inserting “no operation” (NOP) instructions on the other. Since NOPs represent wasted cycles, performance is adversely affected.
Other problems arise when the various sub-processors work together on the same data. For example, if two data streams are to be processed on the same processor and the data involves complex numbers each having a real and an imaginary part, it would be advantageous for two processing groups to work together to deal with the real and imaginary parts of the complex data and to quickly compute the cross terms. This type of processing is quite common in communication systems processing and whenever a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is involved. In a hypothetical processor of sixteen functional units, eight functional units are available for each of two complex data streams. If all of the units are busy all the time, the peak number of instructions per cycle is achieved. In practice, however, it is very difficult to keep all functional units busy, and thus much lower efficiencies are achieved.
There are still other problems that create delays and inefficiencies. For example, if a branch is taken, multiple cycles need to be inserted while the pipelines empty and the new instruction flow makes its way through the pipeline. Other delays occur since the compiler must structure the code to avoid pipeline conflicts due to resource and data dependencies. These issues limit the amount of instruction-level parallelism that can be exploited in a program. That is, the local instruction level structure of the program very rarely allows a full set of instructions to be mapped onto the complete set of functional units in a given cycle.
Another problem with current VLIW architectures is the need to respond to interrupts. When interrupts occur, they can cause new programs to be fetched that will overwrite program words stored in the on-board cache, while creating their own sequence of cache misses. Cache misses are very expensive in VLIW machines. In the hypothetical processor having 16 functional units, the cache line fill involves sixteen slower external memory accesses per instruction, instead of a single on-chip cache-hit fetch cycle.
In short, while VLIW processors can theoretically achieve very high peak processing speeds, it is very difficult in practice to achieve these peak speeds on actual programs. This difficulty is compounded by inefficient branching, by conditionally executed instructions, and by difficulties arising from the need to perform multitasking and to respond efficiently to interrupts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One aspect of the present invention is an enhanced VLIW architecture capable of alleviating the aforementioned shortcomings in the prior art. Another aspect of the present invention is a VLIW processor capable of executing multiple programs concurrently, allowing one program to execute in a cycle steal mode to make use of inefficiencies in another program. Yet another aspect of the present invention is a system to allow interrupts that can be processed with minimal cost in terms of clock cycles. The present invention further allows programs to fork execution down a plurality of branch paths in an efficient manner so that few cycles are wasted. The present invention provides a functional unit, a control unit, a dispatch unit, and cache structures. The present invention also provides methods that greatly increase the actual throughput that can be achieved on a VLIW architecture to thereby provide an actual performance that is much closer to peak performance than in current systems.
One aspect of the present invention is a multi-issue processor having a plurality of functional units responsive to processor instructions. The functional units have access to a primary register file. The processor comprises one or more auxiliary register files configured such that each of the functional units has access to a primary register file and to an auxiliary register file. The functional units are responsive to a register file selection signal. A dispatch unit is configured to accept instructions from a plurality of instruction streams and to generate the register file selection signal on an instruction-by-instruction basis to control whether each of the functional units uses the primary register file or the auxiliary register file. Preferably, the functional units further comprise one or more primary internal registers, one or more auxiliary internal registers, and an execution controller configured to accept a control signal from the dispatch unit. The execution controller is configured to control whether specified functional units use the primary register file or the second register file on a cycle-by-cycle basis. Also preferably, at least one of the instruction streams may come from a direct memory access controlled prefetch channel which is processed in the background in a cycle-steal mode. Also preferably, at least one of the instruction streams is activated in response to an interrupt. Also preferably, the instruction streams may be assigned different execution priorities under program control. The processor preferably also comprises a register renaming unit operative to rename registers and to accept inputs from and to retire results to either the primary register file or the auxiliary register file to support superscalar instruction dispatching and execution from a plurality of program sources. Preferably, the dispatch unit dispatches a plurality of instructions to a plurality of functional units in a single clock cycle. The dispatch unit selectively dispatches a first group of instructions from a first instruction stream to a first subset of functional units, and the dispatch unit selectively dispatches a second group of instructions from a second instruction stream to a second subset of functional units. The first and second instruction streams preferably comprise VLIW fetch packets, wherein each VLIW fetch packet comprises one or more execute packets, and wherein each execute packet comprises one or more instructions to be dispatched to one or more functional units in a single clock cycle.
Another aspect of the present invention is a processor having multiple functional units. Each functional unit has a plurality of pipeline stages. Each pipeline stage has access to a primary register file. The processor comprises one or more secondary register files, so that each of the functional units has access to a selection of register files. The selection of register files comprises a primary register file and a secondary register file. The functional units are responsive to a register selection signal to select a primary register file or a secondary register file. A plurality of pipelined register sets are included in each of the functional units. A dispatch unit accepts instructions from a plurality of instruction streams and sends instructions from the multiple instruction streams to the functional units. The dispatch unit asserts the register selection signal to select a register file from a set of register files. The set of register files comprises the primary register file and the secondary register file. The dispatch unit further generates a pipeline command for each of the functional units. The pipeline command selects one or more of the pipelined register sets in each of the functional units. A pipeline command delay line propagates the pipeline command so that, during each clock cycle, each stage of each functional unit is associated with a selected one of the instruction streams. Preferably, the plurality of instruction streams includes a first instruction stream and a second instruction stream, wherein the first and second instruction streams each comprises VLIW fetch packets. Each VLIW fetch packet comprises one or more execute packets, and each said execute packet comprises one or more instructions to be dispatched to one or more functional units in a single clock cycle. Preferably, in a given cycle, the dispatch unit is operative to dispatch all instructions from the next execute packet found in said the instruction stream and to dispatch one or more instructions from the current or next execute packet found in the second instruction stream, such that one execute packet is dispatched per cycle in the first instruction stream and such that execute packets in the second instruction stream are dispatched on a cycle-steal basis. In some cases, the execute packets in the second instruction stream are dispatched in multiple cycles.
Another aspect of the present invention is a processor which has multiple functional units. Each functional unit has one or more pipeline stages, and each pipeline stage has access to a primary register file. The processor comprises one or more secondary register files. Each of the functional units has access to a selection of register files comprising a primary register file and a secondary register file. Each functional unit is responsive to a register selection signal to select a primary register file or a secondary register file. The processor further includes one or more pipelined register sets in each of the functional units. A dispatch unit accepts instructions from a plurality of instruction streams and sends instructions from the plurality of instruction streams to the functional units. The dispatch unit asserts the register selection signal to select a register file from a set of register files. The set of register files comprises the primary register file and the secondary register file. A pipeline command delay line propagates the register selection signal so that, during each clock cycle, each stage of each functional unit is associated with a selected one of the instruction streams. Preferably, the plurality of instruction streams includes a first instruction stream and a second instruction stream, wherein the first and second instruction streams each comprise VLIW fetch packets. Each VLIW fetch packet comprises one or more execute packets, and each execute packet comprises one or more instructions to be dispatched to one or more functional units in a single clock cycle. Also preferably, in a given cycle, the dispatch unit is operative to dispatch all instructions from the next execute packet found in the first instruction stream, and to dispatch one or more instructions from the current or next execute packet found in the second instruction stream, such that one execute packet is dispatched per cycle in the first instruction stream and such that execute packets in the second instruction stream are dispatched on a cycle-steal basis. Also preferably, execute packets in the second instruction stream are dispatched in multiple cycles.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for multithreading a VLIW processor or a computer system incorporating a VLIW processor. The method comprises the step of prefetching into a plurality of prefetch buffers a plurality of VLIW fetch packets from a plurality of instruction streams including a first instruction stream and a second instruction stream. Each VLIW fetch packet comprises one or more execute packets, and each execute packet comprises one or more instructions to be dispatched to one or more functional units in a single clock cycle. The method includes the further steps of dispatching all instructions contained in the next execute packet found in the first instruction stream, such that one execute packet is dispatched per cycle in first instruction stream; and dispatching one or more instructions from the most recent execute packet found in the second instruction stream, such that the most recent execute packet is dispatched on a cycle-steal basis. Preferably, the most recent execute packet is dispatched in multiple cycles. In preferred embodiments, the method further comprises the step of dispatching with each instruction a pipeline command for each of the functional units, whereby the pipeline command selects a first register set to be coupled to the functional unit if the instruction is from the first instruction stream. The pipeline command selects a second register set to be coupled to the functional unit if the instruction is from the second instruction stream. The pipeline command is dispatched via a pipeline command delay line so that, during each clock cycle, each functional unit is associated with a selected one of the instruction streams.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of multithreading in a superscalar processor or a computer system incorporating a superscalar processor. The method comprises the step of prefetching into a plurality of prefetch buffers a plurality of instruction fetch packets from a plurality of instruction streams. A first prefetch buffer is associated with a first instruction stream and a second prefetch buffer is associated with a second instruction stream. The method includes the step of determining which instructions in the first prefetch buffer are ready to dispatch in parallel in a given cycle. The method dispatches all instructions determined to be ready to dispatch from the first prefetch buffer for which hardware resources are available. The method determines which instructions in the second prefetch buffer are ready to dispatch in parallel in said given cycle. The method dispatches one or more instructions from the second prefetch buffer using the hardware resources not already in use by the instructions in the first prefetch buffer. Preferably, the method comprises the further step of dispatching with each instruction a pipeline command for each of the hardware resources, whereby the pipeline command selects a first register set to be coupled to a first hardware resource when the instruction is from the first instruction stream, and the pipeline command selects a second register set to be coupled to the first hardware resource when the instruction is from the second instruction stream. Preferably, the pipeline command is propagated by a pipeline command delay line so that, during each clock cycle, each hardware resource is associated with a selected one of the instruction streams.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of multithreading in a superscalar processor or a computer system incorporating a superscalar processor. The method comprises the steps of: prefetching into a plurality of prefetch buffers a plurality of instruction fetch packets from a plurality of instruction streams including a first prefetch buffer associated with a first instruction stream and a second prefetch buffer associated with a second instruction stream; determining which instructions in the first and second prefetch buffers are ready to dispatch in parallel in a given cycle; and dispatching instructions determined to be ready to dispatch from the first and second prefetch buffers for which hardware resources are available based on a scheduling algorithm. Preferably, the scheduling algorithm is a round robin scheduling algorithm.
Another aspect of the present invention is a multi-issue processor having multiple functional units. Each functional unit has one or more pipeline stages with each pipeline stage having access to a primary resource. The processor comprises one or more secondary resources provided as a selection of resources accessible by selected functional units. A thread indicator signal designates from which instruction stream an instruction was dispatched,. The selected functional units are responsive to the thread indicator signal. A dispatch unit concurrently accepts multiple instructions from each of a plurality of instruction streams. In a given cycle, the dispatch unit selectively sends instructions from multiple instruction streams to the functional units. The dispatch unit asserts the thread indicator signal to select a set or resources to be accessed by the functional units responsive to the thread indicator signal while carrying out said instruction. A thread indicator delay line propagates the thread indicator signal so that, during each clock cycle, different stages of the functional units are responsive to the thread indicator signal to selectively use the selected set of resources.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of operating an instruction cache in a processor where the instruction cache has a plurality of cache lines and a plurality of cache banks. The method comprises the steps of inserting data into each cache bank according to a cache bank selector field indicator; and using the cache bank selector field while filling each of the cache lines to ensure that instructions on parallel branch paths reside in different cache banks.
Another aspect of the present invention is a processor which has one or more functional units. Each of the functional units has access to a primary register file and is responsive to instructions emanating from a plurality of instruction streams. The processor comprises an instruction cache memory which is divided into one or more cache banks. A plurality of program counters and a plurality of prefetch registers are included in the processor. Each of the prefetch registers is configured to store a plurality of sub-instructions for the functional units. A multiple input dispatch unit is configured to accept input instructions from a plurality of instruction streams with ranked priority levels and to dispatch the input instructions to the functional units. The multiple input dispatch unit further provides each functional unit a code indicative of the instruction stream from which each input instruction was accepted, such that the functional units can process each instruction using a register set associated with the instruction stream.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for executing a conditional branch construct on a VLIW processor with multiple sub-processors, where each sub-processor comprises a group of data registers and functional units. The method comprises the step of factoring the conditional branch construct into a plurality of execution paths such that an execution flow on the processor is disjoined into a plurality of execution paths. The method generates a sequence of VLIW instruction words for each path such that all of the sequences are aligned. Each of the sequences is padded with NOPs to maintain alignment if necessary. The method further includes the steps of maintaining a respective instruction pointer for each execution path; checking multiple conditions based on multiple data streams for each of the sub-processors; allocating each of the sequences to a sub-processor; fetching a single VLIW from two or more separate addresses in a cache concurrently using a mask field; and executing the sequences of VLIW instruction words. Preferably, the conditional branch construct is an IF-THEN-ELSE construct. Alternatively, the conditional branch construct is a CASE construct.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for parallel execution of a plurality of execution paths on a VLIW processor with multiple sub-processors, where each sub-processor comprises a group of data registers and functional units. The method comprises the step of generating a sequence of VLIW instruction words for each execution path such that all of the sequences are aligned. Each of the sequences is padded with NOPs to maintain alignment if necessary. The method includes the further steps of maintaining a respective instruction pointer for each execution path; checking multiple conditions based on multiple data streams for each of the sub-processors; allocating each of the sequences to a sub-processor; fetching a single VLIW from two separate addresses in a cache concurrently using a mask field; and executing the sequences of VLIW instruction words.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for parallel execution of a plurality of execution paths on a VLIW processor with multiple sub-processors, where each sub-processor comprises a group of data registers and functional units. The method comprises the step of generating a sequence of VLIW instruction words for each execution path such that all of the sequences are aligned. Each of the sequences is padded with NOPs to maintain alignment if necessary. The method includes the further steps of maintaining a respective instruction pointer for each execution path; checking multiple conditions based on multiple data streams for each of the sub-processors; allocating each of the sequences to a sub-processor; fetching a single VLIW from two separate addresses in a cache concurrently using a mask field; and executing the sequences of VLIW instruction words.
Another aspect of the present invention is a processor having one or more functional units responsive to processor instructions. The functional units have access to a primary register file. The processor comprises one or more auxiliary register files configured such that each of the functional units has access to a primary register file and to an auxiliary register file; and a register file selector for each of the functional units. The register file selector accepts instructions from a plurality of instruction streams and selects a register file for each of the functional units on an instruction-by-instruction basis. Preferably, the functional units further comprise a plurality of pipelines; and a pipeline selector which selects a pipeline for each functional unit. The pipeline is selected from the plurality of pipelines on a cycle-by-cycle basis.
Another aspect of the present invention is a processor which comprises one or more functional units; a program cache which provides a primary execution stream of instructions to a first prefetch buffer for use by the one or more functional units; a second prefetch buffer which provides a secondary execution stream of instructions to the one or more functional units in response to an interrupt applied to the one or more functional units; and a DMA controller which fetches the secondary stream of instructions and stores the secondary stream of instructions in the prefetch second buffer. Preferably, the primary instruction stream comprises VLIW instructions, and the program cache is a VLIW program cache. Also preferably, the second instruction stream is accessed in response to an interrupt.
Another aspect of the present invention is a pipelined processor which multiplexes the processing of a first instruction stream and a second instruction stream on a cycle-by-cycle basis, wherein the first instruction stream and the second instruction stream are both fetched into respective prefetch buffers from a single program cache. Instructions from the second instruction stream are fetched from the program cache during intervals when a pipeline operation related to the processing of the first instruction stream would normally stall the fetching of instructions from the program cache. Preferably, the instructions are VLIW instructions, and the program cache is a VLIW program cache.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method for operating a pipelined processor which multiplexes the processing of a first instruction stream and a second instruction stream on a cycle-by-cycle basis. The method comprises the steps of fetching instructions for a first instruction stream from a program cache into a first prefetch buffer; and fetching instructions for a second instruction stream from memory into a second prefetch buffer under control of a direct memory access controller.
Another aspect of the present invention is a very long instruction word (VLIW) processor which exploits program level parallelism as well as instruction level parallelism. Unlike prior VLIW machines which obtain speed advantages using instruction level parallelism, the present processor exploits the parallelism inherent in a VLIW processor by providing new instruction level mechanisms to separate processor execution into parallel threads. This separation allows greater hardware use because more than one program can exploit instruction level parallelism on the system at the same time. A first program and a second program execute concurrently such that the second program executes using resources and cycles that would have been wasted by the first program. This construct is especially useful where the second program is an interrupt service routine because the interrupt service routine can be threaded through the machine with high or low priority while the functional units still process the first program stream. A superscalar version of the processor is also described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A system which embodies the various features of the invention is described below with reference to the following drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art functional unit as found in VLIW or superscalar machines.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a processor functional unit that provides for improved execution of program level parallelism through the use of additional sets of instruction fetches, internal registers and register files, as well as through the use of a register set switch which may function as an external interrupt.
FIG. 3 illustrates additional details of a processor comprising pipelined functional units that use dual internal and external register sets.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a VLIW caching structure that supports parallel branching.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a processor architecture having multiple prefetch registers where the parallel execution paths may be completely decoupled.
FIG. 6 illustrates an arrangement of a VLIW processor cache which allows multiple programs and interrupt sources to share the processor in order to maximize utilization and efficiency of the functional units.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a processor configured to allow parallel DMA operations during an interrupt service routine.
FIG. 8 illustrates how two program counters are used to access split VLIW instructions to provide two independent parallel processing paths in a VLIW processor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art sub-processor 100 as found in VLIW or superscalar machines. A program memory 110 is coupled to the sub-processor 100 . The program memory 110 contains one or more programs—typically a first program 121 , a second program 122 , and possibly additional programs 123 . The program memory may be implemented as a VLIW program cache. An instruction fetch unit 130 accesses one or more of the programs in the program memory 110 and sends instructions to a decoder 140 . The decoder 140 sends decoded instructions to an “A” functional unit group 150 that includes one or more internal registers 160 , coupled via one or more internal data paths 165 . The functional unit group 150 contains computational hardware (such as a load/store unit, an arithmetic logic unit, and a multiplier) and communicates with a bussing structure 170 that is in communication with a register file 180 . If the functional unit group 150 includes a multiplier having a plurality of internal registers 160 , the multiplier can be concurrently working on successive phases of several different multiply operations from a sequence of instructions. The dispatch and instruction issuance logic may be complex as a result of these internal registers 160 to ensure that different instructions being executed in sequence in the pipeline do not interfere with each other. The dispatch unit may be simplified by demanding that the programmer or compiler ensure that only valid instruction sequences which do not create conflicts are encountered in the instruction stream.
FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention-namely, a sub-processor 200 that is similar to the sub-processor 100 and further comprises additional internal registers 260 and register files 280 , as well as a register set switch 290 that may function under control of an external interrupt. The sub-processor 200 is additionally coupled to sets of instruction fetch units 230 which are in turn coupled to a program memory 210 which preferably stores a plurality of programs (e.g., a program 221 , a program 222 , and a program 223 ). The sub-processor 200 also includes a group of decoders 240 , an “A” functional unit group 250 , and a bus 270 , all of which perform functions similar to their counterparts in FIG. 1 . By adding second sets of internal registers 260 and a register file 280 , the processing hardware of the functional unit group 250 can quickly switch both internal context and external context. That is, if instructions from the first program 221 are being processed through the sub-processor 200 , the register set switch 290 is all that is needed to process instructions from the second program 222 through the same sub-processor. Using the secondary internal register set 260 permits more than one instruction stream to be multiplexed on an instruction-by-instruction basis through the sub-processor 200 . As a result, the dead time of the sub-processor 200 , due to program dependencies, branches, and other issues, is largely reduced, since two instruction sources can be simultaneously serviced. Whenever the sub-processor 200 is not busy with the first program 221 , it can switch to the second program. Switching to and from the second program can occur on a cycle-by-cycle basis, as described below.
FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention comprising pipelined functional units that use dual internal and external register sets. A functional unit comprising two pipeline stages is presented to illustrate the inventive concept. A first register file 300 is preferably connected by data paths 310 and 311 to a multiplexer 320 . A second register file 305 is preferably connected by data paths 312 and 313 to the multiplexer 320 . A control input (SELECT SET) of the multiplexer 320 is provided by a control timing block 321 to allow the multiplexer 320 to select operands (OPS) from either of the two register files 300 and 305 . The output of the multiplexer 320 feeds a first pipeline stage 330 which comprises a functional sub-unit 335 (e.g., first stage logic in a load-store or multiply unit) which preferably couples to internal data registers 337 and 338 . A single-bit signal line 340 coupled to an input of an inverter 345 determines which of the internal registers 337 or 338 is selected to be loaded with data. The outputs from the internal registers 337 and 338 are provided as respective inputs of a multiplexer 350 . When the signal on the signal line 340 is active, the register 337 is enabled to store data, and when the signal on the line 340 is inactive and the output of the inverter 345 is active, the register 338 is enabled to store data. The signal line 340 also controls which input of the multiplexer 350 is selected to be gated to the output of the multiplexer 350 . The signal line 340 is also provided to an input of the control timing block 321 .
The output from the multiplexer 350 is fed into a second pipeline stage 360 which comprises a functional sub-unit 365 having internal registers 367 and 368 and an inverter 375 . Outputs from the registers 367 and 368 are provided as inputs to a multiplexer 380 . The second pipeline stage 360 is also connected to the signal line 340 , except that a delay element 385 delays the signal, preferably by one clock cycle, to permit proper synchronization of the data as it passes through the second pipeline stage 360 . The delay element 385 allows the different stages of the instruction pipe to process instructions from multiple sources concurrently. The output from the multiplexer 380 is fed into a demultiplexer 390 . The demultiplexer 390 is controlled by the control timing block 321 so that values can be selectively stored in the register file 300 or the register file 305 . By adding the circuitry shown in FIG. 3, two (or more) data paths for multiple programs are possible. This hardware configuration supports processing modes that greatly increase system performance.
In operation, the pipelined functional unit of FIG. 3 may receive one instruction per clock cycle. Initially instructions are dispatched to the functional unit from a first instruction stream. While processing the first instruction stream, the functional unit accesses data in the register file 300 (set one) while the signal line 340 controls routing of results through the set one internal register data path 337 , 367 . In the course of normal VLIW program execution, inevitable inefficiencies related to data and control dependencies will prohibit the dispatch unit from dispatching instructions to all the functional units during a clock cycle. These inefficiencies will occur in at least some of the functional units during most clock cycles as the VLIW program executes. When these inefficiencies arise, instead of allowing the functional unit to stall, an instruction may be dispatched to the functional unit from a second instruction stream. During a cycle when an instruction from the second instruction stream is dispatched, the signal line 340 is deasserted to select the set two register file 305 and the set two internal register paths 338 , 368 . Note that the delay element 385 allows the first pipeline stage 330 to process data from the second instruction stream, while the second stage 360 of the pipeline processes data from the first instruction stream. Thus, with the present invention, the functional unit is switched between tasks or threads on a cycle-by-cycle basis. During a clock cycle, different functional units in the system can be dispatched instructions from multiple instruction streams, and the individual pipelines within individual functional units may process instructions from multiple instruction streams. Other embodiments provide more than two register sets and multiplexer paths to enable more than two instruction streams to be concurrently processed.
FIG. 4 illustrates yet another embodiment of the invention comprising a VLIW caching structure that supports parallel branching. The cache is shown to be segmented into two cache-banks 400 and 410 , in which the cache banks include a plurality of cache lines 420 and 422 . The cache lines 420 , 422 may in turn comprise various instructions fields, represented by the letters A, B, C, and D, for functional groups which may include, for example, load/store units, arithmetic logic units, shifters, and multipliers. Address multiplexers (not shown) allow two program counters (PC 1 430 ) and (PC 2 435 ) to assert addresses to the cache tag content addressed memory (CAM) concurrently. If the instructions are found in the separate cache banks 400 and 410 , then a single VLIW can be fetched from multiple cache lines, for example, from a line 420 in the first bank 400 and another line 422 in the second bank 410 , by coding parallel branch instructions such that the instructions for the different functional units will be properly aligned in the instruction. That is, a no operation (NOP) instruction must be inserted where needed within the VLIW to assure alignment, i.e., to assure that commands for various functional units may be found in predetermined locations within the VLIW.
A cache bank selector field indicator may be generated by the compiler to control the caching of VLIWs into separate cache lines located in the separate banks when parallel branching is needed. The cache bank selector field can be implemented using an extra bit field in the VLIW, or the field may be encoded into the VLIW using other means.
The split VLIW cache structure of FIG. 4 provides a means to fork multiple execution threads within a single VLIW instruction stream. Such a capability is usefull for example, when an IF-THEN-ELSE control structure is encountered in a program executing on a VLIW architecture where multiple sub-processors process multiple instruction streams in parallel. For example, a VLIW processor may have sixteen functional units arranged into four groups of functional units, where at least one register file is associated with each group of functional units. This exemplary VLIW processor is said to have four sub-processors. Since the VLIW architecture only provides one execution thread, all four sub-processors will execute instructions and branch in lock-step with all the other sub-processors. In some programs, the four sub-processors will operate on four separate data sets while executing substantially the same instruction sequences. In this type of processing, all four sub-processors may be used to execute an IF-THEN-ELSE statement. In such a case, the sub-processors will need to branch to either the THEN-code or the ELSE-code depending on the data values in the four individual data paths. Some of the sub-processors can be used to execute the THEN-code while others are used to execute the ELSE-code. The prior art solution is to have all the sub-processors execute both the THEN-code and the ELSE-code conditionally. That is, all processors execute all of the code, while effectively inserting NOPs when no processing is required. While this design is simple from a control standpoint, it forces the program to execute a sequence of instructions equal to the total number of instructions in both the THEN-code and the ELSE-code. The cache structure of the present invention avoids this inefficiency.
The program counters 430 and 435 control two parallel instruction streams. One program counter addresses instructions in the THEN branch, and the other program counter addresses instructions in the ELSE branch. A multiplexer 440 selects the components of each instruction stream that make up the VLIW instruction, i.e., the multiplexer determines which instruction stream each sub-processor, e.g., A, B, C, or D, will execute. If one parallel branch is longer than another, the shorter path will sit in a NOP loop until the longer path completes execution. Once the longer of the two paths completes execution, re-synchronization is attained and the single execution thread continues with one program counter 430 or 435 addressing the entire cache (i.e., the cache banks 400 and 410 together) as a whole. With this embodiment, the IF-THEN-ELSE code executes in the number of cycles required for the longer of the THEN-code or the ELSE-code—not the sum of the two. The cache structure of FIG. 4, in general, allows one or more threads to conditionally branch away from the main VLIW execution thread.
FIG. 5 illustrates a processor architecture using multiple prefetch registers to provide parallel execution paths where the parallel execution paths may be completely decoupled to allow separate programs to execute concurrently. Separate execution is especially useful for executing multiple individual VLIW (or superscalar) programs. Separate execution also enables very efficient operation of interrupts since interrupt service routines (ISRs) are essentially separate programs that may be executed concurrently. In FIG. 5, a cache 500 is preferably divided into two cache area—a VLIW cache area 502 and an auxiliary cache area 504 . The percentage of the available cache allocated to the two respective areas may be fixed or may be set by a processor configuration register. The cache 500 may also be furter divided into more than two areas as well. The cache areas 502 and 504 have respective program counters 510 and 512 . An output from the cache area 502 is fed into a prefetch register 520 . The output from the auxiliary cache area 504 is fed into an optional multiplexer 528 which in turn provides an output to an auxiliary prefetch register 530 . The registers 520 and 530 are provided to a multiplexed dual input dispatch unit 540 , to decode units 550 , and to multiple register set functional units 560 . The multiple register set functional units 560 are designed similarly to the pipelined functional unit illustrated in FIG. 3 . An alternative embodiment is indicated in FIG. 5 by the dashed lines surrounding a program counter 570 that feeds into a Direct Memory Access (DMA) fetch path 575 . An output of the fetch path 575 is provided to the multiplexer 528 . The program counter 570 and the fetch path 575 take the place of the program counter 512 during a DMA-controlled fetch operation.
The dispatch unit 540 services multiple sources so that if one program does not need a resource, the second program can use it. A priority scheme gives priority to a primary execution path, so that program execution time is assured in this path. The second program executes in the background in a cycle-steal processing mode. In the cycle-steal mode, the second program unit steals unused processor cycles from the primary execution path. Since the processor maintains a separate cache, a separate register set and separate internal pipeline registers for the second instruction path, the allocation of unused cycles to the second path does not otherwise interfere with the cache, register set, or pipeline of the primary path. Thus, in terms of clock cycles, the second program can execute virtually for “free.”
To assure the correct execution of the second instruction path, an ordering should be maintained. For example, a VLIW may be defined as a fetch packet that contains multiple instructions. As will be discussed subsequently, a subset of instructions that dispatch to one or more functional units in the same cycle is called an execute packet. Hence, to maintain program correctness, one approach is to only dispatch an execute packet from the secondary instruction stream when all the functional units needed by a given execute packet are available. Another approach is to dispatch all instructions which can be dispatched each cycle within an execute packet based on functional availability until the complete execute packet has been dispatched. Once the entire execute packet has been dispatched, the next execute packet may begin to dispatch in a subsequent cycle in a similar manner. In a superscalar system, register renaming and out of order execution algorithms may be applied individually to the primary and secondary instruction streams
The priority of the execution paths may be changed under program control. For example, an interrupt service routine (ISR) with a strong real-time requirement can be switched into the high priority mode to meet its real-time deadline. By using the cache area structure of FIG. 5, the VLIWs of the interrupt service routine remain in the auxiliary cache 504 . In many cases, the main program will suffer only a minor performance hit while the interrupt service routine executes. Once the interrupt service routine finishes, priority is switched back to the main program. If the interrupt does not have a stringent real-time constraint, the interrupt service routine can execute in the low priority cycle-steal mode without affecting the speed of the main program. Such a low priority interrupt may be termed a polite interrupt, since the main program only gives up resources it is not using to the interrupt service routine.
In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 5, comprising the DMA fetch path 575 , a lower priority interrupt or a second auxiliary program may execute without contending for space in the cache 500 . A prefetch unit (not shown) inside the DMA fetch path 575 works with a DMA controller to fetch instructions into the auxiliary prefetch register 530 . Once the auxiliary prefetch register 530 has filled, data in the prefetch register 530 are routed through the pipeline in a cycle steal mode. In this case, a fast program executes in the foreground and has access to the entire cache 500 . A slower, lower priority program executes in the background and fetches instructions from memory only when the primary program does not require the memory bandwidth. Again, the second program executes concurrently for “free.” In machines such as DSPs with large on-chip memory, this second program can execute fairly rapidly.
The structure of FIG. 5 can also be applied when the auxiliary cache area 504 has zero entries. This is accomplished by using the two program counters 510 , 512 to access the same VLIW cache 502 . Normally when a program inefficiency occurs, multiple groups of instructions called execute packets will be dispatched from a single fetch packet. A fetch packet is a complete VLIW containing, for example, eight 32-bit instructions. An execute packet is a set of instructions that dispatch concurrently from the same fetch packet The fetch packet may contain, for example, four execute packets, each execute packet having two instructions. These execute packets will thus require four consecutive cycles to dispatch. Since only one fetch packet is fetched in this four-cycle period, the fetch portion of the pipeline will stall. Thus, several cycles is become available for the second program counter 512 to fetch a VLIV from the same VLfW cache 502 and to route this VLIW to the auxiliary prefetch register 520 . In this case, a multiplexer is used to pass the output from the VLIW cache 502 to either the prefetch register 520 or the auxiliary prefetch register 530 .
The concepts relating to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 are also intended for use in superscalar processors as well as VLIW processors. In a superscalar implementation, the same concepts are applied, but a superscalar dispatch unit is used with two or more prefetch buffers to service two or more of instruction streams. The pipelined functional unit in a superscalar implementation has essentially the same structure as discussed with respect to FIG. 3 . Two strategies can be adopted to deal with the renaming register pool. The first strategy is to have two distinct register pools associated with each instruction stream to implement register renaming. The second strategy is to have one pool of registers, and to assign the registers to the primary register set or to the secondary register set on an as needed basis. This is a more efficient use of the register pool but requires slightly more complicated control. In the superscalar implementation, when the dispatch unit cannot dispatch an instruction to a particular pipeline due to inefficiencies in the program structure of the first instruction stream, extended dispatch hardware is allowed the opportunity to dispatch an instruction from another instruction stream into the pipeline by switching the data paths using the techniques described in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 .
FIG. 6 shows how a cache can more generally be arranged to allow multiple programs and interrupt sources to share a processor in order to improve utilization and efficiency of the functional units. A plurality of program counters 600 , 601 , 602 act as inputs for a multi-input tag compare 610 for which there is a set 620 of enable/disable control inputs per channel. An output from the multi-input tag compare 610 feeds into a plurality of cache banks 630 , 631 , 632 which in turn feed into an optional mask logic and multiplexer 640 activated by task priority logic/control control inputs 650 . Outputs from the mask logic and multiplexer 640 comprise both a VLIW auxiliary output and a VLIW primary output
The cache organization of FIG. 6 allows multiple threads to execute concurrently out of the same cache. These threads may also be completely independent. A cache bank selector field in the instruction word gives preference to instructions from certain threads to certain cache banks 630 , 631 , 632 . All cache banks 630 , 631 , 632 , however, are available to all instruction streams, keeping the effective size of the cache the same for programs needing the entire cache. The optional mask logic 640 also supports the type of branching described with respect to FIG. 4 where separate execution paths mix to form a single VLIW. As discussed with respect to FIG. 5, in some embodiments a single cache bank may be also be employed wherein VLIWs from the auxiliary path or paths are read during cycles where the primary prefetch path stalls due to multiple execute packets being dispatched from a single VLIW fetch packet.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a processor 700 configured to allow parallel operations during an interrupt service routine. The processor 700 is similar to the processor shown in FIG. 6, with the addition of the parallel DMA capability. The processor 700 comprises a primary Program Counter (PC) 702 , a branch PC 704 , a branch PC 706 , and a plurality of interrupt vectors. A first interrupt vector 708 and an Mth interrupt vector 710 are shown and act as interrupt-initiated program counters for the associated ISRS. The program counters 702 , 704 , 706 , and the interrupt vectors 708 , 710 are provided to a multi-input tag compare circuit 714 . An output of the multi-input tag compare circuit 714 is provided to a banked cache 716 . The tag compare circuit 714 and the banked cache 716 operate in a fashion similar to the tag compare 610 and banked cache described in connection with FIG. 6 . As previously discussed, a banked cache with only one bank may also be used. Selected program counters 702 , 704 , 706 and the interrupt vectors 708 and 710 each may also be provided to inputs of a multithreading DMA multiplexer 712 . An output of the multiplexer 712 is provided to a DMA prefetch control circuit 718 . An output of the DMA prefetch control circuit 718 is provided to a DMA prefetch buffer 720 . An output of the DMA prefetch buffer 720 is provided to a first input of an auxiliary multiplexer 722 . An auxiliary VLIW output of the banked cache 716 is provided to a second input of the multiplexer 722 . An output of the multiplexer 722 is provided to an auxiliary prefetch register 724 . The banked cache 716 also provides a primary VLIW output to the processor pipeline (not shown).
The processor 700 combines the parallel branch processing shown in FIG. 4 with the parallel multithreading DMA processing shown in FIG. 5 . During normal program execution, program addresses are provided by the primary PC 702 . Addresses provided by the primary PC 702 are used to access the banked cache 716 to retrieve VLIW instruction words which are sent to the processor pipeline via the primary VLIW output. During execution of a conditional block, such as the ELSE path of an IF-THEN-ELSE construct, program addresses may be provided by one of the branch program counters, such as the branch PC 704 . Addresses provided by the branch PC 704 may also be used to access the banked cache 716 to retrieve an execution thread of VLIW instruction words which are sent to the processor pipeline via the auxiliary prefetch register 724 . Instructions in the auxiliary prefetch register may be processed in parallel with instructions from the primary VLIW path using cycle stealing. Alternatively, an execution thread may be accessed using the DMA prefetch controller which operates in the background to assemble auxiliary path VLIWs in the buffer 720 prior to being routed via the multiplexer 722 to the auxiliary VLIW input 724 to the dispatch unit (see FIG. 5 ). This allows a background task to execute in the cycle-steal mode without competing for VLIW cache space.
During execution of an interrupt service routine, addresses are provided by one of the interrupt vectors, such as the first interrupt vector 708 . Addresses provided by the interrupt vector 708 may be used to access the banked cache 716 to retrieve VLIW instruction words to be sent to the processor pipeline in a prioritized foreground mode over a primary VLIW path 726 , or may be sent to the processor in a lower priority background mode via the auxiliary. prefetch register 724 . Alternatively, addresses provided by the interrupt vector 708 may be provided to the DMA prefetch control 718 which loads data from main memory into the DMA prefetch buffer 720 . Data in the DMA prefetch buffer is provided through the multiplexer 722 to the auxiliary VLIW prefetch register 724 . Providing data from the prefetch buffer 720 directly to the auxiliary prefetch register 724 bypasses the cache 716 and thus minimizes the effect of interrupt DMA processing on the cache.
FIG. 8 illustrates how two program counters are used to access split VLIW instructions to provide two independent parallel processing paths (e.g., the two paths of an IF-THEN-ELSE) in a VLIW processor employing two sub-processors. FIG. 8 also illustrates a primary program counter 802 and a secondary program counter 806 . The primary program counter 802 is provided to a primary tag CAM 804 . The CAM 804 provides a joined address to a cache 810 and also provides a forked address to the cache 810 . The joined address is used to address full VLIW words from the cache 810 . The forked address is used to address left-half VLIW words from the cache 810 . The secondary program counter 806 is provided to a secondary tag CAM 808 . The CAM 808 provides forked addresses to address right-half VLIW words from the cache 810 . VLIW words from the cache are provided to a dispatch unit 812 . The dispatch unit 812 provides outputs to drive a set of functional units 814 .
When the system shown in FIG. 8 is used in normal (unforked) mode, joined addresses are provided to the cache 810 to retrieve full VLIW words from the cache 810 . Full VLIW words are provided to the dispatch unit 812 for normal dispatch processing.
When execution of the processor is forked, two separate instruction streams are provided. The first instruction stream is addressed by the program counter 802 which addresses the left-half of the VLIW words in the cache 810 . The second instruction stream is addressed by the program counter 806 and addresses the right-half of the VLIW words in the cache 810 . A full VLIW word is assembled from the left-half and right-half words and the full VLIW word is provided to the dispatch unit 812 . This illustrates how forked execution is achieved in conjunction with FIG. 4 .
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, other embodiments occur to those skilled in the art. For example, selection between more than two internal registers may be accomplished in each pipeline stage. Accordingly, the single bit line 340 shown in FIG. 3 may be replaced with multiple bit lines. Also, in other embodiments, a single set of internal pipeline registers may be shared among multiple threads, and the bit line 340 may be used only to select the external register set. In some embodiments, the line 340 may carry a thread indicator signal which is used to allow the functional units to access different resources, from the same or different register sets, while processing different threads. Also, in addition to the concept of having instruction streams with different priorities, other types of scheduling schemes, such as, for example, round robin, are also anticipated. It is to be understood therefore, that the invention herein encompasses all such embodiments that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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A very long instruction word (VLIW) processor exploits program level parallelism as well as instruction level parallelism. Unlike prior VLIW machines which obtain speed advantages using instruction level parallelism, the present processor exploits the parallelism inherent in a VLIW processor by providing new instruction level mechanisms to separate processor execution into parallel threads. This separation allows greater hardware use because more than one program can exploit instruction level parallelism on the system at the same time. A first program and a second program execute concurrently such that the second program executes using resources and cycles that would have been wasted by the first program. This construct is especially useful where the second program is an interrupt service routine because the interrupt service routine can be threaded through the machine with high or low priority while the functional units still process the first program stream. A superscalar version of the processor is also described.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention generally relates to computerized systems for use with highway vehicles, and more particularly to a method of enhancing the safety of such vehicles using an onboard navigation system and various databases.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Various navigational aides have been devised for use in vehicles such as cars and trucks. One of the simplest navigational aides is a compass, and for many years cars have been equipped with either mechanical or electrical compasses to provide directional (heading) information. A more recent advance in this area is the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to locate a vehicle or mobile user.
[0005] As shown in FIG. 1, the GPS system 1 includes a vehicle 2 equipped with a GPS receiver, and a multitude of satellites, such as satellites 3 and 4 . Satellites 3 and 4 send encoded signals via radio waves which are used by the GPS receiver to calculate the receiver's current geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). Civilian applications of GPS presently allow a user to determine his or her exact location anywhere on Earth to within a few inches.
[0006] GPS tools can be used to provide a standalone navigation solution for the vehicle, in combination with an onboard data processing system having mapping software. The GPS receiver provides the geographic coordinates of the vehicle to the onboard computer, and the mapping software determines which map is appropriate for use based on those coordinates. This map can then be displayed for the user on a video device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, mounted in the vehicle. When directional information is added, the driver's location and heading can be overlayed on the map to assist the driver in determining the proper course.
[0007] More advanced onboard navigation systems are available in many new cars (e.g., OnStar), and have also become common in rental cars (e.g., NeverLost). These systems provide additional security by allowing the driver (or passenger) to manually activate an alarm which sends a distress beacon to a central monitoring office, as indicated in FIG. 1 by receiver antenna 5 . A service advisor at the central office can then communicate with the vehicle occupants, as well as determine the vehicle's location in order to send out any assistance that might be necessary, such as a tow truck or policeman.
[0008] Some of these onboard systems are further programmed to respond to a distress situation automatically, such as when a vehicle's air bag is deployed (presumably caused by a traffic accident involving the vehicle). These systems not only advise the central office of such an event, but further automatically turn on the vehicle's blinking hazard lights.
[0009] While such systems are helpful in rendering aid to a distressed driver, they do little to immediately enhance the driver's safety, or to assist the driver in navigating the vehicle to a safe spot. Moreover, the vast majority of situations where the hazard lights should be turned on, or other assistance provided, do not involve an air bag deploying or any other cognizable event occurring. One of the most dangerous situations for accidents on busy highways is a vehicle which is stopped or stalled on the road. Even on divided highways or freeways, where the driver may think he or she has enough room to be safely out of the way of passing vehicles, there is still a great potential for real danger, particularly if the driver is not seen. These circumstances may be aggravated by conditions such as fog, snow, darkness, curves, etc. Yet it is precisely in these situations where drivers often fail to turn on their hazard lights or pursue other measures to ensure their own safety.
[0010] In light of the foregoing, it would be desirable to devise a hazard warning and safety system which could enhance existing navigational aides. Such a system would not only serve to reduce the number of accidents and related damage and injuries, but could also reduce other expenses, e.g., insurance, for commercial enterprises such as rental car companies. It would be additionally advantageous if the system could automatically detect hazardous situations even when no specific event has occurred, such as air bag deployment, and further automatically present helpful information to the driver.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved navigational aide for mobile users.
[0012] It is another object of the present invention to provide an enhanced vehicle hazard warning and safety system which is integrated with an onboard navigation system.
[0013] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an enhanced system wherein hazardous or distress situations may be automatically detected and appropriate assistance immediately provided to the vehicle operator.
[0014] The foregoing objects are achieved in a method of enhancing the safety of a vehicle, generally comprising the steps of providing a current geographic location of the 15 : vehicle to a base station, receiving an event signal from the vehicle at the base station, while the vehicle is proximate the current geographic location associating the geographic location with the event signal to determine that the vehicle is distressed, and transmitting hazard information from the base station to the vehicle in response to said associating step. The associating step may be based upon directional information that is provided by the vehicle. The transmitting step transmits a control signal to the vehicle, the vehicle automatically activating hazard lights in response to receipt of the control signal. Navigational assistance information can also be presented to the vehicle.
[0015] The above as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0017] [0017]FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a conventional vehicle navigation system which utilizes the global position system (GPS);
[0018] [0018]FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the vehicle hazard warning and safety system of the present invention;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 3 is a pictorial representation of an exemplary implementation of the vehicle hazard warning and safety system of the present invention; and
[0020] [0020]FIG. 4 is a chart illustrating the logical flow according to one method for carrying out the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] With reference now to the figures, and in particular with reference to FIG. 2, there is depicted one embodiment 10 of a vehicle hazard warning and safety system constructed in accordance with the present invention. Vehicle hazard warning and safety system 10 is generally comprised of a vehicle hazard warning and safety base station 12 , and a mobile hazard warning and safety system 14 , which communicate by conventional wireless technology as indicated at 16 .
[0022] In the depicted embodiment, vehicle hazard warning and safety base station 12 includes a traffic reporter 18 , a road/highway database 20 , a facilities database 22 , hazard condition logic 24 , map logic 26 , and safety response logic 28 . Vehicle hazard warning and safety base station 12 may be connected to other services via a communications line 30 .
[0023] Mobile hazard warning and safety system 14 includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 32 , a display device 34 such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a speaker 36 , a directional or heading instrument 38 (such as an electronic compass), a user input device 40 (such as a keyboard or touch-screen), hazard response logic 42 , onboard navigation logic 44 , a hazard indicator override 46 , and voice generation 48 . Mobile hazard warning and safety system 14 has a two-way connection to the vehicle's hazard lights 50 , which allows system 14 to turn the hazard lights on, and which further allows system 14 to determine when the driver has manually activated hazard lights 50 . Mobile hazard warning and safety system 14 may also be operatively connected to a distress indicator 52 , such as an air bag alarm signal which is activated when the vehicles air bag is deployed. System 14 may receive inputs from other features of the vehicle, such as the transmission gear selector, the parking brake, and the engine electrical power system.
[0024] While the navigational subsystem for the present invention preferably utilizes GPS technology which relies on earth-orbiting satellites, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other navigational aids besides GPS can be used, such as a triangulation system using land-based antennas.
[0025] The present invention utilizes the navigational subsystem to automatically determine when a distress situation arises with the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle transmission is put in the “Park” gear, or the parking brake set, or the engine is turned off, and the GPS subsystem determines that the vehicle is still on a major highway, then a distress situation would be indicated. System 10 then provides automatic responses to this indication, such as turning on hazards lights 50 , or providing selected information to the vehicle operator.
[0026] Using information provided by GPS 32 and directional device 38 , the onboard computer can determine that the vehicle has stopped at the side of or on a busy highway, for example, verifying that the stopped vehicle has been tracking to a particular highway segment for some threshold distance, and that the vehicle has remained oriented within some angle, say 20°, of the highway's orientation for some threshold distance. If these conditions are met and the driver puts the vehicle in “Park,” sets the parking brake, or turns off the engine, then the hazard lights are deployed. Orientation is not always necessary, but its use is preferable since it may indicate that the vehicle is no longer on the highway, e.g., where the driver pulls off the road into a nearby parking lot and the orientation of the vehicle has changed.
[0027] In the case of divided or controlled-access highways, it is unlikely that system 10 would provide a faulty indication of a distress situation but, in the event that the operator desires to limit application of the invention, means are provided to allow this at the driver's option. For example, on busy two-lane highways where access is not restricted, there may be occurrences where there is a favorite stop that does not involve a large change in orientation of the vehicle and is close enough to the road to confuse system 10 into deploying. The driver could therefore update the navigation system's map data to record any common locations that might be visited, which would otherwise activate the hazard lights. In this manner, when the vehicle is within say 50 yards of that location, the hazard lights will not be automatically activated. This deactivation of the invention would be as simple as pressing a button (hazard indicator override 46 ) when at that problem location.
[0028] Map data could also be augmented with areas for which the hazard lights are not to be automatically deployed, e.g., rest stops, scenic views, and exits. If there is a rest stop or scenic pull-over where automobiles may violate the other constraints for deploying the hazard lights, then by using this additional map data, the system would prevent itself from misfiring.
[0029] Optionally, if the vehicle comes to a sudden stop in an area that is on a divided highway, and GPS information indicates that the vehicle is clearly away from any exits and oriented in the direction of the highway, then the system can activate the hazard lights for a short period of time or until the vehicle starts moving again. This option will warn other vehicles who are coming from behind and who may thus be forced to make a quick stop. In any case, the driver can still turn the hazard lights on or off manually.
[0030] In a further aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, when the hazard lights on the distressed vehicle 60 are activated (manually or automatically), a radio beacon message is sent to other vehicles 62 with onboard navigation systems that are approaching the vicinity, to give them ample warning about the stopped vehicle and its relative location. The GPS location of the originator is part of the beacon message, so the vicinity distance can be made variable, depending on such things as terrain, or urban versus rural areas. To cover the case where a vehicle is stopped on a divided highway, additional directional information may be included with the beacon message, so that only the vehicles traveling in the same direction would need to display the warning.
[0031] When the hazard lights are activated (manually or automatically), mobile hazard warning and safety system 14 informs the driver of important information relative to the stopped location. This information is automatically retrieved and presented to the user via display device 34 , or via 36 using voice generation 48 . This information is preferably encoded with the map data and may include: nearness of on/off ramps, which are an increased potential for accidents when a vehicle is stopped on the shoulder nearby; nearness of a gas station or rest stop, so the driver knows the best direction to go for help, or determine a better/safer place to park the vehicle; warnings of other hazards, such as a section of highway with a narrow shoulder, or when the vehicle is stopped on a corner, or on a long down hill grade where trucks may have trouble slowing down; and, for trucks and other commercial vehicles, the driver could be advised of additional safety measures that are required by state or local traffic laws (e.g., exactly how and where to deploy safety signs and/or flare behind the vehicle). Highway traffic information, e.g., slowed traffic, can be collected by traffic reporter 18 and that information supplied as well. Other information may be provided, such as construction 64 (FIG. 3) which is reported to system 12 via land lines 66 .
[0032] This information is automatically presented to the operator by the onboard navigation system when the hazard lights are activated, and is not dependent on the operator explicitly requesting the information. The automatic presentation of such information can be the deciding factor and margin of safety in preventing accidents, reducing property damage, and saving lives.
[0033] The present invention may be further understood with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 4. In this exemplary implementation, the process begins with the transmission of GPS information, directional information, and distress information to the base station ( 70 ). The information is examined by the agent at the base station ( 72 ), and a determination is made as to whether a distress situation is indicated ( 74 ). If not, the process iterates to step 70 . If a distress situation is indicated, a signal is sent to activate the hazard lights on the vehicle ( 76 ). The geographic information transmitted to the base station is further analyzed by the agent to determine which databases should be consulted regarding nearby facilities, hazards or other driving conditions ( 78 ). Any such relevant information is then transmitted to the distressed vehicle ( 80 ). Warnings may optionally be sent to other vehicles which are nearby or traveling on the same highway ( 82 ).
[0034] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that such modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
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A method and system for vehicle hazard warning and safety integrated with an onboard navigational system for providing a current geographical location of the vehicle to a base station, receiving an event signal from the vehicle at the base station, while the vehicle is proximate to the current geographic location associating the geographic location with the event signal to determine that the vehicle is distressed, and transmitting hazard information from the base station to the vehicle in response to such association. The association may be based upon directional information which is provided by the vehicle. A control signal is transmitted to the vehicle and the hazard lights of the vehicle are automatically activated in response to receipt of that control signal. Navigational assistance can also be presented to the vehicle.
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CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority of German patent application no. 10 2005 042 214.4 filed Sep. 5, 2005, which is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a receiving and transferring station for coverslipped specimen slides.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In clinical laboratories or pharmaceutical companies and at research service provider facilities, a large number of different samples are processed every day and prepared for histological investigations by scientists, physicians, and pathologists. The usual procedure is to take the sample from the patient, embed the sample in, for example, paraffin, and then cut it into thin sections using microtomes.
[0004] The thin sections are, as a rule, placed onto specimen slides and covered with a thin glass or plastic plate for protection from environmental influences. To enhance diagnosis capabilities, the samples are often stained with different staining techniques before coverslipping.
[0005] In order to meet ever more stringent requirements in clinical and pathological histology and cytology, and to maintain competitiveness despite enormous time and cost pressure, many activities previously performed manually by laboratory personnel are being streamlined with the aid of automatic equipment.
[0006] For example, so-called stainers (automatic staining machines) have become known for staining the samples. Coverslipping of the specimen slides is facilitated by coverslipping machines.
[0007] It is known from DE 101 44 042 A1 and DE 101 44 989 A1 to connect a stainer, via a transfer module, to a coverslipping machine and to transport stained sections automatically for coverslipping. In this fashion, a large number of coverslipped samples are produced at short time intervals and are made available, at the output end of the system, for further investigation.
[0008] Subsequent investigation of the samples by physicians, scientists, and pathologists requires substantially more time, however, and also occurs more irregularly than the production of coverslipped samples on specimen slides using the system described above. Even automatically operating digital scanning devices, which convert the samples into high-resolution “digital slides,” take between two and 20 minutes to scan a specimen slide, depending on the size of the specimen. It is common to have a backup of finished coverslipped specimen slides at the output end of the coverslipping machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The object of the invention is to simplify and maximally automate handling, over the entire evaluation process, of specimen slides for histology. The intention is to automate the transfer of stained and coverslipped specimen slides to a downstream digital specimen slide scanner system, and to absorb any possible backup resulting from different processing times prior to scanning.
[0010] This object is achieved, according to the present invention, by a receiving and transferring station for coverslipped specimen slides that contains at least one vertically upright magazine frame, open toward the receiving side, for at least one specimen slide magazine having horizontally oriented compartments, and a rotation apparatus, connected to the magazine frame and having a vertically upright rotation axis, for conveying the magazine frame from a receiving position into a transferring position.
[0011] For vertical shifting and easy filling of the compartments in the specimen slide magazines, the magazine frame comprises a transport device for vertical displacement of the specimen slide magazines. In this fashion, the individual compartments of the specimen slide magazines can be brought progressively into the receiving position. In an alternative embodiment, a transport apparatus for vertical displacement is located in the lower housing region of the receiving and transferring station, and introduces the specimen slide magazines from below into the magazine frames.
[0012] The invention is distinguished by the fact that the height of the magazine frame is provided for the reception two specimen slide magazines, thereby increasing the receiving capacity.
[0013] For easy filling of the magazine frame with empty specimen slide magazines, the latter are insertable from above into the magazine frame. Filled specimen slide magazines are of course also removable from above in this fashion.
[0014] If the rotation apparatus contains a turntable on whose periphery multiple magazine frames are mounted, the receiving and transferring station can receive a plurality of specimen slides. If six magazine frames are arranged evenly on the periphery of the turntable, rotational control of the apparatus can be configured in particularly simple fashion.
[0015] In a further embodiment of the invention, there is arranged above the turntable, at a location intersected by the rotation axis, a stationary ejection apparatus whose ejection arms are shiftable in the direction of the transferring position in a compartment plane, in order to transfer individual specimen slides to the next processing apparatus. With a particular embodiment of the ejection apparatus, however, it is also possible to convey a magazine either vertically upward or downward out of the magazine frame, and thus transfer the magazine as a unit.
[0016] An electronically controllable rotation apparatus makes it possible, in the context of the receiving and transferring station according to the present invention, on the one hand to position magazine frames having empty specimen slide magazines in the receiving region in specific fashion. On the other hand, the possibility exists of delivering magazine frames having filled specimen slide magazines to the transfer position, and ejecting the specimen slides there.
[0017] For that purpose, the ejection apparatus is advantageously likewise embodied in electronically controllable fashion.
[0018] With an electronically controllable embodiment of the transport device for vertical displacement, the procedure of sliding specimen slides into the compartments of the specimen slide magazines can be synchronized and optimized interactively with the ejection apparatus and the rotation apparatus.
[0019] In particularly advantageous fashion, the receiving position of the receiving and transferring station for coverslipped specimen slides is associated with the output side of a coverslipping machine. Cyclical introduction of the specimen slides produced in the coverslipping machine into compartments of the specimen slide magazines takes place with no further intervening manual step.
[0020] For easy filling of the specimen slide magazines, the magazines are lowerable within the magazine frame in the receiving position. This makes it easy to adapt to existing coverslipping machines, which comprise at their output side only a horizontal shifting (dispensing) of the coverslipped specimen slides. Further possibilities for introducing specimen slides into the receiving and transferring station according to the present invention are, of course, not intended to be excluded from protection. For example, with an appropriate configuration of the substructure of the apparatus in the receiving position, it is also possible to push empty specimen slide magazines under the magazine frames and insert them from below into the magazine frames. With this filling method, as soon as the lowest compartment of a specimen slide magazine is filled with a coverslipped specimen slide, the specimen slide magazines can be secured in the magazine frame to prevent them from slipping out, and the rotation apparatus can deliver the next empty magazine frame to the receiving position.
[0021] In a further embodiment of the invention, the transferring position of the receiving and transferring station is associated with a digital scanning device for producing so-called digital slides. This makes possible, especially in coaction with the electronically controllable ejection apparatus, a controlled automatic transfer of specimen slides. If the scanning operation requires more time because of the size of the sample, it is possible to link the control system of the receiving and transferring station to that of the scanning device, and allow the latter to generate the instruction to transfer the next specimen slide to be scanned. Operation in terms of receiving specimen slides can otherwise continue without interference during a scanning procedure, until the supply of empty compartments in the receiving and transferring station has been exhausted. The transfer of specimen slides to the scanning device can proceed autarchically with no supervision by operating personnel, including at night. A backup that has occurred as a result of the rapid (as compared with the scanning operation) reception of coverslipped specimen slides can be cleared in this fashion.
[0022] The invention is further distinguished by the fact that the receiving position and the transferring position can be arranged with a 180-degree offset from one another. This makes possible an ergonomic and space-saving configuration of a system made up of a coverslipping machine, receiving and transferring station, and digital scanning device arranged next to one another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] The invention will be described and explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplifying embodiment depicted schematically in the drawings, in which:
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a receiving and transferring station viewed obliquely from above; and
[0025] FIG. 2 shows a receiving and transferring station in an arrangement between a coverslipping machine and a digital scanning device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a receiving and transferring station 1 for coverslipped specimen slides 2 , 2 ′, 2 ″, in which station a specimen slide magazine 4 , located in a receiving position 3 , is depicted in a lowered position. Specimen slide magazine 4 is inserted in vertically shiftable fashion in a magazine frame 5 . Coverslipped specimen slides 2 are located in the horizontally oriented compartments 6 . Specimen slide magazine 4 is vertically shifted, by a transport device (not depicted further) for vertical displacement of compartments 6 , until an open compartment 6 can be filled with a coverslipped specimen slide 2 ′. Projecting out in the lower region of magazine frame 5 is a second, empty specimen slide magazine 4 ′ that, for the reception of further specimen slides 2 ′, is inserted upward into magazine frame 5 via the transport device for vertical adjustment. As soon as specimen slide magazine 4 ′ is also filled with specimen slides 2 , 2 ′, specimen slide magazines 4 , 4 ′ are secured by way of a locking mechanism (not depicted further) to prevent magazine frames 5 , 5 ′, 5 ″ from slipping or falling out.
[0027] Magazine frames 5 , 5 ′, 5 ″ comprise, in the rear region, vertically extending guide grooves 15 . In the base region of specimen slide magazines 4 , 4 ′, shaped-on lateral ridges 16 engage into guide grooves 15 . Specimen slide magazines 4 , 4 ′ are thereby guided vertically in magazine frames 5 , 5 ′, 5 ″. For easy manual insertion of specimen slide magazines 4 , 4 ′ into magazine frames 5 , 5 ′, 5 ″, guide grooves 15 comprise a widened groove cross section 17 in the upper region.
[0028] A rotation apparatus performs a rotary motion, thereby causing magazine frame 5 to be moved toward transferring position 8 . On the periphery of the rotation apparatus, which is embodied as a turntable 7 , multiple magazine frames 5 , 5 ′, 5 ″ having recesses 9 are arranged in the base region of magazine frames 5 , 5 ′. As a result of the rotary motion, magazine frame 5 ″ having specimen slides 2 ″ is delivered to transferring position 8 . At transferring position 8 specimen slides 2 ″ are transferred, by an ejection apparatus 10 having ejection arms 11 , to a digital scanning device 12 depicted schematically in FIG. 1 .
[0029] FIG. 2 is an overall view of a system made up of a coverslipping machine 13 , receiving and transferring station 1 that is described more thoroughly in FIG. 1 , and a digital scanning device 12 . All the controllable apparatuses can be monitored and programmed via a control panel 14 of an electronic control device.
[0030] Codes, with which an allocation of the sample to a patient record and sample record in a database system can be performed, are advantageously applied onto the specimen slides 2 , 2 ′, 2 ″. A code applied onto the specimen slide magazine 4 , 4 ′ makes possible, together with a stored compartment number, a determination of the exact introduction position of a specimen slide even after a specimen slide magazine has been removed from the receiving and transferring station. Specific recovery of individual samples from a plurality of samples is facilitated. This makes possible, in coaction with the electronic control systems of the receiving and transferring station, a variety of automatic working sequences. For example, the samples can be transferred to the downstream digital scanning device 12 in almost any desired sequence. Prioritized samples can be handled preferentially with no need to wait for the processing of previously introduced specimen slides. The possibility also exists of delivering further specimen slides to the specimen slide magazines in the receiving region during the scanning operation. The reception of further specimen slides can be briefly interrupted in order to return a sample that has just been scanned, without creating a backup in the coverslipping machine 13 . It is likewise possible first to scan all the samples that have a short scanning time, in order to gain rapid access to a plurality of scanning results. The processing of specimen slides having samples with a longer scanning time can be postponed in order to process them later, for example at night without supervision. In the case of a sequential processing of the samples in the order in which they were introduced into the specimen slide magazines (FIFO principle), the possibility exists of transferring scanned specimen slides to a storage system downstream from the digital scanning device. As a result, empty specimen slide magazines are constantly leaving the transferring position, and empty specimen slide magazines are constantly being delivered to the receiving region. If there is no storage system placed downstream from the scanning device, and if the specimen slides must therefore be introduced back into the specimen slide magazine at the same position after scanning of the sample is complete, filled specimen slide magazines can be removed from the receiving and transferring station after leaving the transferring position. On the basis of the code on the specimen slide and on the specimen slide magazines, and information from the database system, specific access to individual samples is possible at any later time.
PARTS LIST
[0000]
1 Receiving and transferring station for coverslipped specimen slides
2 , 2 ′, 2 ″ Specimen slides
3 Receiving position
4 , 4 ′ Specimen slide magazine
5 , 5 ′, 5 ″ Magazine frames
6 Compartment
7 Turntable
8 Transferring position
9 Recesses
10 Ejection apparatus
11 Ejection arms
12 Digital scanning device
13 Coverslipping machine
14 Control panel
15 Guide groove
16 Ridges
17 Widened groove cross section
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A receiving and transferring station ( 1 ) for coverslipped specimen slides ( 2, 2′, 2 ″) comprises at least one vertically upright magazine frame ( 5 ), open toward the receiving side, for at least one specimen slide magazine ( 4 ) having horizontally oriented compartments ( 6 ), and a rotation apparatus, connected to the magazine frame ( 5 ) and having a vertically upright rotation axis, for conveying the magazine frame ( 5 ) from a receiving position ( 3 ) into a transferring position ( 8 ).
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The diaphragm of a pressure transducer is its most crucial part and yet is exposed to the most arduous conditions. Pressure transducers are employed for measuring pressure changes in internal combustion engines, turbines, hydraulic and ballistic systems, rockets, explosive forming machines etc. Gaseous or liquid media, with their frequently changing temperature and pressure, act on the diaphragm, which has to transmit the resulting force onto a mechano-electric transducer element. This element may be piezoelectric, inductive, resistive, piezoresistive, or capacitive in its action. This element is then linked by a cable to electronic amplifiers or bridges, whose output signals are supplied into cathode-ray oscillographs, magnetic tape recorders or electronic recorders.
Because the diaphragm is often exposed simultaneously to rapid temperature and pressure shocks, under continuous operation it must withstand very severe mechanical stressing. In addition, highly corrosive gases are present due to the sulphur content of fuels. In a typical design, the diaphragm is welded to the supporting surface on the body of the transducer, but this has the further disadvantage that the weld is close to the parts of the diaphragm which have to sustain the severest stresses. As a result, fatigue fractures occur, especially in the immediate proximity of the welds, assisted in part by recrystallization process. Temperature shocks, such as those imposed by the propagation of the flame front in internal combustion engines, cause internal thermal expansion, which lead to spurious signals that are superimposed upon the pressure signal. The design of the diaphragm part of such pressure transducers therefore involves a number of requirements which are difficult to reconcile, and this is one reason why the solutions achieved up to now have been less than satisfactory.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to enable a pressure transducer to be constructed having a stable calibration factor and allowing exact measurements to be performed over a long period of time. In particular, however, the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention enables the pressure behavior to be measured without errors due to temperature shocks acting on the diaphragm part during measurement. The new diaphragm arrangement will also cause no alteration in the sensitivity of the transducer due to deposits of combustion residues in the course of continuous operation. The design of the proposed diaphragm arrangement transfers the necessary welded joints from the critical zones where high alternating stresses occur to zones where less mechanical strength is required, so that a pressure transducer suitable for continuous operation is achieved, such as for, monitoring duties on internal combustion engines etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross section of a diaphragm arrangement according to the invention with an annular force measuring element;
FIGS. 2 and 3 depict cross-sectional views of variants of the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention;
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate cross-sectional views of other variants of the diaphragm part according to FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a cross section through a diaphragm arrangement according to the invention with a disk-shaped force measuring element;
FIG. 7 is a cross section of a diaphragm arrangement according to the invention with additional flame protection;
FIGS. 8 and 9 show cross sectional views of diaphragm arrangements according to the invention with an excessively elastic force measuring cell, and with admissible deformation of the force measuring cell, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention is not limited to any particular force measuring element. This may be piezoelectric, piezoresistive, strain gauge or any other ohmic, inductive or capacitive system.
As is shown in FIG. 1, a pressure transducer with a diaphragm arrangement according to the invention consists of a transducer body 1 with a mounting flange 2 and sealing ring 3. Here, the force measuring element 4 has an annular shape. The appropriate electrical connections are joined to the insulated pins 5 passing through the body 1 and leading to the signal outputs 14. The disk-shaped force measuring element 4 and the annular extension 6 of the body 1 are matched so that their end faces lie in a common plane 18. In cross section, the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention represents a double bridge, characterized by a thrust ring 7 joined rigidly to the annular extension 6 by known means and a central ring 9 joined to the supporting ring 16. The annular plate diaphragm 17 is attached to the inner and outer supporting rings 16 and 7 through elastic members 8. The supporting surfaces of rings 9 and 7 also lie in a common plane 18. To provide a tight connection without a gap spring between force measuring element 4, body 1 and central ring 9, the bolt 10 with head 11 is arranged so that this measuring system can be preloaded optimally on the assembled pressure transducer by tightening the nut 13. This nut 13 is braced on a thermal expansion compensating ring 12, which is made of suitable material to ensure that the adjusted preload remains constant within the temperature range of the pressure transducer. Such compensation is necessary, because in many cases the thermal expansion values of the force measuring element 4 differ from the corresponding values of the body 1, diaphragm part 9 and preload bolt 10. Especially where force measuring elements 4 consisting of crystals are used, as in piezoelectric or piezoresistive elements, with lower coefficients of thermal expansion than commercial structural steels, a compensating ring 12 made from a physical steel with a high nickel content is preferably used. Such steels with widely graded coefficients of expansion are available commercially and are easily machined.
An essential feature of the invention is that the diaphragm is flexible and elastic, yet is very strong. Moreover, no preload must be transmitted by the plate diaphragm 17 from the outer thrust ring 7 onto the central ring 9. If there is any residual preload, any temperature change acting on the diaphragm surface 19 will cause a change in the preload acting on the measuring element 4, leading to an error.
The fixed connection between the annular parts 6 and 7, which is usually achieved by welding, inevitably imposes a preload on the diaphragm part 9 which can be measured with the force measuring element 4 during the welding operation. According to the invention, this preload imposed on the diaphragm by micro-deformation during welding on the outer ring is compensated by additionally preloading the inner clamp ring 9 by means of the bolt 10. In this way, the plate diaphragm 17 can be restored to its preloadless state. The optimal preload to be adjusted with the nut 13 is determined by trial and error. Immersion tests in baths of different temperature have proved to be simplest. Once the neutral stress state of the diaphragm is obtained, i.e. the optimal preload of bolt 10 is found, the smallest error signals are given by the pressure transducer when the diaphragm surface 19 is immersed in a liquid at higher temperature, for example. The temperature sensitivity can thus be varied within wide limits by directly adjusting the preload of the assembled transducer, a facility which is directly associated with the diaphragm arrangement according to this invention.
The pressure transducer is fitted to internal combustion engines, for example, in such a way that the hole 21 and seating surface 23 are dimensioned such that after tightening the mounting nipple 15, the combustion chamber surface 20 and the diaphragm surface 19 lie in the same plane. This ensures that no detrimental deposits form on the diaphragm surface 19 owing to combustion residues during prolonged periods of operation. Once the diaphragm surface 19 is set back from the combustion chamber surface 20, reliable continuous operation is no longer assured because combustion residues are no longer removed by the flame front. Over the course of time, the annular gap 22 between the pressure transducer and the mounting hole will become filled with combustion residues. Due to the high rigidity of the outside walls 6 and 7, however, such fouling affects the sensitivity of the pressure transducer only to a very small degree. A further purpose of the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention is the preselected matching of the elasticity of the central supporting system consisting of force measuring element 4, central ring 9 and preload bolt 10 to the outer supporting system consisting of the annular members 6 and 7. As a result, there is no distortion under the effect of pressure `p`, and hence the lowest possible deformation of the surface 19, amounting to only fractions of a micron over the full range of the pressure transducer. This ensures that the elastic members 8 are not overstressed and withstand continuous operation. Further adaptation possibilities are described with reference to FIG. 4.
FIG. 2 shows a variant of the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention as shown in FIG. 1. Instead of the annular plate diaphragm, an elastic concave diaphragm 25 is arranged between the outer ring 27 and the inner supporting ring 26. It can be produced by form-turning or by rolling-in from a flat diaphragm. All other features of the invention are retained as described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows another variant of FIG. 1. Here the plate diaphragm 37 is set back and provided with an annular recess in its outer surface, the resulting space being filled with a pressure transmitting fluid 39, preferably silicone oil, gel or some high-temperature oil and sealed with a thin metal foil. The metal film 36 is joined to the annulus 34 by familiar welding methods at the flange part 35. The elastic connections 38 joining the plate diaphragm 37 to the inner and outer annular members are provided with radial recesses, in order to minimize the notch effect and to ensure a long life. The metal foil 36 is exposed to virtually no mechanical tensile or flexural loads, because it serves only as a pressure transfer medium. All other features of the invention are retained as described with reference to FIG. 1. The diaphragm 37 has practically complete protection from the effects of flame and temperature.
FIG. 4 shows another variant of FIG. 1. The elasticity of the outer ring 47 of the diaphragm arrangement can be adapted roughly to that of the inner supporting ring 45 in simple fashion by means of the recess 46 in the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention.
FIG. 5 shows a further variant of FIG. 1. The plate diaphragm 57 is joined to the outer ring 56 and inner supporting ring 55 by the elastic members 58, which have radial recesses inside and outside to minimize the notch effect and thus ensure a long life. These radial recesses are preferably polished in order to preclude all risks of cracking. All other features are retained as described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention. The transducer body 61 is again provided with a mounting flange 62. Instead of the annular shape, the force measuring element 64 is disk-shaped and is fitted in a sleeve 67, which is connected via a thin, elastically preloaded wall 66 with the welding flange 65 which, in turn, is joined rigidly to the housing 61 by known means. The signal output 72 can now be effected centrally. The force measuring element 64 is thus fitted under mechanical preload, and the screw 68 tightens the inner ring 69 of the diaphragm arrangement firmly against the sleeve 67. By means of the sleeve 71, whose upper end 74 is welded under preload to the housing 61, the outside ring 70 is forced firmly onto the housing annulus 75 to effect a seal. If necessary, the cavity 73 may be filled with a coolant, which is either enclosed or circulated. As in FIG. 1, the cross section of the diaphragm arrangement again constitutes a double bridge, with the difference that here the diaphragm is joined to the force measuring element 64 and body 61 by purely mechanical means.
FIG. 7 shows a variant of FIG. 6 with the diaphragm surface covered by a thin, elastic metal foil 79 as a protection against the action of flame and heat, this foil being joined to the sleeve 77 by a ring 78. The metal foil 79 may have annular corrugations to give it high flexibility.
FIG. 8 shows a diaphragm arrangement according to the invention in which a force measuring cell 84 with inadequate stiffness has been adopted. The deformation Δ S under the pressure load `p` is so great that the elastic limit of the joining members is exceeded.
FIG. 9 shows the same example as in FIG. 8 with a stiffer force measuring cell 94 employed, its elasticity matched to the outer wall 95 and the bolt 90. The remaining deformation Δ S is no more than a few microns.
The figures and description above relate to a diaphragm arrangement which is based on new knowledge and enables pressure transducers to be constructed, which, for the first time, may be employed for monitoring duties, as in internal combustion engines for instance. The new diaphragm arrangement should also find use in research, however, for applications where all influence on the pressure measurement by changes in the temperature of the medium being measured must be eliminated. Through simple geometry and the ability to machine the diaphragm part separately from the remainder of the transducer, but above all, due to the fact that the contact surfaces of the diaphragm and transducer part lie in the same plane, which can be machined to high accuracy with the known techniques of precision engineering, the arrangement according to the invention assures exactly defined supporting conditions. By adopting a very rigid force measuring cell and prior adaptation of the elasticities of the inner and outer supporting parts, deformation of the diaphragm arrangement according to the invention can be kept to a minimum of typically less than 1 micron under maximum load, making possible the long service life demanded. Particularly important, however, is that the preload of the diaphragm arrangement can be adjusted to the optimal value on the assembled pressure transducer, so that no residual stresses are left in the diaphragm parts and, therefore, no errors can arise due to variation of the preload. A diaphragm suddenly exposed to heat trends to bulge out on the hot side because the impinging heat wave has a temperature gradient normal to the diaphragm surface. The outer layers of the diaphragm facing the heat are already heated and expanded shortly after the first exposure to the heat, whereas the inner layers are still cold. This leads to a distortion of the diaphragm and the imposition of a force via the ring 9 onto the measuring element 4, which is registered as a spurious measurement. The double-jointed support with the elastic elements 8 allows the diaphragm to deform under temperature shock without transmitting forces to the force transducer element 4. In this way heat shock errors are avoided. This combination of various measures yields a pressure transducer which responds only to pressure changes and not to temperature changes accompanying these, thereby achieving a solution which has long been sought. Such intricate diaphragm forms can be achieved particularly well with the transducer design shown in this patent, using the diaphragm geometries illustrated.
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A diaphragm arrangement for a pressure transducer, particularly one employed in monitoring an internal combustion engine and employing a force measuring transducer element abuts either against the pressure transducer directly or a preload element coupled therewith. The diaphragm arrangement includes a plurality of ring-shaped portions, one coupled to a preload volt element and another at the periphery of the transducer. Between these inner and outer portions of the diaphragm arrangement is an elastic portion interconnecting the two which permits the transducer to accurately monitor the pressure behavior, without the introduction of errors due to temperature shocks acting on the diaphragm during the measurement.
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1. CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/898,939 filed on Jan. 31, 2007 titled IMPROVED INTRAVENOUS DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS FILTER AND METHOD OF FILTER PLACEMENT.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to vascular filters and, in particular to surgically implanted vascular filters which capture blood clots to prevent the clots from migrating to other regions of the circulatory system.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a common problem and causes significant morbidity and mortality in the United States and throughout the world. DVT is caused when a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the legs. These blood clots typically occur due to slow or reduced blood flow through the deep veins such as when the patient cannot ambulate or otherwise efficiently circulate their blood. Another cause of inefficient circulation may be due to structural damage to the veins such as general trauma or subsequent to surgical procedures. Additionally, a blood clot may form in a deep vein due to a particular medical condition or a propensity for the patient to have a hypercoaguability state. For example, a woman on birth control who smokes has an increased risk of forming blood clots and is thus predisposed to DVT.
[0006] The result and clinical significance of DVT is when the clot breaks free from its location in the deep vein of the leg, the clot travels through the circulatory system and may eventually lodge in a location that is adverse to the patient's health. For example, the clot may dislodge from a location in the deep vein of the patient's leg and migrate through the heart and come to rest in the patient's lung causing a pulmonary embolism (PE) resulting in restricted circulation and can cause sudden death for the patient.
[0007] DVT & PE are currently prevented in several ways including anticoagulation therapy, thrombectomy, thrombolysis and inferior vena cava filter (IVC filter) placement. Anticoagulation therapy utilizes various medications that reduce the patient's propensity for forming blood clots. However, this form of therapy has the disadvantage that due to the patient's inability to form blood clots (due to the medication), there is an increased risk of excessive bleeding should the patient become injured, sustain surgical complications, or develop internal hemorrhaging.
[0008] Thrombectomy is a procedure generally performed for treatment of a PE, in which a blood clot is extracted from the vein using a surgical procedure or by way of an intravenous catheter and a mechanical suction device. This form of treatment is risky and technically very difficult because the catheter has to be steered or navigated to a specific location in order to extract the clot. Additionally, during a thrombectomy there is an increased risk of causing vascular damage due to the surgical procedure and use of various mechanical devices.
[0009] Thrombolysis is a medical technique that is performed for treatment of a PE, in which various medicines are infused into the region of the clot that subsequently causes the clot to dissolve. This form of treatment has the disadvantage that the medication may cause bleeding at other sites such as within the brain. For example, if a patient has previously had a minute non-clinical stroke, the medication used in a thrombolysis may cause a previously healed vessel to bleed within the patient's head. IVC filter placement is usually conducted by surgically installing a filter in a large bore vein (such as the inferior vena cava) in the patient's upper abdomen. The IVC filter is placed using a large bore catheter (Introducer Catheter) for delivery of the filter. There are a couple of filters frequently used, those that are permanent and those that are removable, that may be placed using this technique. In the case where a removable filter is utilized, additional complications arise when the filter must be removed. The removable IVC filter is generally placed for a time period of a several weeks to a few months to prevent internal vascular scaring. However, removal of the IVC filter is technically challenging and requires large bore access. In practice, the removable IVC filter is captured by first accessing a large bore vein, using a large bore catheter to approach the filter, capturing the tip of the filter using a “snaring device” that is deployed through the large bore catheter, then pulling the filter into the catheter, and then the large bore catheter (with the filter therein) is removed from the patient. This procedure is very challenging, and requires increased patient recovery time.
[0010] Current IVC filter placement has several disadvantages such as increased costs, requires the use of special surgical procedures such as fluoroscopy or cardiology labs, requires a team (lab technician, nurse, and physician) of medical professionals, and requires a second substantially difficult surgical procedure for filter removal. Additionally, the IVC filter placement procedure requires that the patient's coagulation status be sufficient to withstand the surgical procedure. For example, if the patient has medical condition (liver failure) or is on medications that prevents their blood from clotting (i.e., using anticoagulation therapy) there is a substantial risk of excessive bleeding during the procedure. Also, existing IVC filter placement procedures are of questionable practicality for preventative placement because of the intrusive surgical procedures that must be performed to place the filter. Correspondingly, the risks (particularly filter removal) must be balanced between the need for the filter and the patient's ability to endure the surgical procedure.
[0011] As a result, there is a need in the art for a vascular filter that is inexpensive, facilitates placement by a physician at a convenient patient location (bedside), allows non-intrusive removal that can be performed at any location by either a physician or trained technician while having minimal recovery time and eliminating the need to determine the coagulation status of the patient. The method and vascular filter described herein enables a physician to place and remove the filter with minimal physical intrusion and at the same time reducing risk of procedural complications for the patient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] To overcome the drawbacks of the prior art and provide additional benefits and features, a vascular filter and method of filter placement is disclosed. In one embodiment, the vascular filter includes a dispensing needle releasably attached to a syringe and a filter wire dispenser. Generally, the needle has two ends, a delivery end and a coupling end. The delivery end is placed within a vein and allows filter wire to be implanted into the vein. The coupling end allows the needle to be releasably connected to a filter wire dispenser or syringe.
[0013] The filter wire dispenser stores a length of filter wire which is configured to coil upon deployment from the delivery end of the needle into a vein. The filter wire dispenser may store the filter wire as a spool or linearly, and includes a guide tube sized to insert into the needle. The guide tube is used to guide the filter wire from the dispenser into the needle.
[0014] The filter wire may be configured to coil upon deployment in a number of ways. One way is to put residual stresses, surface tensions, or both into the filter wire such that, once deployed, the filter wire will coil into a predetermined shape as defined by the stresses and surface tensions in the filter wire. The filter wire may be configured to coil into a vortex type, nested, or tangled web shape as desired. In addition, the filter wire of some embodiments may have a flexible tip to better prevent damage to the interior walls of a vein.
[0015] Once deployed a portion of the filter wire may be left protruding from the patient to allow the filter to be fixed in position. The protruding portion of the filter wire may be secured to a fixation device attached to the patient's skin. In one or more embodiments, the fixation device may have a portion configured to engage and secure the filter wire such as a protrusion.
[0016] The vascular filter, in one embodiment, is implanted by accessing a vein with a needle, attaching a filter wire dispenser storing a length of filter wire to the needle, and advancing the filter wire through the needle such that the filter wire exists the delivery end of the needle. In one or more embodiments, the filter wire has two ends, a first end and a second end. In one embodiment the first end of the filter wire exits the dispenser first. As the filter wire exits the needle into the vein, it begins to coil, as described above, to form a vascular filter.
[0017] Once the vascular filter is fully deployed the needle may be removed. In one or more embodiments, a portion of the filter wire is left protruding out of the patient so that it may be secured to a fixation device which generally covers the exist passage of the filter wire.
[0018] In some embodiments, proper access to a vein may be verified prior to implanting the filter. One way to verify that the needle is accurately located in a vein is to attach a syringe to the needle and draw blood from the vein to confirm the needle is indeed properly within the vein. The needle is improperly placed if no blood can be drawn. Once verified, the syringe may be removed from the needle while leaving the needle in the vein. A filter wire dispenser may then be attached and the filter wire implanted subsequently.
[0019] The vascular filter may be removed when desired or when no longer needed. In one embodiment, the vascular filter is removed by removing the filter wire from its associated fixation device and drawing the filter wire out of the patient. As the filter wire is drawn out of the patient, the filter wire unwinds itself so that it may be easily removed.
[0020] Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a typical blood clot lodged within a femoral vein.
[0023] FIG. 2 illustrates an existing inferior vena cava filter and the proximate location of the filter in the upper abdomen.
[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates the inferior vena cava and the two femoral veins.
[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates a common femoral vein prior to access by a needle and syringe assembly.
[0026] FIG. 5 illustrates actual needle and syringe assembly access into the common femoral vein.
[0027] FIG. 6 illustrates removal of the syringe.
[0028] FIG. 7 illustrates attachment of the filter dispenser to the needle.
[0029] FIGS. 8 through 11 illustrate deployment of the vascular filter.
[0030] FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate removal of the filter dispenser and needle.
[0031] FIG. 14 illustrates retention of the filter wire to the patient's leg.
[0032] FIG. 15 illustrates a blood clot approaching the deployed vascular filter.
[0033] FIG. 16 illustrates the blood clot of FIG. 15 trapped by the vascular filter.
[0034] FIGS. 17 through 19 illustrate removal of the vascular filter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0035] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
[0036] One of the primary concerns regarding deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is that should the thrombosis (blood clot) dislodge from the original location, the clot may travel to another region of the circulatory system and cause injury and or death to the subject. For example, if a DVT dislodges it may migrate through the heart and eventually re-lodge in the lung of the subject thus causing a pulmonary embolism (PE) which prevents adequate circulation and can cause sudden death. By placing an intravenous filter in the common femoral vein, the blood clot is captured and prevented from migrating to vulnerable regions of the circulatory system. The filter may be placed in any vein or at any location such that the filter can capture a clot prior to causing damage to the patient. The term vein and vessel are used and defined interchangeable herein.
[0037] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical DVT where the common femoral vein 100 has a blood clot 102 lodged therein. As the blood clot 102 is formed there is reduced blood flow through the common femoral vein 100 because the blood clot begins to obstruct the fluid pathway. The reduced blood flow produces an environment that facilitates clot formation. In particular, as the blood flow is reduced, blood begins to coagulate in the chambers of the vascular valves 104 and as a result the blood clot 102 increases in size.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates a known inferior vena cava vascular filter that is surgically implanted into the patient's upper abdomen. This inferior vena cava filter (IVC filter) 200 is commonly deployed using a large bore catheter and access to a large bore vein such as the inferior vena cava. The IVC filter 200 has a first end 202 and a second end 204 where the second end comprises a plurality of individual wire components 206 . In the proximity diagram of FIG. 2 , an IVC filter 200 is shown within the inferior vena cava at location 208 in the upper abdomen of a patient.
[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates the inferior vena cava 300 and two common femoral veins 302 branching off the inferior vena cava. In the known use of intravenous filters such as the IVC filter discussed above, it is common to place the IVC filter within the inferior vena cava 300 at location 304 in the upper abdomen.
[0040] As stated above, placement of an IVC filter within the inferior vena cava 300 is expensive, requires special surgical procedures, requires imaging from a radiology or cardiology suite to ensure correct placement with the inferior vena cava, and is a substantially difficult and complicated surgery. In addition, known IVC filters must be placed in a large bore vein, and the placement surgery itself poses a significant risk in patients with conditions that prevent proper blood clotting.
[0041] The vascular filter of the present invention has several advantages over known filters. In contrast to the above, the vascular filter of the present invention may be placed within one of the common femoral veins 302 . In addition, the vascular filter may be placed at any other location in the body which is suited to capture or retain blood clots. The vascular filter may be placed “blind” without imaging guidance from an expensive radiology or cardiology suite. Furthermore, the vascular filter may be placed in the common femoral vein 302 at hip level which is an area routinely used for catheter and other line access. Use of this common access area is another advantage in that such use of a commonly accessed area tends to reduce complexity and risk during placement as it is a well known access area.
[0042] Though placement at hip level has advantages, placement at hip level may not be ideal in all patients and thus the vascular filter may also be placed in other areas. For example, in one embodiment, the filter may be placed in the groin region 306 of the patient. It is contemplated that the vascular filter of the present invention may be placed where it is best able to capture a dislodged blood clot and that more than one filter may be placed to ensure that any dislodged blood clots are captured. For example, in one embodiment the vascular filter may be placed in both of the common femoral veins 302 should the patient's medical condition require filtration of both legs. In other embodiments, additional vascular filters may be placed as well.
[0043] Placement of the vascular filter begins by accessing a common femoral vein 302 . Though the following description describes an embodiment of the present invention where the vascular filter is placed within a common femoral vein 302 , the vascular filter may be similarly placed in other veins where dislodged blood clots may be captured as necessary.
[0044] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a common femoral vein 302 accessed by a dispensing needle 400 and syringe 402 assembly. In one or more embodiments, the needle 400 has a first or delivery end through which a vascular filter is implanted in a patient, and a second or coupling end at which a syringe or filter dispenser may be attached. Notably, the coupling end in one or more embodiments may be configured to permit releasable attachment of the needle 400 as described further below.
[0045] Generally, proper access to the common femoral vein 302 may be verified by syringe aspiration (drawing blood from the vein into the body of the syringe) and is visually confirmed by blood return 500 into the syringe. In other embodiments, elements other than a syringe may be utilized including, but not limited to a single hollow large bore needle of which the blood can be seen flowing out of without syringe aspiration.
[0046] As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the syringe 402 may be disengaged or removed from the needle 400 without removing the needle from the common femoral vein 302 . In one or more embodiments, proper access to the common femoral vein 302 may be confirmed prior to disengaging the syringe 402 by inspecting the syringe for blood return. Such blood return confirms that the needle 400 is within a vein.
[0047] It is noted that disengagement or removal of the syringe 402 from the needle 400 may occur in various ways and that the syringe is releasably attached to the needle. For example, the syringe 402 may be fitted with a bayonet type of locking mechanism that retains the needle 400 within the end of the syringe. In addition, any other type of mechanism in addition to or other than a bayonet type locking mechanism may be utilized including but not limited to a manufactured threaded coupling system with “male and female” thread components. The locking mechanism may be any type of configuration that releasably retains the needle in the syringe and because these mechanisms are well known in the art they will not be described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.
[0048] Attachment of the vascular filter dispenser 700 to the needle 400 is illustrated in FIG. 7 . In one embodiment, the vascular filter dispenser 700 is a spool device that is configured to house and dispense filter wire housed with in the dispenser. The vascular filter dispenser 700 is fitted with a guide tube 702 that facilitates the deployment of the filter wire from the dispenser through the needle 400 and into the common femoral vein 302 . It is contemplated that the end of the guide tube 702 be sized for operative insertion into the inner diameter of the needle 400 . The guide tube 702 provides a smooth transition for the filter wire during the deployment process as the wire leaves the filter dispenser 700 and enters the needle 400 . In some embodiments, filter means other than a wire may be utilized such as but not limited to monofilament strand or other materials with reformable properties. These structures may be preformed or shaped and/or configured at the time of use.
[0049] Reference is now made to FIGS. 8 through 11 individually and in combination for illustrating the deployment of the vascular filter. As shown in FIG. 8 , a needle 400 and a vascular filter dispenser 700 are coupled together and the filter dispenser is actuated such that the filter wire 800 is fed from the dispenser through the needle and into the common femoral vein 302 . In one embodiment, the filter dispenser 700 is actuated by a rotational movement of the dispenser so that the filter wire 800 is uncoiled and fed down the guide tube 702 and into the needle 400 . It is contemplated that the filter dispenser 700 may comprise a user-rotatable wheel or knob in one or more embodiments. When rotated, the knob un-coils the filter wire 800 and feeds the same down the guide tube 702 . The knob may un-coil the filter wire 800 through physical contact with the filter wire. However, it is contemplated that there may be an attached reel which is actuated by rotational movement of knob. Other embodiments of the filter dispenser 700 are contemplated such as a linear dispenser by which the filter wire is translated down the length of the dispenser and into the needle.
[0050] As best illustrated in FIG. 9 , as the filter wire 800 traverses down the needle 400 it remains substantially straight. However, when the filter wire 800 exits the end of the needle 902 , the filter wire begins to form a coil 900 within the common femoral vein 302 . The filter wire coils due to residual stresses of the wire and the preformed shape memory imparted into the wire during the manufacturing process.
[0051] In one or more embodiments, the filter wire 800 has a first and a second end and is preferably fabricated from a suitable material such as titanium, Nitinol, or monofilament strand to name a few. The filter wire 800 may also be fabricated from polymer as well. The wire may be similar to known wires commonly used in the medical industry and, in one or more embodiments, may range in diameter from 0.015-0.035 of an inch. Additionally, the filter wire 800 may be treated with a compound that prevents clot formation on the wire such as a Heparin anticoagulation coating. The wire may comprise a mesh form or may be constructed of metal, plastic or a combination thereof or any other material. In addition, the filter wire 800 may have a very flexible tip at its first end to reduce the possibility of damaging the inside wall of a vein when the filter wire is implanted.
[0052] In one embodiment, an important characteristic of the filter wire 800 is that the wire be preformed to have residual stresses and/or surface tensions such that the wire will automatically coil once advanced beyond the delivery needle end 902 . For example, the filter wire may be fabricated so that the surface tension along the length of the wire causes the wire to naturally coil unless otherwise constrained. In this way, the filter wire 800 may be housed or stored in one dispenser configuration and upon proper deployment; the filter wire would coil into a predetermined shape. In another embodiment, the filter wire may be preformed to take any various shapes that will achieve the goals set forth herein. For example, the filter wire may be preformed to have a vortex shape (coils of increasing/decreasing diameter) once deployed. Other embodiments may provide filter wire that is preformed to have a nesting or tangled web shape.
[0053] As illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 , as the filter wire 800 is advanced into the common femoral vein 302 , the coil becomes larger and longer such that a substantial coil of wire is formed within the vein. As a result, the coil 900 becomes a partial flow restriction within the common femoral vein 302 capable of capturing and retaining a blood clot therein.
[0054] In FIG. 12 , the filter wire 800 has been deployed and the filter dispenser 700 and delivery needle 400 are retracted from the subject's common femoral vein 302 . As the dispenser 700 and needle 400 are removed, a portion 1200 of the filter wire 800 may be left protruding from the subject's skin surface 1202 so that it may be secured to a fixation device 1300 to prevent the filter wire 800 from moving within the vein. As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 , a portion 1200 of the filter wire 800 is intentionally left protruding from the subject's skin surface 1202 so that it may be looped and subsequently attached to a fixation device 1300 . The fixation device 1300 is then secured using a medical dressing to the subject's skin 1202 and may cover the filter wire's exit. It is contemplated that types of fixation devices 1300 other than those illustrated in the figures may be used, and that in other embodiments the protruding portion 1200 of the filter wire 800 may be attached in other ways such as by tying or adhering the filter wire to the fixation device.
[0055] FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate a blood clot 1500 approaching and being captured by the deployed vascular filter. As the blood clot 1500 migrates down the vein, it will encounter and preferably become trapped by the coil 900 of the vascular filter. As illustrated in FIG. 16 , the blood clot 1500 will become lodged or entangled with the vascular filter's coils and in this way the clot is prevented from entering other regions of the subject's circulatory system.
[0056] In the event that a blood clot 1500 is captured by the vascular filter, the clot may be removed in one of several ways. First, the entangled blood clot 1500 may be verified using ultrasound or x-ray techniques. If there is a blood clot 1500 , then the blood clot may be dissolved using anticoagulation therapy or any other means. If the blood clot 1500 does not dissolve in a timely manner, the attending physician may decide to perform additional procedures such as thrombectomy or thrombolysis to resolve the blood clot. In some cases, permanent placement of a standard IVC filter may be required where the blood clot does not dissolve.
[0057] FIGS. 17 through 19 illustrate removal of the vascular filter. In FIG. 17 , the fixation device 1300 and associated dressing are removed from the patient's skin surface 1202 . Next, the protruding portion 1200 of the filter wire 800 is drawn away from the patient. As the filter wire 800 is drawn out of the patient, the filter coil 900 unwinds and/or unravels as illustrated in FIGS. 18 a through 18 d . A hydrophilic coating or hydrophilic filter wires 800 may be used, in one or more embodiments, to facilitate removal of the filter coil 900 . Once the filter wire 800 is completely extracted from the patient as shown in FIG. 19 , the vascular filter has been successfully removed and may be discarded.
[0058] The vascular filter disclosed herein has several advantages over known IVC filters. The new vascular filter is inexpensive and easily deployed/removed with minimal intrusion into the patient. In contrast, existing vascular filters require a complex and potentially risky deployment procedure which is very expensive, requires a team of medical professionals and the use of an operating room or cardiology suite. Additionally, existing vascular filters require an even more complicated and risky procedure for removal.
[0059] The new vascular filter is placed without the need for complex fluoroscopic guidance (i.e., the new filter is placed blindly). For example, unlike exiting filters that are placed within the inferior vena cava which requires x-ray fluoroscopic guidance for deployment, the new vascular filter may be placed without using any x-ray or imaging equipment.
[0060] The new vascular filter is minimally invasive and can be deployed at the patient's bedside or in an emergency room setting. Correspondingly, removal of the new vascular filter may be performed at a convenient location such as bedside.
[0061] The new vascular filter reduces the risk of complications because the filter is placed in a more conducive location within the patient's body. As disclosed herein, the new vascular filter may be placed in the pelvic or groin region of the patient unlike existing IVC filters which are generally placed in the upper abdomen or thoracic region. As a result, the new vascular filer is placed within one or both of the more accessible common femoral veins and is minimally intrusive for the patient. Another desirable aspect of the new vascular filter is a substantial reduction in recovery time for either deployment or removal of the new filter. In contrast, the existing filters require a substantial recovery time for both deployment and removal.
[0062] While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. In addition, the various features, elements, and embodiments described herein may be claimed or combined in any configuration or arrangement.
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A vascular filter system and method are disclosed. In one embodiment, the filter system comprises a dispensing needle releasably attached to a filter dispenser which stores a length of filter wire. The filter wire dispenser has a guide tube which guides the filter wire into the needle and then into a vein during surgical implantation. The filter wire is configured to coil into a predetermined shape as it is deployed from the needle. The shape of the filter wire captures blood clots in the blood stream. Once the filter wire is deployed, the needle may be removed and a portion of the filter wire may be left protruding from the patient's skin surface to allow the filter wire to be secured by a fixation device. A syringe may be used to draw blood to confirm that the needle is properly positioned within a vein before the filter wire is deployed.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates to candles that dispense an air treatment chemical. More particularly, it relates to the use of a peel-off strip that can be removed to expose an air treatment chemical, thereby permitting the air treatment chemical to be dispensed when the candle is combusted.
[0004] A variety of devices are known for dispensing volatilizable air treatment chemicals. Such air treatment chemicals may be air scents or deodorizers (e.g., fragrances or masks), pest control materials (e.g., insecticides, insect repellants, or insect growth control regulators), allergen control ingredients, disinfectants, or other materials.
[0005] In some of these devices, the air treatment chemical is mixed with candle wax and is dispensed during the burning process, the chemical usually being released primarily from the heated wax surrounding the wick rather than from the wax as it combusts. While this is a common technique for dispensing a variety of fragrances, for various reasons it has been less successful for the dispensing of pest control materials. Further, the walls of the candleholder may restrict the ability of the air treatment chemical quickly to disperse in some configurations.
[0006] There have been attempts to place separate sources of air treatment chemicals inside a candle structure to use the heat of the candle to dispense the chemical, without exposing the air treatment chemical to burning. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,775,006, 2,918,750, 3,898,039 and 5,891,400. The disclosure of these patents and of all other publications referred to herein are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. However, various attempts relied on restricted dispersion through a constrained opening of the candle housing or the air treatment chemical was susceptible to undesired dispersion by being continuously exposed on the interior or exterior of the candle.
[0007] There have also been attempts to mount a separate air treatment source in a way that is not restricted by a candle housing, yet can use the heat of the candle to facilitate dispersion. For example see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,254,906 and 6,290,914. However, such approaches could be cumbersome, difficult to install and use, and could become hot to the touch.
[0008] Moreover, many of the previous devices required the consumer to come into direct contact with the air treatment chemical during setup and use. It is desirable to minimize the contact and interaction between the consumer and the air treatment chemical, if only for aesthetic reasons. Finally, changing or replacing the air treatment chemical of some previous devices, if even possible, could be problematic.
[0009] Thus, there is a need for an improved candle systems, particularly where they are provided with an associated air treatment chemical source separate from the candle wax, which facilitates dispersion of a range of air treatment chemicals.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In one aspect the invention provides an article for dispensing an air treatment chemical having a housing with an exterior side wall and an internal cavity in which is positioned a combustible fuel. An air treatment chemical is mounted on a radially outward portion of the exterior side wall in a position where it can be heated through the side wall by the fuel when it is combusted.
[0011] If the air treatment chemical has a sufficiently low volatility at the anticipated storage temperatures, it may be unnecessary to provide a seal covering the chemical. However, if the air treatment chemical is sufficiently volatile that an excessive amount of the chemical would be lost in storage prior to use, the article can be held within a pouch or other container to prevent the premature loss of air treatment chemical. Preferably, if containment of the air treatment chemical prior to use is desired, a removable seal is positioned over the air treatment chemical to inhibit dispensing of the air treatment chemical prior to combustion of the fuel. Removing the seal permits dispensing of the air treatment chemical when the fuel is combusted.
[0012] Thus, an aspect of the invention could be an article for dispensing an air treatment chemical, where there is a housing having an exterior side wall structure and an internal cavity in which is positioned a combustible fuel. There would also be an air treatment chemical mounted on a radially outward portion of the exterior side wall structure in a position where it can be heated through the exterior side wall structure by the fuel when the fuel is combusted.
[0013] In preferred forms, the fuel is wax and the article is in a form of a candle.
[0014] In another preferred form, the air treatment chemical is selected from the group consisting of volatile insect control agents, volatile fragrances, and volatile deodorizers.
[0015] In still another preferred form, the fuel has mixed therein an air treatment chemical that is different from the air treatment chemical mounted on the radially outward portion of the exterior side wall structure. The air treatment chemical mixed in the fuel may be a fragrance and the air treatment chemical borne on the side wall may be an insect control agent.
[0016] In preferred forms, an air treatment chemical is applied to the exterior side wall structure by a printing process.
[0017] In another preferred form, the seal is in the form of a band having a peel-off portion. The band may have multiple layers, including an outer seal layer that is capable of peeling off from an inner layer, where the inner layer includes an air treatment chemical. Additionally, the air treatment chemical may be applied to the inner layer of the band by a printing process and the inner layer may include, on its inner side, an adhesive for mounting the band on the exterior side wall. The air treatment chemical of the inner layer may be an insect control agent.
[0018] In a preferred form, the housing is cylindrical. Additionally, the housing may be essentially rectangular in top view. Alternatively, the housing may be at least partially frustum-shaped.
[0019] In a further preferred form, the housing is partially surrounded by a sleeve to enhance the dispensing of the air treatment chemical when the fuel is combusted. Furthermore, the housing may be supported by a base.
[0020] In yet another preferred form, the seal includes a foil layer that may, if desired, be mechanically reinforced with a polyethylene terephthalate or other suitable plastic layer. Alternatively, polyethylene terephthalate by itself can provide a typically less complete but sometimes adequate seal.
[0021] In another aspect, the invention provides a kit for selectively treating air in a room with alternative air treatment chemicals. The kit includes a housing having an internal cavity in which is positioned a combustible fuel, and an exterior side wall. A first band and a second band are included, each having an air treatment chemical mounted on the band, the air treatment chemical on the first band being a different air treatment chemical than that on the second band. Both bands have a removable seal positioned over their respective air treatment chemical to inhibit dispensing of their air treatment chemical prior to combustion of the fuel. Removing the seal permits dispensing of an air treatment chemical when the fuel is combusted. The bands are alternatively positionable around the exterior side wall structure to be in a position where they can be heated through the side wall by the fuel when it is combusted.
[0022] It will be appreciated from the discussions above and below, and the enclosed drawings, that the present invention provides a way of letting a candle function as a conventional candle (with or without an air treatment chemical, such as a fragrance, mixed in the wax). It then also provides on its outer radial periphery a source of a selected air treatment chemical.
[0023] The air treatment chemical is covered during shipment and is exposed immediately prior to use. The air treatment chemical may be on an integral outer surface of the candle housing, or may be combined with a layer of a multiple layer band.
[0024] The device is inexpensive to produce and reliable. Optionally, an air treatment chemical containing band may be configured so that it can be dropped down over the candle housing by a consumer. Thus, if a consumer is in the mood for pine scent, they can select a band that achieves that. If they wish insect control, they can select another band. Additionally, the consumer may combine scents, such as apples and cinnamon, to achieve the desired air treatment.
[0025] These and still other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows and the accompanying drawings. In them reference is made to certain preferred example embodiments. However, the claims should be looked to in order to judge the full scope of the invention, and the claims are not to be limited to just the preferred example embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 , except showing a peel-off cover in the process of being removed;
[0028] FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3 - 3 of FIG. 2 ;
[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 , but of a second embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view along line 5 - 5 of FIG. 4 ;
[0031] FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but of a third embodiment;
[0032] FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view through a fourth embodiment showing how a candle can be mounted on a base with a surrounding outer sleeve to channel air flow along the sides of the candle; and
[0033] FIG. 8 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 of a fifth embodiment, but where the housing is frustum-shaped rather than cylindrical.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] Referring first to FIG. 1 , there is shown a candle generally 10 with a cylindrical housing 12 that is closed at the bottom and open at the top to form a cup-shaped internal cavity 14 having a radially peripheral exterior side wall 16 . Housing 12 is preferably made of a high temperature resistant thermoplastic polyester resin such as one of the Valox family of resins sold by the General Electric Company, but may alternatively be produced from metal, ceramic, or any other suitable material. Where the candle also provides a light source, the material will preferably be transparent or translucent.
[0035] The candle 10 includes fuel, preferably wax 18 , and an ignitable wick 20 . Alternatively, the fuel may be any suitable other fuel such as butane, kerosene and the like.
[0036] With particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a sleeve-like band 22 is mounted to the outside of side wall 16 of the housing 12 . The band 22 includes a gripping tab 24 for assisting in peeling the band 22 away from the side wall 16 to expose an air treatment chemical 26 adhered to the side wall between the side wall 16 and the band 22 . The band 22 is preferably impermeable to the air treatment chemical 26 when present, such as being made of plastic (e.g., polyethyleneterephthalate) having a foil layer (e.g., aluminum foil). The combination of plastic and foil provides the appropriate structural strength and impermeability. However, other materials may be used which are strong enough to be handled during installation and prior to use, and which effectively seal the air treatment chemical 26 when present.
[0037] Peeling back the band 22 (as shown in FIG. 2 ) exposes the air treatment chemical 26 beneath. The air treatment chemicals 26 may be selected from a wide variety of formulations. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,309,986 and 6,337,080 for a disclosure of many volatile insect control materials, deodorizers, fragrances, and disinfectants known to be suitable for use with heating dispensers.
[0038] Typically there will be a hydrocarbon solvent having a high boiling point (as a carrier), one or more actives (e.g., an insecticide), and optionally an antioxidant and/or a fragrance. The formulation will be tailored for the application, and may have a variety of different ingredients as is conventional for the application.
[0039] Preferably, the air treatment chemical 26 includes a relatively high vapor pressure active such as metofluthrin or transfluthrin that are effectively delivered at temperatures of about sixty to seventy-two degrees Celsius. Also, as previously discussed, the air treatment chemical 26 may be air scents or deodorizers (e.g., fragrances or masks), pest control materials (e.g., insecticides, insect repellants, or insect growth control regulators), allergen control ingredients, disinfectants, mildew counteractant and the like.
[0040] In the first embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 , the air treatment chemical 26 is preferably roll printed directly onto the radially outward portion of the exterior side wall 16 by conventional automated chemical printing techniques. Alternatively, it could be manually brushed on or applied by spraying, dipping, or the like. The band 22 is then mounted to the side wall 16 over the treated active and preferably continuing on to briefly overlap itself, adhering to the sidewall by use of an adhesive border 28 along the interior periphery of the band 22 , leaving the tab 24 to aid in peeling off the band 22 . Alternatively, the band 22 may be mounted to the side wall 16 of the housing by heat sealing or removably secured in a like manner. In any event, in this embodiment the band 22 creates a seal to prevent the air treatment chemical 26 from volatizing before desired.
[0041] In use, the band 22 , or seal, is peeled away from the side wall 16 of the housing 12 by pulling on the tab 24 . Once removed, the air treatment chemical 26 is exposed to the outside air and will, begin to volatize, particularly when the candle is lit. In this regard lighting the wick 20 of the candle 10 to combust the wax 18 generates heat. The heat is transferred through the side wall 16 to the adjacent air treatment chemical 26 , causing the air treatment chemical 26 to volatize at an increased rate, thus dispensing more air treatment chemical 26 into the surrounding atmosphere. In this form, the candle 10 is preferably a one-time use disposable candle 10 , such that the amount of air treatment chemical 26 and its volatilization characteristics are preferably correlated to the use-up burn time of the candle 10 .
[0042] The wax 18 may too have mixed therein an additional air treatment chemical that is either similar to or distinct from the air treatment chemical 26 located on the side wall 16 . This allows a consumer to combine fragrances (e.g., apple scent in the wax 18 with cinnamon scent in the air treatment chemical 26 ), have a fragrance in the wax 18 and an insect repellant in the air treatment chemical 26 , have a synergist in the air treatment chemical and an insecticide in the wax, and a multitude of other combinations.
[0043] Turning to FIGS. 4 and 5 , a second embodiment is depicted. In this embodiment, the band 22 is multi-layer strip that can be mounted to the side wall 16 as a single unit. A layer of the band 22 is still capable of being peeled off (as shown in FIG. 4 ) with the aid of a tab 24 . However, in this case the band 22 has other layers that will remain affixed to the housing 12 when this occurs. With specific reference to FIG. 5 , the band 22 includes an adhesive layer 30 , and inner layer 34 , an adhesive border 28 , and an outer layer 36 .
[0044] The band 22 may be mounted to the candle 10 by the adhesive layer 30 adjacent the inner side 32 of the inner layer 34 . The adhesive layer 30 may further include a peel-off cover (not shown) to protect the adhesive until adhesion is desired (analogous to a Band Aid type configuration).
[0045] The band 22 includes an adhesive border 28 , except the adhesive border 28 is not adjacent the side wall 16 , but is adhered to the perimeter of the interface between the outer layer 36 and the inner layer 34 . This provides a seal sealing the air treatment chemical 26 to prevent unwanted volatizing.
[0046] The outer layer 36 can be peeled away from the inner layer 34 exposing the air treatment chemical 26 . In this example embodiment, the air treatment chemical 26 is preferably impregnated into the inner layer 34 . Alternatively, the inner layer 34 may include a substrate that has an air treatment chemical 26 printed thereon, similar to the first example embodiment, or otherwise attached thereto by a mat, pad, or film made of cellulose, polyethyleneterephthalate, and the like.
[0047] The second embodiment operates similar to the first once the band 22 has been affixed to the candle 10 by an adhesive or any other suitable method. To affix the band 22 , the adhesive layer 30 of the band 22 is exposed and the band 22 is placed into contact with the side wall 16 of the housing 12 . While the adhesive layer 30 is depicted as covering the entire inner side 32 of the inner layer 34 , the area of the adhesive layer 30 may be reduced to provide a smaller contact area between the adhesive layer 30 and the side wall 16 .
[0048] When dispersion of the air treatment chemical 26 is desired, the outer layer 36 of the band 22 is peeled from the inner layer 34 as the adhesive border 28 releases, exposing the air treatment chemical 26 . Again, the heat generated by lighting the wick 20 is transferred through the side wall 16 to the adjacent air treatment chemical 26 , causing the air treatment chemical 26 to volatize at an increased rate, thus dispensing air treatment chemical 26 into the surrounding atmosphere.
[0049] With reference to FIG. 6 , a third embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is similar to the first embodiment except that now there is a pair of bands 22 mounted to the side wall 16 of the candle 10 , providing two different air treatment chemicals 26 . This is an embodiment that might be particularly suitable when neither chemical can be stored with each other for a long period, and neither is suitable to be burnt in the wax.
[0050] A fourth example embodiment is depicted in FIG. 7 . While the previous embodiments illustrated bands 22 of relatively narrow widths in comparison to the candle 10 (e.g. to facilitate light through the side walls), the fourth embodiment clearly illustrates that the band 22 may be of greater widths, or completely cover the side wall 16 .
[0051] Note that FIG. 7 discloses that such candles can be placed on a base 38 surrounded by a sleeve 40 with lower openings 42 . This assembly directs a vigorous flow of air along the sides of the band and then out an upper opening 44 . This chimney effect helps disperse the air treatment chemical 26 into the surrounding atmosphere. Alternatively, this candle 10 may optionally also include legs (not shown) at the base of the housing 12 to allow air to cool the bottom of the housing 12 .
[0052] A fifth example embodiment is shown in FIG. 8 in which the housing 12 is conical. In this case the band 22 is sized to slideably engage the side wall 16 such that moving the band 22 from the smaller upper end 46 to the larger lower end 48 removably wedges the band 22 onto the candle 10 without the need for any adhesives.
[0053] When the band 22 of the preceding embodiment (shown in FIG. 8 ) is used, bands 22 may be quickly and easily exchanged by simply sliding one band 22 off of the housing 12 and sliding another band 22 onto the housing 12 . For example, a first band 22 may be placed on the housing 12 and have an air treatment chemical 26 providing a flower scent. Perhaps later in the day, the consumer wishes to move the candle 10 to the backyard where mosquitoes may be prevalent. The consumer may exchange bands 22 and place a band 22 having as the air treatment chemical 26 an insect control agent.
[0054] While the above describes a number of preferred example embodiments, it should be appreciated that other embodiments are also within the scope of the invention. For example, other housing 12 shapes and configurations are within the scope of the invention. The housing 12 may have a rectangular cross-section, as viewed from above. Also, a variety of other profiles and shapes will lend themselves to application of the present invention.
[0055] Thus, the claims that follow should be looked to in order to judge the full scope of the invention.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0056] The present invention provides a candle for dispensing an air treatment chemical and a band selectively sealing the air treatment chemical.
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Candles are provided with a band on a wall of their outer housing for sealing an air treatment chemical placed adjacent the housing. The candle includes a housing containing a combustible fuel. An air treatment chemical is mounted on a radially outward portion of the housing in a position where it can be heated through a side wall of the housing by the fuel when it is combusted. A seal is positioned over the air treatment chemical to inhibit dispensing of the air treatment chemical prior to combustion of the fuel, and is removable to permit the air treatment chemical to be dispensed when the fuel is combusted.
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 11/394,435, and 11/378,867, respectively filed on Apr. 1, 2006, and Mar. 16, 2006, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not applicable.
THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT
[0003] Not applicable.
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC
[0004] Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”
[0005] Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0006] 1. Field of the Present Disclosure
[0007] This disclosure relates generally to brackets and hold-down devices and more particularly to mounting plates and supports for vents and flues and to methods for more easily manufacturing and installing such devices.
[0008] 2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
[0009] Reynoso, U.S. Pat. No., Des 257,947 discloses a design for a bracket for mounting a heater vent pipe between joists and rafters.
[0010] Williamson, U.S. Pat. No. 851,720 discloses a flue support consisting of two parallel spaced U-shaped metal straps having their extremities turned outwardly at right angles in a common plane, and a pair of independently formed parallel spaced cross-straps, disposed upon the web portions of the U-shaped straps and having their ends turned downwardly against the outer edges of the webs of the U-shaped straps, whereby longitudinal displacement of the cross-straps from the U-shaped straps is prevented.
[0011] Grissom, U.S. Pat. No. 973,777 discloses a flue base, a pair of supports spaced from each other, each support being of substantially U-shape and having outwardly bent and down-turned hook like ends for engagement with adjacent joists, and a centrally perforated flat plate normally resting upon the cross connecting portions of the supports and having notches formed in opposite side edges receiving the vertical leg portions of the supports, whereby the plate will be held against displacement with respect to the latter without the use of fasteners.
[0012] Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,127,844 discloses a device comprising in combination a pair of U-shaped stirrups the legs of which are bent to hook formation at their terminals to adapt them to engage over spaced supports, the stirrups lying in space relation to each other, bars extending between the stirrups with their ends resting upon the stirrups, the stirrups and the bars together comprising an open, rectangular and continuous support and a sheet metal plate supported upon the bars and the stirrups and completely overlying the bars and the horizontal portions of the stirrups the plate serving as a base and a closure for the bottom of a brick flue, the bars and the stirrups underlying the line of the bricks of which the flue is made and the plate having an opening formed therein for the reception of a stove pipe.
[0013] Legg, U.S. Pat. No. 1,342,918 discloses a flue with an open bottom having a pipe entering the open end thereof, of a flue pan arranged beneath the open bottom of the flue provided with a central aperture adapted to receive the pipe and a tubular member secured to the pan and extending upwardly into the flue surrounding the pipe, the tubular member being provided on the upper end thereof with a resilient flange engaging the pipe.
[0014] Epstein, U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,326 discloses a spacer comprising: an elongated strip of deformable sheet metal formed with a longitudinal series of transverse extensions severed from the strip along their opposite sides and one end only, and bent outward from the strip along the other end which extensions are additionally bent adjacent the first end at a distance from the strip beyond the deformable limits of the strip-secured metal to provide footing portions collectively adapted to abut against the perimeter of a structure around which the strip may be wound so as to space the same apart therefrom, and means for fastening the wound strip to a supporting structure the strip of metal having longitudinally extending dimples stiffening the strip at the junctures of the respective extensions at their other ends, the stiffening dimples terminating at stations spaced from the junctures and defining unstiffened transverse bend lines for the strip between the extensions.
[0015] Epstein, U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,511 discloses a hanger for a vertical vent pipe, the hanger comprising a vent pot means having a side and a bottom to receive the lower end of a support pipe, the hanger further comprising bracket means adapted to be supported on adjacent ceiling joists, hanger bar means supported on the bracket means, and the pot supported on the hanger bar means, the bracket means comprising a sheet metal body including a surface for securement against the side of one of the joists and having means offset from the plane of the surface, vertical slots formed in the offset means, the slots each having a downwardly tapered upper end portion and an enlarged lower end potion, the hanger bar means being horizontally supportable on the bracket means and having compressible end portions normally thicker than the slots at their narrowest tapered portions adapted to be snapped downwardly into individual slots, the bar means being longitudinally adjustable in the slots, the pot including a bottom and a side wall, the side wall of the pot having receiving means for the bar, the bar means being longitudinally slidable in the bar receiving means, the bar receiving means including portions normally frictionally gripping the bar.
[0016] Goldstone, U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,342 discloses a vent pipe support including a frame adapted to be secured to spaced portions of a building, the frame including spaced members adapted to extend between the spaced building portions; a pipe supporting bucket having opposed, generally parallel end walls; brackets secured to the end walls and spaced therefrom in generally parallel relation thereto to provide guideways between the brackets and end walls to receive the spaced members with the bracket s and bucket supported on the space members, the sides of each guideway being defined by an end wall and a bracket secured to the end wall.
[0017] Lane, U.S. Pat. No. 3,004,740 discloses a hanger for flue pipes comprising, a generally rectangular frame structure adapted to span a pair of spaced beams and to be secured thereto, a horizontally disposed clamping ring adapted to receive and hold a vertically disposed flue pipe against axial movements, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced centering brackets interposed between the clamping ring and the frame structure the brackets including vertical ears secured to the clamping ring, horizontal ears detachably secured to the frame structure, and angular body portions, the body portions defining radially inwardly projecting elements which are adapted to engage circumferentially space portions of a flue pipe in axially space relation to the clamping ring, whereby to hold the flue against angular movements with respect to the axis of the clamping ring.
[0018] Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,468 discloses a support assembly for securing a prefabricated metal chimney or the like to a sloped roof and comprising a pair of bracket members adapted to be fixed to rafters on opposite sides of the chimney, each being adjustably connected to a plate member which is fixed to the chimney so that the chimney can be held vertically despite the degree of roof slope.
[0019] Lane, U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,350 discloses a readily applicable device for use when the user is called upon to install a sheet material vent pipe. It comprises a simple adapter plate having a central opening for insertable and adjustable passage of a conventional type vent pipe, the apertured portion of the plate being encompassed by overhanging coordinating tabs. These tabs have upwardly flexed or canted inner ends which are slightly resilient and which embrace and yieldingly as well as retentively engage that portion of the vent pipe surrounded thereby.
[0020] The related art described above discloses several apparatus and methods for securing a vent pipe. However, the prior art fails to disclose a plate with a tab having a locating hole and guide slots for cutting an appropriate and properly positioned hole for the vent pipe to penetrate the roof. The present disclosure distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0021] This disclosure teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
[0022] Almost all building structures have one or more vent pipes or stacks penetrating a roof structure and extending upwardly above it. Such vents include furnace and water heater vents, clothes dryer vents, toilet line vents, and so on. When vents carry heated gases, such as from furnaces, water heaters and clothes driers, building codes require that such pipes be held securely for structural reasons to avoid collapse and also to prevent heated pipes and vents from being place too near combustible portions of building structures such as wooden sheeting on roofs and roof joists, etc. The fixtures used for anchoring such vents and pipes must position them in conformance with building codes and also provide such structural strength to prevent them from moving, i.e., they must be secure and not loosen over time. It should be realized that such vents and pipes are subject to wind forces as they protrude above building roof lines. Therefore, they must be positioned and anchored in such a manner as to not loosen over time.
[0023] A flue securing apparatus provides a planar metal plate having a central flue hole positioned for assuring code spacing distances between a flue and flammable roofing materials through which the flue extends. A tab in the plate has a locating hole positioned at a juncture of the tab and one edge of the flue hole. A sheet metal strap is coplanar with the plate and joined thereto by mutual sheet metal attachments. A step-by-step method is taught of using the plate as a template for cutting an appropriate hole in a roof sheeting and for securing a venting flue in place within the sheeting hole with proper spacing of flue and roofing materials according to building codes.
[0024] The present invention is designed to accomplish the above objectives.
[0025] A primary objective inherent in the above described apparatus and method of use is to provide advantages not taught by the prior art.
[0026] Another objective is provide a vent anchoring apparatus that is inexpensive to manufacture.
[0027] A further objective is to provide such an apparatus that is simple to install, takes less time to complete and reduces the possibility of making installation errors.
[0028] A still further objective is to provide such an apparatus that assures an installation that meets building codes, maintaining clearances between flammable roofing materials and venting flues.
[0029] A yet further objective is to enable installation of a vent securement that is positioned on either an outside surface or an inside surface of a roof.
[0030] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the presently described apparatus and method of its use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0031] Illustrated in the accompanying drawing(s) is at least one of the best mode embodiments of the present invention In such drawing(s):
[0032] FIG. 1 is a plan view of my new invention, a mounting plate with a strap attached thereto;
[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the mounting plate with a tab thereof shown bent downwardly;
[0034] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the strap;
[0035] FIG. 4 is an interior perspective view of a section of a roof with joists, a vent flue, and a plumb-bob used to mark a mounting point on an interior surface of the roof;
[0036] FIG. 5 is an exterior perspective view of the section of roof and joists with the mounting plate positioned thereon;
[0037] FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 , further showing the vent flue extending through the roof and the mounting plate;
[0038] FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 4 showing the vent flue as strapped to the tab;
[0039] FIG. 8 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 4 showing a hole cut into roof sheeting, the plate shown positioned away from the hole and in registration therewith for mounting on an exterior surface of the roof, the strap formed into a circle and the tab of the mounting plate bent downwardly, a roof flashing shown positioned above the mounting plate; and
[0040] FIG. 9 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 8 showing the mounting plate fastened to an interior surface of the roof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0041] The above described drawing figures illustrate the described apparatus and its method of use in at least one of its preferred, best mode embodiment, which is further defined in detail in the following description. Those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications to what is described herein without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, it must be understood that what is illustrated is set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as a limitation in the scope of the present apparatus and method of use.
[0042] This disclosure teaches a flue securing apparatus for use in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings. A planar metal plate 10 ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ), having a flue hole 12 is preferably fabricated of galvanized steel sheet metal of substantial gauge so that the plate 10 is rigid enough to perform its function according to the following description and method of use. Plate 10 is preferably fabricated by being stamped from a larger sheet of the same material. An elongated tab 14 , an integral part of plate 10 extends into the flue hole 12 and has a locating hole 16 positioned at a juncture 18 of the tab 14 and one edge 12 a of the flue hole 12 . The flue hole 12 , when tab 14 is bent down, as shown in FIG. 2 , is of adequate size to accept a venting flue 7 even on a peaked roof where the plane defined by plate 10 is at an angle to the axis of the venting flue 7 , as best shown in FIGS. 6 , 8 and 9 . Hole 12 is preferably rectangular in shape so as to accommodate venting flue 7 even when plate 10 is placed onto a peaked roof and flue 7 is plumb.
[0043] Four guide slots 20 are spaced apart with two arranged on each of apposing edges 15 a and 15 b ( FIG. 2 ) of plate 10 in positions that form the comers of a rectangular opening 5 a that is cut into the roof sheeting 5 , using these four guide slots 20 as a template. The size of plate 10 and the locations of guide slots 20 , and the size and position of flue hole 12 in plate 10 are such as to provide for at least minimum clearance (according to building code clearance requirements) between the edges of hole 5 a and flue 7 when hole 5 a is cut using the guide slots 20 as a guide in accordance with the method of installation of this invention as described below. In other words, the plate 10 is used as a template to determine the extent of opening 5 a. Plate 10 also preferably has a plurality of mounting holes 11 as shown in FIG. 1 which are used to secure plate 10 in place on sheeting 5 .
[0044] In one embodiment of the present apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1 , a sheet metal strap 30 is formed coplanar with the plate 10 and joined thereto by small sheet metal attachments 32 which are easily cut to remove the strap 30 from the plate 10 . Alternatively, the strap may be formed as a separate part as shown in FIG. 3 . In either case, the strap 30 is preferably made of the same material as the plate 10 . Strap 30 is long enough to encircle and be fastened to the venting flue 7 , as shown in FIG. 7 , and has fastening holes 34 near each of its ends 30 a and 30 b. Adjacent to each of the holes 34 are elongated bumps 36 used to prevent a nut from turning when common hardware is used to secure the strap 30 , again, as shown in FIG. 7 . The bumps 36 are also useful for rigidizing the ends 30 a and 30 b of strap 30 so that the ends can be bent at right angles while remaining flat (planar), as best seen in FIG. 7 .
[0045] The apparatus will now be described in its preferred methods of application in securing a venting pipe or flue as referenced using numeral 7 . Assuming that the above described apparatus is available to the installation mechanic, the following methods comprise specific steps that are taken in completing the job of placing and securing the venting flue 7 so that penetrates a roof structure and is secured in place and spaced at a distance from any flammable structural members.
[0046] Step 1: The venting flue 7 is mounted on a furnace, water heater, or other device that requires venting of heated gases, and is initially brought vertically upward from the device to a point near the underside of roof sheeting 5 where it is to penetrate, as shown in FIG. 4 . Flue 7 is preferably positioned midway between two roof rafters 6 , or beams, etc.
[0047] Step 2: A plumb bob 4 is dropped from the underside of sheeting 5 to an edge of the flue 7 and preferably is positioned midway between the roof rafters 6 , as shown in FIG. 4 . A point of penetration “P” is marked on the underside of the roof sheeting 5 . A screw or nail 8 is driven into the sheeting 5 at the point of penetration “P” and extends through sheeting 5 in a plumb orientation.
[0048] Step 3: Moving now onto the top of sheeting 5 , as shown in FIG. 5 , with strap 30 separated from plate 10 , plate 10 is placed flat on the top surface of sheeting 5 with locating hole 16 placed onto screw or nail 8 and with plate 10 oriented so that its edges 15 a and 15 b are parallel to the direction of rafters 6 .
[0049] Step 4: A pen or marker (not shown) is now used to mark the outline of plate 10 including guide slots 20 onto the surface of sheeting 5 , and plate 10 is then removed. Next, the hole 5 a is cut into the sheeting 5 using the marked outline as a guide wherein the centers of the marked guide grooves define the comers of hole 5 a. For a flat roof, the spacing between the guide grooves 20 along edges 30 a and 30 b may provide for a nearly square hole 5 a, but for a peaked roof, the spacing between grooves 20 along edges 30 a and 30 b will provide for a rectangular hole 5 a. One may space grooves 20 for a roof having an slope angle of approximately 27 degrees, i.e., a rise of 6 units in a run of 12 units, and if this is the greatest slope one will encounter, the plate 10 will suffice for all applications with a slope of 27 degrees or smaller.
[0050] Step 5A: If plate 10 is mounted on top of sheeting 5 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 , tab 14 is bent down as shown in FIG. 2 , and plate 10 is positioned as shown in FIG. 6 . The venting flue 7 is then extended upward through hole 5 a and plate 10 , with tab 14 abutting flue 7 , is fastened to sheeting 5 using common hardware 2 in mounting holes 11 .
[0051] Step 5B: If the plate 10 is fastened to the underside of sheeting 5 as shown in FIG. 9 , tab 14 is bent down and then venting flue 7 is extended upward through hole 5 a in abutment with tab 14 .
[0052] Step 6: The final step is to bend strap 30 into a circle, with its ends bent at a right angle and fasten it around venting flue 7 and tab 14 , and then tighten it in place using common hardware as shown in FIG. 7 . Preferably the end of tab 14 that protrudes below strap 30 is bent vertically upward to secure the strap 30 in place.
[0053] It should be recognized that the present apparatus and method of use enables the mechanic to easily position and size hole 5 a, in sheeting 5 , so that it is large enough to assure clearance between the edges of hole 5 a, which are typically of flammable materials such a wood, and the surfaces of venting flue 7 which usually becomes quite hot during the passage of products of combustion and other gases escaping through flue 7 . This is achieved by placing flue hole 12 at a position in plate 10 that allows the required clearance when the guide grooves 20 are used to cut the opening 5 a in sheeting 7 .
[0054] The enablements described in detail above are considered novel over the prior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of at least one aspect of the apparatus and its method of use and to the achievement of the above described objectives. The words used in this specification to describe the instant embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification: structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word or words describing the element.
[0055] The definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein are meant to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements described and its various embodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim.
[0056] Changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and its various embodiments. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. This disclosure is thus meant to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted, and also what incorporates the essential ideas.
[0057] The scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that each named inventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended to be patented.
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A flue securing apparatus providing a planar metal plate having a flue hole therein and a tab of the metal plate extensive within the flue hole. The tab having a locating hole positioned at a juncture of the tab and one edge of the flue hole. A sheet metal strap is coplanar with the plate and joined thereto by mutual sheet metal attachments. Grooves positioned at the edged of the plate define comers of a roof hole so that a flue is positionable according to code. A step-by-step method is taught of using the plate as a template for cutting the roof hole and for securing a venting flue in place within the plate.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a liquid crystal display, and more particularly to a liquid crystal display device and a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display device that prevents the liquid crystal from being blended with a sealant during liquid crystal injection.
[0003] 2. Discussion of the Related Art
[0004] Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device controls the light transmissivity of liquid crystal cells arranged in a matrix in response to video signals, thereby displaying a picture corresponding to the video signals on a liquid crystal display panel. To this end, the LCD device includes an active area having the liquid crystal cells arranged in a matrix and driving circuits for driving the liquid crystal cells of the active area.
[0005] More specifically, the LCD device includes a lower plate, an upper plate, spacers provided between the upper plate and the lower plate to assure a constant cell gap, and a liquid crystal filled in the space defined by the spacers between the upper and lower plates. The lower plate has thin film transistors, for switching the liquid crystal cells, driving circuits for driving the thin film transistors, and signal lines connected between the driving circuits and the thin film transistors mounted onto a lower substrate. The upper substrate is provided with a Black matrix, color filters and a common electrodes disposed sequentially. The color filters each has any one of red, blue and green colors. Such a LCD device is fabricated by separately forming the upper and lower plates, joining the upper and lower plates to each other, injecting a liquid crystal through liquid crystal injection holes provided at the side surface of the structure, coating the liquid crystal injection holes with a end sealant, and curing the end sealant.
[0006] A recent liquid crystal injection method that has been developed and widely used is the dispensing method. The dispensing will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1 E and FIGS. 2A to 2 B.
[0007] [0007]FIGS. 1A to 1 E schematically show a process of injecting a liquid crystal between the upper plate 2 and the lower plate 1 of the LCD device. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, thin film transistors, gate lines, data lines, pixel electrodes, and an alignment layer (not shown) are provided on a lower plate 1 of the LCD device. Similarly, common electrodes, color filters, black matrix and an alignment layer (not shown) are provided on an upper plate 2 of the LCD device. Then, a sealant 3 is coated on the lower plate 1 to form a frame. As shown in FIG. 1B, a liquid crystal 5 is formed on the lower plate 1 provided within the frame using a liquid crystal dispenser 4 . As shown in FIG. 1C, the front side of the lower plate 1 having the liquid crystal 5 is covered with the upper plate 2 . Then, as shown in FIG. 1D, heat and pressure 6 , are applied to the upper plate 2 to press the upper plate 2 toward the lower plate 1 . When the pressure 6 is applied, the liquid crystal 5 spreads and blends with the sealant 3 as seen from portion “A” of FIG. 1E, thereby causing interference problems. Therefore, liquid crystal penetrates into the lower portion of the sealant as seen from portions “B” and “C” of FIGS. 2A and 2B, thereby causing an insufficient liquid crystal injection phenomenon as well as generating a stain at the periphery of the sealant due to liquid crystal contamination at a contact surface between the sealant and the liquid crystal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a liquid crystal display device that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
[0009] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device and a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display device that prevents liquid crystal from being blended with a sealant using the liquid crystal dispensing method.
[0010] Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
[0011] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the liquid crystal display device includes an upper plate; a lower plate; a sealant formed along edges of the upper and lower plates to join the upper plate with the lower plate; a protrusion separating the sealant from a picture displaying area at an inner portion of the upper and lower plates.
[0012] In another aspect, a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display device includes the steps of providing an upper plate and a lower plate; forming a protrusion between a sealing area provided with a sealant and a picture display area on one of the upper and lower plates; forming the sealant on one of the upper and lower plates; forming a liquid crystal layer on one of the upper and lower plates using a liquid crystal dispensing method; and joining the upper plate with the lower plate.
[0013] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] 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 embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0015] [0015]FIGS. 1A to 1 E are perspective views showing a method of fabricating a conventional liquid crystal display device;
[0016] [0016]FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views showing a problem of the conventional liquid crystal display device;
[0017] [0017]FIGS. 3A to 3 E show a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0018] [0018]FIGS. 4A to 4 F show a method of fabricating a liquid crystal display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3 E, a liquid crystal display device includes a lower plate 7 and an upper plate 2 . The upper plate 2 is provided with an alignment layer (not shown), a common electrode, color filters, and black matrix (not shown). The lower plate 7 is provided with thin film transistors, gate lines, data lines, pixel electrodes, and an alignment layer (not shown).
[0021] To fabricate the device, as shown in FIG. 3A, at the edge of the lower plate 7 , a protrusion 8 is formed from a metal, an indium tin oxide (ITO), or an organic insulating film to define a frame. A sealant 3 is coated between the protrusion 8 formed on the lower plate 7 and the edge of the lower plate 7 . Accordingly, the protrusion 8 is positioned between a sealing area and an active area. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, liquid crystal 5 is evenly dispensed on the lower plate 7 having the protrusion 8 , thereby forming a liquid crystal layer. Next, the front side of the lower plate 7 is joined to the rear side of the upper plate 2 as shown in FIG. 3C. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3D, heat and pressure 6 at desired conditions are applied onto the upper plate 2 to press the upper plate 2 toward the lower plate 7 . At this time, as shown in FIG. 3E, the liquid crystal 5 and the sealant 3 spread as a result of the external pressure 6 , but the protrusion 8 provided between the liquid crystal 5 and the sealant 3 prevents the liquid crystal 5 from blending with the sealant 3 .
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 4A to 4 F, the liquid crystal according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an upper plate 10 provided with a protrusion 12 at the edge thereof. The protrusion 12 may be formed from any one of a metal, an indium tin oxide (ITO), and an organic insulating film to define a frame. In the inside of protrusion 12 on the upper plate 10 , i.e., in a picture display area, there are disposed black matrix, color filters, a common electrode, and an alignment layer, sequentially.
[0023] In fabricating the device, as shown in FIG. 4C, a lower plate 16 is provided with a thin film transistor array and an alignment layer thereon. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, a liquid crystal 15 is evenly dispersed on the rear surface of the upper plate 10 using a liquid crystal dispenser 14 , thereby forming a liquid crystal layer. Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, a sealant 18 is coated on the lower plate 16 to form a frame at the edge of the rear side of the lower plate 16 having the thin film transistor array. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4D, the sealant 18 coated on the lower plate 16 is positioned to the outside as compared with the protrusion 12 formed on the upper plates 10 . Thereafter, the upper plate 10 having the liquid crystal 15 injected within the region defined by the protrusion 12 and the lower plate 16 coated with the sealant 18 are joined together. Next, as shown in FIG. 4E, heat and pressure 20 at desired conditions are applied onto the surface either one of upper and lower plates 10 , 16 to press on that plate, thereby pressing the plates 10 , 16 together. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4F, the liquid crystal 15 and the sealant 18 spread as a result of the external pressure 20 , but the protrusion 12 between the liquid crystal 15 and the sealant 18 prevents the liquid crystal 15 from blending with the sealant 18 .
[0024] As described above, according to the present invention, a protrusion is provided between the liquid crystal and the sealant, thereby preventing the liquid crystal from blending with the sealant as well as preventing a stain from being generated at the periphery of the sealant due to contact between the liquid crystal and the sealant.
[0025] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the liquid crystal display device of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0026] The present application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2000-32079 filed in the Republic of Korea on Jun. 12, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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A liquid crystal display device includes an upper plate, a lower plate, and a liquid crystal. A sealant is formed along edges of the upper and lower plates to join the upper plate with the lower plate, and a protrusion separates the sealant from a picture displaying area at an inner portion of the upper and lower plates. The liquid crystal injected into the picture displaying area.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to umbrellas, and particularly to a fully automatic closing umbrella which includes functions of automatically closing an umbrella canopy and automatically retracting and resetting a telescopic shaft as a button is pushed.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Conventional umbrellas are opened and closed manually by both hands. The canopy on the umbrella is pushed up for opening and pulled down for closing the umbrella. Both manual actions require the use of both hands. To open an umbrella, one hand pushes the canopy upward while the other hand securely holds the handle for leverage. To close an umbrella, a user pulls down the canopy and pulls one end of the umbrella against the other to compress the telescopic shaft together.
[0005] The prior automatic opening function allows on umbrella canopy to automatically open by pushing a button with one hand. The shaft is telescopically stretched out and the canopy of the umbrella is opened. However, to close the umbrella, the user still needs to pull one end of the umbrella against the other and compress the telescopic shaft together. This inconvenience poses a problem during rainy days, i.e. when a user is holding an object by one hand. The user must firstly put the object aside and then proceed to close the umbrella with both hands.
[0006] Automatic closing function was later developed and incorporated with the automatic opening function. Thus known as the automatic opening and closing function, current automatic closing function automatically closes the canopy and ribs of the umbrella by pushing a button. However, the telescopic shaft remains stretched and unfolded. To properly close the umbrella and fold the telescopic shaft, the user still needs to pull one end of the umbrella against the other and compress the telescopic shaft together. This resets the telescopic shaft and prepares it for use again. Additionally, these prior art designs are complicated in structure and comprise many parts, which can be damaged easily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] An automatic close umbrella is disclosed. As the umbrella is to be folded, the user only needs to press an elastic control device on a handle by one finger so that a tenon is released from a buckle and thus the buckle unit of the lower rib collector is separated with the lower sub-bar. Furthermore, the lower rib collector descends due to the elasticity of the upper rib collector and lower rib collector so as to impact the hook device of the sub-bar. Thereby, two sub-bars are separated. Then, the hook device of each sub-bar will release. Therefore, each multi-sectional bar is telescopic automatically. Furthermore, as the ribs are folded, then the canopy will be closed. Thus, as the user enters into a room or a car, the user may close the umbrella easily by only one hand.
[0008] The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] [0009]FIG. 1 is a structural view of the umbrella of the present invention.
[0010] [0010]FIG. 2 is a cross section view showing the upper rib collector, the lower rib collector and the uppermost sub-bar;
[0011] [0011]FIG. 3 is a cross section view of the upper rib collector, lower rib collector and uppermost sub-bar of FIG. 1, where the umbrella has been expanded.
[0012] [0012]FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the handle of the present invention, wherein the umbrella has been expanded.
[0013] [0013]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the handle and control device of the present invention.
[0014] [0014]FIG. 6 is a cross section view showing an expanded umbrella.
[0015] [0015]FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the hook device of the present invention.
[0016] [0016]FIG. 8 is a cross section view of the present invention, wherein two sub-bars of the present invention is positioned with a hook device.
[0017] [0017]FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing the two sub-bars are disengaged with the hook device.
[0018] [0018]FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing that after the control device is pressed, wherein the lower rib collector is disengaged from the rod.
[0019] [0019]FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a process next to that of FIG. 10, wherein the folding of the sub-bars and the canopy are closed.
[0020] [0020]FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the expansion of the lower rib collector and the sub-bars in the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Referring to FIG. 1, an exploded perspective view of the present invention is illustrated. The umbrella has a multi-node telescopic main rod 10 , an upper rib collector 20 , a lower rib collector 30 movable along the telescopic main rod 10 , a handle 40 fixed at a lower end of the main rod 10 , a control device 50 installed on the handle 40 and capable of folding the umbrella, an umbrella stand 60 formed by a plurality of ribs 60 , and a canopy 62 arranged on the ribs 60 .
[0022] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an enlarged view showing the upper rib collector 20 and lower rib collector 30 of the present invention. It is illustrated that an elastomer 70 (for example, a compressible spring) is installed between the upper rib collector 20 and lower rib collector 30 . After the elastomer 35 is compressible by the elastomer 70 , it has an effect of expansion for restoring to original condition.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 3, the cross section view of the upper rib collector 20 and lower rib collector 30 of the present invention is illustrated. A pulley 52 is installed in the upper rib collector 20 . In the present invention, the pulley 52 can be neglected, however, it is preferable to install the pulley. By this pulley 52 , the wire 51 can lead into the upper sub-rod 11 . An upper end of the wire 51 is connected to the key 22 in the through hole 21 of the lower rib collector 30 . The wire 51 can be lead into the upper sub-rod 11 through the pulley 52 . One end of the wire 51 is connected to the key 22 . The key 22 may be pushed by the elastomer 23 in the lower rib collector through hole 21 . Another end thereof is connected to the tenon 54 in the lower sub-rod 14 (referring to FIG. 4).
[0024] Other than connecting with a plurality of ribs 60 , the lower rib collector 30 has a buckle unit 33 . The buckle unit 33 includes an inserting bar 36 which vertically passes through the straight through hole 301 in the lower rib collector 30 ; an elastomer 37 in the straight through hole for elastically moving the inserting bar 36 ; a positioning pin 38 transversally installed in the lower rib collector transversal hole 302 and operated by an elastomer 39 ; and a button 34 transversally installed in the lower rib collector transversal hole 303 and operated by an elastomer 35 . The inserting bar 38 passes through the positioning pin 38 vertically, and the button 34 passes through the lower end of the inserting bar 36 . The rear end of the positioning pin 38 is pushed by the elastomer 39 so that the front end thereof is embedded into the positioning hole 111 of the upper sub-rod 11 . Thereby, the lower rib collector 30 is fixed to the upper end of the upper main rod 10 . Moreover, the rear end of the button 34 is pushed by the elastomer 35 to protrude out of the transversal hole 303 . When the button 34 moves, the stud hole 361 of the inserting bar 36 will affect by the tapered surface 341 so that the inserting bar 36 lifts upwards or descend downwards. Further, when the inserting bar 36 moves, the positioning pin 38 will move transversally due to the action of the tilt surface 362 .
[0025] [0025]FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the handle of the umbrella of the present invention. The wire 51 is connected to the tenon 54 in the lower sub-rod 14 from the lower rib collector 30 . The lower end of the tenon 54 is connected to the elastomer 57 . The lower end of the elastomer 57 is fixed in the lower sub-rod 14 (for example by pin 58 ). The elastomer 57 pulls the tenon 54 and the wire 51 . The tenon 54 has a stopping ring 542 which resists against the hook 502 integral with the button 501 . The button 501 is a part of the control device 50 . Referring to FIG. 5, the control device 50 has an annular ring 503 , a hook 502 in the ring, and a button 501 integrally formed with the ring. The ring 503 is in an annular groove 42 of the handle 40 . The button 501 is embedded into the embedding groove 43 . The rear end of the ring 503 resists against a small spring 55 locating in a spring groove 44 . After the lower sub-rod 14 passes through the straight hole 45 , the through hole 141 at the lower end is aligned to the annular groove 42 . Then the hook 502 in the ring 503 passes through the through hole 141 to resist against the stopping ring 542 of the tenon. When the umbrella is opened, the stopping ring 542 is positioned below the hook 502 . When the button 501 is pressed, the hook 502 will retract so that the tenon 54 lifts automatically due to the contraction of the elastomer 23 in the upper rib collector 20 (since the elastic force of the elastomer 23 is larger than that of the elastomer 57 ). As a result, the tenon stopping ring 542 is above the hook 502 .
[0026] [0026]FIG. 6 shows a whole cross section view as the umbrella is expanded. In the figure, the structures of the upper rib collector 20 and lower rib collector 30 have been described. The elastomer 56 in the main rod 10 is fixed to the upper rib collector 20 by the upper end 561 thereof. The lower end 562 thereof is fixed to the lower portion of the lower sub-rod 14 . After each sub-rod is expanded, the wire 51 is vertical. The hook device 90 of each sub-rod (despite of the lower sub-rod 14 ) has a structure which may be known from FIG. 7. The hook device 90 illustrated in the drawing is formed by an opening elastic ring clip 91 , an elastic buckling piece 92 , an impacting portion 96 at an upper end of the elastic buckling piece, and a buckling hook 97 . The clip ring 91 is around the outer edge of the lower end of each sub-rod (for example, sub-rod 11 ). Two hook pieces 98 at the opening of the ring clip insert into the two slits 116 of the sub-rod 11 . To avoid the ring clip 91 to slide down, a sleeve 99 encloses the clip ring 91 . Then, the buckle hook 97 passes into the hook hole 117 of the sub-rod and then further into the hook hole 125 of the lower sub-rod 12 so that the upper and lower sub-rods are combined and thus fixed.
[0027] [0027]FIG. 9 shows that when the umbrella is folded, the lower rib collector 30 will descend due to the expansion of the elastomer 70 . When the lower end contacts the impact portion 96 of the hook device 90 . The buckle 92 moves outwards so that the buckle hook 97 will separate the hook hole 125 of the sub-rod 12 so that the upper and lower sub-rods will disengage and the sub-rod 11 will descend continuously. Similarly, when the sub-rod 12 descends to touch the hook device 90 of the sub-rod 12 , the buckling relation will be released so that the sub-rod 12 descends continuously. Likewise, finally, the sub-rods 11 ˜ 13 will descend to the lower sub-rod 14 so as to be as a sub-rod of one section.
[0028] [0028]FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the umbrella being folded. In the drawing, it is illustrated when the user press the button 501 on the handle 40 by only one finger, the wire 51 will lift upwards due to the expansion of the elastomer 23 in the upper rib collector 20 so that the key 22 descends. The key 22 further presses the inserting bar 36 so that the inserting bar 36 descends to enforce the positioning pin 38 to retract, and thus is separated from the positioning hole 111 . Therefore, the retaining relation between the lower rib collector 30 and the upper sub-rod 11 is detached. Then, the lower rib collector 30 will descend immediately by the expansion of the elastomer 70 . Then, the buckling relations of hook devices 90 of each sub-rod can be released and the length of the main rod 10 is shortened due to the compression of the elastomer 56 , as illustrated in FIG. 11. After all of the sub-rods are combined as a single section, the wire 51 is loose. Therefore, the tenon 54 will descend due to the compression of the elastomer 57 . The stopping ring 542 will slide through the hook 502 to be located therebelow. When the user's finger separates from the button 501 , by the expansion of the elastomer 55 , the control device 50 will return to the original condition. Moreover, each rib 61 of the umbrella stand 60 will automatically fold.
[0029] [0029]FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the lower rib collector moving upwards. It is illustrated that after the user pushes the lower rib collector 30 upwards by a single hand. Each rib 60 of the umbrella stand 60 will expand with the lifting of the lower rib collector 30 until the lower rib collector 30 is positioned upon the upper sub-rod 11 .
[0030] Therefore, by the present invention, the umbrella may fold automatically by using only one hand. Therefore, as the user enters into a house or a car, the user can fold the umbrella by one hand.
[0031] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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An automatic close umbrella is disclosed. As the umbrella is to be folded, the user only needs to press an elastic control device on a handle by one finger so that a tenon is released from a buckle and thus the buckle unit of the lower rib collector is separated with the lower sub-bar. Furthermore, the lower rib collector descends due to the elasticity of the upper rib collector and lower rib collector so as to impact the hook device of the sub-bar. Thereby, two sub-bars are separated and the hook device of each sub-bar will release. Therefore, each multi-sectional bar is telescopic automatically. Furthermore, as the ribs are folded, the canopy will be closed. Thus, as the user enters into a room or a car, the user may close the umbrella easily by only one hand.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of unimolecular polymeric micelles (UPM); particularly to UPM and their methods of preparation which result in a micelle having an ionizable core; and most particularly to the use of such micelles as carriers for pharmacological constituents; wherein a directed release of said constituents in response to the ionization state induced upon the UPM is realized.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to improve the specific delivery of drugs with a low therapeutic index, several drug carriers such as liposomes, microparticles, nano-associates (e.g. polymeric micelles, polyion complex micelles (PICM)) and drug-polymer conjugates have been studied. In recent years, water-soluble supramolecular assemblies such as polymeric micelles and PICM have emerged as promising new colloidal carriers for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs and polyions (e.g. antisense oligonucleotides), respectively.
Polymeric micelles have been the object of growing scientific attention, and have emerged as potential carriers for drugs having poor water solubility because they can solubilize those drugs in their inner core and they offer attractive characteristics such as a generally small size (<300 nm) and a propensity to evade scavenging by the mononuclear phagocyte system.
Micelles are often compared to naturally occurring carriers such as viruses or lipoproteins. All three of these carriers demonstrate a similar core-shell structure that allows for their contents to be protected during transportation to the target cell, whether it is DNA for viruses or water-insoluble drugs for lipoproteins and micelles.
Polymeric micelles seem to be one of the most advantageous carriers for the delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs as reported by Jones and Leroux, Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm . (1999) 48, 101-111; Kwon and Okano, Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev . (1996) 21, 107-116 and Allen et al. Colloids Surf. B: Biointerf . (1999) 16, 3-27. They are characterized by a core-shell structure. The hydrophobic inner core generally serves as a microenvironment for the solubilization of poorly water-soluble drugs, whereas the hydrophilic outer shell is responsible for micelle stability, protection against opsonization, and uptake by the mononuclear phagocyte system. Pharmaceutical research on polymeric micelles has been mainly focused on copolymers having an AB diblock structure with A, the hydrophilic shell moieties and B the hydrophobic core polymers, respectively. Multiblock copolymers such as poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propyleneoxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) (A-B-A) can also self-organize into micelles, and have been described as potential drug carriers. E.g. Kabanov et al., FEBBS Lett . (1989) 258, 343-345. The hydrophobic core which generally consists of a biodegradable polymer such as a poly(β-benzyl-aspartate) (PBLA), poly(D,L-lactic acid) or poly(ε-caprolactone), serves as a reservoir for a poorly water-soluble drug, protecting it from contact with the aqueous environment. The core may also consist of a water-soluble polymer, such as poly(aspartic acid) (P(Asp)), which is rendered hydrophobic by the chemical conjugation of a hydrophobic drug, or is formed through the association of two oppositely charged polyions (PICM). Several studies also describe the use of poorly or non-biodegradable polymers, such as polystyrene (PSt) or poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA), as constituents of the inner core. See, e.g., Zhao et al., Langmuir (1990) 6, 514-516; Zhang et al., Science (1995) 268, 1728-1731; Inoue et al., J. Controlled Release (1998) 51, 221-229 and Kataoka J. Macromol. Sci. Pure Appl. Chem . (1994) A31, 1759-1769. The hydrophobic inner core can also consist of a highly hydrophobic small chain such as an alkyl chain or a diacyllipid (e.g. distearoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine). The hydrophobic chain can be either attached to one end of a polymer, or randomly distributed within the polymeric structure. The shell usually consists of chains of hydrophilic, non-biodegradable, biocompatible polymers such as poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (see Allen et al. Colloids Surf. B: Biointerf . (1999) 16, 3-27 and Kataoka et al. J. Controlled Release (2000) 64, 143-153), poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) (see Benahmed A et al. Pharm Res (2001) 18, 323-328) or poly(2ethyl-2-oxazoline) (see Lee et al. Macromolecules (1999) 32, 1847-1852). The biodistribution of the carrier is mainly dictated by the nature of the hydrophilic shell. Other polymers such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(alkylacrylic acid) impart temperature or pH sensitivity to the micelles, and could eventually be used to confer bioadhesive properties (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,627). Micelles presenting functional groups at their surface for conjugation with a targeting moiety have also been described (See, e.g., Scholz, C. et al., Macromolecules (1995) 28, 7295-7297).
Unimolecular polymeric micelles (UPM) consist of a single macromolecule having an inner core and an outer shell which differ in their hydrophobic and hydrophilic character (see Liu et al. J. Polym. Sci. Part A: Polym. Chem . (1999) 37, 703-711; Liu et al. J. Controlled Release (2000) 65, 121-131). In drug delivery, unimolecular polymeric micelles possess generally a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic corona. As opposed to supramolecular assemblies, unimolecular micelles are intrinsically stable because they do not show any critical association concentration (CAC per se). Such micelles can solubilize poorly water-soluble compounds and be used as carriers for drug targeting. Since unimolecular micelles do not dissociate upon dilution, compounds are usually released from the inner core by diffusion and/or following the degradation of the polymer backbone (see Liu et al. J. Controlled Release (2000) 68, 167-171). In the case of non biodegradable unimolecular micelles, diffusion is the sole mechanism of drug release.
What is therefore lacking in the prior art is a UPM which is designed to have a more elegant means for release of their contents. More specifically, if a UPM was synthesized with an ionizable inner core, it could be useful in a variety of pharmaceutical applications. For instance, micelles intended to be administered by the oral route can be designed to have a core bearing carboxylic acid groups. Hydrophobic or substantially hydrophobic drugs will be loaded in the inner core under conditions where the latter is protonated. Such micelles should release their contents in the small intestine as the pH rises.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,166 discloses dendritic polymer conjugates which are composed of at least one dendrimer in association with at least one unit of a carried material, where the carrier material can be a biological response modifier, have been prepared. The conjugate can also have a target director present, and when it is present then the carried material may be a bioactive agent. Preferred dendritic polymers are dense star polymers, which have been complexed with biological response modifiers. These conjugates and complexes have particularly advantageous properties due to their unique characteristics.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,414 is directed toward starburst conjugates which are composed of at least one dendrimer in association with at least one unit of a carried agricultural, pharmaceutical, or other material. These conjugates have particularly advantageous properties due to the unique characteristics of the dendrimer. The carried material is salicylic acid and the dendrimer polymer is a polyamidoamine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,209 relates a key micelle molecule comprising a core molecule and a plurality of branches extending thereform, at least one of said branches including a shank portion extending thereform having a terminal moiety at an end thereof providing a secondary and tertiary structure allowing entrance into a void region of a lock micelle for binding to a complementary acceptor within the void region of the lock unimolecular micelle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,853 cites a method of making a cascade polymer, which includes the steps of: alkylating the branches of a multi-branched core alkyl compound with a terminal alkyne building block including multiple ethereal side chains, and simultaneously reducing the alkyne triple bonds and deprotecting to form a multihydroxyl terminated multi-branched all alkyl polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,410 relates the compound 4-[1-(2-cyanoethyl)]-4-[1-(3-(4-chlorobenzyloxy))propyl]-bis-1,7-(4-chloro benzyloxy)heptane. This compound is used as a synthon for the preparation of unimolecular micelles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,989 relates a composition comprising at least one dendrimer and at least one active substance occluded in this dendrimer, wherein the dendrimer has terminal groups, and wherein a sufficient number of terminal groups are blocked with blocking agents whereby active subtances are occluded within dendrimers.
The prior art appears to be silent with regard to the formation of a UPM having an ionizable core for enhanced functionality in a variety of pharmaceutical applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention describes the preparation of UPM that bear a hydrophilic shell and a potentially ionizable and relatively hydrophobic core at a determined pH value. The core becomes electrostatically charged as the pH is changed. Such micelles can be made from either biodegradable or non-biodegradable polymers. Loaded drugs can be physically retained in the micelles when the pH of the surrounding medium favors interactions with the core. Upon a change in pH, modification in the ionization state of the core will decrease the interactions between the drug and the inner core and promote the release of the micellar contents. For instance, hydrophobic drugs will be loaded in these micelles under conditions where the core is uncharged. Upon protonation or deprotonation of the core, the increase in polarity will provide the driving force to release the compound.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to teach a unimolecular polymeric micelle composition having an ionizable core.
It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide a process for the controlled release of pharmacological compositions from unimolecular polymeric micelles, wherein said release is triggered by altering the ionization state of the micelle core.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 presents the synthesis scheme of a UPM, with an ionizable and hydrophobized inner core, and a non-ionic hydrophilic outer shell;
FIG. 2 presents the 1 H NMR spectrum of the tetrainitiator of the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP);
FIG. 3A is the 1 H NMR spectra of the non-ionic star-P(PEGMA1000)-b-P (EmA 50 -co-tBMA 50 );
FIG. 3B is the 1 H NMR spectra of the ionizable star-P(PEGMA1000)-b-P (EMA 50 -co-MAA 50 );
FIG. 4A is the 1 H NMR spectra of the non-ionic star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P (EmA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ); and
FIG. 4B is the 1 H NMR spectra of the ionizable star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P (EMA 50 -co-MAA 50 ).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Now referring to FIG. 1, a step-wise analysis of a process for synthesizing a unimolecular polymeric micelle having a hydrophobic inner core and a hydrophilic corona is illustrated.
Without intending to be limited to a particular synthesis procedure, UPM are most preferably prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). However, any alternative procedure such as other living radical polymerizations or condensation of preformed functionalized polymers could also be used.
UPM can be prepared by a divergent approach (see Ranger et al. 28 th Int. Symposium on Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials (2001), CRS Meetings, in press) or convergent approach (see Frechet et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,516; Bosman et al. Polym. Prep. (2001), ACS Meetings, in press). The divergent approach utilizes a multifunctionalized initiator to polymerize the molecular arms of the UPM. In this case, the hydrophobic core is synthesized first followed by the hydrophilic shell. The convergent approach consists, first in synthesizing an amphiphilic diblock copolymer starting with the hydrophilic block and, then, cross-linking the extremity of the hydrophobic block using a small amount of cross-linking agent.
For purposes of illustration, only the divergent approach will be herein described to prepare the pH-sensitive UPM.
The radical initiator for the synthesis of the polymer by ATRP can be a di-, tri-, tetra-, penta- or hexafunctionalized molecule. This multifunctionalized molecule initiates the polymerization of multiple chains, giving multiarm-shape or star-shape polymers. For example, the radical initiator can be synthesized from pentaerythritol, tris(hydroxymethane)ethane or tris(hydroxymethane)-aminomethane (TRIS). The initiator bears a halogeno functionality that can be activated for ATRP. Without intending to be limited to any particular substituent, this functionality can include at least one of 2-halogenoisobutyrylate derivatives, 2-halogenopropionate derivatives, 2-halogenoacetate derivatives or 1-(halogenomethyl)benzene derivatives.
The catalyst for the ATRP consists of a metallic salt and a ligand. Non-limiting examples of suitable salts may include one or more compounds selected from copper(I) bromide, copper(I) chloride or copper(I) thiocyanate, iron(II) and nickel(0 or I) compounds. Illustrative, but non-limiting examples of the ligand may include 2,2′-bipyridine derivatives or bis(dimethylamino) compounds (e.g. N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylene-triamine (PMDETA)).
In general, the UPM are synthesized from vinyl monomers, vinyl oligomers or eventually vinyl polymers. These monomers/oligomers/polymers can be acrylate, acrylamide, alkylacrylate, alkylacrylamide, arylacrylate and arylacrylamide derivatives for which the alkyl and aryl terms stand for aliphatic or aromatic moieties, respectively (e.g. methacrylate, methacrylamide derivatives, vinylterminated poly(lactide) or vinyl-terminated poly(ε-caprolactone), etc). Moreover, N-vinylpyrrolidone derivatives, vinylacetate derivatives, allylamine and styrene derivatives can also be considered for the preparation of the pH-responsive UPM.
More specifically, the inner core is prepared by polymerizing ionizable (containing basic or acidic units) monomers alone or in combination with hydrophobic vinyl compounds. The ionizable monomers could be alkylacrylic acid derivatives, (aminoalkyl) acrylate or (aminoalkyl)alkylacrylate derivatives. The acidic or basic units of the polymer chain can be derived from a non-ionizable precursor (e.g. tert-butylmethacrylate). The hydrophobic vinyl compounds could be acrylate, acrylamide, alkylacrylate, alkylacrylamide arylacrylate and arylacrylamide derivatives for which the alkyl and aryl terms stand for aliphatic or aromatic moieties, respectively (e.g. methacrylate, methacrylamide derivatives, vinylterminated poly(lactide) or vinyl-terminated poly(ε-caprolactone), etc).
The outer shell is obtained from the polymerization of hydrophilic vinyl compounds once the synthesis of the inner core is completed. Non-limiting examples of useful hydrophilic vinyl compounds can be (2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA), N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, vinylterminated poly(ethylene glycol), N-isopropylacrylamide and their related derivatives.
UPM, that are not intended to be administered parenterally, should have molecular weights not exceeding 40,000 when they are not biodegradable. There is no restriction on molecular weights for biodegradable UPM or non-biodegradable UPM, which are, used either orally or locally as long as the UPM remain soluble in water.
Pharmacological constituents useful in the pharmaceutical formulations of the present invention include, but are not limited to, various therapeutic agents, drugs, peptides, proteins, genetic material (e.g. oligonucleotides), genetically altered constituents, polyionic constituents and the like.
These constituents may be inserted within the unimolecular micelle according to techniques well known to one skilled in the art. For example, drugs can be incorporated into the polymeric micelle compositions of the invention by physical entrapment through dialysis, emulsification techniques, simple equilibration of the drug and micelles in an aqueous medium or solubilization of a drug/polymer solid dispersion in water.
Micelles can be targeted to specific cells or tissues via the inclusion of targeting ligands, e.g. monoclonal antibodies, lectins, sugars, vitamins, peptides or immunologically distinct fragments thereof or the like moieties which provide the micelles with an ability to preferentially concentrate in a particular target area.
Therapeutic agents which may be used are any compounds which can be entrapped, in a stable manner, in polymeric micelles and administered at a therapeutically effective dose. Preferably, the therapeutic agents used in accordance with the invention are hydrophobic or polyionic (e.g. DNA). Although not wishing to be limited to any particular agent, suitable drugs may include antitumor compounds such as phthalocyanines (e.g. aluminum chloride phthalocyanine), anthracyclines (e.g. doxorubicin), poorly soluble antimetabolites (e.g. methotrexate, mitomycin, 5-fluorouracil) and alkylating agents (e.g. carmustine). Micelles may also contain taxanes such as paclitaxel.
Additional drugs which may also be contained in micelles are conventional hydrophobic antibiotics and antifungal agents such as amphotericin B and itraconazole, poorly water-soluble immunomodulators such as cyclosporin, poorly water-soluble antiviral drugs such as HIV protease inhibitors and poorly water-soluble steroidal (e.g. dexamethasone), and non-steroidal (e.g. indomethacin) anti-inflammatory drugs.
For the purpose of the present invention, hydrophobic drugs are loaded in the inner core under conditions where the latter is completely or mostly uncharged. Permanently charged or ionizable drugs are loaded in the inner core under conditions where the latter is completely or mostly charged.
The following examples are illustrative of the preparation of ionizable core-bearing unimolecular polymeric micelles of varying molecular weights (from alternatively useful precursor materials).
EXAMPLES
Synthesis of star-poly([poly(ethylene glycol)] methacrylate)-block-poly(ethyl methacrylate-co-tert-butyl methacrylate) and star-poly([poly(ethylene glycol)] methacrylate)-block-poly(ethyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid).
Star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ) (precursor #1)
Star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-MMA 50 ) (from precursor #1)
Star-P (PEGMA1000)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ) (precursor #3).
Star-P(PEGMA1000)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-MAA 50 ) (from the precursor #3)
In accordance with the methodology of the present invention, the following terms are set forth:
The term star means that these polymers are in fact molecules having a central emerging point linked to many linear or branched polymeric arms.
The term following the word star describes the shell or the corona of the UPM.
The number attached to the term PEGMA represents the molecular weight of the PEG chain included in the repeating unit (or in the monomer).
The subscript text indicates the ratio in a polymeric segment.
The letter b indicates that polymers and/or polymeric arms are based on a diblock copolymeric structure.
The last term following the letter b describes the core of UPM.
Materials:
All products were purchased from Aldrich (Milwaukee, Wis.). Copper(I) bromide (99.99% Grade), 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide, anhydrous triethylamine and N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) were used without further purification. Ethyl methacrylate (EMA), tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA) and methylPEG methacrylate (M n of PEG segment: 200 and 1000) (PEGMA200 and PEGMA1000 respectively) were used as vinyl monomers. Prior to use, tetrahydrofuran (THF) was distilled over sodium, using benzophenone as drying indicator.
Synthesis of ATRP Tetrainitiator:
Tetra(2-Bromoisobutyryl) Pentaerythritolate:
To a solution of pentaerythritol (10 g, 0.005 mol) and triethylamine (3.0 g, 0.03 mol) in 140 mL of anhydrous THF, slightly cooled in a water-ice bath, was slowly added 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (17.2 mL, 0.14 mol). The solution was then warmed to room temperature and stirred for 24 h. The mixture was poured into water and extracted with methylene chloride. The organic extracts were washed successively with a HCl 1M and NaOH 1M solution (containing NaCl), and dried over magnesium sulfate. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The product was recrystallized in ethanol/diethyl ether. The title compound was recovered by simple filtration, following a washing with diethyl ether. Yield: 97% after precipitation. Light brownish crystal.
1 H NMR (δ, ppm, CDCl 3 ): 4.33 (s, 8H); 1.94 (s, 24H).
Referring to FIG. 2, a 1 H NMR spectrum of the ATRP tetrainitiator is set forth. This radical initiator is very stable in presence of air or water.
ATRP for Star-P(PEGMA1000)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ):
The ATRP two-step polymerization of monomers was carried out in solution, using tetra(2-bromoisobutyryl) pentaerythritolate. The ATRP tetrainitiator (1 eq.) was added to a solution containing PMDETA (4.1 eq.), Cu(I)Br (4.1 eq.), EMA (16 eq.) and tBMA (16 eq.) in THF (0.35 M). The mixture was degassed with argon for 15-20 min at room temperature and was then heated to 60° C. overnight. Then, the mixture was transferred in a flask containing an excess of the PEGMA (M n : 1000, 32 eq.), previously degassed with successive cycles of vacuum/argon. The reaction pot was stirred at 60° C. for 48 h. After the polymerization, the mixture was poured in THF, containing 10% of ethanol. The resulting polymers were filtered on silica gel, with THF as eluent, to remove copper bromide. Finally, polymers were dialyzed (Spectra/Por no.1, MW cutoff 50,000) against water during 48 h and then freeze-dried. Yield: 50-65%.
ATRP for Star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 )
The ATRP two-step polymerization of monomers was also carried out in solution, using tetra(2-bromoisobutyryl) pentaerythritolate. The ATRP tetrainitiator (1 eq.) was added to a solution containing PMDETA (3 eq.), Cu(I)Br (2 eq.), EMA (16 eq.) and TBMA (16 eq.) in THF (0.35 M). The mixture was degassed with argon for 15-20 min at room temperature and was then heated to 65° C. during 1 h. Then, PEGMA (M n : 200, 40 eq.), previously degassed with argon, was transferred to the mixture. The reaction pot was stirred at 65° C. for 5 h. After the polymerization, the mixture was poured in THF, containing 10% of ethanol. The resulting polymers were filtered on silica gel, with THF as eluent, to remove copper bromide. Finally, polymers were dialyzed (Spectra/Por no.1, MW cutoff 6,000-8,000) against water during 48 h and then freeze-dried. Yield: 65-75%.
Transformation of tBMA Into MAA:
This transformation of ester groups, bearing a tert-butyl, into carboxylic acid consisted in a hydrolysis in acidic conditions. To a solution of the polymers having tBMA units (7.7 mmol) in dioxane (2.6 M) was added concentrated HCl (32 mmol) for 5 h. The methacrylic acid derivatives were precipitated in diethyl ether and filtered. The polymers were dissolved in ethanol, dialyzed against water and freeze dried.
Analytical Methods:
1 H and 13 C NMR spectra were recorded on a Bruker AMX300 and ARX400 in deuterated chloroform (CDCl 3 ) and methanol (CD 3 OD) (CDN Isotopes, Canada) at 25° C. Number-(M n ) and weight-average (M W ) molecular weight were determined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with an Alliance GPVC2000 (Waters, Milford, Mass.) and by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-NMR).
Referring now to FIG. 3, 1 H NMR spectra of non-ionic star-P (PEGMA1000)-b-P (EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ) (A) and ionizable star-P(PEGMA1000)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-MMA 50 )(B) star-shape copolymers are illustrated.
FIG. 3A shows the 1 H NMR spectrum of the star-(PEGMA1000)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ), which is the precursor of the PMAA derivative. The 1 H NMR analysis of a fraction collected before the reaction with PEGMA revealed that each arm of the hydrophobic core had 4 units of EMA and 4 units of tBMA. The molecular weight (M n ) of the core and shell were 4800 and 4400, respectively. When the polymerization was stopped, the PEGMA1000-based UPM possessed a M n of about 9000 (evaluated by 1 H NMR analysis).
Star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ) leads to higher yields of synthesis by the use of shorter PEG chain incorporated in monomers. By SEC analysis, the core of star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ) has molecular weights (M n ) of about 2800 with a polydispersity of about 1.2. After the incorporation of PEGMA units, these UPM are highly water-soluble and show M n of 11800.
The acidic cleavage of the tBMA groups leads to (star-P(PEGMA1000)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-MAA 50 )), giving the ionizable units of the inner core required for the pH-controlled release properties.
As shown in FIG. 3B, at least 70% of the tBMA units were cleaved. In the case of star-P(PEGMA200)-b-P(EMA 50 -co-tBMA 50 ), the hydrolysis of tBMA units into carboxylic acid groups is practically quantitative (FIG. 4 ).
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The compounds, compositions, biologically related compounds, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims.
Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
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The present invention describes the preparation of unimolecular polymeric micelles (UPM) that bear a hydrophilic shell and a potentially ionizable and relatively hydrophobic core at a determined pH value. The core becomes electrostatically charged as the pH is changed. Such micelles can be made from either biodegradable or non-biodegradable polymers. Loaded drugs can be physically retained in the micelles when the pH of the surrounding medium favors interactions with the core. Upon a change in pH, modification in the ionization state of the core will decrease the interactions between the drug and the inner core and facilitate the release of the micellar contents.
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This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/215,982 filed Mar. 22, 1994 now abandoned.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a composition and method of utilization of same to control the formation and deposition of scale imparting compounds in water systems such as cooling, boiler and gas scrubbing systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The problems associated with scale formation have troubled water systems for years. Scale tends to accumulate on internal walls of various water systems, such as boiler and cooling systems, and thereby materially lessens the operational efficiency of the system.
Deposits in lines, heat exchange equipment, etc., may originate from several causes. For example, precipitation of calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate and calcium phosphate in the water systems leads to an accumulation of these scale imparting compounds along or around the metal surfaces which contact the flowing water circulating through the system. In this manner, heat transfer functions of the particular system are severely impeded.
Typically, in cooling water systems, the formation of calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate, among others, has proven deleterious to the overall efficiency of the cooling water system. Recently, due to the popularity of cooling treatments using high levels of orthophosphate to promote passivation of the metal surfaces in contact with the system water, it has become critically important to control calcium phosphate crystallization so that relatively high levels of orthophosphate may be maintained in the system to achieve the desired passivation without resulting in fouling or impeded heat transfer functions which would normally be caused by calcium phosphate deposition.
Although steam generating systems are somewhat different from cooling water systems, they share a common problem in regard to deposit formation.
As detailed in the Betz Handbook of Industrial Water Conditioning, 8th Edition, 1980, Betz Laboratories, Inc., Trevose, Pa. pages 85-96, the formation of scale and sludge deposits on boiler heating surfaces is a serious problem encountered in steam generation. Although current industrial steam producing systems make use of sophisticated external treatments of the boiler feedwater, e.g., coagulation, filtration, softening of water prior to its feed into the boiler system, these operations are only moderately effective. In all cases, external treatment does not in itself provide adequate treatment since mud, sludge, silts and hardness-imparting ions escape the treatment, and eventually are introduced into the steam generating system.
In addition to the problems caused by mud, sludge or silts, the industry has also had to contend with boiler scale. Although external treatment is utilized specifically in an attempt to remove calcium and magnesium from the feedwater, scale formation due to residual hardness, i.e., calcium and magnesium salts, is always experienced. Accordingly, internal treatment, i.e., treatment of the water fed to the system, is necessary to prevent, reduce and/or retard formation of the scale imparting compounds and their resultant deposition. The carbonates of magnesium and calcium are not the only problem compounds as regards to scale, but also waters having high contents of phosphate, sulfate and silicate ions either occurring naturally or added for other purposes cause problems since calcium and magnesium, and any iron or copper present, react with each and deposit as boiler scale. As is obvious, the deposition of scale on the structural parts of a steam generating system causes poorer circulation and lower heat transfer capacity, resulting accordingly in an overall loss in efficiency.
Polymaleic acid is known to be a calcium carbonate inhibitor. One of the problems with polymaleic acid is that when it is added to aqueous solutions to prevent calcium carbonate precipitation, it tends to precipitate out with calcium. This reduces the concentration of polymaleic acid (PMA) and also can cause fouling with calcium:PMA deposits.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, it has been surprisingly discovered that a combination of polymaleic acid and a sulfonated acrylic acid copolymer is effective in controlling the formation of mineral deposits in various water systems. The addition of sulfonated acrylic acid copolymer, e.g., acrylic acid/allyl hydroxypropyl sulfonate ether (AA/AHPSE, or Polymer A) prevents PMA from precipitating out with the calcium. Also, the addition of the copolymer improved the calcium carbonate scale controllability of PMA. It is expected that any sulfonated polymer (copolymer, terpolymer, etc.) would provide the same benefit to PMA. Also, other polymaleic acid polymers would also be expected to be improved with sulfonated copolymers. Furthermore, it is anticipated that other copolymers, such as acrylic acid/2-acrylamido-2-methylpropylsulfonic acid or 2-acrylamido-2-methylsulfonic acid and PMA would provide the same benefits to PMA, namely preventing PMA from precipitating out with calcium, and improving calcium carbonate scale controllability of PMA.
The following data indicate the precipitation of PMA with soluble calcium in aqueous solutions:
______________________________________ Turbidity (NTU) at ppm active treatmentTreatment 0 10 15 20 25 30 35 40______________________________________PMA 0.2 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.5 2.2 2.6 2.9______________________________________
The increasing turbidity indicates precipitation of calcium: PMA. The tests were conducted under the following conditions: 500 ppm Ca as CaCO 3 , pH 9.0 and 158° F. The pH was controlled with 0.01M sodium borate. The turbidity was measured according to standard procedures.
The improvement in the calcium tolerance of PMA with AA/AHPSE copolymer is demonstrated with a similar test. A 0.01M CaCl 2 .2H 2 O solution was titrated with 0.01M NaOH. The higher the pH where precipitation first occurs indicates a more calcium tolerant treatment. The tests were conducted at 120° F. The pHs were measured with a Corning pH meter equipped with a Thomas Ag/AgCl combination electrode. The pH at which precipitation occurred was the first detectable increase in absorbance detected with a Brinkman PC 600 colorimeter. The initial pH of the solutions with the treatments was pre-adjusted to a pH of 4. The following data were generated:
TABLE 1______________________________________ pH at which pre-Test Treat- ppm ppm cipitation was firstNo. ment active Treatment active detected______________________________________1 PMA 100 -- -- 8.3-8.52 PMA 100 -- -- 8.4-8.63 PMA 100 AA/AHPSE 100 no precipitation to pH 9.9 where ti- tration was stopped______________________________________
Recirculator tests are used to simulate heat transfer conditions in cooling systems. The recirculator test units have been used to demonstrate the improved inhibition of calcium carbonate deposits with PMA and AA/AHPSE blends. These units have a volume of approximately 11 liters and use a pump to generate water flow past the outside of an admiralty brass metal tube that contains a heater. The units have a temperature control device to maintain a desired sump temperature. The pH is maintained by the controlled addition of CO 2 to the system. Two makeup solutions are fed simultaneously to the units in order to maintain the specified water composition. The system volume is controlled by an overflow port. One makeup solution contains calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate while the other makeup tank contains sodium bicarbonate and sodium silicate.
Three recirculator tests were completed with the following physical characteristics:
pH 8.5
120° F. sump temperature
308 watts on the heater (at 13,000 BTU/HR/FT 2 heat flux)
2.8 ft/sec water velocity past the heated metal tubes
1.4 day retention time for 75% depletion
The composition of the test water in these tests was: 600 ppm Ca as CaCO 3 , 150 ppm Mg as CaCO 3 , 210 ppm M alk as CaCO 3 , 425 ppm Cl, 447 ppm SO 4 , 244 ppm Na and 51 ppm SiO 2 .
The following table illustrates the treatments and the results of the 7 day tests. All of the tests contain 3 ppm tolyltriazole to control admiralty brass corrosion.
TABLE 2______________________________________ Tube Sump SumpTreatment Condition Turbidity Deposits______________________________________21 ppm active Complete tube was None DepositsAA/AHPSE covered with a found on deposit sump floor21 ppm active Complete tube was Very slight NonePMA covered with a deposit11 ppm active Isolated areas of None NonePMA and 10 ppm very slight depositsactive AA/ on tubeAHPSE______________________________________
Admiralty tubes were used purely for exemplary purposes: other types of metal would also be protected from deposition with the blend. Other sulfonated polymers would also be expected to work in place of AA/AHPSE. For example, the following calcium carbonate beaker tests were completed with other sulfonated polymers:
TABLE 3______________________________________ PercentTreatment Inhibition______________________________________12 ppm active PMA and 50 ppm active 50.5copolymer of acrylic acid andCH.sub.2 CH(CO)O(CH.sub.2).sub.3 SO.sub.3 Na12 ppm active PMA and 50 ppm active 57.7AA/AHPSE12 ppm active PMA and 50 ppm active 40.7acrylic acid/allyl hydroxypropyl sulfonateether copolymer (Polymer B)12 ppm active PMA and 50 ppm active 39.0sulfonated styrene/maleic anhydride copolymerControl (no treatment) 0.0______________________________________
Note: The proprietary polymers A, B and C tested each have differing mole ratios of acrylic acid to sulfonate ether, and differing molecular weights.
The conditions of this calcium carbonate beaker test were as follows: pH 9, 135° F., 600 ppm Ca as CaCO 3 , 505 ppm Malk as CaCO 3 , 18 hour duration. The percent inhibition is calculated as 100 × (ppm Ca of treated--ppm of control solution)/(ppm Ca of stock solution--ppm Ca of control solution).
The effectiveness of a sulfonated polymer in providing improved calcium carbonate deposit control of PMA would not have been expected. For example, polyacrylic acid is also a known calcium carbonate inhibitor. The calcium carbonate inhibiting properties of blends of polyacrylate and ANAHPSE (or similar sulfonated copolymers) are not superior to straight polyacrylate at equal total actives. The following calcium carbonate inhibition data demonstrate this:
TABLE 4______________________________________ PercentTreatment Inhibition______________________________________2 ppm active polyacrylic acid 651 ppm active polyacrylic acid and 1 ppm active 62Polymer C (acrylic acid/allyl hydroxypropylsulfonate ether)Control (no treatment) 0______________________________________
The conditions of this calcium carbonate beaker test were: pH 9, 70° C., 1102 ppm Ca as CaCO 3 , 1170 ppm CO 3 as CaCO 3 and 17 hour duration.
While this invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, it is apparent that numerous other forms and modifications of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The appended claims and this invention generally should be construed to cover all such obvious forms and modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
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A method and composition for controlling the formation and deposition of scale imparting compounds in an aqueous system is disclosed. A treatment comprising a sulfonated polymer and a polymaleic acid is effective in controlling the formation and deposition of such compounds.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the advent of high speed thermoplastic bag making machines the need for a variety of controls became essential to produce high quality bags and bags of various varieties. Present day high speed bag machines can operate, for certain bag dimensions and bag styles, up to 300 bags a minute. At such speeds it is essential that the bags are accumulated in stacks containing a pre-determined number of bags and that the bags in each stack are accumulated so that the respective bag edges are in vertical alignment much like a deck of cards. To achieve alignment of the successive bags to produce neatly registered bag stacks it is essential that the velocity of the bag is reduced as it approaches the stack-forming gates or abutments which are located on a table adjacent to the discharge end of the bag machine.
To achieve this result the present invention includes a device operable in time relation with the cycle rate of the bag machine for retarding the velocity of the bags. The basic arrangement of the subject matter of the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,376 issued Mar. 27, 1973 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. By reference to this patent it is intended that its disclosure is incorporated herein. As shown in the referenced patent, after the leading portion of the plastic web has been severed and sealed by a heated seal bar, a bag is produced and it is received by stacker belts that transport the bag to a table that accumulates the bags in stacks. As the bag is discharged by the stacker belts, it encounters corrugating rollers which essentially consist of a lower and upper shaft mounting discs which are staggered relative to each other so as to impart a slight wavy configuration to the bags. This provides the bags with a certain amount of stiffness in the direction of bag transport.
Adjacent the corrugating device bag machines incorporate transverse simultaneously driven vertically spaced shafts which include radial projections mounting longitudinally extending pads that momentarily make contact with the trailing edge of the bags in order to reduce its velocity. Such a reduction of velocity, considering the thin filmy character of some of the plastic bags, reliably prevents "floating" and of course insures that the bag travels in a downwardly sloping path to the location where a bag stack is being accumulated. While the bag retarding or slow down device of the prior art has served reasonably well for bag machine speeds of up to 200 cycles per minute, it has been found that above such rate a slow-down device with one projecting pad on each shaft cannot be operated in the proper synchronism to retard bags produced at machine speeds in excess of 200 cycles per minute.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a slow-down device having more than one bag engaging pad on the slow-down shafts is disclosed. This arrangement has been found to effectively retard each bag.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a bag machine incorporating the novel slow-down device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a slightly enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating a slow-down device having diametrically opposed bag engaging members on each of vertically spaced shafts.
FIG. 2A is a fragmentary section illustrating the slow-down device just prior to engagement with a bag, and
FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary section of the slow-down device showing three bag engaging pads on each shaft.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 shows the stacker belts and the supporting frame and it is generally indicated by the numeral 10. The frame comprises laterally spaced upwardly extending legs 12 (only two of which are shown) having their upper ends attached to laterally spaced longitudinally extending side plates 14 (only one of which is shown). The web strip WS unwound from a supply roll of thermoplastic material is intermittently fed by a pair of driven draw rolls 16 to an adjacent seal roll 18 and a vertically aligned heated seal bar 20 which is reciprocated in a vertical plane in synchronism with the operation of the draw rolls 16. More specifically, when the draw rolls are rotated a portion of the web strip WS is fed between the seal roll and the seal bar 20. After the predetermined increment of web has been fed, the draw rolls are stopped and the seal bar descends forceably engaging the seal roll 18 in order to sever and seal the web strip and thus produce a bag. Almost simultaneously with raising of the seal bar 20, the seal roll 18 is rotated in the direction in which the web strip is fed, and the bag produced is conveyed by the stacker belts to a stack accumulating table 22 on the upper surface of which is positioned fences or gates 24 for accumulating the successive bags in a neatly registered pile.
The stacker belts mounted on the frame 10 include a set of upper belts 26 and a set of lower belts 28. The lower belts extend between a drive shaft 30 and an idler shaft 32 while the upper stacker belts 26 extend from a drive shaft 34 and an oscillating idler nose roll 36 rotatably mounted on a pair of oscillating links 38 mounted on a transverse shaft 40 that is rocked, slightly out of phase, but in synchronism with the operating of the seal bar 20. More particularly the shaft 40 is rocked to rotate the links 38 in a counter clockwise direction to lower the roller 36 downwardly and thus bring the upper belts 26 in contact with the lower belt 38 immediately after a portion of web has been severed and sealed. The bags so produced are transported toward the stacking table 22. One manner in which the shaft 40 may be oscillated is shown and described in the above referenced U.S. patent and since this constructional arrangement does not form part of the present invention, further description is unnecessary. Each of the above upper stacker belts 26 passes over a tensioning roller 42 mounted on a short arm 44 having one end fixed or keyed to a transverse shaft 14.
The stacker belts are driven by a DC motor 48 which is associated with a course and fine adjustment potentiometer for accurately regulating the speed of the stacker belts 26 and 28. The motor 48 has a timing belt pulley 50 keyed on its output shaft and drives, by timing belt 52 and pulley 54, the shaft 30 of the lower stacker belts 28. The torque input to the shaft 30 is transferred to the shaft 34 by spur gears (not shown) operating to drive the confronting reaches of the upper and lower stacker belts from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 1.
Referring now to FIG. 2, which shows the discharge end of the stacker belt frame in greater detail, it will be seen that a bag corrugating device 56 is located longitudinally adjacent to the driven shafts 30 and 34. The corrugating device includes a pair of transversely extending vertically spaced shafts 58 and 60, respectively, the upper and lower shaft, on which are fixed a series of axially spaced discs 62 and 64. The discs are positioned on each of the shafts 58 and 60 so that the shafts may be adjusted toward or away from each other without interference by manual adjustment mechanisms 66. In effect, the discs 62 interdigitate relative to the discs 64 in order to provide each bag with an undulating configuration serving to provide stiffness and thus render the bags less susceptible to bending or other disorientation as they progress toward the fences 24 on the stacking table 22. The corrugating shafts 58 and 60 have mounted thereon timing pulleys for a double faced timing belt 68 driven by a timing pulley fixed to the driven shaft 30. The timing belt 68 is tensioned by an idler pulley 70 rotatably mounted on a pivotally adjustable arm 72. As shown in FIG. 2, the timing belt 68, wrapped around the pulley on the shaft 58, defines about 270° arc of contact whereas about 180° arc of contact is defined on the timing pulley secured to the shaft 60 by virtue of a lower adjustably mounted idler pulley 78.
In accordance with the present invention the slow-down mechanism, generally identified by the numeral 80, comprises vertically spaced transversely extending upper and lower shafts 82 and 84, respectively. On one end of the shafts meshing spur gears are fixed and they are driven in a direction indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 2. The input drive to the slow-down shafts comprises a timing belt 86 extending between a drive pulley 88 and a driven pulley 90 which are keyed, respectively, to shafts 92 and 94. The belt 86 is properly tensioned by a roller 96 rotatably mounted on a link 98 clamped to a shaft 100. The shaft 94 also has keyed thereon another pulley (not shown) driving a belt 102 which is wrapped around a pulley 104 keyed to the shaft 84. Proper tension of the belt 102 is maintained by an idler pulley 106 mounted on a vertically adjustable slotted bracket 108.
Fixed to each of the shafts 82 and 84 are diametrically opposed axially extending and radially projecting bars all of which are identified by the numeral 110. While not specifically shown, the bars may take various configurations which may be deemed suitable for a particular application. For example, the bars can consist of a generally U-shaped rail in which is inserted a rubber or felt strip. Since the shafts 82 and 84 are driven by a geared connection, the bars 110 will always maintain the relationship whereby they will confront each other as shown in FIG. 2. As a bag, identified as B, is moving in the direction indicated by the arrow adjacent thereto, it passes between the shafts 82 and 84. At that time the two of the bars 110 are approaching each other (FIG. 2A). Immediately thereafter momentary contact is made with the trailing edge of the bag to thereby effect a slight retardation thereof. To be effective as a retarding device, the peripheral velocity of the bars 110 is always slightly less than the speed of the bags issuing from the corrugating rolls.
Accordingly, at bag machine speed of 300 or more bags per minute, the diametrically opposed bars 110 will insure that each and every bag is properly retarded before it is received on the stacking table 22.
FIG. 3, which is an enlarged fragmentary view confining its illustration to the shafts 82 and 84, shows a modification where each shaft mounts three slow-down bars 110a whose construction and mode of operation are substantially identical to that shown in FIG. 2. With this arrangement, the speed of the shafts 82 and 84 can be reduced and yet insure retardation of bags where dictated by the speed of operation. For example, speeds in excess of 300 bags per minute may indicate the necessity of a greater number of slow-down bars.
Although the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention has been herein shown and described, it will be apparent that modification and variation may be made without departing from what is regarded to be the subject matter of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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This application discloses an improved device for reducing the velocity at which thermoplastic bags, as they are produced by a bag machine, are directed to a table, or other suitable support, for accumulation in even-edged stacks.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to agricultural machines. More specifically, the invention is directed to harvesting and crop processing equipment employing roller driven belt conveyors for transporting fruit and vegetable products to facilitate their preparation for market.
2. Description of Related Art
Conveyors are commonly used during the harvesting and processing of agricultural products to perform various tasks required to prepare such products for market. Sorters, for example, are devices that use conveyors to transport crops harvested from the field past scanning devices that measure the produce and allow it to be selectively removed from the conveyor for grouping by size and/or weight. In some conveyors, a series of transverse pivoting fingers are mounted on an endless belt for carrying individual produce units. The fingers selectively pivot in order to flip the produce into selected receiving areas adjacent the conveyor based on information provided by the scanning devices.
Harvesters use conveyors to separate the produce from dirt, vines and other materials that are dug up with the crop as it is harvested from the field. Such conveyors typically employ an endless belt made from a plurality of transverse rods or bars whose ends are interconnected by a pair of endless bands of material, one on each end of the rods or bars. The rods or bars are spaced from each other on the endless bands in order to carry the produce while allowing unwanted material to fall through the conveyor.
The prior art conveyors use a plurality of rollers to support and carry the belt portion thereof. The rollers are usually mounted to a frame in parallel rows. The rollers are attached to the frame via horizontal mounting shafts and are spaced from the frame a uniform distance to engage the side edge regions of the belt. The edges of the belt pass over and under the rollers to provide a long planar path for the produce to follow as the belt is driven by an appropriate power source. Often, the rollers are provided with radial flanges that prevent the edges of the belt from rubbing against the frame, which could lead to excessive wear and possible misalignment.
It is typical in agricultural harvesting and processing equipment that the rollers of a conveyor wear out long before the belt. The rollers usually include an outer cylindrical wheel portion formed on a hub containing bearings that reduce frictional losses and minimize wear and tear on the power source. The wheel portion of the wheel is typically made from plastic or rubber and wears out after prolonged use. The bearings can also fail in the harsh environments in which agricultural conveyors are used. In harvesting, for example, the rollers may be covered in dirt for extended periods of time during operation. Although the bearings are usually scaled, they will ultimately succumb to the dirt and grit to which they are exposed.
In prior art designs, the rollers of agricultural conveyors are generally of unified construction. As a consequence, the entire roller must be replaced when any component thereof has failed. In my related U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,460 (hereinafter the "'460 patent"), a non-unitary roller design is disclosed in which separately replaceable bearing and hub elements are utilized as modular components. If any of these components, or subcomponents thereof, needs replacement, it is a relatively simple task to do so. Moreover, rollers of different size and shape can be built for different agricultural environments using bearings and hub components from other rollers.
Although it is a vast improvement over prior art unitary designs, I have determined that the design disclosed in my '460 patent suffers from a slight disadvantage insofar as it requires a two-part hub held together with fasteners that must be removed in order to replace the bearings. That is because the radial outer portions of the bearings are secured in a hub cavity that is formed by joining the two hub components together. This renders the rollers more expensive to manufacture and more time consuming to rebuild than they otherwise might be. However, the design of my '460 patent possesses superior bearing sealing characteristics.
In view of the foregoing, there remains a need in the art for a roller assembly for agricultural machines that addresses the above-referenced disadvantage of my prior design. What is required is a roller assembly that is completely modular in nature, inexpensive to manufacture, and which can be rebuilt with a minimal expenditure of time and effort. Importantly, these design goals should be achieved without sacrificing the quality of the bearing seals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the foregoing objectives, a roller assembly is provided for an agricultural conveyor apparatus including an endless conveyor supported on one or more roller assemblies mounted on a support frame. The roller assembly includes a conveyor support roller having a central bore formed therein and bearing supports formed on the roller for receiving a clamping force imparted by a pair of opposing bearings that support the roller. An axle is mountable to a frame portion of an agricultural conveyor apparatus and extends through the central bore of the roller. A bearing assembly is provided for rotatably securing the conveyor support roller to the axle. The bearing assembly includes a pair of bearings having radial inner portions secured for axial adjustment on the axle and radial outer portions secured to apply a clamping force on the bearing supports formed on the roller.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed disclosure and the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a portion of an agricultural harvesting machine showing rollers of the present invention secured thereto;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIG. 1, a portion of an agricultural machine 2 is shown with roller assemblies 4 attached to a machine frame member 6. The machine 2 has an endless conveyor belt or chain 8 formed from a pair of continuous bands of material 10 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1), made from canvass or other suitable materials, that pass over and under the roller assemblies 4 as the conveyor travels through the machine. Agricultural crops, such as potatoes 12, are supported by a plurality of spaced transverse bars or rods 14 having end portions mounted on the continuous bands 10. As the conveyor belt or chain 8 is driven over the rollers 4 by an external power source (not shown), vines, stones and trash brought in with the produce from the field fall between the bars or rods 14. While the machine of FIG. 1 shows the use of the continuous bands 10 to which the bars or rods 14 are secured, many such conveyors are composed of bars or rods only, with the ends curled and interconnected.
Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in which the assembly 4 is formed from a plurality of modular components which allows them to be readily removed from the frame member 6 as a unit, or as individual components. The roller assembly 4 includes a sub-assembly 20 which may be referred to either as a conveyor support roller, or simply a roller. The roller 20 includes an outer tire 22 made from rubber or the like that provides an exterior surface portion of 24 of the roller 20. The roller 20 also includes an interior unitary hub member 26 made from steel or the like that provides an interior hub portion 28 of the roller 20. The roller 20 is generally cylindrical in shape and has a pair of sides 30 and 32 and a central axis of rotation 34 extending between the sides. The roller 20, and specifically the hub portion 28 thereof, is formed with a central bore 36 that extends in the direction of, and is centered about the axis of rotation 34. On one side of the roller 20, the roller hub portion 28 is formed with an enlarged flange 38 extending radially outwardly to protect the endless belt 8 from chafing against the conveyor machine frame member 6.
The central bore 36 of the roller hub portion 28 is generally cylindrical. Centrally disposed within the cylindrical bore 36 is an annular slot or groove 40, which is preferably machined into the unitary hub member 26. The annular groove 40 receives an annular split ring spacer member 42 therein. The split ring spacer 42 provides a pair of opposing bearing support surfaces 44 and 46 in the central bore 36. The bearing support surfaces 44 and 46 define the rear portions of a pair of cavities 48 and 50 formed by the central bore 36, which itself may be thought of as defining recesses in the sides 30 and 32 of the roller 20. Each cavity 48 and 50 is centered on the axis of rotation 34. Because the split ring spacer 42 is annular, the central bore 36 extends between the cavities 48 and 50 along the axis of rotation 34, thereby interconnecting the two cavities.
Located within the central bore 36 is a bearing sub-assembly provided by a pair of opposing tapered roller bearing sets 52 and 54. The bearings 52 and 54 each include outer radial portions 56 and 58 formed by cups (races). They also include radial inner portions 60 and 62 formed by rollers (cones). In the preferred embodiment, the bearings 52 and 54 are axial thrust bearings. In accordance with the conventional design of such bearings, the radial inner portions 60 and 62 are seated in the radial outer portions 56 and 58 by applying an axial compressive force on the radial inner portions which imparts both an axial thrust load and a radial load on the radial outer portions due to the tapered shape of the rollers. The outer radial portions 56 and 58 of the bearings 52 and 54 are positioned to engage the bearing support surfaces 44 and 46, respectively. They are also positioned to engage the sides of the axial bore 36, which also forms part of the bearing support surfaces.
The radial inner portions 60 and 62 of the bearings 52 and 54 are mounted on an axle assembly 70, which is a sub-assembly of the roller 20. The axle assembly 70 is mountable to the conveyor frame member 6 via an arrangement that includes a bolt 72 having a bolt head 73, and a nut 74 mounted on a stem portion of the bolt 72 which provides an axle or shaft 75. The bolt 72 extends through the central bore 36 of the roller 20 along the axis of rotation 34, and through a hole (not shown) in the frame member 6. The bolt 72 is secured to the frame member 6 via the nut 74. The axle assembly 70 also includes first and second bearing retainers 76 and 78 mounted on the axle 75. The bearing retainers 76 and 78 engage the radial inner portions 60 and 62 of the bearings 52 and 54 and impart an axial compressive force that urges the bearing inner portions 60 and 62 together. In this regard, the bolt head 73 and the nut 74 provide a pair of axially adjustable clamping members secured on the axle 75 adjacent to the bearing retainers. Alternatively, the axially adjustable clamping members could be provided by a pair of nuts on the axle 75, or by the bearing retainers themselves, in which case the bearing retainers, or components thereof, would be internally threaded for adjustable engagement on the axle 75. The axial compressive force provided by the clamping members must be sufficient to secure the bearing inner portions 60 and 62 to the axle 75 and the outer bearing portions 56 and 58 to the bearing support surfaces 44 and 46 of the roller 20.
The bearing retainers 76 and 78 are preferably formed from a pair of flanged bushings 80 and 82, together with a pair of seal sub-assemblies 84 and 86. The seal sub-assemblies 84 and 86 are disposed between the flanges 88 and 90 of the bushings 80 and 82, and the bearing radial inner portions 60 and 62. The seal sub-assemblies 84 and 86 each include a sequence of resilient seal members and rigid spacer members. In the preferred embodiment, there are four seal members made from resilient, oil and chemical resistant rubber rings 92. The rubber seal rings 92 have exact dimensions and include a calculated hardness and an outside diameter that is somewhat larger than the inside diameter of the central bore 36. The rubber seal rings 92 are placed on each spacer bushing 76 and 78, and are separated by steel rings 94, which have an exact thickness, the same inside diameter, but a smaller outside diameter than the rubber seal rings 92. The spacer bushings 76 and 78 are dimensioned so as to allow the inner bearing portions 60 and 62 to be placed on the bushings after all the rubber and steel rings 92 and 94 have been placed. This allows an exact length of the spacer bushings 80 and 82 to extend beyond the axial inner edge of each bearing inner portion 60 and 62. As both of the spacer bushings 76 and 78 are installed from opposite ends into the axial bore 36, a calculated portion of the outer diameter of each rubber seal ring 92 will fold outwardly and the inner ends of each spacer bushing 80 and 82 will come together and eventually touch as the bolt 72 and nut 74 are tightened on the frame member 6. The axial length of each bushing 80 and 82 is preferably selected so that an optimum compressive preload is placed on the bearings 52 and 54 when the bushings 80 and 82 are axially compressed until their respective end portions meet at the axial mid-point of the central bore 36. In addition to allowing the inner bearing portions 60 and 62 to seat on the respective outer bearing portions 56 and 58, this also compresses the eight rubber seal rings 92 to a calculated compression which prevents them from rotating on the spacer bushings 76 and 78. Thus, by carefully controlling the axial length of the spacer bushings 76 and 78, the bearings 52 and 54 will have an appropriate preload when the spacer bushings 76 and 78 engage one another. Moreover, the rubber seal rings 92 will be secured in position to seal the bearings from environmental contamination while allowing for absorption of tolerance accumulation that otherwise could prevent the roller 20 from functioning. The four rubber seal rings 92 folding outwardly, in combination with the calculated outer diameter of the steel rings 94 mounted on each of the spacer bushings 76 and 78, accommodates retention of the bearings 52 and 54, once installed. This permits the elimination of other devices that would otherwise be required to retain each bearing in a secure position disposed between the roller 20 and the axle assembly 70. The rubber seal rings 92 have a calculated dimension on the outer diameter that allows for predictable wear due to abrasion and other environmental considerations that cause the rings 92 to slowly extend to a more lineal configuration away from the initial folded-back position.
Once bolted to the frame member 6, the roller assembly 4 will, by its own nature, remain assembled with exact bearing preloads. This allows for extremely easy removal of each roller assembly and the sub-assemblies thereof for quick and easy repair. This feature is of great value as each roller assembly 4 could be very expensive to replace as a unit. Moreover, down-time during harvesting is costly. The spacer bushings 76 and 78 also accommodate mounting the roller assembly 4 to the conveyor machine at an exact distance from the frame member 6, and allow for easy sizing of different bolt diameters. The foregoing design also allows for a two-part sub-assembly rebuild kit. One component of this kit would be provided by the roller 20. The other component would be provided by a combination of the bearings 52 and 54, together with the bearing retainers 76 and 78 and the clamping members of the axle assembly 70, which together may be thought of as providing a clamping bearing system that clamps the roller and secures it for rotation relative to the axle 75. This kit can be used to replace all bearings and seals in a matter of seconds once the roller assembly is off the frame, with no tools other than the repair person's hands.
Accordingly, an improved roller assembly for agricultural machines has been described. While various embodiments have been disclosed, it should be apparent that many variations and alternative embodiments would be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not to be in any way limited except in accordance with the spirit of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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A roller assembly is disclosed for an agricultural conveyor apparatus including an endless conveyor supported on one or more roller assemblies mounted on a support frame. The roller assembly includes a conveyor support roller having a central bore formed therein and bearing supports formed on the roller for receiving a clamping force imparted by a pair of opposing bearings that support the roller. An axle is mountable to a frame portion of an agricultural conveyor apparatus and extends through the central bore of the roller. A clamping bearing assembly is provided for rotably securing the conveyor support roller to the axle. The bearing assembly includes a pair of bearings having radial inner portions secured for axial adjustment on the axle and radial outer portions configured to apply a clamping force on the bearing support portions of the roller.
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BACKGROUND
[0001] The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
[0002] In order to facilitate the recovery of hydrocarbons from oil and gas wells, the subterranean formations surrounding such wells can be hydraulically fractured. Hydraulic fracturing may be used to create cracks in subsurface formations to allow oil or gas to move toward the well. A formation is fractured by introducing a specially engineered fluid (referred to as “fracturing fluid” or “fracturing slurry” herein) at high pressure and high flow rates into the formation through one or more wellbore. The fracturing fluids may be loaded with proppants, which are sized particles that may be mixed with the fracturing fluid to help provide an efficient conduit for production of hydrocarbons from the formation/reservoir to the wellbore. Proppant may comprise naturally occurring sand grains or gravel, man-made or specially engineered proppants, e.g. fibers, resin-coated sand, or high-strength ceramic materials, e.g. sintered bauxite. The proppant collects heterogeneously or homogenously inside the fracture to “prop” open the new cracks or pores in the formation. The proppant creates planes of permeable conduits through which production fluids can flow to the wellbore. The fracturing fluids are preferably of high viscosity, and therefore capable of carrying effective volumes of proppant material.
[0003] In order to prepare fracturing fluid, large quantities of solid material need to be safely processed, e.g., transportation, handling metering, and mixing for example. Different materials used for proppants come with different requirements for processing.
SUMMARY
[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0005] Embodiments of the claimed disclosure may comprise a method of adding material to an oilfield application comprising agglomerating the material into a compacted volume. The method may further comprise delivering the compacted volume into a processing system to produce a dispersed material. Additionally, the method may include performing the oilfield application with the dispersed material.
[0006] Other or alternative features will become apparent from the following description, from the drawings, and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Certain embodiments will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein. The drawings are as follows:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a graph of the effect of heat treatment on crystallinity of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) according to an embodiment of the disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a graph of the relationship between solubility in water and the degree of hydrolysis of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) with a nominal degree of polymerization of 1750, according to an embodiment of this disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 is chart showing amorphous vs. hydrogen bond strength for G-Polymer™;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a graph showing the solubility of water of G-Polymer™, and
[0012] FIG. 5 is a photo showing briquettes of fibers according to an embodiment of this disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one aspect,” “an aspect,” or “some aspects” means that a particular feature, structure, method, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or aspect is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or “in some embodiments” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, methods, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. The words “including” and “having” shall have the same meaning as the word “comprising.”
[0014] In the specification and appended claims: the terms “connect”, “connection”, “connected”, “in connection with”, and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element”. Further, the terms “couple”, “coupling”, “coupled”, “coupled together”, and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements”. As used herein, the terms “up” and “down”, “upper” and “lower”, “upwardly” and downwardly”, “upstream” and “downstream”; “above” and “below”; and other like terms indicating relative positions above or below a given point or element are used in this description to more clearly describe some embodiments of the disclosure.
[0015] Moreover, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
[0016] Embodiments of this disclosure may relate to novel methods and systems of delivering solids, for example, at a wellsite. The various embodiments may be adapted to deliver solids that have shapes, sizes, aspect ratios, that make it difficult to handle and/or meter. One example of such a solid is a fiber fluid additive, referred to simply as a “fiber”.
[0017] In some cases, these methods and systems include the use of dry briquettes (e.g., bales, bricks, tablets, spheres, granules, pellets, among others) of various sizes and shapes which are bound to be dispersed in a fluid (often water based) used for the well treatments. A briquette may comprise fibers, other treatment chemicals and water soluble binders. As will be further described in the detailed section and examples, fibers with or without the added binder are compacted together with applied pressure so that once dried, the fibers substantially stay in a modified form.
[0018] In addition to numerous benefits, some of which include but are not limited to:
Automated feeding of fiber briquette through the silo, conveyer belt and other feeding devices. Increased precision in dozing and metering of fibers. Significant optimization of fiber related logistic: reduction of storage space, etc. Manpower reduction. Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) footprint: the risk of airborne fibers being inhaled by the personnel on site is reduced.
[0024] One obvious HSE benefit is that the fibers briquettes can be delivered in larger quantities or by bulk methods, such as big bags or silos, and fed automatically into the treatment fluid, contrary to the current practice of using multiple quantities of relatively small fiber bags (e.g., 25-50 kg bags) and having to manually opening and feed the fiber. Dosing in briquette form may also improve the metering accuracy, and therefore improve the overall quality of treatment execution.
[0025] Readily dispersible fibers can be utilized extensively for oilfield applications such as fracturing, acidizing, cementing etc. Core techniques for the intensification of oil and gas recovery such as Schlumberger Technology Corporation's FiberFrac™, HIWAY™, StimMore™ and others are based on the usage of fibers as a frac fluid additive. For example, in some embodiments fibers may be dispersed in an aqueous hydraulic fracturing gel slurry and then pumped downhole. In this particular case fibers may serve as a proppant transport additive, to prevent premature settling of the proppant and further propagation of the proppant. In all oilfield applications, uniform distribution of fibers and accurate dosages are essential characteristics in facilitating success.
[0026] The fibers should be readily dispersible into the slurry so that the fibers are separated from one another and distributed evenly throughout the slurry. However, in many applications the fibers are required to be provided to a field location in a form that is easy to transport, handle in bulk, dispense and meter.
[0027] Generally, fibers can be quite bulky but they need to be transported from the manufacturing site of the fibers to remote field locations for final use, and in significant volumes. During transportion, it is important to design systems and methods so that the fiber properties are not affected in this process. These precautions will help to ensure the effectiveness of the fiber in an oilfield application.
[0028] Embodiments of the current disclosure suggest the use of solid briquettes for fiber delivery. Briquette can be of any form, shape and the material which is suitable to hold the composition, without allowing the release of the fiber agent from the briquette prior to contact of briquette with water or other dispersing agent.
[0029] Many of the parameters and the form of the briquette will depend on the type and amount of the fiber agents in the container, characteristics of the briquette and type and design of the oilfield application. In general, the characteristics required from a briquette are to be compact, to hold or maintain, to deliver or transport, and to release the fiber agents at a required stage or point in the process or application.
[0030] The timing of the briquette dispersion may be determined by factors such as the material of the binder used for briquette manufacturing, shape and size of the briquette, liquid media conditions such as media type, viscosity, temperature, amount of impurities, pH etc, as well as conditions such as agitation rate, etc. The briquette should be designed in a convenient form for fiber additive delivery and handling in the surface equipment, as opposed to downstream in the well. Additionally the briquette should be designed to disperse within the surface equipment and not designed to maintain its original shape and form as the fibers are pumped into the well.
[0031] Embodiments of the briquette may be dispersible, dissolvable, partially dissolvable, disintegrable, degradable or decomposed by one or combination of—hydrolysis, chemical trigger, temperature trigger, pH trigger or mechanic trigger. The embodiments of the briquettes can be of any form and shape, in some cases spherical or ellipsoid, but also in the form of tablets, cuboids, chips, bundles, sheets, among others. The briquettes can be rigid or semi-rigid, maintaining their general shape and withstanding moderate static and dynamic loads. Dispersion time may determined or influenced by the type and grade of the material used as a binder, the amount and concentration of the binder added, the media, pH, temperature, and amount of impurities, among other factors not expressly listed. In some embodiments, the briquettes can be covered or coated with multiple protective layers having various properties to ensure briquette integrity and prolong shelf life.
[0032] Some embodiments of fiber briquette may have following general properties:
outline dimension in a range of 1-1000 mm density, in a range of 0.001-10 g/cc tensile strength in a range of 0.001-200 MPa elongation at break, %: 0.001-350% dispersion time in a range of 1-10,000 sec
[0038] One significant component of the briquette is a solid or fiber material. In some embodiments, binding and/or wetting agents can also be added. Alternatively, or in addition, other chemicals such as for example glidants can be optionally premixed with the fibers and added into briquette. One option in some embodiments is to coat the fiber with an agent that ensures cohesion when the fibers are submitted into the process of making the briquette. The process of making briquettes may involve compression and may further include steps to activate such a cohesive fiber coating (e.g., by exposure to temperature for example). The briquettes can also be covered with one or more layers of the protective coating of a material similar to the binder composition, a different chemical composition, or a combination thereof.
[0039] Embodiments of solids, such as fibers, may be selected from a group including substituted and unsubstituted lactides, glycolides, oilylactice acid and polyglycolic acid, copolymers of glycolic acid with other hydroxy-, carboxylic acid-, or hydroxycarboxylic acid-containing moieties, and mixtures thereof, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, cellulose, fibrous glass fibers, phenol formaldehyde fibers and others not expressly identified.
[0040] Embodiments of binders may include commercial products such as G-polymer™ of various grades commercially produced by Nippon Gohsei (for example, see http://www.g-polymer.com/eng/), polyvinyl alcohols (PVOH, PVA, or PVAI) with various degrees of crystallinity and of different grades, such for example those available from DuPont under the trade name Elavnol™ (for example, see http://origin.dupont.com/Elvanol/en_US/).
[0041] PVOH is a synthetic resin prepared by the polymerization of vinyl acetate, followed by partial hydrolysis of the ester in the presence of an alkaline catalyst. The principal grades of produced polyvinyl alcohol can be classified as fully hydrolyzed (having a range of approximately 97.5%-99.5% degree of hydrolysis) and partially hydrolyzed (having a range of approximately 87%-89% hydrolysis). PVOH is a commercially important water soluble plastic currently in use. Some characteristics of PVOH are that it is tasteless, odorless, it will biodegrade and is biocompatible. In addition to being soluble in water, PVOH is slightly soluble in ethanol, but insoluble in other organic solvents.
[0042] A general representation of an embodiment of PVOH can be described by the following scheme:
[0000]
[0000] The scheme does not indicate the features of non-random acetate side-group distribution, and of the presence of side-chains, both of which are significant in relation to physical properties. The principal structural variations in the polymer are:
Chain length; chain length distribution Degree of hydrolysis (degree of acetylation)
[0045] It is known that the nature of several, if not all, of the structural features of PVOH can be impacted by the methods and conditions of polymerization of the polyvinyl acetate from which the PVOH is prepared. It should be also realized that commercial PVOHs can be prepared to a particular “specification” by blending separate polymers of possibly different origins and properties. This process will tend to broaden the range of the chain length and branching distribution, and possible side-chain stereo regularity.
[0046] The effect of this considerable uncertainty is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to make detailed comparisons of the “secondary” properties of PVOHs of nominally similar specifications in terms of viscosities and degree of hydrolysis.
[0047] The solubility of PVOH films varies to a significant extent with the heat treatment during which the film is dried. Heat treatment causes the crystallinity of fully hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol to increase, as shown in FIG. 1 , thereby reducing their solubility in water. In practice, films of fully hydrolyzed grades of PVOH do not lose their solubility if the heat treatment is kept below 100 deg C. Partially hydrolyzed grades (e.g., approximately 87%-89% hydrolysis), however, maintain almost the same water solubility (at 40 deg C.) unless they are subjected to a relatively severe treatment of 180 deg C. for 1 hour.
[0048] Solubility depends on the degree of crystallinity and on the structure of the amorphous regions. The nature of these regions are likely to depend on the randomness (or otherwise) of residual acetate groups, and of branching, of the polymer chain. Both properties are affected by the conditions of polymerization of polyvinyl acetate, and its subsequent hydrolysis as shown in FIG. 2 . Accordingly, the solubility of PVOH in water depends in some part on the degree of hydrolysation and degree of polymerization, with the effect of the former being relatively more significant. Some PVOH grades with higher degrees of hydrolysation (>98%) are only soluble in hot water (e.g., in the range of 50-100 deg C.) and may form films that are insoluble in water at lower temperatures. In contrast PVOH grades with lower degrees of hydrolysation such as in the range of 75%-98% are easily soluble in water.
[0049] Molecular weight is another factor affecting the solubility of PVOH and the extent of the influence of molecular weight is related to the degree of hydrolysation. The solubility of highly hydrolyzed PVOH increases as the molecular weight decreases, while the solubility of less hydrolyzed PVOH is relatively independent of molecular weight.
[0050] Nichigo G-polymer™ (Nippon Gohsei is a commercial producer of a vinyl alcohol copolymer) is a high amorphous content vinyl alcohol resin where crystallinity can be tailored to the point of having a totally amorphous character. Nichigo G-Polymer™ combines two typically opposing functions; although it may be an amorphous resin, it also has crystalline-like functions. Such combination functions are evidenced by the relatively good gas barrier properties and chemical resistance of Nichigo G-Polymer™ similar to PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol) and EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer) resins, along with water solubility and far lower crystallinity. Nichigo G-Polymert™ is water solubile even at low temperatures. The dissolution rate of Nichigo G-Polymert™ varies significantly according to the grade and can be regulated by controlling crystallinity. Some properties of Nichigo G-Polymert™ are shown in FIGS. 3 & 4 .
[0051] Embodiments of the current disclosure may use a variety of other binding materials, including, but not limited to polysaccharides such as starch, chitosan, guar gum, hydroxyethyl guar, hydroxypropyl guar, hydroxybutyl guar, hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, xanthan gum carrageenan popcorn polymers, starch-polyvinyl alcohol copolymers, starch based polymers, various grades of methylcellylose polymer, polyacrylamide, polyvinylimidazole, polymethacrylic acid, polyvinylamine, polyvinylpyridine, polyethylene, various polyhydroxyalkanoates, polylactic acid and copolyesters, aliphatic-aromatic polyesters, Polyhydroxyalkanoates: poly[R-3-hydroxybutyrate], poly[R-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate], poly[R-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxyvalerate], and various proteins such as gelatin, gluten etc.
[0052] Embodiments of the briquettes can be manufactured by one or combination of several of the known techniques including, but not limited to, molding, pressing, gluing, shrink wrapping, solvent composition, infrared, or UV, among others, in such way that final properties of fibers and other additives packed in briquette form are not affected.
[0053] In one example, 30 grams of Poly lactic acid fibers made of Nature Works™ PLA6202D with an average length of 5-7 mm are mixed with a 20 wt % water solution of G-polymer™ supplied by Nippon Gohsei, grade OKS-8049 and formed into cuboids. As a result the volume of fibers is decreased from 1700 ml to 100 ml. Once placed in water the cuboids are dispersed and fibers are re-fluffed within 90 seconds.
[0054] In another example, 12 grams of Poly lactic acid fibers made of Nature Works™ PLA6202D with average length 5-7 mm were mixed with 6 ml of 20% by weight of water solution of G-Polymert™ supplied by Nippon Gohsei, grade OKS-8049 and used to create 12 cylindrical pellets (⅓ in dia, ¾ in height) as shown below (see FIG. 5 ).
[0055] Although only a few example embodiments have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the example embodiments without materially departing from this disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures. It is the express intention of the applicant not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6 for any limitations of any of the claims herein, except for those in which the claim expressly uses the words ‘means for’ together with an associated function.
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A method is provided of adding material to an oilfield application in which a material is agglomerated into a compacted volume. The compacted volume is delivered into a processing system to produce a dispersed material. The dispersed material is used to perform the oilfield application.
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RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/123,031, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Convection Enhanced Therapeutic Delivery,” filed on May 19, 2008, which application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/938,784, entitled “Convection Enhanced Delivery System,” filed May 18, 2007, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to convection enhanced delivery of a therapeutic for treatment of tumors, more specifically, treating tumors in the brain.
BACKGROUND
Malignancies of the brain are among the most devastating diseases known. In the US, the prevalence of brain cancer is 360,000, with 15,000 deaths per year. A large percentage of these malignancies are found to be glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), having a very rapid, aggressive, and uncontrolled growth. Very little progress has been made in the treatment of GBM over the past 25 years. Present therapeutic approaches involve surgical excision, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. The death rate of patients who have been diagnosed as having GBM, however, is 98%. Patients rarely survive for more than one year from diagnosis, often dying within six months. There is on-going research in how to effectively treat GBM.
One experimental approach is “targeted toxin therapy,” in which chemotherapeutics are directly infused into the tumor and the surrounding tissue where the tumor cells begin to infiltrate. This method, while requiring a surgical procedure, has been shown to reduce the debilitating side effects seen with systemic administration. It also reduces concerns regarding medicine crossing the blood brain barrier (BBB), and may achieve very high concentrations of therapeutic agent directly within, and in the vicinity of, the tumor.
Numerous agents for targeted toxin therapy are currently in clinical development. One such targeted toxin is cintredekin besudotox (CB), which is a recombinant protein made up of interleukin-13 and an active toxic protein derived from Pseudomonas exotoxin TP-38. CB binds selectively to the IL-13-overexpressing malignant glioma cells. Other agents being evaluated include standard anti-mitotic chemotherapy agents, transferrin-conjugated toxins, and radioisotope conjugates.
A delivery method for these medicines currently being evaluated is known as “convection-enhanced delivery” (CED), in which the tumor and surrounding tissue are deluged with high volumes of therapeutic agent under positive pressure. This method was designed by NIH researchers to facilitate the infiltration into brain tissue of high molecular weight therapeutic molecules that would not ordinarily diffuse over appreciable distances if simply injected. The parameters for effective CED have been extensively studied and modeled.
Delivery devices to accomplish CED remain under development. Presently, large bore catheters are surgically placed within the malignant mass and an infusion pump is used to drive flow at a rate of approximately 3 mL per hour for extended periods, e.g., up to 4 days. Various catheters have been designed and tested, usually having outer diameters (OD) of 1 mm or greater. Human CED trials are being performed using ventricular shunt tubing (2.1 mm OD) or spinal drains, e.g., 18 gauge, or 1.2 mm in diameter, as delivery cannulas.
These CED delivery methods have a number of shortcomings associated with the size of the delivery catheters. Under high-flow conditions, backflow (or reflux) of the injectable therapeutic occurs in a proximal direction along the outer catheter walls, resulting in a loss of the therapeutic into spaces and regions where it is not intended, and a loss of the pressure required to enable convection of the therapeutic molecules within an interstitial space. These shortcomings are particularly problematic in situations where the tumor is more superficial, as the segment of catheter that is surrounded by brain tissue is reduced. For targets that are deep within the brain, the length of catheter that is surrounded by tissue is increased, and the resistance to back flow is, therefore, also increased. To mitigate this situation, surgery is planned so that the cannula trajectory traverses the longest possible track through the parenchyma to minimize reflux. It has been observed, however, that the larger diameter catheters do not permit precise placement, which is an issue as it is required for more targeted or discrete delivery. Moreover, inserting multiple larger catheters is cumbersome and may limit wide distribution of the therapeutic.
Smaller diameter catheters have been shown to decrease backflow because the amount of backflow decreases as a function of the catheter diameter to the power of four-fifths.
Smaller diameter catheters have less rigidity, therefore, they have required construction in a telescoping, or “step design,” in order to obtain a final catheter diameter of approximately 0.168 mm. Known telescope designs use smaller diameter tubing glued to the end of a rigid stainless steel cannula. The rigid tube, however, is problematic for situations in which it must be left in place, e.g., in the brain, for extended periods of time measured in hours or days. The rigid portion presents a risk to the patient due to, for example, accidental contact and/or movement. Furthermore, while a final diameter of 0.168 mm minimizes reflux, the rate of delivery may be compromised.
SUMMARY
In one embodiment, an apparatus for delivering a therapeutic to a location in a body comprises: a hollow guide tube comprising a lumen therethrough with distal and proximal openings, the guide tube comprising an outer diameter in a range of 0.5 to 1.2 mm; a stylet, having proximal and distal portions, disposed within the guide tube lumen, wherein the stylet distal portion extends distally from the guide tube distal opening; a catheter having a catheter lumen running from a distal opening to a proximal opening, the catheter lumen having a diameter in a range of 0.03 to 2.11 mm; and a loop attached to a catheter distal portion, the loop releasably coupled to the stylet distal portion.
In another embodiment, a method of delivering a therapeutic to a target region in a body, the method comprises: providing a hollow guide tube comprising a lumen therethrough with distal and proximal openings, the guide tube having an outer diameter in a range of 0.5 mm to 1.2 mm; disposing a stylet, having proximal and distal portions, within the guide tube lumen, and extending the stylet distal portion distally from the guide tube distal opening; providing a catheter having a distal portion and releasably coupling the catheter distal portion to the stylet distal portion, the catheter comprising a catheter lumen having a diameter in a range of 0.03 mm to 2.11 mm and running from a distal opening to a proximal opening; distally inserting the releasably coupled guide tube, stylet and catheter into the body and locating the distal portion of the catheter in the target region; withdrawing the stylet proximally through the tube and releasing the catheter from the stylet; withdrawing the guide tube from the body and leaving the distal opening of the catheter in the target region; coupling the catheter to a source of the therapeutic; and delivering the therapeutic to the target region through the catheter.
In one embodiment, a method of delivering a therapeutic to a target region in a body comprises: providing a catheter having a catheter lumen having a diameter in a range of 0.03 mm to 2.11 mm and running from a distal opening to a proximal opening; disposing a stylet within the catheter lumen; distally inserting the coupled stylet and catheter into the body and locating the distal opening of the catheter in the target region; withdrawing the stylet proximally through the catheter and leaving the distal opening of the catheter in the target region; coupling the catheter to a source of the therapeutic; and delivering the therapeutic to the target region through the catheter.
In yet another embodiment, a kit for delivering a therapeutic by convection enhanced delivery to a location in a body comprises: a hollow guide tube comprising a lumen therethrough with distal and proximal openings, wherein the guide tube has an outer diameter in a range of 0.5 mm to 1.2 mm; a stylet, having proximal and distal portions, configured to be disposed within the guide tube lumen, wherein the stylet distal portion is configured to extend distally from the guide tube distal opening; a catheter having a catheter lumen running from a distal opening to a proximal opening, the catheter lumen having a diameter in a range of 0.03 mm to 2.11 mm; a loop coupled to a distal portion of the catheter and configured to be releasably coupled to the stylet distal portion; and instructions for using the hollow guide tube, stylet, and catheter to deliver a therapeutic by convection enhanced delivery by: disposing the stylet within the guide tube lumen, and extending the stylet distal portion distally from the guide tube distal opening; releasably coupling the loop on the catheter distal portion to the stylet distal portion; distally inserting the releasably coupled tube, stylet and catheter into the body and locating the distal portion of the catheter in a target region; withdrawing the stylet proximally through the tube and releasing the catheter from the stylet; withdrawing the guide tube from the body and leaving the catheter distal opening in the target region; coupling the catheter to a source of the therapeutic; and delivering the therapeutic to the target region through the catheter.
In yet another embodiment, a kit for delivering a therapeutic by convection enhanced delivery to a location in a body comprises: a catheter having a catheter lumen running from a distal opening to a proximal opening, the catheter lumen having a diameter in a range of 0.03 mm to 2.11 mm; a stylet, having proximal and distal portions, configured to be disposed within the catheter lumen; and instructions for using the stylet and catheter to deliver a therapeutic by convection enhanced delivery by: disposing the stylet within the catheter lumen; distally inserting the stylet and catheter into the body and locating the distal opening of the catheter in a target region; withdrawing the stylet proximally through the catheter lumen and leaving the catheter distal opening in the target region; coupling the catheter to a source of the therapeutic; and delivering the therapeutic to the target region through the catheter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 represents a microcatheter according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 2A and 2B represent an inserter and the microcatheter of FIG. 1 arranged in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a close-up view of a distal portion of the system shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B ;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an array of microcatheters placed within a tumor in the brain in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a method of inserting a microcatheter in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is an alternate system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an alternate system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is an alternate system where a fiber optic waveguide is provided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 9 is an alternate system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The various embodiments of the invention are herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the various embodiments of the present invention only. These are presented in the cause of providing, what is believed to be, the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms and embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in practice.
Prior to explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
It is advantageous to be able to direct a small diameter catheter to a specific location, e.g., a tumor in a brain, to deliver a therapeutic as the smaller diameter minimizes backflow and, therefore, more therapeutic is delivered where needed. Small diameter catheters, however, do not have sufficient rigidity to allow for repeatable and accurate placement. As will be described in more detail below, in various embodiments of the present invention, a convection enhanced delivery system (“CEDSYS”) and corresponding method employs an array of microcatheters or micro-cannula that can be stereotactically placed in order to distribute a therapeutic to, for example, uniform or irregularly-shaped intracerebral targets.
The term “therapeutic” is defined herein as any substance that is deliverable using the methods described below. These substances are typically, but not limited to, medicines in a fluid medium used to treat disease, to restore or improve function of central nervous system (CNS) regions, i.e., tissues comprised by the brain and spinal cord, or to destroy or impair dysfunctional or rogue tissue or other material within the CNS. In addition, a therapeutic may comprise a capsule or micro-capsule, powder, gel, solid, or gas.
Referring now to FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a microcatheter 100 is composed of bio-compatible tubing, e.g., polyimide, with an internal diameter (ID) range of about 0.03 mm to 2.11 mm, and an outer diameter (OD) ranging from about 0.05 mm to 3 mm. As known to those of ordinary skill in the art, a length of the microcatheter 100 is sufficient to allow for connection to any equipment needed for the procedure. The microcatheter 100 may also be referred to as a micro-cannula, however, the terms as used herein are interchangeable and not meant to be limiting.
A distal portion 102 of the microcatheter 100 may be impregnated with an MRI detectable or otherwise radio-opaque material to facilitate viewing and evaluation of placement. This material may be confined to the distal portion 102 of the tubing. In an alternate embodiment, the entire microcatheter 100 may be radio-opaque or MRI detectable. A proximal end 104 of the microcatheter 100 is attached to a universal adaptor 106 , e.g., a Luer fitting. A loop or ring 108 is affixed to the distal portion 102 of the microcatheter 100 . The loop 108 is approximately 0.5-1.5 mm in diameter, and, in one embodiment, is composed of fine suture, e.g., 6-0, 7-0, 8-0, 9-0, or 10-0 suture, or other similar material. The material may be absorbable to minimize potential tissue disruption upon removal of the microcatheter 100 . Alternatively, the loop 108 may be made from an inert material, e.g., very thin stainless steel or the like. The loop 108 may be integral to the microcatheter 100 or attached by any one of a number of ways, for example, but not limited to, gluing, tying, and welding.
Referring now to FIG. 2A , a small-gauge stereotactic inserter or guide tube 200 , e.g., an inserter similar to one produced by Preferred Instruments, Inc. is provided. The inserter 200 is composed of stainless steel hollow tubing with a diameter of 0.5-1.2 mm. A solid stylet 202 with a rounded distal portion 204 is placed within the guide tube 200 and extends beyond a distal portion 206 of the guide tube 200 by approximately 0.5 to 1 mm. The solid stylet 202 may be a metal such as: stainless steel, platinum, cobalt, titanium, or tantalum, or similar metal, any of which could be in either an alloy or pure form. The stylet 202 may have a diameter in the range of 0.1 to 2.0 mm. In an alternate embodiment, the stylet is not solid but sufficiently stiff or resistant to bending so as to facilitate insertion as explained below.
As shown in FIG. 2B , an enlarged cross-sectional view of that shown in FIG. 2A , a proximal end 208 of the stylet 202 is fixed permanently to a thumbscrew 210 that treads within a threaded portion 212 of the guide tube 200 . Thus, upon turning the thumbscrew 210 the stylet 202 is moved within the guide tube 200 .
The inserter 200 may also incorporate a stop 214 that may be moved along the length of the guide tube 200 and locked at any location along the length. The stop 214 may comprise a set screw or the like. The stop 214 provides an indicator to allow for precise depth placement of the guide tube 200 during a stereotactic procedure.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method 500 , referring to FIG. 5 , for inserting one or more microcatheters 100 in, for example, the brain of a patient, will be described.
Initially, step 502 , neuroimaging is performed and the patient is prepared for stereotactic surgery as known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The preparation may include determining sites in the brain 300 for microcatheter 100 placement with respect to an affected area 306 .
Subsequently, or at the same time as the preparation above, the microcatheters 100 are releasably coupled to the inserters 200 and prepared for stereotactic insertion, step 504 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the loop 108 at the distal portion 102 of the microcatheter 100 is placed around the distal portion 204 of the stylet 202 . The length of the microcatheter 100 rests apposed to the inserter 200 tubing, temporarily being held together with the loop 108 distally and proximally by bone wax or other suitable material to fix the microcatheter 100 to the guide tube 200 . This step may include prefilling the microcatheters 100 with therapeutic and attaching them to a filled syringe 302 . Alternatively, the filled microcatheter may be capped until attached to the syringe 302 . The system may be prepared in advance and purged of air, if necessary.
At step 506 , one or more burr hole(s) are drilled, the dura is incised, and each microcatheter 100 is advanced, in turn, to the predetermined target area 306 as directed by the inserter 200 . A single burr hole may accommodate multiple microcatheters 100 , or two or more burr holes may be created based on the configuration of microcatheters 100 required to reach the desired targets.
The inserter 200 with the microcatheter 100 coupled, via the loop 108 , to the distal portion 204 of the stylet 202 is directed, or “pushed through” to the target location or region. The rigidity of the inserter 200 and the stylet 202 combine to “pull” the microcatheter 100 along as the microcatheter itself is too flexible to be “pushed” through the body, e.g., through brain matter.
At step 508 , the stylet 202 is withdrawn through the inserter 200 to release the loop 108 . As above, the thumbscrew 210 is unscrewed, allowing the stylet 202 to be withdrawn proximally from within the stainless steel guide tube 200 thus releasing the microcatheter loop 108 and allowing the microcatheter 100 to be positioned at the desired location independently.
Once a microcatheter 100 is in the desired location, the inserter 200 is withdrawn and the microcatheter 100 is anchored to the rim of the burr hole using, for example, a small amount of adhesive, step 510 . The adhesive produces a “spot weld” which will hold the microcatheter 100 in place but release the microcatheter 100 when sufficient force in a direction opposite of insertion is applied at the time of microcatheter 100 removal. A fast-curing, FDA-approved, silicon adhesive, or the like, may be used.
Alternatively, the surgeon can, after all the desired microcatheters 100 are positioned, fill the burr hole, with an array of microcatheters 100 emerging therefrom, with fibrin glue such as Tisseal, or the like.
The scalp is then closed around the microcatheters 100 using standard procedures. The microcatheters 100 may be looped atop the patient's head, to allow freedom of movement or “slack” in the event that the microcatheters 100 are inadvertently pulled. The syringes 302 attached to each microcatheter 100 are mounted into the infusion pump 304 .
Alternatively, or in addition, the microcatheters 100 can be provided together, i.e., as a bundle, and threaded through larger-diameter flexible tubing (not shown) to provide protection to individual microcatheters 100 .
The therapeutic is then delivered at the appropriate rate, or sequence of rates, using the infusion pump 304 , for the duration of the infusion protocol (minutes to days), step 512 . After insertion of a microcatheter 100 at a desired location in, for example, a brain 300 , as shown in FIG. 4 , the proximal end 106 is attached to a therapeutic-filled syringe 302 connected to an infusion pump 304 . An infusion pump 304 , as known to those of ordinary skill in the art, may be used to control the rate of infusion of the therapeutic. As shown in FIG. 4 , multiple microcatheters 100 may be inserted, each of which is connected to a respective single syringe 302 . In an alternative embodiment, two or more microcatheters 100 may be connected to the same syringe 302 . In yet another embodiment, a single microcatheter 100 may be connected to multiple syringes 302 , for example, in order to deliver alternate therapeutics or therapeutics that are combined at delivery.
Upon completion of the infusion protocol, the microcatheters 100 are removed by applying a pulling force in the direction opposite to that of microcatheter 100 entry so as to overcome the adhesive anchor at the rim of the burr hole, step 514 . The anchor is the only point of fixation and is designed to release the microcatheters 100 . The microcatheters 100 can be removed by pulling until their entire length is withdrawn from the brain, exiting through the burr hole and the closed scalp incision.
The removal of the microcatheters 100 does not necessarily require reopening the scalp incision. The decision of whether or not to open the incision, however, is up to the physician and based on the circumstances of the case.
The systems and methods described herein are suitable for short-term, long-term, or permanent ongoing delivery of therapeutic within the brain or spinal cord including malignant or non-malignant brain tumors. The malignant brain tumor may be one of: a tumor of the neural cells, a tumor of the glial cells, or a tumor of both neural and glial cells.
Other applications may include infusion of growth factors, angiogenesis factors, antioxidants, vectors to deliver genes, or any fluid material to be infused within the CNS or elsewhere in the body.
Similarly, these systems and methods can be adapted for delivery of therapeutic to virtually any other area of the body, such as internal organs, e.g., liver, pancreas, spleen, kidney, heart, and skin. Still further, tissue can be treated including, but not limited to, normal tissue, ischemic tissue, cystic tissue, neurodegenerating tissue, or otherwise diseased or dysfunctional tissue.
Infusion of therapeutics using these systems and methods may employ other pumping devices as alternatives to the infusion pump described. Pumping devices may be positioned outside of the body or they may be implanted within the body, such as subcutaneously or within a cavity, e.g., intraperitoneally. Pumping devices may be automated, may operate through an osmotic mechanism, e.g., mini-osmotic pump, or may be controlled by the health care provider or the patient herself.
The microcatheter 100 may come loose from the guide tube 200 and stylet 204 during insertion. It may be possible for the physician or operator to detect that the microcatheter 100 is no longer progressing toward the target area due to a loss of tension on the microcatheter 100 . In a situation where the tension, or loss thereof, cannot be detected by feel, however, inaccurate placement of the microcatheter 100 may result.
Referring now to FIG. 6 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a system 600 is provided where the tension on the microcatheter 100 is monitored as it is being placed in position. A strain gauge 602 is coupled, via a connector 604 , to the microcatheter 100 and to the stylet 202 via a connector 606 . The strain gauge 602 measures the tension on each of the stylet 202 and the microcatheter 100 . The strain gauge 602 can be set to issue an alarm if there is a relative change between the two measurements. Alternatively, the strain gauge may be connected to only the microcatheter 100 and when there is either a loss of tension detected, or the level of tension falls below a predefined threshold, an alarm indicating that, perhaps, the microcatheter 100 has uncoupled from the stylet 202 , would sound.
Referring now to FIG. 7 , a system 700 provides an alternate embodiment, according to one aspect of the present invention, for determining that the microcatheter 100 has disconnected from the stylet 202 . In this embodiment, a loop 702 is made from stainless steel or a similar conductive material and couples the microcatheter 100 to the stylet 202 . A continuity tester 704 is coupled, via a very thin wire 706 to the loop 702 . In addition, the continuity tester 704 is coupled, via a second wire 708 to the thumbscrew 210 and, therefore, completes a circuit through the stylet 202 , the loop 702 , and the wire 706 . If the loop 702 disconnects from the stylet 202 , the circuit will be broken and an indication of such, for example, an alarm, will notify the operator or physician. The wire 706 may run down through the microcatheter 100 and be connected to the loop 702 or the wire 706 may run along the outside of the microcatheter 100 and connect to the loop 702 .
In one embodiment, referring now to FIG. 8 , in a system 800 the microcatheter 100 is replaced by an optical waveguide 802 , e.g., fiber optic material. Similar to that shown in FIGS. 2A and 3 , the waveguide 802 is coupled to the guide tube 200 by the loop 108 for insertion at the desired location. A proximal end of the waveguide 802 is coupled to a light energy source and/or camera device 804 . The device 804 may either provide light energy through the waveguide or capture images. The light energy may be IR, UV or any other frequency necessary to provide, for example, photodynamic therapy or the like. The choice of material for the optical waveguide 802 is understood by one of ordinary skill in the art and will depend on, among other parameters, the frequency of the light energy to be delivered, the power of the device 804 and the distance over which the light energy is directed.
Thus, where a plurality of microcatheters 100 are inserted, one could be an optical waveguide in order to facilitate photodynamic therapy at the desired location. Photodynamic therapy is performed by injecting a photoreactive agent into a tumor site, via one or more of the microcatheters 100 , and then transmitting light through the optical waveguide to irradiate the photoreactive agent.
In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIG. 9 , the microcatheter 100 contains a rigid guide 900 , thus allowing the microcatheter 100 to be placed at any depth within the brain without the need for being “piggy-backed” on the inserter. The rigid guide 900 may be a stylet, as described above, in order to provide the microcatheter 100 with sufficient rigidity during insertion.
In operation, the microcatheter 100 , with the rigid guide 900 within, is directed to the target location in, for example, the brain. As above, a number of microcatheters 100 may be provided where each is directed to a different location in order to provide therapeutic to the desired targets. Once the microcatheter 100 is fixed into position, the guide is removed from within. Similar to the process described above, a therapeutic is delivered through the lumen of the microcatheter 100 by connection to, for example, a syringe 302 .
The microcatheter 100 of the embodiments of the present invention provide therapeutic via convection enhanced delivery with minimum backflow. Further, the patient is more comfortable due to the flexibility of the catheter and its ease of positioning. Multiple microcatheters can be positioned to provide full coverage of the therapeutic to one or more targeted regions. The microcatheter 100 is guided to, and positioned at, the desired location by operation of being either “piggy-backed” on the guide tube or by operation of a guide releasably placed in the microcatheter lumen.
It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for the sake of clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination.
Although various exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made which will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those reasonably skilled in the art that other components performing the same functions may be suitably substituted.
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A system for convection enhanced delivery of therapeutic comprises one or more flexible, biocompatible microcatheters that are directed to a target location to deliver a therapeutic agent. The microcatheter is releasably coupled to a guide tube and directed to the desired location. The microcatheters are small and flexible in order to reach the target areas, minimize trauma at the injection site, and minimize reflux of the injectable therapeutic.
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