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the term &# 34 ; slot - orifice applicator apparatus &# 34 ; is used herein to refer to an applicator apparatus in which coating mix is transferred to the surface of a web by direct extrusion through a narrow slot orifice . smooth spreading of the coating mix is ensured by , for example , a doctor blade , rod , grooved rod , or alternatively extruding the coating mix on the web at a high speed via a narrow slot orifice . as seen in fig1 the coater apparatus comprises a first backing roll 1 , an applicator apparatus 2 adapted in conjunction therewith , a second backing roll 3 disposed following the applicator apparatus 2 in the travel direction of a web 5 , and an air knife 4 disposed proximate the second backing roll 3 . the web 5 passes partially around the first backing roll 1 , then through the nip between the first backing roll 1 and the applicator apparatus 2 and then to the second backing roll 3 , on which the web 5 further passes through the nip between the second backing roll 3 and the air knife 4 . the diameter of the second backing roll 3 may be smaller than that of the first backing roll 1 ; when the web 5 bends over the backing roll 3 at a smaller radius of curvature , the efficiency of the air doctor in blowing off the excess coat from the surface of the web 5 is increased . however , such an arrangement is not mandatory and the design criteria of the roll diameters can be based on different aspects or parameters as well . fig1 shows that the coat removed from the web surface may be collected in a blow - off hood 25 . the air knife 4 in the illustrated embodiment comprises an air chamber 6 that ejects air through a narrow slot orifice 7 which extends across the entire machine width . the slot orifice 7 and the air knife 4 are arranged or oriented to eject a stream of air in the reverse direction to the travel of the web 5 . since the coating mix dries and its solids content and viscosity increase after its application to the base web due to mechanisms such as , for example moisture absorption by the web 5 , it is desirable that the distance of the air knife 4 from the applicator apparatus 2 be adjustable to permit the adjustment of the air knife assembly 4 with its backing roll 3 to as close to the application zone as required . shown in fig1 is an applicator apparatus provided with a smoothing / premetering blade 8 . the applicator apparatus is adapted in conjunction with a rotating backing roll 1 around which the web 5 to be coated passes . located at an underside of the backing roll 1 is an applicator that extends over the entire cross - machine width of the web 5 and has its framework formed by a support beam 9 having an approximately triangular cross - section . through a feed channel , which extends over the entire cross - machine width of the web 5 along the support beam 9 on the incoming side of the web , the coating mix is guided into a chamber - like space 10 , wherefrom the coating mix under pressure flows to the web via a narrow , flat slot - orifice channel 11 . the channel extends over the entire web width and opens at the stem of the smoothing / premetering blade 8 . adapted to the orifice channel 11 is a comb - like flow - laminarizing element 18 . particularly at the orifice tip , the orifice channel 11 is very narrow with respect to conventional coating mix feed channels typically having the width of the exit slot 12 as narrow as 3 - 5 mm . the smoothing / premetering blade 8 is supported at its stem by a blade holder 13 . the blade 8 rests flexibly against the web 5 at a small angle , and during operation it is elevated away from the web . the angle of the blade 8 is typically smaller than 20 ยฐ and most advantageously less than 10 ยฐ. the blade support 13 is designed so that no step is formed between the exit slot 12 and the stem of the blade 8 so as to facilitate laminar flows . particularly at the side of the orifice channel 11 , the blade support 13 has a wedge - shaped cross - section tapering toward the tip of the blade 8 . the purpose of such a support arrangement is to keep the flow of coating mix laminar from the orifice channel 11 up to the tip of the blade 8 . the loading of the smoothing / premetering blade 8 can be adjusted by means of separate blade load control apparatus 16 ( see fig2 ). the load control apparatus 16 is divided into independent control zones over its cross - machine width so as to offer variable blade loading in that direction . the apparatus 16 thus permits the adjustment of the applied coat weight and thereby obtains a desired coat profile across the width of the web . since several different blade loading arrangements are well known in the art , a more detailed description of such an apparatus is omitted herein . the coating mix is fed at a high speed such as , for example in excess of 1 m / s . in accordance with the present invention , an excess of the applied coating mix is guided in the reverse direction to the travel of the web 5 past an upper lip 17 of the orifice channel 11 . this excess mix is particularly important to the successful outcome of the coating process since it plays a major role in assuring a smooth and homogeneous coat . the excess mix reverse flow ( or return flow ) 14 also permits an extremely accurate control of the amount of coating mix applied to the web 5 as well as the adjustment of the coat thickness including very thin coats . the coat thickness adjustment may be implemented by an ordinarily skilled artisan by either controlling the blade load or adjusting the feed rate of fresh coating mix ; however , the best result is obtained by a combination of both of these control methods . the return flow 14 of the excess coating mix may be collected in an overflow trough 15 . an apparatus of the above - described type is known in the art and a more detailed description thereof can be found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 104 , 697 . alternative embodiments of the applicator apparatus are shown in fig3 - 5 . the applicator illustrated in fig3 is similar to that shown in fig2 except that the upper lip 17 of the slot orifice 12 is complemented with a weir blade 19 resting against the backing roll 1 . this weir blade 19 is preferably inclined at a small angle with respect to the web and preferably made of a flexible material so that it conforms to the web contour . the weir blade 19 is advantageously provided with holes . the holes permit sufficient reverse flow against the web travel and thus feed some coating mix as a lubricant into the nip between the web and the weir blade 19 . a function of the weir blade 19 is to elevate the coating mix pressure at the zone provided by the slot orifice 12 , so that even a smaller amount of coating mix is sufficient for applying a high - solids coat . the applicator apparatus described herein is particularly suited for coating at a low web speed . in another embodiment of the apparatus shown in fig4 the smoothing / premetering blade is replaced by a doctor rod 20 . the doctor rod 20 is mounted to a floating doctor rod holder 21 which is pushed toward the web by means of pneumatic tubes 22 . the doctor rod 20 may be smooth or grooved . in comparison with the earlier described applicators , the doctor rod 20 has the same benefits and drawbacks as blade doctors , and when required , it may also be complemented by a weir blade ( not shown ) so as to ensure sufficient application pressure at low web speeds . with reference to fig5 another embodiment of the slot - orifice applicator apparatus is shown therein , which applicator apparatus comprises an upper lip 17 and a lower lip 23 . the slot orifice 12 of the applicator is formed by the rounded tip of the upper lip 17 and by the conformingly curved portion of the lower lip 23 . the path of the coating mix flow starts from the narrow flat channel 11 and tapers toward the slot orifice 12 . the width of the channel 11 at its entrance may be approximately 0 . 5 - 10 mm but is preferably in the range of 1 . 5 - 4 mm . of course , the length of the channel 11 in the cross - machine direction must extend at least across the entire width of the web . the width of the orifice slot 12 may be in the range of 0 . 5 - 10 mm , however , so that at its exit the slot is slightly tapered relative to the inner width of the channel 11 . the gap distance between the slot - orifice applicator apparatus and the backing roll 1 or surface of the web may be in the range of 1 - 20 mm , but preferably between 3 - 8 mm . the gap distance may be selectively adjusted by moving the lower lip using an adjustment apparatus 24 . in addition , the upper lip may be made transferrable relative to the coater framework , whereby the width of the slot - orifice channel 11 may be made adjustable if desired . the rounded tip of the upper lip 17 induces a so - called coanda effect , whereby the coating mix jet tends to follow the surface of the upper lip 17 at the exit of the orifice slot and thus directs the coating mix jet in the reverse direction to the web travel . the radius of curvature of the tip may vary in the range of 1 - 50 mm , and is preferably in the range of 3 - 10 mm . a basic precondition to the formation of a suitable jet flow of the coating mix is that the surface of the lower lip 23 of the slot orifice 12 curves toward the direction reverse to the web travel , thereby achieving the desired aiming of the coating mix jet . in accordance with the present invention , the amount of coating mix feed can be adjusted in many different ways , the most important of which is the control of the coating mix flow rate by adjusting the volume rate of fresh coating mix pumping . simultaneously or alternatively , the width of the slot orifice 12 or the jet direction may be varied . the jet direction may be altered by , for example , rotating the applicator apparatus with its support beam in the same manner that the angle of the doctor blades is adjusted . such a slot - orifice coating apparatus is described in greater detail in finnish patent application 924 , 841 . the above - described types of coater assemblies are operated as follows . the incoming web passes around the backing roll 1 of the applicator apparatus whereby to the top side of the web is coated with a coat thickness closely corresponding to the desired coat weight using a slot - orifice applicator 2 . the coat thickness having been so applied enables the air knife 4 to smooth the coat at the normally higher web speed ; different coat solids and coat viscosity may be selectively employed to achieve the desired finished coat weight . of course , when the coater apparatus is run at higher web speeds and employs higher coating mix viscosities , the applied coat thickness must be closer to the finished coat weight than when it operates at lower web speeds . the applied coat must however be thicker than the finished coat so as to leave the air knife 4 some excess coat to blow off in order to smooth or trim the applied coat to its finished weight . but if the initially applied coat is excessively thin , the quality of the coat may suffer since the air knife 4 may be rendered unusable , at least partially , and the finished coat weight may not meet specifications . in the above description there are provided various embodiments of applicator apparatus in accordance with the present invention . it is demonstrated that the construction of the applicators can be varied provided that an applicator apparatus has a member that directs the coating mix to flow in the direction reverse to the web travel and that the slot orifice of the applicator apparatus applies to the web , in the travel direction of the web , only a coat thickness which closely approximates the desired finished coat weight . of course , the present assembly and method are also suited for coating other similar materials besides board and paper . conceivably , the applicator apparatus and air doctor can be disposed around a single backing roll , although the construction of such an apparatus becomes extremely complicated because of difficulties such as , for example , the positioning of a fume hood between the applicator apparatus and the air doctor . thus , while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated , and in their operation , may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention . for example , it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and / or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention . substitutions of elements from one described embodiment to another are also fully intended and contemplated . it is also to be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale but that they are merely conceptual in nature . it is the intention , therefore , to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 3 |
having generally described the present invention , a further understanding can be obtained by reference to the specific preferred embodiments which are provided herein for the purpose of illustration only and not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims . the exhaust gas purifying catalyst according to the present invention will be hereinafter described in detail with reference to examples and comparative examples . for example , as illustrated in fig1 , a catalyst for purifying an exhaust gas according to the present invention comprises an upstream side catalyst 1 , which includes a first cylinder - shaped support 11 and a first fire resistant inorganic oxide loading layer 12 formed on the inner surfaces of the first cylinder - shaped support 11 , and a downstream side catalyst 2 , which includes a second cylinder - shaped support 21 and a second fire resistant inorganic oxide loading layer 22 formed on the inner surfaces of the second cylinder - shaped support 21 . 120 g of an alumina , containing 3 . 9 g of lanthanum , 39 . 6 g of barium sulfate and 40 g of an alumina sol were mixed and stirred to make a slurry . to this slurry , a palladium aqueous solution , which was equivalent to 1 . 5 g by conversion into pd , was added , and was fully stirred so as to load it on the alumina , thereby preparing a slurry for coating . the resulting slurry was coated on a support , whose volume was about 500 cm 3 and which was made from cordierite , and was dried thereafter . thus , the support was made into an upstream side catalyst . note that the ratio of pd to ba was 1 . 0 : 15 . 5 ( i . e ., pd : ba = 1 . 0 : 15 . 5 ) by elemental weight . 120 g of an alumina , containing 3 . 9 g of lanthanum , 52 g of a cerium oxide solid solution , including zirconium and yttrium , and 40 g of an alumina sol were mixed and stirred fully to make a slurry . note that the elemental composition ratio of the cerium oxide solid solution was ce : zr : y = 10 : 9 . 0 : 1 . 0 by elemental weight . to this slurry , a platinum aqueous solution was added , and was fully stirred , thereby making a slurry , in which the platinum was loaded on the alumina and on the cerium oxide solid solution including zirconium and yttrium . as for the platinum aqueous solution , it was equivalent to 1 . 0 g by conversion into pt . the resulting slurry was coated on a support , whose volume was about 1 , 000 cm 3 and which was made from cordierite , and was dried . the support was thereafter immersed into a rhodium aqueous solution to load rh on the support , was dried , and was thereafter made into a downstream side catalyst . as for the rhodium aqueous solution , it was equivalent to 0 . 2 g by conversion into rh . note that a ratio of the volume of the upstream side catalyst ( 500 cm 3 ) to the volume of the downstream side catalyst ( 1 , 000 cm 3 ) was 1 . 0 : 2 . 0 ( i . e ., the upstream side catalyst : the downstream side catalyst = 1 . 0 : 2 . 0 ). except that 0 . 75 g of palladium and 0 . 75 g of platinum substituted for the noble metal in the upstream side catalyst of example no . 1 , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 2 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . note that the ratio of the palladium to the barium was 1 . 0 : 31 . 0 ( i . e ., pd : ba = 1 . 0 : 31 . 1 ) by elemental weight in the upstream side catalyst . except that 1 . 35 g of palladium and 0 . 15 g of rhodium substituted for the noble metal in the upstream side catalyst of example no . 1 , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 3 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . note that the ratio of the palladium to the barium was 1 . 0 : 17 . 3 ( i . e ., pd : ba = 1 . 0 : 17 . 3 ) by elemental weight in the upstream side catalyst . except that the amount of the barium sulfate was adjusted to twice ( 79 . 2 g ) that of the upstream side catalyst of example no . 1 , and that the coating amount was increased to 178 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting upstream side catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 4 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . note that the ratio of the palladium to the barium was 1 . 0 : 31 . 1 ( i . e ., pd : ba = 1 . 0 : 31 . 1 ) by elemental weight in the upstream side catalyst . except that the amount of the barium sulfate was adjusted to half ( 19 . 8 g ) that of the upstream side catalyst of example no . 1 , and that the coating amount was reduced to 142 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting upstream side catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 5 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . note that the ratio of the palladium to the barium was 1 . 0 : 7 . 8 ( i . e ., pd : ba = 1 . 0 : 7 . 8 ) by elemental weight in the upstream side catalyst . except that 86 g of cerium oxide was added to make a slurry for coating in the preparation of the upstream side catalyst of example no . 1 , and that the coating amount was increased to 240 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting upstream side catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 1 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . except that a cerium oxide solid solution including zirconium was used instead of the cerium oxide in the preparation of the upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 1 , an upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 2 was prepared in the same manner as that of comparative example no . 1 . note that the elemental composition ratio of the cerium to the zirconium was 1 . 0 : 1 . 0 ( i . e ., ce : zr = 1 . 0 : 1 . 0 ) by elemental weight in the cerium oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . except that a cerium oxide solid solution including zirconium and yttrium was used instead of the cerium oxide in the preparation of the upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 1 , an upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 3 was prepared in the same manner as that of comparative example no . 1 . note that the elemental composition ratio of the cerium to the zirconium as well as to the yttrium was 10 : 9 . 0 : 1 . 0 ( i . e ., ce : zr : y = 10 : 9 . 0 : 1 . 0 ) by elemental weight in the cerium oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . except that the amount of the cerium oxide was adjusted to 43 g ( half of the amount in comparative example no . 1 ) in the preparation of the upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 1 , and that the coating amount was reduced to 197 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting upstream side catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of comparative example no . 4 was prepared in the same manner as that of comparative example no . 1 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 1 . on the upstream side catalysts of the respective catalysts described above , table 1 summarizes the contents of the respective components with respect to 1 liter of the respective upstream side catalysts . the respective catalysts , which were obtained in example nos . 1 through 5 and comparative example nos . 1 through 4 , were mounted onto a 4 , 000 c . c . displacement gasoline engine , and were subjected to a durability test , which was carried out under the condition that the inlet gas temperature was 900 ยฐ c . for 50 hours . in fig1 , there is shown a chart , which illustrates the durability test in detail . first of all , the stoichiometric gas was flowed in the respective catalysts for 40 seconds , and thereafter a fuel - rich gas was flowed in the respective catalysts for 16 seconds . while , 5 seconds after the stoichiometric gas was turned into a gas , which was under a fuel - rich condition , a secondary air was introduced into the respective catalysts for 15 seconds . thus , a cycle of 60 seconds in total was carried out repeatedly for 3 , 000 times ( i . e ., 50 hours ). thereafter , the respective catalysts were mounted onto a 1 , 500 c . c . displacement vehicle engine , and the exhaust gas purifying performances were evaluated in the โ epa75 โ evaluation mode . the results of the evaluation on the conversions of the hydrocarbons are illustrated in fig2 as a bar graph , and the results of the evaluation on the conversions of the no x are illustrated in fig3 as a bar graph . as illustrated in fig2 , the respective catalysts of example nos . 1 through 5 exhibited lower hc remaining ratios and higher conversions ( or lower hc emissions ) than those of the respective catalysts of comparative example nos . 1 through 4 . it is also understood from the drawing , among the respective catalysts of the examples , the catalyst of example no . 1 was superior in terms of the hc conversions . fig3 illustrates the results of the no x conversion measurements . it is appreciated from the drawing that the respective catalysts of example nos . 1 through 5 exhibited higher no x conversions ( or lower no x emissions ) than those of the respective catalysts of comparative example nos . 1 through 4 . in fig4 and 5 , there are illustrated the results of an examination for the hc conversions and the no x conversions , which were exhibited by catalysts made by varying the volume ratio of the upstream side catalyst to the downstream side catalyst in a range of from 1 / 9 to 9 / 1 , respectively , in the catalyst described in example no . 1 . as a result , the drawings show that , when the volume ratio of the upstream side catalyst to the downstream side catalyst fell in a range of from 2 / 8 to 7 / 3 , it was possible to satisfy the requirements of the hc and no x conversions in a well balanced manner . 120 g of an alumina , containing 3 . 9 g of lanthanum , 39 . 6 g of barium sulfate , 5 . 2 g of cerium oxide , which was equivalent to 0 . 03 mol with respect to 1 liter of a resulting upstream side catalyst , and 40 g of an alumina sol were mixed and stirred , and were thereafter made into a slurry . to this slurry , a palladium aqueous solution , which was equivalent to 1 . 5 g by conversion into pd , was added , and was fully stirred so as to load the palladium on the alumina and the cerium oxide , thereby preparing a slurry for coating . the resulting slurry was coated on a support , whose volume was about 500 cm 3 and which was made from cordierite , and was dried thereafter . thus , the support was made into an upstream side catalyst . note that the ratio of pd to ba was 1 . 0 : 15 . 5 ( i . e ., pd : ba = 1 . 0 : 15 . 5 ) by elemental weight . 120 g of an alumina , containing 3 . 9 g of lanthanum , 52 g of a cerium oxide solid solution , including zirconium and yttrium , and 40 g of an alumina sol were mixed , were stirred fully and were thereafter made into a slurry . note that the elemental composition ratio of the respective elements was ce : zr : y = 50 : 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight in the cerium oxide solid solution . to this slurry , a platinum aqueous solution was added , and was fully stirred so as to load the platinum on the alumina and the cerium oxide solid solution including zirconium and yttrium , thereby making a slurry for coating . as for the platinum aqueous solution , it was equivalent to 1 . 0 g by conversion into pt . the resulting slurry was coated on a support , whose volume was about 1 , 000 cm 3 and which was made from cordierite , and was dried . the support was thereafter immersed into a rhodium aqueous solution to load rh on the support in an amount of 0 . 2 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting downstream side catalyst , was dried , and was thereafter made into a downstream side catalyst . the upstream side catalyst and the downstream side catalyst were combined to make a pair , and were labeled as a catalyst of example no . 6 . note that a ratio of the volume of the upstream side catalyst to the volume of the downstream side catalyst was 1 . 0 : 2 . 0 ( i . e ., the upstream side catalyst : the downstream side catalyst = 1 . 0 : 2 . 0 by volume ). except that , with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , 5 . 2 g of an oxide solid solution , including cerium and zirconium , substituted for the cerium oxide of the upstream side catalyst in example no . 6 , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 7 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . note that a ratio of the respective elements was ce : zr = 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight in the oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that , with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , 5 . 2 g of an oxide solid solution , including cerium , zirconium and yttrium , substituted for the cerium oxide of the upstream side catalyst in example no . 6 , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 8 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . note that a ratio of the respective elements was ce : zr : y = 50 : 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight in the oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that an oxide solid solution , including cerium , zirconium and yttrium , substituted for the cerium oxide of the upstream side catalyst in example no . 6 , that the oxide solid solution was used in a reduced amount of 1 . 53 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , and that the coating amount was decreased to 155 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 9 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . note that a ratio of the respective elements was ce zr : y = 50 : 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight in the oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that the oxide solid solution , including cerium , zirconium and yttrium , of the upstream side catalyst in example no . 8 was used in an increased amount of 7 . 64 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , and that the coating amount was increased to 162 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 10 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 8 . note that a ratio of the respective elements was ce : zr : y = 50 : 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight in the oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that the oxide solid solution , including cerium , zirconium and yttrium , of the upstream side catalyst in example no . 8 was used in an increased amount of 15 . 3 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , and that the coating amount was increased to 169 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 11 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 8 . note that a ratio of the respective elements was ce : zr : y = 50 : 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight in the oxide solid solution . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that 0 . 75 g of pd and 0 . 75 g of pt substituted for 1 . 5 g of pd in the upstream side catalyst in example no . 8 , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 12 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 8 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that 1 . 2 g of pd and 0 . 3 g of rh substituted for 1 . 5 g of pd in the upstream side catalyst in example no . 8 , an upstream side catalyst of example no . 13 was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 8 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . except that the cerium oxide in example no . 6 was not added , and that the coating amount was decreased to 154 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting catalyst , an upstream side catalyst was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 , and was labeled as an upstream side catalyst of example no . 14 . as for a downstream side catalyst , a catalyst was used which was prepared in the same manner as that of example no . 6 . 120 g of an alumina , containing 3 . 9 g of lanthanum , 39 . 6 g of barium sulfate , 86 g of cerium oxide , which was equivalent to 0 . 5 mol of cerium elements with respect to 1 liter of a resulting upstream side catalyst , and 40 g of an alumina sol were mixed and stirred , and were thereafter made into a slurry . to this slurry , a palladium aqueous solution , which was equivalent to 1 . 5 g by conversion into pd , was charged , and was fully stirred so as to load the palladium on the alumina and the cerium oxide , thereby preparing a slurry for coating . the resulting slurry was coated on a support , whose volume was about 500 cm 3 and which was made from cordierite , was dried , and was thereafter made into an upstream side catalyst . 120 g of an alumina , containing 3 . 9 g of lanthanum , 52 g of a cerium oxide solid solution , including zirconium and yttrium , and 40 g of an alumina sol were mixed , were stirred fully and were thereafter made into a slurry . note that the elemental composition ratio of the cerium oxide solid solution was ce : zr : y = 50 : 45 : 5 . 0 by elemental weight . to this slurry , a platinum aqueous solution was added , and was fully stirred so as to load the platinum on the alumina and the cerium oxide solid solution including zirconium and yttrium , thereby making a slurry for coating . as for the platinum aqueous solution , it was equivalent to 1 . 0 g by conversion into pt . the resulting slurry was coated on a support , whose volume was about 1 , 000 cm 3 and which was made from cordierite , and was dried . the support was thereafter immersed into a rhodium aqueous solution to load rh on the support in an amount of 0 . 2 g with respect to 1 liter of a resulting downstream side catalyst , was dried , and was thereafter made into a downstream side catalyst . table 2 summarizes the contents of the respective components in the loading layers as well as the loading amounts of the respective noble metals therein with respect to 1 liter of the respective upstream side catalysts in above - described example nos . 6 through 14 and comparative example no . 5 . except that the respective catalysts , which were obtained in example nos . 6 through 14 and comparative example no . 5 , were mounted onto a 2 , 000 c . c . displacement gasoline engine , they were subjected to a durability test in the same manner as the respective catalysts of example nos . 1 through 5 and comparative example nos . 1 through 4 were subjected thereto . thereafter , the respective catalysts of example nos . 6 through 14 and comparative example no . 5 were mounted onto a 1 , 500 c . c . displacement vehicle engine , and the exhaust gas purifying performances were evaluated in the โ epa75 โ evaluation mode in the same manner as the respective catalysts of example nos . 1 through 5 and comparative example nos . 1 through 4 were evaluated . the results of the evaluation on the conversions of the hc are illustrated in fig6 as a bar graph , and the results of the evaluation on the conversions of the no x are illustrated in fig7 as a bar graph . as illustrated in fig6 , compared with comparative example no . 5 in which the content of the cerium elements were large in the upstream side catalyst , the respective catalysts of example nos . 6 through 14 exhibited much lesser hc emissions , and were accordingly verified to be good in terms of the purifying performances . note that example no . 14 was a case where the upstream side catalyst was free from the cerium elements . example no . 14 exhibited a remarkably low hc emission . however , as illustrated in fig7 , example no . 14 did not purify the no x as notably as example nos . 6 through 13 , but exhibited a lower no x emission than that exhibited by comparative example no . 5 ( e . g ., less than 0 . 2 g / mile ). thus , as illustrated in fig7 , comparative example no . 5 was proved to purify the no x much more insufficiently than all of example nos . 6 through 14 . example nos . 6 through 14 of the present exhaust gas purifying catalyst were good in terms of the hc and no x conversions , and accordingly reduced the emissions of unpurified substances . in fig8 and fig9 , there are illustrated the results of an examination for the hc conversions and the no x conversions , which were exhibited by catalysts made by varying the volume ratio of the upstream side catalyst to the downstream side catalyst in a range of from 1 / 9 to 9 / 1 , respectively , in the catalyst described in example no . 6 . as a result , the drawings show that , when the volume ratio of the upstream side catalyst to the downstream side catalyst fell in a range of from 2 / 8 to 7 / 3 , it was possible to satisfy the requirements on the hc and no x conversions . having now fully described the present invention , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth herein including the appended claims . | 8 |
the nature of the invention is further clarified by reference to a plurality of examples . in a control test , a five - gallon steel pail was filled with about 4 . 5 gallons of aqueous tbhp - 70 ( tertiary butyl hydroperoxide containing 30 percent water ) and placed on two 8 - inch high cinderblocks for a combustion test . a lid having 4 holes of about 1 / 4inch diameter was loosely positioned on top of the pail . kindling wood , soaked with kerosene was placed beneath and around the pail , so that in the combustion , the flames approached several surfaces of the shipping pail . after the kindling had been ignited , the tbhp - 70 took fire and the contents of the pail burned with moderate intensity . the combustion of the aqueous tbhp - 70 appeared to advance satisfactory for about 20 minutes . however , just prior to the end of the burning of the aqueous tbhp - 70 , there was an accelerated decomposition ( conveniently designated as a very rapid combustion ) whereby the bottomm and sides of the pail were distorted , the lid was expelled from the pail , the fire was extinguished , and a muffled noise was heard . this type of rapid decomposition or burning near the end of the combustion of an organic oxidant is a type of hazard which had previously been observed for and was generally expected from concentrated aqueous solutions of organic oxidants . the restrictions which safety experts have imposed upon the transportation and storage of organic oxidant materials are attributable to such propensities toward troublesomely rapid decomposition or combustion . in an example of the invention , several pieces of polyethylene , shaped as curved saddles and designed as contact surfaces in solvent extraction or distillation apparatus and having dimensions of about 3 inches long and about 1 . 8 inches wide were employed and floated on or near the top of surface of the tbhp - 70 . the saddles had a surface area of 227 square inches . the weight ratio of the polyethylene to the aqueous tbhp - 70 was 0 . 0123 to 1 ; that is , the polyethylene constituted about 1 . 23 percent by weight of the tbhp - 70 . when the combination of the 4 . 5 gallons of aqueous tbhp - 70 and 1 . 23 percent polyethylene was subjected to the standard combustion test using kerosene soaked kindling wood to heat the pail supported on 8 - inch blocks , the material in the pail burned . there was no audible or visual indication of troublesomely rapid decomposition or combustion . thus , it differed from the control in that the lid was not ejected and the sides of the pail were not distorted . the terminal portion of the burning of the organic oxidant was acceptable to safety standards because the presence of the polyethylene components so modified the total combustion that it could proceed smoothly until all of the combustible matter was consumed . in another control , the 4 . 5 gallons of aqueous tbhp - 70 were modified by the use of polyethylene saddles constituting 0 . 5 weight percent of the tbhp - 70 and the standard combustion test was conducted . the tbhp burned for about 24 minutes at about which time the cover was blown from the pail by the intensity of the terminal stages of the combustion but there was no conspicuously loud explosive noise . by a series of tests , it is established that when the polyethylene is in the form of particles , the concentration of the polyethylene should be at least 0 . 6 weight percent of the tbhp - 70 and that little safety advantage is achieved by the use of more than 6 . 0 weight percent of the polyolefin . such weight concentration limits are not relevant to lined containers , in which the thickness of the lining is the significant safety feature . polypropylene saddles , each saddle having a dimension of about 2 inches and marketed by the norton company as an &# 34 ; intalox &# 34 ; brand of saddle are sometimes employed as packing in a distillation column . the addition of 30 saddles to 4 . 5 gallons of tbhp - 70 represented about 1 . 8 percent by weight of the aqueous organic oxidant . in the standard combusion test , such proportions of polypropylene saddles are effective in maintaining the generally normal combustion of the organic material in the pail until all of such organic material was burned , thus avoiding the propensities of the unmodified tbhp to burn with troublesome rapidity . a 5 - gallon steel pail was modified by bonding a polyethylene liner thereto , the liner constituting 5 . 58 percent by weight of the 37 pounds ( approximately 4 . 5 gallons ) of tbhp - 70 . the combination was subjected to the previously described standard combustion test . containers of organic oxidants must pass such standard test to meet the safety standards appropriate for transportation of merchandise . the contents of the polyethylene - lined pail burned for about 29 minutes with smooth combustion until the tbhp was completely burned in about 29 minutes . the lid was not ejected nor was there other evidence of troublesomely rapid decomposition or combustion . the polyethylene liner does effectively inhibit the propensities of the tbhp . by a series of tests , it is established that the thickness of a polyolefin ( e . g ., polyethylene , polypropylene , etc .) liner should be from about 0 . 7 to about 7 mm . ( about 1 / 64 to about 1 / 4 inch ) and that the melt index of the polyolefin must be within the range from 0 . 2 to 10 as measured by astm 1238 condition e procedure . it is important that the polyolefin be free from metallic contaminanta ( e . g ., residues from catalysts ) scrap , and / or pigments which might alter its modifying role . in a control procedure a sample of polyethylene having a melt index of 0 . 1 ( that is , half of the minimum requirement of the present invention ) is subjected to a molding operation in an effort to provide a liner for a five - gallon bucket . difficulties are encountered in the adhesion of the liner in the molding and in the cooling of the molded liner from molding temperature . the thus defined pail is subjected to the standard combustion test , during which the lid is expelled and a noise is heard indicative of troublesomely rapid combustion . such adverse result is possibly attributable to a propensity of the difficulty meltable polyethylene to burn only at the interface of liquid and air instead of predominantly melting before combustion . in a control procedure , a sample of polypropylene having a melt index of 15 is employed in the form of short hollow tubes ( such as is used as packing in liquid vapor contact towers ) dispersed in aqueous 70 percent tertiary butyl hydroperoxide , the polypropylene constituting 0 . 7 percent by weight of the composition . in the combustion test , the lid is expelled and a noise indicates troublesomely rapid decomposition or burning . the polypropylene has a sufficiently low melting point that substantially all of the polypropylene is melted and burned during the early portions of the test , leaving no polypropylene for modifying the terminal phases of the combustion . by a series of tests , it is established that the melt index for the polyolefin must be within a range from 0 . 2 to 10 . in a control , a 55 - gallon steel drum filled with 70 percent aqueous tbhp was subjected to the standard combustion test , and the steel drum was destroyed by the rapidity of the terminal stages of the burning . a commercially available drum having a polyethylene liner was employed in the same test and shown to be a safe container . the flames continued for 50 minutes without troublesomely rapid burning . the 2sl polyethylene liner had a melt index of 2 . 6 and a density within a range from 0 . 910 to 0 . 925 and was about 3 / 16 inch thick . as an example of the present invention , a semitrailer having a 2000 gallon steel tank is lined with polyethylene having a thickness of 5 mm ., a density of about 0 . 92 , and a melt index of about 2 . 0 . the tank is partially filled with tbhp - 70 and ignited . the combustion advances smoothly , and the composition burns without troublesomely rapid decomposition or combustion , by reason of the presence of the polyethylene liner in the tank . with the aid of retrospect , it is believed that the combustion of the polyethylene or other thermoplastic polyolefin is initiated and advances concurrently with the combustion of the tbhp and that during the final stages of the combustion , when the oxidant concentration is high and the temperature is high , tending to promote troublesomely rapid decomposition or combustion , the combustion of the plastic consumes the oxidant at a rate sufficient to avoid the developement of such troublesomely rapid burning rates . 2 - methyl , 4 , 6 - di - tertiarybutyl phenol ( conveniently abbreviated as mdtbp ) is a useful inhibitor for reducing the rate of reactions involving a free radical mechansim . discoloration of organic liquids exposed to sunlight , polymerization of monomers , and thermal activation of hexaarylyl plumbanes are inhibited by mdtbp . particles of mdtbp are encapsulated in polypropylene to provide a flowable powder of spheroids functioning as a microencapsulated form of mdtbp , the polypropylene skin constituting about 25 percent of the weight of each spheroid . in a series of tests , in each of which a bucket containing about 35 pounds of tbhp is modified by the addition of a controlled amount of spheroids of encapsulated mdtbp and subjected to the standard combustion test , it is shown that the concentration of mdtpbp desirably should be between about 10 and about 100 , 000 parts of mdtpb per 1 , 000 , 000 parts of aqueous tbhp . concentrations greater than 10 ppm but less than 10 , 000 ppm are preferred . by using 1 , 000 ppm , the microencapsulated phenol achieves a sufficiently reliable reduction of hazard during combustion to offer an attractive combination of advantages . the microencapsulated phenol is more costly per pound than polyolefin , but by using a smaller concentration of microencapsulated phenol , adequate reduction of hazard is attainable at a competitive price . for shipments involving costly freight costs and involving single usage of the modifier , encapsulated phenol spheroids offer an economic advantage even when more costly when comparing merely the expense of formulation . in a series of tests of microencapsulated radical traps , it is shown that 1 , 000 parts of radical trap per 1 , 000 , 000 parts of aqueous tbhp , it is shown that phenothiazines such as 4 , 6 dimethylphenothiazine , substituted naphthyl amines such as 3 - 4 dimethylalphanaphthyl amine , phenylenediamines such as 2 , 4 diaminotoluene , dibenzyl amines such as bis ( s - clc 6 h 4 ch 2 ) 2 nh , and iminodibenzyls such as p me 2 nc 6 h 4 c 2 h 4 c 6 h 4 nme 2 , are effective agents for reducing the hazard in combustion of tbhp . another phenol found to be satisfactory is dtbmp or 2 , 6 , di - t - butyl ,- 4 - methyl phenol . the trademark &# 34 ; ionol &# 34 ; identifies one brand of such dtbmb . polyolefin manufacturers regularly employ controlled amounts of radical traps in all molded products . for example , some polyethylene saddles contain about 0 . 25 weight percent of ionol brand of dtbmp ( 2 , 6 di - t - butyl - 4 - methyl phenol ). low density polyethylene having a melt index of 1 . 1 and containing about 0 . 25 weight percent ionol brand of dtbmp is manufactured as a flexible sheet about 4 mm . thick . the sheet is cut to provide about 194 g . of polyethylene as 18 rectangular ribbons about 51 mm . by 25 mm . these ribbons are employed in the 35 pound of aqueous tbhp in the standard combustion test and found to be effective in preventing an excessive rate of terminal decomposition . such test established the usefulness of 35 ppm of ionol as a combustion modification agent . low density polyethylene having a melt index of 2 . 1 and containing 0 . 15 percent ionol was fabricated into saddles suitable as packing for treatment towers . six saddles ( 188 g .) were employed in the standard combustion test . the concentration of ionol in aqueous tbhp was about 18 ppm and was sufficient to avoid the troublesomely excessive decomposition . the need for the modification of the decomposition is only for the final minutes of the burning , and whatever modifier is employed must be preserved in a form having appropriate effectiveness after most of the tbhp has burned . the polyolefin might be interpreted as the significant modifier . the radical trap might be interpreted as the significant modifier . regardless of theoretical interpretations of the results , the facts show that troubles are avoided by the use of polyolefin containing radical trap materials , thus providing a basis for claiming the process featuring the polyolefin as well as the process featuring the radical trap . various modifications of the invention are possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
while the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below , it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts . the specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention . a four - step process was used to evaluate the formation of watermarks on silicon wafers and the impact of these watermarks on wafer yield . first , watermarks were quantified on test lots using different clean - up sequences . second , vt shifts were checked along with measurements of gate oxide thickness , followed by in - line cv tests . third , watermark formation was verified and measurements of electrical device parameters were taken to measure the impact on probe yield . finally , yield impact was evaluated on larger size production lots . a 24 safer test run was performed to create a control test group using standard production methods . the wafers were visually inspected to quantify watermark defects before and after the clean - up step . clean - up splits were performed at three distinct steps : pre field oxidation clean - up , pre pad oxide clean - up ( dummy gate ), and pre gate oxidation clean - up , in order to assess the steps at which each split &# 39 ; s watermarks were formed . short - flow monitors were created to check for possible vt shifts . also , oxide thickness was measured to evaluate the effect on critical gate oxide thickness using different steps . following verification of the in - line cv data , production wafer splits were performed . a large sample of production lots was compared to determine if the split lot data accurately predicted the improved probe yield due to reductions in the formation of watermarks that lead to density defects . the method of the present invention , namely , using the sc1 or sc2 clean - up as the last step before isopropanol vapor dry , lead to the elimination of all watermarks in the test lot evaluated , as shown in fig1 a . fig1 a shows the number of defects found using the sequence of clean - up steps indicated per column pair , measured after pad oxidation . each column pair demonstrates the total number of defects on the left , and defects due to watermark formation on the right . fig1 b shows similar data for total defects and defects due to watermark formation following the deposition of a gate oxide layer . the combined fig1 a and fig1 b data demonstrate that the total number of steps for complete clean - up during an etching cycle could be reduced to two : the hydrofluoric acid clean - up step , and an sc1 clean - up step , prior to the isopropanol vapor dry . in fact , using either an sc1 and / or sc2 clean - up step prior to vapor dry was found to be just as successful at eliminating watermark formation as depicted in fig1 a and 1b . in a split test that compared the standard clean - up methods used for both 0 . 5 micron and 0 . 8 micron linewidth products , the method of the present invention eliminated all watermarks . fig2 a and 2b demonstrate the results obtained at a post pad oxidation step and a post gate oxide deposition step using 0 . 5 micron production wafers . for the 0 . 5 micron devices , an average of 11 . 9 watermarks per wafer were formed using the standard sc1 โ hf โ h202 processing steps . likewise for 0 . 8 micron devices , an average of 3 . 2 watermarks were formed per wafer using the sc1 โ hf processing sequence . no significant differences were evident when the split test lots were measured for vt . the method of the present invention lead to yield improvements in devices having a thickness of 0 . 5 and a 0 . 8 microns . table 1 shows the data obtained with a lot of devices having a 0 . 5 micron thickness , and table 2 shows the data obtained using a 0 . 8 micron thickness . for the 0 . 5 micron lots , using sc1 as the last cleaning step , or sc1 last process , had no impact on laserprobe yield ( lpy ) when it is only performed at the pre pad oxidation clean - up step . no difference was found because watermark formation still occurred by using the standard process , namely using the h 2 o 2 wash last , h 2 o 2 last , at the pre gate oxidation clean - up . table 1______________________________________clean - up lpy at flat , % total lpy , % ______________________________________hf -& gt ; sc1 62 . 2 63 . 9 sc1 -& gt ; hf -& gt ; h202 52 . 3 61 . 1 delta + 9 . 9 + 2 . 8______________________________________ table 2______________________________________clean - up mpy at flat , % total mpy , % ______________________________________hf -& gt ; sc1 50 . 2 48 . 3 sc1 -& gt ; hf -& gt ; h202 44 . 8 46 . 8 delta + 5 . 4 + 1 . 5______________________________________ however , when the sc1 last process was performed at two 0 . 5 micron clean - up operations , an overall yield improvement of 2 . 8 % was observed . in particular , the lpy of the four rows closest to the flat was 9 . 9 % higher . this yield improvement was directly related to reduced watermark formation . for the 0 . 8 micron split lots , a similar multiprobe yield ( mpy ) was observed . the overall improvement in the probe yield ( 1 . 5 %) was not as marked as with the 0 . 5 micron probe . in the two rows closest to the flat the mpy was 5 . 4 % higher using the sc1 step last . the sc1 last process of the present invention was tested at logpoints where production wafers are susceptible to watermark formation . the split lots predicted an impact on overall yield , so a much larger sample size was analyzed to better quantify improvements in probe yield . probe yields were analyzed before and after process changes were made using both 0 . 5 and 0 . 8 micron devices . ______________________________________ old clean - up new clean - up technology sequences sequences______________________________________0 . 5 micron sc1 -& gt ; hf -& gt ; h . sub . 2 o . sub . 2 hf -& gt ; sc1 0 . 8 micron sc1 -& gt ; hf hf -& gt ; sc1______________________________________ when comparing the old clean - up sequences for the 0 . 5 micron and 0 . 8 micron technologies , there was a difference in the process flow . the method of the present invention served , in addition to the reduction in watermark formation , to harmonize the clean - up strategies for both technologies . the results of using the present invention were measured in three ways : overall yield , yield at the flat , and yield at the top . the data were analyzed , specifically , to isolated the improvement in yield at the flat of the wafer , rather than throughout the wafer . &# 34 ; at the flat &# 34 ; is used to refer to the number of rows of die that are covered , and the formation of watermarks &# 34 ; at the flat &# 34 ; will depend on the die size . in a dmos4 wafer , this means the first three or four rows of die , but can be as few as one row . &# 34 ; at the top &# 34 ; is defined by the same number of rows on the opposite side of the wafer . the total impact of the change is defined to be the difference between the overall yield and the overall yield improvement minus the baseline improvement at the top of the wafer . watermark formation was not found to occur more than two inches from the flat on a six inch wafer . probe yield data for the two major 0 . 5 micron devices were compared using the old methods and the method of the present invention . table iii shows an overall yield gain of 12 . 8 % in these test , with a yield gain &# 34 ; at the flat &# 34 ; of 22 . 4 %. these data indicate that the reduced number of watermarks was the major factor in the overall improvement in yield . when comparing the lpy change &# 34 ; at the top &# 34 ; ( 9 . 8 %), eliminating watermark formation improved overall wafer yield for 0 . 5 micron devices by 3 . 0 % ( 12 . 8 %- 9 . 8 %). sample size was 300 wafers using the old method , and 800 wafers using the method of the present invention . table iii______________________________________ overall yield yield at top yield at flat (%) (%) (%) ______________________________________old method 31 . 7 30 . 3 19 . 8 new method 44 . 5 40 . 1 42 . 2 delta + 12 . 8 + 9 . 8 + 22 . 4______________________________________ likewise , the method of the present invention was used to analyze changes in yield for 0 . 8 micron devices . the results as shown in table iv , and reflect a sample size of 1400 wafers per method . overall yield gain was 7 . 9 %, with a 11 . 7 % increase in yield at the flat . this data indicate that the reduction in watermark formation played a significant part in improving overall yield for 0 . 8 micron wafers . when compared to the mpy change at the top ( 7 . 2 %), eliminating watermark formation improved overall wafer yield on 0 . 8 micron devices by 0 . 7 % ( 7 . 9 - 7 , 2 %). table iv______________________________________ overall yield yield at top yield at flat (%) (%) (%) ______________________________________old method 48 . 0 32 . 3 39 . 2 new method 55 . 9 39 . 5 50 . 9 delta + 7 . 9 + 7 . 2 + 11 . 7______________________________________ therefore , the improved method of the present invention serves to greatly reduce the formation of watermarks , reduces the number of steps that are necessary for the etching of sio 2 layers , and helps to harmonize 0 . 5 and 0 . 8 micron device clean - up sequences . the reduced number of steps also decreases cycle time . while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention , will be apparent to those of skill in the are upon reference to the description . it is , therefore , intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments . | 7 |
the present invention provides a solution where a federated policy server 230 federates policy 226 data from multiple policy providers 228 , as shown in fig2 . the server 230 can be connected to one or more resource servers 220 and one or more access / enforcement points 212 via a network 218 in runtime environment 210 . access / enforcement points 212 and resource servers 220 can query the federated policy server 230 and receive all policies 232 applicable to a given service / resource 222 . this negates a need to individually query multiple policy providers 228 and solves issues associated with policy synchronization and inconsistent policy enforcement . the federation policy server 230 can federate policies 226 , as shown in fig3 . that is , the federation policy server 230 can execute a federated policy exchange service 310 , which provides a policy provider lookup service based upon a unique service / resource identifier . the federated policy exchange service 310 can include multiple policy provider plug - ins 312 . each plug - in 312 can permit the federated policy change service to exchanged information with a plug - in 312 specific provider services 314 , which can be repository instances . each of the provider services 314 can be linked to an underlying storage repository 316 within which policy information 318 is stored . the plug - in 312 can include conversion , reformatting , transcending instructions that permit the federated policy exchange service 310 to handle the policies in a unified manner . the present invention may be embodied as a method , system , or computer program product . accordingly , the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment ( including firmware , resident software , micro - code , etc .) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a โ circuit ,โ โ module โ or โ system .โ furthermore , the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer - usable storage medium having computer - usable program code embodied in the medium . in a preferred embodiment , the invention is implemented in software , which includes but is not limited to firmware , resident software , microcode , etc . furthermore , the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer - usable or computer - readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system . for the purposes of this description , a computer - usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain , store , communicate , propagate , or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the computer - usable medium may include a propagated data signal with the computer - usable program code embodied therewith , either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave . the computer usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium , including but not limited to the internet , wireline , optical fiber cable , rf , etc . any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may be utilized . the computer - usable or computer - readable medium may be , for example but not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system , apparatus , device , or propagation medium . examples of a computer - readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory , magnetic tape , a removable computer diskette , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), an erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom or flash memory , a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk . current examples of optical disks include compact disk - read only memory ( cd - rom ), compact disk - read / write ( cd - r / w ) and dvd . other computer - readable medium can include a transmission media , such as those supporting the internet , an intranet , a personal area network ( pan ), or a magnetic storage device . transmission media can include an electrical connection having one or more wires , an optical fiber , an optical storage device , and a defined segment of the electromagnet spectrum through which digitally encoded content is wirelessly conveyed using a carrier wave . note that the computer - usable or computer - readable medium can even include paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed , as the program can be electronically captured , via , for instance , optical scanning of the paper or other medium , then compiled , interpreted , or otherwise processed in a suitable manner , if necessary , and then stored in a computer memory . computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may be written in an object oriented programming language such as java , smalltalk , c ++ or the like . however , the computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages , such as the โ c โ programming language or similar programming languages . the program code may execute entirely on the user &# 39 ; s computer , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer , as a stand - alone software package , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server . in the latter scenario , the remote computer may be connected to the user &# 39 ; s computer through a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), or the connection may be made to an external computer ( for example , through the internet using an internet service provider ). a data processing system suitable for storing and / or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus . the memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code , bulk storage , and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution . input / output or i / o devices ( including but not limited to keyboards , displays , pointing devices , etc .) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening i / o controllers . network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks . modems , cable modem and ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters . the present invention is described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods , apparatus ( systems ) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention . it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , can be implemented by computer program instructions . these computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer , special purpose computer , or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine , such that the instructions , which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus , create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer - readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner , such that the instructions stored in the computer - readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . fig4 is a schematic diagram of a system for a federated policy server 420 that provides requestors 410 web service policies , which are registered within multiple discrete repositories in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein . the system 400 of fig4 is consistent with expressions of the invention presented in fig2 and fig3 . in system 400 , the federated policy server 420 can provide a policy exchange service 422 , which requestors 410 can utilize to determine any policy of a web service , resource , or other object , regardless of policy domain 450 . federated policy server 420 can include multiple provider interface modules 426 . each module 426 can permit the server 420 to interface with a specific policy provider 430 . the module 426 can convert format of policy 444 information provided by a provider 430 to a standardized one used by the policy server 420 . in one embodiment , the federated policy server 420 need not locally ( using data store 428 ) maintain policy data , but can dynamically acquire it from remotely located data stores 432 maintained by policy providers 430 . in another embodiment , the server 420 can locally maintain a portion of policy information in a local data store 428 . any data acquisition technology ( e . g ., subscription , polling , etc .) can be used when exchanging information 442 , 444 between the federation policy server 420 and the policy providers 430 and when exchanging information 440 , 446 between the policy requester 410 and the server 420 . in a typical transaction , a policy requester 410 can convey a policy request 440 to the federated policy server 420 . the request 440 can request one or more policies ( up to all ) of a web service , resource , or other object . the policy server 420 can submit suitably formatted requests 442 to one or more policy providers 430 resulting in responses 444 . these responses 444 are processed by the federation component 424 and converted into response 446 , which is sent to the policy requester 410 . importantly , the policy requester 410 can submit any type of policy request 440 to the federated policy server 420 without needing to know which policy provider ( s ) 430 maintains policies of the requested type . in one embodiment , a published policy exchange service 422 can be used to interface with the policy requestors 410 . as used herein , a policy is an interface that defines a condition applied to a web service , resource , or information . policies can include behavioral requirements , format requirements , quality of service ( qos ) requirements , business requirements , security requirements , monitoring requirements , and the like . the policy provider 430 is an entity that exposes one or more policies related to a web service , resource , or information . for example , policy providers 430 can include a websphere application server ( was ), a datapower server , a tivoli access manager ( tam ) server , a . net server , ibm tivoli composite application management ( itcam ) server , an ibm tivoli management framework ( tfm ) component , a websphere service registry and repository ( wrss ), a tivoli change and configuration management database ( ccmdb ), a universal description , discovery , and integration ( uddi ) registry , and the like . a policy domain 450 can contains policy sets , management classes , and copy groups . policy domains 450 are enforced by numerous servers , such as ws - security server . the federated policy server 420 can interact across different policy domains 450 . a policy requestor 410 can be any entity that request a policy from the federated policy server 420 . for example , a policy requestor 410 can include a policy point , which can be a point in a service oriented architecture ( soa ) that enforces , monitors , and / or takes other programmatic action involving a resource / service based upon a preexisting policy . the policy requester 410 can include a management system , a service registry , and / or an access point utilizing a web service . data exchanged 440 - 446 in system 400 can be conveyed over a network . the network can include any hardware , software , and firmware necessary to convey data encoded within carrier waves . data can be contained within analog or digital signals and conveyed though data or voice channels . the networks can include local components and data pathways necessary for communications to be exchanged among computing device components and between integrated device components and peripheral devices . the networks can also include network equipment , such as routers , data lines , hubs , and intermediary servers which together form a data network . the networks can further include circuit - based communication components and mobile communication components , such as telephony switches , modems , cellular communication towers , and the like . additionally , the networks can include line based and / or wireless communication pathways . the data stores 428 , 432 can be a physical or virtual storage repository configured to store digital information . the data stores 428 , 432 can be physically implemented within any type of hardware including , but not limited to , a magnetic disk , an optical disk , a semiconductor memory , a digitally encoded plastic memory , a holographic memory , or any other recording medium . each of data stores 428 , 432 can be a stand - alone storage unit as well as a storage unit formed from one or more physical devices . additionally , information can be stored within the data stores 428 , 432 in a variety of manners . for example , information can be stored within a database structure or can be stored within one or more files of a file storage system , where each file may or may not be indexed for information searching purposes . further , the data stores 428 , 432 can optionally utilize one or more encryption mechanisms to protect stored information from unauthorized access . fig5 is a schematic diagram of an architecture 500 for federating policy data registered and maintained within different repositories in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein . in architecture 500 , service definition / metadata 580 regarding policies can be federated using a set of policy management tools 540 . the policy data 580 can be acquired from one or more development environment 510 , from one or more deployment environments 520 , and / or from a set of service registries and repositories 530 . the policy management tools 540 can federate data 580 from different policy sources 510 , 520 , 530 regardless of platform specific considerations in a platform independent manner . for example the development environment 510 can be a jeer based 512 , a . net 513 based , or other 514 computing environment and still be supported by tools 540 . similarly , different types of deployment environments 520 , such as a was 522 environment , a datapower 523 environment a tam 524 environment , a . net environment 525 , and any other deployment environment 526 , can be supported . policy data 580 registered within different repositories , such as wrss 532 , ccmdb 533 , and a universal description , discovery , and integration ( uddi ) registry 534 , can also be handled . the policy management tools 540 can include policy authoring tools 541 , service discovery tools 542 , change management tools 543 , policy repository tools 544 , evaluation and analysis tools 545 , policy distribution tools 546 , monitoring and reporting tools 547 , service management tools 528 , and the like . one or more federated policy servers ( e . g ., server 420 ) can provide the tools 540 . policies can be published 582 to a policy exchange service 550 . in one embodiment , the policy exchange service 550 can be a web service that federates policy data about other web services . service 550 can be utilized to retrieve and / or distribute policies 548 to service registries 560 ( e . g ., wars , ccmdb , etc . ), to management systems 562 ( e . g ., tam , itcam , etc . ), and to policy points 564 . a policy point 564 can include a policy enforcement point ( pep ), a policy decision point ( pep ), and any other point that desires to access a web service policy . each policy provided by the service 550 can include a policy transformation 570 and a raw policy 572 . for example , the raw policy 572 can be a datapower 523 policy from a deployment environment 520 where the policy transformation 570 is specific to datapower and implemented using a datapower specific interface module ( e . g ., module 426 from system 400 ). in another example , the raw policy 572 can be a was policy having a was specific transformation 570 applied to it . still another policy provided to a point 564 can be a tam policy ( raw policy 572 ) having a tam specific transformation 570 . the diagrams in fig2 - 5 illustrate the architecture , functionality , and operation of possible implementations of systems , methods , and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention . in this regard , each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module , segment , or portion of code , which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function ( s ). it should also be noted that , in some alternative implementations , the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures . for example , two blocks shown in succession may , in fact , be executed substantially concurrently , or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order , depending upon the functionality involved . it will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , can be implemented by special purpose hardware - based systems that perform the specified functions or acts , or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used herein , the singular forms โ a ,โ โ an ,โ and โ the โ are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . it will be further understood that the terms โ comprises โ and / or โ comprising ,โ when used in this specification , specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . the corresponding structures , materials , acts , and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure , material , or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed . the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . | 7 |
the above and other objects are realized by the present invention wherein the performance of a rotary sliding vane compressor is improved by adding additional ( supplemental ) air under pressure to boost the pressure in a rotor pocket or cell through a supplemental second inlet located intermediate the first inlet and the outlet of the compressor in the direction of compressor rotation . preferably the supplemental air is added in a rotor pocket as it immediately passes the first inlet of the compressor at the point of maximum pocket volume and before any substantial compression of the fluid within the compressor has occurred . the total capacity of the compressor is the normal capacity of the cylinder plus the amount of boost air added . it is possible to substantially increase the discharge pressure while decreasing the discharge temperature due to the decrease in compression ratio over the sliding vane compressor cylinder and also by cooling the supplemental boost air prior to injecting it into the sliding vane cylinder . the advantage to adding pressurized boosting air as compared to pressurizing all the air at intake is the significant reduction in total horsepower used , since only the supplemental air is pressurized rather than all the air in the pocket . another source of power savings is realized by pre - cooling the supplemental boost air . referring to the drawings by characters of reference , in fig1 prior art sliding vane compressor 100 is depicted , consisting of a housing in which there is enclosed an essentially cylindrical chamber 102 having an elongated cavity having a circular cross section , with a cylindrical rotor 101 having a circular cross section eccentrically and rotatably placed within chamber 102 . formed in rotor 101 is a plurality of radially extending grooves or slots 103 each of which accommodates a freely sliding blade or vane 104 . the sliding vane compressor can utilize straight or angled rotor slots . during rotation in the direction shown by arrow r of the rotor each vane 104 is thrown outwards by centrifugal force so that its outer edge sweeps the internal cylindrical surface of chamber 102 . the free space between adjacent vanes is thus divided into closed cells ( 105 , 106 , 107 ). inlet 108 and outlet 109 extend through housing 102 . air or other fluid at atmospheric pressure is taken in at stationary fluid inlet 108 in the direction of arrow a and is thus compressed as the free space in each cell diminishes as the rotor turns and the compressed air exits at stationary fluid outlet 109 in the direction of arrow b . accordingly in the operation of a rotary vane compressor the closed cells to either side of any particular vane are at different pressures as the vane passes from the inlet port to the outlet port . the present invention can be advantageously utilized on essentially any prior rotary vane compressor . therefore , it can be used on rotary vane compressors having a rotor mounted in an elongated cavity which may be cylindrical with , for example , an essentially circular , elliptic , or epitrochoidal cross section formed therein . in certain prior art compressors the bore of the cavity can have an undercut in which the rotor sits lower in the housing in which case the cross section of the cavity would not be , for example , a perfect circle . fig2 depicts one embodiment of the present invention , in which the compressor depicted is substantially similar to the compressor depicted in fig1 , with some significant variations . in the compressor of fig2 , air enters at first air inlet 208 and compressed air exits at outlet 209 in the same manner as depicted in fig1 . however , in the embodiment of the invention depicted in fig2 supplemental boost air under pressure is injected in the direction depicted by arrow c through stationary second air inlet 210 and into pocket 211 of sliding vane compressor 200 . stationary second air inlet 210 is located , in the direction r of rotation of the rotor , after said first fluid inlet 208 and before said fluid outlet 209 . in the depicted embodiment supplemental air is injected into pocket 211 directly after the trailing vane 212 of pocket 211 passes the closing edge 213 of inlet 208 . at the point that supplemental air is injected into pocket 211 , pocket 211 will be at its maximum volume , which volume will be gradually decreased as pocket 211 rotates in the direction of outlet 209 . in an optional embodiment of the invention and as is depicted in fig2 , inlet 208 will be sized smaller than the corresponding prior art inlet 108 in fig1 . for example , inlet 108 in prior art compressor 100 encompasses three pockets , while the depicted inlet 208 in compressor 200 encompasses two pockets . the smaller inlet is a preferred embodiment of the present invention in order to provide room to have a โ captive โ pocket 211 formed into which boost air is injected sufficiently upstream from outlet 209 to provide for maximum compression of the air in pocket 211 . prior art compressors require a larger intake area than those of the present invention in order to increase the volume of air being compressed , a feature that is not required in the compressor of the present invention since the injection of supplemental air provides an optimal method of increasing capacity in the compressor . fig3 depicts another embodiment of the present invention is which a double sided compressor 300 is utilized . double sided compressor 300 comprises rotor 301 having a circular cross section that is centrally , not eccentrically as in the compressor depicted in fig2 , located within cylindrical chamber 302 . cylindrical chamber 302 has an elliptical cross section which , when combined with the centrally placed rotor , results in there being two identical compression areas 305 located on opposite sides of the chamber . other than having two compression chambers , compressor 300 functions identically to the compressor depicted in fig2 . the rotor rotates in the direction of arrow r . air enters each compression area at inlet 308 in the direction of arrow a . supplemental air under pressure is injected in the direction depicted by arrow c through boost air inlet 310 and into pocket 311 directly after the trailing vane 312 of pocket 311 passes the closing edge 313 of inlet 308 . the volume of pocket 311 will be gradually decreased as it rotates in the direction of outlet 309 , at which air will exit the compressor in the direction of arrow b . the compressor depicted in fig3 is commonly utilized on vane type hydraulic pumps and automotive power steering units . the supplemental boost feature of the present invention can be utilized on compressors with 3 or 4 compression areas . if three compression areas are utilized , the cylindrical chamber will have a cross sectional shape forming a three lobe epitrochoid similar to a three leaf clover , and if four compression areas are utilized , the cylindrical chamber will have a cross sectional shape forming a four lobe epitrochoid similar to a four leaf clover . the number of pockets in compressors with one compression area will typically range from about 4 to about 12 , although more pockets can be utilized . when a compressor has more than one compression area the number of pockets will generally increase over compressor having one compression area . fig4 depicts a flow schematic of the compressor system of the present invention in which the fluid compressed is air . sliding vane compressor 400 is powered by main motor 401 . ambient air , which initially passes through inlet air filter 402 , is introduced into compressor 400 via inlet line 403 . compressed air is discharged via outlet line 404 . supplemental air passes through filter 405 , and is compressed , i . e . pressurized , by blower 406 . although any means of compression may be utilized , it is preferred to use a regenerative blower , multi - stage fan , or positive displacement blower . the preferred boost pressure range is from about 4 to about 20 psi above atmospheric , that is , the pressure of air within the pocket will by boosted by from about 4 psi to about 20 psi by the addition of supplemental air , although there is benefits even in providing boost air at pressures lower than 4 psi . most preferably the boost air pressure range will be from about 4 to about 10 psi . after being compressed , the pressurized supplemental air is thereafter preferably passed through cooler 407 to remove the heat of compression before being injected into the sliding vane compressor cylinder via inlet 408 . the cooled compressed air may be thereafter stored in an optional reservoir tank 409 to optimize injection flow . optional check valve 410 may be utilized to prevent back flow of compressed air into the cooler and blower in the event the blower stops while the sliding vane compressor continues to run . any type of cooler that can take the process conditions can be used . typically , if it is air cooled , the cooler can be an aluminum core radiator with integral fan . if it is air to liquid ( liquid cooled ), a shell and tube cooler can be used . the present invention permits compressor operation at discharge pressures in excess of 60 psi , whereas 40 psi is the current accepted limit for large single stage sliding vane machines that are not oil flooded . fig5 - 7 are graphs illustrating the benefits of the above invention . the conditions assumed in fig5 - 7 are ( i ) pure isentropic compression ; ( ii ) the discharge temperature does not include blade friction or heat generated by slip leakage , ( iii ) with all heat from blade friction and slip removed by the cooling water jacket , and ( iv ) the intake air temperature ( ambient ) is 90 ยฐ f ., the boost air temperature is 110 ยฐ f . and the compressor is at sea level . fig5 is a graph illustrating the compression ratio as a function of discharge pressure at various levels of boost air into the sliding vane compressor . as fig5 depicts , there is a significant reduction of compression ratios at discharge pressures of 60 psig when supplemental boost air at 10 psi is added to the compressor . with a 10 psi boost , the compression ratio is 3 . 00 at a discharge pressure of 60 psig , while in a normal compressor that does not utilize the boost air the compression ratio at a discharge pressure of 60 psig is slightly over 5 . 00 . the effect of the differences in compression ratio on discharge temperature is illustrated in fig6 . with a 10 psi boost , the discharge temperature is approximately 320 ยฐ f . at a discharge pressure of 60 psig , while without the boost air the discharge temperature is approximately 415 ยฐ f . at a discharge pressure of 60 psig . all the boost air added will increase the capacity of the compressor . obviously , as the pressure of the boost air is increased more air will be added to a given pocket . fig7 shows the increase in capacity ( free air displaced ) with the increase in boost pressure . with a 10 psi boost there is shown an increase in compressor capacity of approximately 64 %. with a 15 psi boost there is an increase in compressor capacity of approximately 100 %. the compressor of the present invention is adaptable to be utilized with any type of compressible fluid , including gases such as air , digester gas , nitrogen and carbon dioxide . it is to be understood that the form of this invention as shown is merely a preferred embodiment . various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of parts ; equivalent means may be substituted for those illustrated and described ; and certain features may be used independently from others without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 5 |
referring now to fig1 and 2 , the push - up bra 10 of the invention is formed of two cups 12 , 14 , a stretchable strap with releasable fastener , not shown , and optional shoulder straps 16 , 18 . the cups 12 , 14 are formed of an outer layer 20 of fabric and an inner layer 22 of fabric . the outer layer 20 of fabric can be covered with a layer 25 of decorative material such as lace . the surface 24 of the inner layer 22 is preferably covered with a layer of a soft material 27 which absorbs and wicks moisture such as woven cotton or polypropylene cloth . a long narrow sleeve 26 following the curved outline of the bra cup can be formed along the lower periphery 29 of the bra cups 12 , 14 . a curved metal stiffening rod 28 is received in the sleeve 20 and inner layers 22 of each cup 12 , 14 . the outer layers are stitched around their common peripheries 30 , 32 to form pockets 34 , 36 for receiving a flexible pouch 38 , 40 containing a liquid 42 as shown in fig2 . the pouches 36 , 40 have the general exterior shape of a bra cup 12 , 14 . the pouches 38 , 40 are formed of a front film 42 heat sealed to a rear panel 44 forming a lip 46 . the pouches 38 , 40 are preferably anchored to the outer layer 20 or inner layer 22 of fabric . the lip 46 could be formed by adhering the outer peripheries of the two panels by adhesive or stitching . however , stitching or adhesive could make the lip 46 more susceptible to tear . it is preferred that the pouches 38 , 40 be provided with an extended tab 50 which before thermal bonding serves as a filling spout . the two layers 20 , 22 of the pouch are completely thermal sealed within the tab 50 into a unitary film 52 . two thermally generated beads 54 , 56 can be provided normal to the axis of the pouches to reinforce the tab from tearing . the tab 50 is sewn 60 into the edge of the outer layer of fabric 20 near the outside periphery of the pocket 34 , 36 . the pouch 38 , 40 is then inserted into the pockets 34 , 36 . the edge of the inner layer 22 of fabric is then stitched to the edge of the outer layer 20 . the skin of the pouch is a tough , puncture - resistant , flexible film such as a 0 . 01 to 5 mm thick film , preferably a film having a thickness from 0 . 05 to 0 . 5 mm . suitable films are thermoplastic , thermally bondable films such as polyethylene , vinyl , silicone resins or polyurethane which can be in the form of a closed cell foam . the surface of the pouch has good wetability for water is resistant to hydrolysis , has flame retardence , u . v . it is stable to being agitated with hot soapy water in a washing machine . the film can have a shore a hardness from 50 to 100 , a specific gravity of 1 . 1 to 1 . 3 an elongation of at least 300 % and a minimum tear strength of 200 lb / in . the film should have a high melting temperature above 180 ยฐ c . in order to be capable of surviving temperatures encountered in washing and drying machines . however , hand washing and air drying of the bra are preferred . the pouches are filled with a mixture of water and a major amount of an organic , hygroscopic material miscible with water . the mixture of water and the hygroscopic material forms a clear , uniform liquid having a viscosity similar to water . the organic hygroscopic materials are polyhydric organic compounds containing a plurality of hydroxyl group such as glycerine ( glycerol ) or liquid polyols . glycerine is preferred since it is a clear , colorless , odorless syrupy liquid having hygroscopic properties . a usp grade having minimum purity of 99 . 5 % is preferred . analysis of a usp glycerine used in the push - up bra of the invention follows : ______________________________________test result specification______________________________________glycerine content % 99 . 68 99 . 5 min . relative density 25 / 25 1 . 2609 1 . 2607 min . color apha 5 10 max . ash & lt ; 0 . 01 0 . 01 max . chloride ppm & lt ; 10 10 max . sulphate ppm & lt ; 20 20 max . arsenic ppm & lt ; 1 . 5 1 . 5 max . heavy metal ppm & lt ; 5 5 max . chlorinated compounds ppm & lt ; 30 30 max . fatty acid & amp ; esters 0 . 7 1 . 0 max . ml 0 . 5 naoh______________________________________ a prototype of the push - up bra of the invention was prepared by filling a polyurethane pouch with a mixture of 30 % water and 70 % usp glycerine . the tab on the pouch was heat sealed and then inserted into a pocket in a push - up bra . the tab was sewn into the periphery of the pouch and the seam on the inner layer of fabric was closed . the film was a closed cell polyurethane having the following properties : ______________________________________properties______________________________________color apha 5thickness 0 . 1 mmhardness 87 shore aspecific gravity 1 . 20tensile strength 6525 psielongation 480 % tear strength 400 lb / inmelting temperature 180 - 190 ยฐ c . ______________________________________ the prototype was tested under normal wearing conditions . the mixture of water and glycerine provided a natural cushion . the pouch did not leak or ooze liquid . it was self sealing . there was no loss of volume over a 3 month test period due to permeation of water due to the glycerine humectant within the pouch . the bra was very comfortable for a shaping bra and gave a natural lift for a fuller look . though the bra can be machine washed , there is less wear and tear if the bra is hand washed and hung to dry . it is to be realized that only preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and that numerous substitutions , modifications and alterations are permissible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 0 |
turning now to the drawings and , more particularly , to fig1 and 2 , a door panel mating assembly is illustrated and includes an upper door panel 10 and a lower door panel 20 which are formed from sheet steel which may be 0 . 02 inches thick . due to the orientation of the drawings in fig1 and 2 , arrows u , l are used to further clarify the terms &# 34 ; upper &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; lower .&# 34 ; the upper panel 10 is formed with a generally flat face 12 with a panel end portion 14 formed into a concave curvature with a first radius of curvature and defining an outer corner 82 . a second panel 20 is formed from a similar sheet of steel to include a flat face member 22 and a curved end portion 24 having a convex curvature . the second panel curved end portion 24 is formed with a second radius of curvature which is less than the radius of curvature of the upper panel end portion 14 . it should be noted that while the convex and concave surfaces are presented as smooth curves , these surfaces can be approximated with multiple straight - line segments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the panels 10 , 20 are configured for mating and contact one another at a single contact line which will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter . the panels also include inner corners at the inner portions of the curvatures 14 , 24 which form inner , parallelly oriented flanges 16 , 26 projecting away from one another . a plurality of stiles 17 , 27 are attached to each of the upper and lower panels . the stiles 17 , 27 are formed as generally u - shaped members with a generally horizontal surface 18 with two outwardly projecting vertical surfaces 19 to define the &# 34 ; u &# 34 ;. the channels are inverted and mounted to the panels in generally parallel alignment with one stile at each end and additional stiles positioned along the lateral extent of the panel as necessary for stability . the stiles 17 of the upper panels 10 are mounted in direct opposition to the stiles 27 of the lower panel 20 . the end portions of the stiles are fitted underneath the flanges 16 , 26 of the panels 10 , 20 for reasons which will be explained in greater detail hereinafter . a unique bracket 30 is provided and is shown in fig1 and 2 mounted to the stiles . the bracket 30 is preferably formed from a single piece of sheet metal which may be 0 . 035 inches thick . this piece of metal is stamped into the necessary shape and then bent into the ultimate configuration . initially , a generally flat base portion 32 includes an angularly oriented upper stile contact member 34 projecting directly outwardly therefrom and angled downwardly for contact with the upper stile 17 . the stile contact member 34 is bent into a generally u - shaped configuration for mating with the upper stile 17 to reduce side - to - side movement . a bolt opening 35 is formed in the stile contact member 34 to bolt the bracket to the stile 17 . a pair of vertically oriented support members 38 project upwardly from the base 32 of the bracket 30 and extend downwardly over the lower panel 20 . a so - called double fold 40 is used to allow the bracket to be formed from a single piece of metal . as may be seen in fig1 and 2 , the support members 38 are generally j - shaped with the curvature of the &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; pointing toward the face of the door . since a radius of curvature associated with the &# 34 ; j &# 34 ; is greater than the distance between the support members 38 , the support members 38 must be formed with the &# 34 ; j - curves &# 34 ; projecting away from one another , then bent upwardly into a facing relationship and then bent through 180 ยฐ to achieve the ultimate relationship seen in the figures and resulting in the double fold 40 . openings are provided in the support members including openings 42 for the track rollers ( not shown ) and openings 44 for the hinge pins . the bracket 30 is bolted to the upper stile 17 and is rotatably fixed to the lower stile using hinge pins as seen in fig2 . turning now to fig3 a hinge pin 50 is shown in position for assembly . the hinge pin 50 is primarily a cylindrical , solid or hollow metal member having a plurality of aligned , oppositely disposed tabs projecting outwardly therefrom in pairs . two outer tab pairs 56 , 60 are disposed adjacent the end surfaces 52 of the hinge pin 50 and project outwardly from the cylindrical surface 54 thereof . inner tabs 58 , 62 are provided closer to the center of the hinge pin 50 and intermediate the outer tabs 56 , 60 . it should be noted that these inner tabs 58 , 62 may be formed as one single pair of tabs or any number of tab pairs extending intermediate the outer tabs 56 , 60 to achieve the same function as is provided herein . fig1 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the hinge pin illustrated generally at 70 including a cylindrical surface 78 and an end surface 79 . outer tabs 72 , 76 are disposed adjacent the end surfaces 79 of the alternate hinge pin 70 . a pair of elongate tabs 74 extends outwardly from a position intermediate the outer tabs 72 , 76 . the criteria for the inner tabs includes the ability to engage slots formed in the vertical walls 19 , 29 of the stiles 17 , 27 . a unique slot arrangement is provided for association with the tabs on the hinge pins 50 , 70 for assembly of the door panels . with the bracket in the assembly position of 90 ยฐ, slots 46 formed in walls forming the hinge pin bracket openings 44 are aligned with similar slots 48 formed adjacent openings 48 in the stiles 27 so that the hinge pin 50 may pass through unobstructed . once past the outer slots , the hinge pin may be continually inserted as seen in fig4 - 7 . as seen in fig8 and 12 , with the hinge pin 50 fully inserted , the inner tabs 58 , 62 remain engaged with the slots 48 , 68 in the stiles while the outer tabs 56 , 60 are unengaged with the slots 46 in the bracket openings . once the bracket 30 is rotated at an inclination of 70 ยฐ or less which coincides with the maximum extent of the range of movement during operation , the bracket slots 46 are no longer in registry with the outer tabs 56 , 60 such that the hinge pin 50 remains locked into position , its rotation being prevented by the inner tabs 58 , 62 in abutment with the stile 27 and lateral movement being prevented by the abutment of the bracket 30 against the outer tabs 56 , 60 . it should be noted that a rivet or other pivotal fastener can be used in place of the hinge pin . further , the hinge pin function can be provided by extruding the second hinge support member and the hinge member in a pivotal manner . ease of assembly is enhanced by using the hinge pins 50 , 70 . as seen in fig9 &# 34 ; buttons &# 34 ; or projections 67 are formed in the inner surface of the stile 27 having slots 68 formed therein for engagement with the tabs 56 , 58 , 60 , 62 . the buttons are stamped into the stiles 17 , 27 such that the metal is deformed into forming the buttons . as the pin 50 is being inserted , aligning the pin with the hole in the stile 27 on the far side wall 29 can be difficult . the buttons 67 tend to push the pin back toward the center of the hole as it is manipulated during insertion . the buttons also provide additional contact area between the pin tabs 56 , 62 and the stile 27 to reduce contact stresses produced by rotational loads . furthermore , moving the contact surface 68 away from the stile surface 29 reduces the critical distance tolerance between the pin tabs 58 , 56 by increasing the separation of the locking surfaces on the stile 67 and bracket 53 . alternately , the entire ring surface of the hole may be deformed with a technique known as &# 34 ; coining &# 34 ; but this technique removes one of the key features of the buttons , that of providing an alignment locating function for inserting the hinge pins by &# 34 ; feel &# 34 ; rather than by visual alignment . the insertion of the hinge pin 50 is seen from this perspective in fig9 - 12 . in fig9 and 10 , the first outer tabs 56 engage slots 68 formed in the buttons 67 while the second inner tabs 62 engage slots formed in the bracket 30 which are in registry with slots formed in the stile 27 . as the hinge pin 50 is fully inserted as seen in fig1 , which omits the bracket 30 for clarity , the inner tabs 58 , 62 are engaged with slots 68 formed in the buttons 67 . this operational location will prevent rotation of the hinge pin 50 during door panel movement . this allows the designation of a wear surface , i . e ., the extruded portion of the walls forming the opening 44 in the brackets u , and prevents any relative movement between the stile 27 and the hinge pin 50 to prevent sawing action therebetween and damage . fig1 inserts the bracket 30 at an operational position which is at a 70 ยฐ or less inclination thereby removing the slots 46 from registry with the slots 48 in the stiles 27 . as can be seen , the outer tab 60 is in abutment with the walls forming the bracket opening 44 to prevent lateral movement . this prevents the bracket 30 from flaring and causing damage in that manner . a unique feature of the door panel mating assembly of the present invention is that it provides a weather seal offering minimum scrubbing or friction during movement and the panels fit closely enough together throughout movement so as to prevent pinching of fingers or other objects between the door panels during movement . the no - pinch feature finds a practical definition in the idea of keeping the outer corner 82 of the upper panel 10 no more than a predetermined maximum distance away from the curved surface 24 of the lower panel 20 , thereby keeping the predetermined gap 84 at a minimum , as illustrated in fig1 - 21 , with additional reference to fig1 . in addition , in a modification of the preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig1 and 2 the first panel end portion 14 includes a bend 86 in the concave surface , and the second panel end portion 24 includes a bend 88 , with both bends being toward the second panel 20 and spaced a predetermined distance apart . there , bends 86 , 88 define a gap , with a sealing element 89 being disposed within the gap to extend the width of the panels 10 , 20 for additional sealing . another feature of the mating assembly is the ability of the door to undergo backbending without considerable interference . this is accomplished by providing the upper , concave surface 14 with a first radius of curvature and the lower , convex surface 24 with a second radius of curvature with the first , upper radius of curvature being greater than the second , lower radius of curvature . the difference is slight , on the order of 0 . 040 inches . nevertheless , this is enough to maintain sufficient &# 34 ; slop &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; play &# 34 ; in the door panel boundary . the door panels 10 , 20 come into contact at a contact point 100 which is in line with the two curvature radii , the center of each being slightly offset in a generally vertical orientation as seen at 90 and 91 in fig1 . point 90 is the center of curvature for the lower panel 20 while point 91 is the center of curvature for the upper panel 10 . the pivot point or center of a curve defined by the rotational motion of the upper door panel relative to the lower panel is defined at 80 and is a predetermined distance 96 away from the center of curvature 90 of lower panel 20 . for best operation , a line through the rotational point 80 and the center of curvature 90 should intersect the panels 10 , 20 between the outer corner of the upper panel 82 and the outer corner of the lower panel 83 defined by lines 104 and 106 in fig1 . within this range , the panels 10 , 20 are at their closest contact point when the door is in a closed and upright position . as the top section rotates back , it will lift off of the lower section , rapidly breaking the contact point 100 and providing no further contact throughout motion . if the rotational center 80 were positioned such that a line through the rotational center 80 and the center of curvature 90 extended through line 102 in fig1 , the optimum range would then be exceeded and the panels 10 , 20 would scrub as the top section rotated away from the bottom section . if the pivot point were moved toward the curved surface 24 , such that a line through the rotational center 80 and the center of curvature 90 extended through line 108 in fig1 , excessive interference during backbending could result . basically , the amount of separation attained during rotation is determined by the distance 96 between the rotational center 80 and the center of curvature 90 . if this distance is too small , rubbing could be excessive and , if the distance is too large , the so - called no - pinch feature would have its effectiveness reduced . the analysis of the geometry of the movement and panel structure is best undertaken with the door in its closed position , with the panels in vertical alignment . the reason for this is that the doors are installed in this position with the point of contact 100 being the only contact between the panels . from this position , it is desired that any relative movement between the panels increases the distance between them and , by choosing the rotational center 80 a predetermined distance 96 away from the center of curvature 90 , this relationship is accomplished . further , the location of the rotational center 80 allows the area of contact to be rapidly separated once rotational motion is begun . the side view in fig1 illustrates the panel relationship with the brackets in place . fig1 is similar to fig1 except that the doors are undergoing backbending and it can be seen that the gap 84 between the panels 10 , 20 is maintained . some interference may occur at other points adjacent the contact line 100 . as may be expected , the hinge pins 50 , 70 are reversible and they are self - aligning to the extent that an installer does not have to have sight of the slots for aligning the pins therein and installation may proceed smoothly and rapidly . operational relative panel movement is illustrated in fig1 - 20 . it should initially be noted that the gap between the panels in fig1 is exaggerated for clarity yet there remains the contact point 100 which , although not illustrated specifically in 17 , is known to exist from prior disclosure herein . once the door control is activated , the door begins to lift and the rollers in the track force the panels away from one another through a curve occurring during the transition from vertical to horizontal orientation . in fig1 , the panels are at a 15 ยฐ orientation and it can be seen that the corner 82 remains a minimum distance away from the lower panel 24 while a gap 84 &# 39 ; at the inner surface is widening . this effect is enhanced at the 30 ยฐ inclination as seen in fig1 . finally , at 70 ยฐ, the gap 84 between the lower surface 24 and the upper outer corner is at a maximum yet remains insufficient to allow pinching of extremities between door panels . finally , once the door is in its horizontal , overhead stored position , the first and second panels , i . e ., the uppermost and second uppermost panels when vertically oriented , are in a backbending condition as seen in fig2 . this causes the flange 26 on the lower panel 20 to be forced into the bracket 30 at a position illustrated at 101 . the backbending is approximately 5 ยฐ as seen in angle 98 . due to the differential curvature between the upper and lower panel mating surfaces , 5 ยฐ of backbending is allowed without sufficient binding to cause damage . by the above , the present invention provides a unique paneled door mating assembly which provides smooth operation and a no - pinch feature while simultaneously allowing ease of assembly and controlled wear surfaces . further , the simplicity of the concave and convex surfaces is highly desirable compared to other , more complex approaches which consume greater quantities of material . finally , the present invention allows for the use of lighter materials resulting in less wear on the door &# 39 ; s operational components . it will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of a broad utility and application . many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described , as well as many variations , modifications and equivalent arrangements , will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof , without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention . accordingly , while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention . the foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments , adaptations , variations , modifications and equivalent arrangements . | 4 |
in intermediate ii , x is h or a group i alkali metal ( e . g . na , k , li , or cs ). the group i metal cation may be complexed with a ligand , such as tmeda , or with an ether or polyether , such as a crown ether , that increases the reactivity of the negatively charged n of the oxazolidinone group of ii . x may also be h . when x is a metal cation ( e . g . na , k , li , or cs ), intermediate ii can be made by the reaction of the oxazolidinone ( x is h ) with a metal hydride , an alkyl metal compound , or a reactive alkali metal amide . examples include the reaction of the oxazolidinone ( x โ h ) with bases such as sodium amide , potassium amide , nahmds , khmds , n - butyl lithium , and t - butyl lithium . when x is h , a base is also included in the reaction , where the base is one of the bases that are used to convert the oxazolidinone to reactive compounds in which x is na , k , li , or cs . the x groups are selected from k and na in many embodiments . the group x in example 1 is na . in intermediate iii , y is a leaving group ( i . e . a group that is easily displaced ). the leaving group is usually anionic after it has been displaced . the most common leaving groups are halogens , such as cl , br , i or f . the leaving may also be the deprotonated form of an organic acid , such as triflate or trifluoroacetate . in many embodiments , the leaving group y is selected from br , cl and i . in many embodiments , the leaving group y is selected from br and cl . the group y is cl for the synthesis of compound 12 in example 1 . in the reaction described above , intermediate ii often will be charged to the reaction vessel as the neutral oxazolidinone ( x โ h ), then converted to the alkali metal salt , where x is an alkali metal , and then reacted with intermediate iii without being isolated . for purposes of this application , this is the reaction of the alkali metal salt of the oxazolidinone ( x is an alkali metal ) with intermediate iii , even though the oxazolidinone ( x is h ) is the starting material that is charged to the reaction vessel . alternatively , intermediates ii and iii may be charged to the reaction vessel first , and if x is h , then enough base is added to bring about the coupling reaction . this is also the reaction of the oxazolidinone in which x is an alkali metal with intermediate iii . the reaction is generally carried out in a polar aprotic solvent , such as hmpa , dmf , or dmac . in many embodiments , dmf is used as the solvent . the reaction proceeds under mild conditions of temperature . exemplary mild conditions are โ 20 ยฐ c ., โ 10 ยฐ c ., 0 ยฐ c ., 10 ยฐ c ., 20 ยฐ c ., 30 ยฐ c . and 40 ยฐ c . the reaction , and particularly the deprotonation of the oxazolidinone with a base , is often started by adding the base at reduced temperature ( e . g . โ 20 ยฐ c ., โ 10 ยฐ c ., or 0 ยฐ c . ), and then warming the mixture to room temperature . in a preferred embodiment , compound i has the structure of formula 12 : and is made by the reaction of compounds ii and 7 , shown below : the complete synthesis of 12 is shown in example 1 . in compound ii in example 1 , x is na , which is made without isolation from the neutral oxazolidinone ( x โ h ), and is reacted without isolation with intermediate 7 , in which y is cl . the example is provided to further illustrate the invention and should not be treated as limiting the invention in any way . the scope of the invention is defined by the claims . the complete process for synthesizing compound 12 ( formula i ) is summarized in scheme i , and is subsequently disclosed in detail , step by step . in this process as shown below , the group x is h , which is converted to sodium in an unisolated intermediate , which undergoes the coupling reaction , and the group y is cl . the terms used throughout this application , and particularly in the examples , are generally well known to chemists who work in the area of process research . some of these are also defined below : intermediate 7 is made in 6 steps from readily available materials . the synthesis is summarized below as a 4 - step synthesis of the boronic acid intermediate 5 , which is isolated as a solid material . the boronic acid is then carried on in two more steps to the key intermediate 7 , which is also isolated as a solid product . the boronic acid intermediate is synthesized in 4 steps as shown below , and as summarized in scheme 2 . thf ( 24 l ) was added to a 100 l cylindrical vessel at room temperature . to this was added 2 . 75 kg of cecl 3 . the resultant slurry was aged at room temperature for 1 . 5 hours . a sample was then examined under a microscope to confirm that the desired form change had occurred . the slurry was cooled to 9 ยฐ c . and memgcl was added . the rate of addition was adjusted to maintain internal temperature below 19 ยฐ c . the mixture was cooled to โ 11 ยฐ c ., and a solution of acetophenone 1 ( 4 . 0 kg diluted to 10 l with thf ) was added dropwise , maintaining the internal temperature below 0 ยฐ c . the reaction mixture was then aged at a temperature below 0 ยฐ c . for an hour . the reaction was quenched with 5 . 7 l of 3n hcl in a dropwise fashion , maintaining the internal temperature below 15 ยฐ c . the quenched reaction mixture was then aged at 5 - 10 ยฐ c . for 1 . 5 hours and was filtered through a plug of solka floc . the thf solution of 2 was solvent switched into ethanol (ห 18 l volume ), and 1 . 9 l hcl was added , followed by 190 gm of 10 % pd / c ( 50 % water ). the mixture was placed under 15 psi hydrogen at 40 ยฐ c . until the reaction was complete based on hplc analysis . the mixture was cooled to room temperature . the catalyst was removed by filtration using solka - flok as a filter aid . the anisole product in ethanol was then solvent switched into acetonitrile for the next step . anisole 3 is diluted in acetonitrile ( 1 . 72 l , 4 ml mecn / mmol 3 ). this mixture is warmed to 35 ยฐ c ., and nbs ( 1 . 1 eq , 84 g ) is added in a single solid addition . the reaction is maintained at 35 ยฐ c . and is complete in 2 - 4 hours . the solution is concentrated to 400 ml total volume and diluted with 1 l of toluene . the solution is then washed with sodium thiosulfate and water to remove the succinimide by - product . the organic layer is then concentrated and solvent switched to toluene . a 75 l glass reaction vessel was charged with 1 . 87 kg of aryl bromide 4 ( 7 . 6 mol ), which was added as 6 . 4 kg of a 29 . 1 wt % solution of 4 in toluene . this solution was diluted with 5 . 6 l of thf . the vessel was flushed with nitrogen , and tri - isopropylborate ( 1 . 35 eq , 2 . 35 l , 10 . 3 mol ) was added . the mixture was cooled to & lt ;โ 70 ยฐ c . then 5 . 9 l of 1 . 6 m n - buli in hexanes ( 9 . 5 mol ) was added slowly over 4 hours , maintaining a temperature of & lt ;โ 55 ยฐ c . thirty minutes after completion of the n - buli addition , the reaction was complete by lc analysis . the reaction was warmed to โ 35 ยฐ c . and quenched into 3 . 0 m h 2 so 4 solution ( 5 . 6 l ). the aqueous phase after the quench should be acidic ( ph ห 2 ). mtbe ( 7 . 5 l ) was added to the mixture to dilute the organic layer . the mixture was stirred ( 15 min ) and the aqueous layer was cut away . the organic layer was washed with another 5 . 6 l of a 3 . 0 m h 2 so 4 solution ( 15 min ). after separating layers again , the organic mtbe / toluene layer was extracted twice with 1 m koh ( 15 . 1 l first and then 7 . 6 l ). the two koh extractions were combined , diluted with 2 - propanol ( 6 . 4 l ), and cooled to 15 ยฐ c . then the solution was slowly acidified to ph ห 2 using 3 . 0 m sulphuric acid (ห 7 . 6 l ) while maintaining temperature at 15 - 20 ยฐ c . the resulting slurry was stirred for 1 h and then filtered . the filter cake was washed with water ( 2 ร 6 l ) and dried under an air flow for 1 day . the filtered solid was placed in an oven under vacuum at 50 ยฐ c . for 2 - 3 days to decompose a diaryl impurity and to dry the solid . the off - white crystalline solid was isolated to yield boronic acid 5 . boronic acid 5 is then converted to the biaryl intermediate 7 in 2 steps , which are summarized in scheme 3 below and are described in detail in the subsequent procedures . step 1 : suzuki coupling reaction of boronic acid 5 and aryl chloride 13 to yield 6 : a 3 m k 2 co 3 solution is prepared by adding 4 . 71 kg of solid k 2 co 3 to 10 . 3 l water . cooling is applied to keep the solution at 20 - 25 ยฐ c . thf ( 12 l ), aryl chloride 13 ( 2 . 69 kg ), and boronic acid 5 ( 2 . 74 kg ) are added to the k 2 co 3 followed by a 1 l thf rinse . hplc analysis is used to confirm the 1 . 00 / 1 . 00 ratio of 5 / 13 . the solution is degassed by sparging with nitrogen gas for 70 min . the catalyst , 1 , 1 bis ( di - tert - butylphosphino ) ferrocene palladium dichloride ( 42 g ) is added as a solid and is followed by a degassed thf rinse ( 1 . 5 l ). the organic layer turns dark brown immediately . the biphasic mixture is aged at 36 - 40 ยฐ c . with vigorous stirring . after hplc reveals complete conversion ( 15 - 18 h ), the mixture is cooled to rt and the aqueous layer is removed . to the organic layer is added heptane ( 25 . 6 l ) and water ( 25 . 6 l ) and the layers are cut . the organic layer is washed with water ( 19 l ). the organic layer is treated with 680 g darco kb - b at rt for 60 min and filtered through solka - floc with a 10 % thf / heptane rinse (ห 15 l ). the solvent is switched to heptane (ห 35 l ) at ห 45 - 50 ยฐ c . until & lt ; 0 . 5 v % of thf is left . more heptane is added to bring the total volume to ห 45 - 50 l . the solution is seeded with crystals obtained from earlier runs if no seed bed forms . the slurry is slowly cooled to rt and then to โ 15 ยฐ c . after aging at โ 15 ยฐ c . for 1 - 2 h , after lc of the supernatant shows that there will be ห 2 g / l loss of the product in the supernatant , the slurry is filtered and the product is washed with cold heptane (ห 25 l ), providing compound 6 . to a solution of biaryl compound 6 ( 3 . 4 kg ) in dmf ( 17 l ) which was maintained at 10 ยฐ c . was added thionyl chloride ( 940 ml ), and then the mixture was warmed to room temperature . the mixture was aged until & gt ; 99 . 8 % conversion was measured by hplc . water ( 3 . 4 l ) was then added . seed crystals obtained from earlier batches ( 1 wt %) were added , and the mixture was aged for 30 min more before slowly adding 5 . 1 l of additional water over ห 1 hr . the solid was filtered and washed with first 20 l 1 : 1 dmf : water and then 3 ร 20 l water . the solid product 7 was dried at 20 ยฐ c . until & lt ; 0 . 1 wt % water remained . the oxazolidinone intermediate 11 is made directly from the chiral starting material cbz - l - alanine ( 8 ) by the 3 - step route shown below . the enantiomer of this compound ( 4r , 5s )- 5 -[ 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]- 4 - methyl - 1 , 3 - oxazolidin - 2 - one can be made by an analogous route starting from cbz - d - alanine . cbz - l - alanine ( 6 . 5 kg , 28 . 5 mol ), hobt - hydrate ( 4 . 8 kg , 34 . 8 mol ), weinreb amine - hcl salt ( 3 . 4 kg , 36 . 2 mol ) and thf ( 32 l ) are charged to a clean flask under nitrogen . the mixture is cooled to 0 - 10 ยฐ c . and then dipea ( 12 . 4 l ) is slowly added at a temperature less than 25 ยฐ c . edc - hcl ( 7 kg , 36 . 2 mol ) is then added slowly with cooling at 15 ยฐ- 25 ยฐ c . the slurry is aged overnight at 20 ยฐ- 25 ยฐ c . the mixture is then cooled to 0 ยฐ- 10 ยฐ c ., and 3 n hcl ( 12 l ) is added slowly . then ipac ( 32 l ) is added and the layers are separated . the organic layer is washed once with hcl ( 13 l ) and twice with 8 % nahco3 ( 13 l ) ( caution : foaming ). the organic layer is then concentrated under vacuum to about 15 l at 50 ยฐ c . the clear solution is cooled slowly to room temperature , allowing the product to crystallize . heptane (ห 70 l ) is then added slowly . the slurry is filtered , washed with heptane ( 18 l ), and dried at room temperature on the filter pot . product is obtained with & gt ; 99 . 9 % ee measured by chiral hplc . the weinreb amide 9 from the previous step ( 6 kg , 22 . 5 mol ) and 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) bromobenzene ( 4 . 85 l , 28 . 1 mol ) are dissolved in anhydrous thf ( 24 l ). the solution is purged with nitrogen to remove oxygen . the water content should be & lt ; 500 ppm at this point . atmospheric distillation can be carried out to azeotropically remove water if necessary . the solution is cooled to โ 10 ยฐ c . and iso - prmgcl in thf ( 56 . 4 mol ) is slowly added ( 2 hours ) to the reaction via addition funnel , maintaining a reaction temperature โฆโ 5 ยฐ c . the solution is allowed to warm to 20 ยฐ c . and aged overnight at 20 ยฐ c ., until the amide is & lt ; 0 . 5 lcap . the reaction is then cooled to โ 10 ยฐ c . under nitrogen and is quenched slowly over 2 hours into 5n hcl ( 14 l ) that is maintained at 0 - 5 ยฐ c . mtbe ( 12 l ) is added and the biphasic mixture is agitated for 5 min . after warming to 20 ยฐ- 25 ยฐ c ., it is allowed to settle for 30 min , and then the layers are separated . the organic layer is washed with water twice ( 12 l ). the organic layer is vacuum transferred through a 1 - micron in - line ptfe filter into a distillation flask and is then concentrated to ห 12 l under vacuum ( internal temperature & lt ; 40 ยฐ c .) to a minimum agitated volume . the solution is then azeotropically dried with toluene and taken to a minimum agitated volume again . the solution containing ketone 10 is used directly in the next step . the ketone 10 ( 6 kg ) is heated at 50 ยฐ c . with 0 . 3 eq of al ( o - i - pr ) 3 ( 790 g ) in 12 l ipa and 18 l of toluene for 15 . 5 hours . the solution is cooled to ambient temperature , and solid koh pellets ( 1 . 35 kg ) are added slowly with vigorous stirring , while keeping the temperature at & lt ; 25 ยฐ c . after about 2 hours , when hplc shows & gt ; 99 . 5 % cyclization , 33 l of 1n hcl solution is added to quench the reaction , which is kept at & lt ; 25 ยฐ c . if a rag layer of solids forms , it should be filtered off . the rag layer is racemic oxazolidinone , and removal increases the enantiomeric excess . the organic layer is then washed first with 36 l of 0 . 5n hcl , then with 6 l ipa combined with 45 l water , and finally with 6 l ipa combined with 36 l water . the organic layer is transferred via an inline filter . the solvent is switched to heptane ( target volume is ห 42 l ) at ห 40 ยฐ c . until & lt ; 2 v % toluene is left . aging at rt for 2 h gives the solid product 11 . oxazolidinone 11 is alkylated with 7 to yield the desired product , ( 4s , 5r )- 5 -[ 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]- 3 -{[ 4 โฒ- fluoro - 5 โฒ- isopropyl - 2 โฒ- methoxy - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) biphenyl - 2 - yl ] methyl }- 4 - methyl - 1 , 3 - oxazolidin - 2 - one ( 12 ): the chiral intermediate ( 4s , 5r )- 5 -[ 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]- 4 - methyl - 1 , 3 - oxazolidin - 2 - one ( 11 ) which was made above is dissolved in dmf ( 2 . 8 kg in 32 . 7 l ) and cooled to โ 15 ยฐ c . 2 . 0 m nahmds ( 3 . 92 l , 1 . 05 eq ) was then added over 1 . 5 hr , followed by addition of the biaryl chloride 7 ( 2 . 8 kg ) in dmf . the mixture was warmed to + 12 ยฐ c . and was aged until complete conversion took place . then 5n hcl ( 3 . 4 l ) was added , followed by 16 l of 10 % ipac / heptane and 34 l of water , keeping the temperature between 10 ยฐ c . and 20 ยฐ c . throughout . the layers were cut and the organic layer was washed twice with 14 l of 1 : 1 dmf : water followed by two 14 l water washes . the organic layer was assayed for yield and was then filtered through 2 . 4 kg of silica gel to remove the excess oxazolidinone to & lt ; 0 . 5 %. the silica was washed with 5 % ipac / heptane . the combined organic solutions were distilled to remove ipac to & lt ; 1 %. the warm heptane solution was then transferred slowly into a 20 ยฐ c . heptane solution containing 10 wt % seed . the seed crystals were obtained initially from earlier batches of the same reaction . the slurry was then cooled to โ 20 ยฐ c . and filtered . the filter cake was washed with cold heptane and was then dried , yielding 4 . 4 kg ( 88 %) of the desired product 12 . the filter cake that is isolated above by filtration from heptane is initially a crystalline heptane solvate . during filtration and drying , the heptane evaporates , yielding an anhydrous non - solvated crystalline product . heptane de - solvates at room temperature under a flow of nitrogen or air , or under vacuum . the crystalline product melts at about 69 ยฐ c . ( fig2 ). the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 is non - hygroscopic and does not convert to a hydrate in humid or dry air . the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 does not convert to other crystalline forms on standing at room temperature , but slowly converts to the amorphous form on standing for long periods of time , and converts more rapidly to the amorphous form at elevated temperatures . the amorphous form of compound 12 can also be obtained from the crystalline form by milling , and from a solution in an organic solvent by spray drying or by precipitation , using water as an antisolvent . the crystalline product 12 obtained by the process above may be used to make pharmaceutical formulations . because compound 12 is very poorly soluble in water , it is generally beneficial to formulate compound 12 in a form that will improve its bioavailability . the crystalline product 12 can be used to make pharmaceutical formulations in which the active ingredient is changed to another form , as for example a solution , as an amorphous dispersion in a polymer , or as part of a preconcentrate that yields a microemulsion after the preconcentrate is swallowed or mixed with water . the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 is a useful intermediate for making these formulations because it is readily purified and handled , is non - hygroscopic , and is stable at room temperature for moderate periods of time with respect to changing to the amorphous form . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 in a detectable amount . the amount of crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 in the solid can be quantified by the use of physical methods , such as x - ray powder diffraction ( xrpd ), solid - state fluorine - 19 cross - polarization magic - angle spinning ( cpmas ) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , solid - state carbon - 13 cross - polarization magic - angle spinning ( cpmas ) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , solid state fourier - transform infrared spectroscopy , and raman spectroscopy . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise about 5 % to about 100 % by weight of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 ( as a % of the amount of compound 12 in the formulation ). pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise about 10 % to about 100 % by weight of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise about 25 % to about 100 % by weight of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise about 50 % to about 100 % by weight of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise about 75 % to about 100 % by weight of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise about 100 % by weight of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 , so that the solid compound 12 in the formulation is substantially phase pure crystalline non - solvate form . pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 may comprise compound 12 in the crystalline non - solvate form in a detectable amount , even when the formulation is made to be non - crystalline , as for example a formulation of amorphous compound 12 , a formulation comprising an amorphous dispersion of compound 12 in a water soluble polymer ( e . g . polyvinylpyrrolidinone , a polyvinylpyrrolidinone copolymer , or a water soluble cellulosic polymer , such as hpmcas ), or a formulation comprising compound 12 in solution , such as a microemulsion preconcentrate . the crystalline compound 12 may be present in small amounts in these formulations for many reasons , such as because the crystalline compound is not completely changed to a non - crystalline form , or is not completely dissolved , or because compound 12 gradually converts to the crystalline non - solvate form on standing for an extended period of time . in such pharmaceutical formulations that comprise compound 12 , the pharmaceutical formulation may comprise compound 12 in the crystalline non - solvate form in a measurable amount , which may represent at least 0 . 1 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation ; or may represent at least 0 . 5 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation ; or may represent at least 1 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation ; or may represent at least 5 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation ; or may represent at least 10 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation ; or may represent at least 25 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation ; or may represent at least 50 % of the total amount of compound 12 in the formulation . x - ray powder diffraction studies are widely used to characterize molecular structures , crystallinity , and polymorphism . the x - ray powder diffraction patterns are generated on a philips analytical x &# 39 ; pert pro x - ray diffraction system with pw3040 / 60 console . a pw3373 / 00 ceramic cu lef x - ray tube k - alpha radiation is used as the source . in addition to x - ray powder diffraction patterns as described above , crystalline forms of compounds may further be characterized by their solid - state carbon - 13 and fluorine - 19 nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ) spectra . solid - state carbon - 13 nmr spectra are obtained on a bruker dsx 400wb nmr system using a bruker 4 mm double resonance cpmas probe . the carbon - 13 nmr spectra utilize proton / carbon - 13 cross - polarization magic - angle spinning with variable - amplitude cross polarization . the samples are spun at 15 . 0 khz , and a total of 1024 scans are collected with a recycle delay of 5 seconds . a line broadening of 40 hz is applied to the spectrum before ft is performed . chemical shifts are reported on the tms scale using the carbonyl carbon of glycine ( 176 . 03 p . p . m .) as a secondary reference . the solid - state carbon - 13 nmr spectra are also obtained on a bruker dsx 500wb nmr system using a bruker 4 mm h / x / y cpmas probe . the carbon - 13 nmr spectra utilize proton / carbon - 13 cross - polarization magic - angle spinning with variable - amplitude cross polarization , total sideband suppression , and spinal decoupling at 100 khz . the samples are spun at 10 . 0 khz , and a total of 1024 scans are collected with a recycle delay of 5 seconds . a line broadening of 10 hz is applied to the spectrum before ft is performed . chemical shifts are reported on the tms scale using the carbonyl carbon of glycine ( 176 . 03 p . p . m .) as a secondary reference . the solid - state fluorine - 19 nmr spectra are obtained on a bruker dsx 400wb nmr system using a bruker 4 mm cramps probe . the nmr spectra utilize a simple pulse - acquire pulse program . the samples are spun at 15 . 0 khz , and a total of 128 scans are collected with a recycle delay of 5 seconds . a vespel endcap is utilized to minimize fluorine background . a line broadening of 100 hz is applied to the spectrum before ft is performed . chemical shifts are reported using poly ( tetrafluoroethylene ) ( teflon ยฎ) as an external secondary reference which is assigned a chemical shift of โ 122 ppm . the solid - state fluorine - 19 nmr spectra are also obtained on a bruker dsx 500wb nmr system using a bruker 4 mm h / f / x cpmas probe . the fluorine - 19 nmr spectra utilize proton / fluorine - 19 cross - polarization magic - angle spinning with variable - amplitude cross polarization , and tppm decoupling at 62 . 5 khz . the samples are spun at 15 . 0 khz , and a total of 256 scans are collected with a recycle delay of 5 seconds . a line broadening of 10 hz is applied to the spectrum before ft is performed . chemical shifts are reported using poly ( tetrafluoroethylene ) ( teflon ยฎ) as an external secondary reference , which is assigned a chemical shift of โ 122 ppm . dsc data are also acquired using ta instruments dsc 2910 or equivalent instrumentation . a sample with a weight between 2 and 6 mg is weighed into an open pan . this pan is then crimped and placed in the sample position in the calorimeter cell . an empty pan is placed in the reference position . the calorimeter cell is closed and a flow of nitrogen is passed through the cell . the heating program is set to heat the sample at a heating rate of 10 ยฐ c ./ min to a temperature of approximately 100 ยฐ c . when the run is completed , the data are analyzed using the dsc analysis program in the system software . the melting endotherm is integrated between baseline temperature points that are above and below the temperature range over which the endotherm is observed . the data reported are the onset temperature , peak temperature and enthalpy . because amorphous forms of compound 12 may be present in some samples , when an additional endotherm is observed in the dsc curves that can be due to enthalpic relaxation of the amorphous phase present , modulated dsc ( mdsc ) is used to confirm that the extra endotherm is not due to melting of an impurity . mdsc uses a sinusoidal or modulated change in the heating rate instead of a single linear heating rate , as used in the traditional dsc . this allows the heat flow to be separated into reversible and nonreversible components . the glass transition of amorphous material is detected in the reversible heat flow curve as a change in the baseline , due to a change of the heat capacity of the sample . dsc data are acquired using a ta instruments dsc q1000 . between 2 and 6 mg of sample is weighed into an open pan . this pan is then crimped and placed in the sample position in the calorimeter cell . an empty pan is placed in the reference position . the calorimeter cell is closed and a flow of nitrogen is passed through the cell . the heating program is set to heat the sample at a heating rate of 3 ยฐ c ./ min with a modulation period of 60 seconds and modulation amplitude of ยฑ 1 ยฐ c . the final temperature is chosen to be 100 ยฐ c . when a run has been completed , the data are analyzed using the dsc analysis program in the system software . the melting endotherm in the total heat flow curve is integrated between baseline temperature points that are above and below the temperature range over which the endotherm is observed . the data reported are the onset temperature , peak temperature and enthalpy . when a change of the baseline of the reversible heat flow curve is observed due to a glass transition , the data reported are the onset temperature , midpoint temperature , endset temperature and heat capacity change . fig1 shows a typical x - ray powder diffraction pattern of the crystalline non - solvate form . the crystalline non - solvate form exhibits characteristic diffraction peaks corresponding to d - spacings of 4 . 66 , 4 . 59 , and 4 . 36 angstroms . the crystalline non - solvate form is further characterized by the d - spacings of 11 . 89 , 4 . 02 , and 3 . 76 angstroms . the crystalline non - solvate form is even further characterized by the d - spacings of 12 . 95 , 7 . 41 , and 6 . 51 angstroms . fig2 is a typical dsc curve of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . the endotherm with an extrapolated onset temperature of 69 . 62 ยฐ c . in fig2 is due to melting ( or a crystalline - amorphous phase transition ). fig3 shows a typical solid - state carbon - 13 cpmas nmr spectrum of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . the crystalline non - solvate form exhibits characteristic signals with chemical shift values of 123 . 4 , 55 . 8 , and 23 . 1 p . p . m . further characteristic of the crystalline non - solvate form are the signals with chemical shift values of 124 . 5 , 155 . 3 , and 137 . 7 p . p . m . the crystalline non - solvate form is even further characterized by signals with chemical shift values of 24 . 8 , 13 . 1 , and 132 . 3 p . p . m . fig4 shows a typical solid - state fluorine - 19 cpmas nmr spectrum of the crystalline non - solvate form of compound 12 . the crystalline non - solvate form exhibits characteristic signals with chemical shift values of โ 62 . 1 , โ 63 . 9 , and โ 66 . 0 p . p . m . the crystalline non - solvate form is further characterized by signals with chemical shift values of โ 115 . 2 , โ 116 . 9 , and โ 118 . 3 p . p . m . fig5 shows a typical x - ray powder diffraction pattern of the crystalline heptane solvate form . the heptane solvate form exhibits characteristic diffraction peaks corresponding to d - spacings of 4 . 79 , 4 . 62 , and 4 . 43 angstroms . the crystalline heptane solvate form is further characterized by d - spacings of 4 . 20 , 4 . 05 and 3 . 84 angstroms . the crystalline heptane solvate form is even further characterized by d - spacings of 13 . 12 , 11 . 99 , and 5 . 52 angstroms . fig6 shows a typical solid - state carbon - 13 cpmas nmr spectrum of the crystalline heptane solvate form of compound 12 . the crystalline heptane solvate form exhibits characteristic signals with chemical shift values of 123 . 6 , 55 . 9 , and 77 . 1 p . p . m . further characteristic of the crystalline heptane solvate form are the signals with chemical shift values of 24 . 6 , 13 . 6 , and 126 . 8 p . p . m . the crystalline heptane solvate form is even further characterized by signals with chemical shift values of 52 . 3 , 130 . 5 , and 23 . 2 p . p . m . fig7 shows a typical solid - state fluorine - 19 cpmas nmr spectrum of the crystalline heptane solvate form of compound 12 . the crystalline heptane solvate form exhibits characteristic signals with chemical shift value of โ 61 . 8 , โ 62 . 9 , and โ 65 . 2 p . p . m . the crystalline heptane solvate form is further characterized by signals with chemical shift values of โ 114 . 8 , โ 117 . 9 , and โ 116 . 7 p . p . m . fig8 shows a typical solid - state carbon - 13 cpmas nmr spectrum of the amorphous form of compound 12 . the amorphous form exhibits characteristic signals with chemical shift values of 54 . 3 , 123 . 5 , and 155 . 1 p . p . m . further characteristic of the amorphous form are the signals with chemical shift values of 22 . 3 , 76 . 6 , and 138 . 1 p . p . m . the amorphous form is even further characterized by signals with chemical shift values of 159 . 8 , 12 . 3 , and 98 . 9 p . p . m . fig9 shows a typical solid - state fluorine - 19 cpmas nmr spectrum of the amorphous form of compound 12 . the amorphous form exhibits a characteristic signal with chemical shift value of โ 63 . 3 p . p . m . fig1 is a typical mdsc curve of the amorphous form of compound 12 . the heat capacity change observed in the reversible heat flow curve with a midpoint temperature of 47 . 96 ยฐ c . corresponds to the glass transition of amorphous compound 12 . the compounds and crystalline polymorphs made by the process disclosed herein are inhibitors of cetp and have utility in increasing the amount of hdl - cholesterol and reducing the amount of ldl - cholesterol in a patient , preferably a human patient . increases of hdl and reductions of ldl are known to a practitioner in the field of medicine to be advantageous in reducing atherosclerosis and associated diseases . the compounds synthesized by the process herein have very low solubility in aqueous environments , and are likely to be made into formulations that improve oral bioavailability compared with formulations that are conventionally made using solid active ingredients and excipients to make tablets . crystalline products that are obtained in these preparations are readily purified , and may be formulated by dissolving them in oils and / or surfactants or dispersing them as non - crystalline dispersions in water soluble polymers , such as poly ( vinylpyrrolidinone ). an exemplary formulation of the crystalline non - solvate of compound 12 comprises a dose of 5 mg , 10 mg , 50 mg , 100 mg , or 150 mg dissolved in sufficient oil or a mixture of an oil and a surfactant to make 565 mg of solution for use in a gelatin capsule . such doses would be administered once or twice a day . such formulations are well known to those of skill in the art of pharmaceutical formulations . | 2 |
according to the invention , a system and method are provided to decrease the stresses on a coke drum during operation , which stops the bulging effect . the present invention features a system for controlling coke drum bulging using air injection . 1 . referring generally to fig1 the system comprises a coke drum ( 2 ) which features a cylindrical main body ( 4 ) having an outer cylindrical surface , a cone shaped bottom ( 6 ) and a skirt ( 12 ), that can be attached to the junction of cone shaped bottom ( 6 ) and cylindrical main body ( 4 ), as well as an air injector ( 20 ). cylindrical main body ( 4 ) is surrounded by a layer of thermal insulation ( 8 ), having a top ( 24 ) and bottom ( 22 ), creating an annular space ( 10 ) between the cylindrical main body ( 4 ) and the layer of thermal insulation ( 8 ). a toroid tube ( 14 ), can be communicated with the bottom ( 22 ) of annular space . air injector ( 20 ) is communicated with toroid tube ( 14 ), and toroid tube ( 14 ) can be used as an air inlet device into annular space ( 10 ) for uniform distribution of air . air is injected into annular space ( 10 ) by air injector ( 20 ) at a specified temperature , and this slowly changes the temperature of cylindrical main body ( 4 ), thereby allowing the temperature of cylindrical main body ( 4 ) to change less rapidly during operational cycles , which prevents high stresses and bulging of cylindrical main body ( 4 ). an air outlet ( 26 ) from annular space ( 10 ) can be defined near the top ( 24 ) of layer of thermal insulation ( 8 ). air exiting outlet ( 26 ) can be recycled back into the system encompassing the invention or can be fed to other processes of a larger system . alternatively air exiting outlet ( 26 ) can be vented back as exhaust . during the drum pre - heating and heating stages hot air can come from various processes throughout a larger system , such as a twin drum that could be operating on a schedule opposite coke drum ( 2 ) , while during drum cooling stages , before and during quenching stages , ambient air can be used as the colder air . according to one embodiment of the invention the temperature of the contents of the coke drum ( 2 ) can be monitored at the coke drum inlet ( 30 ) by a temperature monitor ( 28 ), for example during quenching and heating . the air being injected into annular space ( 10 ) can be injected at a temperature such that cylindrical main body ( 4 ) is heated closer to the expected temperature of the incoming contents . this prevents cylindrical main body ( 4 ) from experiencing rapid changes in temperature and high temperature gradients during coke drum operational cycles which can promote the bulging . particularly useful in retrofitting situations where a drum has specific areas that are most prone to bulging , in another embodiment of the invention , insulating material ( 8 ) does not surround the entire cylindrical main body ( 4 ) but is only placed in specific targeted areas creating a flow space between the insulating material ( 8 ) and the outside surface of cylindrical main body ( 4 ). the areas are selected based on where temperature changes are fastest , in order to protect those areas . the system of the invention can be used in new coke drums or can be retrofitted to existing coke drums . parts of the system can be applied to existing coke drum systems on an as needed basis . the system of the invention can be used to adjust the temperature of the drum to be closer to the temperature of a material about to be added to the drum , and can be used to keep temperature changes at that wall of the drum more controlled and uniform . this helps avoid bulging of the drum as desired . the present invention provides a novel and non - obvious method for one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the exact placement of the insulation material , the materials used and the shape of the coke drum . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 2 |
the novel mixed alkali metal hexafluorosilicate phosphors disclosed herein are obtained as co - precipitates at room temperature from aqueous hf solution containing the mn - dopant . for the preparation of mn 4 + - doped krbsif 6 stoichiometric amounts of the starting materials rbf , khf 2 , and kmno 4 are dissolved in aqueous hf . subsequently , a stoichiometric amount of sio 2 is added to the aqueous hf solution . the concentration of mn 7 + in the aqueous hf solution was 8 mole %. the precipitates were filtered , washed repeatedly with 2 - propanole , and then dried at r . t . in vacuum . additionally , it is possible that a variety of other starting materials may be used to produce the inventive hexafluorosilicate phosphor via co - precipitation from aqueous solution ( e . g . rubidium / potassium nitrate , rubidium / potassium chloride ). the precipitated sample was indexed as hexagonal lattice from their x - ray powder pattern ( using cu โ kฮฑ radiation ). after heating at 300 ยฐ c ., the sample transforms to a cubic lattice as found in the xrd data base , see fig1 . the photoluminescence spectra ( emission spectra ) of such mn - doped alkali hexafluorosilicates reveal an emission in the red region from about 600 to 660 nm . the main emission peak is located at approx . 631 nm . the lumen equivalent of the shown spectrum is at least 200 lm / w . the excitation peak is at about 460 nm ( fig2 ). the reflection in the green and yellow spectral range is at least r & gt ; 0 . 92 which results in a very low absorption of green - and yellow - emitted phosphors used for warm white applications . moreover , the self - absorption of the invented phosphor is advantageously low due to a surprisingly high reflection of at least 0 . 93 and higher in the spectral range from 600 - 660 nm . due to its specific photo luminescence spectra , the invented material can be very well detected by a using a simple handy spectrometer . the excitation can be performed with a commercially available blue light source ( especially in the range at about 450 nm ). the emission spectrum consists of a set of specific lines between 600 and 660 nm . compared to already patented hexafluorosilicates like mn - doped k 2 sif 6 , the invented phosphor show a distinguishable narrow emission lines at about 622 nm . moreover , after heating at 300 ยฐ c ., the specific emission line at 622 nm drops which is also a characteristic feature of the invented materials ( fig2 a ). the drop can be attributed to a phase transition from a hexagonal to a cubic lattice which can be also visualized by crystallographic techniques like x - ray diffractometry . r / e refers to reflectance or excitation signal , normalized to 1 . fig3 shows emission spectra of mn - doped krbsif 6 ( upper ) and mn - doped k 2 sif 6 ( lower ). i refers to the photoluminescence intensity , also normalized to 1 . fig4 shows the emission spectra of mn - doped krbsif 6 before ( lower ) and after heated at 300 ยฐ c . ( upper ). it appears that the 622 nm line disappears . hence , a relative sharp emissing in the wavelength range of 616 - 626 nm , especially 620 - 624 nm may be a distinguishing feature of the claimed hexagonal alkaline hexafluorosilicates . fig5 shows in ( a ) an xrd diagram of mn - doped krbsif 6 heated at 300 ยฐ c . and ( b ) non - heated ( see also fig4 for the emission spectra ), and ( c ) xrd pattern from xrd data base ( 00 - 048 - 0725 ) of cubic krbsif 6 ; ( measured at rt ); fig6 a schematically depicts an embodiment of the lighting unit , indicated with reference 100 , of the invention . the lighting unit comprises a light source 10 , which is in this schematic drawing a led ( light emitting diode ). in this embodiment , on top of the light source 10 , here on the ( light exit ) surface 15 , thus downstream of the light source 10 , a luminescent material 20 is provided . this luminescent material 20 comprises phosphor as described herein , indicated with reference 40 . by way of example , the lighting unit 100 further comprises , for instance for light extraction properties , a ( transmissive ) dome 61 . this is an embodiment of a transmissive optical element 60 , which is in this embodiment arranged downstream of the light source 10 and also downstream of the light conversion layer 20 . the light source 10 provides light source light 11 ( not indicated in the drawing ), which is at least partly converted by the light conversion layer 20 into luminescent material light 51 . the light emanating from the lighting unit is indicated with reference 101 , and contains at least this luminescent material light 51 , but optionally , dependent upon the absorption of luminescent material 50 also light source light 11 . fig6 b schematically depicts another embodiment , without dome , but with an optional coating 62 . this coating 62 is a further example of a transmissive optical element 60 . note that the coating 62 may in an embodiment be one or more of a polymeric layer , a silicone layer , or an epoxy layer . alternatively or additionally a coating of silicon dioxide and / or silicon nitride may be applied . in both schematically depicted embodiment of fig6 a - 6 b , the luminescent material 20 is in physical contact with the light source 10 , or at least its light exit surface ( i . e . surface 15 ), such as the die of a led . in fig6 c , however , the luminescent material 20 is arranged remote from the light source 10 . in this embodiment , the luminescent material 20 is configured upstream of a transmissive ( i . e . light transmissive ) support 30 , such as an exit window . the surface of the support 30 , to which the light conversion layer 20 is applied , is indicated with reference 65 . note that the luminescent material 20 may also be arranged downstream of the support 30 , or at both sides of the support luminescent material 20 may be applied . the distance between the luminescent material 20 and the light source ( especially its light exit surface 15 ) is indicated with reference dl , and may be in the range of 0 . 1 mm - 10 cm . note that in the configuration of fig1 c , in principle also more than one light source 10 may be applied . the novel mixed alkali metal hexafluorosilicate phosphors disclosed herein are obtained as co - precipitates at room temperature from aqueous hf solution containing the mn - dopant . for the preparation of mn 4 + - doped krbsif 6 stoichiometric amounts of the starting materials rbf , khf 2 , and kmno 4 are dissolved in aqueous hf . subsequently , a stoichiometric amount of sio 2 is added to the aqueous hf solution . the concentration of mn 7 + in the aqueous hf solution was 8 mole %. the precipitates were filtered , washed repeatedly with 2 - propanole , and then dried at rt in vacuum . additionally , it is possible that a variety of other starting materials may be used to produce the inventive hexafluorosilicate phosphor via co - precipitation from aqueous solution ( e . g . rubidium / potassium nitrate , rubidium / potassium chloride ). the precipitated sample was indexed as hexagonal lattice from their x - ray powder pattern ( using cu โ kฮฑ radiation ). after heating at 300 ยฐ c ., the sample transforms to a cubic lattice as found in the xrd data base ( see also fig3 - 5 ). | 7 |
fig1 is a block diagram of a local area network in accordance with the present invention . in a preferred embodiment , a plurality of nodes 104 are coupled together in a delimited area referred to as a domain 100 . the nodes 104 are network - enabling circuitry of the present invention , and are coupled to one or a plurality of devices 112 . nodes 104 can be built into a device , for example a node 104 built into a thermostat , a light switch , an electrical outlet , a clock , or any other electrical appliance . alternatively , a node 104 may be a physically separate apparatus , and electrically and communicatively coupled to one or more devices . for example , a node may be coupled to a surge protector and which in turn has a plurality of outlets , and each outlet supports a device 112 . any electronic device may be coupled with a node 104 of the present invention , including televisions , washing machines , refrigerators , remote controls , lamps , telephones , outlets , power meters , and the like . computers themselves may also be coupled into this network using the nodes 104 of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig1 the nodes 104 are coupled together through an internal communications facility 108 . the internal communications facility may be a power line , coaxial cables , twisted pair wiring , fiber optic cables , telephone cable , wireless connection , or the like . the nodes 104 are preferably coupled to a gateway 116 that provides external communication capability for the domain 100 . a gateway 116 is coupled to a external communication facility 118 , such as a telephone line , using a dial - up , t 1 , cable modem , or dsl connection , or a coaxial cable , fiber optic channel , wireless transmitter , or the like . the gateway 116 is a specifically designed node 104 for providing wide area network communication capability . the communication facility 118 couples the gateway 116 to a remote server 120 . the server 120 , as discussed below , only connects to the domain 100 on an occasional basis , and is therefore not required to be locally maintained and always executing as is required by conventional systems . the server 120 may be any conventional computer , such as a personal computer , or a server class computer . the server 120 , in one embodiment , initially configures nodes 104 of the domain 100 , and then communicates with the domain 100 on an on - demand basis . the server 120 is connected to a wide area network 124 , such as the internet . this connection allows a user to access the server 120 from a remote personal computing device 128 , such as a computer , a pda , a cell phone , or the like . the user can use the remote personal computing device 128 in accordance with the present invention to configure , monitor , and issue commands to the user &# 39 ; s domain 100 . the user can use a local personal computing device 134 to perform similar functionality , provided that device can duplicate the functions of the remote server 120 . each node 104 executes an operating system that enables the node 104 to communicate with other nodes 104 in a peer - to - peer configuration . this configuration allows the nodes 104 to employ low - cost hardware to execute their functionality , as processing tasks and resources may be distributed across the domain 100 . the domain 100 itself may be considered to be a single processing device , using various node resources . one important aspect of the peer - to - peer configuration is addressing . each node 104 is able to address any other node 104 directly without requiring intervention by a master controller or local server , as is required by conventional master - slave or client - server configurations being used by conventional smart appliance networking systems . in one embodiment , an absolute addressing scheme enables a node 104 to directly address other nodes 104 , either individually or in a multicast configuration . in this embodiment , each node 104 is provided with a globally unique identifier (โ guid โ) which is a long integer , and also preferably provided with a more compact domain unique alias identifier (โ dua โ) which acts as an alias for the node &# 39 ; s guid within its particular domain 100 . each node 104 is also pre - defined with a list of devices 112 associated with the node 104 and attributes for the devices 112 . the node 104 is typically pre - defined by the manufacturer . for example , a light switch may be a node of the present invention . accordingly , the light switch manufacturer will pre - define the list of devices 112 ( in this example , one device , the switch itself ), and attributes for the device ( in this example , the list may include on , off , and degrees of dimming for a dimmer type switch ). the addressing methodology of the present invention enables each node 104 to issue messages to other nodes 104 . as will be described below , the messages sent to other nodes 104 instruct a device 112 or nodes 104 to perform certain functions . this allows sequences of events and services within a domain 100 to occur , and also enables the nodes 104 to distribute programming tasks and share resources . to transmit a message to a node 104 , a sending node 104 identifies the receiving node 104 by its guid or dua . to request that the receiving node 104 to perform an action , the sending node 104 may directly address a device 112 on a node 104 or may send an attribute alias , as discussed below . to directly address a device 112 on a node 104 , the sending node 104 includes in the message a device number and an attribute number . the device number specifies the device on a node 1004 to which a message is addressed , and the attribute number indicates the functionality the device 112 is to perform as is discussed in more detail below . the receiving node 104 interprets the message and executes it , and may , as a result , send further messages to other nodes 104 . in this manner , processing of any desired sequence can be fully distributed over the network of node . fig2 is a functional block diagram of a node 104 in accordance with the present invention . a node 104 preferably includes a microcontroller , such as the pic18c microcontroller manufactured by microchip technologies โข, coupled to firmware embedded in read - only memory (โ rom โ). in one embodiment of the present invention , nodes 104 communicate through conventional power line electrical wiring present in the home , office or other environments . one specific method for communicating over power lines is described in a co - pending u . s . patent application , ser . no . 09 / 435 , 898 , filed on nov . 8 , 1999 , entitled โ system for transmitting data over power lines โ, which is hereby incorporated by reference . however , any other means of communication such as radio frequency may also be used , as discussed above . a communications module 200 , typically a modem , enables the node 104 to send and receive messages over the communications facility 108 , 118 . thus , in a power line embodiment , the communications module 200 includes a powerline modem that strips transmitted data off of the modulated power line and translates the signal into a binary form . additionally , to send messages to other nodes 104 , the gateway 116 , or externally , the communications module 200 retrieves messages from its input queue 220 , and transforms them into the appropriate form to be transmitted over the communications facility 108 , 118 . after translating a received message , the communication module 200 transfers the message to an input queue 220 of an interpreter module 204 . modules as described herein may be implemented as tasks in software , or in firmware , or hardware in accordance with the present invention . the interpreter module 204 receives a translated message and determines what action must be taken . the translated message includes an event primitive . the event primitive is a string of information that defines functions performed by a node 104 or a device 112 . in one embodiment , the event primitive includes parameters such as an operator , an operand , and a thread context . the operator is typically a command to instruct a node 104 or a device 112 to take certain action . for example , an operator sets a value for an attribute of a node 104 ; another operator writes error information to an error log file in a node 104 . the operand parameter corresponds to the data that are read or written by the operator . the thread context includes values to indicate the results of actions commanded by the event primitives . for the purpose of this specification , the service or features performed by a device 112 are a plurality of functions that a device 112 or a node 104 provides to a user , such as โ on โ, โ off โ, โ volume up โ, and โ time of day โ, etc . these features or services are represented as โ attributes โ from the perspective of a device 112 or a node 104 . the attributes , as described below , refer to variables being addressed within a node or a device that controls the state of a feature or a service . the types of services or features that can be performed are dependent on the node 104 itself , and the nature of the devices 112 to which it is coupled . the sending node 104 may add a parameter or parameters to the event primitive . for example , if the command controls turning on or off a light , the parameter will specify whether the light is to be turned on or off . the interpreter module 204 receives the event primitive and parses out the device and attribute information . then , using the device and attribute information , the interpreter module 204 calls the appropriate device driver and passes the parameter information . application device drivers 208 are software routines typically stored in rom , flash or other memory that perform a specific functionality for a device . for example , a thermostat has a device driver that supports a set of features ( services ) associated with various attributes specific to the thermostat and not to a light switch . the device drivers 208 are typically created by a node / device manufacturer and placed into rom . this allows each device manufacturer to develop custom routines to control their devices , but still enables the routines to be universally accessible by a system of the present invention . in one embodiment , the interpreter module 204 retrieves data from its queue 220 one byte at a time , where the first byte is designated to specify the device / attribute information . if the device / attribute information does not involve executing a sequence ( discussed below ), the interpreter module 204 calls the appropriate device driver 208 to read the rest of the event primitive and perform the requested task . when the device driver 208 has completed execution , it returns control to the interpreter module 204 . an object store 236 is a non - volatile read - only memory ( nvram ) used for storing data files used by the node 104 . the data files , referred to as objects , preferably include programs , sequences , data , and events . in one embodiment of the present invention , nodes 104 may act together to perform a series of operational programs loaded onto the domain called sequences . an example of the sequence may be : in another embodiment , a sequence contains an instruction to execute another sequence . the sequences are maintained in the object store 236 , and are read out and converted into event primitives by the interpreter 204 . in a preferred embodiment , objects are predetermined , finite , and fixed at design , and may not be added or deleted from the object store 236 . the object store 236 contains an index to allow the interpreter 204 to access its contents easily . each object is preferably assigned an enumerated constant that identifies it uniquely . in one embodiment , objects can be transferred onto or off of a node 104 using a special event primitive command . this command moves data directly between the interpreter module 204 and the object store 236 . this greatly improves the efficiency of the data transfer by eliminating the need for creating programs to transfer the raw data . the event primitive command thus enables the data transfer to occur independent of the node &# 39 ; s main operations . the objects in the object store 236 are also associated with various tasks on the nos . logs , configuration data , statistics , events , etc . are all kept within these objects . in one embodiment , the system supports the ability to write from scratch , overwrite , or append to an object . in alternative embodiments , it may also support more complicated operations such as insert or replace . for example , the logs object contains two kinds of records : error logs and event logs . the error logs collect information for errors or faults occurring on nodes or devices . the error logs are retrieved later for diagnosing the system . the event logs collect information of any changes occurring to the attributes of the devices or nodes . in one embodiment , a flag is added for an attribute that needs to be logged . when an incident causes changes to the attribute with a flag , the incidence is written to the event log . in the embodiment of fig2 there are two other sources of input to the interpreter module 204 . first , a timed event generator 212 generates event primitives for time - triggered events . the timed event generator 212 accepts an event descriptor entry in an input queue 220 . the event descriptor entry ( ede ) is a command that is executed at some specific time and for a certain number of times . an ede is created by a controller software running on the server 120 to configure the domain 100 and the nodes 104 . any nodes on the domain 100 may send edes to another node or even itself . the function of the ede is similar to a โ to do list โ in a conventional date book . in one embodiment , the ede specifies an event primitive and a time parameter for which the timed event generator 212 should trigger the event . thus , the event descriptor entry may specify a โ turn on light โ event that is to occur at 7 : 30 a . m . each morning , monday - friday . the timed event generator 212 is coupled to a real - time clock 228 . thus , when the appropriate time occurs , the timed event generator 212 transmits the event primitive to the interpreter module 204 to have the event performed . second , a boundary event generator 216 is used to provide an additional source of event primitives . the boundary event generator 216 also accepts event descriptors into its input queue 220 . the event descriptor entry for the boundary event generator 216 specifies an event primitive to be performed by a device 112 and a threshold of some type that must be reached or crossed prior to the event primitive being transmitted to the interpreter module 204 . for example , if the node 104 is coupled to a thermostat , the threshold may be a selected temperature , and the event primitive may be to turn off heat - generating appliances when the current temperature exceeds the selected temperature . in order to know when an attribute , e . g ., temperature , exceeds a threshold value , one embodiment of the boundary event generator 216 keeps a list of the various attribute values associated with the ede . a flag is associated with an attribute that the boundary event generator 216 monitors . whenever an attribute with the flag is updated , the device driver recognizes the change and triggers the boundary event generator 216 to check if there is a flag associating with any attribute . if an attribute has a flag , the boundary event generator 216 further checks the list to see if a threshold has been exceeded . when the threshold is exceeded , the boundary event generator 216 transmits the ede to interpreter module 204 to execute . as understood above , such edes are not limited to sequences to take action in the local node 104 . the node 104 may generate event primitives intended for other nodes . fig3 illustrates a global direct addressing table 300 in accordance with the present invention that allows sending nodes 104 to transmit event primitives without requiring the sending nodes 104 to be aware of the specific configuration of the receiving node 104 . additionally , the global table 300 allows messages to be transmitted in a multicast manner . the global addressing table 300 is a list of different event primitives and provides an alias for each primitive . the alias numbering system is preferably an ordered list of the possible event primitives that could be executed by different devices . thus , in this example alias 1000 in fig3 is the event primitive for incrementing the brightness of a light . alias 1001 is the event primitive for decrementing the brightness of a light . event 1004 is the event primitive for decrementing the volume of a television , and so forth . each entry in the table specifies all of the information that a device may need to implement a specific functionality . in the example of fig3 , each entry has a service , that specifies the overall functionality to be performed , a method , which is a subset of the overall service , a unit of measure , e . g ., celsius , centimeters , etc ., a data type , long , short , binary , whether the primitive is a read or write , and range , which indicates the possible values for that field . a range for a light switch is 0 or 1 ( off or on ), whereas range for change channel of a television may be 0 - 999 , depending on how many channels are present in the television . fig4 illustrates an attribute alias table 400 in accordance with the present invention . in a preferred embodiment , the attribute alias table 400 is stored in a permanent memory on the node 104 . in one embodiment , the manufacturer of a device 112 to be network - enabled determines the various attributes the device 112 will provide , and , based on the global attribute table 300 , assign an alias to each attribute . thus , if a device manufacturer is enabling a television for use with the present invention , the manufacturer creates an attribute alias table that has an alias for a channel change event , such as alias 1003 โ change channel โ. the node 104 maps each alias with the corresponding device number and attribute number using the table 400 . although a table 400 is described herein , any data structure could be used in accordance with the present invention . the device number is an arbitrary number provided by the node 104 that specifies to which of a plurality of devices coupled to the node 104 an alias refers . if there is only one device coupled to a node 104 , the device number will be the same in all entries ( e . g ., โ 1 โ). the attribute field specifies to which of a plurality of attributes a device has the alias refers . the attribute field value is used to call the appropriate device driver 208 . for example , in the attribute alias table , alias 1003 effects attribute 5 , and the value โ 5 โ is used as an index to select the appropriate device driver which can perform a โ channel change โ function , using the desired parameters that would be passed in the event primitive . thus , in accordance with the present invention , a sending node 104 can cause an event to be executed by a receiving node 104 by simply transmitting an alias referring to the appropriate event , with the necessary parameters , if any . in one embodiment , each node is programmed by the server 120 with only those alias identifications it needs to know to carry out its tasks , thus keeping its alias and other address tables to a minimum size and keeping memory requirements and costs very low . a sending node 104 merely has to look up the correct alias value ( e . g ., โ 1003 โ), and send it to the appropriate node 104 to perform the desired functionality . upon receiving the alias , the interpreter module 204 will determine the device and attribute information by examining the attribute alias table 400 , matching the received alias with one of its stored alias values , and then execute the appropriate device driver 208 indicated by the attribute value . thus , the alias method of the present invention allows a sending node 104 to multicast a message to all nodes 104 on the system . those that support the designated attribute will act on the message . if a receiving node 104 does not have the alias specified in a received message in its attribute alias table 400 , the node 104 discards the message and performs no action . thus , for example , one light switch node 104 can multicast a message to every light switch node 104 in the house to have all of the lights in the house turn on . importantly , this method does not require a sending node 104 to know each receiving node &# 39 ; s domain unique address or the specific device attributes supported by each node . this allows each manufacturer to design a node 104 in accordance with the manufacturer &# 39 ; s desires , as long as they provide an attribute alias table 400 , and use aliases that are globally unique to avoid alias conflicts . once a new node is added to the domain 100 , all other nodes 104 can communicate with the new node 104 by simply sending out an alias message . the existing nodes 104 are not even required to know the address of the new node 104 . thus , the start up time of adding a new node 104 to a domain 10 is greatly minimized . alternately , if the address of the new node 104 is desired to be known by other nodes , e . g ., a specific event primitive is configured to perform only by the new node 104 , the new node &# 39 ; s domain unique address is transmitted to the other nodes 104 which require the knowledge of the address of the new node 104 , typically by the central server 120 , which will connect upon the addition of a new node 104 . as a result , the existing nodes 104 can address the new node 104 using its domain unique address and device attribute information . in a preferred embodiment , nodes 104 are collectively capable of executing a sequence of events . for example , turning on a light switch in the morning may also cause a coffee pot to begin brewing . in this embodiment , a node 104 will receive an interrupt signal , for example , on its boundary event input queue 220 or timer input queue 220 . the interrupt is generated by the physical act of turning on of the light switch , in the above example . turning on the light switch changes the state of the device 112 coupled to the light switch node 104 . this change of state is logged by the boundary event generator 216 , which then determines whether this change of state causes an event primitive to be transmitted , as discussed above . if the boundary event generator 216 determines that the light switch event triggers an event primitive , the boundary event generator 216 will send the associated event primitive to the interpreter 204 . the interpreter 204 receives the event primitive and then performs the action associated with the specified attribute . however , the attribute value specified may specify that a service be performed . a sequence representing the service includes a plurality of event primitives logically grouped together to achieve some end result . the different event primitives may be stored anywhere on the domain 100 , and thus in other nodes . in the above example , the node 104 retrieves the sequence from the object store 232 , one line of event primitive at a time , loads that line of event primitive into ram , and transfers an event primitive one at a time to the interpreter 204 for execution at the hardware level that causes the light to turn on . if the sequence contains another sequence , then the current sequence is temporarily suspended and the additional sequence is interpreted . once it completes the additional sequence , the interpreter 204 resumes executing the original sequence . in this way , many complex operations can be executed . the sequences may also instruct the interpreter 204 to determine the time of day , and then issue an event primitive to the coffee pot node 104 to have the coffee pot node 104 turn on the coffee pot if the time of day is between a certain range . thus , the interpreter 204 then retrieves the time from the real time clock 228 , and compares the time to the range . if the current time of day were within the specified range , the interpreter 204 would either transmit a direct address or an alias to the communications module 200 specifying the turn - on coffee pot attribute . the communications module 200 translates the event primitive into the appropriate communications protocol as discussed above , and transmits the message to the coffee pot node 104 . upon receipt of the event primitive , the coffee pot node 104 will perform the requested action . if turning on the coffee pot were to trigger another action , then the attribute sent by the light node 104 would specify another attribute . the coffee pot node 104 would then execute the specified attribute . in one embodiment , programming tasks are distributed across the domain 100 , to minimize the burden of processing for each node 104 and therefore lessen the requirement of using sophisticated processors . thus , if a node 104 is under - utilized , such as a node 104 coupled to a back porch light , programming tasks for a kitchen light node 104 may be distributed to the back porch light node 104 . thus , in the above example , after the interpreter 204 identifies that a service is to be performed , the kitchen light node 104 service may simply direct the interpreter 204 to transmit a message specifying a service for the back porch light node 104 to perform . then , the back porch light node 104 will perform the actions necessary to determine the time of day and whether the current time is in the correct range , and then the back porch light node 104 will send the message to the coffee pot node 104 to begin brewing . alternatively , the different actions can be distributed to multiple nodes 104 on the domain 100 even further . for example , the kitchen light switch node 104 may simply request that the back porch light node 104 return the current time of day , and the kitchen light switch node 104 will perform the remaining tasks itself . the distribution of the program task is determined through controller software running on the server 120 or a configuration computer . a user may configure various sequences into the nodes on the domain 100 . nodes in themselves do not make these determinations but are programmed a head of time . sequences can be created by the controller software according to a user interest and needs or any other applicable rules . thus , in accordance with the present invention , the different tasks of a sequence may be distributed across the domain 100 , thus a minimizing the processing burden of any single node 104 . in one embodiment , the interpreter module 204 is also responsible for managing the different threads of control that are created by the execution of primitives and sequences by a particular node 104 . in this embodiment , each time a new local service is invoked , an interpreter 204 assigns an unused thread context number to the sequence . the interpreter 204 preferably tracks the state of each thread in a thread context table . in one embodiment , the interpreter 204 creates a new thread context for a sequence that is initiated as a result of another sequence , and create a new thread context for an event primitive that is to be executed directly , irrespective of whether the event primitive was generated from another sequence . the advantage is the ability to have one sequence call another as a subroutine and return the results back to the original calling routine . thus , various efficient routines may be developed and used economically by the nodes within a same or different domains . the use of thread contexts allows one operation within a sequence to pass information to another operation . using the information stored in the thread context table , a node 104 can perform complex procedures such as math operations , flow control , memory manipulation , and data processing . fig5 illustrates one embodiment of a thread context table 500 . in this embodiment , a thread context value is used to uniquely identify a new thread . if there is a maximum number of threads that may be managed by a node 104 at one time , then the thread context value cannot exceed that maximum . a condition code is used to indicate the results of a previous event primitive operation . condition codes are examined by branching primitives to determine actions to be taken . some illustrative examples of condition codes include : sr , a stored result flag that is set to determine whether information received from a pended request should be placed in a thread context data register or in a scratch pad data register . a thread context data entry is used to store temporary data . a scratch pad data offset entry points to a scratch pad area that is used to store variable information . this area is controlled by the primitive itself . an originating thread context entry tracks the thread context assigned by an originating node 104 . when the current node 104 executes the event primitive issued to it by the originating node 104 as part of a sequence , the current node 104 will reference this number in its reply . the originating node 104 could be the current node 104 , if the originating node 104 called a sequence that called a second local sequence ( which would have no thread context itself , as discussed above ). an address pairing value is used to indicate the nature of the source and destination addresses used by the originating node 104 . this enables the replying node 104 to use the correct address type ( for example , short , or long , or guid ). a priority flag is used to indicate whether a thread is high or low priority . the interpreter 204 will examine the priority flag to determine the order in which to process an event primitive . the originating thread address entry is used to store the domain node address of the originator of a thread . this allows the node 104 to reply to the originating node 104 after the thread has executed . the reply size field is used to indicate the size of the expected reply . the sequence counter is used to indicate where the currently locating sequence resides ( in effect , a program counter ). branch instructions can add or subtract from this counter when determining the next sequence to be executed . in one embodiment , several fields within the thread context table are stored in ram and several fields are kept within the object store 236 . the reply size field is an element of a row in ram in the thread context table . a sequence label entry stores the alias of the sequence that initiates the thread context . this can be used to report errors . thus , the thread context table 500 can be used to provide information allowing remote nodes 104 and local nodes 104 to act together to execute programs and caused connected events to cascade throughout a domain 100 . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating executing a sequence in accordance with the present invention . first , an interpreter module 204 receives 600 an event primitive that specifies a sequence . then , the interpreter 204 determines 604 whether the sequence alias specified is valid . if the alias specified does not correspond to the aliases maintained by the node 104 , the interpreter 204 returns 608 an error . if the node 104 does maintain the specified alias , the node assigns 612 a thread context value for a new thread context . this value is usually incremented from the value of the last thread context . additionally , the interpreter 204 adds the sequence label into the sequence label field , and the sequence region and offset information is placed in the region and offset field according to the information provided in the event primitive . next , the interpreter 204 determines 616 whether or not the primitive was transmitted from a remote node 104 or the current node 104 . the interpreter 204 determines the source of the event primitive from the address information specified in the primitive itself . if the event primitive is transmitted from a remote node 104 , the remote node 104 information is entered 620 into the thread context table 500 as discussed above ( e . g ., filling in source and destination address information into the address pairing field and the originating thread address field , and the thread context is placed in the originating thread context field ). if the event primitive is transmitted from the current node 104 itself , local information is entered 624 into the thread context table 500 . for example , the address pairing field is given a value that indicates that the current node 104 is the originating node 104 . if the new sequence was called by an existing sequence , then the original thread context is placed in the originating thread context field . if the new sequence is being called for the first time by the local node , this is indicated by placing a special value in the otc field . next , the sequence is retrieved 628 from memory using the offset information , and the event primitives contained in the service are processed 632 as described above . the execution of the thread may store 636 data in the thread counter data field , the scratch pad data , and may set a condition code in the condition code field . upon completion , the device driver 208 passes control back to the interpreter 204 . then , a next instruction can examine these results and perform a branch if necessary . once a sequence is complete , the reply information is completed in the field if a reply is needed . in one embodiment , the interpreter 204 checks the condition code field to see if an error has been logged . if no error was logged , the interpreter 204 knows that the sequence was successfully executed . if there was an error , the interpreter 204 logs this error and sends the reply to the originating node 104 indicating that an error occurred . if a new sequence must be created , a new entry is added to the thread context table 500 , and the process begins again as described above . thus , in accordance with the present invention , each node 104 provides thread control to enable each node 104 to issue commands to other nodes 104 and execute sequences involving other nodes 104 , without the requirement of a master or expensive processors . in a further embodiment , device - specific errors are logged in an error file . as mentioned above , each node 104 preferably maintains an error file to track errors and an event file to track events in the object store 236 . these files can be used for maintenance and data mining . for example , if a particular device 112 repeatedly has an error performing device functionality , the error is logged . if a user of the device 112 notices the failure ( i . e ., the coffee pot fails to brew ), the user may contact the device 112 manufacturer . the device manufacturer in turn may be able to access the error log to determine details of the failure , or to ascertain the source of the failure . in one embodiment , this type of remote access is possible through the connection of the nodes 104 to the gateway 116 , and in turn to a central server 120 . the device manufacturer may gain access to the node &# 39 ; s error log after obtaining permission from the user through the central server 120 and the network 124 . additionally , each node 104 preferably tracks the occurrences of events performed by the node 104 . for example , a node 104 connected to a light switch may track the number of times the light has been turned on and off . in a preferred embodiment , nodes 104 can share resources , such as memory , by using the same method as distributing programs described above . as nodes 104 are in a peer - to - peer configuration , any node &# 39 ; s file server 236 can request free memory from remote nodes 104 elsewhere on the domain 100 . for example , a node 104 running low on event log memory can have its file server 236 route a memory request from the local ( internal address ) to a remote ( some other node 104 ) address . the interpreter 204 formats a memory request into an event primitive , and places it on the input queue 220 of the communications module 200 . a remote node &# 39 ; s file server 236 with available memory will respond and the communications facility 118 is therefore used to transfer memory from the local node &# 39 ; s event log to the remote node &# 39 ; s event log . since the event primitives and event logs are address - based , the physical location of the event log data has no effect on the meaning of that data . once the request is granted , the source node 104 will add a pointer to its event log file to the proxy node 104 . this pointer allows third a parties accessing the source node &# 39 ; s event log to retrieve the correct information . accordingly , nodes 104 on the domain can share resources , thus allowing an even distribution of the resource burden across the domain 100 , minimizing the need for individual powerful processors . it should be noted that a request from a node that requires a response from another node can be sent to only another single node . if a gateway 116 sends a multicast request from controller software running on the server 120 , the controller software is configured to handle the multiple responses received from other nodes . thus , in one embodiment , nodes 104 share resources and have programs distributed to allow a functional node 104 to substitute or proxy for a non - functional node 104 or an out - of - range node 104 . in this embodiment , an originating node 104 will associate an address of an alternate node with a thread generated by it when an event primitive is transferred to a destination node 104 . if the thread breaks ( i . e ., the destination node 104 is offline or out of range ), the originating node 104 will resend the event primitive to the alternate node . the alternate node 104 will substitute the destination node 104 to perform a function command by the event primitive . in another approach , the alternate node 104 acts as a proxy node to execute the event primitive as if it was the destination node 104 that responds to the originating node 104 . by doing so , the nodes 104 are capable of performing distributed programming and communications across the different nodes to maximize the resource sharing and to overcome the problems of non - functioning nodes which is either offline or out of communication range . in one embodiment , a gateway 116 provides the domain 100 an access to the server 120 . in a preferred embodiment , the gateway 116 includes similar components as a node 104 . however , the gateway 116 also includes an external communications module that is responsible for moving data between the gateway 116 and an off - domain communication mechanism , such as a modem . as described above , a controller software running on the server 120 communicates with the domain 100 through the gateway 116 under a variety of common communications protocols , such as pop , ethernet , rs232 , pci , tcp / ip , usb or pots style gw . the gateway 116 transmits all data it receives from the domain 100 to the communication mechanism . the controller software is configured to understand and process all messages it receives . in one embodiment , the controller software receives messages addressed to the dua of the gateway 116 to which it is attached . in an alternate embodiment , the gateway 116 is placed in a โ promiscuous โ mode so that the controller software can receive all messages seen on the domain 100 . upon receipt of a message from outside the domain 100 , the gateway 116 converts the message from its protocol , typically tcp / ip , into an event primitive message with a domain unique address specifying a node 104 in the domain 100 . then , the gateway 116 converts the event primitive into a protocol compatible with the communications facility 118 and transmits the message onto the domain 100 . the server 120 preferably connects at the initialization of a node 104 or domain 100 , and thereafter connects only as circumstances require . in some instances , the server 120 may connect at an initial configuration and only be connected thereafter when the user attempts to configure the domain 100 remotely . upon initialization , the server 120 provides each node 104 with a domain unique address that the node 104 will then use in its future peer - to - peer communication . the server 120 also retrieves a copy of each nodes &# 39 ; attribute alias table 400 and provides each node with the attribute aliases ( and other dynamic data ) necessary for them to function in their domain as specified by the server 120 . thus , the nodes have their own attribute aliases ( those pertaining to their own device &# 39 ; s services ), and the aliases they will use when communicating with other nodes to complete the sequences or services they have been charged with . this allows each node 104 to directly request another node 104 to perform a command , by specifying the other node &# 39 ; s domain unique address and the device and attribute values of the attribute the requesting node 104 would like the receiving node 104 to perform . until the server 120 provides the copy of the table 400 , however , each node 104 can still communicate using an attribute alias in accordance with the present invention . the copies of the table 400 are typically maintained in memory . after performing these simple functions , the server 120 can disconnect , and the domain 100 is self - sufficient and is able to provide the features and benefits described herein . to issue a remote command , a user preferably uses a remote computer 128 to select a device and a command , for example , to turn off a light . the remote computer 128 transmits the command to the server 120 through network 124 . the server 120 then converts the command into an event primitive with domain unique address , transmits the command into the appropriate protocol for the gateway 116 , and sends the command to the gateway 116 . the gateway 116 processes the command as discussed above . thus , the present invention provides an efficient , effective home network solution that offers device control from a remote location , sophisticated programming , robust tolerance , all without requiring expensive processor or a continuously connected server . the foregoing describes in details the features and benefits of the present in various embodiments . those of skill in the art will appreciate that present invention is capable of various other implementations that operate in accordance with the foregoing principles and teachings . for example , the arrangement and organization of the central site and client terminal system may differ and the application manager , shot manager , and data files can be located elsewhere in accordance with the teachings described herein to achieve the described results and benefits . certainly , the names of the various entities may be changed without impacting their functional operations . accordingly , this detailed description is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention , which is to be understood by reference the claims below . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates an exemplary interface information outputting system 1 , which includes a control information terminal 2 into which control parameter data is input by an operator using an input apparatus such as a keyboard . a control instructing section 4 and the control information terminal 2 communicate with each other via a wireless or a wired connection , and the control instructing section 4 and the control information terminal 2 send and receive control parameter data and response messages . the control instructing section 4 includes a status information generating and sending section 4 a that receives the control parameter data sent from the control information terminal 2 , generates response messages including a signal related to a setting processing result for the control parameter data , and sends the response message to the control information terminal 2 . the control instructing section 4 includes a device driver 4 b that controls an interface output section 6 on the basis of contents of the control parameter data received from the control information terminal 2 by way of the status information generating and sending section 4 a . fig2 and 3 depict exemplary operations when n pieces of control parameter data ( n is an integer number more than or equal to 1 ) set in the control information terminal 2 are set in the interface output section 6 normally . the operator of the control information terminal 2 inputs n pieces of control parameter data ( hereinafter , simply referred to as control parameter data ) into the control information terminal 2 using the input apparatus to determine the operation of the interface output section 6 . the control information terminal 2 acquires the input control parameter data and sends an initial one of the input control parameter data pieces ( hereinafter , referred to as control parameter data 1 / n ) to the status information generating and sending section 4 a in the control instructing section 4 ( step s 1 ). the status information generating and sending section 4 a receives the control parameter data 1 / n sent from the control information terminal 2 ( step s 2 ). the status information generating and sending section 4 a transfers the control parameter data 1 / n to the device driver 4 b so that the control parameter data 1 / n can be set in the interface output section 6 ( step s 3 ). the device driver 4 b receives the control parameter data 1 / n transferred from the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 4 ). since the transferred control parameter data 1 / n is to be set in the interface output section 6 , the device driver 4 b sends the control parameter data 1 / n to the interface output section 6 ( step s 5 ). the interface output section 6 receives the control parameter data 1 / n sent in step s 5 ( step s 6 ), and then sets the received control parameter data 1 / n therein ( step s 7 ). when the control parameter data 1 / n is set normally , the interface output section 6 generates a response message including the result that the setting of the control parameter data 1 / n in the interface output section has been terminated normally , assigns the response message to the device driver 4 b ( step s 8 ), and sends the response message to the device driver 4 b ( step s 9 ). after receiving the response message from the interface output section 6 ( step s 10 ), the device driver 4 b generates a response message including the result that the setting of the control parameter data 1 / n has been terminated normally , assigns the response message to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 11 ), and sends the response message to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 12 ). when the status information generating and sending section 4 a receives the response message from the device driver 4 b ( step s 13 ), the status information generating and sending section 4 a generates a response message having a normal termination flag included in a status information signal region , which indicates that the setting of the control parameter data 1 / n has been terminated normally , assigns the response message to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 14 ), and sends the response message to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 15 ). the control information terminal 2 receives the response message sent from the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 16 ), and terminates the process . fig4 to 7 depict exemplary operations when the control parameter data 1 / n set in the control information terminal 2 has not been set normally in the interface output section 6 because the power supply to the control instructing section 4 is turned off - on , communication is disconnected , or restarting is performed . if the power supply is turned off - on , the communication is disconnected , or restarting has occurred in the control instructing section 4 ( step s 17 ), the operator of the control information terminal inputs n pieces of control parameter data ( n is an integer number more than or equal to 1 ) for determining the operation of the interface output section 6 into the control instructing section 4 using the input apparatus . here , the control information terminal 2 receives the input control parameter data ( step s 18 ) and then sends the control parameter data 1 / n to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 19 ), and the status information generating and sending section 4 a receives the control parameter data 1 / n ( step s 20 ). here , the status information generating and sending section 4 a makes a response message having any one of a power supply off - on flag , a communication disconnection flag , and a restarting flag included in the status information signal region within the corresponding response message . the response message is assigned to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 21 ). after that , the status information generating and sending section 4 a sends the response message having any one of the power supply off - on flag , the communication disconnection flag , and the restarting flag included in the status information signal region , which is made in step s 21 , to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 22 ). after receiving the response message sent in step s 22 ( step s 23 ), the control information terminal 2 identifies the sender of the response message from id information stored in an id information signal region within the response message ( step s 24 ), and resends the control parameter data 1 / n ( n is an integer number more than or equal to 1 ) to the sender ( step s 25 ). the status information generating and sending section 4 a receives the resent control parameter data 1 / n ( hereinafter , referred to as resent control parameter data 1 / n ) ( step s 26 ), and transfers the resent control parameter data 1 / n to the device driver 4 b so that the resent control parameter data 1 / n can be set in the interface output section 6 ( step s 27 ). the device driver 4 b receives the resent control parameter data 1 / n transferred from the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 28 ). the device driver 4 b sends the resent control parameter data 1 / n transferred in step s 28 to the interface output section 6 ( step s 29 ). the interface output section 6 receives the resent control parameter data 1 / n ( step s 30 ), and sets the resent control parameter data 1 / n therein ( step s 31 ). when the resent control parameter data 1 / n is set normally , the interface output section 6 generates a response message including the result that the setting for the resent control parameter data 1 / n has been terminated normally , the response message is assigned to the device driver 4 b ( step s 32 ), and interface output section 6 sends the response message to the device driver 4 b ( step s 33 ). after receiving the response message from the interface output section 6 ( step s 34 ), the device driver 4 b generates a response message including the result that the setting for the control parameter data 1 / n has been terminated normally , assigns the response message to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 35 ), and sends the response message to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 36 ). when receiving the response message from the device driver 4 b ( step s 37 ), the status information generating and sending section 4 a generates a response message which is assigned to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 38 ) including the result that the setting for the control parameter data 1 / n has been terminated normally , and sends the response message having a normal termination flag included in the status information signal region to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 39 ). the control information terminal 2 receives the response message sent from the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 40 ). after receiving the response message having the erected normal setting termination flag for the resent control parameter data 1 / n from the status information generating and sending section 4 a in step s 40 , the control information terminal 2 resends a control parameter data 2 of n ( hereinafter , referred to as resent control parameter data 2 / n ) to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 41 ). then , after receiving the resent control parameter data 2 / n ( step s 42 ), the status information generating and sending section 4 a transfers the resent control parameter data 2 / n to the device driver 4 b ( step s 43 ). the resent control parameter data 2 / n transferred in step s 43 is processed in the device driver 4 b to be able to be set in the interface output section 6 , and is set normally in the interface output section 6 . after that , the status information generating and sending section 4 a receives the response message including the normal termination flag for the resent control parameter data 2 / n from the device driver 4 b . the status information generating and sending section 4 a generates a response message assigned to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 44 ), and sends the response message to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 45 ). when the retransmission process for the control parameter data is repeated for the number of the resent control parameter data ( step s 46 ), the response messages including normal termination flags corresponding to all the resent control parameter data are sent to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 47 ), and the retransmission process for the control parameter data is terminated if the control information terminal 2 receives all of the response messages ( step s 48 ). fig8 depicts an exemplary operation of the control information terminal 2 when the control parameter data is resent because the power supply has been turned off - on , has been restarted , and communication disconnection has occurred only in the control instructing section 4 . the control information terminal 2 acquires n pieces of control parameter data ( n is an integer number more than or equal to 1 ) input by the input apparatus ( step s 49 ). after that , the control information terminal 2 sends the control parameter data 1 / n to the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 50 ). after sending the control parameter data 1 / n to the status information generating and sending section 4 a , the control information terminal 2 judges whether or not a response message corresponding to the control parameter data 1 / n has been received from the status information generating and sending section 4 a ( step s 51 ). if the control information terminal 2 has not received the response message , the following process is delayed until the message is received . when receiving the message , the control information terminal 2 refers to a status information signal region within the response message ( step s 52 ), identifies the control instructing section 4 that sent the response message using an id information signal . if at least one of the power supply off - on flag , the restarting flag , or the communication disconnection flag is included ( step s 53 ), the control information terminal 2 resends the control parameter data 1 / n to the status information generating and sending section 4 a in the control instructing section 4 having the identified id ( step s 54 ). when none of the power supply off - on flag , the restarting flag , or the communication disconnection flag is included in the status information signal region within the response message , in other words , when the normal termination flag is included , the control parameter data is not resent . fig9 a and fig9 b depict an exemplary operation of the status information generating and sending section 4 a when the control parameter data is resent because any one of the power supply off - on , the restarting , or communication disconnection has occurred only in the control instructing section 4 . the status information generating and sending section 4 a receives a control parameter data from the control information terminal 2 ( step s 55 ), and stores an id information signal for specifying the status information generating and sending section 4 a in a response message ( step s 56 ). after that , the status information generating and sending section 4 a judges whether the power supply to the control instructing section 4 is turned off - on or not ( step s 57 ), detects the power supply off - on if it occurs ( step s 58 ), and erects the power supply off - on flag in the status information signal region within the response message ( step s 59 ). next , the status information generating and sending section 4 a judges whether the communication between the control information terminal 2 and the control instructing section 4 is disconnected or not ( step s 60 ), detects the communication disconnection if the communication is disconnected ( step s 61 ), and erects the communication disconnection flag in the status information signal region within the response message ( step s 62 ). then , the status information generating and sending section 4 a judges whether the control instructing section 4 is restarted or not ( step s 63 ), detects the restarting if the control instructing section 4 is restarted ( step s 64 ), and erects the restarting flag in the status information signal region within the response message ( step s 65 ). as described above , after the power supply off - on , the communication disconnection , or the restarting condition are present , the status information generating and sending section 4 a determines whether or not any of the respective flags is included ( step s 66 ), and , if not , sends the response message to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 67 ). moreover , the status information generating and sending section 4 a transfers the received control parameter data to the device driver 4 b when any of the flags is erected as determined in step s 66 ( step s 68 ). after that , the status information generating and sending section 4 a judges whether the status information generating and sending section 4 a has received the response message from the device driver 4 b or not ( step s 69 ). if the response message has not been received , the following process is delayed until receiving the response message . if the response message is received , the status information generating and sending section 4 a erects the normal termination flag in the status information signal region within the response message ( step s 70 ). then , the status information generating and sending section 4 a generates and sends the response message to the control information terminal 2 ( step s 67 ), and terminates the process . while exemplary embodiments have been set forth above for the purpose of disclosure , modifications of the disclosed embodiments as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the above precise embodiments and that changes may be made without departing from the scope . likewise , it is to be understood that it is not necessary to meet any or all of the stated advantages or objects disclosed herein to fall within the scope of the disclosure , since inherent and / or unforeseen advantages of the may exist even though they may not have been explicitly discussed herein . | 6 |
as intended herein , an orthopedic pathology according to the invention is a pathology targeting musculoskeletal tissues , namely , in particular , bones , cartilage , synovial membranes , ligaments , tendons and muscles , which can notably be deteriorated . thus , the orthopedic pathology according to the invention is preferably selected from the group consisting of an osteoarticular orthopedic pathology , a muscular orthopedic pathology , a ligamentary orthopedic pathology and a tendinous orthopedic pathology . the orthopedic pathology according to the invention may notably be a consequence of traumas , aging , mechanical wearing , or inflammation of a musculoskeletal tissue as defined above . in particular , the orthopedic pathology according to the invention is an osteoarticular , more particularly articular , notably inflammatory , pathology . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the orthopedic pathology according to the invention is rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis . preferably , the individual according to the invention is a mammal , more preferably a human . in a particular embodiment , gingival fibroblasts according to the invention comprise at least 75 , 80 , 90 , 95 or 100 % of gingival fibroblasts as such , that is gingival fibroblasts which have not undergone a differentiation , in particular into cells having an osteogenic phenotype . the gingival fibroblasts can also comprise progenitor cells , preferably less than 25 , 20 , 15 , or 5 % in another particular embodiment , the gingival fibroblasts may for instance be those described in fournier b p et al . ( 2010 ) tissue eng . part a . 16 ( 9 ): 2891 - 9 . procedures for taking , culturing and preserving gingival fibroblasts are well known to one skilled in the art and are particularly described in naveau et al . ( 2006 ) j . periodontol . 77 : 238 - 47 and in gogly et al . ( 2007 ) arterioscler . thromb . vasc . biol . 27 : 1984 - 90 . advantageously , gingival fibroblasts are easily sampled and cultured . besides , gingival fibroblasts possess a high growth speed . preferably , the gingival fibroblasts used in the method according to the invention are autologous , that is they are taken from the individual to whom the gingival fibroblast - derived product is intended to be administered . advantageously , gingival fibroblasts provide for an almost limitless source of autologous fibroblasts . however , the gingival fibroblasts can also be allogenic , that is taken from another individual of the same species , or heterologous , that is taken from another individual of another species . as intended herein , the expression โ gingival fibroblast - derived product โ relates to any product which can be obtained from gingival fibroblasts in themselves or which contains gingival fibroblasts secretions . for example , it is preferred that the gingival fibroblast - derived product is selected from the group consisting of gingival fibroblast whole cells , in particular live gingival fibroblast whole cells , a gingival fibroblast culture , a gingival fibroblast extract , and a gingival fibroblast conditioned medium . the gingival fibroblast extract according to the invention can be obtained by any cell fragmentation method known in the art . in particular , the gingival fibroblast extract according to the invention can be a membrane extract , a cytoplasmic extract or a nuclear extract . the gingival fibroblast conditioned medium according to the invention relates to any medium , such as a liquid cell culture medium ( for instance the โ dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle medium โ, or a culture medium without serum ), which has been contacted by gingival fibroblasts , in particular for a time sufficient for the gingival fibroblasts to have secreted in the medium . administration of the gingival fibroblast - derived product as defined above to the individual , preferably near or at a corporal site to be treated , can proceed by any method known in the art . it is nevertheless preferred that the gingival fibroblast - derived product is administered by injection at a site of orthopedic defect . as intended herein , a site of orthopedic defect relates to any pathological area of a musculoskeletal tissue as defined above . preferably , the method of prevention or of treatment according to the invention comprises or consists of the following steps : taking gingival fibroblasts from an individual ; culturing the gingival fibroblasts ; obtaining a gingival fibroblast - derived product as defined above from the cultured gingival fibroblasts ; administering the gingival fibroblast - derived product to the individual . when the gingival fibroblast - derived product consists of or comprises whole cells , these cells can be administered within the frame of a cellular therapy . fig1 : quantification of mmp1 by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig2 : quantification of mmp3 by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig3 : quantification of mmp7 by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig4 : quantification of mmp9 by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig5 : quantification of timp1 by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ ยฐ hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig6 : quantification of the mmp1 / timp1 complex by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig7 : quantification of the mmp3 / timp1 complex by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig8 : quantification of the mmp7 / timp1 complex by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). fig9 : quantification of the mmp9 / timp1 complex by elisa ( in ng / ml ) in gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ), chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ), striated muscle cells ( cms ), chondroblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ ) or co - cultured with hgf ( ch ( tnfฮฑ / il1ฮฒ + hgf ), osteoblasts stimulated by tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) alone ( os ( tnfฮฑ )) or co - cultured with hgf ( os ( tnfฮฑ )+ hgf ) and striated muscle cells stimulated by il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) alone ( cms ( il1ฮฒ ) or co - cultured with hgf ( cms ( il1ฮฒ )+ hgf ). this example aims at determining if human gingival fibroblasts inhibit the activities of 4 mmps ( mmp1 , mmp3 , mmp7 , mmp9 ) overexpressed by three key cells involved in osteoarticular remodeling and orthopedic pathologies , in particular osteoarticular and muscular pathologies , namely : the cartilaginous cells ( chondroblasts ), the osteoblasts , and the muscle cells ( striated muscle cells ). key cells of osteoarticular remodeling have been used and cultured in vitro under inflammatory conditions : human chondrocytes ( c - 12710 promocell ) human osteoblasts ( c - 12760 promocell ) human striated muscle cells ( c - 12580 promocell ) these cells were cultured in specific media ( promocell ) for chondroblasts , osteoblasts and striated muscle cells . the cells were cultured in the lower part of transwells ( greiner bio - one , ref : 657 641 ). when confluence was reached , the cells were stimulated by a pro - inflammatory cytokine : tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml ) for osteoblasts , il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) for striated muscle cells , or an association tnfฮฑ ( 10 ng / ml )+ il1ฮฒ ( 5 ng / ml ) for chondroblasts during 24 h ( pretzel et al . ( 2009 ) arthritis res . ther . 11 : r25 ; moran et al . ( 2009 ) arthritis res . ther . 11 : r113 ), to model an inflammatory environment and enable the expression of mmps 1 , 3 , 7 and 9 as in pathological tissues . after this stimulation , cells were then either co - cultured in dmem medium ( dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle medium ) with gingival fibroblasts having reached confluence ( upper part of the transwells ), or cultured alone ( control ) during 24 h . the culture supernatants were analyzed after 24 h by elisa to quantify the anti - inflammatory effect induced by human gingival fibroblasts ( hgf ) on chondroblasts ( ch ), osteoblasts ( os ) and striated muscle cells ( cms ). the quantities of mmps , timp1 ( tissular inhibitor of all these mmps ) as well as mmp / timp1 complexes were quantified by elisa ( r & amp ; d ). stimulation of osteoblasts , striated muscle cells and chondroblasts by cytokines yielded an increased secretion of all mmps ( fig1 to 4 ). stimulation of these three cellular types by cytokines thus models an inflammatory environment as in pathological tissues . in co - culture with hgfs , it was observed that the concentrations of mmps 1 , 3 , 7 , 9 were lower to that of stimulated cells cultured alone , for all three cellular types ( osteoblasts , chondroblasts and striated muscle cells ) ( fig1 to 4 ). the quantification of timp1 in hgfs further showed that timp1 is strongly overexpressed in hgfs ( fig5 ). it was also observed that the concentrations of the timp1 / mmp1 , timp1 / mmp3 , timp1 / mmp7 and timp1 / mmp9 complexes were increased in hgf co - cultures with respect to the culture supernatant of control cells . these results have thus shown that gingival fibroblasts , by overexpressing timp1 , inhibit the activities of mmps 1 , 3 , 7 and 9 secreted by chondroblasts , osteoblasts and striated muscle cells stimulated by pro - inflammatory cytokines . these results thus demonstrate that gingival fibroblasts are capable of inhibiting the activity of mmps in an environment similar to that of an orthopedic pathology , and that they are thus useful for treating such a pathology . | 0 |
the present inventors endeavored to develop an antifreeze or a coolant for enhancing the anti - corrosive performance against cavitation erosion and gap corrosion . as a result , the present inventors established that a combination of cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and non - reducing polyol in the composition contained in an antifreeze or a coolant exhibits superior effects in preventing corrosion of metal parts , cavitation erosion , and gap corrosion in a cooling system for a vehicle . the composition of the present invention includes : ( a ) a glycol - based anti - freezing agent ; ( b ) cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid ; and ( c ) non - reducing polyol . the contents of the components used in the present invention are not particularly limited . preferably , the composition includes 85 - 98 wt % of the glycol - based anti - freezing agent , 0 . 1 - 13 . 0 wt % ( more preferably , 0 . 1 - 6 . 0 wt %) of the cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid , and 0 . 05 - 2 . 0 wt % of the non - reducing polyol . the composition of the present invention generally contains glycol used as an anti - freezing agent . the glycol serves to prevent the freezing and bursting of engines and cooling systems , and includes one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , diethylene glycol , dipropylene glycol , glycerin , triethylene glycol , tripropylene glycol , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol , and hexylene glycol . the use content of the glycol is preferably 85 - 98 wt %. less than 85 wt % of the glycol may cause the freezing and bursting of engines and cooling systems at sub - zero temperatures in the winter , and may cause the boiling of the coolant in the engines at high outdoor temperatures in the summer . on the other hand , more than 98 wt % of the glycol may cause a scarcity of anti - corrosive agent , resulting in a difficulty in performing the long - term anti - corrosive capability . according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention , the composition of the present invention further includes at least one anti - corrosive agent selected from the group consisting of c 4 - c 18 organic carboxylic acids and alkali salts thereof , phosphoric acid and phosphates thereof , azole derivatives and thiazole derivatives , and barium and barium compounds . the use content of the anti - corrosive agent is not particularly limited , but preferably 1 - 20 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the glycol - based anti - freezing agent . the c 4 - c 18 organic carboxylic acid or alkali salt thereof used in the composition of the present invention is : at least one selected from the group consisting of adipic acid , suberic acid , glutaric acid , neodecanoic acid , neooctanoic acid , succinic acid , cinnamic acid , azelaic acid , methyl cinnamic acid , hydroxy cinnamic acid , cinnamic acid ethyl , propyl cinnamic acid , butyl cinnamic acid , ethoxy cinnamic acid , ethyl benzoic acid , propyl benzoic acid , pimelic acid , dicyclopentadiene dicarboxylic acid , undecanoic acid , benzoic acid , nonanoic acid , phthalic acid , decanoic acid , terephthalic acid , dodecanoic acid , methyl benzoic acid , hexanoic acid , cyclohexenoic acid , 2 - ethylhexanoic acid , sebacic acid , decane dicarboxylic acid , t - butyl benzoic acid , octanoic acid , and heptanoic acid ; more preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of succinic acid , cinnamic acid , benzoic acid , 2 - ethylhexanoic acid , sebacic acid , decane dicarboxylic acid , and t - butyl benzoic acid ; and most preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of sebacic acid , decane dicarboxylic acid , and t - butyl benzoic acid . the phosphoric acid or phosphate thereof used in the composition of the present invention is : phosphoric acid , ortho - phosphoric acid , sodium phosphate , potassium phosphate , sodium monohydrogen phosphate , potassium monohydrogen phosphate , sodium dihydrogen phosphate , or potassium dihydrogen phosphate ; more preferably phosphoric acid , sodium phosphate , or potassium phosphate ; and most preferably phosphoric acid . the azole or thiazole derivative used as an anti - corrosive agent on copper or brass in the composition of the present invention exhibits anti - corrosive capability on copper alloy parts inside the cooling system . here , the azole or thiazole derivative is : one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of tolyltriazole , benzotriazole , 4 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 3 - triazole , 2 - naphthotriazole , 4 - nitrobenzotriazole , and 2 - mercaptobenzotriazole ; and preferably one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of tolyltriazole and benzotriazole . the barium or barium compound used in the composition of the present invention is preferably one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of barium , barium chloride , barium hydroxide , barium nitrate , barium carbonate , barium acetate , barium sulfate , barium bromate , barium thiocyanate , barium titanate , barium fluoride , barium cyanate , barium benzene sulfonate , barium bromide . according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention , the cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid used as an anti - corrosive agent on aluminum - and iron - based parts in the composition of the present invention serves to protect various kinds of metallic parts inside the cooling system against corrosion for a long time . here , one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of 1 , 4 - cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid , 1 , 3 - cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid , and 1 , 2 - cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid may be used . the use content of the cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid contained in the composition of the present invention is preferably 0 . 1 - 13 . 0 wt %, and more preferably 0 . 1 - 6 . 0 wt %. if the content of the cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid is less than 0 . 1 wt %, such a small content cannot give an expectation of sufficient anti - corrosive effects on the aluminum - and iron - based parts . if the content of the cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid is more than 13 . 0 wt %, such an excessive content may cause a deterioration in the liquid stability , an excessive time for dissolution , and a decrease in economic feasibility . according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention , the non - reducing polyol used in the composition of the present invention includes sorbitol , xylitol , mannitol , or saccharose . as used herein , the term โ polyol โ means sugar alcohol of ch 2 oh โ( choh ) n โ ch 2 oh and its anhydride dimer . the non - reducing polyol used in the composition of the present invention is selected from hexitol having six carbon atoms , e . g ., sorbitol and mannitol ; pentatol having five carbon atoms , e . g ., xylitol ; and polymeric alcohol having 12 carbon atoms , e . g ., saccharose . most preferably , one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of mannitol , sorbitol , and xylitol may be used . the use content of the non - reducing polyol is preferably 0 . 05 - 2 . 0 wt %. if the content of the non - reducing polyol is less than 0 . 05 wt %, such a small content cannot give an expectation of sufficient anti - corrosive effects against cavitation erosion and gap corrosion . if the content of the non - reducing polyol is more than 2 . 0 wt %, such an excessive content may cause a deterioration in the liquid stability and induce cavitation erosion and gap corrosion , thereby having an adverse effect in the long - term corrosion prevention . the composition for an antifreeze or a coolant of the present invention may further include a ph adjuster , a dye , or a defoaming agent . the ph adjuster may include alkali metal hydroxide , and may be preferably potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide . as described above , the main characteristic of the present invention is to provide an antifreeze or a coolant having excellent effects in preventing corrosion of metal parts , cavitation erosion , and gap corrosion in the cooling system for a vehicle , by combining cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and non - reducing polyol . features and advantages of the present invention are summarized as follows : ( a ) the present invention provides a composition for an antifreeze or a coolant , the composition including cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid , and , as an additive , non - reducing polyol . ( b ) the combination of mono - or di - carboxylic acid used as an anti - corrosive agent with an inorganic additive may generally cause cavitation erosion and gap corrosion . however , the combination of cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and non - reducing polyol in the composition leads to a synergy effect thereof , thereby having excellent effects in preventing cavitation erosion and gap corrosion in the cooling system due to a synergic effect thereof . hereinafter , the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples . these examples are only for illustrating the present invention more specifically , and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited by these examples . throughout the present specification , the term โ%โ used to express the concentration of a specific material , unless otherwise particularly stated , refers to ( wt / wt )% for solid / solid , ( wt / vol )% for solid / liquid , and ( vol / vol )% for liquid / liquid . the present inventors used 90 - 95 wt % of glycol ( e . g ., ethylene glycol ) as a main component for preparation of an antifreeze or a coolant . 1 . 0 - 6 . 0 wt % of cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid was used as an anti - corrosive agent for aluminum - and iron - based materials , and 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 wt % of azole or thiazole was used as an anticorrosive agent for copper and brass materials . the present invention is characterized in that the combination of cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and non - reducing polyol was used to improve the effects in preventing cavitation erosion and gap corrosion . the non - reducing polyol [ mannitol ( basf , germany ), sorbitol ( kanto chemical , japan ), or xylitol ( sigma - aldrich , canada )] was used in a content of 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 wt %. specifically , compositions of examples and comparative examples of the present invention were prepared by weighing components of which contents are shown in table 1 below , putting ethylene glycol into the container , and then heating the solution to reach a temperature of 40 - 60 ยฐ c . while stirring was conducted for a homogeneous solution . for a cavitation erosion test , the compositions of examples and comparative examples were mixed with combination water defined in the astm d 1384 metal corrosion test ( solution in which sulfuric anhydride 148 mg , sodium chloride 165 mg , and sodium hydrogen carbonate 138 mg are dissolved in 1 l of distilled water ) to reach concentrations of 50 vol %, respectively . two sets of metal test specimens were installed . the discharge pressure of the water pump was 1 . 6 kgf / cm 2 . the rotational speed of the water pump impeller was 88000 ยฑ 100 rpm . the temperature of liquid was 110 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . the operating time was 672 hours . as another method , the concentrations of compositions were 30 volt , respectively , and two sets of metal specimens were installed . the discharge pressure of the water pump was 1 . 0 kgf / cm 2 . the rotational speed of the water pump impeller was 5500 ยฑ 100 rpm . the temperature of liquid was 95 ยฑ 5 ยฐ c . the operating time was 1 , 008 hours . upon the completion of each test , the test specimens were washed with acid . the weight changes of the test specimens were determined in the error range of 0 . 1 mg . the water pump was disassembled , and the degree of cavitation erosion was measured by utilizing a table of grading specified according to the astm d 2809 . the results were tabulated in table 2 below , and the appearances of the water pumps after the test for examples 1 to 5 and comparative example 2 were shown in fig1 . as can be seen from table 2 above , in the cavitation erosion test results under conditions of 50 %, 110 ยฐ c ., and 672 hours , the compositions of the examples showed no corrosion on aluminum , cast iron , steel , brass , solder , and copper , while the compositions of comparative examples 2 and 5 showed corrosion on only solder . however , in the cavitation erosion test results under conditions of 30 %, 95 ยฐ c ., and 1 , 008 hours , the compositions of the examples exhibited satisfactory anti - corrosive performance , while the compositions of the comparative examples showed corrosion on solder , aluminum , and cast iron , resulting in poor performance of preventing cavitation erosion for a long time at a concentration of 30 %. as can be seen from table 1 and fig1 , the compositions of the present examples exhibited more excellent performance of preventing erosion of the water pump impeller due to cavitation and relatively lower changes in metal weight than the compositions of the comparative examples . therefore , it can be seen that the compositions of the present invention also exhibited great effects in the performance of preventing metal corrosion . for a gap corrosion test , the compositions of examples and comparative examples were mixed with combination water defined in the astm d 1384 metal corrosion test ( solution in which sulfuric anhydride 148 mg , sodium chloride 165 mg , and sodium hydrogen carbonate 138 mg are dissolved in 1 l of distilled water ) to reach concentrations of 33 vol %, respectively . in a 1 l glass tall beaker , a fluoroelastomer sheet was positioned between an aluminum casting with grooves and an aluminum casting without grooves , which were then immersed in the solution such that the solution uniformly infiltrated into the grooves . the operation was conducted at 100 ยฐ c . for 672 hours . the gap corrosion of the aluminum castings was observed by a digital microscope . the results were tabulated in table 3 below , and appearances of impellers for the examples and comparative examples 1 and 2 . as can be seen from table 3 and fig2 , the compositions of the examples showed no gap corrosion on the aluminum castings and exhibited excellent anti - corrosive effects , but the compositions of the comparative examples showed gap corrosion on the aluminum castings . therefore , it can be seen that the combination of cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and non - reducing polyol exhibited performance of preventing gap corrosion . the composition of the present invention exhibited excellent anti - corrosive effects against cavitation erosion and gap corrosion due to a synergy effect by the combination of cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and non - reducing polyol . it can be seen that the long - term durability of the antifreeze was enhanced from the enhancement in anti - corrosive performance for internal metal materials in the cooling system , the improvement in durability against cavitation erosion of aluminum , and the enhancement in the anti - corrosive performance on the rotating water pump . although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific features , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this description is only for a preferred embodiment and does not limit the scope of the present invention . thus , the substantial scope of the present invention will be defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof . | 2 |
a four color printing press is shown in fig1 . the press has an impression cylinder 1 with three printing areas 2 , respectively designated as 2 . 1 , 2 . 2 , and 2 . 3 , and with three gripper rows 3 , respectively designated as 3 . 1 , 3 . 2 , and 3 . 3 . a sheet feeding unit having a front edge sheet separator 4 and a gripper system 6 for transporting one sheet at a time to be printed from a feeder pile 5 to the impression cylinder 1 precedes the impression cylinder 1 . sheet feeding to the impression cylinder 1 is arranged so that only every second gripper row 3 of the impression cylinder 1 receives a sheet . a delivery chain system 7 is allocated to the impression cylinder for sheet delivery . it takes the printed sheet from the impression cylinder 1 and transports it to a delivery pile 8 . also in this case only every second gripper row of the impression cylinder 1 delivers a sheet . two cylinder groups 11 , 18 are allocated to the impression cylinder 1 . each cylinder group has one blanket cylinder 9 with two operating surfaces in operating connection with the impression cylinder 1 and a printing form cylinder 10 with two operating surfaces in operating connection to the blanket cylinder . the cylinders , i . e . impression cylinder 1 , blanket cylinder 9 and printing form cylinder 10 , are shown in their proper operating phase positions , in which the contact points of the corresponding opposite cylinders the operating surfaces facing each other with the front line of printing 29 . in this operating phase position the drive wheel train connects the cylinders with each other . the front lines of printing 29 of the cylinders , i . e . impression cylinder 1 and blanket cylinder 9 of the second cylinder group 18 are facing each other as shown in fig1 . an inking unit 19 is assigned to each operating surface of each printing form cylinder 10 . the inking unit 19 contains a form roller 20 . the inking unit 19 in the embodiment shown in fig1 is configured as an anilox inking unit . the anilox inking unit contains besides the form roller 20 an ink metering roller 23 and a doctor blade system 24 therefor . the printing press shown in fig1 is equipped with two cylinder groups 11 , 18 , with two blanket cylinders each with two operating surfaces , two printing form cylinders each with two operating surfaces , and four inking units , and therefore can operate as a four - color - press . a printing press equipped with two blanket cylinders each having one operating surface , two printing form cylinders each having one operating surface , and two inking units , can operate as a two - color - press . a printing press equipped with only one blanket cylinder and one printing form cylinder can operate as a one - color - or a two - color - press . fig2 shows the drive wheel train of a four - color - version of a printing press , with two cylinder groups . the drive wheel train has a motor 12 with a motor pinion 13 , an intermediate wheel 14 , an impression cylinder drive wheel 15 , two blanket cylinder drive wheels 17 , two printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 , four form roller drive wheels 22 and four ink metering roller drive wheels 25 . an dedicated drive 26 is allocated to each printing form cylinder . the allocation of the dedicated drive 26 and the arrangement of the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 at the printing form cylinder 10 are shown in fig3 . the printing form cylinder 10 is connected with the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 through a phase position clutch 27 . the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 is part of the gear train of the printing press and is meshing with the blanket cylinder drive wheel 17 and with the form roller drive wheel 22 . the printing form cylinder 10 is suitably connected from its dedicated drive 26 through a metal bellows clutch 28 . the dedicated drive 26 is suitably an electric motor . the method of the present invention is performed in a printing press with a cylinder group 11 or 18 by detaching of the driving connection ( in operating phase position ) between the printing form cylinder 10 and printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 thus to disengage the printing form cylinder 10 from the drive wheel train thus during image formation to drive the printing form cylinder 10 through its dedicated drive 26 . during image formation the rotational speed of the printing form cylinder 10 , i . e . the imaging speed , is much higher than the maximum printing speed and is suitably 2 . 5 times as high as the maximum printing speed . as a result of this , the time for image formation is reduced to a minimum and no load is applied to the other parts of the press , because the printing press stands still . after image formation and shutting down the dedicated drive 26 the printing form cylinder 10 is again attached in its operating phase position to the drive wheel train with the phase position clutch 27 . as already mentioned above , the operating phase position is defined by facing of the front lines of printing 29 of the opposite cylinders which are in operating connection . the possibility of printing operation is now resumed . in another embodiment of the drive of the present invention the dedicated drive 26 is supplied with a current to brake the printing press and to tension the drive wheel train . thus the existing dedicated drive 26 can also be used to guarantee a pre - tensioning of the drive wheel train during the printing process . the current supplied to the dedicated drive 26 is suitably in the range of 10 % of the current used by the main drive motor 12 . the current consumption of the main drive motor 12 fluctuates during the printing process and the dedicated drive 26 is supplied with a current to accommodate these fluctuations . alternatively , it is possible to attach and detach the printing form cylinder 10 from the drive system of the printing press with the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 fixed to the printing form cylinder 10 , and the printing form cylinder 10 arranged in eccentric bearings 30 , as shown in fig4 and 5 . the drive connection between the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 and the drive wheel train will then be disengaged by rotating the eccentric bearing 30 , so that the printing form cylinder 10 is detached from the drive wheel train and can be driven by its dedicated drive 26 during image formation . the printing form cylinder 10 is engaged in its operating phase position to drive wheel train after image formation and shutting down the dedicated drive 26 by rotating the eccentric bearings 30 . the operating phase position is defined by facing of the front lines of printing 29 of the opposite cylinders which are in operating connection . resumption of the printing operation is now possible . in the method of the present invention for a printing press with two cylinder groups the drive connections ( in the operating phase positions ) between the printing form cylinders 10 and the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 are disengaged by phase position clutches 27 and then the printing form cylinders 10 are detached from the drive wheel train . the printing form cylinders 10 are now driven at imaging speed by their respective dedicated drive 26 . the printing form cylinders 10 are brought from the particular operating phase positions to a phase synchronous position relative to the imaging devices 16 in the catch - up operation during the run - up period of the dedicated drive 26 from standstill to the imaging speed . the phase synchronous position of the printing form cylinder 10 relative to the imaging devices 16 is suitably identical with the front line of printing 29 , i . e . both printing form cylinders 10 are facing with their front lines of printing the corresponding imaging device 16 . after this synchronization , the printing form cylinders 10 are driven synchronously with imaging speed . the printing form cylinders 10 are brought back into their particular operating phase positions after the image formation by the following procedure . if the particular printing form cylinder 10 overshoots the operating phase position by the dedicated drive 26 , i . e . the dedicated drive 26 is stopped after passing the operating phase position . after that the printing form cylinder 10 is attached to the drive wheel train and mechanical means ( phase position clutch ) realizes the exact start in the operating phase position during start - up . in another variant the operating phase position is obtained , with the following process steps . the dedicated drive 26 of the printing form cylinder 10 is stopped before reaching the operating phase position , then the printing form cylinder 10 is attached to the drive wheel train and mechanical means ( phase position clutch ) is used to realize the exact start in the operating phase position during start - up . in another embodiment of the drive , after that the dedicated drive is supplied in the described manner by a braking current for the printing press and to tension the drive wheel train . in a further embodiment of the invention the dedicated drive arranged at the printing form cylinder is used partially or totally to drive the printing press during the printing operation . this last embodiment is shown in fig6 and 7 , and is next described by the example of a four - color printing press with two cylinder groups . as already explained both printing form cylinders 10 with the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 each have an dedicated drive 26 . the drive wheel train of the printing press contains in addition to the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 two blanket cylinder drive wheels 17 , an impression cylinder drive wheel , two form roller drive wheels 22 , one gripper system drive wheel 31 , one front edge sheet separator drive wheel 32 , one intermediate delivery drive wheel 33 and one delivery chain drive wheel 34 . the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 are not actively attached to the drive wheel train during the image formation and the dedicated drive 26 is only driving the printing form cylinders 10 . the printing press is at standstill and is not driven . the inactive engagement of the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 in the drive wheel train is possible as already explained either by separation of the particular printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 from the printing form cylinder 10 through a clutch or by disengagement of the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 fixed mounted to the printing form cylinder 10 by swiveling the eccentrically mounted printing form cylinder including the printing form cylinder drive wheel 21 . the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 of this embodiment of the invention are actively attached to the drive wheel train during printing operation and at least one dedicated drive 26 drives the printing press partially or totally . dedicated drives must be synchronized if more than one dedicated drives are used to drive the printing press . in the case of a partial drive of the printing press by a dedicated drive 26 as shown in fig7 only the functional groups with uniform rotating speed are driven by its drive wheels , such as the impression cylinder drive wheel 15 , the blanket cylinder drive wheels 17 , the printing form cylinder drive wheels 21 and the form roller drive wheels 22 . the nonuniform rotation speed of the gripper system 6 , front edge sheet separator 4 and the delivery chain system 7 are driven by the gripper system drive wheel 31 , first intermediate wheel 35 , second intermediate wheel 36 , third intermediate wheel 37 , intermediate delivery drive wheel 33 and delivery chain drive wheel 34 from the motor 12 . this embodiment is advantageous , because drives that cause vibrations have their own drive gear train . the motor 12 is synchronized with the dedicated drive or the dedicated drives . another allocation of the driven functional groups to the motor and the dedicated drive respectively dedicated drives is also possible . in the method of the present invention for a printing press with one cylinder group the drive connection ( in the operating phase position ) between the printing form cylinder and the drive wheel train is separated to detach the printing form cylinder from the drive wheel train and to drive the printing form cylinder with the dedicated drive 26 during image formation . | 1 |
the present invention uses the em receiver frame as a local body reference ; the three - dimensional orientation of a dipole is estimated relative to the em receiver frame . the em receiver frame must be equipped with a suitable attitude sensor ( ฮฑ โฒ, ฮฒ โฒ and ฮณ โฒ) and all local body offsets ( dimensions between sensors , mounting points and the like ) must be precisely known ( preferably to within 1 mm precision ) in order to perform the trigonometric calculations needed to solve for the dipole orientation angles from the measured quantities . a vertical cross section of an em receiver frame 71 is shown in fig7 , with acoustic transducer locations 72 suitable for the acoustic ranging ( lbl ) embodiments of the present invention . an upper part of the frame 73 is called the bale and typically is made of stainless steel . the โ flag pole โ 74 provides a location for an out - of - plane sensor needed for range intersection embodiments of the invention . actually , the sort of pole used in current receiver designs to hold a flag , which is used to aid visual identification when the receiver returns to the sea surface , lacks the rigidity required for lbl positioning . ( csem receivers are autonomous devices , recording the data they measure , and needing to be found and recovered after the survey is finished .) thus , the present invention requires a different pole for sensor mounting , or strengthening of the traditional flag pole . other receiver configurations include a vertical dipole complete with electric field sensors . this dipole is typically sufficiently rigid to be used for a transponder location . as generally used herein , the term receiver frame will include such structural features as the bale and the flag pole , as well as other details deemed too minor in significance to be shown in the drawings . dimensions shown are taken from an actual receiver frame , and represent merely one possible example . fig8 shows a similar frame 83 in plan view . five potential transducer locations 82 are shown . four horizontal electrode arms 81 are shown . the arms are shown offset from the frame centerline , in opposite directions , as they exist in some actual receivers . such offsets are not necessary . the arms are preferably flexible so as to avoid the situation depicted in fig3 b . csem or other autonomous seafloor receivers , with electrodes fixed to the end of long arms ( i . e ., dipoles ), are for electric field measurements . magnetic field measurements are typically made , in those few csem surveys that measure magnetic field components , by sensors that are rigidly mounted to the receiver frame , and thus have the same attitude as the frame , along with known mounting offsets . an acoustic transducer is a particular type of acoustic sensor that can measure two - way travel time of an acoustic wave in a medium such as water , and then convert it into a distance using the velocity of sound in water and ray tracing techniques , a technique called range determination . in some embodiments of the present invention , a frame - mounted transducer interrogates another sensing device or means called a transponder , located on a dipole arm , by transmitting an acoustic wave that reaches the transponder . the transponder will reply with its own acoustic pulse , which is received by the transducer . this basic technique is known in connection with multiple transducers located on the seafloor , and is referred to as long baseline (โ lbl โ) acoustics . however , acoustic transponders and transducers are essentially similar , and can both be referred to as acoustic sensors . both can transmit and receive acoustic pulses . the main difference is in the number of elements . some commercially available transducers have as many as 241 elements . multiple elements are required to estimate angles through phase differences . for the present invention , transponders might be the preferred choice for sensors located on dipole arms or on the receiver frame , except in the usbl embodiment where a single transducer can replace multiple transponders on the frame . however , the devices are interchangeable for purposes of making the present invention work satisfactorily , and will collectively be referred to herein as acoustic sensors . another type of acoustic sensor is the responder . by contrast to a transponder , which is interrogated by an acoustic pulse , a responder is triggered by an electric pulse transmitted through a hard wire link . both a transponder and responder will reply with an acoustic pulse that is received by the transducer . it is the return pulse that is used to generate the angular estimates in a usbl system ( described below ). the range estimate is computed from the two - way or one - way travel time when using a transponder or responder respectively . the power required by a responder may be supplied from a self contained battery or through the hard wire link . underwater acoustic equipment suitable for use in the present invention can be purchased from a variety of commercial manufacturers including kongsberg maritime ( www : km . kongsberg . com ), sonardyne ( www . sonardyne . co . uk ), and nautronix ( www . nautronix . com ). some embodiments of the present invention use attitude sensors instead of acoustic sensors . the attitude sensors of the present invention must be capable of measuring three independent angular coordinates that uniquely specify the orientation of a cartesian coordinate system ( and a related object ) in space , i . e ., azimuth , pitch and roll . as stated above , the invention works on the principle that the dipole orientation is measured relative to the receiver frame &# 39 ; s orientation , which must itself be measured by at least one frame - mounted attitude sensor to provide absolute orientation of the dipole arms when the sensor data are processed . processing could be performed by a computer module located in the receiver frame , but that would provide little advantage , and therefore processing will typically be deferred until the receiver is recovered and the data can be conveniently downloaded . attitude sensors require a power source , as do acoustic sensors . in either case , the sensor may include self - contained batteries or may receive power through a cable from a central source . attitude sensors do not measure the desired orientation angles directly . attitude sensors do in fact measure orientation angles directly , but the sensor &# 39 ; s reference frame deviates from either receiver or dipole reference frames as the horizontal arms flex . in the processing of these data , a suitable continuous shape is fitted to the attitude measurements to estimate a three - dimensional dipole arm profile . a two - dimensional equivalent would be the streamer shaping performed using compass observations on marine seismic surveys . there are several commercially available sensors that are suitable for this application . the main selection criteria are small compact size , low weight and low power compensation . one such suitable sensor is the honeywell hmr3300 digital compass available from solid state electronics center , honeywell , 12001 state highway 55 , plymouth , minn ., 55441 . honeywell also makes a model hmr3000 . the hmr3300 is a smaller and lighter unit than the hmr3000 . the hmr3300 measures 1 . 45 โณร 1 . 00 โณร 0 . 44 โณ and weighs 7 . 5 g . the hmr3000 measures 4 . 00 โณร 1 . 50 โณร 0 . 97 โณ and weighs 92 g . the smaller physical dimensions will reduce the size and weight of the associated pressure housing . such commercially available attitude sensors would need to be repackaged in a pressure vessel to withstand the pressures associated with deep - water deployments . this has been successfully done by the present inventors , and is straightforward the term positioning sensor will be used herein to embrace other sensors such as attitude sensors that may be used in the present invention besides acoustic sensors ; i . e . positioning sensor includes attitude sensors and acoustic sensors . the present invention addresses the problem of knowing dipole attitude as a function of time , so a clock is required . the clock may be the same clock used to time the electric field arrivals at the electrodes , i . e ., the csem survey data . the survey data requires very precise timing , which is not needed for attitude monitoring . a separate clock could be used for the attitude monitoring of the present invention . if a receiver were to be designed and constructed according to the present invention , it might be preferable ( but not essential ) to design it such that the attitude sensors and the electric field sensors share common elements such as power supply , control electronics and data storage . if an existing receiver is to be retrofitted with the attitude determination features of the present invention , it might be preferable ( but not essential ) to duplicate these required components in a separate pressure housing . the separate housing approach might also be advantageous from the standpoint of minimizing electrical noise or interference with the highly sensitive em receiver circuitry . such an autonomous control unit would be housed in a suitably rated pressure vessel and preferably mounted on the receiver frame . the control unit might include a data acquisition module , power and recordable media . the present invention includes both retrofitted and original design receivers . acoustic transducers and transponders complete with a suitably rated pressure vessel can be purchased from commercial suppliers . however , most commercially available transponders are designed for long deployments ( quiescent times ranging from 20 to 600 + days ) in deep water . the acoustic ray path between the transponder and a surface vessel can exceed 3 , 000 meters these transponders are typically large ( 300 to 1 , 000 + mm in length ) and heavy ( 2 to 60 kgs in air ) and would not be suitable for deployment at the ends of the dipole arms . a product that is suitable is called sharps ( sonic high accuracy ranging and positioning system ), and is available from marine sonic technology , ltd ., 5508 george washington memorial highway , p . o . box 730 , white marsh , va ., 23183 - 730 . five alternative embodiments of the invention will now be described . in the drawings illustrating the different embodiments , common features may use the same reference number . three - dimensional attitude sensors ( 91 in fig9 ) are deployed at discrete points along the horizontal arms 92 . only two electrode dipole arms are shown ( not to scale ) in the drawing . 93 indicates the location of the electric field sensor ( electrode ) on each arm . the receiver frame is 94 . each attitude sensor measures the three orientation angles , typically called azimuth , pitch and roll . the continuous shape of the arm can be determined at any time by fitting a polynomial curve through the discrete data points provided by the attitude sensors . the attitude sensors thus provide the 3d slope of the tangent to the curve of the electrode arm at known distance intervals along the arm . each attitude sensor can take the form of a compass and tilt sensors , or a micro - electro - mechanical inertial navigation system ( mems ins ), or any equivalent sensing means or device . a compass / tilt sensor suitable for the present invention is the previously mentioned honeywell hmr3300 digital compass . potential mems sensors include the crista inertial measurement unit which uses mems gyroscopic rate sensors and accelerometers . the unit is available from cloud cap technology , inc ., p . o . box 1500 , 2621 wasco street , hood river , oreg ., 97031 . an alternate sensor is the โ nimu โ which uses triaxial angular rate and acceleration sensors . the unit is available from memsense , llc , 2693d commerce road , rapid city , s . d ., 57702 . software to process the data from the attitude sensors will be similar to the software used for marine seismic streamer data acquisition , where similar curve fitting is routinely used to estimate the horizontal profile of the streamer from compass observations . one example is spectra , an integrated navigation and survey control system for towed streamer seismic acquisition , developed by concept systems limited , 1 logie mill , beaverbank business park , logie green road , edinburgh eh7 4hg , scotland , uk . extension of the seismic streamer approach to include the pitch observations of a 3d attitude sensor will be a straightforward exercise . fig9 shows the electrical communication between the attitude sensors and a central control unit ( not shown ) inside the frame including a clock and data recording / storage capability . at least two attitude sensors are needed to provide some indication of the shape of a flexible arm . one sensor should be mounted at the end of the arm , close to the electrode . the receiver frame mounted attitude sensor ( not shown ) can provide the second set of data points . a denser distribution of sensors 91 on each arm will enable more complex shapes to be estimated . this embodiment of the invention has physical limitations in that additional hardware must be attached to each arm at several discrete points , each with power and data logging requirements . in this one embodiment of the invention , the positioning sensors provide essentially ( even attitude sensor data requires some processing ) direct measurement of the attitude of the dipole arms . in this embodiment illustrated in fig1 a - b , a local long baseline ( lbl ) acoustic network is established with acoustic transponders 101 mounted on the em receiver frame and at the end of each horizontal arm close to the electrode . the transponders mounted on the receiver frame are preferably arranged with at least one transponder out of plane ( one possible configuration illustrated in side view in fig1 b ) to ensure a three - dimensional solution . an obvious out of plane location is on top of a vertical arm such as the flagpole in fig7 . actually , the geometrical requirement is that one of the minimally necessary four acoustic sensors โ the at least three frame - mounted transponders and the transponder or responder located on the arm near the electrode โ must be out of plane . rather than rely on the electrode sensor to be out of a plane containing all frame - mounted transponders , it may be preferable to place one frame transponder clearly out of the plane defined by the other two frame transponders and the electrode sensor . the electrode positions are estimated using range intersection from the multiple frame based transponders . hardware for lbl is described in more detail in dynamic positioning of offshore vessels , by max j . morgan , 1978 , isbn 0 - 87814 - 044 - 1 , ppc book division , the petroleum publishing co . ( 1978 ). the principles of lbl are presented in hydrography by c . d . de jong , g . lachapelle , s . skene and i . a . elema , isbn 90 - 407 - 2359 - 1 , dup blue print , delft university press ( 2002 ). these acoustic transponders can be operated in a variety of modes ; single range , multiple simultaneous ranges from the arm to all transponders on the frame , or responder mode . at least three frame - based transponders and at least one transponder per arm are needed for this embodiment . a fourth frame - based transponder will allow the software to perform blunder detection and outlier rejection . the transponder shown in fig1 a located at the end of the arm near the electrode points toward the receiver frame and can be powered by a self - contained battery or by cable from a central control unit in the frame ( not shown ). the frame - based transponders will typically be connected to the central control unit for power and communications purposes . the sensor 101 mounted on the electrode arm in fig1 a could be another type of acoustic sensor called a responder . a responder is connected to a central control unit located in the receiver frame via a conductor wire . an electric pulse transmitted through the wire replaces the acoustic trigger ( from the transducer ). the responder will then reply with an acoustic pulse that is sensed by the transducer . the receiver frame dimensions are typically small compared with the horizontal arm ( approximately 1 meter square versus approximately 5 meters ). ( it is not the purpose of the present invention to require certain receiver designs or dimensions as regards frame , dipole arms , and similar features that any csem receiver must have . instead , the teachings of the present invention can be implemented , if so desired , by retrofitting sensors to various possible locations on existing receivers .) the geometrical intersection of acoustic ranges from such a small baseline can result in significant positional uncertainty . this uncertainty is reduced by using high frequency ( 500 khz or higher ) acoustics which provide improved range precision ( a few millimeters ). network pre - analysis indicates three - dimensional orientations to better than 1 degree ( 95 % confidence level , three - dimensions ) are achievable . a long baseline ( lbl ) acoustic network is deployed with transducers ( or other acoustic sensors ) mounted on the receiver frame and at or substantially at the ends of the horizontal electrodes . the exact location of the frame - mounted transducers will be specific to the receiver design . one possible configuration is shown in fig7 and 8 . the transducers mounted at the ends of the arms ( see fig1 a ) will operate in a responder mode in a preferred embodiment of the invention , where the electrical trigger signal and power are transmitted along a cable from a main control unit ( not shown ). the 3 - dimensional coordinates estimated by the lbl technique will be relative to the receiver frame . there must be an attitude sensor mounted on the receiver frame ( as in other embodiments of the invention ) to provide the orientation of the frame . the lbl coordinates must be rotated by the receiver frame orientation during the calculation of absolute dipole orientations . ultra short baseline ( usbl ) acoustic positioning systems measure a range plus horizontal and vertical angles ( relative to a local reference frame ) which provide a unique three - dimensional position of a remote transponder , and hence of the electrode located close to it . for details about how a usbl system works , and how the data are processed , see , for example , apos for the hipap system instruction manual โ base version available from kongsberg maritime as , strandpromenaden 50 , p . o . box 111 , n - 3191 horten , norway , and the previously referenced work hydrography by c . d . de jong , et al . such systems are presently deployed on surface vessels to track remote subsea targets , with maximum ranges of 4 , 000 meters or higher . typical acoustic frequencies range between 10 and 30 khz , which provide long range propagation , but with reduced range resolution . fig1 a shows an acoustic transponder 111 located near the electrode 93 on a dipole arm 92 , pointing to the receiver frame 94 . the transponder is triggered by an acoustic transducer 112 , shown also in a side view in fig1 b . the transducer is shown elevated in fig1 b to provide a clear line of sight between the transducer and the various transponders . transducer 112 measures the range and two spherical coordinate angles to transponder 111 . the angles measured from the usbl transducer to the transponder might be termed indirect measurements ; they can be used to estimate the dipole attitude but do not measure the attitude directly , as is the case with an attitude sensor . the usbl angles are relative to an arbitrary reference frame on the receiver body and need additional processing to provide a dipole attitude estimate . alternatively , the electrode sensor may be a responder , hard wire connected to the frame transducer . thus , the usbl array provides ( r , ฮธ , ฯ ) spherical coordinates for the position of the electrode transponder , relative to a reference frame fixed to the receiver frame . to do this , the usbl transducer must have three elements , configured in a mutually orthogonal array . obviously such a sensor has a functional equivalent in the form of three independent ( single element ) transducers configured mutually orthogonally . a receiver mounted attitude sensor must provide the orientation of the frame . the angles estimated by the usbl and the receiver &# 39 ; s attitude sensor must be combined to provide the absolute dipole orientation . a possible embodiment of the present invention would include a usbl system designed with high frequency elements , where the transducer could withstand the pressure associated with deep water ( 6 , 000 meter ) deployment . higher frequencies provide more precise range and angular resolutions , but suffer greater signal attenuation , which limits their range . deep - water rated usbl transducers may not be presently available from commercial suppliers due to limited demand in the market place . in a generic sense , multibeam echosounders ( mbes ) work in a similar manner to usbl systems . namely an acoustic pulse is transmitted and the returned signal is detected by a transducer . the return signal is generated by the back scatter of the transmitted signal off the seafloor . the transducer is comprised of segments which allow the system to estimate angles over a โ swath โ. a range estimate is derived from the two way travel time , velocity of sound profile and ray tracing as appropriate , as explained in hydrography by c . d . de jong , et al . mbes systems are 2 - dimensional with the beams being transmitted in a vertical plane from the transducer . a 3 - dimensional image is constructed as the transducer moves forward on a surface vessel , deep tow fish or rov . there are multiple systems commercially available : a system suitable for surface vessel deployment is the kongsberg em710 ( high resolution seabed mapping system ). the em710 is available from kongsberg maritime as . a mbes will provide a direct measure of the dipole orientation relative to the receiver frame . the absolute orientation can be computed by combining the relative orientation with the receiver frame attitude ( as in the shape fitting embodiment ). mbes transducers do not provide hemispheric coverage . as such , multiple transducers need to be mounted on the receiver frame to illuminate each dipole arm . further transducers need to be mounted in an orthogonal direction to provide full 3 - dimensional coordinates . each sonar transducer will provide a range and bearing . two transducers are typically mounted in a t formation , which will provide angular information in two perpendicular axes . the two angles and a range will provide a 3 - dimensional position estimate . a suitable reflector mounted at the end of each dipole will enhance the returned signal . high resolution acoustic images can be generated using sonars with acoustic lens in place of conventional beam forming electronics previously discussed ( belcher , e . o . et al โ beamforming and imaging with acoustic lenses in small , high - frequency sonars โ, presented at oceans &# 39 ; 99 conference , 13 - 16 sep . 1999 , seattle , wash .). one commercially available system is the dual frequency identification sonar ( didson ) which has a quoted horizontal beamwidth of 0 . 4 ยฐ. a variation of this system is capable of operation to approximately 2 , 500 meters the didson system is available from applied physics laboratory , university of washington , 1013 ne 40th street , seattle , wash . 98105 . any other acoustic imaging technique that is capable of estimating a range and bearing of a reflector at the end of the dipole arm relative to the receiver frame can also be used in this embodiment of the invention , including interferometric side scan sonar . fiber bragg gratings ( fbgs ) consist of a series of perturbations in the index of refraction along the length of a fiber . a typical grating may be between 1 and 25 mm in length , and the spacing between regions of alternating refractive index may be measured in hundreds of nanometers . the grating reflects a spectral peak based on the grating spacing and wavelength of reflected light . the physics and the analysis are very similar to that for a diffraction grating in a physics textbook . diffraction gratings and their resulting diffraction patterns are explained by a simple relationship that explains each observed diffraction peak by relating the grating โ slit โ spacing , the order of the peak , the angle of diffraction , and the wavelength of the light causing that peak . for the diffraction grating , the slit spacing is a known constant quantity . for the present application , the flexing of the antenna arm and consequent flexing of the optical fibers changes grating dimensions that correspond to slit spacing , which become the unknowns in the calculation while the source frequency remains constant . ( the optical fiber applications of the present invention utilize reflection patterns , not diffraction patterns .) the shape of the arm can be estimated from the change in grating dimensions . quantitative strain measurements can be made by measuring the center wavelength of the reflected spectral peak ( w . l . schutz , j . p . conte , e . udd , โ long gage fiber optic bragg grating strain sensors to monitor civil structure ,โ proceedings , spie 4330 , 56 - 65 , smart structures and materials 2001 : smart systems for bridges , structures , and highways ; ed . liu , s . c . ( 2001 )). a commercial fiber optic bragg gratings strain measuring product is the distributed sensing system ( dss ) marketed by luna innovations , 10 south jefferson street , roanoke , va . 24011 . a commercial source of fiber bragg grating sensors complete with a rugged housing to protect from the physical and environmental harm is advanced engineering development program ( aedp ), 4865 walden lane , lanham , md . 20706 . aedp have deployed fiber bragg grating on a submarine hull exterior for vehicle certification . multiple fiber bragg gratings can be constructed over the length of a single fiber . the gratings can be interrogated using either wavelength division multiplexing ( wdm ) or optical frequency - domain reflectometry ( ofdr ) to provide multiple spectra along a single fiber . ofdr can estimate spectra at a higher spatial density and to a higher resolution . as stated previously , fiber bragg gratings have been used in civil and structural engineering applications . the equipment for such applications will need repackaging for sub - sea pressure vessels before being usable in the present invention , but this should be straightforward . as stated above , multiple fbgs can be deployed along a single fiber to detect strains at multiple points along that fiber , using a suitable multiplexing scheme . a single fiber can detect strains caused by the arm flexing . to estimate the shape of the horizontal arm , multiple fibers can be arranged on different faces or edges of the arm ( ie top , bottom , left and right ). a configuration of multiple fibers assembled in a single fiber is disclosed in โ sensing shape ,โ by roger duncan , published on pages 18 - 21 in the september 2005 edition of oemagazine ( the spie magazine of photonics technologies and applications ), 17 old nashua rd ., suite 25 , amherst , n . h . 03031 . fig1 shows the basic configuration for the fbg embodiment of the present invention , showing a single cable 121 running the length of the electric field arm 92 . power and communications connections to a central control unit located inside the frame 94 are not shown . the โ sensing shape โ article describes tests where the cable was positioned into circles , sinusoids plus sharp and gradual curves . application in the present invention will result in gradual curves only . the quoted positioning error is โ 1 . 2 % of the total cable length for all shapes . over a dipole arm length of 5 . 0 meters , this equates to โ 6 cm error . if a worst case is assumed in which the error is perpendicular to the dipole , this will result in an angular error of 0 . 68 ยฐ over the length of a single arm , or โ{ square root over (( 0 . 68 2 + 0 . 68 2 ))}โ 0 . 97 ยฐ( 1ฯ ) over two arms forming the dipole . see the discussion of fig1 b below for further perspective on this amount of electrode positioning error . this technology would need to be housed inside a pressure vessel / housing suitable for deep water operation . a central control unit would supply power , data storage and control for several cables , one deployed on each dipole arm . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 888 , 623 to clements describes a flexible โ smart cable โ which consists of multiple optical fibers positioned close enough to cause cross - talk ( mode coupling ) between fibers over the length of the cable . cross - talk is very sensitive to the distribution of strains caused by either curvature or torsion , which are used to infer the position and attitude of one end of the cable relative to the other . each fiber is sequentially illuminated by a broadband source . spectral intensities can be measured at different frequencies on all fibers . the local curvature and torsion can be estimated along the fibers which in turn allow the end points position and orientation to be estimated from the spectral intensity measurements . using fig1 to illustrate again , a single โ smart โ fiber - optic cable 121 is routed along or inside the dipole arm , and is connected to a control unit in the frame . preferred versions of any of the fiber optic embodiments of the present invention include mitigation measures to minimize the effects of instrument noise , systematic biases due to fabrication defects and sensitivity to extrinsic variables including temperature . the smart cable is expected to be available soon as a commercial product from dynamics technology , inc . or from applied signal technology , inc ., corporate headquarters , 400 west california avenue , sunnyvale , calif . 94086 . both the fbg and the smart cable embodiments of the invention operate in a similar manner . the light - transmitting fibers are attached to each dipole arm . as the dipole arms bend , the fibers will be subjected to strain . strains estimated along the fiber are used to estimate the curvature along the fiber . the instantaneous shape of the arm can then be estimated from the curvature at known discrete points along the arm ( in much the same way as in the previously discussed shape fitting embodiment ). the light - transmitting fibers are the arm positioning sensors in these last two embodiments of the invention , corresponding to the acoustic sensors or attitude sensors in other embodiments . all of these sensors will collectively be referred to herein as positioning sensors . a reasonable expectation for target precision for the dipole attitude angles is ยฑ 1 ยฐ ( 95 % confidence level , or โ cl โ) in both the horizontal and vertical planes . the precision of the 3 - dimensional attitude ( ฮฑ , ฮฒ and ฮณ ) is dependent on the precision of the positions of the two opposite electrodes ( either a and c or b and d as shown in fig8 ). simulated tests based on one specific receiver design were conducted using the acoustic ranging ( lbl ) embodiment of the present invention . simulations indicate acoustic ranges with uncertainties less than 0 . 003 m ( 3 mm ) are required to estimate the dipole azimuth ( ฮฑ ) to & lt ; 1 ยฐ ( 95 % cl ). the azimuth ฮฑ is a two - dimensional quantity , such that 95 % cl = 2 . 447ฯ , or 1ฯ & lt ; 0 . 409 ยฐ. ฮฑ is dependent on the horizontal positions of two opposite electrodes ( a and c , or b and d , in fig8 ). each electrode must be positioned with a semi - major error & lt ; 0 . 0358 m to satisfy ฮฑ & lt ; 0 . 409 ยฐ ( 1ฯ ), as shown in fig1 b . the angular uncertainty for the dipole azimuth 131 ( uncertainty bracketed by the dashed lines ) in fig1 a depends upon the electrode position uncertainty , indicated by the ovals 132 ; the azimuth uncertainty decreases as the electrode position uncertainty decreases ( also reflected by fig1 b ). other simulations were performed in which the horizontal positions of the electrodes were varied in an arc around their mounting point in the receiver frame to learn what degree of precision in acoustic range measurement is needed to meet a design goal of ยฑ 35 . 8 mm in the electrode position over a range of a values , i . e . as the horizontal flex in the electrode arm is varied . the results are illustrated in fig1 . the four curves in fig1 represent four different acoustic range precisions โ from top to bottom , ฯ is , in order : 2 . 75 ; 2 , 50 ; 2 , 25 ; and 2 . 00 mm . the dashed line indicates the design goal of 35 . 8 mm . an acoustic range precision of 0 . 00225 m ( 2 . 25 mm ) ( 1ฯ ) was selected ( the precision depends on the frequency of the acoustic pulses ), which provides an operational envelope of โ 44 . 9 ยฐ& lt ; ฮฑ ( 1ฯ )& lt ;+ 74 . 9 ยฐ. the simulation was repeated for the other three horizontal arm electrodes , at the selected acoustic range precision of 2 . 25 mm , and the results for each of the four arms are shown by the four curves in fig1 . the slight variations between the curves are due to the different geometrical constraints provided by the transducers 72 mounted on the receiver frame ( fig7 ). the operational envelope is reduced to โ 42 . 8 ยฐ& lt ; ฮฑ ( 1ฯ )& lt ;+ 70 . 5 ยฐ. the same 1ฯ requirement ( ฮฑ & lt ; 0 . 409 ยฐ and the corresponding limit for semi - major error & lt ; 0 . 0358 m ) was used in further simulations in which the horizontal arms were flexed vertically , and the receiver frame was tilted ( ฮฒor ฮณ ). the results are illustrated in fig1 , 17 and 18 for an acoustic range precision of 0 . 00225 m ( 2 . 25 mm ) ( 1ฯ ). the four curves in each drawing represent the four horizontal dipole arms such as a , b , c , and d in fig8 . fig1 corresponds to fig1 , except that the 1ฯ error in the position of electrodes mounted on 5 m arms as determined by ranging is plotted vs . vertical arm flex in degrees ( relative to the receiver frame ) in fig1 , whereas in fig1 the abscissa variable is horizontal arm flex in degrees . fig1 and 18 show the sensitivity of electrode position precision to frame pitch ( ฮฒ ) in degrees ( fig1 ) and to frame roll ( ฮณ ) in degrees ( fig1 ). the operational envelopes are all โ 45 . 0 ยฐ& lt ; ฮฒ or ฮณ ( 1ฯ )& lt ;+ 45 . 0 ยฐ, i . e . all plotted values are less than the target precision limit 0 . 0358 m . thus , the 3 - dimensional attitude ( ฮฑ , ฮฒ and ฮณ ) can be estimated to & lt ; 1 ยฐ ( 95 % cl ) within envelopes โ 45 . 0 ยฐ& lt ; ฮฑ , ฮฒ or ฮณ & lt ;+ 45 . 0 ยฐ, which are significantly greater than the expected variations in operational environments . the foregoing application is directed to particular embodiments of the present invention for the purpose of illustrating it . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art , that many modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein are possible . for example , the invention is described in the context of seafloor electric field receivers , yet it will be obvious to the reader that the same techniques can be applied to determine the orientation of a flexible arm mounted on any autonomous device that has to be remotely deployed in a location such as the ocean bottom where it is not possible to position the arm as desired or to directly measure its orientation angles ( such as seismic receivers used for ocean bottom cable surveys ). all such modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the present invention , as defined in the appended claims . the methods claimed herein for measuring orientation angles , or resolving field vectors into components using such orientation angles , utilize a computer for performing certain steps in preferred embodiments of the invention , i . e . are computer implemented . the resulting orientation angles or field components may then be downloaded or saved to computer memory . | 6 |
first , a process of manufacturing a primary coil will be described below with reference to fig1 . as shown in fig1 an insulating film 12 is laminated to a thin copper sheet 10 which is coated with an adhesive on both surfaces . the copper sheet 10 and the insulating film 12 are then wound around a core 14 of synthetic resin . then , the copper sheet 10 , the insulating film 12 , and the core 14 are cut off into thin slices each having a width of preferably 1 mm by a wire cutting process , as indicated by broken lines . at this time , the copper sheet 10 , the insulating film 12 , and the core 14 are cut off in a direction normal thereto . then , the thin core 14 is removed from each slice , defining a central space 16 in the laminated slice of the copper sheet 10 and the insulating film 12 . the resultant slice is used as a coil unit element 20 as shown in fig2 . the coil unit element 20 has an end 20a extending horizontally in fig2 and an opposite end 20b also extending horizontally in fig2 . the coil unit elements 20 are mounted on a base board 30 . as shown in fig2 the base board 30 has a hole or aperture series 32a through 32d , hereinafter referred to as holes , each receiving five coil unit elements 20 parallel to each other , and a hole or aperture series 34a through 34d , hereinafter referred to as holes , positioned below and extending parallel to the hole series 32a through 32d , respectively , in the longitudinal direction of the base board 30 . the hole series 32a comprises five holes 29a through 29e , and the hole series 34b comprises five holes 31a through 31e . the holes 29a through 29e are electrically connected to the respective holes 31a through 31e by a wiring pattern 36a which comprises five inclined conductors 33a through 33e . similarly , the five holes of the hole series 32b are electrically connected to the respective five holes of the hole series 34c by a wiring pattern 36b composed of five inclined conductors . the five holes of the hole series 32c are also electrically connected to the respective five holes of the hole series 34d by a wiring pattern 36c composed of five inclined conductors . each of the hole series 32d , 34a also comprises five holes . the ends 20a of five coil unit elements 20 are inserted into the respective holes 29a through 29e of the hole series 32a and the ends 20b thereof are inserted into the respective holes of the hole series 34a . likewise , the ends 20a of other five coil unit elements 20 are inserted into the respective holes of the hole series 32b and the ends 20b thereof are inserted into the respective holes 31a through 31e of the hole series 34b . the ends 20a of other five coil unit elements 20 are inserted into the respective holes of the hole series 32c and the ends 20b thereof are inserted into the respective holes of the hole series 34c . the ends 20a of other five coil unit elements 20 are inserted into the respective holes of the hole series 32d and the ends 20b thereof are inserted into the respective holes of the hole series 34d . insulating films 38 which are substantially identical in shape to the coil unit elements 20 are interposed between the coil unit elements 20 . therefore , the five juxtaposed coil unit elements 20 are mounted on the base board 30 between the hole series 32a , 34a and electrically connected to the five juxtaposed coil unit elements 20 which are mounted on the base board 30 between the hole series 32b , 34b , through the conductors 33a through 33e of the wiring pattern 36a . the coil unit elements 20 mounted on the base board 30 between the hole series 32b , 34b are electrically connected to the five juxtaposed coil unit elements 20 which are mounted on the base board 30 between the holes series 32c , 34c , through the wiring pattern 36b . the coil unit elements 20 mounted on the base board 30 between the hole series 32c , 34c are electrically connected to the five juxtaposed coil unit elements 20 which are mounted on the base board 30 between the hole series 32d , 34d , through the wiring pattern 36c . the ends 20b of the coil unit elements 20 which are inserted in the hole series 34a are connected to a terminal assembly 35 which is mounted on the reverse side of the base board 30 and extends from the hole series 34a . similarly , the ends 20a of the coil unit elements 20 which are inserted in the hole series 32d are connected to a terminal assembly 37 which is mounted on the reverse side of the base board 30 and extends from the hole series 32d . the terminal assemblies 35 , 37 are connected to an inverter ( described later on ). the ends 20a , 20b of the coil unit elements 20 are soldered or otherwise securely electrically connected to the conductors and the terminal assemblies when they are inserted in the hole series 32a through 32d , 34a through 34d . as shown in fig3 the coil unit elements 20 thus mounted in groups on the base board 30 are referred to as coil units 39a through 39d . cores 40 , 42 are mounted on the coil units 39a through 39d , with core portions extending through the spaces 16 defined in the coil unit elements 20 . each of the cores 40 , 42 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped with round corners , and comprises a laminated assembly of thin steel sheets as well known in the art . the coil units 20 jointly serve as a primary coil . a secondary coil comprises a conductor 52 shown in fig3 through 5 . more specifically , a pair of first and second hexagonal diodes 50 , 54 are mounted respectively on opposite surfaces of a central diode mount . the conductor 52 has two hexagonal end portions electrically connected respectively to the principal outer surfaces of the first and second diodes 50 , 54 , and an intermediate elongate portion of a rectangular cross section extending between the hexagonal end portions . the intermediate elongate portion extends from the hexagonal end portion on the diode 50 horizontally toward the base board 30 , then through the space of the core 40 , is bent downwardly along the base board 30 , and then extends horizontally away from the base board 30 toward the first diode 50 through the space of the core 42 . then , the intermediate elongate portion extends parallel to the base board 30 , rises upwardly , then extends horizontally parallel to the base board 30 , is bent toward the base board 30 through the space of the core 40 , directed downwardly along the base board , and then extends horizontally away from the base board 30 through the space of the core 42 toward the other hexagonal end portion on the second diode 54 . the central support 51 , the first and second diodes 50 , 54 , and the hexagonal end portions of the conductor 52 are firmly sandwiched between hexagonal plates 48 , 56 by bolts ( not shown ). a center tap 58 is connected to a central region of the intermediate elongate portion of the conductor 52 . as shown in fig6 the conductor 52 has a passage 59 defined therethrough for allowing a coolant to flow therethrough to effectively cool the welding transformer during operation . fig7 shows an electric circuit arrangement of the welding transformer thus constructed . the electric circuit arrangement includes a rectifying circuit 60 connected to a three - phase 400v ac power supply ( not shown ). the rectifying circuit 60 supplies a direct current to an inverter 62 which then produces a square - wave current . when supplied with the square - wave current , the coil units 39a through 39d , the first diode 50 , and the second diode 54 produce a direct current available from the secondary coil , and the produced direct current is supplied to a welding gun 64 . in this embodiment , the primary coil of the welding transformer is manufactured by laminating an insulating film to a thin conductive sheet , winding the insulating film and the thin conductive sheet around a core , cutting them into thin slices as coil unit elements 20 which are grouped into coil units 39a through 39d , and inserting the ends of the coil units 39a through 39d into hole series 32a through 32d and 34a through 34d defined in a base board 30 . since the holes 32a through 32d and 34a through 34d are electrically connected through conductors , the primary coil units are composed of many turns and have a large surface area . each of the coil units 39a through 39d has five turns and comprises five coil unit elements 20 , and these coil units 39a through 39d are juxtaposed in the cores 40 , 42 . since the conductors through which a welding current flows have a large surface area , a large welding current flows without being adversely affected by the skin effect . the coil unit elements can easily be manufactured and handled because they are composed of an insulating film and a thin conductive sheet as of copper , the insulating film and the thin conductive sheet being cut off into thin slices . fig8 through 10 illustrate a welding transformer according to another embodiment of the present invention . those parts shown in fig8 through 10 which are identical to those of the previous embodiment are denoted by identical reference numerals , and will not be described in detail . as shown in fig8 and 9 , a support 70 comprises a first panel 74a having a flange 72a and a second panel 74b having a flange 72b . the first and second panels 74a , 74b are interconnected to and spaced from each other by a pair of bridge members 76a , 76b . a hole 78 of a rectangular cross section is defined in and extends between the first and second panels 74a , 74b . specifically , the hole 78 is defined by a rectangular tube 78 of a rectangular cross section which is joined to and extends between the first and second panels 74a , 74b . the first and second panels 74a , 74b are thus spaced from each other and rigidly supported by the rectangular tube 78 as well as the bridge members 76a , 76b . in a space defined between the first and second panels 74a , 74b , there are disposed substantially parallel oblique plates 82a through 82e which are inclined at an angle to the plane in which the first and second panels 74a , 74b lie . the first panel 74a has six holes 84 defined therein and arrayed parallel to the flange 72a , and the second panel 74b also has six holes 86 defined therein and arrayed parallel to the flange 72b . six insulated conductive wires 88 are successively inserted through the holes 84 into the space between the first and second panels 74a , 74b , wound between the oblique plates 82a through 82e , and extended out of the holes 86 . therefore , the insulated conductive wires 88 are wound in six layers between the oblique plates 82a through 82e . as shown in fig9 the resultant assembly serves as a coil unit 39a having six divisions each with six turns . the coil unit 39a is then mounted on a base board 30 . more specifically , the flanges 72a , 72b are secured to the base board 30 by an adhesive or the like , and the conductive wires 88 from the holes 84 inserted through a series of holes 32c defined in the base board 30 and the conductive wires 88 from the holes 86 through a series of holes 32f defined in the base board 30 . although not shown , other coil units 39b , 39c , 39d , each identical to the coil unit 39a above , are also mounted on the base board 30 in the same manner . as shown in fig1 , four upper terminals 90a through 90d and four lower terminals 92a through 92d are disposed on the reverse side of the base board 30 on which the coil units 39a through 39d are mounted . the terminals 90b , 92a are electrically connected to each other by conductors , the terminals 90c , 92b are electrically connected to each other by conductors , and the terminals 90d , 92c are electrically connected to each other by conductors . the terminals 90a , 92d are electrically connected to an inverter through terminal assemblies 35 , 37 . as with the previous embodiment , cores 40 , 42 are inserted the hole 78 of each of the coil units 39a through 39d mounted on the base board 30 . fig1 and 12 show a welding transformer according to still another embodiment of the present invention . those parts shown in fig1 and 12 which are identical to those of the previous embodiments are denoted by identical reference numerals , and will not be described in detail . the welding transformer shown in fig1 and 12 differs from the welding transformer shown in fig8 through 10 in that no oblique plates are employed and the insulated conductive wires 88 are wound simply around the support 70 . the coil units 39a through 39d shown in fig1 and 12 are simpler in construction . fig1 and 14 show a welding transformer according to yet another embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 and 14 , a coil unit 39a has two bridge members 76a , 76b interconnecting first and second panels 74a , 74b , each of the bridge members 76a , 76b having an array of five holes 94 . equally spaced insulating plates 96a through 96d are mounted on a rectangular tube 80 which extends between the first and second panels 74a , 74b and defines a hole 78 . a first conductive wire 98a is wound between the first panel 74a and the insulating plate 96a , and has one end extending through one of the holes 94 into an upper hole 100a defined in a base board 30 . the other end of the first conductive wire 98a extends through one of the holes in the bridge member 76b into a lower hole 100b defined in the base board 30 . likewise , second through fifth conductive wires 98b , 98c , 98d , 98e are wound between the insulating plates 96a , 96b , between the insulating plates 96b , 96c , between the insulating plates 96c , 96d , and between the insulating plate 96d and the second panel 74b , and have ends extends through the holes 94 in the bridge members 76a , 76b into upper and lower holes 102a , 104a , 106a , 108a and 102b , 104b , 106b , 108b in the base board 30 . other coil units 39b , 39c , 39d ( not shown ) are of the same construction . the reverse side of the base board 30 shown in fig1 has basically the same wiring arrangement as that shown in fig1 , except that it is slightly modified because of the conductive wires 98a through 98e extending from the bridge members 76a , 76b . according to the present invention , as described above , the primary coil of the welding transformer is composed of divided and insulated conductive wires . the surface area of the primary coil is therefore much larger than that of a primary coil which is constructed of a single flat conductive wire . accordingly , the problem of a skin effect wherein a current flows near the surface of the conductive wire can be solved , and a current can flow efficiently through the conductive wires in their entirety . since the primary coil is constructed in a balanced arrangement simply by inserting the ends of the coil units into the base board and fixing the coil units to the base board , the primary coil is stable in welding operation . inasmuch as the welding transformer is simple in structure , it can be manufactured inexpensively , is not subjected to frequency failures , and allows any parts to be replaced easily even when it fails . the welding transformer according to the present invention may be small in size and light in weight . furthermore , the coil unit elements are produced by laminating an insulating film to a thin metal sheet , winding them , and cutting them off into thin slices . consequently , the coil unit elements with a large surface area can easily be fabricated . since the welding transformer can be manufactured simply , the cost of manufacture of the welding transformer is low and hence the welding transformer is inexpensive as a whole . although certain preferred embodiments have been shown and described , it should be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
various embodiments of the disclosed methods and arrangements are discussed in detail below . while specific implementations are discussed , it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only . a person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components , configurations , and steps may be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure . with reference to fig1 , an exemplary system includes a general - purpose computing device 100 , including a processing unit ( cpu ) 120 and a system bus 110 that couples various system components including the system memory such as read only memory ( rom ) 140 and random access memory ( ram ) 150 to the processing unit 120 . other system memory 130 may be available for use as well . it can be appreciated that the system may operate on a computing device with more than one cpu 120 or on a group or cluster of computing devices networked together to provide greater processing capability . the system bus 110 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . a basic input / output ( bios ) stored in rom 140 or the like , may provide the basic routine that helps to transfer information between elements within the computing device 100 , such as during start - up . the computing device 100 further includes storage devices such as a hard disk drive 160 , a magnetic disk drive , an optical disk drive , tape drive or the like . the storage device 160 is connected to the system bus 110 by a drive interface . the drives and the associated computer readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules and other data for the computing device 100 . in one aspect , a hardware module that performs a particular function includes the software component stored in a tangible computer - readable medium in connection with the necessary hardware components , such as the cpu , bus , display , and so forth , to carry out the function . the basic components are known to those of skill in the art and appropriate variations are contemplated depending on the type of device , such as whether the device is a small , handheld computing device , a desktop computer , or a large computer server . although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer , such as magnetic cassettes , flash memory cards , digital versatile disks , cartridges , random access memories ( rams ), read only memory ( rom ), a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like , may also be used in the exemplary operating environment . to enable user interaction with the computing device 100 , an input device 190 represents any number of input mechanisms , such as a microphone for speech , a touch - sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input , keyboard , mouse , motion input , speech and so forth . the input may be used by the presenter to indicate the beginning of a speech search query . the device output 170 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art . in some instances , multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the computing device 100 . the communications interface 180 generally governs and manages the user input and system output . there is no restriction on the disclosed methods and devices operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed . for clarity of explanation , the illustrative system embodiment is presented as comprising individual functional blocks ( including functional blocks labeled as a โ processor โ). the functions these blocks represent may be provided through the use of either shared or dedicated hardware , including , but not limited to , hardware capable of executing software . for example the functions of one or more processors presented in fig1 may be provided by a single shared processor or multiple processors . ( use of the term โ processor โ should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software .) illustrative embodiments may comprise microprocessor and / or digital signal processor ( dsp ) hardware , read - only memory ( rom ) for storing software performing the operations discussed below , and random access memory ( ram ) for storing results . very large scale integration ( vlsi ) hardware embodiments , as well as custom vlsi circuitry in combination with a general purpose dsp circuit , may also be provided . the logical operations of the various embodiments are implemented as : ( 1 ) a sequence of computer implemented steps , operations , or procedures running on a programmable circuit within a general use computer , ( 2 ) a sequence of computer implemented steps , operations , or procedures running on a specific - use programmable circuit ; and / or ( 3 ) interconnected machine modules or program engines within the programmable circuits . the computing device described above is particularly useful for managing a digital workflow . in one exemplary use of the system , content providers supply items to an online store such as apple inc .&# 39 ; s itunes online store and designate which of those items should be treated as priority items . before the items can be published to the online store and made available for purchase by consumers , employees of the online store must perform a quality review of the items . such a review creates a bottleneck for publishing new items to the online store which results in a backlog of items waiting for review . certain items may require faster publishing to the online store . for example , if a item is anticipated to be highly successful , it will be important to make that content available for consumers to purchase immediately . accordingly , the system provides content providers with the ability to advance selected items for more immediate processing . one example of such a system is illustrated in fig2 . providers access the server 210 of the online store using a work station computer 202 to view a graphical user interface 204 . as will be described in greater detail below , providers can upload items of content , such as music tracks , music albums , audio books , music videos , movies , radio programs , podcasts , photos or any other media item to the server of the online store . the provider can also view the items they have uploaded as depicted in graphical user interface screen 206 . the provider can choose to prioritize items for accelerated quality intake processing by using one of their allocated priority requests or priority flags . for example in screen 206 , the provider has selected to prioritize song y . the provider &# 39 ; s work station computer can communicate with the online store server 210 using any communication medium 208 such as , but not limited to , over a modem , ethernet , internet , 802 . 11 series communications , or a cellular connection . the server 210 is not limited to one device ; it can be any number of units that perform separate or related functions . the server 210 can receive and store items transmitted by providers and can also receive information such as priority requests or data representative of a priority flag . the items can be stored in a queue for processing by a technician . the technician can connect to the sever 210 using a workstation computer 212 and access the queue of items awaiting processing using a graphical user interface 214 . the graphical user interface 214 may be the same or similar to graphical user interface 204 , but in a preferred embodiment , graphical user interface 214 is a different interface specific to the needs of the technician . screen 216 illustrates one example of the type of content that the technician may see using graphical user interface 214 . screen 216 shows a processing queue containing songs received from multiple media providers . song y , has been flagged for priority processing and thus , it is at the top of the list . the technician will act on this file first . once the technician has performed the appropriate processing of the item , the song is available to be published to the online store . once the song has been published to the online store , users can access the online store server 210 via a workstation 218 and purchase the item . it should be appreciated that the items provided by the content provider need not be delivered via an electronic connection . in some embodiments , the content provider can provide tangible items , by shipping , to a distributor . in such embodiments , the distributor can still provide an interface by which the content provider can choose to prioritize the processing of selected individual items . for example , the content provider can mail files contained on media , such as a compact disc or dvd , to the distributor . the distributor can upload the files for the content provider and associated the files with the content provider &# 39 ; s account , for their management . the processing required should not be limited by any examples provided herein . it should be appreciated that the processing can be any type of processing required or desired to be carried out by a distributor . in a preferred embodiment the processing includes quality control processing or intake processing . intake processing can be any processing such as that required in receiving an item and preparing it for sale . for example , items may require processing for formatting metadata to meet a style guide . a particular value of legitimate , for purchase , online stores of digital multi - media is the quality of metadata associated with the multi - media files . for example , while a particular music track could be illegally downloaded for free , that file could contain data errors . such errors can include , but are not limited to poor file conversion or file quality leading to sound skips , distortion , static or any number of undesirable characteristics . other errors include incorrect file names or metadata which can result in the downloading of one song while intending to download another . such problems are mostly eliminated by legitimate online media providers , which check the file names , metadata and sometimes even the quality of the file conversion before publishing the file for purchase on an online store . such processing is one preferred type of processing embodied in the present technology . while an on - line store is used as a preferred example herein , it should be appreciated that the present technology is not limited to digital stores and is equally applicable to stores selling tangible products , whether online or physical stores . while the described system allows content providers to prioritize their content for expedited processing , the system does not necessarily permit all content providers to have access to this feature . it can be appreciated that this service can be offered only to the most favored content providers , or content providers that provide large quantities of content , or providers chosen by any other criteria . in such instances , it is not desirable to alert all content providers of the existence of the service . therefore , in one embodiment , only certain content providers can see fields related to priority flagging in the graphical user interface . fig3 illustrates one example of how the provider &# 39 ; s graphical user interface can function . in step 240 the system can check to see if the provider has the priority flagging feature enabled . priority flagging can be enabled based on automatic or manual methods . for example , a technician can enable priority flagging within the system by interacting with an interface . in such an example , a decision can be made by the distributor &# 39 ; s personnel to enable the feature for selected distributors . alternatively , the priority flagging system itself can make the decision . for example the system can be configured to give priority flagging capabilities to content providers that provide a certain amount of content per week . if the step 240 reveals that priority flagging is not enabled for that content provider , the method will proceed to step 254 , and will not display priority flagging related fields . however , if step 240 reveals that priority flagging is enabled for that content provider , the method will proceed to step 242 and will display priority flag related fields . steps 254 and 242 are best illustrated by comparing fig4 - 6 . fig4 a , 5 a and 6 a illustrate example content provider interfaces with flag related fields displayed , while fig4 b , 5 b and 6 b . illustrate the same interfaces without flag related fields displayed . fig4 a is an example search interface 270 , enabling content providers to search for audio or music video media items that they have already provided to the system . the interface displays a field 272 which displays the number of priority flags available to the content provider . fig5 a is an example search results screen 280 that can be generated in response to a search performed on the interface 270 . just as in screen 270 , field 272 is present representing the number of priority flags or priority requests available to the provider . as shown in this figure , field 272 shows only two priority flags available , which represent a reduction of one priority flag from screen 270 . the reduction is in response to the content provider &# 39 ; s use of one priority flag 286 in field 284 . search results screen 280 includes a priority column 282 . within that column , fields 284 for setting priority flags are available for all items for which priority processing can be selected . fields 284 should only be made available for items that are waiting for processing . in the interface illustrated in fig5 a , only those items having a status โ in review โ 288 are waiting for processing and thus , only these items are associated with fields 284 . other status fields such as โ hidden โ 290 , โ ready โ 292 , โ not cleared for sale โ 294 , and โ live โ 296 indicate that the item is not waiting for processing . items with this status either have already been processed , or do not need processing because they are not presently intended to be published to the online store . search results screen 280 can also include a link 298 to another interface screen which displays items in greater detail . while the illustrated example shown in fig6 a , show a detail view 300 for a music album , it should be appreciated that a similar page could be displayed for individual audio tracks , or any other item . detail view 300 also shows field 272 displaying the number of priority flags available to the provider and field 284 for setting priority flags . content providers should have the ability to unselect items flagged for priority processing , however it might be desirable to only provide this ability for a limited time . field 284 may be selected by setting flag 286 or maybe unselected at any time before the item undergoes processing . in one embodiment , a flagged field can be unselected at any time within a set time period . it will be appreciated the content providers will log on to the server using a graphical user interface . each login can initiate a new session , while logging out , timing out or closing the interface will terminate the session . in some embodiments , a content provider will only be able to unselect a previously flagged priority field until terminating the session . returning to fig3 , step 244 displays the number of priority flags available to the content provider within a field configured to display such information in a graphical user interface . the method also checks if any items are newly flagged in step 246 and if so further checks to see if any flags are available to the content provider in step 248 . if no flags are available , step 256 displays a message informing the user . one example of such a message is : โ you have exceeded your limit for weekly flagging requests .โ in such an instance the flagged field can be unselected , or in other embodiments , the priority field will not even accept a flag in the field if not enough requests are available . assuming the content provider has enough flags available , the method proceeds to step 250 wherein the item is put into the priority portion of the queue and the number of flags available to the content provider is reduced by 1 in step 252 . the updated number of available flags can now be shown in step 244 . the queue can be constructed in any number of ways . in one embodiment , the queue can be comprised of more than one queue . for example the queue can be made up a priority queue which contains priority items and a non - priority queue which contains all other items . in other embodiments , the queue is a singular queue having a priority portion and a non - priority portion . in another embodiment , some items are first placed into the non - priority queue and then later removed and added to the priority portion of the queue . the queue can be created anew each hour or each day , or the queue can be rearranged based on the receipt of priority requests or flags . while most of the present disclosure refers to priority flags , it should be appreciated that any means of designating priority is encompassed by this term including but not limited to priority requests . it should further be appreciated that although content providers can deliver content to the distributor electronically , via a data upload , it is also conceived that content providers can deliver content in a tangible form and the data can be put into the system by the distributors technicians . as will be appreciated , the above described embodiments solve at least one problem in managing a digital workflow . it allows the party making the decision to prioritize an item in the workflow to order or rearrange the workflow without involving an intermediary . this solution can save untold amounts of time by creating efficiencies that are better applied to other steps in the process . for example , the time saved could be used to actually process the items in the workflow , thus making the workflow more productive . however allowing third - parties to make decisions about whether to receive additional services , such as preferred treatment , without a cost to the third - parties can be subject to abuses . thus , some limit on the third - parties ability to demand these extra services must be put in place . in one embodiment , the number of priority flags available for use is limited . the total number of flags or the pool of available priority flags for all users should not exceed the number of items that can actually be given priority treatment . in a preferred example , the total pool of available priority flags is based on an estimate of the number of items a distributor &# 39 ; s personnel can actually process with priority in a given time period . however , the total pool could be a smaller amount , reduced by an arbitrary amount or by a more systematic method . in some instances , it can be desirable to have a total number of priority flags be greater in number than the number of items that can actually be processed with priority in a given time period . for example , in some cases , experience with the system may reveal that the total number of available priority flags are never actually used , thus extra bandwidth will exist for processing items with priority . in this instance it can be desirable to have a total pool that is greater than the actual number of items that can be treated with priority . for example , this can be carried out by basing the total number of priority flags on the average of statistical usage of the flags . in another example , the total pool of priority flags can be varied based on time , such as months , weeks , seasons , etc . it will be appreciated the experience with the system will reveal that in certain months of season , less bandwidth for priority processing is available . whether due to personnel absences or otherwise , these can be used in calculating the total pool of priority flags . likewise , experience can reveal that all priority requests are used the first week of every month , but not the second week and this type of data can also be used to calculate the available number of priority requests . in a preferred embodiment , the total number of priority flags can be divided amongst two or more content providers . the number of priority flags allotted to each content provider can be determined randomly , split evenly , or determined based in part on some other factor . in one embodiment , the default number of priority flags to be awarded can be zero . in this embodiment priority flags can be awarded to selected content providers . these content providers can be preferred , or provide more content , better content , adhere to system guidelines better than their peers , have negotiated for the privilege of making priority requests or can be selected at random . in another embodiment , the number of flags awarded to content providers is varied based on preferred behavior exhibited by the content providers . in such a way , the priority flags serve as rewards for compliance with distributor policies . for example , in the case of an online music store , wherein the items must have their metadata edited to meet certain requirements set forth in a style guide , priority flags can be awarded to those content providers that submit their content in a form that already meets the standards set forth in the style guide . in this way , content providers are encouraged to submit items that already comply with the style guide . in doing so , the distributor gains the benefit of reduced processing time for each item . in one example of this embodiment , the priority flags can be used to drive competition amongst content providers , further encouraging the content providers to submit items in compliance with the style guide . one method that can help encourage such competition is illustrated in fig7 . fig7 shows a grade board 310 which can be published to show each content provider how they compare to other content providers . column 312 lists the different providers and column 314 displays the level of compliance with the style guide for each provider . this level of compliance can be measured in any objective way , but in at least one embodiment , a record of the number of items that are not compliant is recorded and a percentage of items that are complaint or are not compliant can be displayed in column 314 . another method of evaluating the level of compliance can be to measure the average time it takes to process a item for each provider . the shorter the amount of time to process the item , the more complaint the items are likely to be . of course many other ways of measuring compliance with any policy is considered to be within the scope of the presently described concept . columns 316 and 318 illustrate awards or favorable treatment given to highest ranking providers . in this example column 316 illustrate the number of featured items or advertising spots in the online store that a provider might receive . featured items are controlled by the online store and are often negotiated for , but in the context of this system , they can serve as rewards for favored behavior . column 318 illustrates the number of priority flags per week that a content provider receives . the higher the provider &# 39 ; s ranking , the more priority flags the content provider is awarded . compliance with a style guide or some other stated policy need not be the only way of determining favorable treatment . such beneficial actions can be a part of the decision , whether by the system or a technician , to award favorable treatment . further the described concept can be useful for encouraging any desired behavior , not just compliance with a published manual . embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure may also include computer - readable media for carrying or having computer - executable instructions or data structures stored thereon . such computer - readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer . by way of example , and not limitation , such computer - readable media can comprise ram , rom , eeprom , cd - rom or other optical disk storage , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of computer - executable instructions or data structures . when information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection ( either hardwired , wireless , or combination thereof ) to a computer , the computer properly views the connection as a computer - readable medium . thus , any such connection is properly termed a computer - readable medium . combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of the computer - readable media . computer - executable instructions include , for example , instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer , special purpose computer , or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions . computer - executable instructions also include program modules that are executed by computers in stand - alone or network environments . generally , program modules include routines , programs , objects , components , and data structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . computer - executable instructions , associated data structures , and program modules represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein . the particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represent examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps . program modules may also comprise any tangible computer - readable medium in connection with the various hardware computer components disclosed herein , when operating to perform a particular function based on the instructions of the program contained in the medium those of skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations , including personal computers , hand - held devices , multi - processor systems , microprocessor - based or programmable consumer electronics , network pcs , minicomputers , mainframe computers , and the like . embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by local and remote processing devices that are linked ( either by hardwired links , wireless links , or by a combination thereof ) through a communications network . in a distributed computing environment , program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices . communication at various stages of the described system can be performed through a local area network , a token ring network , the internet , a corporate intranet , 802 . 11x wireless signals , fiber - optic network , radio or microwave transmission , etc . although the underlying communication technology may change , the fundamental principles described herein are still applicable . the various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims . those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made to the present disclosure without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein , and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure . accordingly , only the appended claims and their legal equivalents should define technology , rather than any specific examples given . | 6 |
the polymeric latent initiator of the present invention is prepared by emulsion polymerization of a monomer containing an ethylenic unsaturated group and a salt group containing a rapidly releasable initiator . the salt group of the monomer is the product of an acid and a base , wherein either the acid or the base , or both the acid and the base are initiators capable of opening strained heterocyclic ring systems such as oxiranes . preferably , the salt group of the monomer is derived from a nitrogen - containing base , such as an amine , a urea , or an imidazole ; and an organic acid , such as a carboxylic acid , a sulfonic acid , or a thiol . imidazoles and amines are preferred nitrogen - containing bases , with imidazoles being more preferred . carboxylic acids and thiols are preferred acids . preferred imidazoles include imidazole , 2 - methyl imidazole , 2 - ethyl imidazole , 2 - ethyl - 4 - methyl imidazole , 2 , 4 - dimethyl imidazole , 2 , 4 - diethyl imidazole , 2 , 4 , 5 - triethyl imidazole , 2 - benzyl imidazole , 2 - benzyl , 4 - methyl imidazole , 2 - phenyl imidazole , and 2 - vinyl imidazole . more preferred is 2 - methyl imidazole . the monomer is preferably an imidazolium salt or a quaternary ammonium salt , more preferably an imidazolium salt , of a vinyl carboxylic acid , such as acrylic acid , fumaric acid , itaconic acid , maleic acid , or methacrylic acid . more preferably , the monomer is an imidazolium salt of methacrylic acid , most preferably a salt of methacrylic acid and 2 - methyl imidazole . the solid polymeric latent initiator of the present invention can be formed by way of any emulsion polymerization process , including conventional emulsion polymerization processes . ( see for example , odian in &# 34 ; principles of polymerization &# 34 ;, 2nd edition , john wiley & amp ; sons , new york , pp . 319 - 325 , ( 1981 ), incorporated herein by reference .) the monomer is emulsion polymerized , preferably in the presence of a comonomer which contains an ethylenically unsaturated group . preferred comonomers include acrylates , acrylamides , acrylonitriles , styrenes , vinyl naphthalenes , n - vinyl carbazoles and n - vinyl pyrrolidones . more preferred comonomers include methyl methacrylate , acrylamide , methacrylamide , acrylonitrile , methacrylonitrile , styrene , and ฮฑ - methyl styrene . methyl methacrylate is a most preferred comonomer . the comonomer is used in an effective amount to achieve emulsion polymers which , upon dehydration , result in polymer particles having greater latency than polymer particles formed in the absence of the comonomer . the level of comonomer preferably varies from about 20 , more preferably about 40 , and most preferably about 60 , to about 95 , more preferably 90 , and most preferably 80 weight percent based on the weight of the monomer and comonomer . the emulsion polymer can be dehydrated to form a polymeric latent initiator by any means that does not deleteriously affect the latency of the initiator . such means include freeze - drying and spray drying . the polymeric latent initiator can be used as is for one - part adhesive formulations , but is advantageously further processed to remove excess or otherwise unpolymerized monomer . such processing can be done , for example , by extraction or dialysis . the systems that are most appropriate for the polymeric latent initiator of the present invention are resins containing at least one strained heterocyclic ring , preferably at least two strained heterocyclic rings . the most commercially significant strained heterocyclics are epoxides and aziridines , with epoxides being especially significant . in a preferred one - part formulation , the solid polymeric latent curative is added to a mono - or polyepoxide , or mixtures thereof , with or without additional curing agents or initiators . a preferred additional curing agent is dicyandiamide . these formulations may optionally include pigments , such as carbon black ; and fillers , such as calcium silicate , talc , fumed silica , aluminum powder , and the like . suitable epoxides can be aliphatic , cycloaliphatic , aromatic , or heteroaromatic , and will typically have 2 to 6 , more preferably 2 or 3 oxirane rings per molecule . preferred epoxides include glycidyl - type epoxy resins , such as diglycidyl ethers of polyhydric phenols , and of novolac resins , such as described in &# 34 ; handbook of epoxy resins &# 34 ; by lee and neville , mcgraw - hill book co ., new york ( 1967 ). other examples of epoxides useful in the practice of the present invention are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 101 , 514 and 3 , 018 , 262 . the polymeric latent initiator is used in an effective amount to cure the resin , preferably about 0 . 1 , more preferably about 0 . 5 , and most preferably about 1 ; to about 20 more preferably about 10 , and most preferably about 5 weight percent of active ingredient based on the weight of the total weight of the initiator and the formulation . the term active ingredient is used to mean that part of the polymeric latent curative that initiates the curing of the resin , e . g ., 2 - methyl imidazole . the cure - on - demand composition , which includes the polymeric latent initiator and the resin can be cured by heating the composition to a temperature sufficiently high to release the active ingredient from the polymeric latent initiator so that the composition cures rapidly . the composition is preferably heated to a temperature in the range from about 80 ยฐ c ., more preferably from about 100 ยฐ c ., and most preferably from about 150 ยฐ c ., to about 200 ยฐ c ., more preferably 190 ยฐ c ., and most preferably 180 ยฐ c . water ( 410 g ), 2 - methyl imidazole ( 14 . 5 g ), and methacrylic acid ( 15 . 3 g ) are mixed together under nitrogen in a 3 - necked , round bottom flask equipped with a heater , a mechanical stirrer , and a reflux condenser . when the mixture is stirred for 15 minutes , neodol โข 25 - 9 surfactant ( an ethoxylate alcohol , trademark of the shell chemical company , 5 . 6 g ) is added . sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate ( 0 . 3 g ) is added 15 minutes later , and methyl methacrylate ( 52 . 5 g ) and t - butyl hydroperoxide ( 0 . 2 g ) are added under nitrogen sparging 15 minutes thereafter . the temperature of the reaction mixture is held at 55 ยฐ c . for three hours , then raised to 80 ยฐ c . and held there for 1 hour . a portion of the latex is placed in a dialysis tube ( molecular weight cutoff of 6 , 000 to 8 , 000 g / mol ) for 2 days , then freeze - dried to recover the solid latent initiator . another portion is simply freeze - dried without dialysis . the latent curatives in this example contain 17 . 6 weight percent active ingredient . diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a ( 225 g ) and carbon black ( 12 g ) are added to a metal can . the mixture is agitated at 5000 rpm for 15 minutes . a 50 : 50 mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and an aliphatic diepoxide of polypropylene oxide ( 225 g ) are added and agitation is continued for another 15 minutes . an epoxy resin containing 40 percent w / w acrylic rubber particles ( 450 g ) is added and agitation is continued for another 15 minutes . this mixture is transferred to a blender and aluminum powder ( 80 g ), calcium silicate filler ( 175 g ), and hydrous magnesium silicate ( talc , 80 g ) are all added . the mixture is blended for 15 minutes and fumed silica ( 25 g ), byk โข r - 605 polycarboxylic acid amide filler ( trademark of byk chemie , 15 g ), and dicyandiamide ( 50 g ) are added each at 15 minute intervals with continued blending . the dialyzed solid latent initiator prepared in example 1 ( 17 . 6 g , 3 . 1 g of active ingredient ) is added with stirring to 379 g of an epoxy adhesive prepared as in example 2 . stirring is continued for 5 minutes . the viscosity of this one - part formulation is monitored at room temperature for 86 days . the viscosity is found to increase from about 180 pa . s to about 500 pa . s . when the same amount of nondialyzed solid latent initiator is added under the same conditions to an epoxy adhesive prepared in the same manner , the viscosity increases from about 200 pa . s to about 500 pa . s over a period of 20 days , then rises to 1200 pa . s on the 29th day . 2 - methylimidazole without any latex modification ( 1 . 76 g ) is added with stirring at room temperature to an epoxy adhesive prepared as described in example 2 . the viscosity is found to increase from about 150 pa . s to 1300 pa . s in 2 days . lap shear strength of a thermal cure adhesive containing latent initiator the dialyzed solid latent initiator prepared in example 1 ( 10 g , 1 . 76 g of active ingredient ) is added with stirring to an epoxy adhesive prepared as in example 2 . stirring is continued for 5 minutes . specimens for lap shear strength tests are prepared in accordance with astm d - 1002 - 72 using strips having dimensions of 1 &# 34 ;ร 4 &# 34 ;ร 0 . 063 &# 34 ;. the lap shear strength for a bond overlap of 1 / 2 &# 34 ; and a bond thickness of 0 . 005 &# 34 ; is 4200 psi . | 2 |
now , an embodiment of apparatus for reproducing a video signal according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings hereinafter . fig5 shows an example of the apparatus for reproducing a video signal according to the present invention . this example is formed into a video tape recorder of the helical scan type having such a head drum arrangement as shown in fig1 . in this example , the head drum 1 comprises an upper cylinder 1a and a lower cylinder 1b . the upper cylinder 1a is fixed on a rotating shaft 12 of a drum motor 11 so as to be rotated thereby , while the lower cylinder 1b is stationary to hold the rotating shaft 12 of the drum motor 11 to be rotatable . a compound piezoelectric plate element 13 which is formed of a couple of piezoelectric plate members bonded together is attached at one end thereof to the bottom of the upper cylinder 1a as a head supporting device for supporting a rotary magnetic head . the rotary magnetic head 2 is mounted on a free end of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 to project slightly from the round surface of the head drum so as to shift in the direction of the axis for rotation thereof in response to variations in level of a voltage applied to the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 . a magnetic tape ( not shown in fig1 ) is to be wound around the head drum 1 to be obliquely scanned by the rotary magnetic head 2 in the same manner as shown in fig1 . a pulse generator 14 which produces a pulse whenever the rotary magnetic head 2 passes a predetermined position on the path of rotation thereof is provided on the rotating shaft 12 of the drum motor 11 . in the recording mode , the pulses obtained from the pulse generator 14 and the vertical synchronous signal in a video signal recorded by the rotary magnetic head 2 on the magnetic tape are supplied to a motor servocontrol circuit ( not shown in fig1 ) to be compared in phase comparison is supplied to the drum motor 11 to control the rotation of the same , namely , the rotation of the rotary magnetic head 2 so that a period in which the rotary magnetic head 2 does not come into contact with the magnetic tape is included in the vertical blanking period of the video signal . in the &# 34 ; trick &# 34 ; reproducing mode , the pulses obtained from the pulse generator 14 and a reference synchronous signal rs supplied to a terminal 15 , as shown in fig6 a , are supplied to a motor servocontrol circuit 16 to be compared in phase with each other . the output resulting from the phase comparison is supplied to the drum motor 11 to control the rotation of the same , namely , the rotation of the rotary magnetic head 2 so that the time point t 1 at which the rotary magnetic head 2 leaves the terminal position for slant tracks on the magnetic tape coincides with a time point of the falling edge of the reference synchronous signal rs , as shown in fig6 a . in the reproducing mode , the reference synchronous signal rs obtained at the terminal 15 and an information signal for reproducing obtained by selecting the reproducing mode , that is , data dt commanding the direction and speed of tape movement are supplied to both current generating circuits 21 and 22 . from the current generating circuit 21 , a current which produces through integration in an integrating circuit 23 a portion ex of a saw - toothed waveform voltage ess shown in fig6 d and supplied to the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 , which has an increasing slope during the period px in which the rotary magnetic head 2 scans the magnetic tape from the beginning position for slant tracks to the terminal position for slant tracks thereon , is obtained , and from the current generating circuit 22 , a current which produces through integration in the integrating circuit 23 portions ea and eb of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess , which have a steeply decreasing slope and a gently decreasing slope , respectively , during the period py in which the rotary magnetic head 2 jumps from the terminal position for slant tracks to the beginning portion for slant tracks on the magnetic head , is obtained . these currents are integrated alternatively in the integrating circuit 23 to produce the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess , and the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess thus obtained is supplied through a driving circuit 24 to the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 . the current generating circuit 22 comprises a decoder 31 , six resistant circuits + 3r , + 2r , 0r , - 1r , - 2r and - 3r , a couple of switches 32 and 33 , and a couple of monostable multivibrators ( m . m .) 34 and 35 . the decoder 31 is supplied with the date dt and produces a high level signal at one of output terminals + 3q , + 2q , 0q , - 1q , - 2q and - 3q selected in accordance with one of the &# 34 ; trick &# 34 ; reproducing modes commanded by the data dt and chosen among the three times fast - forward reproducing mode , twice fast - forward reproducing mode , still reproducing mode , reverse reproducing mode , twice fast - reverse reproducing mode and three times fast - reverse reproducing mode . each of the resistant circuits + 3r , + 2r , 0r , - 1r , - 2r and - 3r includes a pair of resistors ra and rb and a switch s having contacts a , b and c selectively connected with both one ends of the resistors ra and rb and controlled with the high level signal appearing at the corresponding one of the output terminals + 3q , + 2q , 0q , - 1q , - 2q and - 3q of the decoder 31 . the contacts a and c are supplied with positive and negative voltages + v and - v , respectively . the other ends of the resistors ra in the resistant circuits + 3r , + 2r , 0r , - 1r , - 2r and - 3r are coupled in common and connected through the switch 32 to the integrating circuit 23 , and similarly the other ends of the resistors rb in the resistant circuits + 3r , + 2r , 0r , - 1r , - 2r and - 3r are coupled in common and connected through the switch 33 to the integrating circuit 23 . the monostable multivibrators 34 and 35 are supplied with the reference synchronous signal rs from the terminal 15 and triggered at the falling edge of the reference synchronous signal rs , namely , at the time point t 1 whereat the rotary magnetic head 2 leaves the terminal position for slant tracks on the magnetic tape so that output signals m 1 and m 2 rise simultaneously to a high level from a low level at the time point t 1 , as shown in fig6 b and 6c , respectively . the output signal m 1 of the monostable multivibrator 34 falls to the low level from the high level at the time point t 2 whereat the rotary magnetic head 2 comes into contact with the magnetic tape after a time corresponding to the duration t has elapsed , and the output signal m 2 of the monostable multivibrators 35 falls to the low level from the high level after a time corresponding to a duration ta has elapsed . for example , the duration t is selected to be 0 . 8 milliseconds , as aforementioned , and the time and the duration ta is selected to be 0 . 5 milliseconds . the output signal m 1 of the monostable multivibrator 34 is supplied to the switch 32 as a switching control signal to cause the same to be turned on with the high level thereof , and similarly the output signal m 2 of the monostable multivibrator 35 is supplied to the switch 33 as a switching control signal to cause the same to be turned on with the high level thereof . in the &# 34 ; trick &# 34 ; reproducing mode , for example , in the three times fast - forward reproducing mode , the high level signal appears at only the output terminal + 3q of the decoder 31 and therefore the switch s in the resistant circuit + 3r is switched to select the contact c and each of the switches s in the resistant circuits + 2r , 0r , - 1r , - 2r and - 3r is switched to select the contact b . accordingly , in a period pa commencing from the time point t 1 with the duration ta in which both output signals m 1 and m 2 of the monostable multivibrators 34 and 35 take the high level , a current flows from the input end of the integrating circuit 23 through both the resistors ra and rb in the resistant circuit + 3r to the contact c of the switch s in the resistant circuit + 3r to which the negative voltage - v is supplied , so that the output voltage of the integrating circuit 23 is steeply decreased to form the portion ea of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess having the steeply decreasing slope . after that , in a period pb successive to the period pa in which only the output signal m 1 end of the integrating circuit 23 through the resistor ra in the resistant circuit + 3r to the contact c of the switch s , so that the output voltage of the integrating circuit 23 is gently decreased to form the portion eb of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess having the gently decreasing slope . in such a manner as described above , the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess supplied to the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 has the level decreasing with the steep slope during the period pa including the beginning portion of the period py and then decreasing further with the gentle slope during the period pb including the end portion of the period py , as shown in fig6 d , in the fast - forward reproducing mode in the example of the apparatus according to the present invention . with the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess thus formed , the swinging movement ry of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 , which results from the change of the slope of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess occuring at the time point t 1 at which the rotary magnetic head 2 leaves the terminal position for slant tracks on the magnetic tape , is increased so as to have the magnitude almost equal to the magnitude of and the phase opposite to the phase of the swinging movement rx of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 , which results from the change of the slope of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess occuring at the time point t 2 at which the rotary magnetic head 2 enters the beginning position for slant tracks on the magnetic tape , as shown in fig6 e , in the period px during which the rotary magnetic head 2 scans the magnetic tape with a approproately selected ratio of the duration ta of the period pa to the duration t of the period py . as a result of this , the swinging movements ry and rx of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 are cancelled out by each other , so that the residual swinging movement of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 caused in the period px during which the rotary magnetic head 2 scans the magnetic tape is suppressed to have the magnitude a satisfactorily reduces as shown by means of the positional variation hp of the rotary magnetic head 2 in the direction of the axis for rotation thereof in fig6 f . in a practical example , the duration ta of the period pa is selected to be equal to 50 to 80 percent of the duration t of the period py , and the inclination in the period pb is selected to correspond to 30 to 80 percent of that in the period pa . each of fig7 a to 7e shows the relation between the magnitude a of the residual swinging movement rz and the duration ta of the period pa under the different duration t of the period py , which is obtained practically in the condition where the frequency of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess is 60 hz , the amplitude of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess is 250 volts and the specific resonant frequency of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 is 1425 hz ( the specific resonant period is 0 . 7 milliseconds ). in this case also , the magnitude a is referred to as a voltage value which is to be applied to the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 for making the same have a deviation of the magnitude a in the static condition . as apparent from the relations shown in fig7 a to 7e , in the case where the duration t is equal to or shorter than 0 . 8 milliseconds , the length of the duration ta by which the residual swinging movement rz is minimized is varied remarkable in response to variations in the duration t , and in the case where the duration t is longer than 0 . 8 milliseconds , the residual swinging movement rz is relatively increased when the length of the duration ta is deviated slightly from that by which the residual swinging movement rz is minimized . within the limits of these relations , it is most appropriate to select the duration t to be 0 . 8 milliseconds and the duration ta to be about 0 . 5 milliseconds . in such a case , the residual swinging movement rz is referred to as the equivalent voltage value of about 10 millivolts , which is reduced to correspond to one eighth of that in the case shown in fig4 . then , for example , in the three times fast - reverse reproducing mode , the high level signal appears at only the output terminal - 3q of the decoder 31 and therefore the switch s in the resistant circuit - 3r is switched to select the contact a and each of the switches s in the resistant circuit + 2r , or , - 1r , - 2r and - 3r is switched to select the contact b . accordingly , in the period pa commencing from the time point t 1 with the duration ta , a current flows from the contact a of the switch s in the resistant circuit - 3r to which the positive voltage + v is supplied through both the resistors ra and rb in the resistant circuit - 3r to the input end of the integrating circuit 23 , so that the output voltage of the integrating circuit 23 is steeply increased to form the portion ea of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess having a steeply increasing slope . after that , in the period pb successive to the period pa , a current flows from the contact a of the switch s in the resistant circuit - 3r through the resistor ra in the resistant circuit - 3r to the input end of the integrating circuit 23 , so that the output voltage of the integrating circuit 23 is gently increased to form the portion eb of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess having a gently increasing slope . further , in the still or reverse reproducing mode , the high level signal appears at only the output terminal 0q or - 1q of the decoder 31 and therefore the switch s in the resistant circuit 0r or - 1r is switched to select the contact a . accordingly , in the same manner as the three times fast - reverse reproducing mode , the output voltage of the integrating circuit 23 is steeply increased to form the portion ea of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess having a steeply increasing slope in the period pa commencing from the time point t 1 with the duration ta and gently increased to form the portion eb of the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess having a gently increasing slope in the period pb successive to the period pa . thus , the saw - toothed waveform voltage ess supplied to the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 has the level increasing with the steep slope during the period pa including the beginning portion of the period py and then increasing further with the gentle slope during the period pb including the end portion of the period py in the fast - reverse , still or reverse reproducing mode in the example of the apparatus according to the present invention . as a result of this , the residual swinging movement rz of the compound piezoelectric plate element 13 caused in the period px during which the rotary magnetic head 2 scans the magnetic tpe is satisfactorily reduced in the same manner as mentioned above in connection with the fast - forward reproducing mode . | 6 |
according to the invention , different two - or one - piston cam engines can be realized , which execute different working cycles depending on the specific application of the engine that can function as a compressor , pump , internal combustion engine or a combination of the above - mentioned . fig1 a and fig1 b show one embodiment of two - piston cam engine according to the invention . the engine comprises a tubular 3d cam 20 , which is an assembly of cam bushings 16 a and 16 b and a tubular element 19 that orientates cam bushings 16 a and 16 b in such a way that their cam profiles 15 a and 15 b form a cam groove on the internal surface of the 3d cam 20 . the engine comprises two identical followers 1 a and 1 b as well , each one of them having two arms 37 . to the free ends of the arms 37 , which in this case are shaped as bearing forks , main bearing journals 2 and main rollers 3 are mounted . the main bearing journals 2 are of tubular geometry and in their cylindrical cavities additional bearing journals 4 and additional rollers 5 are located . the additional bearing journals 4 are mounted on cylindrical plungers 6 , which have cylindrical tails 7 . a group of belleville springs 8 , limiting rings 9 , two axial bearings 10 , spacers , respectively 11 and 12 , are mounted on each plunger tail 7 , and by a screw 13 these elements 8 to 12 are pressed on both sides of two positioning nuts 14 , shown on fig1 b . the positioning nuts 14 mutually secure themselves against self - unscrewing . on their two sides the axial bearings 10 are mounted that allow the free rotation of the additional bearing roller 5 and the self - aligning of the same in relation to its respective cam profile 15 b possible . thus the additional bearing roller 5 has two relative degrees of freedom in relation to bearing journal 2 , namely one translational along the axes 17 and one rotational 18 . through the translational degree of freedom 17 , the additional roller 5 is in continuous contact with the respective cam profile 15 b , and through the rotational degree of freedom 18 the additional roller 5 is self - oriented towards the profile 15 b in such a way , that the relative motion of the additional roller 5 towards the adjacent cam profiles 15 b is the only rolling without sliding . the main rollers 3 of the followers 1 a and 1 b contact the cam profiles 15 a and 15 b of the cam bushings 16 a and 16 b respectively . the 3d cam 20 is mounted in cylinder blocks 21 and 22 through one axial and one radial bearings 23 and 24 at each side . each follower is connected to one piston 25 , which is situated in the respective cylinder 26 . the axes of cylinders 26 coincide with the axis of the composed cam 20 . the axial guidance of the followers is accomplished by guiding columns 27 , mounted on bearings in cylinder blocks 21 and 22 . the reciprocal motion of followers 1 a and 1 b is transformed into rotation of the 3d cam 20 , which transfers the rotational motion to a gear 28 , which is rigidly connected to the 3d cam 20 . the gear 28 is coupled with a gear 29 , which sets into motion an output shaft 30 . the shaft 30 is positioned on bearings in the cylinder block 21 and the housing 31 . fig1 c presents a second constructive option of the bearing assembly of a pair main and additional roller . this assembly , unlike the one presented in fig1 a , is equipped with the additional stop element 43 , which functions as the limiting rings 9 in fig1 a . the stop element 43 does not allow the movement of the pack of elements 8 - 12 to exceed the limit , preset by its position . in this specific case , the stop element is the adjustable screw 43 , screwed in plate 44 , which in turn is mounted on the internal end of the main bearing journal 2 . through screw 43 , secured against self - unscrewing by counter nut 45 , the maximum admissible clearance is preset between the face of screw 43 and the head of screw 13 . the clearance is preset , when follower 1 a or 1 b is at the top and bottom dead centers , and the size equals the maximum relative movement of the additional rollers in relation to their respective main bearing journals . the design alternative presented in this figure makes it possible to accomplish a more precise adjustment of limiting clearance . a preferred way to achieve a periodically changing cross - section of the 3d cam groove is to modify the cam profiles law , which can be achieved by summation of the law , in which the cam groove has a constant cross - section , with the half of a law which is the imaginary axial movement of the cam bushing one to another as a function of the angle of rotation of the 3d cam . the modification is made so that the relative movement between any additional roller and its corresponding bearing journal is eliminated . when summing up these laws , the cam groove transforms to a groove with a variable cross - section . an acceptable approximation of the modifying function is any continuous function of the angle of rotation of the 3d cam that reduces the relative movement between each additional roller and its corresponding main bearing journal , and that also does not cause interruption of the resulting law after its summation with the primary law in the case of which the cam groove has a constant cross - section . fig2 a , fig2 b and fig2 c clarify the reasons for the appearance of the relative movement of the additional rollers 5 in relation to their respective main bearing journals 2 when the 3d cam 20 is rotating and it has constant cross - section of the cam groove . fig2 a illustrates the mutual disposition of one pair main and additional rollers , respectively 3 and 5 , in cross - sections of the cam groove corresponding to the top and bottom dead centers ( tdc / bdc ) of pistons 25 . fig2 b shows the cross - sections of the cam groove , corresponding to one intermediate angle of rotation of the 3d cam 20 between the top and bottom dead centers of the pistons 25 . fig2 c shows ยผ of the unfolded cam profiles 15 a and 15 b , on which a pair of main and additional roller are located in tdc and bdc ( positions i ), as well as their positioning when the followers are not located in tdc or bdc . thus , in tdc and bdc of pistons 25 the contact cross - sections of the rollers 3 and 5 with the respective cam profiles 15 a and 15 b are located on the same cross - section of the cam groove and the distance between their midpoints 41 and 78 is minimum and equal to l ( fig2 a and fig2 c , position i ). when the pistons 25 are not in tdc or bdc , the contact cross - sections of rollers 3 and 5 together with the respective cam profiles 15 a and 15 b are not located on the same cross - section of the 3d cam 20 ( fig2 b and fig2 c , positions ii and iii ). it is obvious , that if the distance between midpoints 41 and 78 of the axes of the rollers 3 and 5 remains equal to l , the roller 5 would not be in contact with cam profile 16 b . hence , in order to provide simultaneous contact of the rollers 3 and 5 with the adjacent cam profiles 15 a and 15 b , and to keep unchangeable the distance between midpoints 41 and 78 of the axes of the rollers 3 and 5 ( equal to l ), when the pistons 25 are situated between tdc and bdc , the cam bushings 16 a and 16 b have to be put close to each other , and when the pistons 25 get near to their dead centers , cam bushings 16 a and 16 b have to be pulled back . the maximum displacement of the bushings 62 is marked with ฮดh on fig2 b . fig3 a and fig3 b show a way to remove or significantly decrease the relative moving of additional rollers 5 in relation to their respective main bearing journal 2 . this way is associated only with modification of the law of motion of the followers 1 a and 1 b , by which the cam profiles 15 a and 15 b are manufactured respectively of the cam bushings 16 a and 16 b . according to the invention , it is desirable that the modification of the law of the followers 1 a and 1 b to be realized by summing the unmodified law 33 , where the cam groove is with a constant cross - section , with an approximation of a modifying law 34 , the maximum of which is equal to the half of the maximum displacement โก h in fig2 b . using of the approximation of the modifying law 34 instead of an actual modifying law is acceptable when the approximating law 34 can be presented analytically using one or more formulas and its application instead of the actual modifying law decreases the relative displacement of the roller 5 in relation to its respective main bearing journal 2 , compared to the case in which the 3d cam 20 has a constant cross - section . the residual displacement after the application of the approximating law 34 causes shrinking and expansion of the group of the belleville springs 8 , but with considerably smaller energy consumption in comparison with the case , when the law of the followers is not modified . the shrink of springs 8 is limited by the thickness of limiting rings 9 or the position of screw 43 . it can be seen in the figures , that the resulting law is continuous to its second derivative and its shape and nature are slightly changed after its modification . fig4 a , fig4 b and fig4 c are analogous to fig2 a , fig2 b and fig2 c and show the changes that occur in the mutual disposition between each pair of the rollers 3 and 5 after the modification of the law 33 of the cam profiles 15 a and 15 b , mentioned above . it is obvious from the figures that the rollers 3 and 5 are in a permanent contact with their respective cam profiles 15 a and 15 b without changes in the distance between the midpoints 41 and 78 of their axes . the law of cam profile 15 a is shown in fig4 c with a dash line 35 a and the law of profile 15 b โ with an axial line 35 b . in the same fig4 c , the profile of unmodified cam bushings is shown with dotted line , which illustrates the difference between unmodified cam groove with constant cross - section and modified cam groove with altering cross - section . this figure makes it clear that the cross - section of a modified cam groove decreases , excluding the places , which correspond to the dead centers of the followers 1 a and 1 b . the maximum decrease characterizes those places of the cam groove that are in the middle of the sections between the dead centers of the followers 1 a and 1 b . fig5 shows the laws of motion of the followers 1 a and 1 b for a complete rotation )( 360 ยฐ of 3d cam 20 . the law 35 a of the follower 1 a is drown by a continuous line and the law 35 b of the follower 1 b โ by a dash line . the law 35 a is identical to law 35 b , but for the purposes of illustration , the law 35 b is twice rotated in an inversed manner in relation to the horizontal and the vertical axes and is laid on law 35 a in such a way , that the dead positions of the followers coincide . when the laws of cam bushings 16 a and 16 b are not modified and the cam groove is with a constant cross - section , the law 35 a coincides with the law 35 b . the modified laws 35 a and 35 b , presented in fig5 are composed based on a sine function : s โก ( ฯ ) 33 = h 2 - h 2 ยท sin โก ( ฯ 2 + 2 โข ฯ ) , that functions as the law 33 , in which the cam groove has a constant cross - section and a cycloid function : s โก ( ฯ ) 34 = ฮด โข โข h ยท [ ฯ ฮฒ - 1 2 โข ฯ ยท sin โก ( 2 ยท ฯ โข ฯ ฮฒ ) ] , used in this case as approximate modifying law 34 , where โก is the rotation angle of cam 20 ; s (โก) is motion law of executive units ; h is the stroke of the piston ; and โก is the rotation angle of the 3d cam 20 when the law 34 , shown in fig3 a , fig3 b and fig5 , reaches its maximum . in the described example , the pistons 25 execute four strokes per a revolution of the 3d cam 20 . the table below presents the specific forms of the functions for each section of the law of the follower 1 a . fig6 a , fig6 b and fig6 c show one another way to keep the distance between the midpoints 41 and 78 of the axes of one pair of the main and additional rollers , respectively 3 and 5 practically constant , without moving the cam bushings 16 a and / or 16 b and when the 3d cam 20 is rotating . to achieve this objective , additional cam narrower grooves 32 for the additional rollers 5 are carved on cam profiles 15 a and 15 b . the depth of the additional grooves h is maximal at the places corresponding to tdc or bdc of pistons 25 and is equal to zero between any neighboring dead centers . in this case the cam bushings 16 a and 16 b are situated closer one to another ( ฮดh ) compared to the case in which the cam paths are convex ( see fig7 , convex path 90 ). the law , by which cam profiles 15 a and 15 b are realized , coincides with the unmodified law 33 . in case of convex path 90 ( see fig7 ), the maximum height is between any neighboring dead centers . fig7 shows one main roller 3 having a concave profile , which is suitable when additional convex paths 90 are made for additional roller 5 . these paths 90 are standing out in relation to cam profiles 15 a and 15 b . fig8 shows an example , where each main bearing roller 3 is replaced by two main rollers 3 a and 3 b that are mounted on one main bearing journal 2 . between the main bearing rollers 3 a and 3 b , mounted on one main bearing journal 2 , the axial roller 36 is situated , which prevents the direct contact between rollers 3 a and 3 b . the basic intention of this solution is to enable the rollers 3 a and 3 b , mounted on one bearing journal , to rotate with different angular rates without friction between them . the advantage is the decreased friction between the main rollers 3 a and 3 b and the cam profile that contacts the rollers . when only one main bearing roller 3 is mounted on the bearing journal 2 , the friction between the roller 3 and the corresponding cam profile is higher , because the peripheral points of roller 3 do not have the possibility to harmonize their velocities in relation to the different velocities of their adjacent contact points of the corresponding cam profile 15 a or 15 b . fig9 illustrates the realization of one composite bearing 76 , which can be used as means of connecting the main and additional rollers 3 and 5 with the corresponding bearing journals . it will be appropriate also to use composite bearings at the places of contact between rockers 48 and valve - timing cams 52 ( fig1 and fig1 ). it is obvious from the figure that the composite bearing 76 comprises three bearing rings 63 with different diameters , which are concentrically located to each other . between them rolling bodies 64 are placed , which decrease the forces of friction while the composite bearing is rolling . it is obvious that the net angular velocity of the composite bearing is a sum of the relative angular velocities of each roller level compared to the preceding . using composite bearings at the places of the piston cam engine mentioned above makes it possible to increase the angular velocity of all its rotational elements without this to cause accelerated wear of the bearings in question . fig1 shows one rocker 48 of a piston cam internal combustion engine according to the invention , the purpose of which is to actuate simultaneously two valves 49 . it can be seen from the figure that the rocker comprises one arm 50 with roller 51 , which contacts one 2d cam 52 a or 52 b , shown in fig1 , fig1 and fig1 ; two arms 53 with adjusting screws 54 and counter nuts 55 , used to realize the contact between the rocker 48 and the respective valves 49 a or 49 b , which can be seen in fig1 , fig1 and fig1 ; and the cylindrical joint 56 , by means of which the rocker 48 is connected to a static element of the engine . fig1 a shows an example of a decompression mechanism according to the invention . this mechanism includes an electromagnet 65 , which armature 66 is profile - wisely connected to rocker 48 of one suction or discharge valve 49 a / 49 b of the valve - timing mechanism of the engine . in this case , the armature 66 of the electromagnet 65 ends with roller 67 that contacts with the arm 53 of the rocker 48 , and a coil 68 of the electromagnet 65 is rigidly connected to the static body element 38 . when the piston engine is in a starting mode , the armature 66 of the electromagnet 65 presses the arm 53 that on its turn actuates its adjacent valve 49 a / 49 b , and compresses its spring 69 as well . in this way no compression is realized in the cylinder by the decompression mechanism . when the number of revolutions ( rpm ) of the engine becomes high enough to overcome the resistance of compression in its cylinders , the electromagnet 65 is deactivated . this mechanism can be realized by simplified variations of the basic option , described bellow . fig1 b illustrates one of these options . it includes the electromagnet 65 , a additional decompression valve 71 , different from the valve - timing mechanisms 49 a / 49 b , and a retracting spring 72 . in this case the armature 66 directly affects the decompression valve 71 , which opens or closes opening 77 and shrinks and releases its adjacent retracting spring 72 . the function of this example of the decompression mechanism is identical to that of the basic variant of the mechanism . this example is applicable when the combustion chamber 70 is large enough to provide enough space for the decompression valve 71 . in fig1 c a subsequent example of the decompression mechanism is presented , which comprises the electromagnet 65 , the function of which is to keep the rocker 48 in a position , when the respective suction or discharge valve or valves 49 a / 49 b are opened and prevent the compression in their adjacent operating cylinder . in this case , the free end of the armature 66 is linked to a conical element 73 that is in contact with the axis 56 of the rocker 48 and the conical element 73 retains the rocker 48 in such a position , that keeps the corresponding valve or valves 49 a and / or 49 b opened up to the desirable moment . the axis 56 of rocker 48 has a conical section 74 at its opening , and thus the rocker 48 transfers a moment of rotation from arm 50 , contacting its respective valve - timing cam , to arms 53 , contacting their adjacent valves . fig1 illustrates a variant of a piston cam engine , which in this case is realized as two - piston internal combustion engine . in this variant the spaces of the engine housing and the intake manifold 38 are connected . as a result of this connection the charging of cylinders 26 is improved , because the pressure in the engine housing is higher than the atmospheric pressure . the enhanced housing pressure is due to the synchronous bringing near of pistons 25 when valve 39 is closed . in the opposite movement of the pistons 25 a fresh working substance is sucked up from the environment , and enters the engine housing space through the valve 39 and filters 40 . valve 39 is activated by two 2d cams 45 , which are rigidly connected to the 3d cam 20 . fig1 shows next example , by which it is improved the fresh working fluid charging of a two - piston internal combustion engine according to the invention . for this purpose , a diaphragm pump 46 is added to the construction of the engine , whose plunger 47 and the diaphragm 58 are put into action by two 2d cams 45 , and the flow of fresh working fluid is directed straight from the pump to the intake manifold 38 . the flow of fresh working fluid is guided by a system of one - way check valves 59 . to prevent the excessive increase in the pressure of the housing space , it is appropriate to add an overflow valve to the system providing the fresh working fluid . fig1 illustrates the integration between a two - piston internal combustion engine and an electric engine according to the invention . the integration of the electric engine is realized by a rigid connection of the rotor 60 to the 3d cam 20 , so that the 3d cam 20 and the rotor 60 rotate as a single body . a stator 61 of the electric engine is fixed to the housing 31 of the engine . the shown integration decreases the number of parts in comparison to the case , in which the engine and the electric engine are connected as two independent engines . another advantage of such integration is the increase of efficiency due to the elimination of friction forces between the parts that fall off from the cam engine and electrical generator / motor as a result of their integration . next advantage of the embedding of the electric engine in the built of the two - piston cam engine is its usage as a start motor , when the engine is working in a starting mode . in this way an additional start motor will not be necessary . the shown integration does not include input / output shaft and the respective gear set that connects it to the 3d cam 20 . these components may be assembled in the body of the composite two - piston cam engine , when it is necessary to obtain not only electrical , but mechanical energy as well . the input / output shaft 30 and its gear set 28 and 29 are presented in fig1 , fig1 and fig1 . a similar alternative of incorporation is when the rotor of the electric engine is directly connected to the input and / or output shaft of the cam engine . fig1 shows a two - piston internal combustion engine according to the invention , whose working cycle of which is split . the suction and compression phases of the engine working cycle are realized in cylinder 26 a , and the combustion process , expansion and discharge of the exhaust gases are realized in the other cylinder 26 b . it is obvious from the figure that the two cylinders 26 a and 26 b are connected between themselves by means of conduit 79 , through which the compressed working fluid is transferred from the compressing cylinder 26 a to the operating cylinder 26 b . so the compressed working fluid passes through the exhaust orifice 80 of the compressing cylinder 26 a and enters the operating cylinder 26 b through the input orifice 81 of combustion chamber 82 of cylinder 26 b . fig1 shows variant with a split working cycle of the two - piston engine according to the invention , where the transmission of the compressed working fluid from cylinder 26 a to cylinder 26 b is indirectly realized . in this case , the compressed working fluid is initially collected in the intermediate pneumatic accumulator 83 and later used by the operating cylinder 26 b . the accumulation and the usage of the compressed working fluid are controlled by the two valves 84 and 85 , situated respectively at the entrance and the exit of the accumulator 83 . fig1 also shows a decompression mechanism , described in fig1 a , and an electromagnetic valve 86 , the function of which is to discharge cylinders 26 a and / or 26 b in the cases when they are not used temporarily . in this case , the compressing cylinder 26 b is serviced by the pair of one - way check valves 87 . fig1 , fig1 a / b and fig1 a / b show different law of the followers . although the description above contains many specifics , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . thus , the scope of this invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 5 |
as shown in fig1 , 55 kg of raw material sweet potatoes are mechanically peeled to obtain 50 kg of peeled sweet potatoes and 5 kg of sweet potato skin . 50 kg of water and 0 . 1 kg of vc are added to the peeled sweet potatoes , and then the peeled sweet potatoes are crushed and heated to 95 ยฐ c ., and gelatinized for 0 . 5 hour , so as to obtain 100 kg of a sweet potato paste . the sweet potato paste is squeezed to obtain 60 kg of skin dregs and 40 kg of a squeezed clear juice . 15 kg of the skin dregs are taken for enzymolysis treatment , and the rest 45 kg of the skin dregs are used for extracting dietary fiber . during the enzymolysis treatment , 1 . 5 kg of water is added to 15 kg of the skin dregs , and then 0 . 015 kg of amylase is added for enzymolysis for 2 hours at the temperature of 90 ยฐ c . the squeezing is carried out again after the completion of enzymolysis to obtain 10 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs and 6 kg of a squeezed sweet potato juice . the 6 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice and the 40 kg of the squeezed clear juice are combined to obtain 46 kg of squeezed clear juice . the rough filtering and enzymolysis ( 0 . 02 kg of saccharifying enzyme , 0 . 02 kg of pectinase , and 0 . 01 kg of protease are added , and the enzymolysis is carried out for 2 hours at the temperature of 40 ยฐ c .) are performed to the 46 kg of squeezed clear juice in sequence , and then 45 . 5 kg of a sweet potato clear juice is obtained after filtering . at the same time , the 5 kg of sweet potato skin and the 45 kg of skin dregs used for extracting dietary fiber are combined to obtain 50 kg of a sweet potato residue . 200 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added to the sweet potato residue . the ultrasonic extraction is carried out in an ultrasonic extractor , the ultrasonic power is 1 , 200 w , the temperature is 60 ยฐ c ., and the time is 40 min . 500 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added after the completion of ultrasonic extraction , the ph is adjusted to 2 with a citric acid aqueous solution with a mass percentage concentration of 10 %, and a hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid is obtained after hydrolysis for 120 min at 60 ยฐ c . the shearing emulsification is performed to the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid for 30 min through a high - shear mixing emulsification machine , so as to obtain a sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , and the fiber length in the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid is 0 . 1 - 6 microns . 75 kg of absolute ethyl alcohol is added to the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid for alcohol precipitation for 40 min to obtain a supernatant and a precipitate . the supernatant is heated to obtain a recycled ethanol and a residual liquid , and the precipitate is sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain pectin , glucan and other water soluble fibers ( 3 . 5 kg in total ); the recycled ethanol is further treated to obtain absolute ethyl alcohol , and the absolute ethyl alcohol can be repeatedly used . the residual liquid adopts food grade sodium bicarbonate to adjust the ph to 10 . the alkaline hydrolysis is carried out for 60 min at normal temperature to obtain an alkaline hydrolysis liquid . the alkaline hydrolysis liquid is centrifuged at 8 , 000 rpm , and then the precipitates ( cellulose , hemicellulose , lignin and resistant starch ) are collected and sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain water insoluble fiber ( 11 kg in total ). 3 . 5 kg of the water soluble fiber and 11 kg of the water insoluble fiber are added to 45 . 5 kg of the sweet potato clear juice to obtain 60 kg of sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber . the sodium ions in the sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber are removed with a cation exchange resin , the ph is adjusted to 4 with a citric acid , and then a clear , concentrated sweet potato juice with high dietary fiber is obtained after blending , homogenization , degassing , high - temperature instantaneous sterilization ( 120 ยฐ c ., holds for 15 s ), cooling , and filling . notes : the juice yield is equal to ( the clear , concentrated sweet potato juice containing dietary fiber โ the water added during the enzymolysis of skin dregs )/( sweet potato paste โ the water added during the crushing process of sweet potato )* 100 %. in the second juicing process , first , 55 kg of raw material sweet potatoes are mechanically peeled to obtain 50 kg of peeled sweet potatoes and 5 kg of sweet potato skin . 50 kg of water and 0 . 1 kg of vc are added to the peeled sweet potatoes , and then the peeled sweet potatoes are crushed and heated to 95 ยฐ c . and gelatinized after holding for 0 . 5 hour , so as to obtain 100 kg of a sweet potato paste . 10 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs obtained in the first juicing process is added to the sweet potato paste , and then the sweet potato paste is squeezed to obtain 50 kg of skin dregs of second squeezing and 60 kg of clear juice of second squeezing . 15 kg of the skin dregs of second squeezing is taken for enzymolysis treatment , and the rest 35 kg of the skin dregs of second squeezing is used for extracting dietary fiber . during the enzymolysis treatment , 1 . 5 kg of water is added to the 15 kg of skin dregs , then 0 . 015 kg of amylase is added , the enzymolysis is carried out for 2 hours at the temperature of 90 ยฐ c ., the squeezing is carried out again after the completion of enzymolysis to obtain 10 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs ( can be used indiscriminately for times in the subsequent squeezing process ) and 5 . 5 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice , and the 5 . 5 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice and the aforesaid 60 kg of clear juice of second squeezing are combined to obtain 65 . 5 kg of squeezed clear juice . the rough filtering and enzymolysis ( the 0 . 04 kg of saccharifying enzyme , 0 . 04 kg of pectinase and 0 . 02 kg of protease are added , and the enzymolysis is carried out for 2 hours at the temperature of 40 ยฐ c .) are performed to the 65 . 5 kg of squeezed clear juice in sequence , and then 65 . 5 kg of sweet potato clear juice is obtained after filtering . at the same time , the 5 kg of sweet potato skin obtained during the second juicing process and the 35 kg of skin dregs obtained during the second juicing process and used for extracting dietary fiber are combined to obtain 40 kg of sweet potato residue . 160 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added to the sweet potato residue . the ultrasonic extraction is carried out in an ultrasonic extractor , the ultrasonic power is 1 , 200 w , the temperature is 60 ยฐ c ., and the time is 40 min . 400 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added after the completion of ultrasonic extraction , the ph is adjusted to 2 with a citric acid aqueous solution with a mass percentage concentration of 10 %, and the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid is obtained after hydrolysis for 120 min at the temperature of 60 ยฐ c . the shearing emulsification is performed to the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid for 30 min through a high - shear mixing emulsification machine , so as to obtain the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , and the fiber length in the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid is 0 . 1 - 6 microns . 60 kg of absolute ethyl alcohol is added to the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , the alcohol precipitation is carried out for 40 min to obtain a supernatant and a precipitate , wherein the supernatant is heated to obtain recycled ethanol and residual liquid , and the precipitate is sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain pectin , glucan and other water soluble fibers ( 2 . 8 kg in total ); the recycled ethanol is further treated to obtain absolute ethyl alcohol , and the absolute ethyl alcohol can be repeatedly used . the residual liquid adopts food grade sodium bicarbonate , the ph is adjusted to 10 , the alkaline hydrolysis is carried out for 60 min at normal temperature to obtain an alkaline hydrolysis liquid . the alkaline hydrolysis liquid is centrifuged at 8 , 000 rpm , and then the precipitates ( cellulose , hemicellulose , lignin and resistant starch ) are collected and sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain water insoluble fiber ( 8 . 8 kg in total ). the 2 . 8 kg of water soluble fiber and the 8 . 7 kg of water insoluble fiber are added to the 65 . 5 kg of sweet potato clear juice obtained in the second juicing process to obtain 76 . 5 kg of sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber , the sodium ions in the sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber are removed with a cation exchange resin , the ph is adjusted to 4 with a citric acid , and then a clear , concentrated sweet potato juice with high dietary fiber is obtained after blending , homogenization , degassing , high - temperature instantaneous sterilization ( 120 ยฐ c ., holds for 15 s ), cooling , and filling . it can be seen that the hydrolyzed skin dregs obtained in the first juicing process is added before squeezing to prevent the sweet potato paste from overflowing during the squeezing process , so that the pulp in the juice is reduced , and the juice yield is improved . as shown in fig1 , 55 kg of raw material sweet potatoes are mechanically peeled to obtain 50 kg of peeled sweet potatoes and 5 kg of sweet potato skin . 50 kg of water and 0 . 08 kg of vc are added to the peeled sweet potatoes , and then the peeled sweet potatoes are crushed and heated to 90 ยฐ c ., and gelatinized after holding for 1 hour , so as to obtain 100 kg of a sweet potato paste . the sweet potato paste is squeezed to obtain 50 kg of skin dregs and 50 kg of squeezed clear juice . the 10 kg of skin dregs are taken for enzymolysis treatment , and the rest 40 kg of skin dregs are used for extracting dietary fiber . during the enzymolysis treatment , 0 . 5 kg of water is added to the 10 kg of skin dregs , then 0 . 02 kg of amylase is added for enzymolysis for 1 hours at the temperature of 85 ยฐ c ., the squeezing is carried out again after the completion of enzymolysis to obtain 6 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs and 4 . 5 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice , and the 4 . 5 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice and the 50 kg of squeezed clear juice are combined to obtain 54 . 5 kg of squeezed clear juice . the rough filtering and enzymolysis ( the 0 . 03 kg of saccharifying enzyme , 0 . 03 kg of pectinase and 0 . 02 kg of protease are added , and the enzymolysis is carried out for 3 hours at the temperature of 37 ยฐ c .) are performed to the 46 kg of squeezed clear juice in sequence , and then 54 . 5 kg of sweet potato clear juice is obtained after filtering . at the same time , the 5 kg of sweet potato skin and the 40 kg of skin dregs used for extracting dietary fiber are combined to obtain 45 kg of sweet potato residue , 200 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added to the sweet potato residue , the ultrasonic extraction is carried out in an ultrasonic extractor , the ultrasonic power is 1 , 200 w , the temperature is 50 ยฐ c ., and the time is 30 min . 600 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added after the completion of ultrasonic extraction , the ph is adjusted to 2 with a citric acid aqueous solution with mass percentage concentration of 10 %, and the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid is obtained after hydrolysis for 90 min at the temperature of 40 ยฐ c . the shearing emulsification is performed to the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid for 40 min through a high - shear mixing emulsification machine , so as to obtain the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , and the fiber length in the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid is 0 . 1 - 5 microns . 85 kg of absolute ethyl alcohol is added to the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , the alcohol precipitation is carried out for 60 min to obtain supernatant and precipitate , wherein the supernatant is heated to obtain recycled ethanol and residual liquid , and the precipitate is sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain pectin , glucan and other water soluble fibers ( 3 kg in total ); the recycled ethanol is further treated to obtain absolute ethyl alcohol , and the absolute ethyl alcohol can be repeatedly used . the residual liquid adopts food grade sodium bicarbonate , the ph is adjusted to 10 , the alkaline hydrolysis is carried out for 90 min at normal temperature to obtain alkaline hydrolysis liquid . the alkaline hydrolysis liquid is centrifuged at 8 , 000 rpm , and then the precipitates ( cellulose , hemicellulose , lignin and resistant starch ) are collected and sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain water insoluble fiber ( 9 . 6 kg in total ). the 3 kg of water soluble fiber and the 9 . 6 kg of water insoluble fiber are added to the 54 . 4 kg of sweet potato clear juice to obtain 67 kg of sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber , the sodium ions in the sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber are removed with a cation exchange resin , the ph is adjusted to 4 with a citric acid , and then a clear , concentrated sweet potato juice with high dietary fiber is obtained after blending , homogenization , degassing , high - temperature instantaneous sterilization ( 120 ยฐ c ., holds for 15 s ), cooling , and filling . in the second juicing process , firstly , the 55 kg of raw material sweet potatoes are mechanically peeled to obtain 50 kg of peeled sweet potatoes and 5 kg of sweet potato skin , 50 kg of water and 0 . 1 kg of vc are added to the peeled sweet potatoes , and then the peeled sweet potatoes are crushed and heated to 95 ยฐ c . and gelatinized after holding for 0 . 5 hour , so as to obtain 100 kg of sweet potato paste . the 6 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs obtained in the first juicing process is added to the sweet potato paste , and then the sweet potato paste is squeezed to obtain 48 kg of skin dregs of second squeezing and 58 kg of clear juice of second squeezing . the 14 . 4 kg of skin dregs of second squeezing is taken for enzymolysis treatment , and the rest 33 . 6 kg of skin dregs of second squeezing is used for extracting dietary fiber . during the enzymolysis treatment , 1 kg of water is added to the 14 . 4 kg of skin dregs , then 0 . 02 kg of amylase is added to , the enzymolysis is carried out for 2 hours at the temperature of 90 ยฐ c ., the squeezing is carried out again after the completion of enzymolysis to obtain 9 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs ( can be used indiscriminately for times in the subsequent squeezing process ) and 5 . 5 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice , and the 6 . 4 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice and the aforesaid 58 kg of clear juice of second squeezing are combined to obtain 64 . 4 kg of squeezed clear juice . the rough filtering and enzymolysis ( the 0 . 04 kg of saccharifying enzyme , 0 . 04 kg of pectinase and 0 . 02 kg of protease are added , and the enzymolysis is carried out for 4 hours at the temperature of 40 ยฐ c .) are performed to the 64 . 4 kg of squeezed clear juice in sequence , and then 64 . 2 kg of sweet potato clear juice is obtained after filtering . at the same time , the 5 kg of sweet potato skin obtained during the second juicing process and the 33 . 6 kg of skin dregs obtained during the second juicing process and used for extracting dietary fiber are combined to obtain 38 . 6 kg of sweet potato residue , 150 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added to the sweet potato residue , the ultrasonic extraction is carried out in an ultrasonic extractor , the ultrasonic power is 1 , 200 w , the temperature is 40 ยฐ c ., and the time is 40 min . 400 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added after the completion of ultrasonic extraction , the ph is adjusted to 2 with a citric acid aqueous solution with mass percentage concentration of 10 %, and the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid is obtained after hydrolysis for 80 min at the temperature of 60 ยฐ c . the shearing emulsification is performed to the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid for 40 min through a high - shear mixing emulsification machine , so as to obtain the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , and the fiber length in the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid is 0 . 3 - 4 microns . 60 kg of absolute ethyl alcohol is added to the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , the alcohol precipitation is carried out for 40 min to obtain supernatant and precipitate , wherein the supernatant is heated to obtain recycled ethanol and residual liquid , and the precipitate is sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain pectin , glucan and other water soluble fibers ( 2 . 7 kg in total ); the recycled ethanol is further treated to obtain absolute ethyl alcohol , and the absolute ethyl alcohol can be repeatedly used . the residual liquid adopts food grade sodium bicarbonate , the ph is adjusted to 10 , the alkaline hydrolysis is carried out for 60 min at normal temperature to obtain an alkaline hydrolysis liquid , the alkaline hydrolysis liquid is centrifuged at 8 , 000 rpm , and then the precipitates ( cellulose , hemicellulose , lignin and resistant starch ) are collected and sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain water insoluble fiber ( 8 . 5 kg in total ). the 2 . 7 kg of water soluble fiber and the 8 . 5 kg of water insoluble fiber are added to the 64 . 2 kg of sweet potato clear juice obtained in the second juicing process to obtain 75 . 4 kg of sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber , the sodium ions in the sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber are removed with a cation exchange resin , the ph is adjusted to 4 with a citric acid , and then a clear , concentrated sweet potato juice with high dietary fiber is obtained after blending , homogenization , degassing , high - temperature instantaneous sterilization ( 120 ยฐ c ., holds for 15 s ), cooling , and filling . it can be seen that the hydrolyzed skin dregs obtained in the first juicing process is added before squeezing to prevent the sweet potato paste from overflowing during the squeezing process , so that the pulp in the juice is reduced , and the juice yield is improved . 55 kg of raw material sweet potatoes are mechanically peeled to obtain 50 kg of peeled sweet potatoes and 5 kg of sweet potato skin , 50 kg of water and 0 . 075 kg of vc are added to the peeled sweet potatoes , and then the peeled sweet potatoes are crushed and heated to 95 ยฐ c ., and gelatinized after holding for 0 . 5 hour , so as to obtain 100 kg of a sweet potato paste . 5 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs from other production processes are added to the sweet potato paste . the resulting mixture is squeezed to yield 50 kg of skin dregs and 50 kg of a squeezed clear juice . 15 kg of the skin dregs are taken for enzymolysis treatment , and the rest 35 kg of skin dregs are used for extracting dietary fiber . following the enzymolysis treatment conditions of example 1 , the 15 kg of skin dregs is hydrolyzed to obtain 9 kg of hydrolyzed skin dregs and 6 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice , and the 6 kg of squeezed sweet potato juice and 50 kg of the squeezed clear juice are combined to obtain 56 kg of squeezed clear juice . rough filtering and enzymolysis ( the 0 . 04 kg of saccharifying enzyme , 0 . 04 kg of pectinase and 0 . 02 kg of protease are added , and the enzymolysis is carried out for 4 hours at the temperature of 40 ยฐ c .) are performed to the 56 kg of squeezed clear juice in sequence , and then 55 . 7 kg of sweet potato clear juice is obtained after filtering . at the same time , the 5 kg of sweet potato skin and the 35 kg of skin dregs used for extracting dietary fiber are combined to obtain 40 kg of sweet potato residue , 160 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added to the sweet potato residue , the ultrasonic extraction is carried out in an ultrasonic extractor , the ultrasonic power is 1 , 200 w , the temperature is 40 ยฐ c ., and the time is 40 min . 600 kg of warm water with temperature of 50 ยฐ c . is added after the completion of ultrasonic extraction , the ph is adjusted to 2 with a citric acid aqueous solution with mass percentage concentration of 10 %, and the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid is obtained after hydrolysis for 80 min at the temperature of 60 ยฐ c . the shearing emulsification is performed to the hydrolyzed sweet potato residue liquid for 40 min through a high - shear mixing emulsification machine , so as to obtain the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , and the fiber length in the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid is 0 . 3 - 4 microns . 80 kg of absolute ethyl alcohol is added to the sheared and emulsified sweet potato residue liquid , the alcohol precipitation is carried out for 40 min to obtain supernatant and precipitate , wherein the supernatant is heated to obtain recycled ethanol and residual liquid , and the precipitate is sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain pectin , glucan and other water soluble fibers ( 2 . 4 kg in total ); the recycled ethanol is further treated to obtain absolute ethyl alcohol , and the absolute ethyl alcohol can be repeatedly used . the residual liquid adopts food grade sodium bicarbonate , the ph is adjusted to 10 , the alkaline hydrolysis is carried out for 60 min at normal temperature to obtain an alkaline hydrolysis liquid , the alkaline hydrolysis liquid is centrifuged at 8 , 000 rpm , and then the precipitates ( cellulose , hemicellulose , lignin and resistant starch ) are collected and sieved with a 100 mesh sieve to obtain water insoluble fiber ( 8 . 6 kg in total ). the 2 . 4 kg of water soluble fiber and the 8 . 6 kg of water insoluble fiber are added to the 55 . 7 kg of sweet potato clear juice to obtain 75 . 4 kg of sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber , the sodium ions in the sweet potato clear juice containing dietary fiber are removed with a cation exchange resin , the ph is adjusted to 4 with a citric acid , and then a clear , concentrated sweet potato juice with high dietary fiber is obtained after blending , homogenization , degassing , high - temperature instantaneous sterilization ( 120 ยฐ c ., holds for 15 s ), cooling , and filling . while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects , and therefore , the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
the following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention . various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . referring to fig1 a and 1b , it can be clearly seen that the present invention comprises an insert - to - connect device body 1 . the insert - to - connect device body 1 can be one of a receptacle and an adaptor . the insert - to - connect device body 1 can be mounted to all sorts of equipment and instruments ( not shown ) for polarity detection for two - wire , three - wire , or industrial multiple - wire applications . the insert - to - connect device body is provided therein with at least one grounding terminal 23 serving as e pole , at least one transmission terminal 22 arranged at the left side of the grounding terminal 23 and at least one conduction terminal 21 arranged at the right side of the grounding terminal 23 . when the intelligent receptacle adaptor is connected to a power source having a voltage level of 250v , the transmission terminal 22 is n pole and the conduction terminal 21 is l pole , namely n pole at left and l pole at right . in the instant embodiment , illustration will be given with reference to a receptacle connected to a voltage of 250v , and under such a condition , the grounding terminal 23 is e pole , the transmission terminal 22 is n pole , and the conduction terminal 21 is l pole . further , the grounding terminal 23 is electrically connected with at least one grounding bulb 33 ; the transmission terminal 22 is electrically connected with at least one transmission bulb 32 ; the conduction terminal 21 is electrically connected with at least one conduction bulb 31 ; and the conduction terminal 21 is electrically connected with at least one conduction touch - plate 41 . thus , when the intelligent receptacle adaptor is connected to a power source , whether the polarities are correctly set and positioned can be determined according to if the grounding bulb 33 is lit up , or alternatively , whether the polarities are correctly set and positioned can be determined according to if the conduction bulb 31 is lit up after the conduction touch - plate 41 has been touched . further , the insert - to - connect device body 1 further comprises at least one universal surface panel 11 for receiving the insertion of standard plugs of different countries so that the standard plugs can be electrically connected with the grounding terminal 23 , the transmission terminal 22 , or the conduction terminal 21 . further , at least one grounding plate 6 is arranged between the transmission terminal 22 and the conduction terminal 21 for grounding when a german or french style plug is inserted . the insert - to - connect device body 1 is further provided with a conduction text section 51 that is adjacent to the conduction bulb 31 , a transmission text section 52 that is adjacent to the transmission bulb 32 , and a grounding text section 53 that is adjacent to the grounding bulb 33 . further , the present invention further defines at least one voltage text section 54 for indicating the consumers with the voltage level that is being used and at least one polarity text section 55 for indicating the consumers with correct polarity . to install , the insert - to - connect device body 1 is electrically connected with a power source first . under this condition , if the grounding bulb 33 is lit up , it is determined that e pole of the power source is correctly set in position ; if the transmission bulb 32 is lit up , it is determined that n pole of the power source is correctly set in position ; if the conduction bulb 31 is lit up after the conduction touch - plate 41 has been touch , it is determined that l pole of the power source is correctly set in position . in this way , on - site detection can be performed without any tool and a user may detect and identify , in an easy and efficient manner without using any tool , if the connection of electrical polarity of the power source made by an installation operator is correct . further , as shown in fig1 b , in the instant embodiment , the insert - to - connect device body 1 is further provided therein with a first transmission terminal 221 , a second transmission terminal 222 m a first conduction terminal 211 , and the second conduction terminal 212 . the first conduction terminal 211 and the first transmission terminal 221 can be switched with each other and commonly used . in other words , the first conduction terminal 211 can be mounted and used as the first transmission terminal 221 . further , the second transmission terminal 222 and the second conduction terminal 212 can be switched with each other and commonly used . in other words , the second transmission terminal 222 can be mounted and used as the second conduction terminal 212 . as shown in fig2 a - 2c , these drawings clearly show the present invention comprises an insert - to - connect device body 1 a . the insert - to - connect device body 1 a is provided therein with at least one grounding terminal 23 a serving as e pole , at least one transmission terminal 22 a arranged at the left side of the grounding terminal 23 a , and at least one conduction terminal 21 a arranged at the right side of the grounding terminal 23 a . the grounding terminal 23 a is electrically connected with at least one grounding bulb 33 a ; the transmission terminal 22 a is electrically connected with at least one transmission bulb 32 a ; the conduction terminal 21 a is electrically connected with at least one conduction bulb 31 a ; the conduction terminal 21 a is electrically connected with at least one conduction touch - plate 41 a ; and at least one grounding plate 6 a is arranged between the transmission terminal 22 a and the conduction terminal 21 a . differences of the instant embodiment from the previous embodiment are that in the instant embodiment , illustration is given with reference to an adaptor as an example of the insert - to - connect device body 1 a and the insert - to - connect device body 1 a is further provided with a first light emission element 71 a and a second light emission element 72 a and the transmission terminal 22 a is electrically connected with at least one transmission touch - plate 42 a . when the insert - to - connect device body 1 a is electrically connected with a power source , if the first light emission element 71 a is lit up , it is determined that the voltage level of the power source is 125v and if the first light emission element 71 a and the second light emission element 72 a are lit up simultaneously , it is determined that the voltage level of the power source is 250v . in this way , a user can be reminded of the voltage level that is being used . when the insert - to - connect device body 1 a is connected to a power source having a voltage level of 250v , if the conduction bulb 31 a is lit up when the conduction touch - plate 41 a is touched , then the transmission terminal 22 a is ( left side ) n pole and the conduction terminal 21 a is ( right side ) l pole ; and when the insert - to - connect device body 1 a is connected to a power source of a voltage level of 125v , if the transmission bulb 32 a is lit up when the transmission touch - plate 42 a is touched , then the transmission terminal 22 a is ( left side ) l pole and the conduction terminal 21 a is ( right side ) n pole . in this way , when a user attempts to insert a device plug ( not shown ) into the insert - to - connect device body 1 a to receive a supply of power , the voltage level that is connected and supplied can be determined to be 125v or 250v according to the lighting of the transmission bulb 32 a or the conduction bulb 31 a . when the voltage level is indicated to be 250v , l pole ( fire wire ) of the device plug is inserted into the conduction terminal 21 a ( right side ); or alternatively , when the voltage level is indicated to be 125v , l pole ( fire wire ) of the device plug is inserted into the transmission terminal 22 a ( left side ), whereby the user can be guided to insert the device plug according to the correct polarity . as shown in fig2 b , the insert - to - connect device body 1 a is provided , on at least one side thereof , with an insertion terminal set 8 a that is in compliance with different standards of different countries . as shown in fig2 c , the insertion terminal set 8 a is selectively detachable from the insert - to - connect device body 1 a . as shown in fig3 a - 3j , these drawings clearly show the present invention comprises an insert - to - connect device body 1 b . the insert - to - connect device body 1 b further comprises at least one universal surface panel 11 b for receiving the insertion of various standard plugs of different countries , such as south africa . the insert - to - connect device body 1 b is provided therein with at least one grounding terminal 23 b serving as e pole , at least one transmission terminal 22 b arranged at the left side of the grounding terminal , and at least one conduction terminal 21 b arranged at the right side of the grounding terminal . the conduction terminal 21 b is electrically connected with at least one conduction bulb 31 b and at least one conduction touch - plate 41 b ; the transmission terminal 22 b is electrically connected with at least one transmission bulb 32 b ; the grounding terminal 23 b is electrically connected with at least one grounding bulb 33 b ; and at least one grounding plate 6 b is selectively arranged between the transmission terminal 22 b and the conduction terminal 21 b . a difference from the previous embodiments is that the instant embodiment is composed of various combinations . as shown in fig4 , the drawing clearly shows that the present invention comprises an insert - to - connect device body 1 c . the insert - to - connect device body 1 c further comprises at least one universal surface panel 11 c . a difference from the previous embodiments is that in the instant embodiment , the universal surface panel 11 c is further formed with a plurality of special insertion holes 111 c for the insertion of the so - called big south african plug . thus , the technical features that the present invention adopts to improve the drawbacks of the prior art are as follows : providing reminders to a construction operator to prevent incorrect wire laying and to allow for inspection and test after the completion of the construction ; connection in inserting a plug and allowing for detection of incorrect setting of polarity for power receptacles ; being operable without any tool in all types of applications , making the inspection easy and transparent and detection of polarity ; teaching and improving safety knowledge of construction operators and users to correctly use electrical power . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above . while certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim , it is not intended to be limited to the details above , since it will be understood that various omissions , modifications , substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . | 7 |
one embodiment of our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which : fig1 is a perspective view of the improved device with the cushion in place to the back of a chair ; fig2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cushion showing the vibrator case in place within the cushion ; fig6 is a perspective view showing the heat plate and the backside of the switchbox removed ; and fig7 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the electrical connections between the elements of the apparatus . as illustrated , the cushion 10 is adapted to rest next to the back of chair a . the cushion has a pillow portion 10a . the thicker portion 10b of the cushion is adapted to contact the back of the person sitting in the chair and it is this portion which contains the vibrator casing 11 ( see fig2 ), and the casing 11 contains the vibrator mechanism 12 . in addition to the vibrator the cushion may also contain an electrical heating pad 13 . this may be located near the vibrator casing or at any desired position within the cushion . turning now to the switchbox 20 as illustrated in fig4 to 6 , this box may be formed in two parts made of plastic material . the face side 21 is shown in fig4 and includes the two toggles 22 and 23 . the left - hand toggle 22 may be moved into one of three positions for providing high , medium or low amplitude to the vibrator . the right - hand toggle 23 may be moved to high , medium , or low positions to provide respectively high , medium or low heat to the heating pad . in fig6 the side 21 is shown inverted and the back plate 24 is attached to the part 21 by means of screws 25 . on the backside of the plate 24 is an indentation 26 into which the plate 27 is fitted . plate 27 may be made of a heat conducting metal such as brushed aluminum , and when the plate is mounted within the indentation it is held in position with its sides flush with the edges of the plastic back plate 24 . fig7 is a schematic drawing of a wiring diagram . the toggle 23 controls the connection of the cushion heating pad in the high , medium and low positions as shown in the rectangle designation 30 . the rectangle 31 to the right , contains the points 35 , 36 , and 37 , and operation of the toggle 22 can connect the point 38 which is connected to one side of the 120 volt electrical source , to the point 39 , which leaves the vibrator off , or to one of points 35 , 36 or 37 depending on whether low , medium or high vibrator amplitude is desired . a resistor 40 , which is contained inside the switchbox 20 , is connected between points 36 and 37 , and a second resistor 41 , which is also contained within the switchbox 20 , is connected between points 35 and 36 . the point 37 is connected through the coil and diode 42 , which represents the motor driving the vibrator , to the other side of the 120 volt source . when the toggle 22 is moved to connect points 38 and 37 , a circuit is made between the voltage source and the vibrator which causes the full 120 volts to be applied at the vibrator so as to drive the vibrator at full amplitude . neither of resistors 40 or 41 are in the circuit . when the toggle 22 is moved to connect points 38 and 36 this cuts the resistor 40 into the vibrator circuit and cuts down the voltage to the vibrator so that it vibrates at somewhat lower amplitude . at the same time the heat coming from resistor 40 heats up the switchbox 20 and metal plate 27 becomes warm . when the toggle 22 is moved to connect points 38 and 35 this operates to cut resistors 40 and 41 in series in the vibrator circuit which causes the vibrator to run at a still lower amplitude and at the same time to increase the amount of heat delivered by resistors so that the metal plate 27 becomes still warmer . the person to receive treatment may sit in the chair a with the portion 10b of the cushion next to the small of his back . he may push the toggle 22 on switchbox 20 to its high position which produces only a strong massaging action against his back . if the person wishes to have a more gentle massaging action or wishes to spot heat some area of his body , for example , on his face , or on his shoulder , he may move toggle 22 to medium . this produces a more gentle massage and he may then grasp the switchbox 20 and place the plate 27 next to the area on his body which he wishes to spot heat . a mild heat will be delivered to this area . then if the massaging action is yet a bit too strong or the heat from plate 27 not warm enough , the person being treated can move the toggle 22 to connect points 38 and 35 , and this operates to produce a more mild massaging effect and a higher degree of heat at plate 27 of the switchbox . in this way the person being treated gets a double function -- the reduction in amplitude of vibration and also the facility of hand spot heating by having resistors 40 and 41 contained in the switchbox . as can be more clearly seen by reference to fig7 of the drawing , there is a particular advantage in applicants &# 39 ; system where the electrical source is connected by the switching means associated with rectangle 31 either to off , low ( both resistors connected ), medium ( one resistor connected ) or high amplitude ( with no resistors in the circuit ), and where the electrical source is connected by the switching means associated with rectangle 30 either to off , low , medium or high heat to the heating pad . the switching means of rectangles 30 and 31 are both within the switchbox and it should be noted that all of the above switching functions , including the provision of spot heat at the switchbox , are accomplished with only four wires leading to or from the switchbox . while this specific description has dealt with only one embodiment of the invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that many other embodiments may be constructed and many changes may be made all within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims . we claim : | 0 |
referring now to the figures in more detail , and particularly referring to fig1 there is shown a mlc ( multilayer ceramic ) cavity substrate 27 , having at least one cavity 26 , and at least one shelf 22 . individual ceramic green sheets 17 and 18 , are used to build the mlc cavity substrate 27 . these green sheets are typically fabricated using a tape casting process which is well known in the art . briefly , large rolls or sheets of ceramic green sheets ( i . e ., unfired ceramic layers ) are produced , then individual green sheets 17 and 18 , are blanked out of these large rolls or sheets of ceramic green sheets . subsequently , individual ceramic green sheets 18 , that will form the cavity 26 , are also blanked or an open area 26 , is punched appropriately to form the ceramic layers having the cavity 26 . typically , the material for the ceramic green sheets 17 and 18 , is preferably selected from a group comprising alumina , alumina with glass frits , aluminum nitride , aluminum nitride with sintering aids , borosilicate glass and glass ceramic , to name a few , although other ceramic materials may also be used . wiring metallurgy , which is also well known in the art , is then applied through a standard screening process onto one or more surfaces of the individual ceramic green sheets 17 and 18 , including those parts of the green sheets that will form shelves 22 . base area 23 , typically is dedicated for the attachment of a semiconductor element , such as , for example , a chip ( not shown ), while surface area 28 , forms the upper surface of the mlc cavity substrate 27 . the shelves 22 , typically have pads ( not shown ) for electrical connection ( for example , by wire bonds ) to the semiconductor element which is itself secured to the base area 23 . as shown in fig1 the cavity substrate 27 , has sharp corners 25 , and flat shelves 22 , which is difficult to obtain in actual practice due to damage incurred during lamination . fig2 is an exaggerated view of a mlc cavity substrate 29 , formed by a prior art process , where the corners 25 , became rounded and the shelves 22 , became distorted during the lamination process . fig3 is a cross - sectional view of a mlc cavity substrate 27 , prior to the lamination with a prior art solid insert 36 , in the cavity 26 , to form an unsintered green sheet cavity substrate 27 . this prior art method is similar to the one , such as , disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 478 , 420 ( gauci , et al ), assigned to the assignee of the instant patent application and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . on a first or bottom plate 14 , there is placed at least one ceramic layer 38 . a layer of compressible material 31 , is placed over the ceramic layer 38 , and stacked thereon are the cavity forming layers 18 , that will form cavity substrate 27 . inside the cavity 26 , a machined / preformed plug 36 , is inserted . on the surface 28 , of this green sheet stack is placed a second or a top solid metal plate 15 . lamination pressure is typically applied to the upper plate 15 , which essentially applies the pressure to the stack . here the ceramic green sheet body moves and hugs the plug and after the lamination pressure is removed a cavity 26 , is formed in the laminated green sheets . the plug 36 , has steps 32 , which correspond to the shelves 22 , and profile 33 , which essentially matches the desired profile of the cavity 26 . after the green sheets 18 , have been laminated , the plug 36 , has to be separated from the laminated green sheet 27 . this removal process of the sold insert 36 , in some cases has caused mechanical damage to the green laminate 27 , thus creating green sheet laminate 29 . of course any features in and around the cavity 26 , may also get damaged . it should be noted that the plug or insert 36 , has to be machined or preformed every time it is used . it has now been found that the making of the cavity 26 , using a solid insert , such as , insert 36 , is not only expensive but also very time consuming . referring now to fig4 there is shown a first or bottom plate 14 , placed on which is at least one non - sticky material or non - adhesive layer 16 , such as a mylar ( polyethylene terephthalate ) layer 16 . on the mylar layer 16 , there are cavity forming green sheet layers 17 and 18 , that are stacked and which will subsequently form the mlc cavity substrate 27 . layers 17 and 18 , are typically of the same material , except that layer 18 , has at least one opening 26 , that will form the cavity 26 . on the upper surface 28 , of the layer 18 , the inventive elastic compressible pad 21 , is placed . placed on the elastic compressible pad 21 , is the second or top plate 15 . the entire stack from bottom plate 14 , to the top plate 15 , is preferably placed inside a frame 13 . the frame 13 , helps in preventing the green sheet layers 17 and 18 , from sliding during the lamination process . the frame 13 , and its contents sit on the first or bottom lamination platen 11 . a punch 12 , mounted on a second or top lamination platen 10 , is used to apply pressure in the direction 19 , to the stack within the frame 13 , is more clearly shown in fig4 in an open position . for the ease of understanding this inventive process , the various components in the apparatus are shown with a separation between them , however , when these items are placed together there is no gap between them . the flat elastic compressible pad 21 , could be a combination of one or more thinner elastic flat pads / and or layers 21 . fig5 is similar to fig4 except that it shows the total assembly is ready for the lamination process , but just prior to the compression process . fig6 shows the assembly described in fig4 and 5 , well into its lamination cycle . here the elastic compressible flat pad 21 , under pressure has completely conformed to the cavity 26 . the elongation of the elastic compressible pad 21 should be better than 350 percent to ensure conformability with no damage to cavity edges and corners 25 and shelf 22 . higher rate of elongation of the compressible pad 21 , with least applied pressure is desirable . in general a compression modulus of less than about 100 psi at about 30 percent compressed is needed . the compressible pad 21 , on compression extrudes into the cavity 26 , at very low pressure and fills the same . once the cavity is filled with the solid elastic pad the lamination proceeds as if a planar substrate is being laminated . the lamination pressures usually are above 2 , 000 psi , but for most applications this lamination pressure is below about 8 , 000 psi . as can be clearly seen in fig6 that the inventive compressible elastic pad 21 , has completely conformed to the walls of the cavity 26 , without any damage to any feature inside the cavity 26 , such as , for example , the sharp corners 25 , the shelves 22 , etc . fig7 shows the mlc cavity substrate 27 , of fig4 after it has been laminated . as one can see that the elastic compressible pad 21 , has sprung back to its original shape and so removal of the pad 21 , from the cavity 26 , is automatic and instantaneous . it should be noted that the elastic compressible pad 21 , is reusable , and is now ready for use to form another cavity substrate . the substrate 27 , that is formed using the pad 21 , has undistorted cavities and also has no deleterious effects on the shape or characteristics of the elastic compressible pad 21 . fig8 is a cross - sectional view of another embodiment of this invention where multiple mlc cavity substrates 27 , can be formed using the lamination process of this invention , where individual elastic compressible pads 21 , are placed on the surface 28 , and these pads 21 , conform to the respective cavities during the lamination process . this method allows the making of multiple cavity laminates or substrates 27 , in a single lamination cycle . this improvement of course reduces the cycle time per substrate 27 , and also reduces the processing cost per substrate 27 . the choice of material for the elastic pad 21 , is very important for the present invention . the pad 21 , should be soft , that is , its durometer rating should be less than about shore a 30 , it should be capable of elongation of greater than at least about 350 percent , it should have a low modulus of elasticity , preferably of less than about 0 . 1 mpa . the preferred elongation is around 800 percent with a compression modulus of about 65 psi ( at 30 percent compressed ) at room temperature . it should also be tough and tear - resistant , i . e ., it should be between about 50 to about 200 ppi ( pounds per inch ). these properties are important so that when the flat pad 21 , is caused to conform to the shape of the cavity 26 , the sharp corners 25 , of the cavity 26 , do not become rounded , and the cavity shelves 22 , do not become distorted . the most suitable material for the elastic pad 21 , has been found to be cured silicone rubber . preferably the pad 21 , is a fully or mostly cured thick elastic pad 21 . however , generally speaking , silicone material is best for all laminating pressures , including laminating at higher pressures above about 2 , 500 psi . furthermore , the material thickness of the pad 21 , is also of importance . for most applications it has been found that the thickness of the pad 21 , is in the range of between about 10 mils to about 0 . 25 inches , depending upon the depth of the cavity 26 . it is projected that the thickness for the pad 21 , of above about 0 . 25 inch , the pressure distribution in the cavity area 26 , would not be uniform and thus could result in the deformation of the substrate . the pad 21 , is preferably selected from a group comprising of silicone and silicone with additives . these additives for silicone could be selected from a group comprising of alumina , fiber glass , metal particles , metal oxide particles , to name a few . it is preferred that at least one non - sticky material 16 , is placed between the first plate 14 , and the ceramic green sheet 17 or 18 . this non - adhesive material 16 , prevents the adhesion of the ceramic green sheet 17 or 18 , to the first plate 14 , especially , during the lamination process . this non - sticky material 16 , could be a polymer . it is preferred that the non - sticky material 16 , is selected from a group comprising of elastomer , latex rubber , mylar and polyethylene , to name a few . the apparatus and method described in fig4 , 6 , 7 and 8 , use uniaxial lamination . however , the present invention is not restricted by any lamination technique and can be used with any lamination pressure process , such as , for example , hydraulic pressure , hydrodynamic pressure , isostatic pressure , to name a few . for some applications , the ceramic sheet and / or the pad and / or any other related item could be placed inside at least one environmental enclosure . this environmental enclosure could be a thermal envelope , such as , a furnace . however , this environmental enclosure could be a collapsible bag , such as , a polymeric bag , an elastomeric bag , to name a few . however , this environmental enclosure could also be a fluid barrier container . the cavity substrate 27 , shown in fig1 is illustrative of that obtained by applicants &# 39 ; inventive apparatus and method . the following examples are intended to further illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner . several samples of multi - layer ceramic bodies containing cavities were fabricated using the process of this invention . in one sample a stack of cavity containing metallized ceramic layers were placed in a lamination frame , and the ceramic layers were separated from the bottom lamination plate by a layer of mylar , and the second plate by a 0 . 125 inch thick silicone rubber pad . the thick silicone pad had a compression modulus of about 60 psi at 30 percent compressed state ( at room temperature ) and an elongation of about 900 percent . the assembly was laminated under pressure to about 6000 psi and temperature to about 90 ยฐ c . in an uniaxial press . after the lamination the cavity substrate was then removed from the frame and inspected . it was found that the cavity and the ceramic body had good dimensional control . more significantly , the silicone pad had retained its original shape and characteristics for use in subsequent cavity product lamination due to elastic and tear resistant nature of the base material which was fully polymerized . in this example , an assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but the silicone pad was not used . this sample produced severe cavity deformation and hence was not acceptable as a ceramic chip carrier . in another sample an assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but the silicone rubber pad used was approximately 0 . 07 inches thick . two such pads were used one above the other . the results were similar to the one obtained in example 1 . in this example , an assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but two layers of silicone rubber pads of different thicknesses were used . the first rubber pad had a thickness of about 0 . 015 inch and the second rubber pad had a thickness of about 0 . 125 inch . the results obtained here again were similar to example 1 . in this example , another assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but the thickness of the silicone pads used were about 0 . 125 inch thick and three such pads were used . in this case the results obtained were not acceptable . the cavity substrate that was produced showed sloped shelves in the cavity and the bottom of the cavity was also not flat . in this example , an assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but the silicone pads used were softer than the ones used in example 1 . the elongation characteristic of the pad was about 1000 percent and compression modulus was about 50 psi , at room temperature . here again the cavity definition and substrate dimensions were good . in this example , an assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but the silicone pads used were softer than the ones used in example 1 . the elongation characteristic of the pad was about 300 percent and compression modulus was about 120 psi , at room temperature . in this case the cavity profile of the product that was obtained was not well defined as it had sloped shelves and rounded cavity edges . in this example , an assembly of ceramic layers were stacked and laminated in a manner described in example 1 , but there were three such assemblies within the lamination frame . here again the cavity definition and substrate dimensions of all three laminates were very good . while the present invention has been particularly described , in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives , modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention . | 1 |
referring to the accompanying figures , there is illustrated a wheel support system generally indicated by reference numeral 10 . the system 10 may be supported on either the front wheel 12 or the rear wheel 14 of a two wheeled vehicle , for example a motorcycle 16 as illustrated in fig1 . the motorcycle 16 is similar to conventional designs including a frame 18 having a front wheel mount 20 supporting the front wheel 12 thereon and a rear wheel mount 22 supporting the rear wheel 14 thereon . an engine 24 is supported on the frame 18 for driving rotation of the rear wheel 14 . the wheel support system 10 at the front wheel 12 includes a modified wheel rim 26 which supports a brake rotor 28 thereon similar to conventional motorcycle wheels . a through bore 30 is coaxially received through the wheel rim 26 for receiving the axle 32 of the wheel therethrough . slots are provided at each end of the axle for receiving a respective key 34 therein such that the axle is fixed for rotation with the wheel rim 26 . each end of the axle 32 includes a first portion 36 of reduced diameter which extends axially outward beyond the wheel rim . a spacer bushing 38 is received about the first portion 36 at each end of the axle for providing proper spacing between a shoulder formed in the axle at each end of the rim and the bearing 40 which is also supported about the first portion 36 of reduced diameter of the axle . the bearing 40 is surrounded by the bottom end of the lower fork tube 42 on each side of the wheel for supporting the axle and wheel carried thereon rotatably on the frame of the vehicle . a snap ring 44 internally mounts within the bottom end of each fork tube for retaining the bearing 40 therein . at each end of the axle a second portion 46 of reduced diameter extends axially outward which is further reduced in diameter in relation to the first portion 36 and which includes a slot formed therein for engagement by a keyed locking insert 48 . an axle nut 50 secures to the keyed locking insert which provides further backing for retaining the bearings fixed on the axle . the second portion 46 of reduced diameter projects axially beyond the fork tubes 42 forming the front wheel mounts 20 for securing an ornamental member 52 thereon . an axial bore is located at each end of the axle for receiving a mounting bolt 54 threadably therein . the ornamental member 52 includes a recess formed at an internal end for surrounding the lock nut 50 and a through bore which receives the mounting bolt 54 therethrough . a suitable washer 56 engages the head of the bolt on the ornamental member at an outer end of the through bore which is formed as a recess receiving a suitable cap member 58 with sealing o - ring 60 therein to fully conceal the mounting hardware of the ornamental member and the bearings within the front wheel mount . the axle nut 50 is secured to the keyed locking insert by suitable set screws 62 while the ornamental member 52 is keyed to the axle by a slot in the second portion 46 of reduce diameter which receives a suitable key 64 therein so that all components of the wheel and ornamental member rotate together in relation to the fork tube of the front wheel mount by means of bearings 40 at each end of the axle . the rear wheel similarly includes a wheel rim 70 which carries a rotor 72 for the rear brakes similar to conventional wheel designs . the rear rim also carries a drive pulley 74 which couples to the vehicle engine 24 by a suitable drive belt . a through bore 76 is received concentrically through the wheel rim for receiving an axle 78 therein similarly to the front wheel . the axle includes slots formed at each end thereof for receiving respective keys 80 which fix rotation of the axle with the wheel rim . beyond the keys formed in the slots at each end of the axle , the axle includes a first portion of reduced diameter 84 which projects in an axial direction beyond the wheel rim at each side of the wheel for positioning a bushing 82 thereon . the bushings assist in locating bearings 86 assembled in clusters at each end of the axle about the first portion 84 of reduced diameter . a rotatable disc 88 includes a bore 90 formed therein which is parallel to and offset radially from a central axis of the disc for receiving the bearing clusters 86 therein so that the discs 88 are rotatably supported on the axle 78 about an eccentric axis of the discs . the discs 88 are each supported within a respective housing 92 for relative rotation therebetween . the housings 92 are each fixed on the respective soft tail swing arms 94 forming the rear wheel mounts 22 . a worm adjustment pin 94 communicates with gear teeth about a periphery of each disc 88 for controlling rotational position of the disc in relation to the surrounding housing whereby position of the offset bore locating the bearings and axle therethrough is also adjusted . a locking member 96 surrounds an outer end of each disc 88 and includes a pair of eccentric locking screws therein to set the desired position of the disc eccentrically locating the axle therein . a snap ring 100 is received within the bore in the rotatable discs 88 for retaining the bearing cluster 86 therein . a second portion 102 of reduced diameter of the axle extends axially outward beyond the rear wheel mounts 22 and beyond the discs 88 . the second portion 102 includes a slot for mating with a keyed locking insert 104 to which an axle nut 106 is secured by set screws 108 . an ornamental member 110 is again mounted at both outer ends of the axle for concealing the bearings and associated components . the ornamental member 110 includes an internal recess which fully surrounds the outer portion of the disc 88 supporting the bearings therein and the eccentric lock about an outer periphery thereof . a through bore extends from the internal recess to an outer recess through which a mounting bolt 112 is received for threaded connection with an internal bore formed at the respective end of the axle . a suitable washer 114 surrounds the mounting bolt 112 for engagement with the ornamental member 110 to secure it to the end of the axle . a suitable cap member 116 with associated sealing o - ring 118 are received within the external recess of the ornamental member 110 to fully conceal the mounting bolt and any other components associated with the axle . the second portion 102 of reduced diameter includes a slot formed therein for receiving a key 120 which fixes the ornamental member for rotation with axle . each of the ornamental members is considerably smaller in diameter than the associated wheel so as not to interfere with proper operation of the wheel . the offset bores formed in the discs 88 of the rear wheel mounts permit position of the axle and bearings received therein to be adjusted in relation to the frame so that position of the drive belt pulley 74 on the rear wheel can be adjusted towards or away from the engine on the frame whereby tension on the drive belt about the pulley 74 can be adjusted while still permitting the axle to remain rotatable with the wheel relative to the frame and the ornamental members 110 supported at the ends of the axle to rotate with the wheel as well . the system described herein entails using axles that are bound to the wheel with bearings located in the framework allowing the axle and wheel combination to rotate . with an extended axle configuration , an ornamental outboard hub is placed on the axle which in turn rotates with the wheel visually improving the overall aesthetic appeal of the motorcycle . the scope of the design includes the additions of outboard axle hubs to both the front and rear axles of a motorcycle . in both instances , the hubs are locked to the rotating axle allowing them to rotate with the wheel itself . the artistic merit of the design is for illustrative purposed only and not intended to limit the scope of the design . these and other objects of the present design will become more apparent to those skilled in the art throughout the foregoing and the following description . various modifications could be made without departing from the true sprit and scope of the - proposed design . as described above , with the axle keyed to the wheel and the bearings located in the lower fork tubes , the wheel hubs fastened to the axle ends will rotate with the wheel . the rear wheel hubs serve the dual purpose of rotating with the rear wheel and also hiding the eccentric rear wheel aligning mechanism to give an overall finished look to the rear wheel . rear wheels typically contain double and triple bearing clusters . this system includes this criteria as the eccentric components will contain bearing clusters . the eccentric alignment mechanism utilises a worm drive adjustment screw and a split threaded locking collar to lock the mechanism once proper belt / chain tension and wheel alignment is attained . the bearing is housed in the lower fork tube backed up with an internal snap ring . a keyed locking ring and nut set the axle and spacer against the bearing to prevent lateral movement of the wheel . the axle nut is redundantly locked to the locking ring via a setscrew . the front hub is keyed to the protruding axle shaft and bolted in place . the cap with insignia is held in place in the hub with a compressed o - ring which fits machined grooves . the hubs can be changed for aesthetic reasons without disturbing the set of the wheel and bearing configuration . the triple cluster bearing configuration is housed in the eccentric bearing holder with the bearings backed up with an internal snap ring . a keyed locking ring and nut set the axle and spacer against the bearings to prevent lateral movement of the wheel . the axle nut is redundantly locked to the locking ring via a setscrew . the split locking collar is tightened to the housing block to prevent the eccentrics from rotating once adjusted . the spinning hub is keyed to the protruding axle shaft and bolted in place . the cap with insignia is held in place in the hub with a compressed o - ring which fits machined grooves . while one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing , it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention . the invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
the wireless communication module of the present invention adds wireless control functionality to existing devices , for example cameras . the module is inserted in a device that was originally designed without , or with different , remote control functionality . a device including the module can remotely operate other devices using the existing controls of the device . the module enables a user to remotely operate external devices without any cables running back to the device . it also allows a user to remotely operate other devices that include the wireless communication module . in one embodiment , the module is installed in a camera and is used to add wireless flashpack and wireless camera controls to the camera . the module permits a user to remotely fire flashpacks without any cables running back to the camera . in addition , a camera including a wireless communication module may be remotely controlled and / or programmed by another camera including a module and vice versa . depending upon the control command sent , a module inserted in one camera could also be used to remotely change the shutter speed or some other setting of a second camera containing a module . referring to fig1 , wireless communication module 2 serves as an intermediary device between the controls 3 of a first device 4 , the first device , and one or more remote devices 5 . fig1 is a block diagram that illustrates the general flow of communication signals in module 2 . in operation , module 2 intercepts signals 6 as they flow from controls 3 of first device 4 to other elements of the first device ( e . g , signals generated from user interface inputs ). next , module 2 translates signals 6 and generates corresponding signals 7 in response to signals 6 received from first device 4 . the corresponding signals 7 are transmitted to remote devices 5 via a transmitter , transceiver , or similar mechanism and or back to first device 4 itself . module 2 may also receive signals 8 from remote device 5 via a receiver ( not shown ). in receiver mode , module 2 translates signals 8 and generates corresponding signals 7 to send to first device 4 . fig2 - 3 illustrate a camera 10 including one embodiment of the wireless communication module 2 of the present invention . notably , the wireless communication module 2 resides entirely within the housing 11 of camera 10 . as illustrated in fig2 , the only feature that allows one to detect the presence of the wireless communication module 2 within camera 10 is the presence of an external antenna 12 connected to a pc connector 14 on the face 16 of the camera . as described more fully below , when module 2 is not in use , antenna 12 may be detached thereby removing structural signs indicating the presence of a wireless communication module 2 within camera housing 11 . when module 2 is not in use , camera 10 will generally function normally but without wireless communication functionality . fig3 illustrates typical devices that may communicate with wireless communication module 2 of the present invention installed in housing 11 of camera 10 . one such device is a receiver device 18 that can be attached to the exterior of a camera 20 that does not include the module thereby allowing camera 10 to control certain functions of camera 20 . alternatively , receiver device 18 may be connected to a remote flash device or flashpack 22 . in the instance where a flashpack 22 has either a wireless communication module 2 installed therein , or other receiving means installed therein , camera 10 may communicate directly with a flashpack 22 . two or more cameras having wireless communication module 2 may communicate with one another . a user can send and receive messages between two cameras 10 and 10 having modules 2 thereby allowing a user to wirelessly trigger either of the two cameras using the controls of the other camera . a user will also be able to alter the settings of one camera using the controls of another camera wirelessly . wireless communication module 2 can also be used to wirelessly communicate with other external devices such as a spray bottle 24 or other mechanical device that includes reception capabilities . in the example of a camera 10 outfitted with module 2 , the ability to actuate external devices such as spray bottles or other mechanical devices wirelessly may be beneficial to photographers trying to precisely capture events related to the external device . for example , a photographer might want to capture an image of vapor droplets as they exit the nozzle of a spray bottle . as one can recognize , the ability to precisely control the time that the vapor droplets exit the nozzle will enable a user to more precisely capture the image of those droplets . although the examples described herein are in relation to a camera , one skilled in the art will recognize that wireless communication module 2 can also be used in myriad devices other than cameras to provide such devices with wireless communication functionality . fig4 - 6 illustrate one embodiment of wireless communication module 2 as installed in camera 10 . module 2 typically resides within camera housing 11 on the side of the housing adjacent pc connector 14 . removable antenna 12 , which is removably attachable to pc connector 14 , is adapted for use with module 2 and transmits signals to and from the module via a connection 27 between the module and the pc connector . module 2 includes a head portion 28 that contains two substantially circular flex connectors 29 . when installed in camera 10 , head portion 28 is folded over so that it is substantially perpendicular to the remaining portions of module 2 . in certain cameras ( such as a nikon ยฎ d1 ), the screws ( not shown ) that both connect upper portion 30 of camera housing 11 to lower portion 32 of the camera housing serve as a path for electrical signals between the camera controls housed in the upper portion of the camera housing and the mechanical controls housed in the lower portion of the camera housing . module 2 takes advantage of this functionality by providing apertures 33 in flex connectors 29 . when the screws used to secure together upper portion 30 and lower portion 32 are received in apertures 33 , flex connectors 29 permit wireless communication module 2 to intercept the electronic signals transferred between the camera controls and the mechanical controls in camera 10 . in cameras that do not utilize body screws as a conduit for electrical signals , module 2 may be more directly connected to the camera controls using any appropriate means including soldered connections or otherwise . fig5 a is a top plan view of one embodiment of wireless communication module 2 similar to that installed in camera 10 of fig4 . generally , module 2 is defined by a base 34 , typically a circuit board that includes three main portions : a substantially rectangular body portion 36 ; a narrow throat or neck portion 38 ; and , as noted above , a substantially square head portion 28 . in at least one embodiment , base 34 is a 6 - layer ridged flex circuit board . this embodiment has many ground layers to keep all digital signals clean and isolated from the rf signals . surface 37 of body portion 36 typically includes module microchips 40 and other electrical connections . microchips 40 and other electrical connections typically include at least a central processing unit ( cpu ) 41 , module controls 42 , and a transmitter , receiver , or transceiver chip 43 to provide wireless communication capabilities within module 2 , as described in more detail below . although the entire module 2 , illustrated in fig5 a , is typically fabricated of a non - rigid material , throat 38 and head portions 28 are particularly flexible to allow the head portion to be bent at a substantially perpendicular angle to body portion 36 . connection 27 is also joined with module controls 42 on one end and with pc connector 14 at the other end thereby providing the aforementioned electrical connection between module 2 and antenna 12 connected to pc connector 14 . module 2 is substantially rectangular in shape as illustrated in fig5 a . one skilled in the art , however , will recognize that module 2 can be developed in virtually any shape to fit the specific geometrical constraints of the device in which it is located . fig5 b is a partial side section view of one flex connector 29 . the latter includes electrical contacts 80 and 82 provided on top surface 37 and bottom surface 84 of head portion 28 . in addition , electrical connectors 86 and 88 are also formed on top and bottom surfaces 37 and 84 . electrical connectors 86 and 88 electrically connect contacts 80 and 82 , respectively , with other areas on base 34 . in at least one embodiment , a contact relay 90 that connects relays 86 and 88 may also be present in base 34 . in an embodiment without contact relay connect 90 , signals intercepted by contact 80 may be processed separately from signals intercepted by contact 82 , and vice versa . in operation , contacts 80 and or contacts 82 may intercept signals from the controls of device 4 . the intercepted signals are sent via relays 86 and 88 to cpu 41 of module 2 and then returned to the device and or transmitted to a remote device via transceiver 43 . fig6 a - 6b illustrate antenna 12 and its connection to pc connector 14 . in one embodiment , antenna 12 is a copper - plated coiled spring 13 covered with a thin molded rubber cover 15 for protection . the exposed end of the copper - plated coiled spring is soldered to a male pc connector 17 before molding . antenna 12 is very easily connected to camera 10 by simply plugging the antenna into pc connector 14 on face 11 of the camera . as indicated by the dashed lines in fig6 a , antenna 12 is rotatably joined with pc connector 14 . such a connection allows a user flexibility in positioning antenna 12 at the most effective location for transmitting and receiving signals and allows the antenna to be positioned so as to accommodate the user &# 39 ; s handling of the camera . when not using the wireless transmission functionality of wireless communication module 2 , antenna 12 can easily be removed from pc connector 14 . conversely , antenna 12 can be re - attached to pc connector 14 just as easily when the functionality of the wireless communication module is desired . as mentioned above , and illustrated in fig7 , the wireless communication module of the present invention includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 41 . a cpu used in one embodiment of the invention is an in - system programmable microcontroller manufactured by atmel of san jose , calif . and identified by model number at90s8515 . other logic devices may also be satisfactorily employed as cpu 41 . cpu 41 includes firmware for communicating with the camera controls . as described herein , reference will be made to actions taken by cpu 41 . as one skilled in the art understands , the firmware program stored within cpu 41 is actually responsible for dictating the operations performed by the cpu . 7 illustrates the flow of data and the interaction between the controls of camera 10 and one embodiment of module 2 via the flex connector 29 , cpu 41 , and external devices via antenna 12 . in this particular embodiment , module 2 includes a transceiver chip 43 or equivalent device capable of transmitting and receiving rf signals used in the communication of information between a camera 10 including module 2 and other devices such as a flashpack 22 ( fig3 ). a suitable transceiver chip 43 is manufactured by rf micro devices , inc . of greensboro , n . c ., and is identified by model number rf2915 . although rf signals are utilized in one particular embodiment , the present invention encompasses all wireless communication technologies including cellular and infrared technologies . in one embodiment , in transmission mode , transceiver chip 43 ( indicated by dashed line in fig7 ) of module 2 uses on / off keying ( ook ) of a reference signal provided via line 52 that can be programmed anywhere between 344 . 04 mhz and 354 . 04 mhz with both 15 us and 25 us bit times ( i . e ., time it takes to transfer one bit ) as its signaling means . of course in other embodiments , phase shift keying ( psk ) or frequency shift keying ( fsk ) may be used instead of ook . the reference signal on line 52 is derived from a phase lock loop ( pll ) 54 circuit that is controlled from cpu 41 . a single 4 . 000 mhz crystal 56 is used both to provide reference input to cpu 41 and as the reference clock for pll 54 . cpu 41 sends a transmission enable signal along line 58 to start transmission of signals . pll 54 has a lock detect output ( not shown ) that is monitored by cpu 41 to ensure reference signal 52 is on frequency before transmission is enabled . pll 54 sends the reference signal and line 52 to a voltage controlled oscillator ( vco ) 55 connected to pll 54 . vco 55 develops a signal carrier from the reference signal and sends the signal carrier on line 53 to a power amp 60 . power amp 60 amplifies the rf signal carried by the signal carrier . in operation , when a trigger ( i . e ., a sync pulse ) comes in from camera 10 , via flex connector 29 , cpu 41 enables the transmitter circuit contained in transceiver chip 43 . cpu 41 then shifts out a serial command code by modulating a power amp 60 on and off . a logic 1 is represented by carrier on and a logic 0 by carrier off . when amp 60 is powered off during the 0 bits , the signal level drops by about 70 db . the harmonics are kept low by way of a band pass filter 62 on the output of power amp 60 and by keeping the transmitter amplifier power level about 10 db below its p1 db limit . rf output power into antenna 12 is less than โ 5 dbm . every command code is sent twice ( or more ) with a pause in between . this is to increase reliability and also to keep the average duty cycle low . in receive mode , cpu 41 enables a low - noise amplifier ( lna ) 64 and mixer 66 built into transceiver chip 43 . an indicator 68 known as the received signal strength indicator ( rssi ) is monitored by the cpu &# 39 ; s internal analog comparator to look for proper bit patterns from the transmitter circuit within transceiver chip 43 . band pass filter 70 is positioned between mixer 66 and rssi 68 for removing unwanted frequencies . pll 54 is set b 10 . 7 mhz below the frequency that is being monitored . as can be assumed from the previous sentence , the intermediate frequency ( if frequency ) is 10 . 7 mhz . band pass filters 62 and 70 offer great selectivity to the if section of transceiver chip 43 . when implemented as 230 khz ceramic band pass filters , filters 62 and 70 provide sensitivity in transceiver chip 43 of about โ 94 dbm for s / n of 12 db . a shield ( not shown ) is generally provided covering the entire rf section of body section 36 of module 28 to eliminate any signal leakage from pll 54 to the outside . as the body of camera 10 is typically made of metal , additional shielding is provided . of course , where the body is not made of metal , additional shielding materials may be provided as necessary . module 2 uses a linear voltage regulator ic 72 to maintain 3 . 3 v internal from the camera &# 39 ; s batteries 74 . in one embodiment , module 2 draws about 13 ma while in receive mode and about 16 ma peak in the transmit mode . when the power switch ( not shown ) of camera 10 is turned off , module 2 goes into sleep mode where current draw is dropped to about 1 ma . since a typical camera battery 74 is rated for about 2000 ma - h , module 2 has a very small effect on overall battery drain . referring to fig1 , 6 b and 7 , in one embodiment , module 2 is automatically activated when male connector pin 17 of antenna 12 is attached to pc connector 14 . other activation approaches , e . g ., via controls of camera 10 , are also encompassed by the present invention . an inductor 76 ( fig6 b ), e . g ., a 470 mh inductor in one embodiment of the invention , is connected from antenna 12 to the ground connection ( not shown ) of pc connector 14 via antenna contact 77 ( fig6 b ). inductor 76 has an inductance chosen to have a resonance at 350 mhz so that it looks like an open circuit to the rf signal , but presents a short circuit to ground at low dc frequencies . as one skilled in the art will understand , alternate devices such as capacitors , resistors , or similar mechanisms may be used in place of inductor 76 . in such embodiments , activation and or deactivation of module 2 may be based on electrical events other than a short circuit ( e . g ., the measured current across an alternate device ). this short circuit is typically detected by cpu 41 and is used to enable or disable radio operation . if the short circuit is not detected by cpu 41 , module 2 knows antenna 12 is not connected . antenna 12 is typically designed to have a resistance of about 50 ohms for easy production testing . as mentioned above , the bodies of many cameras are made of metal alloy , which also makes for a good ground for antenna 12 . fig8 a - 8d illustrate one method of installing module 2 in a camera such as a nikon d1 . fig8 a shows camera 10 without module 2 installed . first , upper portion 30 of housing 11 is substantially detached from lower portion 32 of housing 11 thereby exposing the inside 80 of both portions 30 , 32 . next , wireless communication module 2 is inserted into lower portion 32 so that it will reside adjacent pc connector 14 when portions 30 , 32 are reconnected . when inserted , top 28 of module 2 is closer to upper portion 30 . additionally , the width ( wm ) of module 2 is typically oriented relative to the width ( wc ) of a sidewall 91 so that surface 37 of module 2 is co - planar to sidewall 33 . of course , in devices other than the one illustrated in fig8 a - 8d , module 2 may be located and oriented in any manner within the device in order to facilitate connection of the module to the particular device &# 39 ; s controls . after insertion of module 2 , head portion 28 is folded over so that it is substantially perpendicular to the remaining portions 36 , 38 of module 2 . at the same time , flex connectors 29 formed in head portion 28 are positioned so apertures 33 are aligned with the female screw holes ( not shown ) formed on lower portion 32 so that when upper and lower portions 30 , 32 are reconnected , the screws joining them together pass through apertures 33 flex connectors 29 . as a result , contacts 80 and 82 of flex connector 29 are electrically connected so as to receive camera control signals carried by the camera screws in apertures 33 . soldered connections are typically made to connect camera 10 &# 39 ; s power supply to module 2 and connect antenna wire 27 to pc connector 14 inside housing 16 of camera 10 . of course , as one skilled in the art will understand , there are myriad ways to connect module 2 to camera 10 other than soldered connections . after module 2 is joined with camera 10 , upper portion 30 is reconnected to lower portion 32 thereby enclosing module 2 within body 16 of camera 10 . as illustrated in fig8 d , in one embodiment , the remote control functionality of module 2 is activated by attaching antenna 12 to pc connector 14 on housing 11 of camera 10 , as described above . as discussed above , in the embodiment illustrated in fig8 a - 8d , the screws and screw holes ( not shown ) that hold upper and lower portions 30 and 32 of camera body 16 together also serve as a communication path for transferring electrical signals between module 2 and the controls of camera 10 . however , in other embodiments , screws may not be used to hold a camera &# 39 ; s body together and therefore will not be available to serve as a point of connection with module 2 . alternative ways of creating a connection between module 2 and the controls of the device in which it resides are contemplated by the present invention . one such way is the direct connection ( via soldering or similar methods of connection ) of a wire from the camera controls to module 2 . as described herein , the wireless communication module 2 of the present invention is particularly suited for use with photographic equipment . fig3 shows several different photographic applications of the wireless communication module of the present invention . however , as one skilled in the art will recognize , the wireless communication module of the present invention can be used in conjunction with any device that includes controls capable of communicating with cpu 41 . also , as described herein , wireless communication module 2 is also referred to as microcontroller radio card 2 . as further described herein , microcontroller radio card 2 is but one embodiment of a wireless communication module of the present invention . other embodiments may includes non - rf transmission technologies as explained herein . in addition , although the embodiment illustrated in fig7 and described above delineates specific transmission frequencies , etc ., one skilled in the art recognizes that other embodiments of the present invention may include any frequencies that provide acceptable transmission and reception of signals and are allowed by law . wireless communication module 2 of the present invention offers advantages over prior art devices because it makes it possible to convert a previously non - wireless device to a device having full wireless communication functionality . in addition , the original device does not have to be substantially altered or modified . of course , the wireless communication module may be altered to fit within various geometrical configurations . changes to the original device such as modifications to firmware or software or minor physical alterations to ensure the module will fit within the original device are not considered substantial alterations or modifications as defined herein . rather , substantial modifications include comprehensive modifications to the structure of the original device that require new molding of the original device body , changes that substantially impact the costs of manufacturing the modified device as compared to the original device , and or changes that substantially impact the amount of time it takes to manufacture the modified device as compared to the original device . nothing in the art exists to allow for such enhancements in existing devices . while chip 43 is primarily described as providing rf signals , it is to be appreciated that the present invention encompasses the use of a chip that transmits and receives other signal types . these other signal types include infrared , sound , cellular , magnetic , and light pulse . as a result , certain embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed and discussed herein , although it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these ( or any other ) particular embodiment . on the contrary , the present invention is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
reference will be made to the drawings to describe the invention in detail . referring to fig1 , a cassette 1 comprises a frame 10 , two pairs of supporting plates 20 , a plurality of positioning pins 30 , a plurality of coil springs 50 , and a plurality of screw bolts 40 . the frame 10 and the supporting plates 20 define a space therebetween for accommodating substrates , and further define an entrance for inserting the substrates into the space . the frame 10 is generally box - shaped , and comprises a group of upper supports 101 and a group of lower supports 102 at two opposite sides thereof respectively . the upper supports 101 and the lower supports 102 have a same structure . referring also to fig2 and 3 , each lower support 102 defines a longitudinal guiding slot 105 and a longitudinal positioning slot 104 therein , the guiding slot 105 and the positioning slot 104 being parallel to each other . furthermore , the positioning slot 104 comprises a plurality of pairs of keyways 106 at an outer surface of the lower support 102 . each pair of keyways 106 is at opposite sides of the positioning slot 104 respectively . the pairs of keyways 106 are spaced apart from one another at predetermined distances . each supporting plate 20 comprises an upper sliding support 202 , a lower sliding support 204 , and a supporting body 206 therebetween . the upper sliding support 202 and the lower sliding support 204 have a same structure . therefore , only the lower sliding support 204 is described in detail herebelow . referring also to fig4 , only a part of the lower sliding support 204 is shown . the lower sliding support 204 defines a through hole 242 and a threaded hole 244 in each of opposite end portions thereof . a lateral displacement between the through hole 242 and the threaded hole 244 is the same as a distance between the guiding slot 105 and the positioning slot 104 . the supporting body 206 is generally plate - shaped , and comprises a plurality of parallel retaining ribs 208 on an inner face thereof . thus two of the supporting plates 20 face each other , with the retaining ribs 208 thereof being symmetrically opposite each other . the retaining ribs 208 cooperate with each other to retain a plurality of substrates therebetween . referring also to fig5 , each positioning pin 30 comprises a head 32 at one end , a main body 34 defining a stopper hole 342 in an end thereof distal from the head 32 , and a stopper 60 received in the stopper hole 342 . a diameter of the head 32 is larger than that of the through hole 242 , and a diameter of the main body 34 is slightly less than the diameter of the through hole 242 . one coil spring 50 is engaged around the main body 34 between the head 32 and the stopper hole 342 . the coil spring 50 is compressed to enable the stopper 60 to be received in the stopper hole 342 below the lower sliding support 204 . each screw bolt 40 comprises a head ( not labeled ) and a main body ( not labeled ). a diameter of the head is larger than a width of the guiding slot 105 , and a diameter of the main body is slightly less than the width of the guiding slot 105 . the positioning pins 30 and the screw bolts 40 are used for assembling the frame 10 and the supporting plates 20 together and thereby forming the cassette 1 . in assembly , one pair of the supporting plates 20 is placed in the space of frame 10 , with the retaining ribs 208 thereof facing inwardly toward each other . the through holes 242 and the threaded holes 244 of the upper and lower sliding supports 202 , 204 are aligned with the corresponding positioning slots 104 and guiding slots 105 respectively . eight screw bolts 40 are passed through the guiding slots 105 from an outside of the frame 10 and engaged in corresponding threaded holes 244 . the main bodies 34 of the positioning pins 30 are passed through the corresponding through holes 242 and the positioning slots 104 from an inside of the frame 10 , and the stoppers 60 are engaged in the stopper holes 342 . the coil springs 50 are thereby compressed , and the stoppers 60 are engaged in selected keyways 106 . finally , the supporting plates 20 can be even further secured by tightening the screw bolts 40 . thus the frame 10 and both pairs of the supporting plates 20 are firmly joined together . mounting each positioning pin 30 in the above - described assembly procedure comprises the following steps . first , the main body 34 with the coil spring 50 engaged therearound is extended into the through hole 242 . second , the head 32 is pressed to expose the stopper hole 342 beyond an outer side of the corresponding upper or lower sliding support 202 , 204 , and the stopper 60 is inserted into the stopper hole 342 . the coil spring 50 is also thereby compressed . third , pressure on the head 32 is released , so that the coil spring 50 decompresses and drives the stopper 60 to engage in a selected pair of keyways 106 . when the size of a substrate is larger or smaller than the distance between the two opposing supporting plates 20 , the cassette 1 can be adjusted to fit the substrate . normally only one of the two supporting plates 20 needs to be repositioned , as follows . the screw bolts 40 are unscrewed slightly so that they are slidable along the guiding slots 105 . the heads 32 are pressed so that the stoppers 60 are disengaged from the keyways 106 . the supporting plate 20 is slid along the upper and lower supports 101 , 102 until the distance between the supporting plates 20 corresponds to the size of the substrate . pressure on the heads 32 is released , so that the coil springs 50 decompress and drive the stoppers 60 to engage in appropriate selected keyways 106 . finally , the screw bolts 40 are tightened . the cassette 1 of the present invention provides the above - described sliding and fixing means , which essentially comprise the positioning pins 30 , the screw bolts 40 , the positioning and guiding slots 104 , 105 , and the through and threaded holes 242 , 244 . the sliding and fixing means enable easy adjustment of the distance between two opposite supporting plates 20 . in the adjusting process , no part need be detached from the cassette 1 . the risk of misplacing loose parts is eliminated , and the adjusting process is simple and speedy . it is to be understood , however , than even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the invention , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed . | 7 |
hereinafter , preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings . fig1 shows in a perspective view a film transport device according to a first embodiment of the invention . the film transport device according to the first embodiment ( also , according to other embodiments of the invention which will be described later ) is used for various kinds of film using apparatuses , such as cameras , film viewers , etc . referring to fig1 a film cartridge 1 is of a thrust type similar to that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 832 , 275 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 834 , 306 , etc . specifically , as mentioned in the foregoing , the leader part of a film 2 is stowed in the cartridge 1 until use thereof , and , after the cartridge 1 is loaded into the film transport device , the film 2 is thrust out from the cartridge 1 with the cartridge spool driven to rotate . a take - up spool 3 is arranged to wind up thereon the film 2 thrust out from the cartridge 1 . the take - up spool 3 is provided with a film winding part 3 b the surface of which is covered with an elastic rubber material for facilitating generation of a frictional force on the film 2 , and a spool gear 3 a provided for obtaining a rotating force . a pinion gear 4 is disposed inside the take - up spool 3 and is connected directly to a motor ( not shown ). a first reduction gear 5 has a large gear part 5 a which is in mesh with the pinion gear 4 . an idler gear 6 is in mesh with a small gear part 5 b of the first reduction gear 5 . a second reduction gear 7 has a large gear part 7 a which is in mesh with the idler gear 6 and a small gear part 7 b which is in mesh with the spool gear 3 a . in a power transmission system composed of gears from the pinion gear 4 connected directly to the motor to the spool gear 3 a , the gears are always in mesh with one after the other , as shown in fig1 and no driving change - over member such as a planet gear or the like is included . therefore , for example , in a case where the motor is disposed inside the take - up spool 3 as shown in fig1 a reduction gear train can be closely arranged only at an upper part of a spool chamber which houses the take - up spool 3 therein . a planetary arm 9 is mounted on the rotating shaft of the second reduction gear 7 . a planet gear 8 which is rotatably mounted on the planetary arm 9 is in mesh with the large gear part 7 a of the second reduction gear 7 . incidentally , a predetermined force of turning friction is imparted between the second reduction gear 7 and the planetary arm 9 by a spring ( not shown ). a thrust ( output ) gear 11 is arranged to be always in mesh with the spool gear 3 a . the thrust gear 11 is used as a member on the input side of a clutch part 12 . a rewinding gear 13 is used as a member on the output side of the clutch part 12 . here , an exploded perspective view of the clutch part 12 is shown in fig4 . referring to fig4 a cam plate 17 , which is formed integrally with the thrust gear 11 , is provided with projection parts 17 a formed at three positions in the peripheral part thereof . the rewinding gear 13 , which is shown in a sectional view in fig4 is integrally provided with a bowl - shaped clutch tube 19 which is arranged to rotatably house the cam plate 17 therein . a shaft hole part 13 a of the rewinding gear 13 and the clutch tube 19 are fitted on a rotating shaft 11 a which is formed integrally with the thrust gear 11 and the cam plate 17 . steel balls 18 are arranged between the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 and the cam plate 17 . with the clutch part 12 configured in the above - described manner , the thrust gear 11 and the rewinding gear 13 are connected to each other when the steel balls 18 are sandwiched in between the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 and the projection parts 17 a of the cam plate 17 , and are disconnected from each other when the steel balls 18 fall into recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a , depending on a relation of rotation speed between the thrust gear 11 and the rewinding gear 13 . referring back to fig1 an idler gear 14 is in mesh with the rewinding gear 13 . an idler gear 15 is in mesh with the idler gear 14 . a fork gear 16 is in mesh with the idler gear 15 and is integrally attached to a fork 16 a , which engages the cartridge spool to drive the cartridge spool . next , operation of the film transport device arranged as described above will be described . in fig1 arrows shown with full lines indicate driving directions in which the members mentioned above rotate for winding ( thrusting out and taking up ) the film 2 . arrows shown with broken lines indicate driving directions in which the members mentioned above rotate for rewinding the film 2 . first , when the pinion gear 4 is rotated by the motor in the film winding driving direction ( indicated by a full - line arrow ), the gear 5 which is in mesh with the pinion gear 4 , the gears 6 and 7 and the spool gear 3 a respectively rotate in the directions indicated by full - line arrows . the take - up spool 3 is thus caused to rotate also in the direction of a full - line arrow . in this instance , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 causes the planetary arm 9 to turn in such a direction as to abut on a stopper 10 . as a result , the planet gear 8 is retracted to a position where the planet gear 8 transmits no power to any of other gears . the thrust gear 11 , which is in mesh with the spool gear 3 a , is caused to rotate in the direction of a full - line arrow by the motor driving force received through the spool gear 3 . the rotation of the thrust gear 11 in the full - line arrow direction causes the steel balls 18 to be pushed against the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 by the projection parts 17 a of the cam plate 17 , so that the clutch part 12 is brought into a connecting state to cause the thrust gear 11 and the rewinding gear 13 to rotate integrally . the rotation of the rewinding gear 13 is transmitted to the fork gear 16 through the idler gears 14 and 15 . the cartridge spool which engages the fork 16 a is thus driven to rotate . as a result , the film 2 is thrust out from the cartridge 1 . when the film 2 which is thrust out from the cartridge 1 reaches the film winding part 3 b of the take - up spool 3 , the film 2 is wound on the film winding part 3 b without slackening under a pushing action of a pushing means ( not shown ). the reduction ratios of the gear trains of the film transport device are set such that a peripheral velocity of the film 2 on the surface of the take - up spool 3 is always faster than the speed at which the film 2 is being thrust out from the cartridge 1 . therefore , a portion of the film 2 wound on the take - up spool 3 causes the fork gear 16 to rotate at the faster speed in the direction of a full - line arrow . as a result , the fork gear 16 , the idler gears 14 and 15 and the rewinding gear 13 are rotated at the faster speeds in the direction of full - line arrows . when the rewinding gear 13 comes to rotate at a faster speed than the thrust gear 11 in the direction of a full - line arrow , the friction between the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 and the steel balls 18 causes the steel balls 18 to be moved into the recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a of the cam plate 17 . with the steel balls 18 thus brought into the recessed part , the clutch part 12 is released from the connecting state , so that power is stopped from being transmitted from the thrust gear 11 to the rewinding gear 13 . accordingly , after that , the film 2 comes to be wound up solely by means of the tape - up spool 3 . in addition , the thrust gear 11 and the spool gear 3 a are arranged to form a last reduction stage , excluding the reduction stage of the idler gear 15 and the fork gear 16 , for the film winding driving ( the gears 13 , 14 and 15 being arranged to make no reduction ). by virtue of this gear arrangement , the gears 13 , 14 and 15 do not generate any large load when the fork gear 16 is driven by the film 2 . therefore , a load on the motor in canceling the connecting state of the clutch part 12 can be lessened . besides , the change - over from the film thrusting - out driving to the film winding driving can be speedily and smoothly performed . on the other hand , when the pinion gear 4 is rotated by the motor in the direction of film rewinding ( in the direction of a broken - line arrow ), the reduction gears 5 , 6 and 7 and the spool gear 3 a respectively rotate in the directions of broken - line arrows to cause the take - up spool 3 to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . then , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 causes the planetary arm 9 to turn away from the stopper 10 , so that the planet gear 8 is brought to a position where the planet gear 8 meshes with the rewinding gear 13 . accordingly , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 is transmitted to the rewinding gear 13 to cause the rewinding gear 13 to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . also , the thrust gear 11 , which is in mesh with the spool gear 3 a , is caused by the driving force of the motor to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . thus , the rewinding gear 13 and the thrust gear 11 both receive the driving forces to be caused to rotate in the same direction across the clutch part 12 . however , since the reduction ratio of a part from the motor to the rewinding gear 13 ( the reduction ratio of the gears 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 a , 8 and 13 ) is set larger than the reduction ratio of a part from the motor to the thrust gear 11 ( the reduction ratio of the gears 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 3 a and 11 ), at the time of film rewinding driving , the rewinding gear 13 always rotates slower than the thrust gear 11 . therefore , the cam plate 17 is caused to rotate in such a direction as to bring the steel balls 18 into the recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a of the cam plate 17 . accordingly , at the time of film rewinding driving , the clutch part 12 is always released from the connecting state . the driving force of the motor is thus transmitted to the fork gear 16 through the second reduction gear 7 , the planet gear 8 , the rewinding gear 13 and the idler gears 14 and 15 . further , in rewinding the film 2 , both the fork gear 16 and the take - up spool 3 are driven in the film rewinding direction . however , since the rewinding speed of the film 2 on the surface of the take - up spool 3 is set always faster than the rewinding speed of the film 2 on the surface of the cartridge spool which is rotated by the fork gear 16 , the film 2 is brought into a loosely coiled state within the spool chamber , so that the film 2 can be prevented from being stretched . as described above , in the film transport device according to the first embodiment , the spool gear 3 a is used not only as a gear to which the driving force of the motor for driving the take - up spool 3 is inputted , but also as an idle gear for transmitting the driving force of the motor to the thrust gear 11 which is arranged to input the driving force of the motor to a cartridge - spool driving system composed of gears from the rewinding gear 13 to the fork gear 16 . this arrangement permits reduction in number of gears required in the film transport device , so that efficiency of driving force transmission to the cartridge - spool driving system can be enhanced . further , the spool gear 3 a is disposed at the perimeter of the spool chamber and is arranged to be relatively large in size . therefore , the output of the spool gear 3 a can be taken out from any direction . in other words , the setting position of the thrust gear 11 is selectable with a wide range of latitude . further , in the film transport device according to the first embodiment , the driving action for winding the film is performed by causing the planet gear 8 to mesh with the rewinding gear 13 for power transmission . therefore , even if the location of the rewinding gear 13 ( determined by the location of the thrust gear 11 ) is relatively far from the second reduction gear 7 ( a sun gear for the planet gear 8 ), the distance can be easily covered by changing the size of the planet gear 8 . the above arrangement of the film transport device according to the first embodiment thus permits the relatively thick clutch gear train ( 11 , 12 and 13 ), the planet gear train ( 8 and 9 ) and the reduction gear train ( 5 , 6 and 7 ) to be closely arranged above the spool gear 3 a . the gears 14 , 15 and 16 which follow the clutch gear train ( 11 , 12 and 13 ) can be arranged in a relatively thin space extending to the fork gear 16 . in other words , although the film transport device includes the clutch part 12 , it can be arranged without setting any bulky gear part within a thin space available above a cartridge chamber in which the film cartridge 1 is to be placed and also within a thin space available between the cartridge chamber and the spool chamber . therefore , wider spaces other than these thin spaces can be used for members other than the film transport device . the arrangement described above , therefore , permits effective utilization of spaces within the apparatus using the film transport device . in addition , since the clutch gear train ( 11 , 12 and 13 ), the planet gear train ( 8 and 9 ) and the reduction gear train ( 5 , 6 and 7 ) can be closely arranged above the spool gear 3 a , they can be formed into one unit . such a unit can be also used in various kinds of apparatuses . further , in the first embodiment , the moving range of the planet gear 8 is limited to two positions , i . e ., the position where the planet gear 8 is in mesh with the rewinding gear 13 and the position where the planet gear 8 is away from the rewinding gear 13 . therefore , compared with a case where the planet gear 8 is arranged , for example , to selectively mesh with two gears , the planet gear 8 can be arranged to have a smaller moving range . hence , the first embodiment permits reduction in size of the film transport device in this respect . incidentally , in the first embodiment , the planet gear 8 may be arranged to come to mesh , for example , with the idler gear 15 instead of with the rewinding gear 13 at the time of film rewinding . such a modification can be made without difficulty as long as the clutch part 12 can be released from the connecting state for film rewinding . fig2 shows in a perspective view a film transport device according to a second embodiment of the invention . in fig2 all component elements that are in common with the first embodiment shown in fig1 are indicated by the same reference numerals , and the details of these elements are omitted from the following description . the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the spool gear 3 a is provided with an internal gear part 3 c , the small gear part 7 b of the second reduction gear 7 is in mesh with the internal gear part 3 c , and the thrust gear 11 is arranged to engage with the spool gear 3 a ( external gear part ) through an idler gear 20 . in the film transport device according to the second embodiment , too , when the pinion gear 4 is rotated by the motor in the direction of film winding ( in the direction of a full - line arrow ), the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the spool gear 3 a through the reduction gear train ( 5 , 6 and 7 ) to cause the take - up spool 3 to rotate also in the direction of a full - line arrow . in this case , the internal intermeshing of the small gear part 7 b of the second reduction gear 7 with the internal gear part 3 c of the spool gear 3 a gives a wider meshing range to make the driving action on the spool 3 more stabilized by as much as the increase in the meshing range than a case where the small gear part 7 b is externally in mesh with the spool gear 3 a as in the case of the first embodiment . the spool gear 3 a transmits the driving force of the motor to the thrust gear 11 through the idler gear 20 to cause the thrust gear 11 to rotate in the direction of a full - line arrow . in this instance , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 causes the planetary arm 9 to turn in such a direction as to abut on the stopper 10 , so that the planet gear 8 is retracted to a position where the planet gear 8 does not mesh with any gear . as shown in fig5 a clutch part 12 โฒ disposed between the thrust gear 11 and the rewinding gear 13 differs from the clutch part 12 in the first embodiment ( see fig4 ), in the shape of projection parts 17 a โฒ of a cam plate 17 โฒ, i . e ., in the biting - in direction of the steel balls 18 into the projection parts 17 a โฒ and the clutch tube 19 . more specifically , when the thrust gear 11 rotates in the direction of a full - line arrow in fig2 in thrusting out the film from the cartridge , the cam plate 17 โฒ, which is formed integrally with the thrust gear 11 , pushes the steel balls 18 against the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 . therefore , the clutch part 12 โฒ comes into a connecting state to cause the rewinding gear 13 to rotate at the same speed as the thrust gear 11 . after that , when the film 2 is taken up to be wound on the take - up spool 3 and the rewinding gear 13 comes to rotate in the direction of the full - line arrow at a speed faster than the thrust gear 11 , the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 moved the steel balls 18 into the recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a โฒ of the cam plate 17 โฒ, so that the clutch part 12 โฒ is released from the connecting state . after that , the winding driving of the film 2 is performed solely by means of the take - up spool 3 . on the other hand , when the pinion gear 4 is rotated by the motor in the film rewinding direction , i . e ., in the direction of a broken - line arrow , the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the spool gear 3 a through the reduction gear train ( 5 , 6 and 7 ) to cause the take - up spool 3 to rotate also in the direction of a broken - line arrow . further , the spool gear 3 a transmits the driving force of the motor also to the thrust gear 11 through the idler gear 20 to cause the thrust gear 11 to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . in this instance , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 causes the planetary arm 9 to turn away from the stopper 10 . as a result , the planet gear 8 comes to mesh with the rewinding gear 13 to cause the rewinding gear 13 to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . both the rewinding gear 13 and the thrust gear 11 thus rotate in the same direction with the clutch part 12 โฒ interposed between them . however , the reduction ratio of a part from the motor to the rewinding gear 13 ( the reduction ratio of the gears 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 a , 8 and 13 ) is set larger than the reduction ratio of a part from the motor to the thrust gear 11 ( the reduction ratio of the gears 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 3 a , 20 and 11 ). therefore , in driving for film rewinding , the rewinding gear 13 rotates always slower than the thrust gear 11 . hence , the cam plate 17 โฒ then rotates in such a direction as to moved the steel balls 18 into the recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a โฒ, thereby releasing the clutch part 12 โฒ from the connecting state at the time of driving for film rewinding . in this instance , therefore , the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the fork gear 16 through the second reduction gear 7 , the planet gear 8 , the rewinding gear 13 and the idler gear 14 . with the film transport device according to the second embodiment arranged in the above - described manner , the same advantageous effect as that of the first embodiment can be attained . fig3 shows in a perspective view a film transport device according to a third embodiment of the invention . all the component elements of the third embodiment that are in common with those of the second embodiment are indicated by the same reference numerals , and the details of them are omitted from the following description . the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the spool gear 3 a and the thrust gear 11 are arranged to intermesh directly with each other , and an idler gear 21 is interposed in between the planet gear 8 and the rewinding gear 13 which are arranged to engage with each other in driving for film rewinding . in the film transport device according to the third embodiment , too , when the pinion gear 4 is rotated by the motor in the direction of film winding , i . e ., in the direction of a full - line arrow as shown in fig3 the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the spool gear 3 a through the reduction gear train ( 5 , 6 and 7 ). the take - up spool 3 then also rotates in the direction of a full - line arrow . further , the spool gear 3 a transmits the driving force of the motor also to the thrust gear 11 to cause the thrust gear 11 to rotate in the direction of a full - line arrow . in this instance , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 causes the planetary arm 9 to turn in such a direction as to abut on the stopper 10 . as a result , the planet gear 8 is retracted to a position where the planet gear 8 does not mesh with any gear . the clutch part 12 disposed between the thrust gear 11 and the rewinding gear 13 is the same as the clutch part in the first embodiment ( see fig4 ). when the thrust gear 11 rotates in the direction of a full - line arrow in fig3 in thrusting out the film from the cartridge , the cam plate 17 , which is formed integrally with the thrust gear 11 , pushes the steel balls against the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 , so that the clutch part 12 is brought into a connecting state . the rewinding gear 13 thus rotates at the same speed as the thrust gear 11 . after that , when the film 2 is taken up to be wound on the take - up spool 3 and the rewinding gear 13 comes to rotate in the direction of the full - line arrow at a speed faster than the thrust gear 11 , the inner wall of the clutch tube 19 moved the steel balls 18 into the recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a of the cam plate 17 , so that the clutch part 12 is released from the connecting state . after that , the winding driving of the film 2 is performed solely by means of the take - up spool 3 . on the other hand , when the pinion gear 4 is rotated by the motor in the film rewinding direction , i . e ., in the direction of a broken - line arrow , the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the spool gear 3 a through the reduction gear train ( 5 , 6 and 7 ) to cause the take - up spool 3 to rotate also in the direction of a broken - line arrow . further , the spool gear 3 a transmits the driving force of the motor also to the thrust gear 11 to cause the thrust gear 11 to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . in this instance , the rotation of the second reduction gear 7 causes the planetary arm 9 to turn away from the stopper 10 . as a result , the planet gear 8 comes to engage with the rewinding gear 13 through the idler gear 21 to cause the rewinding gear 13 to rotate in the direction of a broken - line arrow . both the rewinding gear 13 and the thrust gear 11 thus rotate in the same direction with the clutch part 12 interposed between them . however , the reduction ratio of a part from the motor to the rewinding gear 13 ( the reduction ratio of the gears 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 a , 8 , 21 and 13 ) is set larger than the reduction ratio of a part from the motor to the thrust gear 11 ( the reduction ratio of the gears 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 3 a and 11 ). therefore , in driving for film rewinding , the rewinding gear 13 rotates always slower than the thrust gear 11 . hence , the cam plate 17 then rotates in such a direction as to moved the steel balls 18 into the recessed parts formed between the projection parts 17 a , thereby releasing the clutch part 12 from the connecting state at the time of driving for film rewinding . in this instance , therefore , the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the fork gear 16 through the second reduction gear 7 , the planet gear 8 , the rewinding gear 13 and the idler gears 14 and 15 . with the film transport device according to the third embodiment arranged in the above - described manner , the same advantageous effect can be attained as in the cases of the first and second embodiments . fig6 shows in a perspective view a film transport device according to a fourth embodiment of the invention . fig7 is an exploded perspective view showing a gear head part of the film transport device as viewed from the direction of an arrow a in fig6 . in fig6 and 7 , all component elements that are in common with the above - described embodiments are indicated by the same reference numerals , and the details of them are omitted from the following description . referring to fig6 and 7 , a pinion gear 4 is connected directly to a film transport motor ( not shown ). a reduction gear 5 has a large gear part 5 a which is in mesh with the pinion gear 4 . a planet gear 22 is arranged to have the reduction gear 5 as a sun gear and to revolve around the reduction gear 5 . a large gear part 22 a of the planet gear 22 is in mesh with a small gear part 5 b of the reduction gear 5 . a planetary plate 23 is arranged to cause a small gear part 22 b of the planet gear 22 to be selectively come to mesh with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 or with a sun gear 25 . a planet shaft 24 is arranged to rotatably carry the planet gear 22 through a spring ( not shown ). the sun gear 25 is arranged to rotate in a fixed position where the sun gear 25 never meshes with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 . a planetary clutch gear 26 is arranged to be always in mesh with the sun gear 25 and a large gear part 29 a of a transmission gear 29 and to turn around the sun gear 25 . a planetary thrust gear 27 is arranged to turn around the sun gear 25 between a position where the planetary thrust gear 27 meshes with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 and another position where the planetary thrust gear 27 does not mesh with the internal gear part 3 c , while carrying out a clutching function between the planetary thrust gear 27 and the planetary clutch gear 26 . a clutch shaft 28 acts as a rotating shaft for the planetary clutch gear 26 and the planetary thrust gear 27 . the clutch shaft 28 has an end projection 28 a which engages a cam part 23 a of the planetary plate 23 , so that the position of the clutch shaft 28 , i . e ., the revolving position of the planetary thrust gear 27 , is controlled by the planetary plate 23 . fig8 and 9 are exploded perspective views showing a clutch part composed of the planetary clutch gear 26 and the planetary thrust gear 27 shown in fig6 . referring to fig8 and 9 , a sun - gear rotation sleeve 31 is caulked integrally with the planetary plate 30 and is fitted in the sun gear 25 . the planetary clutch gear 26 is provided with slanting claw faces 26 a on its lower side as shown in fig9 . the planetary thrust gear 27 is also provided with slanting claw faces 27 a as shown in fig8 . the clutch shaft 28 is carried by the planetary plate 30 while compressing a coil spring 32 to push the planetary clutch gear 26 against the planetary thrust gear 27 . next , operation of the film transport device arranged as described above according to the fourth embodiment will be described . fig1 is a plan view showing the state of the film transport device at the time when the operation of thrusting out the film from the cartridge is started . referring to fig1 , the reduction gear 5 which is driven by the pinion gear 4 ( not shown in fig1 ) rotates in the direction of an arrow . the planet gear 22 , which is in mesh with the reduction gear 5 , receives a revolving force which is exerted on the planet shaft 24 in the direction of an arrow . the planet gear 22 is thus brought into a position where the planet gear 22 is held in a state of meshing with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 . in this position , the planet gear 22 is out of mesh with the sun gear 25 . then , the take - up spool 3 is caused by the planet gear 22 to rotate in the direction of an arrow , i . e ., in the film winding direction . in this instance , since the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 has a large diameter , a sufficient amount of speed reduction is possible , despite the fact that there are only a few number of gear stages between the pinion gear 4 and the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 . further , the end projection 28 a of the clutch shaft 28 is restricted to be on the side of the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 by the action of the cam part 23 a of the planetary plate 23 . by virtue of this action , the planetary thrust gear 27 is kept in a state of meshing with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 . since the planetary thrust gear 27 is rotated in such a direction that the slanting claw faces 27 a of the planetary thrust gear 27 shown in fig8 mesh with the slanting claw faces 26 a of the planetary clutch gear 26 , the planetary clutch gear 26 rotates integrally with the planetary thrust gear 27 . the power of the planetary clutch gear 26 is thus transmitted to the large gear part 29 a of the transmission gear 29 . in other words , the planetary thrust gear 27 is arranged such that the power of the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 which is driven by the rotating force of the planet gear 22 is extracted from a different part of the internal gear part 3 a and transmitted to the fork gear 16 by the planetary thrust gear 27 . in the state shown in fig1 , the individual gears rotate in the direction of full - line arrows , and the film 2 is driven by the fork gear 16 to be thrust out from the cartridge 1 . the film 2 which is thrust out is taken up to be wound on the take - up spool in a state of being pushed by an elastic member 33 against the take - up spool 3 . then , since the film winding speed of the take - up spool 3 is set faster than the film thrusting - out speed of the fork gear 16 , the film 2 is pulled out from the cartridge 1 at a speed faster than the film thrusting - out speed of the fork gear 16 . therefore , a tensile force of the tape 2 caused by the rotation of the take - up spool 3 is transmitted to the fork gear 16 . then , since the planetary clutch gear 26 is caused to rotate in the direction of a full - line arrow at a speed faster than the planetary thrust gear 27 , the engaging connection between the planetary clutch gear 26 and the planetary thrust gear 27 is canceled , so that the film 2 is wound up solely by the rotation of the take - up spool 3 . incidentally , in this instance , since the sun gear 25 is always in mesh with the planetary clutch gear 26 , the sun gear 25 is driven to rotate by the planetary clutch gear 26 . however , the rotation of the sun gear 25 is nothing but an idle rotation . therefore , the film 2 can be thrust out and wound up without hindrance . fig1 shows in a plan view the state of the film transport device obtained immediately after the change - over from the film thrusting - out and winding - up operation to a film rewinding operation . referring to fig1 , the reduction gear 5 , which receives power from the pinion gear 4 ( not shown in fig1 ), is driven in the direction of an arrow indicated by a broken line . the small gear part 22 b of the planet gear 22 is then released from its state of meshing with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 by the turning of the planetary plate 23 in the direction of an arrow indicated by a broken line , so that the planet gear 22 moves in such a direction as to mesh with the sun gear 25 . at the same time , the end projection 28 a of the clutch shaft 28 is caused by the motion of the cam part 23 a of the planetary plate 23 to move in the direction of a broken - line arrow to a position where the planetary thrust gear 27 never meshes with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 . fig1 shows in a plan view the state of the film transport device where the film rewinding operation is in process . in this state , the small gear part 22 b of the planet gear 22 is in mesh with the sun gear 25 to impart a turning force in the direction of a broken - line arrow . the planetary clutch gear 26 , while receiving a force of revolving around the sun gear 25 , is kept by the position restricting action of the cam part 23 a of the planetary plate 23 in a position where the planetary thrust gear 27 never meshes with the internal gear part 3 c of the take - up spool 3 . a film rewinding driving force in the direction of a broken - line arrow is thus transmitted to the fork gear 16 through the sun gear 25 , the planetary clutch gear 26 , the transmission gear 29 and the idler gears 14 and 15 . therefore , the take - up spool 3 is allowed to rotate , free from the driving force of the motor , following a force of rewinding the film wound on the film winding part 3 b . then , the presence of the elastic member 33 ( a leaf spring or the like ) shown in fig6 ensures that the film 2 can be transported without slackening its coiled state on the film winding part 3 b of the take - up spool 3 , even if the film winding operation and the film rewinding operation are repeatedly performed . with the film transport device according to the fourth embodiment arranged as described above , the same advantageous effect can be attained as in the cases of the above - described embodiments . the individual components shown in schematic or block form in the drawings are all well - known in the camera arts and their specific construction and operation are not critical to the operation or best mode for carrying out the invention . while the invention has been described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . the scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions . for example , while the spool gear disposed at the film take - up spool is used as an intermediate gear for transmission of a film transport driving force in each of the embodiments disclosed , the invention is not limited to the arrangement disclosed . the spool gear may be used as an intermediate gear for transmission of a driving force other than the film transport driving force , such as an optical system driving force . the invention may be carried out by combining as necessary the embodiments or their technological elements described in the foregoing . the invention applies to cases where either the whole or a part of claims or the arrangement of each embodiment described forms an apparatus or is used in combination with some other apparatus or as a component element of an apparatus . further , the invention is applicable to cameras of various kinds , such as a single - lens reflex camera and a lens - shutter type camera , and apparatuses other than cameras , such as a film viewing apparatus , a film using apparatus , a power transmission apparatus , etc . | 6 |
the lower alcohols that may be charged to the process of this invention , or more specifically to the first stage of a combination operation , include methanol , ethanol , propanol , and isopropanol . the feed may consist of a relatively pure single alcohol , or mixtures of these alcohols with other components such as higher alcohols . in general , any mixture comprising : methanol ; or ethanol ; or propanol ; or isopropanol ; and which is convertible with high exothermicity , is a suitable feed for the first stage of the present invention . conversions which produce more than about 100 btu / lb of total hydrocarbon product , and preferably more than about 200 btu / lb of hydrocarbon product , at conversion temperature , are considered highly exothermic for the purpose of the present invention . the preferred charges to the first stage of the present invention are ethanol and methanol . particularly preferred are charges comprising substantial fractions , i . e . more than 25 weight percent , of methanol . mixtures of methanol and dimethyl ether are included as preferred charges . in the first stage of the present invention the alcohol reactant is contacted with a condensation catalyst to produce water and a predominantly aliphatic organic intermediate product . the condensation catalyst may be any catalyst which results in the intermolecular dehydration of the alcohol reactant to form an aliphatic product of higher carbon to oxygen ratio than the feed . the condensation reactions contemplated include those that form simple and mixed ethers such as : dimethyl ether , diethyl ether , di - n - propyl ether , diisopropyl ether , methyl ethyl ether , methyl n - propyl ether , methyl isopropyl ether , ethyl n - propyl ether , ethyl isopropyl ether , and n - propyl isopropyl ether . all of these intermediates may be formed by the intermolecular dehydration of corresponding alcohol reactants , and all of these condensations are exothermic and generate heat . while this condensation reaction by itself , is generally known with alumina compositions , such as gamma alumina , it is noted that other acidic catalysts known in the art are very effective for the conversion . such catalysts include , by way of example , liquid acids such as sulfuric and phosphoric acids , and solid inorganic and organic acidic catalysts such as phosphoric acid supported on kieselguhr , high surface area silica - alumina , acidic aluminas , acid treated clays , bauxites , and polystryrene sulfonic acids of the ion - exchange type including the macroreticular variety . for the purpose of this invention , it is preferred to use solid acidic catalysts . intramolecular dehydration reactions , such as the dehyration of ethanol to ethylene and water , and of propanol or isopropanol to propylene and water , although they form water and an aliphatic intermediate that has a higher carbon to oxygen ratio than the feed , these dehydration reactions are endothermic rather than exothermic . those skilled in the art will recognize that with methanol feed , no intramolecular dehydration is possible , and that therefore the condensation reaction can only proceed exothermally to form , for example , dimethyl ether . with ethanol , propanol , and isopropanol , on the other hand , the desired exothermic condensation and the undesired endothermic dehydration may occur over the same catalyst to different degrees under different conditions . for example , ethanol vapor passed over a certain solid acidic catalyst at about 212 ยฐ f . will form , exothermally , diethyl ether ; however , at substantially higher temperatures , ethanol will intramolecularly dehydrate to ethylene . in fact , over certain acidic catalysts , it is well known that a dehydrogenation reaction may set in at high temperature which not only does not split out water but is also endothermic . in one embodiment , the combination operation of the present invention comprises sequential stages of catalytic contact in which combination the first stage is a catalyst restricted exothermic heat generating operation and the second catalyst stage is exothermically one combination of the operation herein described . the first stage operation is performed in the presence of a catalytic restructuring or conversion operation which is catalytically exothermic heat generating limited by restricting the conversion of methanol to approximately an equilibrium mixture comprising dimethyl ether , methanol and water . during this first stage limited conversion operation performed with a mass of catalyst suitable for the purpose such as gamma alumina , the reactant material conversion product or first stage reaction effluent mixture is temperature raised by the catalytically generated exothermic heat to about 600 ยฐ f . or 650 ยฐ f . the first stage reaction effluent mixture thus formed is adjusted to a temperature within the range of 600 ยฐ f . to about 800 ยฐ f . by passing through an indirect heat exchange zone in indirect heat exchange relationship with a circulating heat exchange fluid . for example , the heat exchange fluid may be water of the methanol reactant passed to the first catalyst conversion stage . the second stage catalytic conversion operation of this invention is particularly resricted to converting a dimethyl ether feed from any source or the first stage effluent mixture comprising methanol , dimethyl ether and water to an olefin rich product material and / or a product rich in gasoline boiling components . the operation is highly exothermic and depending on the product desired occurs over a range of conditions but rapidly in the presence of selected crystalline zeolites and particularly a catalyst comprising a zsm - 5 type crystalline zeolite . the class of zeolites in the process of this invention other than the first catalyst stage has some unusual properties . these zeolites by themselves can transform aliphatic hydrocarbons to aromatic hydrocarbons in commercially desirable yields . although they have unusually low alumina contents , i . e ., high silica to alumina ratios , they are very active even when the silica to alumina ratio exceeds 30 . in fact product advantages during the formation of aromatics has been found by limiting the silica to alumina ratio below 60 therey reducing the formation of durene and permitting the use of higher pressures . the activity and selectivity characteristics of these crystalline zeolites are somewhat surprising since the alumina in the zeolite framework is believed responsible for catalytic activity . they retain their crystallinity for long periods in spite of the presence of steam at high temperature which induces irreversible collapse of the framework of other zeolites , e . g ., of the x and a type . furthermore , carbonaceous deposits , when formed , may be removed by burning at higher than usual temperatures to restore activity . an important characteristic of the crystal structure of the class of zeolites particularly suitable for use herein is that the zeolite provides constrained access to , and egress from , the intracrystalline free space by virtue of having a pore dimension greater than about 5 angstroms and pore windows of about a size such as would be provided by 10 - membered rings of oxygen atoms . it is to be understood , of course , that these rings are those formed by the regular disposition of the tetrahedra making up the anionic framework of the crystalline aluminosilicate , the oxygen atoms themselves being bonded to the silicon or aluminum atoms at the centers of the tetrahedra . briefly , the preferred zeolites useful in this invention , possess , in combination : a silica to alumina ratio of at least about 12 ; with some improved results obtained when using a silica to alumina ratio in the range of 30 to 70 to reduce the formation of durene and a structure providing constrained access to the crystalline free space . the silica to alumina ratio referred to may be determined by conventional analysis . this ratio is meant to represent , as closely as possible , the ratio in the rigid anionic framework of the zeolite crystal and to exclude aluminum in the binder or in cationic form within the channels . although zeolites with a silica to alumina ratio of at least 12 are useful , it is preferred to use zeolites having higher ratios of at least about 30 . such zeolites , after activation , acquire an intracrystalline sorption capacity for normal hexane which is greater than that for water , i . e . they exhibit &# 34 ; hydrophobic &# 34 ; properties . it is believed that this hydrophobic character is advantageous in the present invention . the type zeolite useful in this invention freely sorb normal hexane and have a pore dimension greater than about 5 angstroms . in addition , the structure must provide constrained access to larger molecules . it is sometimes possible to judge from a known crystal structure whether such constrained access exists . for example , if the only pore windows in a crystal are formed by eight membered rings of oxygen atoms , then access to molecules of larger cross - section than normal hexane is excluded and the zeolite is not of the desired type . windows of ten - membered rings are preferred , although excessive puckering or pore blockage may render these zeolites ineffective . twelve - membered rings do not generally appear to offer sufficient constraint to produce the advantageous conversions , although structures can be conceived , due to pore blockage or other cause , that may be operative . rather than attempt to judge from crystal structure whether or not a catalyst possesses the necessary constrained access , a simple determination of the &# 34 ; constraint index &# 34 ; may be made by passing continuously a mixture of equal weight of normal hexane and 3 - methylpentane over a small sample , approximately 1 gram or less , of catalyst at atmospheric pressure according to the following procedure . a sample of the catalyst , in the form of pellets or extrudate , is crushed to a particle size about that of coarse sand and mounted in a glass tube . prior to testing , the catalyst is treated with a stream of air at 1000 ยฐ f . for at least 15 minutes . the catalyst is then flushed with helium and the temperature adjusted between 550 ยฐ f . and 950 ยฐ f . to give an overall conversion between 10 % and 60 %. the mixture of hydrocarbons is passed at 1 liquid hourly space velocity ( i . e . 1 volume of hydrocarbon per volume of catalyst per hour ) over the catalyst with a helium dilution to give a helium a total hydrocarbon mole ratio of 4 : 1 . after 20 minutes on stream , a sample of the effluent is taken and analyzed , most conveniently by gas chromatography , to determine the fraction remaining unchanged for each of the two hydrocarbons . the &# 34 ; constraint index &# 34 ; is calculated as follows : ## equ1 ## the constraint index approximates the ratio of the cracking rate constants for the two hydrocarbons . catalysts suitable for the present invention are those having a constraint index from 1 . 0 to 12 . 0 , preferably 2 . 0 to 7 . 0 . the class of zeolites defined herein is exemplified by zsm - 5 , zsm - 11 , zsm - 12 , zsm - 21 , tea mordenite and other similar materials . recently issued u . s . pat . no . 3 , 702 , 886 describing and claiming zsm - 5 is incorporated herein by reference . zsm - 11 is more particularly described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 709 , 979 , the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . zsm - 12 is more particularly described in west german offenlegunschrift 2 , 213 , 109 , the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . zsm - 21 is more particularly described in u . s . application , ser . no . 358 , 192 , filed may 7 , 1973 , now abandoned , the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . tea mordenite is more particularly described in u . s . application ser . no . 130 , 442 filed apr . 11 , 1971 , now abandoned , the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . the specific zeolites described , when prepared in the presence of organic cations , are catalytically inactive , possibly because the intracrystalline free space is occupied by organic cations from the forming solution . they may be activated by heating in an inert atmosphere at 1000 ยฐ f . for one hour , for example , followed by base exchange with ammonium salts followed by calcination at 1000 ยฐ f . in air . the presence of organic cations in the forming solution may not be absolutely essential to the formation of this type zeolite ; however , the presence of these cations does not appear to favor the formation of this special type of zeolite . more generally , it is desirable to activate this type catalyst by base exchange with ammonium salts followed by calcination in air at about 1000 ยฐ f . for from about 15 minutes to about 24 hours . natural zeolites may sometimes be converted to this type zeolite catalysts by various activation procedures and other treatments such as base exchange , steaming , alumina extraction and calcination , in combinations . natural minerals which may be so treated include ferrierite , brewsterite , stilbite , dachiardite , epistilbite , heulandite and clinoptilolite . the preferred crystalline aluminosilicates are zsm - 5 , zsm - 11 , zsm - 12 , zsm - 21 and tea mordenite , with zsm - 5 particularly preferred . the catalysts of this invention may be in the hydrogen form or they may be base exchanged or impregnated to contain ammonium or a metal cation complement . it is desirable to calcine the catalyst after base exchange . the metal cations that may be present include any of the cations of the metals of groups i through viii of the periodic table . however , in the case of group ia metals , the cation content should in no case be so large as to effectively inactivate the catalyst . for example , a completely sodium exchanged h - zsm - 5 is not operative in the present invention . in a preferred aspect of this invention , the catalysts hereof are selected as those having a crystal density , in the dry hydrogen form , of not substantially below about 1 . 6 grams per cubic centimeter . it has been found that zeolites which satisfy all three of these criteria are most desired because they tend to maximize the production of gasoline boiling range hydrocarbon products . therefore , the preferred catalysts of this invention are those having a constraint index as defined above of about 1 to 12 , a silica to alumina ratio of at least about 12 and a dried crystal density of not less than about 1 . 6 grams per cubic centimeter . the dry density for known structures may be calculated from the number of silicon plus aluminum atoms per 1000 cubic angstroms , as given , e . g . on page 11 of the article on zeolite struture by w . m . meier . this paper , the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference , is included in &# 34 ; proceedings of the conference on molecular sieves , london , april 1967 &# 34 ;, published by the society of chemical industry , london , 1968 . when the crystal structure is unknown , the crystal framework density may be determined by classical pyknometer techniques . for example , it may be determined by immersing the dry hydrogen form of the zeolite in an organic solvent which is not sorbed by the crystal . it is possible that the unusual sustained activity and stability of this class of zeolites is associated with its high crystal anionic framework density of not less than about 1 . 6 grams per cubic centimeter . this high density of course must be associated with a relatively small amount of free space within the crystal , which might be expected to result in more stable structures . this free space , however , is important as the locus of catalytic activity . a remarkable and unique attribute of this type of zeolite is its ability to convert paraffinic hydrocarbons of aromatic hydrocarbons in exceptionally fine , commercially attractive yields by simply contacting such paraffins with such catalyst at high temperatures of about 800 ยฐ to 1500 ยฐ f . and low space velocities of about 1 to 15 whsv . zsm - 5 type of zeolite seems to exert little or no action upon aromatic rings present in the feed to such process or formed in such process from the point of view of destroying ( cracking ) such rings . it does however have the ability with or without the presence of a special hydrogen transfer functionality and with or without the presence of added hydrogen in the reaction mixture , to cause paraffinic fragments , which presumably have been cracked from paraffinic feed components , to alkylate aromatic rings at somewhat lower temperatures of up to about 800 ยฐ to 1000 ยฐ f . it appears that the operative ranges for alkylation and formation of new aromatic rings overlap but that the optimum ranges are distinct , aromatization being at a higher temperature . the exact mechanisms for these catalytic functions are not fully known or completely understood . it is generally known to those of routine skill in the crystalline zeolite art , that catalytic properties therof are often diminished by contact with steam . increasing the steam pressure , temperature and / or time of contact of the zeolite with the steam increases the diminution of catalytic properties . it is known that many acid catalysts are capable of assisting in the dehydration of ethers to olefins . in all or at least most of these prior processes , the dehydrated product had a longest carbon atom chain length which was not longer than the longest carbon atom chain length of the reactant . for the most part , such dehydration reactions did not produce products having a molecular weight in any given hydrocarbon portion which was higher than the molecular weight of a corresponding hydrocarbon portion of the ether reactant . one aspect of this invention lies in the discovery that aliphatic ethers are convertible to other organic chemical products , notably aromatic hydrocarbons , by contacting such ethers with a crystalline aluminosilicate molecular sieve zeolite having a silica to alumina ratio of at least about 12 and a constraint index of about 1 to 12 at elevated temperatures , preferably about 500 ยฐ to 1000 ยฐ f ., a pressure of about atmospheric to 3000 psig , a space velocity of about 0 . 5 to 1000 whsv in the presence or absence of added hydrogen . the catalyst may be the zeolite alone or in the suitable matrix . the zeolite preferably has a crystal density in the hydrogen form of not substantially below about 1 . 6 grams per cubic centimeter . the ether reactant is preferably one or more alkyl ethers having one ( 1 ) to eight ( 8 ) carbon atoms in the longest hydrocarbon constituent thereof . mixed ethers are suitable . in one aspect , the reactive feed to the process hereof is critically defined as consisting essentially of lower aliphatic ether compounds . this feed definitions is specifically intended to distinguish from feeds used in alkylation reactions catalyzed by this type of synthetic aluminosilicate molecular sieve . in such alkylation reactions , which are considered to be the invention of other than the instant applicants , alkylating moieties , which may be ethers and / or other compounds , are reacted with the preformed and cofed aromatic moieties . in other words , alkylation requires the co - feeding of aromatic moieties and alkylating moieties such as ethers . the instant process is to be distinguished in that it does not require or desire the cofeeding of preformed aromatic moieties . in this regard , two very important points must be emphasized : in the first place , it has now been discovered that the presence of preformed aromatic moieties as a co - feed to this reaction does not negate the armoatization conversion of the reactants designated above as the feed to the instant process ; in the second place , new aromatic moieties created from the reactants hereof by the conversion process of this invention are themselves sometimes alkylated under these processing conditions by the alkylating action of the ether and / or one or more intermediate moiety formed in the reaction being undergone . the process of this invention must therefore be distinguished from an alkylating reaction per se carried out with the same catalyst and under co - extensive reaction conditions . in its broadest aspects , this invention envisions a process for condensing certain feed materials and growing the products thus formed into significantly different chemical moieties . a commercially important aspect of this invention resides with the conversion of lower alkyl ethers to aromatic compounds as aforesaid . however , as an adjunct to this conversion , the conversion of the lower ethers can be carried out under different conditions but with the same catalyst to produce somewhat different chemical values . for example , the lower alkyl ethers can be converted particularly to olefins at somewhat lower temperatures and generally less severe operating conditions than those which result in a predominantly aromatic product . while at first glance the formation of olefins by contacting ethers with an acidic zeolite at elevated temperatures might not seem too surprising , it must be pointed out that the olefins formed do not necessarily conform to the carbon configuration of the reactant . the olefin may and often does have a longer carbon to carbon chain than did the reacting moiety from which it was derived , including multiples of the reactant carbon chain length . it is even more surprising that one can produce olefins such as ethylene , propylene and butylene from methyl ethers , particularly dimethyl ether , that is effectively a one carbon atoms reactant . in one aspect of this invention , aromatics are produced from lower aliphatic ethers at about 500 ยฐ to 1000 ยฐ f ., 0 to 3000 psig and 0 . 5 to 50 lhsv . in yet another aspect , olefin production seems to predominate under less severe conditions such as by reduced contact time obtained by operating at space velocities in the range of 10 to 2000 lhsv and preferably in the range of 50 to 1000 lhsv at an operating temperature of about 700 ยฐ f . higher operating temperatures tend to promote the formation of aromatics but can offset to some considerable extent by using the higher space velocities . suitable reactants include dimethyl ethyl , diethyl ether , methyl ethyl ether , methyl vinyl ether , isopropyl ether , n - butyl methyl ether , di - n - hexyl ether , methyl - 2 - ethyl hexyl ether , cyclohexyl methyl ether , etc . it is within the scope of this invention to convert the ether compounds fed as individuals or as admixtures of normal chemical purity . it is also within the scope of this invention to feed such ether reactants in admixture with other , non - ether materials such as alcohols or carbonyl compounds . these other feed materials may be reactive or inert under the conditions of this process . it is generally believed by those knowledgeable in the crystalline zeolite art that contact of a zeolite with steam is deleterious to the catalytic properties thereof and that an increase in pressure temperature and / or time of contact increases the adverse effects on the catalyst . while certain types of zeolites , notably zsm - 5 type , are substantially more steam stable than other zeolites , it has been found to be possible to reduce or eliminate the hydrocarbon aromatization catalytic activity . aromatization of aliphatic hydrocarbons as described in application ser . no . 253 , 942 filed may 17 , 1972 now u . s . pat . no . 3 , 756 , 942 has been attempted using this type of catalyst which had been previously severely steam treated . it was found to be substantially impossible to aromatize paraffinic hydrocarbons as set forth in such application with such steamed catalyst . it is of interest to note , however , that such steamed catalyst is still quite active for aromatizing ether reactants . an additional unexpected aspect of this invention resides in the discovery that , although it is usual and common for conversion reactions carried out in the presence of and in contact with zeolite catalysts in general to form coke and deposit such on the zeolite catalyst thereby gradually deactivating the catalyst , the coke make deposited on the catalyst of this inventon in the process of this invention is exceedingly small , much smaller than that encountered when subjecting corresponding hydrocarbon feeds to the same conversion conditions . it is interesting to note that while aromatizaton of hydrocarbons , even unsaturated hydrocarbons , is initiated to a meaningful extent of about 650 ยฐ f . and is maximized from a commercially desirable product distribution point of view at about 1000 ยฐ f ., aromatization of lower ethers to generally the same commercially acceptable product distribution initiates at about 500 ยฐ f . and is maximized at about 700 ยฐ f . contacting aliphatic hydrocarbons with this type of aluminosilicate zeolites in the same temperature and other operating condition ranges as set forth above according to this invention does not induce significant production of new aromatic rings but more usually tends to alkylate preformed , co - fed aromatic ring moieties . in this regard it should be understood that there is not a clear line of demarcation between operating conditions which induce alkylation as opposed to aromatization of fed aliphatic hydrocarbons according to previously described processes . similarly , there is not a clear line of demarcation in product distribution as a function of temperature in the process of this invention . it can be said in general that lower temperatures favor olefin formation and higher temperatures , which are still generally lower than hydrocarbon aromatization temperatures , favor aromatization . also the space velocity or reactant residence time in contact with the catalyst will affect these reactions . the following examples are illustrative of various aspects of the invention without being limiting on the scope thereof . parts and percentages are by weight unless expressly stated to be the contrary . in each example the catalyst used was 65 % h zsm - 5 in an alumina matrix which was pelletized to 30 / 60 mesh size . the reactor was of the downflow type . the feed was dimethyl ether , the temperature of reaction 700 ยฐ f ., and the space velocity was 1 . 65 in example 1 and 1 . 44 whsv in the remaining examples . pressures were 1 , 5 . 5 , 25 and 50 atmospheres respectively to induce conversions of 99 . 9 +, 99 . 2 , 99 . 3 and 98 % respectively . the product distribution is set forth in the following table : table______________________________________example no . 1 2 3 4______________________________________hydrocarbon productdistribution (%) c . sub . 4 - 40 . 94 28 . 84 26 . 40 25 . 44c . sub . 5 + aliphatic 17 . 62 33 . 83 37 . 18 35 . 12c . sub . 6 + aromatics 41 . 44 37 . 33 36 . 42 39 . 38______________________________________ the process of this invention can be carried out in rather conventional up - flow or down - flow reactors packed with zsm - 5 type of aluminosilicate zeolite catalyst . the zeolite catalyst suitably occupies about 1 to 100 % of the reaction zone volume and may be used in a fixed or fluidized bed arrangement . suitable heating and / or cooling means may be employed according to conventional reaction zone temperature profiling design . the catalyst is suitably of a particle size of about 4 to 325 mesh . this example illustrates the conversion of dimethyl ether to ( predominantly ) olefins . ______________________________________t 800 ยฐ f . catalyst 65 % h zsm - 5 / 35 % al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3p 1 atm . whsv 428conversionper pass 23 . 1 % hydrocarbon productdistribution (%) olefins c . sub . 2 = 13 . 63 c . sub . 3 = 29 . 57 67 . 81 c . sub . 4 = 18 . 39 c . sub . 5 = 6 . 22paraffins c . sub . 1 - c . sub . 5 19 . 07non - aromatic c . sub . 6 + 6 . 79aromatics 6 . 33______________________________________ ______________________________________di - n - hexyl ethert = 700 ยฐ fp = 1 atm . whsv = 1 . 26catalyst 65 % h - zsm - 5 / 35 % al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ( 1 / 16 &# 34 ; extrudate ) conversion 100 % hydrocarbon productdistribution (%) c . sub . 4 - 49 . 18aliphatic c . sub . 5 + 13 . 12aromatics c . sub . 6 + 37 . 70______________________________________ ______________________________________tetrahydrofurant = 700 ยฐ f . p = 1 atm . whsv = 1 . 39catalyst 65 % h zsm - 5 / 35 % al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ( 1 / 16 &# 34 ; extrudate ) conversion 99 . 3 % hydrocarbon productdistribution (%) c . sub . 4 - 27 . 41aliphatic c . sub . 5 + 6 . 43aromatic c . sub . 6 + 66 . 16______________________________________ ______________________________________ch . sub . 3 o ch . sub . 2 o ch . sub . 3 ( methylal ) t = 700 ยฐ f . p = 1 atm . whsv = 1 . 35catalyst 65 % h zsm - 5 / 35 % al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 ( 1 / 16 &# 34 ; extrudate ) conversion 100 % hydrocarbon productdistribution (%) c . sub . 4 - 41 . 65aliphatic c . sub . 5 + 10 . 27aromatic c . sub . 6 + 48 . 08______________________________________ in a conversion operation involving methanol and / or dimethyl ether to form olefins in the presence of catalysts such as zsm - 5 type zeolites , tea mordenite and de - aluminized erionite ( see examples 5 , 8 and 9 ), it has been observed that high selectivity to light olefins is particularly achieved at low conversions per pass and restricted to within the range of 5 to about 25 . in a typical operation , methanol is first converted to dme ( dimethyl ether ) over gamma alumina catalyst . the dme is then passed in contact with zsm - 5 type crystalline zeolite at a space velocity selected from within the range of 50 to 1000 lhsv under a pressure condition selected from within the range of atmospheric up to about 100 psi and a temperature selected from within the range of 500 to about 900 ยฐ f . within these operating conditions of restricted conversion the dme is converted to olefins and the exothermic heat of reaction can be removed by substantially any suitable method and / or means . high lhsv ( liquid hourly space velocity ) may be obtained in a variety of ways including tubular reactors provided with suitably spaced catalyst particles and fluid catalyst systems such as dense and dispersed catalyst phase relatively short riser catalyst systems . also thin fixed bed or fluid catalyst bed systems may be relied upon to provide the high velocity short contact time conditions particularly desired for olefin production . in any of these process configurations , a portion of the exothermic reaction heat may be removed by catalyst circulation and recycling of unconverted feed such as methanol and / or dme to provide a sensible heat carrying medium . thus , since the conversion per pass is kept quite low below 25 percent for olefin product , there is a considerable amount of unconverted feed available for recycling , and thus maximum utilization of the feed for the purpose intended . recycle to fresh feed ratio are relatively high and usually in the range of 6 or 8 to 1 . the actual amount of recycle used in dependent upon the operation heat balance and space velocity employed . in a suitable recovery system , c 2 and c 3 olefins are isolated by distillation and separated from heavier materials including hydrocarbons and water . the unreacted methanol and / or dme feed is taken as recycle from the recovery system and recycled to the reactor . ______________________________________olefin production from dimethyl ether ( dme ) over hzsm - 5 at 700 ยฐ f . 1 atm . ______________________________________run no . ssa 133b ssa 135b______________________________________lhsv 1080 360conversion % 6 . 1 11 . 3hydrocarbon composition , wt .% methane 1 . 9 2 . 0ethane -- -- ethylene 20 . 4 27 . 0propane -- -- propylene 64 . 8 63 . 0butanes 12 . 9 4 . 0butenes -- -- c . sub . 5 + -- 3 . 1______________________________________ having thus generally described the various aspects of the present invention and presented examples in support thereof , it is to be understood that no undue restrictions are to be imposed by reasons thereof except as defined by the following claims | 2 |
with reference now to the drawing , particularly fig1 thereof , a rotating rheostat disc ( 1 ) comprises basically an inner and an outer metal - plated ring ( 11 ) ( 12 ), respectively , secured in place on an insulating disc ( 13 ) formed from a non - conductive material rotatably mounted on the whole apparatus , and a plurality of resistors ( 14 ) differing in resistance interconnecting said inner and outer metal - plated rings ( 11 ) ( 12 ). as shown in fig2 the outer ring ( 12 ) is formed by a number of metal plates ( 121 ), which are spaced around the circumference of the insulating plate ( 13 ) in a pleated manner with the plane of each metal plate ( 121 ) dipping to the direction in which the rheostat disc ( 1 ) turns , so that each metal plate ( 121 ) is not in electrical contact with its adjacent ones . the outer ring ( 12 ) may be formed by fixing individual wedge units that comprise a metal plate ( 121 ) and an attached insulating wedge - shaped base ( 122 ) onto a flat insulating disc ( 13 ), or more preferably , by attaching the metal plates ( 121 ) directly in position to a pleated rim which is formed integrally together with the insulating disc ( 13 ). the inner ring ( 11 ) can be either an integral metal ring , or a pleated ring similar to the outer ring ( 12 ). resistors ( 14 ) straddle across the inner and outer ring with both the ends of each resistor soldered thereonto , thus forming the &# 34 ; spokes &# 34 ; of the wheel - like structure . a plurality of inner contacts ( 21 ) and outer contacts ( 22 ) are located radially with respect to the rotatable rheostat disc , and make contact , respectively , with the inner ring ( 11 ) or the outer ring ( 12 ). preferably , both of the inner contacts ( 21 ) and outer contacts ( 22 ) are so designed that they always establish good contact with their respective metal - plated rings ( 11 ) and ( 12 ) despite the rotation of the rheostat disc ( 1 ) or the wear of the contact points ( 211 ). for example , the contacts ( 22 ) can be designed to offer the contact points ( 221 ) a downward pressure by the resumptive force of the metallic strip ( 222 ). the pressure exerted by contact point ( 221 ) on metal plate ( 121 ) can be adjusted by turning the adjusting fastener ( 223 ). the number of either the outer contacts ( 22 ) or the inner contacts ( 21 ) is equivalent to that of the air pumps . wires in electrical connection with both the inner contacts ( 21 ) and the outer contacts ( 22 ) are connected to a power source ps and corresponding air pumps m respectively , as shown in the schematic circuit diagram of fig3 according to this invention . however , it must be announced that all the aforementioned only help the examiners to understand this invention , and do not mean to demarcate the domain thereof . having thus described the construction and layout of the heart of the moving targets according to the present invention , i . e . the rotatable rheostatic disc , we now provide a description of the operation thereof . since the rotatable rheostatic disc spins very slowly , the slight &# 34 ; delay &# 34 ; of the response of the pump to the changing current due to the varying resistence is inappreciable from a macroscopic view . note that the value of resistances 14 is not the only factor which affects the height at which a lightball strays in the air . the pressure that the contact point ( 221 ) exerts on the metal plate ( 121 ) may more or less cause a slight increase or decrease of the resistance when the contact point is in contact with the same metal plate . the resistance is lower for a contact point ( 221 ) pressing on the high margin of a metal plate than for a contact point pressing on the low margin thereof . for this reason , the flow rate of the air jet is always changing and endows the lightball with an unpredicable , capricious nature . inasmuch as the lightballs are supported by the intangible and invisible air jet , it seems as if someone is performing witchcraft to maintain them in the air , thus offering a high interest which is by no means what the water - supported moving targets can provide or compare with . with reference now to the preferred embodiment in fig4 wherein there is shown a miniature shooting gallery according to this invention with a board painted with a landscape as the background . knob ( 31 ) controls the rotation speed of the rheostat disc ( 1 ) while timer knob ( 32 ) is used to set the duration that the air pumps operate . in case two players decide to see which of them can shoot off more lightballs within a definite period , say one minute , then they can set the knob ( 32 ) to the position of one minute which results in the stopping of the air pumps after one minute . the lightballs that are not shot down will fall and rest in the receptacles ( 35 ), while the lightballs that are hit will fall into a slant gutter ( not shown ) and roll to the collector ( 33 ). in its route rolling along the gutter , the lightball may touch and trigger the switch of the score displayer ( 34 ) indicating how many lightballs a player has shot down and add to the number thereof . all these are well known arts and not included in the claims , hence a further description is unnecessary . considering all the above mentioned , this invention has been shown to have numerous advantages over known devices for shooting galleries using lightballs as the moving targets . with the use of the relatively simple construction of a rheostat disc , the joy and excitement of hunting are obtained due to the capricious and unpredicable nature of the lightball . apart from providing a highly interesting amusement , it means a lot in terms of the educational value and national defence . from the point of view , the novelty and practicality of the present invention is beyond question . it will be apparent from the foregoing description of my invention , that the same is subject to alteration and modifications without departing from the underlying principles involved , and i accordingly , do not desire to be limited to the specific details illustrated and described except as may be necessitated by the appended claims . | 5 |
various embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail in connection with fig1 - 12 . the drawings and associated descriptions are merely exemplary ; the scope of the invention is defined not by these , but by the appended claims . referring to fig1 , a schematic diagram illustrates a system 100 for recording a hologram according to one embodiment of the invention . the system 100 may be designed to record a hologram of an item 110 , which may be a three - dimensional object , a two - dimensional or three - dimensional pattern , or the like . according to certain examples , the item 110 may be an original object that is to be used as a template for producing new objects via 3d printing . according to other examples , the item 110 may be a lithographic pattern that is to be used as a basis for additive or subtractive lithographic processing . in such instances , the item 110 may be an integrated circuit design , an inverse of an integrated circuit design that defines regions between integrated circuit components , or the like . in other embodiments , the item 110 may be used for processes besides 3d printing and lithography , and may be used in other ways than as a manufacturing template . the system 100 may have a wide variety of configurations , many of which are known in the holography arts . according to the embodiment shown , the system 100 may include a coherent light source 120 , a beam splitter 122 , redirection optics 124 , and a holographic recording medium 126 . beam expanding optics such as lenses , microscope objectives , and collimating mirrors and optics may be incorporated into system 100 to acquire the needed beam coverage to record the desired hologram . the coherent light source 120 may be any light source designed to emit coherent light ( i . e ., light of a substantially uniform wavelength and / or frequency ). in this application , โ light โ is not limited to visible light , but may include electromagnetic radiation of any frequency or wavelength . in certain embodiments , the coherent light source 120 may be a laser or the like . the coherent light source 120 may project a first beam 140 of coherent light toward the beam splitter 122 . the beam splitter 122 may be designed to receive the first beam 140 and divide the first beam 140 into two components : an object beam 142 and a reference beam 144 . the beam splitter 122 may have any configuration known in the art . if desired , the beam splitter 122 may have the shape of a rectangular prism , which may include two triangular prisms as shown . a portion of the first beam 140 may pass directly through the beam splitter 122 to define the object beam 142 , and the remainder of the first beam 140 may reflect from the interface between the prisms to define the reference beam 144 . the object beam 142 and the reference beam 144 are shown displaced by an angle of 90 ยฐ, but may be displaced by a variety of different angles in different embodiments . the object beam 142 and / or the reference beam 144 may require the use beam expanding optics such as lenses , microscope objectives and collimating mirrors ( not shown ). these optics may be incorporated into system 100 to acquire the needed beam coverage to record the desired hologram . the reference beam 144 may project toward the redirection optics 124 , which may redirect the reference beam 144 toward a holographic recording medium 126 . the holographic recording medium 126 may or may not be applied to a substrate for support . the redirection optics 124 may include various structures that provide the necessary redirection ; in certain embodiments , the redirection optics 124 may include one or more mirrors . in addition to or in the alternative to redirection of the reference beam 144 , the object beam 142 may be redirected through the use of redirection optics ( not shown ). a portion 146 of the object beam 142 may reflect off of the item 110 toward the holographic recording medium 126 . the portion 146 may cooperate with the reference beam 144 to define an interference pattern at the holographic recording medium 126 . the holographic recording medium 126 may be formed of a material that records this interference pattern to record a hologram 160 of the item 110 . the holographic recording medium 126 may also be termed a holographic recording film . the holographic recording medium 126 may have any of a variety of compositions known in the art , including but not limited to silver halide film , dichromated gelatin , pmma , photosensitive glass , photosensitive plastic or a variety of photopolymers . the selection of the particular type of holographic recording medium 126 to use may be made based on factors such as the size of the item 110 , the length of the exposure , the required resolution of the hologram 160 , and the like . the hologram 160 may be a three - dimensional representation of the item 110 . the holographic recording medium 126 , with the hologram 160 recorded thereon , may be subjected to further processing according to the type of holographic medium used to complete creation of the hologram 160 . the hologram 160 may be an h1 master hologram . the h1 master hologram may be used to project a holographic image of the item 110 , which may , without the use of additional optics , occur at a location that duplicates the original spacing between the item 110 and the holographic recording medium 126 when the hologram 160 was made . referring to fig2 , a flowchart diagram illustrates a method 200 of forming an h1 master hologram according to one embodiment of the invention . the method 200 may start 210 with a step 220 in which various components are positioned relative to each other in preparation for holographic recording . the components referenced in the step 220 may include , but are not limited to , the item 110 , the coherent light source 120 , the beam splitter 122 , the redirection optics 124 , and the holographic recording medium 126 of fig1 . these various components may advantageously be positioned in a stable arrangement such as on an optical table that is isolated from vibration or other motion . they may also be positioned in dark environment so that only the desired coherent light impinges against the holographic recording medium 126 . once the components have been properly positioned , the method 200 may proceed to a step 230 in which the first beam 140 is projected at the beam splitter 122 , for example , by activating the coherent light source 120 . then , in a step 240 , the first beam 140 may be divided by the beam splitter 122 into the object beam 142 and the reference beam 144 . then , in a step 250 , the object beam 142 may be projected at the item 110 , for example , by the beam splitter 122 , with or without redirection by elements such as the redirection optics 124 . in a step 260 , the reference beam 144 may be projected at the holographic recording medium 126 , for example , by the beam splitter 122 , with or without redirection by elements such as the redirection optics 124 . in a step 270 , a portion of the object beam 142 may reflect from the item 110 toward the holographic recording medium 126 . in response to impingement of the reference beam 144 and the object beam portion 146 on the holographic recording medium 126 , the hologram 160 may be recorded in a step 280 . then , in a step 290 , the holographic recording medium 126 with the hologram 160 may be processed further to complete formation of the hologram 160 . this processing may be done according to the type of holographic recording medium used . the hologram 160 may then be an h1 master hologram , which may be used in further holography processes as described above . then , the method 200 may end 298 . referring briefly back to the step 220 , the various components of the system 100 may be positioned in a variety of ways . these may include transmission holography , reflection holography , and denisyuk holography , which will be shown and described in connection with fig3 , and 5 , as follows . those of skill in the art will recognize that these arrangements are merely exemplary , and other arrangements of the components of the system 100 may be used . referring to fig3 , a schematic view illustrates a transmission holographic recording system , or system 300 , according to one embodiment of the invention . the system 300 may be a subset of the system 100 that is uniquely configured for transmission hologram recording . as shown , the reference beam 144 and the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may impinge against the same side of the holographic recording medium 126 . the reference beam 144 may impinge against the holographic recording medium 126 at a desired angle . as in fig1 , the reference beam 144 and the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may cooperate to define an interference pattern , which may cause the hologram 160 to be recorded in the holographic recording medium 126 . referring to fig4 , a schematic view illustrates a reflection holographic recording system , or system 400 , according to another embodiment of the invention . the system 400 may be a subset of the system 100 that is uniquely configured for reflection hologram recording . as shown , the reference beam 144 and the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may impinge against different sides of the holographic recording medium 126 . the sides of the holographic recording medium 126 that receive the reference beam 144 and the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may face in directions that are substantially opposite to each other . the reference beam 144 may again impinge against the holographic recording medium 126 at a desired angle . the reference beam 144 and the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may intersect the holographic recording medium 126 and may cooperate to define an interference pattern , which may cause the hologram 160 to be recorded in the holographic recording medium 126 . referring to fig5 , a schematic view illustrates a denisyuk holographic recording system , or system 500 , according to another embodiment of the invention . the system 500 may be a subset of the system 100 that is uniquely configured for denisyuk hologram recording . as shown , the holographic recording medium 126 may act as a beam splitter . thus , the beam splitter 122 may be omitted from the system 100 . the first beam 140 may impinge directly against the holographic recording medium 126 at a desired angle . the holographic recording medium 126 may receive a portion of the first beam 140 as a reference beam , and may allow transmission of the object beam 142 through the holographic recording medium 126 at the item 110 . the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may reflect from the item 110 to the holographic recording medium 126 . the reference beam and the portion 146 of the object beam 142 may intersect the holographic recording medium 126 and may cooperate to define an interference pattern , which may cause the hologram 160 to be recorded in the holographic recording medium 126 . as set forth above , the hologram 160 may be recorded on the holographic recording medium 126 in a wide variety of ways . after the hologram 160 has been recorded and processed , the resulting h1 master hologram may be used to project holographic images . one way in which this may be accomplished will be shown and described in connection with fig6 . referring to fig6 , a schematic view illustrates a transmission holographic imaging system , or system 600 , according to one embodiment of the invention . the system 600 may be used to project a holographic image 610 from the h1 master hologram . the holographic image 610 may resemble the item 110 , and may thus have a shape similar to a shape of the item 110 . the holographic image 610 may not include all of the item 110 ; for example , only the portions of the item 110 that were illuminated with coherent light that was reflected to the holographic recording medium 126 ( i . e ., the portion 146 of the object beam 142 ) may be part of the hologram 160 . thus , the holographic image 610 may include only such portions of the item 110 . the holographic image 610 may be initiated by projecting a beam 620 of coherent light at the h1 master hologram , i . e ., at the h1 hologram 160 recorded on the holographic recording medium 126 . notably , the beam 620 need not necessarily be coherent light , since no interference pattern is being created . thus , the light source used to illuminate the hologram 160 may be , but is not required to be , a coherent light source such as a laser . rather , the coherent light source may instead be a single or narrow line source or even a monochromatic light source that is not coherent . the beam 620 may be projected at a selected angle , which may be the bragg angle applicable to the h1 master hologram . this may be the angle at which the reference beam 144 impinged against the holographic recording medium 126 when the hologram 160 was formed . additionally , the beam 620 may be composed of coherent light with the same wavelength and / or frequency as that originally used to form the hologram 160 . thus , the coherent light source 120 that was used to form the hologram 160 may advantageously be used to provide the beam 620 of coherent light . in response to impingement of the beam 620 of coherent light on the hologram 160 , the item 110 may be optically imaged , in space , at the same location , relative to the holographic recording medium 126 , where it was positioned at the time the hologram 160 was formed . this holographic image may be created by diffraction and formed in open space . the holographic image 610 may be projected at any of a variety of locations . according to the present invention , it may be beneficial to project the holographic image 610 on a photosensitive material . a โ photosensitive material โ is a material that undergoes a significant change in response to impingement of light . the change that occurs in response to impingement of light may be any of many possibilities , including but not limited to the material becoming solid , gaseous , transparent , opaque , harder , softer , more susceptible to further processing , or less susceptible to further processing . additionally or alternatively , an index of refraction of the material may change , either upward or downward in response to impingement of the light . notably , the change effected by light may not fully be realized without additional processing such as exposure to other substances that , in combination with impingement of the light , enable the full extent of the desired change . such additional processing may be carried out before , after , or synchronously with impingement of the light . fig6 illustrates transmission holographic imaging , which may be , for example , formed via transmission of the beam 620 through the hologram 160 as shown in fig6 . other holographic imaging methods may be used within the scope of the present invention , including but not limited to reflection holograms . reflection holograms may be made by projecting a beam , such as the beam 620 of fig6 , at the same side of the h1 master hologram that faces the location of the holographic image . the light may impinge on the hologram 160 , and may then diffract the light in reflection mode to form a holographic image such as the holographic image 610 of fig6 . fig8 - 12 also generally illustrate transmission holographic imaging . in alternative embodiments , the methods carried out in any of fig8 - 12 may instead be accomplished through the use of a reflection hologram or other holographic imaging techniques . referring to fig7 , a flowchart diagram illustrates a method 700 for applying holographic imaging to a fabrication process according to the present invention . the method 700 is generalized , and thus applies to a wide variety of processes including but not limited to 3d printing and lithography . the holographic image 610 may be substantially the same size as the item 110 . alternatively , if desired , the holographic image 610 may be smaller than the item 110 . in the event that the holographic image 610 is to be used for fabrication of nanostructures ( for example , via 3d printing or lithography ), the holographic image 610 may advantageously be several orders of magnitude smaller than the item 110 . thus , the method 700 may include one or more optional image reduction steps ; such steps may be omitted if there is no need to reduce the size of the process that occurs relative to that of the original item . alternatively , in the event that further reduction of the process , relative to the item , is needed , such image reduction steps may be repeated . more specifically , the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and / or the step 750 may be carried out for image reduction purposes , and may be omitted or repeated as desired . additionally , the step 780 may also optionally incorporate image reduction . the method 700 may start 710 with a step 720 in which the components are positioned relative to each other . in this step , the components to be positioned may include the coherent light source 120 ( or a different coherent light source ), the h1 master hologram , image reduction optics ( such as lenses , mirrors , and / or the like ), and a second holographic recording medium . these components will be shown and described subsequently in connection with the 3d printing and lithography examples mentioned previously . as in the step 220 , the step 720 may advantageously include secure fixation of the various components relative to each other in an environment that provides isolation from vibration or other outside motion . additionally , ambient light may be reduced or eliminated . the coherent light source 120 or other coherent light source may be aimed at the h1 master hologram . if desired , redirection optics such as the redirection optics 124 may be positioned to cause coherent light emitted by the coherent light source 120 or other coherent light source to impinge against the h1 master hologram . the image reduction optics may be positioned between the h1 master hologram and the second holographic recording medium . the method 700 may then proceed to a step 730 in which the h1 master hologram is illuminated with coherent light . this may entail activation of the coherent light source 120 and / or other coherent light source . in the event that a coherent light source other than the coherent light source 120 used to form the hologram 160 is used , it may beneficially emit coherent light with the same wavelength and / or frequency as that emitted by the coherent light source 120 . the coherent light may impinge against the h1 master hologram . in responses to impingement of the coherent light against the h1 master hologram , a step 740 may occur , in which a holographic image is projected from the h1 master hologram through the image reduction optics and at the second holographic recording medium . the image reduction optics may be positioned between the h1 master hologram and the second holographic recording medium . thus , as the holographic image is projected at the second holographic recording medium , it may be reduced in size so that , at the second holographic recording medium , it is much smaller than the item 110 . in response to projection of the holographic image on the second holographic recording medium , the method 700 may proceed to a step 750 in which the holographic image projected from the h1 master hologram is recorded as a second hologram in the second holographic recording medium . the second hologram may be smaller than the hologram 160 that was originally created from the item 110 . depending on the reduction power of the reduction optics used , the second hologram may be orders of magnitude smaller than the hologram 160 . after the appropriate processing of the second hologram and the second holographic recording medium in a step 755 , the second hologram may be ready for use as an h2 hologram , as mentioned above . in the event that the h2 hologram is not sufficiently small , the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , the step 750 , and / or the step 755 may be performed again , substituting the new h2 hologram for the h1 master hologram , and substituting a third holographic recording medium for the second holographic recording medium . more specifically , the h2 hologram , the image reduction optics , the third holographic recording medium , and the coherent light source 120 ( or other coherent light source ) may all be positioned relative to each other . the image reduction optics used may be the same as those that were used in the original performance of the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and the step 750 . additionally or alternatively , different image reduction optics may be used , and may be positioned between and / or relative to the h2 hologram and the third holographic recording medium . then , the h2 hologram may be illuminated with coherent light . a holographic image may be projected from the h2 hologram , through the image reduction optics , and at the third holographic recording medium . a third hologram may be recorded by the holographic image in the third holographic recording medium . the third hologram may be smaller than the second hologram . after the appropriate processing , the hologram recorded in the third holographic recording medium may become an h3 hologram . in such a manner , the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , the step 750 , and / or the step 755 may be repeated as many times as needed to obtain a holographically recorded image of the desired size . since each holographic image may be created through diffraction , creation of a reduced holographic image may not be subject to diffraction limitations . once a hologram of the desired scale has been created ( e . g ., in the holographic recording medium 126 , the second holographic recording medium , or a subsequently - used holographic recording medium ), the method 700 may proceed to a step 760 in which the components are positioned in preparation for the step 770 , the step 780 , and the step 790 . the components positioned in the step 760 may include the hologram created in the most recent iteration of the step 755 ( i . e ., an h2 hologram or a subsequently - created hologram , hereinafter โ final hologram โ), a light source of the required wavelength ( s ) ( such as the coherent light source 120 ), the photosensitive material , and / or image reduction optics . the coherent light source 120 or a non - coherent light source of the required wavelength may be aimed at the final hologram . if desired , redirection optics such as the redirection optics 124 may be positioned to cause coherent light emitted by the coherent light source 120 or a non - coherent light source of the required wavelength to impinge against the hologram . the image reduction optics may be positioned between the final hologram and the photosensitive material . again , steps may be taken to ensure the stable placement of the components and / or limit the exposure of the components to ambient light . once the components have been properly placed , the method 700 may proceed to a step 770 in which a light source of the required wavelength is used to illuminate the final hologram . this may be done , for example , by activating the coherent light source 120 or non - coherent light source of the required wavelength . in the event that the light source used in this step is not the same as the coherent light source that which was used to record the final image , it may beneficially emit light with the same wavelength and / or frequency as that emitted by the coherent light source that was used to record the final hologram . the light may then illuminate the hologram created in the most recent iteration of the step 755 . in response to impingement of the light against the hologram on which the final image has been recorded , a step 780 may occur , in which a holographic image is projected from the hologram at the photosensitive material . optionally , this may entail projection of the holographic image through the image reduction optics . if used in the step 780 , the image reduction optics may be positioned between the final hologram and the photosensitive material . thus , as the holographic image is projected at the photosensitive material , it may be reduced in size so that , at the photosensitive material , it is smaller than the item 110 and / or the final hologram . in response to projection of the holographic image on the photosensitive material , the photosensitive material may undergo a significant change . as mentioned previously , this change may take many different forms , and the photosensitive material may require other processing in order for this change to be fully realized . in one example , the photosensitive material may be retained within a reservoir , and may solidify in response to impingement of the holographic image , thus creating a new three - dimensional object . in another example , the photosensitive material may be located on a substrate , and may be made more or less resistant to further etching steps by impingement of the holographic image , thus causing a lithographic pattern to be imaged on the substrate . once the holographic image has been projected on the photosensitive material , further processing steps may be performed in a step 790 , depending on the type of fabrication process being carried out . for example , if the process is a 3d printing process , projection of the holographic image into a reservoir of photosensitive material may result in the formation of a new object as the photosensitive material that receives the holographic image solidifies in response . the step 790 may thus include removal of the new object from the reservoir . if needed , surface treatments such as cleaning , deburring , and / or sanding may be carried out . if the new object includes one or more nanostructures , suitable measures may be taken to locate , protect , and store the nanostructures . if the process is a lithographic process , projection of the holographic image on photosensitive material on a substrate may cause the photosensitive material that receives the holographic image to solidify . additionally or alternatively , the photosensitive material that receives the holographic image may become more or less susceptible to subtractive ( i . e ., material removal ) processes such as etching . thus , holographic imaging may be used to determine which portion of the photosensitive material is preferentially etched away , or may be used to protect material from removal via etching . according to some embodiments , the holographic image may be used to form a mask from the photosensitive material . the mask may serve to protect an underlying material from a material removal process such as etching . according to alternative embodiments , holographic imaging may be used in combination with additive processes such as sputtering or vacuum deposition . the holographic image may be used to form a mask or selective support layer for such additive processing . accordingly , the step 790 may include the performance of a wide variety of steps , including but not limited to subtractive steps such as etching and additive steps such as sputtering or vacuum deposition . any other steps known in the lithographic arts may be used to continue processing the material supported by the substrate to form an integrated circuit , device , or the like . again , if one or more nanostructures is formed , suitable steps may be taken to locate , store , and protect the resulting nanostructures . once the step 790 has been completed , the method 700 may end 798 . as mentioned previously , holography may be used according to the present invention to facilitate a wide variety of manufacturing processes . fig8 - 10 illustrate some potential ways to arrange system components ( for example , in the step 720 or the step 760 ) to carry out hologram - assisted 3d printing . fig1 and 12 illustrate some potential ways to arrange system components ( for example , in the step 720 or the step 760 ) to carry out hologram - assisted lithographic processing . referring to fig8 , a schematic view illustrates a holographic imaging system , or system 800 , as applied to 3d printing according to one embodiment of the invention . the system 800 may include the coherent light source 120 or a non - coherent light source of the required wavelength ( not shown in fig8 ), the hologram , and a reservoir 810 containing photosensitive material 820 . the hologram may be an h1 master hologram , and may thus include the hologram 160 recorded on the holographic recording medium 126 . alternatively , the hologram may be an h2 hologram , an h3 hologram , or other hologram formed from an h1 master hologram through the use of additional steps as set forth previously . the photosensitive material 820 may be in liquid , gaseous , solid , or amorphous form . in some embodiments , the photosensitive material 820 is in a liquid or gel form and is made to solidify in response to impingement of the light of the holographic image . fig8 may represent the manner in which the components are arranged in the step 760 if no image reduction is desired . thus , the reservoir 810 may be positioned , relative to the hologram , such that the holographic image 610 is projected directly ( i . e ., without reduction ) into the photosensitive material 820 within the reservoir 810 . the holographic image 610 may cause a quantity of the photosensitive material 820 to solidify into the shape of the item 110 . the resulting new object may be substantially the same size as the item 110 . the hologram 160 may be the original hologram recorded directly from the item 110 , as illustrated in fig1 . thus , the system 800 may represent the arrangement of the components in the step 760 if the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and the step 750 of the method 700 of fig7 have been omitted , and no further image reduction is desired . in alternative embodiments , the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and the step 750 may be performed as described in connection with fig7 , and then in the step 760 , the components may be positioned substantially as shown in fig8 , except that in place of the hologram 160 recorded directly from the item 110 ( i . e ., the h1 master hologram ), the hologram with the reduced image ( the h2 hologram or another derivative hologram ) may be used . in order to scale the new object relative to the hologram 160 ( or alternatively , the already scaled hologram used in place of the h1 master hologram ), image reduction optics ( or image expansion optics ) may be added . one example of this will be shown and described in connection with fig9 . referring to fig9 , a schematic view illustrates a holographic imaging system , or system 900 , as applied to 3d printing according to another embodiment of the invention . as shown , the system 900 may be used to provide a holographic image 910 that is scaled relative to the hologram 160 . fig9 may provide image reduction so that the holographic image 910 is relatively smaller than the hologram 160 . this may be achieved by projecting the holographic image 910 through image reduction optics 920 , which may include mirrors , lenses , and / or other features that optically reduce the size of the holographic image 910 relative to that of the hologram 160 . depending on the degree of image reduction used , the holographic image 910 may even be one or more orders of magnitude smaller than the item 110 and / or the hologram 160 . if desired , the system 900 may be used to create microstructures and / or nanostructures . notably , the present invention may be used to create microstructures and / or nanostructures , not just singly , but also in arrays . in the alternative , if desired , the image reduction optics 920 may be replaced with image enlargement optics so that the holographic image 910 is larger than the hologram 160 and / or the item 110 . if the holographic image 910 is projected from the hologram 160 formed directly from the item 110 , as illustrated in fig9 , the system 900 may represent the arrangement of the components in the step 760 if the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and the step 750 are omitted . as with the previous embodiment , a hologram such as an h2 hologram or another derivative hologram on which a reduced image of the item 110 has been recorded may be substituted for the h1 master hologram if further reduction is desired . referring to fig1 , a schematic view illustrates a holographic imaging system for creating an imaged reduced h2 hologram , or system 1000 , as applied to 3d printing according to another embodiment of the invention . as shown , the system 1000 may also record a hologram that is smaller than the item 110 . however , in fig1 , this may be done by recording a reduced hologram 1060 on a second holographic recording medium 1026 , as in step 720 , step 730 , step 740 , and step 750 of fig7 . more specifically , image reduction optics 1020 may be positioned between the h1 master hologram and the second holographic recording medium 1026 . the second holographic recording medium 1026 may be positioned at the desired location with respect to where the holographic image 610 would ordinarily be projected relative to the h1 master hologram . thus , the beam 620 may illuminate the h1 master hologram to cause projection of the holographic image 610 through the image reduction optics 1020 , which may result in recordation of the reduced hologram 1060 on the second holographic recording medium 1026 to provide an h2 hologram . in order to form the h2 hologram , a reference beam 144 may be projected on the second holographic recording medium 1026 . the holographic image 610 from the h1 master hologram may act as the object beam . the object beam and the reference beam 144 may cooperate to define an interference pattern at the second holographic recording medium 1026 . after processing , the reduced hologram 1060 on the second holographic recording medium 1026 may be used as the h2 hologram . the h2 hologram may subsequently be used to project a holographic image 1010 smaller than the h1 master hologram . the holographic image 1010 may be used for 3d printing , for example , by positioning the holographic image 1010 within a photosensitive material , such as the reservoir 810 of photosensitive material 820 as in fig8 or fig9 . the holographic image 1010 may be projected into the photosensitive material 820 as shown and described in connection with the holographic image 610 of fig8 and 9 . the resulting 3d object may be made without further reduction as in fig8 , or with further reduction through the use of image reduction optics 920 as in fig9 . as mentioned previously , the reduction process embodied in fig1 may not be diffraction limited since the holographic image that forms the hologram 160 may , itself , be formed by diffraction . thus , a high level of reduction may be obtained with a single iteration . however , if desired , multiple iterations may be performed , for example , by projecting the holographic image 1010 from the h2 hologram through image reduction optics to record a further reduced hologram on a third holographic recording medium ( not shown ). after processing , this further reduced hologram may be used as an h3 hologram . the systems and methods of the present invention may offer several advantages , as applied to 3d printing . for example , an entire object may be printed at once and / or made layer by layer . further , smaller object sizes can be achieved due to the fact that diffraction limitations may not limit the reduction of the holographic image . yet further , with particular reference to the system 1000 of fig1 , reduction of the holographic image 1010 may be obtained through reduction of the diffracted holographic image as a light source , rather than reduction of the physical image ; this may further allow for the formation of smaller objects . referring to fig1 , a schematic view illustrates a holographic imaging system , or system 1100 , as applied to lithography according to one embodiment of the invention . the system 1100 may include the coherent light source 120 or a non - coherent light source ( not shown in fig1 ), the holographic recording medium 126 , and a substrate 1130 on which a layer of photosensitive material 1140 is positioned . the holographic recording medium 126 may have the hologram 160 recorded thereon as an h1 master hologram . in alternative embodiments , the hologram 160 may be an h2 hologram , an h3 hologram , or a subsequent derivative hologram . the photosensitive material 1140 may be in liquid , gaseous , solid , or amorphous form . in some embodiments , the photosensitive material 1140 is in a solid or gel form . the item 110 used to record the hologram 160 may be a lithographic pattern or the like , and may exist in two or three dimensions . the substrate 1130 and adhering structures may be used to form integrated circuits . if desired , the system 1100 of fig1 may be used to imprint an integrated circuit pattern on the substrate 1130 . thus , the item 110 used to form the hologram 160 may more specifically be an integrated circuit design , an inverse of an integrated circuit design that defines regions between integrated circuit components , or the like . fig1 may represent the manner in which the components are arranged in the step 760 of fig7 if image reduction is desired between the holographic recording medium 126 and the photosensitive material 1140 . thus , the substrate 1130 and the photosensitive material 1140 may be positioned , relative to the h1 master hologram , such that a holographic image 1110 is projected through image reduction optics 1120 onto the photosensitive material 1140 . the image reduction optics 1120 may include mirrors , lenses , and / or other features that optically reduce the size of the holographic image 1110 relative to that of the hologram 160 . the holographic image 1110 may cause a quantity of the photosensitive material 1140 to become solid , more easily removed , or more resistant to removal as described above . the pattern defined by the holographic image 1110 may match the lithographic pattern of the item 110 . thus , the holographic image 1110 may define an integrated circuit or the like . the hologram 160 may be the original hologram recorded directly from the item 110 ( i . e ., the h1 master hologram ), as illustrated in fig1 . thus , the system 1100 may represent the arrangement of the components in the step 760 if the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and the step 750 of the method 700 of fig7 have been omitted , and no further image reduction is desired . in alternative embodiments , the step 720 , the step 730 , the step 740 , and the step 750 may be performed as described in connection with fig7 , and then in the step 760 , the components may be positioned substantially as shown in fig8 , except that in place of the holographic recording medium 126 with the hologram 160 recorded directly from the item 110 , the holographic recording medium with the reduced image ( the h2 hologram , h3 hologram , or subsequent derivative hologram ) may be used . depending on the degree of image reduction used , the holographic image 1110 may even be one or more orders of magnitude smaller than the item 110 and / or the hologram 160 . if desired , the system 1100 may be used to create microstructures and / or nanostructures . notably , the present invention may be used to create microstructures and / or nanostructures , not just singly , but also in arrays . in the alternative , if desired , the image reduction optics 1120 may be replaced with image enlargement optics so that the holographic image 1110 is larger than the hologram 160 and / or the item 110 . referring to fig1 , a schematic view illustrates a holographic imaging system for creating an image reduced h2 hologram , or system 1200 , as applied to lithography according to another embodiment of the invention . as shown , the system 1200 may also produce a holographic image 1210 that is smaller than the item 110 . however , in fig1 , this may be done by recording a reduced hologram 1260 on a second holographic recording medium 1226 , as in step 720 , step 730 , step 740 , and step 750 of fig7 . more specifically , image reduction optics 1220 may be positioned between the h1 master hologram and the second holographic recording medium 1226 . the second holographic recording medium 1226 may be positioned at the location with respect to where the holographic image 610 would ordinarily be projected relative to the h1 master hologram . thus , the beam 620 may illuminate the h1 master hologram to cause projection of the holographic image 610 through the image reduction optics 1220 , which may result in recordation of the reduced hologram 1260 on the second holographic recording medium 1226 to provide an h2 hologram . in order to form the h2 hologram , a reference beam 144 may be projected on the second holographic recording medium 1226 . the holographic image 610 from the h1 master hologram may act as the object beam . the object beam and the reference beam 144 may cooperate to define an interference pattern at the second holographic recording medium 1226 . after processing , the reduced hologram 1260 on the second holographic recording medium 1226 may become the h2 hologram . the h2 hologram may subsequently be used to project a holographic image 1210 smaller than the h1 master hologram . the holographic image 1210 may be used for lithography , for example , by positioning the holographic image 1210 within a photosensitive material , such as the photosensitive material 1140 on the substrate 1130 as in fig1 . the holographic image 1210 may be projected into the photosensitive material 1140 as shown and described in connection with the holographic image 1110 of fig1 . the resulting lithographic pattern may be made without further reduction , or with further reduction through the use of image reduction optics 1120 as in fig1 . as mentioned previously , the reduction process embodied in fig1 may not be diffraction limited since the holographic image that forms the reduced hologram 1260 may , itself , be formed by diffraction . thus , a high level of reduction may be obtained with a single iteration . however , if desired , multiple iterations may be performed , for example , by projecting a holographic image 1210 from the h2 hologram through image reduction optics to record a further reduced hologram on a third holographic recording medium ( not shown ). after processing , this further reduced image may become an h3 hologram . the systems and methods of the present invention may offer several advantages , as applied to lithography . for example , an entire wafer may be printed at once , i . e ., in a single exposure . further , smaller object sizes can be achieved due to the fact that diffraction limitations may not limit the reduction of the holographic image . yet further , with particular reference to the system 1200 of fig1 , reduction of the holographic image 1210 may be obtained through reduction of the diffracted holographic image as a light source , rather than reduction of the physical image ; this may further allow for the formation of smaller objects . hence , small structures such as nanostructures may be lithographically printed . in contrast to known interference lithography techniques , the present invention may permit non - periodic patterns to be lithographically printed . | 1 |
as can be seen in fig1 and 2 , the can 10 โ indicated specifically by 10 a in the condition of fig1 and by 10 b in the condition of fig2 โ comprises an outer container 12 of cup shape and an inner container 14 also roughly of cup shape , the inner container 14 being inserted concentrically into the outer container 12 . in the illustrated example , the two cups 12 and 14 are of a suitable material ( for example aluminium or plastic ) to enable the relative upper edges to be turned over and clinched or welded together in conventional manner ( as shown schematically in said figures ), to obtain a seal between the two . consequently a sealed intermediate chamber 16 is obtained , already containing a quantity of liquid ( for example water ). the inner container 14 , the walls of which also act in this case as the separation baffle , laterally and lowerly bounds an upperly open chamber 38 to act as the chamber for receiving the beverage produced in the can 10 . as can be seen in fig1 , an upperly open coaxial duct 20 extends downwards from the base of the inner container 14 and is closed lowerly by a sealing membrane ( for example a sheet of aluminium of the type which closes the mouth of certain toothpaste tubes ). as can be seen from fig1 , a tube 22 of a suitable material , for example plastic , and forming part of a filtering device indicated overall by 24 , is partially inserted by slight forcing into the duct 20 . the tube 22 has an outer diameter such that to insert the tube 22 into the duct 20 a force has to be exerted which besides serving to retain the tube 22 in the duct 20 ( the condition shown in fig1 ), also provides the required seal between the tube 22 and the duct 20 . consequently , by forcing the tube 22 of fig1 downwards into the duct 20 , the user obtains the situation shown in fig2 in which the lower end ( preferably shaped as a flute mouthpiece , as in said figures ) of the tube 22 has pierced the sealing membrane 34 which closes the lower end of the duct 20 . in addition to the tube 22 , the filtering device 24 also comprises a hollow part shaped as a capsule 26 ( substantially spherical in the specific example ) already containing a determined quantity of substance 28 ( for example ground coffee ). the substance 28 , which can also be in the form of granules or powder , cannot descend into the tube 22 because at its upper mouth , communicating with the interior of the spherical wall 26 , there is provided a liquid - permeable baffle , indicated in fig1 by 30 ( for example formed from filter paper or a suitable mesh ). as can be seen in fig1 , the spherical part 26 of the filtering device 24 presents a series of perforations 32 in its upper part so that the capsule is provided with a permeable region through which the final beverage can emerge . when the can 10 is supplied to the user ( i . e . when he purchases it ), the filtering device 24 is in the condition 10 a of fig1 , as stated . it should be noted that the can 10 could remain in the condition 10 a of fig1 even during use if the sealing baffle 34 is formed of a substance able to dissolve following heating . in that case the intervention of the user is limited to the operation of subjecting the can 10 a to the action of a source of heat . the same would apply if the sealing baffle consisted of a membrane pierceable by the effect of the pressure increase created within the second chamber 16 containing the liquid 18 when the can is subjected to the action of a heat source ; this membrane would evidently have a resistance to pressure less than that of the wall of the chamber 38 and of the separation baffle 14 , and also less than that of the release pressure of a safety valve 36 with which the can is provided ( and which will be described hereinafter ). again in this case the intervention of the user is limited to the operation of subjecting the can 10 a to the action of a heat source . the can 10 a is conveniently provided with a removable lid 40 ; the edge of this lid can be turned over and joined by clinching or welding to the edges of the two containers 12 and 14 , the lid being for example provided with a known ring ( not shown ) for tearing off the lid . alternatively , the can could be provided with a common cover ( for example of plastic ) 42 applicable by pressure to the upper edge of the can 10 . the can could also be provided with a further cover positioned ( for example for hygienic reasons ) above one of those already described . as will be apparent from the aforegoing description , the can is of extreme simplicity and very low cost ( especially if constructed of aluminium and / or plastic ). this is important given that , as will be immediately apparent , the can cannot be reused in practice , so that it is of disposable type , to be thrown away after use . it should be noted that the term โ can โ is commonly used to define food containers constructed of materials other than the tinplate formally used for the originally named โ tin cans โ, provided that they are suitable for food preservation , for example aluminium or plastic , hence in the present invention the can construction material is to be understood in the widest sense . for the same reason the term โ can โ also indicates containers of not exclusively cylindrical shape ( for example parallelepiped ). although apparent from the aforegoing description , a short description will now be given of the use of the can 10 for greater clarity . as stated , the user purchases the can 10 in the condition 10 a of fig1 . when he decides to use it to obtain the relative beverage , the user after removing any cover has merely to force the filtering device 24 inwards with the fingers so that the tube 22 , which has not yet been completely inserted into the duct 20 , enters it as far as possible . the result is that the flute mouthed tip of the tube 22 pierces the sealing baffle 34 , until it arrives in proximity to the base of the outer container 12 ( the can being now in the condition 10 b of fig2 ) so that the tube 22 dips into the mass of liquid ( for example water ) contained in the second chamber 16 . the filtering device 24 is advantageously constructed of a plastic material suitable for contact with foods but sufficiently rigid to enable the tube 22 to be forced into the duct 20 , the forcing also ensuring the necessary seal between the tube 22 and the inner wall of the duct 20 . with the can in the condition 10 b it need only be subjected to the action of a heat source ( for example by placing it on a flame or in a microwave oven ), until the liquid 18 contained in the chamber 16 boils , so that this liquid rises along the tube 22 , passes through the mass of substance 28 contained in the capsule 26 , to leave in the form of a beverage from the perforations 32 , and be finally collected in the inner container 14 which , as stated , acts as a collection chamber for the beverage ; at this point the user can also drink the beverage directly from the can , as happens with other beverages ( for example beer ) commonly distributed in cans . when the beverage has been drunk or used , the can is disposed of . it should also be noted that the can 10 can also be sold without the filtering device being located in the position of fig1 , it simply lying in the inner container 14 if sufficiently large . in that case a closure , for example a cover of the aforedescribed types , prevents the accidental escape of the filtering device from the can upper aperture while at the same time preserving its aroma . as an alternative to the aforedescribed covers , but for the same covering purpose , the can could be wrapped in a packaging wrapping , for example in a sheet of heat shrinkable plastic ). it should be noted that the filtering device can also be disposed on the outside of any cover . if the filtering device 24 is not already disposed in the position of fig1 , breakage of the separation baffle 34 can take place in a pierceable region 34 , which can be pierced by other means instead of the lower end 33 of the tube 22 , and in particular by a plastic stick or pin with which the can may be provided . another variant is that shown in fig5 , in which the duct 220 extends slightly above ( portion 220 a ) a separation baffle 214 , on the upper mouth of the portion 220 a there being applied a sealing membrane 234 which can be torn off by the user on utilization , this operation being facilitated by a gripping tab 235 . according to a particularly simple variant ( fig6 ) of the invention , the housing for the tube 22 and the pierceable region of the separation baffle are obtained simply by centrally providing in the separation baffle 314 a thin circular area 334 which is easily pierced by the tube 22 or by other means . according to a further variant of the can of the invention ( shown partially in fig3 and 4 , but for the rest similar to that of fig1 and 2 ), the larger diameter upper part of the tube 122 is externally threaded , this thread being arranged to engage a female thread provided in the inner wall of the duct 120 . in fig3 the filtering device 124 ( which in this case is of ovoidal shape ) is in the condition ( that in which the can is supplied to the user ) in which only a part of the threaded portion of the tube 122 is screwed ( preferably slightly forced ) into the duct 120 . when the user wishes to use this can , he merely screws the tube 122 completely into the duct 120 , with the result that the lower flute mouthpiece - shaped end 133 of the tube 122 pierces the sealing membrane 134 , to achieve the condition shown in fig4 , in which the lower end 133 of the tube 122 dips into the liquid contained in the second chamber ( not shown ). this embodiment is appropriate both if the filtering device is formed of a suitable plastic material , so that by appropriately choosing the dimensions and material of the tube 122 the seal can also be obtained between the tube 122 and the duct 120 , and if a suitable metal ( such as aluminium ) is used or a plastic material which does not enable said seal to be obtained . however in this latter case a seal gasket such as that indicated by 140 in fig3 and 4 must be used to provide the seal . it should be noted that if in addition to the filtering device 24 or 124 the two containers 12 and 14 are also constructed of an appropriate plastic suitable for contact with food , the can will not be suitable for placing on a flame or an electric hotplate , but can be used by insertion into a microwave oven . finally it should be noted that the can of the invention , and particularly the second chamber already containing the liquid , can be conveniently provided with a safety valve . this latter can be conveniently positioned to vent into the first chamber acting as the collection chamber . in this manner external projections are avoided so that the can does not differ externally in its shape and appearance from a normal commercially available food can and can be treated and handled as such . with regard to the substance to be used in the can of the invention to obtain the relative beverage , in addition to chopped or powdered substances , substances of gelatinous form ( including in capsules ) can be used , provided they are suitable for producing the required beverage when located in the filtering device . | 1 |
the present invention provides an improved turntable tool , and method of using the disclosed tool to stabilize an unfired clay workpiece during a trimming operation thereon , in an intermediate stage of manufacturing the workpiece . referring now to the drawings , a turntable apparatus according to a first illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown generally at 10 in fig1 , in exploded perspective view . the turntable apparatus 10 includes a base member 12 , a bearing member 16 , and a cap member 20 . each of these components will be discussed in further detail below . in the first embodiment of the turntable apparatus 10 , the base member 12 is formed generally in the shape of a flattened cylinder with a hollow cylindrical recess 14 formed centrally therein , to receive the bearing member 16 . the base member 12 includes a substantially smooth and unbroken side wall 15 extending therearound . also in the first depicted embodiment , the base member 12 includes a closed floor portion 35 extending across a lower surface 30 thereof at the bottom of the recess 14 , sealing the recess 14 from contact by water or other environmental elements below the tool . the base member 12 may be formed of a slightly resilient plastic material , so as to be non - brittle . the base member 12 may be knurled , or otherwise may be textured , on a lower surface 30 thereof . the lower surface 30 of the base member 12 may have a plurality of open cutouts 32 ( fig2 b , 2 c ) formed therein to create such a textured surface . the lower surface 30 may also have a plurality of radial ribs 34 thereon extending between the cutouts 32 , as shown in fig2 c . the bearing member 16 is generally annular in shape , with a hollow central hole 18 formed centrally therein to receive a post 22 of the cap member 20 . the bearing member 16 is configured and dimensioned to fit snugly inside of the recess 14 of the base member 12 , with a slight interference fit to retain the bearing member therein . the bearing member 16 may be a multi - component bearing assembly , such as a sealed ball bearing or roller bearing . alternatively , the bearing member 16 may be an annular bushing . where a bushing is used , it may be formed from sintered plastic or metal , and optionally , may be impregnated with a wax or with another lubricant . however , the relatively low speed at which the cap member 20 is expected to rotate , in relation to the base 12 , makes the use of a lubricant optional . the cap member 20 includes a relatively thin upper disc 21 , which may have a shallow recess 25 formed centrally therein to receive a fingertip of a user . the diameter of the upper disc 21 may be in a range between 3 cm and 7 cm . the cap member 20 also includes a cylindrical post 22 , integrally attached to and extending downwardly from the upper disc . the post 22 is dimensioned and configured to fit into the central hole 14 of the bearing member , and to suspend the upper disc 21 slightly above , and spaced away from the base member 12 , so as to avoid direct contact therebetween . this spacing provides a narrow gap between the upper disc 21 and the base member . referring now to fig5 - 7 , a turntable apparatus according to a second illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown generally at 110 in fig5 , and this same apparatus is shown in cross - section in fig6 , and in exploded perspective view in fig7 . the turntable apparatus 110 in this second embodiment includes a base member 112 , a bearing subassembly 116 , and a cap member 120 . each of these components will be discussed in further detail below . in the turntable apparatus 110 according to the second embodiment , the base member 112 is formed generally in the shape of a flattened cylinder with a hollow cylindrical open space 114 formed therein , to receive the bearing subassembly 116 . the base member 112 includes a substantially smooth and unbroken side wall 115 extending therearound , with an upper lip flange 113 extending substantially horizontally outwardly at the top of the side wall 115 , as shown . the upper lip flange 113 is provided for cooperating with a lower lip flange 121 of the cap member 120 , to retain the cap member on the base member through an interference fit between the upper lip flange 113 and the lower lip flange 121 . also in the second embodiment , the base member 112 includes a closed floor portion 135 extending across a lower surface 130 thereof at the bottom of the recess 114 , sealing the recess from contact by water or other environmental elements below the turntable tool . the base member 112 may be formed of a slightly resilient plastic material such as polyethylene or another suitable polymer , so as to be non - brittle . the base member 112 may be knurled , or otherwise may be textured , on the lower surface 130 thereof , as shown in fig7 . the bearing subassembly 116 includes a perforated ring member 125 which is generally annular in shape , and which may have a hollow central hole 118 formed centrally therein . the perforated ring member 125 has a number of evenly - spaced collars 126 formed therein , including hollow apertures in each of the collars to retentively receive ball bearings 127 . the bearing subassembly 116 is configured and dimensioned to fit loosely inside of the recess 114 of the base member 112 . the bearing subassembly 116 may be a multi - component bearing assembly , as shown . alternatively , the bearing subassembly 116 may be replaced with a sealed bearing assembly or by an annular bushing . where a bushing is used , it may be formed from sintered plastic or metal , and optionally , may be impregnated with a wax or with another lubricant . however , the relatively low speed at which the cap member 120 is expected to rotate , in relation to the base 112 , makes the use of a lubricant optional . the cap member 120 includes a relatively thin upper disc 123 , which may have a shallow recess 124 formed centrally therein to receive a fingertip of a user . the width , or diameter of the upper disc 123 may be in a range between 3 cm and 7 cm . the cap member 120 also includes an integral side wall 122 , integrally attached to and extending downwardly from an outer edge portion of the upper disc 123 . the side wall 122 of the cap member 120 is dimensioned and configured to fit outside of side wall 115 of the base member 112 , and the bearing subassembly 116 suspends the upper disc 123 slightly above , and spaced away from the base member 112 , so as to avoid direct contact therebetween . this spacing provides a narrow gap between the upper disc 123 and the base member 112 . referring now to fig3 a - 3c and 4 , an illustrative method of trimming an unfired clay workpiece , using the turntable tool 10 or 110 , will now be described . those in the relevant art will understand that immediately after a clay workpiece has been hand - formed on a potter &# 39 ; s wheel 36 ( fig3 a ), the workpiece is quite soft and malleable , and is generally too soft to undergo an immediate trimming operation . therefore , the workpiece is air - dried for a period of time , until it is partially dried to an intermediate state known in the art as โ leather hard โ, whereupon it can withstand the forces exerted thereon in a trimming operation . this drying operation can take place overnight in a โ wet box โ, or the workpiece may be allowed to sit out uncovered to dry immediately after it is formed , where the user is available to wait for the partial drying process to take place . once the workpiece 38 has attained a leather - hard condition , it is inverted and placed at the center of a rotatable wheel head 37 of a potter &# 39 ; s wheel 36 , with the base 40 of the workpiece oriented facing upwardly . the base 40 includes a rough , uneven outer edge portion 42 in need of trimming . this step of the method is depicted in fig3 a , and is also shown at 50 in the method flowchart of fig4 . once the workpiece 38 has been centered on the wheel head 37 , the turntable tool 10 or 110 is then placed on a central portion of the inverted workpiece base 40 , with the cap portion of the tool facing upwardly . this step of the method is depicted in fig3 b , and is shown at 52 in the method flowchart of fig4 . after the turntable tool 10 or 110 has been centered on the base 40 of the workpiece 38 , the user then presses downwardly on the turntable tool to stabilize the workpiece , while rotating the wheel head at an appropriate trimming speed . a selected fingertip of the user fits engagingly into the recess 25 in the top of the cap portion 20 during this step . the base portion 12 of the turntable tool rotates with the workpiece 38 and spins about the stationary post 22 of the cap portion 20 , while the cap portion 20 remains substantially still . this step of the method is depicted in fig3 c , and is shown at 54 in the method flowchart of fig4 . in the next step of the method hereof , a trimming tool 44 is applied to the rough edge 42 of the workpiece 38 , to remove unwanted clay 45 therefrom . this step of the method is also depicted in fig3 c , and is shown at 56 in the method flowchart of fig4 . optionally , the trimming tool may then be removed , and additional clay may be removed from a central portion of the base . after the trimming operation has been completed , the workpiece is allowed to dry completely over a period of days until it reaches a โ bone - dry โ condition , after which it is vitrified in a conventional firing process in a kiln . this may be a two - stage process in which a glaze is applied to the finished workpiece after an initial bisque firing , and the glaze is then melted in a final , high - temperature firing . although the present invention has been described herein with respect to a number of specific illustrative embodiments , the foregoing description is intended to illustrate , rather than to limit the invention . those skilled in the art will realize that many modifications of the preferred embodiment could be made which would be operable . all such modifications , which are within the scope of the claims , are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention . | 1 |
the electronic operating device is programmed via an on / off switching pattern in which various parameters can be set by means of the switched - on time . tables which are accessed via the switched - on times are stored in the operating device , and the parameters obtained from these tables are stored as operating parameters . these operating parameters relate , for example , to the time during which the electronic operating device operates the light at rated power , the time at which the electronic operating device operates the light in a dimmed form , and the dimming level . any other desired parameters are , however , also feasible . the last on / off switching pattern is preferably a checksum , in order to confirm correct detection of the previous parameters . after receiving the on / off switching pattern , the electronic operating device preferably sends a response in the form of an on / off switching pattern to the lamp . the power supply remains switched on for the entire time during this . this method according to the invention can be implemented in a standard operating device with virtually no additional costs . since there is already a microcontroller in these devices , all that is necessary is to implement modified firmware and to create an internal time base . fig1 shows a diagram of the lamp power programmed into the electronic operating device , plotted against time , for street lighting as an application , and fig2 shows an illustration of the time profile of the programming method according to the invention . the preferred embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic operating device which is configured for street lighting . operating devices such as these are often used as a replacement for conventional ballasts in old street lighting installations . during such modernization , there is often a requirement to dim the street lighting at night , in order to save energy . however , old installations generally have no additional lines which could be used as programming or control lines . as already mentioned initially , alternative programming methods for radio or powerline are generally too expensive and complex . in a situation such as this , it is highly advantageous to use the programming method according to the invention . by way of example , a light output as illustrated in fig1 is desirable for street lighting with a night dimming mode . the lighting on a roadway is switched on at 18 : 00 hrs , and the operating devices operate the lamps at the rated power , that is to say at 100 % ( block 71 in the series of curves ). this state should now be maintained for 4 h , after which the operating device should operate the lamps with a lamp power p l of 30 % for 7 h 45 min ( block 73 in the series of curves ). at the end of the night , the lamps should be operated at rated power again until they are switched off ( block 77 in the series of curves ). in this case , the parameters t 71 , t 73 and t 75 can be programmed in the electronic operating device . in this example , the electronic ballast is switched on at the time t 1 by application of the supply voltage , and is switched off at the time t 4 by switching off the supply voltage . in this case , all the electronic operating devices for one or more roadways are switched . the electronic operating device should then automatically switch to a previously programmed dimming level at the previously programmed time t 2 , and should switch back to 100 % power again at time t 3 . in the example : t 1 = 1800 hrs , t 2 = 2200 hrs , t 3 = 0545 hrs and t 4 = 0720 hrs . in this case , the following choice is available for programming the parameters in the electronic ballast : parameter t 71 ( evening lighting ): 1 h to 5 h in 30 min steps . this therefore results in ( 5 โ 1 )* 2 + 1 = 9 different parameter values . parameter t 73 ( night lighting ): 6 h to 8 h in 15 min steps . this therefore results in ( 8 โ 6 )* 4 + 1 = 9 different parameter values . parameter t 75 ( dim level ): 70 %, 60 %, 55 %, 50 %, 45 %, 40 %, 35 %, 30 %. this therefore results in 8 different parameter values . in this application , the programming is carried out with an on / off switching pattern in which there are 4 on - switching operations and 4 off - switching operations . in this case , each switched - on time is subdivided into 15 s sections ; this means that the time resolution for the switched - on times is 15 s . the duration of the first switched - on time defines the parameter t 71 ( evening lighting ), as follows : the duration of the second switch - on pulse defines the parameter t 73 ( night lighting ) as follows : the duration of the third programming switch - on pulse defines the parameter 75 ( dimming level ) as follows : the fourth programming switch - on pulse is used as a check on the programming , in a similar manner to a checksum . in this case , the normalized duration is calculated as follows : 1 + remainder which remains over when the sum of the normalized durations of the first 3 switch - on pulses is divided by 4 . the sum of the normalized switched - on durations of the first three programming pulses can assume the following value range : 3 ( 1 + 1 + 1 ) to 26 ( 9 + 9 + 8 ). the fourth switch - on pulse assumes the following values , using the above formula : the process from fig1 will now be programmed as an example , in order to illustrate the programming method according to the invention : in this case the parameters in the electronic operating device can be chosen as follows : t 71 = 4 h . the length of the evening lighting is intended to be 4 h . the first programming switch - on pulse t 61 therefore has a length of 105 s . t 73 = 7 h 45 . the length of the night lighting is intended to be 7 h 45 min . the second programming switch - on pulse t 63 therefore has a length of 120 s . %. the dimming level is intended to be 30 %. the third programming switch - on pulse t 65 therefore has a length of 120 s . the normalized durations of the programming switch - on pulses can be used to calculate the monitoring pulse . this results in the following pattern : 7 , 8 , 8 . the sum of the normalized switch - on pulses is 7 + 8 + 8 = 23 . the normalized switched - on duration of the fourth pulse ( monitoring pulse ) is therefore 1 + remainder ( 23 / 4 )= 1 + 3 = 4 . in order to program the electronic operating devices for street lighting , an on / off switching pattern as indicated in fig2 must therefore be carried out . the power supply is switched on for 105 s after which it is switched off for an adequate time ( the absolute length is in this case not very critical ), and is then switched on again for 120 s , is switched off for an adequate time , and is then switched on again for 120 s , is switched off for an adequate time , and is finally switched on for 60 s , following which it is switched off again for an adequate time . the power supply is then switched on again for a certain response time t 62 in order to wait for the response from the electronic operating devices . the on / off switching pattern therefore has specific time sequences with specific time conditions and sequence conditions . the electronic operating device can evaluate the sequence and the time duration of the on / off switching pattern , and can distinguish this from random voltage failure patterns . it is , of course , also possible to program the electronic operating device by means of a digital bit sequence , in which case each bit represents switching on or off for a certain time , for example for 1 - 2 seconds . however , this has the disadvantage over the abovementioned method that the lights are switched on and off more frequently . after the programming has been carried out , the electronic operating device responds during the response phase 69 with a specific time on / off switching pattern of the lamp . during this process , the supply voltage remains switched on during the time t 62 , in which the electronic operating device is sending the response pattern . the response can be evaluated either on the basis of the power consumed from the supply or on the basis of the current , or visually via the light , that is to say by means of visual checking and a clock , without any additional device . for example , the following information can be indicated by transmission or non - transmission and by the time duration of the response delay t 64 , or the duration of the response pulse in the electronic ballast response : successful / invalid programming , feedback of a programming status ( no . of the current dimming program ) or the time before a lamp change is required . in this case , the response delay is particularly highly suitable for parameters which differ for individual operating devices , or for a subset of the electronic operating devices . by way of example , the response delay can be used to indicate simple feedback about the remaining usable lamp life ( for example the remaining usable lamp life is proportional to the response delay ). if the current draw or power consumption ( or the light ) of the roadway is in this case observed , it is easily possible to read the urgency of lamp replacement , from the rise in the current draw or power demand . the response delay time t 64 is in the range 10 min to 30 min ( this is necessary for high - pressure lamps ). this is subdivided into a cooling - down waiting time ( identical for all electronic operating devices ) and a response data time ( for transmission of a parameter such as the remaining usable lamp life ). the response pulse duration t 65 of the response pulse 65 is in the range 1 s - 20 min . in order to allow the electronic operating device to correctly evaluate the programming pulses , a time base is required . there are a number of possible ways to adjust the internal timer ( for example the clock frequency of the microcontroller ). the electronic operating device may , for example , calibrate its time base from the mains frequency of the voltage supply . the electronic operating device may , however , also calibrate its time base from a specific programming pattern ( for example using a reference time pulse which is likewise applied as a switch - on pulse during the programming ). the electronic operating device uses at least one of these options in order to arrive at a suitable time base . in a more advanced embodiment of the invention , the times that are programmed in are not absolute times but normalized times which , for example , relate only to a specific daytime length . ratio components of the overall switched - on time are therefore programmed into the electronic operating device . this means that the electronic operating device automatically matches itself to different daylight times and night times , which means that it must be programmed only once , and always chooses the correct switched - on durations for the various dimming levels for different switched - on times ( for example the difference between summer and winter operation ). for this purpose , the electronic operating device has a memory in which it stores the total switched - on duration t g when it is switched off in the morning . a quotient is formed from the most recent total switched - on time t g and the programmed standard switched - on time t 71 + t 73 + t 77 , and this is multiplied , as a factor , by the partial switched - on times ( t 71 , t 73 , t 77 ). the time t r , must also be programmed , in the manner described above , for this purpose . these times multiplied by the factor ( s * t 71 , s * t 73 . . . ) are then used as switched - on times . the programming is therefore matched in a simple manner to the current night - time length , therefore making it possible to use the programmed switched - on times throughout the entire year . | 7 |
an exemplary embodiment of a lift gate assembly made according to the invention is illustrated in the drawings and with reference to fig1 and 2 is seemed to be secured to the rear end 10 of a truck , generally designated 12 , only part of which is shown . the truck 12 includes a horizontal bed 14 flanked by upstanding side walls 16 and 18 respectively . the lift gate assembly of the invention includes a u - shaped base , generally designated 20 , having a central section 22 . at opposite ends of the central section 22 , upstanding legs 24 and 26 are located . the legs 24 and 26 may be formed of channels and open rearwardly . their upper ends may be closed by end plates 28 if desired and mounting brackets 30 ( only one of which is shown ) may be secured to each for attachment to respective ones of the side walls 16 and 18 such that the upper surface of the central section 22 is coplanar with the truck bed 14 . as seen in fig1 and 2 , the central section 22 may include an upper plate 32 and a lower plate 34 extending between the legs 24 and 26 to define a housing . if desired , the openings between the plates 32 and 34 may be closed with covers ( not shown ). within the housing thus defined and mounted on the lower plate 34 , there is disposed a pumping unit , generally designated 36 . the pumping unit 36 includes a hydraulic pump 38 ( fig4 ), an internal reservoir 40 ( fig4 ) and an electric drive motor 42 which may be powered by the electrical system of the truck 12 in which the lift gate assembly is mounted . the lift gate assembly also includes a gate 44 which sometimes , but not always , may be the tailgate with which the vehicle 12 was originally equipped . associated with the gate 44 , and in alignment with corresponding ones of the legs 24 and 26 , are upstanding legs 46 and 48 respectively . the legs 46 and 48 are parallel to the legs 24 and 26 respectively and may be formed of forwardly opening channels having their tops closed by plates 50 . by means of a horizontal pivot 52 ( fig3 only ), the gate 44 is pivoted to the legs 46 and 48 near their lower extremities . a cable 54 extends between each leg 46 and 48 from a point 56 near the upper end of the corresponding leg to a point 58 near the edge of the gate 44 remote from the pivot 52 . thus , the gate 44 may be pivoted to a vertical , closed position closing the bed 14 and locked thereat by conventional means ( not shown ) or moved to a horizontal position as illustrated in the drawing whereat its uppermost surface may act as a cargo support during loading and unloading of the vehicle with the cables 54 maintaining the gate 44 in such a horizontal position . the legs 24 and 46 , along with links 60 and 62 define a first parallelogram linkage while the legs 26 and 48 , along with links 64 and 66 also define a parallelogram linkage . the links 60 and 62 are parallel to each other as are the links 64 and 66 as are the links 62 and 66 and the links 60 and 64 , respectively . as best seen in fig2 and 3 , the link 60 has one end connected by a pivot 68 to the leg 24 and its other end connected by a pivot 70 to the leg 46 . corresponding pivots for the link 64 are shown at 72 and 74 respectively , in fig2 only . the link 62 has one end rigidly connected to a torsion rod or bar 80 which in turn is pivoted to the leg 24 near the lower extremity thereof and thus is lower than the pivot 68 . the opposite end of the link 62 is connected by a pivot pin 82 to the leg 46 just above the pivot 52 for the gate 44 and thus is well below the pivot 70 . the link 66 is likewise rigidly connected to the torsion bar 80 which extends the entire length of the central section 22 and is also connected to the leg 48 by a pivot pin 84 corresponding to the pivot pin 82 . the mechanical construction is completed by the provision of a double acting hydraulic cylinder 86 in each of the parallelogram linkages . each cylinder 86 has its head end 88 connected by a pivot pin 89 to the leg 24 or the leg 26 , as the case may be , at a location near the lower pivot 80 and the upper pivot 68 or 72 , as the case may be . the rod 90 of each cylinder 86 is connected by a pivot pin 92 to the leg 46 or 48 as the case may be at a location closer to the pivot pin 70 or 74 than the pivot pin 82 or 84 . thus , the cylinders 86 are always in nonparallel relation to the links 60 , 62 , 64 , 66 and of legs 24 , 26 , 46 , 48 . the actual spacial relationship is best illustrated in fig3 which is drawn substantially to scale . this configuration of components , amongst other things , result in the links and cylinders being virtually wholly contained within the channel shaped legs 24 , 26 , 46 , 48 when the gate is in its uppermost position as can be seen in both fig1 and 3 . the linkage only becomes exposed when the gate 24 is in a transitory position as regards vehicle traveling , that is , in a position which is not utilized when the vehicle is in motion . thus , the working components of the system are housed the vast majority of the time . fig4 illustrates one possible control schematic for the lift gate assembly . as shown therein , the cylinders 86 are double acting cylinders and it will be recalled from the previous discussion , that the head ends 88 of the cylinders 86 are connected to the legs 24 and 26 respectively . thus , application of fluid under pressure to the head ends 88 along a hydraulic line 100 will result in the gate assembly being lifted from the dotted line position illustrated in fig3 to the solid line position in that figure . positive movement in the opposite direction under influence of hydraulic fluid under pressure can be achieved by applying pressurized fluid to a line 102 which is in fluid communication with the rod ends of the cylinders 86 . since downward movement of the gate will be assisted by gravity , the fact that somewhat lesser power will be available for downward movement than the upward movement ( by reason of the lesser effective area of the rod end side of the pistons of the cylinders ) is not a disadvantage . in fact , it is an advantage because the maximum power configuration of the cylinders is utilized for lifting purposes . to control which of the lines 100 and 102 is connected to a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure , namely , the pump 38 , a valve having a spool 104 configured as schematically illustrated in fig4 may be utilized . the spool 104 is connected via a link 106 to a handle 108 . if the handle 108 is pivoted in the counter clockwise direction , the line 100 will be connected to the pump 38 while the line 102 will be connected to the reservoir 40 to raise the gate 44 . conversely , when the handle 108 is pivoted in the clockwise direction , the line 102 will be connected to the pump 38 while the line 100 will be connected to the reservoir 40 and the gate will be powered to the lowered position . when the handle 108 is in the position illustrated , both the lines 100 and 102 will be blocked and the gate 44 will remain in whatever position it had previously been moved to . desirably , suitable electric switching means may be mechanically linked to the spool 104 so as to energize the motor 42 to operate the pump 38 only when the spool 104 is shifted either to the left or the right of the position illustrated in fig4 to conserve electrical energy . because this configuration provides for positive powering of the gate 44 to a lowered position , difficulties of operation in cold weather of prior art constructions are avoided . furthermore , it will be appreciated that the unique configuration of the cylinders 86 within the parallelogram linkages defined by the various links and legs provides a very real advantage in lifting over prior art constructions . in particular , movement of the gate from its lowered position upward will occur at a very slow rate when such movement is initiated even though there will be substantial extension of the rods 90 of the cylinders 86 at that time . those skilled in the art will thus recognize that maximum lifting power is thus applied at the initiation of upward movement of the gate 44 , precisely at a time when it is most needed . &# 34 ; tippiness &# 34 ; in the gate 44 by reason of off - center loading is also avoided by the presence of the rod 80 being ridigly connected to both of the links 62 and 60 because the rod 80 torsionally resists any twisting force tending to move the axis defined by the pivots 82 and 84 out of a horizontal plane . thus , the possibility of an inadvertent spill of cargo on the gate 44 during a raising or lowering operation due to twisting of the gate 44 as a consequence of an off - center load is likewise avoided . at the same time , all of the desirable features of brown &# 39 ; s lift gate assembly insofar as providing an assembly readily adaptable to small and medium sized vehicles , are retained . | 8 |
upper and lower blades which open and close and are mutually opposing each other are established on a blade section of a cutter body that is formed in a scissor - like shape . the upper and lower blade edge lines of the upper and lower blades substantially coincide at a planned cut line of the plate glass , and the plate glass is cut out along the planned cut line . further , the upper and lower blade edge line is longer than the planned cut line and both edges of the upper and lower blade edge line provide a position outside the plate glass . the space between opposite end sections of the upper and lower blade edge lines is narrower than the space between the center sections of the upper and lower blade edge lines . during the cutting operation , the distribution of the clamping pressure of the upper and lower blades on the plate glass is the greatest at the plate glass edge and gradually lessens relative to the center section . the crack that is produced at the plate glass edge runs toward the center section along the upper and lower blade edge lines . actual examples of the invention are explained by referring to the figures . fig1 - 6 show a first example of a corner cutter a 1 of the present invention . this corner cutter a 1 shapes a corner section 2 of a sheet of brittle material , such as plate glass 1 , into an almost one quarter arch shape with the center section curving outwardly as shown in fig7 . the right handle section 3 and upper blade edge section 5 are formed as one unit and the left handle section 4 and lower blade edge section 6 are formed as another unit which are pivotally attached to swing freely by means of pivot 7 . a scissor - like shaped cutter body 8 is formed and the upper and lower blades 9 , 10 , which are formed from ultra - hard metal alloys , are set in upper and lower blade edge sections 5 , 6 . in the figures , 11 are handle section covers , 12 is a return spring , and 13 is a stop that maintains cutter body 8 in an open condition . the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 of upper and lower blades 9 , 10 are formed in a substantially one quarter arc shape and the center sections curve to the side of cutter body 8 , as shown in the plan views of fig2 and fig5 and are formed to coincide with the planned cut line c 1 of fig7 . further , the space d 1 of the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 between the left and right edges is narrower than the space d 2 between the center sections of the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 in the condition where the upper and lower blades are closed , as shown in the front view of fig3 . also , the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 of the upper and lower blades 9 , 10 edges are exactly opposite , as shown in the cross - sectional diagram of fig4 , and the plate glass 1 receives clamping pressure between the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 by the opening and closing of the upper and lower blade edge sections 5 , 6 . the outside surface 16 of the upper and lower blades 9 , 10 is formed to be perpendicular to plate glass 1 , which is the object to be cut , and only the inside surface is formed as a single blade edge with a rake or angle a . the method of using a corner cutter a 1 of the first example is as follows . planned cut line c 1 is set by establishing the outside grinding material m shown in fig7 , of the planned finish line b 1 , by marking off line b 1 on a corner section 2 of plate glass 1 as shown in fig5 . the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 conform to the planned cutting line c 1 , and both the right and left edge sections of the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 are positioned outside the edge of plate glass 1 . when upper and lower blade edge sections 5 , 6 are closed by squeezing the right and left handles 4 , 3 , as shown in fig6 , the plate glass 1 is clamped between upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 . but , as aforementioned , clamping pressure is produced in both directions where crossing orthogonally at the surface of plate glass 1 between the upper and lower blade edge lines 14 , 15 which are exactly opposite and the distribution of the clamping pressure is greatest at both edge sections of planned cut line c 1 and gradually decreases relative to approaching the center section . the crack which is produced in plate glass 1 is first produced at both edge sections of the planned cut line c 1 periphery where the clamping pressure is the greatest , then moves from that toward the center section of cut line c 1 , and divergences from cut line c 1 are prevented by controlling the clamping pressure of the upper and lower blades 9 , 10 . further , a section outside planned cutting line c 1 is crushed since a rake a , shown in fig4 , is formed only at the inside surface of upper blade 9 which engages an opposing surface of lower blade 10 . the original form is maintained for the section inside planned cut line c 1 and the forming of a corner section 2 in cut line c 1 as shown in fig7 is possible , since a crack along cut line c 1 is produced in front of where this crushing occurs and crushing proceeding to inside beyond the same crack is prevented . after the cutting operation is performed , the comer section 2 is ground and finished to planned finish line b 1 with items like a grinder or whetstone . fig8 - 12 show a second example of a corner cutter a 2 . the corner section 2 of plate glass 1 shown in fig1 is one that is cut along a planned finish line b 2 of about a one quarter arch shape with a center section that curves inwardly . planned cut line c 2 establishes the grinding material from planned finish line b 2 , and is shaped in the one quarter arch shape with the center section curved inwardly . upper and lower blades 22 , 23 curve in about a one quarter arch shape outside the center section for upper and lower blade edge sections 20 , 21 of cutter body 8 that is formed substantially in the same way as the aforementioned first example . one of the end sections of the upper and lower blades 22 , 23 is parallel with the length of cutter body 8 and the other end section is positioned orthogonally to the length . the upper and lower blades 22 , 23 are also mutually exactly opposite the upper and lower blade edge lines 24 , 25 in the same way as the first example , and the space between the upper and lower blade edge lines 24 , 25 of the end sections of the side that is parallel to the length of the cutter body 8 is narrower than the space at the other end . further , the rakes or angles of the upper and lower blades 22 , 23 are also only on the cutting side in the same way as the first example . fig1 and 12 show conditions for use of the second example corner cutter a 2 . the end section of the side that is parallel to the length of the cutter body 8 of the upper and lower blade edge lines 24 , 25 is positioned alongside one edge of corner section 2 of plate glass 1 which forms a right angle . the other end is positioned near the other edge of comer section 2 . first , a crack is produced in a position where the edge of the plate glass 1 and the upper and lower blade edge lines 24 , 25 cross . this crack runs toward the other end section of the upper and lower blade edge lines 24 , 25 , and cutting of plate glass 1 along planned cut line c 2 is possible when upper and lower blade edge sections 20 , 21 are closed by squeezing the right and left handle sections 4 , 3 as with the first example of fig1 . further , the end section of the side that does not cross with the plate glass 1 edge of upper and lower blade end lines 24 , 25 does not contact the other edge of plate glass 1 , and a force which separates the cut - off section outside planned cut line c 2 is produced due to the rake or angle established on upper and lower blades 22 , 23 . this force directs the crack in the direction of the other edge and the crack is prevented from running toward the inside of planned finishing line b 2 . fig1 - 16 show a guide 30 mounted on corner cutter a 1 of the first example for simplifying the positioning of corner cutter a 1 on plate glass 1 . setting section 33 extends from a right angle end section 32 of the approximately right - angle isosceles triangle shaped bottom plate 31 in the direction of the cutter body 8 and the periphery of the two sides which secure the end position , the respective right and left guide plates 34 , 35 are disposed on the right and left periphery of setting section 33 for guide 30 , and position determining hole 36 and screw insertion hole 37 are formed in setting section 33 . further , position determining projection 38 and hidden female screw hole 39 are formed on the outside surface of the lower blade edge section 6 of cutter body 8 . position determining projection 38 fits through position determining hole 36 of setting section 33 with guide 30 being fastened on corner cutter a 1 by means of wing nut 40 which fastens onto a screw through female screw hole 39 . thus , the right angle corner section 2 of plate glass 1 is inserted between the right and left guide plates 34 , 35 . when the periphery of that plate glass 1 abuts the inside surface of the right and left guide plates 34 , 35 , the position of the upper and lower blade edge sections 5 , 6 of corner cutter a 1 is correct . efficient comer treatment operation can then be performed without requiring markingoff , since that can be easily determined . further , the corner cutter of this invention is not limited to the above - mentioned cutting of plate glass , but can be widely utilized for materials that are in a sheet form and are brittle such as mirrors , bathroom tiles and roof tiles . effects such as the following can be obtained by the present invention . the invention utilizes the opening and closing motions of upper and lower blades to result in cutting of plate glass due to the upper and lower blade edge lines mutually opposing each other in a cutter body that is formed in a scissor - like shape . further , a corner section of plate glass can be cut on a planned cut line by one opening and closing operation of the upper and lower blade edge sections and the efficiency of corner section treatment operations can be improved since the upper and lower blade edge lines substantially coincide at a planned cut line of a corner section of plate glass . the invention can produce a crack with little clamping pressure by restricting the origin of a crack that is produced by the clamping pressure of the upper and lower blades to the plate glass periphery when a corner section is cut . this results from positioning at least one end section of the upper and lower blade edge at the periphery of the plate glass when the upper and lower blades are closed . the invention has the distribution of the clamping pressure to the plate glass being greatest at the end sections with the space of the upper and lower blade edge line being narrow and the direction in which the crack runs can be controlled while the crack can be prevented from going beyond the planned cut line . the invention provides the simple shaping of a corner section with a center section curving to the outside and the center sections of the upper and lower blade edge lines curve to the cutter body side . the invention also provides the simple formation of a corner section curving to the inside and the center sections of the upper and lower blade edge lines curve to the reverse side of the cutter body . it will be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the sphere and scope of the invention . all such variations and modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 1 |
fig1 shows a block diagram of a replenishment system which includes the control circuit of the present invention . a processor 10 of photosensitive material has its processor fluid replenished by replenisher 12 . both processor 10 and replenisher 12 may take any one of many well - known forms , such as those shown in the previously mentioned patent application and patents . in the embodiment shown in fig1 two parameters relating to the processing occurring in processor 10 are sensed . density sensor 14 senses the density of the developed film and produces a density signal proportional to the image density of the developed film . film speed sensor 16 senses the speed of which film is being transported through the processor 10 . in the preferred embodiments , film speed sensor 16 provides a film speed signal which is proportional to the film speed through the processor 10 . speed / density signal combiner 18 receives the density signal from density sensor 14 and the film speed signal from film speed sensor 16 . these two signals are combined by speed / density signal combiner 18 to provide a combined signal . in one preferred embodiment , the combined signal is the product of the density signal and the film speed signal , and speed / density signal combiner 18 is a multiplier which multiplies the density and film speed signals . the combined signal from speed / density signal combiner 18 is received by voltage - to - frequency converter 20 . the voltage - to - frequency converter 20 produces a variable frequency signal whose frequency is indicative of the measured parameters ( density and film speed ). the variable frequency signal drives counter 22 , which , in a preferred embodiment , counts up in response to the variable frequency signal . counter 22 is interrogated at predetermined intervals by interrogate means formed by clock 24 , counter 26 , and register 28 . counter 26 , which is driven by clock 24 , has outputs which provide a clear signal , a load signal , and a countdown signal . the load signal is provided to register 28 at the predetermined intervals . in one preferred embodiment , the load signal is provided every 30 seconds and has a 30 msec duration . the load signal causes register 28 to accept the count then contained in counter 22 . the clear signal is a short duration signal which immediately follows the load signal . the clear signal resets counter 22 after the count in counter has been loaded in register 28 . in the preferred embodiment in which counter 22 counts up in response to the variable frequency signal from voltage frequency converter 20 , the clear signal resets counter 22 to zero . the count - down signal causes register 28 to count down from the count which has been transferred from counter 22 to register 28 . the time required for register 28 to count down to zero in response to the count - down signal is , of course , determined by the count which has been loaded from counter 22 . nor gate 30 receives all of the outputs of register 28 . the output of nor gate 30 is &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; only during the time that register 28 has a non - zero count . gate 32 is a driver or interface gate which provides an energizing signal to replenisher 12 . in the circuits shown in fig1 the energizing signal is applied to replenisher 12 only during the time when the output of nor gate 30 is &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;. in other words , the energizing signal is applied for the time duration required by the register 28 to count down to zero from the count received from the counter 22 . the operation of the control system of the present invention , therefore , is based upon the production of a variable frequency signal ( by density sensor 14 , film speed sensor 16 , speed / density signal combiner 18 , and voltage - to - frequency converter 20 ) which has a frequency indicative of a measured parameter or parameters associated with operation of the processor 10 . this variable frequency signal drives counter 22 , which is interrogated at predetermined intervals ( for example , every 30 seconds ) by clock 24 , counter 26 , and register 28 . an energizing signal is applied to replenisher 12 through gates 30 and 32 . the time duration of the energizing signal is determined by the count in counter 22 when it is interrogated . the time duration of the energizing signal can , conceivably , vary from zero seconds to approximately 30 seconds , which is the predetermined interval between interrogation . the zero second duration ( i . e . no energization of replenisher 12 ) can occur if the density sensor 14 or film speed sensor 16 indicates that no replenishment is required so that the frequency of the variable frequency signal is zero . this may occur , for example , if no film is being passed through processor 10 . the maximum time duration of the energizing signal to replenisher 12 is determined by the maximum count which can be stored in counter 22 and register 28 and by the frequency of the count - down signal . in no case is the maximum time duration greater than the predetermined interval , and in many cases it is less than the predetermined interval . fig2 shows another embodiment of the present invention which is generally similar to the system shown in fig1 . for that reason , similar numerals have been used to designate similar elements . the system of fig2 differs from the system of fig1 in that an additional nor gate 34 has been added . nor gate 34 nors the output of nor gate 30 with the load signal . the output of nor gate 34 is then applied to gate 32 , which in turn provides the energizing signal to replenisher 12 . the purpose of nor gate 34 is to provide a short energization of replenisher 12 at the predetermined intervals even if counter 22 contains a zero count and the output of nor gate 30 does not go to zero during that interval . under some circumstances , this energization of replenisher 12 at regular time intervals is advantageous , as specifically discussed in the previously mentioned co - pending patent application by gaskell and charnley . in one preferred embodiment , the load signal has a pulse of approximately 30 msec . if this duration of energizing signal is not desired , additional circuitry can be added to the circuit of fig2 to either increase or decrease the duration of the load signal applied to nor gate 34 . the control circuit of the present invention has several important advantages over the prior art replenisher control systems . first , it is easier to calibrate than the prior art analog electrical or electromechanical systems . second , it is not subject to drift problems . third , the system of the present invention uses fewer and less complex components than the prior art systems . this results in lower cost and greater reliability than the prior art systems . fourth , the control circuit of the present invention greatly simplifies power supply requirements , since it requires a single , relatively low voltage to operate the digital electronics and does not require a two - phase clock . fifth , the control circuit of the present invention greatly simplifies the requirements for the signal processing of the speed and density signals . in conclusion , the control system of the present invention provides highly accurate , reliable replenisher system control with greatly reduced system complexity , system cost , and number of components . although the present invention has been described with reference to certain 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 . | 6 |
embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating configuration of a time - division receiver to which the present invention is applied . time - division receiver 100 in fig1 employs a configuration with the branch count of two which a first branch and a second branch are time - division multiplexed into a single system . in fig1 , time - division receiver 100 includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , mixer 120 , time - division demultiplexing section 130 and control signal generating cult 140 . control signal generating circuit 140 supplies control signals ( clocks ) to time - division multiplexing section 110 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 . more specifically , control signal generating circuit 140 generates sw 1 and sw 2 , and supplies sw 1 and sw 2 to time - division multiplexing section 110 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 . fig2 is a diagram illustrating control signals sw 1 and sw 2 supplied from control signal generating circuit 140 . control signal generating circuit 140 also generates local signal lo p . then , control signal generating circuit 140 supplies local signal lo p to mixer 120 . time - division multiplexing section 110 includes input terminals 111 and 112 . a radio - frequency signal for a first branch is input to input terminal 111 . also , a radio - frequency signal for a second branch is input to input terminal . 112 . time - division multiplexing section 110 time - division multiplexes the radio - frequency signals for the first and second branches in response to sw 1 and sw 2 to generate a single time - division multiplexed signal . more specifically , time - division multiplexing section 110 outputs the radio - frequency signal for the first branch , which has been input from input terminal 111 , to mixer 120 during a period in which sw 1 is active . also , time - division multiplexing section 110 outputs the radio - frequency signal for the second branch , which has been input from input terminal 112 , to mixer 120 during a period in which sw 2 is active . here , a branch switching rate needs to be a rate equal to or exceeding a symbol rate for each of the radio - frequency signals . as described above , time - division multiplexing section 110 generates a time - division multiplexed signal and outputs the time - division multiplexed signal to mixer 120 . mixer 120 performs frequency conversion ( down - conversion ) of the time - division multiplexed signal using local signal lo p to generate a baseband time - division multiplexed signal ( hereinafter abbreviated , as baseband signal ) and outputs the baseband signal to time - division demultiplexing section 130 . time - division demultiplexing section 130 includes output terminals 131 and 132 . then , time - division demultiplexing section 130 demultiplexes the baseband signal into first and second branches in response to sw 1 and sw 2 . more specifically , time - division demultiplexing section 130 outputs the baseband signal to output terminal 131 during a period in which sw 1 is active . time - division demultiplexing section 130 also outputs the baseband signal to output terminal 132 during a period in which sw 2 is active . as described above , time - division demultiplexing section 130 demultiplexes the baseband signal into the first and second branches at a branch switching rate equal to that of time - division multiplexing section 110 . a configuration of time - division receiver 100 to which the present invention is applied has been described above . next , a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment will be described . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of time - division receiver 100 a according to the present embodiment . in fig3 , components that are the same as those in fig1 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig1 and a description thereof will be omitted . in fig3 , time - division receiver 100 a includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , control signal generating circuit 140 a , reversed - phase signal generating section 150 , and residual charge initializing section 160 . in fig3 , mixer 120 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 process a normal - phase signal in a differential system . also , mixer 120 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 process a reversed - phase signal in the differential system . hereinafter , processing sections that process normal - phase signal are collectively referred to as a normal - phase circuit , and processing sections that process a reversed - phase signal are collectively referred to as a reversed - phase circuit . furthermore , in fig3 , a path between time - division multiplexing section 110 and mixer 120 - 1 and a path between reversed - phase signal generating section 150 and mixer 120 - 2 are referred to as time - division shared signal lines 170 - 1 and 170 - 2 , respectively . also , a path between mixer 120 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 ( output path for mixer 120 - 1 ) is referred to as time - division shared signal line 180 - 1 . also , a path between mixer 120 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 ( output path for mixer 120 - 2 ) is referred to as time - division shared signal line 180 - 2 . control signal generating circuit 140 a supplies control signals to time - division multiplexing section 110 , time division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , and residual charge initializing section 160 . more specifically , control signal generating circuit 140 a generates control signals sw 1 , sw 2 and swc . then , control signal generating circuit 140 a supplies sw 1 and sw 2 to time - division multiplexing section 110 and time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 . control signal generating circuit 140 a also supplies swc to residual charge initializing section 160 . furthermore , control signal generating circuit . 140 a generates local signal lo p and supplies local signal lo p to mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 . fig4 is a diagram illustrating control signals sw 1 , sw 2 and swc supplied from control signal generating circuit 140 a . details of sw 1 , sw 2 and swc will be described later . control signal generating circuit 140 e generates local signal lo p . then , control signal generating circuit 140 a supplies local signal lo p to mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 . time - division multiplexing section 110 time - division multiplexes radio - frequency signals for the first and second branches in response to sw 1 and sw 2 to generate a single time - division multiplexed signal . more specifically , during a period in which sw 1 is active , time - division multiplexing section 110 outputs the radio - frequency signal for the first branch to mixer 120 - 1 and reversed - phase signal generating section 150 . also , during a period in which sw 2 is active , time - division multiplexing section 110 outputs the radio - frequency signal for the second branch to mixer 120 - 1 and reversed - phase signal generating section 150 . during a period in which neither sw 1 nor sw 2 is active ( that is , a period in which swc is active ), time - division multiplexing section 110 provides no output to mixer 120 - 1 and reversed - phase signal generating section 150 . reversed - phase signal generating section 150 reverses a phase of the time - division multiplexed signal to generate a reversed - phase time - division multiplexed signal and outputs the reversed - phase time - division multiplexed signal to mixer 120 - 2 . as with mixer 120 , mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 perform frequency conversion ( down - conversion ) of the respective time - division multiplexed signals using local signal lo p to generate a baseband time - division multiplexed signal ( baseband signal ). more specifically , mixer 120 - 1 down - converts the normal - phase time - division multiplexed signal to generate a normal - phase baseband signal . also , mixer 120 - 2 down - converts the reversed - phase time - division multiplexed signal to generate a reversed - phase baseband signal . the normal - phase baseband signal is output to time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 via time - division shared signal line 180 - 1 . the reversed - phase baseband signal is output to time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 via time - division shared signal line 180 - 2 . as with time - division demultiplexing section 130 , each of time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 includes output terminals 131 and 132 . time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 each demultiplex the respective baseband signals into the first and second branches in response to sw 1 and sw 2 . more specifically , demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 output the respective baseband signals to respective output terminals 131 during a period in which sw 1 is active . also , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 output the respective baseband signals to respective output terminals 132 during period in which sw 2 is active . as described above , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 demultiplex the respective time - division multiplexed signals into the first and second branches at a branch switching rate equal to that of time - division multiplexing section 110 . residual charge initializing section 160 initializes charges remaining in parasitic capacitances in time - division receiver 100 a . here , parasitic capacitances generated in time - division receiver 100 a will be described . as described above , time - division shared signal lines 170 - 1 and 170 - 2 , mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 and time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 are shared between the first and second branches . time - division shared signal lines 170 - 1 and 170 - 2 , mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 and time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 shared between the first and second branches are referred to as time - division shared sections below . if an element having frequency response exists in a time - division shared section , as described above , a parasitic capacitance is generated in the element and leakage between branches increases due to the generated parasitic capacitance . here , from among the time - division shared sections , elements having frequency response , that is , elements in which a parasitic capacitance is generated will be discussed . to be exact , time - division shared signal lines 170 - 1 , 170 - 2 , mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 , and time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 all have frequency response . however , there is a large difference between an lo ( local ) frequency used by mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 for down - conversion and the branch switching rate . for example , the lo frequency is around 2 ghz while the branch switching rate is around 100 mhz . in other words , in time - division receiver 100 a , mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 can be considered as mere elements for frequency shifting from a first frequency to a second frequency . then , the branch switching rate is extremely slow compared to the lo frequency , and thus , the frequency response of mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 can be ignored . in other words , parasitic capacitances in mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 can be ignored . furthermore , since each of the first and second branch signals passing through time - division shared signal lines 170 - 1 and 170 - 2 has a radio frequency , as with mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 , the frequency response of time - division shared signal lines 170 - 1 and 170 - 2 can be ignored . meanwhile , the down - converted baseband signals pass through time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 . each of the baseband signals has a low frequency , for example , around 5 mhz . therefore , the frequency of the baseband signals is close to the branch switching rate compared to that of the radio - frequency signals , and thus , the frequency response of time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 should be taken into consideration . thus , on time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 , parasitic capacitances can be generated . fig5 is a diagram conceptually illustrating parasitic capacitances generated on time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 . in fig5 , parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 are parasitic capacitances generated on time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 . in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 , signal components before branch switching remain . therefore , in the present embodiment , in time - division receiver 100 a , residual charge initializing section 160 is connected to time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 ( output paths for mixers 120 - 1 and 120 - 2 ). in the present embodiment , residual charge initializing section 160 is configured to initialize charges remaining in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 ( hereinafter also referred to as residual charges ). fig6 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of residual charge initializing section 160 and connection to the same . one of connection destinations of switch 161 is the output path for mixer 120 - 1 in the normal - phase circuit and the other is the output path for mixer 120 - 2 in the reversed - phase circuit . then , switch 161 is turned on / off in response to swc , and consequently , the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit are in a conducting or non - conducting state . more specifically , during a period in which swc is active , switch 161 is on , whereby the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit are in a conducting state . also , during a period in which swc , is non - active , switch 161 is off , whereby the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit are its a non - conducting state . next , the control signals output from control signal generating circuit 140 a will be described with reference to fig4 . in fig4 , sw 1 is a control signal for time - division multiplexing section 110 and time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 to select the first branch . also , sw 2 is a control signal for time - division multiplexing section 110 and time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 to select the second branch . as described above , sw 1 and sw 2 for switching between the first and second branches are control signals common to time - division multiplexing section 110 and time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 . sw 1 and sw 2 each have a rate higher than the symbol rate . furthermore , as illustrated in fig4 , sw 1 and sw 2 are not active simultaneously , and there are periods in which both sw 1 and sw 2 are non - active . each of the periods in which both sw 1 and sw 2 are non - active is a period in which the time - division multiplexed signal is quiescent . also , each of the periods in which both sw 1 and sw 2 are non - active and the time - division multiplexed signal is quiescent ( hereinafter referred to as โ quiescent period โ) is a period in which swc is active . residual charge initializing section 160 initializes the charges accumulated in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 ( residual charges ) during a period in which swc is active , that is , a quiescent period . time necessary for initializing the residual charges should be assigned to the period in which swc is active . however , majority of charge is moved to a parasitic capacitance in an early period in which charge accumulation has started . therefore , even where residual charges are initialized for residual charge reduction during a period shorter than a period of time consumed for actual accumulation of the residual charges , the initialization of the residual charges can provide an effect of reduction in leakage between the branches . accordingly , the period in which swc is active may be shorter than time required to completely initialize the residual charges . furthermore , since each of the periods in which swc is active is a period in which both sw 1 and sw 2 are non - active ( quiescent period ), if the period in which swc is active is long , the period in which sw 1 or sw 2 is active is short . shortening the period in which sw 1 or sw 2 is active causes deterioration in pass gain characteristic of the signal for the branch for which the active period has been shortened . meanwhile , shortening the period in which swc is active disables sufficient initialization of the residual charges , resulting in deterioration in characteristic of leakage between the branches . therefore , it is necessary to determine the period in which swc is active taking a trade - off between the pass gain characteristic and the characteristic of leakage between the branches into consideration . next , an operation of residual charge initializing section 160 will be described . fig7 is a diagram illustrating charges ( residual charges ) generally accumulated in a parasitic capacitance in a normal - phase circuit and a parasitic capacitance in a reversed - phase circuit in a differential system . as can be seen from fig7 , residual charges in the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit exhibit symmetry . thus , the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit are in a conducting state , whereby the residual charges in the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit are cancelled out . fig8 is a diagram illustrating charges ( residual charges ) accumulated in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 in time - division receiver 100 a according to the present embodiment . residual charge initializing section 160 initializes the residual charges during a period in which swc is active . more specifically , during the period in which swc is active , switch 161 is on , whereby the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit are in a conducting state ( interdifferential short - circuiting ). as a result , charges accumulated in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 ( residual charges ) are cancelled out , whereby the residual charges are initialized . as described above , an swc active period is provided between an sw 1 active period and an sw 2 active period . in the swc active period , interdifferential short - circuiting is performed . consequently , in time - division receiver 100 a , after initialization of the charges accumulated in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 , 190 - 2 ( residual charges ), respective signals after branch switching pass through time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 . thus , time - division receiver 100 a can avoid mixing of signals before branch switching and signals after the branch switching , enabling reduction in leakage between the branches . consequently , time - division receiver 100 a enables suppression of deterioration mimo reception characteristics . meanwhile , fig9 is a diagram illustrating charges accumulated in parasitic capacitances ( residual charges ) in the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit in time - division receiver 100 in fig1 . in other words , fig9 illustrates an example where the residual charges are not initialized . in fig9 , solid lines indicate residual charges before and after branch switching in time - division receiver 100 . in fig9 , dotted lines indicate residual charges after branch switching in the case of an ideal time - division receiver in which the time - division shared sections of time - division receiver 100 have no frequency response . in time - division receiver 100 , after switching from the first branch to the second branch , the signal for the second branch is input with signal components for the first branch remaining in the parasitic capacitances . therefore , as indicated by the solid lines in fig9 , the residual charges are large after the branch switching , which indicate that signal components for the first and second branches are mixed . as described above , from comparison between fig8 and fig9 , time - division receiver 100 a according to the present embodiment can reduce leakage between the branches and can suppress deterioration in mimo reception characteristics . as described above , residual charge section 160 initializes residual charges generated on paths through which time - division multiplexed signals pass , for each branch switching . more specifically , time - division receiver 100 a makes residual charges generated on the paths through which respective time - division multiplexed signals pass , be cancelled out between the differential circuits in the differential system . in residual charge initializing section 160 , in a period in which swc is active , that is , a quiescent period , switch 161 connects the output path for mixer 120 - 1 and the output path for mixer 120 - 2 . consequently , time - division receiver 100 a makes a charge remaining in the parasitic capacitance 190 - 1 in the normal - phase circuit and a charge remaining in parasitic capacitance 190 - 2 in the reversed - phase circuit be cancelled out . as described above , residual charge initializing section 160 initializes charges remaining in the respective parasitic capacitances , which are generated on the respective output paths , when respective first branch signals have passed the respective paths , before respective second branch signals pass the respective paths . consequently , time - division receiver 100 a can reduce leakage between the branches . in general , in a differential system , a normal - phase circuit and a reversed - phase circuit basically exhibit symmetry , but do not necessarily exhibit perfect symmetry to be exact . thus , time - division receiver 100 a does not necessarily completely initialize residual charges . however , even where a normal - phase circuit and a reversed - phase circuit do not exhibit perfect symmetry , time - division receiver 100 a can provide an effect of mitigating leakage between the branches with an extremely simple configuration . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig1 , components that are the same as those in fig3 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig3 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 100 a in fig3 includes reversed - phase signal generating section 150 in the following stage of time - division multiplexing section 110 . meanwhile , time - division receiver 100 b in fig1 includes reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 in the preceding stage of time - division multiplexing sections 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 . operations of time - division multiplexing sections 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 and reversed - phase , signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 are similar to those of time - division multiplexing section 110 and reversed - phase signal generating section 150 , respectively , and thus , a description thereof will be omitted . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig1 , components that are the same as those in fig3 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig3 and a description , thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 100 c in fig1 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 100 a in fig3 with control signal generating circuit 140 b provided instead of control signal generating circuit 140 a and with reversed - phase signal generating section 150 removed . as with control signal generating circuit 140 a , control signal generating circuit 140 b generates control signals sw 1 sw 2 and swc and local signal lo p . furthermore , control signal generating circuit 140 b generates local signal lo n obtained by reversing a phase of local signal lo p and supplies local signal lo n to mixer 120 - 2 . consequently , a reversed - phase baseband signal is output from mixer 120 - 2 . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig1 , components that are the same as those in fig1 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig1 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 100 d in fig1 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 100 b in fig1 with reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 removed . time - division receiver 100 d in fig1 provides an example configuration where normal - phase signals for first and second branches and reversed - phase signals for the first and second branches are input , respectively . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig1 , components that are the same as those in fig1 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig1 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 100 e in fig1 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 100 b in fig1 with control signal generating circuit 140 b provided instead of control signal generating circuit 140 a and with reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 removed . in time - division receiver 100 e in fig1 , control signal generating circuit 140 b supplies local signal lo n obtained by reversing a phase of local signal lo p to mixer 120 - 2 . consequently , a reversed - phase baseband signal is output from mixer 120 - 2 . the present embodiment has been described in terms of a case where the present invention is applied to time - division receiver 100 in which a time - division shared radio - frequency circuit includes a mixer . however , the configuration of time - division receiver 100 to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to this case . any types of receivers other than time - division receiver 100 can provide an effect similar to that of time - division receiver 100 by providing residual charge initializing section 160 in the receiver . such receivers will be described 111 embodiment 3 onwards . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a time - division receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention in fig1 , components that are the same as those fig3 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig3 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 200 in fig1 includes residual charge initializing sections 210 - 1 and 210 - 2 instead of residual charge initializing section 160 in time - division receiver 100 a in fig3 . fig1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating parasitic capacitances generated on time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 . in fig1 , parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 are parasitic capacitances generated on time - division shared signal lines 180 - 1 and 180 - 2 . in parasitic capacitances 190 - 1 and 190 - 2 , signal components before branch switching remain . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of residual charge initializing section 210 - 1 ( 210 - 2 ) according to the present embodiment and connection to the same . residual charge initializing section 210 - 1 ( 210 - 2 ) according to the present embodiment includes charge supply section ( voltage source ) 211 and switch 161 . as in embodiment 1 , switch 161 is on during a period in which swc is active , whereby a normal - phase ( reversed - phase ) circuit and charge supply section 211 are in a conducting state . also , as in embodiment 1 , switch 161 is off during a period in which swc is non - active , whereby the normal - phase ( reversed - phase ) circuit and charge supply section 211 are in a non - conducting state . in a conducting state , charge supply section 211 supplies charge to parasitic capacitance 190 - 1 ( 190 - 2 ) to bring the charge in parasitic capacitance 190 - 1 ( 190 - 2 ) to a reference charge level . as described above , residual charge initializing section 210 - 1 ( 210 - 2 ) initializes the charge accumulated , in parasitic capacitance 190 - 1 ( 190 - 2 ). as described above , residual charge initializing section 210 - 1 ( 210 - 2 ) includes charge supply section 211 and switch 161 . switch 161 controls connection / disconnection between charge supply section 211 and an output path for mixer 120 - 1 ( 120 - 2 ) for every branch switching . more specifically , switch 161 connects charge supply section 211 and the output path for mixer 120 - 1 ( 120 - 2 ) in a period in which swc is active , that is , quiescent period . then , in a conducting state , charge supply section 211 supplies charge to parasitic capacitance 190 - 1 ( 190 - 2 ). as described above , residual charge initializing section 210 - 1 ( 210 - 2 ) initializes a charge remaining in a parasitic capacitance , which is generated on the output path , when a first branch signal has passed through the path , before a second branch signal passes through the path . consequently , time - division receiver 200 can reduce leakage between the branches . furthermore , in the case where charge supply section 211 is a voltage source that can stably supply charge , time - division receiver 200 can mitigate leakage between the branches with higher precision compared to time - division receivers 100 a and 100 b according to embodiment 1 . furthermore , the present embodiment can be applied to non - differential systems as well as differential systems . however , in the case where charge supply section 211 that can stably supply charge is provided , the present embodiment can provide higher performance in mitigating leakage between the branches compared to embodiment 1 , but causes a large circuit impact . embodiments 1 and 2 have been described in terms of a case where the present invention is applied to a time - division receiver in which a radio - frequency circuit includes a mixer . the present embodiment will be described in terms of a case where the present invention is applied to a time - division receiver in which a radio - frequency circuit includes a dsm . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a time - division receiver to which the present invention is applied . in fig1 , components that are the same as those in fig1 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig1 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 300 in fig1 is a time - division receiver in which a radio - frequency circuit includes a dsm . in fig1 , time - division receiver 300 includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , time - division demultiplexing section 130 , ta ( transconductance amplifier : voltage - current converter ) 310 , sampler 320 , history capacitor section 330 , scf ( switched capacity filter ) 340 , buffer capacitor section 351 ) and control signal generating circuit 360 . control signal generating circuit 360 supplies control signals to time division multiplexing section 110 , time - division demultiplexing section 130 , history capacitor section 330 , scf 340 and buffer capacitor section 350 . more specifically , control signal generating circuit 360 generates control signals sw 11 , sw 12 , sw 21 , sw 22 and s 0 to s 3 . then , control signal generating circuit 360 supplies sw 11 and sw 12 to time division multiplexing section 110 and history capacitor section 330 . control signal generating circuit 360 also supplies sw 21 and sw 22 to buffet capacitor section 350 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 . control signal generating circuit 360 also supplies s 0 to s 3 to scf 340 . fig1 is a diagram illustrating control signals sw 1 , sw 12 , sw 21 , sw 22 and s 0 to s 3 supplied from control signal generating circuit 360 . details of the control signals will be described later . control signal generating circuit 360 also generates local signal lo p . then , control signal generating circuit 360 supplies local signal lo p to sampler 320 . ta 310 coverts a time - division multiplexed signal from a voltage signal to a current signal , and outputs the time - division multiplexed signal to sampler 320 as an analog rf current signal . sampler 320 , which includes , for example , an fet ( field - effect transistor ), samples the analog re current signal using local signal lo p to perform frequency conversion ( down - conversion ). the signal output from ta 310 and sampler 320 is a current signal , and the current signal is output to time - division demultiplexing section 130 . the subsequent processing is also performed on the current signal . history capacitor section 330 includes switches 331 and 333 and chs ( history capacitors ) 332 and 334 . switches 331 and 333 are turned on / off in response to sw 11 and sw 12 . more specifically , switch 331 is on during a period in which sw 11 is active and is off during a period in which sw 11 is non - active . switch 333 is on during a period in which sw 12 is active , and is off during a period in which sw 12 is non - active . ch 332 is a history capacitor for a first branch , and ch 334 is a history capacitor for a second branch . as described above , on an output path for sampler 320 , ch 332 for the first branch and ch 334 for the second branch are provided . connection / disconnection between these capacitors and the output path for sampler 320 are controlled by switches 331 and 333 . scf 340 repeats charging and discharging of later - described rotation capacitors in response to s 0 to s 3 to filter the current signal output from sampler 320 , and outputs the filtered signal to time - division demultiplexing section 130 . a detailed configuration of scf 340 will be described later . buffer capacitor section 350 includes switches 351 and 353 and cbs ( buffer capacitors ) 352 and 354 . switches 351 and 353 are turned on / off in response to sw 21 and sw 22 , respectively . more specifically , switch 351 is on during a period in which sw 21 is active , and is off during a period in which sw 21 is non - active . switch 353 is on during a period in which sw 22 is active and is off during a period in which sw 22 is non - active . cb 352 is a buffer capacitor for the first branch and cb 354 is a buffer capacitor for the second branch . as described above , on the output path for scf 340 , cb 352 for the first branch and cb 354 for the second branch are provided . connection / disconnection between these capacitors and the output path for scf 340 is controlled by switches 351 and 353 . fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example detailed configuration inside scf 340 in fig1 . as illustrated in fig1 , four paths are provided between an input and an output of scf 340 . path 1 includes switches 410 , 412 , 413 and 414 , and cr ( rotation capacitor ) 411 . path 2 includes switches 420 , 422 , 423 and 424 , and cr 421 . path 3 includes switches 430 , 432 , 433 and 434 , and cr 431 . path 4 includes switches 440 , 442 , 443 and 444 , and cr 441 . here , switches 410 , 420 , 430 and 440 are switches for input control . switches 412 , 422 , 432 and 442 are switches for discharge . switches 413 , 423 , 433 and 443 are switches for pre - charge voltage supply . switches 414 , 424 , 434 and 444 are switches for output control . as described above , scf 340 includes configurations of the four paths , which are completely similar to one another . the respective switches are controlled by s 0 to s 3 supplied from control signal generating circuit 360 . next , an operation of scf 340 will be described . each of the four paths in scf 340 cycles through four states . since similar processing is performed for the respective paths , description will be provided for path 1 . in a first state , switch 412 is turned on , whereby cr 411 is discharged . next , in a second state , switch 413 is turned on , whereby a pre - charge voltage is supplied to cr 411 as an initial charge . next , in a third state , switch 410 is turned on , whereby an input signal is loaded , the charge is shared by cr 411 and history capacitor section 330 in the preceding stage of scf 340 . lastly , in a fourth state , switch 414 is turned on whereby the charge is shared between cr 411 and buffer capacitor section 350 in the following stage of scf 340 . for operations in the other paths , processing for the four states is performed in each of the remaining three paths with the state shifted by one state from one another . then , in the present embodiment , charges are shared by the chs in history capacitor section 330 and the crs in scf 340 , and furthermore charges are shared by the crs in scf 340 and the cbs in buffer capacitor section 350 . consequently , scf 340 serves as a second - order iir ( infinite impulse response ) filter . here , in fig1 , sw 11 and sw 12 are control signals supplied to time - division multiplexing section 110 , and switches 331 and 333 in history capacitor section 330 . sw 21 and sw 22 are control signals supplied to time - division demultiplexing section 130 , and switches 351 and 353 in buffer capacitor section 350 . during a period in which sw 11 and sw 21 are active , the first branch is selected , and during a period in which sw 12 and sw 22 are active , the second branch is selected . here , sw 21 and sw 22 are delayed by one time period relative to sw 11 and sw 12 because an input signal is delayed by one time period in scf 340 . a configuration of time - division receiver 300 to which the present invention is applied has been described above . in time - division receiver 300 , a parasitic capacitance is generated on each of an output path for sampler 320 ( input path for scf 340 ) and the output path for scf 340 . therefore , in time - division receiver 300 , leakage between the branches occurs due to an influence of charges ( residual charges ) generated as a result of signal components before branch switching remaining in the parasitic capacitances . therefore , the present embodiment will be described in terms of a time - division receiver that , where a radio - frequency circuit includes a dsm , can reduce leakage between branches . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a time - division receiver 300 a according to the present embodiment . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig1 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig1 and a description thereof will be omitted . in fig2 , time - division receiver 300 a includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , ta 310 , samplers 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 , reversed - phase signal generating section 150 , history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 , scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , buffer capacitor sections 350 - 1 and 350 - 2 , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 , control signal generating circuit 360 a , and time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 . in fig2 , sampler 320 - 1 , history capacitor section 330 - 1 , scf 340 - 1 and buffer capacitor section 350 - 1 process a normal - phase signal in a differential system . also , sampler 320 - 2 , history capacitor section 330 - 2 , scf 340 - 2 and buffer capacitor section 350 - 2 process a reversed - phase signal in the differential system . hereinafter processing sections that process a normal - phase signal are collectively referred to as a normal - phase circuit , and processing sections that process a reversed - phase signal are collectively referred to as a reversed - phase circuit . in fig2 , a path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 ( input path for scf 340 - 1 ) is referred to as time - division shared signal line 390 - 1 . a path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 ( input path for scf 340 - 2 ) is referred to as time - division shared signal line 390 - 2 . a path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 ( output path for scf 340 - 1 ) is referred to as time - division shared signal line 390 - 3 . a path between scf 340 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section . 130 - 2 ( output path for scf 340 - 2 ) is referred to as time - division shared signal line 390 - 4 . a parasitic capacitance is generated on each of time - division shared signal lines 390 - 1 , 390 - 2 , 390 - 3 and 390 - 4 . control signal generating circuit 360 a supplies control signals to time - division multiplexing section 110 , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , history capacitor sections 330 - and 330 - 2 , scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , buffer capacitor sections 350 - 1 and 350 - 2 and residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 . more specifically , control signal generating circuit 360 a generates sw 11 , sw 12 , sw 21 , sw 22 , swc 1 , swc 2 and s 0 to s 3 . then , control signal generating circuit 360 a supplies sw 11 and sw 12 to time - division multiplexing section 110 and history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 . control signal generating circuit 360 a also supplies sw 21 and sw 22 to buffer capacitor sections 350 - 1 and 350 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 . control signal generating circuit 360 a also supplies swc 1 to residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 . control signal generating circuit 360 a also supplies swc 2 to residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 . control signal generating circuit 360 a also supplies s 0 to s 3 to scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 . fig2 is a diagram illustrating control signals sw 11 , sw 12 , sw 21 , sw 22 , swc 1 , swc 2 and s 0 to s 3 supplied from control signal generating circuit 360 a . details of the control signals will be described later . control signal generating circuit 360 a also generates local signal lo p . then , control signal generating circuit 360 a supplies local signal lo p to samplers 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 . reversed - phase signal generating section 150 reverses a phase of a current signal output from ta 310 to generate a reversed - phase time - division multiplexed signal and outputs the reversed - phase time - division multiplexed signal to sampler 320 - 2 . as with sampler 320 , samplers 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 sample the analog rf current signal using local signal lo p to perform frequency conversion ( down - con version ). as with history capacitor section 330 , each of history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 includes switches 331 and 333 , and chs 332 and 334 . switches 331 and 333 switch connection / disconnection between respective output paths for sampler 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 and respective chs 332 for a first branch or respective chs 334 for a second branch in response to sw 11 and sw 12 . scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 each employs a configuration similar to that of scf 340 . scf 340 - 1 repeats charging / discharging of rotation capacitors in response to s 0 to s 3 to filter the normal - phase current signal , and outputs the filtered signal to time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 . also , scf 340 - 2 repeats charging / discharging of rotation capacitors in response to s 0 to s 3 to filter the reversed - phase current signal , and outputs the filtered signal to time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 . as with buffer capacitor section 350 , each of buffer capacitor sections 350 - 1 and 350 - 2 includes switches 351 and 353 , and cbs 352 and 354 . switches 351 and 353 switch connection / disconnection between respective output paths for scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 and cb 352 for the first branch or cb 354 for the second branch in response to sw 21 and sw 22 . as with time - division demultiplexing section 130 , each of time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 demultiplexes a baseband time - division multiplexed signal ( baseband signal ) into the first and second branches in response to sw 21 and sw 22 . more specifically , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 output the respective baseband signals to respective output terminals 131 during period in which sw 21 is active . also , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 output the respective baseband signals to respective output terminals 132 during a period in which sw 22 is active . residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 initialize charges remaining in parasitic capacitances in time - division receiver 300 a . fig2 is a diagram conceptually illustrating parasitic capacitances generated in time - division receiver 300 a . in fig2 , parasitic capacitances 380 - 1 , 380 - 2 , 380 - 3 and 380 - 4 are parasitic , capacitances generated in time - division receiver 300 a . signal components before branch switching remain in parasitic capacitances 380 - 1 , 380 - 2 , 380 - 3 and 380 - 4 . therefore , in time - division receive 300 a according to the present embodiment , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 are provided in the preceding and following stages of scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , respectively . here , an internal configuration of residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 is similar to that of residual charge initializing section 160 , and thus , illustration and description thereof will be omitted . in other words , in the present embodiment , residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 makes charges accumulated in parasitic capacitances 380 - 1 and 380 - 2 generated in the preceding stage of scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 ( residual charges ) be initialized ( cancelled out ). also , residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 makes charges accumulated in parasitic capacitances 380 - 3 and 380 - 4 generated in the following stage of scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 ( residual charges ) be initialized ( cancelled out ). next , control signals output from control signal generating circuit 360 a will be described with reference to fig2 . in fig2 , sw 11 and sw 12 are control signals supplied to time - division multiplexing section 110 , and switches 331 and 333 in history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 . sw 21 and sw 22 are control signals supplied to time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , and switches 351 and 353 in buffer capacitor sections 350 - 1 and 350 - 2 . swc 1 and swc 2 are control signals for controlling respective switches 161 in residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 . during a period in which swc 1 and swc 2 are active , switches 161 in residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 are on , whereby a normal - phase circuit and a reversed - phase circuit are in a conducting state ( interdifferential short - circuiting ). as a result , charges accumulated in the parasitic capacitances in the normal - phase circuit and the reversed - phase circuit ( residual charges ) are cancelled out , whereby the residual charges are initialized . here , control signals used in the present embodiment ( see fig2 ) and control signals in fig1 are different from each other in the following points . in the control signals in fig2 , a non - active period is provided between an sw 11 active period and an sw 12 active period , and between an sw 21 active period and an sw 22 active period . meanwhile , in the control signals in fig1 , there is no non - active period between an sw 11 active period and an sw 12 active period , and between an sw 21 active period and an sw 22 active period . swc 1 is active only during a period in which sw 11 and sw 12 are non - active . swc 2 is active only during a period in which sw 21 and sw 22 are non - active . here , as mentioned in embodiment 1 , the periods in which swc 1 and swc 2 are active are determined taking a trade - off between the pass gain characteristic and the characteristic of leakage between the branches into consideration . although the above description has been provided in terms of a case where time - division receiver 300 a includes residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 in the preceding and following stages of scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , respectively , time - division receiver 300 a is not limited to this case . time - division receiver 300 a can provide the effect of reducing leakage between the branches even if time - division receiver 300 a includes either one of the residual charge initializing sections . as described above , residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 is connected to the path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 and also to the path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 connects the paths during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 is connected to the path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 and also to the path between scf 340 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 connects the paths during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). as described above , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 initialize charges remaining in the parasitic capacitances , which are generated on the paths through which respective time - division multiplexed signals pass , when respective first branch signals have passed through the respective paths , before respective second branch signals pass through the respective paths . consequently , time - division receiver 300 a can reduce leakage between the branches . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 300 a in fig2 includes reversed - phase signal generating section 150 in the following stage of time - division multiplexing section 110 . meanwhile , time - division receiver 300 b in fig2 includes reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 in the preceding stage of time - division multiplexing sections 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 . operations of time - division multiplexing sections 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 and reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 are similar to those of time - division multiplexing section 110 and reversed - phase signal generating section 150 , respectively , and thus a description thereof will be omitted . also , operations of tas 310 - 1 and 310 - 2 are similar to that of ta 310 , and thus a description thereof will be omitted . in time - division receiver 300 b , residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 and also to a path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 connects the paths during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 and also to a path between scf 340 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 connects the paths during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). as described above , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 initialize charges remaining in respective parasitic capacitances , which generated on the respective paths through which respective time - division multiplexed signals pass , when respective first branch signals have passed through the respective paths , before respective second branch signals pass through the respective paths . as a result , time - division receiver 300 b can reduce leakage between the branches . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 300 c in fig2 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 300 a in fig2 with control signal generating circuit 360 b provided instead of control signal generating circuit 360 a and with reversed - phase signal generating section 150 removed . as with control signal generating circuit 360 a , control signal generating circuit 360 b generates control signals sw 11 , sw 12 , sw 21 , sw 22 , swc 1 , swc 2 and s 0 to s 3 , and local signal lo p . furthermore , control signal generating circuit 360 b generates local signal lo n obtained by reversing a phase of local signal lo p , and supplies local signal lo n to sampler 320 - 2 . consequently , a reversed - phase baseband signal is output from sampler 320 - 2 . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 300 d in fig2 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 300 b in fig2 with reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 to removed . time - division receiver 300 d in fig2 provides an example configuration for a case where normal - phase signals for first and second branches and reversed - phase signals for the first and second branches are input , respectively . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 300 e in fig2 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 300 b in fig2 with control signal generating circuit 360 b provided instead of control signal generating circuit 360 a and with reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 removed . in time - division receiver 300 e in fig2 , control signal generating circuit 360 b supplies local signal lo n obtained by reversing a phase of local signal lo p to sampler 320 - 2 . consequently , a reversed - phase baseband signal is output from sampler 320 - 2 . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a time - division receiver 500 according to the present embodiment . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 500 in fig2 includes residual charge initializing sections 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 and 520 - 2 instead of residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 in time - division receiver 300 a in fig2 . each of residual charge initializing sections 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 and 520 - 2 employs a configuration similar to that of residual charge initializing sections 210 - 1 and 210 - 2 ( see fig1 ), and includes switch 161 and charge supply section 211 . in residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 ( 510 - 2 ), switch 161 is on during a period in which swc 1 is active , whereby a normal - phase ( reversed - phase ) circuit and charge supply section 211 are in a conducting state . also , in residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 ( 510 - 2 ), switch 161 is off during a period in which swc 1 is non - active , whereby the normal - phase ( reversed - phase ) circuit and charge supply section 211 are in a non - conducting state . also , in residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 ( 520 - 2 ), switch 161 is on dining a period in which swc 2 is active , whereby the normal - phase ( reversed - phase ) circuit and charge supply section 211 are in a conducting state . also , in residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 ( 520 - 2 ), switch 161 is off during a period in which swc 2 is non - active , whereby the normal - phase ( reversed - phase ) circuit and charge supply section 211 are in a non - conducting state . in a conducting state , charge supply section 211 in each of residual charge initializing sections 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 and 520 - 2 supplies charge to a parasitic capacitance to bring the charge in the parasitic capacitance to a reference charge level . as described above , residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 ( 510 - 2 ) initializes a residual charge generated on an output path for sampler 320 - 1 ( 320 - 2 ). residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 ( 520 - 2 ) initializes a residual charge generated on an output path for scf 340 - 1 ( 340 - 2 ). as described above , residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 . residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 . residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). also , residual charge initializing section 510 - 2 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 510 - 2 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 520 - 2 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 2 and a time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 520 - 2 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). as described above , each of residual charge initializing sections 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 and 520 - 2 initializes a charge remaining in the respective parasitic capacitance , which is generated on the respective path through which a respective time - division multiplexed signal passes , when a respective first branch signal has passed through the respective path , before a respective second branch signal passes through the respective path . as a result , time - division receiver 500 can reduce leakage between the branches . also , in the case where charge supply section 211 is a voltage source that can stably supply charge , time - division receiver 500 can mitigate leakage between the branches with higher precision compared to time - division receiver 300 a according to embodiment 3 . also , the present embodiment can be applied to non - differential systems as well as differential systems . however , in the case where charge supply section 211 that can stably supply charge is provided , the present embodiment can provide higher performance in mitigating leakage between the branches , compared to embodiment 3 , but causes a large circuit impact . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a time - division receiver to which the present invention is applied . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig1 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig1 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 600 in fig2 includes buffer capacitor section 610 instead of buffer capacitor section 350 in time - division receiver 300 in fig1 . in fig2 tittle - division receiver 600 includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , time - division demultiplexing section 130 , ta 310 , sampler 320 , history capacitor section 330 , scf 340 , buffer capacitor section 610 and control signal generating circuit 360 . buffer capacitor section 610 includes cbs 611 and 612 . meanwhile , buffer capacitor section 350 includes cbs 352 and 354 and switches 351 and 353 . in other words , buffer capacitor section 610 has a smaller number of parts compared to buffer capacitor section 350 because of lack of switches 351 and 353 . therefore , time - division receiver 600 can have a reduced circuit size compared to time - divisions receiver 300 . cb 611 is connected to a cr in scf 340 during a period in which sw 21 is active . cb 612 is connected to a cr in scf 340 during a period in which sw 22 is active . consequently , in the present embodiment , iir filtering is performed for each of first and second branches . a configuration of time - division receiver 600 to which the present invention is applied has been described above . next , time - division receiver 600 a according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a time - division receiver 600 a according to the present embodiment . in fig2 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . in fig2 , time - division receiver 600 a includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , ta 310 , samplers 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 , reversed - phase signal generating section 150 , history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 , scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 , control signal generating circuit 360 a , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 and buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 . here , a configuration and an operation of each of buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 are similar to those of buffer capacitor section 610 , and a description thereof will be omitted . here , differences between time - division receiver 300 a in fig2 and time - division receiver 600 a in fig2 will be described . in time - division receiver 300 a , during a period in which sw 21 and sw 22 is non - active ( that is a period in which swc 2 is active ), no signals are output to output terminals 131 and 132 ( zero padding ). therefore , in time - division receiver 300 a , there is a period in which output terminal 131 and output terminal 132 output no signals at all . as a result , an aliasing signal generated in a cycle corresponding to a branch switching rate is output from time - division receiver 300 a . in time - division receiver 600 a , during a period in which sw 21 and sw 22 is non - active ( that is , a period in which swc 2 is active ), no signals are output to output terminals 131 and 132 as in time - division receiver 300 a . however , chs 611 and 612 connected to output terminals 131 and 132 retain immediately previous baseband signals for first and second branches , respectively . therefore , in time - division receiver 600 a , even during a period in which sw 21 and sw 22 is non - active ( that is , a period in which swc 2 is active ), signals are output from buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 . as a result , time - division receiver 600 a can suppress aliasing signals . fig3 includes diagrams each illustrating spectra of a desired signal and an aliasing signal . fig3 a is a diagram illustrating spectra of a desired signal and an aliasing signal in time - division receiver 300 a . fig3 b is a diagram illustrating spectra of a desired signal and an aliasing signal in time - division receiver 600 a . as can be seen from fig3 a and 30b time - division receiver 600 a provides a smaller aliasing signal spectrum with reference to a desired signal spectrum compared to time - division receiver 300 a . this is because cbs 611 and 612 in buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 provided in the following stage of time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 retain immediately previous branch signal components during a period in which neither first branch signal nor second branch signal is input . with the configuration described above , in a ch connected to a branch for which no signal is output from time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 ( 130 - 2 ), from among cbs 611 and 612 , a charge of immediately previous signal components is retained . consequently , an output voltage from each of buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 becomes equal to that of a state in which the immediately previous signal components have passed . as a result , time - division receiver 600 a can suppress aliasing signals contained in an output signal , compared to time - division receiver 300 a . therefore , time - division receiver 600 a enables mitigation of required characteristics of filters that are necessary to be provided in the following stage of time - division receiver 600 a for aliasing signal removal . as described above , residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 and also to a path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 connects the paths during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 and also to a path between scf 340 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 connects the paths during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). as described above , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 initialize charges remaining respective parasitic capacitances , which are generated on respective paths through which respective time - division multiplexed signals pass , when respective first branch signals have passed through the respective paths , before respective second branch signals pass through the respective paths . as a result , time - division receiver 600 a can reduce leakage between the branches . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment in fig3 , time - division receiver 600 b includes reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 , time - division multiplexing sections 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 , tas 310 - 1 and 310 - 2 , samplers 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 , history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 , scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 , control signal generating circuit 360 a , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , and buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 . in time - division receiver 600 b , residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 and also to a path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 1 connects the paths during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 1 and also to a path between scf 340 - 2 and time - division demultiplexing section 130 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 370 - 2 connects the paths in during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). as described above , residual charge initializing sections 370 - 1 and 370 - 2 initialize charges remaining in respective parasitic capacitances , which are generated on respective paths through which respective time - division multiplexed signals pass when respective first branch signals have passed through the respective paths before respective second branch signals pass through the respective paths . as a result , time - division receiver 600 b can reduce leakage between the branches . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig3 , components that are the same as those in fig2 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig2 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 600 c in fig3 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 600 a in fig2 with control signal generating circuit 360 b provided instead of control signal generating circuit 360 a and with reversed - phase signal generating section 150 removed . in time - division receiver 600 c in fig3 , control signal generating circuit 360 b supplies local signal lo n obtained by reversing a phase of local signal . lo p to sampler 320 - 2 . consequently , a reversed - phase baseband signal is output from sampler 320 - 2 . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig3 , components that are the same as those in fig3 are provided with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig3 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 600 b in fig3 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 600 b in fig3 with reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 is removed . time - division receiver 600 d in fig3 provides an example configuration where normal - phase signals for first and second branches and reversed - phase signal for first and second branches are input , respectively . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment . in fig3 , components that are the same as those in fig3 are provided , with reference numerals that are the same as those in fig3 and a description thereof will be omitted . time - division receiver 600 e in fig3 employs a configuration of time - division receiver 600 b in fig3 with control signal generating circuit 360 b provided instead of control signal generating circuit 360 a and with reversed - phase signal generating sections 150 - 1 and 150 - 2 removed . in time - division receiver 600 e in fig3 , control signal generating circuit 360 b supplies local signal lo n obtained by reversing a phase of local signal lo p to sampler 320 - 2 . consequently , reversed - phase baseband signal is output from sampler 320 - 2 . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating still another configuration of a time - division receiver according to the present embodiment in fig3 , time - division receiver 600 f includes time - division multiplexing section 110 , ta 310 , samplers 320 - 1 and 320 - 2 , reversed - phase signal generating section 150 , history capacitor sections 330 - 1 and 330 - 2 . scfs 340 - 1 and 340 - 2 , residual charge initializing sections 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 and 520 - 2 , control signal generating circuit 360 a , time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , and buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 . in time - division receiver 600 f , residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 1 and scf 340 - 1 . residual charge initializing section 510 - 1 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 1 and time - division section 130 - 1 . residual charge initializing section 520 - 1 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 510 - 2 is connected to a path between sampler 320 - 2 and scf 340 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 510 - 2 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 1 is active ( quiescent period ). residual charge initializing section 520 - 2 is connected to a path between scf 340 - 2 and time - division section 130 - 2 . residual charge initializing section 520 - 2 connects charge supply section 211 and the path during a period in which swc 2 is active ( quiescent period ). as described above , residual charge initializing sections 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 and 520 - 2 initialize charges remaining in respective parasitic capacitances , which are generated on the respective paths through which respective time - division multiplexed signals pass , when respective first branch signals have passed through the respective paths , before respective second branch signals pass through the paths . as a result , time - division receiver 600 f can reduce leakage between the branches . as in time - division receiver 600 a , in time - division receivers 600 b , 600 c , 600 d , 600 e and 600 f , buffer capacitor sections 610 - 1 and 610 - 2 are provided in the following stage of time - division demultiplexing sections 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 , respectively . therefore , time - division receiver 600 c can mitigate required characteristics of filters in the following stage thereof . the above description , has been provided taking a case where the branch count is two as an example , but the branch count is not limited to two . the present invention can also be applied to a case where streams with a branch count of three or more are time - division multiplexed . fig3 is a diagram illustrating an example of respective control signals where the branch count is three . also in the case where the branch count is three , it is only necessary that a time - division multiplexing section generates a time - division multiplexed signal including quiescent period between the respective branches and a residual charge initializing section initializes a residual charge during the quiescent period . the entire disclosure of the description , the drawings and the abstract included in japanese patent application no . 2010 - 292716 filed on dec . 28 , 2010 is incorporated herein by reference . a time - division receiver and a time - division receiving method according to the present invention are useful for e . g ., a receiver in a mimo system requiring simultaneous reception of radio - frequency signals for a plurality of branches . 100 , 100 a , 100 b , 100 c , 100 d , 100 e , 200 , 300 , 300 a , 300 b , 300 c , 300 d , 300 e , 500 , 600 , 600 a , 600 b , 600 c , 600 d , 600 e , 600 f time - division receiver 140 , 140 a , 140 b , 360 , 360 a , 360 b control signal generating circuit 160 , 210 - 1 , 210 - 2 , 370 - 1 , 370 - 2 , 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 520 - 1 , 520 - 2 residual charge initializing section 161 , 331 , 333 , 351 , 353 , 410 , 412 , 413 , 414 , 420 , 422 , 423 , 424 , 430 , 432 , 433 , 434 , 440 , 442 , 443 , 444 switch 170 - 1 , 170 - 2 , 180 - 1 , 180 - 2 , 390 - 1 , 390 - 2 , 390 - 3 , 390 - 4 time - division shared signal line 190 - 1 , 190 - 2 , 380 - 1 , 380 - 2 , 380 - 3 , 380 - 4 parasitic capacitance 350 , 350 - 1 , 350 - 2 , 510 - 1 , 510 - 2 , 610 - 1 , 610 - 2 buffer capacitor section | 7 |
a communication control part 21 controls a communication processing using a fax machine or the like ( not specifically shown in the drawing ) that is connected to the communication control part 21 between a plurality of communicants connected through a line 24 . a writing part 25 automatically writes in the memory part 23 the id of the communicant connected through the line 24 under control of the communication control part 21 at a time of sending communication data such as fax data . a comparison part 22 compares the communicant &# 39 ; s id received through the line 24 under control of the communication control part 21 at a time of receiving communication data such as fax data with the id automatically registered in the memory 23 , and approves the communication control part 21 of a data receipt continuation only when the ids conform with each other , and disapproves the communication control part 21 of a data receipt continuation when the ids do not conform with each other . according to the above principle configuration of this embodiment , since an id is automatically stored in the memory 23 at the time of sending communication data , a manual id registration that is necessary in the prior art becomes unnecessary . that is , in this invention the id of the communicant to whom data are sent by the local communication apparatus is automatically registered . in this case , since a user can automatically register an id by an ordinary sending processing alone , compared with a manual registration , the operation is simplified , and registration errors are reduced . the above principle configuration of this invention can also be in the following manner . when an area for memorizing a use frequency of an automatically registered id is set and the memory content of the memory 23 exceeds the memory capacity of the memory 23 at a time of registering a new id in the memory 23 , the writing part 25 deletes the least frequently used id from it and registers the new id in the memory 23 automatically . this avoids the need to check whether or not the capacity of the memory 23 is enough at a registration time , and further simplifies the registering operation . fig3 is a configuration diagram of the preferred embodiment of this invention , showing an example of a configuration applicable to a fax communication apparatus . in fig3 a communication control part 21 , a comparison part 22 , a memory 23 , a line 24 and a writing part 25 correspond to parts with the same numbers as those in fig2 and their functions are the same . the communication control part 21 comprises a network control unit part ( hereafter abbreviated as ncu ) 211 , a modem 212 , a console 213 , a cpu 214 and a memory 215 . the ncu 211 detects a call - up signal from the line 24 . the modem 212 converts sending data to a sending signal by a modulation and outputs them through the ncu 211 to line 24 at a sending time . the modem 212 inputs a receiving signal from the line 24 through the ncu 211 and converts it to receiving data by a demodulation at a receiving time . a user can operate data sending or data receiving with various switches on the console 213 . the cpu 214 performs an ordinary data sending / receiving processing according to a communication control program memorized in the memory 215 , and also executes a processing of automatically registering an id etc , described later . the modem 212 of the communication control part 21 is connected to a reading part 31 for realizing a fax sending / receiving function , a compression part 32 , an expansion part 33 and a printing part 34 . that is , when a fax message is sent , the reading part 31 reads the original and converts it to image data . the compression part 32 then compresses the image data based on the mh ( modified huffman ) method and outputs them to the modem 212 as sending data . when a fax message is received , the expansion part 33 restores the image data based on the mh method from the received data output from the modem 21 2 , and the printing part 34 prints the image data on paper . the writing part 25 automatically registers in the memory 23 the id sent from the sending communicant through the communication control part 21 at a sending protocol execution time , i . e . at a data sending time . the comparison part 22 compares the communicant &# 39 ; s id with each id memorized in the memory 23 at a receiving protocol execution time , i . e . at a data receiving time . if they conform with each other , the comparison part 22 approves the cpu 214 in the communication control part 21 of a receiving continuation . if they do not conform , the comparison part 22 prohibits the cpu 21 4 from a receiving continuation . in the embodiment shown in fig3 a binary code signal method is adopted as a fax transmission method . according to the binary code signal method , a control signal is configured and transmitted in a frame based on a high level data link control procedure ( hdlc ), whose frame configuration is shown in fig4 . fig4 is based on the international standard &# 34 ; ccitt - t30 &# 34 ;. in fig4 a flag sequence &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; shows a frame division whose format is &# 34 ; 01111110 &# 34 ;. next , an address field &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; is fixed to a format &# 34 ; 11111111 &# 34 ; in a fax communication . a control field &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; is fixed to a format &# 34 ; 11000000 &# 34 ; in a fax communication . a facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ; and a facsimile information field &# 34 ; fif &# 34 ; are set in an information field of an hdlc frame . among the codes of various control signals set in the facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ;, the control signals called a csi signal and a tsi signal explained later relate particularly to this invention . when a csi signal is set , a &# 34 ; 00000010 &# 34 ; format is set . when a tsi signal is set , an &# 34 ; x1000010 &# 34 ; format is set , where &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; is set to either &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; whose setting condition is irrelevant to this invention and its explanation is omitted here . supplementary information to the control signal shown as the facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ; is stored in the facsimile information field &# 34 ; fif &# 34 ;. when the csi signal or the tsi signal described above is set , particularly a telephone number is stored . these details are explained later . in fig4 a frame checking sequence &# 34 ; fcs &# 34 ; is a 16 bit sequence for checking a transmission error on a receiving side , and is used for correcting an error based on a generator polynomial &# 34 ; x 15 + x 12 + x 5 + 1 &# 34 ;. the actions of the embodiment configured as the above description are explained below . the following explanation of the action of the communication apparatus shown in fig3 when it is a sending side apparatus and when it is a receiving side apparatus , is made by commonly referring to the drawing of a signal sequence shown in fig5 . the action explained below is based on the international standard &# 34 ; ccitt - t30 &# 34 ;. first , the action centered on a sending side apparatus is explained . the user of the sending side apparatus inputs the addressee communicant &# 39 ; s telephone number , i . e . id by manipulating the console 213 . this id is sent as a selection signal from the cpu 214 through ncu 211 to the line 24 . ( fig5 s1 ) the network side ( exchange office ) analyzes the selection signal and sends the selected receiving side apparatus a call signal . ( fig5 s2 ) the receiving side apparatus sends a control signal according to a facsimile transmission protocol to the sending side apparatus . these control signals comprise a dis ( digital identification signal ), a csi ( called subscriber identification ) signal , a nsf ( non - standard facilities ) signal per the international standard &# 34 ; ccitt - t30 &# 34 ;. in this case , a code corresponding to each control signal described above is set in the facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ; of the frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format sent to the sending side apparatus . here , the nsf signal and the dis are the control signals mainly for notifying the communication function of the receiving side apparatus . also , the csi signal is a control signal particularly associated with this invention and for notifying of the telephone number , i . e . id , of the receiving side apparatus . this id is set in the facsimile information field &# 34 ; fif &# 34 ; of the frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format to which the csi signal to be sent to the sending side apparatus is set . a concrete example of this setting action is later explained using fig6 . above action is shown as s3 in fig5 . the sending side apparatus receives and analyzes the above described control signal in the cpu 214 through the ncu 211 and identifies the communication function of the receiving side apparatus . particularly at this time , the cpu 214 identifies the id of the receiving side apparatus sent by using the frame set with the above described csi signal , and sends this id to the comparison part 22 . at the same time , the cpu 214 sequentially reads out the id written in the memory 23 and sends it to the comparison part 22 . the following actions of the comparison part 22 and the writing part 25 relate particularly to this invention . the comparison part 22 sequentially compares the received id with the id read out from the memory 23 . when they conform with each other , the comparison part 22 outputs a conformance signal to the cpu 214 , whence the cpu 21 4 has the writing part 25 add one ( 1 ) to the numerical value of the number field corresponding to the particular id within the memory 23 . when the comparison part 22 detects a non - conformance , the comparison part 22 outputs a non - conformance signal to the cpu 21 4 . in this case , since the received id is not registered in the memory 23 , the cpu 214 sends this received id to the writing part 25 which writes this id to the memory 23 . simultaneously , the cpu 214 has the writing part 25 set one ( 1 ) to the numerical value of the number field corresponding to the particular id within the memory 23 . at this time , if the number of the id memorized in the memory 23 reaches the memory capacity , by judging the content of the number field on the memory 23 , the cpu 214 detects the least frequently used id , and registers a new id after deleting the least frequently used id . a large initial value is set in the number field of the memory 23 , and the value decreases with time . where the value becomes 0 , the id will be a subject to deletion from the memory . successively , the sending side selects the communication method ( communication speed , resolution , etc .) depending on the communication function of the receiving side apparatus , and sends a control signal per facsimile transmission protocol to the receiving side apparatus . ( fig5 s4 ) the action of the receiving side apparatus in receiving these control signals is explained later . after the control signal described above , the sending side apparatus further sends a tcf ( training check ) signal as a control signal . ( fig5 s5 ) this signal is a signal for checking whether or not the modem 212 on the receiving side can receive data at the transmission speed the sending side apparatus sets . in this case , a code corresponding to the tcf signal described above is set in the facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ; of the frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format to be sent to the receiving side apparatus . in response to sending the tcf signal described above , the receiving side apparatus returns a cfr ( confirmation to receive ) signal as a control signal indicating that the transmission of the facsimile message can start . ( fig5 s6 ) in this case also , a code corresponding to the cfr signal described above is set in the facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ; of the frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format to be sent to the sending side apparatus . after the above procedure enables to send a facsimile message ( image signal ) from the sending side apparatus , the reading part 31 reads the original , the compression part 32 compresses and codes the image data to become the sending data . the sending data are sent to the receiving side apparatus through the modem 212 and the ncu 211 within the communication control part 21 , as well as the line 24 to the receiving side apparatus . ( fig5 s7 ) this image signal is different from a control signal , and is sent as a one page unit continuous bit sequence without being expanded to the frame of hdlc . after sending the image signal is completed , the sending side apparatus sends an eop ( end of procedure ) signal , as a control signal indicating an end of procedure , to the receiving side apparatus . in return , the receiving side apparatus sends an mcf ( message confirmation ) signal , i . e . a control signal meaning a confirmation . ( fig5 s9 ) after receiving this signal , the sending side apparatus sends a dcn ( disconnect ) signal , i . e . a control signal directing a severance of a call , to the receiving side apparatus , and finishes all the procedures . ( fig5 s10 ) each control signal described above , similar to other control signals , sets a code corresponding to each control signal in the facsimile control field &# 34 ; fcf &# 34 ; of the transmitted frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format . second , the action centered on a receiving side apparatus is explained . as explained earlier , after taking an action of automatically registering the id of the receiving side apparatus to the memory 23 based on the sequence of s3 in fig5 the sending side apparatus sends a tsi ( transmitting subscriber identification ) signal and a nss ( non - standard facilities set - up ) signal , as control signals , to the receiving side apparatus . ( fig5 s4 ) the nss signal is a control signal indicating which communication function of the receiving side apparatus is selected by the sending side apparatus . the tsi signal is a control signal that particularly relates to this invention , and is a control signal for notifying the telephone number , i . e . id , of the sending side apparatus . this id is set in the facsimile information field &# 34 ; fif &# 34 ; of the frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format to which the tsi signal sent to the receiving side apparatus is set . a concrete example of this setting action is later explained using fig6 . the cpu 214 of the receiving side apparatus identifies the id of the sending side apparatus sent by using a frame set by the above described tsi signal , and sends this id to the comparison part 22 . concurrently , the cpu 214 sends the comparison part 22 the id written in the memory 23 by sequentially reading it out . the following actions of the comparison part 22 and the writing part 25 relate particularly to this invention . the comparison part 22 sequentially compares the received id with the id read out from the memory 23 . if they conform , the comparison part 22 outputs a conformance signal to the cpu 21 4 . then , the cpu 214 continues the receiving procedure of fig5 s5 and after . at the same time , the cpu 21 4 has the writing part 25 add one ( 1 ) to the numerical value of the number field corresponding to the particular id within the memory 23 . ( refer to a of fig3 .) when the comparison part 22 detects a non - conformance , the comparison part 22 outputs a non - conformance signal to the cpu 214 . in this case , since the received id is not registered in the memory 23 , the cpu 21 4 prohibits the continuation of the receiving procedure of fig5 s5 and after , and shifts to a special prohibition procedure that is a procedure practiced from before and thus whose explanation is omitted here . based on the action described above , the cpu 214 of the receiving side apparatus continues the procedure of fig5 s5 and after , and when the image signal is begun to be received ( fig5 s7 ), the image signal is converted to receiving data by a demodulation in the modem 212 . the expansion part 33 restores the image data and the printing part 34 prints the image based on the image data on paper . the procedures fig5 s8 through s10 of and after the receiving action of the image signal described are as explained before . in the fax communication procedure , especially related to this invention , the id of the receiving side apparatus or the sending side apparatus transmitted together with the csi signal or the tsi signal is stored in the facsimile information field &# 34 ; fif &# 34 ; of the frame data of the fig4 &# 39 ; s format in the format exemplified in fig6 . the telephone number in this case is the international telephone number configured in the order of &# 34 ; a + sign , a country code , and domestic number &# 34 ;. an example within japan is like &# 34 ;+ 81447771111 &# 34 ;. here , &# 34 ; 81 &# 34 ; is japan &# 39 ; s country code , &# 34 ; 44 &# 34 ; is the number taken the top &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; out from the area code of kawasaki city &# 34 ; 044 &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; 7771111 &# 34 ; is an intra - area number . as shown in fig6 each digit of a telephone number is expressed in eight ( 8 ) digits of a binary code , and sent sequentially from the lowest digit . when the total does not reach twenty ( 20 ) digits , a space is filled . as explained so far , when the communication apparatus configured as shown in fig3 acts as the sending side apparatus , the above described id sent from the receiving side apparatus is automatically registered in the memory 23 by the writing part 25 . when the communication apparatus shown in fig3 acts as the receiving side apparatus , the id sent from the sending side apparatus is sequentially compared with the id stored in the memory 23 by a comparison part 22 . if the communicant &# 39 ; s id is already registered in the memory 23 , the communication control part 21 continues receiving data ; and if not , it stops it . thus , an id registration becomes possible without requiring a manual registration of the id of the communicant &# 39 ; s side apparatus . in the above described embodiment , the id is stored &# 34 ; as is &# 34 ; to the memory 23 , but the memory required can be made smaller by using an appropriate compression means . the following two methods are considered for the compression means . in this method , at a sending time , after the cpu 21 4 selects the lower digits of the id sent from the communicant as described earlier , the writing part 25 writes the data into the memory 23 . meanwhile , at a receiving time , after the cpu 214 selects the lower digits of the id sent from the sending side , the comparison part 22 compares the data with the memory content of the memory 23 . the entire id is compressed by using an appropriate coding means . in this method , at a sending / receiving time , the cpu 214 compresses the id sent from the communicant e . g . to double digit data based on the crc coding method . in the embodiment described earlier , it is also possible to configure such that a predetermined value is equally subtracted across the board from a number value of the number field corresponding to the id within the memory 23 at a certain time interval , until the value reaches zero ( 0 ) whence no further subtraction is made . this holds down the memory capacity used for indicating the number , even if the number value shown in the number field becomes large . in the embodiment described earlier , the value of the number field is added by one ( 1 ) both at a sending time and at a receiving time , but it is all right to do so only at either time , instead . | 8 |
referring to fig1 , a system in accordance with the present invention requires a data processing device 1 ( such as a personal computer , laptop or pda ) from which image data is transferred and a display device 3 connected to the data processing device 1 over a network 2 . a display device 3 of this sort will hereinafter be referred to as a network enabled display ( ned 3 ). fig1 shows a data processing device 1 running applications 10 , software and / or hardware components 11 for converting graphical data and a network interface 12 . the ned 3 includes a network interface 13 , a decoder 14 , a memory 15 and display driver 16 , as well as a display screen 17 . a typical implementation of the present invention in which data is displayed on a display device will now be described with reference to fig1 , in terms of the specific steps the data goes through . first , an application or group of applications 10 on the data processing device 1 creates some graphical output . the application might , for example , draw some text or display an image . the application may have the facilities to render the graphical output into pixels itself , it may make use of some library software which provides graphics services , or it may use a graphics protocol or other description of the desired output . in the following example a single application is described , but it should be noted that the invention is applicable to multiple applications , typically those creating a workspace environment belonging to a particular user of the system . the graphical output is then converted on the data processing device 1 by one or more software or hardware components 11 into a form suitable for sending over a network connection to a display . this stage may be implemented in a number of ways . a software device driver may intercept graphical data from an existing application , convert it into data suitable for a ned and transmit that data across the network . alternatively , the application may be written in the knowledge that it will be driving a ned and therefore create ned compatible output itself . it is recognised that there are other possible methods to capture the graphical output of an application and translate and transmit it in the low - level commands understood by a ned . these commands include pixel data and other operations for manipulating the display , as described below . pixel data included in the command stream may be in โ raw โ form or may be compressed in some way . the data compression / decompression method used will in general be lossless . an encryption engine may be used to encrypt the pixel / command data before it is sent over the network . referring again to fig1 , the network interface subsystem 13 on each ned 3 receives data intended for that ned 3 . generally this will be specifically addressed to the individual display , although it may also be data which is broadcast or multicast to multiple neds 3 . the received data is decoded at decoder 14 . this may involve a security / decryption unit . the data intended for display is converted into a form suitable for writing into a framebuffer or cache . the data may also include commands which manipulate the framebuffer , cache or the display in other ways . the copy command described below is a typical example . pixel data is written into the framebuffer directly or into other memory 15 for possible future display or manipulation by later commands . a subsystem 16 is responsible for taking the data in the framebuffer and using it to drive the display . this process is well understood in the art and will depend on the nature of the display used . in the following description of the protocols that may be used , the term โ length โ refers to a measure of the amount of data being sent . data is directed to a memory address at the display device . for this reason this type of protocol will be referred to as an address - based graphics protocol . commands that may be sent to the ned 3 include but are not limited to : this command is accompanied by an address , a length , and the amount of pixel data specified by the length , which is to be written into the ned &# 39 ; s 3 memory at the specified address . this is similar to raw except that the pixel data is encoded as one or more repetitions of ( count , value ), each indicating that the specified number of pixels of the given value should be written into memory . this command is accompanied by a source address , a destination address , and a length indicating the amount of data to be copied from the former to the latter . most neds 3 will have at least two framebuffers , to allow for double - buffering of the display , and this command indicates that a framebuffer has been updated to a consistent โ complete โ state and is suitable for displaying to the user . in one embodiment , each command is represented by a particular byte value and is followed by its arguments in the data stream . typically it is possible to incorporate flags in the data which specify that addresses are to be repeated or continued from the previous command . this reduces unnecessary repetition of addresses . all pixel data is written directly to a memory address and any offsets are directly incorporated in that manner . information sent from the ned 3 back to the data processing device 1 typically includes confirmation of the above commands and status information . the address - based protocol of the present invention is highly effective for use in a number of applications . for example , the process of adding multiple screens to a computer for the purpose of providing an expanded desktop . the address - based protocol of the present invention provides a more efficient method of transmitting the graphical data in this process than was previously available . fig2 illustrates a first network topology of this process . a data processing device is illustrated as a laptop computer . the data processing device 20 has its own conventional display device 25 but is also connected to a number of neds 21 , 22 , 23 . as shown each ned 21 , 22 , 23 has its own dedicated connection to the host . alternatively , the neds 21 , 22 , 23 can be simply plugged into the same network as the machine , or into another network to which it has access , and an association is made in software between those neds 21 , 22 , 23 and the particular computer . software or hardware on the data processing device 20 may make the extra neds 21 , 22 , 23 appear to be part of the same workspace shown on the main screen , typically by emulating a graphics card or driver software in the manner described in co - pending us patent application with attorney docket number pjf01808us , so that programs running on the data processing device 20 are unaware that their output is being displayed on a ned 21 , 22 , 23 . in a typical scenario , windows on the conventional screen 25 can be moved across to the ned 21 , 22 , 23 simply by dragging them off one side of the main display . a simple user interface would generally be provided to enable users to control which neds 21 , 22 , 23 were part of this extended workspace , the geometric relationship between them and any conventional displays , and other aspects of the system . a further use of the address - based protocol of the present invention is in the process of adding multiple screens which aren &# 39 ; t intended to be part of the workspace of a computer . for example , a ned which displays a slide show in a shop window is only visible from the outside of the building . these displays may also be at a greater distance from the data processing device than would be easily possible with conventional display - driving mechanisms . for whatever reason , interacting with the ned as if it were simply part of the main display may not be ideal . in these cases , software is written or modified to be compatible with neds and to drive one or more of them explicitly . a typical use might be the control of multiple displays on a railway platform for informational and / or advertising purposes . the host machine may also have some displays running conventional desktop applications , but this is not necessary , and indeed it may not normally have a โ user โ at all in the conventional sense . neds may also be driven by consumer electronics devices such as central heating controllers , games machines or voicemail systems . again , the use of the address - based protocol of the present invention increases the efficiency of the system . fig3 shows a network topology in which a single data processing device 30 is connected over a general purpose data network 32 to a plurality of neds 31 . the illustrated data processing device 30 does not have its own conventional display device . fig4 shows a more complex network arrangement including other network devices such as a pc 40 including keyboard and mouse , a server 41 and a laptop 42 and neds 43 . a mouse 44 is also shown connected to one of the display devices 43 . any number of devices may be added to the network 45 and may be dedicated to particular tasks such as a display for displaying the time , or a server for providing network management . the neds 43 may support a keyboard and pointer , or other input and output devices , whose data is fed back to the driving machine . each of these added peripherals will have its own network address . many of these terminals may be connected to one machine . again , this system benefits from increased efficiency if it adopts the address - based protocol of the present invention . fig5 illustrates the direct transmission of an update packet 102 of graphical data to an address 122 in display memory 120 of an display device in accordance with the present invention . the data processing device , server 101 , transmits the update packet 102 across a network 2 to a display device 103 , 120 , 105 . the update packet 102 is received at receiver / decoder 103 where the address field of the packet is interpreted as a corresponding address in display memory space 120 . the packet &# 39 ; s data payload is written by the decoder 103 to a portion of memory corresponding to the current display 121 , thereby updating the signal that will be displayed on the display screen 105 . this address - based operation corresponds to the execution of a raw command in the case of an ned . fig6 illustrates transmission of a move packet 202 of graphical data to a display device 203 , 220 , 205 . the move packet 202 directs receiver / decoder 203 to take the pre - existing contents at a first address 222 of display memory 220 and to copy / move the contents to a second address 223 in the display memory 220 . in the illustrated example , the second address 223 is in a portion of memory corresponding to the current display 221 , thereby updating the signal that will be displayed on the display screen 205 . this operation corresponds to the execution of a copy command in the case of an ned . although not illustrated , the system of the invention may perform other address - based operations , in addition to the copy / move and update operations . examples of other operations include : a โ merge โ operation , where source data and destination data is combined using various basic operations ( e . g . standard boolean logic operations , multiplicative operations , interpolative operations , or masking operations ); and a โ fill โ operation , in which a block of memory may be filled with a single colour ( this is a special case of the rle command ). the present invention can be used to improve the simplicity and efficiency of many remote graphics applications , and is not limited to use in the specific implementations described above . | 6 |
fig1 shows a first embodiment of a portable detection device 10 according to the invention . the detection device 10 comprises an imaginary fixed referential point 34 , which forms the coordinate origin of a likewise imaginary , intrinsic coordinate system of the detection device 10 . the coordinate system is defined by three cartesian axes x โฒ, y โฒ and z โฒ. the axis z โฒ is designated as the intrinsic vertical axis . a column 26 extends along the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ, a laser scanner 24 known per se being arranged at the upper end of said column . an environment ( not illustrated here ) can be detected three - dimensionally geometrically with the aid of such a laser scanner 24 . an inertial measurement system 12 , likewise known per se , is arranged at the lower end of the column 26 , and can be used to determine accelerations in three translation directions and three rotation directions . situated in the central region of the column 26 is a center console 28 , on which a control unit 30 is arranged , which can serve , inter alia , as an interface for inputs by a user . a lever arm 32 having an end point 33 extends from the center console 28 in the positive y โฒ- direction . moreover , two laser distance measuring devices 20 are arranged on the center console 28 , of which laser distance measuring devices one faces in the positive x โฒ- direction ( not discernible here ) and another faces in the negative x โฒ- direction . fig2 a to 2 c schematically show three possible variants of detection devices 10 โฒ, 10 โณ, 10 โฒโณ which can be used to facilitate a positioning and / or orienting and / or which can be used to determine a relative coordinate . the detection device 10 โฒ in accordance with fig2 a comprises a laser 16 below the inertial measurement system 12 , which laser can emit a laser beam 17 . the laser 16 is arranged in such a way that the laser beam 17 runs along the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ of the detection device 10 . if a user has directed said laser beam 17 onto a reference point 40 , then at this point in time the reference point 40 lies on the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ. the reference point 40 can be applied on a floor , for example . if the user additionally ensures ( for example using inclination sensors which the detection device 10 โฒ can likewise comprise ) that the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ runs vertically ( i . e . parallel to the direction of the gravitational force ), then the referential point 34 of the detection device 10 is positioned exactly vertically above the reference point 40 . proceeding from this , with the aid of the method according to the invention , firstly an error variable can be determined in step b ) and a correction of the trajectory 50 provisionally computationally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can subsequently be carried out in step c ). the calculation can be effected with the aid of computation means ( not illustrated here ), which can be arranged in the center console 28 , for instance . in a departure from the above description , the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ need not necessarily be aligned vertically ; instead , with the aid of the inertial measurement system 12 and / or at least one inclination sensor , an orientation of the detection device 10 โฒ can be determined and correspondingly taken into account computationally when determining the error variable . in order at the same time also to determine the height of the referential point 34 above the reference point ( that is to say a further relative coordinate ), a laser 16 can also be provided , which laser affords a possibility for distance measurement . fig2 b shows a further embodiment of a detection device 10 โณ according to the invention , in which a ccd camera 18 is arranged at the lower end of the column 26 . said ccd camera 18 is directed downwards relative to the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ, such that images of a floor can be captured with the aid of the ccd camera 18 . the images captured by the ccd camera 18 can be represented on a screen , which can be part of the control unit 30 illustrated in fig1 . a point corresponding to the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ can additionally be inserted on the screen . as a result , the detection device 10 โณ can be positioned particularly simply in relation to a reference point 40 . moreover , the detection device 10 can be moved along a predefined trajectory taking into account the images generated by the camera 18 , as will also be described in detail further below . the embodiment shown in fig2 c contains an , in particular extensible , rod 14 below the inertial measurement system 12 . the lower end of said rod 14 forms a contact point 15 that can be brought into contact with a reference point 40 . if such contact exists and the distance between contact point 15 and referential point 34 of the detection device is known , then the distance between the referential point 34 and the reference point 40 is also defined . this , too , therefore allows an accurate positioning of the detection device 10 โฒโณ in which the intrinsic axis z โฒ of the detection device 10 โฒโณ runs through the reference point 40 . analogously , the end point 33 of the lever arm 32 shown in fig1 can also be used as a contact point . a horizontal distance between the referential point 34 and a wall , for example , can thereby be set , as will also be explained further below in connection with fig9 . fig3 a , 3 b , 4 a , 4 b and 5 illustrate in various examples how a calibration can be carried out with the aid of the method according to the invention . in accordance with fig3 a , a detection device ( for example one as illustrated in fig1 or fig2 a to 2 c ) is moved from a start point 51 along a trajectory 50 to a target point 52 . fig3 a reproduces a schematic plan view of the floor of a production facility . four reference points 40 are arranged on said floor , the coordinates of said reference points being known ( for example cartesian coordinates ). some of the reference points 40 are reached only once during the movement along the trajectory 50 , while other reference points 40 are reached a number of times . each time one of the reference points 40 is reached , the detection device is brought to rest and positioned in this case such that the referential point 34 of the detection device lies exactly vertically above said reference point 40 . this positioning can be realized and controlled for example with the aid of a laser 16 , a camera 18 or a contact point 15 , as has been described in detail above in connection with fig2 a to 2 c . subsequently , at this point in time of rest , an error variable is determined which characterizes the deviation of the known absolute coordinates of the respective reference point 40 from the coordinates provisionally computationally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 . the error variable can be determined by means of a kalman filter . the point in time of rest at which the error variable is determined can be input manually by the user , for example via the control unit 30 of the detection device 10 in accordance with fig1 . alternatively , the point in time of rest can also be determined as a point in time at which the velocity and angular velocity calculated by the inertial measurement system 12 are zero or at least below predefined threshold values . afterwards , the provisionally computationally determined trajectory 50 is correspondingly corrected if the error variable exceeds a predefined threshold value . this therefore allows a recalibration of the provisionally computationally determined trajectory 50 . the reference points 40 need not necessarily be indexed , that is to say in particular need not bear any unique numbering or coding whatsoever , but rather can be identical to one another , as is illustrated in fig3 a . at the point in time of rest , the relative coordinate and the associated error variable can then be determined simultaneously for each of the reference points 40 . in this regard , therefore , by way of example , it is possible to determine the distances with respect to each of the reference pints 40 , said distances being projected onto a horizontal plane . the trajectory 50 provisionally computationally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can then be corrected in such a way that the provisionally computationally determined position of the detection device is replaced , at the point in time of rest , by the position of the reference point 40 whose position lies closest to the provisionally computationally determined position of the detection device . fig3 b shows an example in which the absolute coordinates of a reference point 40 do not have to be known . the reference point 40 can for example also be just a temporary marking applied , for instance , as an adhesive label on a floor . in this example , the detection device is guided over this reference point 40 four times in total during the movement along the trajectory 50 from the start point 51 to the target point 52 . if the provisional computational determination by the inertial measurement system 12 produces different positions upon these four crossings , then this can be used for correcting the computationally determined trajectory 50 . in the example shown in fig4 a , five reference points 40 lie on a common reference line segment 42 . the distances a , b , c , d between respectively adjacent reference points 40 are known ; however , the absolute coordinates of the reference pint 40 need not necessarily be known . the reference points 40 can be defined , for example , by a periodic pattern ( not illustrated here ) of a floor covering . the detection device is once again moved along the trajectory 50 from the start point 51 to the target point 52 , each of the reference points 40 being crossed at least once . if , for example , during the movement from the first reference point 40 to the second reference point 40 , the inertial measurement system 12 yields a distance between these two points a โฒ that deviates from the actual distance a , then the provisionally computationally determined trajectory can be correspondingly corrected . in a departure from fig4 a it is also possible , of course , for the trajectory 50 to pass through only some of the reference points 40 . the more different reference points 40 the trajectory passes through and the more frequently this occurs , the more accurate the calibration becomes . fig4 b shows a further variant , in which a total of 16 reference points 40 lie on three reference line segments 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ that are not parallel to one another in pairs . the distances a1 , b1 , c1 , etc . between respectively adjacent reference points 40 on one and the same reference line segment 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ are known ; however , knowledge of the absolute coordinates of the reference point 40 is not absolutely necessary . the trajectory 50 from the start point 51 to the target point 52 passes through each of the reference points 40 at least once . as can be gathered from fig4 b , in this case the trajectory can also pass through reference points 40 of the different reference line segments 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ alternately . on the basis of the knowledge that individual subsets of the reference points 40 lie on one and the same reference line segment 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ, a trajectory provisionally computationally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can be corrected . fig5 shows a side view of a stairwell with a plurality of storeys lying one above another . here individual subsets of reference points 40 , 40 - 1 , 40 - 2 likewise lie on common reference line segments 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ, 42 โฒโณ. the two reference line segments 42 โฒ and 42 โฒโณ are inclined , their reference points 40 in each case being formed by the leading edges of a plurality of steps of a respective staircase . here , too , the distances a1 , b1 , etc . between respectively adjacent reference points 40 on one and the same reference line segment 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ and 42 โฒโณ are known . the reference points 40 - 1 and 40 - 2 lie exactly vertically one above another . their projections onto a horizontal plane therefore have the same absolute cartesian coordinates . the knowledge of this information can likewise be used to determine an error variable and , if appropriate , to correct a provisionally computationally determined trajectory . fig6 a and 6 b illustrate how a detection device can be moved along a predefined trajectory 50 . said predefined trajectory 50 consists of one reference line segment 42 . said reference line segment 42 can be defined by a straight line which is marked on a floor , but the absolute coordinates of which need not necessarily be known . at a start point 51 , the user notifies the detection device ( for example by inputting via an interface ) that starting from now said user will guide the detection device along the reference line segment 42 to a target point 52 as accurately as is possible for said user . in order to facilitate this , a laser beam 17 emitted by a laser 16 of the detection device can be guided along the line ( see fig2 a ), the line can be tracked with the aid of a camera 18 and a screen ( see fig2 b ), or a contact point 15 can be guided along the line ( see fig2 c ). on the basis of the information that the detection device is guided along a straight line , the provisionally computationally determined trajectory can once again be corrected if the inertial measurement system 12 does not ascertain such a straight line . in a continuation of fig6 a , fig6 b shows a trajectory 50 comprising four reference line segments 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ, 42 โฒโณ having respective start points 51 , 51 โฒ, 51 โณ, 51 โฒโณ and target points 52 , 52 โฒ, 52 โณ, 52 โฒโณ. the absolute coordinates of the start points 51 , 51 โฒ, 51 โณ, 51 โฒโณ and target points 52 , 52 โฒ, 52 โณ, 52 โฒโณ and also the lengths of the reference line segments 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ, 42 โฒโณ need not necessarily be known . as can be gathered from the illustration , these four reference line segments 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ, 42 โฒโณ are not parallel to one another in pairs , and crossings of the reference line segments also occur in some instances . at the start point 51 , 51 โฒ, 51 โณ, 51 โฒโณ of each reference line segment 42 , 42 โฒ, 42 โณ, 42 โฒโณ, the user notifies the detection device that said user will now move said detection device along a straight line , and at the target point 52 , 52 โฒ, 52 โณ, 52 โฒโณ said user indicates that the end of the straight line has been reached . analogously to the trajectory 50 illustrated in fig6 a , the trajectory provisionally computationally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can be corrected by this means , too . fig7 a illustrates in a side view how a reference line segment can be defined with the aid of a reference laser beam 44 . the reference laser beam 44 is emitted by a laser 46 , which in this example is fixedly mounted on a wall 48 . it is horizontally aligned and runs along a positionally fixed x - axis , as a result of which it defines a referential height in relation to a z - axis . the detection device 10 โณโณ illustrated here has a 360 ยฐ laser detector 22 . on the basis of the detection of the reference laser beam 44 , it is possible to determine the relative position and / or orientation of the detection device 10 โณโณ with respect to the reference laser beam 44 . in particular , it is possible to determine the distance between the reference laser beam 44 and the intrinsic vertical axis z โฒ of the detection device 10 โณโณ. in addition , the laser detector 22 can be used to determine at what point of the intrinsic vertical axis ( that is to say at what z โฒ- value ) the reference laser beam 44 impinges . in this way , a constant height of the detection device 10 โณโณ can be ensured by corresponding movement of the detection device 10 โณโณ by the user or , upon deviation from the referential height , a height difference can be determined and used for correcting the computationally determined trajectory . as an alternative or in addition to the laser detector 22 , the detection device 10 โณโณ can also contain at least one reflector ( not illustrated here ). if the reference laser beam 44 impinges on such a reflector , then this can easily be recognized by the user . this likewise facilitates compliance with the predefined referential height . the laser 46 can also comprise a distance measuring device , which can be used to ascertain the distance with respect to the laser detector 22 and / or with respect to a reflector and thus with respect to the detection device 10 โณโณ. the distance measuring device can comprise a rotating deflection unit in a manner known per se . in this way , the trajectory provisionally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can likewise be corrected by the method according to the invention . this can take place in particular at the points in time at which the reference laser beam 44 impinges on the laser detector 22 and / or a reflector . in the case of a height difference determined , the synchronization is effected with the aid of the laser detector 22 and / or a reflector . a possible height difference can be determined directly with the aid of the laser detector 22 . if not only the height but also the horizontal position of the laser detector 22 is determined with the aid of the laser 46 , then an additional data transfer unit can be provided for this purpose in order to enable a real - time evaluation . in a departure from the embodiment illustrated in fig7 a , the laser 46 can also be portable , of course . if the coordinates of the reference laser beam 44 emitted by said laser are known , then this information can be used for correcting the provisionally computationally determined trajectory . however , even if the absolute coordinates of the reference laser beam are not known , the latter can nevertheless define a reference line segment , as will be explained further below in connection with fig8 . fig7 b shows a plan view of the arrangement in accordance with fig7 a . the detection device ( not illustrated here ) is moved along a trajectory 50 . each time when the detection device passes through the reference laser beam 44 , this is registered by the laser detector 22 and can serve for correcting the trajectory provisionally calculated by the inertial measurement system 12 . the passing through the reference laser beam 44 can be communicated to the user acoustically and / or optically . the distances d 1 and d 2 are likewise determined with the aid of the laser 46 . in this case , too , a data transfer of the distances thus ascertained can be effected . fig8 shows in a plan view how two reference laser beams 44 , 44 โฒ can be generated with the aid of a first , fixedly installed laser 46 and a second , portable laser 46 โฒ. in a manner similar to that shown in fig6 b , a detection device can be moved along a trajectory 50 , which runs firstly from a first start point 51 along the first reference laser beam 44 to a first target point 52 , then on a non - defined trajectory to a second start point 51 โฒ on the second reference laser beam 44 โฒ and subsequently along said second reference laser beam 44 โฒ to a second target point 52 โฒ. the user can input , via a control unit , when said user reaches the first start point 51 , the first target point 52 , the second start point 51 โฒ and the second target point 52 โฒ. a correction of the trajectory provisionally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can likewise be achieved from this . fig9 shows in a plan view how the detection device 10 in accordance with fig1 can be used in an environment 60 containing a multiplicity of walls 62 . the detection device 10 is moved from a start point 51 along a trajectory 50 to a target point 52 . at various points of the trajectory 50 , the end point 33 of the lever arm 32 is brought into contact with edges 64 of the walls 62 , said edges 64 forming reference points of the environment 60 . if the absolute coordinates of the edges 64 are known , then the trajectory provisionally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can be correspondingly corrected on this basis . with the aid of the laser distance measuring devices 20 ( see fig1 ), the distance with respect to a reference point 40 at one of the walls 62 can be determined at the same locations of the trajectory 50 . on the basis thereof , too , the provisionally determined trajectory can be corrected , if appropriate . the more frequently contact is established between the end point 33 of the lever arm 32 and the edges 64 of the walls 62 and the more frequently the distance with respect to the reference point 40 is determined , the more precisely the trajectory 50 can be determined . fig1 shows in a further plan view how the distances with respect to two opposite walls 64 , 64 โฒ can be determined with the aid of two oppositely arranged laser distance measuring devices 20 . an even more accurate correction of the trajectory is possible as a result . fig1 schematically illustrates a detection device 10 โฒโณโณ comprising an inertial measurement system 12 and a retroreflector in the form of a round prism 60 . the round prism 60 can be , for instance , the model grz4 obtainable from leica geosystems ag , ch - 8152 glattbrugg . a target - tracking tachymeter 62 emits a light beam 64 that is reflected from the round prism 60 to the tachymeter 62 . as a result , the position of the detection device 10 โฒโณโณ can be determined in a manner known per se . preferably , this determination takes place at a point in time of rest of the detection device 10 โฒโณโณ at which said detection device rests above a reference point 40 . on the basis of this determination , the trajectory provisionally computationally determined by the inertial measurement system 12 can then be corrected , if appropriate . | 6 |
fig1 illustrates a block diagram according to one embodiment of a streaming environment 100 . in particular , the streaming environment 100 includes an interface system 110 , a platform server 120 , and one or more sources of content programming 135 . in one embodiment , the interface system 110 includes a display device 140 ( e . g . monitor and television ), a client device 150 ( e . g . streaming player ), and a user input device 170 . the client device 150 is configured to communicate with the display device 140 and a network 160 . in one embodiment , the platform server 120 includes a database 125 and a platform module 130 . the database 125 is configured to store data such as programming software packages . the data within these programming software packages include : the network locations and content descriptions of content sources 135 , hardware / software capabilities of different firmware versions and specifications of the client device 150 , customer data associated with each client device 150 , and user interface information associated with the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the customer data includes customer specific information such as demographic data , geographic data , isp identification , and financial information . in one embodiment , the platform server 120 generates customized user interfaces for each of the client devices 150 . in one embodiment , the user interface from the platform server 120 provides a selection of content such as audio , visual , and gaming content to the client device 150 . in this example , the platform server 120 is configured to supply a graphical representation of the selection content to the client device 150 and further allows the client device 150 to select and access individual content from the selected content from the content source 135 through this graphical representation of the selection content . in one embodiment , the platform server 120 is configured to receive input from client device 150 and processes the input through the platform module 130 . the input from the client device 150 includes navigation and selection commands which may represent selection of content , search for content , and ongoing interaction with an application running on the platform server 120 . in one embodiment , the client device 150 displays content on display device 140 . in one embodiment , the content displayed on the display device is sourced from one of the client device 150 , the platform server 120 , and the content source 135 . in one embodiment , the input device 170 transmits signals to the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the input device 170 utilizes one of or a combination of : an infrared signal , radio frequency signal , and bluetooth signal to communicate with the client device 150 . the input device 170 is configured to enter data and to make user selections from the interface as presented through the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the interface displayed by the client device 150 may be from the platform server 120 , from the content sources 135 , or be locally generated by the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the input device 170 also includes a display to show additional content . in another embodiment , the input device 170 includes a touch screen which allows content to be displayed and input to be received . exemplary input devices 170 include remote controls , smart phones , tablets , and mobile computers . in one embodiment , the content sources 135 include a server 180 and a storage device with content 190 . in one embodiment , the network address of particular content stored within the storage device 190 is maintained within the platform server 120 . in another embodiment , the general location of the content source 135 is maintained and stored within the platform server 120 while the specific locations of corresponding content are managed locally by the content source 135 . in yet another embodiment , the location of the content source 135 is embedded within the graphical representation displayed through the client device 150 such that interaction with the graphical representation through the client device 150 allows the content located within the content source 135 to be accessible to the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the content stored within the storage device 190 includes music , video , still pictures , text , graphics , gaming applications , and the like . in one embodiment , the particular content which is stored within the storage device 190 is provided to the client device 150 through the network 160 . in one embodiment , the network 160 is the internet . in another embodiment , the network 160 is a local area network . in one embodiment , the client device 150 makes a request for specific content . if the requested content is video content , the storage device 190 transmits video data that represents the specific video content to the client device 150 through the content source 135 . in one embodiment , platform server 120 supports interfaces , such as login interfaces , search interfaces , and customized interfaces for the client device 150 . fig2 illustrates a representative platform module 130 as shown in fig1 . in one embodiment , the platform module 130 includes an authentication module 205 , a search / browse module 210 , a match module 215 , a store module 220 , a tag module 225 , a display module 230 , a recommendation module 235 , and a channel store module 240 . the authentication module 205 interacts with the client device 150 and authenticates a profile or user account associated with the particular client device 150 . for example , the profile includes data associated with a user such as the user name , password , device associations , ip addresses , location , email address , payment information , and content subscriptions . in one embodiment , the authentication module 205 recognizes and authenticates the client device associated with a particular user account through password authentication , location authentication , visual authentication , or audio authentication . the authentication can be configured to occur when setting up a new client device 150 , purchasing content or subscriptions , or periodically as needed . the search / browse module 210 is configured to detect input from a client device 150 and / or the input device 170 . in one embodiment , the input represents the selection of a channel , content , or application . in another embodiment , the input represents a textual , visual , or audible search for content , a channel , or application . in yet another embodiment , the input represents browsing content , channels , or applications . the match module 215 coordinates searches and requests for content , channels , and applications . for example , the match module 215 identifies relevant content , channels , and applications based upon the search criteria . in one embodiment , the match module 215 relies on titles , tags , description and reviews associated with the content , channels and applications to determine relevance of the match . the store module 220 coordinates the storage of data within the platform server 120 . the data coordinated by the store module 220 includes content listings and corresponding descriptions , user profiles , searching and browsing requests , content viewed , channels and applications utilized , and tags , and friends . depending on the nature of the data , access to the content is controlled to prevent unauthorized use . the tag module 225 coordinates the creation and use of tags associated with content , channels , and applications . tags can be assigned to channels and applications by the author of the channels and applications or by users through the client device 150 . tags can also be assigned to portions of audio and video streams by the author of the audio and video streams or by users through the client device 150 . the tags may describe the corresponding content or allow an opportunity for a user to provide commentary associated with the corresponding content . the tags can be used for personal use and be searched by the user creating the tags or the tags can be aggregated among multiple users and searched through a public database by others . the display module 230 coordinates display of representative content and user interfaces from the platform server 120 to each of the client devices 150 . examples of representative content include listings and descriptions of channels , content , and applications . further , the user interface is configured to allow searching and browsing for channels , contents , and applications . the recommendation module 235 is configured to process content recommendations based on a combination of current subscriptions , browsing or searching input , and content source . further , the recommendation module 235 also can utilize tags to provide recommendations . in another embodiment , the recommendation module 235 utilizes the availability of the content to provide a recommendation . for example , a viewing window which describes when the content is available for viewing describes a beginning and end date for the availability of the content . further , the recommendation module 235 can utilize the subscription data associated with each user account to determine whether the content is available to the user without additional charge because the account user is already subscribed to the content provider . further , the recommendation module 235 can prioritize content that is available free of charge without any subscriptions . in another embodiment , the recommendation module 235 can prioritize content based on popularity ratings as illustrated under the public viewing data 335 . the channel store module 240 is configured to manage subscriptions of channels associated with each client device 150 . channels often contain content such as video content and audio content . in one embodiment , access to the content within a channel requires a subscription to that channel and the subscription is free . in another embodiment , access to the content within a channel requires a paid subscription . in yet another embodiment , access to some content and applications require payment and a subscription . in one embodiment , the channel store module 240 manages the addition of channels , content , and applications . similarly , the channel store module 240 also manages deletion or modifications to channels , content , and application . fig3 illustrates a representative platform database 125 as shown in fig1 . in one embodiment , the platform database 125 includes private data and public data . the private data contains information which is identifiable with a particular user ; the public data contains information that is aggregated and not identifiable with a particular user . the private data within the platform database 125 includes user profile data 305 , user viewing data 310 , user subscription data 315 , user tagging data 320 , user connection data 325 , and user device data 330 . the public data within the platform database 125 includes public viewing data 335 , public tagging data 340 , and content listing data 345 . in one embodiment , utilization of the private data is restricted to access within the platform server 120 and access by the particular user corresponding to the private data . utilization of the public data can be accessed by all users and selected third parties . the user profile data 305 includes information such as a user &# 39 ; s name , address , credit card / payment information , age , and gender . the user viewing data 310 includes the channels , audio content , visual content , video content , and applications utilized through a client device 150 . in one embodiment , the user viewing data 310 allows a client device 150 that is associated with the particular user to view recently watched channels and content as well as determine which applications were recently used . further , the user viewing data 310 also includes stored searches that are performed through devices associated with this user account . in one embodiment , the stored searches are initiated by explicitly searching for content through a text based , image based , or voice based search . in another embodiment , the stored searches are implicitly identified by recording browsing choices . one such browsing choice is shown and described by fig5 a and 5b . the user subscription data 315 includes information such as channels subscribed by a particular user and content and applications purchased by the particular user . the user tagging data 320 includes tagging information related to a particular user . for example , the tagging information can include a user &# 39 ; s comment or description of a channel , application or content . in one embodiment , the entire content is tagged with a description as determined by the particular user . in another embodiment , a portion of the content is tagged with a description of that portion of the content by the particular user . the user connection data 325 includes a listing of other users that are associated with the particular user as a friend . in one embodiment , having users connected to each other as friends allows a particular user to share recently watched content , channel subscriptions , user tags , and applications with other connected users . the user device data 330 includes a listing of devices associated with the particular user . the device includes a client device 150 , an input device 170 , a mobile device such as a tablet , laptop computer , or smart phone . the public viewing data 335 includes a listing of channels , content , and applications utilized by many users . in one embodiment , the popularity of the content is ranked based on the number of viewers and the order in which the content is viewed . for example , the higher number of views per day for content would indicate higher popularity . further , when multiple content entities are presented next to each other , the content entity which is selected first for viewing is given a higher popularity rating . the public tagging data 340 includes tags that are utilized to describe channels , content , and applications from many users . in one embodiment , the tagging data within the public tagging data 340 comes from content providers . for example , a movie studio responsible for producing a movie could provide tagging data to the public tagging data 340 that describes portions of the movie . the public tagging data also includes closed captioning and subtitles associated with respective segments of the content . the content listings data 345 includes listings of content and descriptions of the corresponding content . in one embodiment , the descriptions include key word tagging throughout the content , a summary description of the content , directors and actors associated with the content , and third party reviews associated with the content . fig4 illustrates a block diagram of a representative client device 150 as shown in fig1 . in one embodiment , the client device 150 is configured to stream content into the device . the content streamed into the client device 150 includes audio content , visual content , and applications . in one embodiment , the client device 150 is utilized to transmit instructions and selection to the content server 135 and / or the platform server 120 . in one embodiment , the client device includes a processor 410 , internal memory 420 , external storage 430 , multipurpose i / o port 440 , input device interface 450 , power management 460 , audio / visual i / o interface 470 , and network interface 480 . in one embodiment , the processor 410 utilizes a central processing unit ( cpu ). in another embodiment , the processor 410 also utilizes a graphics processing unit ( gpu ) which may be integrated with the cpu or be configured to be physically separate . in one embodiment , the internal memory 420 includes one of or a combination of random access memory ( ram ), flash memory , and read only memory ( rom ). additional memory and memory interfaces such as the multi - purpose i / o port 440 may be provided in various embodiments , to support memories such as the external storage 430 which can include hard disks , universal serial bus ( usb ) drives , secure digital ( sd ) cards , and the like . these memories may also be used for storage of applications , programs , buffered media , media , executable computer code , and software keys . in one embodiment , the input device interface 450 enables an input device to interface with the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the input device interface 450 is configured to communicate with the input device through a wireless interface such as bluetooth ( bt ), radio frequency ( rf ), and infrared ( ir ). in one embodiment , the input device interface 450 supports the functionality through an input device including any combination of virtual buttons embodied on a customization screen , physical buttons , accelerometer , gyroscope , pressure sensor , tilt sensor , magnetic sensor , microphone , and light sensor . in one embodiment , the i / o interface 470 supports multiple video output options such as high definition multimedia interface ( hdmi ), red - green - blue ( rgb ) component video , separate video ( s - video ), digital visual interface ( dvi ), video graphics array ( vga ), mobile high - definition link ( mhl ), and composite video . in one embodiment , usb and apple ยฎ thunderbolt ยฎ enabled displays are also supported . in one embodiment , the network interface 480 supports multiple network interfaces such as ethernet , wi - fi , and bluetooth . in another embodiment , the network interface 480 also supports coaxial , digital tv antenna , and satellite television . fig5 a , 5 b , 5 c , 5 d , 6 , 7 a , and 7 b , illustrate screen shots showing exemplary embodiments for use with the streaming environment 110 and the platform server 120 as shown in fig1 . the representations within the screen shots are shown only for illustrative purposes . for example , contents within the screen shots may be omitted or added without limiting the scope of the claims . fig5 a illustrates an exemplary screen shot 500 depicting a user interface for browsing for content through a client device 150 . in one embodiment , the screen shot 500 is an exemplary home screen configured to browse for content through the client device 150 and transmitted from the platform server 120 . the screen shot 500 includes category listings 502 , 512 , and 523 ; content listings 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , 514 , 516 , 520 , and 522 ; thumbnail displays 505 , 507 , 509 , 515 , 517 , and 521 ; and indicators 510 , 518 , and 525 . in one embodiment , the category listings 502 and 512 represent categories for content such as movies , television shows , and games . in another embodiment , the category listings 502 and 512 represent a sub - category such as different types or genre of movies . in one embodiment , the category listing 523 represents a row of content dedicated to a particular content provider . the particular content provider can populate this row of content with content chosen by the content provider . in one embodiment , the particular content provider is selected based on the subscriptions associated with the user account . for example , the particular content provider is selected , because the user account is subscribed to the particular content provider . in this example , the content within the category listing 523 that is provided by the particular content provider is accessible . in another example , the particular content provider is not currently subscribed to by the user account . in this example , the content provided by the particular content provider is available on a limited access . in one embodiment , the limited access includes : allowing full access while the content is listed within the category listing 523 ; and allowing access to a portion of the content as a preview . further , the particular content provider could solicit a subscription for the user account prior to , during , or after allowing access to the content . in one embodiment , the categories listings 502 , 512 , and 523 can be selectively pinned to the screen shot 500 . further , the categories listings 502 , 512 , and 523 are dynamically presented within the screen shot 500 depending on the browsing and selection habits . for example , if the content associated with the category listing 502 is not browsed or viewed over a period of time or selections , then the category listing 502 is moved towards the bottom of the screen such as below the category listing 512 . in another example , any of the categories listings 502 , 512 , and 523 can also be prioritized based on paid placement by a content provider . for example , the category listing 512 can represent a sponsored content provider for listing content from the sponsored content provider that is associated with the category listing 512 . in one embodiment , each of the content listings 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , 514 , 516 , 520 , and 522 represents separate content . for example , if the category listing 502 is for comedy movies , then the content listings 504 , 506 , and 508 would represent movies that are also comedies . in one embodiment , the thumbnail displays 505 , 507 , 509 , 515 , 517 , and 521 show an image preview of the respective content associated with the content listings 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , 514 , 516 , 520 , and 522 , respectively . in another embodiment , the thumbnail displays 505 , 507 , 509 , 515 , 517 , and 521 show an animated series of preview images such as a video clip that is representative of the associated content . in one embodiment , the indicators 510 and 518 represent content that is available to the client device 150 . for example , the content listings 508 and 516 are available to the client device 150 as indicated by the indicators 510 and 518 , respectively . in one embodiment , the content associated with the content listings 508 and 516 are available through a subscribed channel associated with a particular user account . in one embodiment , the subscribed channel does not requirement payment . in another embodiment , the subscribed channel is a paid subscription . in one embodiment , the remaining content listings 504 , 506 , 510 , 514 , 520 , and 522 are available to a particular user by subscribing to the appropriate channel or purchasing the content . in one embodiment , the content listings 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , 514 , 516 , 520 , and 522 are found through the content listings data 345 within the platform database 125 . for example , the content listings 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , 514 , 516 , 520 , and 522 is responsive to a key word search inquiry . in another embodiment , the content listings 504 , 506 , 508 , 510 , 514 , 516 , 520 , and 522 are found through a home screen which is personalized by the user and associated with the user viewing data 310 associated with a particular user . in one embodiment , a selection frame 525 is shown to surround the content listing 520 . the selection frame 525 represents a selection , hovering , or highlighting of particular content within the screen 500 . in one embodiment , an information box 526 corresponds with the content listing 520 and is activated by the selection from 525 . the information box 526 and corresponding information 527 provides additional information about the content listing 520 . the information box 526 and corresponding information 527 are selectively displayed based on the selection , hovering , highlighting of the content listing 520 which is shown by the selection frame 525 . fig5 b illustrates an exemplary screen shot 530 depicting a user interface for browsing for content through a client device 150 . in one embodiment , the screen shot is an exemplary home screen configured to browse for content through the client device 150 and is transmitted from the platform server 120 . the screen shot 530 includes content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 . in one embodiment , each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 represents a separate content listing . in another embodiment , each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 represents a separate channel that distributes content . in another embodiment , each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 represents a separate software application . in another embodiment , each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 represents a separate genre . in one embodiment , the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 are graphically displayed and each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 is configured to be selected through a user of the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the content listings 533 , 534 , 536 , and 538 represent content directly related to each other such as several related television series , different episodes that are part of a television series , and a movie and its related sequels . in this embodiment , the content listings 540 and 546 are related to the content listing 532 by being in the same genre . in this instance , if the content listing 532 is an action / adventure program , then the content listings 540 and 546 should be another action / adventure program . in this embodiment , the content listings 542 and 544 are in a different genre from the content listing 532 and each other . in this instance since the content listing 532 is an action / adventure program , the content listing 542 is a comedy program ; the content listing 544 is a horror program . in use , the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 are presented based on the search / browse module 210 and are capable of being selected . characteristics of the content listings such as tags , actors , directors , descriptions can be found within the content listings database 345 . after selection of one of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 , the selection is presented in a central location where the selected content listing ( e . g ., 532 ) takes the place of the prior content listing ( e . g ., 532 ). the rest of the content listings 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 are automatically updated with new content that is related to the newly selected content listing 532 . for example , if the content selection 532 is chosen , then the corresponding content is played . further , if any of the content listings 533 , 534 , 536 , and 538 are selected , then that particular content listing is placed in the position of the content listing 532 . in this instance , the content listings 533 , 534 , 536 , and 538 are updated based on directors or actors that are common with the newly selected content listing 532 . in one embodiment , each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 can selectively be highlighted to reflect that the content is available to the user . in one embodiment , each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 can be graphically presented to have the size of the graphic representation mirror the amount of content associated with each of the content listings 532 , 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 . fig5 c illustrates an exemplary screen shot 550 depicting a user interface for viewing content results through a client device 150 . in one embodiment , the screen shot is an exemplary home screen configured to browse for content through the client device 150 and is transmitted from the platform server 120 . the screen shot 550 includes representative content 552 and content status 555 , 556 , and 557 which describe the available options for a user to view the content 552 through the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the content status 555 represents a subscribed channel that offers the content associated with the content 552 as available now to the client device 150 . for example , provider 557 and provider 558 are listed within the content status 555 . in this example , the provider 557 is offering the content 552 now at no extra cost as part of the subscription to the provider 557 . further , the provider 558 is offering the content 552 now at an additional cost in addition to the subscription to the provider 557 . the subscription to either provider 557 or 558 may be free or require payment . the details of the additional payment can be found in the detail column 559 . in one embodiment , the content status 556 represents a subscribed channel that offers the content associated with the content 552 as available soon to the client device 150 . for example , provider 561 and provider 564 are listed within the content status 562 . in this example , the provider 561 is offering the content 552 approximately 1 week from now at no extra cost as part of the subscription to the provider 561 . further , the provider 564 is offering the content 552 in the future as the # 2 position on a waitlist . although not show , the detail column 559 for the provider 564 could also provide an estimated time when the content 552 will be available . the provider 564 contemplates a model where a user is subscribed to the provider 564 and the provider has a limited number of available copies of the content 552 . after the available copies of the content 552 are checked out to other users , additional users wishing to get access to the content 552 are placed on a wait list until one of the available copies are released . in one embodiment , an alert option is available in the details column 559 for the content status 556 . in this example , an alert message is provided to the user through the client device , email , or text message when the content 552 becomes available . in one embodiment , the content status 567 represents channels that are currently not subscribed by the user and offer the content associated with the content 552 as available now to the client device 150 . for example , provider 568 and provider 569 are listed within the content status 567 . in this example , the provider 568 is offering the content 552 as a single item purchase . further , the provider 569 is offering the content 552 now as part of a subscription to the provider 569 . the details of the additional payment can be found in the detail column 559 . in another embodiment , the content status 567 can also provide a suggestion for different content supplied by a sponsoring content provider . for example , the selection of the different content to be suggested is determined by the sponsoring content provider . the sponsoring content provider can pay a fee for this placement . in one embodiment , the content listings 555 , 556 , and 567 and associated data are shown within the screen shot 550 in any combination . in another embodiment , the content providers 557 , 558 , 561 , 564 , 568 , and 569 are shown in order of subscription within screen shot 550 . for example , content providers that are subscribed to by the user &# 39 ; s account are shown first . in another embodiment , the content providers 557 , 558 , 561 , 564 , 568 , and 569 are shown in order of cost within screen shot 550 . for example , content providers that are free or cheaper are shown first . in another embodiment , the content providers 557 , 558 , 561 , 564 , 568 , and 569 are shown in order of paid placement within screen shot 550 . for example , content providers that pay for placement are shown first . any combination of subscription , cost , and paid placement may be utilized . fig5 d illustrates an exemplary screen shot 580 depicting a user interface for viewing content results through a client device 150 . in one embodiment , the screen shot is an exemplary home screen configured to browse for content through the client device 150 and is transmitted from the platform server 120 . the screen shot 580 includes representative content 582 , 584 , 586 , and 588 ; and content status 590 and 594 ; and content providers 591 , 592 , and 595 . in one embodiment , the representative content 582 , 584 , 586 , and 588 , correspond with content such as videos , music , and applications . in one embodiment , the representative content 582 , 584 , 586 , and 588 are provided by the platform server 120 . in one instance , representative content 582 , 584 , 586 , and 588 is based on searches for content . for example , the search for content may occur in a single search or over multiple searches spanning a period of time . in one embodiment , the content status 590 presents a result where there is partial availability of the representative content 582 , 584 , 586 , and 588 . for example , the content provider 591 shows availability of the representative content 582 , and the content provider 592 shows availability of the representative content 586 . in one embodiment , the content status 594 presents a suggestion that content provider 595 can fulfill content associated with the representative content 582 , 584 , 586 , and 588 . in one embodiment , an alert option 596 allows the selection of receiving an alert when additional content becomes available through the content providers 591 and 592 . fig6 illustrates an exemplary screen shot 600 depicting a user interface for viewing a pinned and updated search result through a client device 150 . in one embodiment , the screen shot is an exemplary home screen configured to browse for content through the client device 150 and is transmitted from the platform server 120 . the screen shot 600 includes representative content 602 , 604 , 606 , 608 , 610 , 612 , 614 , 616 , 618 , and 620 , which correspond with content such as videos , music , and applications . in one embodiment , the representative content 602 , 604 , 606 , 608 , 610 , 612 , 614 , 616 , 618 , and 620 are provided by the platform server 120 . in one instance , representative content 602 , 604 , 606 , 608 , 610 , 612 , 614 , 616 , 618 , and 620 is based on a search for content related to โ cars โ. in this embodiment , the search for content is performed at different times with additional results each time the search is updated . for example , the representative content 602 , 604 , 606 , 608 , 610 , 612 , 614 , and 616 is displayed through a discovery timeline 625 . a time period 631 is representative of a search result conducted on jun . 12 , 2010 , and includes the representative content 602 , 604 , 606 , and 608 as a result of the search . a time period 629 is representative of an updated search result conducted on aug . 12 , 2010 , and includes the representative content 610 and 612 as a result of the updated search . a time period 627 is representative of an updated search result conducted on oct . 12 , 2010 , and includes the representative content 614 and 616 as a result of the updated search . in one embodiment , a subscribed content listing 635 displays subscribed and available content search results from the discovery timeline 625 . in this instance , the subscribed content listing 635 includes the representative content 606 , 608 , 610 , and 614 . in another embodiment , the subscribed content listing 635 may include promotional content that is available on a promotional basis . however , the user account is not subscribed to receive additional content from the content providers that are supplying the promotional content . for example , the promotional content would not normally be available to the user account from the content provider . further , the offer to subscribe to the content provider can be made before , during , or after streaming the promotional content to the user account . in another embodiment , the promotional content may only be accessible for a segment of the content and an offer to purchase the entire content is made to the user account . in one embodiment , an available content for purchase listing 640 displays content that is available for purchase from the discovery timeline 625 . in this instance , the available content for purchase listing 640 includes the representative content 602 , 604 , 612 , and 616 . in one embodiment , an alert notification option 642 is provided to allow a user to be alerted if content within the available content for purchase listing 640 becomes a subscribed content for the user . in one embodiment , a viewing window listing 650 organizes content based on when the content is available . for example , the viewing window listing can have an expiring soon category 652 , an available now and going forward category 654 , and a coming soon category 656 . in this instance , the representative content 602 , 604 , 606 , 608 , 610 , 612 , 614 , and 616 which are found in the discovery timeline 652 are shown in either the expiring soon category 652 or available now and going forward category 654 . the representative content 618 and 620 are shown in the coming soon category 656 and have an alert option 658 to alert the user when the representative content 618 and 620 is available . in one embodiment , a recommendation listing 660 is provided to recommend additional recommended topics based on the topic . in one embodiment , the recommended topic is made based on what other users who are also interested in the topic listed which in this case is โ cars โ would also have as additional topics . in this example with โ cars โ as the topic , additional topics such as motorcycles 662 , airplanes 664 , and buses 666 are also listed . in another embodiment , the recommendation listing 660 allows a content provider to recommend content that is similar or related to the original โ cars โ search topic . in this embodiment , the content provider limits the recommendations based on the available content offered by this particular content provider . in one embodiment , the particular content provider is selected from a subscribed content provider associated with the user account . in another embodiment , the particular content provider is not a subscribed content provider nor related to the user account . in one example , the particular content provider pays an advertising fee to be selected and further pays a referral fee if the user account subscribes to the particular content provider . fig7 a illustrates an exemplary screen shot 700 depicting a user interface for viewing additional data through a secondary screen on the input device 170 . in one embodiment , the input device 170 includes a display screen which serves as the secondary screen . for example , a smart phone or portable tablet can be utilized as the input device 170 . in one embodiment , the screen shot 700 on the secondary screen is an extension of the display 140 . in one embodiment , the screen shot 700 includes a representative content 705 and additional information relating to the representative content 705 such as directors 706 , actors 708 , description 710 , rating / reviews 712 , suggestions 714 , user tags 716 , global tags 718 , friend tags 720 , and share with friends 722 . in one embodiment , the representative content 705 is content that is being watched , selected , or highlighted on the display 140 through the client device 150 . for example , the additional information can be displayed on the secondary screen as depicted within the screen shot 700 as the representative content 705 is selected on the display 140 . the additional information presented on the secondary display through the input device 170 provides further details of the representative content 705 . the additional information including directors 706 , actors 708 , description 710 , rating / reviews 712 , suggestions 714 , user tags 716 , global tags 718 , friend tags 720 , and share with friends 722 is customizable to provide further details . in one embodiment , the ratings / reviews 712 are generated from the user or provided by a third party . the suggestions 714 are offered to the user or can be selected to be suggestions from the user . the user tags 716 are tags that are generated by the user ; global tags 718 are generated by other users and aggregated ; and the friends tags 720 are tags that are from friends of the user . the share with friends 722 is content that is selected to be shared with friends of the user . fig7 b illustrates an exemplary screen shot 730 depicting a user interface for viewing additional data through a secondary screen on the input device 170 . in one embodiment , the input device 170 includes a display screen which serves as the secondary screen . for example , a smart phone or portable tablet can be utilized as the input device 170 . in one embodiment , the screen shot 730 on the secondary screen is an extension of the display 140 . a timeline 735 represents a progress playing bar for content . the timeline 735 illustrates content progress as it is being played on the display 140 . a progress indicator 740 shows a play location within the content such as a movie . for example , the beginning of the movie is towards the left side of the timeline 735 . in one embodiment , the timeline 735 and progress indicator 740 correspond with the content being viewed on the display 140 . further , a second view is provided through the input device 170 which includes additional information on the content being viewed on the display 140 . in one embodiment , representative images 742 , 744 , 746 , 748 , 750 , and 752 , are shown with respect to a position on the timeline 735 and correspond with a visual representation of the content at that particular position within the content . in one embodiment , the display of the content through the display 140 can be set to a playtime associated with a position on the timeline 735 . an information area 754 allows information regarding the content to be displayed that is temporally relevant to the position of the progress indicator 740 . further , a user tag legend 760 , friend tag legend 762 , and global tag legend 764 provide symbols for tags originating from the user , a friend , and aggregated global tags from multiple users , respectively . a tag representation 756 illustrates how tags can be graphically shown on the timeline 735 . in one embodiment , the tag is correlated temporally with the content associated with the portion of the timeline 735 . further , a tag display 758 is configured to display text of a tag associated with the tag representation 756 . in one embodiment , the tag display 758 selectively displays the text of a tag when the tag representation 756 is selected . in another embodiment , other tag representations can be selected with a corresponding tag display being activated to show the tag . fig8 a , 8 b , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 a , 12 b , 13 , 14 , 15 , and 16 illustrate flow diagrams showing exemplary embodiments for use with the streaming environment 110 and the platform server 120 as shown in fig1 . the blocks within the flow diagrams are shown only for illustrative purposes . for example , blocks within the flow diagram can be further divided , combined or performed in a different order without limiting the scope of the claims . fig8 a illustrates a search for content among multiple content providers through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 805 , a search request is detected . in one embodiment , the search request comes through the client device 150 and is related to a particular user subscription data 305 . in another embodiment , the search request comes through the input device 170 . the search request can be made for content such as software applications , movies , television shows , and music . in one embodiment , the search / browse module 210 accomplishes the search request . in block 810 , the search request is matched with content listings . in one embodiment , the content listings are stored within the content listings data 345 . in one embodiment , the match module 215 accomplishes the match . if the match with the content listings returns a match with subscribed content in block 815 , then the subscribed content that matches the search results is displayed in block 820 . in one embodiment , the subscribed content includes qualifying content within subscribed channels through a content provider . for example in some instances , not all content provided by a content provider is included with a subscription to the content provider . the subscribed content includes movies , television programs , games , and music . if the match with the content listings returns a match with purchased content in block 825 , then the purchased content that matches the search results is displayed in block 830 . in one embodiment , the purchased content includes movies , television programs , games , and music purchased by the user . in one embodiment , the display module 230 accomplishes the display action in blocks 820 and 830 . in block 835 , a search is performed for similar content that is available to the user from subscribed content providers . in one embodiment , the similar content does not match the search request in the block 805 but instead shares similar characteristics to the original search request and the matched subscribed and purchased content . further , the similar content is intended as a suggestion or recommended content . for example , if the matched content either subscribed or purchased is related to the genre of action / adventure movies , then the similar content would also be within the action / adventure movies genre . in other instances , similar content can be related through common actors , directors , and time periods . in another embodiment , the similar content can be suggested from a content provider that would require purchase or subscription to be viewed . in block 840 , the similar content is displayed . in one embodiment , subscribed content , purchased content , and similar content are displayed . in another embodiment , only the subscribed content and purchased content are displayed . in one embodiment , the recommendation module 235 would be utilized in block 835 and 840 for searching and recommending content . fig8 b illustrates a search for content among multiple content providers through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 845 , multiple search requests are detected . in one embodiment , the multiple search requests come through the client device 150 and are related to a particular user account &# 39 ; s subscription data 305 . further , the multiple search requests are stored within the user viewing data 310 . in another embodiment , the multiple search requests come through the input device 170 . the search requests can be made for content such as software applications , movies , television shows , and music . in one embodiment , the search / browse module 210 accomplishes the search request . in block 850 , the search requests are matched with content listings . in one embodiment , the content listings are stored within the content listings data 345 . in one embodiment , the match module 215 accomplishes the match . if the match with the content listings returns a match of all search requests with available content in block 855 , then the available content that matches the search results are displayed in block 860 . in one embodiment , the available content includes content that can be accessed through a content provider without additional charges . for example in some instances , the available content could be available through a specific purchase , available through a subscription , or available because the content is free . the available content includes movies , television programs , games , and music . if all the search requests are not matched with available content in block 855 , then a partial match is explored in block 865 . if the match with the content listings returns a partial match of all search requests with available content in block 865 , then the available content that matches the search results are displayed in block 870 . if all the search requests are not matched with available content in block 855 , then a match with content for purchase is explored in block 875 . if the match for content outside of available content returns a match for remaining content for purchase in block 875 , then the content for purchase is displayed in block 880 . in one embodiment , the display module 230 accomplishes the display function in block 860 , 870 , and 880 . if there is content from the multiple search requests that is not included as available content or content for purchase within block 885 , then an alert is set in block 890 to notify the account holder when the content becomes available for purchase or is included as available content to the account holder . in one embodiment , the alert can be an email , sms , or voicemail notification through the client device 150 or the input device 170 . fig9 illustrates a persistent search for content among multiple content providers through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 905 , a search request is detected and stored . in one embodiment , the search request comes through the client device 150 and is related to a particular user subscription data 305 . in another embodiment , the search request comes through the input device 170 . the search request can be made for content such as software applications , movies , television shows , and music . further , the search request is stored within the user viewing data 310 . in one embodiment , the store module 230 accomplishes the storing function . in block 910 , an initial search is performed based on the search request and the resulting content based on the initial search is stored . searching for content can utilize the user tagging data 320 , public tagging data 340 , and / or content listings data 345 . in one embodiment , the content listings are stored within the content listings data 345 . in block 915 , an updated search is performed based on the search request which mirrors the initial search in block 910 . the updated search can be performed at any time after the initial search . further , the resulting content based on the updated search is stored . in one embodiment , the resulting content based on the updated search encompasses additional content beyond the resulting content from the initial search . if there is available content detected in block 920 , then the available content is highlighted in block 925 . in one embodiment , available content includes content that is subscribed to , purchased by , and offered for free to the account holder associated with the client device 150 or the input device 170 . in block 930 , the resulting content from the initial search and the updated search are displayed together based on the timing of the initial search and the updated search . further , the differentiation between available content and content for purchase is also displayed in one embodiment . an exemplary display is shown in the discovery timeline 625 in fig6 . in block 930 , the resulting content from the initial search and the updated search are displayed together based on a viewing window of the resulting content . an exemplary display is shown in the viewing window 680 in fig6 . fig1 illustrates an interactive , dynamic browsing of content through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1005 , available content associated with the client device 150 is identified and central content is selected . in one embodiment , available content includes content available to the client device 150 because the content has already been purchased , is included as part of a subscription which the client device 150 can access , or available because the content is offered for free . in another embodiment , available content also includes content that can be purchased or subscribed to through the client device 150 for additional payment . in one embodiment , the selection as the central content is based on prior content watched through the user viewing data 310 , user subscription data 315 , user tagging data 320 , public viewing data 335 , and / or public tagging data 340 . in block 1010 , the central content is displayed . in one embodiment , the content listing 532 ( shown in fig5 b ) is exemplary central content . in one embodiment , the display module 230 accomplishes the display function . in block 1015 , surrounding content is selected from the available content . in one embodiment , content listings 534 , 536 , 538 , 540 , 542 , 544 , and 546 ( shown in fig5 b ) are exemplary surrounding content . selection of the surrounding content is from the available content . in one embodiment , criteria for selection of the surrounding content includes similarity and differences between genre , artists , actors , directors , and sequels relative to the central content . in one embodiment , selecting the surrounding content is accomplished through the search / browse module 210 . in block 1020 , selection of the central content and surrounding content is monitored . if the surrounding content is selected , then the selection is recorded in block 1025 . the selected surrounding content is made the new central content in block 1030 . in block 1015 , the surrounding content is selected based on new central content and additional information gained through the selection that is recorded within the block 1025 . for example , if the original central content was a horror movie and the surrounding content that was selected was a documentary program , the new surrounding content would not be within the horror movie genre . in one embodiment , the store module 230 accomplishes the recording function . if the central content is selected in block 1020 , then the central content is launched in block 1035 . if access to the central content requires payment , an offer to purchase , rent or subscribe to receive the central content is offered through the interface . fig1 illustrates dynamic prioritization of content through interactive browsing of content through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1105 , available content for display on the client device 150 is identified . in one embodiment , the available content includes content available to the client device 150 because the content has already been purchased , is included as part of a subscription which the client device 150 can access , or is available because the content is offered for free . in another embodiment , the available content also includes content that can be purchased or subscribed to through the client device 150 for additional payment . in another embodiment , content through a sponsored content provider is also included whether or not the client device 150 is subscribed to a channel associated with the sponsored content provider . in one embodiment , the match module 215 within the platform module 130 identifies the content . in this example , the content is stored at the content source 135 with the details and listing information of the content stored within the content listing data 345 within the platform database 125 . in block 1110 , the content is organized within categories and displayed within the category listings . in one embodiment , the category listing is created based on the subject matter of the content . for example , the additional details and listing information of the content is found within the content listing data 345 and public tagging data 340 to provide subject matter information about the content . in another embodiment , the categories are preset and the content is sorted into the preset categories . for example , preset category listings can include โ comedy โ, โ mystery โ, โ sports โ, and the like . further , the preset category listing can also include a listing of a specific content provider where the content displayed under the specific content provider as a preset category is sourced from the specific content provider . fig5 a illustrates an exemplary manner in which categories and their associated content are displayed . in block 1115 , browsing of the content within categories is detected . in one embodiment , browsing is performed by highlighting or hovering over content as information about the content such as descriptions , cover art , and video clips are displayed . in another embodiment , browsing is performed by specifically selecting the content to view additional information about the content . further examples of highlighting and hover are shown as the selection frame 525 in fig5 a . further , additional information is shown in the information box 526 and corresponding information 527 in fig5 a . in one embodiment , the search / browse module 210 within the platform module 130 detects and selects categories based on browsing . in block 1120 , the browsing activity is recorded . in one embodiment , the browsing activity is recorded within the user viewing data 310 . in one embodiment , the store module 220 accomplishes recording of the browsing activity . in block 1125 , the categories are prioritized . in one embodiment , the prioritization is based on the browsing activity . for example , unpopular categories that include content which is not browsed or viewed are moved towards the bottom of the screen . for example referring to fig5 a , if content within the category 502 are not viewed or browsed , then the category 502 and the associated content is moved below the category 512 . in another embodiment , unpopular categories and their associated content are removed and no longer displayed . in another embodiment , the prioritization is based on current subscription associated with the client device 150 . for example , the category listings are ordered based on whether the content within the category listing is subscribed or available content to the client device 150 . the category listings with the most subscribed or available content are positioned at the top of the listings . in another embodiment , the prioritization of the category listings is based on preferred placement of a content provider . for example , a preferred content provider can be placed as a category listing where the content associated with this category listing is content originating from the content provider . in this example , the preferred content provider assigns the content listings to be displayed under the respective category listing . in one embodiment , the preferred content provider is currently subscribed to by the client device 150 and provides available content to the client device 150 . in another embodiment , the preferred content provider is not currently subscribed to by the client device 150 and is capable of presenting content as a promotion to the client device 150 . although the content listings are described as being associated with categories , channels can be utilized in place of content listings and also be associated with corresponding categories . fig1 a illustrates a process of tagging content through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1210 , content is being played . in one embodiment , the content is being played through the client device 150 . in another embodiment , the content is being played through the input device 170 . the content can include movies , television shows , music , and games . in block 1215 , a tag request is detected . in one embodiment , the tag request is detected in response to the content being played in the block 1210 . in one example , as the content is being viewed through the client device 150 , the tag request can be detected by the input device 170 . in this instance , the tag request is related to the portion of content being viewed through the client device . if the tag request is received in block 1220 , then the segment of the content associated with the tag request is identified in block 1225 . in one embodiment , the content is divided among multiple segments . in one example , if the content is a movie , the movie is divided into 10 second segments . in another example , the movie is divided into variable length segments based on the length of each scene within the movie . in one embodiment , the segments are provided by the content creator such as the television show producer . in one embodiment , the segments for the content are stored within the content listing data 345 . in block 1230 , tag suggestions are displayed based on the segment . in one embodiment , tag suggestions are found by the tags stored within the public tagging data 340 that correspond with the particular segment . the public tagging data 340 can include tags selected by other users ; tags selected by content providers ; and tags found in closed captioning or subtitled text . the frequency and source of the tags within the public tagging data 340 can determine which tags are suggested . in one embodiment , tags provided by content providers or within subtitles or closed captioning are given additional weight when compared to tags from other users . in one embodiment , a drop down menu is provided with the tag suggestions so that tag selection can be performed through a simplified on - screen interface and selection control is through the use of the input device 170 . in another embodiment , voice control can be used to select the tag for the segment . in another embodiment , the user can begin entering a tag with letters and dynamically suggest a complete tag based on the initial letters and tags from other users , content providers , subtitles , and closed captioning . if the user enters a tag that is new , then this new tag can be included within the corpus of tags found within the public tagging data 340 . in block 1235 , the selected tag is recorded . in one embodiment , the selected tag is stored within the user tagging data 320 which is reserved for access by the account holder . the selected tag can also be stored within the public tagging data 340 in aggregate which would not identify the account holder . in both cases , the tag would be correlated with the segment associated with the specific content . in another embodiment , a tag that is recorded within the user tagging data 320 can be utilized to search for additional content with the same or similar tags . for example , if a particular tag is being tagged with some frequency or popularity within the user tagging data 320 , then this particular tag is searched in additional content . when a match is made between the additional content and the particular tag , then this different content is tagged with the particular tag . the additional content can be already tagged by the content provider or closed captioned or subtitle data can be utilized . fig1 b illustrates a process of searching for tagged content through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1240 , a tag search request is detected . in one embodiment , a search term for a tag is detected . in block 1245 , the tag search request is directed towards either a public tag search or a private tag search . in a public tag search , the content being matched with the search for the public tag search include content that was not viewed by the account holder . for example , the public tags being searched could be tagged by anyone whether or not the account holder viewed and / or tagged the content . in a private tag search , the content being matched with the search for the private tag includes content that was tagged by the account holder . in some instances , the content tagged by the account holder was also viewed by the account holder . if the search is for public tags , then the public tags are identified in block 1250 . in one embodiment , the public tags are found in the public tagging data 340 . in block 1255 , the search request is matched with the identified public tags as found in block 1250 . in block 1260 , the segments within content related to the matched public tags are displayed . if the search is for private tags , then the private tags are identified in block 1265 . in one embodiment , the private tags are found in the user tagging data 320 . in block 1270 , the search request is matched with the identified private tags as found in block 1265 . in block 1275 , the segments within content related to the matched private tags are displayed . in another embodiment , a search request is detected for a particular term . all content available to the user account is searched for public and private tags associated with the particular term . once the selected content is identified , the content is ranked and prioritized based on popularity . for example if one content is watched more often or tagged more often than other content , then the more watched and tagged content is considered more popular . in another embodiment , the search request can include product names or detailed topic such as โ dodge charger โ and โ race cars โ. in this example , content having tags with โ dodge charger โ or โ race cars โ would be identified . the content may include movies with segments that qualify or may be advertisements from manufacturers . fig1 illustrates content display on a secondary display device through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1310 , content is displayed on a primary display . the primary display includes a display device 140 within fig1 . in one embodiment , the content displayed within the primary display is a listing of content such as the screen shots 500 , 530 , 550 , and 580 within fig5 a , 5 b , 5 c , and 5 d , respectively . in another embodiment , the content displayed within the primary display is content such as a movie , television show , music display , or gaming application . in block 1315 , a selection is detected . in one embodiment , the selection is performed through the input device 170 . the selection can include highlighting , hovering , or selecting available content shown on the primary display . if a selection is detected in the block 1320 , then an augmented view is displayed with additional content on the secondary display . in one embodiment , the secondary display is a mobile device such as a smart phone , a tablet computer , and a portable computer . in another embodiment , the secondary display is a visual display on the input device 170 . the augmented view can include further additional details of the selected content such as descriptions , actors , directors , ratings , reviews , tags , and timelines of content . examples of the augmented view are shown as screen shots 700 and 730 within fig7 a and 7b , respectively . in block 1330 , input associated with the content on the secondary display is detected . in one embodiment , the input includes selecting items shown on the secondary display . in block 1335 , the content displayed on the primary display is modified based on the input from the block 1330 . for example while a movie is being played on the primary display in blocks 1310 and 1315 , additional information about the movie such as a related movie is displayed on the secondary display in block 1325 . if the related movie is selected based on the display through the secondary display in block 133 , then the related movie will be displayed on the primary display in block 1335 . in one embodiment , content such as a movie or television show is being displayed on the primary display . based on the subject matter of the content , targeted advertising is displayed on the secondary display , and the secondary display is capable of interacting independently with the targeted advertising from the primary display . for example , a user of the secondary display can purchase the product / service being offered through the secondary display while the content continues to play on the primary display . in one embodiment , the subject matter of a segment of the content being displayed on the primary displayed can be detected through the use of tags associated with that particular segment . in another embodiment , a game such as a card game can be played while using the primary and secondary displays . for example , the score and any publicly available information ( e . g ., discarded cards ) is displayed on the primary display which is shared among all the players . each of the players also has a secondary display such as a smart phone where private information such as their card hand is only viewable by that particular player . as the particular player modifies their respective secondary display by discarding a card , the primary display is modified and shows the discarded card . fig1 illustrates adding content to a playlist through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1405 , content is detected by the platform server 120 . in one embodiment , the platform server 120 is configured to receive input that corresponds to content . for example , an image captured by a camera associated with the input device 170 represents content and is transmitted to the platform server 120 via an email message . in this example , the captured image may include a movie poster , an actor , and a director which represents the content . the captured image may also be a bar code which represents the content . in another embodiment , a title of the content can also be sent to the platform server 120 via an email message . in yet another embodiment , the actors or director associated with the content can also be sent to the platform server 120 via an email message . in another embodiment , content browsed through a website can also be sent to the platform server 120 . for example , the web page can include an interface through an api ( application protocol interface ) which allows the user who is viewing the web page to select an icon thus capturing this content to be received by the platform server 120 . by selecting the icon , the content displayed on the web page is sent to the platform server 120 . in block 1410 , availability of the content detected in block 1405 is determined . in one embodiment , there are different states of availability for the content . exemplary states of availability include free content , free content through a subscription , content available for purchase , content available soon , and content not available . in block 1415 , the content is placed within a playlist . in one embodiment , the playlist includes one or more selected content . in one embodiment , the playlist is associated with a particular user account and is stored within the user viewing data 314 . in block 1420 , the availability of the content within the playlist is checked . in one embodiment , the availability is dependent on the subscriptions of the particular user account . in one embodiment , the availability is determined through the user subscription data 315 within the platform database 125 . in block 1425 , the playlist is presented . in one embodiment , the playlist is presented through the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the content within the playlist and the corresponding availability of each content will also be displayed . an exemplary display is shown in screenshots in fig5 c , 5 d , and 6 . in use , a user associated with a user account can identify content of interest and have this content sent to a playlist for later viewing on their client device 170 . the user can identify the content of interest by browsing the internet , capturing images related to content , and emailing titles of content . further , the playlist can be optimized through the recommendation module 235 where the user subscription data 315 is utilized to provide optimal content providers for providing the content listed within the playlist . fig1 illustrates sharing content among friends through a client device 150 or input device 170 while leveraging the platform server 120 . in block 1510 , a list of friends is displayed . in one embodiment , the list of friends is stored within the user connection data 325 within the platform database 125 . in one embodiment , the user connection data 325 includes contacts or friends associated with the particular user account . in block 1515 , a selection from the list of friends is made for sharing content . in block 1520 , content is detected for sharing with the selection in the block 1515 . in one embodiment , the content is detected through searching and browsing through the client device 170 . in another embodiment , the content can be found within the playlist as described within fig1 , the content shown within fig5 a , 5 b , 5 c , 5 d , and 6 . in block 1525 , a check is performed to confirm that sharing with the selected friends from the block 1515 . if confirmation is received , then a message is transmitted to the selected friend within block 1530 . in one embodiment , the message allows the selected friend to access the detected and shared content from the block 1520 . in one embodiment , the shared content is checked for availability for the recipient ( selected friend ). for example , the subscriptions associated with the recipient are utilized to determine availability of the content . in one embodiment , the subscription information for the recipient is stored within the user subscription data 315 . in one instance , the shared content is available for free to the recipient because the recipient is already subscribed to a content provider that can provide the shared content . in another instance , the shared content is available to the recipient for a fee . in yet another embodiment , the originator or user account that is sharing the shared content with the recipient is notified if the recipient cannot access the shared content without paying a fee . in this instance , the originator or user account that is sharing the shared content is able to purchase the shared content for the recipient . this way , the recipient can have access to the shared content without incurring additional fees or undertaking any other actions to purchase or rent the shared content . in one embodiment , the originator can earn referral credits if the recipient should subscribe to the content provider . fig1 illustrates dynamically preloading channels on the client device 150 in anticipation of launching content associated with the preloaded channels . in one embodiment , preloading channels is coordinated through the platform server 120 . in block 1600 , the client device 150 is detected . in one embodiment , the capabilities of the client device 150 are discovered through the platform server 120 . for example , the authentication module 205 within the platform module 130 in conjunction with the user device data 330 within the platform database 125 are capable of discovering the capabilities of the client device 150 by identifying the model number and base memory configuration of the client device 150 . in another embodiment , the processing capability and the memory capacity of the client device 150 can by dynamically tested through the platform server 120 . in block 1605 , the application capacity is determined . in one embodiment , the maximum number of applications that can effectively run on the client device 150 is determined . in one embodiment , the applications are channels that are running on the client device 150 . a channel is a specialized application that allows content corresponding to the channel to be streamed through the client device 150 . up to the maximum number of applications or channels are capable of running on the client device 150 without substantial degradation in performance . if the channels are selected based on global popularity in block 1610 , then the top channels based on global popularity are selected in block 1615 . in one embodiment , global popularity is determined through the public viewing data 335 . for example , the most watched channels in terms of number of viewers or duration of viewing can be gathered from the public viewing data 335 . these top channels are selected and up to the maximum number of channels as determined within the block 1605 are preloaded onto the client device 150 and run in the background prior to being utilized . if the channels are selected based on prior use in block 1620 , then the top channels based on prior use by the client device 150 are selected in block 1625 . in one embodiment , the prior use is determined through the user viewing data 310 . for example , the most watched channels in terms of number of views or duration of viewing can be gathered from the user viewing data 310 . these top channels are selected and up to the maximum number of channels as determined within the block 1605 are preloaded onto the client device 150 and run in the background prior to being utilized . if the channels are selected based on subscriptions in block 1630 , then the top channels based on subscription by the client device 150 are selected in block 1625 . in one embodiment , the subscription is determined through the user subscription data 315 . for example , the subscription to channels associated with the user account is stored within the user subscription data 315 . the subscribed channels are selected and up to the maximum number of channels as determined within the block 1605 are preloaded onto the client device 150 and run in the background prior to being utilized . in another embodiment , a sponsored channel can also be included even though the user account associated with the client device 150 is not subscribed to this channel . in one embodiment , the sponsored channel is a paid placement . if the channels are selected based on dynamic browsing information in block 1640 , then the top channels based on the proximity of browsing by the client device 150 are selected in blocks 1645 and 1650 . in block 1645 , the current location of browsing through the client device 150 is detected . for example , the highlighted content 520 within fig5 a illustrates content being highlighted in response to browsing from the client device 150 . in one embodiment , the channels associated with content near the highlighted content are ranked and prioritized based on their location to the highlighted content in block 1650 . based on the ranked and prioritized channels and maximum number of channels as determined within the block 1605 , channels are preloaded onto the client device 150 and run in the background prior to being utilized . the channels can be re - ranked and re - prioritized based on a different location of browsing being detected within the block 1645 . in use , the preloaded channels run in the background on the client device 150 prior to content being streamed through one of the preloaded channels . in one embodiment , preloading the channels on the client device 150 reduces the lag associated with streaming content through one of the preloaded channels . an embodiment of the present invention relates to a computer storage product with a computer readable storage medium having computer code thereon for performing various computer - implemented operations . the media and computer code may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention , or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts . examples of computer - readable media include , but are not limited to : magnetic media such as hard disks , floppy disks , and magnetic tape ; optical media such as cd - roms , dvds and holographic devices ; magneto - optical media ; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code , such as application - specific integrated circuits (โ asics โ), programmable logic devices (โ plds โ) and rom and ram devices . examples of computer code include machine code , such as produced by a compiler , and files containing higher - level code that are executed by a computer using an interpreter . for example , an embodiment of the invention may be implemented using java ยฎ, c ++, or other object - oriented programming language and development tools . another embodiment of the invention may be implemented in hardwired circuitry in place of , or in combination with , machine - executable software instructions . the foregoing description , for purposes of explanation , used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that specific details are not required in order to practice the invention . thus , the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed ; obviously , many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications , they thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention . | 7 |
in accordance with a particular embodiment , a gas flow valve includes a housing and a moveable block of porous material . the housing defines a cavity such that air flows between a first gas port and a second gas port , through a flow path within the cavity . the block of porous material is disposed within the cavity such that the flow path extends through the block . further details of particular female and male valve connectors are described below . fig1 is a perspective view of a female connector for an unconnected air valve - connector . the female connector 1 includes a female housing 10 that can be injection molded or stamped from plastic or metal . the female housing 10 includes an open top connection port 19 bordered by a flange 13 for adhering the female housing to an inflatable device body , and a plurality of inflation ports 15 . as shown , the inflation ports 15 are shaped like window openings , but other openings or perforations can be used . air flows into and out of the female connector 1 through the connection port 19 and the inflation port 15 . in this view a foam block 12 can be seen through the window openings 15 . the foam block 12 includes a center bore to fit over a compression column 16 . also shown is a protective covering 14 , such as felt , for the foam block 12 . the protective coating can be a layer of low friction material , such as felt , a plastic cap , a polyester sticker , or the foam can be covered with an air tight elastomer . when the valve is unconnected , the foam block 12 inhibits , but does not necessarily prevent , air flow through the female connector 1 . while the foam block 12 obstructs the window openings 15 , the foam block 12 is porous so that air can escape from inside the inflatable device . this is important when the inflatable device is subjected to a continuous air flow , because if sufficient air cannot escape , the inflatable device can rupture . in a particular embodiment , the foam block 12 is fabricated from expanded low density polyethylene or polypropylene . fig2 is a plan cross - sectional view of the female connector of fig1 . as shown , the central compression column 16 is integrally formed with the housing 10 and extends from a base portion 11 of the housing 10 . the foam block 12 can be adhered to the housing base 11 . the female housing 10 can also include internal flanges ( not shown ) to hold the foam block 12 in the internal cavity and in a compressed state . fig3 is a perspective view of a male connector for an air valve - connector . the male connector 3 includes an internal housing 20 and an external housing 30 that can be injection molded or stamped from plastic or metal . the internal housing 20 includes a plurality of inflation ports 25 and the external housing 30 includes a plurality of connection ports 35 . air flows into and out of the male connector 3 through the ports 25 , 35 . the ports can be window - shaped openings as shown or use other perforations . in this view , a foam block 22 can be seen through the internal window openings 25 and a plunger 26 can be seen through the external window openings 35 . the internal housing 20 includes a flange 23 and the external housing 30 includes a flange 33 . the flanges are fastened together by a fastener , such as glue , with or without the illustrated clips 39 . also shown are a plurality of pressure lips 37 that removably fasten the male housing 30 to the female housing 10 ( fig1 - 2 ). like with the female connector 1 ( fig1 - 2 ), when the valve is unconnected , the foam block 22 is porous and fabricated from expanded low density polyethylene or polypropylene , and inhibits air flow through the male connector 3 . as such , air at a positive air pressure can escape from within an inflated block through the valve connector 3 . fig4 is a plan cross - sectional view of the male connector of fig3 . in the male connector 3 , note that the plunger 26 is unconnected to the internal housing 20 and therefore can be freely moved against the foam 22 . the foam block 22 can be glued to the base 21 of the internal housing 20 . the internal housing 20 can also includes internal flanges ( not shown ) to hold the foam block 22 in the internal cavity and in a compressed state . also shown is a protective covering 24 , such as felt , for the foam block 22 . also note that the external housing 30 includes a central orifice 36 , which is dimensioned to receive the compression column 16 from the female housing 10 ( fig1 - 2 ). fig5 is a perspective view of the air valve - connector in the connected state . in this view , the flange 13 of the female connector 1 is adhered to an inflatable body 55 f . to connect the valves , the male connector 3 and the female connector 1 are aligned , with the central orifice 36 of the external housing 30 aligned with the compression column 16 of the female housing 10 . the external male housing 30 is then inserted into the female housing 10 . the compression lips 37 engage with the female housing 10 at the window openings 15 to removably fasten the male housing 3 to the female housing 1 . fig6 is a plan cross - sectional view of the air valve - connector in the connected state . as shown , a second inflatable device body 55 m is adhered to the exposed surface of the external housing flange 33 . the external male housing 30 further compressed the female foam block 12 so that the male external window opening 35 interface with the female window openings 15 . at the same time , the compression column 16 blocks the plunger 26 and forces the plunger 26 to further compress the male foam block 22 , thus opening the internal male window openings 25 . air can now flow through the window opening ports 15 , 25 , 35 . while the foam valve has been shown having housings that are open cube shaped , with square profiles , the housing can be of any other suitable shape . in particular , the housings can be open cylinder shaped , with circular profiles . furthermore , in other applications it may not be desirous for the foam blocks to be porous . in that case , porous foam blocks can be coated with an air tight material , such as rubber , urethane , or silicone . in a particular embodiment of the invention , a block unit comprises a body of a lightweight fabric or plastic with connectors that feature the proper structure and elasticity to execute the required connection . when deflated , the blocks require very little space for storage . when connected to an air flow , the blocks self inflate . fig7 is a perspective view of an exemplary inflatable toy block employing the air valve - connector of fig1 - 6 . as shown , the toy block 50 a is brick shaped with a body 55 a defined by a lightweight porous material , such as ripstop nylon fabric , polyester , treated cotton , or balloon foil . in another embodiment , the material can be non - porous , such as mylar , acetate , ldpe , or rubber . as shown , the block 50 a includes one male connector 3 a and one female connector 1 a on opposite sides . the single - size block can be made in various dimensions , such as 12 inches high by 8 inches wide by 8 inches deep . in a particular embodiment , the body 55 a is fabricated from a ldpe film and the connector housings are fabricated from hdpe . the film is cut to size and folded to the desired shape . once folded , the free edges are heat fused and excess material removed by heat snips . those with ordinary skill in the art will recognize various other techniques for forming the desired shapes . the hdpe connector housings are then heat sealed to the ldpe body . fig8 is a perspective view of another exemplary inflatable toy block employing the air valve - connector of fig1 - 6 . as shown , the toy block 50 b is brick shaped with a body 55 b . unlike the block 50 a of fig7 , the block 50 b includes two male connectors 3 b and two female connectors 1 b on opposite sides . as such , the double block 50 b would be twice as wide ( e . g ., 16 inches ) as the single block of fig7 . other blocks can have more connectors per side , such as triple size blocks ( e . g ., 24 inches ). in each case , the blocks are expected to be assembled into vertical structures with the female connectors down and the male connectors up . fig9 is a perspective view of a plurality of interconnected , self - inflating toy blocks . the blocks can be assembled in various ways to make various structures . blocks can be fabricated in various colors or have printed surfaces to encourage the use of patterns to create images and shapes . in addition to the simple blocks of fig7 and 8 , a blower unit 60 can be enclosed within a block 50 c . such a blower block 50 c is expected to be placed directly on the ground and thus would not require a bottom female connector ; instead there would be at least one male connector at the top ( two as shown ). because the block structures are exposed to a continuous air flow , the blocks can wiggle or move to create an animated structure . furthermore , the blocks can include additional features to create an audio sound , such as a whistle or musical tone , as the air is vented from the blocks . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to particular embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims . for example , various features of the embodiments described and shown can be omitted or combined with each other . | 8 |
referring to the drawings , and particularly to fig1 the article transferring apparatus is shown generally at 10 operatively assembled with an injection molding machine illustrated generally at 15 . however , it will be understood that the article transferring apparatus of the present invention may be employed in any environment wherein the transfer of an article or workpiece between two mutually spaced locations or work stations . moreover , although the work transfer apparatus of the present invention is shown supported by the injection molding machine , it will be further understood that the article transferring apparatus may be provided with its own supports and located proximate to any manufacturing machine with which it is to be employed . injection molding machine 15 includes a stationary platen 20 supporting a first mold half 25 and a movable platen 30 carrying a second mold half 35 thereon . platen 30 is supported for movement toward and away from platen 20 on rails 40 ( see fig3 and 4 ) and is powered by any suitable means ( not shown ) such as a fluid motor . together mold halves 25 and 35 define a mold cavity 45 into which molding material is injected , usually through stationary platen 20 . in operation , the mold halves are brought together by the movement of platen 30 along rails 40 . molding material is then injected into mold cavity 45 wherein the material is shaped to a predetermined form . finally , the mold halves are separated by movement of platen 30 along the rails , leaving the workpiece or molded article held , as by the sprue , within a portion of the cavity defined by one of the mold halves . the molded article is effectively removed from the mold cavity by the article transferring apparatus of the present invention which comprises a sweep arm 50 of extended u - shape which , at end 55 thereof is adapted to carry suitable means ( not shown ) for gripping and holding the molded article . the article holding and gripping means may be of any variety known in the art , such as fluid powered gripping jaws , suction means or the like . the sweep arm of the preferred embodiment is formed from straight lengths of i - beams for high strength and minimum weight , but it will be appreciated that other constructions such as a tubular structure may be employed without departing from the present invention . the sweep arm is fixed to a supporting bracket 60 by any suitable fastening means and bracket 60 is in turn secured to a collar 65 which connects the sweep arm to a rotatable and longitudinally translatable drive shaft 70 . as best seen in fig1 drive shaft 70 is disposed parallel to the direction of travel of movable mold carrying platen 30 and is supported for rotation and longitudinal translation by bearings 75 and 80 . as best seen in fig1 and 5 , shaft 70 includes a smooth walled tubular portion 83 and a splined portion 85 , having an end 86 of reduced diameter received within the end of the smooth walled portion and pinned thereto at 87 and 88 ( see fig 5 ). splined portion 85 is adapted for connection with drive means to be described hereinafter for rotatably driving the shaft and may be disposed within a housing 90 which allows the longitudinal and rotational movement of the shaft while shielding the splined portion from dirt and various other contaminants . the shaft is of a length sufficient to span the longitudinal component of the required displacement of sweep arm 50 and the article holding means thereto when the shaft is moved in a longitudinal direction by other drive means to be described in detail hereinafter . bearing 75 supports shaft 70 for longitudinal and rotational movement therethrough and in the preferred embodiment is supported on movable mold carrying platen 30 . however , it will be appreciated that bearing 75 may be supported independently of molding machine 15 in proximity thereto . bearing 75 may be of any known variety such as the type employing one or more races accommodating a plurality of ball or roller bearings . bearing 80 includes a hub 95 longitudinally fixed to and rotatably mounted on upstanding mounting bracket 100 . as best seen in fig2 the splined portion 85 of shaft 70 is slidably received within the hub interior which is provided with longitudinally extending teeth 105 which are received between the splines of portion 85 . thus , the interengagement of the toothed interior of hub 95 with splined portion 85 enables the shaft to rotate with the hub while allowing the shaft to slide longitudinally therethrough in locating the sweep arm and article holding means . the article transferring apparatus of the present invention is powered by a pair of independently operable drive means comprising , in the preferred embodiment , first and second fluid motors 105 and 110 , respectively . first fluid motor 105 is of the double acting type wherein hydraulic fluid is selectively admitted into and drained from the interior of the motor cylinder thereof on opposite sides of a piston ( not shown ) to effect the longitudinal movement of piston rod 112 . the first fluid motor is disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of shaft 70 and is mounted on upstanding bracket 100 as by a threaded connection therewith at 115 . connection between piston rod 112 and shaft 70 is made through connecting arm 120 and bearing 125 . bearing 125 allows the rotation of shaft 70 therewithin while being operatively connected to the shaft for longitudinal translation therewith . a suitable construction for bearing 125 which achieves such a connection is shown in fig5 . bearing 125 includes a cylindrical hub 127 having annular bearings 129 pressed into the ends thereof . hub 127 surrounds the previously described connection of the splined and smooth walled portions of shaft 70 , the shaft being freely rotatable on the bearings when driven in a manner to be described by motor 110 . hub 127 is connected to shaft 70 for longitudinal movement therewith by locking collars 131 and 133 secured to the shaft at smooth walled portion 83 and the connection of the smooth walled and splined portions . the rotation of shaft 70 is affected by second fluid drive motor 110 which in the preferred embodiment is of the double acting type similar to first motor 105 . motor 110 is pivotally mounted on bracket 100 as by a pinned connection thereto at 145 . motor 110 includes piston rod 150 which connects to rotatable bearing hub 95 by means of a pivotal connection at 155 to a clevis 160 fixed to the hub at the outside thereof . therefore , it will be seen that actuation of motor 110 wherein the extension and retraction of piston rod 150 is affected will cause the rotation of hub 95 and thus the rotation of shaft 70 by means of the splined connection between the shaft and hub . as is well known in the art , motors 105 and 110 are actuated by the selective pressurization and drainage of the cylinders thereof with hydraulic fluid . this selective pressurization and drainage of the cylinders is controlled by any suitable control means such as solenoid actuated control valves ( not shown ). in such a system , the valves controlling the hydraulic fluid flow may be actuated by limit switches activated in response to the amount of extension of the motor piston rods . by way of example , fig1 illustrates a plurality of limit switches 163 , 165 , 167 and 170 for controlling valves ( not shown ) which in turn control the pressurization and drainage of the cylinder of motor 105 . the limit switches are adjustably supported on longitudinally extending arm 175 which is fixed to bracket 100 , thereby enabling the adjustment of the length of travel of piston rod 110 and thus shaft 70 . each switch actuates corresponding solenoid valves ( not shown ) which control the flow of hydraulic fluid to and from motor 105 . the switches are actuated by cam 180 carried on actuator arm 185 . arm 185 is longitudinally movable with piston rod 112 being connected thereto through connecting arm 120 and slidably supported on mounting bracket 100 at 187 and 190 . additional limit switches ( not shown ) may be provided to control the stroke of the piston rod of motor 110 and thus the amount of rotation of the shaft . the operation of the article transferring apparatus is as follows . at the start of the molding operation , the sweep arm and shaft occupy the positions shown in fig3 motor 110 positioning clevis 160 and hub 95 as best shown in solid lines in fig2 . movable platen 30 traverses rails 40 movable mold half 35 into contact with mold half 25 . molding material is then injected into cavity 45 forming the molded article or workpiece . the movable mold half is then withdrawn from the stationary mold half , the molded article remaining held in one of the mold halves as by the sprue . assuming for purposes of illustration that the molded article remains held in movable mold half 35 , upon withdrawal of the movable mold half , first motor 105 is actuated causing the piston rod thereof and shaft 70 and sweep arm 50 to move toward the movable mold half . second motor 110 is then forwardly actuated causing the piston rod thereof to move downwardly to the position illustrated in dotted lines in fig2 and thereby causing the rotation of hub 95 . this rotation of hub 95 causes the rotation of shaft 70 angularly positioning the sweep arm for engagement of the article holding and gripping means with the molded article . ( see fig1 and 4 .) first motor 105 is then further actuated to longitudinally move the shaft thereby bringing the article gripping and holding means into engagement with the molded article which is then stripped from the movable mold half by reverse actuation of motor 105 affecting the longitudinal movement of the shaft and sweep arm away from the movable mold half ( to the right as viewed in fig1 ). reverse actuation of motor 110 retracts piston rod 150 , thereby removing the sweep arm and gripping and holding means from the path of the movable platen to prevent interference with subsequent molding operations . further reverse actuation of motor 105 in the manner described longitudinally positions the sweep arm and gripping means for release and deposit of the molded article at a predetermined location outside the path of the movable platen . motor 105 by longitudinal movement of shaft 70 repositions the sweep arm and gripping and holding means in the locations occupied by those members in fig3 for the start of the next article removal cycle . as set forth hereinabove , limit switches control the amount of shaft travel . the operation sequence may be normally controlled or automatically controlled by suitable programmable control means ( not shown ). | 1 |
the following examples illustrate the glass composition that is readily formed into a glass article such as an automotive windshield , the composition absorbing infrared rays and having an illuminant a value of at least about 70 percent . raw batch glass compositions were mixed and heated at about 2600 ยฐ f . to produce glasses in the form of sheets or plates , the raw batches being as follows : ______________________________________raw batch glass compositions - ( weight in grams ) i ii iii iv______________________________________sand 1000 1000 1000 1000dolomite 244 . 9 252 . 252 . 252 . limestone 71 . 8 0 0 0aragonite 0 76 . 67 76 . 67 76 . 67soda ash 328 . 73 313 . 33 313 . 33 313 . 33gypsum 7 . 93 0 0 0salt cake 0 6 . 0 6 . 0 6 . 0rouge 4 . 55 4 . 33 4 . 33 3 . 73sno . sub . 2 12 . 17 12 . 13 12 . 13 10 . 4seacoal 1 . 38 1 . 38 1 . 38 1 . 38calcium phosphate 2 . 27 2 . 27 27 . 13 2 . 27______________________________________ the results of spectral tests on the resultant glasses is as follows : ______________________________________spectral results ( transmittances ) illuminant a illuminant c percent total solar______________________________________i . 70 . 6 73 . 8 40 . 2ii . 70 . 5 73 . 7 39 . 0iii . 72 . 0 74 . 9 42 . 3iv . 71 . 6 74 . 6 41 . 0______________________________________ in the above examples , glass number ii had the following approximate composition : ______________________________________glass iicomponents percent by weight______________________________________sio . sub . 2 72 . 51cao 8 . 56mgo 3 . 97na . sub . 2 o 13 . 38k . sub . 2 o 0 . 005so . sub . 3 . sup .-- 0 . 180fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 0 . 347al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 0 . 127tio . sub . 2 0 . 011sno . sub . 2 0 . 880p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 0 . 021total 99 . 991______________________________________ glass number ii is a preferred glass of the present invention , having good infrared absorbing properties , a total solar transmittance of about 39 percent , and an illuminant a transmittance value of about 70 . 5 percent . in the glass samples , glasses i , iii , and iv had the following approximate compositions , which are calculated theoretical approximations of the finished glass : ______________________________________ percent by weightcomponents i iii iv______________________________________sio . sub . 2 72 . 48 72 . 13 72 . 61cao 8 . 48 8 . 43 8 . 49mgo 3 . 98 3 . 95 3 . 99na . sub . 2 o 13 . 40 13 . 32 13 . 42k . sub . 2 o . 004 . 004 . 004so . sub . 3 . sup .-- . 189 . 188 . 188fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 . 385 . 368 . 330al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 . 140 . 140 . 140tio . sub . 2 . 012 . 012 . 012sno . sub . 2 . 883 . 875 . 756p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 . 054 . 645 . 054______________________________________ usually about 10 to 50 weight percent of the p 2 o 5 used in the batch is retained in the glass . preferably about 30 to 35 percent of p 2 o 5 added to the raw batch is retained in the glass . usually at the lower levels of the p 2 o 5 added to the raw batch , higher percentages of p 2 o 5 are retained in the glass . a preferred glass composition containing p 2 o 5 is as follows : ______________________________________ingredients percent by weight______________________________________sio . sub . 2 68 - 74na . sub . 2 o 11 - 14k . sub . 2 o 0 - 1cao 6 - 13mgo 1 . 5 - 4al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 0 - 3 . 5tio . sub . 2 0 - 0 . 5so . sub . 3 . sup .-- 0 - 0 . 5fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 0 . 3 - 0 . 4sno . sub . 2 0 . 5 - 1 . 0p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 0 . 01 - 0 . 3______________________________________ the general range of fe 2 o 3 is about 0 . 3 to 0 . 6 weight percent and the preferred range of fe 2 o 3 is about 0 . 3 to 0 . 4 weight percent . of the iron content reported above , usually no more than about 50 to 65 percent , and preferably about 40 percent of the fe 2 o 3 is reduced to feo . the glass compositions of the present invention are readily formed into glass articles such as plates of glass and flat glass articles including automotive glass such as motor vehicle windshields , and architectural glass . | 8 |
in the figures counterweights / flywheels 10 and 11 are alternately called counterweight and counterweight / flywheel since these elements can help with both balancing as a counterweight and as a flywheel if necessary . in the following the designation is not important for the function . fig1 illustrates a compressor according to the invention as it will appear when mounted , since fig1 only illustrates a housing 1 , wherein the actual compressor unit is mounted , and an electromotor 2 flanged on to the compressor unit . a compressor according to the invention may be designed in general as illustrated in the simplified longitudinal section in fig2 . the compressor illustrated in fig2 is single - cylinder , with a cylinder 4 and a piston 5 forwardly and backwardly movable therein . at the top the cylinder 4 is provided with a head 6 where the necessary valves ( not shown ) are mounted . in a crankcase 7 , by means of bearings 8 , 9 , a crank mechanism is mounted containing two flywheels / counterweights 10 and 1 . between the counterweights 10 , 11 is mounted a crank pin 12 which operates in conjunction with a piston rod 13 mounted in the piston 5 . an electromotor 2 ( not shown in fig2 ) flanged on to the housing 1 has a rotor 14 . the rotor 14 is mounted in the bearings 15 , 16 and the rotor 14 , or more specifically its shaft 17 , is drivingly connected to the crank mechanism 10 , 11 , 12 by means of a torsionally - rigid coupling 18 . as already mentioned , this coupling 18 is torsionally - rigid , but otherwise is flexible , thus enabling it to take up inaccuracies in all directions ( radial , axial and angular ) of the electromotor relative to the crankshaft / crankcase . this permits the electromotor to be mounted in a per se accurate fashion , but without the need for special alignment for compensating for any inaccuracies . the torsional rigidity in the coupling 18 will make it possible to make use of the rotational moment of the rotor 14 in the electromotor 2 , thereby permitting a reduction in the size of the flywheel part , which is represented here by the counterweight / flywheel 10 . fig3 illustrates a modified embodiment of the compressor with two angled cylinders / pistons . otherwise the same components can be found here as in fig2 , viz . the electromotor &# 39 ; s rotor 14 with the bearings 15 , 16 , the torsionally - rigid coupling 18 , the flywheel / counterweight 10 , the bearings 8 and 9 and the external flywheel / counterweight 11 . however , there is a difference between the two embodiments since fig2 shows a crank pin between the counterweights while fig3 shows a crank disk between the counterweights . like the crank pin , this crank disk provides an eccentric movement for the crank rod ( s ) but has a larger diameter and is designed together with one of the counterweights as one unit . instead of only one piston 5 in a cylinder 4 , as in fig2 , the compressor in fig3 is composed of two angled pistons 19 and 20 with crank rods 21 , 22 . fig3 further illustrates a radial fan wheel 23 mounted on a shaft journal 24 . in a ready - mounted state the radial fan wheel 23 will be located immediately inside the opening 3 in the housing 1 ( see fig1 ) and serves to draw air into the housing or chamber 1 . a particularly advantageous embodiment of the coupling 18 is illustrated in fig4 and 6 . the coupling 18 is substantially designed as a sleeve body where the sleeve wall 25 is provided with pairs of sleeve wall slots 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 35 located behind one another , distributed in relation to one another over the periphery and in the sleeve &# 39 ; s longitudinal direction . at one end , more specifically the end facing the electromotor &# 39 ; s rotor 14 and its shaft 17 , the sleeve part of the coupling 18 is in the form of a clamping ring 36 . with this clamping ring the sleeve , i . e . the coupling 18 , can be connected to the rotor shaft 17 inserted in the sleeve . this is done in the known manner by the clamping ring being tightened up by means of a screw not illustrated here , which passes through the bore 37 . at the other end of the coupling 18 there is provided a shaft journal 38 . it can be seen from fig4 that the shaft journal 38 has a conically tapering end 38 a . this may extend over the whole or parts of the shaft journal 38 . it is further evident from fig5 that the coupling &# 39 ; s shaft journal 38 is hollow with a central opening 38 b for mounting a centred screw connection connecting the coupling with the crank mechanism . the opening in the crank mechanism is complementarily shaped relative to the shaft journal 38 with the conical portion 38 a and in addition the opening is provided with threads for a screw connection through the central opening 38 b in the coupling . furthermore , it is shown that the opening 38 b has internal threads as mentioned above . a coupling or coupling sleeve 18 constructed as in fig4 and 6 will have a very high degree of torsional rigidity , but otherwise will be flexible on account of the slots in the sleeve wall , thus enabling the coupling 18 to take up inaccuracies in all directions , both angular difference and radial misplacement / misalignment and axial change particularly due to temperature . fig7 , 9 and 10 illustrate further details with regard to the crankshaft , the pistons and the cooling fan ( if any ). in fig7 and 8 the coupling 18 and the radial fan wheel 23 are omitted . in fig7 and 8 can be seen the flywheel / counterweight 10 , the external counterweight 11 clamped to the crank disk 39 , the shaft journal 24 connected to the counterweight 11 and the bearings 8 and 9 . the pistons 19 , 20 and their respective crank rods 21 , 22 are also illustrated . the counterweight / flywheel 10 is provided with a hollow shaft journal for working with the bearing 8 and for receiving the sleeve journal 38 on the coupling 18 . this hollow shaft journal is complementarily shaped relative to the shaft journal 38 a on the coupling and is provided with a threaded centre opening for a screw connection between the coupling and the flywheel / counterweight . the flywheel / counterweight 11 is shown in the form of an element that can be clamped to the crank pin / crank disk 39 , see particularly fig8 . for this purpose the counterweight 11 is provided with a bore 40 for receiving the crank pin / crank disk 39 , and outwardly from this bore 40 the counterweight 11 is split as illustrated by 41 . the counterweight 11 is clamped by means of the screw bolt 42 . the counterweight 11 is designed together with a shaft journal 24 as one unit , intended for working in conjunction with the bearing 9 and for receiving the fan wheel 23 ( if any ). as already mentioned , fig9 and 10 illustrate the same details as in fig7 and 8 , but in addition they also show the coupling 18 and a radial fan wheel 23 mounted . as already mentioned , the counterweight 11 is in the form of a releasable body relative to the crank disk 39 . to facilitate the assembly and the accurate positioning of the counterweight 11 relative to the pistons and the counterweight 10 , the two counterweights 10 and 11 are provided with aligned registration holes 43 , 44 ( see fig1 ). by means of an alignment pin / synchronising bolt which is inserted in the two holes , the counterweight 11 can be brought into the correct angular position on the crank disk 39 . | 8 |
certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention . a โ watchlist โ or โ watch list โ or โ master list โ ( hereinafter , โ watch list โ) is a list containing privacy protection criteria ( e . g ., a list of cookie file sources that are not trusted as designated by the service provider ) that is downloaded to a client machine from a server of a service provider that provides professional recommendations . a โ trust list โ or โ trustlist โ or โ first exception list โ or โ personal trustlist โ ( hereafter , โ trustlist โ), also contains exemptions to the privacy protection criteria included in the watch list ( e . g ., a list of cookie file sources that are trusted as designated by the user of the client machine ). a โ black list โ or โ blacklist โ or โ second exception list โ or โ personal blacklist โ ( hereafter , โ blacklist โ), contains exemptions to the privacy protection criteria included in the watch list ( e . g ., a list of cookie file sources that are not trusted as designated by a user of the client machine ). the criteria contained in the watch list is generated by the service provider . the criteria in the blacklist and trustlist is generated by the user of the client machine . criteria in the blacklist and trustlist supercede the criteria in the watch list . a โ composite list โ ( a modified version of the watch list ) contains privacy protection criteria which is stored in the client machine . the composite list is created by subtracting exemptions on the trustlist ( if any ) from the criteria on the watch list and adding the remaining criteria to the exemptions on the blacklist ( if any ). a โ cookie file source โ is a website , an e - business or any other entity that sends cookie files . a โ client machine โ is an apparatus which generally works directly for users , providing computational power and other โ general purpose โ tools . a client machine also provides one or more users with access to stored files . a computer is an example of a client machine . as shown in fig1 the present invention begins with the use of a privacy server 10 , which maintains a watch list 12 of privacy protection criteria ( e . g ., a list of untrusted cookie file sources ) and sends over a network a local copy of the watch list 14 to client machine 20 in response to a request received from a subscribing user of client machine 20 . software resident in the client machine 20 may optionally contain two user - customized sets of supplemental privacy protection criteria to be used in conjunction with the watch list . the user - customized sets are called a blacklist and a trustlist which contain exemptions to the watch list and are stored in the client machine . in one preferred embodiment of the present invention , a composite list of privacy protection criteria may be created by subtracting exemptions on the trustlist from the watch list and adding exemptions on the black list to the remaining privacy protection criteria on the watch list . the composite list may be the same as the local copy of the watch list 14 after it has been modified , or the composite list may be a separate list stored in the client machine 20 along with the local copy of the watch list 14 , the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 . in an alternate embodiment , an algorithm ( e . g ., a software program ) may be used to read the contents of the local copy of the watch list 14 , the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 , and screen cookie files without modifying any of the lists or adding an additional list . three main objects are used by the present invention : the watch list 12 , the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 . the watch list 12 is essentially a managed security list containing privacy protection criteria which is stored on the server 10 . a local copy of the watch list 14 is distributed to the client machine 20 via a subscription process . the trustlist 16 and blacklist 18 are maintained by the user on the client machine . each of these three lists is made up of one or more uniform resource locators ( urls ) which are used as privacy protection criteria . the client machine &# 39 ; s software contains the user managed privacy data preferences and retrieves the managed watch list 12 from the server 10 . the privacy data referenced above can take several forms , most commonly that of a web site , url , or other cookie blocking or accepting criteria . the privacy data may take the form of a list of web sites for which the local storage of cookie files in the client machine is to be prohibited . the state management protocol of a cookie file may store unique or identifying information about the user , the user &# 39 ; s session or the users &# 39 ; internet account . the watch list 12 is a compilation of privacy protection criteria distributed to the client machine 20 from a central privacy server 10 over a network . the watch list 12 may include internet sites , which may use cookie files to store unique or identifying information about the client machine software user . the watch list 12 is maintained by a service provider and stored on an internet accessible hypertext transfer protocol ( http ) server 10 . the trustlist 16 is a list of exemptions to the privacy protection criteria , which may or may not be included in the local copy of the watch list 14 . the trustlist 16 may include internet sites , which may use cookie files to store unique or identifying information about the client machine user . the trustlist is customized and maintained by the client machine user . it contains those internet sites that the user trusts , and those sites are allowed to download their cookie files to the user &# 39 ; s client machine . the blacklist 18 is a locally maintained list of privacy protection criteria to be merged with the local copy of the watch list 14 . the blacklist 18 may include those internet sites that should be blocked from creating cookie files to store unique or identifying information about the client machine software user . like the trustlist 16 , the blacklist 18 may also be customized and maintained by the client machine user . the blacklist 18 may include those internet sites that the user does not trust , and the cookie files from those sites are removed from the user &# 39 ; s client machine . in one preferred embodiment of the present invention , the composite list may be a combination of the local copy of the watch list 14 , the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 . the composite list begins with the same contents as the local copy of the watch list 14 . any privacy protection exemptions contained on the trustlist 16 that are also in the composite list are removed from the composite list . next , any privacy protection exemptions in the blacklist 18 that are not already on the composite list are added to the composite list . the composite list is then used as a master list of privacy protection criteria to be used to protect the client . [ 0027 ] fig2 shows the data structure of the watch list 12 on the privacy server 10 . the watch list is simply a collection of privacy protection criteria . in one preferred embodiment of the present invention , this privacy protection criteria takes the form of cookie files that may be rejected by the client machine 20 . [ 0028 ] fig3 shows a high - level functional flowchart that demonstrates the process of comparing data elements distributed to the client machine 20 to a locally created composite list of privacy protection criteria and determining which of those elements should be removed from the client machine 20 . as shown in block 30 , the service provider for privacy server 10 allows the client machine user to create and maintain an optional trustlist 16 on the client machine 20 which contains privacy protection criteria that the user would like to remove from the local copy of the watch list 14 . as shown in block 40 , the service provider also allows the client machine user to create and maintain an optional blacklist 18 which contains privacy protection criteria that the user would like to add to the local copy of the watch list 14 . as shown in block 50 , the service provider employs an algorithm which quickly retrieves the most recent version of the watch list 12 from the privacy server 10 . the watch list 12 is maintained on the privacy server 10 and contains a predefined set of privacy protection criteria , which the user of client machine 20 subscribes to . the client machine user may manually request at any time that the most up - to - date privacy protection criteria available be downloaded to the client machine 20 from the privacy server 10 . this process can also be run automatically by a software application at regularly scheduled intervals . as shown in fig4 the client machine user may also be presented with a displayed alert that gives the user the option of updating the privacy protection criteria immediately . the client machine user can also select a future time ( e . g ., 5 days from today ) at which the user is to be reminded to request that the local copy of the watch list 14 be updated . referring again to fig3 in block 60 the service provider employs a privacy scan algorithm to determine those unwanted cookie files that should be removed from the client machine . as shown in block 70 , unwanted data cookie files are then removed from the client machine . two distinct algorithms are employed to implement the present invention . a โ quick update algorithm โ is used to synchronize the local copy of the watch list 14 with the watch list 12 stored on the privacy server 10 . a โ privacy scanning algorithm โ is used to implement the privacy protection criteria included in the composite list . the privacy scanning algorithm detects unwanted cookie files and scrubs them from the client machine 20 . the quick update algorithm will now be described . the client machine user subscribes to the service provider in order to receive the local copy of the watch list 14 . if authentication is being used , when the client machine 20 connects to the server 10 , authentication is performed to ensure that the client machine user is registered to receive watch list updates . if the user is properly registered , after authentication , an updated watch list is distributed to the client machine 20 . if the user does not pass authentication , the update is not distributed . the service provider determines whether or not the quick update algorithm may be utilized with or without authentication . referring now to fig5 the privacy scanning algorithm will now be described . the privacy scanning algorithm is employed to remove unwanted cookie files from the client machine 20 . in order to do this successfully , the privacy scanning algorithm makes use of the following components of the client software : a watch list distributed from the server 10 , a trustlist 16 and a blacklist 18 . the privacy scanning algorithm compares the privacy protection data on the client machine 20 to that on the composite list compiled from the local copy of the watch list 14 , the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 . the privacy scanning algorithm determines which cookie files are to be removed ( scrubbed ) from the client machine 20 by analyzing the privacy protection criteria residing within the local copy of the watch list 14 , the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 . as depicted in the table shown in fig5 if a cookie file is listed on the watch list , but not on the trustlist , the cookie file will be scrubbed or blocked . any time that a cookie file appears on the trustlist , the cookie will be accepted by the client machine 20 regardless of whether or not it appears on the watch list . any time that a cookie file appears on the blacklist , the cookie file will be scrubbed or blocked regardless of whether or not it appears on the watch list . the privacy scanning algorithm may be carried out in either of two modes . the first is a continuous mode . in the continuous mode , the privacy scanning algorithm runs continuously and blocks unwanted cookie files from being downloaded to the client machine . the second is a periodic mode . in the periodic mode , the privacy scanning algorithm is executed at a regular interval , specified by the user , to detect and remove unwanted cookie files from the client machine . [ 0034 ] fig6 shows a user - friendly interface in accordance with the present invention which allows client machine users to personalize a trustlist 16 and blacklist 18 . when either โ add new โ button 80 , 90 , is clicked , the user is prompted to enter an internet domain . the interface allows users to customize these two lists of internet domains . the user can move a domain from one list to the other , delete a domain from either list , or add a domain to either list . in addition , the interface prevents an internet domain from being placed on both the trustlist 16 and the blacklist 18 . fig6 shows an example of the interface with the trustlist 16 and blacklist 18 populated . using this example , the following domains will be trusted and the service provider will allow their cookie files to be downloaded to the client : www . ascentive . com , www . msn . com and www . dell . com . also , based on this example , the following domains will not be allowed to download a cookie to the client : www . ebay . com , www . ediets . com and www . microsoft . com . in addition to using a combination of a watch list , a trustlist and a blacklist to create a composite list for detecting unwanted cookie files on a client machine , a software application running on the client machine 20 in accordance with the present invention may provide further functionality to the user . this functionality may include the ability for the client machine user to manually launch the privacy scan , to manually retrieve the latest watch list from the server 10 , to customize the trustlist and blacklist , to view client cookie files , to select and manually delete cookie files , and to enable / disable privacy scanning . the present invention is capable of running on any hardware configuration that is used as part of today &# 39 ; s technology . in order to retrieve the latest watch list and update the composite list used by the present invention , the client machine software must be able to connect to an http server . the present invention is capable of working with any computer operating system . however , in today &# 39 ; s modem marketplace , microsoft windows is the most commonly used computer operating system . therefore , the present invention may be used with the microsoft windows operating system in the following versions : windows 95 , windows 98 , windows me , windows nt and windows 2000 . in order to subscribe to the distributed watch list using the present invention &# 39 ; s quick update functionality , the client machine software must have connectivity to the internet . the present invention may be implemented with any combination of hardware and software . the present invention can be included in an article of manufacture ( e . g ., one or more computer program products ) having , for instance , computer useable media . the media has embodied therein , for instance , computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating the mechanisms of the present invention . the article of manufacture can be included as part of a computer system or sold separately . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed , but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 is a block schematic of one preferred embodiment of an automated carbon measurement apparatus / analyzer according to this invention illustrating the five component sub - assemblies 1 to 5 that comprise the analyzer . as illustrated in fig1 , an aqueous sample is drawn into a sample - handling sub - assembly 1 of the apparatus , where the desired volumes of acid reagent and / or oxidizer reagent are added to a selected volume of sample . the sample may also be diluted at this stage with low - toc dilution water if necessary before being passed to reactor sub - assembly 3 . the sample , reagents and dilution water if any are mixed in the sample - handling portions of the apparatus to create a sample mixture comprising a substantially homogenous solution or suspension . if npoc is to be measured , the acidified sample mixture also is sparged with co 2 - free gas provided by the gas control sub - assembly / module 2 . the flow rate of the sparge gas is controlled to ensure that ic in the sample is removed efficiently and substantially completely . if tc or ic is to be measured , the sample mixture is mixed but not sparged . a portion of the homogenous solution / suspension is then transferred to the reactor sub - assembly 3 . if npoc or tc is to be measured , the solution / suspension containing oxidizer is heated in a sealed reactor to oxidize the organic compounds in the solution / suspension , and then it is cooled to near room temperature . if ic is to be measured , oxidizer is not added to the solution / suspension . in this case , the solution / suspension may be warmed to facilitate conversion of bicarbonates and carbonates to co 2 , but it is not heated so much that oxidation of organic compounds occurs . next , a stream of carrier gas from the gas control assembly / module 2 transfers the liquid and gas products in the reactor sub - assembly 3 to a gas / liquid separator sub - assembly / module 4 . the liquid exits the analyzer from the gas / liquid separator module 4 while the gas product , containing the co 2 , flows to the ndir detector sub - assembly 5 . after the co 2 in the gas product is measured , the gas product and carrier gas mixture can be flowed through the gas / liquid separator module 4 , and vented to the atmosphere . fig2 is a schematic showing the several fluidic components of the apparatus in more detail . in fig2 , sub - assemblies 1 to 5 as shown in fig1 are delineated by broken lines . the sample - handling sub - assembly 1 comprises a syringe 6 that is connected through a three - way valve 7 to a coil of tubing 8 and a dilution water reservoir 9 containing low - toc dilution water . a representative practice of the invention using the apparatus as illustrated in fig2 is described below . it will be understood , however , that alternative sequences and methods for introducing the sample , reagent ( s ) and dilution water into the system could be used consistent with the scope of this invention . for example , using the apparatus illustrated in fig2 , the oxidizer and acid reagents could be moved from coil 8 to a mixing location in the apparatus , such as to mixer / sparger 18 , prior to introducing the sample into the system in order to maintain a separation between these components until they are ready to be mixed at the mixing location . initially , the syringe is empty , and the valve 7 and coil 8 contain only dilution water . the volume of coil 8 is designed and selected to be at least as large as , and preferably larger than , the volume of syringe 6 , so the only liquid that can enter the syringe is dilution water from coil 8 or reservoir 9 . when an analysis begins , valve 10 is open , and valves 11 , 12 , and 13 are closed . syringe 6 starts filling with dilution water drawn from a syringe end of coil 8 , which causes oxidizer reagent from oxidizer reagent reservoir 14 to be drawn through the six - way fluid element 17 and into a sample / reagent end of coil 8 . when syringe 6 has drawn the required volume of oxidizer into the sample / reagent end of coil 8 , syringe 6 stops momentarily and valve 10 closes . valve 11 opens and syringe 6 draws additional dilution water from the syringe end of coil 8 into syringe 6 , which in turn draws the required volume of acid from acid reservoir 15 into the sample / reagent end of coil 8 , where it may partially mix with the oxidizer reagent already in this end of coil 8 . when the desired volume of acid has entered coil 8 , the syringe 6 stops momentarily , valve 11 closes , and valve 12 opens to allow the required volume of sample to be drawn into the sample / reagent end of coil 8 , as additional dilution water from the syringe end of coil 8 is drawn into syringe 6 . when the required volume of sample has entered the coil , syringe 6 stops again , and valve 12 closes . the coil 8 now contains the desired volumes of oxidizer , acid , and sample solution required for the measurement . coil 8 may or may not contain a material amount of dilution water at this point , depending on the internal volume of coil 8 relative to the volumes of oxidizer , acid and sample drawn into coil 8 , and also depending upon whether or not the sample requires dilution prior to analysis . it will be understood that , if the procedure described above took any significant amount of time to complete , there would be an opportunity for oxidizer reagent or , perhaps , even acid , from the sample / reagent end of coil 8 to diffuse into dilution water at the syringe end of coil 8 , which could lead to contamination of the syringe . in practice , however , the several steps of filling coil 8 are completed in a sufficiently short time that there is no opportunity for reagents drawn into the sample / reagent end of coil 8 to diffuse into the dilution water at the syringe end of coil 8 . in some cases , the source of the sample is a long distance from the analyzer , especially when the analyzer of this invention is used to monitor a process stream of an industrial operation . in such a situation , the analyzer could not provide real - time measurements if the only way of pumping the sample to the analyzer were the syringe pump . therefore , in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the apparatus also includes a pump 16 which can rapidly draw a fresh portion of sample to the six - way union 17 . once the new sample portion has been delivered to element 17 , it can be drawn into coil 8 quickly by further opening syringe 6 at the appropriate time . the next step in the measurement method is to open valve 13 . with valve 13 open , the step of closing syringe 6 results in moving the liquids from coil 8 to a mixing location in the system , such as to the mixer / sparger component 18 , where the reagents , sample , and dilution water , if any , are thoroughly mixed . particulate material in the sample is kept in suspension so that the solution / suspension is substantially homogeneous . in one alternative and sometimes preferred embodiment , the acid and oxidizer are first drawn into coil 8 and then are transferred into mixing / sparging chamber 18 . the sample and dilution water ( if any ) are then drawn into coil 8 and transferred into mixing / sparging chamber 18 where the sample , acid , oxidizer , and dilution water are mixed . transferring the liquids to the mixing / sparging chamber 18 in two steps has the advantage of preventing premature reaction of ic in the sample with the acidic reagents in coil 8 . generation of gas in coil 8 ( from reaction of ic in the sample with acid ) reduces the volume of sample drawn into coil 8 , adversely affecting the accuracy of the measurement . mixer / sparger 18 includes a mixing and sparging chamber that also is designed to provide for sparging co 2 - free gas through the solution / suspension to remove ic , if npoc is to be measured . for sparging , after the chamber element of mixer / sparger 18 contains the reagents , sample and dilution water ( if any ), valve 19 opens to allow the sparge gas to bubble through the chamber element of mixer / sparger 18 . the gas can be provided from a pressurized gas cylinder ( not shown ) or from a pump ( not shown ) that draws ambient air through an absorber that purifies the air sufficiently for use as a co 2 - free sparge gas , and / or as a carrier gas , and / or as a purge gas . in either case , the co 2 - free gas is prepared for use in gas control sub - assembly module 2 . sub - assembly 2 includes a pressure - regulating device 20 that adjusts the pressure of the gas to about 20 psig . a proportioning valve 21 controls the flow rate of the gas flowing through valve 19 by means of a sparge gas flow sensor 22 . additionally , a carrier gas flow sensor 23 in another conduit branch can be used to monitor and control the flow rate of the carrier gas to reactor sub - assembly 3 . additionally , a restrictor 24 in still another conduit branch can be used to provide for a small flow rate of purge gas to the ndir detector . in an alternative embodiment , a valve ( not shown ) can be used to direct the gas that exits the chamber element of mixer / sparger 18 through the gas / liquid separator unit 4 and then to the ndir sub - assembly 5 . this arrangement would allow the completeness of the sparging process to be monitored . thus , the sparging is considered complete when the ndir indicates that the concentration of co 2 in the sparge gas going to the ndir has decreased to a very small ( negligible ) value . when the sparging and / or mixing in the chamber element of mixer / sparger 18 is complete , valve 25 opens to allow all or a portion of the solution / suspension in the chamber element to be drawn into the interior of reactor 26 by pump 27 . high - pressure reactor inlet and outlet valves 28 and 29 respectively are open at this point . valves 30 , 31 , 32 , and 33 are closed . the reactor heater 34 is off , and reactor 26 is near ambient temperature . pump 27 operates until sufficient liquid from chamber 18 has passed through the interior of reactor 26 substantially to rinse out any remaining prior sample and to fill the reactor tube inside reactor 26 . at this point , pump 27 is stopped , and valves 25 , 28 , and 29 close . reactor valves 28 and 29 are specially designed in accordance with this invention to allow the valve housings to be flushed after these valves are closed . the flushing step removes excess sample that contains co 2 formed by the acidification of the ic in the sample . if this co 2 were not flushed out of the valves , it would cause an error in the subsequent measurement . to flush the reactor valve housings , valves 30 and 31 are opened , and residual liquid and gases in these housings can then be pumped out by pump 27 and replaced by carrier gas . after the reactor tube of reactor 26 has been filled with sample and reactor valves 28 and 29 have been flushed , valve 31 closes and valve 32 opens to allow carrier gas to flow from sub - assembly 3 through valve 32 , pass through the gas / liquid separator 4 , and then pass to the ndir detector sub - assembly 5 . flow of carrier gas at this time is necessary to allow the ndir detector to reach a steady baseline prior to the subsequent co 2 measurement . an in - line filter 37 may be provided between gas / liquid separator 4 and the ndir unit to prevent aerosols from the reactor 26 and / or from gas / liquid separator 4 from entering the optical path 39 of the ndir detector . to measure npoc or tc , the organics contained in the sample portion in the reactor tube of reactor 26 must be oxidized . this oxidation can be made to occur by heating the interior of reactor 26 with a heater 34 , while controlling the temperature using a temperature sensor 35 . the sealed reactor can be heated , for example , to a temperature between about 150 ยฐ c . and 650 ยฐ c . ( preferably between about 300 ยฐ c . and 400 ยฐ c ., and between about 350 ยฐ c . and 390 ยฐ c . in one preferred embodiment ). the heating period may be between about one to thirty minutes , preferably between about two and four minutes , and approximately 3 minutes in one preferred embodiment . during this period , organics are oxidized in the sample portion in the reactor . at the end of that period , heating element 34 is turned off , and fan unit 36 is turned on to blow ambient air over reactor 26 , cooling it rapidly to near room temperature . because of the small mass of reactor 26 , it is typically cooled by this cooling step to near ambient temperature in less than about 90 seconds . to measure ic , the liquid inside reactor 26 is not oxidized . the reactor is filled as described above , but reactor 26 is heated only to a temperature sufficient to facilitate formation of co 2 from bicarbonates and carbonates ( i . e ., typically to no more than about 100 ยฐ c .). the subsequent cooling step may in this case be abbreviated or omitted entirely . furthermore , the oxidizer reagent is not required for ic measurements , and its addition to the sample prior to the reactor step can thus be omitted to reduce operating cost and make the analysis faster . when the heating and cooling of reactor 26 is completed ( or the comparable ic reactor sequence is completed ), valves 30 and 32 close , and valves 28 , 29 , 31 , and 33 open . this apparatus configuration allows carrier gas to flow through the reactor tube of reactor 26 , and carry the reactor products through gas / liquid separator 4 , to the ndir sub - assembly and along the ndir optical path 39 . the ndir measures the absorbance of the co 2 in the gas flowing along ndir optical path 39 at a wavelength of approximately 4 . 26 ฮผm , e . g ., 4 . 26 ฮผm ยฑ 0 . 2 ฮผm . as the co 2 carried from reactor 26 enters and passes through the ndir , the absorbance measurement begins at a baseline level , rises up to and passes through a maximum level , and then returns to the baseline level that existed before the valves associated with reactor 26 opened . either the height of the absorbance peak ( or the depth of the intensity trough ) or the cone - shaped area of the absorbance response curve can be calibrated and used to determine the amount of co 2 contained in the gas product coming from the reactor . the ndir detector of this invention is comprised of three chambers , as seen in fig2 and 6 . one chamber 38 contains the ir source . the central chamber , which is the ndir optical path 39 , is the chamber through which the carrier gas and the gas product from reactor 26 ( which includes the co 2 ) flow . the third chamber 40 contains the ir detector . chambers 38 and 40 are flushed by co 2 - free gas provided through the conduit that includes flow controller 24 so that co 2 in the ambient air does not affect the measurements made with the ndir . the ndir further preferably includes an associated temperature sensor 41 and an associated pressure sensor 42 , proximately located relative to the ndir , which monitors atmospheric pressure outside the ndir ( which is essentially the same as the pressure of the co 2 in the ndir ). the temperature and pressure measurements made respectively by temperature sensor 41 and pressure sensor 42 can be used to compensate the response of the ndir for variations in the temperature and pressure of the gas being measured . alternatively , sensors 41 and / or 42 may be omitted if the measurement does not require temperature and / or pressure compensation . one of the several novel components of the apparatus of this invention is the mixer / sparger 18 . as shown in greater detail in fig3 , the preferred mixer / sparger of this invention includes a liquid inlet / gas outlet section 43 , a middle section 44 , and a liquid outlet / gas inlet section 45 . the top section 43 contains a liquid inlet 43 a and the sparge gas outlet 43 b . the bottom section 45 includes the inlet port 45 b for the sparge gas and the outlet 45 a for liquid . the middle section 44 includes a chamber element 44 a located inside an annular solenoid coil 44 b , which is activated by passing a series of current pulses through it . such current waveform pulsing causes a magnetic stirrer 46 positioned inside chamber 44 a to rapidly move up and down inside chamber 44 a . in a preferred embodiment , the magnetic stirrer 46 is coated with a corrosion - resistant outer layer , and its up - and - down action under the influence of the solenoid - generated waveform pulses causes the sample , reagents and dilution water , if any , inside chamber 44 a to be rapidly mixed , typically in about 60 seconds or less . the bottom section 45 of mixer / sparger 18 includes a porous gas disperser 47 , through which sparge gas is directed on its way into chamber 44 a . the pore diameter in the gas disperser 47 may be about 1 ฮผm to 0 . 125 in ., e . g ., preferably about 5 ฮผm to 50 ฮผm , and about 18 ฮผm in a preferred embodiment . the small bubbles produced by passing the sparge gas through disperser 47 results in efficient removal of ic from the liquid in chamber 44 a , generally in about 10 seconds to 20 minutes at sparge gas flow rates ranging from about 50 to about 500 cc / min ., typically and preferably in about one minute or less at a sparge gas flow rate of about 200 cc / min . another of the novel components of the apparatus of this invention are the high - pressure reactor valves 28 and 29 as shown in fig2 , and as illustrated in greater detail in fig4 . these high - pressure reactor valves are included in a preferred embodiment of the present invention . as seen in fig4 , a polymeric or elastic seal 48 is attached to or comprises a front end or section of a moveable plunger element 49 , which is designed to move back and forth inside the housing / valve body 50 when motor 51 is activated . the rear portion of seal 48 is adapted to retain first and second o - rings 52 and 53 respectively , which seal the interior of housing 50 . the front end of seal 48 is sized and shaped to mate with and plug an opening ( i . e ., an inlet opening or an outlet opening ) of reactor 26 when the valve is closed by advancing plunger element 49 . reactor 26 may be attached to valve housings 50 , for example , using fittings 70 ( as seen in fig4 ), which provide a seal that is essentially leak - free at the pressure produced in reactor 26 when the solution / suspension is sealed inside reactor 26 , and reactor 26 is heated . seal 48 is enclosed by a seal chamber defined by the valve housing 50 extending from the sealed opening of reactor 26 at least to first o - ring 52 . this chamber can be continuously or periodically flushed with gas using seal chamber ports 54 and 55 as shown in fig4 . ( reactor valves 28 and 29 also each have a third port that is not seen in fig4 . the sample solution / suspension enters or exits the valve and the interior of reactor 26 through that third port .) this apparatus configuration makes it possible to remove any ic or free co 2 that may be present in the valve housing 50 while the sample is being oxidized / treated in reactor 26 . fig5 is a schematic illustration of reactor valves 28 and 29 mounted at either end of a reactor 26 . in a preferred embodiment , the reactor heater element 34 has a tubular configuration open at both ends and located inside a heater housing with the reactor 26 mounted inside the tubular portion of heater 34 . in a preferred embodiment , heater 34 comprises a thick - film heating element deposited on an electrically insulating coating on the tubular portion of heater 34 , as shown in fig5 . the tubular portion of heater 34 may be constructed of stainless steel , titanium , or other suitable materials . the two ends of reactor 26 pass respectively through slots ( not shown in fig5 ) in the sidewall of the tubular portion of heater 34 . in a preferred embodiment , reactor 26 is a tube constructed of titanium ; however , stainless steel , ceramics , and other materials that are sufficiently corrosion - resistant and compatible with the oxidation temperatures of this invention can be used . as previously discussed , the reactor assembly preferably also includes a fan component to cool the reactor after a heating / oxidation step . as seen in fig5 , the outlet ( downstream side ) of fan 36 is preferably positioned close to one open end of the heater 34 , and is oriented so that a flow of cooling air during a cooling step passes through the heater housing and over both the exterior and interior of heater 34 , and also such that the airflow going through the interior of the tubular portion of the heater 34 during a cooling step passes over the portion of reactor 26 contained within the tubular portion of heater 34 . the special ndir detector sub - assembly 5 of this invention is shown in greater detail in fig6 . the ndir consists of an optical system and an associated ndir electronic system ( as illustrated in the block diagram of fig7 ). the ndir optical system has three major sections : an ir source compartment 38 , a sample cell / ndir optical path 39 , and an ir detector compartment 40 . collimating lenses 58 located at either end of sample cell 39 separate the adjacent sections . in a preferred embodiment , the lenses 58 are constructed of silicon . in a preferred embodiment , the ir source 56 is a thin - film heater . it may be mounted in plates 59 that are attached to an ir source heater and an ir source temperature sensor . using the associated ndir electronic system , the plates 59 and ir source 56 are controlled to a temperature of about 65 ยฐ c . in one preferred embodiment . in a preferred embodiment , the ir detector 60 is a pyroelectric , lithium tantalate sensor element . a 4 . 26 ฮผm filter is mounted in the ir detector in front of the sensor element . this filter selectively passes infrared radiation at the wavelength that is absorbed by co 2 . thus , the ir detector 60 measures the ir radiation that passes through the optical path 39 and the filter without being absorbed by co 2 . the ir detector 60 may be mounted in plates 61 attached to an ir detector heater and an ir detector temperature sensor . in a preferred embodiment , the ir detector 60 is controlled at a temperature of about 55 ยฐ c . using the associated ndir electronic system . carrier gas and the gas product from reactor 26 , including the co 2 , flow through the center section 39 of the ndir . ir source 56 and ir detector 60 , located in their separate compartments , are isolated from water vapor and potentially corrosive oxidation products by the compartment separation lenses 58 . the chambers 38 and 40 are also sealed , and co 2 from ambient air is prevented from entering , or at least from remaining in , those chambers by flowing purge gas provided by the gas control sub - assembly 2 . the center section 39 of the ndir has a gas inlet port 62 and a gas outlet port 63 , through which the carrier gas and the gas product from the reactor , including the co 2 , flow . as illustrated in fig6 , the gas inlet port 62 may be located proximate to the ir detector end of the ndir , while the gas outlet port 63 is located proximate to the ir source end of the ndir . however , the reverse orientation also is effective . the electronic system for operating the ndir sub - assembly in a preferred invention embodiment is schematically illustrated in fig7 . as seen in fig7 , the electronic system includes electronic devices selected to provide power to the ir source , the ir source heater , the ir detector , the ir detector heater , and other electrical components . in a preferred embodiment , the electronics control system modulates the power to the ir source at a frequency of 55 hz . signals may be generated at other frequencies for operation of other components , such as the bandpass filter and analog - to - digital converter , from a field - programmable gate array ( fpga ) as is known in the art . the fpga can be adapted or adjusted to generate a 55 hz clock for the ir source , with a duty cycle suitable for its operation . the ir source driver converts the logic - level clock signal into the pulsed power required by the ir source . the ir source emits infrared light , modulated at 55 hz . this light reaches the ir detector , attenuated by any co 2 present in the center section 39 of the ndir . the ir detector converts the infrared light that it receives back into an electrical signal , with signal content at 55 hz that is proportional to the infrared light that it receives . the detector bandpass filter is selected or adapted to remove harmonics of the 55 hz signal and dc offset , low - frequency noise , and high - frequency noise generated by the ir detector . a synchronous circuit , such as a switched - capacitor filter , is used in the detector bandpass filter , with a clock provided by the fpga at a multiple of 55 hz . the analog - to - digital converter samples the waveform from the detector bandpass filter , also using a clock provided by the fpga at a whole number multiple of 55 hz . for example , a clock of 5500 hz provides 100 waveform samples per cycle of the ir detector waveform . the fpga and the microprocessor perform further bandpass filtering of the digitized ir detector signal , centered at the modulation frequency of 55 hz , to remove detector noise and noise from the ac mains at 50 hz or 60 hz . the amplitude of the 55 hz signal at the output of the digital bandpass filter is then measured . the response of the ir detector is adjusted for temperature , pressure , and flow rate as necessary , and the co 2 concentration is calculated in the manner described above . based on the description provided herein , the processing steps described above could readily be implemented by one of ordinary skill in this art using an apparatus in accordance with this invention . fig8 illustrates a typical response curve of an ndir during a carbon measurement sequence . the output is in instrument counts , and the counts are proportional to the amount of ir radiation that strikes the ir detector 60 . when there is no co 2 in section 39 , the response is at its maximum or baseline level . as soon as co 2 enters section 39 , the response decreases until it reaches a minimum ( trough ) that corresponds to when the amount of co 2 in section 39 has reached its maximum ( maximum absorbance ). as the co 2 passes out of section 39 , the response returns to its original baseline level . there are two ways that the response peak ( trough ) can be used to calculate carbon concentrations in an aqueous sample being tested . the response curve can be mathematically integrated , and the resulting cone - shaped area of the response curve can be related to carbon concentration by one type of mathematical calibration correlation . alternatively , the height of the peak ( depth of the trough ) can be measured and related to carbon concentration by another type of mathematical calibration correlation . these mathematical calibration correlations can be developed for a particular instrument according to this invention by performing tests on samples containing known concentrations of ic , oc and / or tc . basing computations on the measurement of peak height has the advantage that it is relatively unaffected by changes in gas flow rate ; and , for that reason , this is the technique used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof for illustrative purposes . although specific terms are employed in describing this invention , they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and a descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation . accordingly , it will be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes , substitutions and alterations in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims . | 8 |
the novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims . the invention will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals and symbols represent like elements . fig1 - 24 disclose a snow pole and snowboard combination of the present invention . the combination 10 comprises a snow pole 28 that is removably coupled to a snowboard binding 12 . referring to fig1 - 2 , the combination 10 of the present invention is shown . the snow pole 28 , when in a retracted position , may be coupled to the snowboard binding 12 by at least one clamp lock 14 . while the snowboard binding 12 is shown to have two clamp locks 14 coupled thereto , it should be clearly understood that further substantial benefit may be derived from the snowboard binding 12 having only one clamp lock 14 or more than two clamp locks 14 . as shown in fig1 - 4 , each of the clamp locks 14 defines an aperture 16 dimensioned to secure the snow pole 28 within the clamp lock 14 . the clamp locks 14 are preferably coupled to a mounting plate 20 that is coupled to the side portion 18 of the snowboard binding 12 . the mounting plate 20 will preferably define two apertures 22 that will align with the apertures 23 defined by the side portion 18 of the snowboard binding 12 . a bolt 24 is then passed through a ladder strap 26 , the aperture 22 defined by the mounting plate 20 , and the aperture 23 defined by the side portion 18 of the snowboard binding 12 in order to secure the mounting plate 20 into place . it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit may be derived from the clamp locks 14 being removably coupled to the side portion 18 of the snowboard binding 12 so that the clamp locks 14 may be used on any snowboard binding 12 . further substantial benefit may be derived from the clamp locks 14 being integral to the side portion 18 of the snowboard binding 12 . referring to fig5 - 6 , the snow pole 28 comprises a housing 30 , a plurality of telescoping pole members 40 slidably coupled together and located within an interior portion 32 of the housing 30 , means for extending the pole members 40 out of the housing 30 , and means for retracting the pole members 40 into the housing 30 . the snow pole 28 also has a pole tip 76 coupled to the distal end 54 of the innermost pole member 50 . the pole tip 76 is the part of the snow pole 28 that engages the snow and preferably is made of carbon , ice steel , or any other suitable durable material . turning now to fig7 - 18 , the means for extending the snow pole 28 out of the housing 30 preferably comprises a release lever 70 . the release lever 70 is coupled within the housing 30 and has a first end 72 protruding out of an aperture 34 defined by the housing 30 and has an l - shaped second end 74 protruding out of another aperture 34 defined by the housing 30 . when the snow pole 28 is in a retracted position , the l - shaped second end 74 is removably coupled to an aperture 80 defined by the pole tip 76 . by pressing the first end 72 of the release lever 70 , the l - shaped second end 74 pivots out from the aperture 80 defined by the pole tip 76 . then , by swinging one &# 39 ; s arm , centrifugal force will cause the pole members 40 to extend out of the housing 30 . while this is preferred , it should also be clearly understood , however , that substantial benefit may nevertheless be derived from manually extending the pole members 40 . the snow pole 28 preferably has a plurality of locking pins 60 for securing the pole members 28 in an extended position . the locking pins 60 preferably comprise a spring 62 and two l - shaped tabs 64 coupled at opposing ends of the spring 62 . the l - shaped tabs 64 preferably have first ends 66 dimensioned to engage opposing apertures 44 defined by a proximal end 42 of a pole member 40 and to engage aligning opposing apertures 39 defined by a distal end 38 of the housing 30 when the snow pole 28 is in an extended position ( shown in fig1 ) or aligning opposing apertures 48 defined by a distal end 46 of a preceding pole member 40 . each l - shaped tab 64 also has a second end 68 oriented downwardly within the pole member 40 . a spring lock 98 is also preferably used to secure the pole members 40 in an extended position . the spring lock 98 has a proximal end 100 coupled to a distal end 96 of the reel line 92 . when the pole members 40 are fully extended , the distal end 102 of the spring lock 98 will engage the apertures 44 defined by the proximal end 52 of the innermost pole member 50 and will engage the aligning apertures 48 defined by the distal end 46 of the preceding pole member 40 . the l - shaped second end 74 of the release lever 70 may then also be inserted into an aperture 58 defined by the outermost pole member 56 . the means for retracting the snow pole 28 into the housing 30 preferably comprises a spring loaded reel 82 , a retraction lever 84 , a plurality of tapered stopper rings 90 , a length of reel line 92 , and a spring lock 98 . the retraction lever 84 comprises a first end 86 protruding out of an aperture 36 defined by the housing 30 and an l - shaped second end 88 removably coupled to the spring loaded reel 82 . each tapered stopper ring 90 is coupled to the proximal end 42 of a pole member 40 and is dimensioned to engage the second ends 68 of the two l - shaped tabs 64 of the locking pin 60 of a preceding pole member 40 . a length of reel line 92 has a proximal end 94 that is coupled to the spring loaded reel 82 and a length of the reel line 92 is wound about the spring loaded reel 82 . a spring lock 98 has a proximal end 100 that is coupled to a distal end 96 of the reel line 92 and the spring lock 98 has a distal end 102 that is dimensioned to engage at least one aperture 44 defined by a proximal end 52 of the innermost pole member 50 and to also engage at least one aligning aperture 48 defined by the distal end 46 of the preceding pole member 40 . preferably , the distal end 102 of the spring lock 98 comprises two opposing ends with a spring 103 coupled there between and the two opposing ends engage two apertures 44 defined by the proximal end 52 of the innermost pole member 50 and also engage two aligning apertures 48 defined by the distal end 46 of the preceding pole member 40 . by pressing the first end 86 of the retraction lever 84 , the l - shaped second end 88 pivots and releases the spring loaded reel 82 . as the reel line 92 begins to wind about the spring loaded reel 82 , the distal end 102 of the spring lock 98 compresses and disengages from the aligning apertures 48 defined by the distal end 46 of the preceding pole member 40 . as the innermost pole member 50 is retracted into the preceding pole member 40 , the tapered stopper ring 90 coupled to the proximal end 52 of the innermost pole member 50 engages the second ends 68 of the l - shaped tabs 64 of the locking pin 60 that couples the proximal end 42 of the preceding pole member 40 to the distal end 46 of the next preceding pole member 40 . this causes the spring 62 of the locking pin 60 to compress which then causes the first ends 66 of the l - shaped tabs 64 to disengage from the aligning apertures 48 defined by the distal end 46 of the next preceding pole member 40 . the first ends 66 of the l - shaped tabs 64 , however , do not disengage from the apertures 44 defined by the proximal end 42 of the preceding pole member 40 . this helps to keep the locking pins 60 in place when the snow pole 28 is in a retracted position . alternatively , the locking pins 60 may be coupled to the bottom portion of the tapered stopper rings 90 directly above them ( not shown ). each of the pole members 40 retract in similar fashion until all of the pole members 40 have retracted within the housing 30 . once all of the pole members 40 have retracted within the housing 30 , the l - shaped second end 74 of the release lever 70 may then be inserted into the aperture 80 defined by the pole tip 76 . referring to fig1 - 24 , a flag assembly 104 is shown to be contained within a slit 120 defined by the housing 30 . the flag assembly 104 comprises a flag 106 , a spring ratchet 112 , and a tension line 114 . a proximal end 116 of the tension line 114 is coupled to the spring ratchet 112 and a length of the tension line 114 is wrapped about the spring ratchet 112 . a proximal end 108 of the flag 106 is coupled to a distal end 118 of the tension line 114 and a distal end 110 of the flag 106 protrudes out of the slit 120 defined by the housing 30 . the flag 106 may be deployed from the housing 30 , by pulling the distal end 110 of the flag 106 . the flag 106 may be returned to its stored position , by pulling again on the distal end 100 of the flag 106 so that the tension line 114 will wind about the spring ratchet 112 , thereby retracting the flag 106 back into the slit 120 . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , a snow pole 28 having alternative means for retracting and means for extending the pole members 40 may be used in the combination 10 . furthermore , the pole members 40 may be square - shaped , diamond - shaped , oval - shaped , or any other suitable shape . | 0 |
in the illustrative embodiments of the present invention , match inputs are active โ low ,โ wherein inputs which are not active are at a logic state of โ 1 ,โ and active inputs go to the state of โ 0 .โ the multi - priority encoder is comprised of a succession of identical circuits known as โ highest priority indicators โ or โ single priority encoders .โ in the circuits shown here , the first highest priority indicator generates an output indicating the first highest priority . the second highest priority indicator generates an output indicating the second highest priority . a third highest priority indicator generates an output indicating the third highest priority , etc . fig2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a multi - priority encoder 100 according to the present invention , in which three levels of priority are provided : first , second , and third . in the priority encoder of the present invention , priority has two dimensions : one dimension , vertical , within each of the single priority encoders , and another dimension , horizontal , between the three single - priority encoders . within a single highest priority indicator , the highest priority input is at the bottom , and the level of priority descends with the ascending inputs . within the multi - priority encoder , the highest priority is given to the single priority encoder on the left , with a descending priority towards the right . any active output of a higher priority single - priority indicator leads to logic circuitry preventing an active output of the same vertical priority level in corresponding lesser priority single - priority indicators . referring to fig2 , priority encoder 100 includes three highest priority indicators ( hpis ) 101 , 102 , and 103 . the operation of hpis 101 - 103 is like that of hpi 4 described above in connection with fig1 , and similarly can be likened to a โ thermometer โ for determining which of the match results has the highest priority . match inputs from respective match lines in a cam are applied to terminals pin 0 - pin 3 of hpi 101 . an p_enable signal is provided . when multiple matches are encountered , the match line located on the lowest segment of hpi 101 is given the highest priority . the match line that indicates a match on inputs pin 0 - pin 3 and which has the highest priority will cause the output on the corresponding terminal pri 10 - pri 13 to change states , indicating a match . as shown in fig2 , hpi 101 utilizes an arrangement of logic gates to determine which of the inputs has the first highest priority . each stage of hpi 101 includes an inverter , a nand gate , a nor gate , and an or gate . a highest priority segment 110 includes inverter 112 which inverts the enable signal , and supplies it to nor gate 114 . nor gate 114 also receives a signal on match line input pin 0 . enable is supplied to nand gate 116 , along with match line input pin 0 . the result from nor gate 114 is supplied on output terminal pri 10 , and to or gate 118 . output terminal pri 10 supplies the match signal from the highest priority stage to an address encoder ( not shown ). the output of or gate 118 is supplied to the highest priority stage of the second highest priority indicator 102 . hpi 101 includes four priority stages , each ascending stage in the vertical direction having a successively lower priority . thus , the signal from nand gate 116 is supplied to the next logically lower priority stage ( physically higher on the โ thermometer ,โ as shown in fig2 ) formed similarly of inverter 122 , nor gate 124 , nand gate 126 , and or gate 128 . nor gate 124 supplies a signal to output terminal pri 11 , or gate 128 passes its signal to the second highest priority stage of second highest priority indicator 102 , and nand gate 126 supplies its signal to the third lowest priority stage of first highest priority indicator 101 . the third lowest priority stage of first highest priority indicator 101 similarly is formed of inverter 132 , nor gate 134 , nand gate 136 , and or gate 138 . a similar fourth - lowest priority stage is shown which includes inverter 142 , nor gate 144 , nand gate 146 , and or gate 148 . additional lower priority stage are not shown , but are within the scope of the present invention . in operation , matches supplied from a cam ( not shown ) are indicated on match lines pin 0 - pin 3 as logic 0 , the enable signal having a logic 1 . thus , in the first stage 110 , if match line pin 0 is low , output pri 10 will be high , indicating a highest priority match . a logic 1 , indicating no match , will be forwarded to the highest priority stage of second highest priority indicator 102 , formed of nor gate 214 , nand gate 216 , and or gate 218 . a logic 1 similarly will be supplied to the highest priority stage of third highest priority indicator 103 , formed of nor gate 314 , nand gate 316 , and or gate 318 . thus , no further priority encoding effectively will take place in the current clock cycle for the signal of match line pin 0 , and the output signals pri 20 and pri 30 will not indicate a match . if , on the other hand , pin 0 indicates no match ( logic 1 ) and match lines pin 1 , pin 2 , and pin 3 are active low , indicating a match on each line , output pri 11 will produce a high signal , indicating a highest priority match , and a logic 1 will be passed on to second highest priority stage of second highest priority indicator 102 , formed of inverter 222 , nor gate 224 , nand gate 226 , and or gate 228 . a logic 1 similarly will be supplied to the second highest priority stage of third highest priority indicator 103 , formed of inverter 322 , nor gate 324 , nand gate 326 , and or gate 328 . thus , no further priority encoding effectively will take place in the current clock cycle for the signal of match line pin 1 , and the output signals pri 21 and pri 31 will not indicate a match . the remaining output signals pri 12 and pri 13 will be logic low , and logic low signals will be supplied to the third and fourth highest priority stages of second highest priority indicator 102 . the third highest priority stage of second highest priority indicator 102 , formed of inverter 232 , nor gate 234 , nand gate 236 , and or gate 238 , generates a logic 1 on output pri 22 , and supplies a logic 1 to the third highest priority stage of third highest priority indicator 103 , formed of inverter 332 , nor gate 334 , nand gate 336 , and or gate 338 . the fourth highest priority stage of second highest priority indicator 102 , formed of inverter 242 , nor gate 244 , nand gate 246 , and or gate 248 , generates a logic 0 on output pri 23 , and supplies a logic 0 to the third highest priority stage of third highest priority indicator 103 , formed of inverter 342 , nor gate 344 , nand gate 346 , and or gate 348 . the third match , originally supplied on match line pin 3 , is indicated on output pri 33 as a logic 1 . additional fourth , fifth , etc . highest priority indicators , coupled similarly , are within the scope of the present invention . fig3 shows an alternative embodiment for a multi - priority encoder 400 , in which two levels of priority are encoded . encoder 400 includes a first highest priority indicator 401 and a second highest priority indicator 402 . referring to fig3 , a priority encoder 400 according to an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown . encoder 400 includes a serial arrangement of two highest priority indicators 401 and 402 , each of which utilizes transistors to create a dynamic thermometer segment which propagates a logic low signal to indicate a priority match . as shown in fig3 , first highest priority indicator 401 includes match lines pi_n 0 - pi_n 4 , p - channel pass transistors m 2 , m 9 , m 17 , m 25 , m 33 , n - channel transistors m 4 , m 12 , m 20 , m 28 , and m 36 , p - channel pass transistors m 5 , m 13 , m 21 , and m 29 , and n - channel transistors m 1 , m 8 , m 16 , m 24 , and m 32 . the match input data from a cam ( not shown ) is supplied on lines pi_n 0 - pi_n 4 , and priority results are provided by the outputs of nor gates 404 - 408 to second highest priority indicator 402 . priority results also are provided on priority outputs po 00 - po 04 . an enable_n input and v dd also are provided . second highest priority indicator 402 includes match lines pi_n 0 - pi_n 4 , p - channel pass transistors m 6 , m 14 , m 22 , and m 30 , coupled in series with p - channel pass transistors m 7 , m 15 , m 23 , and m 31 . n - channel transistor m 3 , and paired couplings of re - channel transistors m 10 and m 11 , m 18 and m 19 , m 26 and m 27 , and m 34 and m 35 couple the outputs of nor gates 404 - 408 to three - input nor gates 410 - 414 . priority result signals from second highest priority indicator 402 are provided on output signal lines po 10 - po 14 . highest priority indicators 401 and 402 are arranged such that only the highest priority input line having a match will produce a high signal on its associated nor gate in each highest priority indicator . in first highest priority indicator 401 , for example , if an active low signal indicating a match is present on match lines pi_n 1 and pi_n 2 , a logic 1 will result only on po 01 , and passage of the match signal to second highest priority indicator 402 will be blocked . in the example , only the signal on line pi_n 2 will be passed along to the second highest priority indicator 402 . this will result in a second highest priority output ( logic 1 ) on output po 12 . referring to fig4 , a processor system 500 is represented which uses a cam 510 employing a multi - match priority encoder 511 according to the present invention . processor system 500 generally comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ) 502 , such as a microprocessor , that communicates with one or more input / output ( i / o ) devices 504 over a bus 506 . the processor system 500 also includes random access memory ( ram ) 508 . one or more cam devices 510 also communicate with cpu 502 , cam 510 utilizing a priority encoder 511 according to the present invention . the system may also include peripheral devices such as a floppy disk drive 512 and a compact disk ( cd ) rom drive 514 which also communicate with cpu 502 over the bus 506 . fig5 illustrates a router 600 including a cam containing a multi - match priority encoder according to the present invention . router 600 incorporates a cam array memory chip 604 as may be used in a communications network , such as , e . g ., part of the internet backbone . router 600 includes a plurality of input lines and a plurality of output lines . data transmitted from one location to another is sent in packet form . prior to the packet reaching its final destination , packet are received devices , such as router 600 , for decoding data identifying the packet &# 39 ; s ultimate destination , and deciding which output line and what forwarding instructions are required for the packet . the present invention provides an apparatus and method for encoding multiple simultaneous matches in a cam . while preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above , it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting . additions , deletions , substitutions , and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
with reference to the figures , and in particular to the examples of fig4 and following ones , 10 globally and schematically indicates a semiconductor wafer whereon several electronic devices 11 are integrated according to an embodiment . these devices 11 are arranged in an orderly way on the wafer and delimited with respect to one another by demarcation lines 12 so called scribe lines . each electronic device 11 may be electrically contacted by means of a plurality of peripheral pads 13 , in contact to which probes 4 of an interface 2 or probe card are guided mutually approaching and departing , the probe card being associated with a testing apparatus ate , this latter being not shown since conventional . as explained above , the presence of very hard pads 13 makes it difficult to identify a sign due to the contact of a probe 4 and , in consequence , it is difficult to value visually and in an easy way if the probing and testing process is occurring correctly . in these circumstances it may be probable that breakages occur in the passivation protective layer that covers the electronic devices 11 to be tested ; and devices with the broken passivation layer may have to be discarded . according to an embodiment it has been provided that at least one control probe 24 chosen in the group or array 22 of probes 4 of the interface 15 is put into contact with an additional control pad 16 connected to a test circuit 17 associated with or internal to the corresponding device 11 through which a test procedure will test the correct contacting of the probe 24 on the pad 16 . on the basis of the result of this check , information will be derived about the fact that the contacting or probing process does not have serious drifts , i . e . that the process is under control . considering a generic array 22 of probes 4 of a probe card 2 that are intended for contacting at least one device 11 of the wafer 10 , it has been thought to use , for example , at least two control probes 24 , 25 that may be placed at the ends of the array 22 of the probes 4 so as to be more sensitive and thus better detect a drift of the probing process . in fact if the probing process has a drift , in general it will be more marked at the ends of the array 22 with respect to the other regions of the array 22 of probes 4 . the two control probes 24 , 25 are suitably connected to two respective control pads 16 , 18 belonging to at least one same device 11 on the wafer 10 . moreover , for housing the test circuit 17 of the probing process , a portion of the wafer called a seal ring 20 ( fig6 ) may be , for example , used to which said two control pads 16 , 18 will be connected . through the seal ring 20 a current will be made flow during the test step . the flow of this current will supply the information that the probing process does not have a drift to be considered as dangerous . for completeness of the description and for better understanding all the aspects of an embodiment , it is now suitable to illustrate more in detail the edge structure of the electronic devices 11 integrated on the wafer 10 ; this will be made with reference to fig6 and 7 . after an electric testing step of the various devices 11 present on the wafer 10 , they are separated from each other through a conventional cutting operation of the wafer itself by means of the blades of a saw or a laser ray . the electronic devices 11 being realized on the wafer 10 are normally already delimited with each other by a so called scribe line 12 that represents also the interstice whereon the cutting means that physically separate the devices during the cutting operation act . fig7 shows an enlarged view of this scribe line 12 . the scribe lines 12 are often exploited also for introducing elemental structures 21 or teg ( test element group ) intended for the testing of some process parameters , that are measured in general prior to the electric test on wafer , as shown in fig6 . to protect the electronic devices 11 from the mechanical actions exercised by the blade during the cutting , each device 11 is peripherally surrounded by a so called seal ring 20 that has the aim of sealing the device 11 itself and strengthening it mechanically for ensuring the reliability also after the cutting . the seal ring 20 is put in general between the area where the pads 13 are placed , or pad ring of the device 11 , and the scribe line 12 that surrounds the device 11 itself the seal ring 20 is formed with more metallic layers and vias and also serves for blocking ions and contaminative substances too that can jeopardize the good operation of the device 11 . several implementations of seal ring are however known , where for example dielectric layers and metallic layers are alternated . sometime for avoiding problems of interferences in radiofrequency , open loop seal rings are realized instead of closed loop ones so as to avoid that the seal ring behaves like a coil . the angles of the seal ring 20 may be the most critical regions and they are usually reinforced , for example , by using metals of greater size and possibly rounded off / smoothed . situations are also known in which at the angles of the seal ring 20 there are suitable patterns of structures that avoid the damaging of the angles of the seal ring itself . an embodiment also provides that the additional pads 16 , 18 may be suitably positioned outside the seal ring 20 . more in particular , these additional pads 16 , 18 may be realized in correspondence with opposite angular regions of the electronic device 11 outside the seal ring 20 , which in correspondence with these opposite angular regions is deviated to form substantially a part of a polygonal path . with this structure it may be possible to execute a preventive test to check the correct alignment of the probes before starting with the electric test for checking the correct operation and the quality on a given electronic device contacted by the array of probes 4 . for example , by first exploiting the additional pads 16 , 18 with the corresponding control probes 24 , 25 it may be possible to make a current circulate through these two control probes 24 , 25 . if this current does not circulate correctly , this means that there is a drift of the probing process due to for example to probe - pad alignment problems , or that there are problems of electric continuity or other . to make this initial check more sensitive , the above two control probes 24 , 25 may be subjected to a stress being identical or greater than the stress to which the generic probe 4 , which is considered the more critical than the array 22 of probes , is subjected . for example if there are probes 4 crossed by high currents during the test of at least one device , a current will be made to circulate being identical or greater in the control probes 24 , 25 of the probing process with respect to the most critical probe 4 during the test of that given device ; in this way the drift of the probing process may be detected in advance . the two additional pads 16 , 18 intended for the check of the alignment may also have smaller size with respect to the other pads 13 of the device , so as to make the check even more sensitive . moreover , if these two additional pads 16 , 18 are placed outside the seal ring 20 there may also be the advantage of not increasing the area of the device . it is to be noted that the presence of the additional pads 16 , 18 on opposite angles of the device 11 may confers a greater strength of the seal ring 20 that passes nearby , indirectly protecting this angle of the device during the cutting of the wafer . all these considerations may be naturally extended to the case of simultaneous testing of more devices in parallel . to facilitate the testing in parallel it has been thought to add suitable interconnection structures 23 ( fig9 ) that connect to each other at least two additional pads 16 , 18 placed in two bordering angular regions near two distinct seal rings 20 . as shown in fig8 and 9 these interconnection structures 23 may be extended only to the angular regions 15 of adjacent devices and , being near the seal ring 20 , they do not interfere with the teg 21 placed in the scribe lines 12 of the wafer 10 . with the above described measure , a test current may be made to circulate between at least two devices 11 placed on the wafer 10 although applying the sole two probes 24 , 25 , as shown in fig1 . the interconnection structure 23 may be realized by means of at least one metallization track that will pass through the scribe line 12 or above the same . the use of at least two metallization levels connected by at least one vias , for realizing the interconnection 23 , may allow reducing the stress that the seal ring 20 will sustain when this interconnection 23 is cut by cutting means that physically separate the devices 11 during the cutting operation . suitably , a control pad 27 may be provided on the interconnection structure 23 being substantially positioned between the bordering angular regions of two devices 11 , as shown in fig1 a . in general these structures may be positioned also along the scribe line 12 as shown in fig1 b according to the application . as shown in fig1 , also plural control pads may be provided , for example a pair of pads 28 , 29 , arranged on the interconnection structure 23 between two bordering angular regions , so as to make the electric check of the probing process more sensitive . to facilitate the testing operations provided by the process of an embodiment it may be possible to equip the probe card 2 connected to the testing apparatus ate with control probes placed in any angle of the array of probes 4 ; for example , fig1 shows a rectangular array 22 of probes with four control probes 24 , 25 , 26 and 31 arranged in the corners . it may also be possible to have a control pad 16 , 18 , 28 , 29 for each corner of the device , and each corner may be electrically connected to the corners close to it , as shown in fig1 . a plurality of control pads may be present and suitably positioned so as to have control probes not only in the angles / corners of the array 22 but for example along its perimeter so as , for example , to have more types of alarm . possibly , the control probes may also be far from the array of probes 22 due to constructive problems of the probe card 2 , or for increasing the check sensitivity . in case test circuits 17 devoid of closed coils are to be realized , for example for avoiding radiofrequency problems , the structure may be complicated a little by integrating suitable circuits . for example , as shown in fig1 , it is possible to integrate at least one diode d on the interconnection structure 23 between control pads 16 , 18 or 28 , 29 . this allows making at least one path through which the current flows unidirectional , as shown in fig1 . for example as shown in fig1 or 16 by connecting the four angular regions of four adjacent devices two diodes d will be positioned , and by rigidly repeating this structure , also according to the design of the seal ring that is an open loop one , the creation of coils will be avoided , however allowing that the current can have at least one possible path between the at least two control probes 24 , 25 or 26 , 31 . the control pads may have a circular form so that the check does not depend on the different orientation of the control probes , as shown in fig1 . now , with reference to fig1 to 21 embodiments are shown in which the control pads 35 are realized inside the single electronic device 11 , they may thus increase the area of the device itself with a consequent slight increase of the costs . in this case it may be suitable to connect to each other at least two adjacent seal rings 20 for allowing the testing in parallel of at least two devices 11 , as shown in fig1 with the interconnection lines 33 . if this connection occurs between two angular / corner regions of the device , the generic angle 34 of the seal ring 20 may be advantageously strengthened so that it is less likely to be damaged by the cutting of the wafer , as shown in fig1 . it may thus be advantageous to reduce , as much as possible , the sizes of the connection metals so as to facilitate the cutting process of the wafer by using , for example , at least two metal levels and at least one via as discussed for the connections 23 of fig9 and 10 , but however this has a general validity considering the connections between the at least two seal rings 20 of at least two different devices 11 . however , several forms of connections are possible between at least two adjacent devices 11 incorporating in their interior the control pads 35 . nothing forbids providing several control pads 35 for each device 11 and not necessarily in the angles of the seal ring 20 , according to the application , as shown in fig2 . by increasing the number of control pads 35 the arising of false alarms may be reduced , and also different levels of severity of the alarms may be attained . the various seal rings may be connected to each other in various ways , for example as shown in fig2 and not necessarily in the angles of the same seal ring , as shown in fig2 . in the example of fig2 if one of the connections between two seal rings 20 is faulty , for example it has a non desired interruption , the other connections between the other seal rings 20 will however allow the electric check of the position of the probes . by incorporating these control pads directly in the seal ring 20 it may be avoided that they may be internal to the device and it is avoided that they may hinder the circuits 21 of the teg , if these control pads are housed for example inside the scribe line 12 , as shown in fig2 . this depends on the circuits 21 of the teg and on which probes of the probe card they tend to drift earlier during the probing and testing process . the generic control pad may be thus housed or even be part of the seal ring 20 . also the mirrored structure or suitable modifications thereof , for example further to rotations may be valid . a diode may be realized , for example , through a junction pn 37 in the substrate 36 of the wafer 10 between the seal ring 20 and the metal path of the interconnection structure 23 , as shown in fig2 . in fig2 and in the following ones , the place of the p doped material and of the n doped material may be exchanged , according to the circuit that is to be implemented , according to the dopant of the substrate 36 and according to specific design needs . with respect to the scribe line 12 , also the placement of the seal ring 20 with the metal path may be changed , as shown in fig2 . also the control pad outside the seal ring 20 may be added , as schematically shown in fig2 . the control pad 35 may be formed on the same seal ring 20 , possibly locally increasing its size , as shown in fig2 . moreover , where the seal ring 20 is interrupted for avoiding the creation of coils , reinforcement mechanical structures may be placed , as shown in fig2 . for example interdigited structures may be realized , that may be used also for their capacitive behavior , and thus for the check of the probing process a radiofrequency signal may be made to circulate in the seal ring 20 , this may be advantageous if for example the most critical probe of the array 22 is a probe for radiofrequency signals . alternatively , in the seal ring 20 suitable structures may be formed for signals rf . thanks to the at least two control pads 16 , 18 connected to the seal ring 20 , the seal ring may be possibly divided into more parts for transporting signals and supplying to circuits connected to the seal ring itself . in consequence , in general circuits may be connected to the seal ring , for example those shown with 40 and 41 in fig2 . the circuit 40 may be , for example , formed by at least one diode that may be used for the probing process check and through which the current necessary for the needed tests flows . the presence of the diode may allow for identification of the problems of contact resistance between the probe and the pad thanks to a suitable test that measures some characteristics of the diode from which information on the contact resistance may be derived . the circuit 41 may be used for different aims and supplied through a current that comes from the device 11 or through the control pads 16 , 18 making a current circulate being opposite to the direction of the diode of the circuit 40 that will thus be akin to an open circuit . this circuit 41 may be advantageously used , for example , for containing in a memory useful production data such as the number of lot , the number of the wafer and the coordinates xy of the device on the wafer . in consequence these control pads 16 , 18 may remain on the device 11 and being not removed by the cutting of the wafer and being used again afterwards , for example during the analysis of the failure of the device indicated by a client . the circuit 41 may also be an interface , for example serial , towards the bist circuits of the device , and thus these control pads 16 , 18 may be used also for the test of the device itself . moreover , the elemental structures , the circuits and the methodology described may be possibly and advantageously adapted also for incorporating some structures of the tegs for parametric measures of the technological process . for example , the system in one of its implementations may have a long metallic path between two control pads being enough far from each other , and this may for example allow to obtain a measure of the resistance of this metallic path . it is possible to provide also an index of contact problems between the probe and the pad . an embodiment makes it possible an electric check of the probing process of the wafer . moreover an embodiment of a structure allows for strengthening the device during the cutting step of the wafer 10 . moreover the seal ring 20 may be used also as a circuit element of the device itself moreover it may be possible that the current for the check of the position of the probes instead of flowing between two pads 16 and 18 , flows for example between the substrate 36 and the pad 16 , and this current will be injected , for example , through the chuck 5 of the prober in electric contact with the substrate 36 . also a vice versa case may be valid . the seal ring 20 or at least part of the same may have the possibility to be electrically insulated or not by the substrate 36 of the wafer 10 according to the specific circuit that is to be realized , according to the various design ties of the specific device 11 considered . naturally for meeting incidental and specific needs , a technician of the field will have the possibility to apply several modifications to the previously described embodiments . it is clear that several omissions , substitutions , and modifications in the form and in the details , as other embodiments are possible ; it is also expressly intended that specific elements and / or process steps described in relation to any embodiment of the invention described may be incorporated in any other embodiment as general aspect of design choices . an embodiment of an integrated circuit described above may be a processor , and may be coupled to another integrate circuit ( e . g ., a processor ) to form a system . from the foregoing it will be appreciated that , although specific embodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration , various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the disclosure . furthermore , where an alternative is disclosed for a particular embodiment , this alternative may also apply to other embodiments even if not specifically stated . | 6 |
in the present invention , aminothiol compounds and their acylated derivatives thereof have general formula i and formula ii , respectively , or r 3 , r 4 and n can form a three - to - eight - membered heterocycle ; r 5 can be h or alkyl of c1 - c6 ; and a method for preparing the above ligands and application thereof are as follows : a typical compound of the present invention can be obtained according to the following scheme , wherein the compound of formula i - 1 is obtained by reacting the compound of formula ii - 1 with lialh 4 ( lithium aluminum hydride ). s11 : lialh 4 and thf ( tetrahydrofuran ) are added into a dried three - neck flask under a nitrogen system , the temperature is then regulated to 0 ยฐ c ., and the compound of formula ii - 1 disolved in thf is added into the flask through an auto - injector in 30 minutes . s12 : after the above reactants have completely reacted by stirring for one hour , 15 % aqueous naoh is added to terminate the reaction . s13 : the solution of s12 is filtered through a filter paper , wherein the remained solid is repeatedly washed with a solvent and the filtrate is concentrated by reducing pressure through a vacuum pump to obtain coarse product . s14 : the crude product is then purified through flash column chromatography ( silica gel ; eluent is hex : et 3 n = 100 : 1 ) to obtain white solid . further , the compound of formula ii - 1 is produced by reacting ( 1r , 2s )-(โ)- 1 , 2 - diphenyl - 2 - aminoethanol , i . e ., the compound of formula iv , with 1 , 4 - dibromobutane and potassium carbonate to produce the compound of formula iii with the cyclic structure as morpholine s21 : the compound of formula iii is dissolved in dichloromethane under nitrogen , then triethylamine is injected therein , and the temperature is reduced to 0 ยฐ c . s22 : meso 2 cl dissolved in dichloromethane is dropwisely added into the solution obtained in s21 through a funnel . s23 : after the above solution has completely reacted by stirring for two hours , the aliquote is concentrated by reducing pressure through a vacuum pump , benzene is added therein under nitrogen , and the mixture is heated and refluxed . s24 : thiolacetic acid and triethylamine are dissolved in benzene and then injected into the mixture of s23 . s25 : after the above mixture has completely reacted by stirring for eight hours , h 2 o is added therein to terminate the reaction , and the mixture is extracted with dichloromethane for three times . s26 : anhydrous na 2 so 4 is added into the organic layer obtained in s25 to absorb h 2 o , which is then filtered and concentrated by reducing pressure through vacuum pump to obtain crude product . s27 : the crude product is purified by column chromatography ( silica gel , eluent is n - hexane : etoac : et 3 n = 100 : 1 : 1 ) to obtain a yellow liquid , i . e ., the compound of formula ii - 1 . the addition reaction of organic zinc and aldehyde can be shown as the following scheme . s31 : the ligand of formula i - 1 ( 0 . 03 g , 0 . 1 mmol ) and a dried magnetic stirrer are added into a dried flask . s32 : the flask is sealed and vacuumed to remove moisture and then filled with nitrogen , and then diethylzinc ( 1 . 10 ml , 1 . 2 mmol ) is added therein at room temperature and stirred for two hours . s33 : the temperature is adjusted to โ 20 ยฐ c ., and benzaldehyde ( 0 . 11 ml , 1 . 0 mmol ) is added therein and stirred for 12 hours . s34 : 1n aqueous hcl ( 1 ml ) is added into the above solution to terminate the reaction . s35 : the solution of s34 is extracted with acetyl acetate ( 20 ml ), wherein the organic layer is collected and dehydrated with anhydrous mgso 4 , and then the mixture is filtered , and the filtrate is concentrated by reducing pressure through an air pump to obtain crude product . s36 : the crude product is purified by column chromatography ( silica gel , eluent is n - hexane : etoac = 10 : 1 ). in order to confirm that high enantioselectivity can be obtained from the present invention , different aminothiol compounds ( 4d4c , 2b4b , 5d5c ) are provided to perform the reactions . the results are listed in table 1 , in which only few values of enantioselectivity are lower than 99 % e . e . when the amount of these ligands is 0 . 02 %. additionally , when the amount of these ligands is 0 . 1 %, all values of enantioselectivity are higher than 99 % e . e . obviously , the aminothiol compounds and the acylated derivatives therof in accordance with the present invention are superior than the catalysts exsiting in the literature for the asymmetric addition of organic zinc to aldehyde . in such reactions , though the catalysts are added only 0 . 1 % or even 0 . 02 %, enantioselectivity higher than 99 % e . e . are always obtained . therefore , aminothiol compounds and acylated derivatives thereof in the present invention are indeed very economic for applying the above asymmetric reactions to industries . similarly , the aminothiol compounds and their acylated derivatives thereof in the present invention can be provided as chiral ligands to react with other organic metals , for example , cu , ti , etc ., to form organometal complexes . these complexes can also react with carbonyl such as aldehyde and ketone , to produce alcohol in the asymmetric addition reactions . it should be noticed that the above embodiments are only used for explaining the present invention , but not limiting the scope . | 2 |
the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving service packet data and control information to and from a mobile terminal by utilizing disparate physical channels for receiving the packet data and the associated control information such that a mobile terminal which cannot simultaneously receive two physical channels is able to receive a service that utilizes two physical channels . although the present invention is illustrated with respect to a mobile terminal , it is contemplated that the present invention may be utilized anytime it is desired to provide a service that utilizes two physical channels to a mobile communication device that cannot simultaneously receive two physical channels . reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . throughout the drawings , like elements are indicated using the same or similar reference designations . as illustrated in fig5 a and 5b , a first embodiment according to the present invention proposes a method of transmitting and receiving control information associated with a specific service , for example a multimedia broadcast / multicast service ( mbms ). the method utilizes an mtch control information indicator transmitted to a mobile terminal 2 , for example user equipment ( ue ), on the mtch channel . the mapping is based on the conventional mapping structure illustrated in fig4 a , in which the logical channels mcch and mtch are each mapped to a unique physical channel , for example sccpch 1 and sccpch 2 . the control information indicator is transmitted over the mtch channel so that ues 2 unable to simultaneously receive the two physical channels can receive both the control information and the data . the control information indicator includes information about the transmission of the mbms - associated control information , to thereby inform a participating (โ joined โ) ue 2 that mbms - associated control information will be transmitted via the mcch channel . the control information indicator contains information concerning the content and transmission time of the mbms - associated control information to be transmitted . the mbms - associated control information is associated with the specific mbms and / or another mbms the ue 2 has joined . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the mtch channel is utilized for transmitting the specific mbms data and control information indicator to the ue 2 , while the mcch channel is utilized for transmitting the mbms - associated control information . the respective transmissions may be non - concurrent . fig6 illustrates a method 50 for the transmitting and receiving mbms - associated data and control information according to the first embodiment of the invention . the method 50 includes sequential steps s 51 through s 60 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 and utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layers each include a physical layer , a mac layer , an rlc layer and a pdcp layer . specific mbms data is transmitted from the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via a specific mtch channel in step s 51 , the specific mtch channel received by a participating ue . in step s 52 , the utran 6 rrc layer generates and transfers a control information indicator to the utran l 1 / l 2 layer prior to transmitting mbms - associated control information over the mcch channel . in step s 53 , the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer transmits the control information indicator to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via the same mtch channel used for transmitting the mbms data in step s 51 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer , having received the control information indicator , transfers the control information indicator to the ue rrc layer in step s 54 . the information included in the control information indicator is used to determine whether the ue 2 should receive the mbms - associated control information . if it is determined that the ue 2 is to receive the mbms - associated control information , a first channel switching instruction from the ue rrc layer instructs the ue l 1 / l 2 layer to switch the receiving channel to the mcch channel in step s 55 . if it is determined that the ue 2 is not to receive the mbms - associated control information , no instruction is issued and the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer continues receiving the mtch channel . if the channel switching instruction was issued , the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer switches the receiving physical channel from one physical channel to another in step s 56 , for example from a physical channel to which the mtch channel is mapped to a physical channel to which the mcch channel is mapped . upon switching , the ue 2 rrc layer is enabled to receive the mbms - associated control information transmitted from the utran 6 rrc layer over the mcch channel in step s 57 . upon completion of the reception of the mbms - associated control information , a second channel switching instruction from the ue 2 rrc layer instructs the ue l 1 / l 2 layer , in step s 58 , to switch the receiving physical channel back to the physical channel to which the mtch channel is mapped . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer then performs a channel switching operation to switch the receiving channel back to the original physical channel in step s 59 , for example from the physical channel to which the mcch channel is mapped to the physical channel to which the mtch channel is mapped . after the channel switching operation , the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer receives the mbms data transmitted by the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer over the mtch channel in step s 60 . as illustrated in fig7 a and 7b , a second embodiment according to the present invention proposes a method of transmitting and receiving control information associated with a specific service , for example a multimedia broadcast / multicast service ( mbms ). the method utilizes a control information indicator transmitted on the mtch channel and a data reception indicator transmitted on the mcch channel . the mapping is based on the conventional mapping structure illustrated in fig4 a , in which the logical channels mcch and mtch are each mapped to a unique physical channel , for example sccpch 1 and sccpch 2 . the control information indicator is transmitted over the mtch channel so that ues 2 unable to simultaneously receive the two physical channels can receive both the control information and the data . the control information indicator includes information about the transmission of the mbms - associated control information , to thereby inform a participating (โ joined โ) ue 2 that mbms - associated control information will be transmitted via the mcch channel . the control information indicator contains information concerning the content and transmission time of the mbms - associated control information to be transmitted . the mbms - associated control information is associated with the specific mbms and / or another mbms the ue 2 has joined . according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the mtch channel is utilized for transmitting the specific mbms data and control information indicator to the ue 2 , while the mcch channel is utilized for transmitting the mbms - associated control information . the data reception indicator specifically instructs a ue 2 having received mbms - associated control information to receive the mbms data again and includes the content and transmission time information of the mbms data to be transmitted via the mtch channel . in contrast to the first embodiment , where the receiving channel spontaneously switches back to the mtch channel after receipt of the mbms - associated control information , the second embodiment proposes that the ue 2 switch to the mtch channel upon the specific instruction of the data reception indicator . fig8 illustrates a method 100 for the transmitting and receiving mbms - associated data and control information according to the second embodiment of the invention . the method 100 includes sequential steps s 101 through s 111 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 and utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layers each include a physical layer , a mac layer , an rlc layer , and a pdcp layer . specific mbms data is transmitted from the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via a specific mtch channel in step s 101 , the specific mtch channel received by a participating ue . in step s 102 , the utran 6 rrc layer generates and transfers a control information indicator to the utran l 1 / l 2 layer prior to transmitting mbms - associated control information over the mcch channel . in step s 103 , the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer transmits the control information indicator to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via the same mtch channel used for transmitting the mbms data in step s 101 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer , having received the control information indicator , transfers the control information indicator to the ue rrc layer in step s 104 . the information included in the control information indicator is used to determine whether the ue 2 should receive the mbms - associated control information . if it is determined that the ue 2 is to receive the mbms - associated control information , a first channel switching instruction from the ue rrc layer instructs the ue l 1 / l 2 layer to switch the receiving channel to the mcch channel in step s 105 . if it is determined that the ue 2 is not to receive the mbms - associated control information , no instruction is issued , and the ue l 1 / l 2 layer continues receiving the mtch channel . if the channel switching instruction was issued , the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer switches the receiving physical channel from one physical channel to another in step s 106 , for example from a physical channel to which the mtch channel is mapped to a physical channel to which the mcch channel is mapped . upon switching , the ue 2 rrc layer is enabled to receive the mbms - associated control information transmitted from the utran 6 rrc layer over the mcch channel in step s 107 . upon completion of the transmission of the mbms - associated control information , the utran 6 rrc layer transmits the data reception indicator to the ue 2 in step s 108 , thereby instructing the ue rrc layer to receive the mbms data . in response , a second channel switching instruction from the ue 2 rrc layer instructs the ue l 1 / l 2 layer , in step s 109 , to switch the receiving physical channel back to the physical channel to which the mtch channel is mapped . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer then performs a channel switching operation to switch the receiving channel back to the original physical channel in step s 110 , for example from the physical channel to which the mcch channel is mapped to the physical channel to which the mtch channel is mapped . after the channel switching operation , the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer receives the mbms data transmitted by the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer over the mtch channel in step s 111 . as illustrated in fig9 a and 9b , a third embodiment according to the present invention proposes a method of transmitting and receiving control information associated with a specific service , for example a multimedia broadcast / multicast service ( mbms ). the method utilizes mbms - associated control information transmitted on the mtch channel together with the mbms data . the mapping is based on the conventional mapping structure illustrated in fig4 a , in which the logical channels mcch and mtch are each mapped to a unique physical channel , for example sccpch 1 and sccpch 2 . the mtch channel is utilized for transmitting both the specific mbms data and mbms - associated control information to the ue 2 . in contrast to the first and second embodiments , where the mbms - associated control information is transmitted and received via the mcch channel , the third embodiment proposes that the mbms - associated control information be transmitted and received via the same mtch channel carrying the mbms data . fig1 illustrates a method 200 for the transmitting and receiving mbms - associated data and control information according to the third embodiment of the invention . the method 100 includes sequential steps s 201 through s 205 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 and utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layers each include a physical layer , a mac layer , an rlc layer , and a pdcp layer . specific mbms data is transmitted from the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via a specific mtch channel in step s 201 , the specific mtch channel received by a participating ue . if , during the course of mbms data transmission , mbms - associated control information needs to be transmitted to the ue 2 , the utran 6 rrc layer transfers the control information to the utran l 1 / l 2 layer in step s 202 . the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer in turn transmits the control information to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer in step s 203 , via the same mtch channel . the mbms - associated control information is transmitted from the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer using a control protocol data unit ( control pdu ) of a user plane . the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer configures a control pdu to include the mbms - associated control information . the control pdu is transferred to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer using the user plane protocol , where it is disassembled to acquire the included control information . the user plane configuring or disassembling the control pdu may be the pdcp , rlc , or mac layer or may be an l 2 sublayer higher than the pdcp layer . in step s 204 , the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 transfers the received mbms - associated control information to the ue rrc layer . upon successful transmission of the control information , the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer transmits the mbms data over the mtch channel for reception by the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer in step s 205 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 11b , a fourth embodiment according to the present invention proposes a method of transmitting and receiving control information associated with a specific service , for example a multimedia broadcast / multicast service ( mbms ). the method utilizes a control information indicator transmitted via an mcch channel , with the mcch channel mapped together with the mtch channel to the same physical channel . specifically , fig1 a illustrates the mtch channel mapped to a primary sccpch channel to which the primary mcch channel is mapped and fig1 b illustrates the mbms - associated control information transmitted via the primary mcch channel , the control information indicator transmitted via the mcch 1 channel and the mbms data transmitted via the mtch channel . the control information indicator informs the ue 2 that the control information is to be transmitted via the primary mcch channel . referring to fig1 a , at least one mtch and one mcch channel are mapped to a physical channel , with one specific mcch channel set as a primary mcch channel for a corresponding cell . mbms - associated control information for a specific mbms is transmitted via the primary mcch channel , with the primary mcch channel and the mtch channel on which the mbms data for the specific mbms is transmitted mapped to unique physical channels . for example , the primary mcch channel may be mapped to a primary physical channel such as sccpch and the mtch channel on which the mbms data is transmitted may be mapped to a second physical channel such as sccpch 1 . a control information indicator for notifying the ue 2 of the transmission of the mbms - associated control information is transmitted via an mcch channel mapped to the same physical channel to which the mtch channel that transmits the mbms data is mapped . for example , the control information indicator for the specific mbms may be transmitted on mcch 1 and the mbms data for the specific mbms transmitted on mtch 1 , with mcch 1 and mtch 1 both mapped to sccpch 1 . by mapping mcch 1 and mtch 1 to the same physical channel , sccpch 1 , that is unique from the physical channel , sccpch , to which the primary mcch channel is mapped , the control information indicator may be successfully transmitted in advance of the transmission of the mbms - associated control information via the primary mcch channel . all the mcch channels , other than the primary mcch channel in a specific cell , are set up such that one mcch channel exists for each specific mbms service and for each mtch channel , or for each physical channel to which at least one mtch channel is mapped . an mtch channel may be mapped to the physical channel to which the primary mcch channel is mapped . fig1 illustrates a method 300 for the transmitting and receiving mbms - associated data and control information according to the fourth embodiment of the invention . the method 300 includes sequential steps s 301 through s 308 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 and utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layers each include a physical layer , a mac layer , an rlc layer , and a pdcp layer . specific mbms data is transmitted from the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer in step s 301 . the mbms data is transmitted via a specific mtch channel , for example mtch 1 , with the specific mtch channel received by a participating ue . in step s 302 , the utran 6 rrc layer generates and transmits a control information indicator to the ue 2 rrc layer via the mcch channel prior to transmitting the mbms - associated control information via the primary mcch channel . specifically , the control information indicator may be transmitted on the mcch 1 channel , which is mapped to a physical channel , for example sccpch 1 , on which the mtch 1 channel is established . the information in the control information indicator is used to determine whether the ue 2 should receive mbms - associated control information . if it is determined the ue 2 is to receive the mbms - associated control information , a first channel switching instruction from the ue rrc layer instructs the ue l 1 / l 2 layer to switch the receiving channel , in step s 303 , to the physical channel , for example primary sccpch , to which the primary mcch channel is mapped . if it is determined that the ue 2 is not to receive the mbms - associated control information , no instruction is issued , and the ue l 1 / l 2 layer continues receiving the mtch 1 channel mapped to physical channel sccpch 1 . if the channel switching instruction was issued , the ue l 1 / l 2 layer switches the receiving physical channel , in step s 304 , to the physical channel , for example primary sccpch , on which the primary mcch channel is mapped . upon switching , the ue 2 rrc layer is enabled to receive the mbms - associated control information transmitted from the utran 6 rrc layer over the mcch channel in step s 305 . upon completion of the transmission of the mbms - associated control information , a second channel switching instruction from the ue 2 rrc layer instructs the ue l 1 / l 2 layer to switch the receiving physical channel back to the sccpch 1 channel in step s 306 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer then performs a channel switching operation to switch the receiving channel back to the original physical channel in step s 307 , for example from the primary sccpch physical channel to which the primary mcch channel is mapped to the sccpch 1 physical channel to which the mtch 1 channel is mapped . after the channel switching operation , the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer receives the mbms data transmitted by the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer over the mtch 1 channel in step s 308 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 13b , a fifth embodiment according to the present invention proposes a method of transmitting and receiving control information associated with a specific service , for example a multimedia broadcast / multicast service ( mbms ). the method utilizes mbms - associated control information transmitted via an mcch channel , with the mtch channel mapped together with the mtch channel to the same physical channel . in the fifth embodiment , as in the fourth embodiment , at least one mtch and one mcch channel are mapped to a physical channel , with one specific mcch channel set as a primary mcch channel for a corresponding cell . unlike the fourth embodiment , the mbms data is transmitted via an mtch channel that is mapped to the same physical channel to which the mcch channel transmitting the mbms - associated control information is mapped . upon establishing the mtch channel for transmitting the mbms data , the mbms - associated control information is transmitted via an mcch channel mapped to the same physical channel to which the mtch channel for transmitting the mbms data is mapped . an mcch channel is established for every physical channel for which an mtch channel is established . mcch channels for transmitting the mbms - associated control information are established such that one mcch channel exists for each specific mbms and for each mtch channel , or for each physical channel to which at least one mtch channel is mapped . the mbms - associated control information for a specific mbms is transmitted via an mcch channel , for example mcch 1 , and the mbms data for the specific mbms is transmitted via an mtch channel , for example mtch 1 , where mcch 1 is mapped together with mtch 1 to the same physical channel , for example sccpch 1 . fig1 illustrates a method 400 for the transmitting and receiving mbms - associated data and control information according to the fifth embodiment of the invention . the method 300 includes sequential steps s 401 through s 403 . the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 and utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layers each include a physical layer , a mac layer , an rlc layer , and a pdcp layer . specific mbms data is transmitted from the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via a specific mtch channel in step s 401 , the specific mtch channel received by a participating ue . if , during mbms data transmission , mbms - associated control information needs to be transmitted to the ue 2 , the utran 6 rrc layer transmits the mbms - associated control information to the ue rrc layer in step s 402 via the mcch channel mapped to a physical channel together with the mtch channel . therefore , the ue 2 needs no channel switching to receive the mbms - associated control information . upon completion of the control information transmission , the utran 6 l 1 / l 2 layer transmits the mbms data to the ue 2 l 1 / l 2 layer via the mtch channel in step s 403 . it is preferable that the participating ue 2 first receive information for establishing the mtch and mcch channels utilized for receiving the mbms service via the primary mcch channel and then receive the mbms data and the mbms - associated control information via the established mtch and mcch channels . more preferably , the mtch and mcch channels are mapped to the same physical channel to reduce the number of physical channels simultaneously received by the ue 2 . the mtch channel may be mapped to the physical channel to which the primary mcch channel is mapped . as illustrated in fig1 a , when the mtch channel is mapped to the physical channel to which the primary mcch channel is mapped , for example primary sccpch , ues 2 receiving the mtch channels , and specifically the mtch 0 channel , receive the mbms - associated control information via the primary mcch channel . excluding the primary mcch channel , all other mcch channels transmit the mbms - associated control information for the mtch channels to which they are mapped . fig1 b and 15c illustrate methods 500 , 600 for transmitting specific mbms - associated control information via the mcch channel mapped to the sccpch channel of fig1 a . fig1 b illustrates the transmission of the control information and data for mbms 0 and fig1 c illustrates the transmission of the control information and data for mbms 1 . as illustrated in fig1 b , a utran 6 enables the transmission of mbms - associated control information via the primary mcch channel prior to establishment of the mtch 0 channel for transmitting mbms 0 data . upon establishing the mtch 0 channel , the ue 2 receives mbms 0 data via the mtch 0 channel and receives the associated control information via the primary mcch channel established on the same physical channel as the mtch 0 channel . as illustrated in fig1 c , a utran 6 enables the transmission of mbms - associated control information via the primary mcch channel prior to establishment of the mtch 1 channel for transmitting the mbms 1 data . the ue 2 acquires the information necessary for establishing the mcch 1 channel via the primary mcch channel and can acquire the information necessary for establishing the mtch 1 channel via the mcch 1 or primary mcch channel . upon establishing the mcch 1 and mtch 1 channels , the ue 2 receives the mbms 1 data via the mtch 1 channel and receives the mbms 1 - associated control information via the mcch 1 channel established on the same physical channel as mtch 1 . fig1 a and 16b illustrate methods 700 , 800 for establishing the mcch channel on a ue 2 in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the invention . as illustrated in fig1 a , the ue 2 acquires the information necessary for establishing the primary mcch channel via a broadcast control channel such as bch , a paging channel such as pch or a page indicator channel such as pich and then establishes the primary mcch channel . a participating ue 2 acquires the necessary information for establishing an mtch channel to receive a packet data service , for example an mbms , via the primary mcch channel since the mcch channel is mapped together with the mtch channel to the same physical channel . the ue 2 then establishes mtch and mcch logical channels using the channel information of the logical channels mapped to the same physical channel . the ue 2 receives the data of the packet data service via the mtch channel and receives the service - associated control information via the mcch channel . as illustrated in fig1 b , the ue 2 establishes the primary mcch channel by acquiring primary mcch channel information via the bch , pch , or pich channel . in order to establish the mcch channel , a participating ue 2 acquires the mcch channel information of a packet data service , for example an mbms , via the primary mcch channel . the ue 2 then receives the data of the packet data service via the established mcch channel . the ue 2 then receives the data of the corresponding service via the mtch channel . referring to fig1 , a block diagram of a mobile communication device 800 of the present invention is illustrated , for example a mobile phone for performing the methods of the present invention . the mobile communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor , an rf module 835 , a power management module 805 , an antenna 840 , a battery 855 , a display 815 , a keypad 820 , a storage unit 830 such as flash memory , rom or sram , a speaker 845 and a microphone 850 . a user enters instructional information , such as a telephone number , for example , by pushing the buttons of the keypad 820 or by voice activation using the microphone 850 . the processing unit 810 receives and processes the instructional information to perform the appropriate function , such as to dial the telephone number . operational data may be retrieved from the storage unit 830 to perform the function . furthermore , the processing unit 810 may display the instructional and operational information on the display 815 for the user &# 39 ; s reference and convenience . the processing unit 810 issues instructional information to the rf section 835 , to initiate communication , for example , by transmitting radio signals comprising voice communication data . the rf module 835 includes a receiver and a transmitter to receive and transmit radio signals . the antenna 840 facilitates the transmission and reception of radio signals . upon receiving radio signals , the rf module 835 may forward and convert the signals to baseband frequency for processing by the processing unit 810 . the processed signals may be transformed into audible or readable information output , for example , via the speaker 845 . in one embodiment of the mobile communication device 800 , the rf module 835 is adapted to receive data and a control information indicator via a first channel and to receive control information via a second channel , the storage unit 830 is adapted to store the data and the control information , and the processing unit 810 is adapted to process service - associated data and the control information indicator received on the first channel in order to receive service - associated control information on the second channel . in another embodiment of the mobile communication device 800 , the rf module 835 is adapted to receive first control information on a first point - to - multipoint channel associated with the service and to receive data and second control information on a second point - to - multipoint channel associated with the service , the storage unit 830 is adapted to store the first control information , the data and the second control information , and the processing unit 810 is adapted to process the first control information and establish the second point - to - multipoint channel in order to receive and process the data and second control information . it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the mobile communication device 800 may be readily implemented using , for example , the processing unit 810 or other data or digital processing device , either alone or in combination with external support logic . fig1 illustrates a block diagram of a utran 920 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the utran 920 includes one or more radio network sub - systems ( rns ) 925 . each rns 925 includes a radio network controller ( rnc ) 923 and a plurality of node - bs 921 , or base stations , managed by the rnc . the rnc 923 handles the assignment and management of radio resources and operates as an access point with respect to the core network 4 . furthermore , the rnc 923 is adapted to perform the methods of the present invention . the node - bs 921 receive information sent by the physical layer of a mobile terminal 800 through an uplink and transmit data to the mobile terminal through a downlink . the node - bs 921 operate as access points , or as a transmitter and receiver , of the utran 920 for the terminal 800 . in one embodiment of the utran 920 , the node - bs 921 are adapted to transmit data and a control information indicator to the mobile terminal 800 via a first channel and to transmit control information to the mobile terminal via a second channel , and the rnc 923 is adapted to provide , on the first channel , service - associated data and a control information indicator indicating transmission of control information on the second channel , and to provide control information associated with the service and / or another service on the second channel . in another embodiment of the utran 920 , the node - bs 921 are adapted to transmit first control information to the mobile terminal 800 via a first point - to - multipoint channel and to transmit data and second control information to the mobile terminal via a second point - to - multipoint channel , and the rnc 923 is adapted to provide the first control information on the first point - to - multipoint channel and to provide the data and second control information on the second point - to - multipoint channel after the second point - to - multipoint channel is established by the mobile terminal . as described above , when transmitting service - associated control information via a first logical channel , such as mcch , a mobile terminal is informed via a first physical channel to which a second logical channel carrying service - associated data , such as mtch , is mapped that the service - associated control information will be transmitted on a second physical channel , or the service - associated control information is transmitted to the mobile terminal via the same physical channel to which the second logical channel carrying service - associated data is mapped . the mobile terminal need not simultaneously receive two physical channels in order to receive mbms data and mbms control information . in a umts system providing mbms services , any physical channel transmitting specific mbms - associated data may also transmit the necessary specific mbms - associated control information , thereby minimizing the number of physical channels a ue is required to simultaneously receive . minimizing the number of physical channels reduces the need for an enhanced capability , higher cost ue that can simultaneously receive multiple physical channels in order to receive additional services in addition to the specific mbms . although the present invention is described in the context of mobile communication , the present invention may also be used in any wireless communication systems using mobile devices , such as pdas and laptop computers equipped with wireless communication capabilities . moreover , the use of certain terms to describe the present invention should not limit the scope of the present invention to certain type of wireless communication system , such as umts . the present invention is also applicable to other wireless communication systems using different air interfaces and / or physical layers , for example , tdma , cdma , fdma , wcdma , etc . the preferred embodiments may be implemented as a method , apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to produce software , firmware , hardware , or any combination thereof . the term โ article of manufacture โ as used herein refers to code or logic implemented in hardware logic ( e . g ., an integrated circuit chip , field programmable gate array ( fpga ), application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), etc .) or a computer readable medium ( e . g ., magnetic storage medium ( e . g ., hard disk drives , floppy disks , tape , etc . ), optical storage ( cd - roms , optical disks , etc . ), volatile and non - volatile memory devices ( e . g ., eeproms , roms , proms , rams , drams , srams , firmware , programmable logic , etc .). code in the computer readable medium is accessed and executed by a processor . the code in which preferred embodiments are implemented may further be accessible through a transmission media or from a file server over a network . in such cases , the article of manufacture in which the code is implemented may comprise a transmission media , such as a network transmission line , wireless transmission media , signals propagating through space , radio waves , infrared signals , etc . of course , those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope of the present invention , and that the article of manufacture may comprise any information bearing medium known in the art . the logic implementation shown in the figures described specific operations as occurring in a particular order . in alternative implementations , certain of the logic operations may be performed in a different order , modified or removed and still implement preferred embodiments of the present invention . moreover , steps may be added to the above described logic and still conform to implementations of the invention . | 7 |
a representative application of the invention is illustrated by fig1 to include an open bore hole 10 having a casing liner 12 suspended therein . the casing liner may be a continuous pipe string that is supported at or near the surface , or , alternatively , may be concentrically sleeved within a larger diameter casing and suspended from an intermediate depth . an internal flow bore 13 of the casing liner is accessible at the surface as a conduit for well working fluids or as a mechanical guide channel for other tools and instruments suspended from the surface into and along the casing liner flow bore . other applications of the invention may include , for example , a production tube within a cased and perforated bore hole . the lower end of the casing liner may include an upper packer 14 and a lower packer 16 . although fluid inflatable packers are preferred , it should be understood that the term โ packer โ is merely a convenience reference to any form of selectively engaged annulus barrier that obstructs the continuity of the annulus 18 . the packers 14 and 16 are separated by a distance d corresponding to the desired length of an annulus production collar 20 and linked by a casing liner subsection 22 . the packers 14 and 16 are located , for example , along the length of the borehole 10 in relation to a particular well fluid production zone . within the casing liner subsection 22 , and preferably adjacent to the lowermost packer 16 , is an egress cementing valve 24 for channeling a discharge flow of uncured , fluidized cement from a cementing tool into the collar annulus 20 . the material described herein as โ cement โ may also be or include other phase changing materials such as epoxies , polyesters , etc . an ingress cementing valve 26 for the return of fluid and other matter displaced by the cement occupation of the collar 20 annulus volume is preferably provided in the subsection 22 adjacent to the uppermost packer 14 . although the preferred sequence and order of the cementing valves is to locate the egress valve 24 in the proximity of the lower packer 16 and to locate the ingress valve 26 in the proximity of the uppermost packer 14 , those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate the fact that the sequence and order may be reversed . with respect to fig4 and 5 , the egress cementing valve 24 comprises a tubular housing 30 subtended at opposite ends by threaded connecting subs 32 and 34 . near the upper connecting sub 32 , the housing 30 is perforated by one or more orifices 35 . the orifices are initially sealed by respective rupture discs 36 . internally of the housing 30 , a closing sleeve 38 is provided with a close sliding fit against the inside wall surface of the tubular housing 30 . the closing sleeve has a limited freedom of axial translation in opposite directions along the housing for opening and closing the orifice 35 to fluid flow after the rupture discs 36 are discharged and the orifice 35 opened . a circumferential rib 40 flanked by glide ramps 42 around the inside circumference of the closing sleeve provides an operational connection to a shifting tool 106 that will be described subsequently . integral with and positioned between the closing sleeve 38 and the guide sleeve 46 are a plurality of axially extended , resilient collet reeds 44 . the outside perimeter of the collet reeds carries a latching shoulder 45 . a locking piston 47 displaced by internal bore pressure is secured against axial translation by a calibrated shear pin 48 . a displacement space 49 is provided to receive the piston 47 . a radially biased piston skirt 50 closes against the end surface 52 of the guide sleeve 46 . however , the locking piston 47 will not secure the closed position of the closing sleeve 38 over the orifice 35 until the locking piston is translated into the displacement space 49 . such translation is selectively actuated by sufficient fluid pressure within the internal flow bore 13 bearing on the end of the locking piston to shear the pin 48 . the actuation pressure is normally imposed by surface pumps not illustrated . the outer perimeter of the guide sleeve 46 carries a latching shoulder 54 that cooperates with the end of the biased skirt 50 to prevent reopening of the orifices 35 once the closing sleeve 38 has been translated to the closed position and the locking sleeve 47 has been translated into the displacement space 49 . the ingress cementing valve 26 is described by reference to fig6 which illustrates an upper connecting sub 62 and a lower connecting sub 64 . in threaded assembly between the two connecting subs is a tubular housing 60 . the housing 60 is perforated by orifices 66 . for downhole run - in , the orifices are closed by pressure rupture discs 67 . internally , the housing 60 confines a closing sleeve 68 . the sleeve 68 is assembled to the internal bore of the housing 60 with a close sliding fit that overlies the orifices 66 . collet reeds 70 carry a detent ridge 72 . the collet reeds resiliently bias the ridge into a circumferential detent channel 74 to releasably restrain the collet and closing sleeve at the open orifice position illustrated . the internal bore of the closing sleeve may include a circumferential tool rib 76 flanked by guide ramps 78 . the outer perimeter of the closing sleeve includes a radially expansible lock ring 80 . between the ingress valve upper sub 62 and the housing 60 is a lock piston 82 that is axially secured by a calibrated shear pin 83 . predetermined fluid pressure within the flow bore 13 applied to the inside cross - section of the bore shears the lock pins 83 . upon failure of the lock pins 83 , the lock piston 82 shifts into the displacement space 84 and removes the piston skirt 86 from the housing counterbore shoulder 88 . when the counterbore shoulder 88 is exposed and the closing sleeve 68 is shifted to the orifice 66 closure position , the lock ring 80 expands into the channel between the counterbore shoulder 88 and the end of the lock piston skirt 86 . this meshing of the lock ring 80 against the counterbore shoulder 88 secures the sleeve 68 from subsequent opening . secured around the external perimeter of the housing 60 is a calibrated screen 90 . the term screen is used herein to include all forms of sized flow paths which , for examples , may include meshed wire , parallel slots and drilled or punched orifices . orifice or mesh opening dimensions or gage is highly dependent upon the material to be used with the collar forming cement . if the material blended with the cement is particulate , the orifices are sized to barely but confidently retain the particulate in a bridged position across the mesh or slot opening . an objective is to close the cement ingress path through the orifices 66 when the collar annulus is packed with cement . as a consequence of the operative cooperation between the screen mesh size and the cement blended particulate size , the collar annulus 20 must be filled with cement before all openings in the screen 90 are closed . a specific example of the foregoing might include a 12 ga . meshed or slotted screen around the ingress orifices 66 to receive a collar annulus cement blended with resieved 20 / 40 u . s . mesh gravel . appropriate particulates may include sand or ground glass . however , non - particulate cement additives may also be used to exploit flow properties such jelling or congealing under dynamic conditions . with respect to fig7 the cementing tool 100 comprises a threaded assembly of three sectors including upper sealing elements 102 and lower sealing elements 104 . between the sealing elements is a shifting tool 106 . the sealing elements may be substantially passive swab seals . the shifting tool 106 comprises a plurality of cylindrically distributed collet reeds 108 having symmetric ramp faces 110 flanking a tool ridge engagement slot 112 . the reed base sleeve 114 is secured to an upper collar 116 having a concentrically sliding fit about an outer mandrel 118 . a lower collar 120 is threadably assembled with the outer mandrel but loosely overlies free tips 122 of the collet reeds 108 . an annular , spring compliance space 124 spans beneath the collet reeds . the outer mandrel 118 is a static , threaded assembly of tube between an upper collar 126 and a lower collar 128 . the upper collar 126 assembles with the terminal end of a cement delivery conduit not illustrated . the cement delivery conduit extends to the wellbore surface and is connected at the surface to a pumped delivery system . between the upper and lower collars 126 and 128 is a cooperative box joint 130 and pin joint 132 . the box joint is penetrated by an inner cement discharge orifice 134 . an inner mandrel 136 extends from the upper collar 126 to the lower collar 128 . an inner cement discharge orifice 138 aligns with the outer discharge orifice 134 . below the inner discharge orifice 138 is a bore plug seat 140 adapted to receive a surface launched bore sealing element 142 such as a ball , rod or dart . the invention method sequence is most conveniently understood from the schematic of fig2 which illustrates a raw borehole wall 10 having a collar annulus 20 between a casing liner 12 and the borehole wall 10 . the collar annulus extends along the borehole length between the upper packer 14 and the lower packer 16 . between the packers 14 and 16 is the egress cementing valve 24 and the ingress cementing valve 26 . the flow orifice 66 of the ingress valve 26 is shielded by a calibrated mesh screen 90 . the cementing tool 100 is suspended within the internal bore of the casing liner 12 thereby providing an internal annulus 13 . this internal annulus 13 is internal of the collar annulus 20 . the cementing tool is positioned along the borehole length relative to the egress valve 35 . the sealing elements 102 and 104 are located on opposite sides of the egress valve 35 and expanded to isolate the inner annulus section 92 . this isolated inner annulus 92 provides a channel for the cement flow down the cementing tool flow bore from the orifices 138 to the orifices 35 of the egress valve 24 . the annulus 92 between the cementing tool 100 and the casing liner 12 is isolated between the sealing elements 102 and 104 . consequently , the forced flow of cement is routed further through the egress valve 35 into the collar annulus 20 . when the tool 100 is positioned as required and the inner annulus sealing elements 102 and 104 are expanded , the dart 142 is deposited in the tool flow bore to seal the tube bore at the seat 140 . pump pressure within the flow bore may thereafter be increased to open the rapture disc in the egress valve 35 . the ingress valve rupture disc 67 may also be opened at this time and the collar annulus 20 proceed to receive cement . as the collar annulus fills with cement from the egress valve 35 , downhole formation fluids , drilling fluids and other debris is forced from the collar annulus 20 through the screen 90 and into the ingress orifice 66 until the cement reaches the screen 90 . fluids and other materials passing through the ingress orifice 66 are channeled uphole along the annulus 13 between the cementing tool 100 and the casing liner 12 . as the aggregate laden cement attempts to penetrate the screen 90 , the particulates correspondingly plug the protective mesh thereby effectively closing the ingress valve 26 . the fact that the screen 90 enclosing the ingress valve 26 has plugged is objectively reported at the well surface by the discharge pressure in the cement displacement pump . the pump discharge pressure against the fluid column bearing on the cement abruptly rises . that fluid column is carried in the tubing bore of cementing tool 100 . with the cement collar 20 in place , the orifice 35 of egress valve 24 is closed by a translated shift of the sleeve 38 . the cementing tool sealing elements 102 and 104 are retracted and the shifting tool 106 is manipulated to engage the shifting tool engagement slot 112 with the sleeve 38 rib 40 . when engaged , the sleeve 38 is shifted to underlie the orifice 35 and thereby isolate it from the interior bore . when the sleeve 38 shifts , the radially inward spring bias of the locking piston 47 skirt 50 contracts the locking piston radially to present an abuttment obstacle to the sleeve 38 latching shoulder 54 thereby caging the sleeve at the orifice closed position . if desired , the orifice 55 may be reopened once by the shifting tool 106 . again the tool slots 112 engage the ribs 40 of the ingress valve sleeve 38 . force is applied on the tool 100 to shear the retaining pin 48 and displace the locking piston into the space 49 . after the ingress orifice 38 is closed , the shifting tool 106 is manipulated to engage the ingress valve 26 sleeve ridge 76 . the closing sleeve 68 is shifted to underlie and close the orifice 66 . the closing sleeve 68 is held at the open position by the collet reed detent ridge 72 resting in the housing detent channel 74 . when shifting force is applied to the sleeve 68 , the detent ridge 72 resiliently yields from the channel 74 , but expands to abut the housing shoulder 75 . shifting of the sleeve 68 to the orifice closure position also places the sleeve lock ring 80 contiguously within the piston skirt 86 of the lock piston 82 . opening and closing of the egress orifice 66 by reverse shifting of the sleeve 68 is optional until the lock piston 82 is shifted by fluid pressure within the internal flow bore 13 . sufficient flow bore pressure on the interior end of the lock piston 82 shears the retaining pin 84 to allow translation of the lock piston into the displacement space 84 . such translation extracts the piston skirt from around the resiliently biased lock ring 80 which consequently expands into the circumferential channel evacuated by the piston skirt 86 . although the invention has been described in terms of specified embodiments which are set forth in detail , it should be understood that this is by illustration only and that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto . alternative embodiments and operating techniques will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the present disclosure . accordingly , modifications of the invention are contemplated which may be made without departing from the spirit of the claimed invention . | 4 |
the present invention relates generally to audio and multimedia systems and more particularly to using a memory card for providing high quality non - compressed audio and multimedia data ( video , pictures , text ) or any other digital files in a variety of environments . the following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements . various modifications to the preferred embodiment and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . the description of the present invention makes numerous references to audio data , because this data is still the most frequently copied , and used of multimedia data . a favorite song is replayed more often , than for example a favorite movie , picture or book . however , one of ordinary skill in the art readily recognizes that the present invention is related any multimedia ( video , picture , text ) presentation or any other types of digital files . in the context of the present application , the expression โ removable memory device โ describes any kind of physical media carrier ( like flash memory card , usb flash memory , portable hard disc etc .) or any future equivalent solution . however , due to compact size , reliability , mass production and low price the removable flash memory cards will be utilized throughout the present application because a removable flash memory card is type kind of removable memory device . the removable flash memory card , with copy controlled security solutions are preferred storage media . secure digital ( sd ), secure digital high capacity ( sdhc ), secure digital extended capacity ( sdxc ), micro sd and flash memory cards are highly recommended . fig3 illustrates a system 100 for the use of one or more removable memory devices with a specified data organization to allow for the commercial distribution multimedia / software / commercial digital data files . as is seen , music is performed and recorded 12 โฒ. thereafter the audio files created by recording the music are edited and mastered 14 โฒ. then the multimedia data is sent to one or more servers 102 a and 102 b . there are two ways for copying a multimedia data into removable memory devices 106 . the server 102 a provides the data to a factory which records the data on a plurality of removable memory devices 106 a - 106 c . these prerecorded removable memory devices devices 106 a - 106 c are then distributed via shops to users of a hi - fi system 122 a , a portable system 122 b and a personal device 122 c . server 102 b for example , would distribute the multimedia files as a download over a public network such as the internet to the computer terminals of the final purchaser of the multimedia data . for example , the removable memory devices 106 d - 106 f can be used for a car device system 22 d , a computer 22 e and a mobile phone 122 f . fig4 illustrates an example of a removable memory device in accordance with an embodiment . as can be seen different types of contents such as multimedia data 152 , general data 154 and personal unique data 156 can be stored on removable memory device 106 and unique security codes protects illegal access ( read , write modify , copy ) to the stored data . to play the same content on different devices , the removable memory device 106 is the media carrier with stored digital data instead of copying files between devices . this solution allows for the borrowing and / or renting of multimedia and other contents between different users in fully legal way , without risk to illegal copying . in addition by same final user , using the same media on different devices its operation within those devices will be quick and easy . a large quantity of existing multimedia needs an efficient way to organize them . there exists some solutions , but they are limited to one device group ( for example unix based computer or ipod ยฎ portable player ), and there are not fully compatible . multimedia and other digital data not only needs organization , but also needs correct relationships . a system and method in accordance with the present invention creates a relationship between audio , video , picture and text . these relationships , like song & gt ; song lyrics & gt ; song performer photo & gt ; song composer biography & gt ; live song performance video & gt ; interview with composer video are created by multimedia supplier . multimedia relationships and organization , as described for example in u . s . application ser . no . ______ ( to be assigned ) entitled , secure digital music album format , filed on even date herewith , is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated in its entirety herein , are stored on removable memory device together with multimedia data . the above identified application discloses a multimedia application format and method of use . instead of exchanging the data associated with multimedia information from one media to another , the media itself is transferred from one player to another . the media is integrated , easy to use , and is possible to apply both to the low quality as well as the high quality audio environment . the format includes but is not limited to music , as well as a booklet , cover , text information , video and photo gallery . the new format does not limit the removable memory card / sd card to only a media carrier but constitutes , rather , a dedicated and controlled interface to internet contents . at the same time , there is a range of players that are created for personal , portable , car audio , as well as hi - fi and hi - end users . by changing removable memory device the user not only changes the data therewithin , but also provides the correct organization and relationships between the data . the multimedia data ( with relationships and organization ) will be prepared by commercial suppliers ( like media labels ). even if the data exists in other formats it will be possible to use them on the removable memory device through the use of the conversion programs thereon . to describe these features in more detail refer now to following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures . fig5 is an audio data flow diagram of a memory audio player 200 using uncompressed data . as is seen , the audio player 200 includes a rewritable memory 234 that accepts audio files 232 a - 232 n of different types . within the audio player 200 are a plurality of decoders 236 a - 236 n that receives the data from those files via the memory 34 . the resultant files are then provided to a removable memory device 106 which is able to play on a variety of players . a removable memory player 202 receives uncompressed data and the d / a converter 240 therewithin converts the data to analog signals for the user . converting the data on the removable memory device is performed once , and then all multimedia stored on removable memory device 106 will be able to play on any future player which has the same format . an album is the most popular , successful and clear kind of organizing and relating of existed multimedia . each album can include audio tracks , video tracks , pictures related to complete album , pictures related to specified track , text files related to complete album , and text files related to specified track . all of the multimedia data of an album can be stored on one removable memory device for easy and legal exchanging contents between different devices and different users . many albums can be stored on one removable memory device for compact collection all needed albums with immediately , random access to each one . the removable memory device with many albums also can be changed and played on different player devices . also , new multimedia contents can be added to existing albums . for example , to archive record of chopin sonatas can be added photographs , videos , text . a classic music album consists of music tracks , front - back cover and text booklet can be expanded with a lot of pictures , multi - language texts , video clips . a system and method in accordance with the present invention , will allow for the full integration of all multimedia files and relationships . fig6 is an example of data files organization for a complex multimedia albums organization . in this example an album includes common pictures , common text , a plurality of videos and a plurality of music tracks . there would also be a plurality of other albums that would be organized in the same way on the device 106 . there are many possible kinds of multimedia albums . it includes but is not limited to albums that are music - oriented ( like classic cd record with booklet , with reduced video information ), movie - oriented albums with reduced audio information ) and the like . even simple albums , like catalogs , manual guides and many other are possible . fig7 shows an example of very simple album structure , with guide โ how to repair your bicycle โ. accordingly , a system and method in accordance with the present invention integrates low and high quality solutions . sound , video or picture quality will depend of player device quality , not of the stored data . a system and method in accordance with the present invention integrates multimedia solutions for high and low quality devices , stationary , portable , car , personal , computer and other . even if the player device will have a limited functionality ( for example no display ) it can use these same removable memory device reading only a part of the data from the device . fig8 , 9 , 10 illustrate a prototype of a high quality , audio removable memory card player , with no video , picture or text play possibilities . a system and method in accordance with the present invention allows for the both types of integration of commercial distribution of data : as sale of physical media carrier or as downloaded data as shown in fig3 . the same removable memory device with stored multimedia data can be used in all future devices with full compatibility based on the use of the same organizational structure . the operation ( navigation , display , etc ) should be as similar as possible for all player devices . learning the operation of one system utilizing the removable memory device only needs to occur once , the final user will then be able use the removable memory device 106 on any system . due to the differences between devices some minor differences of operation ways are acceptable . for example , mobile phones has limited keyboard ( or even have no keyboard โ but only touchscreen ) to compare with computers . large plasma or lcd tv can be operated only by remote control , not by touchscreen as in portable players . audio data can be stored as uncompressed , high quality files uses native pcm format with sampling frequencies from 44 khz to 200 khz , data word 16 to 32 bit . two to eight audio channels are expected and compressed files are permitted . uncompressed audio data not only ensures the highest sound quality , but also they don &# 39 ; t need complicated decoding . it is possible to play them even by the simplest players as shown in fig5 . a uncompressed audio data file is also the most versatile format . uncompressed files require more memory than compressed ones , but as the technology rapidly progresses the capacity of removable memory devices also rapidly increases with lower prices . the sound quality of removable memory device player as digital audio source is the highest possible . it has been determined when comparing music that is the same audio data on the a high quality cd player ( ancient audio lektor grand se ) shown for example in fig1 and a prototype removable memory device ( secure digital flash memory card ) audio player , shown in fig8 , 9 and 10 . due to the lack of moving parts , and simple internal architecture the sound quality of prototype removable memory player was higher . any coding of video signals is acceptable . because video signal generates much more data than audio , a lossy compression / coding is necessary . different resolutions of video signal are also permitted . high quality and high resolution video data files typically require complicated decoders . to use a method and system in accordance with the present invention broadly , the video data can be coded in a plurality of resolutions / qualities . for example the video can be coded into three resolutions / qualities . they will be described below . high definition ( like 1080 ร 1920 pixels progressive or similar ) video data files , will be suited for big plasma / lcd displays . medium resolution video data files , like vga , pal , ntsc ( 720 ร 576 pixels or similar ) as classic tv or dvd picture quality will be suited for portable computers , medium - size tv sets , and car / portable devices . low resolution video data files ( like qvga : 240 ร 320 pixels ) will be suited for simple , portable devices ( as mobile phones ) with limited computing power . each high definition and medium resolution video data file can be also stored as additional , low resolution video file . this ensures playability albums even on simplest devices . in a preferred embodiment , a video coding / decoding standard for each resolution / quality degree for absolute compatibility is desirable . it is preferable to store pictures in a high resolution ( 1024 ร 1024 pixels or higher ) format . any coding system can be used ; however jpeg format is the preferred coding system . even very large pictures ( high resolution ) can be easily downscaled for the small displays of portable devices . any text data can be stored ; however utf - 16 format is preferred . utf - 16 text format needs two bytes for one character , ( instead of one byte in case of popular ascii ) but ensures common coding to all languages . a system and method in accordance with the present invention can be applied also to commercial distribution any digital data , software , programs ( like games , utility programs , office programs , industrial control etc .). also any advertising data ( audio , video , picture , text , programs ) can be easy added . a system and method in accordance with the present can be applied to the storing of any personal individual , unique data like bank data , access / security , documents , professional data , pin ( personal identification number ) etc . the removable memory device should have the protected memory area , with no direct access by final user . each removable memory device ) should have a unique media identifier number , and other data stored in hidden memory area . the unique keycode stored on hidden memory area of removable memory device can include media identifier unique number and other secret data , generated by multimedia or data provider . each removable memory device with stored multimedia or another data files can also store one or more unique keycodes . also the unique keycode can be use for dedicated , individual access for any future multimedia , data , tickets etc , by internet or any digital networks or devices . fig1 illustrates individual access using a unique keycode . first , the unique media identifier number is read from removable memory device 106 by digital data provider server 302 . then , the unique keycode is calculated and stored in a hidden area of removable memory device 106 . also , the unique keycode is stored in customer database 304 of digital data provider . as the next step , multimedia and other data contents is written into the removable memory device 106 . the removable memory device 106 is ready , for example for play by final user player 304 . later , the unique keycode form removable memory device 106 is read by digital data provider server 302 as media / content identification that can used for personalized , individual access for any future data , news , promotion , tickets etc . fig1 illustrates an example of dedicated access to internet utilizing the removable memory device 606 . the multimedia contents of โ chopin album โ are stored on removable memory device 606 , with the unique keycode by legally downloading data from record label server 608 . the keycode is also stored in record label customer database 610 . the removable memory device 606 with โ chopin album โ is played by final user home hi - fi system 612 . three months later , a final user again connects to record label server 608 applying removable memory device 606 with stored โ chopin album โ. the a unique keycode is sent to a record label server 608 . the server 608 verifies the unique keycode with the customer database . as a bonus for the owner of legally copying card , the server enables access to โ chopin competition winner โ video , an article about polish pianists , and discount for the next classical music album , free tickets for chopin concert in warszawa , and announces the most attractive chopin concerts worldwide . an access to extra data and offers , described above will be possible only for owners of previously , legally downloaded cards . it will work as additional copy protection โ owners of illegally copied cards without correct unique keycode will have no additional , individual access to extra values . also , the unique keycode will enable the described invention as open system . due to easy identification of the removable memory device and its stored data it will be possible to add new or extra related data , or modify old . for data / copyright security , copy protection right management ( cprm ) system or another copy / access control system can be applied for any removable memory device . although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown , one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
throughout this description , the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars , rather than limitations , of the present invention . the present invention is directed to a multi - rate aggregation scheme that is in the form of psdu bursting , which aggregates multiple frames , either to the same receiver or a number of receivers of the same rate , in a single psdu and bursts a number of psdus of various rates in sequence . to allow for a mrmra , the psdu bursting suspends temporarily after it transmits a mrmra . after receiving acknowledgements from the recipients of the mrmra , a block acknowledgement , is transmitted and the bursting resumes . this approach seamlessly combines mrmra and multi - rate aggregation without introducing any degradation in channel utilization . referring to fig1 , there is illustrated an example timing diagram 100 illustrating an aspect of the present invention . a timeline t is employed for the purpose of illustrating the various timing sequences illustrated in timing diagram 100 . at t 1 , illustrated by doted line 130 , a burst is initiated that sends a portion 102 of a ppdu that comprises frame 0 104 , frame 1 106 and frame 2 , 108 , where frame 2 108 is a mrmra frame . the burst continues , and at time t 2 , illustrated by dotted line 132 , the mrma frame 108 is encountered . the burst is suspended after sending the mrma frame 108 at t 3 , illustrated by dotted line 134 . the burst is suspended until time t 4 , illustrated by dotted line 136 . in a preferred embodiment the amount of time for suspending the burst is contained within the mrmra frame 108 . for example , mrmra frame 108 contains a spoofed nav field to prevent third parties from transmitting between times t 3 and t 4 which can also be used by the initiator to determine how long to suspend the burst transmission . while the burst is suspended , e . g ., from t 3 to t 4 , acknowledgements are received from receivers of the mrmra frame 108 . as shown in the example of fig1 , acknowledgements with data ( ack + data 110 and ack + data 112 ) are received between t 3 and t 4 . it should be noted that acknowledgements can be sent by themselves , or can include bidirectional data as shown in fig1 . the initiator of the burst sends a block acknowledgement with data ( ba + data ) 114 . preferably , all of the receivers of the mrmra have sent an ack or an ack + data in response to the mrmra frame 108 . however , if one of the intended recipients of the mrmra frame 108 does not respond to an mpdu , the initiator may retry transmitting the mpdu after sending the block acknowledgement 114 , or alternatively , may include the mpdu in a future mrmra , depending on the initiator &# 39 ; s policy . time line 118 illustrates the amount of time , t 2 to t 4 , used for sending the mrmra frame 108 , receiving the acknowledgements 112 and 114 , and the block acknowledgement 116 . at t 4 , the burst resumes , sending the remaining portion 120 of the ppdu . the burst comprising frame 3 122 , frame 4 124 and frame 5 126 , and is completed , as shown at time t 6 . however , if another mrmra frame ( not shown ) is encountered in the remaining portion of 120 of the ppdu , the burst is again suspended and the mrmra is processed . extending mrmra to multi - rate aggregation is a significant enhancement to aggregation mechanism , which greatly widens the application scopes of both mrmra and multi - rate aggregation . it is especially beneficial in enterprise environment for applications such as wireless voice over ip . one aspect of the present invention is that it allows for multiple responses , a desirable feature for many wireless applications . another aspect of the present invention is that it allows for multi - rate aggregation , so that there are more frames to aggregate than single rate cases . referring now to fig2 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an aggregate data frame 200 with multiple messages in accordance with an aspect of the present invention . data frame 200 , as shown has a ppdu header ( plcp header ) 202 , a first data unit ( psdu 1 ) 204 , a second data unit psdu 2 ) 206 and can have additional data units 208 . psdu 1 204 comprises a first header and a first data segment . the first header has data fields for indicating the scheduled response time for acknowledging receipt of pdsu 1 204 . likewise , psdu 2 206 has a second header and a second data segment , wherein the second header has data fields for indicating the scheduled response time for acknowledging receipt of psdu 2 206 . additional data units 208 can be appended to aggregate data frame 200 as desired . the additional data units 208 can have fields to indicate scheduled response times for corresponding data units . plcp header 202 can have a field indicating the length of aggregate data frame 200 . the value set in the field indicating the length of aggregate data frame 200 can be spoofed to include the length of time of aggregate data frame 200 , the length of time allocated for a response to psdu 1 204 , the time period allocated for a response to psdu 2 206 , and the time period allocated for responding to any additional data units 208 . for example , if aggregate data frame 200 is a ppdu frame , a nav in pclp header 202 can be used to indicate the length of data frame 200 . each data unit , psdu 1 204 , psdu 2 206 and any additional data units 208 can have a corresponding nav and txop set to indicate the time to respond and the length of is time allocated for their corresponding response . the nav in plcp header 202 would be set to include the length of aggregate data frame 110 , the scheduled response period ( txop ) for psdu 1 204 , scheduled response period ( txop ) for psdu 2 206 and any other additional data units 208 . the nav for the aggregate data frame can also include any sif or other interframe time periods . fig3 is a block diagram of an exemplary ppdu header 202 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention . the frame header includes at least one header field 222 , nav 224 and txop 226 . the at least one header field 222 can include any fields desired for the header of the associated psdu frame , including but not limited to synchronization ( synch ), source , destination , frame check sequence ( e . g ., crc ) or for any field defined in the 802 . 11 or appropriate specification for the frame . nav 224 indicates to the recipient when to send an acknowledgement to the psdu frame . txop 226 field indicates the amount of time allocated for the acknowledgement for the psdu frame . frame headers similarly configured like frame header 202 can be employed by the psdu &# 39 ; s within the mrmra , for example psdu 1 204 , psdu 2 206 and additional data units 208 ( fig2 ). when a receiver that is not a recipient of the mrmra receives the mrmra , it sets its nav corresponding to the nav in the ppdu header 202 . if the receiver is a receiver of the mrmra , then it sets its nav according to the nav in the corresponding psdu . in view of the foregoing structural and functional features described above , a methodology in accordance with various aspects of the present invention will be better appreciated with reference to fig4 . while , for purposes of simplicity of explanation , the methodology of fig4 , is shown and described as executing serially , it is to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the illustrated order , as some aspects could , in accordance with the present invention , occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other aspects from that shown and described herein . moreover , not all illustrated features may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with an aspect the present invention . embodiments of the present invention are suitably adapted to implement the methodology in hardware , software , or a combination thereof . referring to fig4 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a methodology 400 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention . at 402 a burst transmission is initiated . frames of the burst transmission are examined at 404 , where it is determined whether a multi - receiver multi - response ( mrmra ) frame is encountered . if at 404 it is determined an mrmra frame is being processed ( yes ) at 406 the mrmra frame is transmitted . at 408 the burst is suspended . the initiator of the burst then waits for the end of the response period as shown at 410 . in a preferred embodiment , the length of time for the initiator to wait is included in the mrmra . for example , for an 802 . 11 implementation , a spoofed nav in the header of the mrmra is used to determine how long to wait . the nav for the mrmra can also include any sif or other interframe time periods . during the response period , recipients of the mrmra packet respond with an acknowledgement ( ack ) or with an acknowledgement that includes data for the initiator ( ack + data ). at 412 the initiator sends a block acknowledgement ( block ack ). optionally , the block acknowledgement may include bidirectional data . the block acknowledgement is sent to the recipients of the mrmra . preferably , all of the receivers of the mrmra have sent an ack or an ack + data in response to the mrmra . however , if one of the intended recipients of the mrmra does not respond to an mpdu , the initiator may retry transmitting the mpdu after sending the block acknowledgement at 412 , or alternatively , may include the mpdu in a future mrmra , depending on the initiator &# 39 ; s policy . at 414 , it is determined whether the burst is finished . if the burst is finished ( yes ), then the initiator stops transmitting at 416 . if the burst is not finished ( no ), then the methodology 400 returns to 404 where the next frame is evaluated . if at 404 it is determined that the frame being transmitted is not an mrmra ( no ), then at 418 bursting continues and the next frame is transmitted . at 414 , it is determined whether the burst is finished . if the burst is finished ( yes ), then the initiator stops transmitting at 416 . if the burst is not finished ( no ), then the methodology 400 returns to 404 where the next frame is evaluated . it should be noted that if at 414 it is determined that the burst is not completed , processing returns to 404 for the next frame . if the next frame is an mrmra , then the burst is again suspended and 406 , 408 , 410 and 412 are repeated . if the next frame is not an mrmra , then as shown at 418 the burst continues . the burst may be suspended as many times as necessary for processing mrmra frames . fig5 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 500 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented . computer system 500 includes a bus 502 or other communication mechanism for communicating information and a processor 504 coupled with bus 502 for processing information . computer system 500 also includes a main memory 506 , such as random access memory ( ram ) or other dynamic storage device coupled to bus 502 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 504 . main memory 506 also may be used for storing a temporary variable or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 504 . computer system 500 further includes a ready only memory ( rom ) 508 or other static storage device coupled to bus 502 for storing static information and instructions for processor 504 . a storage device 510 , such as a magnetic disk or optical disk , is provided and coupled to bus 502 for storing information and instructions . an aspect of the present invention is related to the use of computer system 500 for multi - rate multi - receiver multi - response aggregation ( mrmrmra ). according to one embodiment of the invention , mrmra is provided by computer system 500 in response to processor 504 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 506 . such instructions may be read into main memory 506 from another computer - readable medium , such as storage device 510 . execution of the sequence of instructions contained in main memory 506 causes processor 504 to perform the process steps described herein . one or more processors in a multi - processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 506 . in alternative embodiments , hard - wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention . thus , embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software . the term โ computer - readable medium โ as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 504 for execution . such a medium may take many forms , including but not limited to non - volatile media , volatile media , and transmission media . non - volatile media include for example optical or magnetic disks , such as storage device 510 . volatile media include dynamic memory such as main memory 506 . transmission media include coaxial cables , copper wire and fiber optics , including the wires that comprise bus 502 . transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radio frequency ( rf ) and infrared ( ir ) data communications . common forms of computer - readable media include for example floppy disk , a flexible disk , hard disk , magnetic cards , paper tape , any other physical medium with patterns of holes , a ram , a prom , an eprom , a flashprom , any other memory chip or cartridge , a carrier wave as described hereinafter , or any other medium from which a computer can read . various forms of computer - readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 504 for execution . for example , the instructions may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a remote computer . the remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem . a modem local to computer system 500 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal . an infrared detector coupled to bus 502 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on bus 502 . bus 502 carries the data to main memory 506 from which processor 504 retrieves and executes the instructions . the instructions received by main memory 506 may optionally be stored on storage device 510 either before or after execution by processor 504 . optionally , computer system 500 includes a communication interface 518 coupled to bus 502 . communication interface 518 provides a two - way data communication coupling to a network link 520 that is connected to a local network 522 . for example , communication interface 518 may be an integrated services digital network ( isdn ) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line . as another example , communication interface 518 may be a local area network ( lan ) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible lan . wireless links may also be implemented . in any such implementation , communication interface 518 sends and receives electrical , electromagnetic , or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information . network link 520 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices . for example , network link 520 may provide a connection through local network 522 to a host computer 524 . local network 122 uses electrical , electromagnetic , and / or optical signals that carry the digital data to and from computer system 500 , are exemplary forms of carrier waves transporting the information . computer system 500 can send messages and receive data , including program codes , through the network ( s ), network link 520 , and communication interface 518 . for example , host 524 might transmit a requested code for an application program through local network 522 , and communication interface 518 . in accordance with the invention , one such downloaded application provides for implementing mrmrmra as described herein . the received code may be executed by processor 504 as it is received , and / or stored in storage device 510 , or other non - volatile storage for later execution . in this manner , computer system 500 may obtain application code in the form of a carrier wave . fig6 is a block diagram of a system 600 configured to operate in accordance with an aspect of the present invention . system 600 includes a transmitter 602 and a receiver 604 . a controller ( control ) 606 , for example a computer system 500 ( fig5 ), is suitably adapted for controlling the transmitter 602 and receiver 604 . controller 606 suitably includes program code , or logic for performing control functions . โ logic โ, as used herein , includes but is not limited to hardware , firmware , software and / or combinations of each to perform a function ( s ) or an action ( s ), and / or to cause a function or action from another component . for example , based on a desired application or need , logic may include a software controlled microprocessor , discrete logic such as an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a programmable / programmed logic device , memory device containing instructions , or the like , or combinational logic embodied in hardware . logic may also be fully embodied as software . a transmit buffer 608 is used for buffering frames for transmission by transmitter 608 . controller 606 may suitably be connected to both transmit buffer 608 and transmitter 602 to monitor frames being transmitted or waiting to be transmitted by transmitter 602 . receiver 604 receives frames and stores them in receive buffer 610 . memory 612 is coupled to controller 606 . memory 612 is at least one of volatile or non - volatile memory and may be used by controller 606 for storing variables or other data used by controller 606 for controlling transmitter 602 and receiver 604 . in addition , controller 606 can be configured for transferring data between memory 606 and transmit buffer 608 and / or memory 606 and receive buffer 610 . in operation , controller 606 puts frames into transmit buffer 608 for transmitting . transmitter 602 initiates a burst transmission . when a mrmra frame is detected , then controller 606 signals transmitter 602 to suspend transmitting the burst . in one embodiment , controller 606 may determine when an mrmra is about to be transmitted by monitoring transmit buffer 608 . in another embodiment , transmitter 602 signals controller 606 when it encounters an mrmra frame . controller 606 determines from the mrmra frame the amount of time allocated for the mrmra to receive responses , such as acks or acks + data and sets timer 614 accordingly . while the burst transmission is suspended , receiver 604 receives responses to the mrmra . the responses are forwarded to receive buffer 610 . optionally , controller 606 can examine the packets in receive buffer 610 to determine which receivers responded to the mrmra and use memory 612 to track which receivers responded . when timer 614 expires , controller 606 sends a block acknowledgement ( ba ) or a block acknowledgement with data ( ba + data ). preferably , all receivers of the mrmra responded and the ba or ba + data is directed to all recipients of the mrmra . however , as those skilled in the art can readily appreciate , there may be circumstances where a receiver does not acknowledge the mrmra , for example the receiver doesn &# 39 ; t receive the mrmra , or the corresponding mpdu within the mrmra , and therefore doesn &# 39 ; t respond . how the controller 606 handles a missing ack can vary . for example , in one embodiment controller 606 resends the mpdu via transmitter 602 immediately after sending the ba . in another embodiment , controller 606 resends the mrmra in a future packet . in still another embodiment , if the time period for delivering the mpdu expired , the mpdu is discarded . in view of the foregoing , those skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the present invention extends the use of mrmra to multi - rate aggregation . furthermore , the present invention substantially enhances mmra by allowing multiple immediate responses , a desirable feature for many wireless applications , such as qos sensitive applications like wvoip for example . the present invention provides higher mac efficiency and much wider application scope than either mmra or mrmra by themselves while adding very little overhead and very little additional implementation cost for mmra . what has been described above includes exemplary implementations of the present invention . it is , of course , not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present is invention , but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present invention are possible . accordingly , the present invention is intended to embrace all such alterations , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly , legally and equitably entitled . | 7 |
the present invention is directed towards an option - based method for identifying the consumer debt instrument , such as a residential mortgage , including those mortgages which combine several mortgage structures under one contract , with the lowest option adjusted spread ( oas ) based on the term of the loan , calculation of interest rates , amortization of the principal , and number of up - front points paid , and the risk tolerance of the borrower . the present invention is based on the relationship between the cost of a consumer debt instrument and the actual life , as measured by the apr , of the instrument . it has been found that the shorter the life of the loan , the higher the apr . this effect is particularly prominent when the number of points paid up - front is large . yet , this relationship is not always true when the life of the consumer debt instrument is uncertain . the apr values in table 1 above are based on the assumption that the mortgages will live their full scheduled lives of thirty years . because a homeowner may move or refinance prior to maturity of a mortgage , the actual life of a mortgage may be much shorter than the scheduled life . fig1 displays how the aprs of the three mortgages depend on their actual lives . as is evident from fig1 , the greater the up - front discount points , the more sensitive the apr is to the actual life . as shown in fig1 , the par ( no points ) mortgage and the one point or 1 % discount mortgage intersect in the third year , so the 1 % discount mortgage is preferable only if mortgage it is expected to remain outstanding for at least three years . similarly the par and the 2 . 125 point or 2 . 125 % discount mortgage intersect shortly after the third year , and the 1 % discount mortgage and 2 . 125 % discount mortgage also cross paths between years three and four . in summary , the par mortgage is preferable only if the actual life turns out to be less than three years . if the mortgage life is four years or longer , then the choice is the 2 . 125 % discount mortgage . based on fig1 , it is evident that a critical factor in selecting a consumer debt instrument such as a mortgage is the expected time of its prepayment . the expected time depends on many unpredictable factors , particularly the course of interest rates . the complicating consideration is that a conventional mortgage can be refinanced at any time , and if interest rates have sufficiently declined the homeowner is likely to take advantage of this opportunity . therefore , the possibility of refinancing , which depends entirely on the course of interest rates , must be considered when choosing a mortgage . in order to compare the relative attractiveness of the loans , standard bond valuation methodology is used . specifically , the option adjusted spread ( oas ) of each consumer debt instrument is calculated relative to a benchmark yield curve , at a reasonable interest rate volatility . for fixed rate mortgages with the same term , the option adjusted spread may be used to calculate the present value of the scheduled cash flows of the consumer debt instrument , which in turn is used to determine its option adjusted apr , for ease of consumer comprehension . it would be most beneficial for the homeowner to choose the debt instrument with the lowest option adjusted spread ( oas ) or , equivalently , if the consumer is interested only in fixed rate debt instruments with the same term , the lowest option adjusted apr . for purposes of analysis , the consumer debt instrument is modeled as a callable amortizing bond , or a portfolio of callable bonds as needed , that pays interest monthly . as mortgages are essentially callable amortized bonds , the principles regarding the refunding of bonds provide a good basis from which the optimal mortgage can be determined . in bond theory , a call or redemption option enables the borrowing corporation to buy back the bond at a stated price prior to maturity , thereby allowing the borrower to replace the bonds with a lower - cost issue should interest rates fall . this is often referred to as โ refunding .โ applying these principles to mortgages , the call premium is the cost associated with refinancing a mortgage . in this example , the call premium is set at 1 % of the remaining principal . the oas is calculated relative to a benchmark yield curve . a yield curve is defined as : โ[ a ] graph showing the term structure of interest rates by plotting the yields of all bonds of the same quality with maturities ranging from the shortest to the longest available .โ see dictionary of finance and investment terms 797 ( john downes & amp ; jordan elliot goodman eds ., barron &# 39 ; s 6th ed ., 2003 ). one example of a benchmark yield curve is the treasury yield curve . a treasury curve reflects the borrowing rates for various maturities . another example of a benchmark yield curve is a standard swap curve , such as the swap curve shown in fig2 . the swap curve is available from services such as reuters - telerate . the swap curve is currently preferred ; however , any reasonable benchmark yield curve may be used . in this example , a standard swap curve , such as that provided in fig2 , is used . to model the evolution of interest rates , the standard black - karasinski process is employed with a reasonable volatility . volatility is defined as โ[ the ] characteristic of a security , commodity , or market to rise or fall sharply in price within a short - term period .โ see dictionary of finance and investment terms 776 ( john downes & amp ; jordan elliot goodman eds ., barron &# 39 ; s 6th ed ., 2003 ). the volatility in question is that of the short - term rate . in this example , the volatility is set at a short - term rate of 15 %. the 15 % volatility is in line with the implied volatilities of agency debentures of similar duration . since the tax treatment of discount points and interest rates can have a significant impact on the value of a debt instrument to a consumer , the analysis can be performed on an after - tax basis as well . the present invention may be employed through a method which takes into consideration data related to the consumer debt instruments , data related to the consumer , and data related to the interest rate environment , as described below . the first group of input for consideration is data related to the consumer debt instruments . this includes terms such as the maturity , interest rate , amortization , discount points . also included are the up - front costs and anticipated up - front costs in future refinancing , which are needed to determine when the debt instrument should be refinanced if rates decline . the second group of input for consideration is data related to consumer , such as the consumer &# 39 ; s borrowing horizon . the consumer &# 39 ; s borrowing horizon may be deterministic , such as a fixed length of time , i . e ., eighteen years . alternatively , the consumer &# 39 ; s horizon may be probabilistic , such as a psa speed . additionally , the consumer &# 39 ; s tax rate should be considered . the third group of input for consideration is data specifying the interest rate environment . this includes the current yield curve , such as the treasury curve or a standard swap curve . additionally , the interest rate volatility must be considered . given the inputs described above , the method of the present invention comprises the following steps . first , the oas of each consumer debt instrument is determined . this takes into account the possibility of refinancing in the future to save interest in the event rates decline . the highest oas ( or the individual oas determined for each consumer debt instrument ) is then used to determine the present value ( pv ) of the stated cash flows , which in turn is used to calculate the option adjusted apr . then , the various consumer debt instruments are ranked according to their option adjusted aprs . for convenience , the debt instruments are ranked from lowest to highest . the debt instrument with the lowest option adjusted apr is the most preferable . the method of the present invention may be computer implemented . for example , the method may be implemented by a computerized system , the system including a computer having a central processing unit ( cpu ). the computer also has computer code operatively associated with the cpu , the computer code having a plurality of instructions for carrying out the method of the present invention . for instance , the computer code may have a first set of instructions for carrying out the first step of the method , and a second step of instructions for carrying out the second step of the method , and so forth . the cpu reads the instructions stored on the computer code and processes the instructions in order to carry out the individual steps of the method . in this manner , the computerized system implements the method of the present invention . the present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the figures in which the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown . the subject matter of this disclosure may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein . as an example , a home buyer who does not expect to move for thirty years or longer seeks a thirty - year mortgage for $ 100 , 000 . a lender offers the following three choices of thirty - year fixed rate mortgages : ( 1 ) 6 . 00 % with zero points ; ( 2 ) 5 . 50 % with 0 . 75 points ; and ( 3 ) 5 . 25 % with 2 . 50 points . if points are included in the quote , the loan amount must be increased in order to have $ 100 , 000 left over after the points are deducted . the analysis assumes that the borrower will incur transaction costs of one percent of the principal if the loan is refinanced in the future . using the oas techniques described previously , the borrower can compare the relative attractiveness of these three mortgages . the inputs include a benchmark yield curve such as a treasury yield curve or a standard swap curve , such as the swap curve shown in fig2 . for this example , a treasury yield curve is used . additionally , the interest rate volatility also is required . for this example , the interest rate volatility is set at 15 %. table 2 shows the inputs for this example : as outlined in fig4 , the method of the present invention processes the inputs described above and determines which mortgage choice is best for a consumer in terms of the lowest option adjusted spread for the consumer &# 39 ; s given risk tolerance . first , the oas of each mortgage is determined . this takes into account the possibility of refinancing in the future to save interest in the event rates decline . here , the cost of refinancing is set at one percent of the principal , or $ 1 , 000 . the highest oas ( or the individual oas determined for each mortgage ) is used to calculate the risk as represented by duration ( the larger the duration the lower the risk ). then , the various mortgages are ranked according to their option adjusted spreads within the risk tolerance range of the consumer . for convenience , the mortgages are ranked from lowest to highest . a first mortgage , mortgage a , is considered to โ dominate โ a second mortgage , mortgage b , if the option adjusted spread of mortgage a is lower than that of mortgage b . in this example , assuming that the risk of all three mortgages is within the risk tolerance range of the consumer , the 5 . 50 % mortgage with 0 . 75 points dominates the 5 . 25 % mortgage with 2 . 50 points and the 6 . 00 % mortgage with zero points as both of those have lower option adjusted spreads . finally , every mortgage which is dominated by another mortgage is eliminated from further consideration . the consumer can choose the one that remains as the most beneficial . the 5 . 50 % mortgage with 0 . 75 points has an option adjusted spread that is lower , at 40 . 5 basis points , than the other two mortgage choices . the results shown in table 3 below indicate that the second choice , the 5 . 50 % mortgage with 0 . 75 points , is the most attractive . for ease of comprehension , the largest oas can be used to calculate the present value of the cash flows of each mortgage which in turn may be used to calculate its option adjusted apr . as table 3 indicates , option adjusted apr of the 5 . 50 % mortgage is the lowest even though its conventional apr is not . many changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art upon studying this description . all such changes and modifications which are within the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the claims . | 6 |
referring to the drawings , particularly to fig1 - 6 , there is shown a stamping machine , generally designated by the reference numeral 2 . stamping machine 2 is mounted on base 10 which would be suitably anchored to the floor or other rigid support . a pair of transversely extending parallel tracks 12 are mounted on base 10 . tracks 12 are adapted to engage guide rollers 14 which are attached to the underside of carriage 16 . this arrangement permits carriage 16 to move transversely of base 10 by the action of air cylinder 18 . the transverse movement of carriage 16 is accomplished by means described hereinbelow . mounted on carriage 16 is longitudinally extending air cylinder 20 having a piston rod 22 that is affixed through bolts 23 to an impact head assembly generally designated by the reference numeral 24 . impact head assembly 24 is supported for longitudinal reciprocation with piston rod 22 by means of a roller 26 that is mounted on carriage 16 . roller 26 also serves to prevent rotation of piston rod 22 . mounted at the top of impact head assembly 24 is a right - angle drive unit 28 which , along with its associated components , will be described hereinbelow . referring particularly to fig3 - 6 , impact head assembly 24 includes upper and lower frame members 30 and 32 , respectively , rigidly connected in spaced relationship through spacer block 33 and end plate 34 . a nonrotatable shaft 36 , having an enlarged lower end portion 38 , is slidably mounted in aligned openings 40 and 42 of frame members 30 and 32 , respectively . shaft 36 is prevented from rotating by means of slidable keying means 44 . rigidly connected to the top of upper frame member 30 by means of bolts 45 is a double - acting air cylinder 46 having piston means 48 movable therein . piston means 48 is coaxially aligned with shaft 36 and rigidly connected thereto by means of bolt 50 . accordingly , reciprocal movement of piston mean 48 causes corresponding reciprocation of shaft 36 . a character stamping wheel generally designated by the reference numeral 52 is mounted for rotation about shaft 36 through bushing 54 . stamping wheel 52 is prevented from axial movement on shaft 36 by means of upper and lower thrust washers 56 and 58 and snap ring 60 . stamping wheel 52 is adapted for carrying at its perimeter replaceable stamps 62 , each having a desired embossed character . each stamp 62 is secured in position by upwardly extending bolt 64 . the number of stamps 62 on stamping wheel 52 depends on the size of the stamps and the diameter of stamping wheel 52 . a wide - faced gear 66 is coaxially mounted atop stamping wheel 52 by means of bolts 68 . wide - faced gear 66 is adapted to engage , at its periphery , the teeth of a pinion 70 . pinion 70 is keyed to the output shaft 72 of right - angle drive unit 28 . accordingly , rotation of output shaft 72 causes rotation of stamping wheel 52 through pinion 70 and wide - faced gear 66 . it should be noted that wide - faced gear 66 and pinion 70 are dimensioned to permit continuous engagement throughout the range of sliding motion of shaft 36 . right - angle drive unit 28 is of conventional construction and is driven by indexing servomotor 74 , which is mounted on base 10 by means of support arms 76 , through a telescoping spline drive shaft 78 and constant velocity universal joints 79 . this arrangement permits stationary servomotor 74 to remain connected to stamping wheel 52 throughout the stamping stroke . preferably , servomotor 74 and its associate control systems ( not shown ) is of the type sold by the control systems research division of contraves goerz corporation under the trademark index - syn . by means of the drive system just described , stamping wheel 52 may be caused to rotate through the shortest arcuate movement to the next desired character stamp 62 . it has been found that the preferred drive system requires no separate locking means to hold the desired character in position during the stamping operation described hereinbelow . as alluded to above , longitudinal reciprocation of impact head assembly 24 is accomplished by the action of piston rod 22 upon actuation of air cylinder 20 . referring to fig8 - 12 , the means for accomplishing transverse movement of carriage 16 now will be described in detail . rigidly mounted on base 10 are a pair of ratchet and pawl assemblies generally designated by the reference numerals 80 , 80 &# 39 ;. ratchet and pawl assemblies 80 , 80 &# 39 ; are identical in construction and operation , and are arranged to operate synchronously in a manner soon to be described . accordingly , it will be necessary to describe only one ratchet and pawl assembly 80 , which is the driven one . ratchet and pawl assembly 80 includes a mounting frame 81 comprising a channel member 82 and a pair of upstanding end plates 83 . mounted for rotation within end plates 83 is a shaft 84 . shaft 84 is driven through right - angle drive 85 by pneumatic rotary actuator 86 . right - angle drive 85 may include suitable stop means for limiting the rotation of shaft 84 through an arc of about 30 ยฐ in either direction . mounted longitudinally to the outside surface of shaft 84 are two ratchet racks 87 and 88 , respectively . the teeth of ratchet racks 87 , 88 are longitudinally staggered . as best shown in fig1 , ratchet rack 88 is mounted 30 ยฐ below the extension of the diameter passing through ratchet rack 87 . therefore , the angular spacing between ratchet racks 87 and 88 on the underside of shaft 84 is about 150 ยฐ; the supplementary angle , therefore , is about 30 ยฐ. upon actuation of rotary actuator 86 , shaft 84 rotates counterclockwise ( as viewed in fig1 ) to cause ratchet rack 88 to assume a position on the extension of the diameter passing through ratchet rack 87 in its initial position . in this new position of shaft 84 , ratchet rack 87 asssumes a position 30 ยฐ below its initial position . suspended from carriage 16 are a pair of pawl mounting brackets 89 . each mounting bracket 89 spans the longitudinal axis of shaft 84 . pivotally mounted on each side of mounting bracket 89 are a pair of inwardly extending pawls 90 and 91 , respectively . pawls 90 , 91 are biased by spring cartridge 92 to urge their engaging tips 93 and 94 , respectively , toward shaft 84 . engaging tips 93 , 94 are prevented , however , from contacting the surface of shaft 84 by stop screws 100 . as best shown in fig1 , when ratchet rack 87 is in the position shown , engaging tip 93 of pawl 90 is in engagement with one of the teeth of ratchet rack 87 . in this position , the engaging tip 94 of pawl 91 is out of engagement with the teeth of ratchet rack 88 . air cylinder 18 includes a piston rod 18a whose end is connected to carriage 16 through a clevis and pin arrangement generally designated 18b . accordingly , movement of piston rod 18a will cause corresponding movement of carriage 16 . the operation of the nondriven ratchet and pawl assembly 80 &# 39 ; is accomplished through a well - known parallel link arrangement 95 best shown in fig9 . thus , any rotary motion imparted to shaft 84 of ratchet and pawl assembly 80 is transmitted directly to shaft 84 of ratchet and pawl assembly 80 &# 39 ;. this dual arrangement , though not essential , prevents any tendency toward misalignment or binding that might otherwise result from cylinder 18 being offset from shaft 84 . if it be desired to move carriage 16 transversely of base 10 , the sequence of operation of the components just described is as follows . viewing fig8 carriage 16 is shown in its extreme extended position . in this position , constant air pressure is applied within air cylinder 18 to the rod side of the piston thereby urging air cylinder 18 to its most contracted position . however , carriage 16 is held in the extreme position shown by reason of the firm engagement between engaging tip 93 of pawl 90 with a tooth on ratchet rack 87 . should transverse movement ( upwardly in fig8 ) of carriage 16 be desired , rotary actuator 86 is actuated to rotate shaft 84 through an arc of about 30 ยฐ in a counterclockwise direction as shown in fig1 . upon rotation of shaft 84 , engaging tip 93 of pawl 90 moves out of engagement with ratchet rack 87 and to a position 30 ยฐ below its initial position . at the same time , ratchet rack 88 moves upwardly and is there engaged by engaging tip 94 of pawl 91 . because of the staggering of the teeth of ratchet racks 87 and 88 , an incremental transverse movement of carriage 16 is thereby accomplished . any shock occurring by the impact of this transverse movement is absorbed by a polyurethane bumper 96 ( see fig1 ). should further transverse movement of carriage 16 in the same direction be desired , rotary actuator 86 is actuated in the opposite direction to cause ratchet rack 88 to move out of engagement with engaging tip 94 of pawl 91 and thereby to assume its initial position shown in fig1 . at the same time , ratchet rack 87 moves upwardly about 30 ยฐ to a position shown in fig1 and there engages engaging tip 93 of pawl 90 . all of the movements and engagements of parts experienced in indexing assembly 80 are , of course , duplicated in indexing assembly 80 &# 39 ;. it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the arcuate movement of shaft 84 should be related to the width of the teeth of ratchet racks 87 , 88 . in other words , it is preferred that one of engaging tips 93 , 94 of pawls 90 , 91 , respectively , always be in position for potential engagement with the next tooth of a ratchet rack during the oscillation of shaft 84 . should it be desired to reverse the movement of carriage 16 toward its intial position shown in fig8 air pressure is applied to the backside of the piston within air cylinder 18 causing an extension of piston rod 18a . upon such extension , the engaging tip of the then engaged pawl simply rides over the teeth of the engaged ratchet rack , against the urging of spring cartridge 92 , to permit movement of carriage 16 in that direction . the actuation of rotary actuator 86 to permit transverse movement of carriage 16 is , of course , synchronized with the actuation of air cylinder 20 which furnishes the stamping action of impact head assembly 24 . in other words , the transverse movements of carriage 16 are accomplished while impact head assembly 24 is in its retracted or rest position . if it is desired to stamp a workpiece while it is moving past the location of stamping machine 2 , the transverse movement of carriage 16 may be unnecessary because the movement of the workpiece may be used to achieve proper character spacing . in such case , carriage 16 may be eliminated from the structure of stamping machine 2 . the overall operation of stamping machine 2 will now be described . stamping machine 2 will be located , say , adjacent a run - out table of a continuous slab casting machine . through an appropriate machine control consol , stamping machine 2 may be programmed to stamp a slab soon to stop its location with appropriate identifying information , say the two rows of numbers shown in fig7 . as the slab surface to be stamped stops at stamping machine 2 , servomotor 74 is actuated to rotate stamping wheel 52 through the shortest arcuate distance to position the character stamp &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in the stamping position . stamping wheel 52 , at this time , is in the &# 34 ; up &# 34 ; position shown in fig6 and thus the top row of characters will be stamped first . at the appropriate time , air cylinder 20 is actuated to extend piston rod 22 and thrust impact head assembly 24 toward the slab surface . upon impact , the character &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is indented on the slab surface . air cylinder 20 is actuated to reverse and retract piston rod 22 and return impact head assembly to its rest position . because the drive train between servomotor 74 and stamping wheel 52 remains intact during the stamping stroke , stamping wheel 52 may be rotated by servomotor 74 during the return stroke to select the character &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;. when impact head assembly reaches the rest position , rotary actuator 86 is actuated to cause appropriate transverse movement of carriage 16 to the right in order to achieve appropriate spacing between the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;. the stamping procedure described above then is repeated to stamp the character &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; on the slab surface . again rotary actuator 86 is actuated to cause further transverse movement of carriage 16 and so on . after the last character in the top row is stamped , the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, air cylinder 46 is actuated to extend piston means 48 and thereby move shaft 36 downwardly to its lowermost position shown in fig5 . the movement of shaft 36 causes corresponding downward movement of stamping wheel 52 to a position suitable for stamping the bottom row of characters shown in fig7 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that , under appropriate circumstances , stamping wheel 52 may be moved to positions intermediate the positions shown in fig5 and 6 , and thus stamp more than two vertically spaced rows of characters . with stamping wheel 52 in the lower position , carriage 16 is returned to its extreme left position by the procedures described above . then the procedures described above are repeated in sequence to stamp the bottom row of characters shown in fig7 onto the slab surface . the stamping machine of the present invention may be variously configured to vary the stamping operation . for example , the stamping of characters may be from left to right or from right to left . by appropriate control , the machine can always stamp either an upper row or a lower row of characters first . | 1 |
the present invention involves the isolation and enhancement of a subset population of human mesenchymal stem cells . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a population of cells having an sh3 +/ cd45 + phenotype and which are believed to be a precursor mesenchymal stem cell . the human mesenchymal stem cell population of the present invention is capable of differentiation into the chondrocytic , adipocytic and osteoblast cell lineages . the mesenchymal stem cells of the present invention can be isolated from peripheral blood or bone marrow . โ isolated โ as used herein signifies that the cells are placed into conditions other than their natural environment . the term โ isolated โ does not preclude the later use of these cells thereafter in combinations or mixtures with other cells . a method of preparing human marrow mesenchymal stem cell cultures has been described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 486 , 359 . several techniques are known to those of skill in the art for the rapid isolation of mesenchymal stem cells . approaches to mesenchymal stem cell isolation include leucopheresis , density gradient fractionation , immunoselection and differential adhesion separation . the cells of the present invention are maintained in culture media which can be a chemically defined serum free media or can be a โ complete medium โ, such as dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagles medium supplemented with 10 % serum ( dmem ). suitable chemically defined serum free media are described in u . s . ser . no . 08 / 464 , 599 and wo96 / 39487 , and โ complete media โ are described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 486 , 359 . chemically defined medium comprises a minimum essential medium such as iscove &# 39 ; s modified dulbecco &# 39 ; s medium ( imdm ) ( gibco ), supplemented with human serum albumin , human ex cyte lipoprotein , transfernin , insuin , vitamins , essential and non essential amino acids , sodium pyruvate , glutainine and a mitogen . these media stimulate mesenchymal stem cell growth without differentiation . the mesenchymal stem cells of the present invention isolated from peripheral blood or bone marrow may further be culture - expanded . the cells may be expanded , before or after freezing thereof the media described herein are also suitable for the culture expansion of the mesenchymal stem cells . the isolated mesenchymal stem cells of the present invention may further be purified . in a preferred embodiment , โ purified โ indicates that the cell population contains less than 5 % impurities , impurities being for example , cells that are not cd45 +. the purified cell population can later be used in combinations or mixtures as is appropriate . the present invention contemplates any suitable method of employing monoclonal antibodies to separate mesenchymal stem cells from other cells , e . g ., recovered from bone marrow . accordingly , included in the present invention is a method of producing a population of mesenchymal stem cells comprising the steps of providing a cell suspension of tissue containing mesenchymal stem cells ; contacting the cell suspension with one or a combination of monoclonal antibodies which recognize an epitope on the mesenchymal stem cells ; and separating and recovering from the cell suspension the cells bound by the monoclonal antibodies . the monoclonal antibodies may be linked to a solid - phase and utilized to capture mesenchymal stem cells from tissue samples . the bound cells may then be separated from the solid phase by known methods depending on the nature of the antibody and solid phase . monoclonal based systems appropriate for preparing the desired cell population include magnetic bead / paramagnetic particle column utilizing antibodies for either positive or negative selection ; separation based on biotin or streptavidin affinity ; and high speed flow cytometric sorting of immunofluorescent - stained mesenchymal stem cells mixed in a suspension of other cells . thus , the method of the present invention includes the isolation of a population of hmscs and enhancement using monoclonal antibodies raised against surface antigens expressed by marrow - derived hmscs , i . e . sh2 , sh3 or sh4 . deposits of the cell line cultures identified as sh2 , sh3 and sh4 are on deposit with the american type culture collection , 10801 university blvd . manassas , va . 20110 - 2209 , and are assigned the atcc accession numbers hb 10743 , bh 10744 and hb 10745 , respectively . these monoclonal antibodies provide effective probes which can be utilized for identifying , quantifying , and purifying mesenchymal stem cells , regardless of their source in the body . in one embodiment , the isolation of the cell population of the present invention may comprise utilizing a combination of one or more antibodies that recognize a known marker on mesenchymal stem cells as well as an antibody which recognizes cd45 . one method for such preparation of the precursor cells of the present invention is to first select a population of cells expressing a marker identifying mesenchymal stem cells , for example , sh3 or sh2 by immunomagnetic selection of a low density human bone marrow cell sample . alternatively , it is contemplated that the initial cell selection can be based on the cd45 marker and the cell population be further characterized using the hmsc monoclonal antibodies . in another embodiment , it is contemplated that a cell population can be selected based on the cd14 marker . cd14 is a membrane protein that functions as a receptor for endotoxin ( lipopolysaccharide , lps ) and is expressed strongly on the surface of monocytes , but not expressed by myeloid progenitors . thus , in one aspect , in certain embodiments described herein , the mesenchymal stem cell population population 1 ( pop 1 ) is identified by facs by the relative brightness of immunofluorescent stained antibodies bound thereto as sh2 and sh3 bright / cd45 dim / cd14 dim . in comparison , sh2 and sh3 are present on culture expanded mscs ; cd45 is absent on culture expanded mscs ; and cd14 is absent on culture expanded mscs . in a still further aspect of the invention , a cell population can be selected based on a fibroblast cell surface marker , for example the antifibroblast antibody found on miltenyi antifibroblastiicrobeads ( miltenyi catalog # 506 - 01 ). it is further contemplated that the hereinabove described methods may be applied to a population of culture - expanded mesenchymal stem cells such that cells having a pop 1 phenotype may be isolated from the population of culture - expanded mesenchymal stem cells . the present invention is directed to various methods of utilizing the cd45 + human mesenchymal stem cells of the present invention for therapeutic and / or diagnostic purposes . these uses include regenerating mesenchymal tissues which have been damaged through acute injury , abnormal genetic expression or acquired disease ; treating a host having damaged mesenchymal tissue by removal of small aliquots of bone marrow , isolation of their mesenchymal stem cells and treatment of damaged tissue with the cd45 + hmscs combined with a suitable biocompatible carrier material for delivering the mscs to the damaged tissue sites ; producing various mesenchymal tissues ; detecting and evaluating growth factors or inhibitory factors relevant to msc self - regeneration and differentiation into committed mesenchymal lineages ; and developing mesenchymal cell lineages and assaying for factors with mesenchymal tissue development . the hmscs of the present invention - may be used in a variety of ways . for example , the hmscs can be employed as part of cell replacement therapy . specifically , the hmscs can be infused alone or added to bone marrow cells for bone marrow transplant procedures . other applications also particularly contemplated are orthopedic , are such as augmentation of bone formation . other applications include , for example , the treatment of osteoartbritis , osteoporosis , traumatic or pathological conditions involving any of the connective tissues , such as a bone defects , connective tissue defects , skeletal defects or cartilage defects . it is also contemplated that exogenous genetic material can be introduced into the cells while ex vivo , and that the cells be read ministered for production of exogenous proteins in vivo . genetic modification of mesenchymal stem cells is discussed more fully in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 591 , 625 . the present invention is not limited to a specific method for recovering the cells . for example , such cells may be isolated by procedures which do not use antibodies , provided that the cells are positive for cd45 and are positive for at least one of sh2 , sh3 or sh4 , preferably at least sh3 , and are capable of differentiating into one or more than one mesenchymal cell lineage , and preferably into most , if not all , of the mesenchymal cell lineages . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the cells are also capable of self renewal . thus , a human mesenchymal stem cell which is sh3 + and cd45 + in accordance with the invention may be recovered by techniques other than the use of sh3 + and cd45 + antibodies . thus , the term โ human mesenchymal stem cell which is sh3 + and cd45 +โ means a stem cell that has both markers and is capable of differentiating into more than one mesenchymal stem cell lineage . the following examples are provided to further illustrate and describe the present invention ; however , the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereby . bone marrow aspirates were obtained from three volunteers , donors 271 , 281 and 332 . density centrifugation of the bone marrow aspirates was performed using activated cell therapy ( act ) bouyant density solution ( 1 . 0720 g / ml ) in conical tubes ( dendreon , mountain view calif .) and cells were isolated from the light density fraction . cells were washed and resuspended in dulbecco &# 39 ; s pbs at a concentration of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml . the cells were incubated with blocking antibody ( human igg 1 mg / ml in pbs azide - free ) for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with rotation followed by a 30 minute incubation at 4 ยฐ c . with 1 ug / 1 ร 107 cells sh3 antibody . cell from donors 1 and 2 were washed twice with pbs / 0 . 5 % bsa and resuspended in pbs to 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml . dynal beads ( washed 3 times with pbs ) were added and the suspension was mixed for 30 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . bound cells were magnetically separated from unbound cells . cells from donor 332 were washed 2 ร with miltenyi buffer and incubated for 20 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing with rat anti - mouse igg2 beads ( 1 ml of microbeads per 5 ร 10 8 cells ) ( 50 nm miltenyi biotec , auburn , calif .) and selected according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . three cell populations from each donor were analyzed : the start fraction ( light density unseparated cells ), sh3 selected cells ( cells attached to the derivatized magnetic beads ) and sh3 unselected cells ( cells that did not attach to the derivatized beads ). the hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cell contents of the three samples were assayed as described below . cell numbers . cell numbers contained in the fractions are shown in table 1 . the sh3 selected fractions contained 4 . 2 , 4 . 8 , and 6 . 2 % of the starting cells . the sh3 unselected fractions yielded 88 , 70 , and 87 % of the starting cells . colony forming unit f assay . the cfu - f assay measures colonies grown in complete culture media . nucleated cells were suspended in hmsc medium to a concentration of 2 ร 10 6 cells in 40 mls , and were plated in 100 mm tissue culture dishes at 5 ร 10 5 cells per plate . after 14 days cells were fixed with glutaraldehyde and stained with crystal violet . the results are shown in table 2 . the sh3 selected fraction showed enrichment for colonies when compared to the starting cell sample ; in fact , the miltenyi selected fraction ( donor 332 ) had too many colonies to count . in the sh3 unselected fraction one of 3 cfu - f assays had only 0 . 7 colonies per 50 , 000 cells plated , while the remaining 2 cultures had no colony growth . the sh3 unselected fractions contained 89 , 98 , and 103 % of the starting hematopoietic cfu - gm colonies ( table 3 ). only 0 . 04 , 0 . 05 , and 0 . 3 % of the starting cfu - gms were found in the sh3 selected cell fraction ( table 3 ). mesenchymal stem cell culture . 3 . 2 ร 10 6 cells of donors 271 and 281 were added into 2 wells of a 6 well plate . the cells were harvested after 13 days in culture . the results are shown in table 4 . for sample donor 332 each well was seeded with 0 . 8 ร 10 6 cells . on day 11 , based on microscopic examination , two of four sh3 selected cell wells were harvested . all other wells were harvested after 14 days in culture . results are shown in table 5 . the results of the msc cultures showed that the sh3 selected cells expanded with the same or greater efficiency than the starting cell fraction and the harvested cells had the distinctive msc morphology and phenotype . in msc complete culture medium after primary culture the cell yield from this sh3 unselected fraction was low ( 1 . 3 , 3 . 8 , & amp ; 1 . 6 %) compared to the starting cell fractions ( 17 . 5 , 19 . 4 , & amp ; 44 . 5 %, respectively ). cells from the donors 271 and 281 were continued in culture and passage 1 cells were collected and examined by flow cytometry ; the cells were mscs by morphology and phenotype . visual observation of these cultures during p0 showed that msc - like colonies also contained cells with magnetic beads attached . the cells were replated in flasks or wells depending on the total cells available . the cells were harvested after 8 days in culture . the results in tables 7a and b of the flow analysis of the donor 332 sample demonstrated a sh3 purity of 98 . 8 % with greater than 99 . 5 % of these cells being cd45 + . the total number of cd45 - cells in the sample was 0 . 42 %. the results indicated that the precursor to the mesenchymal stem cell observed in culture was sh3 positive and cd45 positive and this cell can be isolated using sh3 antibody in conjunction with immunomagnetic beads or other immunoselection methods . biotin - anti - sh2 antibody and rat anti - mouse igg1 magnetic microbeads were used to isolate two fractions of cells from light - density bone marrow cells : sh2 bound and sh2 unbound . these cell fractions were placed into standard msc culture conditions to determine the msc proliferative potential of the cell population contained in these fractions . anti - igg1 microbeads were from miltenyi lot # ne7200 . vs column was from miltenyi lot # 0231 ). pre - separation filters were 30 um from miltenyi lot # 55 . miltenyi buffer : phosphate buffered saline ph 7 . 2 supplemented with 0 . 5 % bsa and 2 mm edta . flow staining was performed using the manufacturer &# 39 ; s suggested instructions . flow analysis was performed using either the facs calibur or the facs vantage . cell viability and cell number were determined using trypan blue . light density cells were isolated from a human bone marrow aspirate ( donor # 426 ) using dendreon ( seattle , wash .) solution bds72 following density centrifugation of bone marrow aspirates . aliquots were removed as controls for flow analysis and cell culture . the remaining cells were diluted to a cell count of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml using miltenyi buffer . cells were incubated with igg at 40 ul per ml of cell suspension for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was incubated with the anti - sh2 antibody at 10 ug per 1 ร 10 7 cells for 30 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . the cells were washed twice with cold buffer . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 80 ul of buffer per 10 7 cells ). anti - igg1 microbeads were added ( 20 ul of beads per 10 7 cells ). the mixture was incubated at 4 ยฐ c . for 15 minutes with mixing . miltenyi buffer was added to dilute the mixture and wash the cells . the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 0 . 5 ml of buffer 10 8 per cells ). the vs column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ sh2 unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ sh2 unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ sh2 bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger used to push the cells into the tube . a fresh column was primed and the cells in the โ sh2 bound โ tube were added to the second column . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ sh2 unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ sh2 unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ sh2 bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . cell counts and viability assays were performed . cells from the bound and unbound fractions were stained for flow analysis . unbound and bound cells were placed in culture . cells were harvested after 14 days . cells from the light - density cells and the sh2 bound fraction were stained for flow analysis . the sh2 cell selection of light - density bone marrow cells using the miltenyi microbead system yielded less than 2 % of the light - density cells in the sh2 bound fraction . the isolation yielded a cell fraction containing cells that were 98 . 3 % sh2 +. the sh2 bound cells were 90 % confluent with spindle - shaped cells after 14 days in culture under msc standard culture conditions . the culture of the sh2 bound cells yielded a population of adherent cells that had an msc phenotype by flow analysis and morphology . very few adherent cells were isolated from the sh2 unbound cell fraction . these results show that sh2 is an antigen present on the msc precursor as well as on the culture - expanded msc . p0 msc cultures have been reported to contain a median of 9 % cd45 + cells ( range , 0 . 5 to 50 %), while the culture - expanded phenotype of mscs is cd45 negative . a cd45 selection of p0 cells was performed on three donors to determine if mscs could be cultured from the cd45 bound cell fraction anti - cd45 microbeads were from miltenyi ( lot # ne5848 ). large cell separation column was from miltenyi ( cat # 422 - 02 ). miltenyi buffer : phosphate buffered saline ph 7 . 2 supplemented with 0 . 5 % bsa and 2 mm edta . flow staining was performed using the manufacturer &# 39 ; s suggested instructions . flow analysis was performed using either the facs calibur or the facs vantage . cell viability and cell number were determined using trypan blue . p0 mscs were derived from light density human bone marrow cells ( donors # 394 ( 0 ), # 386 ( 0 ) and # 381 ( 0 ). samples of 0 . 5 - 5 . 0 ร 10 6 cells were removed as controls for flow analysis . the remaining cells were diluted to a cell count of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml using milenyi buffer ; if the count was & lt ; 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml this step was skipped . cells were incubated with igg at 40 ul per ml of cell suspension for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . cells were centrifuged for 5 minutes at 1100 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 80 ul of buffer per 10 7 cells ). anti - cd45 microbeads were added ( 20 ul of beads per 10 7 cells ). the mixture was incubated at 4 ยฐ c . for 15 minutes with mixing . miltenyi buffer was added to dilute the mixture and wash the cells . the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1100 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 0 . 5 ml of buffer per 10 8 cells ). the large cell separation column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the column and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed three times with 0 . 5 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ cd45 bound โ. one ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger used to push the cells into the tube . a fresh large cell column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions and the cells in the โ cd45 bound โ tube were added to the second column . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the column and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed three times with 0 . 5 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ cd45 bound โ. one ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger used to push the cells into the tube . cell counts and viability assays were performed . cells from the bound and unbound fractions (# 394 ) and the unbound fraction (# 386 & amp ; # 381 ) were stained for flow analysis . the cells were placed in culture . cells were harvested and passaged until an adequate number of cells was available for flow analysis . the cd45 selection of p0 mscs yielded a cell population which was & lt ; 2 % of the starting p0 population . cultured cd45 bound cells isolated from the p0 mscs yielded mscs as defined by flow cytometry and morphology . the cd45 unbound cell fraction isolated from the p0 mscs also yielded mscs as defined by flow cytometry and morphology . the phenotype of the msc precursor appeared to be cd45 dim . light - density cells isolated from bone marrow were selected using directly conjugated anti - cd45 miltenyi microbeads ( miltenyi lot # ne5848 ) following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . vs column was from miltenyi ( lot # 0231 ). pre - separation filters 30 um were from miltenyi ( lot 55 ). miltenyi buffer : phosphate buffered saline ph 7 . 2 supplemented with 0 . 5 % bsa and 2 mm edta . flow staining was performed using the manufacturer &# 39 ; s suggested instructions . flow analysis was performed using either the facs calibur or the facs vantage . cell viability and cell number were determined using trypan blue . light density cells were isolated from human bone marrow aspirate ( donor # 358 ) using dendreon solution bds72 following density centrifugation of the bone marrow aspirates . aliquots were removed as controls for flow analysis and cell culture . the remaining cells were diluted to a cell count of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml using miltenyi buffer . cells were incubated with igg at 40 ul per ml of cell suspension for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 80 ul of buffer per 10 7 cells ). anti - cd45 microbeads were added ( 20 ul of beads per 10 7 cells ). the mixture was incubated at 4 ยฐ c . for 20 minutes with mixing . miltenyi buffer was added to dilute the mixture and wash the cells . the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 0 . 5 ml of buffer per 10 8 cells ). the vs column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ cd45 bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . a fresh column was primed and the cells in the โ cd45 bound โ tube were added to the second column . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ cd45 unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ cd45 bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . cell counts and viability assays were performed . cells from the bound and unbound fractions were stained for flow analysis . cells were placed in culture . cells were harvested and counted . forty - seven percent of the cells were present in the cd45 bound fraction . this cd45 bound cell population was 99 % cd45 positive by flow analysis and was capable of yielding mscs at p0 as defined by morphology . the cd45 unbound cell fraction was 35 % of the total cells selected and was 51 . 5 % cd45 positive . the fluorescence intensity of the cd45 unbound cells was much lower than that of the cd45 bound cells . this cell fraction was also capable of yielding mscs in p0 culture as defined by morphology . this experiment provides further evidence that the msc precursor is cd45 positive with a dim staining intensity . anti - fibroblast microbeads were developed for the separation of cells based on the expression of a fibroblast - specific antigen . since cultured mscs have a fibroblastic morphology , the anti - fibroblast microbeads were used to select a fraction of cells from light - density bone marrow cells . cells that were bound and those that were not bound were placed in standard msc culture conditions and observed . anti - fibroblast microbeads were from miltenyi ( lot # ne630 ). vs column was from miltenyi ( lot # 0231 ). pre - separation filters 30 um were from miltenyi ( lot # 55 ). miltenyi buffer : phosphate buffered saline ph 7 . 2 supplemented with 0 . 5 % bsa and 2 mm edta . flow staining was performed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s suggested instructions . flow analysis was performed using either the facs calibur or the facs vantage . cell viability and cell number were determined using trypan blue . assays were performed as follows to measure the osteogenic and adipogenic potential of the cells . adipogenesis assay . cells were plated in a 6 - well dish ( 2 ร 10 5 cells / well ) in hmsc media . confluent mscs were pulse induced with high glucose media containing dexamethasone , insulin , 3 - isobutyl - 1 - methyl - xanthine and indomethacin . at the end of the culture period the plates were fixed with 10 % formalin , stained with oil red โ o โ and counterstained with hematoxylin . the formation of lipid vacuoles which stain red were observed and semi - quantitated by percent of well surface area . osteogenic calcium deposition assay . cells were plated in 6 - well dishes ( 3 ร 10 4 cells / well ). wells labeled as โ os โ were fed with hmsc media containing supplements of ascorbic acid - 2 - phosphate , dexamethasone and ฮฒ - glycerophosphate . wells labeled as โ control โ were fed with standard hmsc media . media changes were performed twice weekly for 14 to 16 days the increased calcium deposition was measured through semi - quantitative colorimetric assays . light density cells were isolated from human bone marrow aspirates ( donors # 373 , # 386 & amp ; # 421 ) using dendreon solution bds72 following density centrifugation of the bone marrow aspirates . aliquots were removed as controls for cell culture . the remaining cells were diluted to a cell count of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml using miltenyi buffer . cells were incubated with igg at 40 ul per ml of cell suspension for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 80 ul of buffer per 10 7 cells ). anti - fibroblast microbeads were added ( 20 ul of beads per 10 7 cells ). the mixture was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes with mixing . miltenyi buffer was added to dilute the mixture and wash the cells . the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 1 ml of buffer per 10 8 cells ). the vs column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ fibroblast bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . a fresh column was primed and the cells in the โ fibroblast bound โ tube were added to the second column . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ fibroblast bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . cell counts and viability assays were performed . cells from donors 373 and 386 were placed in culture . cells were harvested and passaged . p0 cells from the light density control and the fibroblast bound cultures from donor 373 were stained for flow analysis . p0 cells from donor 386 were placed into the in vitro osteogenic differentiation assay and the in vitro adipogenic assay . cultures from the adipogenic assays showed significant adipogenesis of the mscs . the fibroblast bound cell fraction of light density bone marrow cells represented 3 - 9 % of the starting nucleated cell population and adhered to polystyrene . under standard msc culture conditions , the fibroblast bound cell fraction yielded an msc population as defined by flow cytometry , biological assays and morphology . anti - fibroblast microbeads were from miltenyi ( lot # ne6836 ). vs column was from miltenyi ( lot # 0231 ). pre - separation filters 30 um were from miltenyi ( lot # 55 ). miltenyi buffer : phosphate buffered saline ph 7 . 2 supplemented with 0 . 5 % bsa and 2 mm edta . anti - cd14 magnetic beads were from dynal ( lot # a93900 ). flow staining was performed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s suggested instructions . flow analysis was performed using either the facs calibur or the facs vantage . cell viability and cell number were determined using trypan blue . light density cells were isolated from a human bone marrow aspirate ( donor # 391 ) using dendreon solution bds72 following density centrifugation of the bone marrow aspirates . aliquots were removed as controls for cell culture . the remaining cells were diluted to a cell count of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml using miltenyi buffer . cells were incubated with igg at 40 ul per ml of cell suspension for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 80 ul of buffer per 10 7 cells ). anti - fibroblast microbeads were added ( 20 ul of beads per 10 7 cells ). the mixture was incubated at 4 ยฐ c . for 15 minutes with mixing . miltenyi buffer was added to dilute the mixture and wash the cells . the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 1 ml of buffer per 10 8 cells ). the vs column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ fibroblast bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger used to push the cells into the tube . a fresh column was primed and the cells in the โ fibroblast bound โ tube were added to the second column . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ fibroblast bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger used to push the cells into the tube . cell counts and viability assays were performed . unbound cells were placed in culture . bound cells were incubated with dynal anti - cd14 magnetic beads at a cell concentration of 2 ร 10 7 cells per ml and a bead concentration of 2 ร 10 7 beads per ml for 1 hour at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . the cell bead suspension was placed next to the dynal hand magnet for 2 minutes . after 2 minutes , the unattached cells were decanted into a tube labeled โ cd14 unbound โ. the cell / bead tube was removed from the magnet and 5 ml of buffer added to resuspend the cells . the cell / bead suspension was placed next to the dynal hand magnet for 2 minutes . after 2 minutes , the unattached cells were decanted into a tube labeled โ cd14 unbound โ. the cell / bead tube was removed from the magnet and 5 ml of buffer added to resuspend the cells . the cell / bead suspension was placed next to the dynal hand magnet for 2 minutes . after 2 minutes , the unattached cells were decanted into a tube labeled โ cd14 unbound โ. the cell / bead tube was removed from the magnet and 5 ml of buffer added to resuspend the cells . the cells that remained attached to beads were counted and placed into culture in two 10 cm 2 wells . the cells in the unbound tube were placed next to the hand magnet for 2 minutes . unattached cells were decanted , counted and plated into one 10 cm 2 well . cells were harvested after 14 days . cells cultured from the light - density cells and the fibroblast bound / cd14 bound fractions were stained for flow analysis . in order to further define the phenotype of the msc precursor , a sequential cell selection was performed using miltenyi microbeads to select fibroblast bound cells , followed by the use of dynal magnetic beads to isolate cd14 bound cells from the fibroblast bound fraction . this is possible since the size of the microbead is too small to interfere with the dynal selection . using this technique , the fibroblast bound / cd14 bound cell fraction was approximately 1 . 3 % of the starting light - density cell population . the fibroblast bound / cd14 bound cells , when placed in standard msc culture conditions , adhered to polystyrene flasks and after 14 days of culture , yielded a msc population as defined by flow analysis and morphology . based on this single selection , it would appear that the msc precursor is a fibroblast +, cd14 + cell . this is unexpected since the culture expanded msc is a fibroblast +, cd14 negative cell . anti - fibroblast microbeads were from miltenyi ( lot # ne7105 ). vs column was from miltenyi ( lot # 0231 ). pre - separation filters 30 um were from miltenyi ( lot # 55 ). miltenyi buffer : phosphate buffered saline ph 7 . 2 supplemented with 0 . 5 % bsa and 2 mm edta . flow staining was performed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s suggested instructions . flow analysis was performed using either the facs calibur or the facs vantage . flow sorting was performed on the facs vantage . determination of cell viability and cell number was done using trypan blue ). osteogenic potential was measured using the method described in example 5 and with an in vivo osteogenic cube assay as described for example in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 486 , 359 . adipogenic assays were performed according to methods described in example 5 . the chondrogenesis assays was performed as follows . cells were pelleted in a 15 ml conical tube ( 2 . 5 ร 10 5 cells / pellet ) in chondrogenic media , consisting of high glucose , dexamethasone and tgf - ฮฒ3 . the pellets were submitted to histology for embedding , thin sectioning and histochemical staining . the presence qf chondrocytes was detected using toluidine blue , which stains for proteoglycans and with an antibody specific for type ii collagen . light density cells were isolated from human bone marrow aspirate ( donors # 401 and # 438 ) using dendreon solution bds72 following density centrifugation of the bone marrow aspirates . aliquots were removed as controls for flow analysis and cell culture . the remaining cells were diluted to a cell count of 2 ร 10 7 cells / ml using miltenyi buffer . cells were incubated with igg at 40 ul per ml of cell suspension for 10 minutes at 4 ยฐ c . with mixing . cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 80 ul of buffer per 10 7 cells ). anti - fibroblast microbeads were added ( 20 ul of beads per 10 7 cells ). the mixture was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes with mixing . miltenyi buffer was added to dilute the mixture and wash the cells . the cells were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1000 rpm . the cell pellet was resuspended in miltenyi buffer ( 1 ml of buffer per 10 8 cells ). the vs column was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ fibroblast bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . a fresh column was primed and the cells in the โ fibroblast bound โ tube was added to the second column . the pre - filter was primed following the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . the cell / microbead suspension was added to the pre - filter and the suspension drained through the column . the effluent was collected as the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was rinsed twice with 3 ml of miltenyi buffer and this effluent was added to the โ fibroblast unbound โ fraction . the column was removed from the magnet and placed over a tube labeled โ fibroblast bound โ. five ml of miltenyi buffer was added to the column and a syringe plunger was used to push the cells into the tube . cell counts and viability assays were performed . cells from the fibroblast unbound fraction were stained for flow analysis . cells from the fibroblast bound fraction were incubated with anti - sh3 , anti - cd45 and anti - cd14 . cells were sorted : donor 401 was sorted into two groups : population 1 and population 2 . donor 438 was sorted into three groups : population 1 , population 1a and population 2 . cells from the fibroblast unbound fraction ( donor 401 only ) and the sorted populations were placed in culture . p0 cells were harvested and passaged . p1 cells from the light - density and population 1 cultures on donor # 401 were stained for flow cytometry and placed in the in vivo cube assay . p1 cells for donor # 438 were passaged . p2 cells from the light density , population 1 and population 1a cultures on donor # 438 were stained for flow cytometry and placed in the in vitro biological assays ( osteogenic , adipogenic and chondrogenic ). this resulted in the sorting of population 1 , population 1a and population 2 . all three of these populations were sh3 + bright . population 1 was cd14 + with a dim staining intensity . population 1a was cd45 + with a dim staining intensity . population 2 was cd14 + with a bright staining intensity . mscs were cultured from population 1 and population 1a cell fractions , as confirmed from flow analysis and in vitro and in vivo biological assays . it was estimated that one population 1 / 1a cell is present in 10 5 light - density bone marrow cells . | 2 |
in various embodiments , a method is provided for bootstrapping trust across multiple root complex devices for both master - slave and peer - to - peer interaction models , where initially each device is mutually distrusting of other devices . a two - phase lockstep protocol for reporting and verifying device integrity can ensure untrusted devices can be isolated from subsequent interactions because they can pose a significant risk to security . that is , a rogue device , if permitted to become fully operational , may exploit weaknesses in firmware / microcode for root complex devices and virtual devices to gain unauthorized access . for example , rogue devices can execute code that is hidden from the host firmware / software ( which may have launch control policies for acceptable / unacceptable device firmware ). without protection as described herein , the device on the root complex may have access to host resources . rogue code could be used to access host resources or stage attacks on devices that have direct access to such host resources . root complex devices can introduce a virtual device message ( vdm ) that is trusted for use by some devices but not others . thus rogue devices may masquerade as a trusted device for the purpose of interacting using vdms . referring now to fig1 , shown is a block diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , system 10 may be a pcie โข- based system in which various components are coupled via a root complex bus 30 . specifically in the embodiment of fig1 , a processor 20 is coupled via bus 30 to an input output hub ( ioh ) 40 , which in turn couples to a peripheral controller hub ( pch ) 60 . in turn , pch 60 may be coupled to a trusted platform module ( tpm ) 90 . as seen , each of the components may include various root complex devices that are coupled to the root complex bus . each such device may include or may be associated with a pci configuration space , which may be a portion of a local memory that can include configuration information . in various embodiments , such configuration spaces may further include an integrity reporting construct in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as seen in fig1 , processor 20 may include a plurality of cores , only one of which is shown for ease of illustration in fig1 . as seen , core 22 , which may execute a thread x , that may execute a hidden resource manager ( hrm ) details of which are described further below , may include a configuration space 24 . in addition , processor 20 may further include an uncore 25 which may include various logic of the processor that executes outside of the processor cores . in addition , processor 20 may further include an integrated memory controller ( imc ) 28 that may couple to a system memory ( not shown for ease of illustration in fig1 ). a bridge 26 may be present , which in one embodiment may be a pcie โข bridge , that may couple to one or more pcie โข devices coupled to the processor . as seen , each of these components may include associated configuration spaces 27 and 29 . as further seen in the embodiment of fig1 , ioh 40 may also include a pcie โข bridge 41 and a controller 43 which in one embodiment may be a joint test action group ( jtag ) controller to enable various testing operations to be performed . in addition , a bridge 45 which may be in accordance with a direct media interface ( dmi ) specification may also be present . as seen , each of these components may include configuration spaces , namely spaces 42 , 44 , and 46 . as further shown in fig1 , pch 60 may include various components including bridges and controllers . in addition , a virtualization engine ( ve ) 62 and a manageability engine ( me ) 64 may be present , each of which may be associated with corresponding configuration spaces 63 and 65 . as seen , the components of pch 60 may include controllers and bridges 68 , 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 82 , each of which includes a corresponding configuration space 69 , 71 , 73 , 75 , 77 , 79 , and 83 . such controllers may include extensible host controller interface ( xhci ), advanced host controller interface ( ahci ), low pin count ( lpc ) and serial peripheral interface ( spi ) controllers , among others . in some embodiments , components may include further sensors and special purpose devices . as seen , each node in the root complex may have a pci configuration space which can be used to store integrity measurements of device capabilities . complex devices have loadable firmware , can support patch and update and may be connected to other buses or networks . hence , the risk of exploit by rogue software , host or device connected to the root complex device can be significant . referring now to fig2 , shown is a block diagram of a pcie โข configuration space with an integrity reporting construct , namely an integrity data block 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . as seen , block 100 , which may be stored in a configuration space of a given device , includes integrity data 110 . such data may include a header 115 , which provides various identification information . in addition , various indicators both for a device and other devices that may act as a master for a given integrity lockstep protocol may be present . specifically , a first device ready indicator ( dr0 ) 120 and a second device ready indicator ( dr1 ) 125 may be present . as will be discussed further below , such indicators may be set by the device to indicate that the device has reached a particular stage of its authentication protocol . similarly , one or more master indicators ( mr0 - n ) 130 may provide similar information for a master . as further seen , a table 140 may be present . this table may be implemented as a list of tag - length - value ( tlv ) entries . in the embodiment of fig2 , the table is contained in the pcie โข configuration space , although it may also be stored in other device memory . this table may store various information regarding integrity measurements and metrics performed with regard to the device , as will be discussed further below . in this way , pcie โข configuration space is used to record and report on the integrity of self - check status . when a root complex node initializes it may load applications , patches , firmware or update packages . package integrity can be described using a manifest containing one or more integrity hashes that is digitally signed . the keys used to sign manifests are authority keys . a manifest , called a device launch policy ( dlp ), specifies which authority keys are honored by the device , and is measured into an entry in the tlv table , referred to as a policy tlv entry . the policy tlv entry asserts that the device firmware and settings are accurately stated and thus the authority values are hashes of signing keys used to protect device manifests . a master device may verify that the device &# 39 ; s integrity configuration meets information technology ( it ) policies using the policy tlv entry . such actions by device and master may be of a first phase of a lockstep integrity reporting protocol . for example , it can construct a whitelist of tlv policy entries that corresponds to the entries generated by the hardware . a compare function will determine which tlvs are not in the whitelist and therefore not authorized by it . in some environments , a cryptographic hash ( aka measurement ) of each code image ( e . g ., device firmware and pci configuration settings ) that was loaded by the device can be created . in different implementations , a manifest containing actual hashes of the images can be hashed , or the images can be hashed directly . such hashes can be computed using an embedded hashing function ( such as secure hash algorithm 1 ( sha1 ), sha2 , or advanced encryption standard hash - based message authentication code ( hmac ), cipher message authentication code ( cmac ), etc .). the detail integrity values are written into a detail tlv entry that stores a hash of the firmware configuration settings . the master device may then access this detail tlv entry in a second phase of the protocol . the pcie โข configuration space thus may contain control indicators ( which in one embodiment can be implemented using control bits ), namely the device and master indicators , for gating a multi - phase protocol . in one such embodiment , a device - ready - 0 ( dr0 ) indicator can be used to report when authority measurements are ready for consumption by a reader / verifier device . in turn , a device - ready - 1 ( dr1 ) indicator can be used to report when detail measurements are ready for consumption . in turn , the master uses a master - ready 0 ( mr0 ) indicator to signal when it has completed the first phase of integrity processing . then the master uses a master - ready 1 ( mr1 ) to conclude the second phase . the master thus concludes the first and second phases by setting of the corresponding mr bits . thus the protocol proceeds in lockstep such that the device cannot complete its integrity checks until the master confirms successful completion of at least a portion of the checks . additional bits can be used as master ready bits when there are multiple masters . referring now to fig3 , shown is a block diagram of a tlv cursor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . the master reads tlv entries using tlv cursor 150 , which generally includes a register field and a value field . the cursor_read_index register 152 points to the next unread tlv entry and the cursor_value register 154 contains the tlv entries that are available for transfer . in various embodiments , the tlv cursor may be present in the configuration space , e . g ., at a head of the tlv table itself . in turn , a tlv table in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig4 . as seen , tlv table 160 is an example table of measurements including both policy and detail tlv entries ( generally 162 0 - 162 7 ). each entry includes a type or tag field 164 , a length field 166 and a value field 168 . tag field 164 may be used to identify the measurement type , and length field 166 may be used to specify the length of value field 168 . in turn , value field 168 may contain various information including a globally unique identifier ( guid ) identifying the manifest or image that was measured . the next portion of this field , & lt ; alg & gt ;, identifies the hash algorithm the device used to measure the manifest , and in turn the last portion of this field , & lt ; hash & gt ;, is the result of the hash computation . referring now to fig5 , shown is a block diagram of a master and slave device in communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig5 , system 200 includes a master 210 that may include a set of tpm platform configuration registers ( pcrs ) 215 . as seen , the master may be coupled to a device 220 by a bus 230 which in one embodiment may be the root complex bus . in turn , device 220 may include various components including a firmware image 222 , a configuration space 224 , a device memory 226 and a command buffer 228 . an authentication table such as shown above in fig4 may be included in configuration space 224 in addition to the various other integrity data discussed above with respect to fig2 . in operation of the system of fig5 , master 210 may request the device entry log ( del ) entries from device 220 used to report device log information , where the number of entries exceeds the limited resources in the pci configuration area . in such a scenario , the device can implement a virtual device method ( vdm ) that supports reporting the del through a command interface . in one such embodiment , the device may double buffer del content to avoid security risks associated with returning a pointer into device memory pages . the communication may be via a device entry register / record ( der ) log read command , which uses a fixed size buffer used to report the device log information . referring now to fig6 , shown is a block diagram of a memory representation including double buffering in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as seen , to perform a memory copy for information present in a configuration space , certain entries of a table can be copied to a command buffer . specifically , as shown in fig6 , a portion of a configuration space 224 is shown , along with a command buffer 228 . as seen , entries of a tlv table 242 stored in the configuration space may be implemented as a linked list having a plurality of entries 242 0 - 242 n + 3 . a pointer 240 ( and later 240 โฒ) may be used to point to a current entry to be read . as seen , entries are buffered via a memory copy operation to command buffer 228 . specifically entries 252 0 - 252 n are copied over . in fig6 , log entries are represented as an indexed array 242 or linked list where cursor pointer 240 is used to maintain a reference to the current tlv entry in the list . command buffer 228 may be used to communicate entries to the caller . however , because the command buffer may be of limited size , the entire structure cannot fit into a single command buffer . in such implementations , a more bit 255 is used to indicate to the caller when additional entries exist . if the more bit is true , then the caller re - issues the vdm again until the more bit becomes false , or until the caller aborts the operation . after each command invocation , the cursor pointer is updated ( shown in fig6 as 240 โฒ) to refer to the un - copied log entries until all are copied . then the pointer can be reset to the beginning of the list . fig7 shows a block diagram of a master - slave model for collecting device integrity measurements . as seen a master device 210 is coupled to a plurality of devices 220 via a bus 230 . devices 220 may act as slaves to the master . as seen , system 200 โฒ includes master 210 having a configuration space 212 and tpm pcrs 215 . via bus 230 , master 210 may be coupled to a plurality of devices 220 0 - 220 n , each of which may include a firmware image 220 0 - 220 n and a configuration space 224 0 - 224 n . master device 210 asserts implicitly that all the devices on the bus trust it . this may be implemented via a tpm with additional functions for polling root complex devices and processing integrity values using local pcrs 215 . referring now to fig8 , shown is a block diagram of a system in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig8 , system 200 โณ may include multiple devices 220 , each of which includes firmware , configuration space and tpm pcrs . in this way , each node can act as a master and / or a device . specifically , in fig8 , a peer - to - peer model is depicted where each node is both a device that reports its integrity and a master that collects the integrity values from other devices . each master may contain the equivalent of a tpm pcr suitable for reporting integrity data to application software , a management console or other network service . in one embodiment of this model , each master attempts to collect integrity information from the other devices in a round - robin fashion . fig9 is a block diagram of an integrity verification using an enhanced privacy identifier ( epid ) in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . the epid is an asymmetric cryptographic system that has multiple private keys for a single instance of a public key . device 300 of fig9 may act as a device and / or master depending on the situation . as seen , the device may include a firmware image 310 and various structures to perform integrity measurements in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . specifically , in addition to a configuration space 320 , a set of extend registers 330 may be present . still further , an integrity report key ( irk ) 340 may be present along with private and public epid keys 350 and 360 . an epid formed of private and public keys 350 and 360 can be used to report integrity values as an alternative to implementing tpm functionality in each device , as implementation of a tpm may be cost prohibitive and pose deployment costs to it . devices containing an epid can use the epid to digitally sign an integrity report key ( irk ) 340 which in turn can be used to authenticate integrity values , aer and der . irk 340 may be a locally generated symmetric key used to perform an hmac or aes_cmac of extend registers 330 . the irk may be used when reporting protocols seek protection from reply attacks and a nonce and other information is supplied by a caller . note that if an irk is not used , then the epid can be used to sign extend registers directly . the device acting as a master may verify integrity reports it collects by verifying the epid signature using an embedded copy of epid public key 360 . since a single epid public key may be used to manufacture multiple epid device identifiers , a single epid public key may be used to verify multiple devices . as described above , embodiments may be applicable to systems of various types , which may run in various environments . for example , as mentioned above , a processor may execute a hidden resource manager . in general , a full range of memory is visible to system software such as an operating system ( os ) or virtual machine monitor ( vmm ). however , to provide for secure operations and so forth , a hidden partition may be provided in memory that includes code that can run using a resource manager , which may be implemented , e . g ., in processor microcode or via a software thread and which can be hidden from the os / vmm . in such implementations a multi - phase lockstep protocol can be used to authenticate devices . referring now to fig1 , shown is a block diagram of a platform in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , platform 410 may be any type of computer system such as server computer , desktop computer , laptop computer , tablet , netbook computer or so forth . the platform includes various hardware and software to operate together to perform requested operations . as seen , the platform hardware includes a processor 420 , which in one embodiment may be a multicore processor including a plurality of processor cores 422 a - 422 n . each core 422 may include microcode for execution in a hidden environment , where this environment is hidden from other system software such as an os or vmm . as further seen , processor 420 includes an integrated memory controller hub ( mch ) 424 to communicate with a system memory 430 , which in one embodiment may be a dynamic random access memory ( dram ). additional hardware of platform 410 may include a pch 440 that may include a ve 442 and a me 444 which may provide control functions for various peripheral devices such as a storage 450 , e . g ., a mass storage such as a disk drive , optical or other non - volatile storage . in addition , a network interface controller ( nic ) 455 may enable communication between platform 410 and other agents of a network such as a wired network , e . g ., a local area network ( lan ), a wireless network such as a wireless lan ( wlan ), or a wide - range wireless network such as a cellular network . while shown with this particular hardware in the embodiment of fig1 , understand the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard . as further seen in fig1 , various software is also present . firstly , shown is a hidden resource manager ( hrm ) 425 . as seen , this layer of software may act as an interface between underlying processor hardware and a hidden partition 470 . in one embodiment , hrm 425 may be implemented as processor microcode stored in a microcode storage of the processor . note that this microcode and storage may be separate from conventional microcode and microcode storage that is used to provide processor instructions for corresponding user - level instructions of an instruction set architecture ( isa ). however , in some embodiments , the hidden microcode and the conventional microcode may be stored in different partitions of a single microcode storage . the resource manager may execute to provide services to code of hidden partition 470 . as seen , various code may be present in this hidden partition , which may be stored in a partition of , e . g ., system memory 430 that is segmented and hidden from other system software , i . e ., the os and vmm . hidden partition 470 includes various code , including one or more hidden kernels and drivers 472 , which may provide kernel services as well as drivers for interfacing with various devices of the platform . additional core capabilities code 474 may be present , in addition to one or more applications 475 that may execute in the hidden execution environment . although the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard , the hidden execution environment may be for operations such as implemented to follow a formal security model that provide higher integrity than a general - purpose os . in addition , platform 410 includes conventional software including a host os / vmm partition 460 , which may include various host device drivers 462 and host applications 464 . such code may be stored in another partition of system memory 430 . hrm 425 may provide an abstraction of the system hardware to the os / vmm partition . as will be described below , in one embodiment a multi - phase lockstep integrity protocol may be used in an environment including a transient kernel of the hidden environment , referred to as kernel - 0 that acts as a boot loader to launch a persistent kernel ( kernel - 1 ) of the hidden environment . then kernel - 1 verifies application code integrity using a launch control policy supplied by kernel - 0 . integrity measurements of the application ( s ) may be recorded in a log file called a launch history . referring now to fig1 , shown is a flow diagram of a multi - phase lockstep integrity method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 , shown is a 2 - phase lockstep integrity reporting protocol flow for a single master and multiple devices . each master node when used in a peer - peer configuration repeats the protocol . as seen , operations for a device ( beginning at block 505 ) and master ( beginning at block 550 ) can be performed in parallel . with regard to device operations , a device x begins by verifying device manifests for its firmware using an embedded verification kernel ( block 505 ). next , at block 510 , the manifest is used to load , measure and verify device firmware ( but does not execute it ). the device then measures the authority keys manifest and creates a policy tlv entry by writing authority measurements to an entry of its tlv table ( block 515 ). the device sets its device ready bit ( dr0 ) to true ( block 520 ) and blocks on the mr0 bit ( diamond 525 ), meaning the device enters a wait state until the master has set this bit . in parallel , the master polls device x and blocks on the dr0 bit ( block 550 ). that is , if dr0 false is determined at diamond 555 , device x is not ready and may be placed on a blacklist ( block 558 ) so that regular service requests from this device will not be honored . in one embodiment , the master may refuse to route messages to any of the slave devices on the black list . a more complex policy can specify specific vdms that are allowed / denied . if the device supports vdms for disabling the device , the master may choose to disable the device ( assuming the device vendor implements a disable command that allows the device to make progress on the 2 - phase protocol while disabled .) the master may remain blocked on the device x dr0 bit , or continue polling other devices . when dr0 becomes true , control passes to block 560 , where the master reads the authority values from the tlv entries ( e . g ., the policy tlv entries ) and extends tpm authority pcrs and updates a tpm pcr log . then at block 570 , the master sets the device x master ready bit ( mr0 ) to true , e . g ., using a vdm function . in peer - peer mode , the vdm message may be authenticated by the device using epid signing or tpm signing keys and the master ready bits associated with each specific master are employed . now with reference back to the device side , at diamond 525 the device may block if mr0 is false and thus the device waits for the master to become ready ( block 530 ). note that in peer - peer mode there can be a separate mr0 bit for each master . the second phase of the authentication process may begin when the device measures the image manifests containing hashes of the image , or the device dynamically measures the images ( block 535 ). accordingly , detail tlv entries are created . then the device sets its dr1 bit to true ( block 540 ). with reference back to master operations , if the dr1 bit is false as determined at diamond 572 , the master blocks at block 575 , with the device x on the blacklist . when dr1 becomes true , the master reads the detail tlv entries and extends tpm detail pcrs and updates the tpm pcr log accordingly ( block 580 ). the master then sets the second master ready bit ( mr1 ) to true and removes device x from the blacklist ( block 585 ). in turn , the device blocks on mr1 bit until the master is ready ( diamond 545 and bock 548 ). when the device detects that mr1 is now true , it completes its device initialization and is available for normal operation ( block 549 ). the master polls for the next device ( block 590 ). while shown in the embodiment of fig1 , understand that the scope of the present invention is not limited in this regard . in bios and hidden execution environments , a 2 - phase lockstep integrity reporting protocol may be performed in a master - slave mode in which the bios plays the role of master and the hidden execution environment performs the device role . referring now to fig1 , shown is a flow diagram of a 2 - phase integrity reporting flow method 600 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig1 , various operations are performed by each of the bios , the hidden execution environment and an os , when the bios sets a feature control machine specific register ( msr ) enabling the hidden execution environment feature to become active ( block 605 ). at block 610 , the bios blocks on the dr0 bit until integrity measurements from the hidden execution environment are ready . now as to operations performed by the hidden execution environment , the hrm creates a policy tlv containing hidden public keys ( hpk ) including the keys used to verify kernel - 0 and kernel - 1 images and it also creates a detail tlv entry for kernel - 0 ( block 625 ). the hrm boots kernel - 0 after it has been verified by hrm using the hpk ( block 630 ). note if kernel - 0 verification fails , the authority tlv is disposed of and the hrm is reset . next , kernel - 0 creates an authority tlv for the hidden execution environment applications by hashing a launch control policy ( lcp ) manifest ( block 635 ). then the hrm sets the dr0 bit ( block 640 ). the hrm blocks on the mr0 bit until the bios has completed extending pcrs ( block 645 ). referring back to bios operations , the bios extends authority and detail pcrs for entries in the log ( block 615 ). bios also may set the mr0 bit , allowing the hidden execution environment to continue ( block 618 ). the bios also boots the main os , which assumes the role of master ( block 620 ). the os launches a hidden measurement service ( hms ) to continue the role of master ( block 670 ). the hms blocks on the dr1 bit until the remaining integrity values are ready ( block 675 ). with reference back to the hidden execution environment operations , kernel - 0 creates detail measurements for kernel - 1 and places them in a tlv entry ( block 648 ). kernel - 0 then launches kernel - 1 ( block 649 ). in turn , kernel - 1 create detail measurements for each application and creates tlv entries by hashing the application manifests ( block 650 ). kernel - 1 sets the dr1 bit , signaling the hms to proceed ( block 655 ). kernel - 1 blocks on the mr1 bit waiting for hms to complete ( block 660 ). hms extends detail pcrs in a tpm using tlv entries managed by the hrm ( block 680 ). hms signals kernel - 1 to continue by setting the mr1 bit ( block 685 ). finally , kernel - 1 launches the hidden execution environment applications ( block 665 ). the two - phase protocol ensures that the master environment cannot become compromised by rogue software in the hidden execution environment somehow affecting the master &# 39 ; s ability to safely update pcr values . of course , other implementations of a multi - phase lockstep integrity reporting are possible . referring now to fig1 , shown is a block diagram of a system in accordance with a still further embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , system 700 may include a master device 720 that is coupled to a hidden execution device 740 which may include a configuration space 745 . to enable execution of the master , a secure initialization authenticated code module ( sinit acm ) 710 may be present and may couple further to a tpm 730 which may include a set of pcrs 735 . in the embodiment of fig1 , trusted execution technology ( txt ) plays the role of master and the hidden execution environment plays the device role . in this model , sinit acm 710 may be launched as a result of a senter instruction 705 being issued . senter causes the hidden execution environment to suspend . sinit runs in a constrained environment where it may not be able to perform the entire master side of the protocol . sinit may delegate some or all of its role to master 720 , as the master operates with the same privilege level as sinit . due to the special nature of the senter state , the 2 - phase lockstep protocol is not followed . instead , integrity values computed at system boot up can be carried forward . sinit / master ensures that the dynamic launch pcrs ( e . g ., of block 680 of fig1 ) are updated before the hidden execution environment is permitted to execute . in one embodiment , this implementation may proceed as follows . if hidden execution is not enabled / running , then the master can be invoked . senter causes hidden execution to be suspended , and initiate entry into sinit , which verifies and extends a hidden execution driver into a pcr , and then loads the hidden execution driver . this driver may be a system management mode ( smm ) transfer monitor of txt that protects a system from unauthorized smm interrupts that may compromise the measurements before they are extended into the tpm . next , sinit obtains tlv entries from the hrm that were generated at first system boot , and extends detail entries into a first tpm pcr , and extends authority entries into a second tpm pcr . finally , sinit re - enables the hidden execution environment . embodiments thus enable pcie โข devices to measure firmware and configuration file integrity at load time by directly computing an integrity hash of the image ( or by verifying an integrity hash contained in a manifest , and then taking a measurement of the manifest ). measurements can be reported to other pcie โข devices using pcie โข configuration space , which can be configured to be readable by other devices and virtual devices but writable only by the pcie โข device . alternately , devices with an epid can be authenticated to a trusted device manufacturer . the epid can be used to sign reported integrity measurements so that participant devices can verify device integrity . still further , host environments such as bios , os and txt can extend tpm pcrs and verify hidden execution environment manifests prior to that environment being given full privileges to operate and use the device reporting mechanisms to establish trust in the device / virtual device ( such as the hidden execution environment ) before the device is allowed to have full access to other platform resources . accordingly , root complex devices including virtual pcie โข devices such as a hidden execution environment and a me or ve can be blacklisted such that they cannot interact with other platform components until an integrity check has been performed . in one embodiment , the uncore / cpu ( e . g ., of fig1 ) enforces the blacklist . embodiments may be implemented in code and may be stored on a storage medium having stored thereon instructions which can be used to program a system to perform the instructions . the storage medium may include , but is not limited to , any type of disk including floppy disks , optical disks , optical disks , solid state drives ( ssds ), compact disk read - only memories ( cd - roms ), compact disk rewritables ( cd - rws ), and magneto - optical disks , semiconductor devices such as read - only memories ( roms ), random access memories ( rams ) such as dynamic random access memories ( drams ), static random access memories ( srams ), erasable programmable read - only memories ( eproms ), flash memories , electrically erasable programmable read - only memories ( eeproms ), magnetic or optical cards , or any other type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions . while the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom . it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention . | 6 |
description of the embodiments of the present invention will now be made in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements . fig2 is a block diagram of an rfid device according to an embodiment of the present invention . the rfid device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes dual antennas ant_tx and ant_rx , a low noise amplifier ( lna ) 110 , a power amplifier ( pa ) 120 , a modulator 130 , a demodulator 140 , a power on reset unit 150 , a clock generator 160 , a digital unit 170 , a driving controller 180 , a memory unit 190 , and a plurality of pads pad 1 to padn . the low noise amplifier 110 and the power amplifier 120 define an amplifying unit that may include other components . the plurality of pads pad 1 to padn are coupled to an external driving device 200 . two independent antennas ant_rx and ant_tx are provided for reception and transmission of a radio signal . the antenna ant_rx receives a radio signal rf_rx transmitted from an external rfid reader . the radio signal rf_rx received in the rfid device 100 through the antenna ant_rx is inputted to the lna 110 through an antenna pad . the antenna ant_tx transmits a radio signal rf_tx received from the rfid device 100 to the external rfid reader . the radio signal rf_tx applied from the modulator 130 to the antenna ant_tx is transmitted to the external rfid reader . the lna 110 amplifies the radio signal rf_rx while minimizing added noise . that is , the lna 110 amplifies a signal while minimizing noise added to the radio signal rf_rx applied through the antenna ant_rx , and outputs the amplified signal rf_lna to the pa 120 and the demodulator 140 . the pa 120 amplifies the amplified signal rf_lna applied from the lna 110 , and outputs the power signal rf_pa to a transmission switch tx_sw . the transmission switch tx_sw selectively outputs the power signal rf_pa ( i . e ., modified power signal rf_mod ) to the modulator 130 under the control of a response signal tx applied from the digital unit 170 . that is , when the response signal tx is activated , the transmission switch tx_sw outputs the power signal rf_pa ( i . e ., modified power signal rf_mod ) to the modulator 130 . on the other hand , when the response signal tx is deactivated , the transmission switch tx_sw is disconnected from the modulator 130 and thus does not output the power signal rf_pa ( i . e ., modified power signal rf_mod ) to the modulator 130 . by controlling the on / off timing of the response signal tx a desired transmission signal can be generated . when the response signal tx applied from the digital unit 170 is activated , the modulator 130 outputs the radio signal rf_tx , which is generated by modulating the modified power signal rf_mod , to the antenna ant_tx . the demodulator 140 demodulates the amplified signal rf_lna from the lna 110 and outputs a command signal rx to the digital unit 170 . also , the power on reset unit 150 detects a power supply voltage vdd generated at a power supply voltage pad p 1 , and outputs a power on reset signal por to the digital unit 170 . the power on reset signal por is a signal which controls a reset operation . the power on reset signal por rises with the power supply voltage while the power supply voltage goes from a low level to a high level . the power on reset signal por then changes from a high level to a low level at the moment that the power supply voltage reaches the power supply voltage level vdd , thereby resetting an internal circuit of the rfid device 100 . the clock generator 160 supplies the digital unit 170 with a clock clk which controls an operation of the digital unit 170 . in this embodiment , the rfid device 100 is driven by the external power supply voltage pad p 1 and an external ground voltage pad p 2 . in a conventional rfid device , an rfid tag receives a radio signal through communication with the rfid reader . the radio signal then supplies the power supply voltage through a voltage amplification unit provided inside the rfid tag . in this embodiment , however , a large amount of power is consumed because the rfid device 100 is coupled to the external driving device 200 . accordingly , in this embodiment , the power supply voltage vdd and a ground voltage gnd are supplied to the rfid device 100 through the additional external power supply voltage pad p 1 and the additional ground voltage pad p 2 . the digital unit 170 receives the power supply voltage vdd , the power on reset signal por , the clock clk , and the command signal rx , interprets the command signal rx , and generates a control signal and processing signals . the digital unit 170 outputs the response signal rp corresponding to the control signal and the processing signals to the transmission switch tx_sw . also , the digital unit 170 outputs an address add , data i / o , the control signal ctr , and the clock clk to the memory unit 190 . the driving controller 180 is coupled between the digital unit 170 and the plurality of pads pad 1 to padn . the driving controller 180 outputs driving signals , which control an operation of the driving device 200 provided outside the rfid device 100 , to the plurality of pads pad 1 to padn according to the command signal applied from the digital unit 170 . the driving device 200 is coupled to the driving controller 180 of the rfid device 100 through the plurality pads pad 1 to padn . the plurality of pads pad 1 to padn are coupled to the external driving device 200 through connection pins , and correspond to a coupling unit which couples the rfid device 100 and the driving device 200 to each other . the driving device 200 corresponds to a driving control device which controls an operation of a display device such as an led , a motor , or a speaker . the memory unit 190 may be implemented with a nonvolatile ferroelectric memory ( feram ). the feram has a data processing speed similar to that of a dram . also , the feram has a structure substantially similar to that of the dram . the feram uses a ferroelectric material as a capacitor , so that it has a high remnant polarization characteristic which is a characteristic of the ferroelectric material . due to the remnant polarization characteristic , data is not erased even though an electric field is removed . fig3 and 4 are waveform diagrams showing the operation of the rfid device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention . specifically , fig3 is a waveform diagram showing a case in which the command signal rx is applied to the rfid device 100 . as seen in fig3 , the radio signal rf_rx is received through the antenna ant_rx . the radio signal rf_rx received in the rfid device 100 through the antenna ant_rx is applied to the lna 110 . subsequently , the lna 110 amplifies the radio signal rf_rx from the antenna ant_rx , and outputs the amplified signal rf_lna to the pa 120 and the demodulator 140 . the radio signal rf_rx from the antenna ant_rx is very weak . at this point it may be impossible to drive a schottky diode included in the demodulator 140 . accordingly , the lna 110 amplifies the radio signal rf_rx and generates the amplified signal rf_lna having a voltage level at which the schottky diode included in the demodulator 140 can be driven . the demodulator 140 demodulates the amplified signal rf_lna applied from the lna 110 , and outputs the command signal rx to the digital unit 170 . that is , the demodulator 140 detects the command signal rx by using an envelope detector implemented with the schottky diode . fig4 is a waveform diagram showing a case in which the response signal tx is outputted from the rfid device 100 . as seen in fig4 , the radio signal rf_rx is received through the antenna ant_rx . at this time , the radio signal rf_rx may have a constant frequency , regardless of a change in the input signal . the radio signal rf_rx received in the rfid device 100 from the antenna ant_rx is applied to the lna 110 . subsequently , the lna 110 amplifies the radio signal rf_rx from the antenna ant_rx , and outputs the amplified signal rf_lna to the pa 120 and the demodulator 140 . the pa 120 amplifies the amplified signal rf_lna from the lna 120 , and outputs the amplified power signal rf_pa to the transmission switch tx_sw . the transmission switch tx_sw selectively outputs the power signal rf_pa ( i . e ., modified power signal rf_mod ) to the modulator 130 under the control of the response signal tx applied from the digital unit 170 . that is , when the response signal tx is activated to a high level , the transmission switch tx_sw is turned on to output the power signal rf_pa ( i . e ., modified power signal rf_mod ) to the modulator 130 . on the other hand , when the response signal tx is deactivated to a low level , the transmission switch tx_sw is disconnected from the modulator 130 and thus does not output the power signal rf_pa to the modulator 130 ( i . e ., modified power signal rf_mod is low ). the modulator 130 modulates the modified power signal rf_mod and outputs the modulated modified power signal as the radio signal rf_tx . the antenna ant_tx transmits the radio signal rf_tx applied from the modulator 130 to the external rfid reader . as described above , when outputting the response signal tx to the antenna ant_tx , the radio signal rf_tx is generated by using the radio signal rf_rx applied through the antenna ant_rx , without using an internal oscillator of the rfid device 100 . that is , the radio signal rf_rx sent from the external rfid reader is amplified by using the lna 110 and the pa 120 , and transmitted to the external rfid reader by using the separate antenna ant_tx . in this case , the radio signal rf_rx applied from the external rfid reader and the radio signal rf_tx outputted to the external rfid reader through the modulator 130 may have the same frequency . the radio signal rf_tx is a signal which is generated by amplifying the voltage level of the radio signal rf_rx through the lna 110 and the pa 120 . in recent years , lighting installed in buildings are using a plurality of leds . in this case , a specific light pattern can be provided by individually controlling on / off operations of the leds . furthermore , a desired brightness can be provided by controlling individual leds among the plurality of lights , or lights positioned at desired locations can be separately controlled . in the above - described lighting controlling method , the lighting can be remotely controlled through the rfid device . specifically , an rfid tag is attached to an led device , and a desired signal is transmitted over a radio frequency through an external reader . the rfid tag attached to the led device recognizes the transmitted signal and receives a separate command according to a unique id . in this way , the number and brightness of the leds can be controlled as desired . such an rfid tag is relatively cheaper than a general wireless remote controller . hence , in a case where the rfid tag is applied to the lightings or the like , the implementation costs can be reduced and more options can be provided to users . the long - distance recognition performance of the rfid can be improved through the detection of the weak input signal by amplifying the radio signal received in the rfid device through the lna and outputting the amplified radio signal to the demodulator . moreover , since the radio signal outputted from the rfid device is generated by using the radio signal applied from the external rfid reader to the rfid device , a separate internal oscillator may be omitted from the rfid device . in this case , the configuration of the rfid device can be simplified and the operating voltage can be reduced . also , the operating characteristics can be improved . the above embodiments of the present invention are illustrative and not limitative . various alternatives and equivalents are possible . other additions , subtractions , or modifications are obvious in view of the present disclosure and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
the present disclosure is directed to a method to separate a solar cell into solar cell pieces and assemble the pieces into a component . the present disclosure includes devices to break solar cell and devices to form an assembly , which includes , but not limited to following devices : a ) scriber or a device to cut scribe lines into the solar cell , b ) a supporter to support the solar cell and to separate the solar cell into pieces , c ) a bus bar pattern maker , and d ) a pusher or roller , the present disclosure includes a process to break solar cell and to form an assembly , which includes following processes , but not limited to : a ) a process to scribe the solar cell , such as saw dicing , and laser dicing . the scribe is normally from the back of the cell and is a cut located partially through the cell . the process also has the steps of a ) a process to make a supporter with a trench pattern matches the scribe lines , b ) a process to make a supporter with a trench that matches the width of the cell unit , c ) a process to move a scribed cell onto a supporter and with scribe line facing a trench in the supporter and d ) a process to align the cell to the supporter so that the scribe is aligned to the trench in the supporter , and e ) a process make a ribbon patterned to match the holder and f ) a process to break the solar cell into the pieces . the process also has steps g ) a process to place cell pieces into ribbons , h ) a process to assemble solar cell unit with the ribbons , i ) a process to introduce an insulator between the top and the bottom ribbons and j ) a process to solder the cell and the ribbons together . examples related to the present disclosure are shown . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure . however , to one having ordinary skill in the art , it will be apparent that the specific detail need not be employed to practice the present disclosure . well known methods related to the implementation are not described in detail in order to obscuring the present disclosure . fig1 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of the present disclosure to break solar cell and form assembly generally shown as reference numeral 100 and steps 105 to 123 . the method starts at step 105 and then the solar cell is scribed from the back side of the cell at step 107 . this may be scribed perpendicular to the bus bars . the bottom ribbons are placed on a supporter at step 109 . the placement is made with a location matching the bus bar on the cell . the scribed cell is placed on top of bottom ribbons ( step 110 ) and the scribed cell or cell with the scribe lines is then placed on a supporter with the scribe lines facing the supporter . by using force around the scribe lines , then the cell is broken at step 111 and the cell pieces drop into the trenches of the supporter at step 113 . an insulator is then placed on the bottom ribbon between the cell pieces at step 115 . top ribbons are placed on the top at step 117 , aligning to the front bus bar of the solar cell . then cell pieces and the ribbons are soldered together to form an assembly cell ( steps 119 and 121 ) and then the method 100 ends at step 100 . some steps 105 - 123 may be performed in a different order or simultaneously and the method 100 is not limited to the embodiment shown in fig1 . fig2 a shows a top view of a solar cell 200 with a number of scribe lines 203 on the backside . the scribe lines 203 can be accomplished by various methods . these may be accomplished by saw , laser , water jet , etc . or any method known in the art . a solar cell 200 is scribed on the backside 201 , and preferably made perpendicularly to the backside bus bar 202 . the scribe line 203 is partially made through the solar cell 200 . fig2 b shows a simplified cross section of a scribed solar cell 200 shown in fig2 a . fig3 a shows the simplified side view of a sample supporter 301 for supporting the solar cell 200 . the supporter 301 is for breaking a solar cell at a high throughput . the supporter 301 includes two parts or a first supporter member and a plurality of protruding second members extending from the first member . the protruding second members are a number of triangular shaped steps that form trenches 300 . the solar cell 200 having a scribe line 203 is placed on the second members and broken into a plurality of solar cell pieces using the protruding members and the scribe line 203 or broken using a gap formed between at least two protruding members and the scribe line 203 . the supporter 301 has a number of trenches 300 , which are parallel to the scribe lines 203 and which are spaced the same as the scribe lines 203 on a solar cell 200 in a complementary fashion . fig3 b shows the simplified side view of a supporter 300 and the back ribbons 302 being patterned and placed on top of the supporter 300 . a back ribbon 302 is patterned to match with the trenches 300 of the supporter 301 . the number of the back ribbons 302 are placed on the top of the supporter 301 . the number of the back ribbons 302 match the location of the bottom bus bar 202 of the solar cell 200 . fig3 c shows the simplified side view of placing a scribed or cut solar cell 303 on the supporter 301 and a view of the bottom ribbons 302 . a scribe solar cell 303 is moved onto a top of the bottom ribbons 302 and the supporter 301 . the configuration has the scribe lines 306 facing downward in a position located generally toward the supporter 301 . the front side 304 of the solar cell 303 faces upwardly . the scribe lines 306 are on the top of the trenches 300 . the backside bus bars 202 of the solar cell generally align with the bottom ribbons 302 . fig3 d shows the simplified side view of an embodiment of using a pusher with roll bars 308 to break the solar cell 303 . the pusher has multiple roller bars 308 being aligned with scribe lines 306 . the roller bars 308 impart a downward force on the solar cell 302 and then are moved generally left and right around the scribe lines 306 to break the cell 303 into cell pieces 305 as shown by reference arrow a . fig3 e shows the simplified side view of another embodiment of using a roller 308 to break the solar cell 303 . the roller 308 has one roller bar 308 โฒ aligned with scribe lines 306 . the roller bar 308 โฒ is rolled from one edge of the solar cell 302 to the other edge of the solar cell 302 and is forced perpendicularly to the scribe lines 306 thus breaking cell 302 into the cell pieces 305 in an even manner . this can make the method of manufacturing the solar cell pieces having a faster throughput . fig3 f shows the simplified side view of an embodiment with the broken solar cell 302 broken into the cell pieces 305 in an even manner . for this embodiment , the supporter 301 is designed so that the cell piece 305 drop in to the trench 300 after breaking the solar cell 303 into the cell pieces 305 in an even manner . the cell pieces 305 are aligned in parallel and sit in the trench 300 on the top of the bottom ribbons 302 . fig3 g shows the simplified side view of introducing an insulator 307 onto the bottom ribbon 302 and between the cell pieces 305 . as an embodiment , a liquid insulator 307 is sprayed by nozzles 307 . the liquid insulator 307 is sprayed on to bottom bus bar 302 between the cell pieces 305 and then the liquid insulator 307 is dried or cured into a solid . the insulator 307 can be polymer materials , such as silicone , eva or any other insulator known in the art . the drying or curing can be done by varying of process , such as heat , uv , ir or any other curing method known in the art . the drying or curing can be done after spraying , or during the soldering of the ribbons 302 . fig3 h shows the simplified side view of introducing a number of top ribbons 308 on to the cell pieces 305 being aligned with bus bars of the solar cell pieces . the top ribbons 308 are placed on top of cell pieces 305 and are aligned with the front bus bar of the cell pieces 305 . the insulator 307 insulates a bottom ribbon 302 and a top ribbon 308 . the cell pieces 305 and the bottom ribbon 302 and the top ribbon 308 are then all soldered together by various methods or means , such as hot bar soldering , infrared soldering , laser soldering or any soldering method known in the art . fig4 shows a flow chart of another embodiment of the present disclosure to break solar cell and form an assembly generally shown as reference numeral 101 . the method 101 starts at step 102 and passes to step 104 . the solar cell is then scribed from the back side of the solar cell and generally perpendicular to the bus bars at step 104 . the scribe cell is then placed on top of a supporter with the scribe lines facing the supporter ( step 106 ). by using force around the scribe lines , the cell is then broken and cell pieces stay on top of supporter ( step 108 ). the cell pieces are taken and placed onto the bottom ribbons on the soldering holder ( step 110 - 112 ). an insulator is placed on the bottom ribbon between the cell pieces ( step 114 ). top ribbons are placed on the top side ( step 116 ) and are aligned to the front bus bar of the solar cell . then cell pieces and the ribbons are soldered together to form an assembly ( steps 118 - 120 ). some steps 105 - 123 may be performed in a different order or simultaneously and the method 100 is not limited to the embodiment shown in fig4 . fig5 a shows the simplified side view of a supporter 501 having a scribe cell 502 on a top side thereof . a scribe cell 502 is then placed on the supporter 501 with a scribe line 504 facing the supporter on the trench 500 . the supporter 501 has flat top , which is disposed underneath the cell piece 503 . the supporter 501 is for breaking a solar cell at a high throughput . the supporter 501 includes two parts or a first supporter member and a plurality of protruding second members extending from the first member . the protruding second members are a number of triangular shaped steps that form trenches 500 . the solar cell having a scribe line is placed on the second members and broken into a plurality of solar cell pieces using a gap or trench 500 formed between at least two protruding members and the scribe line . fig5 b shows the simplified side view of an embodiment of using a pusher having roller bars 505 to break the solar cell . the pusher has multiple roller bars 505 being generally aligned with the scribe lines 504 . the roller bars 505 impart a force on the cell 502 . when the force is supplied to the roller bars 505 and when the roller bars 505 are moved left and right around the scribe lines 504 break the cell 502 into the cell pieces 503 . fig5 c shows the simplified side view of an embodiment of the moving of the cell pieces 503 . for this example , a vacuum cup 506 holds a cell piece 503 from a top side and the vacuum cup 506 then grasps the cell piece 503 upwardly . fig5 d shows a simplified side view of placing the cell pieces 503 on a top and on a bottom of the ribbons . after picking up the cell pieces 503 , the vacuum cups 506 move to separate cell pieces 503 from each other to leave a gap 507 . then vacuum cups 506 then place the cell pieces 503 onto the bottom ribbons 508 . the bottom ribbons 508 are then placed to align with backside bus bar 507 of the cell pieces 503 . fig5 e shows the simplified side view of introducing an insulator 509 onto the bottom ribbon and generally between the cell pieces 503 . as an embodiment , a liquid insulator 509 is sprayed by a number of nozzles 510 on to bottom bus bar 507 . this is sprayed between the cell pieces 503 and then dried or cured into a solid . the insulator 509 can be a polymer material , such as silicone , eva or any other insulator known in the art . the drying or curing can be done by various processes including heat , ultraviolet , infrared , or any other drying or curing method known in the art . the drying or curing can be done substantially immediately after spraying , or the drying or curing can be done during the soldering of the ribbons 507 . fig5 f shows the simplified side view of introducing a number of top ribbons 511 on to cell pieces 503 that are aligned with the bus bars of the solar cell pieces 503 . top ribbons 511 are placed on a top of the cell pieces 503 and are aligned with the front bus bar of the cell pieces 503 . the insulator 509 then insulates a bottom ribbon 507 and a top ribbon 511 . the cell pieces 503 and the bottom ribbons 507 and the top ribbons 511 are then soldered together by various soldering methods including , such as hot bar , infrared , laser or any method known in the art . the insulator is introduced before the placement of a top bus bar . as another option , the insulator can be introduced after the placement of a top bus bar and even the soldering of bus bar . fig6 a shows a flow chart of another embodiment of the present disclosure to introduce an insulator after the soldering of the bus bar . the method 600 โฒ commences at step 601 โฒ and passes to step 602 โฒ where soldering occurs . the liquid insulator is dispensed into the space between the ribbons and the cell pieces ( step 604 โฒ). the insulator is the solidified at step 606 โฒ and then the assembly is made at step 608 โฒ and the method 600 โฒ ends at step 610 โฒ. fig6 b shows a simplified side view of introducing an insulator 609 into a gap between a number of ribbons 611 and a number of cell pieces 603 . after soldering , an assembly 601 is formed . the assembly 601 comprises cell pieces 603 , a top ribbon 611 , and a bottom ribbon 607 . liquid insulator 609 sprayed by nozzles 610 into the gaps 608 . the gaps 608 are located between the cell pieces 603 , the top ribbon 611 and the bottom ribbon 607 . the insulator 609 can be any polymer material including silicone , eva or any other insulator materials . the drying or curing can be done by varying of process including heat , ultraviolet , infrared , or any other drying or curing method known in the art . the assembled cells can be connected into a string in a series to make a solar panel as shown . one option is to manufacture the top and the bottom ribbon to jut , stick or protrude out on the assembly end . then , the method performs the soldering of the โ ribbon to cell โ and the โ ribbon to ribbon โ simultaneously . fig7 shows a simplified side view of the cells into a string 700 . the extension of the top ribbon 702 of one assembly cell 701 overlaps with the extension of the bottom ribbon 704 of an adjacent assembly cell 703 . the soldering can be performed so that โ ribbon to cell โ and the โ ribbon to ribbon โ soldering is performed substantially simultaneously . by repeating the process on multiple cells , a string of solar cells 700 is formed . generally , in operation , the computer system operable with that method shown can be accomplished in a computerized fashion and can be controlled by an operating system . typical examples of operating systems are ms - dos , windows 95 , 98 , 2000 , xp , vista and windows 7 from microsoft corporation , or solaris and sunos from sun microsystems , inc ., unix based operating systems , linux based operating systems , or the apple osx from apple corporation . as the computer system operates , input such as input search data , database record data , programs and commands , received from users or other processing systems , are stored on storage device . certain commands cause the processor to retrieve and execute the stored programs . the programs executing on the processor may obtain more data from the same or a different input device , such as a network connection . the programs may also access data in a database for example , and commands and other input data may cause the processor to index , search and perform other operations on the database in relation to other input data . data may be generated which is sent to the output device for display to the user or for transmission to another computer system or device . typical examples of the computer system are personal computers and workstations , hand - held computers , dedicated computers designed for a specific purpose , and large main frame computers suited for use many users . the present disclosure is not limited to being implemented on any specific type of computer system or data processing device . it is noted that the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or circuitry which embodies the logic and processing disclosed herein , or alternatively , the present disclosure may be implemented in software in the form of a computer program stored on a computer readable medium such as a storage device . in the later case , the present disclosure in the form of computer program logic and executable instructions is read and executed by the processor and instructs the computer system to perform the functionality disclosed as the disclosure herein . if the present disclosure is embodied as a computer program , the computer program logic is not limited to being implemented in any specific programming language . for example , commonly used programming languages such as c , c ++, java as well as others may be used to implement the logic and functionality of the present disclosure . furthermore , the subject matter of the present disclosure is not limited to currently existing computer processing devices or programming languages , but rather , is meant to be able to be implemented in many different types of environments in both hardware and software . furthermore , combinations of embodiments of the disclosure may be divided into specific functions and implemented on different individual computer processing devices and systems which may be interconnected to communicate and interact with each other . dividing up the functionality of the disclosure between several different computers is meant to be covered within the scope of the disclosure . while this disclosure has been particularly shown and described with references to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that is made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following claims . | 7 |
fig1 - 2 illustrate one embodiment of an instant messaging (โ im โ) system 100 . as best shown in fig1 , this im system 100 comprises a plurality of client devices 102 ( for clarity , only one shown in detail ) connected to an im server computer 104 by a communications medium 106 . each of the client devices 102 comprises a central processing unit 110 connected to a main memory 112 , a mass storage interface 114 , a network interface 116 , and an input / output (โ i / o โ) interface 118 by a system bus 122 . the memory 112 in each client device 102 comprises an operating system 124 and an instant messaging (โ im โ) client application 128 . the instant messaging client 128 , in turn , comprises a client gui 170 and an activity - monitoring program 172 . each client gui 170 is designed to allow its primary user ( e . g ., the individual sitting at the computer screen ) to send instant messages to other users of the im system . the im server computer 104 in this embodiment similarly includes a central processing unit 130 connected to a main memory 132 , a mass storage interface 134 , a network interface 136 , and an i / o interface 138 by a system bus 142 . the memory 132 in the server computer 103 contains an operating system 144 , an instant messaging backend program 148 , a database program 150 , and a message queuing manager 152 . as best shown in fig2 a - 2b , the database program 150 provides access to a database 200 comprising a plurality of user records 201 . each user record 201 contains a user name field 202 , metadata field ( s ) 203 , and a message queue 214 . the metadata field 203 , in turn , comprises a list of applications 204 , a list of keywords associated with that application 206 , an active indicator 208 , a focus time field 210 , a last opened field 212 , and a message queue 214 . the message queue 214 comprises a list of received messages 216 a - 216 d and their corresponding priority values 218 a - 218 d . fig3 illustrates a chat interface window 300 generated by the client gui 170 . this interface window 300 comprises a user - selectable number of conversation sub - panes 304 a - 304 c ( as depicted in fig3 ) and an input pane 306 . each sub - pane 304 contains a chat history for one conversation . sub - pane 304 a contains a chat history of the highest priority chat session ; sub - pane 304 b contains a chat history of the next highest priority chat session , etc . the input pane 306 comprises a text entry zone 308 in which users can input the message they wish to add to one of the conversations , a plurality of minimized conversation selector icons 310 a - 310 n that allow users to select which conversation the inputted message will be sent , and a busyness slider 312 that allows users to adjust the priority score required to have a message displayed on the screen . the selection icons 310 a - 310 c in this embodiment are associated with the highest priority chats ( displayed in sub - panes 304 a - 304 c , respectively ), and minimized conversation selection icons 310 d - 310 g represent other lower priority chats that reside in a priority queue 214 ( described in more detail with reference to 2 b ) but are not displayed in one of the visible sub - panes 304 . in operation , the im system 100 assigns a default priority level to each other user of the im system 100 , then dynamically adjusts that priority level accordance with the users &# 39 ; ( i . e ., both the user of the primary client device 102 and the other client devices 102 in the system ) activities . using this information , the im system 100 can determine an โ on - line presence level โ that affects the ability of other messaging users to see whether the primary user is on - line . that is , the on - line presence level in this embodiment is a score that dynamically limits the visibility of the primary user of a device 102 to specific other users . thus , for example , if the chat client user ( called client a ) has configured priorities for users listed in their chat client and the presence level threshold is โ priority 3 ,โ users of other chat clients 102 will only be notified that client a is on - line if their associated priority is โ 3 โ or higher . similarly , the im system 100 uses these priority levels to determine whether or not to display immediately messages between pairs of users . that is , messages from high priority users are immediately displayed visible panes 304 a - 304 c , whereas messages from low priority users are assigned to minimized panes 304 d - 304 g . in this embodiment , the priority score comprises a base score plus a dynamic modifier . the base levels can be set when the primary user adds a person to their โ buddy โ list and can be modified freely thereafter . base priority scores also can be associated with groups . in these embodiments , each member of the group will automatically gain the group &# 39 ; s base priority score if the base priority of the group is higher than the user &# 39 ; s own base priority score . the im system 100 generates the dynamic component by analyzing the activities of its primary user , the interactive patterns of the primary user , and the activities of other participants in the chat sessions to determine priority levels associated with each conversation . that is , each chat session has a priority score that is increased or decreased according to one or more of the following criteria : ( i ) with respect to a particular chat partner , the overall importance assigned to their chat partner , a frequency of general interaction with that chat partner , a average response time for the user to respond to messages from that chat partner , and a length of time it takes that chat partner to respond to the user &# 39 ; s messages , and whether the user is actually waiting for a response as opposed to working on something else ; ( ii ) with respect to all users of the messaging system 100 , a length of time a particular user has been waiting for response , an amount of text received without a response , a text entry pane containing text not - yet - sent , and whether or not one of the participants in a chat will be leaving shortly ; and ( iii ) with respect to the overall environment , an online status indicator of the chat partners ( e . g ., priority decreases when the partner goes off - line , to do - not - disturb , etc .) the system 100 will then dynamically adjust who can see the primary user online and dynamically rearranges the chat icons 310 as their priority level within the queue changes . in this way , the highest priority session is displayed in the largest chat window 304 a , the next highest priority session in window 304 b , etc . until a user selectable number of displayable conversation has been filled . in some embodiments , the im client 170 may automatically respond to low priority conversations to inform the user / sender that the primary user is busy and that it may be some time before they receive a reply . in some embodiments , primary im user may โ lock โ the highest priority pane 310 a until that user chooses another session to replace the conversation in that pane ( e . g ., by selecting โ b โ icon 310 b or closing pane 310 a ); and the priority and ordering of conversations b - g is dynamic . in other embodiments , all of the panes 310 may be dynamically selected . regardless , all chat sessions in these embodiments share a single window 302 and a single text entry pane , with the text being sent to the currently selected icon . some im system 100 embodiments may further weight the priority assigned to particular users using social networking techniques . still other embodiments may use directory information , such as title , management status , and department organization , to provide starting values and / or to weight that user &# 39 ; s priority score . thus , in one embodiment , the system 100 assigns a medium priority to people within a user &# 39 ; s own department , a high priority to the user &# 39 ; s first and second line managers or team leads , and low priority to all other users . some embodiments may further consider the user &# 39 ; s interaction with the operating system , im application , word processor application , or other desktop resources to compute the dynamic component . for example , if a sender sends a message containing โ thanks โ and then closes their im session , the recipient &# 39 ; s im session could display the โ thanks โ and fade away / close unless the window / icon is touched . similarly , the one user is typing text in their text input area 308 , the excess noise filter will suppress all text until the thought completes . this could range from monitoring the typing ( if x seconds pass , display the message ), to analyzing the content and if it is personal or non - work related , then it can be very low priority or not displayed at all . still other embodiments may use textual analysis to allow for additional intelligence in determining the relative importance of a message . in these embodiments , a message like โ see ya later โ would not significantly bump up the score of a conversation ; whereas a reference related to an open application , or its content , within the client device 102 would bump the conversation significantly . thus , for example , when a programmer / user is developing an application in an ide for a particular project , other messages about that particular ide or that particular project would have high priority . those skilled in the art will appreciate that these same techniques can be used to analyze the sender &# 39 ; s system to determine whether or not the sender is asking an important question . fig4 illustrates one data structure 400 embodiment used to classify individuals for the base score . the structure 400 in this embodiment comprises a tree list of users of which ui client 102 is aware . the different branches 402 of the tree represent something the users of those devices 102 have in common , such as being on the same project team . depending on the responsibilities of the user of the chat client 102 , some people 404 within each team 402 may have a higher base importance or base priority than others . thus , in this example , the user of chat client 404 a might be a manager in charge of a complex project , the users of chat clients 404 b - 404 d may be team leads 404 b - 404 d reporting to the manager 404 , and the users of chat clients 404 e - 404 n are workers directly reporting to team leads 404 b - 404 d . fig5 illustrates one method 500 of managing a priority queue . at block 502 , the sender &# 39 ; s im client 170 analyzes the activity on the sender &# 39 ; s im client 102 . at block 504 , the im client 170 sends this information as a message to the im server 104 . at block 506 , the recipient &# 39 ; s im client 170 similarly analyses the activity level on its device 102 and sends this information to the im server 104 at block 507 . blocks 502 - 507 repeat periodically in this embodiment . at block 508 , the sender / user composes a message to be sent to the recipient / user . at block 510 , the server computer 104 analyzes the text of the sent message , the sender &# 39 ; s activity , and the recipient &# 39 ; s activity to determine a priority adjustment score for the message . at block 510 , the server computer 104 sends the message to the recipient &# 39 ; s im client device 102 along with the priority adjustment score . at block 512 , the recipient &# 39 ; s client device 102 assigns the message to the appropriate conversation 304 or 310 and then uses the priority adjustment to place the conversation in the ranked priority queue . at block 514 , a callback mechanism allows the queue manager 152 to determine which conversations have the highest priority and , based on each user &# 39 ; s profile , whether the conversation should be presented the user / recipient . this callback mechanism will constantly reevaluate the user / recipient &# 39 ; s activity to determine whether the user / recipient &# 39 ; s activity has dropped sufficiently to warrant presentation of lower priority conversations . fig6 illustrates one method of determining an activity level for the dynamic component . at block 602 , the im client 170 begins polling applications to generate a list of what applications are active in memory , what keywords are associated with that application ( and document , if applicable ), how long the application has been in focus , and when the application was last opened / in focus . at block 604 , the message queuing system uses this information to generate an initial list of conversations . at blocks 608 - 610 , if the im client 170 determines that an application has been opened or closed , the im client 170 will then parse the application metadata to determine what the primary user is doing at block 612 . suitable metadata includes title of the application , title of the window , focus time , and last opened time . the im client will then transmit the updated information to the queue manager at block 614 . next , at block 616 , the queue manager will determine whether the application metadata already exists for this application . if so , the queue manager will update the metadata record at block 620 . if not , the queue manager will register the new application at block 618 . fig7 illustrates the operation of the sending im client 170 . at block 702 , the sender selects a recipient and enters a message . the im client 170 then automatically builds the metadata table described with reference to fig2 a at block 704 , then attaches the environment metadata to the outgoing message and transmits the enhanced message to the im server 104 at block 706 . fig8 illustrates the operation of the receiving im client 102 . at block 802 , the im client 102 receives a message . at block 804 , the im client 102 parses the received message for an initial priority score or a priority score update . if this is a new conversation , the im client 170 creates a new conversation for the sender at block 810 and places the conversation into the priority queue at the appropriate place using the sender &# 39 ; s default priority value and the received priority modifier . if this message is for an existing conversation , the im client 170 uses the priority modifier to update the conversation &# 39 ; s place in the priority queue at block 812 . at block 814 , for each conversation , the im client 102 determines if its priority score is above a threshold level . if no suitably high priority conversations exist , the im client 170 waits at block 816 for a change in the priority queue or a change in the threshold . at block 818 , the im client 170 begins displaying the conversations to the primary user , in order of the conversation &# 39 ; s priority score , until a user - selected maximum number of simultaneous conversations have been met . at block 820 , the im client 170 assigns the conversations that do not meet the display threshold or that are below higher ranked conversations to un - displayed conversation icons 310 . in some embodiments , the sender is also notified that the message has been received and is in a queued state . fig9 illustrates one method of using metadata to calculate the dynamic component . at block 902 , the message queuing system 152 retrieves the metadata components 206 - 212 from the database 200 . at block 904 , the message queuing system 152 retrieves a component weight factor ( i . e ., a default priority for each item of metadata 203 ) from a user template 129 . at block 906 , the message queuing system 152 calculates a similarity factor between the user / recipient and the user / sender metadata components . at block 908 , the message queuing system 152 adds to the total weighted statistical count . at block 910 , the message queuing system 152 determines if it needs to analyze more data . if so , it returns to block 902 , otherwise it exits . one suitable way to generate keyword metadata 206 is to use the display contents represented within a program using accessibility apis , similar to those utilized by screen readers , to intercept what words are being shown for any application active on the im client 102 . once this display content is known , some embodiments use uima ( unstructured information management architecture ) to interpret the full meaning of sentences . this technology uses annotators in a pipeline framework to understand data with a high degree of confidence . the top stages are name disambiguators and domain specific context mappings . the im client 102 can make these understandings with a degree of confidence ( do we know what it says ) and certainty ( does the text of the document leave ambiguity in the language ). thus , for example , the im client 170 can analyze a document and determine that it has a diagnosis of leukemia for patient john doe , because the person had not headaches and poor muscle tone . in the case where applications are written to aid in the implementation of our invention ( or plug - ins for current applications are created ), then callback methods could be provided to allow the im client to probe application content . more information about uima techniques can be found in : d . ferrucci and a . lally . โ uima : an architectural approach to unstructured information processing in the corporate research environment ,โ natural language engineering 10 , no . 3 - 4 , 327 - 348 ( 2004 ). d . ferrucci and a . lally , โ building an example application with the unstructured information management architecture ,โ ibm systems journal 43 , no . 3 , 455 - 475 ( 2004 ). t . goetz and o . suhre โ design and implementation of the uima common analysis system ,โ ibm systems journal 43 , no . 3 , 490 - 515 ( 2004 ). anthony levas , eric brown , j . william murdock , and david ferrucci . โ the semantic analysis workbench ( saw ): towards a framework for knowledge gathering and synthesis .โ proceedings of the international conference on intelligence analysis . mcclean , va ., may 2 - 6 , 2005 . which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the other metadata components 208 - 212 can be generated using standard calls to the operating system . fig1 illustrates a method of managing online presence . at block 1102 - 1104 , the primary user ( and / or system administrator ) defines one or more priority levels and assigns those levels to the other individuals and groups in the system 100 . at block 1106 , the primary user sets an initial active priority level , which is then transmitted to the queue manager . the queue manager , in turn , uses this information at block 1108 to generate an initial list of clients to which it will broadcast the primary user &# 39 ; s online presence . in this embodiment , this comprises examining the profiles of each other user in the system 100 ( block 1108 a ), determining whether that profile exceeds the current busy - ness level ( block 1108 b ), adding that user to the list of clients to enable ( block 1108 c ), and then sending a message to all of the clients indicating that the user is online ( block 1108 d ) fig1 illustrates a computer system 1000 suitable for use as a client device 102 or an im server system 104 . it should be understood that this figure is only intended to depict the representative major components of the computer system 1000 and that individual components may have greater complexity that represented in fig1 . moreover , components other than or in addition to those shown in fig1 may be present , and that the number , type , and configuration of such components may vary . several particular examples of such additional complexity or additional variations are disclosed herein ; it being understood that these are by way of example only and are not necessarily the only such variations . this computing system 1000 embodiment comprises a plurality of central processing units 1010 a - 1010 d ( herein generically referred to as a processor 1010 or a cpu 1010 ) connected to a main memory unit 1012 , a mass storage interface 1014 , a terminal / display interface 1016 , a network interface 1018 , and an input / output (โ i / o โ) interface 1020 by a system bus 1022 . the mass storage interfaces 1014 , in turn , connect the system bus 1022 to one or more mass storage devices , such as a direct access storage device 1040 or a readable / writable optical disk drive 1042 . the network interfaces 1018 allow the computer system 1000 to communicate with other computing systems 1000 over the communications medium 1006 . the main memory unit 1012 in this embodiment also comprises an operating system 1024 , a plurality of application programs 1026 and some program data 1028 . the computing system 1000 in this embodiment is a general - purpose computing device . accordingly , the cpu &# 39 ; s 1010 may be any device capable of executing program instructions stored in the main memory 1012 and may themselves be constructed from one or more microprocessors and / or integrated circuits . in this embodiment , the computing system 1000 contains multiple processors and / or processing cores , as is typical of larger , more capable computer systems ; however , in other embodiments , the computing systems 1000 may comprise a single processor system and / or a single processor designed to emulate a multiprocessor system . when the computing system 1000 starts up , the associated processor ( s ) 1010 initially execute the program instructions that make up the operating system 1024 , which manages the physical and logical resources of the computer system 1000 . these resources include the main memory 1012 , the mass storage interface 1014 , the terminal / display interface 1016 , the network interface 1018 , and the system bus 1022 . as with the processor ( s ) 1010 , some computer system 1000 embodiments may utilize multiple system interfaces 1014 , 1016 , 1018 , 1020 , and busses 1022 , which in turn , may each include their own separate , fully programmed microprocessors . the system bus 1022 may be any device that facilitates communication between and among the processors 1010 ; the main memory 1012 ; and the interfaces 1014 , 1016 , 1018 , 1020 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the system bus 1022 may be a relatively simple , single bus structure that provides a direct communication path among the system bus 1022 ( as depicted in fig1 ), or may be a more complex structure , such as point - to - point links in hierarchical , star or web configurations ; multiple hierarchical buses ; parallel and redundant paths , etc . the main memory 1012 and the mass storage devices 1040 work cooperatively in this to store the operating system 1024 , the application programs 1026 , and the program data 1028 . in this embodiment , the main memory 1012 is a random - access semiconductor device capable of storing data and programs . although fig1 conceptually depicts this device as a single monolithic entity , the main memory 1012 in some embodiments may be a more complex arrangement , such as a hierarchy of caches and other memory devices . for example , the main memory 1012 may exist in multiple levels of caches , and these caches may be further divided by function , so that one cache holds instructions while another holds non - instruction data , which is used by the processor or processors . memory may be further distributed and associated with different cpus 1010 or sets of cpus 1010 , as is known in any of various so - called non - uniform memory access ( numa ) computer architectures . moreover , some embodiments may utilize virtual addressing mechanisms that allow the computing systems 1000 to behave as if it has access to a large , single storage entity instead of access to multiple , smaller storage entities such as the main memory 1012 and the mass storage device 1040 . although the operating system 1024 , the application programs 1026 , and the program data 1028 are illustrated as being contained within the main memory 1012 , some or all of them may be physically located on different computer systems and may be accessed remotely , e . g ., via the communications medium 106 , in some embodiments . thus , while the operating system 1024 , the application programs 1026 , and the program data 1028 are illustrated as being contained within the main memory 1012 , these elements are not necessarily all completely contained in the same physical device at the same time , and may even reside in the virtual memory of other computer systems 1000 . the system interface units 1014 , 1016 , 1018 , 1020 support communication with a variety of storage and i / o devices . the mass storage interface unit 1014 supports the attachment of one or more mass storage devices 1040 , which are typically rotating magnetic disk drive storage devices , although they could alternatively be other devices , including arrays of disk drives configured to appear as a single large storage device to a host and / or archival storage media , such as hard disk drives , tape ( e . g ., mini - dv ), writeable compact disks ( e . g ., cd - r and cd - rw ), digital versatile disks ( e . g ., dvd , dvd - r , dvd + r , dvd + rw , dvd - ram ), holography storage systems , blue laser disks , ibm millipede devices and the like . the terminal / display interface 1016 directly connects one or more display units 1080 to the computer system 1000 . these display units 1080 may be non - intelligent ( i . e ., dumb ) terminals , such as a cathode ray tube , or may themselves be fully programmable workstations used to allow it administrators and users to communicate with the computing system 1000 . note , however , that while the interface 1016 is provided to support communication with one or more displays 1080 , the computer systems 1000 does not necessarily require a display 1080 because all needed interaction with users and other processes may occur via network interface 1018 . the computing system 1000 in fig1 is depicted with multiple attached terminals 1080 , such as might be typical of a multi - user โ mainframe โ computer system . in such a case , the actual number of attached devices is typically greater than those shown in fig1 , although the present invention is not limited to systems of any particular size . the computing systems 1000 may alternatively be a single - user system , typically containing only a single user display and keyboard input , or might be a server or similar device which has little or no direct user interface , but receives requests from other computer systems ( clients ). in other embodiments , the computing systems 1000 may be implemented as a personal computer , portable computer , laptop or notebook computer , pda ( personal digital assistant ), tablet computer , pocket computer , telephone , pager , automobile , teleconferencing system , appliance , or any other appropriate type of electronic device . the communications medium 106 may be any suitable network or combination of networks and may support any appropriate protocol suitable for communication of data and / or code to / from multiple computing systems 1000 . accordingly , the network interfaces 1018 can be any device that facilitates such communication , regardless of whether the network connection is made using present day analog and / or digital techniques or via some networking mechanism of the future . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different network and transport protocols can be used to implement the network . the transmission control protocol / internet protocol (โ tcp / ip โ) suite contains suitable network and transport protocols . one exemplary computing system 1000 , particularly suitable for use as a client device 102 and / or a server computer 104 is the system i platform running the i5 / os multitasking operating system , both of which are available from international business machines corporation of armonk , n . y . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methods , systems , and apparatuses of the present invention apply equally to any computing system 1000 and operating system combination , regardless of whether one or both of the computer systems 1000 are complicated multi user computing apparatuses , a single workstations , lap - top computers , mobile telephones , personal digital assistants (โ pdas โ), video game systems , or the like . although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to certain examples thereof , it may be also embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential spirit or attributes thereof . for example , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms , and applies equally regardless of the particular type of tangible , computer - readable signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution . examples of suitable tangible , computer - readable signal bearing media include , but are not limited to : ( i ) non - writable storage media ( e . g ., read only memory devices (โ rom โ), cd - rom disks readable by a cd drive , and digital versatile disks (โ dvds โ) readable by a dvd drive ); ( ii ) writable storage media ( e . g ., floppy disks readable by a diskette drive , cd - r and cd - rw disks readable by a cd drive , random access memory (โ ram โ), and hard disk drives ); and ( iii ) communications media ( e . g ., computer networks , such as those implemented using โ infiniband โ or ieee 802 . 3 ร โ ethernet โ specifications ; telephone networks , including cellular transmission networks ; and wireless networks , such as those implemented using the ieee 802 . 11 ร, ieee 802 . 16 , general packet radio service (โ gprs โ), family radio service (โ frs โ), and bluetooth specifications ). those skilled in the art will appreciate that these embodiments specifically include computer software downloaded over the internet . the present invention may also be embodied part of a service engagement with a client corporation , nonprofit organization , government entity , internal organizational structure , or the like . aspects of these embodiments may include configuring a computer system to perform , and deploying software , hardware , and web services that implement , some or all of the methods described herein . aspects of these embodiments may also include analyzing the client &# 39 ; s operations , creating recommendations responsive to the analysis , building systems that implement portions of the recommendations , integrating the systems into existing processes and infrastructure , metering use of the systems , allocating expenses to users of the systems , and billing for use of the systems . these service engagement embodiments may be directed at providing both end - to - end im services , to providing only the back - end im services , or some combination thereof . accordingly , these embodiments may further comprise receiving charges from other entities and associating that charge with users of the im system 100 . in addition , although the embodiments described with reference to fig1 - 11 generally utilize a client - server network architecture , other network designs and configurations are possible . for example , some embodiments may use a decentralized ( i . e ., non - authorative ) client - server architecture , similar to the jabber architecture described in rfc 3920 . still other embodiments may use peer - to - peer architectures and three - tier architectures . accordingly , the terms im server 104 and im client 102 should not be construed as limiting the invention to client - server network architectures . moreover , in some embodiments , many of the functions described above as performed on the server computer 104 may be performed on one or more of the client devices 102 , and vice - versa . thus , for example , the priority queue and queue manager 152 in some embodiments may be associated with the client device 102 . these embodiments may be desirable to assuage privacy concerns and / or for use in heterogeneous networks . similarly , in some embodiments , the priority queue manager 152 may be associated with a different physical server 104 than the database . the accompanying figures and this description depicted and described embodiments of the present invention , and features and components thereof . those skilled in the art will appreciate that any particular program nomenclature used in this description was merely for convenience , and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and / or implied by such nomenclature . thus , for example , the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention , whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application , component , program , module , object , or sequence of instructions could have been referred to as a โ program โ, โ application โ, โ server โ, or other meaningful nomenclature . indeed , other alternative hardware and / or software environments may be used without departing from the scope of the invention . therefore , it is desired that the embodiments described herein be considered in all respects as illustrative , not restrictive , and that reference be made to the appended claims for determining the scope of the invention . | 6 |
now the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings . first referring to fig1 , the rolling bearing of the first embodiment is a ball bearing comprising inner and outer bearing rings 1 and 2 formed with radially opposing raceways , and a plurality of balls 4 as rolling elements held by a retainer 3 between the raceways of the inner and outer bearing rings 1 and 2 . the inner and outer rings 1 and 2 and the balls 4 are all formed of a heat - resistant bearing steel m50 . on each of the surfaces of the inner and outer rings 1 and 2 where the raceways are formed , a nitrided layer 5 consisting essentially of a diffusion layer formed by radical nitriding is formed . on each nitrided layer 5 , a chromium nitride film 6 is formed by ion plating . cylindrical roller - shaped test specimens and ring - shaped test specimens each formed with a nitrided layer and a chromium nitride film as described above ( examples 1 and 2 according to the invention ) were prepared . further , cylindrical roller - shaped test specimens and ring - shaped test specimens both not surface - treated ( comparative example 1 ), cylindrical roller - shaped test specimens and ring - shaped test specimens both formed with only a nitrided layer as described above ( comparative example 2 ), and cylindrical roller - shaped test specimens formed only with a chromium nitride film as described above ( comparative example 3 ) were prepared . the roller - shaped test specimens were subjected to rolling fatigue life tests . the ring - shaped test specimens were subjected to smearing tests . all of the test specimens were formed of heat - resistant bearing steel m50 . in these tests , impressions were formed beforehand on the rolling surface of each roller - shaped test specimen using a vickers hardness tester . then , the test specimens ( seven for each example ) were rolled with radial loads applied thereto . the rolling fatigue life was measured in terms of the l10 life ( that is , time period during which 90 % of the test specimens were usable with no fatal damage sustained ). the tests were conducted under the following conditions . the roller - shaped test specimens measured 12 mm in outer diameter and 12 mm in length . maximum contact surface pressure : 4 . 2 gpa loading rate : 20400 times / minute lubricating oil : turbine oil vg56 vickers impressions : 196 n ( 9 impressions : axially spaced from each other at 1 mm intervals ) the l10 life measured for each example is shown in table 1 . in table 1 , the l10 life for each example is shown in terms of the ratio with respect to the l10 life of comparative example 1 , in which no treatment was made on the rolling surfaces of the roller - shaped test specimens . this ratio ( life ratio ) was 1 . 7 for example 1 according to the invention , in which a nitrided layer and a three - micrometer thick chromium nitride film as defined above were formed on the rolling surface of each specimen . this clearly indicates that the test specimens of example 1 according to the invention are far less likely to develop surface - starting peeling than comparative example 1 . the life ratio for example 2 according to the invention , in which a nitrided layer and a five - micrometer thick chromium nitride film as defined above were formed on the rolling surface of each specimen , was 1 . 2 . this shows that the rolling fatigue life improved less in example 2 according to the invention than in example 1 according to the invention . the life ratio for comparative example 2 , in which only a nitrided layer as defined above was formed on the rolling surface of each specimen , was also excellent . for comparative example 3 , in which only a chromium nitride film as defined above were formed on the rolling surface of each specimen , the l10 life was far inferior to that of comparative example 1 . the results clearly indicate that a test specimen formed with a hard and brittle chromium nitride film alone on its rolling surface is likely to develop cracks and chippings due e . g . to foreign matter that gets stuck in the bearing , and that by forming such a chromium nitride film on a hard nitrided layer formed on the rolling surface as a base , cracks and chippings can be reduced markedly . but a chromium nitride film having a thickness greater than 3 micrometers tends to lower the degree of improvement in the life ratio . the test specimens used in these tests were ring - shaped specimens each having a cylindrical outer surface having a moderate radius of curvature as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis of the test specimen . a pair of test specimens were mounted on first and second parallel drive shafts , respectively , with their cylindrical surfaces pressed against each other . in this state , the first drive shaft was driven at a constant speed , while the second drive shaft was driven first at the same speed as the first drive shaft and then accelerated gradually . each test specimen was 40 mm in diameter and 12 mm high with the cylindrical surface having a radius of curvature , as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis of the test specimen , of 60 mm . the cylindrical surface was finished to a surface roughness rmax of 3 micrometers . the smearing strength was determined in terms of the speed ratio of the second drive shaft to the first drive shaft when smearing was observed in one of each pair of test specimens mounted on the shafts . the smearing tests were conducted for the ring - shaped test specimens , i . e . test specimens for examples 1 and 2 according to the invention and comparative examples 1 and 2 under the following conditions . maximum contact surface pressure : 2 . 1 gpa rpm of the first drive shaft : 200 rpm rpm of the second drive shaft : 200 rpm for the first three minutes , then accelerated at the rate of 100 rpm per 30 seconds . lubricating oil : turbine oil vg46 in table 1 , the ratio of the speed ratio of the second drive shaft to first drive shaft when smearing was observed for each example to the corresponding speed ratio for comparative example 1 is shown . this ratio , which is referred to as โ relative speed ratio โ in table 1 , was greater than 1 . 8 for examples 1 and 2 according to the invention , in which both a nitrided layer and a chromium nitride film as defined above were formed . this means that the test specimens of examples 1 and 2 according to the invention are superior both in the rolling fatigue life and the smearing strength . in contrast , for comparative example 2 , in which only a nitrided layer was formed , the smearing strength was even lower than comparative example 1 , in which no surface treatment was made . these results clearly indicate that forming a chromium nitride film on a nitrided layer formed on the rolling surface greatly contributes to improvement in the smearing strength . fig2 shows the rolling bearing of the second embodiment , which is also a ball bearing . but in this embodiment , a nitrided layer 5 consisting essentially of a diffusion layer and a chromium nitride film 6 formed by ion plating are formed not only on each of the surfaces of the inner and outer bearing rings 1 and 2 where the raceways are formed but also on the rolling surface of each ball 4 . fig3 shows the rolling bearing of the third embodiment , which is also a ball bearing . in this embodiment , the balls 4 are formed of a ceramic material . the inner and outer bearing rings 1 and 2 are formed of heat - resistant bearing steel m50 . a nitrided layer 5 and a chromium nitride film 6 as defined above are formed on each of the surfaces of the inner and outer rings 1 , 2 where the raceways are formed . while the rolling bearings of the embodiments are all ball bearings , the concept of the present invention is equally applicable to other types of rolling bearings including roller bearings and tapered roller bearings as well . | 5 |
while the present invention will be described with reference to preferred embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments ( and legal equivalents thereof ). as shown in fig1 and 2 , the preferred embodiment of the present invention 10 includes the following primary components : a cleaver 20 , a hinge 30 , and cutting board 50 . as shown in fig4 , cleaver 20 has an elongated handle 21 , an elongated blade 22 , a cutting edge 23 , and an angled neck 24 with keys 25 and 26 attached opposite each other on the end of angled neck 24 . this design accomplishes several things , including ( 1 ) allowing for the attachment of the hinge mechanism , ( 2 ) providing minimal interference with the cutting surface , and ( 3 ) providing a comfortable grip of elongated handle 21 . as shown in fig3 , hinge 30 is made of two bearings 31 and 32 and two housing components 33 and 34 . as shown in fig3 and 5 , bearings 31 and 32 have grooves 35 and 36 , respectively , in which keys 25 and 26 of cleaver 20 slidably fit when the components of hinge 30 are pieced together . as shown in fig3 , 6 , and 7 , housing components 33 and 34 have openings 37 and 38 , respectively , in which bearings 31 and 32 rotatably fit when the components of hinge 30 are pieced together . openings 37 and 38 are equipped with slots 39 and 40 ( shown in fig3 , 6 , and 7 ), respectively , so that when cleaver 20 is rotated upwardly to a substantially vertical position , as shown in fig2 , keys 25 and 26 drop down into slots 39 and 40 , thereby locking cleaver 20 in a substantially vertical position . when keys 25 and 26 drop down into slots 39 and 40 , respectively , bearings 31 and 32 are prevented from rotating within housing components 33 and 34 . cleaver 20 is unlocked from its substantially vertical position by lifting cleaver 20 until keys 25 and 26 rise out of slots 39 and 40 , respectively , thereby allowing bearings 31 and 32 to rotate in housing components 33 and 34 . as shown in fig6 and 7 , a first tab 41 and a second tab 42 attached to housing components 33 and 34 , respectively , allow the components of hinge 30 to be held together . housing components 33 and 34 have openings 43 and 44 , respectively , which allow hinge 30 and cleaver 20 to be securely fastened to cutting board 50 . as shown in fig3 , cutting board 50 has a clip 51 for removably attaching hinge 30 and cleaver 20 . clip 51 allows removal of hinge 30 and cleaver 20 for storage and cleaning . clip 51 is preferably equipped with first arm 53 for removably fixing housing component 33 to cutting board 50 and with second arm 54 for removably fixing housing component 34 to cutting board 50 . cutting board 50 may also be equipped with a groove 52 which runs the length of blade 22 . groove 52 is designed to maximize the cutting ability by concentrating the force of cutting edge 23 into a very precise cutting area , which allows cutting edge 23 and blade 22 to completely penetrate the item being cut on cutting board 50 . groove 52 also keeps cutting edge 23 and blade 22 properly aligned when the present invention is in use . in use , hinge 30 acts as the fulcrum , while cleaver 20 acts as a lever . this combination generates increased cutting forces for cutting difficult to cut food items with less effort . the present invention may also include an integrated graduated measuring tool 60 that allows the user to measure precise cuts . measuring tool 60 preferably runs in both directions on cutting board 50 perpendicular to cleaver 20 . the present invention may also include a fluid channel 70 that runs along the perimeter of cutting board 50 . fluid channel 70 is preferably used to collect the fluids which may escape the food as it is being processed on the cutting board 50 . it will be also understood that one embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed by way of example and that other modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention and the accompanying claims . | 1 |
[ 0022 ] fig1 illustrates schematically the principal components of a projection system in accordance with the invention . reference numeral 20 denotes a light source that projects a beam of light 22 onto a projection screen 24 via a projection lens 26 . the light source 20 , projection lens 26 and screen 24 are essentially conventional . also conventional is a beamsplitter arrangement comprising an assembly of prisms 30 that optically splits the light beam 22 into red , green and blue components ( r , g , b ). the respective components are directed by the beamsplitter to three corresponding dmds 32 . the dmds are essentially identical but deal with different portions of the spectrum . in other words , the light that enters the beamsplitter is split into red , green and blue components which are delivered to the respective r , g and b dmds . the beamsplitter then in effect โ re - assembles โ the r , g and b components of the light beam and directs them together into the projection lens 26 for projection onto the screen 24 . each of the dmds 32 comprises an array of reflective digital light switches ( mirrors ) that are integrated onto a silicon chip capable of addressing the switches individually . each switch represents a single pixel in the array and can be individually switched on or off in accordance with digital information that is provided to the chip by an appropriate hardware and software controller . each individual pixel in each dmd is controlled to impart appropriate image information to the light beam that is projected onto the screen 24 . [ 0025 ] fig2 shows a single one of the mirrors of a dmd and part of the silicon chip used to control the mirrors . since dmds are known , detailed information with respect to the construction and operation of the dmd is not provided . reference may be made to the u . s . pat . no . 5 , 061 , 049 . for present purposes , it is sufficient to note that fig2 shows the mirror at 34 and that the mirror is mounted at the outer end of a post 36 mounted on a hinge and yoke structure ( not shown ) above electrodes 35 that allow the element to be electrostatically deflected between two tilted positions , in which the mirror either reflects light into the projection lens 26 ( fig1 ) or away from the projection lens . in fig2 the mirror is shown in full lines in one of its tilted positions and in ghost outline in the other of its tilted positions . a portion of the silicon chip on which the mirror is mounted is denoted by reference numeral 38 . the chip includes individual memory cells , one for controlling each mirror . by virtue of the construction of the dmd , the top surface 39 of the chip 38 below each mirror has surface portions that are at different elevations and have a variety of different irregular shapes , as indicated generally by reference 40 in fig2 . gaps between each mirror that are inherent in the construction of the dmd mirror array allow light to reach this top surface . some of this light is reflected from the top surface 39 , which causes scattered light . pursuant to an aspect of the invention that is to be described later , the under - mirror substrate layer 39 and some of the elevated surface portions 40 are treated or coated with a material that has the property of further rotating the polarization or depolarizing the light that is reflected from that surface . in accordance with a primary aspect of the invention , the projection system includes first polarizer means for polarizing , in a defined orientation , light input to each dmd and second polarizer means for polarizing , in the same defined orientation , light after it has passed through the projection lens . the first polarizing means pre - polarizes or โ characterizes โ the light in a defined orientation . light that is subsequently scattered within the projector is altered in polarization or depolarized by the surface properties of the projector components . the scattered light is then blocked by the second polarizer means and will not impair the contrast of the images that are projected onto the screen . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the first polarizer means is indicated by a polarizing filter p 1 in the beam of light that enters the beamsplitter from the light source 20 . for example , the polarizer may be positioned between lens elements 44 that configure the light beam appropriately before the light enters the beamsplitter . in this way , the light is pre - polarized or โ characterized โ by polarizer p 1 . polarizer p 2 is also a polarizing filter and in this embodiment is positioned at the outer end of projection lens 26 . polarizer p 2 has a defined orientation that is the same as the defined orientation of polarizer p 1 . accordingly , polarizer p 2 will block and prevent projection onto the screen of any light that has become de - polarized or altered in polarization as the light beam passed through the optical system of the projector . it will of course be understood that polarizer p 2 could be located , for example , prior to the projection lens or within the projection lens 26 ( e . g . between the lens element of the projection lens ). similarly , the location of polarizer p 1 can change . preferably , the light is pre - polarized before it reaches the slm ( s ) of the projection system . however , it is important merely that the light be polarized as it leaves the slm ( s ). in summary , the arrangement of first and second polarizers provided by the invention has been found to lead to significant improvements in the contrast ratio of the images that are projected onto the screen . it has also been found that additional significant improvements in contrast ratio can be achieved by controlling the surface properties of materials used within the projector where light may be scattered so that those surface properties will further rotate the polarization or depolarize the stray or unwanted light when it is reflected from those surfaces . it is well known that specular reflections from metallic surfaces preserve the polarization of the incident light while reflections from dielectric surfaces obey the relationship shown in fig3 . this figure shows that incident rays with a polarization parallel to the plane of incidence are reflected with greater efficiency than incident rays with a polarization perpendicular to the surface . this is illustrated in fig4 where the orientation of polarization of the light is described according to convention by the direction of the electric field vector . in some circumstances it is possible to select dielectric materials to coat surfaces positioned in the projector so that when polarized light is incident on these surfaces it is not reflected due to the orientation of the polarization vector in the incident light . this is shown in fig5 . surface coatings may also be found that rotate the polarization of the light upon reflection by for example 90 degrees . additionally , diffuse reflectors of both metallic and dielectric materials depolarize the incident light . various methods for treating surfaces , such as chemical etching or micro bead blasting can be used to achieve surfaces with diffuse reflecting characteristics . in fig1 the undulating lines denoted by reference numeral 46 indicate typical areas in which such coatings or surface treatments may be applied . one significant area is the top surface 39 of the memory chip 38 of each dmd . thus , reverting to fig2 the top surface 39 and the elevated surfaces 40 need to be coated or otherwise have properties that will further rotate the polarization or depolarize the stray or unwanted light . these surfaces then effectively screen reflection of light that may โ miss โ or partially miss the mirror 34 and that would otherwise give rise to significant optical noise within the projector . an additional benefit of the invention is that it reduces the heat load on dmds in those situations where the light output by the projector is required to be polarized in a particular orientation . this is the case for example in a 3 - d projection system where two sets of images are produced , one for each eye , and are characterized or coded by orthogonally polarized light . in a traditional system , the light is usually polarized after the projector lens , resulting in an efficiency loss of roughly 50 %. this loss of efficiency requires high input light levels to be used , which can lead to excessive heating of the dmds . the invention avoids this excessive heating by polarizing the light before the dmds in the projector , therefore reducing the radiant flux and associated heating of the slm . in conclusion , it should be noted that , while the preceding description relates to a particular preferred embodiment of the invention , the invention is not limited to this embodiment . a number of modifications have been indicated specifically and others would be apparent to a person skilled in the art . in addition , it should be noted that while the described embodiment relates to a projection system that includes three dmds , projection systems can be configured using different numbers of dmds , for example , one or two . different configurations are possible depending on the intended application of the projection system and the characteristics that are required of the system . generally speaking , one and two dmd systems require time multiplexing of colour . | 7 |
[ 0032 ] fig1 shows a pair of wall panels 10 of the type comprising a rectangular wooden frame provided on one side with a sheathing of plywood or other suitable material . assume that , due to the rigid body of sheathing , the deformed shape of adjacent panels 10 of a shear wall subject to a shear load is linear as shown in broken lines in fig1 and indicated by reference numeral 12 . the nail stress and shear forces in nails 14 used as connectors between sheathing and lumber frames of the panels 11 are proportional to deformation , and are maximum at the top and minimum at the centre of rotation rc . if a stiff nail has to be deformed to the same extent as a weaker one , a proportionally larger force must be used . if a = deformation , f = force and k = nail stiffness , the deformation relationship is described as a = f / k . for full utilization of the nails , with proportionally lesser deflection as one approaches the centre of rotation rc , the nail stiffness should be increased , as in fconstant = a ( reduced )ร k ( increased ). this can be achieved by using progressively stronger nails from the top and bottom of the panel to the middle , as shown in the left - hand half of fig2 which shows the use of 8 d nails at the top and bottom sections of the panel , 10 d nails at intermediate sections thereof and 12 d nails at middle sections . as shown in the right - hand half of fig2 this arrangement is reversed . alternatively , as shown in the left - hand half of fig3 uniform nails can be used but with spacings varying from 12 โณ at the top and bottom sections , through 9 โณ spacings at the intermediate sections to 6 โณ spacings at the middle sections . as shown in the right - hand half of fig3 this arrangement is reversed . another alternative is for different stiffnesses of nails to be achieved by using nails made of different quality materials and / or alloys . fig4 to 6 illustrate wall panel frames 20 , 21 and 22 of three wall units embodying the present invention , with the sheathings of these wall units omitted . the frames 20 through 22 can be installed between conventional wall studs ( not shown ) or can be used as frame members in lieu of standard vertical and horizontal frame members . the frames 20 through 22 each have a top member 24 , a bottom member 26 and opposite side members 28 . the frame 20 has inclined brace members 30 , the frame 21 has brace members 32 forming triangles and the frame 22 has horizontal braces 34 and inclined braces 36 between the top and bottom members 24 and 26 and the horizontal braces 34 . in each of the wall units in which the frames 20 through 22 are provided , the sheathing , indicated by reference numeral 38 in fig7 and 8 , is in face - to - face contact with one side of each of the frame members , which are all flush with one another and which are indicated by reference numerals 40 in fig7 and 8 . this facilitates full contact of all frame members with the sheathing 38 . the brace members and any other members of the frames between the side members are attached along their entire lengths to the sheathing 38 by connectors , which as shown comprise nails 42 but which may alternatively comprise screws , staples , etc . the frames 20 through 32 may be replaced by the frames disclosed in my co - pending patent application ser . no . 08 / 955 , 805 , filed oct . 22 , 1997 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . also , the present frames may have their frame members flush with wall studs and other components of wall framing so that the latter likewise contact face - to - face with the sheathing 38 . prior art diaphragm walls ( shear - walls ) are built with non - direct connections between the most stressed parts . tie - downs in such walls are usually connected to studs , which are usually connected to the sheathing . the sheathing panels are normally connected separately to the weak frames . the entire systems lack simple straightforward load - paths . embodiments of the present invention include metal corner connectors which directly connect anchor bolts to the sheathing , by - passing the weak frames , which allows for maximum transfer of vertical force in the studs while not resisting stud rotation that is detrimental to the connections , and allows for resisting horizontal forces at the wall - foundation interfaces while allowing for sheathing rotation . in addition to this , the new corner connectors described below may be designed and utilized as energy absorption components that will act as isolators and will reduce ground motion ( earthquake ) effects on buildings , since most of the energy will be spent in deformation of these isolators . [ 0047 ] fig9 shows a first one of such corner connectors , which is indicated generally by reference numeral 50 and which comprises an abutment portion in the form of a tube 52 of square cross - section , against which abut the ends of wood frame members 54 and 56 connected by the connector 50 . the connector 50 has flanges 58 and 60 in face - to - face contact with sides of the frame members 54 and 56 , and co - planar side flanges 62 and 64 which extend from and at right angles to the flanges 58 and 60 . the flanges 62 and 64 are formed with nail openings through which nails 66 are driven through the flanges 62 and 64 into the frame members 54 and 56 to connect the latter at the corner of a wall unit frame which may , for example , be similar to any of the above - described frames . a sheathing 68 of plywood or other suitable sheathing material , shown in chain - dot lines , is secured directly to the co - planar side flanges 62 and 64 at the outer sides of the flanges 62 and 64 , i . e . at the sides of the flanges 62 and 64 opposite from the frame members 54 and 56 , by rivets 70 , without being otherwise connected to the frame members 54 and 56 . this ensures a direct transference of shear loads from the sheathing 60 to the flanges 62 and 64 of the connector 50 , by - passing the frame members 54 and 56 . instead of nails and rivets , other means , e . g . prongs punched out from the flanges 62 and 64 , may be provided for connecting the latter to the frame members 54 and 56 and to the sheathing 68 when the frame is subjected to shear stress , the metal corner connector 50 will be deformed , as illustrated in broken lines , to allow deformation of the frame . [ 0050 ] fig1 , 11 , 12 and 13 show another embodiment of the corner connector , which in this case is indicated generally by reference numeral 70 , and which includes a square - sectioned abutment portion 72 in one piece with a pair of flanges 74 and 76 , which each extends from the middle of a respective side of the abutment portion 72 , at right angles thereto , between a pair of wood frame members 78 , 80 and 81 , 82 , respectively , ( fig1 and 13 ), to which the flanges 74 and 76 are connected by prongs 84 punched from the flanges 74 and 76 . co - planar side flanges 83 and 85 extend at right angles to the flanges 74 and 76 from the abutment portion 72 . a sheet 86 of plywood or other suitable sheathing material , which is shown broken - away ion fig1 and 11 , is connected to the flanges 83 and 85 and the frame members 78 , 80 and 81 , 82 by nails 88 . which extend through the nail holes 89 in the flanges 83 and 85 . in fig1 and 15 there is shown a corner connector comprising a square - sectioned abutment portion 90 with side flanges 92 and 94 but no flanges corresponding to the flanges 74 and 76 of fig1 - 13 . the flanges 92 and 94 are secured by nails 96 to wood frame members 98 , and a sheathing panel 100 secured by nails 102 to the frame members 98 . [ 0053 ] fig1 through 26 show various tie - down devices for securing the square - sectioned abutment portions of the above - described corner connectors to a foundation ( not shown ). each of these anchor devices has an energy absorbent insert which acts as a linear or non - linear spring . more particularly , fig1 shows a square - sectioned abutment portion , indicated generally by reference numeral 102 , of a corner connector , which may e . g . be one of the above - described corner connectors or a modification thereof , and which is formed with an internal horizontal web 103 . an anchor bolt 104 , the lower end of which is embedded in a foundation 106 , extends through the web 103 , a washer 106 and a retaining nut 108 , with rubber blocks 110 and 112 interposed between the foundation 106 and the web 103 and between the web 103 and the washer 106 . the anchor bolt 104 extends through a circular hole 111 in the web 103 and has a diameter less than that of the hole 111 to allow the anchor bolt 104 to deflect laterally relative to the web 103 . [ 0055 ] fig1 through 26 show various modifications of the tie - down device of fig1 . in fig1 and 22 , an anchor bolt 114 has a head embedded in a rubber ball 116 ; in fig1 and 23 rubber discs 118 are interposed between washers 120 on an anchor bolt 122 and a transverse web 124 ; in fig1 and 24 a disc 126 fixed to an anchor bolt is embedded in a rubber block 128 ; in fig2 and 25 a disc 130 on an anchor bolt is located on a rubber block 132 and in fig2 and 26 a vertical plate 132 is sandwiched between two rubber blocks 134 . by the above - described means , the ultimate load capacities and deformation under load of the frames are controlled by connectors attached directly to the sheathing or diaphragm panel and to the frame . the stiffness of the frames may be controlled by any combination of the above - described embodiments . when a frame wall comprising rectangular frames provided with sheathing in the form of sheathing panels is subject to shear stress , and if there is no relative movement between adjacent sheathing panels , the wall will have the same strength and stiffness as a single sheathing panel having the same dimensions as the entire wall . it is possible to provide sheathing panels which are larger than standard sized sheathing panels , and which may for example be 8 feet by 16 feet , 8 feet by 24 feet , 16 feet by 16 feet , et cetera . although such large size sheathing panels would have increased strength and stiffness compared with standard sheathing panels , they are nevertheless too rigid , heavy , expensive and difficult to handle . the present invention allows for the building of a large size continuous skin from a plurality of standard sized sheathing panels . also , the present invention provides for the flexibility in design , e . g . by varying the size and number of connectors employed to connect adjacent sheathing panels , thus retaining the benefits of small , conventionally sized sheathing panels while also achieving the benefits of large size sheathing panels . standard shear wall design can sustain an allowable force which is limited to that producing one half inch horizontal deflection , provided that the force is less than one third of the ultimate strength of the wall unit . the allowable shear force is in the range of 275 - 550 pounds per linear foot . for an 8 - foot sheathing panel , this translates to 2200 to 1400 pounds , approximately . if a single sheathing panel of 8 feet by 8 feet dimensions is loaded by 4400 pounds , the deflection will be given by the equation : [ 0062 ] fig2 diagrammatically illustrates , in broken lines , the deflection under shear of a wall unit , while fig2 shows the deflection under rotation . the panel rotation illustrated in fig2 is caused by yielding of connections at the corners a and b of the wall unit due to yielding of the nails between the sheathing panel and the studs . [ 0063 ] fig2 , in broken lines , the combined effects of the rotation and the deflection under shear of the wall unit . when the sheathing panel is connected directly to a corner connector as described above , the upward and downward deflections of the panel are greatly reduced due to the direct transfer of force from the sheathing panel to the corner connectors , and the remaining shear deformation is negligible , as indicated for example by the following equation :- ashear = 6 5 ร 4400 0 . 5 ร 96 ร 100000 = 0 . 001 &# 39 ;&# 39 ; & lt ;& lt ; & lt ; 0 . 5 &# 39 ;&# 39 ; ๎ข consequently , most of the deformations of present shear walls are caused by yielding of the connectors , i . e . nails or staples , and the consequential relative movement of the sheathing panels relative to one another and to the corner connectors . the present invention proposes to counteract relative movement of adjacent sheathing panels by connecting the adjacent sheathing panels directly to one another through connectors 140 , such as those shown in fig9 to 15 , as shown in fig3 . in this way , it is possible to counteract relative movement of the sheathing panels within an 8 - foot by 8 - foot wall , between the corners of the sheathing panels and anchor bolts securing the wall to a foundation or other anchorage and between the shear wall units in order to form , for example , an 8 - foot by 24 - foot continuous shear wall . by increasing the number of the connectors 140 , as shown in fig3 , and by increasing the sizes of the connectors 140 , as shown in fig3 , the shear wall stiffness can be correspondingly increased . [ 0069 ] fig3 and 35 show two types of connectors which may be employed for interconnecting adjacent wall units and their sheathing panels in fig3 , a metal connector indicated generally by reference numeral 150 has parallel flanges 152 secured by nails 154 to a stud 156 . the flanges 152 extend from a plate 158 , to which a pair of sheathing panels 160 are secured by fasteners which , in the present embodiment , comprise rivets 162 . if required , an additional backing plate ( not shown ) may be provided at the sides of the sheathing panels 160 opposite from the connector 150 . in fig3 , there is shown a metal connector , indicated generally by reference numeral 164 which is of generally h - shaped cross section and which is secured by nails 166 to studs 168 , with sheathing panel edges 170 sandwiched between the studs 166 and the metal connector 164 . [ 0072 ] fig3 shows a reinforcement structure indicated generally by reference numeral 180 provided with corner connectors such as those of fig9 through 15 , indicated by reference numeral 181 installed between two studs 182 . more particularly , the modified reinforcement structure 180 comprises rectangular frames , having side members 184 and 186 and top and bottom members 188 and 190 , with sheet material diaphragms or panels 192 a - f secured to the side members 184 and 186 and the top and bottom members 188 and 190 . a window opening 194 interrupts the four central rectangular frames , and has a sill 196 and an upper board 198 . [ 0073 ] fig3 shows broken - away portions of two sheathing panels 200 and 201 , which are secured to a vertical elongate wood member 202 by means of a cross - shaped metal fastener 204 , which is pressed into embedded engagement with the elongate wood member 202 and the panels 200 and 201 . in fig3 and 39 , there are shown modified cruciform connectors , indicated by reference numerals 206 and 208 , respectively , which are embedded in plywood panels 200 and 201 and in the elongate wood member 202 for the same purpose . [ 0075 ] fig4 and 41 illustrate the use of generally s - shaped fasteners 210 and 212 for the same purpose . these fasteners 210 and 212 may also be used to interconnect elongate members . | 4 |
the description of fig1 under the heading &# 34 ; background of the invention &# 34 ; is incorporated as part of this detailed description . if the three measured values rhs , d , mod for persons with normal hearing , as indicated in fig2 are to lie on a straight line when they are entered at equal horizontal distances from one another , and moreover , if the measurement is to be carried out at the three frequency values , then the following determination of the variables is expedient from the point of view of as gap - free as possible as coverage of all possible hearing faults and a simple , graphical presentation : interrupted continuous tones ( 500 ms on , 500 ms off , = 1 hz , at frequencies of 500 hz , 1500 hz and 4000 hz , adjustable in 5 db steps for sound pressure levels between - 5 db and + 115 db . in addition , a drop or , respectively , boost of the values attainable in the 5 db steps by 2 . 5 db can be provided , for a more precise identification of the threshold . a generator is first to be provided for the masking sound for octave - wide continuous noise for identifying the listening threshold d given masking continuous noise , said generator being provided for generating noise bands with the mean frequencies of 500 hz , 1500 hz and 4000 hz whose levels can be adjusted in 10 db steps for sound pressure levels between 0 db and 100 db as continuous sound . the same noise is to be provided for identifying the mod , however , an additional modulator is to be provided for the rectangular amplitude modulation with 14 hz , so that periods of 72 ms and pauses of 36 ms arise . appertaining time functions 2b , 2c , 2d , 8 , 1b , and 9 are illustrated in fig3 at the side of the block diagram of the device 4 and to the right of the three channels , i . e ., the test tone channel 5 , the masking sound channel 6 and the isolating ( opposite ear deafening ) sound channel 7 . the device 4 contains a control panel 10 with keys 11 through 16 and appertaining displays of the values set which are known in audiometry per se and which are not separately illustrated for the sake of clarity . insofar as required for an understanding of the invention , the controls between the elements of the control panel 10 and the channels 5 through 7 are indicated with broken lines 17 through 21 in fig3 . the test sound is generated in channel 5 proceeding from an acoustic generator 22 . three frequencies ( 500 hz , 1500 hz and 4000 hz ) can be set by selector 11 . in order to avoid the danger of a falsification of the measurement due to the consideration of distortion products , the k - factors are smaller than 0 . 1 %. the following modulator 23 , which is controlled by a generator 24 , sees to it that the test tone is &# 34 ; softly &# 34 ; interrupted ( approximately 20 ms transition time ) with a frequency of approximately 1 hz . the interrupted tone is amplified in an amplifier 25 and is supplied to one of the two head set ear pieces 29 via a divider 26 , an audiometer distortion corrector 27 ( cf . german lp no . 2 , 855 , 794 ) and via a summation point 28 . the divider 26 is controlled proceeding from the keyboard 10 as indicated by coupling line 19 so that the level rises or , respectively , decreases by 5 db , for instance , each time key 14 ( controlling the lower contact 14a ) is actuated ( pressed ). the sound pressure level l t is displayed by means of luminescent diodes in the manner known per se in audiometers and can be adjusted between - 5 db and + 115 db . the test tone level l t can be reduced by 2 . 5 db by means of pressing an additional key 30 , whereby a display light 31 flashes . the time function of the test sound , which is identical for all three measurements , is illustrated to the right next to the channel 5 and is referenced with 32 . in the illustrated waveform section of one second length , the waveform exhibits a runout part 2b , a pause 2c and a beginning part 2d . the masking sound of channel 6 is generated in a generator 33 for white noise . a low - pass filter 34 , or one of the octave band passes to be incorporated at the same location ( said octave band passes not being separately illustrated ), are post - connected to the generator 33 . the commutation of the filters , whose gain g is illustrated in fig4 as a function of the frequency f , is coupled to the commutation of the test tone frequency selector in 11 via 17 &# 39 ;. the band widths and the attenuation edges of the filters are selected in such manner that , on the one hand disruptive transit times of the operating mode mod which might occur as a result of the phase response of the filters are avoided , but , on the other hand , the volume level l m of the masking noise is considerably reduced in comparison to that of the white noise of the generator 33 so that the hearing is not more greatly stressed than is absolutely necessary for the measurement . given a highly frequency - dependent hearing loss , this is particularly pleasant for patients , because a particularly great overall loudness is otherwise generated in case of a broad - band masking . the octave band pass can be replaced by a low - pass filter 34 for the low frequency position ( f t = 500 hz ). for measuring the quiescent hearing threshold rhs , the noise in the channel 6 remains switched off by means of employing the key 12 ( placing the contact of key 12 in its left hand position ). the output of the filter 34 is only relayed to the modulator 35 for measuring the listening thresholds d or , respectively , mod . the modulator 35 is connected to the 14 hz rectangular generator 36 for the operating mode modulation mod ( the lower position shown for the contact of key 13 ), so that the masking noise is completely modulated in its amplitude ( waveform 1b ). rectangular amplitude modulation is employed because the results can be more easily interpreted . modulation with 14 hz has proven itself . given the selected parameters , values of d , mod , rhs which lie on a straight line ( fig2 ) then derive for normal hearing . other modulation frequencies would also be possible if one takes into consideration that the effect to be investigated does not exclusively occur at 14 hz but , rather , also at higher and lower frequencies . such values as lie between 4 hz and 100 hz prove favorable because of the pre - masking and the post - masking in hearing . the 14 hz generator 36 is disconnected from the modulator 35 for the operating mode continuous noise d ( upper position of the contact of key 13 ), so that uninfluenced continuous noise arises . the masking sound for d or mod arrives at the same head set earpiece 29 as the test sound from the channel 5 via an amplifier 37 , divider 38 , audiometer distortion corrector 39 and the summation point 28 . the divider 38 controlled by means of pressing the key 15 is provided , just like the divider 26 , with a display known from audiometry and allows sound pressure levels between 0 db and 110 db to be set in 10 db steps for the masking noise . the time functions of the masking sound levels arising in channel 6 are illustrated at the right next to the channel 6 for continuous noise d and modulated noise mod and are referenced with 8 and 1b . as isolating noise , the continuous noise at the generator 33 ( which is applied to the test tone frequency from the generator 22 of channel 5 ) can also be employed in the third channel referenced with 7 , said continuous noise being tapped at the output of the filter 34 . it arrives at the other earpiece 43 of a head set exhibiting a head strap 44 via an amplifier 40 , a divider 41 and a distortion corrector 42 . the level l v of the isolating noise can be varied in 10 db steps between 20 db and 80 db by pressing the key 16 . this suffices because with key 16 the selected adjustment of the parameters can provide sufficent isolation ( can be sufficently deafening ) in all cases . the level l v respectively achieved can likewise be displayed in a manner standard in audiometers by means of luminescent diodes . the three measurements for producing diagrams ( straight lines ) according to fig2 are expediently carried out in the device in the below sequence at the respectively selected frequency because of the increasing degree of difficulty in the sequence rhs , d and mod : 1 . rhs identification of the quiescent hearing threshold of the interrupted continuous tone 32 , fig3 . 2 . d identification of the listening threshold of the same tone 32 , masked by the continuous octave ( low - pass ) noise 8 , fig3 with a level ( l m ) that lies approximately 40 db above the level of the rhs . increasing the level ( l m ) by approximately 40 db has proven favorable . when the hearing loss is greater than , for example 60 db , 30 db can also suffice for the masking level l m . 3 . mod identification of the listening threshold of the same tone 32 , fig3 masked by the same noise which , however , is rectangularly amplitude - modulated with 14 hz ( waveform 1b ). this value ( for mod ), which has proven expedient in view of a simple presentation of the measured results because of the masking properties of hearing , lies rather precisely between the values for rhs and d for persons with normal hearing . in the implementation of the tests , the test tone frequency f t of the operating mode rhs and a level l t of the interrupted test tone ( waveform 32 ) which is audible for the test subject ( vp ) is first selected . the vp is informed that he is to pay attention only to this test sound ( waveform 32 ) during all measurements and is to indicate by means of a press button 45 known from audiometry that he hears the interrupted test tone . pressing this button triggers a signal at the display of the person conducting the test in that , for example , a lamp 46 is illuminated . with this display , which was achieved by changing the level l t of the test tone in 5 db or , respectively , 2 . 5 db steps , the person conducting the test identifies the quiescent hearing threshold rhs and marks the value in the diagram ( fig2 ), for example , by means of a small circle . the listening threshold is now identified in the same manner in the operating mode continuous d . the level l m ( fig2 ) of the masking noise ( waveform 8 , fig3 ), to that end , is selected approximately 40 db above the quiescent hearing threshold level rhs . for the purpose of documentation , this value l m is likewise marked in the diagram ( fig2 ) at the provided location with a cross ; and the listening threshold d is measured , as described above for rhs , and is entered at the location of the diagram provided for that purpose . finally , without altering the level l m of the masking noise , the listening threshold of the operating mode modulation mod is identified as the last measurement . the value lies between those for rhs and d , nearly in the exact center between both for persons with normal hearing . the two latter listening thresholds d and mod are likewise entered as circles in the diagram ( fig2 ), so that , as proceeds from fig2 a straight line placed through the measured points for rhs , mod and d arises as a record . as an example for the dependence of the measure results on the level l m of the masking noise , the records of a vp with normal hearing are illustrated in fig5 at the three said frequencies 500 hz , 1500 hz and 4000 hz and upon employment of levels l m between 20 and 100 db with respective 10 db spacing . they show that the listening thresholds d increase to the same degree as the levels l m of the noise . thereby , the level l m lies approximately 10 db above the listening threshold . the listening thresholds mod for modulated noise , independently of the level l m , lie approximately in the center between the values for d and rhs , so that the connection of the measured values indicated as circles produces a bundling of straight lines with different slopes which proceed from the point rhs . it can be derived therefrom that prescribing the value of the masking noise l m is not critical . on the contrary , it can be selected in such manner that , even given damaged hearing , the vp does not find the masking noise too loud and that , nonetheless , a boost from the quiescent hearing threshold rhs to the listening threshold d of approximately 30 db is achieved with the presence of continuous noise . this is produced given a level l m which lies approximately 40 db above the quiescent hearing threshold rhs . for a person with normal hearing , i . e ., for a vp with normal chronological resolution of hearing , the measured values in fig2 are in a diagram with markings for rhs , mod and d entered at equal distances on the abscissa and for the magnitudes ( decibels ) in the ordinate . the three measured values for rhs , mod and d found under the said boundary conditions and entered as circles then lie rather well on a straight line , whereby fluctuations of only ยฑ 2 . 5 db occur . this form of the position of the measured values allows a simple test of the functionability of hearing with respect to the chronological resolution . median values and probably fluctuations of the measured values of sixteen vp &# 39 ; s with normal hearing are entered in fig6 ; the boundary values thereby observed are l m at 40 db ยฑ 5 db above the rhs . these data show how slight the deviations remain even after averaging , into which there enters that , although the rhs is precisely measured at 2 . 5 db , the level l m nonetheless can only be precisely adjusted to within 5 db . the individual deviation of the value mod from the precise median value ( d + rhs )/ 2 produced an average of 2 . 5 db ยฑ 2 . 5 db at 500 hz , 0 db ยฑ 1 . 25 db at 1500 hz and 2 . 5 db ยฑ 2 . 5 db at 4000 hz . it can therefore be derived therefrom that the description &# 34 ; when the data entered in the record as circles lie on a straight line , this corresponds to normal chronological resolution of hearing &# 34 ; is very well met . as an example for an abnormal chronological resolution at high frequencies , the record of a vp with a hearing loss of approximately 45 db at frequencies above 3 khz is reproduced in fig7 . it shows normal behavior at 500 and at 1500 hz at which , of course , no hearing loss exists . at the high frequency of 4000 hz , however , an abnormal course of the diagram obtained occurs . there , not only is the quiescent hearing threshold rhs boosted but , rather , the listening threshold mod is also clearly boosted above the connecting line between rhs and d . it lies only a few decibels below the value for d . in the listening threshold period pattern of the known type ( fig1 ), this would only correspond to a very slight dip during the pause between 1 and 1a in which no noise is offered . the method of measuring the listening thresholds of test tones which is executed by means of octave continuous noise and amplitude - modulated noise according to the invention produces the same statement in a much simpler manner . it will be apparent that many modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts and teachings of the present invention . | 0 |
fig2 is a graph showing the relationship between [ h ] or [ cl ] in silicon granules material and the presence of scattering when silicon single crystal is produced . in the graph , the abscissas as shows [ h ] ( by fusion gas - chromatography ) and [ cl ] ( by neutron activation analysis ) and the ordinates axis shows the presence of scattering . in the graph , and โก shows no scattering , and symbols and show scattering , respectively . as is obvious from the graph , in the case where [ h ] is 7 . 5 wtppm or less or [ cl ] is 15 wtppm or less , there is no scattering in the growing process , thereby it is possible to produce normal silicon single crystal . incidentally , in the case where silicon granules are prepared by the silane process , silane gas sih 4 is decomposed at the temperature 600 ยฐห 800 ยฐ c . on the surface of powdered silicon seeds introduced in a bell jar and the powdered seeds grow into granules . the prepared silicon granule has a structure in which fine single crystal particles gather , and usually undissociated hydrogen ( h ) is taken in to the degree of 20 ห 40 wtppm in the single crystal particles . accordingly , a disposal treatment must be carried out to reduce [ h ] to be 7 . 5 wtppm or less . fig3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an apparatus for carrying out the treament . in the figure , reference numeral 21 inidcates a heating container made of carbon graphite . around the heating container 21 , a heater 22 is provided . the heating container 21 , provided with the heater 22 is housed in a housing 23 made of metal . at one end portion of the heating container 21 , in the state that the upper surface of the housing 23 is penetrated , a particle inlet pipe 24 and a gas effluent ( outlet ) pipe 25 are placed side by side and are connected with the heating container 21 , respectively . at the other end portion of the heating container 21 , in the state that the lower surface of the housing 23 is penetrated , a particle extracting outlet pipe 26 is connected with the heating container 21 . at the halfway of the particle extracting pipe 26 , a gas affluent pipe 27 is connected therewith . in an apparatus of such a structure , silicon granules ( diameter : 0 . 015 ห 0 . 30 cm ) prepared by the silane process are passed into the heating container 21 through the particle inlet pipe 24 and an inert gas such as argon gas is introduced into the heating container 21 through the gas inlet pipe 27 , while silicon granules in the heating container are heated by the heater 22 . then hydrogen included in the silicon granules is thermodiffused or evaporated , and exhausted to the outside through the gas outlet pipe 25 together with the introduced inert gas . after that , the silicon granules which have been reduced in [ h ] are taken out through the particle extracting pipe 26 . in the case where [ h ] is reduced by the apparatus above mentioned , when [ h ] at the center of a granule ( assuming the granule to be spherical with a diameter d p ) is reduced to the extent of 13 / 100 of a granule passed into the heating container 21 , for example , heat treatment should be carried out so as to certify the following equation ( 1 ). ## equ1 ## wherein , d ( t ): diffusion coefficient of hydrogen atom by observation , in the case where the heating temperature is within a limit of 700 ยฐห 1100 ยฐ c ., an equation d ( t )= 2 . 1 ร 10 - 4 exp (- 0 . 564 e . v ./ kt ) [ cm 2 / s ] is satisfied . in addition , the diffusion coefficient d ( t ) accompanying temperature change is shown in fig4 . the diffusion coefficient of the hydrogen molecule d ( t )= 9 . 4 ร 10 - 3 exp (- 0 . 48 e . v ./ kt ) [ cm 2 / s ] is also shown in fig4 . fig5 is a graph showing the relationship between the left side of the equation ( 1 ) aforementioned ( the abcissa axis ) and [ h ] at the center of a granule ( provided that initial value = 1 , the ordinate axis ). as shown in fig5 a broken line , when the value of the left side of the equation ( 1 ) is set to be 0 . 07 , for example , [ h ] can be reduced to the extent of 0 . 13 times its original concentration . furthermore , at the peripheral portion of a granule , the rate of reduction of [ h ] is rapid compared with that at the center , and when the value of the left side of the equation ( 1 ) is set to be 0 . 07 , [ h ] at the peripheral portion of a granule is almost 0 . fig6 is a graph showing a result of an experiment about an effect be scattering , exerted by heating temperature and heating time for silicon granules , the abcissa axis and the ordinate axis showing the heating temperature and the heating time , respectively . the curve in the graph shows the case where the value of the left side of the equation ( 1 ) is 0 . 07 . and the symbols and show no scattering and scattering respectively . as is obvious from the graph , when the heat treatment is carried out within the limits of the region affixed with hatching with the threshold curve as the borderline , [ h ] is reduced to 7 . 5 wtppm or less , thereby silicon granules with no scattering can be obtained . on the other hand , in the case where silicon granules are prepared by the trichlorosilane process , trichlorosilane gas is introduced on the surface of powdered silicon seeds introduced in a bell jar , and the powdered seeds grow into granules by means of reduction at the temperature of 1000 ยฐห 1200 ยฐ c . as the chlorine ( cl ) taken in produced granules is hard to diffuse compared with hydrogen ( h ), [ cl ] is not reduced even when the heating treatment aforementioned is carried out . accordingly , in order to reduce [ cl ], it is necessary to reduce [ cl ] when granules are produced . the relationship between the deposition rate of silicon granules and [ cl ] a growth experiment using trichlorosilane process , carried out by the inventors is shown in fig7 . in addition , the experiment conditions are as follows ; reacting apparatus : a similar apparatus to the one shown in fig3 the straight line in fig7 shows a tendency of correlation between the silicon desposition rate and the [ cl ] contents fig7 shows a strong correlation between both of these parameters . the larger the deposition rate of silicon is , the more [ cl ] is reduced . in this growth condition , [ cl ] can be reduced to 15 wtppm or less by making the deposition rate of silicon to be 0 . 4 ฮผm / min . or more . as above mentioned , silicon granules related to the method of the present invention can be obtained . next , an example of a concrete apparatus is shown in the case where single crystal growth is carried out by using silicon granules related to the invention ( silicon granules in which [ h ] is reduced to 7 . 5 wtppm or less or silicon granules in which [ cl ] is reduced to 15 wtppm or less ). fig8 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the single crystal growth of the invention , wherein reference numeral 1 designates a chamber , 2 designates a heat reserving wall , 3 designates a crucible , and 4 designates a heater . at the inner surface of the chamber 1 , the heat reserving wall 2 is lined . the crucible 3 is provided the center portion of the chamber 1 surrounded by the heat reserving wall 2 . the heater 4 is provided between the crucible 3 and the heat reserving wall 2 in the state of forming an air passage with the proper gap between them . the crucible 3 has a double construction in which a container made of quartz is set in a container made of graphite . at the central portion of the bottom of the crucible 3 , an upper end of an axle 3a which passes through the bottom wall of the chamber 1 is connected , and the crucible 3 is lifted up and down by the axle 3a , while being rotated . at the center of the upper wall of the chamber 1 , a lift opening 1a for single crystal pulling also serves as a supply opening for ambient atmosphere gas , and a material supply opening 1b is opened at a portion around the lift opening 1a . at the lift opening 1a , a guard cylinder 5 is installed , and a material supply pipe 6a of a material supply apparatus 6 is inserted into the chamber 1 through the material supply opening 1b . from the upper end of the guard cylinder 5 , a chuck 5b for seizing a seed crystal 5c with the use of a lift axis 5a is hung down , and the upper end of the lift axis 5a is connected with a rotation and up - and - down mechanism ( not shown ). after the seed crystal 5c is brought into contact with into the liquid silicon inside of the crucible 3 , silicon single crystal is grown at the lower end of the seed crystal 5c by rotating and raising the seed crystal 5c . inside of the chamber 1 , at the upper surface of the heat reserving wall 2 , a supporting member 8 in a form of an annular ring is provided . a bulkhead member 9 is made of quartz , and consists of supporting pieces 9b provided at plurality of positions spaced - apart in the circumferential direction at an inner periphery of the supporting member 8 and a cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a is supported by the supporting pieces 9b . the lower end of the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a is positioned at a predetermined height from the inner bottom of the crucible 3 , and is brought into contact with into the liquid silicon to a predetermined depth . the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a divides the crucible into two regions ; i . e ., an inner region and an outer circular region concentric with each other . a material introducing tool 10 includes a funnel portion 10a and a pipe 10b connected therewith . the funnel portion 10a faces the lower end of the material supply pipe 6a inserted from the material supply opening 1b . the pipe 10b passes through the supporting member 8 , and the lower end of the pipe 10b is in the crucible 3 , facing the outer circular region outside the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a . the upper end of the material supply pipe 6a is positioned below an electromagnetic feeder 6c of a weighing apparatus provided in a casing 6b at the material supply apparatus 6 provided outside the chamber 1 . the end of the electromagnetic feeder 6c is provided with a sub - hopper 6d , and above the sub - hopper 6d , a main hopper 6e fixed on the casing 6b faces therewith . next , explanation is given on a concrete procedure of silicon single crystal growth by using an apparatus of such a construction . at first , after silicon granules related to the present invention are put in the crucible 3 as initial charge silicon materials , the crucible 3 is heated by the heater 4 , thereby melting the stored silicon granules in the crucible 3 . with the melting , the volume is decreased , therefore , a proper quantity of silicon granules related to the invention is added into the crucible 3 as charge up silicon materials . the crucible 3 is rotated by the axis 3a supporting the crucible 3 in the direction of an arrow , and the lift axis 5a forming a lift means is lowered to soak the seed crystal 5c into the liquid silicon inside the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a . after that , the lift axis 5a is pulled up at a prescribed speed ( average speed 1 . 5 mm / min .) while being rotated , and the silicon single crystal 7 is grown onto the lower end of the seed crystal 5c . the silicon granules are stored in the main hopper 6e in advance as the additional charge silicon materials . and they are supplied to the outer region of the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a in the crucible 3 through the main hopper 6e , the sub - hopper 6d , the electromagnetic feeder 6c where they are weighed , the material supply pipe 6a and through the material introducing tool 10 . in addition , from the beginning of the melting of the silicon granules stored in the first place , to the end of pulling up the single crystal , an inert gas such as argon is introduced above the crucible 3 through the guard cylinder 5 from a supply pipe connected with the upper end of the guard cylinder 5 . the inert gas passing from the upper part of the guard cylinder 5 is screened by the supporting member 8 , gets to the surface of the liquid silicon in the crucible 3 along the silicon single crystal 7 , and is drawn out of an exhaust port 1c opened at a side wall of the lower part of the chamber 1 by an exhausting pump ( not shown ), through the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a and the supporting pieces 9b , the outer region of the cylindrical bulkhead portion 9a and through an air passage formed between the heater 4 and the heat reserving wall 2 . in an apparatus of the embodiment , the additional charge silicon materials are supplied from one position in the circumferential direction of the crucible 3 . the relationship between the phase angle and the temperature of the liquid silicon in the crucible 3 is shown in fig9 . in addition , arrows in the figure show the supply position of the additional charge silicon materials . as is understood from fig9 in this embodiment , since the silicon materials are supplied from one position , the temperature of the liquid silicon drops remarkably only in the vicinity of the supply position . accordingly , there is a possibility that the growth condition is disturbed in such a case . fig1 shows a sectional view of a second embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention . in addition , the same reference numerals shown in fig8 are used to show the same or corresponding parts . in this apparatus of the embodiment , the additional charge silicon materials are supplied from plural positions in the circumferential direction of the crucible 3 . the material introducing tool 10 consists of the funnel portion 10a and a plurality ( four , for example ) of pipes 10b connected therewith . respective pipes 10b successively pass through the chamber 1 , the supporting member 8 and a bulk - head portion 9c of the bulkhead member 9 . the lower ends of the respective pipes 10b are provided at the same intervals ( four lower ends , for example ) in the circumferential direction as the pipes 10b and face the outer region in the crucible 3 . a material supply apparatus for supplying the silicon materials to the material introducing tool 10 is not shown in the figure . in this embodiment , the additional charge silicon materials are supplied from plural positions in the circumferential direction while the crucible is rotated . the relationship between the phase angle of the crucible 3 and the liquid silicon temperature in such a case is shown in fig1 . in addition , arrows in the figure show the supply position of the additional charge silicon materials ( in this example , four positions at every ฯ / 2 ). as is understood from fig1 , in this embodiment , since the silicon materials are supplied from plural positions , the temperature drop of the liquid silicon in the vicinity of the supply positions is small . accordingly , this embodiment is capable of reducing the possiblility of disturbing the single crystal growth condition in comparison with the first embodiment . furthermore , in the embodiment above mentioned , the silicon granules related to the invention are used as the initial charge silicon materials , the charge up silicon materials and the additional charge silicon materials , however , it goes without saying that the silicon granules related to the invention may be used as any one or any two kinds of the three uses above mentioned . as this invention may be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of an scope thereof , the foregoing embodiments are therefore illustrative and not restrictive , since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes that fall within the scope of the claims , or equivalents thereof are therefore intended to be embraced by the claims . | 2 |
in reference to fig1 , mask flow is measured using a flow sensor 4 f and / or pressure sensor 4 p with a pneumotachograph and differential pressure transducer or similar device . a flow signal f ( t ) is derived and mask pressure is measured at a pressure tap using a pressure transducer to derive a pressure signal p mask ( t ). the pressure sensor 4 p and flow sensor 4 f have only been shown symbolically in fig1 since those skilled in the art would understand how to measure flow and pressure . flow f ( t ) and pressure p mask ( t ) signals are sent to a controller or microprocessor 6 which then determines how to adjust the blower . alternatively , it is preferred that a flow signal f ( t ) and pressure signal p mask ( t ) be estimated or calculated in relation to the blower motor by monitoring power supplied to the motor and / or the speed of the motor as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 740 , 795 , 6 , 332 , 463 or 6 , 237 , 593 , without the provision of flow and pressure sensors as described above . the controller 6 is configured and adapted to implement the methodology described in more detail herein and may include integrated chips , a memory and / or other instruction or data storage medium . for example , programmed instructions with the control methodology may be coded on integrated chips in the memory of the device ( e . g ., firmware ) or loaded as software . the pressure delivery device includes a blower 8 , which preferably is an impellor . the impellor 8 is controlled by a servo 10 , receives ambient air through an inlet 12 and delivers pressurized air through an outlet 14 defined by an air delivery conduit 16 and a mask 18 with an integrated exhaust vent 20 . the impellor , motor , and controller assembly define a blower assembly and are located within the blower housing 22 . various switches 24 and displays 26 are provided in the blower housing . a number of sensors are provided within the blower to monitor , among other things , snore 28 , motor speed 30 , and motor current 32 . various devices known in the art can serve as these types of sensors . a communication interface 34 allows data to be transferred between the apparatus and an external device , such as a computer or controller . preferably , the device delivers a generally constant therapeutic level of continuous positive airway pressure ( cpap ) during any given treatment session . however , consistent with the control principles of the invention as described herein , other types of pressure treatment may be implemented in the apparatus , such as bi - level cpap treatment or other variants of natural patient - synchronized pressure changes . as illustrated in fig2 , the pressure treatment apparatus implements control based on historic ahi determinations . as shown in step 20 , airway pressure treatment is provided to the patient during a first treatment session . in such a session , in the absence of historic ahi , the pressure treatment level will be set to a default low or minimum level , or a level prescribed by a physician or clinician . preferably , no adjustments to the treatment pressure are made to change the level of therapy in response to a current detection of an sdb event during the current session . during the treatment session , in step 22 , sleep disordered breathing events are detected and an index of these events is determined . preferably , apnea and hypopnea events are detected and an ahi , the ahi being initialized for the current session , is incremented by the number of such detected events . in step 24 , a new or subsequent treatment session is initiated with the apparatus . in this subsequent session , a therapeutic level of the treatment is set automatically as a function of the sdb event related index that was determined in the prior treatment session . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , each of the previously described treatment sessions is a different night &# 39 ; s treatment with the device . thus , an ahi may be recorded during use of the treatment apparatus during a single night and saved at the conclusion of the session . this saved ahi may then be utilized to set the treatment pressure in the next use of the device , such as during the next night . to distinguish such sessions , the device may be configured to store the ahi on power down . then it will utilize a previously recorded ahi , if it exists , in setting the treatment pressure after the device is powered on but before or as treatment is commenced . alternatively , other schemes for ensuring the use of an ahi from a previously recorded session may be implemented . in one alternative scheme , date and / or time of every determined ahi from all sessions are recorded and stored . during a subsequent use , checking is performed for the most recent ahi . similarly , this may be implemented by checking the date of an ahi against an internal clock to permit the use of a previous day &# 39 ; s ahi in setting treatment pressure . while additional pressure treatment adjustments may be made in a current session based on a current ahi determination or on detection of an sdb related event , it is preferred that no such adjustments be made until a subsequent session . similarly , the ramping of pressure from a low pressure up to the set therapeutic treatment pressure such that the patient can fall asleep before reaching the therapeutic level may also be implemented by the device . b . determination of an apnea hypopnea index ( ahi ) in a first session as previously noted , the pressure treatment device preferably detects sleep disordered breathing events including apneas and hypopneas , by determining an apnea - hypopnea index . optionally , other sdb related indices may be used , for example , an apnea index , a hypopnea index or some other sdb related index . the preferred determination methodology is illustrated in the flow chart of fig3 . at the beginning of a treatment session with the device , a current sdb index or ahi is reset or initialized in step 30 . during the delivery of pressure treatment , flow is continuously measured or determined in step 32 . with flow information or the flow signal ( e . g ., from a differential pressure transducer or derived from blower speed or power to the blower motor ), measures of ventilation ( e . g ., an average flow determined over a period of time ) are calculated in a step 34 . preferably , these ventilation measures include a short term measure and a long term measure . in one embodiment , a suitable recent ventilation measure or a short term average may be a low pass filtered flow signal utilizing a low pass filter having a time constant which is short with respect to the duration of a breath , e . g ., about 2 to 8 seconds . a suitable longer term ventilation or longer term average measure of flow may be a low pass filtered flow signal utilizing a low pass filter having a time constant which is long with respect to the duration of a breath , e . g ., about 110 seconds . these ventilation measures , including a short term measure and a long term measure , are for purposes of comparing a more recent average measure with a longer term average . from the results of such a comparison , either apneas or hypopneas may be detected in steps 36 a and / or 36 b respectively . for example , in detecting a hypopnea , if the short term average measure falls below the longer term average such that it is less than 50 % of the longer term average , a hypopnea may be tallied or detected . similarly , if the short term average falls below the longer term average such that it is less than 20 % of the longer term average , an apnea may be tallied or detected . in one embodiment of the invention an ahi scoring scheme may be implemented as follows : i . an apnea is scored if a 2 second moving average ventilation drops below 25 % of a recent average ventilation ( time constant = 100 s ) for at least 10 consecutive seconds , ii . a hypopnea is scored if an 8 second moving average drops below 50 % but not more than 25 % of the recent average ventilation for 10 consecutive seconds . those skilled in the art will recognize other methods or modifications for detecting hypopneas or apneas and determining an ahi or an sdb index which will otherwise indicate severity in the patient &# 39 ; s sdb symptoms . after detecting either an apnea or a hypopnea event , an ahi may be incremented in step 37 . after incrementing the ahi , the system determines whether the session has ended at step 38 . at this point , the system terminates at step 39 . if the session is ongoing , the system cycles back to step 32 to continue detecting apnea and hypopnea events and incrementing the ahi . the total of these detected apneas and hypopneas for any given session would make up the ahi used in the adjustment of treatment pressure in a subsequent session . preferably , the ahi is determined by adding the total number of apneas and hypopneas the patient experienced over a treatment period covering a single night . optionally , the ahi may be a function of time such as an average hourly ahi determined over the total time for any given treatment session with the device such as a period of sleep or a single night of sleep . c . adjustment of treatment pressure in response to ahi in a subsequent session as previously noted , preferably automated adjustments to the therapeutic level of the treatment pressure are only made or only take effect for treatment in a subsequent session or subsequent night of treatment based on an ahi determined in a prior session or previous night of treatment . that is , the automated dynamic pressure changes are on a night - by - night basis rather than a breath - by - breath basis . thus , the device implements an algorithm for adjusting the treatment pressure in a subsequent session . for example , as illustrated in fig4 , after starting a new or entering a treatment session in step 40 , the device may then evaluate a previously recorded ahi in an evaluation step 42 . based on the detected ahi from a prior session a new treatment pressure will be set . optionally , for a first use or first session , the ahi may have a default of 0 such that no changes to the treatment pressure will be implemented in the first session . similarly , a default pressure setting for the first use may be a low non - therapeutic value ( e . g ., about 1 - 3 cmh 2 o ) or some other physician or clinician set value in a therapeutic range of about 4 - 20 cmh 2 o . in evaluating the historic ahi in step 42 , if a prior session results in no detected apneas or hypopneas or only a few ( e . g ., ahi = 0 or less than 8 ), no pressure changes will be implemented and the treatment pressure setting will remain from the prior session . alternatively , for purposes of determining the minimum pressure necessary to prevent sdb , for an ahi of 0 or an ahi of less than 8 from the prior session , the device may lower the pressure in the new session . in lowering the pressure , the device may decrement the pressure by a fixed amount , ( e . g ., 0 . 25 cmh 2 o ) which is preferably lower than the pressure increase although they may be the same . thus , in setting the treatment pressure in step 44 , the new pressure for the current setting will be the pressure from the prior session less the fixed decrement amount . however , if the ahi from the prior session is greater than 0 or greater than some low non - adjustment range ( e . g ., 1 - 8 events ), the treatment pressure will automatically increment upwards since such an ahi score is an indication of the need for an increase in treatment . thus , based on the high ahi from the previous night , the treatment pressure can be increased by some increment . the treatment pressure increase is performed with the intent to decrease the ahi towards a clinically desirable level in the subsequent night . the ideal treatment pressure will decrease the ahi to a clinically desirable level but not be so far in excess of the minimum required pressure that it induces unnecessary discomfort . therefore , the quantum of the incremental pressure increase may vary depending upon the perceived clinical severity of the ahi . for example , the choice of incremental pressure increase may reflect the clinical observation that a relatively small increment will induce a clinically significant change where the patient has a relatively low ahi ( e . g ., a pressure increment of 0 . 5 cmh 2 o for an ahi in the range of 5 - 19 ) while a relatively larger increment will be appropriate to induce a clinically significant change where the patient has a relatively high ahi ( e . g ., a pressure increment of 2 cmh 2 o for an ahi of 40 or higher ). referring to fig4 , in the treatment pressure setting step 44 , the treatment pressure is automatically set for the new session to be the previous session &# 39 ; s pressure setting plus the increment . the treatment pressure will then be delivered during the current session in step 46 and then , at step 48 , the system cycles back to step 30 ( fig3 ) and again begins the process of determining a new ahi . the new ahi will affect the treatment pressure for the next session or treatment in the next night or future session . such a scheme allows the device to adjust itself over an unlimited number of nights , while evolving with the needs of the patient . in one embodiment , other schemes of adjustment of the pressure may be based on patterns of the ahi over more than a single night , such as two or more nights . for example , the pressure may be lowered if the ahi has been 0 for two or more consecutive sessions . similarly , pressure may be increased only if the ahi in more than one consecutive night , for example , 2 or 3 nights , suggests a need for an increase . preferably , any decay in pressure over time is slower than the increase in pressure over time . optionally , the device may be configured with an adaptation range that limits the changes to the treatment pressure that the device may automatically implement based on a previous night &# 39 ; s ahi determination . the adaptation range may be a preset variable that is determined by a physician and preferably is not changed during the many treatment sessions with the user or patient . a default range may be set into the device in the absence of such a setting by a physician . for example , the physician may preset the adaptation range to a value of 10 cmh 2 o . when a pressure change is implemented by the device , the range is checked to make certain that any increments attempted by the device never exceed the original pressure setting of the physician by the amount of the range . thus , if the pressure is set to 5 cmh 2 o for the first session with a patient , and the adaptation range is set to 10 cmh 2 o , any automated treatment pressure change that attempts to increment the treatment pressure beyond 15 cmh 2 o would be prevented . in addition , the device may be configured with an optional warning indicator to advise the patient or the physician of the attempted increase beyond the adaptation range . a device that implements the above - described treatment scheme would have many benefits for sdb patients . for example , utilizing the described algorithm would be more cost effective when compared to more complex detection and adjustment schemes . also , since the device can adjust on a night - by - night basis , it can provide adaptation for seasonal changes that may affect the patient &# 39 ; s condition . it can also adapt with the patient &# 39 ; s disease progression . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not as restrictive . the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims and their combination in whole or in part rather than by the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . | 0 |
the invention is intended for use with conventional monopolar electrodes having points , needles , balls , wires , and scalpel and curette blades , as examples , as well as with bipolar electrodes of the conventional forceps type , as well as with bipolar probes of the types shown in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 231 , 571 ; 6 , 572 , 614 ; 6 , 620 , 156 ; and similar types involving multiple needles or coaxial structures , as examples . the contents of these referenced patents are incorporated herein by reference . the invention is especially important for use with rf electrosurgical currents in the 4 mhz range as our experience has shown that 4 mhz frequency energy used in the main monopolar mode produces excellent cutting ability through soft tissue . especially is this important with bipolar electrodes in the main bipolar mode , because the same smooth cutting occurs with the added safety of eliminating the indifferent plate and localizing the electrosurgical currents to the region between the two bipolar electrodes . the three different electrosurgical waveforms traditionally available in the monopolar mode , in accordance with the invention , are now available also in the bipolar mode . these three waveforms , termed herein operating sub - modes , are known as : 1 . partially rectified : moderately damped waveform or half wave current on tissue . this typically produces a hemostasis effect on soft tissue . 2 . fully recified : undamped electronic current waveform . this is typically a cut and coagulation blend . 3 . continuous wave : fully filtered current waveform . typically this is pure smooth cutting with little hemostasis . these waveforms are shown by the solid lines in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 730 , 188 in , respectively , fig5 c , 5 b , and 5 a . thus , in the invention , the 4 mhz frequency energy is available in the three most popular waveforms in both monopolar and bipolar . this now makes six distinctly different waveforms available to the surgeon , meaning six different therapeutic currents which produce different histological effects on the soft tissue . one form of the electrosurgical instrument 10 according to the invention is illustrated in fig1 . it comprises a console unit having a box - like housing 12 comprising at the front a control panel 14 for the instrument . the control panel 14 is divided into two halves , as indicated , the one / half 16 on the left as marked to indicate monopolar operation , and the one / half 18 on the right marked to indicate bipolar operation . each half includes a 3 - position sub - mode control switch 20 , 22 , respectively , and a multi - positional variable power switch 24 , 26 , respectively . each half also includes indicator lights 28 , 30 , 32 , respectively , 34 , 36 , 38 labeled cut , cut / coag , hemo , respectively . when the sub - mode control switch 20 , 22 is in the cut position , the corresponding light 28 , 34 is on and the continuous wave : fully filtered current waveform is generated . when the sub - mode control switch 20 , 22 is in the cut / coag position , the corresponding light 30 , 36 is on and the fully recified : undamped waveform is generated . when the sub - mode control switch 20 , 22 is in the hemo position , the corresponding light 32 , 38 is on and the partially rectified : moderately damped waveform is generated . when the respective sub - mode control switch , 20 , 22 is pointing at one of the indicator lights , then internal circuitry causes that indicator to turn on and the other indicators to turn off . as will be explained below , the choice of which half of the instrument is active depends entirely on which of three active external controls are activated ; two of the active controls comprising footswitches 40 , 42 and the third fingerswitch 44 on the fingerswitch handpiece 48 . the two power switches 24 , 26 control the power output , respectively , for the main monopolar and bipolar modes of operation . no actual power output in watts is given ; instead the controls indicate values from lo to hi on a scale of 1 โ 10 . through experience , each surgeon comes to know the appropriate power level represented by the position of the power output knob to choose for a particular procedure . at the bottom of the unit are output female connectors 50 , 52 , 54 for plugging in , respectively , at the right , a bipolar handpiece or forceps 56 , a fingerswitch - controlled monopolar handpiece 48 at the center , and at the left a single or split neutral plate 58 . note that the respective female connectors are positioned underneath the appropriate half of the front panel . thus , the bipolar connector 50 is under the bipolar half of the panel 18 , and the two monopolar connectors 52 , 54 are under the monopolar half of the panel 16 . an on - off power switch 60 with its accompanying indicator light 62 is at the far right . the circuitry used to provide a fingerswitch - controlled monopolar handpiece may be of the type described in connection with the control unit 50 of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 463 , 759 , whose contents are herein incorporated by reference , which circuitry is in this case incorporated in the console unit 12 . a connector ( not shown ) is provided at the right side for receiving a dual conventional footswitch 40 , 42 . a feature of the invention is that both the monopolar and bipolar handpieces can be simultaneously connected to the console unit 12 and operated in any order without touching the console unit or the control panel when the control panel has been preset or activated at the desired powers for each of the handpieces . for example , if the surgeon determines that s / he is going to perform a cutting procedure with a particular electrode , then s / he can preset the cutting mode power for , for example , the fingerswitch handpiece 48 using the monopolar power control 24 . for hemostasis with the bipolar forceps 46 , s / he may desire to use a lower power level , which can also be preset using the monopolar power control 26 . the internal circuitry is controlled so that , when the fingerswitch monopolar handpiece 48 is used , then rf power can be supplied to the electrode in the monopolar handpiece when a fingerswitch 44 on the handpiece 48 is depressed or the monopolar footswitch 40 is operated . however , when it is desired to use the bipolar handpiece 56 , then the footswitch 42 is depressed , which then supplies rf power to the forceps of the bipolar handpiece . as an example only , these units can be designed to supply up to about 50 โ 60 watts of rf power to either handpiece . typically , again only as an example , about 30 โ 60 watts may be typically used in the cut sub - mode ; about 20 โ 60 watts may be typically used in the cut / coag sub - mode ; and about 5 โ 20 watts may be typically used in the hemo sub - mode . this result is a consequence of hardwired circuitry such that , when the bipolar footswitch 42 or the bipolar handpiece 56 is operated , rf power is supplied only to the bipolar connector 50 ; and when the monopolar footswitch 40 or the monopolar handpiece 48 is operated , rf power is supplied only to the monopolar connectors 52 , 54 . this prevents power selected for the monopolar handpiece to be applied to the bipolar handpiece , and vice - versa . one form of the rf circuitry to achieve the foregoing operation is illustrated in the block diagrams of fig2 a and 2b . as will be observed , fig2 b is an extension of fig2 a as indicated by the labels . there are several similar circuit modules or blocks in the present circuit and that illustrated and described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 954 , 686 (&# 39 ; 686 ), previously incorporated by reference which also provides monopolar and bipolar outputs . but there are also significant similarities between certain modules in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 238 , 388 (&# 39 ; 388 ), hereby incorporated by reference , and those of the present invention , except that the latter patent provides only a monopolar output . those similarities will be briefly pointed out when the block diagram of the present invention is described , and mainly the significant differences will be explained in detail . in the present invention , referring now to fig2 a , the power supply 66 and bridge rectifiers 68 are similar to the corresponding modules in fig3 of the &# 39 ; 686 patent . the led display module 70 , which supplies the power to the respective indicator lights , the audio speaker alarm module 72 , which supplies a safety function to warn the surgeon when a reasonable procedure duration has been exceeded , the low frequency generator 74 which supplies the audio tone as well as a counting frequency for the timer duty cycle module 78 , which is also part of the safety framework for the surgeon , are all powered by the low voltage power supply module 76 . these modules 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 are all conventional and their construction will be apparent to the skilled person in this art . the rf frequency generator 78 , the pre - driver 80 , and the rf power amplifier 82 are also conventional and similar to corresponding modules in fig3 of the &# 39 ; 686 patent , except that only a single rf frequency carrier having a frequency of the order of 4 mhz is generated . in the fig2 b extension , note that there is an independent chain of isolation transformer 84 , 86 , matching circuit 88 , 90 , and power output 92 , 94 for each of the main monopolar and bipolar modes . again , these circuits are similar to the corresponding modules in fig3 of the &# 39 ; 686 patent except that , again , the same 4 mhz current is supplied to both outputs and so the impedance matching is the same for both chains . the respective outputs 92 , 94 are connected to their corresponding connector 52 , 50 . the main difference between the two chains is that the bipolar chain is completely isolated whereas the monopolar chain is grounded for the neutral connection 54 . in the modules so far described , the circuit details are not important because there are a number of different ways to achieve the same functions , as for example described in the &# 39 ; 388 patent , and no invention is claimed in any specific circuit details . the modulation signal generator 96 can be conventional also but it is preferred to choose one that is similar to that described in the &# 39 ; 388 patent . as explained in connection with fig2 of that patent , the modulator signal waveforms needed to implement the three current modes are created using an oscillator - binary counter and dual multiplexers . again , no invention is claimed in the present application with respect to the means to generate that function . as is conventional , the rf frequency generator 78 which generates a carrier at the 4 mhz frequency supplies its output via the driver 80 and timer 126 to the input of the rf power amplifier 82 . the modulation signal generated by module 96 constitutes one input to the voltage switching regulator 96 . one output of the voltage switching regulator 96 is a voltage input to the rf power amplifier 82 . apart from the regulating function , the modulation signal therefore represents a modulated voltage input to the rf power amplifier 82 , which also receives the carrier , and thus the output from the latter is the desired modulated carrier . the modulated voltage output of the voltage switching regulator 96 is sampled , by which is meant , that a fraction of the average value of the voltage of the modulated output is then fed back to the input of the voltage switching regulator 96 . another input of the voltage switching regulator 96 also receives a fixed reference voltage . the regulating function is obtained as the switching regulator 96 adjusts its output voltage such that the fed back sample matches the reference or some fixed fraction of the reference . these known voltage switching regulators can easily be adjusted or purchased so that they not only regulate the output voltage but are also are capable of stepping up or boosting the output voltage as in a dc - to - dc converter . so , for example only , if the average output voltage of the voltage switching regulator 96 is , say , 200 volts , and the sample taken is , say , 1 / 20 of the average output , thus 10 volts , and the reference is , say , 15 volts , then the voltage switching regulator will boost its output voltage to 300 volts , so that the sample matches the reference . the reverse happens if the output voltage drops below the regulated value . this mode of operation of these known voltage switching regulators is taken advantage of in implementing a feature of the invention . there are three principal inventive features of the present application . the first has already been described in detail , namely the use of the same rf carrier and the same three operating sub - modes for both monopolar and bipolar operation . specifically , the cut , cut / coag , and hemo waveforms modulating the same approximately 4 mhz carrier are available at both the monopolar and bipolar output connectors of the unit . the second and third main features combine to maintain the same maximum output power irrespective of the selection of one of the two cutting modes , namely , the cut or cut / coag operating sub - mode . in the known systems , as the modulation of the carrier varies , the power output also varies . in general , as the modulation increases , as by going from the cut sub - mode to the cut / coag sub - mode , or from the latter to the hemo sub - mode , the modulation voltage that is supplied to the rf power amplifier 82 , also supplied separately with the carrier signal and functioning to combine the latter with the modulating waveform , drops and thus the average output power from the rf power amplifier and thus to the output connectors is correspondingly reduced . to maintain a more constant average power for the two sub - modes involving a cutting function , the voltage switching regulator 96 in combination with an upper voltage divider 98 and a lower voltage divider 100 cooperate in the circumstances described to boost the modulation voltage input to the voltage switching regulator 96 to maintain the average power output from the rf power amplifier 82 substantially constant . the lower voltage divider 100 is fixed to set a minimum voltage feedback , but the upper voltage divider 98 is controlled not only by the power controls 24 , 26 by the user on the front panel , but also by the sub - mode controls 20 , 22 and the main mode selected by the user . simply put , a feature of the invention is to control the amount of feedback supplied to the voltage switching regulator 96 as the user selects an operating sub - mode by means of the sub - mode control switch 20 or 22 and the power value by power switches 24 , 26 , the amount of feedback supplied to the switching regulator 96 is varied which in turn controls the average voltage of the modulation signal inputted to the rf power amplifier 82 . there is a direct relation between the feedback to the switching regulator and the degree of modulation . as the modulation increases , reducing the average modulation voltage โ thus reducing the output voltage compared to the reference โ the feedback boosts the output voltage , thereby contributing to a more constant voltage to the output power amplifier and thus a more constant power , irrespective of the cut or cut / coag operating sub - mode chosen by the user . and , most important , this mode of operation is independent for each of the main monopolar and bipolar modes selected by the user , so that the same maximum output power can be made available in both main modes . the feature is unnecessary for the hemo sub - mode because the latter typically uses much lower powers than to implement a cutting function . a more detailed explanation of the operation appears below . the significant inventions of the multiple sub - mode controls , and the production of a more constant average power , rather than constant peak power , in all modes , will be apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description . both outputs of the monopolar and bipolar main modes are derived from a conventional single crystal oscillator 78 driving a single rf power amplifier 82 . each primary or main mode is capable of providing more than 50 watts rf output and is matched to the appropriate load impedance by tuned matching sections . the choice between the two modes modes is made by a straightforward footswitch and / or fingerswitch controlled selection relay , operating at low voltage . the monopolar output is matched to a specific unbalanced load , whereas the bipolar output is matched to a specific balanced load โ this is conventional . each of the two main operating modes , monopolar and bipolar , has separate front panel controls for power level and front panel selection of sub - modes cut ( cw ), cut / coag ( series of half sinusoids full wave ), and hemo ( intermittent series of half sinusoids - half wave ). on keying of the rf frequency generator 78 is initiated by a fingerswitch 44 or footswitch 40 for monopolar , or the footswitch 42 for bipolar . to provide high overall efficiency ; the main dc power supply 66 and the final rf power amplifier 82 each operates in known switching modes to achieve a variable 4 mhz power with an amplitude modulated output . the power supply circuit 66 , which is conventional , may comprise an input power modular , rfi filter , thermo - fused transformer , and voltage regulator . the mains interface is through a power transformer t 1 . a full bridge rectifier 68 is connected to the secondary of the transformer to provide the primary dc output power to the final rf power amplifier 82 through the switching regulator 96 . the rectified dc supply voltage 95 into the switching regulator has been increased to allow the switching regulator to provide a higher dc voltage , so that higher peak powers in cut / coag and hemo modes are possible . nominally , a lower voltage is required for the final power amplifier 82 to generate 50 w in the cut ( cw ) mode . this arrangement allows a higher output power than the traditional waveform rectifier technique to supply a generally constant output voltage for both cutting modes . the rf frequency of 4 mhz , which is implemented on both monopolar and bipolar modes , is generated in a packaged crystal oscillator assembly 78 , which is enabled by the foot or fingerswitch , shown schematically by arrowed inputs , 104 for the bipolar , 106 for the monopolar footswitch and for the fingerswitch , via a conventional controller 110 , which includes or drives one or more relays 112 ( see fig3 ) that selectively activate different sets of contacts to direct the electrosurgical currents to the upper monopolar branch 84 , 88 , 92 , or to the lower bipolar branch 86 , 90 , 94 . the switching regulator 96 , which is a commercially - available component , provides the high voltage necessary for the final rf power amplifier 82 to generate the rf output power . control circuitry for the switching regulator , which includes a reference voltage input 116 and the two voltage dividers 98 , 100 sets the output level and , if varied , determines the power output waveform . the single power relay a 112 activated by the footswitch or fingerswitch , selects which of two patient isolation transformers 84 , 86 are driven by the rf power amplifier , and as explained below also selects which of two sets of voltage dividers control the feedback to the voltage switching regulator 96 . in the monopolar mode , the rf power amplifier is connected to a conventional low impedance primary of the monopolar transformer 84 that works in concert with the matching network 88 to match into a specified nominal monopolar resistive load . for the bipolar mode , a completely separate isolation output transformer 86 , a similar matching section 90 , and output terminals are utilized . the bipolar matching network is balanced and is matched into its specified nominal bipolar resistive load . this configuration gives sufficient balance to allow the achievement of low leakage current . this arrangement further allows switching between modes to be accomplished at a relatively low voltage to provide matching into two separate load impedances while insuring that only one output is enabled at a time . the switching regulator 96 provides the desired supply voltage to the rf power amplifier 82 by comparing a sample of the output voltage , taken from output 117 , applied at feedback input 118 with its internal reference voltage 116 , reducing the output if this voltage tends to rise , or vice - versa . in the preferred application the sample is obtained by a voltage divider 98 arranged to match the reference voltage when the output voltage is corrected . in this application , it operates essentially as a simple divider . assuming that the unit is set in the monopolar mode , an upper resistor in the voltage divider is made up of potentiometers 120 , 122 parallel connected for controlling the output intensity , along with parallel resistors 124 , 126 , depending on the monopolar sub - mode selected . for cut the parallel resistor 126 is lowest . for hemo there is no selected parallel resistor , which sets the voltage to maximum . for cut / coag , the parallel resistor 124 is at a medium level . this inverse arrangement takes into account the fact that in the cut mode the output is on continuously , while in hemo the output is on intermittently and higher peak powers are required to maintain the average output to its peak power . this parallel arrangement allows any resistor to limit the maximum resistance and thus the maximum output voltage . there is an identical independent arrangement 128 , 130 , 132 , 134 in the bipolar mode , but the resistor values may or may not be different . any of the potentiometers 120 , 128 parallel connected can be set to minimum to bring the output down regardless of where the other resistors are set . by lowering the composite upper resistance , it reduces the output voltage since the voltage into the feedback loop is raised . the lower voltage divider 100 is represented by fixed resistors 93 , and one or two resistors series connected 97 , 99 . the resistor 97 may not be actually ground . it may be connected to the output of an op - amp ( not shown ), which is capable of driving the low resistor to at least the reference voltage of the switching regulator . this arrangement sets a minimum feedback voltage . ( it will be appreciated that the potentiometer 120 is operated by the power control 24 , and the potentiometer 128 is operated by the power control 26 . the potentiometers 122 , 130 are factory adjusted .) note that in the hemo sub - mode , the fixed parallel resistors 124 , 126 , 132 , 134 are omitted from the voltage divider 93 . for all three sub - modes , the lower voltage divider 100 is always present in the voltage divider network . thus there are two separate independent paths that are used to separately control the feedback and thus the output voltage to the power amplifier 82 . the upper resistors 120 , 128 at maximum value sets , respectively , the maximum output voltage for the separate main modes selected by the relay 112 . note that when the relay 112 contact is in its upper position , the left or monopolar branch of the voltage divider 98 is active , whereas when the relay 112 contact is in its lower position , the right or bipolar branch of the voltage divider 98 is active the lower resistors 93 , 97 , 99 can never cause the maximum voltage to be exceeded since it cannot go below ground . this configuration allows the regulator modulator to generate the waveforms for cut , cut / coag and hemo sub - modes independently in both the monopolar and bipolar main modes . the feedback is schematically represented by arrows 121 , 123 in fig2 a . while the use of the various resistors to provide a voltage divider network to control the feedback is preferred because it turns out to be relatively inexpensive and reliable , those skilled in this art may be aware of other circuit components that can perform an equivalent function and can be substituted for the voltage divider network , and these other equivalents should be considered included as part of the present invention . all timing and frequencies , other than the 4 mhz rf frequency , are derived from a conventional binary counter , oscillating at a frequency determined by its external rc circuit . the highest output frequency is the alert frequency to drive a speaker 72 whenever the unit is enabled . it also clocks a timer 78 connected as a 30 second timer ( duty cycle ). when the timer times out , its output is pulled low opening a voltage supply relay b 124 , which disables the drive for the final amplifier 82 and causes the alert tone to be interrupted at a low rate determined by the binary counter at its lowest frequency available . the binary counter and two multiplexers also make up the modulation signal generator to generate the waveforms required for coag and hemo modes and to provide the clock pulse for a programmable timer tracking the duty cycle , as described in the &# 39 ; 388 patent . briefly , as described in the &# 39 ; 388 patent , the continuously counting binary generated from the binary counter addresses the input of these two multiplexers which function as a digital / analog converter . resistors connected to outputs of multiplexers sequentially establish a series of voltage dividers . these resistors have successively lower values , a falling voltage waveform describing one half of an upside down sine wave is generated by the action of one of the multiplexers . the next lower frequency output of the binary counter is taken though an inverter to alternately enable / inhibit the action of another multiplexer . where one generates a falling portion of a half sine wave , another generates the second , rising , portion using the same resistors this results in a continuous series of half sine waves that is used for the coag function . since the required output is continuous , no special waveform is required for cut . for hemo , the output of the binary signal is connected through a logical circuit to alternately inhibit both multiplexers by setting all of their addresses to low , to ultimately generate a series of half sine waves separated by off times ( half wave rectifier ). this waveform is designed to output the actual desired output voltage independently . on - off control and selection of the primary or main mode ( monopolar or bipolar ) is effected by the fingerswitch 44 or the dual footswitches 40 , 42 . to meet the isolation requirements , a separate isolated low voltage supply is supplied to the finger switch or the dual footswitches . either of these will enable a relay and voltage regulators , which in turn enables all of the low level circuits including the driver transistor for the speaker , as well as to the led indicators and the appropriate circuitry . also , two exclusive separated relays ( not shown ) may be used to control the rf output power . one is controlled by the finger switch and monopolar mode of one footswitch , and the other is controlled by the bipolar mode of the other footswitch . therefore , only one of the two modes can be activated at any one time . this is conventional control circuitry and need not be described in greater detail . the known cut , cut / coag , and hemo sub - modes typically are : cut - cw ( full - wave rectified and filtered ) output with maximum average power ; cut / coag - full - wave rectified but unfiltered , deeply modulated , at 37 . 5 or 75 hz rate , envelope with approximately 70 % average to peak power ratio ; hemo - half - wave rectified and unfiltered , deeply modulated , at 37 . 5 or 75 hz rate , envelope with approximately 35 % average to peak power ratio . the rf power generating circuitry may also be of the well known tube - type described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 730 , 188 , whose contents are herein incorporated by reference , which is capable of generating a fully - rectified , filtered rf current for cutting , a full - wave rectified current for combining cutting and coagulation , and a half - wave rectified current for coagulation . alternatively , the rf power generating circuitry can be of the well - known solid - state type capable of generating the same kinds of waveforms . the rf circuitry , as such , is not part of the present invention , as such circuits are well - known in the prior art . what is a feature of the invention is that the rf circuitry provides the same rf frequency of operation in the 4 mhz range . in operation , the ground plate 58 is always attached to the patient , and the surgeon can perform any desired monopolar or bipolar electrosurgical procedure . when both the monopolar and bipolar handpieces are plugged into the instrument console 12 , then the desired operating conditions for each can be preset as desired . then whichever handpiece is picked up and operated by the surgeon will automatically determine which is supplied with the appropriate rf currents . thus , if the bipolar handpiece 56 is selected and the footswitch 42 activated , the bipolar handpiece will be supplied with 4 mhz currents at the power setting selected by the user . on the other hand , if the monopolar handpiece 48 or footswitch 40 is selected and the handpiece fingerswitch 44 activated , the monopolar handpiece will be supplied with 4 mhz currents at the power setting selected by the user . this operates on a first - come , first - served basis , which thus allows the surgeon to use the cut mode for cutting with the monopolar or bipolar handpiece followed with the bipolar handpiece for closing off any bleeders exposed during the cutting , as one example only . the construction of the invention , apart from the other benefits described , offers the further advantages of ready accessibility and versatility : accessibility , as the user is able to exercise either handpiece without touching anything else , simplifying greatly maintaining sterile fields ; versatility , as the adjustability from one electrosurgical mode to another mode is extremely simple ; and importantly substantially constant power output at the main modes and cutting sub - modes selected by the surgeon . while the invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments , it will be understood that modifications thereof within the principles outlined above will be evident to those skilled in the art and thus the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments but is intended to encompass such modifications . | 0 |
fig1 and 2 show schematically an apparatus for analyzing a sample . for example the apparatus is arranged for analyzing a gas phase sample , such as air , exhaled air or any other suitable gas , or a liquid or solid sample , which can be transformed into a gas phase sample . for example , the apparatus is arranged for detecting metabolic substances emanating from living cells , such as metabolic substances that can be found in exhaled air , saliva , sweat , blood and urine from humans , animals or other organisms . the apparatus is , for example , arranged for detecting , identifying , and / or quantifying substances in samples . according to one embodiment , the apparatus is arranged for detecting , identifying , and / or quantifying substances such as nitrogen oxide , urea , acetone , isoprene , carbon disulphide , etc ., which can be found in organisms suffering from diseases like gastric ulcers , asthma , diabetes , psychiatric disorders , drug abuse , stress conditions , intoxications , etc . the fig1 shows schematically a set up comprising gc ( 13 ), led uv - light source ( 6 ), light pipe ( 3 ), spectrometer ( 1 ) with a ccd detector array ( 15 ), gas distribution control and gas flow regulator ( 12 ) with a gas flow from gc colon ( 13 ) by a sample receiving device ( 14 ) through light pipe ( 3 ) enclosed in an heated body ( 9 ) where the gas to be analysed is prevented to enter the spectrometer ( 1 ) by a flow of another gas ( 11 ) through the spectrometer ( 1 ) that has an opposite direction of flow relative the gas to be analysed and a flow of gas not being the gas to be analysed that is injected through a pipe ( 8 ) in close proximity to the led uv - light source ( 6 ) between the light source ( 6 ) and the inlet ( 7 ) to the light pipe ( 3 ) through an optical fibre ( 4 ) of the gas to be analysed in order to prevent the gas to be analysed to reach the window ( 5 ) of the light source ( 6 ) and a feed back loop ( 16 ) between the ccd detector array ( 15 ) and led uv - light source ( 6 ) the controlling the photon emission of the led uv - light source ( 6 ) by modulation to maximize the signal to noise ratio of the ccd detector array ( 15 ) and thereby also the detection limit of gas by the apparatus . while certain illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in particularity , it will be understood that various other modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the appended claims . accordingly , it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the description set forth herein . additionally , although individual features may be included in different embodiments , these may possibly be combined in other ways , and the inclusion in different embodiments does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible . in addition , singular references do not exclude a plurality . the terms โ a โ, โ an โ does not preclude a plurality . reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way . the fig2 shows schematically a set up comprising gc ( 13 ), led uv - light source ( 6 ), light pipe ( 3 ), spectrometer ( 1 ) with a ccd detector array ( 15 ), gas distribution control and gas flow regulator ( 12 ) with a gas flow from gc colon ( 13 ) by a sample receiving device ( 14 ) through light pipe ( 3 ) enclosed in an heated body ( 9 ) where the gas to be analysed is prevented to enter the spectrometer ( 1 ) by a flow of another gas ( 11 ) through the spectrometer ( 1 ) that has an opposite direction of flow relative the gas to be analysed and a flow of gas not being the gas to be analysed that is injected through a pipe ( 8 ) in close proximity to the led uv - light source ( 6 ) between the light source ( 6 ) and the inlet ( 7 ) to the light pipe ( 3 ) through an optical fibre ( 4 ) of the gas to be analysed in order to prevent the gas to be analysed to reach the surface of the light source ( 6 ) and a feed back loop ( 16 ) between the ccd detector array ( 15 ) and led uv - light source ( 6 ) controlling the photon emission of the led uv - light source ( 6 ) by modulation to maximize the signal to noise ratio of the ccd detector array ( 15 ) and thereby also the detection limit of gas by the apparatus . the led ( 6 ) is in close proximity to the optical fiber ( 4 ) to allow light directly to enter without any focusing device . the led ( 6 ) itself has a very high photonic energy density , photons per area , so in close proximity to the optical fiber ( 4 ), a sufficient and substantial amount of the emitted light can enter the light conductor , like an optical fiber ( 4 ) and the led ( 6 ) has a narrow distribution angle of its light emission , so at least a part of the emitted light , in particular close to the center of the beam , to the be considered to be parallel or close to so . while certain illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in particularity , it will be understood that various other modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the appended claims . accordingly , it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the description set forth herein . additionally , although individual features may be included in different embodiments , these may possibly be combined in other ways , and the inclusion in different embodiments does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible . in addition , singular references do not exclude a plurality . the terms โ a โ and โ an โ does not preclude a plurality . reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a household electric meter unit generally shown at 10 having adapted therewith an electric meter reading unit 12 according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention coupled to sense a black spot 13 on the rotating meter disk generally shown at 14 . electric meter unit 12 has an optical sensor for detecting the passing of the back spot 13 therepast to ascertain the consumed amount of electricity correlated to the read out of the visual display 15 of meter unit 10 . fig2 is the perspective view of a water meter unit according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention generally being shown at 16 . the circular structure 18 on the top of device 16 is adapted to fasten the unit 16 onto a water meter pit lid ( not shown ) with an antenna node ( not shown ) sticking up through a hold drilled through the pit lid . referring now to fig3 there is illustrated an electrical block diagram of the electric meter unit 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention . electric meter unit 12 is seen to include a controller 20 , which may comprise of a microcontroller , a digital signal processor ( dsp ) or other suitable controlling device , preferably being a programmable integrated circuit having suitable software proramming . device 12 is further seen to include an infrared ( ir ) optical sensor 22 adapted to sense the passing of the black spot 13 of the metered disk 14 of electric meter unit 10 . optical sensor 22 preferably operates by generating pulses of light using a light emitting diode , and sensing the reflection of light from the meter disk 14 , and determining the passing of the black spot 13 by sensing a reduced reflection of the impinging light therefrom . electric meter unit 12 is further seen to include a memory device comprising an ee prom 28 storing operating parameters and control information for use by controller 20 . an ac sense module 30 is also coupled to controller 20 and senses the presence of ac power 33 being provided to the meter unit 10 via an ac interface 32 . a radio frequency ( rf ) transmitter 36 is coupled to and controlled by controller 20 , and modulates a formatted data signal provided thereto on line 38 . rf transmitter 36 modulates the formatted data signal provided thereto , preferably transmitting the modulated signal at a frequency of about 916 . 5 mhz at 9600 bits per second ( bps ), although other frequencies or data rates are suitable and limitation to this frequency or baud rate is not to be inferred . a programming optical port 40 is provided and coupled to controller 20 which permits communication between controller 20 and an external optical infrared device 42 used for programming controller 20 , and for selectively diagnosing the operation of electric meter unit 12 via the optical port 40 . optical port 40 has an ir transceiver adapted to transmit and receive infrared signals to and from the external device 42 when the external device 42 is disposed proximate the optical port 40 for communication therewith . device 42 asynchronously communicates with controller in a bi - directional manner via port 40 , preferably at 19 , 200 baud . optical sensor 22 communicates via a plurality of signals with controller 20 . optical sensor 22 provides analog voltages indicative of and corresponding to the sensed black spot of disk 24 via a pair of data lines 50 and 52 which interface with an analog to digital controller ( adc ) 54 forming a sub - portion of controller 20 . referring now to fig4 there is generally shown detailed electrical block diagram of the water meter unit 16 according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention , wherein like numerals refer to like elements to those shown in fig3 . the water meter unit 16 is substantially similar to the electric meter unit 12 in function , but having some differences necessary for operation with a household water meter unit . specifically , water meter unit 16 has an optical sensor 60 adapted to be positioned proximate a water meter face 62 having a needle 64 , which needle 64 indicates a consumed amount of water communicated through the water meter unit . optical sensor 60 senses the position of needle 64 via infrared ( ir ) sensing electronics , and provides the sensed position of needle 64 via communication link 66 to an optical sensor interface 68 . the sensed position of needle 64 is provided as a data signal comprising an analog voltage transmitted on line 70 to an adc 72 of controller 20 . in this embodiment , water meter unit 16 is provided with an internal battery 80 powering the microcontroller 20 and other circuitry , preferably being a lithium battery operating at about 3 . 6 volts . a battery voltage measuring unit 82 senses and measures the current operating voltage of battery 80 , and outputs an analog voltage signal indicative thereof on line 84 to an adc 86 of microcontroller 20 . the value of the analog voltage signal on line 84 is a function of the battery voltage of battery 80 and is about 1 . 2 volts when battery 80 is providng 3 . 6 volts . the value of the battery voltage measuring circuit is about 1 . 2v , but the perceived value by the adc is a function of the adc ref voltage , which is the battery voltage . for example , if the adc measures the 1 . 2v and it was 33 % full scale of the ref voltage ( battery voltage ), then the battery voltage would be : a low power oscillator 90 operating at about 32 khz generates a 4 hz logic interrupt signal to controller 20 , which controls the speed of controller 20 . by providing only a 4 hz interrupt signal , microcontroller 20 operates at a very slow speed , and thus consumes very little power allowing water meter unit 16 to operate at up to about 10 years without requiring replacement of lithium battery 80 . the ee prom 28 is selectively enabled by the microcontroller 20 via an enable line 96 , and once enabled , communication between the microcontroller 20 and the ee prom 28 follows an iic protocol . likewise , the battery voltage measuring device 82 is selectively enabled powered by the microcontroller 20 via a control line 98 such that the battery voltage is sensed only periodically by the controller 20 to conserve power . the optical sensor 60 is controlled by controller 20 via optical sensor interface 68 to determine the water position and presence of meter needle 64 . the sensor 60 is attached to the lens of the water meter ( not shown ). an infrared ( ir ) signal 100 is periodically transmitted from the sensor 60 , and the reflection of the ir signal is measured by the sensor 60 to determine the passage of needle 64 . the sensor 60 operates in cyclic nature where the sensing is performed every 250 milliseconds . the intensity of the ir signal transmitted by sensor 60 is controlled by two drivelines on control line 66 from the micro - controller 20 . the ir intensity is set according to the optical characteristics of the water meter face . the sensor 60 emits an intense , but short burst of ir light . the ir receiver 68 responsively generates an analog voltage on signal line 70 which voltage is a function of the received ir light intensity from optical sensor 60 . this voltage is connected directly to the adc 72 of the controller 20 . the controller 20 measures this converted ( digital ) signal , and uses the value in an algorithm that ascertains the value over time to determine if the water meter needle has passed under the sensor 60 . the algorithm also compensates for the effects of stray light . the mechanical shape of the sensor 60 and orientation of the ir devices , such as light emitting diodes , determines the optical performance of the sensor and its immunity to stray ir light . the water meter unit 16 periodically transmits a modulated formatted data signal on an rf link 110 that is preferably tuned at 916 . 5 mhz with on - off - keyed data at 9600 bits per second ( 9600 baud ). the transmitter 36 transmits the data in formatted packets or messages , as will be discussed shortly . these formatted messages are transmitted at a repetition rate that has been initialized into the unit 16 , and which may be selectively set between every one second and up to intervals of every 18 hours , and which may be changed via the optical port 40 by the programminge external optical device 42 . the formatted messages modulated by the transmitter 36 , as will be discussed shortly , contain fields including an opening flag , message length , system number , message type , data , check sum and closing flag , as will be discussed shortly in reference to fig7 . the messages are variable length , whereby the message length field indicates how long the message is . the message type field indicates how to parse or decode the data field . different messages carry and combine different data items . data items include network id , cumulative meter reading , clock time , battery voltage , sensor tamper , sensor diagnostic , and trickle flags . as previously mentioned , low power 32 khz oscillator 90 generates a 4 hz square wave output . this signal is connected to the controller 20 which causes an interrupt ever 250 milliseconds . the micro - controller uses this interrupt for clock and timing functions . in normal mode , the microcontroller is asleep and wakes up every 200 milliseconds and performs a scheduling task for about 50 milliseconds . if a task is scheduled to execute , it will execute that task and return to sleep . in normal mode , all tasks are executed within the 250 millisecond window . in the case of the optical sensor 22 of fig3 the sensor 22 is attached to the electric meter such that the sensor faces the metered disk surface . the ir signal is periodically transmitted from the sensor and the reflection is measured . as the black spot passes under the sensor , a variation in the reflected ir signal occurs . the sensor operates in cyclic nature where the sensing is performed every 33 milliseconds . the ir receiver of sensor 22 generates analog voltages on lines 50 and 52 that is a function of the received ir light intensity and are connected to the adc 72 in the microcontroller 20 . the controller 20 measures this converted ( digitized ) voltage , and used the value in the algorithm . the algorithm senses the values over time to determine if the black spot has passed under the sensor . to detect reverse rotation of the metered disk , the sensor 22 has two sensors , as shown . the controller 22 , with its algorithm , determines the direction of disk rotation as the black spot passes the sensor 22 . the black spot is a decal and does not reflect ir light . this is determined by the decal &# 39 ; s material , color and surface texture . as with the water meter , the algorithm and sensor shrouding compensate for the effects of stray light . the ac line interface 32 interfaces to the ac line coupled to the electric meter through a resistive tap . the resistors limit the current draw from the ac line to the electric meter unit 12 . the ac is then rectified and regulated to power the unit 12 . the ac sensor 30 detects the presence of ac voltage on the ac line 33 . the sensed ac is rectified and a pulse is generated by sensor 30 . this pulse is provided to the micro - controller 20 where it is processed to determine the presence of adequate ac power . referring now to fig5 there is shown a waveform diagram of the signals exchanged between the optical sensor 22 and the controller 20 of the electric meter unit 12 shown in fig3 . the logic signals generated by controller 20 control the optical sensor 22 to responsively generate an ir signal and sense a refracted ir signal from the metered disk 24 . it can be seen that the reflected 0 . 3 millisecond ir signal is acquired within 1 . 3 milliseconds after enabling for sensing by adc 54 and processed by controller 20 . preferably , this measuring sequence is performed every 33 milliseconds , which periodic rate can be programmed via optical port 40 if desired . referring now to fig6 there is shown the timing diagram of the signals between optical sensor 68 and controller 20 for water meter unit 16 of fig4 . the logic of the driving signals is shown below in table 1 . as shown in the timing diagram of fig6 the analog signal provided on line 70 by optical sensor 68 rises to an accurate readable voltage in about 140 milliseconds , and has a signal width of about 270 milliseconds . the period of the analog voltage is about 250 milliseconds , corresponding to a signal acquisition rate of 4 hz corresponding to the timing frequency provided on line 92 to controller 20 . referring now to fig7 there is shown the message format of the data signal provided by controller 20 on output line 38 to rf transmitter 36 . the message is generally shown at 120 and is seen to have several fields including : further seen is the data format of one byte of data having one start bit and 8 bits of data non - returned to zero ( nrz ) and one stop - bit . the length of each byte is preferably 1 . 04 milliseconds in length . referring now to fig8 there is illustrated the message format and timing sequence of messages generated between the external optical timing device 42 and microcontroller 20 via optical port 40 . as shown in fig8 a plurality of synchronization bytes are provided by device 42 on the receive data ( rxd ) line to controller 20 , and upon the recognition of the several bytes by controller 20 , the controller 20 generates a response message to the wake - up message on the transmit data ( txd ) line via optical port 40 to the external device 42 . thereafter , shown in fig9 a command data message may be provided by the external device 42 to controller 20 on receive data line rxd , with response data , if required , being responsively returned on the transmit data line txd to device 42 if required by the command . as shown in fig1 , a sleep command is then generated by external device 42 upon which no response by controller 20 is generated and the unit 12 goes to sleep . as shown in fig1 , after a command has been sent to controller 20 , and responded to , the unit 12 will time out after a predetermined period of time if no other commands are received , such as 120 seconds , with a message being sent by controller 20 on transmit line txd indicating to the external device 42 that the unit 12 has gone to sleep . the message sequence shown in fig8 - 11 applies equally to both the electric unit 12 and the water unit 16 . referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated the 4 hz square wave interrupt signal generated by the low power oscillator 90 to the microcontroller 20 . referring to fig1 , there is illustrated the timing of communications between the ee prom 28 and the controller 20 , whereby the ee prom is enabled by a logic one signal on line 96 , with bi - directional data being transferred using an iic link on lines scl , and lines sda . this applies to both the water unit 16 and the electric unit 12 . referring to fig1 , there is illustrated the timing diagram for sensing the internal battery voltage in the water meter unit 16 shown in fig4 . a logic high signal is generated on enable line 98 by controller 20 , whereby the battery measuring unit 82 responsively senses the battery voltage via line 130 from dc battery 80 . battery measuring unit 82 responsively provides an analog voltage signal on line 84 indicative of the voltage of battery 80 to the adc 86 of controller 20 . the analog voltage provided on signal line 84 is approximately 1 . 2 volts when the battery 80 is at full strength , being about 3 . 6 volts . referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated a detailed schematic diagram of the electric meter unit 12 , wherein like numerals shown in fig3 refer to like elements . referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a detailed schematic diagram of the water meter unit 16 , shown in fig4 wherein like numerals refer to like elements . referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated a detailed schematic diagram of an external receiver unit adapted to receive and intelligently decode the modulated formatted data signals provided on rf carrier 110 by the rf transmitter 36 . this receiver 140 both demodulates the rf carrier , preferably operating at 916 . 5 mhz , at 9600 baud , and decodes the demodulated signal to ascertain the data in the fields of message 120 shown in fig7 . this receiver unit 140 has memory for recording all data collected from the particular sensored units being monitored by a field operator driving or walking in close proximity to the particular measuring unit , whether it be a water meter , gas meter or electric meter , depending on the particular meter being sensed and sampled . all this data is later downloaded into remote computers for ultimate billing to the customers , by rf carrier or other communication means . in a preferred embodiment , the rf carrier 110 is generated at about 1 milliwatt , allowing for receiver 140 to ascertain the modulated data signal at a range of about 1 , 000 feet depending on rf path loss . the rf transmitters 36 are low power transmitters operating in microburst fashion operating under part 15 of the fcc rules . the receiver 140 does not have transmitting capabilities . the receiver is preferably coupled to a hand held computer ( not shown ) carried by the utility meter reader who is walking or driving by the meter location . in the case of the electric meter unit 12 , the device obtains electrical power to operate from the utility side of the power line to the meter and is installed within the glass globe of the meter . the main circuit board of this device doubles as a mounting bracket and contains a number of predrilled holes to accommodate screws to attach to various threaded bosses present in most electric meters . in the case of the water meter , electric power is derived from the internal lithium battery . the water meter unit 12 resides under the pit lid of the water meter unit , whereby the antenna 142 is adapted to stick out the top of the pit lid through a pit lid opening to facilitate effective rf transmission of the rf signal to the remote receiver 140 . the present invention derives technical advantages by transmitting meter unit information without requiring elaborate polling methodology employed in conventional mobile data collection units . the meter units can be programmed when installed on the meter device , in the case of the water and gas meters , or when installed in the electric meter . the external programming diagnostic device 42 can communicate with the optical port 40 of the units via infrared technology , and thus eliminates a mechanical connection that would be difficult to keep clean in an outdoor environment . also , the optical port 40 of the present invention is not subject to wear and tear like a mechanical connection , and allows communication through the glass globe of an electric meter without having to remove the meter or disassemble it . in the case of the electric meter , the present invention eliminates a potential leakage point in the electric meter unit and therefore allows a more watertight enclosure . the transmitting meter units of the present invention can be programmed by the utility to transmit at predetermined intervals , determined and selected to be once ever second to up to several hours between transmissions . each unit has memory 28 to accommodate the storage of usage profile data , which is defined as a collection of meter readings at selected intervals . for example , the unit can be programmed to gather interval meter readings ever hour . if the unit is set to record interval readings every hour , the memory 28 may hold the most recent 72 days worth of interval data . this interval data constitutes the usage profile for that service point . typically , the utility uses this information to answer customer complaints about billings and reading and as a basis for load research studies . the profile intervals are set independently of the transmitting interval and the device does not broadcast the interval data . the only way this interval data can be retrieved by the utility is to attach the programming unit 42 to the meter unit of the present invention and download the file to a handheld or laptop computer . with the programming unit 42 , one can determine the status of the battery on the water meter which is including in the profile data . the present invention allows one to selectively set the transmission intervals thereby controlling the battery life . the longer the interval , the longer the battery life . in the case of electric meter unit , power is derived directly from the utility side of the electric service to the meter . the battery on the water meter unit is not intended to be field replaceable . in order to control cost , the water meter product is designed to be as simple as possible with the water meter unit enclosure being factory sealed to preserve the watertight integrity of the device . preferably , a d size lithium cell is provided , and the unit is set to transmit once every second , providing a battery life of about 10 years . the water meter unit of the present invention can be fitted to virtually any water meter in the field and the utility can reap the benefits of the present invention without having to purchase a competitor &# 39 ; s proprietary encoder and software . in the case of existing water meters that incorporate an encoder which senses the rotation of the water meter , these encoders incorporate wire attachments points that allow attachments to the manufactures proprietary amr device . the present invention derives advantages whereby the sensor 60 of the present invention can be eliminated , with the sensor cable 66 being coupled directly to the terminals on the encoder of this type of device . though the invention has been described with respect to a specific preferred embodiment , many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the present application . it is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications . | 6 |
hereinafter , exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a configuration diagram of an address translation system for a flash memory device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . a computing system 100 includes a storage client 110 , a logical address space 120 , a flash memory system 130 , and a memory 140 . herein , the storage client 110 includes an operating system 111 , a file system 112 , a database 113 , and a logical volume manager 114 . in addition , the flash memory system 130 includes a flash memory manager 131 , an address translation module 132 , a physical address space 133 , and a flash memory device 150 . the flash memory device 150 includes an internal memory 151 , a flash memory media control unit 152 , and a flash memory media 160 . in the flash memory system 130 , a region including the flash memory manager 131 , the address translation module 132 , the physical address space 133 , the internal memory 151 , and the flash memory media control unit 152 may be collectively called a flash memory control unit 170 . the computing system 100 may include a server , a personal computer , a mobile device , and the like . in addition , the various storage clients 110 including an operating system 111 , a file system 112 , a database 113 , and a logical volume manager 114 are operated and the flash memory system 130 is used as a storage . the storage clients 110 may be present in the system including the flash memory system 130 or may be connected through a network outside the computing system 100 . further , the flash memory system 130 may be directly connected to the computing system 100 including the storage clients 110 or may be connected to the computing system 100 through the network . the computing system 100 includes a memory 140 which may be used by internal programs . the memory 140 may be a volatile or nonvolatile memory , and may include an sram , a dram , a magnetic resistance ( mram ), an nram , a phase - change random access memory ( pram ), a nand flash , or a nor flash , and is not particularly limited to the aforementioned memory type . an independent logical address space 120 is provided between the storage client 110 and the flash memory system 130 . in addition , an independent physical address space 133 is provided in the flash memory system 130 . the physical address space 133 is managed by the flash memory manager 131 and the address translation module 132 . the flash memory manager 131 controls the flash memory device 150 . the flash memory manager 131 provides the logical address space 120 to the storage clients 110 according to a control by the address translation module 132 . the address translation module 132 takes charge of translation between the logical address space 120 which the flash memory system 130 provides to the outside and the physical address space 133 which is internally used . in this case , the address translation module 132 may be included as a part of the flash memory manager 131 . the flash memory manager 131 and the address translation module 132 manage metadata for translation and mapping between the logical address and the physical address . in this case , the metadata may be managed by an internal memory 151 in the flash memory system 130 or a memory 140 outside the flash memory system 130 . the flash memory device 150 includes a plurality of flash memory media 160 . in addition , the flash memory media control unit 152 controls the flash memory media 160 . the flash memory media control unit 152 manages one or more flash memory media 160 . further , the flash memory device 150 provides the physical address space 133 to the outside . herein , the flash memory media 160 may be a nand flash memory . in addition , the internal memory 151 may be used in the flash memory media control unit 152 or the address translation module 132 . fig2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the physical address space 133 of fig1 . the physical address space 133 is generally divided into three regions to be managed . that is , the physical address space 133 is divided into a check point region 210 , a data region 220 , and a metadata log region 230 to be managed . one block may further be positioned as a super block in front of the check point region 210 , and a total flash memory size , the number of check point region blocks , and the like may be additionally managed therein . the data region 220 as a space for writing or extracting data requested by the storage clients 110 stores data used by the storage clients 110 . when the flash memory system 130 receives a request for writing a new data page from the storage clients 110 , the flash memory system 130 allocates a space for writing the corresponding data page in the physical address space 133 . in this case , in the space allocation , an empty page is allocated in the physical address space 133 so as to sequentially use all flash memories . therefore , wear - leveling is performed . as one example , the physical address space is allocated starting from page no . 0 in a direction where a page number is gradually increased . through such a process , whenever the storage clients request writing operations with same logical address , the logical address is changed to a new physical address . the flash memory system 130 needs to manage a relationship between the logical address and the physical address changed through such a process . the flash memory system 130 manages mapping which is the relationship between the logical address and the physical address through the flash memory manager 131 and the address translation module 132 . the flash memory system 130 manages logical - to - physical address mapping in order to rapidly process a service requested to the flash memory system 130 by the storage clients 110 . the flash memory system 130 manages also physical - to - logical address mapping for rapid garbage collection when there is no empty unused block or unused page . when there is no physical - to - logical address mapping information , all logical - to - physical address mapping information needs to be read once or more times for the garbage collection . the mapping information is generally present in the internal memory 151 of the flash memory device 151 or the memory 140 positioned in the computing system 100 for a rapid mapping operation . there are a lot of cases in which the volatile memory is used as those memories 151 and 140 . when the volatile memory is used , the mapping information may disappear upon restarting due to turn - off of a system power supply or occurrence of a problem . under such a situation , in order to restore the mapping information , the flash memory system 130 writes the mapping information into the flash memory device 150 periodically or when an event such as a user request , or the like occurs . this is called a checkpointing operation . the mapping information is written into the data region in the checkpointing operation , and as a result , the wear - leveling may be performed similarly as general data . a writing position of the mapping information by the checkpointing operation is managed by the check point region 210 in the physical address space 133 of the flash memory . as one exemplary embodiment , when data which is written last is present in a 100 - th page , the mapping information is written from a 101 - th page and 101 which is the start page is written in the check point region 210 . the check point region 210 is also continuously updated at the same position . then , a problem of wear - out in which the life is expired within a shorter time than other data occurs . in order to solve the problem , one or more blocks are fixed in advance and allocated to the check point region 210 in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention . since one block is configured of hundreds of pages or more , the mapping information is written while the pages are sequentially circulated in a circular shape every checkpointing operation of the mapping information . a sequence number is written together with the writing position of the mapping information in order to find a last checkpointing position in restarting . when the system restarts , all of the pages are read in the predetermined check point region and the sequence number is compared to find the position of the mapping information stored last through a latest sequence number . the number of blocks allocated for the check point region 210 may be configured by user designation or automatically by the system . in this case , a cycle of the checkpointing operation may be adjusted so that the check point region 210 has the same life - span as the general data region 220 . that is , a value acquired by dividing the number of all pages of the flash memory system 130 by the number of pages which are present in the check point region 210 becomes a check pointing cycle . herein , the check pointing cycle is the number of writing pages in the flash memory system 130 . as one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , it is assumed that one block of the flash memory is constituted by 256 pages , the size of each page is 4 kb , and the size of the entire flash device is 1 tb . in addition , it is assumed that one block is allocated to the check point region 210 . then , the number of all pages is 1024 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 /( 4 * 1024 )= 256 * 1024 * 1024 . since one block is constituted by 256 pages , 256 pages are present in the check point region 210 . therefore , the cycle of checkpointing operation is 256 * 1024 * 1024 / 256 = 1024 * 1024 , and thus if the checkpointing operation is performed whenever 1024 * 1024 pages are written , then both checkpointing region and data region have same number of writing operations . in other words , the same level of wear - leveling for the data region 220 and the check point region 210 is achieved . as described in the example , the flash memory system 130 may perform the checkpointing operation of the mapping information based on a relationship between the size of the check point region 210 and the checkpointing operation cycle . meanwhile , when there is a request for writing in the new data page after the checkpointing operation , new mapping information is continuously updated . however , the information is present in only the volatile memories 140 and 151 . in this state , when the system is interrupted , the mapping information after the checkpointing operation disappears , and as a result , recovery is impossible . in order to solve the problem , in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , whenever the data is requested to be written in the data page , mapping information associated with the corresponding request is written in the metadata log region 230 in a log fashion . the metadata log region 230 is used in a log structure format while being circulated in a circular shape similarly as the check point region 210 . meanwhile , in general , in the case of the flash memory , only page - unit writing is supported . further , the size of a mapping information entry for one data page is relatively smaller than the page size . in this point , a plurality of mapping information entries may be written in the page of the metadata log region 230 . accordingly , in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the mapping information entries are collected in a separate space until the mapping information entries are collected to reach one page size in order to reduce the waste of a storage space of the metadata log region 230 . when the collected mapping information entries reach one page size , the corresponding page is written in the metadata log region 230 . a region where the mapping information entries are collected until the mapping information entries reach one page size is a metadata log packing block , which will be described below . when the mapping information entries collected in the log packing block reach one page size and thereafter , the corresponding mapping information entries are written in the metadata log region 230 as one page , the corresponding log packing block is invalidated so that the garbage is collected by a garbage collector . the size of the metadata log region 230 is determined by an equation below for same - level of wear - leveling with the data region 220 , that is , for assuring the same life - span . size of metadata log region =( the number of data region pages )*( 1 /( the number of mapping information entries per flash page )) herein , the number of mapping information entries per flash page is determined by the page size and the size of the mapping information entry . an aspect of the mapping information entry will be described below . in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the size of metadata log region may further be dynamically controlled according to a use situation of the flash memory system 130 as described below in order to reduce the size of the metadata log region 230 . that is , not all pages but data pages which are free or in an unused state or in an invalid state while being overwritten in other pages due to an update necessity after being recorded are subjected to the wear - leveling in the data region 220 . accordingly , the metadata log region 230 uses the number of pages which are free or invalid within the data region instead of the number of data region pages in calculating the size of the metadata log region in order for the metadata log region 230 to perform the same wear - leveling as the data region 220 . therefore , the size of the metadata log region 230 may be further reduced . under a situation in which only a part of the flash memory system 130 is used , the size of the metadata log region 230 is allocated to be relatively large . thereafter , as the flash memory system 130 is more and more used , the metadata log region 230 is gradually decreased , and as a result , the flash memory system 130 may provide more storage space to the storage clients 110 . the minimum size of the metadata log region 230 is the number of pages determined by the cycle of the checkpointing operation determined according to the number of blocks allocated to the check point region 210 . this assures that at least one checkpointing operation is performed before all pages within the metadata log region 230 is used once and thus the metadata log region 230 is reused again . fig3 is a configuration diagram of the log packing block 300 in the data region 220 mentioned in fig2 . the log packing block 300 is used by allocating one block of which the entirety is empty in a similar method as general data in the data region 220 . the position of the log packing block 300 is continuously changed in the data region 220 with time . since all flash memory spaces are used in a sequential method in a direction in which the physical address increases , an empty block may be easily found . from this , the log packing block 300 may have same level of wear - leveling as the general data . the position of the log packing block 300 is managed through the mapping information similarly as a storage position of the general data . hereinafter , this point is mentioned in more detail when the structure of the mapping information is described below . the flash memory media 160 in the flash memory system 130 are produced to have by - channel parallelism and in - channel parallelism . therefore , by considering this point , a block which is positioned at a location separated from a page in which the general data is written may be selected as the log packing block 300 in the data region 220 . the log packing block 300 writes only one mapping information entry 320 in each page 310 of the corresponding block . when entries ( alternatively , pages of a corresponding number ) of a predetermined number ( the number of mapping information entries per page ) are collected in the log packing block 300 , a new log packing block 300 is allocated and the corresponding mapping information entries 320 are collected to form one page 310 to be written in the metadata log region 230 . when writing data in the metadata log region 230 is completed , the previous log packing block 300 becomes invalid . in addition , the previous log packing block 300 becomes an unused block immediately or afterwards by the garbage collection operation . herein , in allocation of the log packing block 300 , several extra blocks may be allocated in advance to be managed for improving performance . fig4 illustrates a structure of each mapping information entry 400 stored in the metadata log region 230 and the log packing block 300 . the mapping information entry 400 includes a physical address page number 410 associated with the corresponding mapping information , state information 420 of a corresponding physical page , a logical address page number 430 corresponding to a corresponding physical address , and a sequence number 440 corresponding to a corresponding mapping entry . when the storage clients 110 requests to write data providing the logical address , the flash memory system 130 allocates a new physical page and the corresponding mapping information entry 400 is written . besides , in every case in which new mapping is required , which include invalidating of a physical page , a garbage collection operation , a block erase operation , allocation of the log packing block 300 , and the like , the mapping information entry is written . the physical address page number 410 and the logical address page number 430 set a relationship between the physical address and the logical address for the corresponding operation . the state information 420 of the physical page indicates a state of the corresponding physical page and as a representative state , unused or free , used , invalid type information is written . besides , various state information may be stored together . the sequence number 440 represents a sequence of various operations performed by the flash memory system 130 . the flash memory system 130 may maintain an accurate operation result even under a multi - processor or multi thread environment through the sequence number 440 . a sequence number of the checkpointing region 210 and a sequence number in the mapping information are also used to recover various information . as the logical address page number 430 which is associated with the log packing block 300 , a special number is used . as one embodiment , as the logical address page number 430 , โ 0xfffffffff . . . fff โ may be used . as one exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the physical address page number 410 may adopt 7 bytes ( 56 bits ), the physical page state information 420 may adopt 1 byte , the logical address page number 430 may adopt 8 bytes ( 64 bits ), and the sequence number 440 may adopt 4 bytes ( 32 bits ). in this case , since the logical address page number 430 is 8 bytes , the logical address page number 430 may cover all address spaces which may be expressed in a 64 bit system . on the contrary , since a storage space provided by the actual flash memory system 130 is limited , the logical address page number 430 may be used as a sparse address space . however , a data size of the mapping information entry 400 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto , but may be variously modified and herein , is presented as one example . fig5 is a diagram illustrating a structure of the mapping information 500 in the mapping information entry 320 of fig3 . the mapping information 500 is stored in the memory 140 of the computing system 100 or the internal memory 151 of the flash memory device 150 in order to rapidly perform the mapping operation between the logical address and the physical address . further , the mapping information 500 is written in the flash memory media 160 in the checkpointing operation . the amount of the mapping information 500 increases as the storage space provided by the flash memory system 130 increases . accordingly , some of the mapping information 500 may be loaded on the memory 140 or 151 or written in the flash memory media 160 as necessary according to the size of the memory 140 or 151 . a mapping information index 550 in the mapping information 500 may be used in two types . in a first type , the logical address is translated into the physical address when the storage clients 110 provide the logical address while requesting the operation to the flash memory system 130 . in this case , a corresponding index number becomes a logical address page number 530 . in this case , an address translation result of the logical address to the physical address is the physical address page number 510 in an entry 501 corresponding to a logical page number with the index number 550 in the mapping information 500 . in a second type , a state of the physical page storing previous data intends to be invalid by a request for overwriting data or the state of physical page intends to be checked based on a specific physical address for the garbage collection . in this case , the corresponding index number 550 becomes the physical address page number 510 . an operation of changing or reading the state information of the physical page in the mapping entry 501 indicated by the corresponding physical address page number 510 is performed . further , the logical address page number 530 in the corresponding entry is a logical page number corresponding to the corresponding physical page . the description in the present invention is one exemplary embodiment and as another exemplary embodiment , information ( the physical address page number 510 and the sequence number 540 ) for logical address to physical address translation and information ( the state information 520 of the physical page and the logical address page number 530 ) for physical address to physical address state information may be separately managed . the physical address - physical address state information may be very usefully used , in particular , when the garbage collector will find a block in which the number of invalid pages in the block is large . that is , when the physical address - physical address state information is not maintained but only the physical address mapped to the logical address and a state are managed , all corresponding information needs to be scanned once or more in order to find a physical block including an invalid page in the garbage collection . however , when the physical address - physical address state information is managed , information is written according to the order of the physical addresses , and as a result , a desired physical block may be found while sequentially reading the physical blocks . fig6 is a diagram illustrating a physical block management structure 600 depending on the number of invalid pages in a block in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the structure of fig6 may be stored in the memory 140 or 151 in the computing system 100 in order to more rapidly find a block which is a target of the garbage collection . the physical block management structure 600 depending on the number of invalid pages in the block includes link information arrays 610 as many as the number of pages in the block + 1 . an index number of each array item represents the number of invalid pages . in each array item , a link 620 indicating a node 630 constituted by a physical block number and link information is set . when there is no physical block corresponding to a corresponding array item , it is set as null . by such a method , blocks having invalid pages of a specific number are connected to each other through the link 620 . when the garbage collection is required , through such a structure , the garbage collection may be performed from a block having the larger number of invalid pages in the reverse order of the index , thereby increasing efficiency . meanwhile , the physical block management structure 600 may be configured by scanning the mapping information 500 once when driving the flash memory system 130 and is continuously updated and maintained while operating the system . fig7 illustrates a structure of a check point entry 700 managed for each page in the check point region 210 of fig2 . the check point entry 700 includes a checkpointing sequence number 710 , a current page number 720 , a current log page number 730 , and one or more mapping information storage page numbers 740 in flash memories storing the mapping information 500 in the checkpointing operation . when new checkpointing is started , unused or free page ( s ) for storing the mapping information 500 managed in the memory 140 or 151 are allocated . in addition , the mapping information 500 is written in the allocated page ( s ). in this case , in the allocation of the page , the required number of consecutive pages may be received in the data region 220 at once or the pages may be allocated one by one . when the pages are allocated at once , only one mapping information storage page number 740 of fig7 may be stored . as one exemplary embodiment , a logical address of the corresponding physical page may adopt โ 0xffffffff . . . ff โ 1 โ as a special number in a mapping information entry for the pages allocated for storing the mapping information 500 by the checkpointing operation . the current page number 720 is a page number to be used when data writing is requested in the data region 220 . the current log page number 730 is a page number representing a position where a log page is to be written in the metadata log region 230 . fig8 is a flowchart describing an initial mapping information configuring process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig8 , the flash memory system 130 reads the check point region 210 and finds an entry having a latest sequence number in order to store the mapping information in the memory ( s 801 ). thereafter , when a latest entry is found , page information storing the mapping information is read from corresponding entry information and a corresponding page content is read to configure primary mapping information ( s 802 ). next , the current log page number 730 is read from a latest check point entry in order to reflect mapping information changed after the checkpointing operation is started . in addition , the mapping information is changed until reaching the latest sequence number while reading a corresponding mapping information log page ( s 803 ). subsequently , a corresponding block is read by finding the position of the log packing block 300 in mapping information configured up to now in order to find mapping information which remains in the log packing block 300 because a mapping information change content may not fill one page . in addition , by reflecting the corresponding mapping information ( s 804 ) by comparing the sequence numbers , the flash memory stores all mapping information at a previous stop time . fig9 is a flowchart describing a process of configuring the physical block management structure of fig6 . referring to fig9 , current mapping information in the memory is read sequentially from a first entry based on the physical address ( that is , by using the physical page number as the index ) ( s 901 ). for entries as many as pages which may be present in the block , physical page state information in each entry is read and the number of invalid pages is counted ( s 902 ). after the entries are read as many as the pages which may be present in the block , corresponding physical block information is inserted into an item of the link information array 610 of the physical block management structure 600 corresponding to the number of invalidation pages . such a process is performed while reading up to the end of the mapping information to complete management of the physical block . fig1 is a flowchart describing a processing process in the case where storage clients 110 request a storage service ( in particular , write or update ) while providing a logical address to a flash memory system 130 . referring to fig1 , first , data which is requested to be serviced is written in the current page number 730 ( s 1001 ). if the current page number 730 is an invalid number , there is no space in the flash memory , and as a result , an error notifying there is no space is returned . it is checked whether there is an unused page in a block to which a currently written page belongs after data is written ( s 1002 ). if the unused page is present , the current page number 730 is increased by 1 ( s 1003 ). on the contrary , if there is no unused page , it is checked whether there is a new unused block . in this case , if there is an unused block , one unused block is selected by considering that the unused block is used in fashion that the block number ( alternatively , the page number ) increases and the current page number 730 is set as a first page number in the corresponding block . on the contrary , if there is no unused block , calls garbage collector to reset invalidated blocks into unused blocks , and then checks whether there is any idle unused blocks again . if there is an unused block , the current page number 730 is set according to the aforementioned method and if there is no unused block , an invalid number ( for example , 0xffffffffff . . . ffff โ 2 ) is set as the current page number ( s 1004 ). in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , step s 1004 is constituted by one step due to a spatial limit , but step s 1004 may be actually constituted by various steps . thereafter , the mapping information entry 320 is written in the current page of the log packing block 300 in order to write the mapping information changed in the operation for writing the data ( s 1005 ). then , it is determined whether the mapping information entries 320 in the log packing block 300 reach the number of mapping information entries 320 to constitute one page ( s 1006 ). the corresponding determination may distinguish whether the current page number 730 reaches the number of mapping entries which may be written in one page . when one page may be constituted in step s 1006 , the log packing block 300 is allocated for next operation and the current page number 730 is set as the first page number of the new log packing block 300 ( s 1007 ). as yet another exemplary embodiment , when two or more log packing blocks 300 are allocated , a first block among unused log packing blocks 300 is subjected to allocation . thereafter , the mapping information entries 320 in the existing log packing block 300 are integrated to configure one page size and thereafter , written at a current page position of the metadata log region 230 ( s 1008 ). in addition , pages in the existing log packing block 300 are invalidated and the current page number 730 of the metadata log region 230 is increased by 1 ( s 1009 ). in this case , pages in the metadata log region 230 may be used in a circulation pattern . when the mapping information entries 320 do not constitute one page in the determination step s 1006 , the current page number in the log packing block 300 is increased by 1 ( s 1011 ). thereafter , it is checked whether physical address mapping information to a given logical address has already been present in order to determine whether the data writing request of the storage client 110 is updating the existing data ( s 1012 ). as a checking result , when the data writing request is not the updating , changing the mapping information is not required any longer , and as a result , the mapping information on the data writing page is changed to be reflected to the mapping information maintained in the memory ( s 1013 ). if the data writing request is updating the existing data as the checking result , invalidation information is written in the current page of the log packing block 300 in order to write invalidation information on the existing page ( s 1012 ). in addition , after performing a step ( lpb step ) of further performing the work depending on whether the information in the log packing block 300 configures one page , the mapping information maintained in the memory is changed ( s 1013 ). in the step of changing the mapping information in the memory ( s 1013 ), the mapping information includes mapping information by writing new data , log packing block allocation and invalidation information , and existing data page invalidation information . fig1 is a flowchart describing a step of performing garbage collection in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the process of collecting the garbage according to the exemplary embodiment of fig1 may be performed by using the physical block management structure 600 illustrated in fig6 . first , in the physical block management structure 600 , the items of the link information array 610 is retrieved in the reverse order , that is , from an item having the larger number of invalidation pages ( s 1101 ). a valid page list in the corresponding block is attained by using a physical address of mapping information in a memory for a physical block which is first found as the index ( s 1102 ). the attained valid page ( s ) is ( are ) copied to a new unused page ( s 1103 ). in this case , corresponding mapping information changes are written in the log packing block 300 . when the movement is completed , the corresponding physical block is erased , and as a result , the corresponding block is erased from the physical block management structure 600 and thereafter , added to item entry no . 0 ( s 1104 ). if it is judged whether the unused blocks reaches a predetermined desired level ( s 1105 ), the operation is stopped and if not , the process returns to step s 1101 to continuously perform the garbage collecting operation . the garbage collecting process may be periodically performed independently from other works . further , the number of unused blocks may be designated to be at a predetermined level depending on the system . further , the number of unused blocks may be dynamically adjusted according to a situation of the system . in the above description , efficient address translation for the flash memory device 150 has been described . meanwhile , at present , a plurality of companies provides various types of flash memory devices or systems . the respective flash memory devices provide the storage service by using different address translation methods . as a result , different types of flash memory devices provide different performances , stabilities , and life - span levels . in yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the aforementioned address translation method is applied to the existing flash memory devices to improve characteristics such as the performance , the stability , and the life - span . in more detail , a logical address space which the existing flash memory device provides through an address translation method by itself is handled as the physical address handled in the aforementioned address translation method of the present invention and a new virtual driver is added to the existing flash memory device to provide a new logical address . therefore , yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further improve the performance , the stability , and the life - span of the existing flash memory device . the existing logical volume manager serves to provide one large logical storage device ( also referred to as a logical volume ) by collecting two or more storage devices by applying various redundant array of inexpensive disks ( raids ) levels according to the usage . however , if two or more respective devices constituting one large logical volume have different performances , stabilities , and life - spans , a plurality of problems may occur in using the corresponding logical volume . in order to solve such a problem , yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention performs 2 - stage address translation through the virtual driver to improve the performance , stabilities , and life - spans of the respective storage devices constituting the logical volume to be similar to each other . meanwhile , fig1 is a configuration diagram of a system for address translation for a flash memory device according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the exemplary embodiment of fig1 provides a virtual device driver through the 2 - stage address translation . fig1 additionally includes a first logical address space 1200 , a second logical address space 1220 , and a virtual driver 1210 as compared with the configuration of fig1 . the logical address space 120 of fig1 becomes the first logical address space 1200 in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 . the first logical address space 1200 is a logical address space which the flash memory device 150 or the flash memory system 130 provides to the outside through the address translation process . the virtual driver 1210 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention translates the first logical address space 1200 to a new second logical address by applying the address translation method of the present invention to provide the second logical address to the storage clients 110 . in this case , the virtual driver regards the first logical address space 1200 as the physical address . therefore , the virtual driver 1210 may further enhance characteristics such as performance , stability , and life - span of the flash memory device 150 or the flash memory system 130 . meanwhile , in the address translation process through the virtual driver 1210 , the first logical address space 1200 has a different characteristic from the physical address space 133 handled in the address translation method of the present invention described above . that is , since the corresponding first logical address space 1200 is not the physical space of the flash memory , the erase operation may not be performed . instead , a trim command to notify that a current page is an invalidated page may be used so as for the flash memory device 150 or the flash memory system 130 to perform the erase operation . by considering this point , the 2 - stage address translation process through the virtual driver 1210 which is yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be provided by modifying the basic address translation process described above into a method described below . that is , when a specific page is invalidated , in order to notify the invalidation of the specific page to the flash memory system 130 , transmits a trim command for the corresponding page to the flash memory system 130 so as to perform the erase operation afterwards . herein , different methods may be provided depending on the time of transmitting the trim command . in a first method , the trim command is transmitted immediately whenever the page is invalidated . in this case , since the trim command needs not to be transmitted afterwards , the mapping information index 550 in the mapping information 500 of fig5 need not to be retrieved based on the physical address of the first logical address space 1200 . therefore , the state information 520 of the physical page and the logical address page number 530 may be removed from the entry structure of the mapping information 500 of fig5 . since information on the number of invalidation pages for each physical block in the first logical address space 1200 is not required , the physical block management structure 600 of fig6 needs not to be maintained . further , the garbage collection work is also removed . however , in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 , a list of unused pages needs to be maintained in order to find an unused page more easily when a new page is needed . one exemplary embodiment of the list of the unused pages may be maintained in a format to connect page numbers in a link structure . in a second method , the trim command is performed at once by collecting the corresponding pages afterwards instead of performing the trim command whenever the page is invalidated . this case is a method of the same type as the garbage collection in the basic address translation method . however , both methods are different from each other only in that the trim command for each page is performed instead of the erase operation for each block . if the flash memory system 130 to be applied supports not block - level address translation but page - level address translation , the 2 - stage address translation method may be modified to enhance further with the page - level address translation . if the flash memory system 130 provides the page - level address translation , the page in the first logical address space 1200 is not an actual physical flash memory page , and as a result , multiple writing is available in the page . that is , in the case of a block - level address translation flash , a change in the page influences entire block , and thus makes the flash performance to be degraded . on the contrary , in the case of a page - level address translation flash , since overwriting is performed by allocating a new page , only a corresponding page is influenced . accordingly , the log packing block 300 of fig3 in the basic address translation process presented in the present invention may be removed . meanwhile , in yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the logical volume manager that configures and provides one logical volume by collecting two or more different flash memory devices may apply the basic address translation method directly with one stage instead of applying the 2 - stage address translation method to provide the logical volume . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 a face panel p is shown therein secured to the face of an earthen formation e by the inventive connector of the present invention , designated in its entirety by the letter c . the face panel p is formed of precast reinforced concrete and has u - shaped steel loops 10 embedded therein and extending from its rearward surface 12 . the loops are arranged in generally vertically aligned pairs , as may be seen in fig2 . the manner in which the loops are anchored within the panel may correspond to that of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 993 , 879 . a butterfly wing - shaped connection bar 14 fabricated of one half inch steel stock is engaged with and extends rearwardly from the panel p . the bar comprises : aligned leg portions 16 and 18 extensible through the loops 10 ( as may be seen from the arrow lines in fig2 the leg portions 16 , 18 are slid into engagement with the loops 10 from one side . once so positioned , the bar is hinged to the panel p about an axis extending through the loops . ); foot portions 20 and 22 extending from the leg portions 16 and 18 , respectively ; inclined portions 24 and 26 extending from the leg portions 16 and 18 , respectively ; and a spanning portion 28 extending between the inclined portions . the foot portions 20 and 22 are proportioned to engage the rearward surface 12 of the face panel when the connection bar is received within the loops , as seen in fig1 . in a typical embodiment , the horizontal dimension between the tips of the foot portions 20 and 22 and the spanning portion 28 is 14 inches . typical vertical dimensions for the bar 14 are : 5 inches for the leg portion 16 , 6 inches for the leg portion 18 , 10 inches for the inclined portion 24 , 81 / 8 inches for the inclined portion 26 , and 51 / 2 inches for the spanning portion 28 . a threaded tension resisting element in the form of an anchor bolt 30 protrudes from the face of the earthen formation e . the purpose of this bolt is to enable the face panel p to be secured to the earthen formation . it may be embedded and anchored in the formation in any number of ways , e . g . by being secured to and extending from a soil reinforcing mat , by being secured to a deadman anchor , or by being secured to a drilled shaft . the bolt 30 is secured to the connection bar 14 by moment resisting element in the form of a channel 32 received around the spanning portion 28 and a tension resisting collar in the form of a nut 34 threadably engaged with the bolt . the bolt 30 extends through a slot 36 formed in the bight portion of the channel . typical dimensions for the channel are 3 / 16 inch thickness , 5 inches in length and 2 inches in width . with these dimensions , the slot 36 may have a width of slightly over 1 / 2 inch to slidably accommodate a 1 / 2 inch bolt 30 and a length of 3 inches . the nut 34 may be of a 1 / 2 inch coil wing nut construction . with the foregoing construction , face panels p may be readily secured to the face of an earthen formation without the need for precise alignment between the anchor bolts 30 and connection loops 10 of the panels . this results because the connections provide a significant degree of both lateral and vertical translatory movement of the connections from one location to another relative to the panels . lateral movement is provided by hinging of the leg portions 16 and 18 within the loops 10 and is depicted by the arcuate arrow line in fig2 . vertical movement is provided by movement of the bolt 30 within the elongate slot 36 and may also be accommodated by fabricating the channel 32 of a height dimension less than that of the spanning portion 28 in order that the channel may be adjusted vertically relative to the spanning portion . in making the connection between the bolt 30 and the panel p , the bolt is extended through the slot 36 to one side of the spanning portion 28 and the nut 34 is then threadably engaged with the end of the bolt to pull the channel against the spanning portion . the nut may be adjusted along the length of the bolt to tension the bolt and position the bolt relative to the plate . through the latter mechanism , the panels p may be plumbed or inclined , as desired . this embodiment corresponds to the first embodiment , except that it uses a pair of connection bars 14 and associated loops 10 . accordingly , components of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment and designated by corresponding numbers . the use of a pair of connection bars 14 results in a triangulated structure , as may be seen from fig3 and 4 . the structure is assembled in the same manner as that of the first embodiment , with the addition that a second connector bar 14 is provided and the moment resisting channel 32 extends around the spanning portions 28 of both of the bars , with the bolt 30 extending between the spanning portions . the resulting structure accommodates both vertical and lateral translatory movement of the bolt 30 from one location to another relative to the panel p , as depicted by the arrow lines . lateral movement is more limited than that of the first embodiment , however , because of the triangulated structure provided by the paired connection bars 14 . the interrelationship between the channel 32 , the spanning portions 28 and the bolt 30 may be seen in greater detail from fig1 . fig1 and 12 illustrate a box section 33 which may be used in place of the channel 32 . this has slots 35 extending through opposed walls thereof for receipt of the bolt 30 . the operation of the box section 33 corresponds to that of the channel 32 , with the addition that the spanning portions 28 are fully captured within the box section . the third embodiment corresponds generally to that of the first embodiment , with the exception that the connection bar , designated 14a extends horizontally and is received within horizontally spaced loops 10a . the face panel of the third embodiment is designated p1 and the connector is designated c1 . the rearward surface of the panel p1 is designated 12a . components of the connector c1 corresponding to those of the first embodiment connector are designated by like numerals , followed by the letter &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; as follows : connection bar 14a , leg portions 16a and 18a ; foot portions 20a and 22a ; inclined portions 24a and 26a ; spanning portion 28a ; anchor bolt 30a ; channel 32a ; nut 34a ; and slot 36a . the third embodiment connector is assembled and adjusted in the same way as that of the first embodiment , the only difference being that the assembled connector provides for relative horizontal translatory movement between the bolt 30a and the panel p1 by translatory movement of the bolt within the slot 36a and for relative vertical movement by hinging of the connector c1 within the loops 10a . the fourth embodiment corresponds to the third embodiment , with the addition of a second connector bar 14a . components of the fourth embodiment connector are designed by the same numerals used for the third embodiment connector . the fourth embodiment connector is assembled with the connection bars 14a in generally triangulated relationship with the spanning portions 26a received in the channel 32a to either side of the anchor bolt 30a . the resulting structure provides for horizontal adjustment of the panel relative to the earthen formation by sliding of the bolt within the slot 36a and for vertical adjustment of the panel p1 relative to the earthen formation e by up and down hinging of the connection bars within the loops 10a . such hinging is more limited than that of the third embodiment as the result of the triangulated configuration that the connection bars 14a assume relative to one another . the fifth embodiment connector utilizes two of the first embodiment connectors inclined outwardly relative to the panel p toward horizontally spaced tension resisting anchor bolts 30 extending from the earthen formation e . the resulting connection has a trapezoidal configuration when viewed in plan , as seen in fig9 . relative vertical translatory movement between the panel p and the earthen formation e is provided by the slots within the channels 32 . relative horizontal translatory movement is provided by hinging action between the connection bars 14 and the loops 10 . the nuts 34 may be adjusted on the bolts 30 to maintain parallelism of the panel p with the face of the earthen formation e if hinging significantly alters the symmetry of the trapezoidal connection . the anchor bolts 30 of the fifth embodiment are carried by a moment resisting element in the form of an angle plate 38 engaged behind the face of a welded wire soil reinforcing mat 40 . the illustrated mat comprises longitudinal wires 42 extending into the formation and partially over its face . cross wires 44 are welded to the longitudinal wires 42 . the overall construction of the welded wire mat and the face elements used with the mat may be seen from copending application ser . no . 08 / 652 , 321 , filed may 23 , 1996 , now u . s . pat . 5 , 722 , 799 by william k . hilfiker , on e of the coinventors herein . in the fifth embodiment , the tension resisting anchor bolts are held against pull out from the formation by their connection to the angles 38 , which in turn are held by the face elements of the welded wire mats . the cavity between the back face of the panel p and the front of the welded wire mat may have a cast in place fill . a rebar mat may be disposed in this fill to further reinforce the cast in place structure . the connector of this embodiment comprises a pair of opposed angle members 46 defining a channel therebetween which slidably receives an upright follower channel member 48 . clips 50 are welded to the angle members 46 and secured to j - bolts 52 embedded in a concrete face panel , designated p2 . a slotted moment resisting plate 54 has hoops 56 welded thereto and extending slidably around the channel member 48 . the slot in the plate 54 is designated 58 and designed for receipt of an anchor bolt 30 extending from the earthen formation e . tension resisting collars in the form of nuts 60 are threadably engaged with the bolt 30 to either side of the plate 54 to secure the bolt to the plate . relative horizontal translatory movement of the panel p2 from one location to another relative to the earthen formation e is provided by sliding of the follower channel 48 within the angle members 46 , as depicted by the horizontal arrow line in fig1 . vertical translatory movement of the panel p2 from one location to another relative to the earthen formation e is provided by sliding of the hoops 56 over the channel member 48 , as depicted by the vertical arrow line in fig1 . additional vertical movement may be provided by adjusting the vertical position of the bolt 30 within the slot 58 . the connection of this embodiment comprises : opposed angle members 62 defining a channel therebetween ; clips 64 welded to the angle members 62 and secured to j - bolts 66 embedded within a face panel p3 ; a vertically extending follower channel member 68 slidably received between the angle members 62 ; a moment resisting element in the form of a slotted plate 70 secured in fixed spaced parallel relationship to the channel member 68 by spacer bolts 72 threadably engaged with nuts 74 mounted on the channel member 68 and nuts 76 disposed to either side of the plate 70 ; a vertically extending slot 78 formed through the plate 70 for slidable receipt of the anchor bolt 30 ; and , tension resisting collars in the form of nuts 80 threadably received on the anchor bolt 30 to either side of the plate 70 to hold the bolt 30 within the slot 78 . the seventh embodiment connection provides for horizontal translatory movement of the panel p3 relative to the earthen formation e by sliding of the follower channel member 68 within the angle members 62 , as depicted by the horizontal arrow line in fig1 . vertical translatory movement of the panel relative to the earthen formation is provided by sliding the bolt 30 within the slot 78 . the nuts 80 may be used both to adjust the tension on the bolt 30 and to lock the bolt relative to the plate 70 . from the foregoing detailed description it is believed apparent that the present invention provides an improved mechanism for securing face panels to an earthen formation which is formed and compacted prior to attachment of the panels . in particular , the invention provides such a connection which does not require precise alignment between the anchor bars extending from the earthen formation and fixed connection points on the face panels . it should be understood , however , that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specifics of the illustrated embodiments , but rather is defined by the accompanying claims . | 4 |
the present invention relates to a gas - absorbing system , particularly to a gas - absorbing system used for absorbing anesthetic gas in the medical field . referring to the figures , the present invention will be described in detail with an anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system , as an example , used in a medical operation . however , the present invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein . on the contrary , the embodiments are provided for making the present disclosure completed and conveying comprehensively the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art . firstly , the construction of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in conjunction with fig1 , 2 and 5 . fig1 and 2 are sectional views of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system viewed from different directions respectively . fig5 is an exploded view showing schematically the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig5 , the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment comprises : an inlet 1 ; a gas accommodating section which is formed by an inner chamber 2 and an outer chamber 3 ; and a negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 . the inlet pipe 1 passes through one side of the inner chamber 2 and is secured to the other side of the inner chamber 2 through a bolt 12 . the anesthetic exhaust gas enters the inner chamber 2 through the inlet pipe 1 and flows to the bottom of the inner chamber 2 along the path r 1 ( as shown in fig1 ). the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 is fluid communicated with the top of the inner chamber 2 and exhausts the anesthetic exhaust gas in the gas accommodating section to an external device by using the negative pressure produced by a negative pressure pump ( not shown ). the outer chamber 3 is provided with air holes 31 at the upper side wall , whose function will be described in detail later . in this embodiment , the inner chamber 2 is embedded in the outer chamber 3 and communicated with the outer chamber 3 through the opened bottom . the outer chamber 3 is air - tightly joined with a bracket 11 . the inlet pipe 1 passes through the through hole 21 a in the side wall of the inner chamber 2 via the bracket 11 and extends into the inner chamber 2 . the anesthetic exhaust gas in the gas accommodating section passes through the plural holes in the bracket 11 via the top of the inner chamber 2 and flows into the negative pressure exhausting pipe . the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment also comprises a floater 7 and a stop valve 5 . the floater 7 is movable up and down along the floater bar 10 and accommodated in a floater chamber 8 . the floater chamber 8 is made of transparent material such that the operation personnel can view the movement of the floater 7 from outside . the floater chamber 8 is air - tightly connected at one side to the bracket 11 and at the other side to the floater cover 9 . the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 passes sideward through the side wall of the floater cover 9 and extends to the through hole 91 . from the above , the stop valve 5 is mounted in the through hole 91 of the floater cover 9 and used for adjusting the flow rate of the anesthetic exhaust gas exhausted from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 . preferably , a filter mesh 6 is further provided on the upper portion of the floater chamber 8 so as to filter the anesthetic exhaust gas entering the negative pressure exhausting pipe . as shown in fig1 , the bracket 11 of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system is secured to the base 13 through bolt 14 so as to connect the whole system with external devices such as an anesthetic machine to perform the relative operation . alternatively , in an embodiment not shown , the gas accommodating section of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system can merely comprise the outer chamber 3 but not the inner chamber 2 . in such a case , preferably , air holes 31 are provided in the lower side wall of the outer chamber 3 to prolong the distance over which the anesthetic exhaust gas flows to the bottom of the outer chamber , preventing the anesthetic exhaust gas from being discharged via the air holes directly after entering the gas accommodating section , which may produce abrupt pressure variation at the inlet pipe . hereinafter , the operation of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in conjunction with fig1 - 4 . fig1 is the sectional view of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention wherein the flow path of the anesthetic exhaust gas entering the gas accommodating section from the inlet pipe is shown . as shown in fig1 , the anesthetic exhaust gas ( whose density is more than that of air ) flows downward through the inlet pipe 1 and enters the inner chamber 2 of the gas accommodating section along the path r 1 . in this embodiment , preferably , the exit 101 of the inlet pipe 1 positioned within the inner chamber 2 is parallel with the axis of the inner chamber 2 and faces toward the bottom thereof , such that the anesthetic exhaust gas is effectively directed to the bottom of the inner chamber 2 from the inlet pipe 1 . the anesthetic exhaust gas is prevented from being directly discharged from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 , the pressure variation at the inlet pipe 1 is effectively reduced , and pressure variation is avoided to establish negative pressure at the inlet pipe 1 to endanger the patient . moreover , since the opened bottom of the inner chamber 2 extends to close to the bottom of the outer chamber 3 ( preferably , the bottom of the inner chamber 2 is spaced from the bottom of the outer chamber 3 by 20 - 30 mm ), the gas accommodating section has compact construction . therefore , the anesthetic exhaust gas is more easily exhausted from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 when flowing upward , such that the amount of anesthetic exhaust gas discharged into atmosphere through the air holes 31 in the upper side of the outer chamber is effectively reduced ( the air holes 31 is preferably provided in the upper side wall of the outer chamber 3 so as to reduce the leak of anesthetic exhaust gas ). fig2 is another sectional view of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention , showing the flow path of the anesthetic exhaust gas in the gas accommodating section discharged to the external device through the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 under normal condition . under the normal operating condition of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system , due to the effect of the negative pressure pump positioned at the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 , the pressure at the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 is lower than the pressure inside the absorbing system . in addition , the anesthetic exhaust gas flows along the direction of path r 2 and is exhausted from the negative exhausting pipe 4 to the external device such as a disposing system after being adjusted at the flow rate by the stop valve 5 ( the adjustment can be performed according to the up and down floating of the floater 7 ). fig3 is another sectional view of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention , showing the flow path of the anesthetic exhaust gas in the gas accommodating section when the input flow rate of the exhaust gas from the inlet pipe is instantly greater than the output flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the negative pressure exhausting pipe due to an abnormal accident . as shown in fig3 , when the input flow rate of the exhaust gas from the inlet pipe 1 is greater than the output flow rate of the exhaust gas exhausted from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 due to certain failures ( e . g . the output flow rate of exhaust gas is reduced due to the abnormity of the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 , or the input flow rate of exhaust gas of the inlet pipe 1 is too high for short time ), part of the anesthetic exhaust gas passes through the floater chamber 8 along the path r 3 and is filtered by the filter mesh 6 so as to exhausted to the external device from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 . the remaining anesthetic exhaust gas , which is unable to be exhausted in time , can be discharged to the outdoor through the air holes 31 in the outer chamber 3 along the path r 4 , such that the inlet pipe 1 is prevented from producing pressure increment to endanger the safety of the patient . in this way , it saves more time for the operation personnel to discover and solve the problem . fig4 is another sectional view of the anesthetic exhaust gas absorbing system according to the embodiment of the present invention , showing the flow path of the anesthetic exhaust gas in the gas accommodating section when the output flow rate of the exhaust gas exhausted from the negative pressure exhausting pipe is instantly greater than the input flow rate of the exhaust gas from the inlet pipe due to another abnormal incident . as shown in fig4 , when the output flow rate of the exhaust gas exhausted from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 is greater than the input flow rate of the exhaust gas from the inlet pipe , external air is supplied into the gas accommodating section through the air holes 31 in the outer chamber 3 along the path r 5 . the external air enters the inner chamber 2 and proceeds along with the anesthetic exhaust gas , passes through the floater chamber 8 along the path r 6 and is filtered by the filter mesh 6 to be exhausted to the disposing system from the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 . the inlet pipe is prevented from producing negative pressure to endanger the safety of the patient . also more time is saved for the operation personnel to discover and solve the problem . in this embodiment , the stop valve 5 adjusts the magnitude of the flow rate of the anesthetic exhaust gas entering the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 , so as to reduce the load and noise of the negative pressure pump at the negative pressure exhausting pipe 4 . meanwhile , during the adjustment of the stop valve 5 , the operator can view the up and down movement of the floater 7 along the floater bar 10 through the transparent floater chamber 8 , so as to effectively adjust the flow rate , avoiding the variation of the pressure inside the system from endangering the safety of the patient . the above is only the description of the preferable embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention . as for those skilled in the art , without departing from the spirit and principle of the present invention , various changes and variations can be made to the present invention . all such changes , substitutions and improvements should be contained in the scope of the present invention . | 8 |
detailed example embodiments are disclosed herein . however , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describing example embodiments . example embodiments may , however , be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein . accordingly , while example embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms , embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail . it should be understood , however , that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed , but to the contrary , example embodiments are to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the scope of example embodiments . like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description of the figures . it will be understood that , although the terms first , second , etc . may be used herein to describe various elements , these elements should not be limited by these terms . these terms are only used to distinguish one element from another . for example , a first element could be termed a second element , and , similarly , a second element could be termed a first element , without departing from the scope of example embodiments . as used herein , the term โ and / or โ includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being โ connected โ or โ coupled โ to another element , it may be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present . in contrast , when an element is referred to as being โ directly connected โ or โ directly coupled โ to another element , there are no intervening elements present . other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion ( e . g ., โ between โ versus โ directly between โ, โ adjacent โ versus โ directly adjacent โ, etc .). the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments . as used herein , the singular fauns โ a โ, โ an โ and โ the โ are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . it will be further understood that the terms โ comprises โ, โ comprising ,โ, โ includes โ and / or โ including โ, when used herein , specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . it should also be noted that in some alternative implementations , the functions / acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures . for example , two figures shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order , depending upon the functionality / acts involved . fig1 is a perspective view of a nuclear boiling water reactor ( bwr ) jet pump assembly 50 located in an annulus between a cylindrical reactor pressure vessel ( rpv ) and a cylindrical shaped shroud of a bwr . water entering the riser pipe 51 provides the drive flow ( energy ) for the jet pump assembly . energized water enters riser pipe 51 and is distributed into inlet mixers 52 and diffusers 54 before being discharged into the reactor core . the riser pipe 51 is susceptible to minute cracks and therefore repairs may need to be performed on the riser pipe 51 which may include securing a collar or bracket to the riser pipe 51 . the repairs may include installing a pipe plug assembly 1 on the riser pipe 51 as shown in fig1 . fig2 is a front side - angle perspective view of an expandable pipe plug assembly 1 ( as shown installed in fig1 ), in accordance with an example embodiment . features of the pipe plug assembly f may include a somewhat spherical electrical discharge machining (โ edm โ) plug 10 with a ratchet nut 12 which may be located in a recessed front face of the plug 10 . the back of the edm plug 10 may include a pipe plug 14 located inside of an expandable bushing assembly 16 . the pipe plug assembly is to be inserted / installed into a hole that may be drilled in the riser pipe 51 of a jet pump assembly 50 ( as shown in fig1 ), by inserting the plug assembly 1 into the riser pipe in the direction a ( i . e ., the pipe plug 14 end of the pipe plug assembly 1 is inserted into a hole in the riser pipe ). fig3 is a rear side - angle view of an expandable pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . the edm plug 10 may be a somewhat cylindrical shape with threads 18 provided on an outer circumferential surface of the edm plug 10 . note that ratchet teeth 20 may also be provided along the circumferential surface of the edm plug 10 for anti - rotational purposes . a keeper ( not shown ) may be used to ensure that the edm plug 10 may not rotate in a counterclockwise direction once the pipe plug assembly 1 is field installed . fig4 is a front exploded view of an expandable pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . major features in approximate order from left to right include the following . ratchet nut 12 may include teeth 12 b , which may contact keeper teeth 22 a of j - shaped keeper 22 for anti - rotation purposes following installation of the pipe plug assembly 1 ( i . e ., teeth 22 a of keeper 22 may be configured to allow ratchet nut 12 to rotate only in a clockwise direction and not in a counterclockwise direction ). ratchet nut threads 12 a may be provided to mate with plug bolt 14 c , allowing the ratchet nut to be rotated to tighten its hold on plug bolt 14 c and pipe plug 14 to draw pipe plug 14 toward edm plug 10 . washer 24 may be provided within edm plug recessed center hole 10 a . the washer 24 may be a spherical washer with one face that is concave ( the face of washer 24 that contacts ratchet nut 12 is concave , as shown in better detail in fig1 ). the concave face of washer 24 provides a tolerance in the event that plug bolt 14 c is not installed at an entirely perpendicular angle with the overall edm plug 10 . specifically , a spherical bottom surface of ratchet nut 12 ( convex spherical surface 12 c of ratchet nut 12 is shown for instance in fig1 ) may allow ratchet nut 12 to pivot as it rides along the spherical surface of washer 24 to provide a tolerance in the event that plug bolt 14 c penetrates edm plug 10 at a somewhat off - center angle ( i . e ., ratchet nut 12 may pivot in the event of angular misalignment ). edm plug keeper recess 10 b is an approximately โ j โ- shaped recessed area that contains the approximately โ j โ- shaped keeper 22 . opening 10 b 4 is provided in recess 10 b to allow keeper teeth 22 a to contact ratchet nut teeth 12 b for anti - rotation purposes . note that a first undercut 10 b 1 is shown in recess 10 b . first undercut 10 b 1 is one of three undercuts ( the others are shown in fig1 ) which provides three points of contact to retain keeper 22 in the keeper recess 10 b ( specifically , lip 22 b 1 of keeper 22 shown in fig5 fits into undercut 10 b 1 ). edm center hole 10 c is provided in the center of edm plug 10 to allow plug bolt 14 c to fit through the edm plug 10 . edm plug recessed center hole 10 a is also provided in edm plug 10 to provide tolerances for ratchet nut 12 to rotate within the center hole 10 a even when plug bolt 14 c may not intersect edm plug 10 at a substantially perpendicular angle . expandable bushing assembly 16 may include separate bushing sections 16 a that surround plug 14 . each bushing section 16 a may have a longitudinal wall that forms a longitudinal wall section of the overall somewhat cylindrical bushing assembly 16 . bushing sections 16 a may be held together by a retaining ring 16 b ( shown in more detail in fig8 and 9 ). note that each bushing section 16 a may include a flat bushing section base 16 d that provides a flat contact surface which contacts flat inner edm plug surface 11 b ( shown in fig5 ) when plug 14 is retracted into the overall pipe plug assembly 1 ( thereby pressing bushing base section 16 d firmly against inner edm plug inner surface 11 b ). pipe plug 14 may be a conical wedge shape with a square boss 14 b that supports plug bolt 14 c ( shown best in fig6 ). note that pipe plug 14 may include alignment channels 14 a that may mate with longitudinal alignment bosses 16 e ( shown in fig5 ) of bushing sections 16 a to allow pipe plug 14 to align with expandable bushing assembly 16 to cause bushing sections 16 a to outwardly expand as pipe plug 14 is drawn into the overall pipe plug assembly 1 during field installation . fig5 is a rear exploded view of an expandable pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . moving generally from left to right across the figure , additional features shown in this drawing include lip 22 b 1 of keeper 22 . lip 22 b 1 provides one of three points of contact , which allow keeper 22 to remain in edm plug keeper recess 10 b ( lip 22 b 1 fits into undercut 10 b 1 shown on fig4 ). edm plug 10 includes a square pocket 11 a that allows for insertion of square boss 14 b when pipe plug 14 is drawn into edm plug 10 . flat inner edm plug surface 11 b provides a flat surface for bushing section base 16 d to contact , which provides a stopping point for bushing assembly when bushing assembly 16 is drawn toward edm plug 10 ( due to the drawing in of pipe plug 14 via ratchet nut 12 ). bushing assembly 16 is shown with retaining ring 16 b holding the separate busing sections 16 a together . boss 16 d 1 , located on only one of the individual sections , provides a means to hold retaining ring 16 b in one fixed position while holding the separate bushing sections 16 a together ( this is shown in more detail and discussed at more length , later in the disclosure and the drawings ). note that three separate busing sections 16 a are shown in this embodiment . a gap 16 c is located between separate bushing sections 16 a . while retaining ring 16 b holds the bushing sections 16 a together , and prior to insertion of pipe plug inside of bushing assembly 16 , the gaps 16 c are minimal ( approximately 0 . 00 inches ) thereby causing the wall of each bushing section 16 a to exist at approximately 90 - degree angles with the plane of the retaining ring 16 b . it should be noted that alternatively to three separate bushing sections 16 a , only one bushing section with one gap may be provided . also , two or four or more bushing may instead be used . furthermore , rather than providing bushing sections 16 a with gaps 16 c running located directly in between the bushing sections 16 a , the bushing assembly may instead be made of overlapping bushing sections that provide a tortuous or labyrinth path . the bushing sections 16 a may have alignment bosses 16 e running along the inside diameter of the bushing sections 16 a . alignment channels 14 a align with the alignment bosses 16 e allowing pipe plug 14 to be inserted into bushing assembly 16 . the alignment bosses 16 e also cause pipe plug 14 to uniformly expand bush assembly 16 as pipe plug 14 is drawn into edm plug 10 via ratchet nut 12 . pipe plug 14 may be a conical shape that is tapered ( i . e ., pipe plug 14 may have a slight angle 14 c ; the angle 14 c may be approximately 10 - degree , or it may be any other slight angle that causes bushing sections 16 a to slightly flare out as pipe plug 14 is drawn into edm plug 10 during field installation ). fig6 is a perspective view of a pipe plug 14 of a pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . as shown more clearly in this figure , square boss 14 b and plug bolt 14 c may be rigidly connected to pipe plug 14 . plug bolt 14 c mates with ratchet nut threads 12 a of ratchet nut 12 . square boss 14 b is sized to fit into square pocket 11 a of edm plug 10 . materials of construction for these components may be 304ss , 315ss and / or xm - 19 . fig7 is a detailed view of a bushing section 16 a of a pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . note that side edge 16 a 1 is approximately normal ( 90 - degrees ) with bushing section base 16 d . this causes side edge 16 a 1 of each bushing section 16 a to be held at approximately 90 - degrees from the plane of retaining ring 16 b ( shown for instance in fig9 ), and it causes gaps 16 c ( shown for instance in fig5 ) to be negligible ( 0 . 00 inches ) when retaining ring 16 b is holding the bushing assembly together ( and , prior to insertion of pipe plug 14 into bushing assembly 16 ). materials of construction for the bushing sections 16 a may include 304ss or 316ss . fig8 is a detailed view of a bushing assembly 16 and retaining ring 16 b of a pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . bushing assembly 16 may include separate bushing sections 16 a that each include a foot or bushing section base 16 d . at the seam between the vertical walls of the bushing sections 16 a and the base 16 d of the bushing sections 16 a may be a retaining ring groove 16 f that may be used to hold retaining ring 16 b in place when retaining ring 16 b is used to hold the bushing sections 16 a together . materials of construction for the retaining ring 16 b may be x - 750 . three seams 16 c separate the three bushing sections 16 a . only one of the bushing sections 16 a has a boss 16 d 1 that ensures that the retaining ring gap 16 b 1 remains in place ( on boss 16 d 1 ) when retaining ring 16 b is pressed up against the bushing section base 16 d . boss 16 d 1 ensures that retainer ring 16 b does not rotate such that that ring gap 16 b 1 is relocated to be directly in front of any of one of the gaps 16 c , as doing so may provide a flow path of water through plug assembly 1 . fig9 is a detailed view of a bushing assembly 16 with a retaining ring 16 b installed , in accordance with an example embodiment . note that retaining ring 16 b is pressed up against bushing section base 16 d and ring gap 16 b 1 is riding boss 16 d 1 to hold retaining ring 16 b in one fixed position . while retaining ring 16 b is installed on bushing assembly 16 , gaps 16 c remain closed ( approximately 0 . 00 inch width ). fig1 is a perspective view of an edm plug 10 of a pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . keeper recess 10 b may include a second undercut 10 b 2 that provides a second point of contact for keeper 22 . specifically , second undercut 10 b 2 provides a point of contact for lip 22 b 2 of keeper 22 ( shown in fig1 ). a third undercut 10 b 3 may provide a third point of contact for keeper 22 , as lip 22 b 1 ( shown in fig1 ) contacts undercut 10 b 3 to ensure that keeper 22 remains in keeper recess 10 b . opening 10 b 4 allows keeper teeth 22 a to contact ratchet nut teeth 12 b for anti - rotation purposes to ensure ratchet nut 12 may not rotate and become loose after being installed in the field . materials of construction for edm plug 10 and its sub - components may be 304ss and / or 316ss . dice markings 10 d may be provided to record and track the position of the edm plug assembly 10 while it is installed and being used in the field . this may be used to ensure for instance that edm plug assembly 10 does not rotate while plug assembly 1 is in field use . fig1 is a perspective view of a keeper 22 of a pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . the keeper 22 may be formed of a resilient material ( such as for instance x - 750 ) that causes keeper 22 to act as a spring that may fit into the j - shaped keeper recess 10 b of edm plug 10 . note that three points of contact ( lip 22 b 1 , lip 22 b 2 and tab 22 b 3 ) may be provided to mate with undercuts 10 b 1 , 10 b 2 and 10 b 3 ( shown in fig4 and 10 ) to ensure that keeper 22 remains in keeper recess 10 b while plug assembly 1 is in use . fig1 is a side - view of a ratchet nut 12 of a pipe plug assembly 1 , in accordance with an example embodiment . teeth 12 b may be provided for ant - rotation purposes by allowing keeper teeth 22 a to contact teeth 12 b . note that a spherical , somewhat convex bottom surface 12 c may be provided for ratchet nut 12 . the convex surface 12 c of ratchet nut 12 may mate with a spherical , concave surface of washer 24 to provide a tolerance for the positioning and fit of ratchet nut 12 within the recessed center hole 10 a of edm plug 10 in the event plug bolt 14 c is installed such that it is not at an exactly normal ( i . e ., 90 - degree ) angle with edm plug 10 when pipe plug assembly 1 is installed in the field . the mating of the spherical surface 12 c of ratchet nut 12 and the spherical surface of washer 24 can be seen in better detail in fig1 . materials of construction for ratchet nut 12 may include 304ss or 316ss . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a pipe plug assembly 1 outside of a hole that has been drilled in a collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 , in accordance with an example embodiment . pipe plug 1 is shown in an โ initial installation condition ,โ as gaps 16 c ( shown for instance in fig9 ) in bushing assembly 16 are closed ( gaps 16 c are approximately 0 . 00 inches ). in this โ initial installation condition ,โ diameter d of pipe plug 14 and bushing assembly 16 is smaller than diameter d of the hole in collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 to allow pipe plug assembly 1 to be inserted into collar 60 and riser pipe 51 in direction a . note that threads 61 may be machined into collar 60 to mate with threads 18 of the edm plug 10 . the spherical shape of washer 24 and surface 12 c of ratchet nut 12 is also shown in more detail in this figure . as described earlier , the spherical shape of washer 24 and surface 12 c allow ratchet nut 12 to pivot to provide a tolerance in the event that plug bolt 14 c penetrates edm plug 10 at an off - center angle ( i . e ., ratchet nut 12 may pivot in the event of angular misalignment ). materials of construction for the spherical washer may be x - 750 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a pipe plug assembly 1 inside of a hole that has been drilled in a collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 , in accordance with an example embodiment . the pipe plug assembly 1 is still in the โ initial installation condition ,โ meaning that gaps 16 c ( shown for instance in fig9 ) are still closed ( gap is approximately 0 . 00 inches ). this causes gaps 62 to exist between bushing assembly 16 and the inside diameter of collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 . note that bushing section base 16 d may act as a lip to hold bushing assembly 16 in place and against the outer surface of a recessed hole that is provided in collar 60 . fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a pipe plug assembly 1 installed in a hole that has been drilled in a collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 , in accordance with an example embodiment . pipe plug assembly 1 is shown in an โ installed condition โ this time , as gaps 16 c ( shown for instance in fig9 ) have been expanded to cause the diameter of bushing assembly 16 to match the diameter of the hole in collar 60 and riser pipe 51 . the expansion of the gaps may be for instance approximately 0 . 1 inches . the expansion of bushing assembly 16 is accomplished through the tightening of ratchet nut 12 which provides axial tension that causes plug bolt 14 c to be drawn through edm plug 10 , as pipe plug 14 is drawn into bushing assembly 16 . the slight angle of pipe plug 14 outer walls causes the diameter of the bushing assembly 16 to expand , while gaps 16 c ( shown for instance in fig9 ) increase in size to allow for the expansion . once installed , the expandable nature of the bushing assembly 16 of pipe plug assembly 1 may provide radial pressure against the inside diameter of the holes in both collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 . existence of the pipe plug assembly 1 penetrating both collar 60 and riser pipe wall 51 transfers axial and torsional forces from collar 60 to pipe 51 which may be beneficial during pipe 51 repair . it should be understood that the plug assembly 1 described above is suited to fashion a collar or bracket onto a spherical surface of a pipe , especially in the case where the collar / bracket and pipe wall are edm match - drilled . match drilling allows for multiple layers of material ( such as the collar or bracket , and the pipe wall ) to be drilled at once . in an example embodiment , match drilling may be accomplished by drilling a straight hole through both the collar / bracket and pipe wall at approximately a normal angle ( i . e ., a 90 - degree angle ). during match drilling , the drilling of a straight hole is easier to perform than a tapered hole ( which , in turn , would require a tapered wedge to plug the tapered hole ). the ability of the bushing assembly 16 of the plug assembly 1 allows the straight hole to be plugged without tapering , ensuring that field installation may be performed more easily and with greater degree of success as a tight fit is provided to reduce vibration of components and potential leakage of fluids from the pipe . the expandability of the plug assembly 1 is particularly useful when only an outer diameter of a pipe ( such as a riser pipe of a bwr jet pump assembly ) may be accessed , while the inside diameter of the pipe is inaccessible . while the example embodiments described above relate to a pipe plug assembly that may be used to fashion a collar or a bracket to a circumferential surface of a pipe such as a riser pipe of a bwr jet pump assembly , it should be understood that the pipe plug assembly may also be used simply to plug a hole . furthermore , the hole need not be on a circumferential surface of a pipe , as it may instead be a hole that has been drilled into a flat wall or surface . furthermore , while an example embodiment is drawn toward plugging a hole formed via electrical discharge machining ( edm ), it should be understood that any other type of machining or drilling may be used to form the hole that may then be plugged using example embodiments . example embodiments having thus been 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 intended spirit and scope of example embodiments , 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 . | 8 |
included herein is a method of delivering pharmaceutical containers 12 and pharmaceutical caps 14 and 16 for the containers 12 to a pharmacy . the container 12 and caps 14 and 16 can be described as a pharmaceutical system 10 . the method includes providing at least one container 12 to hold pharmaceuticals , providing at least one non - child resistant cap 14 ( ncr cap ) shaped to removeably engage the container 12 , and providing at least one unattached child resistant element 16 , or child resistant cap 16 , ( cr element ) shaped to be permanently fixed to the ncr cap 14 . a method of selling pharmaceutical containers 12 and pharmaceutical caps , comprising 14 and 16 , for the containers 12 to a pharmacy is also taught . the method comprises selling a plurality of containers 12 shaped to hold pharmaceuticals , selling a plurality of non - child resistant caps 14 shaped to removably engage the containers 12 , and optionally selling a plurality of unattached child resistant elements 16 shaped to be permanently fixed to the non - child resistant caps 14 . the cr elements 16 are designed to be integrated with the ncr cap 14 and preferably include a design that lacks the capacity to be attached to the container 12 independent of the ncr cap 14 . the steps of providing or selling the plurality of unattached cr elements 16 is preferably based upon the use of those cr elements 16 by the pharmacy or pharmaceutical user . this use can be quantified by the fact that one of the ncr caps 14 is used with each container 12 while one of the cr elements 16 is optionally used based upon consumer driven demand . as such , the second quantity of cr elements 16 can be less than the first quantity of ncr caps 14 and containers 12 . for example , in one embodiment the quantity of cr elements 16 is approximately less than 50 % of the quantity of ncr caps 14 . in alternate embodiment , the second quantity of cr elements 16 is approximately less than 20 % of the first quantity of ncr caps 14 . additionally , a third quantity of cr elements 16 can be delivered subsequently to the delivery of the second quantity such that the third quantity of the cr elements 16 is less than the second quantity of cr elements 16 . these variances in quantities are facilitated by the option of a subsequent party , such as the pharmacy , pharmacist , pharmaceutical customer , medical prescription patient , and the like , to decide whether the pharmaceutical system 10 has child resistant capabilities . namely , an individual substantially unrelated to the manufacture of the pharmaceutical system 10 has the ability to decide whether the individual elements of pharmaceutical system 10 are assembled . this ability to decide facilitates the ability of a person or entity to establish post - manufacture , and more specifically , after the pharmaceutical system 10 leaves the manufacturer &# 39 ; s control , whether the pharmaceutical system 10 will have child resistant characteristics . alternately stated , at least the first user of the pharmaceutical system has the capability of deciding whether to assemble the child resistant element 16 with the non - child resistant cap 14 in order to make a pharmaceutical system 10 comprising a container 12 , non - child resistant cap 14 and child resistant element 16 . this combination would make the pharmaceutical system 10 child resistant . alternately , at least that first user of the pharmaceutical system can decide not to attach the child resistant element 16 to the non - child resistant cap 14 thus making the pharmaceutical system not possess child resistant characteristics and comprise the container 12 and the non - child resistant cap 14 without the child resistant element 16 . the current method is further enhanced by the fact that at least the first user of the pharmaceutical system 10 after manufactured control has been relinquished has the ability to determine the characteristics of the pharmaceutical system 10 . for example , a pharmacy can decide to preassemble ncr caps 14 on containers 12 and decide on an individual basis whether any of those preassembled combinations will have a child - resistant element 16 . additionally , the determination can be by the pharmaceutical patient who can choose not to have child resistant characteristics in their pharmaceutical system due to a lack of small children at their home that could be exposed to a potential health risk by the pharmaceuticals in the pharmaceutical system 10 or the inability to open a child resistant system . an advantage of the methods taught by this disclosure includes the fact that the pharmacy can reduce costs by only supplying a child resistant pharmaceutical system when desired by the ultimate consumer . this reduces the amount of overhead to the pharmacy , storage capacity need for the pharmaceutical systems , and the material amounts associated with each pharmaceutical system 10 , thereby reducing the overall costs to the pharmacy . additionally , an end user that has difficulty opening a child resistant pharmaceutical system can option to not have this characteristic . for example , this is very useful for pharmaceutical patients that suffer from arthritis in their hands , have other physical ailments that do not facilitate operating the child - resistant mechanisms on pharmaceutical systems , or otherwise do not need a system with child resistant characteristics . however , if a child resistant pharmaceutical system is desired , the child resistant element 16 is designed to be permanently fixed to the non - child resistant cap 14 . this reduces any unwanted shelling or removal of the child resistant element 16 from the non - child resistant cap 14 thereby facilitating the safe characteristics of a child resistant pharmaceutical system 10 and protecting at risk individuals from unwanted access to the pharmaceuticals contained therein . these inventive methods are facilitated by the construction of the pharmaceutical system 10 . in a preferred embodiment the ncr cap 14 , as exampled in fig5 a - 5f , includes an attachment device 18 , which can be a single thread , double thread , one or more beads , or other similar attachment methods known in the art . the attachment device 18 interacts with the fastener 20 on the container 12 in conventional manners to secure the ncr cap 14 to the container 12 . the bottom 22 of ncr cap 14 can rest on the angular ring 24 on the neck 26 of the container 12 . alternately , and more preferably , the bottom 22 can be suspended above the angular ring 24 by the attachment device 18 and the fastener 20 . the ncr cap 14 can include a gripping element 28 , such as knurlments , to provide a gripping surface for opening the ncr cap 14 . the child resistant element 16 is exampled in fig4 a - 4g . the cr element 16 can include gripping elements 30 , which can also be described as knurlments , used to facilitate the rotation of the cr element 16 . additionally , indicia 32 can be printed on the top surface 34 of the cr element 16 , wherein the indicia give instructions on how to open the cr element 16 . the cr element 16 is shown in the figures having an open top 34 , but alternately can have a solid top not allowing view of the ncr cap 14 . the rim 36 shown in fig4 a - 4f can be used to cover indicia on the ncr cap 14 . those indicia on the ncr cap 14 can include such warnings as โ caution not child resistant .โ the rim 36 can be designed to cover the indicia on the ncr cap 14 . the top 34 , if solid , can cover any indicia on the ncr cap 14 when the cr element 16 and ncr cap 14 are attached . the cr element 16 includes at least one protrusion 38 , which can be described as an internal tab , engaging the bottom 22 of the ncr cap 14 . the internal tabs 38 are angled and include a substantially flat surface 40 that engages the bottom 22 of the ncr cap 14 to fix the cr element 16 to the ncr cap 14 . in a preferred embodiment there are four internal tabs 38 spaced around the internal wall 42 of the cr element 16 . the angled portion 39 of the tabs 38 facilitates the cr element 16 traversing the external wall ( referring to wall with knurlments 28 thereon ) of the ncr cap 14 . the height of the ncr cap 14 can be less than the distance from the flat surface 40 to the top 34 . this spatial configuration facilitates the selective engagement of teeth 46 positioned near the engagement between the internal wall 42 and top 34 of the cr element 16 . the teeth 46 interact with corresponding teeth 48 on the ncr cap 14 . the teeth 48 of the ncr cap 14 are positioned opposite the bottom 22 and near the top 50 of the ncr cap 14 . the teeth 48 can be an extension of the knurlments 28 , or can be separate items on the ncr cap 14 . in operation , since the height of the ncr cap 14 is less than the distance between the flat surface 40 and the teeth 46 of the cr element 16 , simply trying to turn the cr element 16 without a depressive force will facilitate a traversing motion of the teeth 46 across the teeth 48 . without pressure applied in a downward direction on the cr element 16 , the teeth 46 cr element 16 will not engage the teeth 48 on the ncr cap 14 . as such the ncr cap 14 , which is attached to the container will not rotate and open . however , when the downward pressure is applied to the cr element 16 the teeth 46 engage the teeth 48 of the ncr cap 14 to rotate and become disengaged from the container 12 to allow access to the pharmaceuticals therein . an advantage of this current system is the fact that the conversion of a pharmaceutical system 10 from a system having non - child resistant characteristics to a system having child resistant characteristics does not require the replacement of parts within the pharmaceutical system 10 . the current disclosure teaches that the selective addition of a child resistant cap that can be affixed to a non - child resistant cap adds to the pharmaceutical system a child resistant characteristic . thus , although there have been described particular embodiments of the present invention of a new and useful an optionally attachable , permanently fixed two piece container cap , it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims . | 1 |
detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of the invention that may be embodied in various forms . in addition , each of the examples given in connection with the various embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative , and not restrictive . further , the figures are not necessarily to scale , some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention . referring now to fig1 and 2 , it is seen that the shield 101 may incorporate one or more light sources 103 a , 103 b , a power source ( in this example , the batteries inside of the handle 105 ), and at least one control mechanism ( in this example , each end of the handle 105 may have a switch 107 a , 107 b ( e . g ., a pressure thumb pad switch ) to control the light source ( s )). in one example , an additional handle or strap 109 may be provided as well as a view port 111 . of course , any desired number of light source ( s ), power source ( s ), control mechanism ( s ), handle ( s )/ strap ( s ) and / or view port ( s ) may be utilized . as seen , in this example the handle 105 may be a tube - like sealed ( or , in another example , re - sealable ) container . in one specific example , the handle 105 may house four 3 volt lithium batteries ( in one example , the batteries may be replaceable ). in another specific example , the handle 105 may be 6ยฝ inches long . in another specific example , the handle 105 may be capable of being retrofitted to the m . u . s . t . shield from first choice armor . in another specific example , the handle 105 may have a diameter of a minimum of 1 โณ. in another specific example , there may be a minimum of 1 โณ overlap on both ends of the handle 105 . in another specific example , the handle may have a circular cross - section ( or any other desired shape ). in another example , one or more threaded bolts ( and / or one or more flashlight heads / lenses / caps ) may be utilized ( in one specific example , the threaded bolt may be a 1 โณ threaded bolt ). in another example , a 1 โณ- 2 โณ flashlight head / lens / cap may accommodate the 1 โณ threaded bolt system ( e . g ., the threaded bolt may extend through an aperture in the flashlight head / lens / cap ). in another example , the lighting mechanism may be essentially electrically conductive to accommodate the tube - like handle system . in one specific example , the tube - like handle system may have a thumb pressure pad switch on one or both sides . in another example , the flashlight head / lens / cap may extend a minimum of 1 โณ from the view port cover . in one specific example , the flashlight head / lens / cap may have jagged edges ( e . g ., at a front or free end ). in another example , the light intensity may be a minimum of 80 lumens . in another example , each of the light source ( s ) may be a xenon and / or led type light source . in another example , each of the light source ( s ) may have strobe capacity . in one specific example , the strobe frequency may be selected to cause ( or tend to cause ) blindness ( either full or partial and either temporary or permanent ). in one example , the light power ( e . g ., measured in lumens ) may be selected to cause ( or tend to cause ) blindness ( either full or partial and either temporary or permanent ). in another example , the position of the light source ( s ) and / or flashlight head ( s )/ lens ( es )/ cap ( s ) may be essentially center of mass ( thus providing greater protection for the operator ). in another example , there may be no through hole through the shield for the light source ( s ). for example , the light source ( s ) may be mounted to the front of the shield , the handle ( including power source and one or more switches ) may be mounted to the rear of the shield , and the light source ( s ) may be powered and controlled through conductive elements formed as part of the shield ( either integrally formed or added , such as via one or more inserts ( e . g ., one or more threaded bolts , one or more rods , or the like )). see , for example , fig3 and 4 , showing conductive elements 201 a , 201 b , 203 a , 203 b , which may form circuits to conduct electricity from the batteries in handle 105 to the light sources 103 a , 103 b . of course , these figs . are provided as an example only , and any desired circuit configuration may be utilized . as shown and described herein , various embodiments of the present invention may provide for one or more of : a lightweight shield . in one example , the light system may add only about 1 pound . in another example , the light system may be utilized in conjunction with the m . u . s . t . shield from first choice armor so that total shield weight is about 15 pounds . a user - friendly handle ( e . g ., for right and / or left hand hold ). a configuration minimizing the chances of the user losing grip while activating the light source ( s ). a user - friendly configuration with regard to the use of weapons ( e . g ., handgun , rifle , submachine gun ): in various examples , such weapons may be used from the following positions : in various examples , such weapons may be manipulated from simple magazine exchanges to class three malfunctions with two hands . use of common batteries that are easy to replace ( e . g ., 3 volt lithium batteries ). use of flashlight head ( s )/ lens ( es )/ cap ( s ) with jagged edges that can be utilized , for example , as follows : as an offensive weapon to protect the view port ( e . g ., essentially transparent view port ) from scratches ( the view port may be provided to give the user increased visibility ) as shown and described herein , various embodiments of the present invention may provide a m . u . s . t . shield from first choice armor having a lighting system . in this regard , such a m . u . s . t . shield from first choice armor having a lighting system may be deployed ( for example ) into numerous patrol and / or tactical applications and may provide one or more of the following : light weight mobility simple pressure pad switch for right or left hand hold blinding lumens disorientation of people by using strobe light ( s ) directional lighting for deployment in another example , the threaded bolt ( s ) may be used as an offensive weapon . in another example , one or more spikes or the like ( e . g ., threaded spikes ) may be used in place of ( or in addition to ) the threaded bolt ( s ) as an offensive weapon . in another example , various embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the m . u . s . t . shield from first choice armor . in another example , the shield may comprise : polycarbonate , lexan , plastic , kevlar , boron carbide , silicon carbide , silicon nitride , aluminum oxide , alumina ceramic , titanium diboride , reinforced fiberglass composite , reinforced fiber and polymer resin composite , and / or combinations and / or mixtures of such materials . in another example , the shield may be made of a strong material ( e . g ., level iiia ballistic material ), so as to provide frontal protection to the user . in another example , one or more level iv ballistic inserts may be attached ( e . g ., releasably attached ) to the shield . in another example , the shield may be configured to stand unattended ( e . g ., be deployed on the ground as a fixed barrier to mitigate direct fire and / or ricochets ) in another example , the shield may be adapted for use by military , law enforcement , school , fire , and / or rescue personnel . specific uses for the shield may include ( but not be limited to ): active shooter response , dynamic entries , covert searches , officer and victim rescues , hazardous suspect and vehicle approaches , and crowd control . in other examples , any desired combination of one or more threaded bolts , one or more threaded spikes , one or more flashlight heads / lenses / caps , etc . may be used ( e . g ., in connection with one or more light sources ). in another embodiment of the present invention , a shield ( see , e . g ., shield 101 of fig1 - 4 ), wherein the shield has at least one light source ( see , e . g ., light sources 103 a , 103 b of fig1 - 4 ) powered by at least one battery is provided , comprising : a shield body , the shield body having an inside surface ( see , e . g ., inside surface โ i โ of fig2 - 4 ) generally facing a user of the shield when the shield is held by the user and an outside surface ( see , e . g ., outside surface โ o โ of fig1 , and 3 - 4 ) generally facing away from the user of the shield when the shield is held by the user ; and at least one handle ( see , e . g ., handle 105 of fig2 - 4 ); wherein the at least one light source is disposed to project light from the outside surface in a direction generally away from the inside surface ( see , e . g ., arrow โ away โ of fig3 - 4 ); wherein the handle comprises an elongated structure having a first end and a second end ; wherein the handle is configured to receive therein the at least one battery for powering the at least one light source ; wherein a first control mechanism is disposed at the first end of the elongated structure ( see , e . g ., switch 107 a of fig2 and 4 ); wherein a second control mechanism is disposed at the second end of the elongated structure ( see , e . g ., switch 107 b of fig2 and 4 ); and wherein the light source is operatively connected to the at least one battery , the first control mechanism and the second control mechanism such that the light source may be powered by the at least one battery and controlled by each of the first control mechanism and the second control mechanism . in one example , the light source may be operatively connected to the battery , the first control mechanism and the second control mechanism through one or more conductive paths . in another example , each of the first control mechanism and the second control mechanism may control the same light in an independent manner . in another example , having the first control mechanism and the second control mechanism may provide for easy use by a right - handed or left - handed user ( e . g ., one control mechanism may be positioned to be operable by a right hand of a user ( e . g ., the user &# 39 ; s thumb ) and the other control mechanism may be positioned to be operable by a left hand of a user ( e . g ., the user &# 39 ; s thumb )). in another example , the light source may extend out from the outside surface ( see , e . g ., outside surface โ o โ of fig1 and 3 - 4 ) in a direction generally away ( see , e . g ., arrow โ away โ) from the inside surface โ i โ ( see , e . g ., inside surface โ i โ of fig2 - 4 ). in another example , a free end of the light source may comprise at least one jagged edge . in another example , the free end of the light source may comprise a plurality of jagged edges . in another example , the shield may comprise a plurality of light sources . in another example , each of the plurality of light sources may extend out from the outside surface in a direction generally away from the inside surface . in another example , a free end of each of the light sources may comprise at least one jagged edge . in another example , the free end of each of the light sources may comprise a plurality of jagged edges . in another example , the first control mechanism may comprise a first switch and the second control mechanism may comprise a second switch . in another example , the handle may be configured to receive therein a plurality of batteries for powering the at least one light source . in another example , the at least one light source may be configured to provide strobe lighting . in another example , the shield may further comprise a fastening element ( see , e . g ., fastening element 201 of fig2 ) provided on the inside surface ( see , e . g ., inside surface โ i โ of fig2 - 4 ) to permit attachment of at least one accessory . in another example , the fastening element may be a hook and loop fastening combination . in another example , a plurality of fastening elements may be used . in another example , the fastening element ( s ) may be placed anywhere desired on the shield ( e . g ., at a center of mass to provide extra protection to the user ). in another example , the at least one accessory may be selected from the group consisting of ( but not limited to ): a gun holster , a utility bag , a forearm pad , a laser , a taser , a light illuminator , a trauma kit , a magazine pouch , a night vision device , and a ballistic plate insert . in another example , the shield may comprise level iiia ballistic material . in another example , the shield may further comprise a viewport ( see , e . g ., viewport 111 ) to provide the user with visibility therethrough . in one example , the viewport may comprise a substantially transparent material . in another example , the viewport may comprise a material resistant to bullets and the like . of course , any embodiment / example described herein ( or any feature or features of any embodiment / example described herein ) may be combined with any other embodiment / example described herein ( or any feature or features of any such other embodiment / example described herein ). while a number of embodiments of the present invention have been described , it is understood that these embodiments are illustrative only , and not restrictive , and that many modifications may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . for example , while the shield of the present invention has been described principally as bullet or shrapnel resistant , the shield may also ( or instead ) be designed to be resistant to sharp and / or blunt weapons ( e . g ., knives , clubs , etc .). further , a shield according to the present invention may be designed such that certain components are reusable . further still , shields of the present invention may comprise any desired materials ( e . g ., aramid fiber ; nylon ; rayon ; cotton , and / or ceramic ). further still , lower โ shelf โ areas at the upper right and left of the shield ( see , e . g ., โ a โ and โ b โ of fig1 and 2 ) may be configured to support the barrel of a handgun , rifle or other weapon ( in this regard , a โ shelf โ may have one or more indentations or other features to hold and / or steady a barrel of a weapon ). further still , any desired number of light source ( s ), switch ( es ), flashlight head ( s )/ lens ( es )/ cap ( s ), threaded bolt ( s ), threaded spike ( s ), or the like may be used . further still , any steps may be performed in any desired order ( and any desired steps may be added and / or any desired steps may be deleted ). | 5 |
fig1 shows a view of a partial region of a centrifugal drum 1 , which is rotatable about a rotational axis d , of a continuously operable separator . the drum 1 includes a plate package 2 that includes a plurality of plates 3 . the drum 1 is disposed concentrically to the machine axis or rotational axis d . the centrifugal drum shown in fig1 is configured to be internally double - conical . the plates 3 have a conical shape , are stacked axially one above the other , and are spaced apart from one another by spacers , for example , tabs ( not shown ). the plate package 2 is held on a distributor shaft 4 of a distributor 5 which is provided on its external circumference with radially outwardly projecting webs ( not shown ) which on the internal circumference of the plates 3 engage therein . the plate package 2 has rising channels 6 which include holes in the plates 3 located directly above one another and extending over the entire height of the plate package 2 . an admission tube 7 located concentrically to the machine axis d allows the admission of material to be centrifuged , for example , from above into the centrifugal drum 1 and there through the distributor shaft 4 and distributor channels 8 formed below the plate package 2 in the distributor 5 into the plate package 2 , for example , in the area of the rising channel 6 or at another point . the actual clarification of the product to be processed from solids , for example , for sterilization and / or a separation of the product into different liquid phases which are then led off from the centrifugal drum 1 through one or more discharge lines 9 , possibly to different diameters , for example , through skimming disks ( not shown ) and solid removal openings 10 , then takes place continuously in the centrifugal drum 1 . a piston slider 11 is located upstream of the solid removal openings 10 , which slider 11 is movable vertically and by which slider 11 the solid removal openings 10 can be opened and closed . of particular interest is the structure of the admission region from the admission tube 7 , which is stationary in operation , into the distributor 5 , which rotates during operation , for example , from the system which does not rotate during operation into the system which rotates during operation . a product supplied through the admission tube 7 initially enters from the admission tube 7 into an admission chamber 12 at the center of the distributor shaft 4 , where the free lower outlet of the admission tube 7 extends as far as below the upper edge of the admission chamber 12 . the distributor channels 8 begin in the peripheral wall 13 of the admission tube 7 . the admission chamber 12 is configured , as shown in fig1 , in such a manner that a rib body 14 , including one or more ribs 15 , can be inserted therein . the rib body 14 is connected in a torque - proof manner to the centrifugal drum 1 , or , in accordance with the present disclosure , may be connected to the distributor 5 . as an example , two different rib bodes 14 are shown in fig3 and 4 . the rib bodies 14 each include a base section 16 . this base section 16 is , for example , configured as a circumferentially closed ring section . as shown in fig3 and 4 , the annular base sections 16 are configured to be flat so that in the built - in state they extend perpendicularly to the rotational axis d . in fig1 , the base section 16 extends vertically . in fig2 , on the other hand , the base section 16 is configured to be conical . the base sections 16 are connected to the rotating system , for example , to the distributor 5 in a torque - proof manner . the shape of the base section 16 , for example , corresponds to the shaping of the distributor 5 in a corresponding abutment or contact area . from the annular base section 16 , the ribs 15 project vertically upright and in the built - in state , they are also aligned vertically upright . the base sections 16 shown in the embodiments of fig3 and 4 are , for example , aligned vertically downwards so that the ribs 15 project vertically upwards into the admission chamber 12 . the ribs 15 of the embodiments , according to the present disclosure , are formed in one piece with the base section 16 and project vertically from the one axial side thereof . the ribs 15 are configured to be distributed circumferentially on the base body 16 . the radial length of the ribs 15 , for example , corresponds at least to the vertical height of the inlet openings 17 into the distributor channels 8 . according to an embodiment of the present disclosure , the ribs 15 are aligned radially to the rotational axis d ( see fig3 , fig4 ). however , โ the ribs 15 may be aligned at an angle to the radial direction ( see fig2 ). the rib body 14 is inserted or built into the annular chamber 12 . a bore - like inlet opening 17 , from the admission chamber 12 into the admission boreholes or channels 8 , is formed in the direction of rotation , for example , clockwise , directly behind each of the ribs 15 and radially outside the ribs 15 . the ribs 15 are located radially on the inside with respect to the inlet openings 17 . it is advantageous , according to the present disclosure , that the rib body 14 as a whole or as a single element may be set extremely simply in the admission chamber 12 when assembling the centrifugal drum 1 , where it is fixed in a torque - proof manner on the distributor 5 , which can be accomplished , for example , by fastening with , for example , screws , in a bayonet - like manner , welding or the like . as a result of the vertical and radial alignment or inclined alignment of the ribs 15 in an angular range between ยฑ 50 ยฐ to a radial running from a center of base body 16 radially outwards , the product emerging from the admission tube 7 is accelerated to the rotational speed of the centrifugal drum 1 and fed in a gentle manner into the admission channels 8 of the distributor 5 . in addition , the admission chamber 12 is configured in such a manner that , during operation , a pressure increase is established in the admission chamber 12 , as compared with an embodiment of the present disclosure without the rib body 14 . in the embodiment of fig1 , this is achieved by the admission tube 7 having a disk section 18 , for example , a hydrodisk , which may be formed at the vertically lower end of the admission tube 7 where it extends from the admission tube 7 perpendicular to the rotational axis d or at right angles to the axial direction of the admission tube 7 outwards as far as in front of the inner peripheral wall of the distributor 5 . a remaining gap may be smaller than 10 mm , or , may be smaller than 7 mm . a radially inward projecting attachment 24 on the upper end of the distributor 5 forms an additional closure radially upwards during operation . in tests it has been shown that the admission pressure can be reduced , by installing the rib body 14 , for example , by 0 . 5 bar at 80 000 l / h admission capacity . the admission capacity can be increased accordingly . a structure similar to fig1 is shown in fig2 , but the ribs 15 shown in fig2 are not aligned radially but inclined obliquely to the radial so that the ribs 15 enclose an angle with the respective radials . in addition , in fig2 the base section 16 is conically shaped so that it can be placed on a corresponding conical section 19 of the distributor 5 , where the ribs 15 extending vertically upwards from the base section 16 and also follow the conical shape of the base section 16 . the admission chamber 12 , according to fig2 , is also formed conically , at least in the region in which the ribs 15 are formed . an axial tube section 20 of the distributor 5 extends above the admission chamber 12 . in an embodiment according to the present disclosure , tube section 20 is configured to be slightly conical in its upper vertical region in which the admission tube 7 ends and cylindrical in the adjoining lower region where the diameter in this region may correspond to the diameter of the admission tube 7 . in the conical region , the inside diameter may not be more than 10 mm , or not more than 7 mm , larger than the outside diameter of the admission tube 7 . the admission tube 7 in turn extends axially into an intake region of the distributor 5 . the admission tube 7 is surrounded by a disk section 18 . this disk section 18 may however , not be formed at the free axial end of the admission tube 7 but at a little distance from its axial end . the disk section 18 extends radially into an annular chamber 21 which extends vertically above and below the disk section 18 and radially inwards over the outer circumference of the disk section 18 . the annular chamber 21 vertically adjoins the tube section 20 of the distributor 5 . in a further embodiment according to the present disclosure , ribs 23 , which may be aligned partially radially , are formed on the upper edge of the annular chamber 21 on a ring 25 connected to the distributor 5 in a torque - proof manner during operation or connected to another machine part which rotates during operation . the ribs 23 entrain the material to be centrifuged in the annular chamber 21 in the circumferential direction during operation and thereby contribute to the fact that a radial liquid level can form in the annular chamber 21 . in turn , vertical ribs 22 may be formed on the disk section 18 . during operation , a liquid ring is formed outside in the annular chamber 18 which closes the admission region or tube 7 vertically towards the bottom . in combination with rib body 14 in the admission region or tube 7 , the admission pressure can in turn be reduced and the admission capacity increased . in addition , the risk of contamination of the admission region or tube 7 of the centrifugal drum 1 is particularly low . although the present disclosure has been described and illustrated in detail , it is to be clearly understood that this is done by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation . the scope of the present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown a data reduction system constructed according to a first embodiment of the present invention . the data reduction system generally comprises a microcomputer 10 and a recording - playback apparatus 20 . the apparatus 20 may comprise a tape recording - playback section and a control board 20a having manual controls by which command signals are fed to the microcomputer 10 . a voice signal from a microphone 1 or any other source is applied to a low - pass filter 2 where the frequencies higher than 4000 hz are suppressed . the output of the low - pass filter 2 is fed to an analog - to - digital converter or pcm encoder 3 which is synchronized with a clock supplied from a time base 4 which forms part of the microcomputer 10 . the ad converter 3 samples the signal at intervals ts , fig2 or at a frequency of 8000 hz and converts the sampled value into a digital sample having an 8 - bit code . as will be detailed hereinbelow , the microcomputer 10 is programmed to receive the digitized signal at clock intervals and load it into a buffer memory m1 having a memory capacity of 512 bytes which forms part of the microcomputer and samples the stored digitized signal at longer intervals than ts , determined by the programmed instructions , for transfer to a read - write memory m2 to reduce the quantity of the data bits to be supplied to the recording - playback apparatus or external memory 20 . the read - write memory m2 having a capacity of 64 kilobytes stores the sampled digital signals prior to further transfer to the apparatus 20 . during playback modes , digital signal from the apparatus 20 is fed to the read - write memory m2 at clock intervals and thence to a digital - to - analog converter or pcm decoder 5 which is clocked by the time base 4 . the output of the da converter 5 is an analog representation of the data sample and coupled to an interpolator 6 . the interpolator 6 provides interpolation between successive analog samples . the interpolated analog signal is further processed by a low - pass filter 7 and delivered to a loudspeaker 8 . the control board includes switches r , p and e . the switch r is operated to initiate recording operation , the switch p is used to initiate playback operation , and the switch e to terminate either of the recording and playback operations . when switch r is operated , a clock signal is supplied to the ad converter 3 and the microcomputer 10 initiates the programmed instructions . according to a first embodiment of the invention , the microcomputer 10 is programmed to perform the steps as described in various blocks of fig3 a and 3b . these steps are interrupted at periodic clock intervals by an interrupt subroutine 100 to read digital samples from the ad converter 3 into the buffer memory m1 . the program begins with a block 101 when the switch r is operated by resetting a data set counter d . in block 102 , an 8 - bit zero - crosspoint interval counter t and a sampling counter s of the microcomputer 10 are reset to zero . the zero - crossing interval counter t is used to measure the interval between successive zero crossover points of the input analog signal . a digital sample is read from a 512 - byte buffer memory m1 in block 103 . the counter t is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in response to the reading of each digital sample from the memory m1 , block 104 . the zero crossing interval t is measured by a program loop formed by block 105 in which the digital sample just read from memory m1 is checked to see if there is a change in sign bit indicating the occurrence of a zero crosspoint and if not , the program returns to block 103 to read the next digital sample from the memory m1 , further incrementing the counter t . this process is continued until a zero crosspoint is detected in block 105 . the program now enters a block 106 to determine sampling points for transferring digital samples a 1 , a 2 , . . . a n - 1 from memory m1 to memory m2 . in block 106 the count value t , which is representative of the zero crossing interval from time t 0 to t n ( see fig2 ), is divided into n segments ( where n is an integer greater than unity ) and multiplied by integers from 1 to ( n - 1 ) to generate a series of sampling data t 1 (= t / n ), t 2 (= 2t / n ), . . . t n - 1 (=( n - 1 ) t / n ). a digital sample having an analog value a r ( r = 1 , 2 , . . . n - 1 ) is addressed by a corresponding sampling data t r and read out of memory m1 as stated in block 107 . the sampling counter s is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 108 and its count value is checked in block 109 if it corresponds to n - 1 , and if not , the program returns to block 107 to read the next digital sample a r + 1 . this process is repeated until digital samples a 1 to a n - 1 are read out of memory m1 . these digital samples and the sampling code t 1 are paired to form data sets ( a 1 , t 1 ; a 2 , t 1 ; . . . a n - 1 , t 1 ) and loaded into the read - write memory m2 , block 110 . the 15 - bit data set counter d is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 111 in response to the loading of each data set to count the total number of data sets stored in memory m2 . it is seen that there is a predetermined constant number of digital samples for each of the zero crossing intervals t while the latter interval may vary from instant to instant and the number of samples transferred to memory m2 is much smaller than the total number of digital samples stored in memory m1 . the data set counter d is checked in block 112 to see if it has a full count , and if not , the program returns to block 103 to read the next 1 - byte from the memory m1 . when a full count is reached in the counter d , all the data stored in memory m2 are transferred to the external memory 20 ( block 113 ). the recording mode is terminated by operating a stop switch e , this condition being detected in block 114 . playback mode is initiated by operation of a switch p on the control board 20a . when this occurs , the program shown in fig4 a begins with a block 201 in which the data - set counter d is reset to zero . the apparatus 20 is clocked to transfer the recorded data sets a r and t r from the storage medium to the read - write memory m2 at the same rate as they are recorded . this is done by an interrupt routine 200 . the digital samples and corresponding sampling data , now loaded into the memory m2 , are addressed sequentially and transferred to the da converters dac1 and dac2 , respectively , by having the microcomputer 10 execute blocks 202 to 206 . in block 202 , the sampling counter s is reset to zero . a digital sample a r is read from memory m2 and an amplitude difference ฮดar between ar + 1 and ar is obtained and transferred to d / a converter dac1 ( block 203 ). sampling code t 1 is transferred from memory m28 to d / a converter dac2 . sampling counter s is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; block 205 . the counter s is checked in block 206 to see if it is filled to an n - 1 count . blocks 203 to 206 are repeated until s = n - 1 . when s = n - 1 , the program exits to a block 207 to increment the data set counter d by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, and if not , it returns to block 203 to repeat the above process until s = n - 1 is reached . in order to decode the data now retrieved from the memory m2 , reference is made to fig5 in which the details of the decoder of the first embodiment are illustrated . the da converter 5 comprises a first da converter section dac1 and a second converter section dac2 which are respectively arranged to receive differential amplitude and time data ( ฮดar , tr ) from the microcomputer 10 to convert them to corresponding analog values . the interpolator 6 comprises a divider 6a which receives the analog values of the amplitude and time data from dac1 and dac2 , and an integrator 6b coupled to the output of the divider 6a . the differential amplitude signal ar is divided by the time signal t 1 in the divider 6a to provide a quotient xr which represents the gradient ฮธr to provide interpolation between successive sample points . the integrator 6b provides time integration of this quotient signal to generate a signal yr (= xi dt ) so that the slope of its waveform is proportional to the gradient ฮธr and varies from one sampling point to another as illustrated in fig6 . therefore , the output of the interpolator 6 is an envelope of successively interconnected line segments which approximate the waveform of the original analog signal . through the filtering action of the low - pass filter 7 undesirable high frequency components of the signal from the interpolator are eliminated before it is applied to the loudspeaker 8 . returning to fig4 a , a delay time is introduced in block 207 to permit the converter 5 and interpolator 6 to process a input signals thereof in a manner just described before the next data set is read out of the memory m2 . the microcomputer checks the data set counter d in block 209 to see if it is filled to a full count and if not , advances to a block 210 to check if stop switch e is operated . the program exits from block 210 to block 202 to repeat the above process to reproduce the digital samples contained in the next data set . it is seen therefore that there is a substantial reduction in data quantity . the external memory system 20 may be dispensed with if the capacity of the internal memory m2 is sufficient to store the information . alternatively , the flowchart of fig4 a is modified as shown in fig4 b in which the blocks 203 and 204 of fig4 a are replaced with blocks 220 , 221 and 222 . in block 220 , the microcomputer reads the digital sample a r , derives the amplitude difference ฮดar , and proceeds to block 221 to divide ฮดar by sampling datum t 1 to obtain gradient ฮธr . in block 222 , the gradient datum is transferred to the converter dac1 . in this modification , the da converter dac2 and the divider 6a of fig5 are dispensed with and the output of dac1 is directly connected to the input of the integrator 6b . according to the sampling theorem , quantum noise occurs if the one - half value of the sampling frequency is lower than the frequency range of the information signal . the data reduction system of the first embodiment , however , is not satisfactory in cases where the zero crosspoints are spaced at such long intervals that the one - half value of the sampling frequency becomes lower than the cut - off frequency of the low - pass filter 7 . fig7 a and 7b are illustrations of a flowchart describing the instructions of the microcomputer 10 programmed according to a second embodiment of the invention which eliminates the shortcoming of the first embodiment . when the manual switch r is operated , the program begins with a block 301 by resetting a frame counter f to zero . in block 302 , the microcomputer resets other counters to zero including a zero - crossing counter z , a 256 - byte sampling counter s1 for counting the number of digital samples forming a frame to be described later , and a second sampling counter s2 for counting the number of digital samples to be transferred from the buffer memory m1 to the read - write memory m2 . the zero - crossing counter z is used to register the number of zero crossover points that occur within the frame interval . the frame counter f serves to count the number of frames that have been formed . in block 303 one byte of digital sample is loaded from the ad converter 3 into the buffer memory m1 , which is followed by a block 304 to increment the sampling counter s1 by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. a zero crossover point is detected when there is a change in sign bit of the loaded 8 - bit code that signifies the occurrence of a zero crossover point of the input analog signal . this zero crossover point detection is carried out in block 305 . if there is no change in the sign bit , the program returns to block 302 to read the next digital sample incrementing the counter s1 by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. this is repeated until a zero crossover point is detected in block 305 . when this occurs , the zero - crossing counter z is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 306 to advance to a block 307 to check if 256 digital samples have been read from the memory m1 , and if not , the program returns to block 302 again to repeat the above process until full count (= 256 ) is reached in the sampling counter s1 . the frame counter f is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 308 . the fact that the sampling counter s1 has a full count is an index that defines a &# 34 ; frame &# 34 ; tf as shown in fig8 . the count value of the zero crossing counter z up to this moment is an indication of the number of zero crossover points of the input signal that occur in that frame interval . according to the second embodiment of the invention , a sampling interval ts is determined for each frame interval for purposes of transferring n digital samples from the buffer memory m1 to the memory m2 . this is done by dividing the number of sampling points (= 256 ) by the number of detected zero crossover points z which is multiplied by a factor k ( where , k is an integer ), as stated in block 309 . a datum n signifying the number of digital samples to be loaded into the memory m2 is determined in block 310 by dividing 256 by ts . using an address determined by ts , the microcomputer proceeds to read a digital sample a r ( where r = 1 , 2 , . . . n ) from memory m1 and the second sampling counter s2 is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. these operations are carried out in blocks 311 and 312 . in block 313 , the contents of counter s2 are checked if it corresponds to n , and if not , the program returns to block 311 to read the next digital sample ar + 1 , further incrementing the counter s2 in block 312 until s2 = n is detected in block 313 , whereby digital samples a 1 to a n are read out of the memory m1 . digital samples a 1 to a n and data f , ts and n are combined in block 314 to form a data set ( a 1 - a n , f , ts , n ) that is stored in the read - write memory m2 . when a full count is reached in the frame counter f ( see block 315 ), the data stored in memory m2 is transferred at periodic intervals to the external memory or recording system 20 , block 316 . if a full count is not yet reached in the counter f , the program returns to block 302 to repeat the above process with respect to the digital samples which form the next frame and enters a block 317 to check if stop switch e is operated to terminate the recording mode . if it is assumed that k = 2 , z = 32 and the frame interval is 32 milliseconds , ts = 256 /( 32 ร 2 )= 4 clock intervals which equals 0 . 5 milliseconds (= 4 / 8000 ) and therefore the number of data samples of each frame is reduced from 256 to 64 . if use is made of a low - pass filter having a cut - off frequency of 750 hz , no noise is in the reproduced signal . if the data f , n and ts are respectively assigned 2 , 1 and 64 bytes and the average number of data samples contained in the frame interval is 32 , 68 bytes of information is required for each frame and the 64k - byte read - write memory m2 is able to store a 30 - second duration of voiced information . referring to fig9 playback mode is initiated in response to the operation of switch p , causing the microcomputer 10 to execute the statements in blocks 400 and 401 by resetting the frame counter f and sampling counter s2 to zero . input data are loaded from apparatus 20 into memory m2 at clock intervals by an interrupt routine 402 . the sample number datum n of a given data set is read from the memory m2 in block 403 and the sampling interval datum ts of the data set is transferred from memory m2 to the da converter dac2 ( block 404 ). a digital sample ar of the data set is transferred from memory m2 to the da converter dac1 ( block 405 ). the sampling counter s2 is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 406 after each digital sample is transferred to the da converter dac1 . a delay time is introduced in block 407 so that the time involved in processing the blocks 405 to 408 corresponds to the sampling interval ts . in block 408 , the count value of the sampling counter s2 is checked if it corresponds to n , and if not , the program returns to block 405 to transfer the next digital sample ar + 1 of the given data set to converter dac1 . therefore , digital samples a 1 to a n of the given data set are transferred to the converter dac1 during each frame interval . the frame counter f is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 409 . the program goes through blocks 410 and 411 and returns to block 401 to reset the sampling counter to zero to repeat the above process until the frame counter f is filled to a full count or switch e is operated . fig1 is an illustration of the details of the da converter dac2 and a variable frequency low - pass filter according to the second embodiment of the invention . the da converter dac2 comprises an analog switch 30 , an operational amplifier 31 and a plurality of feedback resistors r1 , r2 , r3 and r4 . the analog switch 30 is responsive to the sampling interval data ts to selectively couple one or more resistors between the inverting input and output terminals of the amplifier 31 , so that the latter has a variable gain according to the sampling interval data . the variable frequency low - pass filter 40 comprises a pair of photocouplers pc1 and pc2 having variable resistance elements vr1 , vr2 connected in series between the output of the da converter dac1 and the noninverting input of an operational amplifier 41 through high - frequency determining resistors r5 and r8 ; the inverting input of amplifier 41 is coupled by a capacitor c1 to a junction between low - frequency determining resistors r6 and r7 . a capacitor c2 is coupled between the noninverting input of amplifier 41 to ground . capacitors c1 and c2 are also used to determine the cut - off frequencies of the low - pass filter 40 . the output of amplifier 41 is coupled to amplifier 42 , having an output fed to the loudspeaker 8 . the photodiode elements pd1 and pd2 of the photocouplers are connected from the output of amplifier 31 to ground . the resistors r2 and r3 are variable resistors which are adjusted so that the cut - off frequency of the low - pass filter 40 may correspond to the sampling interval . as a function of the digital value ts , the amplifier 30 provides a variable impedance to the photodiodes pd1 and pd2 . the impedance values of variable resistors vr1 and vr2 vary their impedance values in response to the varying brightness of the photodiodes pd1 , pd2 so that the following relationships are established between sampling clock interval ts , sampling frequency fs , and the cut - off frequency fc of the filter 40 : ______________________________________ts fs ( khz ) fc ( khz ) ______________________________________1 8 32 4 1 . 54 2 0 . 758 1 0 . 375______________________________________ it is seen that the cut - off frequency of the filter 40 becomes automatically equal to the one - half value of the varying sampling frequency , and therefore , no quantum noise occurs in the signal applied to the loudspeaker 8 . fig1 a and 11b are a flowchart describing an alternative form of the recording mode of the second embodiment . in interrupt subroutine 500 , digital samples are loaded from the ad converter 3 to the memory m1 at clock intervals ts . the program starts with a block 501 in which the frame counter f is rest to zero . subsequently , the sampling counters s1 and s2 are reset to zero in block 502 . a digital sample is read from the memory m1 in block 503 and the first sampling counter s1 is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in block 504 . blocks 505 to 509 describe steps for detecting the number of harmonic components of the digital samples that occur within a frame interval . a technique known as &# 34 ; fast fourier transform &# 34 ; is used for this purpose . while this technique may be used to detect a frequency spectrum of such digital samples and generate therefrom a power spectrum by simulataneouly treating them in a single subroutine , it is preferable that the digital samples of each frame be divided into eight groups of 32 samples each and the fft technique be applied in respect of each sample group . for this reason , a decision step is provided in block 505 to check if the counter s1 has reached a count of 32 , and if so , the program is advanced to block 506 to use the fft to derive a frequency spectrum from the group of 32 digital samples just read out of the memory m1 . a power spectrum is subsequently derived in block 507 from the frequency spectrum . the blocks 502 to 507 are repeatedly executed until power spectrums are derived respectively from eight groups of 32 digital samples when s1 = 256 is detected in a decision step in block 508 . in block 509 the microcomputer derives a peak or average value of the power spectrum from the power spectrums of the individual groups and advances to block 510 to remove unwanted higher frequency components having spectral values lower than ( 1 / 64 ) th , for example , of the detected peak or average value . in block 511 , the highest order of the harmonic components of the power spectrum is detected by checking the power spectrum of which the unwanted components have been removed . this harmonic order value is used in block 512 to determine a corresponding sampling interval ts from the following relationships : ______________________________________highest sampling sampling clockharmonic frequency ( khz ) interval ts______________________________________16 - 9 8 1 8 - 6 4 25 2 . 5 34 2 43 1 . 5 52 1 81 0 . 5 16______________________________________ in block 513 , the number of digital samples to be retrieved from the memory m1 is determined by dividing 256 by ts and the sampling number counter n is set to 263 / ts . digital samples a l to a n are sequentially retrieved from the memory m1 by executing a program loop including blocks 514 to 516 : in block 514 , a digital sample a r is read out of memory m1 and in block 515 , the second sampling counter s2 is incremented by &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and in block 516 , s2 = n ? is checked . the frame counter f is then incremented in block 517 . a data set f , a l to a n , ts and n is formed in block 518 and loaded into the memory m2 . the program returns through blocks 519 and 520 to block 502 to reinitialize the sampling counters to repeat the above process . | 7 |
in describing this invention there is first provided a notation and background for text joins , which we follow with a formal definition of the problem on which we focus in this paper . we denote with ฯ * the set of all strings over an alphabet . ฯ each string in ฯ * can be decomposed into a collection of atomic โ entities โ that we generally refer to as tokens . what constitutes a token can be defined in a variety of ways . for example , the tokens of a string could simply be defined as the โ words โ delimited by special characters that are treated as โ separators โ ( e . g .,โ โ) alternatively , the tokens of a string could correspond to all of its q - grams , which are overlapping substrings of exactly q consecutive characters , for a given q . in the following discussion , the term token is treated as generic , as the particular choice of token is orthogonal to the design of our algorithms . let r 1 and r 2 be two relations with the same or different schemas and attributes . to simplify our discussion and notation we assume , without loss of generality , that we assess similarity between the entire sets of attributes of r 1 and r 2 . our discussion extends to the case of arbitrary subsets of attributes in a straightforward way . given tuples : we assume that the values of their attributes are drawn from ฯ *. we adopt the vector - space retrieval model to define the textual similarity between t 1 and t 2 . let d be the ( arbitrarily ordered ) set of all unique tokens present in all values of attributes of both r 1 and r 2 . according to the vector - space retrieval model , we conceptually map each tuple the value of the j - th component ฮฝ t ( j ) of ฮฝ t is a real number that corresponds to the weight of the j - th token of d in ฮฝ t . drawing an analogy with information retrieval terminology , d is the set of all terms and ฮฝ t is a document weight vector . rather than developing new ways to define the weight vector v , for a tuple we exploit an instance of the well - established tf . idf weighting scheme from the information retrieval field . ( tf . idf stands for โ term frequency , inverse document frequency .โ) our choice is further supported by the fact that a variant of this general weighting scheme has been successfully used for our task by cohen &# 39 ; s whirl system . given a collection of documents c , a simple version of the tf . idf eight for a term w and a document d is defined as ; tf w is the number of times that w appears in document d and where n w is the number of documents in the collection c that contain term w . the tf . idf weight for a term w in a document is high if w appears a large number of times in the document and w is a sufficiently โ rare โ term in the collection ( i . e ., if w &# 39 ; s discriminatory power in the collection is potentially high ). for example , for a collection of company names , relatively infrequent terms such as โ at & amp ; t โ or โ ibm โ will have higher idf weights than more frequent terms such as โ inc .โ for our problem , the relation tuples are our โ documents ,โ and the tokens in the textual attribute of the tuples are our โ terms .โ consider the j - th token w in d and a tuple t from relation r i . then tfw is the number of times that w appears in t . also , idfw is : where n w is the total number of tuples in relation r i that contain token w . the if . idf weight for token w in tuple ; t โ r i is ฮฝ t ( j )= tf w log ( idf w ) to simplify the computation of vector similarities , we normalize vector ฮฝ t to unit length in the euclidean space after we define it ( the resulting weights corresponds to the impact of the terms ). note that the weight vectors will tend to be extremely sparse for certain choices of tokens ; we shall seek to utilize this sparseness in our proposed techniques definition 1 ( cosine similarity ) given tuples t 1 โ r 1 and t 2 โ r 2 , let ฮฝ t 1 and ฮฝ t 2 be their corresponding normalized weight vectors and d is the set of all tokens in r 1 and r 2 . the cosine similarity ( or just similarity , for brevity ) of ฮฝ t 1 and ฮฝ t 2 is defined as : sim โก ( v t 1 , v t 2 ) = โ j = 1 ๏ d ๏ โข v t 1 โก ( j ) โข โข v t 2 โก ( j ) since vectors are normalize his measure corresponds to the cosine of the angle between vectors ฮฝ i1 and ฮฝ i2 , and has values between 0 and 1 . the intuition behind this scheme is that the magnitude of a component of a vector expresses the relative โ importance โ of the corresponding token in the tuple represented by the vector . intuitively , two vectors are similar if they share many important tokens . for example , the string โ acme โ will be highly similar to โ acme inc ,โ since the two strings differ only on the token โ inc ,โ which appears in many different tuples , and hence has low weight . on the other hand , the strings โ ibm research โ and โ at & amp ; t research โ will have lower similarity as they share only one relatively common term . the following join between relations r 1 and r 2 brings together the tuples from these relations that are โ sufficiently close โ to each other according to a user - specified similarity threshold ; definition 2 ( text - join ) given two relations r 1 and r 2 , together with a similarity threshold 0 โฆ ฯ โฆ 1 , the text - join r 1 ฯ r 2 returns all pairs of tuples ( t 1 , t 2 ) such that : t 1 โ r 1 and t 2 โ r 2 , and sim ( ฮฝ t 1 ; ฮฝ t 2 )โง ฯ . it can be easily modified to correlate arbitrary subsets of attributes of the relations . in this paper , we address the problem of computing the text - join of two relations efficiently and within an unmodified rdbms : problem 1 given two relations r 1 and r 2 , together with a similarity threshold 0 โฆ ฯ โฆ 1 , we want to efficiently compute ( an approximation of ) the text - join using โ vanilla โ sql in an unmodified rdbms . we first describe our methodology for deriving , in a preprocessing step , the vectors corresponding to each tuple of relations r 1 and r 2 using relational operations and representations . we then present our sampling - based solution for efficiently computing the text join of the two relations using standard sql in an rdbms creating weight vectors for tuples in this section , we describe how we define auxiliary relations to represent tuple weight vectors . in the following section , we develop a sampling - based technique to compute the text - join of two relations starting with the auxiliary relations that we define next . as in the previous section , it is assumed that we want to compute the text - join of two relations r 1 and r 2 . d is the ordered set of all the tokens that appear in r 1 and r 2 . we use sql expressions to create the weight vector associated with each tuple in the two relations . since for some choice of tokens each tuple is expected to contain only a few of the tokens in d , the associated weight vector is sparse . we exploit this sparseness and represent the weight vectors by storing only the tokens with non - zero weight . specifically , for a choice of tokens ( e . g ., words or q - grams ), we create the following relations for a relation r 1 : ritokens ( tid , token ): each tuple ( tid , w ) is associated with all occurrence of token w in the r i tuple with id tid . this relation is populated by inserting exactly one tuple ( tid , w ) for each occurrence of token w in a tuple of r i with tuple id tid . this relation can be implemented in pure sql and the implementation varies with the choice of tokens . ( see [?] for an example on how to create this relation when q - grams are used as tokens .) ri 1 df ( token , idf ): a tuple ( w , idf w ) indicates that token w has inverse document frequency idf w ( section 2 ) in relation r i . the sql statement to populate relation ri 1 df is shown in fig1 ( a ). this statement relies on a โ dummy โ relation risize ( size ) ( fig1 ( f )) that has just one tuple indicating the number of tuples in r i . ritf ( tid , token , tf ): a tuple ( tid , w , tf w ) indicates that token w has term frequency tf w ( section 2 ) for r i tuple with tuple id tid . the sql statement to populate relation ritf &# 39 ; is shown in fig1 ( b ). rilength ( tid , len ): a tuple ( tid , l ) indicates that the weight vector associated with r i tuple with tuple id tid has a euclidean norm of 1 . ( this relation is used for normalizing weight vectors .) the sql statement to populate relation rilength is shown in fig1 ( c ). riweights ( tid , token , weight ): a tuple ( tid , w , n ) indicates that token w has normalized weight rt in r i tuple with tuple id tid . the sql statement to populate relation riweights is shown in fig1 ( d ). this relation materializes a compact representation of the final weight vector for the tuples in r i . risum ( token , total ): a tuple ( w , t ) indicates that token w has a total added weight t in relation r i , as indicated in relation riweights . these numbers are used during sampling ( see section 4 ). the sql statement to populate relation risum is shown in fig1 ( e ). given two relations r 1 and r 2 , we can use the sql statements in fig1 to generate relations r1weights and r2weights with a compact representation of the weight vector for the r 1 and r 2 tuples . only the non - zero tf . idf weights are stored in these tables . the space overhead introduced by these tables is moderate . since the size of risum is bounded by the size of riweights , we just analyze the space requirements for riweights . consider the case where q - grams are the tokens of choice . ( as we will see , a good value is q = 3 .) then each tuple r i . t j of relation r i can contribute up to approximately ; is the number of characters in r i . t j . furthermore , each tuple in riweights consists of a tuple id tid , the actual token ( i . e ., q - gram in this case ), and its associated weight . then , if c bytes are needed to represent tid and weight , the total size of relation riweights will not exceed ; โ j = 1 ๏ r i ๏ โข ( c + q ) ยท ๏ r i . t j ๏ = ( c + q ) ยท โ j = 1 ๏ r i ๏ โข ๏ r i . t j ๏ , which is a ( small ) constant times the size of the original table ri . if words are used as the token of choice , then we have at most tokens per tuple in ri . also , to store the token attribute of riweights we need no more than one byte for each character in the r i . t j tuples . therefore , we can bound the size of riweights by times the size of ri . again , in this case the space overhead is linear in the size of the original relation r . given the relations r1weights and r2weights , a baseline approach to compute : this sql statement performs the text - join by computing the similarity of each pair of tuples and filtering out any pair with similarity less than the similarity threshold ฯ . this approach produces an exact answer to ; as will be described later , finding an exact answer with this approach is expensive , which motivates the sampling - based technique that we describe next . the result of r 1 ฯ r 2 only contains pairs of tuples from r 1 and r 2 with similarity ฯ or higher . usually we are interested in high values for threshold ฯ , which should result in only a few tuples from r 2 typically matching each tuple from r 1 . the baseline approach in fig2 , however , calculates the similarity of all pairs of tuples from r 1 and r 2 that share at least one token . as a result , this baseline approach is inefficient : most of the candidate tuple pairs that it considers do not make it to the final result of the text - join . in this section , we present a sampling - based technique to execute text - joins efficiently , drastically reducing the number of candidate tuple pairs that are considered during query processing . our sampling - based technique relies on the following intuition : could be computed efficiently if , for each tuple t q of r 1 , we managed to extract a sample from r 2 containing mostly tuples suspected to be highly similar to t q . by ignoring the remaining ( useless ) tuples in r 2 , we could approximate efficiently . the key challenge then is how to define a sampling strategy that leads to efficient text - join executions while producing an accurate approximation of the exact query results . the discussion of our technique is organized as follows : similarity sampling shows how to sample from r2 , ( unrealistically , but deliberately ) assuming knowledge of all tuple - pair similarity values . token weighted sampling shows how to estimate the tuple - pair similarity values by sampling directly from the tuple vectors of r 2 . finally , practical realization of sampling describes an efficient algorithm for computing an approximation of the text - join . the description of our approach will rely on the following conceptual vector , which will never be fully materialized and which contains the similarity of a tuple tq from relation r 1 with each tuple of relation r 2 : v ( t q )=[ sim ( ฮฝ t v , ฮฝ t 1 ), . . . , sim ( ฮฝ t q , ฮฝ t i ), . . . , sim ( ฮฝ t q , ฮฝ t | r2 | )] when t q is clear from the context , to simplify the notation we use ; ฯ i , as shorthand for v ( t q )=[ ฯ 1 , . . . , ฯ i , . . . , ฯ | r 2 | ] intuitively , our techniques will efficiently compute an approximation of vector v ( t q ) for each tuple ; the approximation can then be used to produce a close estimate of ; assume that v ( t q ) is already computed and available at hand ( we will relax this requirement in the next section ). we define ; t v ( t q ) as the sum of all entries in ; v ( t q ) ( i . e . , tv ( t g ) is the sum of the similarity of tuple t q with each tuple t i โ r 3 : t v โก ( t q ) = โ i = 1 ๏ r 2 ๏ โข ฯ i now , consider taking a sample of some size s from the set of r 2 tuples ; p i = ฯ i t v โก ( t q ) ( i . e ., the probability of picking t i is proportional to the similarity of r 2 tuple t i and our โ fixed โ r 1 tuple t q ). to get the s samples , we consider each tuple t i s times . let c i be the number of times that t i appears in the sample under this sampling strategy . we will show that ; c i s โข t v โก ( t q ) provides an estimate of ฯ i and we will establish a relationship between the sampling size s and the quality of estimation of ฯ i . specifically , the probability that ti is included x times in a sample of size s is ; p โก [ c i = ฯ ] = ( s ฯ ) โข โข p i ฯ โก ( 1 - p i ) ( s - ฯ ) in other words , each c i is a bernoulli trial with parameter pi and mean s ยท p i moreover , the c i &# 39 ; s are independent . according to the hoeffding bounds , for n trials of binomial variable x with mean ฮผ and for 0 & lt ; e & lt ; 1 , we know : x = c i | โข โข n = s , โข and โข โข ฮผ = s ยท p i , โข where โข โข p i = ฯ i t v โก ( t q ) โข : p โก [ c i s โข t v โก ( t q ) - ฯ i & gt ; ฮต โข โข t v โก ( t q ) ] โค โ
- 2 โข โข s ฮต 2 ( 1 ) and p โก [ c i s โข t v โก ( t q ) - ฯ i & lt ; - ฮต โข โข t v โก ( t q ) ] โค โ
- 2 โข โข s ฮต 2 ( 2 ) thus , we can get arbitrarily close to each ฯ i by choosing an appropriate sample size s . ฮตt v ( t q ) to be smaller than ฮด s , and the probability of error ; e โ 3se 2 be smaller than ฮด p1 , we can solve the two inequalities ; et v ( t q )โฆ ฮด s and , e 2s ฮต 2 โฆ ฮด p1 to get a suitable sample size s : s โฅ ln โก ( ฮด p - 1 ) 2 โข ฮด s 2 โข t v โก ( t q ) 2 the sampling scheme that we described so far in this section is of course not useful in practice : if we knew v ( t q ), then we could just report all r 2 tuples with similarity ; in this section , it is described how to estimate the entries of v ( t q , by sampling directly from the set of tokens of r 2 . as discussed , the sampling strategy outlined above cannot be immediately realized for our problem , since v ( t q ) is not known a - priori . we now show how to perform sampling according to the values of v ( t q ) without computing v ( t q ) explicitly . consider tuple [ heading - 0097 ] t q โ r 1 with its associated token weight vector ; [ heading - 0098 ] ฮฝ t i . we extract a sample of r 2 tuples of size s for tq โ with no knowledge of v ( t q ) as follows : identify each token j in t q that has non - zero weight for each such token j , perform s bernoulli trials over each ; t i โ{ t 1 , . . . , t | r 2 | ) where the probability of picking t i in a trial depends on the weight of token j in tuple t q โ r 1 and in tuple t i โ r 2 . p ij = ฯ
t q โก ( j ) ยท ฯ
t i โก ( j ) t v โก ( t q ) . t v ( t q ) efficiently without information about the individual entries ฯ i of y ( t q ).) let c i be the number of times that t i appears in the sample of size s . it follows that : c i s ยท tv โก ( t q ) the proof of this theorem follows from an argument similar to that of section 4 . 1 and from the observation that the mean of the process that generates c i is โ j = 1 ๏ d ๏ โข โข ฯ
t q โก ( j ) โข ฯ
t i โก ( j ) t v โก ( t q ) = ฯ i t v โก ( t q ) . theorem 4 . 1 establishes that , given a tuple t q โ r 1 , we can obtain a sample of size s of tuples t i such that the frequency c ; of tuple t i can be used to approximate ฯ i . we can then report as part of the answer r 1 ฯ r 2 for each tuple t i โ r 2 such that its estimated similarity with t q ( i . e ., its estimated ฯ i ) is ฯ 1 or larger , where ฯ 1 =( 1 โ ฮต ) ฯ is a slightly lower threshold , where ฮต is treated as a positive constant of less than 1 , derived from equations 1 and 2 . an apparent problem of the sampling scheme proposed so far is the lack of knowledge of the value tv ( t q ) 2 . we show that this value can be easily calculated without knowledge of the individual values ฯ i of v ( t q ). first , we define sum ( j ) as the total weight of the j - th token in relation ; r 2 , sum โก ( j ) = โ i = 1 ๏ r 2 ๏ โข โข ฯ
t i โก ( j ) . ( these weights are kept in relation r 2 sum .) then , it is the case that : t v โก ( t q ) = โข โ i = 1 ๏ r 2 ๏ โข โข โ j = 1 ๏ d ๏ โข โข ฯ
t q โก ( j ) โข ฯ
t i โก ( j ) = โข โ j = 1 ๏ d ๏ โข โข ฯ
t q โก ( j ) โข โ i = 1 ๏ r 2 ๏ โข ฯ
t i โก ( j ) = โข โ j = 1 ๏ d ๏ โข โข ฯ
t q โก ( j ) โข sum โก ( j ) ( 3 ) consequently , tv ( t q ) can be easily computed from the values stored in r2sum and in r1weights that are already computed using the sql statements of the previous section . given r 1 , r 2 and a threshold ฯ , our discussion suggests the following strategy for the evaluation of the r 1 ฯ r 2 text - join , in which we process one tuple t q โ r 1 at a time : obtain an individual sample of size s from r 2 for t q , using vector ฮฝ t q to sample tuples of r 2 for each token with nonzero weight in ฮฝ t q . if c i is the number of times that tuple t i appears in the sample for t q , then use c i s โข t v โก ( t q ) include tuple pair ( t q , t i ) in the text - join result only if c i s โข t v โก ( t q ) & gt ; ฯ โฒ ( or โข โข equivalently โข โข c i & gt ; s t v โก ( t q ) โข ฯ โฒ ) , ), and filter out the remaining r 2 tuples . we refer to this filter as count filter . this strategy guarantees that identify all pairs of tuples with similarity above ฯ , with a desired probability , as long as we choose an appropriate sample size s . so far , the discussion has focused on obtaining an r 2 sample of size s individually for each tuple ; a naive implementation of this sampling strategy would then require a scan of relation r 2 for each tuple in r 1 , which is clearly unacceptable in terms of performance . in the next section we describe how we perform the sampling with only one sequential scan of relation r 2 . as discussed so far , our sampling strategy requires extracting a separate sample from r 2 for each tuple in r 1 . this extraction of a potentially large set of independent samples from r 2 ( i . e ., one per r 1 tuple ) is of course inefficient , since it would require a large number of scans of the r 2 table . in this section , we describe how we adapt the original sampling strategy so that it requires one single sample of r 2 and show how we use this sample to create an approximate answer for the text - join ; as we have seen in the previous section , for each tuple ; we should sample a tuple t i from r 2 in a way that depends on the ฮฝ t q ( j )ยท ฮฝ t i ( j ) values . since these values are different for each tuple of r 1 , as straight forward implementation of this sampling strategy requires multiple samples of relation r 2 . here we describe an alternative sampling strategy that requires just one sample of r 2 : first , we sample r 2 using only the weights from the tuples t i of r 2 :, to generate a single sample of r 2 :. then , we use the single sample differently for each tuple t q of r 1 . intuitively , we โ weight โ the tuples in the sample according to the weights ฮฝ t q ( j ) of the t q tuples of r 1 . in particular , for a desired sample size s and a target similarity ฯ , we realize our sampling - based text - join ; 1 . sampling : we sample the tuple ids i and the corresponding tokens from the vectors ฮฝ t i for each tuple t i ฮตr 2 . we sample each token j from a vector ฮฝ t i , with probability we perform s trials , yielding approximately s samples for each token j . 2 . weight : for each t q ฮตr 1 and for each token j with non - zero weight in ฮฝ t q , scan the sample of r 2 and pick each tuple t i with probability v t q โก ( j ) ยท sum โก ( j ) t v โก ( t q ) . for each successful trial , add the corresponding tuple pair ( t q , t i ) to the candidate set . 3 . thresholding : after creating the candidate set , count the number of occurrences of each tuple pair ( t q , t i ). add tuple pair ( t q , t i ) to the final result only if its frequency satisfies , the count filter ( section 4 . 2 ). such a sampling scheme identifies tuples with similarity above ฯ from r 2 for each tuple in r 1 . observe for each ; v t q โก ( j ) โข โข v t i โก ( j ) t v โก ( t q ) by sampling r 2 only once , the sample will be correlated . as we verify experimentally in the experimental evaluation of the present invention , this sample correlation has negligible effect on the quality of the join approximation . the proposed solution , as presented , is asymmetric in the sense that it uses tuples from one relation ( r 1 ) to weight samples obtained from the other ( r 2 ). the text - join problem , as defined , is symmetric and does not distinguish or impose an ordering on the operands ( relations ). hence , the execution of the text - join r 1 ฯ r 2 naturally faces the problem of choosing which relation to sample . we argue that we can choose either r 1 or r 2 , as long as we also choose the appropriate sample size as described in the similarity sampling section . for a specific instance of the problem , we can break this asymmetry by executing the approximate join twice . thus , we first sample from vectors of r 2 and use r 1 to weight the samples . then , we sample from vectors of r 1 and use r 2 to weight the samples . then , we take the union of these as our final result . we refer to this as a symmetric text - join . we will evaluate this technique experimentally in the experimental evaluation . in this section we have showed how to approximate the text - join r 1 ฯ r 2 by using weighted sampling . in the next section , we describe how this approximate join can be completely implemented using a standard , unmodified rdbms . we now describe an sql implementation of the sampling - based join algorithm of the previous section . there is first described the sampling step , and then focuses on the weight and thresholding steps for the asymmetric versions of the join . finally , the implementation of a symmetric version of the approximate join is described . given the r i weights relations , we now show how to implement the sampling step of our text - join approximation strategy in sql . for a desired sample size s and similarity threshold ฯ , we create the auxiliary relation shown in fig3 . as the sql statement in the figure shows , we join the relations riweights and risum on the token attribute . the p attribute for a tuple in the result is the probability ; with which we should pick this tuple . conceptually , for each tuple in the output of the query of fig3 we need to perform s trials , picking each time the tuple with probability p . for each successful trial , we insert the corresponding tuple ( tid , token ) in a relation risample ( tid , token ), preserving duplicates . the sql statement utilizes a relation r1v to implement the weight step , storing the t v ( t q ) values for each tuple t q โ r 1 . as described later , the r1v relation can be eliminated from the query and is just shown here for clarity . the s trials can be implemented in various ways . one ( expensive ) way to do this is as follows : we add โ and p โง rand ( )โ in the where clause of the fig3 query , so that the execution of this query corresponds to one โ trial .โ then , executing this query s times and taking the union of the all results provides the desired answer . a more efficient alternative , which is what we implemented , is to open a cursor on the result of the query in fig3 , read one tuple at a time , perform s trials on each tuple , and then write back the result . finally , a pure - sql โ simulation โ of the sampling step deterministically defines that each tuple will result in ; round โก ( s ยท ri โข โข weights . weight risum . total ) โ successes โ after s trials , on average . this deterministic version of the query is shown in fig4 . we have implemented and run experiments using the deterministic version , and obtained virtually the same performance as with the cursor - based implementation of sampling over the fig3 query . in the remainder of this description , in order to keep the discussion close to a probabilistic framework a cursor - based approach for the sampling step is used . the weight and thresholding steps are previously described as two separate steps . in practice , we can combine them into one sql statement , shown in fig5 . the weight step is implemented by the sum aggregate in the โ having โ clause โ. we weight each tuple from the sample according to ; r1 โข โข weights . weight ยท r2 โข โข sum . total r1 โข โข v . t v , then , we can count the number of times that each which corresponds to ; v t q โก ( j ) ยท sum โก ( j ) t v โก ( t q ) the we can count the number of times that each particular tuple pair appears in the results ( see group by clause ). for each group , the result of the sum is the number of times c ; that a specific tuple pair appears in the candidate set . to implement the thresholding step , we apply the count filter as a simple comparison in the having clause : we check whether the frequency of a tuple pair exceeds the count threshold ( i . e . ; ( i . e . , c i & gt ; s t v โก ( t q ) โข ฯ โฒ ) the final output of this sql operation is a set of tuple id pairs with expected similarity exceeding threshold ฯ . the sql statement in fig5 can be further simplified by completely eliminating the join with the r1v relation . the riv . tv values are used only in the having clause , to divide both parts of the inequality . the result of the inequality is not affected by this division , hence the r1v relation can be eliminated when combining the weight and the thresholding step into one sql statement . up to now we have described only an asymmetric text - join approximation approach , in which we sample relation r 2 and weight the samples according to the tuples in r 1 ( or vice versa ). however , as we described previously , the text - join r 1 ฯ r 2 treats r 1 and r 2 symmetrically . to break the asymmetry of our sampling - based strategy , we execute the two different asymmetric approximations and report the union of their results , as shown in fig6 . note that a tuple pair ( tid1 , tid2 ) that appears in the result of the two intervening asymmetric approximations needs high combined โ support โ to qualify in the final answer ( see having clause in fig6 ). an additional strategy naturally suggests itself : instead of executing the symmetric join algorithm by joining the samples with the original relations , we can just join the samples , ignoring the original relations . this version of the sampling - based text - join makes an independence assumption between the two relations . we sample each relation independently , join the samples , and then weight and threshold the output . we implement the weight step by weighting each tuple with r1 โข โข sum . total r1 โข โข v . t v ยท r2 โข โข sum . total r2 โข โข v . t v . c i & gt ; s ยท s t v โก ( t q ) ยท t v โก ( t i ) โข ฯ โฒ ( again the t v values can be eliminated from the sql if we combine the weight and the thresholding steps ). fig7 shows the sql implementation of this version of the sampling - based text - join . we implemented the proposed techniques and performed a thorough experimental evaluation in terms of both accuracy and performance . we first describe the techniques that we compare and the data sets and metrics that we use for our experiments . then , we report the experimental results . the schema and the relations described in creating weight vectors for tuples , were implemented on a commercial rdmbs , microsoftsql server 2000 , running on a 550 mhz pentium iii - based pc with 768 mb of ram . sql server was configured to potentially utilize the entire ram as a buffer pool . data sets : for our experiments , we used real data from an at & amp ; t customer relationship database . we extracted from this database a random sample of 40 , 000 distinct attribute values of type string . we then split this sample into two data sets , r 1 and r 2 . data set r 1 contains about 14 , 000 strings , while data set r 2 contains about 26 , 000 strings . the average string length for r 1 is 19 characters and , on average , each string consists of 2 . 5 words . the average string length for r 2 is 21 characters and , on average , each string consists of 2 . 5 words . the length of the strings follows a close - to - gaussian distribution for both data sets and is reported in fig8 ( a ), while the size of ; r 1 ฯ r 2 for different similarity thresholds ฯ and token choices is reported in fig8 ( b ). metrics : to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of our techniques we use the standard precision and recall metrics : definition 3 consider two relations r 1 and r 2 and a user - specified similarity threshold ฯ . let answer ฯ be an approximate answer for test - join r 1 ฯ r 2 . then , the precision and recall of answer ฯ with respect to r 1 ฯ r 2 are defined as : precision = ๏ answer ฯ โ ( r 1 โข ฯ โข r 2 ) ๏ ๏ answer ฯ ๏ โข โข and โข โข recall = ๏ answer ฯ โ ( r 1 โข ฯ โข r 2 ) ๏ ๏ r 1 โข ฯ โข r 2 ๏ precision and recall can take values in the 0 - to - 1 range . precision measures the accuracy of the answer and indicates the fraction of tuples in the approximation of ; that are correct . in contrast , recall measures the completeness of the answer and indicates the fraction of the ; tuples that are captured in the approximation . for data cleaning applications , we believe that recall is more important than precision . the returned answer can always be checked for false positives in a post - join step , while we cannot locate false negatives without re - running the text - join algorithm . finally , to measure the efficiency of the algorithms , we measure the actual execution time of the similarity join for different techniques . all of these algorithms can be deployed completely within an rdbms : baseline : this expensive algorithm ( fig2 ) computes the exact answer for r 1 ฯ r 2 by considering all pairs of tuples from both relations . r1ฮดr2 : this asymmetric approximation of r 1 ฯ r 2 samples relation r 2 and weights the sample using r 1 ( fig5 ). sr1r2 : this asymmetric approximation of r 1 ฯ r 2 samples relation r 1 and weights the sample using r 2 . r1r2 : this symmetric approximation of r 1 ฯ r 2 is shown in fig6 . sr1sr2 : this symmetric approximation or r 1 ฯ r 2 joins the two samples r1sample and r2sample ( fig7 ). in addition , we also compare the sql - based techniques against the stand - alone whirl system . given a similarity threshold ฯ and two relations r 1 and r 2 , whirl computes the text - join the fundamental difference with our techniques is that whirl is a separate application , not connected to any rdbms . initially , we attempted whirl over our data sets using its default settings . unfortunately , during the computation of the join whirl ran out of memory . we then limited the maximum heap size 6 to produce an approximate answer for we measure the precision and recall of the whirl answers , in addition to the running time to produce them . choice of tokens : we present experiments for different choices of tokens for the similarity computation . the token types that we consider in our experiments are : words : all space - delimited words in a tuple are used as tokens ( e . g ., โ at & amp ; t โ and โ labs โ for string โ at & amp ; t labs โ). q - grams : all substrings of q consecutive characters in a tuple are used as tokens ( e . g ., โ$ a ,โ โ at & amp ; t & amp ;,โ โ& amp ; t ,โ โ t ,โ โ l ,โ โ la ,โ โ ab ,โ โ bs ,โ โ s #,โ for string โ at & amp ; t labs โ and q = 2 , after we append dummy characters โ$โ and โ#โ at the beginning and end of the tuple ). we consider q = 2 and q = 3 . the riweights table has 30 , 933 rows for words , 268 โ 458 rows for q - grams with q = 3 , and 245 , 739 rows for q - grams with q = 2 . for the r2weights table , the corresponding numbers of rows are 61 , 715 , 536 , 982 , and 491 โ 515 . in fig8 ( b ) we show the number of tuple pairs in the exact result of the text - join ; unfortunately , whirl natively supports only word tokenization but not q - grams . to test whirl with q - grams , we adopted the following strategy : we generated all the q - grams of the strings in r 1 and r 2 , and stored them as separate โ words .โ for example , the string โ abc โ was transformed into โ$ a abbc c #โ for q = 2 . then whirl used the transformed data set as if each q - gram were a separate word . besides the specific choice of tokens , three other main parameters affect the performance and accuracy of our techniques : the sample size s , the choice of the user - defined similarity threshold ฯ 1 , and the choice of the error margin ฮต .. we now experimentally study how these parameters affect the accuracy and efficiency of sampling - based text - joins . comparing different techniques : our first experiment evaluates the precision and recall achieved by the different versions of the sampling - based text - joins and for whirl ( fig9 ). for sampling - based joins , a sample size of s = 128 is used ( we present experiments for varying sample size s below ). fig9 ( a ) presents the results for words and fig9 ( b )( c ) present the results for q - grams , for q = 2 and q = 3 . whirl has perfect precision ( whirl computes the actual similarity of the tuple pairs ), but it demonstrates very low recall for q - grams . the low recall is , to some extent , a result of the small heap size that we had to use to allow whirl to handle our data sets . the sampling - based joins , on the other hand , perform better . for words , they achieve recall higher than 0 . 8 for thresholds ฯ & gt ; 0 . 1 , with precision above 0 . 7 for most cases when ฯ & gt ; 0 . 2 ( with the exception of the sr1sr2 technique ). whirl has comparable performance for ฯ & gt ; 0 . 5 . for q - grams with q = 3 , sr1r2 has recall around 0 . 4 across different similarity metrics , with precision consistently above 0 . 7 , outperforming whirl in terms of recall across all similarity thresholds . when q = 2 , none of the algorithms performs well . for the sampling - based text - joins this is due to the small number of different tokens for q = 2 . by comparing the different versions of the sampling - based joins we can see that sr1sr2 performs worse than the other techniques in terms of precision and recall . also , r1sr2 is always worse than sr1r2 : since r 2 is larger than r 1 and the sample size is constant , the sample of r 1 represents the r 1 contents better than the corresponding sample of r 2 does for r 2 as we increase the number of samples s for each distinct token of the relation , more tuples are sampled and included in the final sample . this results in more matches in the final join , and , hence in higher recall . it is also interesting to observe the effect of the sample size for different token choices . the recall for q - grams with q = 2 is smaller than that for q - grams with q = 3 for a given sample size , which in turn is smaller than the recall for words . since we independently obtain a constant number of samples per distinct token , the higher the number of distinct tokens the more accurate the sampling is expected to be . this effect is visible in the recall plots of fig1 . the sample size also affects precision . when we increase the sample size , precision generally increases . however , in specific cases we can observe that smaller sizes can in fact achieve higher precision . this happens because for a smaller sample size we may get an underestimate of the similarity value ( e . g ., estimated similarity 0 . 5 for real similarity 0 . 7 ). underestimates do not have a negative effect on precision . however , an increase in the sample size might result in an overestimate of the similarity , even if the absolute estimation error is smaller ( e . g ., estimated similarity 0 . 8 for real similarity 0 . 7 ). overestimates , though , affect precision negatively when the similarity threshold ฯ happens to be between the real and the ( over ) estimated similarity . s tv โก ( t q ) โข ( 1 - ฮต ) โข ฯ . different values of ฮต affect the precision and recall of the answer . fig1 shows how different choices of ฮต affect precision and recall . when we increase ฮต , we lower the threshold for count filter and more tuple pairs are included in the answer . this , of course , increases recall , at the expense of precision : the tuple pairs included in the result have estimated similarity lower than the desired threshold ฯ . the choice of ฮต is an โ editorial โ decision , and should be set to either favor recall or precision . as discussed above , we believe that higher recall is more important for data cleaning applications . the returned answer can always be checked for false positives in a post - join step , while we cannot locate false negatives without re - running the text - join algorithm . to analyze efficiency , we measure the execution time of the different techniques . our measurements do not include the preprocessing step to build the auxiliary tables in fig1 : this preprocessing step is common to the baseline and all sampling - based text - join approaches . this preprocessing step took less than two minutes to process both relations r 1 and r 2 for words , and about five minutes for q - grams . also , the time needed to create the risample relations is less than five seconds . for whirl we similarly do not include the time needed to export the relations from the rdbms to a text file formatted as expected by whirl , the time needed to load the text files from disk , or the time needed to construct the inverted indexes 7 . the preprocessing time for whirl is about 15 seconds for words and one minute for q - grams , which is smaller than for the sampling - based techniques : whirl keeps the data in main memory , while we keep the weights in materialized relations inside the rdbms . the baseline technique ( fig2 ) could only be run for words . for q - grams , sql server executed the baseline query for approximately 7 hours before finishing abnormally . hence , we only report results for words for the baseline technique . fig1 ( a ) reports the execution time of sampling - based text - join variations for words , for different sample sizes . the execution time of the join did not change considerably for different similarity thresholds , and is consistently lower than that for baseline . the results for fig1 were computed for similarity threshold , ฯ = 0 . 5 ; the execution times for other values of ฯ are not significantly different . for example , for s = 64 , a sample size that results in high precision and recall ( fig1 ( a )), r1r2 is more than 10 times faster than baseline . the speedup is even higher for sr1r2 and r1sr2 . fig1 ( b ) and 12 ( c ) report the execution time for q - grams with q = 2 and q = 3 . not surprisingly , sr1sr2 , which joins only the two samples , is considerably faster than the other variations . this faster execution , however , is at the expense of accuracy ( fig9 ). for all choices of tokens , the symmetric version r1r2 has an associated execution time that is longer than the sum of the execution times of sr1r2 and r1sr2 . this is expected , since r1r2 requires executing , sr1r2 and r1sr2 to compute its answer . finally , fig1 ( d ) lists the execution time for whirl , for different similarity thresholds . for q - grams with q = 3 , the execution time for whirl is roughly comparable to that of r1sr2 when s = 128 . for this setting r1sr2 has recall generally at or above 0 . 2 , while whirl has recall usually lower than 0 . 1 . for words , whirl is more efficient than the sampling - based techniques for high values of s , while whirl has significantly lower recall for low to moderate similarity thresholds ( fig9 ( a )). for example , for s = 128 sampling - based text - joins have recall above 0 . 8 when ; in general , the sampling - based text - joins , which are executed in an unmodified rdbms , have efficiency comparable to whirl , provided that whirl has sufficient main memory available : whirl is a stand - alone application that implements a main - memory version of the a * algorithm . this algorithm requires keeping large search structures during processing ; when main memory is not sufficiently large for a dataset , whirl &# 39 ; s recall suffers considerably . in contrast , our techniques are fully executed within rdbmss , which are specifically designed to handle large data volumes in an efficient and scalable way . the experimental evaluation studied the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed sampling - based text - join executions according to the present invention , for different token choices and for a distance metric based on tf . idf token weights . we now compare this distance metric against string edit distance , especially in terms of the effectiveness of the distance metrics in helping data cleansing applications . the edit distance between two strings is the minimum number of edit operations ( i . e ., insertions , deletions , and substitutions ) of single characters needed to transform the first string into the second . the edit distance metric works very well for capturing typographical errors . for example , the strings โ computerscience โ and โ computer science โ have edit distance one . also edit distance can capture insertions of short words ( e . g ., โ microsoft โ and โ microsoft co โ have edit distance three ). unfortunately , a small increase of the distance threshold can result in many false positives , especially for short strings . for example , the string โ ibm โ is within edit distance three of both โ acm โ and โ ibm co . โ the simple edit distance metric does not work well when the compared strings involve block moves ( e . g ., โ computer science department โ and โ department of computer science โ). in this case , we can use block edit distance , a more general edit distance metric that allows for block moves as a basic edit operation . by allowing for block moves , the block edit distance can also capture word rearrangements . finding the exact block edit distance of two strings is an np - hard problem . block edit distance cannot capture all mismatches . differences between records also occur due to insertions and deletions of common words . for example , โ kar corporation international โ and โ kar corporation โ have block edit distance 14 . if we allow large edit distance threshold capture such mismatches , the answer will contain a large number of false positive matches . the insertion and deletion of common words can be handled effectively with the cosine similarity metric that we have described in this paper if we use words as tokens . common words , like โ international ,โ have low idf weight . hence , two strings are deemed similar when they share many identical words ( i . e ., with no spelling mistakes ) that do not appear frequently in the relation . this metric also handles block moves naturally . the use of words as tokens in conjunction with the cosine similarity as distance metric was proposed by whirl . unfortunately , this similarity metric does not capture word spelling errors , especially if they are pervasive and affect many of the words in the strings . for example , the strings โ computer science department โ and โ department of computer science โ will have zero similarity under this metric . hence , we can see that ( block ) edit distance and cosine similarity with words serve complementary purposes for data cleansing applications . edit distance handles spelling errors well ( and possibly blockmoves as well ), while the cosine similarity with words nicely handles block moves and insertions of words . a similarity function that naturally combines the good properties of the two distance metrics is the cosine similarity with q - grams as tokens . a block move minimally affects the set of common q - grams of two strings , so the two strings โ gateway communications โ and โ communications gateway โ have high similarity under this metric . a related argument holds when there are spelling mistakes in these words . hence , โ gateway communications โ and โ communications gateway โ will also have high similarity under this metric despite the block move and the spelling errors in both words . finally this metric handles the insertion and deletion of words nicely . the string โ gateway communications โ matches with high similarity the string โ communications gateway international โ since the q - grams of the word โ international โ appear often in the relation and have low weight . table 1 summarizes the qualitative properties of the distance functions that we have described in this section . the choice of similarity function impacts the execution time of the associated text - joins . the use of the cosine similarity with words leads to fast query executions as we have seen in the experimental evaluation . when we use q - grams , the execution time of the join increases considerably , resulting nevertheless in higher quality of results with matches that neither edit distance nor cosine similarity with words could have captured . given the improved recall and precision of the sampling - based text join when q = 3 ( compared to the case where q = 2 ), we believe that the cosine similarity metric with 3 - grams can serve well for data cleansing applications . it will be appreciated that the present invention has been described herein with reference to certain preferred or exemplary embodiments . the preferred or exemplary embodiments described herein may be modified , changed , added to or deviated from without departing from the intent , spirit and scope of the present invention . it is intended that all such additions , modifications , amendments , and / or deviations be included within the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 6 |
the following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the disclosed embodiments , and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements . various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments . thus , the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the embodiments shown , but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein the data structures and code described in this detailed description are typically stored on a non - transitory computer - readable storage medium , which may be any device or medium that can store code and / or data for use by a computer system . the non - transitory computer - readable storage medium includes , but is not limited to , volatile memory , non - volatile memory , magnetic and optical storage devices such as disk drives , magnetic tape , cds ( compact discs ), dvds ( digital versatile discs or digital video discs ), or other media capable of storing code and / or data now known or later developed . the methods and processes described in the detailed description section can be embodied as code and / or data , which can be stored in a non - transitory computer - readable storage medium as described above . when a computer system reads and executes the code and / or data stored on the non - transitory computer - readable storage medium , the computer system performs the methods and processes embodied as data structures and code and stored within the non - transitory computer - readable storage medium . furthermore , the methods and processes described below can be included in hardware modules . for example , the hardware modules can include , but are not limited to , application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ) chips , field - programmable gate arrays ( fpgas ), and other programmable - logic devices now known or later developed . when the hardware modules are activated , the hardware modules perform the methods and processes included within the hardware modules . fig1 illustrates the structure of network router ( or network switch ) 100 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments . network router / switch 100 includes a switch fabric 110 , which is coupled to a number of line cards 101 - 104 , through associated line card โ system interfaces โ 121 - 124 . these line cards 101 - 104 are coupled to various communication lines ( e . g ., fiber optic links ) through associated line card โ line interfaces โ 111 - 114 . referring to fig2 , line card 101 includes a physical interface 202 that contains circuitry to facilitate communications through line interface 111 . line card 101 also includes a switch fabric interface 206 that contains circuitry to facilitate communications through system interface 121 . physical interface 202 and switch fabric interface 206 are coupled to a network processor 204 , which performs various packet - processing operations . note that line card 101 provides an โ ingress data path โ 208 for packets , which flows from line interface 111 through physical interface 202 and network processor 204 , and then through switch fabric interface 206 and system interface 121 into switch fabric 110 ( see fig1 ). a corresponding โ egress data path โ 210 flows in the opposite direction from switch fabric 110 through system interface 121 , then through switch fabric interface 206 and network processor 204 , and then through physical interface 202 and line interface 111 to an associated communication channel . fig3 illustrates the internal structure of a network processor 204 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments . network processor 204 includes a number of packet interfaces 301 - 306 , which send and receive packets to physical interface 202 and switch fabric interface 206 in fig2 . ( although only two packet interfaces are shown , there can generally exist a larger number of packet interfaces .) referring to the left - hand side of fig3 , traffic packets and cm packets from packet interfaces 301 - 306 feed into arbiter 307 . more specifically , a stream of traffic packets 302 and a stream of cm packets 303 from packet interface 301 feed into arbiter 307 . at the same time , a stream of traffic packets 304 and a stream of cm packets 305 from packet interface 306 feed into arbiter 307 . arbiter 307 schedules these traffic and cm packets to produce a stream of traffic packets 308 and a stream of cm packets 309 for an ingress virtual pipeline 320 , and also to produce a stream of traffic packets 310 and a stream of cm packets for an egress virtual pipeline 322 . note that ingress virtual pipeline 320 and egress virtual pipeline 322 actually flow through the same underlying physical pipeline ( not shown ). also note that packets from the end of ingress virtual pipeline 320 and the end of egress virtual pipeline 322 flow back to packet interfaces 301 - 306 . the ingress virtual pipeline 320 and egress virtual pipeline 322 include a number of virtual engine access points ( eaps ), which as mentioned above are specialized pipeline stages that facilitate sending a request on behalf of a packet to a packet - processing engine , and receiving a corresponding response . these virtual eaps are represented by thin ovals in fig3 . note that these virtual eaps are associated with underlying physical eaps , which are not shown . also note that each eap includes a fixed size delay buffer , which can be thought of as a shift register or a fifo queue of fixed size . the virtual eaps access a shared engine 312 that can perform various packet - processing operations , such as accessing a lookup table . engine 312 also includes a queue ( not shown ) for storing requests which are waiting to be processed by shared engine 312 . ( note that there can exist multiple shared engines 312 , each protected by a dedicated separate instance of a resource shaper .) in the embodiment illustrated in fig3 , traffic packets make calls ( requests ) through different virtual eaps than cm packets . more specifically , traffic packets make calls through virtual eaps 315 , 317 and 318 in ingress virtual pipeline 320 and virtual eap 319 in egress virtual pipeline 322 , whereas cm packets make calls through virtual eaps 314 and 316 in ingress virtual pipeline 320 . to reserve engine capacity for cm packets , older systems periodically send a non - executed control message ( xcm ) into the pipeline . an xcm passes through the pipeline and uses the same eap as the traffic packets but does not execute any code . this ensures that a gap in traffic will periodically pass through the eap , which provides additional time for the engine to process a preceding request from a cm packet . instead of sending xcms , newer systems send cm packets containing programs , which can possibly send multiple read and write requests to an engine . in this case it is not possible to ensure that a cm packet will always use the same eap as normal traffic packets . for example , referring to fig3 , in older systems , cm packets and traffic packets make calls through the same virtual eap 315 ( c ). in this way , the system knows that when a gap in traffic passes through c , the queue at engine 312 will tend to decrease . in newer systems , a cm packet contains a program which performs management operations , and this program does not call engine 312 through c . the program instead calls engine 312 from virtual eap 314 ( a ) or virtual eap 316 ( b ). however , there are time differences between a , b and c . hence , if the program makes a call through a , the system cannot know if a gap in traffic that precedes the cm packet has reached c when the cm packet makes a call through a . on the other hand , if the program in the cm packet makes a call through b , a false gap may occur , where a gap in traffic that follows the cm packet may have already passed c when the cm packet makes a call through b . this problem can be solved by using a timer in addition to the resource shaper ( token bucket ) described in u . s . patent ser . no . 11 / 722 , 470 ( cited above ). this timer operates in two modes . in the case where the cm packet makes a call through a , the resource shaper counts to zero and then starts the timer to account for the difference in time between a and c . when this timer reaches zero and the resource shaper is zero , the system can let the cm packet into the pipeline . note that when the resource shaper reaches zero , the system knows that enough gaps have passed through the pipeline interface to allow the engine to process the call through a . the system then starts the timer to account for the time difference between a and c . this ensures that all the gaps have reached c before the call is made through a . for the case where the cm packet makes a call through b , the idea is to not count false gaps . this is accomplished as follows . when the resource shaper counts to zero , the system sends the cm packet and starts the timer , which counts down the difference in time between b and c . the system also freezes the resource shaper while this timer is running and does not unfreeze the resource shaper until the timer reaches zero . by freezing the resource shaper for the duration of the timer , the system does not count false gaps in the pipeline between b and c . the above - described scheduling process is described in more detail below with reference to the flow chart in fig4 . at the start of the process , the system ( arbiter ) receives one or more streams of packets including traffic packets and cm packets ( step 402 ). next , the system initializes the resource shaper variable ( rs ) to zero ( step 404 ). during operation , the system then increments rs for each time interval ( 406 ). the system also subtracts a traffic - packet cost ct from rs for each traffic packet ( step 408 ) and subtracts a cm - packet cost ccm from rs for each cm packet ( step 409 ). the system also determines whether a cm packet can enter the pipeline based on the value of rs and an associated timer t . in the case where an access point a cm for cm packets precedes an access point a t for traffic packets in the pipeline , the system : ( 1 ) allows a previous cm packet which addresses the engine through a cm to enter the pipeline ; ( 2 ) receives a next cm packet which also addresses the engine through a cm ; and ( 3 ) when rs reaches zero , starts timer t , where t counts down a number of pipeline stages between a cm and a t , and if t reaches 0 and if rs = 0 , allows the next cm packet to enter the pipeline ( step 410 ). in the case where the access point a cm for cm packets follows the access point a t for traffic packets in the pipeline , the system : ( 1 ) allows a previous cm packet which addresses the engine through a cm to enter the pipeline ; ( 2 ) receives a next cm packet which also addresses the engine through a cm ; and ( 3 ) when rs reaches zero , allows the next cm packet to enter the pipeline ; start timer t , where t counts down a number of pipeline stages between a t and a cm ; while t is running , freezes the value of rs so that rs does not change ; and when t reaches zero , unfreezes the value of rs ( step 412 ). for example , assume that a traffic packet costs 5 cycles and a cm packet costs 50 cycles . in each clock cycle , the system increases rs by one , so every five clock cycles a traffic packet is sent and rs reaches zero again . when rs reaches zero , the system can send another cm packet . ( in the case where the eap for cm packets precedes the eap for traffic packets , when rs reaches zero , the system starts the timer and waits until the timer counts down to zero before sending the cm packet .) after the cm packet is sent , rs will hover between โ 50 and โ 45 . ( in the case where the eap for cm packets follows the eap for traffic packets , when rs reaches zero , the system sends the cm packet , starts the timer and waits until the timer counts down to zero . while the counter is active , the system freezes the value of rs .) next , when there is a gap in traffic , rs increases until rs eventually reaches zero again . at this point , the system knows that the queue at the engine is empty , and the system can start processing another cm packet . the foregoing descriptions of embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration and description only . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present description to the forms disclosed . accordingly , many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art . additionally , the above disclosure is not intended to limit the present description . the scope of the present description is defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
inbred corn line php60 is a yellow , dent corn inbred with superior characteristics and provides an acceptable female parental line in crosses for producing first generation f 1 corn hybrids . this inbred is best adapted over the southeastern areas of the united states . the inbreds can be used to produce hybrids from approximately 122 - 136 relative maturity based on the minnesota relative maturity rating system for harvest moisture of grain . php60 is best used as the female parent because of its acceptable female yields , but it is not acceptable as a male parent because of poor pollen shed . in the pollen yield test , php60 averaged only 51 percent ( 51 %) of the experimental mean for amount of pollen in the pollen yield test averaged over 9 locations . the inbred has shown uniformity and stability within the limits of environmental influence for all the traits as described in the variety description information ( table 1 ) that follows . most of the data in the variety description information was collected at johnston , iowa . this inbred has been self - pollinated and ear - rowed a sufficient number of generations with careful attention paid to uniformity of plant type to ensure homozygosity and phenotypic stability . the line has been increased both by hand and in isolated fields with continued observations for uniformity . no variant traits have been observed or are expected in php60 . inbred corn line php60 , being substantially homozygous , can be reproduced by planting seeds of the line , growing the resulting corn plants under self - pollinating or sibpollinating conditions with adequate isolation , and harvesting the resulting seed , using techniques familiar to the agricultural arts . table 1______________________________________php60variety description information______________________________________type : dent region best adapted : southeasta . maturity : average across southern maturity zone zone : 9inbred = php60heat unit shed : 1590heat unit silk : 1610no . reps : 32 ## str1 ## b . plant characteristics : plant height ( to tassel tip ): 246 cmlength of top ear internode : 13 cmnumber of ears per stalk : singleear height ( to base of top ear ): 103 cmnumber of tillers : nonecytoplasm type : normalc . leaf : color : ( b14 ) dark greenangle from stalk : & lt ; 30 degreesmarginal waves : ( oh7l ) manynumber of leaves ( mature plants ): 22sheath pubescence : ( w22 ) lightlongitudinal creases : ( oh56a ) fewlength ( ear node leaf ): 84 cmwidth ( widest point , ear node leaf ): 9 cmd . tassel : number lateral branches : 9branch angle from central spike : & lt ; 30 degreespollen shed : light based on pollen yield test ( 51 % ofexperiment meanpeduncle length ( top leaf to basal branches ): 23 cmanther color : pinkish yellowglume color : greene . ear ( husked ear data except when stated otherwise ): length : 17 cmweight : 84 cmmid - point diameter : 37 mmsilk color : greenish yellowhusk extension ( harvest stage ): long ( 8 - 10 cm beyondear tip ) husk leaf : long (& gt ; 15 cm ) taper of ear : slight taperposition of shank ( dry husks ): uprightkernel rows : straight , distinct , number = 14husk color ( fresh ): light greenhusk color ( dry ): buffshank length : 17 cmshank ( no . of internodes ): 10f . kernel ( dried ): size ( from ear mid - point ) length : 9 mmwidth : 8 mmthick : 6 mmshape grade (% rounds ): 40 - 60 % medium rounds base onparent test datapericarp color : colorlessaleurone color : homozygous yellowendosperm color : yellowendosperm type : normalgm wt / 100 seeds ( unsized ): 24 gmg . cob : diameter at mid - point : 25 mmstrength : strongcolor : whiteh . diseases : corn lethal necrosis ( mcmv = maize chlorotic mottlevirus and mdmv = maize dwarf mosaic virus ): susceptiblemaize dwarf mosaic complex ( mdmv & amp ; mcdv = maizechlorotic dwarf virus ): suscepitibleanthracnose stalk rot ( c . graminicola ): intermediates . leaf blight ( h . maydis ): intermediaten . leaf blight ( h . turcicum ): intermediatecarbonum leaf blight ( h . carbonum ): intermediatecommon rust ( p . sorghi ): intermediateeye spot ( k . zeae ): resistantgray leaf spot ( c . zeae ): intermediatestewarts wilt ( e . stewartii ): intermediatecommon smut ( u . maydis ): susceptiblehead smut ( s . reiliana ): intermediatedowny mildew ( s . sorghi ): susceptiblefusarium ear mold ( f . moniliforme ): intermediatei . insects : european corn borer - 1 leaf damage ( pre - flowering ): suscepitibleeuropean corn borer - 2 ( post - flowering ): intermediatej . variety most closely resembling : characterinbredmaturityphn47usageb73______________________________________ * if maximum is greater than 86 degrees fahrenheit , then 86 is used and if minimum is less than 50 , then 50 is used . heat units accumulated daily an can not be less than 0 . phn47 ( pvp certificate 8800217 ) is a pioneer hi - bred international , inc . proprietary inbred . b73 is a public inbred released by iowa state university that has been widely used . data for items b , c , d , e , f , & amp ; g are primarily based on 3 reps of data from johnston , iowa in 1987 and 1988 plus description information from the maintaining station . table 2______________________________________electrophoresis resultsisozyme genotypes for php60______________________________________isozyme data was generated for inbred corn line php60according to the procedure described in goodman , m . m . andstuber , c . m ., &# 34 ; genetic identification of lines and crossesusing isoenzyme electrophoresis ,&# 34 ; proceedings of the thirty - fifth annual corn and sorghum industry research conference , chicago , illinois ( 1980 ). ______________________________________alleles present loci php60______________________________________ acp1 4 adh1 4 cat3 9 dia1 12 got1 4 got2 4 got3 4 idh1 4 idh2 6 mdh1 6 mdh2 6 mdh3 16 mdh4 12 mdh5 12 mmm 4 pgm1 9 pgm2 4 pgd1 2 pgd2 5 phi1 4______________________________________ this invention also is directed to methods for producing a corn plant by crossing a first parent corn plant with a second parent corn plant wherein the first or second parent corn plant is an inbred corn plant from the line php60 . further , both first and second parent corn plants can come from the inbred corn line php60 . thus , any such methods using the inbred corn line php60 are part of this invention : selfing , backcrosses , hybrid production , crosses to populations , and the like . all plants produced using inbred corn line php60 as a parent are within the scope of this invention . advantageously , the inbred corn line is used in crosses with other , different , corn inbreds to produce first generation ( f 1 ) corn hybrid seeds and plants with superior characteristics . as used herein , the terms &# 34 ; plant and plant parts &# 34 ; include plant cells , plant protoplasts , plant cell tissue culture from which corn plants can be regenerated , plant calli , plant clumps , and plant cells that are intact in plants or parts of plants , such as embryos , pollen , flowers , kernels , ears , cobs , leaves , husks , stalks , roots , root tips , anthers , silk and the like . tissue culture of corn is described in european patent application , publication 160 , 390 , incorporated herein by reference . corn tissue culture procedures are also described in green and rhodes , &# 34 ; plant regeneration in tissue culture of maize ,&# 34 ; maize for biological research ( plant molecular biology association , charlottsville , va . 1982 , at 367 - 372 . thus , another aspect of this invention is to provide cells which upon growth and differentiation produce the inbred line php60 . the utility of inbred line php60 also extends to crosses with other species . commonly , suitable species will be of the family graminaceae , and especially of the genera zea , tripsacum , coix , schlerachne , polytoca , chionachne , and trilobachne , of the tribe maydeae . of these , zea and tripsacum , are most preferred . potentially suitable for crosses with php60 may be the various varieties of grain sorghum , sorghum bicolor ( l .) moench . corn is used as human food , livestock feed , and as raw material in industry . the food uses of corn , in addition to human consumption of corn kernels , include both products of dry - and wet - milling industries and alkaline cooking . the principal products of corn dry milling are grits , meal and flour . the corn wet - milling industry can provide corn starch , corn syrups , and dextrose for food use . alkaline cooking provides snack foods ( i . e ., corn chips , tortillas , etc .) corn oil is recovered from corn germ , which is a by - product of both dry - and wet - milling industries . corn , including both grain and non - grain portions of the plant , is also used extensively as livestock feed , primarily for beef cattle , dairy cattle , hogs , and poultry . industrial uses of corn are mainly from corn starch from the wet - milling industry and corn flour from the dry - milling industry . the industrial applications of corn starch and flour are based on functional properties , such as viscosity , film formation , adhesive properties , and ability to suspend particles . the corn starch and flour have application in the paper and textile industries . other industrial uses include applications in adhesives , building materials , foundry binders , laundry starches , explosives , oil - well muds , and other mining applications . plant parts other than the grain of corn are also used in industry . stalks and husks are made into paper and wallboard and cobs are used for fuel and to make charcoal . the seed of inbred corn line php60 , the plant produced from the inbred seed , the hybrid corn plant produced from the crossing of the inbred , hybrid seed , and various parts of the hybrid corn plant can be utilized for human food , livestock feed , and as a raw material in industry in the examples that follow the traits and characteristics of inbred corn line php60 are given as a line and in hybrid combination . the data collected on inbred corn line php60 is presented for the key characteristics and traits . the results in table 3 compare php60 to b73 . b73 is an important inbred developed by iowa state university and is used in the area that php60 would be used and would cross well with some of the same inbred lines . the results show that the two inbreds differ significantly for a number of traits . php60 is later maturing ( flowering and harvest moisture of grain ), has higher percentage of large kernels , is shorter and lower eared , has harder textured grain , higher stay green scores , and better stalk lodging resistance than b73 . php60 has better ear mold tolerance , gray leaf spot tolerance , and much better southern leaf blight tolerance which makes it an important new female to use in the south . the results in table 4 compare php60 to phv78 . phv78 ( pvp certificate # 8800003 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 812 , 599 ) is an important inbred that would be used in the area that php60 would be used and would cross well with some of the same inbred lines . this data was collected over four years of research testing . the results show that the two inbreds differ significantly for a number of traits . php60 had a five - bushel per acre yield advantage over phv78 , had higher grain test weight with better grain quality and harder textured grain , and better stay green than phv78 . php60 was also more resistant to southern leaf blight , gray leaf spot , fusarium and general ear molds than phv78 . the results in table 5a compare a php60 hybrid to a b73 hybrid from one research station in the south central corn belt . although the data is limited it shows some significant differences between the b73 and php60 hybrids . the php60 hybrid was later maturing ( flowering and grain harvest moisture ) and had better stay green . the results in table 5b compare php60 to phv78 crossed to the same inbred testers . this data was collected in the central and southern corn belt . the results show that the two lines also differ significantly for a number of traits in hybrid combination . the php60 hybrids had better resistance to root lodging , better stay green and better grain test weight than the phv78 hybrids . php60 has given good performance in specific hybrid combinations for the southeast . the results in table 6 compare a php60 hybrid to pioneer ยฎ brand hybrid 3343 where both hybrids have a parent in common ( not php60 ). this data has been collected over one year of research testing in the central and southern corn belt . the data in the comparison is from shelbyville , illinois and union city , tennessee . the comparison shows that the php60 hybrid has much higher test weight grain than 3343 . the results in table 7 compare the performance of a php60 hybrid to pioneer ยฎ brand 3295 where the hybrids have a parent in common ( not php60 ). the hybrid 3295 is grown in some of the areas where the php60 hybrid is grown but will not be utilized as far south . the php60 hybrid is later for harvest moisture maturity , has higher yields , better stay green , improved test weight , better grain quality and is a taller hybrid than 3295 . the results in table 8 compare the performance of a php60 hybrid to pioneer ยฎ brand 3140 . although the two hybrids have no parents in common , 3140 is a fairly new very important hybrid that is used in the same area as the php60 hybrid . the php60 hybrid has higher yield , lower harvest moisture of the grain , with better test weight and grain quality , and improved stand establishment in the spring compared to 3140 . these characteristics will make the php60 hybrid very important in the southeast . table 3__________________________________________________________________________paired inbred comparison datainbred # 1 -- php 60inbred # 2 -- b73 * = 10 % sig + = 5 % sig # = 1 % sig__________________________________________________________________________ bu bu bar brt ear ear est cld cld drp til gdu gdu var acr acr plt stk ht sz cnt tst tst ear ler shd slkyear # abs % mn abs abs abs abs abs abs % mn abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 66 . 2 93 81 . 4 87 . 9 27 . 7 6 . 2 37 . 1 66 . 7 81 100 . 0 14 . 8 163 . 2 167 . 7 2 77 . 8 116 92 . 6 83 . 8 32 . 0 5 . 9 41 . 4 78 . 9 100 99 . 8 0 . 5 154 . 3 158 . 3 locs 43 43 33 4 34 18 98 12 12 4 23 78 70 diff 11 . 6 23 11 . 2 4 . 1 4 . 3 0 . 4 4 . 3 12 . 3 19 0 . 2 14 . 3 8 . 9 9 . 5 prob . 027 + . 015 + . 001 # . 618 . 000 # . 313 . 000 # . 058 * . 072 * . 391 . 035 + . 000 # . 000 # __________________________________________________________________________ grn ker ksz ksz ksz ksz ksz ksz plt pol rt var qul lb xl l mr mf s tip mst ht sc ldgyear # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 6 . 2 173 . 8 0 . 4 26 . 0 54 . 0 12 . 6 6 . 6 0 . 6 20 . 1 75 . 0 4 . 9 79 . 3 2 6 . 1 214 . 9 0 . 0 1 . 2 14 . 8 21 . 2 45 . 4 17 . 6 18 . 3 79 . 4 5 . 5 88 . 3 locs 15 12 5 5 5 5 5 5 44 36 22 19 diff 0 . 1 41 . 1 0 . 4 24 . 8 39 . 2 8 . 6 38 . 8 17 . 0 1 . 8 4 . 4 0 . 5 9 . 0 prob . 848 . 007 # . 178 . 100 . 004 # . 392 . 004 # . 053 * . 000 # . 007 # . 074 * . 043 + __________________________________________________________________________ tas tas tex tst sct sdg sta stk stk yld com com ear var bls sz ear wt grn vgr grn cnt ldg sc rst smt mldyear # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 9 . 0 4 . 3 7 . 5 57 . 5 5 . 5 3 . 9 6 . 4 32 . 8 95 . 3 5 . 4 4 . 0 0 . 0 6 . 8 2 1 . 0 5 . 2 5 . 8 57 . 8 7 . 4 6 . 1 2 . 3 34 . 0 86 . 0 6 . 8 6 . 3 7 . 0 6 . 2 locs 1 33 13 43 25 51 53 99 16 28 3 1 28 diff 8 . 0 0 . 8 1 . 7 0 . 3 1 . 8 2 . 1 4 . 1 1 . 1 9 . 3 1 . 4 2 . 3 7 . 0 0 . 6 prob . 000 # . 001 # . 244 . 003 # . 000 # . 000 # . 001 # . 043 + . 009 # . 192 . 065 * __________________________________________________________________________ ecb ecb ecb eye fus glf mdm nlf slf so stw var dpe 1lf 2sc spt ear spt cpx blt blt rst wlt year # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________ total sum 1 86 . 7 3 . 7 5 . 0 7 . 0 50 . 9 4 . 2 3 . 2 3 . 8 6 . 8 5 . 0 7 . 5 2 53 . 3 3 . 6 3 . 3 5 . 0 76 . 1 2 . 3 2 . 0 3 . 3 3 . 2 5 . 5 7 . 0 locs 1 11 3 1 4 8 3 3 12 1 2 diff 33 . 3 0 . 1 1 . 7 2 . 0 25 . 1 1 . 9 1 . 2 0 . 5 3 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 prob . 779 . 300 . 103 . 001 # . 118 . 762 . 000 # . 500__________________________________________________________________________ table 4__________________________________________________________________________paired inbred comparison datainbred # 1 -- php60inbred # 2 -- phv78 * = 10 % sig + = 5 % sig # = 1 % sig__________________________________________________________________________ bu bu bar brt ear ear est til gdu gdu grn plt var acr acr plt stk ht sz cnt ler shd slk qul mst htyear # abs % mn abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 88 . 8 126 79 . 0 95 . 2 29 . 7 6 . 0 30 . 6 12 . 7 163 . 7 167 . 3 8 . 3 21 . 5 81 . 6 2 83 . 0 117 96 . 1 92 . 1 29 . 2 7 . 0 29 . 4 2 . 0 158 . 6 164 . 7 5 . 8 16 . 2 83 . 4 locs 16 16 14 3 22 21 71 19 66 64 6 16 23 diff 5 . 8 9 17 . 1 3 . 1 0 . 5 1 . 0 1 . 2 10 . 6 5 . 1 2 . 6 2 . 4 5 . 3 1 . 8 prob . 173 . 150 . 074 * . 326 . 574 . 002 # . 095 * . 071 * . 000 # . 032 + . 042 + . 000 # . 418__________________________________________________________________________ pol pol pol rt tas tas tex tst sct sdg sta stk stk var wt wt sc ldg sz wt ear wt grn vgr grn cnt ldgyear # abs % mn abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 83 . 3 42 5 . 0 71 . 2 4 . 3 2 . 8 7 . 5 57 . 6 5 . 4 4 . 1 6 . 5 27 . 0 93 . 5 2 259 . 7 140 7 . 0 82 . 1 6 . 9 5 . 8 4 . 2 55 . 2 5 . 8 5 . 2 5 . 1 25 . 7 97 . 8 locs 3 3 26 7 33 3 15 16 26 36 34 68 3 diff 176 . 4 98 2 . 0 11 . 0 2 . 6 3 . 0 3 . 3 2 . 4 0 . 3 1 . 2 1 . 4 1 . 4 4 . 3 prob . 057 * . 082 * . 000 # . 424 . 000 # . 008 # . 000 # . 001 # . 486 . 000 # . 000 # . 008 # . 481__________________________________________________________________________ yld ant com com ear ecb ecb ecb ecb eye fus glf var sc rot cln rst smt mld dpe 1lf 2sc 2it spt ear sptyear # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 5 . 0 5 . 5 2 . 0 4 . 0 0 . 0 6 . 7 91 . 7 4 . 1 5 . 5 5 . 9 7 . 0 56 . 8 4 . 3 2 6 . 0 5 . 5 5 . 5 4 . 3 0 . 0 5 . 0 85 . 0 5 . 7 4 . 5 9 . 2 3 . 0 39 . 8 2 . 9 locs 30 1 1 3 1 29 2 16 6 1 1 7 12 diff 1 . 0 0 . 0 3 . 5 0 . 3 0 . 0 1 . 8 6 . 7 1 . 7 1 . 0 3 . 3 4 . 0 17 . 0 1 . 3 prob . 038 + . 874 . 000 # . 500 . 001 # . 159 . 083 * . 000 # __________________________________________________________________________ hc hd mdm nlf slf so stw var blt smt cpx blt blt rst wlt year # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________ total sum 1 5 . 5 100 . 0 3 . 3 3 . 8 6 . 6 5 . 0 5 . 9 2 5 . 0 98 . 8 2 . 8 5 . 7 5 . 0 6 . 0 6 . 8 locs 1 2 4 6 12 1 4 diff 0 . 5 1 . 2 0 . 5 1 . 8 1 . 5 1 . 0 0 . 9 prob . 500 . 391 . 048 + . 006 # . 310__________________________________________________________________________ tables 5a & amp ; 5b__________________________________________________________________________average inbred by tester performance comparing php60 to b73 and php60 tophv78 crossedto the same inbred tester ( s ) and grown in the same experiments . allvalues are expressed as percent of the experiment mean except predictedrm , selection index , and yield ( bu ./ ac . ). __________________________________________________________________________php60 to b73 sel bu gdu stk rt bar sta inbred prm ind acr yld mst shd ldg ldg plt grn__________________________________________________________________________total replic . 6 6 6 6 6 4 8 4 6 6mean wts b73 125 111 180 112 97 100 94 82 102 100mean wts php60 130 98 171 101 107 107 99 76 96 138 diff . 5 14 9 11 10 7 5 6 6 38__________________________________________________________________________ tst cob grn sdg est plt ear drp brt inbred wta sc qul vgr cnt ht ht ear stk__________________________________________________________________________total replic . 6 4 4 6 6mean wts b73 102 80 105 106 112mean wts php60 102 53 92 107 105 diff . 0 26 13 1 7__________________________________________________________________________php60 to phv78 sel bu gdu stk rt bar sta inbred prm ind acr yld mst shd ldg ldg plt grn__________________________________________________________________________total replic . 26 26 26 26 26 6 12 20 2 22mean wts php60 125 95 147 95 97 101 87 101 100 103mean wts phv78 123 102 158 104 95 100 86 94 102 83 diff . 2 7 11 8 2 0 1 7 2 20__________________________________________________________________________ tst cob grn sdg est plt ear drp brt inbred wta sc qul vgr cnt ht ht ear stk__________________________________________________________________________total replic . 26 4 6 16 24 12 16mean wts php60 103 98 96 91 95 100 98mean wts phv78 98 92 100 96 102 100 101 diff . 5 6 4 5 7 0 2__________________________________________________________________________ table 6__________________________________________________________________________ # 1 -- php60 hybrid # 2 -- pioneer ยฎ brand 3343 * = 10 % sig + = 5 % sig # = 1 % sig__________________________________________________________________________ bu gdu stk rt sta var sel acr mst shd ldg ldg grnyear # ind prm abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 94 123 136 . 1 20 . 2 138 . 0 100 . 0 99 . 4 5 . 6 2 109 122 154 . 5 18 . 7 136 . 0 97 . 1 94 . 9 4 . 2 locs 2 1 6 6 1 3 4 5 diff 15 1 18 . 4 1 . 5 2 . 0 2 . 9 4 . 4 1 . 4 prob . 065 * . 068 * . 160 . 193 . 140 . 296__________________________________________________________________________ tst cob grn sdg est plt ear var wta sc qul vgr cnt ht htyear # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 59 . 3 6 . 5 8 . 7 4 . 5 44 . 6 101 . 2 39 . 3 2 56 . 7 5 . 5 8 . 2 7 . 2 53 . 9 101 . 3 42 . 6 locs 6 1 3 3 5 3 4 diff 2 . 6 1 . 0 0 . 5 2 . 7 9 . 3 0 . 2 3 . 4 prob . 006 # . 225 . 202 . 003 # . 840 . 278__________________________________________________________________________ table 7__________________________________________________________________________ # 1 -- php60 hybrid # 2 -- pioneer ยฎ brand 3295 * = 10 % sig + = 5 % sig # = 1 % sig__________________________________________________________________________ bu bu gdu stk rt bar sta tst var sel acr acr mst shd ldg ldg plt grn wtayear region # prm ind abs % mn abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 127 110 159 . 4 111 20 . 5 148 . 5 92 . 2 80 . 2 96 . 5 5 . 4 56 . 8 2 125 107 152 . 1 105 19 . 4 144 . 0 94 . 8 91 . 4 97 . 2 4 . 8 56 . 6 locs 43 43 166 166 166 39 109 69 28 117 160 diff 3 3 7 . 3 6 1 . 1 4 . 5 2 . 7 11 . 3 0 . 6 0 . 6 0 . 2 prob . 000 # . 111 . 000 # . 000 # . 000 # . 000 # . 012 + . 000 # . 293 . 000 # . 011 + __________________________________________________________________________ cob grn sdg est stk plt ear drp brt var sc qul vgr cnt cnt ht ht ear stk year region # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________ total sum 1 4 . 6 6 . 1 5 . 2 54 . 6 43 . 1 115 . 6 50 . 3 99 . 7 98 . 6 2 5 . 6 5 . 6 7 . 0 56 . 3 43 . 2 113 . 5 49 . 0 99 . 7 100 . 0 locs 14 91 79 109 171 95 102 20 1 diff 1 . 1 0 . 5 1 . 8 1 . 8 0 . 1 2 . 1 1 . 3 0 . 0 1 . 4 prob . 002 # . 000 # . 000 # . 000 # . 357 . 000 # . 000 # . 944__________________________________________________________________________ table 8__________________________________________________________________________ # 1 -- php60 hybrid # 2 -- pioneer ยฎ brand 3140 * = 10 % sig + = 5 % sig # = 1 % sig__________________________________________________________________________ bu bu gdu stk rt bar sta tst var sel acr acr mst shd ldg ldg plt grn wtayear region # prm ind abs % mn abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________total sum 1 127 109 154 . 0 110 19 . 8 149 . 5 89 . 6 79 . 7 97 . 5 5 . 0 57 . 1 2 128 108 148 . 4 106 20 . 2 149 . 4 94 . 6 89 . 2 98 . 2 5 . 5 56 . 6 locs 31 30 121 121 123 23 77 38 12 82 114 diff 1 1 5 . 6 4 0 . 3 0 . 1 4 . 9 9 . 5 0 . 6 0 . 5 0 . 5 prob . 001 # . 604 . 001 # . 001 # . 003 # . 891 . 000 # . 002 # . 447 . 004 # . 000 # __________________________________________________________________________ cob grn sdg est stk plt ear drp brt var sc qul vgr cnt cnt ht ht ear stk year region # abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs abs__________________________________________________________________________ total sum 1 4 . 9 6 . 0 5 . 1 55 . 1 43 . 9 116 . 3 50 . 8 99 . 7 98 . 6 2 5 . 3 5 . 7 5 . 0 53 . 0 43 . 4 115 . 2 51 . 2 99 . 7 96 . 7 locs 8 81 61 67 124 63 66 12 1 diff 0 . 3 0 . 3 0 . 1 2 . 1 0 . 5 1 . 2 0 . 4 0 . 0 1 . 9 prob . 279 . 024 + . 279 . 004 # . 044 + . 042 + . 350 . 918__________________________________________________________________________ applicants have made available to the public without restriction a deposit of at least 2500 seeds of inbred php60 with the american type culture collection ( atcc ), rockville , md 20852 usa , atcc deposit no . 75078 . the seeds deposited with the atcc are taken from the same deposit maintained by pioneer hi - bred international inc ., 700 capital square , 400 locust st ., des moines , iowa 50309 since prior to the filing date of this application . the deposit will be maintained in the atcc depository , which is a public depository , for a period of 30 years , or 5 years after the most recent request , or for the effective life of the patent , whichever is longer , and will be replaced if it becomes nonviable during that period . | 0 |
the devices disclosed herein provide for transmission of video signals and control signals from infrared transmitters across active networks of telephone wiring without affecting ordinary telephone communications . they are designed to accommodate video signals with the same resolutions and refresh rates as those used for public broadcasting . when transmitting signals across path lengths typical of those found in ordinary residences , the devices provide enough signal fidelity to produce undegraded images and unambiguous control commands . design of these devices required an extensive experimental and theoretical investigation of the physics of transmission of video signals across this type of network , a deep appreciation of the special need for convenience and economy in consumer products , some circuit design , as well as a novel combination of electrical signal processing components . a description of the disclosed devices is preceded by an overview of the topic of transmission across telephone wiring . the overview will begin with a summary of the investigation into the transmission of video and will conclude with a description of the method designed to transmit signals from infrared controllers . the descriptions that follow the overview include several options for the design of the pair of cooperating transceivers , the special television / transceiver pair , and the special adaptor referenced in the summary . the influence of the transmission investigation on these designs as well as the influence of other considerations related to consumer electronics will be included in those descriptions . the advantages and disadvantages of the various designs will also be discussed , and the preferred embodiment will be identified . finally , the electronic details of some circuitry described in general terms earlier on will be presented . the signals described as video herein refer to signals that provide picture information encoded according to ntsc , pal , secam , or similar formats that are used for public broadcasting throughout the world . these formats provide between 50 and 60 image frames per second , and vertical resolutions of between 525 and 625 lines per frame . in general , the disclosed devices are designed to transmit audio information along with video according to these formats . most of the disclosed technology , however , will function the same whether audio is present or not . for this reason , signals described as video shall refer to signals with or without audio information . an explicit description will be used whenever audio is specifically included or excluded . the following problems must be overcome for transmission of video signals to succeed across a network of telephone wiring : 1 ) multi - path effects , also known as โ reflections โ or โ ghosting ,โ can cause video distortion . these effects can arise in a network of wiring because signals can travel from source to receiver via many different paths . if signal energy arrives at the receiver across two paths that differ in length , the signal conducted across one path will be offset in time relative to the signal traversing the second path . this will cause the same image to appear at two different points in the scanning cycle of the picture tube . this can create the special distortion pattern called โ ghosting โ if the offset difference is large enough . multi - path โ ghosting โ of broadcast signals is commonly caused by large buildings that reflect broadcast energy and create multiple paths of significantly different lengths to nearby antennae . 2 ) reduction of signal energy across the transmission paths can reduce the signal - to - noise ratio present at a television receiver below that required to produce a high - quality picture . a signal - to - noise ratio of 40 db is marginally sufficient for high - quality video . it follows that picture degradation will result whenever signal energy at the receiver falls to within 40 db of the noise level on the wiring or the minimum noise floor of the television receiver . three factors are principally responsible for attenuation of the energy of the signal as it travels from source to receiver , resulting in a lower energy at the end of any transmission path . these factors are : a ) attenuation or dissipation of signal energy by the wiring . unlike coaxial cable , over which video signals travel with little attenuation , telephone wiring dramatically attenuates high frequency energy . this attenuation increases linearly with path length , and also increases with frequency . at 90 mhz for example , typical telephone wiring attenuates energy at 14 db per 100 feet , while at 175 mhz , attenuation is approximately 25 db per 100 feet . b ) network junctions where the wiring splits . these can cause significant attenuation when they occur on one of the principal paths carrying energy from source to receiver . when the alternative path is very long , the energy splits , reducing the level on the main transmission path by approximately 3 . 5 db . as the alternate path becomes shorter , attenuation will depend on whether or not the branch is open , or โ terminated .โ if the branch is unterminated , attenuation will be less than this amount , and will be negligible for very short branches . at higher frequencies , the 3 . 5 db limit is approached more quickly . c ) telephone devices that dissipate high frequency energy . a significant number of these devices exhibit this property . if they terminate short branches , as described above , they can drain energy from a principal transmission path . devices that have a strong dissipative effect can reduce the energy beyond the ordinary 3 . 5 db splitting loss . as the length of these branches increases , the attenuation of the branch prevents the draining phenomenon , and the ordinary 3 . 5 db splitting loss becomes the dominating factor . at higher frequencies , the 3 . 5 db limit is encountered at shorter path lengths . 3 ) the fact that attenuation increases with frequency can cause the energy near the high end of a 6 mhz video channel to attenuate more than the energy at the lower end . this causes a โ tilt โ in the signal power spectrum , which is a form of signal distortion that can cause picture degradation if it is sufficiently pronounced . 4 ) interference from strong broadcast signals picked up by the wiring acting as an antenna can cause severe distortion . the ability of the wiring to receive broadcast energy increases with frequency . 5 ) because telephone wiring , unlike coaxial cable , is not shielded by a grounded metallic conductor , significant electromagnetic radiation can be created when it conducts electrical energy at radio frequencies . this can create legal problems as well as interference to nearby televisions and other receivers tuned to those frequencies . the level of radiation caused by a given signal level increases with frequency . ( in contrast to reguations covering radiation , no special legal problems are created in the u . s . by the connection of radio frequency devices to the public telephone network if those devices do not transmit energy below 6 mhz . restrictions are not required because the network wiring will quickly attenuate such energy below any meaningful level .) one possible strategy for addressing these problems is to recode the video signal into a different waveform with equivalent information before imparting its energy to the wiring . if , for example , the bandwidth of the signal could be compressed without losing information , the problems of tilt , interference , and , possibly , radiation would be reduced . implementation of compression or other recoding techniques , however , is extremely expensive , and will probably not significantly alleviate all of these problems . because some conventions for video encoding and modulation provide signals with redundant information , the bandwidth of a video signal can sometimes be reduced by sharp filtering without significant loss of information . because the potential reduction would not be large , however , this strategy is also unlikely to significantly alleviate the problems described above . a second method of waveform alteration is to amplify the higher frequencies of the signal more than those at the low end . this is called โ pre - emphasis โ and can compensate for โ tilting โ of the signal . apart from the fact that it only addresses one of the potential problems , however , pre - emphasis is expensive , and also requires the inconvenience of adjusting the compensation level upon installation in a new residence . this is because the attenuation differential is a proportion of the overall attenuation which , in turn , will vary from one residence to another . beyond rewiring a residence , which defeats the purpose of the invention , the only other elements of control that can be exercised to help transmission succeed lie in the choice of the energy level and frequency , and in electronics that can limit the effects of the connected telephone devices . most individuals skilled in the art , however , expect that an amplified video signal conducted across telephone networks would suffer from โ ghosting โ at most any frequency and energy level . others suspect that amplification of the signal high enough to force it across the wiring would create completely unacceptable levels of radiation . to investigate transmission over this network , the inventors devised and conducted a series of experiments that included observation of the quality of pictures generated from transmitted signals , and also measurements of radiation created by the transmitting signals . as part of the experiment , a transmit / receive pair was designed , using technology disclosed later herein , to feed amplified video signals through one port on a network and to recover them from a second port . these devices were used to perform experiments in twenty residences using video signals at different energy levels and frequencies . for most of the experiments , telephone equipment was disconnected at the involved ports , but some remained elsewhere on the network . a few tests were performed to investigate the effects of telephone equipment sharing the same port . the radiation tests involved conduction of video signals on to an unterminated 50 foot length of wiring that was extended horizontally and elevated one foot above ground , and measuring field strength via a calibrated antenna placed 3 meters from the midpoint of the wire . the signals were conditioned to minimize radiation before they were fed to wiring . the conditioning involved a process called โ balancing โ, which is used in the disclosed transceivers and is described later on . the most natural choices for transmission frequencies are the channels in the low vhf range . in the u . s ., the low vhf range is composed of vhf channels 2 through 6 , which extend from 54 mhz to 88 mhz . vhf channels 2 through 4 constitute one adjacent group of three 6 mhz wide channels spanning between 54 mhz and 72 mhz , and vhf channels 5 and 6 constitute a second adjacent group spanning from 76 mhz to 88 mhz . channels in the low vhf range are good candidates for transmission frequencies because they constitute the lowest group of channels tunable by ordinary televisions . the benefit of tunability is that television receivers can recover these signals from the wiring in tunable form , eliminating the need for electronics that convert their frequency . the benefits of using the lower frequencies among the vhf channels are the attendant reductions in attenuation and radiation . a further advantage of tunability is that if the channel is not used for local video broadcasting , there is no possibility of interference from broadcast energy picked up by the wiring in the u . s . that is because the frequency bands allocated to video broadcasting in the u . s . are off limits to any other services . because little variation was expected across the low vhf range , tests were conducted only at vhf channel 3 . no frequencies above this range were tested because the first tunable channel above vhf channel 6 is vhf 7 which , at 174 mhz , would exhibit significantly greater attenuation and radiation , and would have no redeeming advantages over the low vhf channels . to see if further reductions in attenuation and radiation would offset the extra costs associated with using channels below the tunable range , it was decided to investigate transmission at frequencies below vhf channel 2 . because u . s . federal communications commission radiation limits are less restrictive below 30 mhz , it was decided to choose the channel spanning from 24 mhz to 30 mhz . to the inventors &# 39 ; knowledge , the only applications involving transmission of video signals with high resolutions and refresh rates at frequencies below the tunable range are those where extra bandwidth is needed on a cable tv distribution network . this requirement can arise when there is a need to send - video signals over cable from remote locations back to a central transmission site . these frequencies are available for reverse transmission because distribution systems do not ordinarily use frequencies below vhf channel 2 . they are not tunable by televisions and have never , to the inventors &# 39 ; knowledge , been used in any consumer video device . following is a summary of the results of the transmission and radiation experiments : 1 ) when a vhf channel 3 signal with a conducted energy level of 37 . 5 db re 1 mv was fed onto the wiring at the source end , visibly undegraded pictures were generated from signals recovered at a remote jack in 85 % of the test cases . radiation from signals at this energy level were measured at approximately 200 uv / m at 3 meters . 2 ) at an energy level of 42 . 5 db re 1 mv , video signals concentrated between 24 mhz and 30 mhz succeeded in generating a visibly undegraded picture in 100 % of the test cases . radiation levels were approximately 200 uv / m at 3 meters . ( this level was the same as the level for vhf channel 3 because a higher conducted signal level was used .) 3 ) ghosting was never observed at any frequency or energy level . 4 ) interference from a broadcast video source distorted the picture only when it was strong enough to create an undegraded picture via antenna reception . distant video sources caused no interference . this type of interference , of course , applied only to the tests at vhf channel 3 and not at the 24 mhz to 30 mhz channel . 5 ) signals from cb radio transceivers , which operate with 5 watts of power and span the range from 26 . 965 mhz to 27 . 4 mhz caused interference with transmission across the 24 - 30 mhz video channel when a cb transmitter was within 50 feet of the telephone wiring . interference from other sources was not noticed , but is obviously possible when a source transmitting at an interfering frequency is close enough or transmits with enough power . 6 ) the connection of telephone equipment at ports previously used only by the transceivers occasionally degraded an otherwise high quality picture . 7 ) no distortion that was noticed could be traced to โ tilting โ of the signal spectrum . 8 ) radiation from signals transmitting across the wiring at vhf channel 3 often caused slight but significant interference to nearby televisions tuned to a vhf 3 signal supplied by a different video source . this occurred most often when a cable converter and vcr both connected to a television receiver , and the television tuned in a signal from the cable converter at vhf channel 3 while the vcr supplied the vhf 3 signal that was transmitted across the telephone wiring . this type of interference occurred on older televisions that did not offer a shielded input port , and also on more modern televisions that connected via a shielded coaxial cable but allowed slight leakage from other available ports such as twin lead ports . note that this type of problem will not arise when using vhf channels 5 or 6 for transmission across the wiring , because video sources that supply signals at those channels are very rare . the survival of enough signal energy to generate a quality picture can be explained by simply considering the attenuation expected over the longest paths typically encountered in residences . if one assumes a minimum television receiver noise figure of 5 db , a receiver bandwidth of 6 mhz , and a desired signal - to - noise ratio of 50 db , one finds that the minimum signal level required at the receiver is 770 uv into 75 ohms . the output level of a typical vcr is approximately 2000 uv into the same impedance , well above the minimum necessary to reliably provide a high quality picture . at 66 mhz , attenuation of signals transmitted over telephone wiring is approximately 30 db over 250 feet . it follows that 30 db of amplification should ensure good signal quality over the longest paths in typical households , except where splits in the wiring and connected telephone equipment cause excessive attenuation . the lack of โ ghosting โ can be explained by the fact that there is usually a monotonic relationship between signal transit time and attenuation . ( the rare exceptions to this relationship can be caused by a short path over which signals suffer extraordinary attenuation due to the presence of many splits , or the presence of telephone devices connected off short branches . signals traversing such a path might attenuate more than those traversing a longer path that has a longer transit time .) because of this monotonic relationship , secondary signals arriving at the receiver after traversing long reflected paths will be usually be significantly attenuated relative to signals that travel over the most direct path from the transmitter . the โ offset โ in the picture that produces โ ghosting โ is related to the difference in travel times . to be visible , the offset must be at least as wide as the resolution of the television . it can be shown that path length differences that create offsets this large also have enough difference in attenuation to place the energy level of the reflected path at least 40 db below that of the incident path , which is below the minimum srr required for a quality picture , making the reflected energy negligible and its interference invisible . the results of the experiments verified that when two signals are fed to telephone wiring at energy levels that will cause them to generate the same amount of electromagnetic radiation , a signal transmitting at a channel below 54 mhz has a significantly higher probability of generating a high quality picture than a signal transmitting at a low vhf channel . transmission at lower frequencies , however , is more susceptible to interference from broadcast sources and also requires somewhat more expensive electronics . as described in the introduction , the second signal that will be passed between the transceivers is the control signal from an infrared transmitter operating in the area of a connected television . part of the disclosed transmission technique follows the known strategy of transducing the light pattern created by these signals into electrical energy and transmitting that energy across the wiring in the opposite direction of the video signals , to be received by the transceiver connected to the video source . that transceiver uses the electrical version of the signal to recreate the original infrared light pattern , for the purposes of controlling the video source to which it connects . the technique disclosed herein embodies an extension designed to avoid interference with telephone signals . the extension calls for the frequency of the electrical version of the control signals to be converted to a higher band before transmission across the wiring . this band will be high enough to eliminate interference with telephone or low - frequency communication signals . after recovery of this signal at the end of the transmission path , the signal is converted back to its original band before being used to recreate the original light pattern . maintaining the fidelity of the control signals across the wiring presents less of a challenge than was posed by transmission of video signals . unevenness , or โ tilting โ in the signal spectrum is not a problem because the bandwidth of the signal is small . an analysis of the factors governing multi - path interference indicates that that problem should not arise either . because the bandwidth of control signals from typical infrared transmitters is considerably less than 1 mhz , finding a frequency interval that will encounter little interference from ambient broadcast signals is not difficult . also , the information content is small so that little energy is required for successful transmission . the reduced energy generates less radiation . other requirements for the choice of a frequency band and energy level for transmission of these signals are that the band must not overlap , of course , the video signals at the frequencies chosen for video transmission , and the energy must meet the legal requirements that govern devices that connect to the public telephone network . as mentioned earlier , the u . s . federal communications commission imposes no restrictions on signals above 6 mhz , leaving ample room between that frequency and the video signals , even if a channel below vhf 2 is used . the control signals can also be transmitted above the frequencies used for transmission of video . a frequency centered at 10 . 7 mhz is used in the preferred embodiment because that is a common intermediate frequency in fm radio devices , the result of which is that there are very inexpensive electronic components available that are especially suited for that frequency . as a result of the investigation into transmission of video signals across active telephone wiring and the system adopted for transmission of control signals , a general design for a transceiver was developed to connect between a video source and telephone wiring to perform the functions of : 1 ) shifting the frequency of the video signal from the channel supplied by the source to the channel used for transmission , 2 ) amplifying the video signal , 3 ) โ balancing โ the two leads of the video signal so that their voltages are nearly equal and opposite with respect to ground , and matching the impedance of the telephone wiring , 4 ) transmitting this signal on to the telephone network without disturbing low - frequency communication signals , simultaneously recovering the control signals fed to the wiring by the transceiver connected to the television , 5 ) downshifting the control signals to their original frequency , 6 ) using the resulting energy to recreate the original infrared pattern , and 7 ) connecting to a telephone jack while allowing for telephone devices to share the same jack without loading down the energy of the video signal . fig1 shows an arrangement of electronics for a transceiver 1 designed to implement these functions . this transceiver is described in the following paragraphs . the description discloses several optional design variations . the transceiver 1 connects to the video source 2 to derive a signal . that signal is passed to rf converter 3 , which translates the signal to the frequency band chosen for transmission over the wiring . fortunately , nearly all consumer video sources provide their signals in one of only two different ways . some devices provide an unmodulated video signal containing no sound information from one port and an unmodulated audio signal from a second , separate port . others supply a video signal , possibly including sound information , at either vhf channel 3 or 4 , according to a switch set by the consumer . most vcrs make their signal available in both forms . two alternative design options for rf converters are disclosed for transmission at a low vhf channel . these options have clear advantages over all other possible designs . one design derives the signals from the port that supplies a low vhf signal , hereinafter referred to as the โ low vhf port .โ that design is described first . that description is followed by a description of the second design , which derives its signal from the port that supplies an unmodulated signal , hereinafter referred to as the โ baseband โ port . operating manuals for video sources that provide a vhf channel 3 or 4 signal instruct users to select the channel not used for local broadcasting . one of the two is always guaranteed to be free from broadcast interference in the u . s . this is because the u . s . fcc has allocated frequencies to ensure that no locality has broadcasting at both of two adjacent video channels , and has reserved the video broadcast bands strictly for television . it follows that the low vhf port on a vcr is guaranteed to provide a low vhf signal that is not used for local broadcasting . this eliminates the need for rf conversion electronics and significantly reduces the expense of the device . furthermore , a single design can suffice for every location in the country . a possible drawback to this alternative is that of the interference problem , described earlier , caused by radiation of the transmitted signal from the wiring that leaks into televisions deriving signals from a separate source at vhf channel 3 or 4 . to minimize radiation and thus alleviate this problem , the use of a special connecting cable and a variable amplifier are disclosed later on in the description of this transceiver . the second design option for transmission at a low vhf channel calls for the signal to be derived in unmodulated form from the baseband port . this option has two significant advantages . one is that the low vhf port on vcrs is usually connected to a television receiver , while the baseband port on vcrs is almost always unused and open , making connection of the transceiver extremely easy . the other advantage derives from a switch , usually referred to as the โ tv / vcr โ switch , that controls the output of the low vhf port on vcrs . the tv / vcr switch allows the vcr signal , created from a video tape or from a signal tuned in by the vcr tuner , to be sent out at vhf channel 3 or 4 , or alternatively , it allows the signals input to the vcr to pass out the โ low vhf โ port at their original frequencies . meanwhile , the vcr signal always exits the baseband port . this allows the local television to tune to either the input signals , or to the signal produced by the vcr , while the vcr signal exits the baseband port separately , available for transmission across the wiring to the remote television . moreover , the โ tv / vcr โ switch usually responds to one of the controls on an accompanying infrared remote control transmitter . if a low vhf frequency is chosen for transmission and the baseband port is chosen as the signal source , the rf converter 3 is obviously required . the converter inputs a video signal , and uses that signal to modulate a low vhf carrier signal , creating an equivalent video signal at a low vhf frequency . ( if an audio signal is available , it would ordinarily make sense , of course , for the modulator to combine this signal together with the video according to the ntsc or an equivalent format , and then use the combined signal to modulate the carrier .) in order to achieve the economy provided by a single design that suffices for the entire u . s ., one of two adjacent low vhf channels should be made available and set according to a user - controlled switch . ( theoretically , the switch could also be automatically controlled , using circuitry that detects the presence of broadcast energy to choose the empty channel .) a design for this modulator is not given because several designs are well known . several advantages accrue if the modulator is designed to operate at either vhf channel 5 or 6 , instead of the other two available adjacent low vhf pairs : vhf 3 / 4 , and vhf 2 / 3 . first of all , the special problem of radiative energy from the wiring interfering with the signal provided by a separate video source to a nearby television will not occur . this is because consumer video sources seldom provide their video signal at vhf channel 5 or 6 . secondly , the television connected via the transceiver will more easily be able to combine the recovered signal together with a local video source , such as a cable converter , again because video sources almost always use vhf channels 2 , 3 , or 4 . finally , an advantage accrues from the fact that vhf channels 5 and 6 are not adjacent to any other channels . this means that when combining the telephone line signal with a signal from an antenna , the signal from the telephone line will never be adjacent to more than one broadcast signal . because only expensive modulators confine their signals completely within their intended band , this reduces possibilities of interference . the rf converter 3 is also required , of course , if a frequency below vhf channel 2 is used for transmission , independent of the port from which the video signal is derived . unlike low vhf channels , however , channels below vhf 2 are not tunable by ordinary televisions , making rf conversion a requirement at the transceiver that connects to the television , shown later in fig2 . the rf conversions performed by the two transceivers must obviously coordinate in this case . three systems for coordination between these conversion operations are disclosed following the description of the television transceiver . after it is derived at or shifted to the channel used for transmission , the video signal is passed to an rf amplifier 4 , which increases the energy level by a fixed factor . in order to increase the likelihood of success of transmission across all residences , amplification should be set to cause radiation that barely meets legal limits , unless a very high success rate can be achieved with a lesser setting . a variation of this design calls for an rf amplifier 4 that allows the user variable control over the amplification level . this is valuable in situations where vhf 3 or 4 is used for transmission , because radiation from the wiring can cause interference at televisions connected to separate sources , as described earlier . a variable reduction of signal level potentially enables a user to eliminate this interference while keeping signal level at the remote television high enough to generate an undegraded picture . after amplification , the video signal follows the conductive path to a coupling network 5 . this network 5 feeds the video signal to the telephone wiring , and allows the control signals from the television transceiver to pass from the wiring towards the control signal processing circuitry 6 . ( the process whereby control signals from an infrared transmitter are converted to electrical energy above voiceband and conducted on to the telephone line is included within the description of the television transceiver .) the network also performs the functions of balancing the energy of the video signal , matching the impedance of the video signal path to the impedance of the telephone wiring , blocking low - frequency telephone communication signals from the transceiver electronics , and blocking the flow of video signals towards the control signal processing circuitry 6 . the network 5 does not block the flow of control signals towards the rf amplifier 4 . the importance of these functions is described in the following paragraphs . the detailed electronic design of the preferred embodiment of this network is shown in fig6 and is described in detail later on . balancing the video signal energy on the two leads of the wiring promotes cancellation of the two electromagnetic fields created by these leads , dramatically reducing radiation . the frequency of the input will have the biggest effect on the balance achieved by a given network design . because the frequency will be known , the design can be tailored to produce a reliable balancing . balancing of the control signals , on the other hand , is not nearly as critical because the strength of those signals can be boosted high enough to guarantee quality transmission while limiting radiation to levels below legal or otherwise significant limits . the impedance of the internal transceiver circuitry wiring is matched to the impedance of the telephone line at the video frequencies because transition from one medium to another is inefficient and wastes signal energy if impedance is not matched . this can be important in situations where the video signal energy is only marginally high enough to create a high quality picture . impedance matching at the frequencies used by control signals is not important because of the excess power available for transmission of those signals . blocking low - frequency signals from transmission to the electronics of the transceiver prevents any interference with ordinary telephone communication signals . the blocking should render the connection and operation of the transceiver totally transparent to the functioning of low frequency telephone communications . blocking the flow of video energy to the control signal processing circuitry 6 allows that component to reliably recreate the original control signal without special expensive electronics . the video signal would ordinarily disrupt this processing because it has a very high energy level while passing through this network . note that the network 5 allows control signals to pass on to the rf amplifier 4 . there is no need to block these signals because they will be at frequencies above baseband and rf amplifiers are commonly designed to terminate low power rf signals that are incident at their outputs . the amplifier thus provides isolation of the control signal from the video source as a side effect . if this intelligence could traverse the amplifier and transmit to the rf converter 3 or the video source 2 , it would be similarly ignored , because these devices also commonly provide reverse isolation . the function of the control signal processing circuitry 6 is to downshift the frequency of the control signals back to their original location at baseband , and to use the resulting energy to drive an infrared emitting bulb 7 , recreating the original light pattern . this function completes the process of transmission of signals from an infrared transmitter over active telephone wiring , a function not heretofore a part of any commercial or consumer device . the preferred embodiment of the control signal circuitry 6 of the video source transceiver is shown in fig9 and is described in detail later on . if the video source transceiver is placed on top of the source to which it connects , which seems likely to be the most convenient placement , there will not be a line of sight path between the infrared bulb and the infrared sensitive pick up window on the source . this is not a problem if the infrared light can reflect off walls and retain its effectiveness , something that is known to be possible . to allow this convenient placement of the transmitter , the infrared transmission bulb should be driven at high power and with a wide beamwidth , in order to decrease the possibility of insufficient reflective energy . it may make sense to drive several bulbs oriented at different angles . the transceiver 1 connects to the telephone network 10 via a connecting cord 12 terminated with a male rj - 11 plug , the standard plug used to connect to telephone jacks . this cord includes two special components : a touch tone switch 8 , and a low pass filter 9 . also , the two conductors of the cord are systematically twisted about each other . the touch tone switch 8 is an optional feature provided for coordination of this transceiver with other video source transceivers connected to the same network . its function is described in detail later on . for the purposes of the current discussion , it can be assumed that the switch has no influence on signal flow across the cord 12 or on the operation of the other components . the other two features , the low pass filter 9 and the special nature of the conductors of the cord , are described in the following paragraphs . as mentioned earlier , telephone devices that connect to a main transmission path via a short stretch of wiring can cause significant dissipation of rf signal energy . to allow equipment to remain connected at the ports shared by the transceiver without causing attenuation , the low - pass filter 9 , consisting of two induction coils with low - pass properties connects in series to the two conductors of the cord to offer a second port for connection of telephone equipment 11 . this filter removes most high - frequency effects of both the equipment and the split in the wiring by presenting a high impedance to rf signals . twisting the conductors of the cord significantly reduces the energy that radiates from those conductors , beyond the reduction that derives from balancing the voltages . when used in combination with the low - pass filter , this feature leaves only the wiring connecting the jacks to the public telephone interface , and the wiring connecting telephone devices at uninvolved jacks as a source for significant radiation . ( if the connecting wires are twisted , and uninvolved jacks are far from the main transmission path , very few radiation opportunities will remain .) this reduction is important for the case where a television receiving a signal from a separate video source encounters interference from radiation generated by the wiring at vhf channel 3 or 4 . shielding of the conductors by a metallic conductor also will reduce radiation . this shielding is more effective if the conductor is connected to ground . based on the system adopted for transmitting infrared signals , and the requirements for conveniently supplying video signals to a television receiver , a general design for a transceiver was developed to connect between telephone wiring and a television receiver to perform the functions of : 1 ) receiving ambient infrared control signals , converting them to electrical energy , and boosting the frequency of this energy to a band that lies completely above the frequencies used for ordinary telephone communications , 2 ) feeding the control signal on to the telephone network without disturbing low - frequency communication signals , while simultaneously recovering video signals , 3 ) matching the impedance between the telephone wiring and the conductive path that receives the video signal , 4 ) converting , if necessary , the received video signal up to a channel that is tunable by a television and is not used for local broadcasting , and 5 ) connecting to a telephone jack while allowing for telephone devices to share the same jack without loading down the energy of video signals on the wiring . fig2 shows an arrangement of electronics for a transceiver 15 designed to implement these functions . this transceiver 15 is described in the following paragraphs . the description discloses several optional design variations . an infrared sensitive diode 16 reacts to control signals from an infrared control signal transmitter 23 to create the desired conversion to electrical energy . the resulting signal is passed to the control signal processing circuitry 17 which performs the translation to a frequency band above the telephone communications band . the preferred embodiment of this circuitry is shown in fig8 and described in detail later on . the preferred embodiment calls for a transmission frequency centered at 10 . 7 mhz . signals generated by the control signal processing circuitry 17 are passed to a coupling network 18 . this network feeds the control signals to the telephone network wiring 26 and allows video signals to pass from the wiring along the conductive path leading towards the television receiver 22 . the network also performs the functions of matching the impedance of the video signal path to that of the telephone wiring , blocking low - frequency signals from the transceiver electronics , blocking the diversion of video energy towards the control signal processing circuitry 17 , and blocking higher harmonics of the control signal , but not the fundamental of this signal from transmission to the telephone wiring and from transmission along the conductive path leading towards the television 22 . the importance of these functions is described in the following paragraphs . the detailed electronic design of the preferred embodiment of this network is shown in fig7 and is described in detail later on . impedance matching ensures an efficient transfer of energy from the telephone wiring to the electronics of the device . just as in the case of the video source transceiver , the efficient transfer of video energy across this junction can be important in situations where the signal energy is only marginally sufficient to produce a high quality picture . blocking telephone and other low - frequency communications signals from transmission to the electronics of the transceiver prevents any interference with those signals and also prevents disturbance of the dc power supplied to telephone devices . the blocking should be such that it renders the functioning of these communications totally transparent to the connection and operation of the transceiver . blocking of video signal energy from transmission between the network 18 and the control signal processing circuitry 17 is important because it prevents the reduction of video signal energy by diversion along this path . blocking the harmonics , but not the fundamental , of the signal emerging from the control signal processing circuitry 17 is important because some of the harmonics may coincide with the frequencies used for transmission of video . because they will transmit to the television 22 as well as to the telephone wiring , these harmonics can cause interference if they are of sufficient strength . no information is lost in this process because the information in the harmonics of a signal is completely redundant with the information in the signal fundamental . unless the energy level of the control signal is very high , there is no need to block the control signal from transmission across the network 18 towards the television receiver 22 . this is because television receivers ignore energy outside the video channel to which they are tuned unless that energy is at a very high level . for example , televisions ignore energy at vhf channel 4 when they are tuned to vhf channel 5 . problems also do not occur when the rf converter 19 is required . in that event , the control signal is shifted in frequency along with the video signal , but it is rejected by the television tuner for the same reasons as before . because the control signal signal cannot cause interference or other harm to the television transceiver the isolation circuitry described by the robbins patent , which blocks this intelligence from the television , is unnecessary . signals passing along the path from the network towards the television 22 encounter the rf converter 19 . as mentioned earlier , if a low vhf channel is used for transmission , frequency conversion at the television end is not necessary and signals can transmit directly from the coupling network 18 to the television 22 . when channels below vhf 2 are used for transmission , the rf converter 19 converts the video signal to a channel that is tunable by ordinary televisions . because of potential interference problems , this channel should be one that is not used by local broadcasting . ( interference could normally be avoided by connecting the transceiver via a shielded coaxial cable . many older televisions , however , do not offer a shielded input port , and many modern televisions exhibit slight leakage from other available ports such as twin lead ports .) because the video source transceiver outputs video signals at the transmission frequency , and this transceiver 15 , inputs signals at that frequency , the two units must obviously cooperate in their rf conversion designs . three systems are disclosed herein for cooperation between the rf converters of the disclosed transceiver pair to transmit video at a channel below vhf 2 . under each of these systems , the signal is provided to the television 22 at one of two adjacent broadcast channels , according to a switch set by the user . in the u . s ., this feature guarantees that the requirement of providing a signal at a channel not used for local broadcasting is fulfilled because , as described earlier , the u . s . fcc has ensured that one of two adjacent channels is always unused in a given locality . a complete description of each of these systems is presented in the next section . the television transceiver connects to the telephone wiring network 26 via a cord terminated with a male rj - 11 plug . just like the cord used for connection of the video source transceiver , this cord contains a low pass filter 24 , which creates an isolated port that allows connection of telephone equipment 25 without loading down the video signal passing from the network to the transceiver . unlike the cord connecting the video source transceiver to the telephone wiring , it is not as critical to supply this transceiver with a cord whose conductors are twisted . that is because the level of the video energy traversing the cord will be much lower , and will generate less radiation . because the television to which this transceiver connects may have another source of video signals available , and because most televisions only have one port for input of signals at vhf frequencies , it may make sense to provide a switch that allows users to connect both sources and quickly choose between them . because of the likelihood that no signals from the two sources contain energy at the same channel , any device or component that performs this function might also allow the addition of the two . technology to achieve these signal combination options is well known . such a component , not shown in the drawings , could be an attachment that connected in series with the cable connecting to the television . it might be more convenient , however , to include this component as part of the transceiver . in that case , the transceiver would simply include a coaxial port for input of signals from a second source , and would be able to provide signals from either source , or the combination of the two , to the local television . controls on the transceiver would allow the user to choose the composition of the signal provided to the television . there is a possibility that , when receiving signals from a video source located relatively close by , this transceiver 15 may receive a signal whose energy level is too high for the television to which it is connected . in the event that the transceiver includes rf conversion circuitry , the solution is to ensure that this circuitry can manage high signal levels , and that a level within the range of most television receivers is provided at the output . when a low vhf channel is used for transmission and rf conversion circuitry is not required , one solution is to provide attenuation circuitry , set automatically or manually , that reduces the energy of the signal to a level within the dynamic range of ordinary televisions . systems for rf conversion to achieve transmission below vhf channel 2 as mentioned earlier , two rf conversion operations are required in order to transmit the video signal across the wiring at a channel below vhf 2 . at the video source end , the transceiver must convert the signal from the frequency at which it is supplied to a band between 6 mhz and 54 mhz . the transceiver connected to the television must recover the signal from within this band and convert it to a channel tunable by ordinary television receivers . three systems for cooperation between these conversion operations are described in the following paragraphs , along with their respective advantages and disadvantages . under each of the systems , the signal is provided to the television 22 at one of two adjacent broadcast channels , according to a switch set by the user . in the u . s ., this feature guarantees that the requirement of providing a signal at a channel not used for local broadcasting is fulfilled because , as described earlier , the u . s . fcc has ensured that one of two adjacent channels is always unused in a given locality . the unusual nature of the conversion operations , combined with the novelty of using these channels for a consumer video application , or for any video application other than the cable distribution function described earlier , make the resulting electronics a new consumer electronic development . the systems are summarized by the chart in fig3 . the precise electronic details of the various converters are not given because technology to achieve these conversions is known , and would be within the ability of one of working skill in this field . under the first system , the video source transceiver derives its signal from a low vhf port and imparts a fixed downshift to produce one of two adjacent channels . signals spanning 24 mhz to 30 mhz or 30 mhz to 36 mhz , for example , are produced from vhf channels 3 or 4 by a fixed downshift of 36 mhz . in the final step of this system , the rf converter in the television transceiver imparts an equivalent fixed upshift , restoring the signal to its original channel for delivery to the television . the fixed downshifts mean that the choice of which of the two channels is actually used for transmission is determined by the setting on the video source that chooses between vhf channel 3 or 4 . ( there are a few video sources that supply signals at vhf channels 2 or 3 instead of vhf channels 3 or 4 . to account for these sources , the shifting should be designed to include bands covering at least 18 mhz , rather than 12 mhz .) the advantage of this system is that the versatility already supplied by the low vhf port of the video source is used to ensure that the transmitted signal is supplied to the television at an unused channel . this enables the two rf converters to be designed to translate by a fixed amount , reducing manufacturing costs . the second system calls for the rf converter in the video source transceiver to use the video signal from a baseband port to modulate a carrier to either one of two adjacent channels below vhf 2 , according to a switch set by the user . ( it would ordinarily make sense , of course , for the modulator to combine an audio signal , if available , together with the video according to the ntsc or an equivalent format , and then to modulate using this combined signal .) in cooperation with this conversion , the rf converter of the television transceiver again upconverts by a fixed amount . if the modulation created the channels spanning either 24 mhz to 30 mhz or 30 mhz to 36 mhz , for example , an upshift of 36 mhz would produce vhf channels 3 or 4 , an upshift of 52 mhz would produce vhf channels 5 or 6 , and an upshift of 150 mhz would produce vhf channels 7 or 8 . the primary advantages of this design over the first are those advantages , described earlier , that accrue to designs that derive signals from the baseband port of the video source . there is also a convenience in that inexpensive modulation ics are available that provide much of the circuitry necessary to build video modulators with options for one of two carriers in the 10 mhz to 100 mhz range . finally , being able to choose adjacent vhf channel pairs other than vhf channels 3 or 4 allows combination of the signal passed to the television with signals from most common video sources . two variations to the second system are now disclosed . in the first variation , the switch will be automatically controlled . it will rely on circuitry that samples the telephone line to detect the presence of broadcast energy at either of the two channels used to provide the signal to the television . ( broadcast energy will be on the telephone line because it acts as an antenna to some extent .) it will set the rf converter in the video source transceiver to provide a transmission frequency so as to ensure that the channel ultimately presented to the television receiver will be one unused for local broadcast . in the second variation , the rf converter in the video source transceiver will simultaneously provide the video signal at both of the two adjacent channels below vhf 2 , so that when the television transceiver converts the 12 mhz band spanning these channels , it produces signals at both of the two adjacent tunable channels . the third system also calls for the video source transceiver to derive its signal from the baseband port , but it includes an rf converter that has only a single carrier which modulates the signal to a single fixed channel that is used for transmission . the rf converter in the television transceiver then performs either one of two upward conversions , according to a switch set by the user , resulting in one of two adjacent low vhf channels . if the transmission channel spanned 24 mhz to 30 mhz , for example , upshifts of 36 mhz and 42 mhz would produce vhf channels 3 and 4 , and upshifts of 52 mhz and 58 mhz would produce vhf channels 5 and 6 . in a variation of this strategy the rf conversion component of the television transceiver allows continuously variable manual tuning , in place of two fixed upshift conversions . this tuning must , of course , allow the signal presented to the television to span two consecutive channels . the provision of manual tuning reduces the precision required for both converters , resulting in a certain economy . like the second design , the two variations of the third design also enjoy the advantages of baseband input , and the advantage of being able to output adjacent vhf frequencies other than vhf 3 and 4 . the main advantage over the second design is that the single optimal sub - vhf 2 channel , in terms of radiation , attenuation , interference from broadcast sources , legal restrictions , and expense of conversion electronics , can be chosen . because of these advantages , and because transmission over channels below vhf 2 affords reliability which is of enormous importance in consumer products , this third system is the preferred embodiment . furthermore , the fixed and not the variable tuning is preferred because of the importance of convenience in consumer products . the preferred channel spans from 24 to 30 mhz because there is a liberalization of u . s . fcc radiation restrictions below 30 mhz , and because the conversion electronics are slightly more expensive when lower frequencies are used . finally , it is preferred to present the signal to the television at either vhf 5 or 6 , because of the advantages of combining those channels with broadcast signals or other video sources . ( these preferences may change as a result of data not currently available to the inventors such as , specifically but not exclusively , information regarding the frequency , strength , and location of rf sources throughout the u . s . that may provide interference at channels below vhf 2 .) two further variations to the third system are now disclosed . in the first of these , the switch will be automatically controlled . it will rely on circuitry to detect the presence of broadcast energy , to set the rf converter of television transceiver to convert the transmitted video energy to the channel unused for local broadcast . in the second variation , the rf converter of the television transceiver will simultaneously provide the video signal at both of the two adjacent tunable channels . the transceiver pair disclosed above provides an ability to view and control a video source at a remotely located television . a significant economy can be achieved , however , if the function of the disclosed television transceiver is internalized in the television electronics . a special television 30 , shown in figure , provides such a combination . this television is intended to cooperate with the video source transceiver described above . it comes equipped with a cord that includes a low - pass filter 32 , similar to those used with the transceivers described earlier , for allowing telephone equipment 33 to share the same jack without loading down video signals on the wiring . the television includes an ir sensitive diode 42 , for converting infrared signals into electrical signals . these signals are passed to the special control signal processing circuitry 37 and the standard control signal processing circuitry 41 . the standard circuitry 41 reacts to these signals to execute control over television operations in the ordinary manner . the special control signal processing circuitry 37 translates the electrical version of the control signals to a frequency band above the highest frequency used for ordinary telephone communications , and passes them to the coupling network 34 . the functions performed by the special control signal processing circuitry 37 are the same functions performed by the control signal processing component included in the transceiver , described earlier , that connects to the television . the preferred embodiment of the circuitry is also the same . this embodiment is shown in fig8 and is described later on . the coupling network 34 allows the control signals to pass to the telephone network wiring 31 and video signals to transmit from the wiring along the conductive path leading towards the rf converter 35 . the network 34 also performs the important functions of matching the impedance of the conductive path leading to the rf converter to the impedance of the telephone wiring , blocking low - frequency signals from the television electronics , blocking the flow of video signals towards the special control signal processing circuitry 37 , and blocking harmonics of the control signal , but not the fundamental of this signal from the telephone line and the conductive path leading towards the rf converter 35 . the functions performed by this network are the same functions performed by the coupling network included in the television transceiver described earlier . an explanation of the importance of these functions was included in the description of that device . the preferred embodiment of the network used here is also the same . this embodiment is shown in fig7 and described later on . both the video and rf control signals pass from the coupling network 34 to the rf converter 35 . that component will convert the video signal to a channel that is tunable by ordinary television tuning electronics . if a low vhf channel is used for transmission across the wiring , however , ordinary television tuners can tune to the transmitted signal and this component is not necessary . signals emerging from the rf converter 35 transmit to the rf signal combiner 36 . ( if the rf converter 35 is not needed , signals flow directly from the coupling network 34 to this combiner .) the rf combiner 36 will accept video signals from a local video source 43 if one is available . it will add signals from the two sources , or will choose the signals from one source or the other to pass along to the tuning section 38 . the final composition of the signals passed to the tuning section 38 will be set by manual controls on the television 30 or by infrared control signals received by the ir sensitive diode 42 . the rf converter 35 disclosed herein can cooperate with the rf converter of the video source transceiver using one of the three alternative systems , described earlier , for cooperation between rf conversion components at the two ends of the communication path . the rf converter 35 included in the television will simply perform the same functions as the rf converter of the television transceiver described earlier , while the rf converter in the video signal transceiver will perform the corresponding conversion . a variation of the third system for cooperation between converters is now disclosed for the case of the special television receiver 30 . under this variation , the rf converter 35 demodulates the video signal it receives , and injects that signal into the television at the point where it ordinarily expects demodulated signals . ( the demodulated signal will not go into the combiner in this case , eliminating the need for that component . signals from a local video source 43 will pass to the tuner without combination .) this variation liberates the converter from providing a signal at either one of two adjacent channels , and might be less expensive , overall , than the alternative . note that the rf converter 35 is not necessary if the television tuner 38 can tune to signals below vhf channel 2 . this converter is offered as an alternative to providing the television with a special tuner because it may be less expensive to adapt the design of an ordinary television by adding this simple component . in the preferred embodiment , the video signal transmits across the wiring at a frequency below vhf channel 2 , and the rf converter is required because the television tuning section 38 tunes in only the ordinarily tunable channels . a channel below vhf 2 is preferred because of the decreased probability of picture degradation , and the rf converter is preferred because the inventors believe that it is less expensive to adapt the design of an ordinary television by adding a converter . a transmission channel spanning 24 mhz to 30 mhz is preferred , and it is preferred that the rf converter of the television convert that channel upwards by either 52 mhz or 58 mhz to vhf channels 5 or 6 , according to a switch setting on the television , or a command from the infrared controller . this embodiment follows the preferred system , presented earlier , for coordination between the rf converter of the video source transceiver and the rf converter of the television transceiver . the justifications used earlier also apply to this case . the option of demodulating the video signal is not currently preferred because the expense of this option is not clear . television 30 is novel in the following three respects . first , it connects to active telephone networks , without causing interference , to derive video signals , in addition to the video signals it derives from other sources . secondly , in addition to detecting infrared signals for the purposes of controlling television functions , it converts these signals to electrical rf energy , and passes them on to the telephone line for controlling the video source in cooperation with another device . finally , it is able to tune to signals at channels below vhf 2 . when the television 30 cooperates with the video source transceiver 1 described above , they allow the user to watch and control a video source from a remote location . to further increase the usefulness of this combination without significant extra cost , a unique combination of this pair of devices with a special piece of known technology is disclosed in the following two paragraphs . to control the video source from the area wherein the special television receiver 30 is located , the infrared transmitter unit that controls that source must ordinarily be available at that location . this is not always convenient , because this unit is obviously often required at the location of the video source . if the television 30 is provided with its own infrared controller , inclusion of the command set of the video source controller as a subset of the available commands significantly increases the convenience of the system without significant extra cost . recently , infrared control units with large command sets that include those of many different controllers have become available , as have other units that have the ability to learn the command sets from virtually any other controller . the novel combination disclosed here adds a similar universal controller together with the disclosed cooperating television 30 and transceiver 1 . this will significantly increase the usefulness of that pair of devices . the signals transmitted by the devices disclosed above travel from source to receiver via conduction across telephone wiring . a potential problem of this technique , described earlier , is that rf broadcast energy from nearby sources can be received by the wiring and interfere with the signal of interest . under the design option where the video signals transmit at a low vhf channel , the devices provide signals at a channel unused by any local service . this protection is not available when the video signals transmit at frequencies below vhf channel 2 . the following factors , however , make the possibility of interference unlikely : a ) the signal - to - noise ratio required for a quality video picture , approximately 40 db , is relatively low . interfering signals must have energy levels within 40 db of the signal of interest to visibly degrade a picture . b ) the signal of interest is conducted directly on to the wiring . the interfering signal must be received by the wiring acting as an antenna , a much less efficient method of creating conductive energy . c ) the ability of the wiring to receive broadcast energy decreases with decreasing frequency . d ) the level of the signal of interest can be boosted to reduce the potential of interference . ( because of legal and technological constraints , however , there are limits to the level to which this energy can be boosted .) despite these factors , tests have indicated that interference can occur . three methods for avoiding interference problems are discussed below . a ) one can choose a frequency band that is less likely to be used by many transmitters operating at high power near residential areas . this strategy requires a survey of frequency allocations and broadcasting patterns . preliminary investigation by the inventors revealed that amateur radio is allocated narrow bands at 7 mhz , 14 mhz , 21 mhz , and 28 mhz , conveniently leaving gaps of 7 mhz โ just right for video . b ) the video source transceiver can simultaneously transmit its signal over two frequency bands , and the signal that encounters less interference can be chosen , at the television end , to provide the picture . in the case of the cooperating transceiver pair , the video source transceiver simultaneously transmits the same signal over two different and non - overlapping channels below vhf channel 2 . the rf converter of the transceiver that connects to the television chooses , according to a manual control or an automatic process , to accept one of the two channels , converting the energy within that channel to a tunable frequency unused for local broadcast . ( circuitry to automatically choose the less โ noisy โ channel would have to include means to detect the presence of broadcast energy within each of the two channels .) in the case of the special television that cooperates with the video source transceiver and includes a special rf converter , that converter performs the same functions as the converter in the television transceiver . under the design option wherein the television tuner can tune directly to signals below vhf channel 2 ( and a converter is not involved ) the tuner simply tunes to one channel or another . c ) because the information at the edges of an ntsc video signal is redundant , these edges can be filtered out before presentation to a television , removing any interfering energy at those edges . specifically , the first 1 . 25 mhz in an ordinary ntsc channel , known as the vestigial side band , can be filtered out before presentation to the television . this will reduce the video bandwidth from 5 . 75 mhz to 4 . 5 mhz , reducing opportunities for interference . in the event that research shows that this causes some degradation of picture quality , the vestigial side band can be recreated free from interference within the shielded television transceiver , using known techniques . the upper 0 . 25 mhz of the full 5 . 75 mhz video signal can also be filtered without significant reduction in picture quality . trimming this energy , however , will remove the audio information , which is located immediately above the video information . the solution is to transmit the audio signal at a different frequency , converting that signal to its proper place before presentation to the television . a video source transceiver connecting a second source to the same residential wiring network obviously has to transmit its signal at a different frequency in order to operate simultaneously with the first source . ideally , this transceiver cooperates with the television transceiver unit without requiring any design changes to that transceiver . that allows the most economical design for the primary transceiver pair , and still allows expansion of the system to include a second source . if low vhf channels are used for transmission , design of the second video source transceiver is straightforward . that transceiver simply transmits its signal at one of a second pair of adjacent low vhf channels . if , for example , the primary video source transceiver uses vhf channel 5 or 6 , the secondary transceiver could use vhf channel 2 or 3 . the television transceiver described earlier will supply both signals to the television receiver without any design changes . if the primary transmitter uses a channel below vhf 2 , and the secondary transceiver uses a low vhf channel , a slight alteration in the design of the transceiver that connects to the television is required . the alteration calls for an extra signal path to the television that bypasses the rf converter . that path includes the unshifted low vhf signals which could be easily combined with the signal that was converted up by the rf converter . the channel generated by the rf converter , of course , will have to be different from the channel used for transmission of the second source . things are more complicated when both video signals transmit at channels below vhf 2 because the television transceiver must convert a second signal to a second tunable channel that is not used for local broadcasting . the shift in frequency required by the second signal , moreover , may not necessarily be the same as that required by the first signal . the largest problem , however , may be finding an extra 6 mhz that is free from broadcast source interference . extra transceivers that transmit video over the same channel as the primary transceiver can be connected , of course , as long as a viewer can disable all but one of the resulting group of connected transceivers . in the following paragraphs , two designs are disclosed for systems that allows a user to quickly , conveniently , and remotely activate exactly one of several connected video source transceivers transmitting at the same frequency . the first design calls for the signal from all but one of the transceivers to be blocked from transmission on to the wiring . the blocking is accomplished by the touch tone switch 8 shown in fig1 . this switch connects on the cord between the transceiver and the telephone jack , and contains a low pass filter , or other means that completely block signals above a frequency that is below the frequencies used for video transmission . it has two settings , one of which enables the filter and the other which defeats it . the switch reacts to the dtmf ( dual tone multi frequency ) touch tones commonly created by telephones , allowing users to conveniently select the active source from among the several connected . any logical command system will suffice . the electronic details of this switch are not shown because rf filters and touch tone controls are well known . the second design calls for each of the video source transceivers that transmit at the same frequency to derive its ac power via powerline switches similar to those built by the x - 10 corporation these switches connect between power cords and ac outlets . they detect high frequency control signals fed onto the wiring by a remote device , and respond by blocking or enabling power to pass along the power cord to the connected electrical device . this allows one to remotely control the ac power to any device in a residence via control signals sent through the ac wiring . thus , a user could conveniently select one of many sources sharing a transmission frequency by activiating the ac power for the transceiver of that source and none of the others . because the first design uses ordinary touch tone telephones to the send signals that establish the identity of the active transceiver , it is preferred over the second design , which requires special transmitters to send those signals . as mentioned in the introduction , a reliable conductive path is not always available in residences where each jack is wired directly to a central electronic interface unit that connects to the public telephone system . because of the topology of these networks , potential conductive paths from one jack to another will always traverse this unit , where their continuity is likely to be broken . to allow the disclosed devices to operate on such a network , an inexpensive adaptor 52 is disclosed . this adaptor is shown in fig5 . normally , the wiring leading from the jack 50 in the first area 51 would connect to the port 56 on the electronic switching unit 58 dedicated to the first area . similarly , the wiring leading from the jack 53 in the second area 54 would connect to the port 57 on the unit dedicated to the second area . the adaptor 58 reroutes these connections through a pair of low pass filters 59 and 60 . these block the transmission of high frequency signals away from the switching unit , eliminating attenuation . the filtering can be achieved by the same pair of inductors disclosed earlier that achieve low pass filtering of any telephone equipment that shares a jack with either of the two cooperating transceivers . the high pass filter 61 connects the paths leading from the first area 51 to the second area 54 at high frequencies , completing the conductive path for video and control signals between the associated jacks . transmission of low - frequency energy across this path is blocked , maintaining separation of the telephone and other low - frequency communication between each jack and the switching unit . in the preferred embodiment , the high pass filtering is achieved by a pair of 100 pf capacitors , connected as shown . the problem of inadequate video signal energy in the area where the television is located was described earlier . because the disclosed adaptor offers access to the signal near the midpoint of its transmission path , it offers a new solution to this problem . the solution , not shown in the drawings , calls for an amplifier to accompany the adaptor . a path leading from a video source could be passed through this amplifier just before connection to the adaptor . in this way , part of the total amplification required could be imparted at the video source transceiver , and the other part at the switching unit . this would reduce the peak signal power at any point for a given level of total amplification , thus reducing the maximum level of radiation . for systems that also transmit control signals , a bypass around the amplifier for transmission of these signals would have to be made . the bypass would simply be a conductive path around the amplifier including a filter to block video signals . similarly , the input to the amplifier would require a filter to block out control signals . because the technology disclosed herein is not limited to residential networks , and because โ star โ wiring configurations including a central switching unit are very common among telephone networks installed in commercial buildings , including but not limited to offices and hotels , the disclosed adaptor has the important function of enabling those installations to benefit from this video transmission technique . the earlier descriptions of the cooperating transceivers referred to coupling network circuitry in functional terms . the preferred embodiment of this circuitry is now presented in detail . fig6 shows the preferred embodiment of the coupling network of the video source transceiver . the principal element of this network is a transformer wound on a toroid core 71 . there are three isolated windings corresponding to the ports leading to the telephone network wiring 72 , the video signal amplifier 73 , and the control signal processing circuitry 74 . the special winding method shown for the phone line port serves to maximize its balance . the low pass filter 75 on the port leading to the control signal processing circuitry 74 blocks signals above the frequency used for control signals . this blocks the video energy , preventing that energy from disturbing the processing of the control signals , and prevents loading of video signals on the telephone line . there are different numbers of windings on the toroid core for the three different ports . ( the number of windings shown are only for purposes of illustration .) the turns ratios determine the impedance matching between the telephone port and the other two ports . different ratios are needed because the video port and the control signal port have different impedances at different frequencies . the impedance matching for video signals is governed strictly by the turns ratio between the telephone port and the video port . it is independent of the windings on the ir port because the filter 75 prevents video energy from flowing towards that port . the capacitor 77 serves as a high pass filter to block and present a high impedance to dc and low - frequency energy , preventing any disturbance of ordinary telephone communications at those frequencies . fig7 shows the preferred embodiment of the coupling network of the television transceiver . the principal element of this network is again a transformer wound on a toroid core 80 . there are three isolated windings corresponding to the ports leading to the telephone line 81 , the television receiver 82 , and the control signal processing circuitry 83 . the special winding method for the telephone line shown earlier is not necessary because maximum balance is not as important due to the lower energy level of the video signals at this end . the low pass filter 84 on the control signal port passes the 10 . 7 mhz signal but blocks harmonics of 10 . 7 mhz . these harmonics , whose intelligence is redundant with the intelligence in the fundamental , could potentially interfere with the video signals . the resulting control signal passes on to both the telephone line and to the television . to prevent loading down the video signal , the filter 84 also blocks video signals from the control signal port . there are different numbers of windings on the toroid core 80 for the three ports . ( the number of windings shown are only for purposes of illustration .) the turns ratios determine impedance matching . because the level of the control signal is high enough to easily survive the influence of any impedance mismatch , the impedance of the ports need only be properly matched at video frequencies and only between the telephone line port and the video port . the capacitor 85 serves as a high pass filter to block dc and low - frequency energy and prevent any disturbance with ordinary telephone communications at those frequencies . it should be understood that various changes and modifications to the preferred embodiment of the coupling network described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , other winding configurations are possible , including but not limited to broadband multifilar configurations . these and other changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the earlier descriptions of the cooperating transceivers referred to control signal processing circuitry in functional terms . the preferred embodiment of this circuitry is now presented in detail . fig8 shows the details of the control signal processing circuitry in the television transceiver that detects infrared signals , and translates them to rf energy . this circuitry consists of a photodiode 101 , a high - gain amplifier stage 102 , a thresholded zero crossing detector 103 , and a gated oscillator 104 . these elements are arranged to produce a modulated rf carrier whose envelope is a replica of the infrared signal waveform . the rf carrier is coupled to the telephone line through the coupling network 105 . the coupling network shown in fig8 is designed only to feed control signals on to the network . the coupling network of the preferred embodiment , which is designed to include recovery of video signals from the wiring , is shown in fig7 and was described earlier . photodiode 101 functions as a current source with current proportional to the intensity of incident light within its spectral passband . this photocurrent is converted to a voltage by resistor is 110 and amplified by integrated circuit 111 . capacitors 112 and 113 reduce the low frequency gain of the amplifier stage to render the receiver insensitive to ambient light sources , such as sunlight or ac powered interior lighting with a nominal 120 hz flicker rate . transistor 114 buffers and level - shifts the output of the amplifier , and passes the signal to the zero crossing detector section 103 . the output of the detector section 103 is a bi - level waveform that corresponds to the received infrared signal . this output is high when the input signal exceeds its long term average , and low otherwise . noise effects are suppressed by disabling the bi - level signal except when the excursions of the input signal exceed a fixed threshold . the bi - level waveform is fed to the oscillation section to enable or disable the rf carrier , thus generating the desired am signal at an rf frequency . the output of comparator 122 is set high when the optical flux is greater than the long term average , which is formed using an averaging time of 100 msec , as determined by capacitor 127 . the noise condition is detected by comparator 123 . it sets its output low when the input signal is a fixed amount greater than the long term average . this threshold is set so that noise will not cause it to be exceeded . the threshold may be changed as desired by altering the ratio of resistors 116 and 117 to provide different levels of noise suppression . capacitor 126 causes a low output from comparator 123 to remain low for a fixed period . comparator 124 inverts this output , and comparator 125 is used to merge that output with the the output from comparator 122 . in this manner , the output exits to the oscillator section without interruption when a genuine signal is present , and dies off quickly when the signal disappears . in the oscillator section , transistor 118 is wired as a colpitts oscillator with frequency determined primarily by capacitor 119 and variable inductor 120 . in the preferred embodiment , this frequency is selected to be 10 . 7 mhz because of the good availability of tuning components at this frequency . when the oscillator is disabled by comparator 125 , an idle current of several milliamps is drawn through the inductor and resistor 121 . this idle current provides rapid turn - on of the oscillator within a microsecond when the oscillator is activated by comparator 125 going to a high impedance state at its open - collector output . fig9 shows the control signal processing circuitry in the video source transceiver that uses control signals recovered from the network to recreate the infrared pattern detected by the television transceiver . the circuitry consists of an rf amplifier / detector 131 , threshold / driver circuitry 132 , and an output led 142 . the control signals are recovered from the telephone line by the telephone coupling network 130 . the coupling network shown in fig9 is designed only to recover control signals from the network . the coupling network of the preferred embodiment , which is designed to include transmission of video signals onto the network , is shown in fig6 and was described earlier . signals recovered from the network pass through rf filter 133 . this filter , which is part of the coupling network , is a ceramic filter with bandpass centered at 10 . 7 mhz and a bandwidth of 280 khz . this matches the characteristics of the rf signals generated by the infrared signal processing circuitry described above . the rf amplifier / detector 131 amplifies and envelope detects the signals that pass through the filter . in the preferred embodiment , this function is performed by an integrated circuit 134 of type 3089 , which is commonly used as an if amplifier in commercial fm radios . the detected output is logarithmically related to the amplitude of the rf input signal . the detected output is buffered by darlington transistor 140 . comparator 141 provides - threshold detection by comparing the instantaneous envelope of the detected signal to the peak envelope of the detected signal . the comparator turns on led 142 whenever the envelope exceeds a fixed percentage of the peak . resistors 143 and 144 set the threshold of the transmitter ; the led will not be driven on unless a minimum signal level at the input of the integrated circuit 134 is exceeded . while the foregoing has been provided with reference to one or more preferred embodiments , various changes within the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those of working skill in this technical field . thus , the invention should be considered as limited only by the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
referring first to fig3 a state of the art driven ( or secondary ) clutch will be described in enough detail so that its modification to employ the features of the present invention can be understood . the driven clutch 20 includes an actuator or clutch cover plate 21 which is essentially parallel to to an upper or top face 24 of an upper pulley half 23a of a pulley 23 . pulley 23 includes upper pulley half 23a and lower pulley half 23b , which when closed together form a deep &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; shaped trough therebetween in which a drive belt 25 resides . in order to achieve pulley separation , thereby reducing the effective radius travelled by the drive belt 25 residing therein , the lower pulley half 23b includes three piers 35 which are each secured to a hub area 1 ( see fig1 ) at equally spaced intervals and equal radial distances from the lower pulley half longitudinal axis 22 ( see fig1 ). the piers 35 extend through arcuate openings 30 that are formed through the upper pulley half 23a hub area 1 . the piers 35 each include a rod 36 that is coaxial therewith and that extend through the clutch cover plate 21 . the clutch cover plate 21 also includes a center hole 28 ( see fig1 ) wherein a bushing 29 is pressed or otherwise affixed in place . the bushing 29 supports travel of a cylindrical jackshaft 26 that is coaxial with longitudinal axis 22 . the straight cylindrical shaft 26 extends at a right angle to the clutch cover plate 21 and center hole 28 , being secured to the upper pulley half 23a and slidably extending through lower pulley half 23b . the cylindrical shaft 26 extends at a right angle through center bushing 29 of cover 21 , thereby allowing the shaft 26 to slide or translate relative to the clutch cover plate 21 during the operation of clutch 20 . movement of the clutch cover plate 21 towards the upper pulley half 23a top face 24 is transferred through the connecting rods 36 and piers 35 to the lower pulley half 23b in order to spread the halves of pulley 23 apart and thereby increase the width of the &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; formed by the two opposed pulley halves 23a and 23b . in other words , the clutch cover plate 21 and pulley 23 are operated to move the clutch cover plate 21 towards the upper pulley half 23a top face 24 . to provide for clutch cover plate 21 and lower pulley half 23b movement , the clutch 20 includes the radial and circumferentially equally spaced parallel piers 35 that are each positioned to extend at right angles upwardly from the hub area 2 ( see fig1 ) of the lower pulley half 23b . the piers 35 extend through arcuate holes 30 formed in the upper pulley half 23a . the piers 35 each include the smooth walled cylindrical rod 36 that extends axially from each pier top end . the rods 36 fit through holes in the cover plate 21 and are secured by nuts 38 , thereby rigidly affixing cover plate 21 to lower pulley half 23b and causing cover plate 21 to slide along cylindrical shaft 26 so as to open or close the pulley 23 . in order to outwardly bias the clutch cover plate 21 such that the pulley halves 23a and 23b are closed together , a coil spring 39 ( see fig1 ) is placed so as to surround shaft 26 . the ends of the coil spring 39 are arranged to engage , respectively , one of the holes 3 formed within cover plate 21 and the top face 24 of the upper pulley half 23a . the coil spring 39 thereby urges the cover plate 21 outwardly so that the halves of pulley 23 tend to come closer together . the bias of spring 39 must be overcome in order to urge the cover plate 21 towards the upper pulley half 23a , thereby spreading or enlarging the &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; formed by the opposed pulley halves . state of the art clutches employ a helix or cam cone 40 which includes tracks or surfaces 46 for guiding the cam follower assemblies 52 affixed to cam follower bearing plate 50 . referring now to fig2 the improved torque sensing helix 4 of the present invention will be described . the helix 4 is formed substantially as a right cylinder 5 having a bottom edge 6 and an upper surface 7 . extending axially through the cylinder are bores 8 which permit the cylinder to be affixed to the upper suface 24 of upper pulley half 23a by means of suitable fasteners ( not shown ). a helical ramp 10 is formed at 120 degree intervals within the sidewall 11 of the cylinder 5 . each of the three ramps 10 includes a bottom surface 9 , a rounded end surface 12 , and an upper surface 13 . as seen in fig5 and 8 , a cam follower assembly 42 including rollers 18 is attached to a cover plate and spring adjuster 15 . cover plate 15 is formed to include elongated perforations or recesses 16 . the recesses 16 are present to facilitate spring tension adjustments without removing the clutch cover 15 . at least some of these regions 16 align with the bores 17 formed within cam follower assembly 42 , and thereby permit the rods 36 of lower pulley half 23b to be fastened to the cover plate 15 . the remaining cutouts 19 formed within the cover plate 15 are dimensioned to permit clearance from the torque sensing helix 4 . referring to fig6 the position of the cam follower assembly 42 is shown with respect to the torque sensing helix 4 when the rollers 18 are near the bottom surface 12 of the helical ramp 10 . another feature of the present invention can best be appreciated by reference to fig4 . a sleeve 60 is formed to encircle the existing cylindrical clutch shaft 26 . an enlarged opening 61 is formed within the clutch cover plate 23b so as to permit the placement of enlarged bearing 62 . the bearing 62 diameter is selected in order to accommodate he inside diameter of the clutch spring 39 , while the length of bearing 62 is selected so as to increase the available load bearing surface 63 and thereby diminish the possiblity of seizing or sticking . the combination of the sleeve 60 and bearing 62 also allows the rebuilding of a clutch that would normally be discarded because of a worn or damaged clutch shaft . referring again to fig1 an enlarged bearing can also be used to advantage in conjunction with the driving or primary clutch assembly 65 . the engine primary clutch shaft 66 is fitted with a sleeve 67 , thereby increasing its effective diameter . an enlarged bearing 64 is placed within the clutch cover plate 68 and held in place by suitable fasteners 69 . fasteners such as round head machine screws permit the bushing 64 to be held in place by the screw head and a lip 70 formed within the cover plate 68 . this mounting method facilitates the replacement of the bushing 64 as it becomes worn . while preferred embodiments of the present invention in a clutch assembly for a belt drive system have been shown and described herein , the present disclosure is only an example of the technology which is regarded as inventive . the present invention is suitable for a number of uses in addition to that of a snowmobile clutch , and variations to the clutch improvements described herein are possible without departing from the subject matter falling within the scope of the invention . | 5 |
it is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular methodology , protocols , and reagents , etc ., described herein , as these may vary as the skilled artisan will recognize . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only , and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention . it also is be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms โ a ,โ โ an ,โ and โ the โ include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . this , for example , a reference to โ a capsule โ is a reference to one or more capsules and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains . the embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non - limiting embodiments and / or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description . it should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale , and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize , even if not explicitly stated herein . any numerical values recited herein include all values from the lower value to the upper value in increments of one unit provided that there is a separation of at least two units between any lower value and any higher value . as an example , if it is stated that the concentration of a component or value of a process variable such as , for example , size , temperature , pressure , time and the like , is , for example , from 1 to 90 , specifically from 20 to 80 , more specifically from 30 to 70 , it is intended that values such as 15 to 85 , 22 to 68 , 43 to 51 , 30 to 32 etc ., are expressly enumerated in this specification . for values which are less than one , one unit is considered to be 0 . 0001 , 0 . 001 , 0 . 01 or 0 . 1 as appropriate . these are only examples of what is specifically intended and all possible combinations of numerical values between the lowest value and the highest value enumerated are to be considered to be expressly stated in this application in a similar manner . moreover , provided below is a โ definitions โ section , where certain terms related to the invention are defined specifically . particular methods , devices , and materials are described , although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the invention . all references referred to herein are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety . the term โ amplification โ of nucleic acids , including dna , as used herein means the use of pcr to increase the concentration of a particular nucleic acid sequence within a mixture of nucleic acid sequences . the particular nucleic acid sequence that is amplified is described herein as a โ target โ sequence . the term โ any bond โ as used herein , especially in reference to nucleic acid sequences , means any bond or configuration of atoms that will block 3 โฒ chain extension of an oligonucleotide without interfering with the binding properties of the oligonucleotide . the term โ any link โ as used herein , especially in reference to nucleic acid sequences , means that any appropriate linkage may be used . for example , a number of different are available to join a fluorophore to an oligonucleotide , including without limitations thiol linkages and amine linkages . the terms โ biological sample โ and โ sample โ as used herein mean any specimen or sample of matter capable of containing an organism . non - limiting examples include a sample of water , a soil sample , an air sample , a stool sample , a blood sample , a urine sample , and the like . the term โ cryptosporidium โ as used herein means any species of cryptosporidium which is known to cause disease in humans including c . parvum , c . jells , c . muris , c . meleagridis , c . suis , c . canis , and / or c . hominis . the term โ giardia โ as used herein by itself , not followed by a species name , means any species of giardia which is known to cause disease in humans . this may include g . lamblia . g . duodenalis , and / or g . intestinalis . the term โ fluorophore โ as used herein means a functional group attached to a nucleic acid that will absorb energy of a specific wavelength and re - emit energy at a different , but equally specific , wavelength . the term โ internal control โ sequence as used herein refers to a nucleic acid sequence that may be used to demonstrate that a pcr reaction is functioning to detect a nucleic acid sequence . the terms โ pathogen ,โ โ organism .โ and โ species โ are used interchangeably herein and refer to any one species , or closely - related group of species , that may be uniquely identified by an oligonucleotide sequence . the species may be known or unknown and may include viruses . the term โ pcr โ as used herein means the polymerase chain reaction , as is well - known in the art . the term includes all forms of pcr , such as , e . g ., real - time pcr and quantitative pcr . the term โ positive control target dna โ means a nucleic acid containing a sequence known to be complementary to a probe or probe pair . positive control target dna may be used as a positive control to determine that the probe is correctly binding to its target . the term โ primer pair โ as used herein means a pair of oligonucleotide primers that are complementary to the sequences flanking a target sequence . the primer pair consists of a forward primer and a reverse primer . the forward primer has a nucleic acid sequence that is complementary to a sequence upstream , i . e . 5 โฒ, of the target sequence . the reverse primer has a nucleic acid sequence that is complementary to a sequence downstream , i . e . 3 โฒ, of the target sequence . the terms โ probe โ and โ probe pair โ refer to one or two oligonucleotide sequences that are complementary to a specific target sequence and are covalently linked to a fluorophore . a probe pair includes two oligonucleotides : a โ donor probe โ and an โ acceptor probe .โ when both probes are bound to the target sequence , the donor probe &# 39 ; s fluorophore may transfer energy to the acceptor probe &# 39 ; s fluorophore in a fรถrster resonance energy transfer ( fret ). the term โ reaction vessel โ as used herein means a container used for performing pcr and for detecting specific nucleic acid sequences . the term โ species under investigation โ as used herein means one or more species suspected to be present in a sample , and the methods , procedures , and materials of the present disclosure are employed to determine whether or not the species is actually present . the term โ target โ sequence as used herein means the sequence of a nucleic acid that is amplified by pcr . according to an aspect of the present disclosure , the presence of one or more species may be detected in a sample . in particular , the disclosure is well suited to detecting two pathogens , but more or different types of organisms may be targeted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the disclosure permits testing for the presence or absence of cryptosporidium and giardia in a single sample . once a sample is collected , dna may be isolated and extracted from the sample . the isolated dna may be divided into small portions and placed in a reaction vessel , such as , e . g ., a pcr tube , with appropriate pcr reagents . each reaction vessel may also receive a pair of primers , a pair of oligonucleotide probes , an internal control ( ic ) construct , and a pair of probes for the internal control . the primers and probes may be specific for a single species under examination . the pcr reagents , primers , probes , and ic may be provided in a mixture or ready - to - use form , e . g ., in a solution or as a freeze - dried mixture . the internal control may also be amplified by the species - specific primer , but it is detected with its own unique probes . with the availability of primer and probe pairs for multiple species , the isolate from a single sample may be tested for the presence of multiple species of interest . in one aspect of the disclosure , a master mix may be prepared for each organism under investigation . for example , a master mix targeting cryptosporidium may contain the following primers : an exemplary cryptosporidium master mix may also contain the following probes : as an additional example , a master mix targeting giardia may contain the following primers : a master mix targeting giardia may also contain the following probes : in an additional aspect of the disclosure , an internal control ( ic ) construct may be provided as part of a pcr master mix or as a separate component . the ic allows monitoring of pcr efficiency and inhibition . pcr inhibition is a particular concern with dna isolated from stool samples , which may contain inhibitory compounds such as mucoglycoproteins and proteases . the internal control may be a double - stranded dna construct . starting at the 5 โฒ end of the โ sense โ strand , the ic may include an end region 1 , an ic body , and an end region 2 . these regions may be immediately adjacent to one or other , or there may be spacer sequences between regions . end region 1 , end region , 2 or both may be omitted as appropriate for a particular application . in one aspect of the disclosure , end region 1 may contain a sequence that is complementary to a forward primer for a species under investigation . end region 2 may contain a sequence that is complementary to a reverse primer for the same species . in an alternate aspect , each end region may contain multiple forward or reverse primers . for example , if two species are under investigation , each end region may contain one primer binding site for each species . it is possible to investigate more species , and thus include more primer binding sites , without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure . for example , if the species under investigation are giardia and cryptosporidium , then end region may contain a binding site for a forward primer for giardia and a binding site for a forward primer for cryptosporidium . similarly , end region 2 may contain a binding site for a reverse primer for giardia and a binding site for a reverse primer for cryptosporidium . by relying on species - specific primers to amplify the internal control , the ic may not require its own set of primers for amplifaction . a single construct and a single set of probes may be included in the master mix for each targeted species , thereby reducing costs and complexity . more important , reducing the number of oligonucleotides in each reaction vessel may improve pcr efficiency and reduces the chance for artifacts , preferential amplification , and other errors . methods and assays according to the present disclosure may include a total of six oligonucleotides in each reaction vessel , for example , two giardia primers , two giardia probes , and two ic probes . as an additional example , the six oligonucleotides may include two cryptosporidium primers , two cryptosporidium probes , and two ic probes . oligonucleotides may be joined to fluorophores using amine linkages , thiol linkages , or the like . in addition , oligonucleotides may have functional groups or bonds to block 3 โฒ chain extension , such as phosphate bonds , c - 3 spacer bonds , and the like . according to additional aspects of the disclosure , the ic may be present at relatively low levels so that it does not out - compete any template that may be present from a species under investigation . in this situation , a species target sequence , if present , may be preferentially amplified instead of the ic . in other words , only the species may be amplified and detected , and the ic may not be amplified or detected . if the species target sequence is not present , however , then ic template may be amplified by the species primers , and the internal control may be detected by its own probes . in the case where neither internal control nor species target sequence is detected , there may be a problem with the pcr reaction , most likely inhibition of pcr by components of the sample . by relying on an artificial sequence as internal control , the present disclosure eliminates problems inherent in other pcr assays for pathogen screening and detection . in particular , these assays typical amplify a human ( or other species ) gene present in a sample for their internal control . the gene may be present at high copy - numbers , which may mask a failure of pcr amplification , or the signal from the selected control gene may overwhelm any signal from the species under investigation . by using a small amount of artificial internal control dna and preferentially amplifying either the species target sequence or the ic , the present disclosure reduces or removes these types of errors . in some aspects of the disclosure , the ic body may have a length of 150 to 450 base pairs ( bp ). in some of these aspects , the ic body may have a length of 274 bp . in one particular aspect , the ic body may have the following sequence : according to an aspect of the disclosure , the probes far the ic construct may have the following sequences : in some aspects of the disclosure , the fluorophores of the various acceptor probes may be selected so that the ic probe emits at a different wavelength than a species - specific probe . the following illustrations are for exemplary purposes only , and any variation known to one skilled in the art may be practiced without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure and the claims . for example , the species acceptor probe may be fitted with a mid - range red fluorophore , such as , e . g ., alex fluor 680 , which emits at 680 nm , while the ic acceptor probe may be linked to a high - emission red fluorophore , such as , e . g ., lc 705 , which emits at a wavelength of 705 nm . in general , a donor probe may be linked to a fluorophore at its 3 โฒ end , thereby preventing the probe from acting like a primer during pcr . in addition , an acceptor probe usually sits 3 โฒ of the donor , further blocking chain extension . an acceptor probe , however , may be free at its 3 โฒ end . according to some aspects of the disclosure , an acceptor probe may be blocked at its 3 โฒ end to prevent it from acting as a primer during pcr . functional groups or bonds to block 3 โฒ chain extension include phosphate bonds , c - 3 spacer bonds , and the like . as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art , the present disclosure may utilize a fรถrster resonance energy transfer ( fret ) for the detection of target dna . the fret transfer may take place between a low - emitting fluorophore attached to the 3 โฒ end of a donor probe and a second , high - emitting fluorophore attached to the 5 โฒ end of the corresponding acceptor probe . for example , low - emitting fluorophores may emit light with a wavelength of 400 - 500 nm , and high - emitting fluorophores may emit light with a wavelength of 580 - 710 nm . other arrangements of fluorophores and donor and acceptor probes are contemplated and are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure . by way of example only , the role of the donor probe and acceptor probe may be reversed . in this example , the sequences of the oligonucleotides stay the same , but the acceptor has a fluorophore at its 3 โฒ end and binds upstream , i . e . 5 โฒ, of the donor and the donor has a fluorophore at its 5 โฒ end . in some aspects , the donor probe may include a green fluorophore , and the acceptor probe may include a red fluorophore . examples of suitable green fluorophores may include , without limitation , fam , fitc , alexa fluor 488 , or the like . examples of suitable red fluorophores may include , without limitation , lc 705 , texas red , alexa fluor 680 , or the like . an emission by a red fluorophore may be detected in channel 3 of the lightcycler 2 . 0 , as well as on other common pcr platforms , such as abi 7300 / 7500 , corbett roto gene , finnzyme qpcr platform , biorad icycler , and the like . according to additional aspects of the disclosure , the ic may be used to monitor the efficiency of dna extraction techniques . poor dna extraction can occur due to incomplete cell lysis , dna degradation , or inefficient binding to the purification matrix . for example , the double - stranded dna of the ic construct may be inserted into a generic plasmid and transformed into e . coli for cloning . the transformed e . coli clones may then be used to spike a stool specimen prior to dna extraction . once dna has been extracted and isolated from the sample , the isolate may be tested to determine the presence and amount of ic in the isolate . testing may be performed , e . g ., using quantitative pcr . while the invention has been described in terms of exemplary aspects , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims . these examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs , aspects , applications , or modifications of the invention . the following specific examples are indicative of preferred aspects of the present disclosure , but they are provided for illustrative purposes only . one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the following illustrative examples may be modified for a particular application within the spirit and scope of the claims . the present example is directed to a description of the product as it exists in the format of different modules , the specific modules depending on the end use of the test and / or the pcr platform being used . for example , in some embodiments , 2 modules may be included . these modules may include : ( 1 ) dna extraction reagents and consumables ; and / or ( 2 ) pcr detection reagents and protocol . the dna extraction reagents will vary depending upon the starting material to provide optimized extractions for each type of starting material . the pcr detection reagents and protocol will also vary depending upon the starting material and / or the pcr platform used for the assay , providing optimized reagents and protocol for at least , for example , 4 major pcr platforms . the final product may incorporate : ( 1 ) sensitive dna extraction methodology with reagents customized specifically for the end use , and / or ( 2 ) sensitive , optimized pcr reagents with internal control and positive control target dna , usable on , e . g ., roche lightcycler , cepheid smartcycler , abi 7300 / 7500 , corbett roto gene , finnzyme qpcr platform , biorad icycler , or the like . the present example is provided to demonstrate a protocol that may be used in the analysis of a specimen suspected to be infected or to contain two ( 2 ) or more environmental pathogens , such as cryptosporidium and giardia . the following presents the step - by - step method by which the diagnostic test of a sample of interest may be run . c . follow the standard software menu options to load or create an experiment file . a . all reagents should be kept cold and protected from light at all times . b . obtain the correct number of cryptosporidium - specific master mixes , prepared during manufacturing with the following components and then freeze - dried : the cryptosporidium forward primer may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 1 . the cryptosporidium reverse primer may halve the sequence specified by seq id no : 2 . the cryptosporidium donor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 3 . the cryptosporidium acceptor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 4 . the ic dna may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 9 . the ic donor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 10 , and the ic acceptor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 11 . c . obtain the correct number of giardia - specific master mixes , prepared during manufacturing with the following components and then freeze - dried : the giardia forward primer may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 5 . the giardia reverse primer may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 6 . the giardia donor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 7 , and the giardia acceptor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 8 . the ic dna may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 9 . the ic donor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 10 , and the ic acceptor probe may have the sequence specified by seq id no : 11 . d . obtain a tube of reconstitution buffer , consisting of the following components : e . reconstitute the cryptosporidium - and giardia - specific master mixes with the volume of reconstitution buffer specified in the product insert . mix well and centrifuge briefly . f . pipette 17 ฮผl of the appropriate master mix into each glass capillary . g . add 3 ฮผl of molecular biology - grade h 2 o to each negative control capillary and cap . h . add 3 ฮผl of the positive control target dna to each positive control capillary and cap . i . add 3 ฮผl of the appropriate sample dna to each open capillary and cap . j . load capillaries into a lightcycler carousel and centrifuge capillaries using the procedure recommended in the product insert . a . the data analysis module will open automatically upon completion of the run . b . select the appropriate color compensation file as specified in the product insert . c . the appropriate quantification and melt curve data may now be viewed and printed using the lightcycler control software . | 2 |
illustrated in drawing fig2 a is a schematic diagram depicting a low - current array current limiting or bleeder circuit 20 according to the present invention . bleeder circuit 20 is intended to be used in a dynamic random access memory ( dram ) device found within a computer system . although the present invention will be described with respect to this embodiment , which includes a dram device , it will be understood by those having skill in the field of this invention that the present invention includes within its scope any electronic device , including a processor device having cache memory . an example of an exemplary dram circuit in which the present invention is incorporated is found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 552 , 739 , entitled integrated circuit power supply having piece - wise linearity , herein incorporated by reference for all purposes , as well as in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 235 , 550 , entitled method for maintaining optimum biasing voltage and standby current levels in a dram array having repaired row to column shorts , also herein incorporated by reference for all purposes . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 235 , 550 further depicts how a current limiting circuit may be incorporated into a memory circuit , such as a dram array . illustrated in drawing fig2 a , a plurality of digit line pairs ( d1 - d1 *, d2 - d2 *, d3 - d3 *, and d4 - d4 *) is shown with its equilibrate circuitry . node 22 is a local node shared with all common nodes of each set of equilibrate transistors ( q1a - q1c , q2a - q2c , q3a - q3c , and q4a - q4c ). a current limiting device 24 is placed in series between shared node 22 and the vcc / 2 , also referred to as dvc2 , voltage generator bus 26 . this arrangement is repeated throughout the array , so that in the event of a row - to - column short within one or more of the digit lines of a particular digit line pair , only that pair will be affected . the current limiting device 24 incorporates a long length ( long l ), depletion mode transistor 28 having its gate tied to the column lines ( d and d *) while the drain is tied to dvc2 . in this configuration , the gate voltage is reduced under row - to - column short conditions in such a manner as to limit the bleeder current i ds , or the drain - to - source current . further , bleeder circuit 20 utilizes current feedback to limit the current flow from the row - to - column short . this arrangement also provides for a much lower i ds bleed current for a given transistor dimension . in this example , the bleeder current i ds is limited to 1 microa . illustrated in drawing fig2 b is a surface view of a memory array layout in a semiconductor substrate such as silicon . bleeder circuit 20 conforms the schematic diagram of 2a . datalines d and d * are metal leads . a voltage generator bus 26 is an m + semiconductor layer tied to the dvc2 . further , each transistor qv has its polysilicon gate tied to an equilibrate line . next , the long depletion mode device 28 is formed of a polysilicon gate that is coupled using a short metal strap 29 that ties the gate to its drain . although a single current limiting device could conceivably be used for each digit line pair , this increases the cost of the die having such architecture , as the high number of current limiting devices required for such an architecture would significantly increase die size . on the other hand , all column pairs isolated from the bias voltage generator bus by a single current limiting device will be shorted to vss if a row - to - column short exists on any of the digit lines among those column pairs . hence , the tied column pairs must be replaced as a unit if any one or more of the digit lines among the tied column pairs is shorted to a word line . this constraint places a practical limit on the total number of digit line pairs associated with a single current limiting device . typically , one or two column pairs will be tied to one current limiting device , although any number may be connected to a current limiting device . illustrated in drawing fig3 is an alternative embodiment of a current limiting circuit according to the present invention . the redundancy shown in drawing fig2 a and 2b has been eliminated merely for the sake of clarity . a low - current array bleeder circuit 30 is provided that uses a similar feedback arrangement or current limiting device 24 as that found in drawing fig2 a and 2b , but further includes a second switch 32 connected to transistor 28 . switch 32 is a p - channel mosfet having its gate tied to a negative supply voltage ( v bb ) switch 32 passes current in a row - to - column short mode until both digit and digit * lines ( d , d *) approach approximately 3 . 0 v . at this voltage level , i ds becomes 0 a and no current flows . illustrated in drawing fig4 is a graph illustrating the effect of using bleeder circuit 20 or 30 according to the present invention . at a voltage level dv2 , the voltage on d line causes the current to stop flowing . as the voltage decreases on d line , the bleeder current begins to flow until such a time as the voltage reaches approximately 0 . 2 - 0 . 3 v . at that time , the bleeder current ceases to flow or is now at 0 . 0 a . illustrated in drawing fig5 is a block diagram of a computer system 50 . computer system 50 includes an input device 52 , such as a keyboard , an output device 54 , such as a video monitor , and a storage device 56 , all coupled to a conventional processor 58 . the computer system 50 further includes a memory device , such as a dynamic random access memory ( dram ) device 60 , coupled to processor 58 . dram device 60 incorporates either embodiment of memory cells shown respectively in drawing fig2 a , 2b , and 3 . although dram is the memory of discussion , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention includes other memory devices such as read only memory , cache memory , and video ram . as shown in drawing fig6 a dram device 60 that includes the dram portion 20 or 30 of fig2 or 3 , respectively , is fabricated on the surface of a semiconductor wafer 62 . the wafer 62 may comprise a sliced wafer of silicon , or may comprise any one of a wide variety of substrates , including , for example , a silicon - on - sapphire ( sos ) substrate , a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) substrate , or a silicon - on - glass ( sog ) substrate . while the present invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments , it is not so limited , and those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize and appreciate that many additions , deletions and modifications to the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed . | 6 |
the present invention is typically embodied in a receiving system for a communication network where information is transmitted and received as a stream of symbols modulated onto a carrier wave . one example would be a network employing time domain multiplexed access ( tdma ). the embodiments disclosed are not restricted to any particular standard , however . the well - known global system for mobile ( gsm ) communication system is one example of a tdma system which might employ the invention . the invention can also be used in a wireless data network employing code division multiplexed access ( cdma ). it should also be understood that not every feature of the receiving system described is necessary to implement the invention as claimed in any particular one of the appended claims . various elements of receivers are described to fully enable the invention . it should also be understood that throughout this disclosure , where a process or method is shown or described , the steps of the method may be performed in any order or simultaneously , unless it is clear from the context that one step depends on another being performed first . some of the diagrams , which are used to illustrate the inventive concepts , are shown in software flowchart form , while others are shown as block diagrams and signal processing flow diagrams with various operators . the particular form of illustration is selected in each case to aid in understanding the invention . it is to be understood that the concepts discussed can be implemented in hardware or software . for example , a flowchart which is described as a detector unit or a detection method can be thought of as illustrating an algorithm performed by software , or the operation of a specific piece of hardware , such as an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) that performs the illustrated task . finally the usage of terms such as โ updating โ and โ initializing โ typically refer to updating symbols or vectors stored or being stored in order to be operated on , decoded , or demodulated . the term user , as in first user and second user is colloquially being used to refer to a transmitter or sender of information , notwithstanding that most aspects of the invention are being implemented in a receiver or a receiver portion of a transceiver in a communication system . the invention consists of the use of joint detection of at least two users to improve performance . in this approach , the objective is to minimize the quantity : under the same assumptions as the single user case , to obtain values for new estimates for users a and b using : a , b = arg ๎ข ๎ข min a , b | r - r ^ ๎ข ( a , b ) ๎ข | 2 . where h = c h g and the above equation needs to be maximized . channel estimates can be obtained via least - squares estimation if the symbol data are known . in the case of flat fading , and assuming | a | 2 = 1 , they reduce to : for the two - user scenario , with flat fading , the estimate for two user &# 39 ; s channels , c and g , becomes : [ c ^ g ^ ] ls = [ a h b h ] ๎ข y and this equation shows each user interfering with the other user &# 39 ; s channel estimate . an alternative estimation technique is the least - squares estimate with the interfering term removed from the received signal . now , the estimates for each user &# 39 ; s channel can be found using : since the interfering users channel estimate must be known in order to find the new estimate , values from prior iterations can be used to calculate new estimates . one approach is to calculate the single - user estimates using the received signal with the interfering users term removed . equations for these estimates are written as : a ^ = 1 ฮฑ ๎ข c h ๎ข ( r - gb ) , ๎ข b ^ = 1 ฮฒ ๎ข g h ๎ข ( r - ca ) . an assumption is made that the channel estimates for both users are known and prior estimates of the symbol values are available from some prior iteration . the above procedure provides continuous value estimates for the symbols , which may be quantized ( hard - detected ) to the closest transmit symbol . the channel estimation and detection steps are iteratively computed until some convergence criterion is met or some maximum number of iterations is reached . another iterative approach can be used to compute the maximum a poste - riori estimate of the possible transmit symbols . this approach is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 887 , 035 , which is incorporated herein by reference . one embodiment of the invention is based on a two - user situation in which the base stations are synchronized . this can easily be accomplished if the system is designed to allow for joint demodulation according to the invention . it is also the case if two users are transmitting from the same base station . in this case , the received signal can be written as : where b k is the vector of symbols transmitted from a second base station and g k is the corresponding channel response . different signals are transmitted from the multiple transmit antennas and channel estimates will contain the effects of any transformation from the originating signal stream to the multiple antennas . for this example , a form of joint detection is illustrated which assumes that both signals use transmit diversity , the medium response is flat faded , channel coefficients are not known , and there are no training symbols . to address this problem , an iterative solution to two suboptimal problems , detection and channel estimation is used . the cases where some of the above quantities are known require some modifications to the approach that can easily be accomplished by one of ordinary skill in the art . iteration is used to address the transmit diversity problem when multiple users ( desired and interfering ) are present . iteration can be performed in a block ( i . e . batch ) mode , or in a recursive mode of operation . fig3 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the block mode . in this embodiment , a detector unit performs block detection at 301 for the symbols : the terms รฃ and { tilde over ( b )} are either initial values for the first iteration or prior detected values during subsequent iterations . in either case these can be referred to as โ previous โ values , simply meaning they are already stored and available . these values can be initially set at the initialization step , 300 . initially setting these values to zero results in single - user detection for the first pass of the detector unit . in this example , the channel estimates are represented as complete sequences ; however , a small set of channel estimates may be used when the channel is not time - varying or only slowly time - varying . at step 302 of fig3 the values of ฤ and ฤ are copied to { tilde over ( c )} and { tilde over ( g )}, respectively for further processing in a channel estimation unit at step 303 , where new channel estimates are computed . at step 305 a determination as to whether to perform another iteration is made . if another iteration is to be performed , the receiver copies the values รข and { circumflex over ( b )} to รฃ and { tilde over ( b )}, respectively at step 304 . the detector unit calculates the values of รข and { circumflex over ( b )} with ฤ and ฤ fixed . the values of รข , { circumflex over ( b )}, รฃ and { tilde over ( b )} may be either hard or soft values . [ 0059 ] fig4 shows a similar embodiment , but initial values are now รข , { circumflex over ( b )}, { tilde over ( c )} and { tilde over ( g )}. setting { tilde over ( c )} and { tilde over ( g )} to have zero initial values at initialization step 400 forces channel estimation at step 403 to perform single - user channel estimation for the first iteration . the rest of the processes are the same , with steps 401 , 402 , 404 , and 405 being essentially the same processes that take place in steps 301 , 302 , 304 , and 305 of fig3 . this embodiment is similar to the one shown in fig3 but the iterative algorithm has different starting and termination points . in the algorithm of fig3 if the channel estimation unit 303 is skipped , then iteration only executes detection at step 301 . this approach could be used when channel estimates are known or can be obtained by other means ( such as the use of alternate pilot channels in a cdma system ). similarly , in the second embodiment , if detection at step 401 is skipped during iteration , then only channel estimation at step 403 is executed . this might occur , for example , while detecting known pilot symbols that are being used for initial channel estimation . the initialized values are assumed to be known in the above examples . however , it may be the case that the second user signal is an interferer and the values corresponding to the interferer are unknown . fig5 illustrates a semi - blind initialization procedure that can be used in this case . assuming that รข is known and can be initialized at step 500 , the single user channel estimate ฤ is computed at step 501 . next , some rough estimate of ฤ is generated at step 502 . then รข is copies to รฃ at step 503 . { tilde over ( b )} is set to zero and the initial conditions are output at 504 . the rough estimate of ฤ discussed above can be obtained by training the desired user &# 39 ; s channel estimate over known symbols corresponding to the desired user , while using a sequence estimator to compute the channel estimate for the interfering user . such an approach is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 304 , 618 which is incorporated herein by reference . rather than use a block estimation approach , an embodiment that uses recursive estimation can also be used . fig6 shows a flowchart for the update at symbol time k . steps 601 through 605 are similar to the corresponding steps 301 - 305 in fig3 however , detection and channel estimation units only operate on the kth symbol or channel estimation term . at step 606 an update is made of the channel estimates from the kth to the ( k + 1 ) st symbol time . known , conventional channel tracking techniques may be used to predict the channel estimates from one time to a future time . a recursive embodiment corresponding to the block approach shown in fig4 can also be developed but is not shown here . in the case of recursive detection where the signals are synchronous , the detection at each symbol time can be performed separately . there are multiple ways to do this , and one of ordinary skill in the art can select the appropriate way for a proposed system . for the kth symbol time , the problem is to find the values of รข k and { tilde over ( b )} k using the equation : a ^ k , b k ^ = arg ๎ข ๎ข min ak , bk | r k - r ^ k ๎ข ( c k , g k ) ๎ข | 2 . ฮณ = re { a h ฮณ a + b h ฮณ b โ a h h k b }, where h k = c k h g k . the object here is to detect the symbol from the first and second user at the current symbol time that maximizes the above equation . although this can be done directly , each symbol can no longer be detected independently , and so the complexity of the detection procedure is significant . a lower complexity approach is to calculate the single - user estimates using the received signal with the interfering user terms removed as previously discussed . in the recursive case the equations become : a ^ k = 1 ฮฑ ๎ข c k h ๎ข ( r k - g k ๎ข b ~ k ) , ๎ข b ^ k = 1 ฮฒ ๎ข g k h ๎ข ( r k - c k ๎ข a ~ k ) , where รฃ k and { tilde over ( b )} k are previous estimates of a k and b k , respectively . a flowchart showing the method executed by a detector unit using this approach is shown in fig7 . after initialization at 700 , an update unit updates of รข k and { circumflex over ( b )} k using channel estimates ฤ k and ฤ k , and prior detected values of รฃ k and { tilde over ( b )} k at step 701 . at step 702 a determination is made as to whether another iteration is needed . if not , final values of รข k and { circumflex over ( b )} k are output at 704 . if so , current symbol values are copied to prior detected values at step 703 . [ 0069 ] fig8 shows a signal processing flow / block diagram for a symbol update unit around which a detector unit according to one embodiment of the invention can be build . the values ฤ k and ฤ k are reformed into c k and g k , respectively , by reformulation operators 801 and 802 . conjugation operators 803 and 804 provide complex conjugate values . logic such as that shown in fig8 provides continuous , final estimates for the symbols . for symbol aligned signals , batch detection can be accomplished by calling a recursive detection unit once for each symbol time given the appropriate input values for each call . alternate detection approaches can be used . for example , rather than use previously detected values for รฃ k and { tilde over ( b )} k , these terms could be enumerated . then , the chosen values of รข k and { circumflex over ( b )} k will be determined by choosing hypotheses that correspond to the best metric . another alternate detection approach is to compute the maximum a posteriori estimate of the possible transmit symbols . this is more complicated in that probabilities for each transmit symbol are estimated during each iteration . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 887 , 035 , previously discussed and incorporated by reference , provides useful background that can be used to develop alternate detection approaches . the recursive channel estimation problem at time k is to find estimates of ฤ k and ฤ k from the equation : c ^ k ๎ข g ^ k = arg ๎ข ๎ข min c k ๎ข g k | y k - y ^ k ๎ข ( a k , b k ) ๎ข | 2 . since joint estimation was previously shown to result in the single - user estimator with interference terms , an approach similar to that employed in detection must be used . the channel update is performed according to the equations : ฤ k = a k h ( y k โ b k { tilde over ( g )} k ), ฤ k = b k h ( y k โ a k { tilde over ( c )} k ) where { tilde over ( c )} k and { tilde over ( g )} k are previous estimates of c k and g k , respectively . since the interfering user &# 39 ; s channel estimate must be known in order to find the new estimate , values from prior iterations can be used to calculate these new estimates . in the above approach , ฤ k and ฤ k depend only upon the single received sample vector y k , which may be subject to noise and other signal interference . since there typically is correlation in time from one sample to the next , channel tracking can be used . consider the least - means - square ( lms ) update for the channel coefficient c 1 ( k ). in the case that the transmit diversity approach has two received samples at two different symbol times , kฮต { 2j , 2j + 1 }, the lms updates are found using the following equations : ฤ ( 2 j + 1 )= ฤ ( 2 j )+ ฮผ a 1 ( k )* e 1 ( k ), ฤ ( 2 j + 2 )= ฤ ( 2 j + 1 )โ ฮผ a 2 ( k ) e 2 ( k ). a similar form exists for the other channel coefficients . additional background on lms tracking can be found in haykin , adaptive filter theory , third edition , prentice hall , 1996 , which is incorporated herein by reference . the term ฤ k is the update given a new estimate of ฤ k . using exponential smoothing , this update is written as : ฤ k =( 1 โ ฮผ ) { tilde over ( c )} k + ฮผa k h ( y k โ b k { tilde over ( g )} k ). giving lms - like updates for the vector channel estimates . when no previous estimate for ฤ k is available , then estimates from previous time k โ 1 can be used to give : a flowchart for the above approach is shown if fig9 . all vectors are initialized at step 900 . at step 901 , the update as described immediately above is performed . steps 902 and 903 provide iteration . once the iteration is complete , channel tracking is performed at step 904 using the step size term as input . final values are output at step 905 . [ 0082 ] fig1 is a signal flow diagram for a channel estimation unit that is used in performing the method illustrated in fig9 . the values รข k and { circumflex over ( b )} k are reformed into a k and b k , respectively , by reformulation operators 1001 and 1002 . conjugation operators 1003 and 1004 provide complex conjugate values . one approach for batch channel estimation is to assume that the channel is fixed so that joint least - squares ( ls ) estimation can be performed using multiple received samples . this approach can work well since there is no longer an undetermined system of equations that need to be solved . for example , if the received signals y k through y k + n are used to find the joint ls : [ c ^ k g ^ k ] ls = ( [ a k b k a k + 1 b k + 1 โฎ โฎ a k + n b k + n ] ) + ๎ข y k , where ( ) + is the pseudo - inverse operation . since the symbol terms may not be able to be pre - computed , a recursive approach may be desired . in this case , the recursive channel tracking approach described above can be used for each symbol . an alternative approach is needed when the two transmitted user signals are flat faded , but have misaligned symbol timing from each other at the receiver , resulting in intersymbol interference ( isi ) from one signal to the other . this isi appears , even in flat fading , since the pulse - shape responses are aligned so that they no longer have the same zero crossings . with dispersion , sampling the received signal at a higher , but uniform , sampling rate helps make the resulting receiver more tolerant to isi . a higher sampling rate is required in the case where the medium response is not flat faded and significant dispersion results . for the scenario above , non - uniform sampling at a rate greater than the symbol rate , but taking into account transmit diversity is used . the approaches discussed previously are modified so that they can be used in this case . sequence estimation approaches can be modified for use with multi - user transmit diversity , but the same method as previously described for recursive channel estimation is not used . instead , batch estimation and a sub - optimal , recursive form for detecting symbols and computing channel estimates is employed . consider the two - user system described previously , now with symbol misalignment . the received signal is now sampled twice , each sampling time being optimal to one of the transmitted signals in the sense that no own - signal isi is present for the corresponding signal . let the sequences of samples for the first signal be represented as { r k a } and { y k a }. similarly , the sequences of samples for the second signal are { r k b } and { y k b }. the signals ฯ a ( j ) and ฯ b ( j ) are introduced to represent the pulse - shape response for the first and second signals , respectively . the received signals are then written as : [ 0089 ] y k a = a k c k + ฮณ k b g k a + v k a , y k b = ฮณ k a c k + b k g k + v k b . u k a = โ j ๎ข ฯ a ๎ข ( j ) ๎ข a k + j , ๎ข u k b = โ j ๎ข ฯ b ๎ข ( j ) ๎ข b k + j , ๎ข ฮณ k b = โ j ๎ข ฯ a ๎ข ( j ) ๎ข a k + j , ๎ข ฮณ k a = โ j ๎ข ฯ b ๎ข ( j ) ๎ข b k + j , where the summations above are taken over significant non - zero components of the pulse shape response terms . in batch mode , detection is performed in the same manner as in the synchronous case . for each symbol time k , the detection approach is used to update รข k and { circumflex over ( b )} k . the ordering of k does not necessarily have to be in natural order { 1 , 2 , . . . , k }. after detection , channel estimation is performed using the approach described below . because of the nature of the channel fading process , updates in natural order are assumed for the recursive channel estimation approach . for detection , the terms u k a and u k b are composed of prior , detected symbol values from the kth as well as other symbols from times j โ k . a flowchart for this approach is shown in fig1 . the form of this flowchart is similar to previous flowcharts , with initialization taking place at step 1100 , iteration being handled by steps 1102 and 1103 , and final values being output at 1104 . now , however , step 1101 is a process that performs the symbol update based upon the following equations : a ^ k = 1 ฮฑ ๎ข c h ๎ข ( r k a - g k ๎ข u k b ) , ๎ข b ^ k = 1 ฮฑ ๎ข g h ๎ข ( r k b - c k ๎ข u k a ) . the interfering terms are composed of symbols from prior iterations and the pulse shape component . fig1 shows a signal processing flow diagram of a symbol update unit that can be used to perform step 1101 in the flowchart of fig1 . the symbol update unit includes reformulation operators 1201 and 1202 and conjugation operators 1203 and 1204 as before . in this case however , calculation units 1205 and 1206 calculate values for the u terms . the interconnections between various other components such as adders and multipliers are shown in the figure . a recursive channel estimator uses a form similar to that of the synchronous case , and is described by the equations : ฤ k = ฤ k โ 1 + ฮผ a a h ( y k a โ ฮณ k b g k ), ฤ k = ฤ k โ 1 + ฮผ b b h ( y k b โ ฮณ k a c k ). [ 0096 ] fig1 is a flowchart for the recursive channel estimation . stored values are initialized at step 1300 . at step 1301 , the update the update according to the above equations is performed . steps 1302 and 1302 provide iteration . once the iteration is complete , channel tracking is performed at 1304 using the step size term as input . final values are output at step 1305 . [ 0097 ] fig1 is a signal processing flow diagram for the update unit that performs the update at step 1301 in fig1 . this unit includes operators similar to those previously discussed , including reformulation operators 1401 and 1402 and conjugation operators 1403 and 1404 . a recursive approach can be used with transmit diversity where there is isi . for the update of the symbols the same detection unit described above is used , but with the following changes . in performing the update of รข k using received data sample y k a , the interference terms u k b are made up of hypothesized and / or feedback values of the terms { tilde over ( b )} j . from these hypothesized values , different estimates of รข k and { circumflex over ( b )} k result , and the values that lead to the best metric are detected . once each symbol is detected at update time k , the recursive approach above is used to perform channel tracking . the detected symbols are used for channel tracking , along with any undetected ( hypothesized ) symbols that can be obtained from the chosen hypotheses . in the case that conventional transmission is used with systems that also contain transmit diversity , the invention can still be used . assume one signal , say a k , is a traditional transmission , and the interferer uses transmit diversity . in this case , assuming a 1 and a 2 are transmitted at consecutive symbol times corresponding to the transmit diversity symbol time k , then term y k replaces a k and c k as follows : y k = [ a 1 a 2 ๎ข 0 0 ] ๎ข [ c 1 0 ] + b k ๎ข g k + v k . r k = [ c 1 0 ๎ข 0 c 1 * ] ๎ข [ a 1 a 2 * ] + g k ๎ข b k + ฯ k . the above forms can be used for detection and channel estimation according to the invention in a mixed scenario . it is also important to understand that the invention can be applied where there are more than two users . in such cases , the technique is applied to two users at a time . such would be the case , for example , with a multi - input , multi - output ( mimo ) system with many users . [ 0103 ] fig1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal that implements the invention . fig1 illustrates a terminal with voice capability , such as a mobile telephone . this illustration is an example only , and the invention works equally well with mobile terminals that are dedicated to communicating with text or other forms of data . some types of mobile terminals may not contain all of the components shown in fig1 . as shown in fig1 , the terminal includes radio block 1501 , a baseband logic block , 1502 , control logic block 1503 and an audio interface block , 1504 . within radio block 1501 , the receive and transmit information is converted from and to the radio frequencies ( rf ) of the various carrier types , and filtering is applied , as is understood in the art . radio block 1501 includes the preprocessor previously discussed . the terminal &# 39 ; s antenna system , 1507 , is connected to the radio block . in baseband logic block 1502 , basic signal processing occurs , e . g ., synchronization , channel coding , decoding and burst formatting . in this example , the baseband logic includes a channel estimation unit , 1512 , and a detection unit , 1513 , according to the invention . the baseband logic block can be implemented by one or more asic &# 39 ; s , or perhaps by a digital signal processor ( dsp ). audio interface block 1504 handles voice as well as analog - to - digital ( a / d ) and d / a processing . it also receives input through microphone 1505 , and produces output through speaker 1506 . control logic block 1503 , coordinates the aforedescribed blocks and also plays an important role in controlling the human interface components ( not shown ) such as a key pad and liquid crystal display ( lcd ). the functions of the aforedescribed transceiving blocks are directed and controlled by one or more microprocessors or digital signal processors such as main processor 1508 , shown for illustrative purposes . program code , often in the form of microcode is stored in memory 1509 and controls the operation of the terminal through the processor or processors . the mobile terminal illustrated in fig1 interfaces to a smart card identity module ( sim ), 1511 , through a smart card reader interface . the interconnection between the main processor , control logic , memory , and sim is depicted schematically . the interface is often an internal bus . a mobile terminal implementation of the invention does not have to be a traditional โ cellular telephone โ type of terminal , but may include a cellular radio - telephone with or without a multi - line display ; a personal communications system ( pcs ) terminal that may combine a cellular radiotelephone with data processing , facsimile and data communications capabilities ; a personal data assistant ( pda ) that can include a radiotelephone , pager , internet / intranet access , web browser , organizer ; and a conventional laptop and / or palmtop computer or other appliance that includes a radiotelephone transceiver . mobile terminals are sometimes also referred to as โ pervasive computing โ devices . specific embodiments of an invention are described herein . one of ordinary skill in the networking and signal processing arts will quickly recognize that the invention has other applications in other environments . in fact , many embodiments and implementations are possible . in addition , the recitation โ means for โ is intended to evoke a means - plus - function reading of an element in a claim , whereas , any elements that do not specifically use the recitation โ means for ,โ are not intended to be read as means - plus - function elements , even if they otherwise include the word โ means .โ the following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments described . | 7 |
referring to the drawings , and in particular to fig1 thereof , a vehicle 10 is illustrated which , in the form shown , is a track - type tractor . an operator &# 39 ; s station 12 is located on the vehicle 10 such that an operator , when seated in the seat of the compartment , has access , by the use of his hands and feet , to the various handles 14 , knobs 16 , and pedals 18 , and the like , for driving and steering the vehicle 10 and actuating various equipment on the vehicle . one hand - operated handle 14 is a hand brake and , as shown in fig1 projects horizontally across the access area to and from the operator &# 39 ; s compartment 12 . a foot brake actuator lever 18 projects downwardly and rearwardly from the inside of the fire wall 20 of the vehicle 10 with a foot - engaging pedal portion 24 projecting toward the operator &# 39 ; s station 12 . a foot rest 26 is located close to the foot pedal 24 upon which the operator can rest his foot when it is not needed for other purposes , such as actuating the pedal 24 of the foot brake 18 . the handle 14 of the hand brake extends horizontally substantially parallel to the floor or deck 28 of the operator &# 39 ; s compartment 12 and obstructs access to and from the operator &# 39 ; s compartment when the brake associated with the hand lever is in the &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; inoperative &# 34 ; position . an operator , to leave the operator &# 39 ; s compartment 12 , must maneuver over or around the horizontal handle 14 which is intended to remind him to set the hand brake on the vehicle . the hand brake is put in the &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; position by pivoting the handle 14 clockwise , as viewed in fig1 downward and rearward from its horizontal position in a manner to be described more in detail hereinafter . referring to fig2 and 3 , in particular , as they relate to fig1 the handle 14 is pivotally mounted at 30 to the frame 32 of the vehicle 10 . a connecting link 34 has one end portion 35 pivotally mounted at 36 to the handle 14 at an intermediate location between the hand grip portion 38 of the handle 14 and said pivot 30 . the other end portion 40 of the connecting link 34 is pivotally mounted at 42 to one leg 43 of the bell crank link 44 , which bell crank link 44 , in turn , is pivotally mounted at 46 to a bracket 48 mounted on the frame 32 . a second connecting link 50 is connected at one end portion 52 by means of a pivot 54 to a second leg 55 of the bell crank link 44 and is connected at its other end portion 56 by means of pivot 58 to one leg 59 of a lever 60 . the lever 60 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 62 for a purpose to be described more in detail hereinafter . comparing fig2 and 3 , it can be seen that when the handle 14 is in the horizontal position of fig2 the connection through the link 34 , bell crank 44 and link 50 to the lever 60 , positions the leg 59 of said lever 60 in a raised position relative to the horizontal . in fig3 the handle 14 has been rotated about the pivot 30 in a clockwise direction which has pivoted the bell crank 44 in a counterclockwise direction through the link 34 and has pivoted the lever 60 counterclockwise through the link 50 so that in fig3 the leg 59 of the lever 60 is in a lowered position relative to the raised position of fig2 . positioned to the left of the foot rest 26 is the foot - brake actuator lever 18 which supports the foot pedal 24 at the lower end thereof . the foot - brake actuator lever 18 is pivotally mounted about a pivot 74 which is supported by a bifurcated bracket 76 mounted on the fire wall 20 of the vehicle 10 . the foot - brake actuator lever 18 has a transversely extending leg 80 integrally formed at the pivot end thereof and projects rearwardly through the fire wall 20 from the pivot 74 so that pivotal movement of the foot - brake actuator lever 18 about the pivot 74 will , likewise , move the leg 80 an equal amount . a connecting link 82 is pivotally mounted at pivot 84 to the outer end portion of the leg 80 with the opposite end portion of said link 82 being pivotally mounted at pivot 86 to the outer end portion of one leg 88 of a bell crank 90 . the bell crank 90 is pivotally mounted at pivot 92 to a bracket 94 secured to the fire wall 20 . the bell crank 90 has a second leg 96 pivotally connected at 98 to a connecting link 100 . the opposite end portion of the connecting link 100 is pivotally mounted by means of pivot 102 to the lower end of a lever 104 which is rotatably mounted on said shaft 62 . thus , it can be seen that pressure applied to the pedal 24 of the foot - brake actuator lever 18 will pivot the lever 18 counterclockwise to raise the leg 80 and connecting link 82 thereby pivoting the bell crank 90 in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 92 . the counterclockwise movement of the bell crank 90 will move the link 100 to the right , as viewed in fig2 which will pivot the lever 104 about the axis of the shaft 62 in a counterclockwise direction . referring to fig4 and 5 , in combination with the structure described with respect to fig2 it will be noted that a sealed housing 106 is bolted to the undersurface of the deck 28 and has a downwardly and angularly disposed sleeve 108 formed thereon . a plate 110 seals the opening at the end of the sleeve 108 with a rod 112 extending into the housing 106 through a sleeve guide bearing 114 . the rod 112 is connected through a connector 116 to a pivot pin 118 extending between the bifurcated end 120 of a lever 122 . the lever 122 is splined at 124 to the shaft 62 which shaft is rotatably mounted in bearings 126 in the side walls 128 of the housing 106 . the shaft 62 projects laterally from the housing 106 and has a t - shaped lever 130 splined at 131 to the exposed end portion 133 of said shaft 62 . the t - shaped lever 130 has a head portion 132 projecting axially in opposite directions from the shaft 135 of the &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; so as to provide independent overhanging contact pads 134 , 136 on the outer end portions thereof . since the t - shaped lever 130 is splined to the shaft 62 in the same manner as the lever 122 is splined to said shaft 62 , rotational movement of the t - shaped lever 130 about the axis of the shaft 62 will rotate the lever 122 a like amount . the lever 104 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 62 by a bearing 141 so that the lever 104 is free to rotate relative to the shaft 62 . lever 104 has a pair of radially and oppositely directed legs 142 , 144 with the leg 142 having a contact pad 146 aligned with and adapted to selectively contact the contact pad 134 on the t - shaped lever 130 . the leg 144 of the lever 104 has a bifurcated end portion 148 through which a pin 150 passes to engage with and secure the end portion of the link 100 to the lever 104 . the lever 60 , which has previously been described as being rotatably mounted on the outer end portion of the shaft 62 , is rotatably supported by a bearing 64 and is secured against axial displacement from the shaft 62 by means of a snap ring 161 . the lever 60 has one short leg 162 which extends radially outward from the body of the lever 60 and has a contact pad 164 aligned with and adapted to selectively contact the contact pad 136 of the t - shaped lever 130 . the lever 60 has the elongate leg 59 extending radially outward from the body of said lever 60 along an axis angularly disposed from the axis of the leg 162 . the outer end portion of the leg 59 is pivotally secured by pivot 58 to the one end portion 56 of the connecting link 50 . from the above , it will be noted that the levers 104 and 60 are free to rotate independent of each other and independent of the shaft 62 , the lever 104 being actuated by movement of the connecting link 100 , bell crank 90 , link 82 and foot - brake actuator lever 18 , and the lever 60 being actuated by movement of the connecting link 50 , bell crank 44 , link 34 , and hand brake 14 . it should be noted that the handle 14 , when in the position of fig2 positions the lever 60 so that the short leg 162 extends substantially straight upward with respect to the shaft 62 . when the handle 14 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction to the position of fig3 the links 34 and 50 , through the bell crank 44 , will pivot the lever 60 in a counterclockwise direction so that the short leg 162 will pivot in a counterclockwise direction , as viewed in fig2 and 3 , so that the contact pad 164 will engage with the contact and 136 on the t - shaped lever 130 which will rotate the lever 130 , shaft 62 and lever 122 in a counterclockwise direction , once again as viewed in fig2 and 3 . the counterclockwise movement of the end portion 120 of the lever 122 will move the rod 112 to the right , as viewed in fig2 to the position of fig3 which will set the brakes of the vehicle . it should be noted that the lever 104 is in no way affected by the movement of the levers 60 and 130 as that the position of the foot pedal 24 is not altered . in normal operation , the hand - brake handle 14 will be in the horizontal position of fig2 such that the lever 60 will have the leg 162 in the vertical position , out of contact with the lever 130 . as the vehicle is operated , it becomes necessary to brake the vehicle by the operator depressing the pedal 24 which will pivot the foot - brake actuator lever 18 about the pivot 74 which will raise the link 82 , pivot the bell crank 90 in a counterclockwise direction , and shift the link 100 to the right , as viewed in fig2 which , in turn , will pivot the link 104 in a counterclockwise direction , as viewed in fig2 whereupon the leg 142 of the lever 104 will be pivoted in a counterclockwise direction with the pad 146 contacting the contact pad 134 of the link 130 . this will rotate the link 130 , shaft 62 and lever 122 in a counterclockwise direction which will shift the rod 112 and set the brake . it should be noted that actuation of the foot brake will in no way affect the position of the hand brake so that the link or lever 60 connected to the hand brake 14 will remain in position with the contact pad 164 out of contact with the contact pad 136 of the lever 130 . it should be noted that in the event the foot brake is set , as just described , the operator can pivot the handle 14 of the hand brake from the horizontal position of fig2 to the set position of fig3 which will pivot the lever 60 so as to bring the contact pad 164 in contact with the contact pad 136 of the lever 130 . since the brake is already set , this will in no way change the position of the rod 112 . however , in the event the operator removes his foot from the pedal 24 of the foot - brake actuator lever 18 , the connecting link 82 , bell crank 90 , and link 100 will be free to shift in a clockwise direction , as viewed in fig2 so as to remove the contact pad 146 from contact with the contact pad 134 of the lever 130 . however , the brakes will remain set due to the set position of the hand brake . the operator at that point can release the hand brake by grasping the handle 14 and rotating the handle 14 in a counterclockwise direction , as viewed in fig3 to the horizontal position of fig2 whereupon the lever 60 will be rotated in a clockwise direction which will permit the lever 130 to rotate in a clockwise direction thereby shifting the rod 112 and releasing the brake . in summary , a dual brake actuating mechanism has been described wherein a hand brake can be set without in any way affecting the operation or position of the foot brake and foot - brake lever . likewise , the foot brake can be set without in any way affecting the position of the hand - brake lever and hand - brake handle . in other words , one or the other of the brake actuating mechanisms can be operated without affecting the other &# 39 ; s position or operation . both brakes can be set at the same time and the release of one will not automatically release the other , therefore , it requires a positive action to release either or both of the brakes , which brakes are independently operative . | 8 |
fig1 is a circuit diagram illustrating one embodiment of an esd protection circuit that includes a diode 12 and a silicon controlled rectifier ( scr ) 14 to protect driver / receiver circuitry 20 . the circuits 12 , 14 , and 20 are coupled to a conductor ( wire ) 18 that makes connection to a pin on a package containing the circuit of fig1 . a pin may generally be any external connection point ( e . g . a solder ball for packages such as ball grid array , an electrical lead to connect to a through hole on a circuit board , a โ leadless โ lead to connect to a solder connection on a board , etc .). the pin is an external conductor , and thus may be subject to an esd event . esd events may include high voltages and / or currents that would otherwise damage transistors in the driver / receiver circuit 20 . the circuits 12 , 14 , and 20 are coupled to the v ss ( ground ) rail , and the driver / receiver circuit 20 is further coupled to the v dd ( power supply ) rail . the diode 12 may be configured to conduct current to handle an esd event from the ground ( v ss ) rail to the pin ( reverse - bias ). the scr 14 may be configured conduct current to handle an esd event to the v ss rail from the pin in response to a trigger ( forward - bias ). accordingly , the esd protection circuit may be bi - directional and no connection to the v dd rail may be needed . in one embodiment , the diode 12 and the scr 14 may share a single junction , and thus may reduce the capacitive load on the pin as compared to dual - diode structures and other esd structures . for pins that are highly sensitive to capacitance , the esd protection circuit described herein may provide a lighter load and thus a lower impact on the functional communication on the pin . examples of pins that are highly sensitive to capacitance may include various high speed input / output ( i / o ) interfaces such as peripheral component interconnect express ( pcie ), universal serial bus ( usb ), etc . the diode 12 and the scr 14 may be formed using the structure illustrated in fig4 - 6 , in one embodiment . the driver / receiver circuitry 20 may include any circuitry to drive and / or receive signals on the pin to which the conductor 18 is connected . if the pin is an output , the circuitry 20 may include driving transistors having source or drain connections to the conductor 18 . if the pin is an input , the circuitry 20 may include receiving transistors having gate connections to the conductor 18 . if the pin is an input / output pin , the circuitry 20 may include both driving and receiving transistors . the driver / receiver circuitry 20 may include additional esd protection circuitry ( e . g . a voltage clamp circuit ). fig2 is a circuit diagram illustrating another embodiment of an esd protection circuit that includes a diode 10 and an scr 16 to protect the driver / receiver circuitry 20 . the circuits 10 , 16 , and 20 are coupled to the conductor ( wire ) 18 that makes connection to a pin on a package containing the circuit of fig2 . the circuits 10 , 16 , and 20 are coupled to the v dd rail , and the driver / receiver circuit 20 is further coupled to the v ss rail . similar to the diode 12 and the scr 14 in fig1 , the diode 10 may be configured to conduct current to handle an esd event to the v dd rail from the pin and the scr 16 may be configured to conduct current to handle an esd event to the pin from the v dd rail . accordingly , the esd protection circuit may be bi - directional and no connection to the v ss rail may be needed . similar to the discussion above , the embodiment of fig2 may be a low capacitance solution for the pins that are sensitive to capacitance . it is noted that the embodiment of fig2 may be used in a โ triple well โ process in which an isolated p - well is available in the semiconductor substrate . it is further noted that , if desired , both of the esd circuits shown in fig1 and fig2 may be used in some embodiments . the v dd and v ss rails may be examples of voltage rails . generally , a voltage rail may refer to interconnect provided in an integrated circuit to be connected to a particular voltage level ( e . g . v dd and v ss , or power and ground , respectively ). for many integrated circuits , multiple pins on a package may be coupled to the power rail and multiple pins may be coupled to a ground rail , to help stabilize the voltages in the presence of ( possibly large ) current flows . fig3 is a top view of one embodiment of a semiconductor substrate . in the illustrated embodiment , the substrate may be p - type ( p ). the substrate may include an n - type ( n ) well 30 formed in the p - type substrate . other embodiments may have an n - type substrate and may use a p - well , or a dual - well semiconductor fabrication process may be used . more particularly , in one embodiment , n - wells may be formed and the remainder of the substrate may be p - well ( or vice versa ). semiconductor regions 32 may be formed within the n - well 30 . in one embodiment , the semiconductor material is silicon . the semiconductor regions 32 may be insulated from each other using any fabrication technique ( e . g . shallow trench isolation ( sti )). the semiconductor regions 32 may include multiple โ fins โ 34 in a finfet semiconductor fabrication technology . that is , the fins 34 in the semiconductor regions 32 may rise above the surface of the substrate as compared to the well 30 , for example . the fins 34 in each region 32 may be parallel to each other and parallel to the fins 34 in other regions 32 . the fins 34 may be doped with impurities to produce highly doped n - type and p - type conduction regions ( denoted as n + and p +). a highly - doped region may include a greater density of the impurities than the normally doped regions / wells ( e . g . p - wells , n - wells , and semiconductor substrate regions ). for example , highly - doped regions may include one or more orders of magnitude greater density of impurities than the normally doped regions . in the illustrated embodiment , cross - hatched areas 38 may represent p + regions and dot - filled areas 40 may represent n + regions . the areas 38 and 40 may be the areas over which the dopants may be implanted . the fins 34 may actually be separated by insulators such as sti , and so the actual n + and p + regions may be in the fins 34 themselves . the n + and p + regions may be constructed in areas of the substrate in which diodes and scrs are to be formed ( e . g . to form esd protection circuits ). depending on the finfet fabrication process , the fins may be further grown into other shapes such as diamond or merged together through a semiconductor epitaxial process step . each semiconductor region 32 may have polysilicon โ fingers โ built thereon . for example , fingers 36 are illustrated in fig3 . the fingers may form gates for transistors formed in the fins 34 in areas where transistors are fabricated , for example . the p - well sections of the semiconductor substrate may similarly include semiconductor regions 32 having fins 34 , fingers 36 , and n + and p + areas 38 and 40 . the border between each p + and n + area forms a p - n junction ( more briefly pn junction ) that may operate as a diode or may be used as one of the pn junctions of an scr . additionally , borders between p - wells and n - wells form pn junctions that may form diodes or scr junctions . similarly , borders between p + areas and n - wells , and borders between n + areas and p - wells , may form pn junctions . there may be gate - bound diodes / scrs formed across a region 32 ( e . g . the region 32 on the bottom of fig3 , in which multiple p + and n + areas are formed within the region ). additionally , sti - bound diodes / scrs may be formed between regions 32 , where one of the regions 32 is within the n - well 30 and the other region 32 is in a p - well ( e . g . the p - well outside the n - well 30 ) it is noted that , in other embodiments , adjacent regions 32 may be entirely of the opposite conduction type ( e . g . the p + area on the top region 32 may be adjacent to another region 32 that is entirely n +). alternatively , adjacent regions may have the same conduction type . any combination of various p + and n + areas in adjacent regions may be used . fig4 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a top view of esd protection circuits of fig1 on a semiconductor substrate . fig4 may be a simplified view . regions 32 that include n + or p + areas , including fingers 36 and fins 34 , are illustrated as blocks of conduction type ( n + or p +). each area should be viewed as a region 32 similar to that shown in fig3 , in an embodiment ( or multiple adjacent regions 32 ). various n - wells 30 a - 30 f are shown in fig4 . areas outside of the n - wells 30 a - 30 f may be p - well in this embodiment of the finfet technology . p - wells are not shown in fig4 , but are illustrated in the cross - sections of fig5 and 6 . n - wells 30 a - 30 d each include n + and p + regions that form transistors for i / o driver / receiver circuits similar to the circuits 20 shown in fig1 or 2 . the embodiment of fig4 may implement scrs 14 and diodes 12 similar to the embodiment of fig1 . thus , for example , n - well 30 a includes n + region 42 and p + region 44 to form n and p transistors for the i / o driver receiver circuit 20 . a p + region 46 that is coupled to the v ss rail is provided , as well as an n + region 48 that is coupled to the v ss rail . the discussion below will focus on the diode 12 and the scr 14 formed between the n - well 30 a regions 42 and 44 and the v ss regions 46 and 48 . a similar discussion may apply to the n - wells 30 b - 30 d and the surrounding v ss regions . the p - well that includes the p + v ss region 46 and the n - well 30 a may form a pn junction that may be used as an sti - bound diode 12 . the p + region 44 to the n - well 30 a to the p - well in which the n + region 48 is formed and finally to the n + region 48 itself may be pnpn junctions forming the scr 14 . again , the scr 14 may be an sti - bound scr in this embodiment . the n - well 30 a junction to the surrounding p - well may be a single junction that is shared by the diode 12 and the scr 14 ( particularly the cathode of the diode 12 and the anode of the scr 14 ), and thus the capacitive load presented by the esd protection circuit may be low compared to other esd protection circuits such as dual - diode circuits . a p + region 50 in fig4 may be used as a trigger contact for the scrs 14 . the contact may be a floating contact , and may be provided for any type of triggering circuit . for example , a resistance - capacitance ( rc ) trigger circuit or a diode trigger circuit may be used . the p + region 50 may be isolated from other p + regions such as the p + regions coupled to v ss ( e . g . the p + region 46 ). more particularly , the floating p contact may be shared by scrs that have their cathodes in the adjacent n + regions 48 and 52 . lines a - a โฒ and b - b โฒ are illustrated in fig4 , and correspond to the cross sections of fig5 and 6 , respectively . the line b - b โฒ includes the p + region 50 ( and thus can be seen in fig4 to move to the right and then back to the left near the p + region 50 in fig4 ). the n - wells 30 e and 30 f may include p + regions for contacts for the driving and / or received signals for the driver / receiver circuits 20 , as well as n + regions coupled to the p + region 50 . the n + region in the n - wells 30 e and 30 f may form trigger diodes with the p + region 50 for the scrs 14 , for embodiments that use trigger diodes to detect esd events and triggering the scrs 14 . other embodiments that use other trigger circuits need not include the connections to the n + regions in the n - wells 30 e - 30 f and may not include the n + regions in the n - wells 30 e - 30 f either . fig5 is a cross section taken along the line a - a โฒ in fig4 . a semiconductor substrate 54 is shown , into which the n - wells 30 a and 30 b are implanted . p - wells 30 g , 30 h , and 30 j are also illustrated in fig5 . p - wells 30 g , 30 h , and 30 j may be part of an overall p - well that may be provided in the substrate 54 at places that are not n - wells in the substrate 54 . the n + and p + regions 42 , 44 , 46 , and 48 are shown with various fins in the regions . the fins are separated by sti structures 60 in each region 42 , 44 , 46 , and 48 . thus , the actually highly - doped areas may be the areas under and in the fins . additionally , sti structures 60 separate the regions 42 , 44 , 46 , and 48 , as discussed above . the sti structures 60 between regions may be wider than the sti structures 60 within a region in an embodiment . additionally , depths of the sti structures 60 between regions may differ from the sti structures 60 within a region . while two fins are shown in a given region , in part due to the available space in the drawing , various embodiments may employ any desired number of fins . the diodes 12 are illustrated across the p - well 30 g to n - well 30 a boundary and the p - well 30 j to n - well 30 b boundary . the anodes of the diodes 12 are in the p - wells 30 g and 30 j and the cathodes of the diodes 12 are in the n - wells 30 a and 30 b . the scrs 14 are illustrated from the p + region 44 to the n - well 30 a to the p - well 30 h to the n + region 48 , and similarly from the p + region in the n - well 30 b to the n - well 30 b to the p - well 30 h to the n + region 48 . the anodes of the scrs 14 are in the n - wells 30 a and 30 b , and the cathodes of the scrs 14 are in the p - well 30 h . it is noted that , while the arrows illustrating the scrs 14 extend from one fin of each region to the fin of the adjoining region , each fin of the region may contribute to the scr 16 . fig6 is a cross section taken along the line b - b โฒ in fig4 . a portion of the cross section is not shown in fig6 ( removed part illustrated by the ellipses shown in fig6 ) for space reasons . the removed part may be similar to the cross section illustrated in fig5 . the semiconductor substrate 54 is shown , into which the n - wells 30 a and 30 b are implanted . p - wells 30 g and 30 h are also illustrated in fig6 . the n + and p + regions 42 , 44 , 46 , and 48 are shown in various fins in the regions , separated by sti structures 60 in each region 42 , 44 , 46 , and 48 . furthermore , the p + region 50 is shown with the trigger input coupled thereto . the p + region 50 to the p - well 30 h is not a junction , so the trigger is coupled to the junction between the n - well 30 a and the p - well 30 h within the scr 14 on the left in fig6 . the trigger input is also coupled to the junction between the p - well 30 h and the n - well 30 b to provide the trigger within the scr 14 on the right in fig6 . thus , the trigger is shared by the two scrs 14 in fig6 . the trigger may further be shared by the scrs 14 extending from the n - wells 30 c and 30 d in fig4 . the trigger input may be next to the scr cathode but may not interfere with the scr current path in this embodiment . the floating p - well contact for the trigger input may be isolated from the anode of the diodes 12 in the p + v ss region 46 . fig7 is a circuit diagram illustrating the scr 14 and the diode 12 for one embodiment . the scr 14 in fig7 may include the transistors 70 and 72 . another transistor 74 may form a triggering diode for the scr 14 , for embodiments that employ the trigger diode . various resistances are illustrated in fig7 as well . in particular , the resistor 78 may be a resistance through the substrate 54 . as discussed previously , the scr 14 formed from the transistors 70 and 72 may be the main positive esd discharge path , while the diode 12 and the two resistors in series with it may be the main negative esd discharge path . to carry the potentially large esd current , the resistors in series with the diode 12 may be made as small as possible . during a positive esd event , the trigger diode 74 may inject current into the base of transistor 72 , and its base resistor 78 . the transistor 72 may thus be biased at its base by the voltage drop across resistor 78 into the forward active mode , triggering the scr current path through transistors 70 and 72 . fig8 is another embodiment , including a second trigger diode 76 . the embodiment of fig8 may be used , for example , if the leakage current through the diode 74 is of concern during normal operating conditions . the leakage current through the trigger diode ( s ) 74 and 76 may be significantly reduced . the triggering mechanism may remain the same with one or multiple trigger diodes in various embodiments . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications . | 7 |
particularly referring to the above figures , a viscoelastic support structure having improved energy absorption properties according to the invention is described , which is generally designated with numeral 1 . the structure 1 is designed to come in contact with a user and has a contact surface 2 on which the user will exert a stress p along an essentially transverse direction l . the structure 1 has a rigid or semirigid frame 3 and at least one layer of a resilient filler 4 , with at least one gel insert 5 located upon the frame 3 . an upper covering 6 is further provided which defines the contact surface 2 and is adapted to cover the filler layer 4 and the insert 5 . particularly , the insert 5 may have at least one surface 7 facing toward a top surface 8 of the frame 3 and at least one surface 7 โฒ facing toward a bottom surface 6 โฒ of the covering 6 to interact therewith as the user exerts a stress p thereon . possibly , an intermediate filler layer , not shown , may be interposed between the insert s and the frame and / or the covering 6 . a peculiar feature of the invention is that the insert 5 and / or the frame 3 and / or the covering 6 have a plurality of protuberances 9 and recesses 10 with respect to a mid - surface m adapted to facilitate the deformation of the insert 5 , in a direction transverse to the direction l of the stress p and / or essentially parallel to the mid - surface m . in greater detail , the protuberances 9 and the recesses 10 with respect to the mid - surface m may be formed on at least one of the surfaces 7 , 7 โฒ of the insert 5 , as shown in fig1 . in certain embodiments , not shown in the annexed drawings , the protuberances 9 and the recesses 10 with respect to the mid - surface m may be provided either on the top surface 8 of the frame 3 or on the bottom surface 6 โฒ of the flexible covering 6 , or on both , providing in either case an increased deformation of the insert 5 . in fact , the latter faces toward both the top surface 8 of the frame 3 and the bottom surface 6 โฒ of the covering 6 . the stress p exerted along the direction l results in a deformation of the insert 5 which has at least one component parallel and one component transverse to the direction l . the protuberances 9 and the recesses 10 allow both deformation components to develop freely , and particularly enhance the transverse deformation component . in fact , no mutual sliding between the insert 5 and the frame 3 is required for the latter component to develop , and no friction or adhesion forces between the insert 5 and the frame 3 shall be defeated . if the stress p is essentially orthogonal to the mid - surface m , the transverse component of the deformation may be essentially parallel to the mid - surface m . as is shown , the protuberances 9 and the recesses 10 allow a greater deformation of the insert 5 and , as a result , a higher energy dissipation . in fact , the gel of the insert 5 may show hysteresis , and dissipate energy when it is under stress . the protuberances 9 and the recesses 10 may be of various types and have different designs . particularly , as shown in the annexed figures , the protuberances 9 may have top surfaces 11 mainly extending along respective first lines , and the recesses 10 may have bottom surfaces 12 mainly extending along respective second lines . the first and second main extension lines may be either curved or essentially straight and essentially parallel . furthermore , the top surfaces 11 of the protuberances 9 and the bottom surfaces 12 of the recesses 10 may be connected together by inclined surfaces 13 having respective inclination angles a relative to the mid - surface m . in greater detail , the inclination angles a may be of 5 ยฐ to 85 ยฐ and preferably of about 45 ยฐ. as shown in fig1 , the resilient filler layer 4 may be interposed between the frame 3 and the flexible covering 6 and may include an enlarged rear portion 14 for supporting the buttocks of a user , a front horn portion 15 and a central portion 16 . a through cavity 17 , which is designed to receive the insert 5 , may be formed on the central portion 16 or on the enlarged rear portion 14 . in this case , the through cavity ( not shown ) may be placed at the ischial bones of the user . also , the insert 5 may extend from the top surface 8 of the frame 3 to the flexible covering 6 . suitably , the gel material may be essentially optically transparent , to permit the passage of light through it . also , the flexible covering 6 may have at least one essentially optically transparent portion 18 , placed upon the insert 5 . the transparent portion 18 of the flexible covering 6 may be integral with the remaining portion thereof , or form a separate portion connected to the remaining portion by appropriate connection means ( not shown ). furthermore , the base material of the frame 3 may be polymeric and essentially optically transparent . therefore , light may pass through the covering 6 , the insert 5 and the frame 3 , i . e . through the whole support structure 1 . in a further embodiment ( not shown in the annexed drawings ), the base material of the frame 3 may be a ligneous , metal or composite material . here again , the passage of light through the whole support structure 1 may be assured by forming at least one through hole in the frame 3 . this hole may be positioned at the insert 5 , and may be covered with a polymeric , essentially optically transparent layer , to support the insert 5 and prevent the latter from being soiled with dust or dirt . the above description clearly shows that the inventive structure fulfils the proposed objects and particularly the design of the gel insert and the frame allows to considerably reduce the stresses transmitted to the user , with a consequent comfort increase . the structure of the invention is susceptible of a number of changes and variants , within the inventive concept disclosed in the appended claims . all the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts , and the materials may vary depending on different needs , without departure from the scope of the invention . while the structure has been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures , the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner . | 1 |
the devices disclosed herein are useful in transport of agent into or across biological barriers including the skin ( or parts thereof ); the blood - brain barrier ; mucosal tissue ( e . g ., oral , nasal , ocular , vaginal , urethral , gastrointestinal , respiratory ); blood vessels ; lymphatic vessels ; or cell membranes ( e . g ., for the introduction of material into the interior of a cell or cells ). the biological barriers can be in humans or other types of animals , as well as in plants , insects , or other organisms , including bacteria , yeast , fungi , and embryos . the microneedle devices can be applied to tissue internally with the aid of a catheter or laparoscope . for certain applications , such as for drug delivery to an internal tissue , the devices can be surgically implanted . the present invention provides agents which can be a protein , peptide , cell homogenate , whole organism or glycoprotein effective as a sensing agent or protective agent . the present invention also provides a presentation configuration of the agent in which for sensing , single molecules , multimers , aggregates , or multimer through nanoparticle anchoring may be used ; whereas , for delivery ( vaccination ) the configuration of the biological molecule may also comprise : single molecules , multimers , aggregates , or multimers through nanoparticle anchoring . nanoparticle anchoring can be through nanoparticles of gold , silver , titanium , agarose , proteins , dendrimers , proteins or polymers . the preferred option is the multimeric nanoparticle presentation . the present invention also has applications in the food industry for quality detection and for one or more infective agent ( s ), the infective agent can be a microorganism . the microorganism can be selected from one or more of the group comprising a virus , bacteria , protozoa and / or fungus . the inventors have unexpectedly discovered that a novel delivery structure and composition , as well as the composition and configuration of the biological reagent for delivery and methods for their production . by forming the agents for delivery in the presence of removable and / or degradable nanoparticles of different composition to the composition of the delivery molecules , the nanostructured molecules incorporate a nanoporous structure capable of holding large and small molecules and nanoparticles - anchored biological molecules for delivery as vaccines and therapeutics . it is also recognised that a number of novel polymer systems which when subjected to certain stresses change composition to have a nanoparticular structure which is different to the surrounding polymer , and such polymers can have application with their improved solubility ( degradation properties ) for the delivery of reagents from polymer array patches . the aforementioned polyvalent nanoparticular vaccination particles can be released from polymer patches with penetration to the interstitial layer in live tissue the aforementioned polyvalent nanoparticular sensing agents can be retained on the surface of the polymer patches with conducting properties for signal transduction . the inventors have surprisingly found that the identical polymer is used for presenting ( delivery / anchored sensing ) the nanostructured molecule ( s ), and also unexpectedly , a polymer which although biocompatible is preferably not biodegradeable has advantages of speed of molecule delivery not requiring the lengthy time dependent degradation . in the aspect of the invention that has application to delivery for vaccination through the stratum corneum , resident time in this layer is of the order of two weeks . in a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for delivering molecule ( s ) precisely to the appropriate depth using the microneedle arrays having nanostructured delivery molecules . construction of the device and control of structure of the polymer , by embedding nanoparticle - sized materials with properties to allow dissolution of the nanoparticles to create a mesoporous structure with nanoporous cavities for holding reagents or nanoparticle structured reagents . to be delivered by the array patch structure . both hollow and solid penetrator ( solid needle ) arrays are constructed with any of a range of sizes between 20 ฮผm and 250 ฮผm but the preferred sizes ( lengths ) are 25 ฮผm and 150 ฮผm . the dimensions of the whole array could be in the order of 1 cm square or with a diameter of 1 cm . however , the size of the array patch would be based on the amount of material to be delivered and the needle density packing on the patches . the microneedles are preferred to be in an array format , but could be randomly arranged . the arrangement of the microneedles may be a result of the method used in manufacture . the microneedles may be arranged so that more than one reagent can be coated and delivered from the one array . a polymer which when subjected to certain stresses change composition to have a nanoparticle structure which is different to the surrounding polymer , and such polymers can have application with their improved solubility ( degradation properties ) for the delivery of reagents from polymer array patches . a polymer that contains a nanoparticle that can be selectively removed to produce nanosized pores or cavities on the microneedle surface . the microneedle array patches of the present also provide applications for the treatment and prevention of human diseases . preventative vaccination of a wide variety of human disease states can be achieved , for example , the present microneedle arrays can be used to vaccinate against any one or more of the disease states selected from the group comprising infectious diseases ( including but not limited to meningococcal disease and tuberculosis ) and autoimmune diseases ( including but not limited to multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis ). as used herein , the term โ nanoparticle โ, is intended to include particles that range in size from about 1 nm to about 1000 nm . preferably , the nanoparticles are in the range from about 50 nm to about 500 nm . as used herein , the term โ fabric โ, is intended to describe the material which the particle is composed of . as used herein , the term โ biocompatible โ, is intended to describe molecules that are not toxic to cells . compounds are โ biocompatible โ if their addition to cells in vitro results in less than or equal to 20 % cell death and do not induce inflammation or other such adverse effects in vivo . as used herein , โ biodegradable โ includes compounds are those that , when introduced into cells , are broken down by the cellular machinery into components that the cells can either reuse or dispose of without significant toxic effect on the cells ( i . e ., fewer than about 20 % of the cells are killed ). the agent that can be delivered by use of the present invention includes any therapeutic substance which possesses desirable therapeutic characteristics . these agents can be selected from any one or more of the group comprising : thrombin inhibitors , antithrombogenic agents , thrombolytic agents , fibrinolytic agents , vasospasm inhibitors , calcium channel blockers , vasodilators , antihypertensive agents , antimicrobial agents , antibiotics , inhibitors of surface glycoprotein receptors , antiplatelet agents , antimitotics , microtubule inhibitors , anti secretory agents , actin inhibitors , remodeling inhibitors , antisense nucleotides , anti metabolites , antiproliferatives , anticancer chemotherapeutic agents , anti - inflammatory steroid or non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents , immunosuppressive agents , growth hormone antagonists , growth factors , dopamine agonists , radiotherapeutic agents , peptides , proteins , enzymes , extracellular matrix components , ace inhibitors , free radical scavengers , chelators , antioxidants , anti polymerases , antiviral agents , photodynamic therapy agents , and gene therapy agents . in particular , the therapeutic substance can be selected from any one or more of the group comprising alpha - 1 anti - trypsin , anti - angiogenesis agents , antisense , butorphanol , calcitonin and analogs , ceredase , cox - ii inhibitors , dermatological agents , dihydroergotamine , dopamine agonists and antagonists , enkephalins and other opioid peptides , epidermal growth factors , erythropoietin and analogs , follicle stimulating hormone , g - csf , glucagon , gm - csf , granisetron , growth hormone and analogs ( including growth hormone releasing hormone ), growth hormone antagonists , hirudin and hirudin analogs such as hirulog , ige suppressors , imiquimod , insulin , insulinotropin and analogs , insulin - like growth factors , interferons , interleukins , luteinizing hormone , luteinizing hormone releasing hormone and analogs , heparins , low molecular weight heparins and other natural , modified , or syntheic glycoaminoglycans , m - csf , metoclopramide , midazolam , monoclonal antibodies , peglyated antibodies , pegylated proteins or any proteins modified with hydrophilic or hydrophobic polymers or additional functional groups , fusion proteins , single chain antibody fragments or the same with any combination of attached proteins , macromolecules , or additional functional groups thereof , narcotic analgesics , nicotine , non - steroid anti - inflammatory agents , oligosaccharides , ondansetron , parathyroid hormone and analogs , parathyroid hormone antagonists , prostaglandin antagonists , prostaglandins , recombinant soluble receptors , scopolamine , serotonin agonists and antagonists , sildenafil , terbutaline , thrombolytics , tissue plasminogen activators , tnf -, and tnf - antagonist , the vaccines , with or without carriers / adjuvants , including prophylactics and therapeutic antigens ( including but not limited to subunit protein , peptide and polysaccharide , polysaccharide conjugates , toxoids , genetic based vaccines , live attenuated , reassortant , inactivated , whole cells , viral and bacterial vectors ) in connection with , addiction , arthritis , cholera , cocaine addiction , diphtheria , tetanus , hib , lyme disease , meningococcus , measles , mumps , rubella , varicella , yellow fever , respiratory syncytial virus , tick borne japanese encephalitis , pneumococcus , streptococcus , typhoid , influenza , hepatitis , including hepatitis a , b , c and e , otitis media , rabies , polio , hiv , parainfluenza , rotavirus , epstein barr virus , cmv , chlamydia , non - typeable haemophilus , moraxella catarrhalis , human papilloma virus , tuberculosis including bcg , gonorrhoea , asthma , atheroschlerosis malaria , e - coli , alzheimer &# 39 ; s disease , h . pylori , salmonella , diabetes , cancer , herpes simplex , human papilloma and the like other substances including all of the major therapeutics such as agents for the common cold , anti - addiction , anti - allergy , anti - emetics , anti - obesity , antiosteoporeteic , anti - infectives , analgesics , anesthetics , anorexics , antiarthritics , antiasthmatic agents , anticonvulsants , anti - depressants , antidiabetic agents , antihistamines , anti - inflammatory agents , antimigraine preparations , antimotion sickness preparations , antinauseants , antineoplastics , antiparkinsonism drugs , antipruritics , antipsychotics , antipyretics , anticholinergics , benzodiazepine antagonists , vasodilators , including general , coronary , peripheral and cerebral , bone stimulating agents , central nervous system stimulants , hormones , hypnotics , immunosuppressives , muscle relaxants , parasympatholytics , parasympathomimetrics , prostaglandins , proteins , peptides , polypeptides and other macromolecules , psychostimulants , sedatives , and sexual hypofunction and tranquilizers . paratuberculosis ( johne &# 39 ; s disease ) is a chronic , progressive enteric disease of ruminants caused by infection with mycobacterium paratuberculosis . the disease signs of infected animals include weight loss , diarrhea , and decreased milk production in cows . herd prevalence of johne &# 39 ; s disease is estimated to be 22 - 40 % and the economic impact of this disease on the dairy industry was estimated to be over $ 200 million per year in 1996 . in addition , m . paratuberculosis has been implicated as a causative factor in crohn &# 39 ; s disease , a chronic inflammatory bowel disease of human beings , which has served as a further impetus to control this disease in our national cattle industry . the treatment and prevention of johne &# 39 ; s disease has become a high priority disease in the cattle industry . the membrane protein p34 , seq id no 1a , elicits the predominant humoral response against m . paratuberculosis and within the published sequence antigenic peptide epitopes have been identified , which include but are not limited to : see for example , ostrowski , m et al . ( 2003 ) scandinavian journal of immunology , 58 , 511 - 521 . peptide regions on other potential antigens can also be used in the device which can include the antigens described in : alkyl hydroperoxide reductases c and d are major antigens constitutively expressed by mycobacterium avium subsp . paratuberculosis . olsen , et al . ( 2000 ) infection and immunity , 68 ( 2 ), 801 - 808 . two proteins p11 and p20 have been identified as potential antigens for use in vaccination . thus suitably nano - structured vaccinations for mycobacterium infection for diseases such as johnes disease can be made and delivered according to the methods and devices of the current invention . bovine mastitis is a serious problem , common in both lactating dairy - type and beef - type animals . the management of this disease is practiced mostly on the dairy - type animal where daily udder handling is required . mechanical milking machines may have caused an increased incidence of mastitis ; the true origins of the disease remain unknown . bacterial organisms identified from affected glands are varied ; however , the species of streptococcus and staphlococcus are most commonly isolated . purified proteins which act as antigens to bovine mastitis have also be described and are incorporated by reference ; immunisation of dairy cattle with recombinant streptococcus uberis gapc or a chimeric camp antigen confers protection against heterologous bacterial challenge . fontaine et al . ( 2002 ) vaccine , 2278 - 2286 . it would be expected that specific peptide epitopes from these proteins would be antigenic . paua protein has been successfully used to vaccinate cattle to prevent mastitis caused by challenge infection with s . uberis ( leigh , j . a . 1999 . โ streptococcus uberis : a permanent barrier to the control of bovine mastitis ?โ vet . j . 157 : 225 - 238 ). vaccinated , protected cattle generated serum antibody responses that inhibited plasminogen activation by paua ., s . uberis paua protein sequence : epitope region peptides selected from this protein useful as vaccines candidates when presented in the appropriate nanoparticle form : including but not restricted to as well as the whole or selected fragments of the protein sequence above . omp85 proteins of neisseria gonorrhoeae and n . meningitides and peptide sequences derived therefrom can be used as vaccines against the organisms causing meningococcal disease when presented in nanoparticle form , or variants according to us 2005074458 , which is herein incorporated by reference . and the gonococcal and opacity proteins according to epo273116 , including but not restricted to : fragments of the core protein used for in vitro immunisation can include but not be limited to : these can be used in conjunction with or without toll receptors and or lipoproteins as indicated by the following reference : cell activation by synthetic lipopeptides of the hepatitis c virus ( hcv )โ core protein is mediated by toll like receptors ( tlrs ) 2 and 4 . liver flukes ( fasciola spp .) infect a wide range of animals , including humans . the disease that is caused is termed fasciolosis . as with most parasitic diseases , there is a complex life cycle . economically , sheep and cattle are of primary importance . infection with liver fluke leads to decreased production due to poor energy conversion ( meat and milk in cattle , meat and wool in sheep ) and can lead to mortality ( particularly in sheep ). vaccines targeting liver fluke have been investigated for many years , with most subunit vaccines centered on glutathione - s - transferase ( gst ), cathepsin l ( catl ) and fatty acid binding proteins ( fabp ). attenuated vaccines , created by the irradiation of metacercariae , are very effective , however this method of vaccination is not commercially viable . therefore , subunit vaccine candidates have been considered . dna vaccines have been assessed and recombinant proteins such as cathepsin b been cloned and analysed . antigens have been cloned and the use of cathepsin l proteases as vaccines described , see for example u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 623 , 735 and 20050208063 , which is herein incorporated by reference . the n - terminal sequences of the proteases to be used for in vitro immunisation can include but not be limited to : these can be incorporated into a nanoparticle ( s ) or can be formed as a nanoparticle . an injectable nanoparticle can be prepared that includes a substance to be delivered and a nanoparticular polymer that is covalently bound to the molecule ( s ), wherein the nanoparticle is prepared in such a manner that the delivery molecule ( s ) is on the outside surface of the particle . injectable nano - structured molecule ( s ) with for example , antibody or antibody fragments on their surfaces can be used to target specific cells or organs as desired for the selective dosing of drugs . the molecule for delivery can be covalently bound to the nanoparticular polymer by reaction with a terminal functional group , such as the hydroxyl group of a poly ( alkylene glycol ) nanoparticle by any method known to those skilled in the art . for example , the hydroxyl group can be reacted with a terminal carboxyl group or terminal amino group on the molecule or antibody or antibody fragment , to form an ester or amide linkage , respectively . alternatively , the molecule can be linked to the poly ( alkylene glycol ) through a difunctional spacing group such as a diamine or a dicarboxylic acid , including but not limited to sebacic acid , adipic acid , isophthalic acid , terephthalic acid , fumaric acid , dodecanedicarboxylic acid , azeleic acid , pimelic acid , suberic acid ( octanedioic acid ), itaconic acid , biphenyl - 4 , 4 โฒ- dicarboxylic acid , benzophenone - 4 , 4 โฒ- dicarboxylic acid , and p - carboxyphenoxyalkanoic acid . in this embodiment , the spacing group is reacted with the hydroxyl group on the poly ( alkylene glycol ), and then reacted with the molecule ( s ). alternatively , the spacing group can be reacted with the molecule , such as an antibody or antibody fragment , and then reacted with the hydroxyl group on the poly ( alkylene glycol ). the reaction should by accomplished under conditions that will not adversely affect the biological activity of the molecule being covalently attached to the nanoparticle . for example , conditions should be avoided that cause the denaturation of proteins or peptides , such as high temperature , certain organic solvents and high ionic strength solutions , when binding a protein to the particle . for example , organic solvents can be eliminated from the reaction system and a water - soluble coupling reagent such as edc used instead . according to another embodiment , the agent to be delivered can be incorporated into the polymer at the time of nanoparticle formation . the substances to be incorporated should not chemically interact with the polymer during fabrication , or during the release process . additives such as inorganic salts , bsa ( bovine serum albumin ), and inert organic compounds can be used to alter the profile of substance release , as known to those skilled in the art . biologically - labile materials , for example , procaryotic or eucaryotic cells , such as bacteria , yeast , or mammalian cells , including human cells , or components thereof , such as cell walls , or conjugates of cellular can also be included in the particle . injectable particles prepared according to this process can be used to deliver drugs such as non - steroidal anti - inflammatory compounds , anaesthetics , chemotherapeutic agents , immunotoxins , immunosuppressive agents , steroids , antibiotics , antivirals , antifungals , and steroidal anti - inflammatories , anticoagulants . for example , hydrophobic drugs such as lidocaine or tetracaine can be entrapped into the injectable particles and are released over several hours . loadings in the nanoparticles as high as 40 % ( by weight ) can be achieved . hydrophobic materials are more difficult to encapsulate , and in general , the loading efficiency is decreased over that of a hydrophilic material . in one embodiment , an antigen is incorporated into the nanoparticle , alternatively , the antigen can compose the entire nanoparticle . the term antigen includes any chemical structure that stimulates the formation of antibody or elicits a cell - mediated humoral response , including but not limited to protein , polysaccharide , nucleoprotein , lipoprotein , synthetic polypeptide , or a small molecule ( hapten ) linked to a protein carrier . the antigen can be administered together with an adjuvant as desired . examples of suitable adjuvants include synthetic glycopeptide , muramyl dipeptide . other adjuvants include killed bordetella pertussis , the liposaccaride of gram - negative bacteria , and large polymeric anions such as dextran sulfate . a polymer , such as a polyelectrolyte , can also be selected for fabrication of the nanoparticle that provides adjuvant activity . specific antigens that can be loaded into the nanoparticles described herein include , but are not limited to , attenuated or killed viruses , toxoids , polysaccharides , cell wall and surface or coat proteins of viruses and bacteria . these can also be used in combination with conjugates , adjuvants , or other antigens . for example , haemophilus influenzae in the form of purified capsular polysaccharide ( hib ) can be used alone or as a conjugate with diptheria toxoid . examples of organisms from which these antigens are derived include poliovirus , rotavirus , hepatitis a , b , and c , influenza , rabies , hiv , measles , mumps , rubella , bordetella pertussus , streptococcus pneumoniae , clostridium diptheria , c . tetani , vibrio cholera , salmonella spp ., neisseria spp ., and shigella spp . the nanoparticle should contain the substance to be delivered in an amount sufficient to deliver to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of compound , without causing serious toxic effects in the patient treated . the desired concentration of active compound in the nanoparticle will depend on absorption , inactivation , and excretion rates of the drug as well as the delivery rate of the compound from the nanoparticle . it is to be noted that dosage values will also vary with the severity of the condition to be alleviated . it is to be further understood that for any particular subject , specific dosage regimens should be adjusted over time according to the individual need and the professional judgment of the person administering or supervising the administration of the compositions . the present invention will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying examples . it should be understood , however , that the description following is illustrative only and should not be taken in any way as a restriction on the generality of the invention described above . a polycarbonate sheet was laser ablated using an excimer laser beam . the needle cross - section is determined by the shape of the aperture that the laser beam passes through prior to irradiating the polycarbonate workpiece . this process known as excimer laser photolithographic ablation , uses an imaging projection lens to form the desired shapes . the depth of laser ablation , and hence the maximum height of the cast material is determined by a computer program operating the excimer micromachining system . using excimer laser ablation of a polycarbonate sheet , a series of moulds for a microneedle arrays were fabricated with eleven different shapes and heights in the ranges of 20 ฮผm to 200 ฮผm . moulds were fabricated for a number of different microneedle shapes including square , circular , oval , cross needle , triangular , chevron , jagged chevron and half moon . in addition to the shape of the microneedles , the density , depth and pitch of the microneedle were varied . for example , the laser ablation process was used to create moulds for two dense arrays : a ) 50 ฮผm diameter shapes on a 50 ฮผm pitch approx 100 ฮผm high . b ) 100 ฮผm diameter shapes on a 100 ฮผm pitch approx 100 ฮผm high the moulds were evaluated to determine their suitability for fabrication process with a variety of techniques including optical microscopy , laser scanning confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy . it has been our experience that good perforation structures are usually complex in cross section , and not normally simple conical protrusions . hence shapes were chosen that contain edge features and symmetry that , lead to improved performance for perforation . initial moulding trials were conducted with materials with two different viscosities . the most viscous material had a putty - like consistency , the second had a honey - like viscosity . these materials were applied to the polycarbonate moulds and pressure was applied via a glass tile to ensure the indentations were filled . to aid in the removal of gas bubbles in the moulds , a vacuum was applied to the moulded materials . the material was hardened by curing the polymer / polymer precursor using a sixty - second exposure to light from a handheld blue led source through the glass tile . demoulding was a simple process , relying on the material &# 39 ; s tendency to adhere more to the backing glass tile than to the polycarbonate mould . the moulds were made of polycarbonate sheet 250 to 500 ฮผm thick and were more flexible than the glass tile . hence the moulded material could be โ peeled โ from the slightly more flexible mould . the resultant structures were examined under an optical microscope . some of the structures were measured using a laser scanning confocal microscope or imaged using a scanning electron microscope . the second honey - like material filled the mould , and the air bubbles formed in the needle recesses of the mould and were removed through the application of a vacuum . many of the structures demoulded satisfactorily and the mould was made usable for further trials with a combination of liquid and sonication cleaning . a silicone release agent was applied to the polycarbonate to assist in demoulding , alternatively , materials such as peek or silicone elastomers could be used as the female moulds . a number of microneedle arrays were fabricated with varying shapes , length , aspect ratios and needle densities . the various shapes are shown in fig1 . the cross - shaped needle moulds filled well with polymer , including the point at the intersection of the cross that is formed as a result of the ablation process . the combination of the relatively large side arms and the fine feature at the apex produces a robust structure with good mechanical properties . the circular microneedle approximately 140 ฮผm high with an aspect ratio of about 3 was produced . a triangular microneedle which is approximately 100 ฮผm high and has an aspect ratio of about 2 was prepared . the smooth apex of the shape is due to the polymer moulding material and has not fully reproduced the fine texture of the ablated mould . an array patches with circular microneedle 20 ฮผm in diameter and 50 ฮผm high and 100 ฮผm in diameter at 100 ฮผm pitch , approximately 100 ฮผm high were produced a variety of different shaped needle profiles were produced to investigate the effect on skin perforation on the shape of the microneedle . array patches with a series of coloured spikes and crosses were constructed from polydimethylsiloxane ( pdms ), a clear elastomer material by excimer laser machining 2 moulds in polycarbonate with four patches of 10 mm ร 10 mm each , with female features of tapering circular structures , and crosses . the pitch and depths of the structures were varied . clear and coloured pdms was cast from these features . initial moulding trials were conducted with standard pdms supplied by dupont . this is a two part formulation , with 10 % accelerator added to cause the material to set . the mixture was placed in a vacuum chamber to speed up outgassing prior to moulding to prevent bubble formation during curing . fig2 shows a top view of a fabricated pdms cross shaped microneedles and fig3 shows the side view of the fabricated cross shaped microneedles . fig4 , 5 and 6 show various microneedle arrays prepared according to the described methods . aqueous based colouring was added to the pdms prior to casting ; adding larger quantities of colouring intensified the colour , additional curing accelerator was added to compensate for the volume of aqueous colouring added . the material was hardened by curing the moulded material by placing in a 45 ยฐ c . oven for several hours . curing rates were significantly slower for the coloured material . somewhat surprisingly demoulding the aqueous coloured material was more successful than the non - coloured material . this could be due to a range of effects such as increased curing accelerator , casting thicker pieces that tended to hold onto the needles more effectively during demoulding , or perhaps some inhibition of adhesion between pdms and polycarbonate as a result of the aqueous additive . the microneedles produced by the method of example 3 can be coated with a layer of a biocompatible electrically conducting polymer to modify the delivery characteristics of the microneedle . thus to assist in the delivery of certain types of molecules , a polyaniline coating can be applied to the solid polymeric microneedle after demoulding . the conducting polymer can be applied using techniques known in the art , including electrodeposition . during the electrodeposition phase ( including polymerisation ) biological reagents ( for vaccines , drug delivery etc ) can be included in the conductive polymer . the conductive polymer can be polymerised ( electrodeposited ) under conditions in such a way as that the electrodeposited polymer surface has characteristics that enable the diffusion of the biological reagent out into the surrounding environment ( skin ) in order for the biological reagent to be functional for its purpose . a number of different thickness coatings can be applied depending on the desired application , ranging from 20 nm to 20 ฮผm can be produced . in another experiment , polyaniline and polypyrrole can be codeposited electrochemically on microneedles made from conductive materials under potentiostatic or galvanostatic conditions . electropolymerisation can be carried out by varying the applied potential and the feed ratio of monomers . formation of polyaniline - polypyrrole composite coatings can be confirmed by the presence of characteristic peaks for polyaniline and polypyrrole in the infrared spectra . composite coatings composed of polyaniline and polypyrrole can be formed at applied potentials of & lt ; 1 . 0 v . polypyrrole is preferentially formed at 1 . 5 v . methods of electrodeposition have been described previously and include adeloju , s . b . and shaw , s . j ., ( 1993 ) โ polypyrrole - based potentiometric biosensor for urea โ analytica cimica actica , 281 , page 611 - 620 ; adeloju s . b . and lawal , a ., ( 2005 ) intern . j . anal . chem ., 85 , page 771 - 780 , based on their use as a sensor . we have surprising found that the techniques can be applied to incorporating proteins and peptides into a polymer layer for delivery of the proteins and peptides as therapeutics such as peptide and protein antigens ( for vaccines ), hormones ( erythropoietin , parathyroid hormone ) and drugs ( insulin ). the nanoparticles can be formed from metals ( gold silver ) light metals , polymer material by any of the standard techniques ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 908 , 496 to halas et al . ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 906 , 339 to dutta ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 855 , 426 to yadav ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 893 , 493 to cho et al .). the surface of the nanoparticles can be functionalised to anchor / immobilise ( multimerise ) the biological reagents for improved immunisation efficiency . cao l , zhu t and liu z ( 2005 ) โ formation mechanism of nonspherical gold nanoparticles during seeding growth : role of anion adsorption and reduction rate .โ journal of colloid interface science , july 11 . bilati u , alleman e and doelker e . ( 2005 ) โ poly ( d , l - lactide - co - glycolide ) protein - loaded nanoparticles prepared by the double emulsion method โ processing and formulation issues for enhanced trapment efficiency .โ journal of microencapsulation , 22 ( 2 ), 205 - 214 . rolland j p , maynor b w , euliss l e , exner a e , denison g m and desimone j m ( 2005 ) โ direct fabrication and harvesting of monodisperse , shape specific nanobiomaterials .โ journal of the american chemical society , 127 ( 28 ), 10096 - 100 . the biological agents can be immobilized on the surface of a nanoparticle or integrally incorporated inside the nanoparticle during fabrication . the delivery agent may also be directly manufactured or naturally present in a nanoparticulate form . the biological agents insulin and ovalbumin were structured as nanoparticles using supercritical fluid technology , to produce nanoparticles of dimensions 50 - 300 nm . the insulin nanoparticles were suspended in a solvent ( ethanol ) and attached to the surface of the microneedles . insulin and ovalbumin attached to microneedles are each being delivered separately across the stratum corneum and the response to the delivery of insulin can be measured . erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone produced in the liver during foetal life and the kidneys of adults and is involved in the maturation of erythroid progenitor cells into erythrocytes . there are several human conditions and treatments for cancer which result in low levels of circulating red blood cells and therefore administration of erythropoietin is desirable . erythropoietin can be nanostructured by supercritical fluid technology and attached to microneedles for delivery by microneedle array , and delivery efficiency can be measured by physiological effects on red cell numbers in mice ( including flow cytometry ). the surface of a polymeric microneedle array can be nano - structured during fabrication by lining the microneedle mould with nanoparticles which can be selectively removed . the microneedles can then be cast , hardened and demoulded to produce microneedles with nanoparticles embedded on the surface of the microneedles . the embedded nanoparticles can then be removed , for example by dissolution or leeching techniques , to yield a microneedle that has nano - sized pores or cavities on their surface . the delivery agent molecules or nanoparticles can then be associated with the introduced pores by non - covalent interactions or covalent bonds . referring to the process shown in fig7 , the method includes the steps of : ii ) template nanoparticles removed with solvent leaving recesses over microneedle surface and then nano - structured reagent ( s ) are added to the solution ; iii ) nanostructured reagent ( s ) fits into recesses within needle structure to form the microneedles with the nanostructured reagents associated with the microneedles . the moulded microneedle can alternatively be chemically treated with a solvent , chemical reagent , electrochemcial or physical treatment to induce surface cavity and / or nanopore formation . a polyaniline microneedle array can be fabricated by electropolymerization of a monomer solution contained in a microneedle array mould under an applied potential . the progress of electropolymerisation can be monitored by weight gain analysis and infrared spectroscopy . the nanoparticles can be added to the monomer solution prior to polymerization to form a microneedle array with the delivery molecule integrally incorporated into the needles , or the nanoparticles can be associated to the surface of the microneedles by a post demoulding step . to demonstrate the efficacy for the loading of patches with nanoparticles , a series of microneedle arrays was coated with quantum dots . quantum dots are semiconductor crystals typically between 1 and 10 nm in diameter and have unique properties between that of single molecules and bulk materials . under the influence of an external electromagnetic radiation source , quantum dots can be made to fluoresce and therefore their position accurately determined using readily available optical techniques . circular microneedle array patches with both bullet and cross shaped needles were constructed in plga ( poly - dl - lactic glycolic acid , 0 . 8 cm in diameter with a 2 mm edge ). the patches were coated with quantum dots by placing 100 ฮผl of cdse / zns quantum dots ( 200 picomolar , invitrogen qtracker โข 655 nm ) on top of the microneedles and air drying . the arrays were examined for fluorescence using confocal microscopy . the arrays demonstrated red fluorescence on the both the bullet and cross shaped needles indicating coating by the quantum dots . as shown in fig7 , coverage was shown at the tops over the needles and down the sides to the base . the cross shaped needles demonstrated more confluent coverage of quantum dots , as shown in fig8 . the uptake of quantum dots by lymphocytes can be observed by in vitro studies on cultured cells and by in vivo studies on hairless mouse models . to demonstrate the efficacy for the loading of patches with nanoparticulate biological molecules , a series of microneedle array patches were coated with nanostructured insulin . insulin can be nanostructured using various methods including super critical fluid technologies . the particle size of the insulin averaged 300 nm . circular plga patches in high density cross and needle shapes were coated with the nanostructured insulin by placing 100 ฮผl of nanostructured insulin in iso - amyl alcohol ( total 0 . 6 units insulin / patch ) on top of the patches and air drying . the patches were then examined for the presence of insulin using field emission gun scanning electron microscope ( feg - sem ), as shown in fig9 and 10 . the patches demonstrated the presence of nanostructured insulin both over the top surfaces of the microneedles and down the side edges of the needles . the density of the insulin nanoparticles on the cross shaped microneedles was much lower due to the higher surface area of the crosses compared to the bullets . bullet shaped patches were coated with quantum dots by placing 100 ฮผl of cdse / zns quantum dots ( 200 picomolar in saline , invitrogen qtracker โข 655 nm ) on top of the microneedles and air drying . the patches were applied to the rear flank of hairless mice by manually pressing . the patch was removed and the skin excised and examined for fluorescence using confocal microscopy , as shown in fig1 . the skin demonstrated red fluorescence on the surface of the stratum corneum indicating deposition of the quantum dot present on the base of the array . confocal imaging deeper into the epidermis indicated red fluorescence in the shape of a bullet demonstrating penetration of the microneedle to a total depth of approximately 60 ฮผm , as shown in fig1 . this experiment demonstrates conclusively that the microneedle array can be used to deliver nanoparticles across stratum corneum layer of the dermis . insulin was nanostructured using a supercritical fluid process . an average particle size of 300 nm was obtained . the insulin was suspended in various solvents including isopropanol , isoamyl ethanol , ethanol , methanol or other coatings onto the array . for coating of the microarrays , insulin nanoparticles were suspended in solvent to a final concentration of 120 u / ml ( 4 . 32 mg / ml ) and sonicated for 60 seconds to ensure complete dispersal throughout the suspension . the suspension was then applied to each microarray ( 6 u in 50 ฮผl ) and allowed to air dry . for subcutaneous delivery in the control experiments , the solution used to coat the microarrays was diluted 1 : 300 in normal saline ( final concentration of 0 . 4 u / ml ). hairless mice were anaesthetised with pentobarbitone ( 60 mg / kg , i . p .). blood samples were obtained by tail laceration and blood glucose was measured using a commercial glucose - meter ( optimum โข xceed โข; abbot diagnostics ). after obtaining two consecutive readings , mice were treated as indicated and blood glucose was recorded every 20 minutes for the remainder of the experiment . mice were treated with either a positive control ( insulin suspension , 1 u / kg , s . c . ), insulin loaded microarrays ( 2 patches for each mouse , 6 u / patch ), or negative control ( 12 u insulin applied directly to the skin without any microarray ). administration of the insulin via the microarray patch can be shown in the mouse by a change in the blood glucose levels . any discussion of documents , acts , materials , devices , articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention . it is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and / or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described . the present embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive . | 0 |
fig1 schematically illustrates an integrated circuit 2 comprising multiple circuit domains including a debug circuit 4 , a cpu 6 , a dsp 8 , a cache memory 10 , a random access memory 12 and a power controller 14 . these different circuit elements in their respective domains are subject to independent control , e . g . the debug domain 4 and the cpu 6 have respective independent reset signals as illustrated . the power controller 14 also operates to independently power - up or power - down the different circuit domains 6 , 8 , 10 , 12 as well as to vary the clocking speeds to these different domains , including stopping the clocks completely . resets may also be controlled from 14 . as illustrated by the bi - directional arrows in fig1 , the debug circuit 4 communicates with various of the other circuit elements in their respective domains via communication transactions which conform to a fixed transaction protocol , e . g . an ahb protocol . the bus infrastructure via which these transaction communications take place for the debug circuit 4 is shared with the normal operation of communication infrastructure and accordingly it is important that problems with uncompleted transactions involving the debug circuit 4 do not interfere with this infrastructure in a way that would upset normal operation . fig2 schematically illustrates communication controlling state machines 16 , 18 for controlling a communication transaction passing between a first domain a and a second domain b . this transaction can use a variety of transaction protocols . such transaction protocols typically require a predetermined sequence of signals to be exchanged in either direction , e . g . including address , data , response , error and other signals . as well as controlling in the transactions to be communicated in accordance with these predetermined protocols , the state machines 16 , 18 also include transaction level state machines 20 , 22 which serve to monitor the other parties ability to continue to communicate and to complete pending transactions . one hot encoded status signals are exchanged between these transaction level state machines 20 , 22 so that they can respond to each other &# 39 ; s state and control their own respective higher level state machines 16 , 18 to respond appropriately to the other party not being able to complete a pending transaction . examples of appropriate default behaviour when the other party is unable to complete the transaction include returning an error response , returning no response or returning a predetermined default response . depending upon the nature of the transaction being conducted , or the circuit concerned , any of these options may be triggered , or alternatively different default behaviours may be used . fig3 schematically illustrates the different states adopted by the transaction level state machines 20 , 22 , 23 of fig2 in this example embodiment . the state machine for domain a in the context of communication transactions passing across the transaction interface of fig2 can be considered to be the master which initiates the transaction . as will be seen , both of the state machines 20 , 22 reset into an initialised state . for domain a , the state machine 20 remains in this state until the state machine 22 for the domain b is either initialised or enters its ready state . the state machine 22 for domain b remains in the initialised state until the state machine 20 for domain a enters its ready state . the state machine 20 for domain a moves from its ready state to its busy state when it is detected that the state machine 22 for domain b is in its ready state and a transaction request is initiated within domain a to be passed to domain b across the transaction interface in question as illustrated in fig2 . the state machine 20 for domain a will then remain in this busy state until either the state machine 22 for domain b enters its busy state or its initialised state , at which time the state machine 20 for domain a passes to its hold state . if the move to the hold state is as a consequence of the state machine 22 for domain b moving to the initialised state , then this indicates that domain b will not be able to complete the pending transaction and accordingly a default response is triggered ( as indicated by the โ#โ in the drawing ). these default behaviours are as previously discussed . domain a will remain with its state machine 20 in the hold state whilst domain b is busy until domain b either moves to the ready state or is initialised . if initialisation of domain b occurs , then again this indicates non - completion of the pending transaction and default behaviour is triggered . the behaviour of state machine 22 for domain b is slightly different / simpler . having passed through its initialised state , the state machine 22 for domain b remains in the ready state until the state machine 20 for domain a becomes busy . at this time the state machine 22 for domain b moves to the busy state and remains there until the state machine 20 for domain a is in either its initialised state or its holding state and the pending transaction has been detected as being completed . the state machine 22 for domain b then returns to the ready state . this behaviour of remaining in the busy state and waiting until the transaction completes irrespective of whether the state machine 20 for domain a indicates that domain a has been initialised allows domain b to complete its intended transaction behaviour irrespective of the fact that domain a is now not able to complete its part of the transaction . fig4 schematically illustrates one example of one hot encoding which may be used to communicate the transaction level state machine states between the transaction level state machines 20 , 22 shown in fig2 . it will be appreciated that other one hot encodings and other forms of encodings may be used . if more than two bits are โ 1 โ at any different time , then such signals are ignored as they do not correspond to valid states and are not used to move the transaction level state machines 20 , 22 between states . although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 - 21 , a retraction tube system is shown comprising a retractor , retraction device or apparatus 10 . a first illustrative embodiment is shown relative to fig1 - 8 wherein a retractor , retraction device or apparatus 10 is shown . as illustrated in fig1 , the retractor , retraction device or apparatus 10 comprises a generally tubular or cylindrical body 12 having an inner wall 12 a that defines an aperture 14 . the retractor , retraction device or apparatus 10 in the illustration being shown is tubular and cylindrical in cross section . a pair of cut - outs 16 and 18 is provided in the body 12 . the cut - outs 16 and 18 define a first elongated portion , leg or wall 20 and a second elongated portion , leg or wall 22 as shown . the cut - outs 16 and 18 also cooperate to define a rod - receiving channel 26 for receiving a rod 28 . note that an end 20 a ( fig1 ) of the first elongated portion 20 has an inner wall 20 c ( fig2 ) having a recessed wall 20 a 1 , and an end 22 a of the second elongated portion 22 has an inner wall 22 c ( fig2 ) having a recessed wall 22 a 1 . the recessed walls 20 a 1 and 20 a 2 cooperate to define an area 24 for receiving a polyaxial screw 29 ( fig8 and 9 ). in the illustration being described , the polyaxial screw 29 comprises a capless receiver or polyaxial screw receiver 30 and a screw 29 a ( fig8 ) that is received in the capless receiver 30 . the polyaxial screw 29 may be of the type as shown and illustrated in u . s . pub . patent application nos . us20070043357a1 ; us20070123867a1 ; us20060155278a1 ; us20070123862a1 ; us20080097457a1 ; us20080071277a1 ; us20080249576a1 ; us20070093827a1 , all of which are assigned to the same assignee as the present application and which are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof . the polyaxial screw 29 may comprise at least one inner member ( not shown ), such as a compression member ( not shown ), of the type disclosed in one or more of the cited applications . note that the receiver 30 comprises a generally l - shaped rod - locking channel or slot 30 a ( fig6 - 8 ) conventionally known . the rod - locking channel 30 a has an opening 30 a 1 , a seat 30 a 2 , and a seat 30 a 3 as shown in fig6 . the receiver 30 comprises an outer wall 30 b that has a diameter that is dimensioned or adapted to permit the receiver 30 to be received in the receiving area 24 and rotate within and relative to the retraction device or apparatus 10 after the receiver 30 is received between the recessed walls 20 a 1 and 22 a 1 in the receiving area 24 . note that the outer wall 30 b of receiver 30 may comprise a lip or flange 30 b 1 having a retaining function described later herein . as best illustrated in fig1 and 7 , notice that the retractor body 12 has the pair of generally opposed walls , legs , portions 20 and 22 ( fig1 ). the walls , legs or portions 20 and 22 are arcuate or curved in cross - section . the recessed walls 20 a 1 and 22 a 1 and associated cut - outs 16 and 18 cooperate to define the rod - receiving channel 26 that receives the rod 28 ( fig7 ). the retractor body 12 comprises at least one or a plurality of lips or flanges 20 b and 22 b integrally formed in walls 20 and 22 and that engage and cooperate with the lip or flange 30 b 1 on receiver 30 to retain the receiver 30 in the area 24 and on the retractor body 12 . in the illustration being described the first and second elongated portions or legs 20 and 22 are resilient and elastic so that they can deflect to receive the receiver 30 when it is received in the area 24 between the inner walls 20 a 1 and 22 a 1 . in the illustration being described , a friction or interference fit is provided so that the receiver 30 can be slid onto and rotated within the retractor body 12 in the embodiment shown in fig1 - 8 . during a surgical procedure , a surgeon makes an incision and the retraction device or apparatus 10 , which has an assembly of the receiver 30 and screw 29 a after the screw 29 a is received in the receiver 30 and the receiver 30 is received in the receiving area 24 , is inserted through the incision and the screw 29 a is screwed into bone with a screw driver ( not shown ) inserted through the aperture 14 of retractor body 12 . the retractor , retraction device or apparatus 10 causes the tissue to be retracted during the act of the placement of the polyaxial screw 29 . it should be understood that after the screw 29 a is placed and screwed into the bone of the patient , a tool 32 ( fig7 ) may be inserted into the aperture 14 of the retractor body 12 in the illustration of fig1 - 8 . the tool 32 comprises a working end 32 a that is received in the channel or slot 30 a of the receiver 30 . after the rod 28 has been positioned in the desired position subsequent to screw 29 a placement , the tool 32 can be received in the channel or slot 30 a and the receiver 30 rotated ( clockwise in the illustration being described ) in order to lock the receiver 30 onto the rod 28 . it should be understood that in the illustration being described the retraction device or apparatus 10 does not rotate during the rotation of the receiver 30 . moreover , as with the second embodiment described later , it should be understood that the retraction device or apparatus 10 may be mounted onto the receiver 30 and then the screw 29 a placed or screwed into the bone , thereby providing a single unit for the surgeon to substantially simultaneously place the screw 29 a and retract the tissue . it should be understood that the screw 29 a and receiver 30 could alternatively be placed or screwed into the bone and then the retraction device or apparatus 10 placed over and mounted on the receiver 30 if desired . note that the retractor body 12 comprises the rod - receiving channel 26 that is generally elongated and traverses a majority or substantially all of the length of the retractor body 12 . the rod - receiving channel 26 is aligned with the opening 30 a 1 of the rod - locking channel 30 a so that when a rod 28 is placed in the rod - receiving channel 26 of the retractor body 12 it can be easily aligned with and guided into the opening 30 a 1 of the rod - locking channel 30 a and downward toward the seat 30 a 2 , as illustrated in fig6 and 7 . after the rod 28 is positioned in the seat 30 a 2 , the tool 32 ( fig7 ) can be used to rotate the receiver 30 to lock the rod 28 in the receiver 30 . after the receiver 30 locks the rod 28 therein , the retractor body 12 can be removed and dismounted from the receiver 30 by pulling it away from the receiver 30 . in this illustration , the rod - receiving channel 26 in the retractor body 12 is substantially linear or straight , while the rod - locking channel 30 a in the receiver 30 is not straight and is generally l - shaped as shown . fig7 and 8 illustrate the receiver 30 after it has been rotated from the unlocked position ( fig7 ) to the locked position ( fig8 ) using the tool 32 . in the illustrations described herein , the retractor body 12 is tubular and cylindrical , but it should be understood that it could take different forms , such as a solid form , without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , the retractor body 12 could be non - cylindrical ( e . g ., hexagonal , octagonal , square or like ). in the illustration being described , an indicia 39 a ( fig8 ) may be provided on the retractor body 12 and a second indicia 39 b provided on the outer wall 30 b to facilitate aligning the rod - receiving channel 26 with the opening 30 a 1 of the rod - locking channel 30 a . alternatively , and as described later herein relative to other embodiments , a coupler 31 ( fig9 ) may be provided that facilitates coupling and aligning the retractor body 12 to the receiver 30 . note that a dimension or width ( as viewed in fig4 ) of the rod - receiving channel 26 is substantially the same as a dimension or width of the inlet 30 a 1 of the rod - locking channel 30 a . advantageously , the channel 26 and retraction body 12 provide an alignment guide for receiving the rod 28 and directing the rod 28 through the slot or channel 26 and into the rod - locking channel 30 a of the receiver 30 . fig9 - 13 illustrate another embodiment of the invention . like parts are identified with the same part numbers in this embodiment , except that an apostrophe (โ โ) has been added to the part numbers in this embodiment . in this embodiment , the retraction device or apparatus 10 rotates with the receiver 30 during locking of the rod 28 in the receiver 30 . in this illustration , note that the retraction body 12 of retraction device or apparatus 10 comprises a generally l - shaped rod - receiving channel 34 ( fig1 ) that has a shape and dimension that generally complements a shape and dimension of the rod - locking channel 30 a of the receiver 30 . as best illustrated in fig1 and 12 , the rod 28 is inserted into an elongated portion 34 a of the rod - receiving channel 34 and then moved downward ( as viewed ) into opening 30 a 1 . notice that after the rod 28 is placed in the seat 30 a 2 of rod - locking channel 30 a of the receiver 30 both the retraction device or apparatus 10 and the receiver 30 , are rotated together to the locked position , as illustrated in fig1 and 12 . after the receiver 30 is locked onto the rod 28 , the retraction device or apparatus 10 may be rotated relative to the receiver 30 in a counterclockwise direction in the illustration being described and then removed or detached from the receiver 30 . in this regard , the frictional fit engagement and clamping force between the recessed wall 20 a 1 and 22 a 1 and the outer wall 30 b of the receiver 30 is less than the coupling strength between the receiver 30 and the rod 28 , thereby permitting the retraction device or apparatus 10 to rotate after the receiver 30 is locked onto the rod 28 and without rotating and unlocking the receiver 30 from the rod 28 . as illustrated in fig9 - 11 , the receiver 30 may comprise a coupler 31 , such as a notch , tooth or other male projections 20 a 2 and 22 a 2 that are received in notched areas or slots 30 d 1 and 30 d 2 , respectfully . this feature facilitates locking the retraction device or apparatus 10 to the receiver 30 . this feature also reduces or facilitates reducing undesired rotation of the retraction device or apparatus 10 relative to the receiver 30 during rotation of the retraction device or apparatus 10 and receiver 30 and locking of the receiver 30 onto the rod 28 . the coupler 31 also facilitates automatic or quick alignment of channel 34 with the rod - locking channel 30 a when the retractor body 12 is mounted on the receiver 30 . referring now to fig1 - 21 , another embodiment of the invention is shown . in this embodiment , like parts are identified with the same part numbers , except that a double apostrophe (โโณโ) mark has been added to the part numbers in fig1 - 21 . in this embodiment , an implant system is shown comprising a polyaxial screw assembly similar to the assembly shown in fig6 - 13 . this embodiment further comprises a reducer 60 โณ, which will be described later herein . the retractor body 12 โณ is detachably mounted onto the polyaxial screw 29 โณ and receiver or polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ in the manner describer earlier . as with the embodiments illustrated in fig6 - 13 , the retractor body 12 โณ detachably mounts onto the outer wall 30 b of the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. the retractor body 12 โณ further comprises a rod - receiving channel 34 โณ. the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ becomes generally aligned with an opening 30 a 1 โณ and ultimately to the seat 30 a 2 โณ. as with the prior embodiments , the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ and the retractor body 12 โณ is adapted to facilitate urging and guiding the rod 28 โณ into the channel opening 30 a 1 โณ and ultimately to the seat 30 a 2 โณ in the manner described herein . the retractor body 12 โณ comprises the first elongated portion , leg or wall 20 โณ and the second elongated portion , leg or wall 22 โณ as shown . an end 20 a โณ of the first elongated portion 20 โณ has the inner or recessed wall 20 a 1 โณ, and end 22 a โณ of the second elongated portion 22 โณ comprises the inner or recessed wall 22 a 1 โณ. the recessed walls 20 a 1 โณ and 22 a 1 โณ cooperate to define the area 24 โณ for receiving the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. as with prior embodiments , the first and second recessed walls 20 a 1 โณ and 22 a 1 โณ of the first and second elongated portions 20 โณ and 22 โณ are dimensioned and adapted to be mounted onto the outer surface 30 b โณ of the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. a friction , press or interference fit is provided so that rotating the retractor body 12 โณ will cause the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ to rotate as in the embodiment illustrated in fig9 - 13 . this rotation is performed after the rod 28 โณ has been received in rod - receiving channel 34 โณ, guided into and received in the opening 30 a 1 โณ and seat 30 a 2 โณ of the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ in order to cause the rod 28 โณ to be received in the locking seat 30 a 3 โณ of the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. as mentioned , the first and second elongated portions or legs 20 โณ and 22 โณ are elastic and resilient and permit the ends 20 a โณ and 22 a โณ to separate to receive the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ until it is captured in the receiving area 24 โณ. as with the prior embodiment , notice that the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ may comprise the edge or lip 30 b 1 โณ. the retractor body 12 โณ comprises the internal lip or flanges 20 b โณ and 22 b โณ that cooperate with the lip 30 b 1 โณ to retain the retractor body 12 โณ on the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. the at least one inner wall , such as recessed wall 20 a 1 โณ and recessed wall 22 a 1 โณ, is adapted to frictionally engage the outer surface 30 b โณ so that by rotating the retractor body 12 โณ, the receiver 30 โณ will also rotate until the rod 28 โณ becomes locked in the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ of polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. in another illustrative embodiment , the at least one inner wall , such as inner wall 20 a 1 โณ and inner wall 22 a 1 โณ, are mounted on the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ and are adapted to permit the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ to be rotated to lock the rod 28 โณ in the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ while the retractor body 12 โณ is held stationary as in the embodiment of fig1 - 8 . in that application , the retractor body 12 โณ is held stationary while a tool , such as the tool 32 โณ in fig7 , is used to rotate the retractor body 12 โณ to the locked position whereupon the rod 28 โณ becomes locked in the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. as with the embodiment illustrated in fig9 - 13 , the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ comprises a shape , configuration and / or dimension that is generally the same as the shape , configuration or dimension of the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ so that when the retractor body 12 โณ is mounted on the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ, the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ and rod - locking channel 30 a โณ become generally aligned . it should be understood that , as with the prior embodiments , the receiving area 24 โณ generally defines a female receiving area that generally complements the shape of the outer surface of the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ. this alignment enables the retractor body 12 โณ to be rotated in a first direction , such as in a clockwise direction , to cause the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ to rotate and lock the rod 28 โณ in the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ after the rod 28 โณ has been moved through the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ and into the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ. thereafter , the retractor body 12 โณ may be rotated in a second direction , which is generally opposite the first direction , after the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ is locked onto the rod 28 โณ and without rotating the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ in the second direction as mentioned earlier . in this regard , after the rod 28 โณ has become locked in the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ, the retractor body 12 โณ can be rotated so as to align the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ with the rod 28 โณ so that the retractor body 12 โณ can be moved axially ( in the direction of arrow a in fig1 ) away from the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ and dismounted therefrom . the retractor body 12 โณ is fit or mounted onto the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ with a friction , press or interference fit . as mentioned earlier , the frictional engagement and gripping strength between the first and second inner walls 20 a 1 โณ and 22 a 1 โณ and the outer surface 30 b โณ of the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ is less than a frictional engagement and coupling strength between the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ and the rod 28 โณ. this permits the retractor body 12 โณ to rotate ( counterclockwise in the illustration ) about the outer wall or surface 30 b โณ after the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ is locked onto the rod 28 โณ and without unlocking or rotating the polyaxial screw receiver 30 โณ to the unlock position . as illustrated in fig1 , the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ is generally l - shaped like the embodiment of fig1 - 13 . a portion 34 a โณ ( fig1 ) traverses a substantial or majority of a length of the retractor body 12 โณ. it should be understood , however , that the retractor body 12 โณ of the type illustrated in fig1 - 20 could also be used with this embodiment and comprise a channel , like the channel 26 โณ that is substantially straight or linear , that traverses a majority of a length of the retractor body 12 โณ. thus , the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ could be entirely straight or linear even though the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ is not entirely straight . alternatively , both the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ and the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ could be either linear or non - linear as illustrated in the figures . as with the embodiment shown in fig1 - 13 , the retractor system 10 โณ may comprise the coupler 31 โณ for facilitating coupling and securing the retractor body 12 โณ onto the receiver 30 โณ. in the illustration described , the coupler 31 โณ may comprise the at least one or a plurality of projection 20 a 2 โณ and 22 a 2 โณ in the walls 20 โณ and 22 โณ of the retractor body 12 โณ. as described earlier herein , the projections 20 a 2 โณ and 22 a 2 โณ mate with and are received in the notched - out areas 30 d 1 โณ and 30 d 2 โณ in receiver 30 โณ. the notched - out areas 30 d 1 โณ and 30 d 2 โณ each have a shape that generally complements the shape of the projections 20 a 2 โณ and 22 a 2 โณ. as with the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , for example , the coupler 31 โณ facilitates securing the retractor body 12 โณ to the receiver 30 โณ and causing the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ and rod - receiving channel 34 โณ to become generally aligned . if a coupler 31 โณ is not provided , the indicia or marking 39 a , 39 b ( fig8 ) or other means for aligning the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ with the opening 30 a 1 โณ of the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ may be provided . as with the prior embodiments , the retractor body 12 โณ is generally tubular and comprises the first wall 20 โณ and the second wall 22 โณ that are defined by the cut - out areas 16 โณ and 18 . the cut - out areas 16 โณ and 18 โณ cooperate to define the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ as with the prior illustrative embodiment . as with prior embodiments , the retractor body 12 โณ is sized and adapted to permit a tool , such as the tool 32 โณ ( fig7 ), to be placed in the area 14 โณ in order to either rotatably drive the receiver 30 โณ or to engage the head ( not shown ) of the screw 29 a โณ in order to screw the screw 29 a โณ into bone during the surgical procedure . one feature of the embodiment shown in fig1 - 21 is the use of a reducer 60 โณ for urging or driving the rod 28 โณ in the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ until it is received in the opening 30 a 1 โณ and seats 30 a 2 โณ, 30 a 3 โณ of the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ. the reducer 50 โณ comprises a non - linear reducer channel 66 โณ which in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 - 21 is helical . note in the illustration being described that reducer 60 โณ comprises a tubular wall 61 โณ having a first cut - out 62 โณ and a second cut - out 64 โณ which cooperate to define the reducer channel 66 โณ. the rod 28 โณ may be placed through the cut outs 62 โณ and 64 โณ as illustrated in fig1 and into the reducer channel 66 โณ. in the illustration being described , the first and second cut - out areas 62 โณ and 64 โณ define wall portions 61 a โณ and 61 b โณ that are helical . the cut outs 62 โณ and 64 โณ and wall portions 61 a โณ and 61 b โณ and are spaced approximately 180 ยฐ apart to define the helical reducer channel 66 โณ. an end 61 c of the wall 61 โณ comprises a generally circular knob or grip 68 โณ for facilitating gripping the reducer 60 โณ. the grip 68 โณ is integrally formed with the tubular wall 61 โณ and capable of rotating the wall 61 โณ upon rotation of the grip 68 โณ. the grip 68 โณ also comprises an annular flange 72 โณ that engages and cooperates with a seat 74 โณ in the retractor body 12 โณ so that the reducer 60 โณ may be rotatably mounted onto the retractor body 12 โณ. as shown in fig2 , another embodiment is provided where the tubular wall 61 โณ is dimensioned and adapted to be received in the area 14 โณ inside the retractor body 12 โณ as shown . as best illustrated in fig1 , the reducer 60 โณ comprises an area 80 โณ that is dimensioned and adapted to receive and permit rotation of the retractor body 12 โณ inside the reducer 60 . the rod 28 โณ is placed and traversed through the reducer channel 66 โณ and through the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ as shown . the reducer knob , grip or handle 68 โณ is rotated which causes the rod 28 โณ to traverse the length of both the reducer channel 66 โณ and the rod - receiving channel 34 โณ in the retractor body 12 โณ, as illustrated in fig1 - 17 . the ends of the tubular wall portions 61 a โณ and 61 b โณ each comprise a stop 82 โณ ( fig1 ) that engages and captures the rod 28 โณ when the rod 28 โณ has reached the end of its travel in the reducer channel 66 โณ and is received in the seat 30 a 2 โณ of the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ, as illustrated in fig1 and 18 . in the illustration , the stop 82 โณ comprises a curved seat 82 a โณ formed or provided at the ends of the wall portions 61 a โณ and 61 b โณ. the curved seat 82 a โณ captures and engages the rod 28 โณ as shown in fig1 . after the rod 28 โณ is received in the seat 30 a 2 โณ of the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ of the receiver 30 โณ, the reducer 60 โณ may be removed from the retractor body 12 โณ by moving the reducer 60 โณ axially in the direction of arrow b in fig1 . after the reducer 60 โณ has been removed from the retractor body 12 โณ, the receiver 30 โณ may be rotated ( in a clockwise direction in the illustration being described ) to lock the rod 28 โณ in the receiver 30 โณ in the manner described earlier relative to fig9 - 13 . alternatively , the retractor body 12 โณ may be rotated by using the tool 32 โณ in the manner illustrated in fig7 relative to the prior embodiment . in order to stabilize or retain the retractor body 12 โณ in a stationary position during rotation of the reducer 60 โณ, a stabilizer 40 โณ or means for stabilizing the retractor body 12 โณ may be provided . in the illustration being described , the stabilizer 40 โณ may take the form of a plurality of apertures 40 a โณ and 40 b โณ in the retractor body 12 โณ wall . during use , a tool ( not shown ), such as a screwdriver or other elongated shafted tool or dow , may be placed through the apertures 40 a โณ and 40 b โณ and used to hold the retractor body 12 โณ stationary during rotation of the knob 68 โณ of reducer 60 โณ. the tool ( not shown ) may also be used to rotate the retractor body 12 โณ in order to rotate the receiver 30 โณ to an unlocked or locked position and to pull or detach the retractor body 12 โณ from the receiver 30 โณ. it should be appreciated that a length of the reducer 58 โณ is selected so that when the rod 28 โณ has reached the stops 82 โณ at the ends of the wall portions 61 a โณ and 60 b โณ, respectively , the rod 28 โณ is seated at the seat 30 a 2 โณ. this facilitates properly situating and seating the rod 28 โณ in the rod - locking channel 30 a โณ before the receiver 30 โณ is rotated from the open position shown in fig1 to the locked position illustrated in fig1 . in the illustration being described , the retraction device or apparatus 10 is made of stainless steel , but it should be understood that it could be made of any suitable material that is capable of performing the functions described herein . thus , for example , the retraction device or apparatus 10 could be made of a polymer material , plastic , composite material , metallic material , such as titanium , or other suitable material . advantageously , the retractor and reducer systems and methods described herein provide means , system and apparatus for guiding or placing a polyaxial screw in a patient and / or situating a rod in the polyaxial screw , while substantially simultaneously retracting tissue during a surgical procedure . while the form of apparatus herein and methods described constitutes a preferred embodiment of this invention , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus , and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention . | 0 |
the following detailed description , and the accompanying drawings to which it refers are provided for purposes of exemplifying and illustrating representative examples and embodiments of the invention only , and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way , and do not exhaustively illustrate and describe all possible embodiments and configurations in which one or more features of the present invention may take physical form . all patents and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual patent or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . fig1 shows the use and insertion into a biopsy site of any one of the biopsy site marker embodiments of the invention described herein . fig1 is a perspective view of a human breast 2 having a lesion 3 from which a biopsy specimen has been removed , thereby forming a biopsy cavity 4 within the lesion 3 , into which a biopsy site marker 10 of the of the present invention is implanted . the figure shows an outer cannula 12 with the distal end thereof operatively positioned within the biopsy site 4 . the outer cannula 12 has been inserted percutaneously into the lesion 3 and a biopsy needle ( not shown ) has been passed through the outer cannula 12 and used to remove a biopsy specimen from the center of the lesion . syringe - like marker application device 13 includes a marker introduction tube or inner cannula 14 . after removal of the biopsy needle ( not shown ), the marker introduction cannula 14 has been passed through the outer cannula 12 such that inner cannula distal end 14 d is located within the biopsy cavity 4 , the marker 10 being housed within cannula 14 . piston 15 of marker applicator 13 has an extension 16 which passes through the interior of inner cannula 14 . upon depressing piston 15 , extenuation 16 pushes marker 10 outward through an opening 17 in the tip 14 d of inner cannula 14 into the cavity 4 . the outer cannula 12 may be an outer tube element of a conventional vacuum assisted large core biopsy device , which has been left in place to assist in site marker application following biopsy sample recovery . one example of a applicator syringe device 13 is described in further detail below with respect to fig5 . fig2 a , 2 b , 2 c , 2 d and 2 e show exemplary internal conformations and shapes of the sintered or porous site marker embodiments of the invention 20 a - 20 e respectively . fig2 a and 2b show schematic cross sections of a alternative porous or sintered marker body embodiments . fig2 a is a cross section of a sintered site marker embodiment 20 a . the matrix or base material 21 encloses a plurality of irregular shaped pores 22 distributed within the body 20 a , preferably throughout the body volume . the term โ sintered โ will be used to describe the porous body conformation , it being noted that conventional methods of production other than sintering may be employed to produce a material containing internal voids , pores , discontinuities , inclusions , bubbles and the like . the pores 22 may be open celled , in which the pores 22 generally intersect or communicate with one another and the marker body exterior , which may give the body surface 23 a pitted texture on the scale of the pore size . alternatively , the pores may be closed celled , in which the pores 22 generally do not intersect one another or the exterior . in the event that the pores 22 communicate with the marker exterior 23 , the matrix material 21 is preferably hydrophobic ( or treated to have hydrophobic surfaces ) to resist displacement of air entrained in pores 22 . the base or matrix composition 21 has may be of high acoustic impedance relative to the surrounding tissue ( not shown ). sintered metal material may be shaped and sintered from commercially available metallic powders comprising a metal or mixtures of : metals , using conventional sintering and forming techniques to produce body of selected shaped , and selected pore size and surface texture , so as to enhance acoustic reflectivity . the porosity of the sintered metal provides an irregular surface texture as well as internal voids . a suitable bio - compatible material is sintered 316l stainless steel , and suitable sintered stainless steel stock is commercially available in various forms , for example from the mott corporation . the sintered stock may be economically cut and shaped by conventional methods . sintered stainless steel stock is commercially available with controlled pore size , selectable over a range of pore sizes . the pores 22 of the sintered body 20 a may vary over a range of pore sizes , and is typically from about 1 micrometer to 100 micrometers and preferably from about 5 micrometers to 40 micrometers . in addition to sintered metal , alternative bio - compatible , impedance materials may be included or substituted , such as ceramics , metal oxides , polymers or composites / mixtures of these materials , which may be configured to have a generally distributed internal porosity and porous surface texture . thus , the marker body 20 a may comprise a matrix or base composition 21 which has an acoustic impedance close to that of the tissue at the marked body site , since the air or other gas within the pores or internal spaces 22 provides a dramatic contrast to the matrix material 21 . suitable bio - compatible materials include polyethylene , polytetrafluoroethylene , pebax ( made by autochem corp . ), and the like . such porous materials may be formed by conventional methods , such as heat bonding of polymer powders , extrusion and the like . fig2 b is a schematic cross section of an alternative site marker embodiment 20 b . the matrix or base material 24 encloses a plurality of inclusions , suspended particles or bubbles 25 distributed within the body 20 b , preferably throughout the body volume . the inclusions 25 may be low - density or gas - filled particles , such as foamed - in - place bubbles , micro - beads , expanded beads , and the like , which have an acoustic impedance substantially lower than the matrix material 24 . the matrix material 24 may as in the example of fig2 a . fig2 c and 2d show exemplary shapes of the sintered or porous site marker embodiments of the invention 20 c and 20 d respectively . fig2 c shows schematically a cylindrical sintered marker 20 c . the marker 20 c comprises a generally cylindrical body having a diameter d and length 1 . the body may have diameter d of from 0 . 5 to 5 mm , and preferably about 1 . 5 mm . the length i may be from about 1 diameters to about 10 diameters , and preferably from about 5 to 7 diameters . this biopsy site marker produces a distinct , recognizable , marker image of artificial appearance when implanted at a depth of about 2 to 4 cm in human breast tissue , and visualized by a commercially available accuson 128 us imaging system with an l7 transducer . fig2 d illustrates a marker body 20 d having a polyhedral form of multiple intersecting flat surfaces 26 , 27 and 28 . fig2 e shows a cruciform shaped marker 20 e having cruciform cross - section having four longitudinal fin - like portions 29 , which may be aligned at right angles to one another and joined at the longitudinal central axis 30 providing a selectable number of side facets ( e . g ., hexagonal cross - section ). optionally , medial web portions 31 may span laterally and join between adjacent fins 29 , the webs 31 preferably being aligned perpendicularly to the fins 29 . in the example shown , there are four such web portions 31 positioned at about mid - length of the body 20 e , so that each fin 29 is joined by a pair of webs 31 , one on each side , to each adjacent fin . thus , the planes of the intersecting fins and webs form a pattern of eight mutually - perpendicular โ corner reflectors โ 32 . the length i and characteristic cross - section dimension c may be as described with respect to the embodiments of fig2 c and 2d . fig3 illustrates yet another alternative where the marker body is shaped to have the form , under ultrasound or radiological visualization , preferably both , of a familiar symbol or letter , to by easily recognizable as an artificial shape which is the lower - case greek letter gamma ( ฮณ ), which when visualized in a biopsy site bears a resemblance to a familiar breast - cancer - awareness symbol . fig4 shows schematically an alternative coil marker 30 of the invention . the marker 30 comprises a generally helical coil - like body formed from one or more lengths of fine wire and / or fiber 31 . the coil 30 has a generally cylindrical overall form . as with the other biopsy site marker embodiments of the invention , the optimum dimensions of the coil shaped marker embodiment will depend on such factors as the type of visualization system used , its imaging resolution , and the physical nature of the biopsy tissue region . the coil length i and diameter d may be of a range of sizes , selected so as to be large enough to provide a distinct , recognizable ultrasound marker image within the tissue biopsy site , and small enough to avoid masking or obscuring diagnostically important tissue features . for example , the coil diameter d may be from 0 . 5 to 5 mm , and preferably about 1 . 5 mm . the coil length i is typically from about 1 coil diameters to about 10 coil diameters , and preferably from about 5 to 7 coil diameters . the helical turns of the coil provide a body surface contour including a outer helical groove 32 and inner helical groove 33 on the coil surfaces ( more than one such groove for a multiple helix ). the grooved coil body surface includes a plurality of lobes and crevices on the exterior of the coil which enhance acoustic reflectivity . in addition the similarly lobed internal surfaces of the coil provide additional reflectivity . optionally , the coil may be given a โ frosted โ or textured surface , such as by particle blasting in the manner of the spheroid marker described above . a uniform coil embodiment has a shape which is markedly artificial in appearance under conventional visualization methods , and is not easily confused tissue features of biological origin . the coil may comprise a fine wire 31 of a material of high acoustic impedance relative to the tissue of the site , and may optionally be radio - opaque . suitable materials are biologically compatible metals , such as stainless steel , titanium , platinum , palladium , alloys thereof and the like . the coil may alternatively comprise a composite of different materials , such as a composite of metal and polymeric materials . the coil may be wound about a central core of the same or different composition . coil stock of suitable material , helical form and diameter is available commercially , and may be cut to a selected length by conventional means . a suitable material is 316 l stainless steel surgical embolization coil currently used in arterial embolism repair procedures , e . g ., cook 4 mm diameter embolization coil mwce - 25 - 2 . 5 - 4 of 316l stainless steel and dacron . other suitable embolization coil stock is available in a range of coil diameters . this biopsy site marker produces a distinct , recognizable marker image as implanted at a depth of about 2 to 4 cm in human breast tissue , when visualized by a commercially available accuson 128 us imaging system with an l7 transducer . fig5 shows schematically the alternative spheroid marker 40 of the invention having a generally spherical body 40 . note that the porous or sintered marker embodiments of fig2 a - 2d may be spherical also . however , the embodiment of fig5 is a non - porous example , and the biopsy site marker 40 comprises a high acoustic impedance , biologically compatible material , such as 316 l stainless steel and titanium , or radiopaque metals such as platinum , palladium , or the like . non - spherical shaped bodies may be used , however , metallic spheres of suitable materials are readily commercially available , and have a shape which is markedly artificial in appearance under conventional visualization methods , i . e ., not easily confused tissue features of biological origin . the generally spherical body may have a diameter d selected so as to be large enough to provide a distinct , recognizable ultrasound marker image within the tissue biopsy site , and small enough to avoid obscuring tissue features . as with the other biopsy site marker embodiments of the invention , the optimum size of the sphere will depend on such factors as the type of visualization system used , its imaging resolution , and the physical nature of the biopsy tissue region . for example , the sphere diameter d is typically be from about 1 mm to about 4 mm , and preferably from about 1 . 5 mm . the spherical body 40 may include a pitted , matte , peened or frosted surface texture 41 , which may be produced by conventional particle blasting or peening techniques . for example , the sphere may be blasted with glass beads of about 100 micrometer diameter to produce a frosted surface . in another example , the sphere may be blasted with aluminum oxide abrasive particles of about 25 micrometer diameter to produce a frosted surface . the frosted surface 41 thus produced provides enhanced acoustic reflectivity in comparison to the untreated , smooth sphere . other conventional texturing , pitting or faceting methods may alternatively be used to produce a frosted or irregular surface texture . this biopsy site marker produces a distinct , recognizable marker image of artificial appearance when implanted at a depth of about 2 to 4 cm in human breast tissue , and visualized by a commercially available acuson 128 us imaging system with an l7 transducer . fig6 shows schematically in cut - away section an exemplary marker applicator device 50 configured to be operated in association with a conventional vacuum assisted large core biopsy device 6 . the dimensional size of the applicator device ( particularly the inside diameter ) may be adjusted to correspond to the selected diameter or characteristic dimension of the biopsy site marker to be deposited . in this connection it should be understood that the biopsy markers of the invention can be used without this applicator , and can be deposited in accordance with the various methods and techniques utilized in the state of the art . the applicator 50 comprises an elongated cylindrical body 52 which has an outer diameter selected so that it fits , and may be inserted through , the outer cannula 7 of vacuum assisted large core biopsy device 6 . as shown in fig6 the outer cannula 7 is inserted through the biopsy incision into the biopsy cavity 4 previously formed in the patient &# 39 ; s tissue site 8 , e . g ., a human breast in the case of a breast biopsy . the cylindrical body 52 has an interior cavity and a piston 54 that fits and slides back and forth in the elongated cylindrical body 52 . the proximal end of the outer cannula 7 may be provided with rectangularly shaped handle 56 the orientation of which indicates to the operator the orientation of the opening 9 provided in the distal end of the cannula 7 . the cylindrical body 52 may have an enlarged finger disk or handle 57 at its outer ( exterior to the patient ) end which permits a user ( not shown ) to operate or move the piston 54 within the cylinder 52 of applicator 50 . the orientation of the elongated finger disk 57 indicates the orientation of the opening 58 of body 53 adjacent its other , closed end 59 ( internal within biopsy cavity ). the opening 58 is configured to form a ramp in the side of the tube 52 . in this connection it should be understood that the selected dimensions of the tube 52 are coordinated with the dimensions of the piston 54 and with the cannula 7 of the vacuum assisted large core biopsy device 6 , thus permitting the tube 52 to both fit within cannula 7 and to contain one or more markers of the invention 10 within the inside diameter of cylinder 52 . the cylinder or tube 52 and the piston 54 may be made from any appropriate medical grade plastic material , such as high density polyethylene or pebax , made by the autochem corporation . in one method of implanting the biopsy markers 10 of the present invention , the tube 52 is loaded with one or more of markers 10 . the markers 10 may be any of the embodiments of the invention described above , and is shown schematically as a cylindrical object . optionally , in addition to the markers 10 , pellets composed of various other materials may be inserted along with one of the embodiments of the biopsy markers of the present invention described herein . for example , gelatin pellets of the type disclosed in our above referenced co - pending application ser . no . 09 / 343 , 975 may be inserted in conjunction with the biopsy markers 10 of the present invention . with the markers 10 in the tube 52 and the tube 52 and cannula 7 inserted into the biopsy site 4 , the opening 58 in the cylinder 52 is moved into alignment with the opening or port 9 of the in the internal end of cannula 7 of biopsy sampler 6 . the piston 54 is pressed inward by the operator so that the marker or markers 10 are expelled from the tube 52 through the ramp shaped opening 58 as the piston 54 is pushed into the cylinder or tube 52 . the markers 10 are thereby extruded through opening 59 and port 9 into the biopsy cavity 4 . the applicator 50 and biopsy device 6 are subsequently withdrawn . fig7 shows schematically an alternative marker 60 of the invention including one or more optional tissue - engaging or haptic elements 62 for resisting migration of the marker from the biopsy site . an exemplary cylindrical marker body 10 is shown , although each embodiment of the biopsy site marker of the invention described above may optionally comprises one or more such tissue engaging structures . the haptic elements 62 may comprise an wire - like material fixed to the marker body 10 at the proximal haptic end 64 and extending outward from the marker body 10 . the haptic 62 may be looped back at its hook - like terminal end 66 . the haptic 62 assists in resisting , migration of the marker from the biopsy cavity , during initial placement , i . e ., it engages the adjacent tissue to resist being sucked back towards the applicator when the applicator is withdrawn . the haptic also resists migration during later movement , flexure or manipulation of the tissue surrounding the biopsy site ; such as when a patient &# 39 ; s breast is decompressed upon removal from a mammography device . optionally , the marker body 10 may include an adhesive component 68 coated onto its surface to cause the marker body to adhere to adjacent tissue within the biopsy site . fig8 shows schematically the alternative marker 70 of the invention including an encapsulating element 72 and optional adhesive layer or component 74 , for resisting migration of the marker within the tissue . an exemplary cylindrical marker body 10 is shown , although each of the biopsy site marker of the invention described above may optionally comprise a pellet - shaped encapsulating element . the pellet - shaped encapsulating element 72 is disposed surrounding the marker body 10 and may fully or partially enclose the marker body . the encapsulating element 72 may be of lower impedance than the metallic marker body 10 . suitable materials are gelatin or reconstituted collagen material , polymers , or mixtures or composites thereof . an optional adhesive component 74 is shown coating the external surface of the encapsulating element , but may be included within the composition the encapsulating element 72 . fig9 a illustrates an alternative device 80 for delivering markers to a biopsy site which includes an elongated tube 81 , a handle 82 on the tubes proximal end and a closed distal end having a plurality of leafs or petals 83 as shown in more detail in fig9 b . as shown in fig9 c , the petals 83 open up to allow a marker 84 to be discharged into the biopsy site 85 as shown in fig9 c . the device 80 has an elongated plunger or piston 86 slidably disposed within the tube 81 for pushing one or more markers 84 through the petalled distal end by pressing on the knob 87 on the proximal end of the shaft 86 . the orientation of the body 88 on the shaft 86 gives the operator an indication of the orientation of the shaped distal end 89 . fig1 illustrates an alternative marker 90 which has an elongated cylindrically shaped body of gel 91 surrounded with a metallic band 92 which is preferably formed of radiopaque material . the band 92 may conpletely or only partially surround the body of gel 91 . in any of the above - described embodiments of the invention , the marker body ( and / or the optional encapsulating element ) may include an adhesive component to cause the marker body ( or encapsulating element ) to adhere to adjacent tissue within the biopsy site . the adhesive component may comprise a biocompatible adhesive , such as a polyurethane , polyacrylic compound , polyhydroxymethacrylate , fibrin glue ( e . g ., tisseal โข), collagen adhesive , or mixtures thereof . while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described , it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated . it is therefore intended that this invention to be defined by the scope of the appended claims as broadly as the prior art will permit , and in view of the specification if need be . | 0 |
in the description that follows , terms such as โ left โ and โ right โ refer to the respective figure of the drawings . [ 0011 ] fig1 shows a so - called โ drum motor โ 10 that is driven directly by an electronically commutated external rotor motor 12 and preferably is adapted to drive conveyor belts . it has an external tubular casing part 14 made of ferromagnetic material , preferably steel , that can be of slightly convex configuration on its outer side 16 . external rotor motor 10 has a stationary support part 18 that , because of its appearance , is often referred to informally as a โ shaft .โ this shaft 18 is stationary during operation , i . e . does not rotate . this stationary shaft 18 has a cylindrical segment 20 , of greater diameter , on which is mounted inner race 22 of a ball bearing 24 , whose outer race 26 is arranged displaceably inside a cylindrical inner surface 28 of casing part 14 and is acted upon , toward the right , by a compression spring 30 whose left end is braced against a prong ring 32 or other abutment . a prong ring has , on its external periphery , one or more prongs which , upon assembly , dig into the cylindrical inner surface 28 of casing part 14 , the result being that prong ring 32 constitutes an abutment for compression spring 30 , so that the latter can clamp ball bearing 24 , which contributes to noise reduction . shaft 18 furthermore has a cylindrical segment 36 of smaller diameter , on which is mounted inner race 38 of a ball bearing 40 , whose outer race 42 is arranged on a cylindrical portion 44 of casing part 14 and is secured there on the left by a shoulder 46 and on the right by a snap ring 48 . the two ball bearings 24 , 40 therefore have different sizes , and they support casing part 14 rotatably on shaft 18 . mounted in the cylindrical inner recess 28 of casing part 14 are permanent magnets 54 of external rotor motor 12 , which define an external rotor 49 . this is then magnet arrangement 50 of the motor part , which extends to the left from a shoulder 51 and coacts with an internal stator 52 whose lamination stack is pressed onto shaft 18 , which preferably is likewise made of ferromagnetic material and thus forms part of the magnetic circuit of internal stator 52 . shaft 18 is equipped with a shoulder 56 that defines the location of the lamination stack . adjoining permanent - magnet arrangement 50 to the left is a nonmagnetic spacer ring 58 , made e . g . of brass , and this is followed to the left by a magnet ring 60 that serves to control one or more galvanomagnetic sensors 62 , e . g . to control hall generators ( not depicted ). the function of sensors 62 is to sense the rotational position of casing part 14 relative to stationary axis 18 , which must occur very precisely , especially when motor 12 is running slowly and a rotation speed control system is being used . magnets 50 , 60 are preferably magnetized in the radial direction . magnet arrangement 50 can be implemented with , for example , four poles , and magnet ring 60 preferably has a greater number of poles , so that the rotational position can be sensed as accurately as possible . sensor 62 is mounted on a circuit board 66 , which in turn is mounted on shaft 18 and carries electronic components of the electronically commutated external rotor motor 12 , and extends approximately perpendicular to rotation axis 67 of casing part 14 . for passage of a connection to circuit board 66 , shaft 18 has an axial bore 68 and a radial bore 70 intersecting it . the winding of motor 12 is indicated at 72 . two sealing plates 76 , 78 are provided to seal the interior of drum motor 10 . these are of identical configuration , so a description of right sealing plate 78 will suffice . the latter has , on its radially inner side , a portion 80 that can deflect radially outward and is equipped with an inwardly projecting catch ridge 82 that , in the assembled state , engages into an annular groove 84 of shaft 18 that is approximately complementary to it . shaft 18 is formed , in a region to the left of sealing plate 76 , with a frusto - conical segment 86 to facilitate assembly of sealing plate 76 , and with a frusto - conical segment 88 to facilitate assembly of sealing plate 78 . this makes it easier to splay , and slide on , sealing plates 76 , 78 during final assembly . it is very advantageous that sealing plates 76 , 78 do not rotate ; this decreases the risk of injury to the user , and simplifies cleaning of drum motor 10 . sealing plates 76 , 78 can be made of metal or a suitable plastic . on its outer side , sealing plate 78 is equipped with two sealing elements 90 , e . g . two sealing lips , a radial packing ring , or the like . the inner surface of casing part 14 , located opposite sealing elements 90 , is ground and polished . to facilitate assembly , hollow frusto - conical segments 92 are provided on the inner side of casing part 14 , adjacent the sealing plates . with the invention , in contrast to drum motors having an internal gear linkage , shaft 18 can be continuous , thus imparting particularly high stability to drum motor 10 . electronically commutated motor 12 does not have a rotatable shaft . the continuous stationary shaft 18 means that two rolling bearings 24 , 40 are sufficient . since casing part 14 is integral with external rotor motor 12 , rather than a separate element , the weight of drum motor 10 is correspondingly reduced . motor magnets 54 , spacer 58 , and magnet ring 60 are adhesively bonded into casing part 14 , optionally with spot - grinding , and then magnetized in a suitable apparatus . rolling bearing 40 is also installed in recess 44 and secured with snap ring 48 . the stator lamination stack is pressed onto shaft 18 , and circuit board 66 is mounted on shaft 18 . ball bearing 24 is then pressed onto shaft 18 at the desired location . after these preparatory actions , shaft 18 , along with the parts installed on it , is inserted with its insertion end ( i . e . right end 94 in this case ) into the prepared casing part 14 from the left . insertion is facilitated by the fact that outer race 26 of left ball bearing 24 is axially displaceable in recess 28 , to allow it to be axially clamped by spring 30 . in the process , segment 36 of shaft 18 is pressed into inner race 38 of rolling bearing 40 , and sensor 62 is slid into the interior of control magnet 60 . an important advantage of the invention is that the control electronics ( on circuit board 66 ) are integrated into motor 10 . external connection of motor 10 is accomplished through transverse bore 70 and longitudinal bore 68 . to simplify assembly , an electrical plug connector ( not depicted ) can be provided at the transition from transverse bore 70 to longitudinal bore 68 . depending on the application , one or more hall generators or a resolver , a gmr ( giant magneto resistor ) sensor , an mr sensor , etc . can be used as sensor 62 . sensing of the rotor position using the so - called โ sensorless โ principle is also not excluded in the context of the invention . spring 30 is then introduced and is placed under load and secured by prong ring 32 or another securing element . lastly , sealing plates 76 , 78 are installed . assembly is thus very simple and time - saving . shaft 18 can optionally be put together from several parts , but a one - piece construction is preferred . the use of a large - diameter shaft , and bearings with small radial dimensions , yields the advantage that very good heat transfer out from the stator lamination stack 52 via shaft 18 is possible . an air gap 72 , shown in the enlargement in fig2 is located between rotor magnets 54 and lamination stack 57 . many variants and modifications are of course possible within the scope of the present invention . although motor 12 is shown as an external rotor motor having a permanent magnet rotor 54 , in other embodiments the rotor can nevertheless also be implemented as a short - circuit rotor ( having a short - circuit winding ), a synchronous motor , a reluctance motor ( having a magnetically soft rotor ), etc . since a collectorless motor allows very different rotation speeds to be set without great difficulty , the structure shown is particularly preferred for low rotation speed applications . rotor magnets 54 may have a trapezoidal or sinusoidal magnetization depending on the motor principle used , a trapezoidal magnetization being preferred for rotor magnets 54 , and a sinusoidal magnetization being preferred for sensor magnets 60 . | 7 |
the present invention addresses several shortcomings of the prior art by providing a security system and framework that is configured to deliver real - time information , including audiovisual information about alarm conditions and / or personal conditions to remote users . as a further advantage , the framework may be easily adapted for use in other applications that incorporate real - time information and video delivery . the term โ security system โ is used in this document to mean a system for monitoring a premises , e . g ., for the purpose of discouraging and responding to burglaries , fires , and other emergency situations . such a security system is well - suited for residential homes , but may also find use with schools , nursing homes , hospitals , businesses or any other location in which real - time information may be useful in obtaining adequate response upon the occurrence of alarm conditions . by integrating broadband features , including audiovisual capabilities , web access and wireless capabilities , and video and voice over ip protocols , embodiments of the present invention provide audiovisual alarm verification , 24 - hour monitoring capabilities , and a secure web site with remote access features and security - focused content . the term โ lifestyle monitoring โ is used in this document to mean audiovisual monitoring and communicating on demand during non - alarm situations . the term โ audiovisual โ is used in this document to mean audio or video or both . an example of a non - alarm situation is when a parent checks on latch - key children or a caregiver checks on an elderly person . embodiments of the present invention may be used to give peace of mind to the owner of the premises while he or she is away from the premises . embodiments of the present invention may also be used to proactively respond to situations before they become emergencies . the term โ remote user โ is used in this document to mean any individual located at any location other than the premises or the central monitoring station . a remote user may include the owner of the premises , when the owner is not physically located at the premises . a remote user may also include a guest user , such as an individual whom the owner has given permission to access certain aspects of the security system . because monitoring personnel at a central monitoring station do not have access to the security system except during alarm events , they are not considered remote users as they are described in this document . for purposes of the present invention , the term โ premises โ refers to real property , including one or more structures thereupon and their surroundings . for the purposes of the present invention , a premises preferably comprises a residential housing , but it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that a premises may also comprise commercial facilities , educational facilities , and the like . further , the term โ a โ is generally used in the present disclosure to mean one or more . still further , the terms โ coupled โ and โ operatively coupled โ mean connected in such a way that data may be transmitted or received . it is understood that โ coupled โ and โ operatively coupled โ do not require a direct connection , a wired connection , or even a permanent connection . it is sufficient for purposes of the present invention that the connection ( s ) be established for transmitting and receiving information . in the present disclosure , the term โ high - speed โ or โ high - bandwidth โ generally means capable of providing sufficient bandwidth for data to be transmitted in real - time , i . e ., with substantially no latency . in one embodiment , high - speed connections are those capable of transmitting at speeds of at least 128 kbps . high - speed connections include but are not limited to cable modem connections , xdsl connections , and high - speed wireless connection . the term โ non - alarm event โ is used in this document to describe an event that occurs at the premises which does not constitute an alarm event . a non - alarm event is designated by the triggering of a sensor . for example , a motion sensor located near the front door may detect the presence of a person approaching the front door . this person may be , for example , a delivery person dropping off a package for the resident and would not constitute an alarm event . this non - alarm event , however , may be used by the owner of the premises to analyze the security system effectiveness ( such as determining the capability of the front door camera to capture images in case of an alarm event ), for lifestyle purposes ( such as how often people approach the front door ), or to provide monitoring personnel with a general time frame associated with an alarm event . the term โ remote client โ is used in this document to mean any processor - based device capable of connecting to a network . for example , a remote client may comprise a personal computer , a pda , or a mobile phone . referring now to the drawings , fig1 depicts a block diagram of an exemplary security system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention . security system 100 comprises a security gateway 115 , which is typically located , but is not required to be located , at premises 110 . security system 100 further comprises a monitoring client 133 operatively coupled to security gateway 115 through a network 120 . security system 100 further comprises a security system server 131 operatively coupled to security gateway 115 through network 120 . in general , network 120 may be a public network or private network , a single network or a combination of several networks . in most embodiments , network 120 may be , but is not required to be , an ip - based network . in some embodiments it may be desirable for all or a portion of network 120 to include publicly available networks , such as the internet , to avoid the need for installing , purchasing , or leasing additional infrastructure . however , in some systems , e . g ., those that use high - bandwidth transmissions , it may be desirable to include dedicated high - bandwidth connections including , without limitation , leased lines , frame relay networks , and atm networks , within network 120 . further , in some systems it may be desirable to use a network 120 with quality of service guarantees given the real - time nature of the information that is transmitted . generally , security gateway 115 is a processor - based device operable to monitor premises 110 by capturing and recording audiovisual information relating to the premises during pre - alarm , and post - alarm periods , as well as during non - alarm events . security gateway 115 also detects and relays alarm conditions at premises 110 and captures information relating to such alarm conditions . upon triggering of an alarm , security gateway 115 sends cached , stored , and live information from pre - event , pre - alarm , and post - alarm segments to security system server 131 for verification and response . security gateway 115 may , but is not required to be , located at premises 110 . some or all components of security gateway 115 may be located remotely , but remain operatively coupled to security sensors 105 , audio stations 107 , and video cameras 112 which are located at premises 110 . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , premises 110 comprises a building such as a residential home . advantageously , the present invention provides for sensors 105 , audio stations 107 and video cameras 112 to be located indoors as well as outdoors . for example , sensors 105 , audio stations 107 and video cameras 112 may be located in certain rooms or zones within the building on premises 110 , as well as outside the doors of the building . monitoring client 133 generally comprises a software program that may be used to display some or all of the information provided by security gateway 115 . monitoring client 133 may be a stand - alone program or integrated into one or more existing software programs . one or more operators may then use this information to evaluate whether the alarm condition corresponds to an actual alarm condition and then take additional action , if desired , such as alerting the appropriate authorities . security system 100 generally includes one or more sensors 105 coupled to security gateway 115 for the purpose of detecting certain events . one skilled in the art will appreciate that security system 100 is not limited to any specific type or model of sensor 105 . a variety of sensors 105 may be used , depending on the desired type and level of protection . examples include , without limitation , magnetic contact switches , audio sensors , infrared sensors , motion detectors , fire alarms , panic buttons , and carbon monoxide sensors . sensors 105 may be wired directly into an alarm control panel built into security gateway 115 , or they may be wirelessly connected . the type of sensors 105 to be used depends on the specific application for which security system 100 is designed . in some embodiments , multiple sensors 105 may be used . in such embodiments , security gateway 115 may consider data from all , some , or one of sensors 105 in the detection of alarm conditions . additionally , security system 100 can store multiple video events triggered by sensors 105 , or at scheduled times . security system 100 also includes one or more cameras 112 and audio stations 107 operable to capture video data and audio data , respectively , from premises 110 . cameras 112 may be , but are not required to be , 360 - degree cameras or panoramic cameras . audio stations 107 may include microphones and speakers and are capable of providing two - way communication as well as emitting a signal for alerting occupants of the premises that communication is occurring . in addition , security gateway 115 may be configured to create an association between one or more sensors 105 and an associated camera 112 or audio station 107 . whether or not separate sensors 105 are present , security gateway 115 may capture video or audio or both from cameras 112 and audio stations 107 to assist in the determination of whether an alarm condition exists and thereby whether to generate and send an alarm signal to the security system server 131 . cameras 112 and audio stations 107 continuously transmit audiovisual data to security gateway 115 for caching ( i . e ., temporarily storing ), recording ( i . e ., storing for a long term ), or streaming to a remote user 152 or security system server 131 . in some embodiments , sensors 105 , such as motion detectors , infra - red sensors and audio sensors , may be replaced by an intelligent alarm module that is able to detect motion or intrusion by analyzing the video data or audio data or both generated from cameras 112 and audio stations 107 . in some embodiments , the segment of audiovisual data may be compressed using one or more of any number compression techniques known by one of skill in the art . for example , this may involve the use of video compression algorithms such as motion pictures expert group ( mpeg ). further , the resolution or color depth of the video may be reduced to lessen the amount of bandwidth required for transmission . in one embodiment , alarm video can be transmitted at least 3 frames per second . in addition , the alarm video may have an end resolution ( i . e ., after interpolation and / or image enhancement , etc .) of 320 pixels by 240 pixels or higher , and optionally may be transmitted in color . it is noted that the present invention is not limited to any particular audio , video , or communications standards . the present invention may incorporate any such standards , including without limitation : h . 323 , adaptive differential pulse - code modulation ( adpcm ), h . 263 , mpeg , user datagram protocol ( jdp ), and transmission control protocol / internet protocol ( tcp / ip ). a disadvantage with intrusion systems in the prior art , including video surveillance systems , is that they provide very little or no information leading up to the alarm event . prior art systems are typically configured to record audiovisual information only after an alarm is triggered . the only information that a monitoring agent typically receives is specific to that information about how an alarm event was defined which usually includes the time , type and location of sensor that was triggered . this limited information does not adequately help the monitoring agent verify the event . even in video surveillance systems , the monitoring agent typically only views live camera ( s ) associated with that alarm sensor , which may not be adequate . a typical prior art intrusion system protects the perimeter of a residence or facility , and alarm events are only declared when the perimeter sensors , such as window or door contact switches , or internal sensors , such as motion sensors , are triggered . the present invention , however , provides for continuous caching of audiovisual data while the security system 100 is armed . furthermore , if the security system 100 is armed and one of the sensors 105 is triggered , the segment of cached audiovisual data immediately prior to , during , and immediately following the triggering of the sensor 105 is stored in memory , preferably located in the security gateway 115 for privacy reasons , or in another storage device that is operatively coupled to the security gateway 115 via a network . for example , when a particular sensor 105 is triggered , cached audiovisual data from the camera 112 and audio station 107 associated with that sensor 105 , beginning several seconds prior to the triggering of the sensor 105 and ending several seconds after the triggering of the sensor 105 , may be stored in the memory . in addition , audiovisual data may be also be stored in memory at scheduled times . the general administrator may view the stored data and may archive it if desired . if the system alarm is triggered , then the monitoring client 133 may access the stored data . the length and number of stored segments can be adjusted depending upon the capacity of the memory . furthermore , information from cameras 112 that are placed outside the facility of premises 110 is used in the verification of alarms . for example , in one implementation , a front door camera records โ events โ for a fixed duration of time , such as ten seconds . the events are defined by a motion sensor being triggered . in one implementation , the security gateway stores approximately twenty of these non - alarm events . however , this event is not an alarm event but a non - alarm event . if the alarm system is triggered , the monitoring agent can in substantially real time access the various non - alarm audiovisual events . the non - alarm information is used by the monitoring agent to provide contextual information surrounding an actual alarm event . an advantage of continuously caching audiovisual data and storing the cached data before and after a particular sensor 105 is triggered , even though an alarm has not been triggered , is allowing the ability to capture important information leading up to an intrusion or other alarm event . the stored data can provide context to audiovisual data surrounding the triggering of an alarm and can thus be used to verify whether an alarm is an actual emergency situation or a false alarm . for example , a potential intruder may walk around the premises 110 prior to breaking in , in order to look for a point of entry . the cached data surrounding the triggering of the sensors 105 provide the monitoring client 133 , and ultimately law enforcement , with more information about the intruder than may be available if the camera 112 only began recording after the alarm was triggered . a monitoring agent reviewing this information , within minutes of the alarm triggering , will be able to review the stored non - alarm audiovisual events and make a verification decision . for example , if the non - alarm information includes several events illustrating strange behavior by someone that does not look like the owner or occupant or authorized guest of premises 110 , this is likely to be an actual alarm event . non - alarm information is recorded even when the intruder is leaving the premises 110 . for example , a front door camera may record the intruder leaving the premises 110 and getting into his getaway car , further providing evidence for verification and possibly prosecution . in all recorded events , both non - alarm and alarm , the security gateway 115 records a segment of audiovisual information prior to a sensor 105 being triggered . in one implementation , the length of this pre - event recording is five seconds . it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the length of recording may be customized in accordance with the requirements and specifications of the particular security gateway 115 and the preferences of the owner of the premises 110 . this function is enabled by the continuous caching of pre - event information in the security gateway 115 . a further advantage to continuously caching audiovisual data and storing the cached data before and after a particular sensor 105 is triggered is the added convenience and peace of mind of the owner of the premises . for example , the owner of the premises 110 may view the stored data remotely in order to verify whether a false alarm has occurred , or to check to see if the owner &# 39 ; s child has come home from school safely . the present invention provides for access to security gateway 115 and security system server 131 by remote user 152 using a remote client 155 which is located at a remote location 150 . remote user 152 may be the general administrator , i . e ., a person ( typically the owner of premises 110 ) having full access to security gateway 115 , including without limitation having the following capabilities : accessing all zones ; arming and disarming security system 100 ; reviewing logs of alarm events and non - alarm events ; accessing account information such as the billing address , phone number , and contact persons ; renaming a sensor ; performing maintenance on the system such as checking battery levels ; creating guest accounts for other remote users 152 , including defining access permissions for the guest user and creating a username and password for the guest user ; and adjusting controls on the security system 100 , such as the gain control for the microphones , the volume controls for the speakers , and the time limit for caching information . alternatively , remote user 152 may be a guest user , i . e ., a user whose permissions and access are controlled by the general administrator . the features of the security system that a guest user may access are defined and modified according to the general administrator &# 39 ; s preferences . additional information regarding general system administrative functions and user permissions can be found in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 689 , 708 ; 5 , 694 , 595 ; and 5 , 696 , 898 , the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein . remote client 155 is operatively coupled to security gateway 115 and security system server 131 . remote user 152 is authenticated by security system server 131 . in a preferred embodiment , remote users 152 are identified by a user name and password . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , however , that the present invention contemplates the use of many authentication techniques , including without limitation , physical possession of a key , user name and password , smartcards , and biometrics . for example , the system could recognize the remote user &# 39 ; s 152 facial features , signature , voice or fingerprint and disarm the system without a personal identification number ( p 1 n ) code . additional information regarding the use of biometrics may be found in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 526 , 428 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . remote client 155 may connect to security system server 131 and security gateway 115 ( after authentication ) via network 120 . en one particular embodiment , remote client 155 includes a web - browser - based video client for accessing audio and video data . typically , the web - based video client is a web browser or a plug - in for a web browser . after authentication , security system server 131 may be configured to create a data connection between remote client 155 and security gateway 115 such that communications between remote client 155 and security gateway 115 bypass security system server 131 . advantageously , this avoids network bottlenecks at the security system server 131 , particularly when transmitting large amounts of data such as during the transmission of streaming audiovisual data . in one embodiment , once authenticated , remote user 152 may perform lifestyle monitoring from remote location 150 through security gateway 115 . the remote monitoring feature allows remote user 152 at remote location 150 to view all or only selected portions of the video images from video cameras 112 , and to hear all or only selected portions of audio data from audio stations 107 . depending on the access permissions assigned to remote user 152 , remote user 152 may further have the capability to accomplish the following : arm and disarm the system 100 ; configure the security system 100 to monitor different zones ; review and change account information ; and participate in lifestyle communications with occupants at premises 110 . in addition , remote user 152 may be able to configure the quality of the audiovisual data for remote monitoring . depending on the bandwidth of the connection , the information transmitted to remote client 155 may be of a lower quality than that transmitted to security system server 131 for verification of alarm signals . for example , in one embodiment , the video transmitted to remote client 155 may have a lower frame rate , lower resolution , and / or lower color depth . security gateway 115 may be configured to limit the transmission of all data ( heartbeat , control , video , and audio ) to a configurable ceiling relating to the remote client 155 access . advantageously , this may provide the necessary amount of bandwidth to deliver the requested services , but prevents one user from creating a network bottleneck by requesting too much data at once . in one embodiment , a 128 kbps transmission ceiling is imposed . access by web based client 155 to security gateway 115 may be preempted whenever an alarm condition occurs so that monitoring personnel have full control over cameras 112 and audio stations 107 to respond to the alarm condition . the present invention also provides for lifestyle monitoring by a guest user . access permission for each remote user 152 is defined by the general administrator . access may be limited to certain time intervals ( such as only at certain times during the day ), a certain interval of time ( such as beginning friday and ending sunday ), or for a certain number of times ( such as three times a day or three times with no expiration date ). access may also be limited to certain cameras 112 or audio stations 107 , etc . when a guest user performs lifestyle monitoring , the guest user will have limited access to security system 100 . thus , guest users may not have full access to all cameras 112 and all audio stations 107 at all times . for example , remote user 152 may be able to access video from a camera 112 in a kitchen twenty - four hours a day , but may never be able to monitor audio or video from a bedroom . as another example , remote user 152 may be given permission to view video from several cameras 112 on a particular day , but only on that particular day . remote user 152 may also be given permission to only access certain audio stations 107 . although remote users 152 may be given unlimited access to a part or all of the security system 100 , such access does not necessarily give the remote users 152 the capability or authorization to change the security settings . therefore , remote user 152 can access at least a portion of security system 100 without accidentally or intentionally disarming parts or all of the system . furthermore , remote user &# 39 ; s 152 access privileges to security system 100 may be withdrawn or rescinded at any time by the general administrator . an advantage to allowing remote user 152 to access certain cameras 112 and audio stations 107 is that a lifestyle communication between the remote user 152 and one or more occupants of premises 110 can take place without requiring the occupants to do anything to acknowledge remote user 152 and start a communication session . unlike prior art video telephony systems , the system in accordance with the present invention is particularly advantageous in situations in which an occupant at premises 110 is unable to physically respond , for example , a person with certain disabilities . such a system is further advantageous in other settings in which a person at premises 110 is unwilling to participate in lifestyle communication , such as an unruly child . thus , the present invention provides for lifestyle communication without requiring an occupant of the premises 110 to walk to a keypad or other device to acknowledge remote user 152 and start a communication session . in one embodiment of the present invention , security gateway 115 may comprise a controller capable of performing one or more building automation control functions . such functions may include without limitation controlling air conditioning systems , doors , lighting devices , irrigation systems , and electrical appliances at the premises . building and home automation is described in more detail in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 510 , 975 ; 5 , 572 , 438 ; 5 , 621 , 662 ; and 5 , 706 , 191 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . reference is now made to fig2 , which depicts a block diagram of the system 100 of fig1 , according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention . as shown , security gateway 115 is operatively coupled to data center 132 through network 120 , which is , in turn , operatively coupled to a monitoring client 133 through network 134 . data center 132 stores customer information including billing information and security system settings , and is generally configured to automate certain aspects of security system 100 . data center 132 receives audio and video from security gateway 115 and sends it in real - time to monitoring client 133 . data center 132 authenticates remote user 152 of remote client 155 , recognizes multiple alarm notifications , and monitors the various components of security gateway 115 . technology - intensive equipment including the security system server 131 may be kept in the data center 132 where physical access may be strictly controlled . advantageously , in this configuration , non - technical personnel may be kept away from the sophisticated and expensive equipment in the data center 132 , and the non - security - related personnel would not have direct access to view sensitive alarm notifications and videos . any alarm notification and audiovisual information sent by security gateway 115 is transmitted to the security system server 131 at the data center 132 . the security system server 131 logs the alarm notification and retrieves information about the customer , which may include , without limitation , any prior alarm notifications or events . the security system server 131 also transmits the alarm notification and audiovisual information , along with any additional information , to one or more monitoring clients 133 , where such information and video may be displayed for a monitoring operator to determine if an alarm condition exists . in the illustrative embodiment , communications among security gateway 115 , data center 132 , and monitoring client 133 may occur through public and / or private networks . in particular , security gateway 115 is coupled to data center 132 , which is coupled to monitoring clients 133 through network 134 . although network 134 is logically depicted as a single network , it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that network 134 may comprise a plurality of data networks that may or may not be homogeneous . in one embodiment , at least some of the monitoring clients 133 may be coupled to the security system server 131 through the internet . in other embodiments , monitoring clients 133 may be coupled to the security system server 131 through dedicated connections such as a frame relay connection or atm connection . advantageously , maintaining dedicated lines between security gateway 115 and security system server 131 and between security system server 131 and monitoring client 133 provides a secure connection from security gateway 115 to monitoring client 133 that may have dedicated bandwidth and / or low latency . network 134 includes all such networks and connections . in another embodiment , not shown , data center 132 may be coupled to monitoring clients 133 through network 120 . reference is now made to fig3 , which illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the security gateway 115 of fig1 for use in monitoring the premises 110 . as shown in fig3 , security gateway 115 may include an alarm control panel 310 , a video module 320 , a user interface 350 , a communications interface 340 , and an audio module 330 . as shown in fig3 , the components of security gateway 115 are configured to communicate with one another through system bus 305 . in other embodiments , some or all of the components may be directly connected or otherwise operatively coupled to one another . alarm control panel 310 interfaces with one or more sensors 105 , which may be wired or wireless . in some embodiments , it may include an interface to the public switched telephone network ( pstn ) or a cellular network . however , as shown , the interface to the pstn may be contained in the communications interface 340 instead of the alarm control panel 310 . the alarm control panel 310 is preferably capable of operation in isolation as per ul requirements for residential fire applications and residential burglary operations . alarm control panel 310 is further capable of continuing to operate in the traditional manner regardless of the state of the video subsystem . alarm control panel 310 may be configured to communicate with the other components of the security system to monitor their operational state . information that the alarm control panel 310 may receive includes , but is not limited to , whether security gateway 115 can communicate with the security system server through the communications interface 340 , information about ac power failure , trouble by zone , fire trouble , telephone line trouble , low battery , bell output trouble , loss of internal clock , tamper by zone , fail to communicate , module fault , camera trouble , and intercom trouble . the detected operational failure of any component in security gateway 115 may be indicated by a communications loss between components and a concurrent alarm condition reported by alarm control panel 310 and displayed for the user on user interface 350 or announced through audio module 330 . in addition , any detected operation failures may be communicated to the security system server 131 through communications interface 340 . alarm control panel 310 may also be configured to record alarm conditions and associated data in memory . the security system server 131 may also be configured to record alarm conditions and associated data in addition to or in lieu of alarm control panel 310 doing so . in some embodiments , alarm control panel 310 supports dialup access by authorized users to remotely configure the system . however , the preferred mode of configuration is through an internet web site . in other embodiments , other components of security gateway 115 may be configured to perform this function . for example , in one embodiment , video module 320 records alarm conditions and the associated data . video module 320 may perform many functions including but not limited to analyzing data from one or more of the sensors 105 or cameras 112 to determine whether an alarm condition exists ; accessing data stored in memory ; generating alarm video to transmit to security system server 131 in response to detection of an alarm condition ; and communicating with security system server 131 and remote client 155 through communications interface 340 . in addition , video module 320 may buffer video from cameras 112 in memory . then based on predefined criteria , older video that is not considered essential to any alarm signals may be discarded . video module 320 may also be configured to record video , or potions thereof , on a predetermined basis , which may correspond , for example , to the requirements of the customer . non - alarm video may be stored for later retrieval by the customer . in one embodiment , the customer or remote user at remote location 150 may be able to adjust the predetermined basis including , without limitation , adjusting the recording times , duration , and total length of the recordings . in some embodiments , non - alarm video may also be sent to the security system server 131 for storage . video module 320 is also capable of streaming live audio and video from the residence during alarm conditions , pre - alarm events , post - alarm events , and non - alarm events , as well as for lifestyle monitoring . if a camera 112 is analog , video module 320 may digitize the video before transmitting it . when security system 100 is armed , audio and video data are constantly being stored in the video module &# 39 ; s memory for potential use as pre - event media . in one particular embodiment , video module 320 contains sufficient memory to store sixty seconds of pre - alarm video and audio from each camera 112 and microphone 334 at audio station 107 in ram and up to several hours of audio / video content ( per camera 112 and audio station 107 ) on disk . when an alarm condition occurs , this cached data may be stored more permanently . the general administrator of a security system 100 may delete recorded information , archive non - alarm information , and adjust the cache length . a guest user may only make such changes if the general administrator has assigned such permissions and access to the guest user . audio module 330 controls audio stations 107 , which typically include an audio transmitter , such as one or more speakers 338 , and an audio receiver , such as one or more microphones 334 . in a typical configuration , several microphones 334 and speakers 338 would be located throughout premises 110 . the audio signals detected by microphone ( s ) 334 are recorded through audio module 330 . audio module 330 may record the audio or it may transmit the audio to video module 320 for storage . audio module 330 may be capable of selecting an individual audio input 334 or any combination of audio inputs 334 . further , audio module 330 may play back audio signals through speaker ( s ) 338 . audio module 330 may provide gain control for microphones 334 and volume control for speakers 338 in audio station 332 . communications interface 340 may serve as the gateway between security gateway 115 and one or more communications networks such as a hybrid fiber coaxial network ( hfc ) plant , pstn 145 , wan , lan , and wireless networks . communications interface 340 may comprise software and hardware including , but not limited to a network interface card . in some embodiments , communications interface 340 may be physically separate from the other components of security gateway 115 . regardless of its form , communications interface 340 assists in the communication of data to and from security gateway 115 and security system server 131 . in addition , security gateway 115 may include a web - enabled user interface 350 . user interface 350 may further include a display device , such as a computer screen , television or keypad , for displaying information to the user . such information may include , without limitation , the current system status , whether an alarm condition has been detected , and whether any components have failed . in addition , other non - system - related information such as the time , date , weather forecasts , and news bulletins may be displayed . in the illustrative embodiment , user interface 350 is operatively coupled to a keypad 357 . a user could thereby activate or deactivate the security system by entering a predetermined code on keypad 357 . it will be understood with the benefit of this disclosure by those of skill in the art that other types of user interfaces 350 may be used with this invention . for example , security gateway 115 may be activated or deactivated with a remote portable transmitter 355 . wireless remote 355 communicates with user interface 350 via wireless receiver 352 . additional receivers may be used with the present invention to pick up weak signals . security gateway 115 is further capable of responding to wireless remotes 355 for changing alarm states of the security system . each wireless remote 355 may comprise , for example , a key fob , which may be identified to security gateway 115 as a unique user . in some embodiments of the present invention , two - way audio communications may be initiated between a remote user 152 and the premises 110 through audio module 330 . the monitoring station personnel cannot initiate lifestyle functions . to address privacy concerns , monitoring personnel have access to the security system components only during alarm events . advantageously , the two - way audio communication allows the remote user 152 to interact with a person at the premises without the need for the person at the premises to acknowledge communications channels . in order to address privacy concerns , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , an audio or visual indicator may be included to notify occupants at the premises that they are under remote surveillance . while streaming live media for lifestyle monitoring or any other remote connection is made with the security system 100 , security gateway 115 activates a notification signal such as an audible or visible โ splash tone โ on a frequent basis . for purposes of the present invention , the term โ splash tone โ is used broadly to mean an audio cue or visual cue , or both , to indicate to one or more persons at the premises that remote surveillance and monitoring of the premises 110 is occurring . the notification signal may include a unique tone , bell , or other manufactured sound . the notification signal may be a unique tone which repeats periodically . the notification signal may also include audible signals such as speech and other messages that announce the identity of the remote user 152 . the notification signal may further comprise a unique message when remote monitoring begins , such as โ[ grannie ] has established a connection .โ the notification signal may further comprise a signal to indicate when remote surveillance has ended , such as โ[ grannie ] has disconnected .โ the notification signal may also include a visual cue , such as an led located a keypad or on the appropriate camera ( s ) 112 . the notification signal may also include visual data for indicating the identity of the remote user 152 . for example , a graphical image , a depiction of the user , or an alphanumeric message may be used to identify the remote user 152 . therefore , the notification signal may be unique depending on the identity of the remote user 152 . in one embodiment , the security system may include one or more โ smart cameras โ that have much of the functionality of the video module 320 built in . specifically , these smart cameras may be operable to perform video capture , compression and storage and to communicate with the security gateway using a home area network , e . g ., a wireless standard such as the home networking standard 802 . 11b , or power - line . in essence , the smart camera would function as a network appliance that is able to receive instructions from the security gateway to control the session , fps ( frames per second ), quality , bandwidth , support other supervised communication from the gateway , and to transmit video and other information to the security gateway . preferably , transmission between the camera and security gateway 115 should be secure and reliable , even taking into account the relatively noisy household environment . optionally , the smart camera is operable to detect motion in the recorded image and send an event signal to the security gateway . the camera may integrate other sensor functionality such as audio discrimination and analysis and motion detection . reference is now made to fig4 , which depicts a more detailed illustration of the various components of the security system server 131 of fig1 and a central monitoring station 136 , according to one embodiment of the present invention . these components may be software programs executable on processor - based devices operable to communicate with one another through lan 405 and lan 445 , respectively . in one particular embodiment , these components are processor - based devices operating under the microsoft ยฎ windows nt โข operating system . however , it is understood that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration . for example , the components may be implemented as software running on one or more computing devices . alternatively , the components may be implemented in several devices that may be directly connected via communications interfaces ( e . g ., serial , parallel , ieee 1394 , ir , rf or usb ). central monitoring station ( cms ) 136 is a facility operatively coupled to data center 132 and security gateway 115 . any alarm notification and audiovisual information sent by the security gateway 115 is transmitted to central monitoring station to determine if an alarm condition exists . if an alarm condition exists , cms 136 personnel can contact the appropriate authorities , etc . in this configuration , a concentration of trained personnel handle systems located throughout the country . in most embodiments , the communication channel between the data center 132 and central monitoring station 136 is secure , and accordingly , an unencrypted protocol may be used . in one particular embodiment , an unencrypted ascii protocol over a tcp / ip connection may be used . in configurations where the connection between the security system server 131 and monitoring client ( s ) 133 is not secure , it may be desirable to use an encrypted protocol . monitoring client 133 resides in central monitoring station 136 and is operable to display video and images transmitted from security gateway 115 in real - time , as well as provide two - way communication between monitoring client 133 and security gateway 115 . in the present disclosure , the term โ real - time โ is intended to generally mean that no substantive time period elapses between the captured audiovisual data and the receipt of audiovisual data corresponding to the event by monitoring client 133 . as shown , security system server 131 may comprise alarm receiver 410 , media handler 415 , automation system server 420 , web interface 432 , application server 434 , database server 436 , and messaging interface 438 . alarm receiver 410 receives the alarm notification and associated information from security gateway 115 . the alarm event is then logged and recorded by automation system server 420 . alarm events can also be reported by security gateway 115 to alarm receiver 440 via a communications network such as pstn 145 . alarm receiver 440 posts the alarm condition to automation system server 420 . monitoring client 133 retrieves audio and video data from media handler 415 . in one particular embodiment , the monitoring client 133 retrieves the audio and video data from media handler 415 using microsoft ยฎ activex . in other embodiments , other media handling / communications protocols may be used , including , without limitation , custom protocols . the communications protocol is used to transmit audio and video content from media handler 415 , submit control messages ( for selecting cameras , microphones , and speakers during live feeds ), and support voice over ip ( voip ), streaming audio , and video services between the residence and monitoring client 133 during an alarm condition . automation system server 420 is generally configured to store customer data , for example contact information , billing information , passwords , as well as alarm history . alternatively , some or all of this information may be stored in monitoring client 133 or at another remote site . since this data is usually low bandwidth , dedicated bandwidth may not be necessary . however , it may be desirable for security purposes for it to remain in data center 132 . automation system server 420 may also serve as a workflow system for operators responding to alarm conditions , as well as a log of all monitoring activity . in an exemplary embodiment , automation system server 420 is a database application based on , for example microsoft sql server 7 , running under windows nt . cms personnel may interface with automation system server 420 over the network via a client application , which may be built into monitoring client 133 . media handler 415 is generally operable to provide several functions . for example , media handler 415 receives and stores video and audio data associated with alarm conditions from security gateway 115 and relays alarm condition data , for example audio and video , to monitoring client 133 . media handler 415 may also be responsible for keeping track of the network addresses for all the security gateways 115 that are attached . for example , media handler 415 relays alarm conditions reported via tcp / ip from security gateway 115 to automation system server 420 . media handler 415 may also provide access to audio and video associated with alarm conditions to authorized personnel for a predetermined time period after an alarm condition is detected . additionally , media handler 415 may relay control and configuration data destined for security gateways 115 . this data may originate either from an operator ( located at central monitoring station 136 ) through monitoring client 133 or from remote user 152 at remote location 150 . the communications protocol between monitoring client 133 and media handler 415 may be proprietary and / or may use standard protocols . the communications protocol between security gateway 115 and media handler 415 may provide secondary pathways for transmitting alarm notifications , relays configuration information to security gateway 115 ( including control messages for arming and disarming partitions , bypassing zones , and selecting cameras 112 and audio stations 107 for live feeds ), uploading pre - event and relevant non - alarm audio and video to media handler 415 during an alarm condition , transmitting live video and audio during an alarm condition , supporting voice over ip ( voip ) services between the residence and monitoring client 133 during an alarm condition , and performing software updates . web interface 432 provides authorized remote users 152 with the ability to view and edit account information , arm and disarm security system 100 , and view and hear live and recorded media from premises 110 , all through a network - based interface . in many embodiments , this network - based interface is an internet web site , or a portion of a web site . after the remote user 152 is authenticated , application server 434 provides and / or facilitates the features available to remote client 155 through web interface 432 . the particular features that are made available are a design decision that may vary based upon several factors , which may include , without limitation , the permissions of the remote user 152 and the type of premises that is monitored . messaging interface 438 may also provide for transmission of a message to remote client 155 by page , phone , e - mail , interactive voice response , short message service , or other messaging tool . such a message will serve to notify multiple contacts on the alarm contact list when an alarm event has taken place or is taking place . in one embodiment , a three - tier architecture may be used to provide such an interface . the first tier may consist of web servers running internet information server ( iis ) on windows nt โข, which is responsible for static web content such as images . requests for dynamic content may be forwarded to application server 434 . application server 434 generally provides or facilitates all of the functionality that is accessible to remote clients 155 . the third tier is a database tier that may be provided by automation system server 420 . data storage may be , for example , a billing database . authorized users may receive information from the database regarding their account by accessing database server 436 . application server 434 may access automation system server 420 to obtain account information and issue commands ultimately destined for security gateway 115 . after remote client 152 is authenticated , application server 434 may be configured to allow remote client 152 to view audiovisual content from security gateway 115 , communicate with automation system server 420 to access customer data , and access features of the security system 100 . in one embodiment , such features may include , without limitation , arming or disarming security system 100 ; adjusting sensitivities of sensors 105 ( if present ); adjusting alarm condition detection sensitivity ; remote monitoring ; adjusting camera 112 settings and audio station 107 settings ; adjusting settings for lights , hvac ( heating , ventilation , and air conditioning ) systems , irrigation systems and other environmental controls ; and reviewing alarms and recordings . in particular , application server 434 may allow remote user 152 to access media directly from security gateway 115 . in one embodiment , a live feed from the premises is available with the ability to select among cameras 112 and microphones 334 . in some embodiments , only video from certain specified cameras is accessible for remote clients . in some embodiments , application server 434 may be configured to allow remote user 152 to initiate a two - way audio connection with the security gateway 115 so that the remote user 152 can communicate through the audio stations 332 via speaker ( s ) 338 and microphone ( s ) 334 attached to security gateway 115 . communication between application server 434 and automation system server 420 may take the form of calls to stored procedures defined in the master database maintained by automation system server 420 . access to web interface 432 requires successful authentication using any technique discussed above , such as entering a username and password . preferably , all account - specific web content , including the login request , employs the secure http protocol . in one embodiment , each customer may be assigned a general administrator ( ga ) account . ga accounts have full access to their respective associated security gateway 115 . the ga account can also create a number of guest user (โ remote user โ 152 ) accounts that have limited access ( as discussed above ) to their respective associated security gateway 115 . typically , all account information is stored through automation system server 420 , including usernames and passwords . web interface 432 retrieves account data from automation system server 420 for display via the web , by means of one or more stored procedures . the ga can modify a subset of this account data and update the corresponding entries in automation system server 420 . referring now to fig5 , a process flow diagram is shown illustrating the process for remote monitoring of a premises by a remote user using a remote client located at a remote location using a security system such as the security system 100 of fig1 โ 2 . in particular , remote users may access features of a security gateway such as the security gateway 110 of fig3 . these features include without limitation viewing and editing account information , arming and disarming the security system , and accessing live and recorded audiovisual data from the premises . in step 500 , the remote user connects to a security system server . in an exemplary embodiment , the remote user may connect to the security system server using a web browser such as netscape navigator or microsoft ยฎ internet explorer . in other embodiments , the remote user may connect to the security system server via an interactive television platform having a friendly and easy - to - navigate user interface . in step 510 , the remote user provides the security system server with information for authentication . the type of information used for authentication may take many forms . for example , in one embodiment , a media handler associated with the security system server may require some sort of a username and password combination . further , it is to be understood by the disclosure of one of skill in the art that any other procedure suitable for authenticating the identity of the remote user may be used , such as by validating the remote user &# 39 ; s biometric data . the security system server verifies the authentication information in step 520 . if the information is not authenticated , then the remote user is denied access to the features of the security gateway , and process flow ends in step 590 . precautions against unauthorized access may be implemented , including , but not limited to , logging incidents of access attempts , with emphasis on denied access . in step 530 , the security system server determines if the remote user has the necessary permissions to access the security gateway . necessary permissions may include access to a particular camera or a particular audio station located at the premises , access during a particular time period , access to audio and or video information , and access to change passwords , settings and / or activate and deactivate the security system . if the remote user does not have the necessary permissions , the remote user is denied access to the security system , and process flow ends in step 590 . if the remote user has the necessary permissions , in step 540 , the security system server provides the remote client and the security gateway with an access token . the access token will typically comprise the identity of the remote user , the identity of security gateway to be accessed , the access permissions to be granted for the access token , and the desired lifespan of the token , as well as a digital signature of the security system server . it is noted that in accordance with the present invention , the remote user is only allowed access to those features corresponding to the permissions associated with the remote user &# 39 ; s permissions profile . for instance , the remote user may only have permission to access a camera in a baby &# 39 ; s nursery , and may lack access to the other cameras in the premises . alternatively , if the remote user is the general administrator of the security gateway , then he or she has full access to the security gateway features . the remote client then connects directly to the security gateway and provides the security gateway with the access token in step 550 . it is noted that the term โ connects directly โ means that communications between the remote client and security gateway do not pass through security system server . the security gateway inspects the access token received from the remote client and compares it to the access token received by the security gateway in step 560 . if the access tokens do not match , then the remote user at the remote client is denied access to the security gateway , and process flow ends in step 590 . if the access tokens match in step 565 , then the remote user may access features of the security gateway in step 570 in accordance with the user &# 39 ; s permissions profile . during access by the remote user of the security system cameras or audio stations at the premises , the security gateway activates a notification signal comprising an audiovisual cue at the premises in step 575 , indicating to occupants of the premises that remote monitoring is occurring . for example , an led on a camera at the premises may be activated while the remote user is accessing that camera . in another example , an audible tone may be activated while the remote user is accessing an audio station at the premises . the remote user will continue to be able to access designated security gateway features until the remote user logs out according to step 580 or the access token expires according to step 585 . in some embodiments , the security system server may assign a lifespan to the access token . in such cases , after a pre - specified time or event , the access token expires and the remote user may not access the security gateway after the expiration of the access token . in order to access to the features of the security gateway after expiration of the access token , the remote user must reconnect to the security system server and provide valid authentication information . accordingly , the remote user may then connect directly to security gateway to perform remote monitoring through security gateway , check the system status , initiate a two - way audio conference , and / or any other features made available by security gateway and falling within the remote user &# 39 ; s permissions . in some embodiments , only remote monitoring and two - way audio conferencing is made available through security gateway . in these embodiments , all non - media features are provided through security system server . the remote monitoring feature allows remote user to view all or portions of the video signal from video cameras and to hear all or portions audio information from audio stations . depending on the bandwidth of the connection , the video may be of a lower quality than that transmitted to central monitoring station for verification of alarm signals in order to save bandwidth . for example , in one embodiment , the video transmitted to remote user may have a lower frame rate , lower resolution , and / or lower color depth . depending on the remote user &# 39 ; s permissions and the remote client &# 39 ; s capabilities , the remote user may be able to configure the quality of the video for remote monitoring . in addition , depending on the remote user &# 39 ; s level of permissions , the remote user may access remote features of the security gateway directly to reconfigure the security system . once authenticated , the remote user may reconfigure some or all of the features of the security gateway . these features may include , without limitation , arming or disarming the security system ; adjusting sensitivities of sensors ( if present ); adjusting alarm condition detection sensitivity ; remote monitoring ; adjusting camera and audio station settings ; and reviewing alarms and recordings . camera settings may include without limitation pan , tilt , focus , brightness , contrast and zoom . the present invention also overcomes similar problems with personal emergency response systems ( pers ) and telemedicine , including telehealth . the monitoring clients in these applications can now use the video and alarm to better diagnose the problem . in many ways , alarms from health sensors , emergency panic buttons and the like are similar to alarm sensors in terms of generating false and unwanted alarms . this system also enables health care givers and concerned family members to use the remote client feature for increased peace of mind . the foregoing examples are included to demonstrate embodiments of the invention . it should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples which follow represent techniques discovered by the inventor to function well in the practice of the invention , and thus can be considered to constitute preferred modes for its practice . however , those of skill in the art should , in light of the present disclosure , appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
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